20 years after withdrawal, Israel, Hezbollah brace for war
In a region rife with adversaries, Israel considers Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite terrorist group, to be its toughest and most immediate threat.
Defense & Security
Pandemic slows, but not stops, Hamas' terrorism industry
Hamas headquarters in the Gaza Strip is working around the clock to try and recruit operatives in the West Bank while for the time being, health authorities have succeeded in preventing an outbreak in the crowded coastal enclave.
Defending Israel's skies in an era of global pandemics
Air-defense battery commander says his team’s motivation and acceptance of the need to stay on base for weeks to avoid spreading infection. “The spirit of the personnel is incredible," he states.
Israel to discuss with US cuts in Sinai peacekeepers
US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper wants to pull out some American troops from the Multinational Force and Observers mission the US heads in the Egyptian peninsula. Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz: The international force in Sinai is important, and the US participation in it is important.
Israel demands major changes in UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon
"We are not calling to shut down the mission tomorrow morning but we want them to become more efficient," Israeli ambassador to the UN says of United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. UNIFIL includes more than 9,400 ground troops and over 850 naval personnel in a Maritime Task Force. Its budget from July 2018-June 2019 was $474 million.
Israel accuses Hezbollah of 'provocative' activity
Foreign Minister Israel Katz accused the Iranian-backed terrorist group of multiple attempts to breach the border in three areas, says Israel will lodge a complaint with the UN Security Council.
Security forces arrest Israeli suspected of spying for Iran
The suspect was arrested in mid-March after it was ascertained that he had several meetings overseas with Iranian intelligence officers and had received funds, training, and secret encryption tools to continue contacting them "in an encrypted manner even after his return to Israel."
'Terror tunnels under northern border pose major threat'
Maj. Gen. Mickey Edelstein, who heads the military's counter-tunnel warfare development efforts, warns that some of the tactics already developed for underground warfare will soon become obsolete.
Netanyahu promises covert actions against enemies
Amid weekend rocket attack and tensions in the northern sector, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says, “We will continue to act in all fronts for the security of Israel, both through open means and also through secret means, at sea, in the air and on the ground." Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz: A military operation in Gaza could be forced upon the Israeli government.
Teams who exposed Hezbollah tunnels awarded Israel Defense Prize
The defense establishment’s highest honor to recognize the intelligence, technological and operational effort that discovered and neutralized a grid of terror tunnels burrowing under the Israel-Lebanon border. Mossad team that brought Iranian nuclear archive to Israel also honored.