IDF takes over Hezbollah tunnel with all kinds of prizes

The discovery of yet another vast Hezbollah tunnel complex in southern Lebanon serves as a reminder of a reality that many in the international community prefer to ignore. While diplomats speak endlessly of ceasefires, resolutions, and understandings, Hezbollah has spent years doing something rather more concrete: preparing for war. 

[Source: The Jerusalem Post.]

On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces announced that soldiers from the 91st Division's 551st Brigade had seized a massive Hezbollah tunnel in Majdal Zoun, roughly 10 kilometers inside southern Lebanon. The underground facility stretched some 200 meters in length and descended 25 meters below the surface. Most significantly, it contained four rocket-launching shafts that had been repeatedly used to target Israeli communities.

The tunnel's design highlights the sophistication of Hezbollah's military infrastructure. The launch shafts were reportedly difficult, if not impossible, to eliminate through airstrikes alone. By taking direct control of the site, Israeli forces were able to neutralize a threat that had been carefully concealed beneath the ground and beyond the reach of conventional aerial operations.

During the operation, the IDF said it killed 20 Hezbollah terrorists, including 10 members of the elite Radwan Force. Israeli troops also seized or destroyed approximately 50 pieces of terrorist infrastructure and weaponry, including drones, anti-tank missiles, munitions stockpiles, and observation posts.

Footage released by the military revealed a striking arsenal hidden beneath Lebanese soil, including large rockets capable of striking deep into Israeli territory. Additional video from the Yahalom special unit of the Combat Engineering Corps showed a labyrinthine complex consisting of 12 separate rooms and operational sections, underscoring the scale of Hezbollah's preparations.

It is difficult to reconcile such discoveries with the persistent fiction that Hezbollah is merely a political movement. No political party requires a subterranean military network complete with rocket-launching facilities, anti-tank weaponry, and specialized assault units. These are the tools of an organization preparing for conflict on a significant scale.

Meanwhile, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir visited troops in southern Lebanon and offered a blunt assessment of the current situation.

“The ceasefire that was announced is shaky, and we need to be ready with the highest preparedness to renew our military actions, and to thwart the threats, including quickly transitioning to go on the attack if required.”

“All of the IDF’s resources are dedicated to this,” he added.

Zamir's remarks reflect a lesson Israel learned at immense cost on October 7. The belief that hostile forces can be deterred indefinitely while they continue to arm themselves, entrench themselves, and prepare for war has proven disastrously false.

According to Zamir, Israeli forces have succeeded in placing Hezbollah on the defensive not only around Majdal Zoun but also in strategically significant areas such as Ali Taher Ridge and Beaufort Castle, where additional tunnel networks and terrorist infrastructure have been targeted.

He also praised the soldiers of the 401st Armored Brigade, which has suffered the loss of several senior commanders in recent months, for maintaining operational readiness across multiple fronts.

The broader significance of the operation extends beyond the destruction of a single tunnel. Every such discovery exposes the enormous discrepancy between Hezbollah's public posture and its actual conduct. While international actors repeatedly urge restraint upon Israel, Hezbollah continues to invest extraordinary resources into military fortifications, offensive capabilities, and preparations for future conflict.

The question is not why Israel continues to dismantle such infrastructure. The more pressing question is why the existence of these elaborate networks continues to surprise anyone.

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IDF on High Alert: Remains of Long-Lost Hostage Hadar Goldin Possibly Heading Home After 11 Years in Hamas Hell

Look, if there's one thing that's defined the grim calculus of Israel's endless tango with Hamas, it's the terrorists' macabre habit of hoarding the dead like bargaining chips in some twisted game of poker. But tonight, after more than a decade of stonewalling and heartbreak, there's a flicker of hope piercing the fog of Gaza's latest excavations. 

The IDF is gearing up to receive the remains of a deceased hostage, fingers crossed, it could be those of Hadar Goldin, the brave 23-year-old lieutenant snuffed out in 2014 during Operation Protective Edge, his body unceremoniously carted off to Hamas's underground trophy case.

Hamas, ever the reliable source of propaganda and torture, crowed to Al Jazeera on Saturday that they'd finally "recovered" Goldin's remains from a dig in Rafah. Yeah, like they searched high and low to find a person they captured and killed as a bargaining chip.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir didn't waste a moment, traveling to the Goldin family home as soon as the reports hit, per KAN. Smart move; in a story this raw, you lead with empathy before the facts start flying.

"The chief of staff reiterated his personal and the IDF's commitment to bringing back Hadar and all the fallen hostages and emphasized the importance of restraint at these sensitive moments, until his arrival and the completion of the necessary checks and verification," the military said. [Hold the cheers, folks, Hamas lies like it's an Olympic sport.]

The IDF's Southern Command, chatting with Walla, laid it out plain: Hamas's backhoe brigade in southern Gaza unearthed seven bodies from the site, and Goldin's might be in the mix. But they're not buying it wholesale. The report can't be verified, and "the source of all the publications is Hamas alone." In other words, treat this like you'd treat a promise from the ayatollahs: Skepticism is your best friend until the DNA says otherwise.

Through it all, the Goldin family, those quiet warriors who've kept the flame alive for 11 excruciating years, clung to cautious optimism. "An entire country is waiting for Hadar to be returned to us," the family said in a statement. "The chief of staff arrived at the end of Shabbat to update us on the tremendous efforts to free the hostages, and we salute everyone involved in this national mission. We are waiting for news of official confirmation that Hadar has returned to Israel. We ask that you remain calm. Until it’s confirmed, it’s not over."

Hadar Goldin is displayed during a protest at Hostage Square, November 8, 2025. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)

God, if that doesn't hit you right in the gut. Late last month, whispers from a source confirmed what many suspected: Hamas knew damn well where Goldin was buried but played the stall game, dragging out the agony like it was just another leverage point in their endless war of attrition.

Flash back to August 1, 2014, in the sweltering hell of Rafah. 

Goldin, part of an elite engineering unit, was knee-deep in dismantling one of those infernal terror tunnels when two Hamas goons popped out like jack-in-the-box demons and snatched him. At first, the horror was that he might still be breathing in captivity. Days later, the IDF's gut-wrenching verdict: He was killed in the chaos, his body the prize they dragged back anyway. Sick scumcrumpets.

The Military Rabbinate, sifting through the shards of certainty in an uncertain war, green-lit a funeral anyway, partial remains laid to rest in a ceremony that drew thousands, a nation mourning a son it couldn't fully bury. It's the kind of half-measure that sticks in your craw, a reminder that Hamas doesn't just fight dirty; they fight eternal and extremely dirty.

If these turns out to be Goldin's, it'll be a long-overdue gut punch to the terrorists' strategy of using the dead to bleed Israel dry. But until the lab lights confirm it, we're all just holding our collective breath. One more round in this marathon of memory and resolve. 

Stay tuned, and pray it's him.

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Six terrorists killed in Nassar Hospital, according to IDF

The grim calculus of war has once again cast its shadow over Gaza, where the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have confirmed that six of the roughly twenty Palestinians killed in a tank shelling of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis were Hamassholes. 

The revelation, announced on Tuesday, does little to quell the storm of questions surrounding the IDF's decision to unleash such blunt force on a medical facility, a decision that numerous IDF officials have already condemned as a grave misstep, favoring the sledgehammer of tank fire over the scalpel of precision operations.The IDF's Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, did not offer this disclosure as a vindication of the military’s actions. Far from it. This was merely the second drip of information in an ongoing probe into why tank shells were greenlit for an operation in a hospital and who, in the chain of command, gave the fateful order. 

Curiously, the IDF's statement drew a line between potential errors by field commanders and those at the Southern Command Headquarters in Beersheba, as if to suggest the fault might be shared across the echelons of power.

Zamir's admission that the target was a video surveillance camera, not the six terrorists, only deepens the unease. Reports indicate that Golani soldiers observed "suspicious movements," yet the order to fire was issued without certainty about the presence, number, or identity of Hamas operatives. "The site of an Israeli airstrike at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, August 25, 2025," as captured by Abed Rahim Khatib, stands as a haunting testament to the chaos that ensued. 

The IDF has yet to fully disclose which of the six were terrorists, though leaks suggest one was involved in the October 7 invasion, carrying a flag, not a weapon, and certainly not responsible for the 1,200 murders that day. Of the remaining casualties, it's a fair bet that all of the adults among them are fierce anti-Zionists/anti-Semites.

The IDF admitted early Monday afternoon that the attack, or at least its execution, was a mistake. The incident, which claimed the lives of journalists, including a Reuters contractor, cameraman Hussam al-Masri, and wounded others like photographer Hatem Khaled, swiftly ballooned into a global media firestorm. The Gaza health officials named three other journalists killed: Mariam Abu Dagga, who freelanced for the Associated Press and other outlets; Mohammed Salama, with Al Jazeera; and Moaz Abu Taha. A rescue worker also perished. 

"The hospital was reportedly operating at full capacity, treating more than 1,000 patients at the time of the strikes," Nasser Hospital Director Atef al-Hout told Al-Arabiya TV, noting that over fifty were wounded, most of whom cheered loudly on October 7, 2023.

The IDF's Tuesday message was clear: "The military said it did not intend to harm journalists or innocent Palestinian civilians." Yet the fact of a second round of shelling, which struck medical and media personnel rushing to aid victims of the first strike, complicates this narrative. This second barrage, condemned even more fiercely in global coverage, remains unexplained. IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin insisted on Monday night that the military strives to avoid civilian casualties, even when pursuing Hamas terrorists hiding in hospitals. Yet Defrin offered no specifics about the Hamas assets allegedly targeted, fueling speculation of internal IDF discord over the operation’s justification and execution.

Under Maj.-Gen. Yaniv Asor, who assumed command of IDF operations in Gaza in March, the military's record on civilian casualties has drawn scrutiny. Sources in the Israel Air Force have periodically criticized Asor for being less meticulous than his predecessor, Maj.-Gen. Yaron Finkelman, in minimizing civilian harm. The IDF's civilian-to-terrorist casualty ratio, once a point of grim pride at 60% civilians to 40% terrorists, has deteriorated sharply. Over the past six months, the IDF claims to have killed over 2,000 Hamas terrorists, while the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reports 11,000 Gazan deaths. The IDF has long accused Hamas of inflating or fabricating civilian casualty figures, yet it has conspicuously declined to provide its own estimates, a departure from past conflicts.

This episode at Nasser Hospital is not merely a tactical blunder; it is a microcosm of the moral and strategic tightrope Israel walks in its war against Hamas. The use of hospitals as shields by terrorists is a tactic as old as it is reprehensible, yet the response cannot be indiscriminate. The IDF’s own officers, in their private condemnations, know this. The world, watching through the lens of dead journalists and shattered hospital wards, will not soon forget it.

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Bibi Netanyahu gives the go-ahead to a military offensive

Let us be absolutely clear about the grim necessity unfolding in Gaza, where the clash of civilizations plays out in brutal clarity. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given the nod to a military offensive on Gaza City, a decision that carries the weight of existential stakes. 

The Israel Defense Forces, under the steely gaze of Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, are poised to strike, having toured the Strip on Thursday with Southern Command’s Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor and other senior officers. This is no mere maneuver; it is a prelude to a campaign aimed at crushing Hamas's grip on the city while, in a delicate parallel, pursuing talks to free 50 hostages still languishing in the hands of Palestinian terrorists. Of those hostages, President Trump had recently predicted that he believes around 20 or less are still alive.

Netanyahu, with the precision of a man who knows the world's eyes are on him, declared, "We are at the stage of decision. I came today to the [IDF] Gaza Division to approve the plans presented to me and the defense minister by the IDF to take control of Gaza City and to defeat Hamas." Yet, in a nod to the moral complexity of this conflict, he added, "At the same time, I directed that immediate negotiations begin for the release of all our hostages and to end the war under conditions acceptable to Israel. These two things: defeating Hamas and releasing all our hostages go hand in hand." This is not the language of a leader threading the needle between vengeance and humanity.

Across the Atlantic, the Trump administration has thrown its weight behind a ceasefire proposal, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirming on Tuesday that Hamas has, at least on paper, accepted it. But President Trump himself, never one for diplomatic niceties, laid bare the stakes on Truth Social: "The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be." He insists that the hostages' return hinges on Hamas being "confronted and destroyed." 

U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, with a candor that cuts through the fog of diplomacy, noted, "Three weeks ago, that proposal was on the table, and they slow-played us, Hamas. And the president put out his Truth statement saying that he wasn't going to tolerate it anymore, and guess what happened? There's been a major break." 

The proposal, as reported by Arab media, includes an Israeli pullout from parts of Gaza, the release of 10 of the 20 living hostages, and the freeing of over 200 Palestinian terrorists during a 60-day ceasefire. A grim barter, but one that reflects the brutal arithmetic of this war.

Defense Minister Israel Katz, with a rhetoric that could make the devil flinch, warned on Friday, "Soon the gates of hell will open on the heads of Hamas's murderers and rapists in Gaza, until they agree to Israel's conditions for ending the war, chief among them the release of all hostages and their disarmament." He added, with chilling resolve, "If they don't agree, Gaza, the capital of Hamas, will become Rafah and Beit Hanoun. Just as I promised, so it will be." 

This is the language of a nation that has endured the barbarity of October 7, 2023, and will tolerate no more.

Zamir, surveying the battlefield, said: “We are advancing with the efforts toward operations in Gaza City. We already have troops operating on the outskirts of the city, and more forces will join them later on." His mission is twofold and non-negotiable: "Our missions remain the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas; we will not rest and we will not stop until we complete them. Achieving these missions is vital for our future and for our values as a society." 

The Lt. General noted that Hamas, once a formidable terrorist machine, has been reduced to a guerrilla force since the October 7 massacre. Yet, like a wounded beast, it remains dangerous, and Israel will hunt it relentlessly, "for as long and wherever necessary."

The human cost of this operation looms large. Some 800,000 to 1 million residents of Gaza City will be evacuated south to Al-Mawasi near Rafah, a humanitarian corridor carved out amidst the chaos. The IDF's Gaza District Coordination and Liaison Unit has begun warning medical officials and aid organizations, ensuring hospital infrastructure in the south is ready to receive the sick and wounded. Two additional field hospitals and four more Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution centers are planned, with U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee stating the goal is to scale up to 16 such sites. 

This is not compassion for its own sake but a recognition that the world watches, and Israel must balance its sword with a shield of humanity.

The IDF's dominance is undeniable. Over 75% of the Gaza Strip is under Israeli control, with 2,000 terrorists killed since ground operations resumed five months ago. Since March 18, 10,000 terrorist targets have been struck, and strategic corridors, Morag and Magen Oz, have sliced through Hamas's strongholds. 

Five IDF divisions, supported by air and naval forces, have dismantled tunnels, neutralized cells, and eliminated senior commanders complicit in the October 7 barbaric atrocities. To sustain this offensive, Katz has authorized the mobilization of 60,000 reservists and extended service for 20,000 more, freeing active-duty troops for what may be a decisive assault on one of Hamas’s last bastions, potentially as early as September.

This is a war of necessity, not choice. Zamir, addressing the Kfir Infantry Brigade and other units, underscored the gravity: "Our struggle is still long, and many challenges lie ahead. All of Israel is looking at you and relying on you. We have no alternative but victory." 

For Israel, this is not merely a fight for territory but for survival, for the right to exist without the shadow of terror. The world may wring its hands, but Israel's resolve is unshakable, and the gates of hell, as Katz promised, are creaking open.

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Israel considers new Gaza offensive as hostage talks weaken

According to a report from Walla cited by The Jerusalem Post, the Israeli military is mulling over what could be the largest civilian displacement in Gaza since the war kicked off. That’s no small potatoes, and it’s got big implications for both the battlefield and the diplomatic chessboard. 

The Post’s Amir Bohbot lays it out: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to huddle with Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir today, Sunday, to hash out what’s next in Gaza, including “potential steps to embark on a wider military operation differing from previous offenses.”

What’s driving this? 

The IDF’s got a ticking clock on hostage negotiations. If those talks don’t break through soon, the military’s gearing up for a broader operation. But here’s where it gets messy: inside the IDF, there’s a split. Some brass want to double down and keep pounding Hamas, while others argue the main goals are already in the bag: Hamas’s military infrastructure is toast, senior commanders (minus Gaza City Brigade Commander Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who’s still on the Shin Bet’s hit list) are gone, tunnels and weapons systems are wrecked, and Israel’s grabbed over half of Gaza’s territory. Oh, and they’ve choked off major smuggling routes from Sinai and the Mediterranean. Not exactly a bad day’s work.

But the hawks in the room aren’t quite ready to pop the champagne. They’re pushing for a full-scale ground maneuver, which would mean a massive civilian evacuation. 

Military sources told Walla that plans are in the works to move Gazans out of key areas, and here’s the kicker: with Hamas at its weakest since seizing Gaza in 2007, “a mass evacuation could turn public sentiment in Gaza against the group’s leadership.” That’s a bold play, but it’s not without risks. 

Urban warfare in Gaza’s tunnel-riddled, fortified neighborhoods would be a meat grinder, with “significant IDF casualties” expected, military officials said. And this wouldn’t be a small operation, with five fully manned divisions and a fresh wave of reserve call-ups under Tzav 8. 

The IDF’s calculus is shaped by recent history, too. A senior defense official, reflecting on Israel’s 12-day clash with Iran, put it bluntly: “The operation in Iran taught Hamas that one must also know when to end fighting.” Hamas, battered and bruised, is reportedly shifting from bullets to backroom diplomacy. But with Israel green-lighting 22 new West Bank settlements amid this Gaza fight and global chatter about a Palestinian state, the pressure’s on. 

Is this the moment to go all-in, or is it time to declare victory and pivot? Netanyahu’s got a tough call ahead, and the world’s watching.

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IDF prepares to deliver "decisive blow" against Hamas

In the hallowed halls of the President's Residence, where the weight of history presses upon every word, Lt. General Eyal Zamir, IDF Chief of Staff, stood before the nation’s finest at the Outstanding Soldiers Ceremony and delivered a message as unyielding as the stone of Jerusalem itself. His words, steeped in the clarity of purpose that defines Israel’s ceaseless struggle, carried the timbre of a man who knows the cost of freedom and the price of hesitation. 

The IDF, he declared, is poised to strike Hamas with a “decisive blow,” ready to escalate the tempo and ferocity of operations in Gaza should the need arise. No equivocation, no retreat—just the stark promise of a military that does not flinch.

Zamir’s speech was not merely a call to arms but a meditation on the soul of a nation, to use Sleepy Joe Biden's cliché. 

“The Hamas terrorists still hold fifty-nine of our brothers and sisters,” Zamir said, his voice a blade cutting through the fog of complacency. “But they, too, know their safety is not forever.” These are not the words of a man posturing for effect; they are the cold, hard truth of a commander who understands that sovereignty is not a birthright but a prize wrested from the jaws of history. “Our sovereignty and independence were not given to us as a gift,” he reminded us. “They were bought with blood and struggle, and they require us to defend them at all costs.” In an age where too many nations sleepwalk through their liberties, Israel stands awake, vigilant, its eyes fixed on the horizon.

The ceremony itself, a tribute to the IDF’s outstanding soldiers, was no mere parade of medals. Zamir redefined excellence with a precision that shames the shallow metrics of our time. “Excellence is not measured by who is the most talented or the most brilliant,” he said. “It is granted to the one who perseveres. It is a quiet, daily choice to act with responsibility, commitment, and integrity—even when no one is watching.” 

Here is a truth so elemental it ought to be carved into the bedrock of every society: greatness is not a gift of genius but the fruit of resolve, the stubborn refusal to yield to despair or distraction.

This year’s ceremony, Zamir noted, bore a “special significance,” unfolding against the backdrop of “a long and complex war, in multiple arenas, against numerous threats, which is still ongoing.” To honor soldiers in such times is to acknowledge not just their courage but their necessity. Israel’s enemies do not pause for reflection; neither can its defenders. 

Yet Zamir went further, weaving a thread of collective duty through his words. “For the State of Israel, this idea is essential to its existence and resilience, and no one is exempt—not individuals, not groups, and not tribes. We all enlist, we all fight together, and we all sacrifice together—for the sake of the state and for a better future. Because one shared destiny placed us here, in this land.” 

This is not the language of division but of unity, a rebuke to those who would fracture the nation’s resolve with petty tribalism.

Then came the stories of the awardees, each a testament to the indomitable spirit that courses through Israel’s veins. Avigdor, from a haredi family, who defied social pressures to serve; Dorian, a lone immigrant who conquered language barriers to excel in the Intelligence Directorate; Oria, a survivor of Hamas’s October 7 savagery, who returned to service with a strength that humbles us all; Lea, whose grandfather was murdered in Gaza, yet who rose from grief to shine; and Daria, sister to a hostage, whose fight for her sibling’s freedom did not dim her own brilliance. 

These are not just names but beacons, proof that even in the darkest hours, the human spirit can burn bright.

Zamir’s closing words were a defiant hymn to the enduring hope of Israel. “We, too, together with you, are adding a new verse to the long and glorious song of the life of the people of Israel,” he said. “From this place, in the heart of Jerusalem, our eternal capital, we send a clear message: The Israeli hope is alive and beating, and our actions will speak.” 

And with a final nod to the nation’s resilience, he wished all a “Happy and safe Independence Day.” In those words, we hear not just a promise but a vow: Israel will endure, not because it must, but because it will.

This is the truth Zamir spoke, and it is a truth worth fighting for.

Am Yisrael Chai!

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