Israel SitRep: November 4, 2024

Today’s Issue: | IDF Eliminates Hezbollah Aerial Unit Member and Hezbollah Commander for Baraachit in Southern Lebanon | IAF Kills PIJ Intelligence Unit Member Who Participated in October 7 Attacks | IDF Reveals Dramatic Operation to Capture Syrian Who Gathered Intelligence for Iran | COGAT: Northern Gaza Polio Vaccinations Resume; 146 Aid Trucks Enter Gaza Sunday; Terrorists Attack Aid Convoy | Latest FDD Analysis

IDF Eliminates Hezbollah Aerial Unit Member and Hezbollah Commander for Baraachit in Southern Lebanon: On Sunday, the IDF announced that Ali Barakat, a member of Hezbollah’s aerial unit, known as Unit 127, was eliminated. According to the military, Barakat “was a significant source of knowledge for the unit” and was involved in drone and cruise missile development for the terror group. In addition, over the course of a decade, he planned and executed drone attacks on Israel. In a Monday announcement, the IDF stated that Israeli Air Force fighter jets, with guidance from the 36th Division, eliminated Abu Ali Rida, Hezbollah’s commander for the Baraachit area in southern Lebanon who was responsible for rocket and anti-tank missile strikes against IDF soldiers.

IAF Kills PIJ Intelligence Unit Member Who Participated in October 7 Attacks: The IDF on Monday announced that an Israeli Air Force drone strike in Gaza, directed by the Gaza Division and the Shin Bet, killed Ahmed al-Dalu, a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s military intelligence unit, who participated in the October 7 attack on Kibbutz Kfar Aza. The airstrike also killed another terrorist. According to the IDF, during the war, al-Dalu took part in planning and carrying out terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. In Rafah in southern Gaza, Nahal Brigade soldiers spotted a terrorist squad in a building where mines were stored, and an IAF drone strike killed the men and destroyed the mines.

IDF Reveals Dramatic Operation to Capture Syrian Who Gathered Intelligence for Iran: The IDF revealed on Sunday that several months ago, troops from the Egoz commando unit and Unit 504 of Aman military intelligence carried out an operation in Syria to arrest an Iranian operative. Ali Suleiman al-Assi, a Syrian citizen from Saida, worked for Iran collecting intelligence on the IDF. Troops had him under close surveillance before he was arrested and taken to Israel for interrogation. The IDF says his arrest disrupted a future terrorist attack and exposed Iran’s operating methods in the Golan Heights. According to Ynet’s Yossi Yehoshua, the operation took place in July. The IDF recorded footage of the arrest operation and footage of al-Assi’s interrogation. The Alma Research and Education Center published additional information, stating that the video indicates that al-Assi was detained in a building some 800 meters from the border, across from Tel Saki. Alma notes that Unit 4000 of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization and Unit 840 of the IRGC Qods Force, along with Hezbollah’s Southern Command and Golan File, operate in southern Syria’s Daraa and Quneitra districts, recruiting local residents for intelligence-gathering and terrorist attacks.

COGAT: Northern Gaza Polio Vaccinations Resume; 146 Aid Trucks Enter Gaza Sunday; Terrorists Attack Aid Convoy: The second round of the polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza began Saturday, according to COGAT, the Israeli entity coordinating humanitarian aid for Gaza. A total of 58,604 children under the age of 10 were vaccinated. On Monday, COGAT published its humanitarian aid update, noting that on Sunday, 146 aid trucks entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings. While international organizations picked up the contents of 76 trucks on the Gaza side of Kerem Shalom, 600 trucks are still awaiting collection. On Sunday, six cooking gas tankers entered Gaza, and one fuel tanker entered northern Gaza through the humanitarian corridor. Twelve bakeries are open in Gaza, eight in the south and center of the strip and four in the north, which together bake 3 million pita loaves a day. COGAT also commented on an incident on Sunday involving a humanitarian aid convoy taking patients and staff from the Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda Hospitals to hospitals in northern Gaza. While the convoy was passing Kamal Adwan, terrorist organizations set off an explosive device several hundred meters away, hitting the convoy with shrapnel. While convoy personnel were not injured, six children in the hospital were, and the hospital’s courtyard and roof sustained damage.

Latest FDD Analysis:

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

“Israel’s strike has Iran facing a stark nuclear option,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, The Hill

“What would Matt Baldacci do? The collaborator mentality returns,” Ben Cohen, Jewish News Syndicate

“Naim Qassem’s inaugural speech as Hezbollah’s new secretary-general,” David Daoud, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Spy surge: Tehran’s espionage strategy against Israel,” Janatan Sayeh, FDD’s Long War Journal

“7 Israelis killed by Hezbollah rocket fire as Israel hosts US envoys,” Seth J. Frantzman, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Iran Amputates Fingers of Two Prisoners Convicted of Theft,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“U.S. Officials Chide ‘Antisemitism’ of UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“IDF to Establish Eastern Division to Strengthen Border With Jordan,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“UNRWA Employee Claims Agency’s Vehicles Commandeered by Hamas in Gaza,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“U.S. Marines Train with Mobile Air Defense Adapted from Iron Dome,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief