Israel SitRep: Feb. 9, 2024

Today’s Issue: IDF Soldier Seriously Wounded by Missile From Lebanon, Israeli Air Force Strikes Back | IDF Troops Find Rocket Launchers Aimed at Israel Near Mosque and Kindergarten | IDF Arrests 12 in Overnight West Bank Raids, Israel and PA Meet Ahead of Ramadan | In Northern, Central, and Southern Gaza, IDF Troops Continue Operations | Latest FDD Analysis

IDF Soldier Seriously Wounded by Missile From Lebanon, Israeli Air Force Strikes Back: On Thursday morning, several projectiles were launched from Lebanon toward Kiryat Shmona, seriously wounding an IDF soldier and lightly wounding two reservists. In response, Israeli Air Force fighter jets attacked terrorist infrastructure and a Hezbollah military building in the area of Khiam, from where the projectiles were launched. Projectiles were also fired from Lebanon at the Biranit base and Mt. Hermon in northern Israel. The IDF shelled the launch sites with artillery. The IAF also successfully shot down a suspicious aerial object that crossed from Lebanon into Israel, after an alert about a hostile aircraft in Israel’s north. Late on Thursday, after a drone strike in Nabatieh targeting two Hezbollah operatives, including a senior commander —which was apparently Israeli retaliation for the attack on the soldiers — Hezbollah fired at least 30 rockets at Israel.

IDF Troops Find Rocket Launchers Aimed at Israel Near Mosque and Kindergarten: The IDF on Thursday published a report on a raid by the 646th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade in the Khan Younis area, during which troops found Hamas rocket launchers near a mosque and a kindergarten that were loaded and aimed at Israel. The troops destroyed them. During the raid, the soldiers also located a large number of weapons and killed terror operatives. In a search of a civilian water facility in the area, troops found a tunnel shaft leading to an underground tunnel, where they discovered two dead terrorists. The soldiers also raided a property used by Hamas operatives and found a large number of weapons: rockets, explosive devices, AK-47 rifles, uniforms, and vests.

IDF Arrests 12 in Overnight West Bank Raids, Israel and PA Meet Ahead of Ramadan: IDF troops operated overnight in the Tulkarem refugee camp and arrested four wanted persons. Another two were arrested near the villages of Beit Ur al–Fuka and Beit Ur al-Tahta and in Jericho. In al-Mughayyir, troops arrested three individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activity, while in the village of Sinjil, three more were arrested and funds used for terror activities were confiscated. Over 3,500 wanted individuals have been arrested in the West Bank since the war began, over 1,350 of them with ties to Hamas. On Wednesday, The Times of Israel reported that Israeli and Palestinian Authority officials met this week in Tel Aviv in an effort to calm West Bank tensions ahead of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, which begins in March.

In Northern, Central, and Southern Gaza, IDF Troops Continue Operations: The IDF on Friday reported on the previous day’s operations in Gaza, noting that naval, air force, and ground troops destroyed terrorist infrastructures. In northern and central Gaza, IDF forces killed numerous terrorists. In the west of Khan Younis, which is in southern Gaza, the Commando Brigade continued clearing areas of terrorists, and the Egoz unit raided a compound used by Hamas to attack IDF forces. After Commando Brigade troops spotted a terror cell that placed explosives near soldiers in the area, they directed an aircraft to attack the cell, whose members were killed in the strike. In addition, during fighting in Khan Younis, soldiers from the 414th Combat Intelligence Collection unit spotted two terrorists carrying weapons, and after coordination with the Israeli Air Force, the men were attacked and killed. In the west of Khan Younis, forces from the Paratroopers Brigade raided terror infrastructures and killed 15 terrorists. They also found a large quantity of weapons, including AK-47s, cartridges, and grenades.

Latest FDD Analysis:

Live at 12:00pm ET: “Israeli Security: The Northern Threat and Other Challenges Ahead,” Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jonathan Conricus, Eyal Hulata, Enia Krivine, and Anna Schecter, FDD Events

Today at 8:30am (ET): “FDD Morning Brief,” featuring Jonathan Schanzer and David Daoud, FDD Events

“The UN agency that’s supposed to aid Palestinian refugees has only made things worse,” Richard Goldberg and Jonathan Schanzer, The Boston Globe

“U.S. strike eliminates key Kata’ib Hezbollah commander,” Joe Truzman and Bill Roggio, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Iranian-backed Bahraini militias eulogize killed Hezbollah Brigades commander,” The LWJ Editors, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Israel ‘peeling off layers’ of Hamas in Gaza,” Seth J. Frantzman, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Hezbollah’s narrative on Al-Aqsa Flood: Tailored to appeal to specific Western sensibilities,” David Daoud, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Hezbollah Rockets Wound Three Israeli Soldiers,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Israeli Air Force Plans Continued Lebanon Overflights,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“U.S. Drone Strike in Baghdad Kills Shiite Militia Commander,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Facing Low Poll Numbers, PA President Pushes for Palestinian Statehood,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief