The IDF said its air force just began “numerous strikes toward Hezbollah terror targets” in Lebanon’s Bekaa region
The targets are military training compounds used by Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, the military said.
EasyJet will not resume flights to Israel until March 28, 2026, the British low-cost airline said Tuesday.
This week, Aegean Airlines and Air Europe resumed operations at Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport.
The Foreign Press Association called for Israeli authorities to ramp up protection of journalists, after Israeli settlers reportedly attacked a CNN crew near the West Bank’s Sinjil on Sunday.
“Their car was heavily damaged, its rear window smashed by one of the assailants,” the statement read. On X, CNN’s Jeremy Diamond said the crew – who were covering the death of Palestinian-American Sayfollah “Saif” Musallet – had “managed to escape unharmed.”
“This is the second settler attack on foreign journalists in Sinjil this month,” wrote the press group. “On July 4, a Deutsche Welle team was chased by settlers while filming. A window of DW’s car was smashed with stones, and its bodywork dented.”
“In each of these incidents, settlers struck in broad daylight,” the statement read. “So far, we are unaware of any arrests being made.”
“We call on Israeli authorities to uphold the country’s stated commitment to freedom of the press by ensuring the safety of journalists and prosecuting, not protecting, their assailants,” the statement read.
The family of Nimrod Cohen, a soldier taken hostage on October 7, is marking his 21st birthday – the second in Hamas captivity.
His mother, Vicki Cohen, said, “Nimrod is not here with us, with the family, to celebrate his birthday, alongside his twin sister, Romi. He is in a dark and dangerous place.” She later addressed Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir: “You are Nimrod’s supreme commander. You are responsible for his fate, and you are responsible for bringing him home. Because soldiers are not abandoned in the field.”
Cohen’s family will mark his birthday at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv on Thursday and invite the public to attend.
Cohen was kidnapped on October 7 from his tank, which had malfunctioned during fighting along the Gaza border.
Syrian troops entered the predominantly Druze city of Sweida on Tuesday following two days of clashes, the first time government forces have deployed to the city since an Islamist-led government seized power over the country in December.
The deployment came after the Druze spiritual leadership, which had resisted any deployment of Syrian troops there, urged Druze fighters to lay down their arms and allow government forces in.
Here are the latest updates on day 648 of the war:
■ The police released the Palestinian journalist Nasser Laham without conditions to his home after nine days in custody.
■ An IDF probe found that on October 7, around 35 Gaza militants overpowered a force of 33 soldiers at an outpost near the border.
■ A terrorist attempting to ram Israeli soldiers in the West Bank’s Jericho on Tuesday night was fired at and arrested, the IDF said.
■ A motion to oust Arab Israeli MK Ayman Odeh from the Knesset failed to garner the necessary supermajority of 90 votes.
■ Three Israeli soldiers were killed in a tank explosion in the Gaza Strip, the army announced on Monday.
■ The IDF killed 117 Gazans and wounded 557 from Sunday to Monday, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry said.
■ The IDF conducted strikes against Syrian tanks on Monday, in what the defense minister called a “clear warning” not to harm Druze communities.
■ An ultra-Orthodox Jewish faction, Degel Hatorah, announced Monday that it will leave the Netanyahu coalition and government.
The IDF said that its air force recently intercepted a drone launched from Yemen, amid hostilities between Israel and the Houthi rebel group.
“No sirens were sounded, in accordance with protocol,” the statement read.
The police released the Palestinian journalist Nasser Laham without conditions to his home on Tuesday, after the editor-in-chief had been held for eight days in custody.
On Sunday, a military court extended by three days the remand of Laham, who works for the Lebanese television broadcaster Al Mayadeen, which is affiliated with Hezbollah.
Police alleged that Laham manages the broadcaster’s offices in the West Bank, but Laham says he ended his relationship with Al Mayadeen in November 2023. Laham, who also works as editor-in-chief of the Palestinian news agency Ma’an, is suspected of incitement, aiding a terrorist organization and identifying with a terrorist organization.
An IDF investigation found that on October 7, around 35 militants overpowered a force of 33 soldiers stationed at an outpost near the southern Gaza border, where they were tasked with defending nearby communities.
According to the investigation, all the soldiers at the Mop Darom outpost, named after a local agricultural research center, were immobilized until at least 10 A.M. The report noted that although the soldiers fought bravely, the militants achieved full operational control of the outpost.
It also determined that the early disruption of command and control at the site undermined the company’s ability to repel the attack. Four soldiers and officers were killed in the fighting: Sgt. 1st Class Shlomo Rashatnikov, 20, Capt. Shilo Rauchberger, 23, Sgt. Amichai Shimon Rubin, 23, and Staff Sgt. Dvir Haim Rossler, 21. Seventeen other soldiers were wounded.
