This evening Hamas rejects proposal for a hostage deal and accuses ‘the US administration for sowing false hopes, by talking about an imminent agreement’
On Sunday evening Hamas again rejected a proposal for a hostage deal that was presented to the organization.
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told the Al-Aqsa Channel that “Israel has set new conditions for accepting the agreement and reverted from what it had previously agreed to. Today the delegation informed the mediators of our position. We will not accept any withdrawals from what we agreed to on July 2 or any new demands.”
He added that “the US administration is sowing false hopes by talking about an agreement that is close, while this is only for election purposes.”
The Qatari news outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported this evening that an attempt was made by the mediators to reach a humanitarian ceasefire for four to seven days in Gaza.
The goal, according to the mediators, is to meet the humanitarian needs in Gaza and deliver polio vaccines and hygienic products.
In the meantime, the coordinator of government operations in the territories notified that over a million polio vaccines were delivered to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
According to coordinator, 1,255,000 vaccinations have been administered and “in the coming days, international and local medical teams will vaccinate children in various places in Gaza who have not yet been vaccinated against polio.”
Foiled massive Hezbollah attack was reportedly meant to include the launch of precision-guided missiles at the Glilot area where the Mossad headquarters and 8200 Intelligence Unit base are located.
rockets fired from Lebaon (archive)Eyal Margolin/Flash 90
The Hezbollah terrorist organization reportedly planned to launch a number of precision-guided missiles at the Glilot area where the Mossad headquarters and 8200 Intelligence Unit base are located.
The attack on the Glilot area would have occurred as part of the massive Hezbollah missile attack on Israel that was thwarted with a pre-emptive IDF strike in Lebanon early Sunday morning.
Approximately 100 IAF fighter jets, directed by IDF intelligence, struck and destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels that were located and embedded in southern Lebanon. Most of these launchers were aimed toward northern Israel and some were aimed toward central Israel. More than 40 launch areas in Lebanon were struck during the strikes.
Some 6,000 rockets, UAVs and launchers that Hezbollah had planned to fire at Israel were destroyed.
It is estimated that Hezbollah has managed to fire 300 projectiles in response thus far. The organization claimed that additional waves were to be expected.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of a political-security cabinet meeting at the Kirya this morning, “This morning we identified Hezbollah preparations to attack Israel. In consensus with the Defense Minister and the IDF Chief-of-Staff, we directed the IDF to initiate action to eliminate the threat.”
“We are determined to do everything to defend our country, to return the residents of the north securely to their homes and to continue upholding a simple rule: Whoever harms us – we will harm them,” Netanyahu said.
Hezbollah announced that it had launched an attack on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
By YONAH JEREMY BOB, MATHILDA HELLER, TOVAH LAZAROFF, REUTERSUpdated: AUGUST 25, 2024 11:32Interception of Hezbollah rocket above Safed. 25 August 2024. Courtesy of Yonatan Verstandig
The IDF and Hezbollah entered a new, much more dangerous phase of the conflict in the North early Sunday morning, with hundreds of air force jets striking thousands of Hezbollah rocket attack platforms.
With Israeli intelligence observing that Hezbollah was about to launch its largest attack of the current war, including to the Tel Aviv and central Israel areas, around 5:00 a.m., the IDF preemptively and independently struck targets where Hezbollah was on the verge of firing on Israel.
Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant approved the preventative action against Hezbollah at IDF headquarters Saturday night and were bringing together the security cabinet around 7:00 a.m.
IDF pre-emptively strike Hezbollah targets and launch sites in Lebanon as the group plans a mass aerial attack on Israel, August 25, 2024. (IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)
Netanyahu told the security cabinet, “This morning, we detected Hezbollah’s preparations to attack Israel. In consultation with the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff, we instructed the IDF to act proactively to remove the threat.”
“The IDF has since been working vigorously to thwart such threats. It destroyed thousands of rockets aimed at the north of the country, it has also thwarted many other threats and operates with great power – both in defensively and offensively,” Netanyahu said.
Israeli Apache combat helicopters fly above Jerusalem on August 25, 2024. (credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Netanyahu asked Israeli citizens to follow the Home Front commands.
“We are determined to do everything to protect our country, return the residents of the north safely to their homes, and continue to uphold a simple rule: whoever harms us – we will harm them,” he said.
Starting at around 5:30 am on Sunday, Hezbollah claimed it launched around 320 rockets at northern Israel, including at areas like Safed and Acre, and at 11 military bases, which to date have mostly been left alone by the Lebanese terror group.
The IDF implied that Hezbollah’s success and volume of attacks were lower than what it was claiming while refusing to give specifics, saying this would fall into the trap of letting Hezbollah make quick adjustments.
The military said it successfully shot down huge numbers of attempted Hezbollah attacks without giving specific numbers.
A small number of incidents on the Israeli side were under gag order.
IDF pre-emptively strike Hezbollah targets and launch sites in Lebanon as group plans mass aerial attack on Israel, August 25, 2024. (IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)
An Israeli air strike on a car in the southern Lebanese town of Khiam on Sunday left one person dead, Lebanon’s state news agency and a security source said.
Hezbollah claims
The group said its attacks came in response to Israel’s killing of the group’s top commander in a strike on a Beirut suburb last month.
“By God’s grace, the first stage has been fully completed with complete success. This stage involved targeting Israeli barracks and sites to facilitate the passage of attack drones towards their intended destination deep within the entity [Israel]. The drones passed, praise be to God, as planned,” the group wrote. “The number of Katyusha rockets fired so far has exceeded 320 rockets directed at the enemy’s positions.”
At this stage, while the IDF is prepared for any scenario, there is no new move for an IDF land invasion of southern Lebanon, something that many residents of the north and some coalition officials have called for in recent months but which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently opposed.
It is unclear how large Hezbollah’s attack would have been absent the initial attack by the IDF, and it is further unclear whether Hezbollah will continue to escalate its attacks and how far south it will fire.
Changes to Home Front Command
However, the IDF Home Front Command has already radically changed its instructions, placing limits on public gatherings, workspaces, and education activities reaching south of the Upper Galilee (which has often had restrictions) as far South as Tel Aviv.
Ben Gurion delays due to Hezbollah escalation, 25 August 2024 (credit: screenshot)
The Central and Jerusalem regions South of Tel Aviv are not yet impacted, but Ben Gurion Airport has been temporarily closed as a strict measure in case the situation escalates.
IDF Chief Spokesman Daniel Hagari warned the public of the potential deteriorating situation in an early morning press conference.
“In a self-defense act to remove these threats, the IDF is striking terror targets in Lebanon, from which Hezbollah was planning to launch their attacks on Israeli civilians.”
“Hezbollah will soon fire rockets, and possibly missiles and UAVs, towards Israeli territory. From right next to the homes of Lebanese civilians in the South of Lebanon, we can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel while endangering the Lebanese civilians.”
Israel Airports Authority announced on Sunday morning that departures from Ben Gurion Airport will be delayed for the next few hours, and flights en route to Ben Gurion Airport will be redirected to alternative airports in the region. It added that airlines were informed that the skies in Israel would be closed until at least 10:00 a.m.
Authorities later said Ben Gurion Airport was expected to resume operations at 7:00 a.m.
MDA CEO Eli Bin assessed the security situation overnight, and MDA spokesman Zachi Heller announced on Sunday morning that Magen David Adom was subsequently on high alert in all areas of the country.
Sunday marks Ziyara Shabaniya, or Arbaeen, commemorating the fortieth day of Ashura. On this day, Shiites raise the red flag symbolizing revenge, and there is concern that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah might seek to echo this Muslim symbol by launching an attack.
The IDF is aware of gatherings in several locations in Lebanon and fears that these large assemblies may be preparations for attacks against Israel. The Israeli assessment is that Hezbollah may strike if Hamas communicates a negative response to mediation proposals, signaling that negotiations are likely heading toward collapse rather than a breakthrough.
Additionally, Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Hossein Salami commented on the possible retaliation against Israel for the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, stating, “You will hear news soon.”
