Israel SitRep: April 1, 2024

Today’s Issue: Stabbing Attacks in Beersheba and Gan Yavne Wound Five, Three Seriously | IDF Eliminates Significant Hamas Figures at Shifa Hospital, Finds Rifles and Grenades in Maternity Ward | IDF Concludes Shifa Hospital Operation, Arrests More Than 900 | IAF Airstrike Eliminates Significant Figure in Hezbollah’s Radwan Force | Latest FDD Analysis

Stabbing Attacks in Beersheba and Gan Yavne Wound Five, Three Seriously: On Sunday morning, a 28-year-old resident of the Israeli Bedouin city of Rahat carried out a stabbing attack in Beersheba’s central bus station and was shot and killed. Two people were lightly wounded in the attack and evacuated to Soroka Hospital. Southern District police raided the home of the attacker, identified as Naji Abu Freh, and arrested five family members for questioning. Later in the day, three people were seriously wounded in a stabbing attack at the Friendly mall in Gan Yavne, near Ashdod, by an assailant carrying two knives, who was then killed by security forces. The victims, ages 17, 20, and 25, were taken to Assuta Hospital in Ashdod. The police released footage of the attack and stated that the attacker was a West Bank resident who was in Israel illegally. According to Hebrew media reports, the 19-year-old was working illegally in a store in the mall. On Monday, police said they have arrested two Bedouins from the south of Israel who they believe gave a ride to the attacker, who entered Israel illegally, and helped him make his way to Gan Yavneh.

IDF Eliminates Significant Hamas Figures at Shifa Hospital, Finds Rifles and Grenades in Maternity Ward: The IDF on Saturday announced that troops operating in Shifa Hospital in Gaza City killed several armed terrorists leaving the ER compound, including Mahmoud Khalil Ziqzouq, who served as deputy head of Hamas’s rocket unit in Gaza City. Fadi Dewik, a senior Hamas military intelligence operative who was released in the deal to free IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011, and Zakariya Najeeb, a senior operative in Hamas’s West Bank headquarters who was also released in the Shalit deal, were killed by IDF troops in the Shifa maternity ward. On Sunday, the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) released photos of weapons discovered in the Shifa maternity ward, including explosive devices, mortar shells, pistols, AK-47s, sniper rifles, and magazines. According to COGAT, the items were hidden in hospital beds, pillows, ceilings, and walls. On Friday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi stated during a visit to the hospital that “the operation achieved its goal: a large number of terrorists arrested and senior commanders killed.”

IDF Concludes Shifa Hospital Operation, Arrests More Than 900: The IDF on Monday announced the completion of its two-week operation at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. In the operation, IDF troops killed more than 200 terrorists and arrested more than 900, including 500 who are affiliated with terror organizations in Gaza, among them high-ranking officials. IDF troops were told to try to take prisoners alive for intelligence-gathering purposes and for use in hostage-release negotiations. For three days, they called upon the terrorists to surrender. The IDF believes that the fruits of the operation will make a significant contribution to getting back the hostages. In the hospital, soldiers found new documentation about the October 7 attacks filmed by the terrorists as well as intelligence materials connected to the hostages. Prior to the start of the operation, some 6,200 people were present in the hospital — patients, medical personnel, and nearly 1,000 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists.

IAF Airstrike Eliminates Significant Figure in Hezbollah’s Radwan Force: On Sunday, the Israeli Air Force targeted a vehicle near the village of Kounine in southern Lebanon, where a major figure in the anti-tank unit of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force was staying. Ismail Ali Al-Zin, a Radwan Force commander, was responsible for dozens of anti-tank attacks against IDF forces and the Israeli home front, according to the IAF. The announcement includes footage of the strike. On Monday, Israeli fighter jets launched a simultaneous attack on about 10 Hezbollah targets in the area of Rachaya al-Foukhar in southern Lebanon, including terrorist infrastructure, launching positions, and a weapons depot. The Alma Research and Education Center reported on Monday that in the previous 24 hours, Hezbollah had claimed responsibility for five attacks against Israel with anti-tank missiles, drones, and high-trajectory fire.

Latest FDD Analysis:

“Today at 8:30am (ET): FDD Morning Brief,” featuring Jonathan Schanzer and Aaron MacLean, FDD Event

“Ronald Meets the Donald,” Clifford D. May, Matthew Kroenig, and Dan Negrea, FDD’s Foreign Podicy

“Israel Kills Deputy Hezbollah Rocketry Chief,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

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“Israel Kills Commander of Hezbollah Missile Squads,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“U.S. Lawmakers Urge Sanctions on ICJ Judge With History of Anti-Israel Bias,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Israel Eliminates Senior Hamas Terrorists at Shifa Hospital,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Terrorists Connected to Palestinian Security Forces Carry Out Third Attack Within a Month,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief