January 27, 2025 | Israel at War Situation Report

Israel SitRep: January 27, 2025

January 27, 2025 Israel at War Situation Report

Israel SitRep: January 27, 2025

Today’s Issue: | Three Hostages to Be Released on Thursday, Three on Saturday; Gazans Allowed to Return to North | Analysis: Resumption of Fighting Will Be Almost Impossible After Gazans Return to the North | Two IDF Soldiers Arrested for Spying for Iran; One Sent Handler Video of Iron Dome | Two Terrorists Killed in Joint IDF-Shin Bet Drone Strike in Tulkarem | Latest FDD Analysis

Three Hostages to Be Released on Thursday, Three on Saturday; Gazans Allowed to Return to North: The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced overnight that Hamas has agreed to an additional hostage release phase, which will take place on Thursday. In this phase, Hamas will free hostages Arbel Yehud, a civilian, Agam Berger, a soldier, and another hostage, who is not named. In addition, three hostages will be released on Saturday. Hamas has now provided Israel with a list indicating how many of the hostages scheduled for release in the first phase are alive and how many are dead. The announcement added that starting Monday morning, Gazans will be allowed to return to the northern part of the strip. Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF was to allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza beginning on Saturday, and by Sunday, the military was to withdraw from part of the Netzarim corridor, which separates northern and southern Gaza. However, after Hamas failed to release Arbel Yehud last weekend, as it was supposed to, Israel said it would not allow Gazans to go to northern Gaza until her release is arranged. On Monday morning, after Hamas agreed to release her, the IDF withdrew from the Netzarim corridor, and tens of thousands of Gazans are now heading northward.

Analysis: Resumption of Fighting Will Be Almost Impossible After Gazans Return to the North: Doron Kadosh, military correspondent for Israel’s army radio, analyzed the situation surrounding Israel’s withdrawal from the Netzarim corridor, which took place Monday morning, and the current return of Gazans to the northern part of the strip, which most residents left early in the war. He notes that while the ceasefire agreement prohibits armed men and weapons from moving to northern Gaza, there are no inspections taking place on the coastal route where Gazans are walking, making it easy for Hamas to smuggle weapons and ammunition with them, and adds that if the IDF spotted an armed man among the crowds making their way northward, it would be impossible to strike him without endangering dozens of people around him. Kadosh states that it will be nearly impossible for Israel to resume fighting after phase I of the deal because of how densely populated areas like Gaza City will be. The population of northern Gaza, where some 200,000 people remained during the war, will soon be more than 1.5 million.

Two IDF Soldiers Arrested for Spying for Iran; One Sent Handler Video of Iron Dome: The Israel Police announced on Monday that two IDF reservists were arrested for spying for Iran. Yuri Eliasfov, the main suspect, served in the IDF’s Iron Dome unit, while his friend Georgy Andreyev served in the IDF’s headquarters in the Kirya in Tel Aviv. Eliasfov is suspected of passing to his Iranian handler classified material he obtained during his military service, including a video he filmed of the Iron Dome. He is also suspected of spray-painting graffiti reading “Children of Ruhollah” in Tel Aviv, a reference to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The two suspects exchanged articles about Iranian espionage in the past year and Andreyev, who became frightened about getting caught, stopped his espionage activities. Eliasfov was paid $2,500 and Andreyev received $50 from the Iranians. Both have confessed to the accusations.

Two Terrorists Killed in Joint IDF-Shin Bet Drone Strike in Tulkarem: The IDF on Monday announced that in a joint operation today by the military and the Shin Bet in Tulkarem in the West Bank, a drone strike eliminated Ihab Abu Atiwi, who served as head of a Hamas terror cell in the city, along with another terrorist. According to the IDF, Atiwi was involved in a large number of shooting attacks, including one on July 16, 2024, at the Ramin junction, which wounded three Israelis. The IDF states that the operation to eliminate him is the “direct continuation of intensive counterterrorism activity by the Shin Bet and IDF against terrorist infrastructures in the northern Samaria region.”

Latest FDD Analysis:

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

“Trump’s National Security To-do List,” Clifford D. May, RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, and Bradley Bowman, FDD’s Foreign Podicy

“Just how useful are the ‘useful idiots’?” Ben Cohen, Jewish News Syndicate

“Israeli forces eliminate two wanted West Bank gunmen,” Joe Truzman, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Islamic State calls for jihad in Sudan,” Caleb Weiss, FDD’s Long War Journal

“‘Not Written in Stone’: Israel Set to Extend Lebanon Truce Deadline,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“‘2,000 Weekly Seats’: Delta and Several International Airlines to Resume Flights to Israel,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Ships in China Loaded With Missile Fuel Ingredients Prepare to Set Sail for Iran,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“‘Redeem Them From Death’: Israel Recovers Four Female Soldiers Held in Gaza for 477 Days,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Israel SitRep: January 24, 2025,” FDD Experts, FDD Israel at War Situation Report

Issues:

Issues:

Israel Israel at War

Topics:

Topics:

Iran Israel Hamas Palestinians China Gaza Strip Israel Defense Forces Gaza City West Bank Clifford May Jonathan Schanzer Sudan Iranian peoples Tel Aviv Ruhollah Khomeini Shin Bet Iron Dome Tulkarm Rear admiral National security Israel Police Samaria North Delta Air Lines