Israel SitRep: October 25, 2024

Today’s Issue: | IDF Eliminates Hamas Nukhba Force Commander, Participant in October 7 Massacre, Employed by UNRWA | IDF Drone Strike Eliminates Hezbollah Radwan Force Commander | IDF: Hezbollah Turned Lebanese Villages into Fortified Combat Zones; IDF Dismantling Hezbollah Infrastructure | Fighting Continues in Northern, Central, and Southern Gaza; Troops Kill Terrorists, Destroy Terrorist Infrastructures | Latest FDD Analysis

IDF Eliminates Hamas Nukhba Force Commander, Participant in October 7 Massacre, Employed by UNRWA: On Thursday, IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari issued a statement about the elimination of Muhammad Abu Itiwi, a commander of Hamas’s Nukhba Force in the Al-Bureij Battalion of the Hamas Central Camps Brigade, who was also an UNRWA employee. On October 7, 2023, Abu Itiwi commanded an attack on a bomb shelter near Kibbutz Re’im, where some 30 people who escaped from the Nova music festival attempted to take cover. The attackers fired at the people in the shelter and threw grenades, killing sixteen. Eliya Cohen, Or Levy, Alon Ohel, and Hersh Goldberg-Polin were kidnapped and taken to Gaza. Hagari added: “Israel has requested urgent clarifications from senior UN officials and an urgent investigation into the involvement of UNRWA employees in the October 7th Massacre.”

IDF Drone Strike Eliminates Hezbollah Radwan Force Commander: The IDF on Friday announced that Abbas Adnan Maslem, commander of the Aitaroun region in Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, was eliminated in a drone strike directed by the 91st “Galilee” Regional Division. Maslem was responsible for a large number of shooting attacks targeting IDF troops and communities in northern Israel. In the past day, Israeli Air Force fighter jets have struck more than 200 targets in Lebanon, and soldiers from the Alexandroni Brigade have killed a number of terrorists and destroyed Hezbollah military buildings and terror infrastructure. Troops from the 146th Division have attacked more than 50 military buildings, terrorist infrastructures, and an anti-tank missile position, while a force from the 98th Division spotted terrorists waiting in ambush and eliminated them. Troops also found and destroyed it a loaded Kornet missile launcher.

IDF: Hezbollah Turned Lebanese Villages into Fortified Combat Zones; IDF Dismantling Hezbollah Infrastructure: The IDF on Thursday published a report about its operations to thwart Hezbollah’s planned invasion of the Galilee. The IDF says that Hezbollah turned villages into fortified combat zones, then advanced to areas close to the border, under cover of thick vegetation. In these areas, Hezbollah placed infrastructure for invading northern Israel, including explosives, weapons, and motorcycles. In the past year, the IDF’s Northern Command conducted a series of strikes and special operations targeting these infrastructures. For about a month, troops have been operating in villages and areas near the border to push Hezbollah back and damage its capabilities. In Muhajbib, a village in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah built an underground Radwan Force command center, deliberately placing entry shafts under homes. It constructed tunnels with living quarters containing kitchens, showers, and bedrooms, as part of its attack plan. The tunnels did not cross into Israel, but one came very close. Last month, the IDF struck more than 3,200 targets in southern Lebanon and seized thousands of explosive devices, anti-tank missiles, launchers, Kornet missiles, and RPGs. It also seized drones, helmets, combat vests, and a large amount of ammunition. The report includes footage of some of the weapons seized.

Fighting Continues in Northern, Central, and Southern Gaza; Troops Kill Terrorists, Destroy Terrorist Infrastructures: On Friday, the IDF reported on operations in Gaza, stating that the 162nd Division is fighting in the Jabalya area in northern Gaza and has located a large number of weapons, destroyed terrorist infrastructures, and killed dozens of terrorists in the past day. During the fighting, troops spotted a car bomb and a number of terrorists nearby and killed them. In central Gaza, the 252nd Division is continuing targeted raids, and in the past day, has eliminated a number of terrorists in ground combat and airstrikes carried out by the Israeli Air Force. Troops also destroyed several Hamas infrastructures and a launch position. In southern Gaza, soldiers from the Gaza Division have eliminated several terrorists in the past day through airstrikes in cooperation with the IAF and in ground combat, and destroyed a large number of terrorist infrastructures

Latest FDD Analysis:

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

“North Korea’s troops reveal Putin’s Ukraine pickle — no more cannon fodder,” Peter Doran, New York Post

“Israel Shouldn’t Suffer from the UN’s Failure in Lebanon,” Enia Krivine and Ben Cohen, The National Interest

“Explaining UNSC Resolution 1701 and its relation to Resolution 1559,” David Daoud, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Hezbollah continues to fire large barrages of rockets at Israel,” Seth J. Frantzman, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Turkey Strikes Kurdish Positions in Iraq and Syria After Blaming PKK for Attack in Ankara,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Sri Lankan Police Arrest Three Locals Over Planned Terror Attack on Israelis,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“IDF Exposes Six Al-Jazeera Journalists as Hamas, Islamic Jihad Terrorists,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Hamas Official Visiting Moscow Moots Hostage Release as ‘Gesture to Our Russian Friends’,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief