Hezbollah drone strike on army base kills 4 Israeli soldiers, wounds dozens more

Israel/Middle East Morning Brief

Hezbollah drone strike on army base kills 4 IDF soldiers, wounds dozens more

Sgts. Omri Tamari, Yosef Hieb, Yoav Agmon, Alon Amitay were all 19 years old and were trainees in the IDF’s Golani infantry brigade. The army is investigating how the drone was able to penetrate the country’s air defenses and strike the base seemingly undetected.

Watch: IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon find massive weapons cache a few hundred meters from UNIFIL watchtower

The Israeli military released video footage of a tunnel shaft in southern Lebanon, which was a store for a huge cache of Hezbollah weapons, dug only a few hundred meters from a UNIFIL outpost.

@UNIFIL_ it’s indeed a joke.A very expensive one. Half a billion dollars annualy, 143 USD coming from the US.
Don’t u wanna find out,through a historic audit,how the hell UN is fooling the entire world to finance…NOTHING ?!
“UNIFIL was established in 1978 to end war, restore… pic.twitter.com/EHixCXz4O1

— miha schwartzenberg (@mihaschw) October 13, 2024

Saudi Arabia criticizes Israel’s expropriation of UNRWA’s Jerusalem HQ, plan to turn land into apartment complex

Riyadh condemns “in the strongest possible terms” Israel’s decision to expel UNRWA from its Jerusalem headquarters and repurpose the land for much-needed apartments.

Rumors IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi assassinated circulated on X

At the same time Israel was attempting to deal with the fallout from the Hezbollah drone attack on a northern army base, which left 4 young soldiers dead and dozens wounded, rumors began circulating on X that the IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi was killed in the strike.

Netanyahu calls on U.N. peacekeepers to withdraw from southern Lebanon combat zones

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hezbollah of using UNIFIL soldiers – who are supposed to have stopped the terrorist group rearming – as human shields as they battle IDF troops attempting to clear them out of the border area.

U.S. Defense Secretary Austin calls for Israel to end Lebanese operations

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin upped the pressure on Israel to ‘pivot from military operations in Lebanon to a diplomatic pathway,’ particularly in the shadow of wounded U.N. peacekeepers.

Hamas preventing Gazan civilians leaving Jabaliya following IDF calls to evacuate

The IDF’s 162nd Division is currently conducting operations against Hamas targets in the Jabaliya, after the terrorist group attempted to reorganize there. There are reports ordinary Gazans have been prevented from leaving the area after Hamas operatives beat them with sticks, following IDF calls to evacuate.

Iranian ballistic missile attack caused at least $40 million worth of damage to Israel

Despite reports Iran’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack did little-to-no-damage to Israel, it is now estimated the 181 projectiles – many of which were intercepted – actually caused between $40 and $53 million. It is not thought the damage to air force bases in Israel’s north were included in this estimate.