Israel SitRep: Jan. 3, 2024

Today’s Issue: Presumed Israeli Drone Strike in Beirut Suburb Kills Hamas Official Saleh al-Arouri | Israel Carries Out West Bank Raids, Arrests Suspects, Confiscates Weapons | IDF Continues Operations in Khirbat Ikhza’a, Khan Younis in Gaza | After Hezbollah Attacks, IDF Strikes Back in Lebanon | Latest FDD Analysis

Presumed Israeli Drone Strike in Beirut Suburb Kills Hamas Official Saleh al-Arouri: Saleh al-Arouri, deputy chairman of the Hamas political bureau and one of the three most important leaders of the group, was killed Tuesday evening in a precision drone strike in Dahiyeh, a suburb of Beirut. For years, Israel has had al-Arouri, considered to be the main figure behind West Bank terrorism, in its sights. It is widely believed that Israel launched the strike, but Israeli officials have not taken responsibility for the attack, which also killed Hamas military commanders Azzam Al-Aqraa and Samir Findi and several other Hamas figures. On Wednesday, Mossad head David Barnea stated, “Let every Arab mother know that if her son took part in the massacre [of October 7] — he signed his own death warrant.”

Israel Carries Out West Bank Raids, Arrests Suspects, Confiscates Weapons: The IDF, Shin Bet, and Border Police launched a large-scale counter-terrorism operation overnight in the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarem, arresting six wanted individuals, questioning dozens of suspects, and confiscating military equipment. After terrorists threw explosive devices at Israeli forces, the IDF responded with a drone strike. The troops also found and destroyed explosives. In an overnight operation in the West Bank city of Kalkilya, Israeli forces arrested four wanted individuals and confiscated weapons. According to the IDF, more than 2,570 wanted individuals have been arrested in the West Bank and Jordan Valley since the war began, some 1,300 of them affiliated with Hamas.

IDF Continues Operations in Khirbat Ikhza’a, Khan Younis in Gaza: On Tuesday, the IDF continued to operate in southern Gaza’s Khirbat Ikhza’a, where the 5th Brigade found a tunnel shaft and photos of weapons in a school and attacked targets including observation posts and anti-tank launch positions. In intense fighting in Khan Younis, also in the southern Gaza Strip, Givati soldiers who observed a terrorist attempting to attach a bomb to a tank directed an air strike that killed him and three others. In the home of a Nukhba terrorist, soldiers found weapons and a safe containing hundreds of thousands of shekels. Also in Khan Younis, the Israeli Air Force struck a Palestinian Islamic Jihad weapons-manufacturing facility. In the Daraj Tufah neighborhood of Gaza City, Nahal Brigade soldiers spotted a squad using drones to observe Israeli troops, and the IDF then launched a drone strike, killing the squad members.

After Hezbollah Attacks, IDF Strikes Back in Lebanon: After repeated Hezbollah attacks on Israel in the wake of yesterday’s killing of Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri, the IDF struck a terror cell in Lebanon today, and an Israeli Air Force jet attacked Hezbollah terror infrastructure. In addition, the IDF responded with artillery fire to several projectiles fired at Israel from Lebanon. Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for attacks today near Shlomi and Zar’it, both near the Lebanese border. According to Hezbollah, since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza, about 140 of its members have been killed, but Israel believes that the number to be significantly higher.

Latest FDD Analysis:

Today at 8:30am (ET): “FDD Morning Brief,” featuring Richard Goldberg and Col. Richard Kemp, FDD Event

“IDF ‘Ghost’ unit uses new tech to fight Hamas in Gaza,” Seth J. Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post

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“IDF combat engineers, bulldozers: A key weapon in the Gaza war,” Seth J. Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post

“Iran stations warship in Red Sea as US aircraft carrier leaves Middle East,” Seth J. Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post

“Hamas’s 2024 New Year’s rocket fire signals war not over,” Seth J. Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post

“Despite significant losses in Gaza, Hamas has yet to unleash an ace up its sleeve,” Joe Truzman and Bill Roggio, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Hamas deputy leader killed in suspected Israeli airstrike in Lebanon,” Joe Truzman and Bill Roggio, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Israel shifts operations in Gaza, seeks to return Israeli civilians to border towns,” Seth J. Frantzman, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Rockets Fired From Syria Target Israel,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Hamas No. 3 Killed in Beirut Blast,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief