Israel SitRep: November 18, 2024

Today’s Issue: | IDF Eliminates Hezbollah’s Chief Propagandist in Targeted Strike | In West Bank, Soldiers Seize Seven Lathes for Producing Weapons, 10 Illegal Vehicles, M16 Rifles | IDF’s 226th Brigade Operating in Lebanon, Finds Bunkers and Weapons, Destroys Tunnel | COGAT: We’re Working With Aid Organizations to Improve Distribution; 137 Aid Trucks Entered Gaza Sunday | Latest FDD Analysis

IDF Eliminates Hezbollah’s Chief Propagandist in Targeted Strike: On Sunday, Israeli Air Force fighter jets, with “precise intelligence” from Aman military intelligence, attacked in the Beirut area and eliminated Muhammad Afif, Hezbollah’s “chief propagandist and spokesman,” whom the IDF says was a “senior Hezbollah military operative” and was “directly involved” in “executing Hezbollah’s terrorist activities against Israel.” According to the military, Afif broadcast messages that “glorified and incited terrorist activities against Israel” and was also responsible for “numerous psychological terror operations against the Israeli public.” Afif joined the terror group in the 1980s, becoming a “central figure” with a great deal of influence on Hezbollah’s military activity and working with senior Hezbollah officials to “promote, plan, and guide military activities.” According to the IDF, Afif designed the messages conveyed in the Lebanese media and worked to strengthen Hezbollah’s image, improve the morale of Hezbollah operatives, and terrorize the Israeli public. Afif was killed in a strike on the Syrian Baath Party’s headquarters in central Beirut, not in Hezbollah’s stronghold of Dahieh in the Beirut suburbs.

In West Bank, Soldiers Seize Seven Lathes for Producing Weapons, 10 Illegal Vehicles, M16 Rifles: On Monday, the IDF reported on operations in the West Bank, noting that in an overnight operation in Hebron, troops from the Judea and Samaria Division found seven lathes for producing weapons, which they confiscated. In the Dheisheh refugee camp, located near Bethlehem, soldiers interrogated dozens of individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activities. In the village of Al-Mughayyir, troops confiscated more than 10 illegal vehicles, and in Silwad, they arrested two wanted persons. During searches last night by soldiers at the security fence in the area of the village of Zeita, the troops seized M16 rifles. Those arrested as well as the weapons seized were transferred to security forces for further handling.

IDF’s 226th Brigade Operating in Lebanon, Finds Bunkers and Weapons, Destroys Tunnel: The IDF reported on Monday that reservists from the 226th Paratroopers Brigade are continuing ground operations in southern Lebanon, carrying out searches in built-up areas, mountainous areas, and complex terrain where Hezbollah has hidden dozens of bunkers above and below ground, as well as launchers, rockets, mortar shells, and a large quantity of military equipment it used for hundreds of attacks on Israel in the past year. In one search, the troops destroyed a tunnel dozens of meters long, which included rooms for long-term stays, a kitchen, food, and a large number of weapons. The report includes several videos, including one showing weapons found by troops, another showing the tunnel the soldiers found, and another showing the tunnel being destroyed.

COGAT: We’re Working With Aid Organizations to Improve Distribution; 137 Aid Trucks Entered Gaza Sunday: On Monday, COGAT, the Israeli entity coordinating humanitarian aid for Gaza, published a post discussing the challenges faced by UN aid organizations in distributing aid and said that it is working with them to facilitate the movement of aid from the Kerem Shalom crossing to Gaza. COGAT noted that aid has been piling up for months on the Gazan side of the crossing, adding that it has taken “many measures” to assist with collecting the aid. In its aid update for Sunday, COGAT said that 137 aid trucks — from Egypt, Jordan, and Israel — entered Gaza yesterday through the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings. Of these, 24 went to northern Gaza. International organizations collected the contents of 32 trucks, and the contents of some 820 trucks are still awaiting collection. Six cooking gas tankers and three fuel tankers for essential infrastructure entered Gaza, as did medical supplies for hospitals in northern Gaza. The 12 bakeries open in Gaza — four in the north and eight in the south — are baking nearly 3 million pita loaves every day.

Latest FDD Analysis:

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

“Trump Begins to Build His Team,” Clifford D. May featuring Richard Goldberg, FDD’s Foreign Podicy

“Lame-duck Biden ramps up sanctions on Israelis — and eases up on terrorists,” Mark Dubowitz and Eugene Kontorovich, New York Post

“Donald Trump: Back to the Future on Iran Policy,” Behnam Ben Taleblu and Janatan Sayeh, The Algemeiner

“‘Maximum Pressure 2.0’: Washington Seeks to Restore Deterrence Against Tehran,” Janatan Sayeh, FDD Policy Brief

“Report Confirms Israel Struck Active Iranian Nuclear Weapon Site,” Andrea Stricker, FDD Policy Brief

“Israel’s expanding efforts to disrupt Hezbollah’s supply chain,” Emanuele Ottolenghi and Joe Truzman, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Two Days After Dissident’s Suicide, Iranians Mark Fifth Anniversary of 2019 Protests,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“‘Significant Figure’: IDF Targets Palestinian Islamic Jihad Commander in Gaza and Operatives in Syria,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Tehran Backs Ceasefire Talks in Lebanon as Israeli Airstrikes Pound Beirut,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Israel SitRep: November 15, 2024,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief