Tuesday morning’s counterterrorism operation
A counterterrorism unit operated in Nablus, surrounding the home of terrorist Ibrahim al-Nablusi for the purpose of arresting him. The forces called to al-Nablusi to turn himself in, but he responded by opening fire at the IDF, who returned fire and hurled grenades. The IDF also fired a number of anti-tank missiles, until al-Nablusi was finally eliminated.
(Photo: Eden Briand, IDF/Creative Commons)
The IDF have been trying to catch Ibrahim al-Nablusi for a while. He was a commander of the Al-Aqsa martyrs brigade.
He was involved in the shooting attack at Joseph’s tomb in Nablus when hundreds of Arabs broke into the tomb and vandalized the place and two Jewish men were shot.
In the aftermath of the operation, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad called for a ‘national uprising’ and Hamas blamed the PA for cooperating with Israel.
They said, “The Zionist occupation continues its crimes against the Palestinian nation, and carries out a new act of stupidity, with its aggression on the city of Shechem [Nablus].”
The terror group’s spokesperson in Judea and Samaria, Tarak Az Adin, also responded to the eliminations Israel carried out Tuesday morning in Shechem by saying,
"The aggression in Nablus requires national and military uprising from every Palestinian, and there is no room for excuses - starting from today. The enemy is spilling the blood of the Palestinian nation, and deepening its crimes in an unprecedented fashion against our people in Gaza, in the West Bank, and in Jerusalem. We are one nation. The occupation does not discriminate between this faction or that faction, and has made a target of the entire Palestinian nation. This requires that we unite our forces and respond to these crimes."
Operation Breaking Dawn is over
A ceasefire went into effect Sunday night at 11:30 and there have been no rockets fired since.
The IDF put out an infographic on Twitter with the statistics of the war:
- 1,100 rockets were launched at Israel from Gaza
- 200 misfired and landed inside of Gaza (several children were killed by these)
- Israel’s Iron Dome intercepted 380 rockets with a 96% success rate
- The IDF attacked 170 terror targets belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and destroyed a terror tunnel which had not yet crossed into Israeli territory
- Gaza border crossings with Israel were reopened
- And . . . what the media will never tell you is that this border opening will now allow 14,000 Palestinians to travel into Israel to work jobs.
What are world leaders saying about all this?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel for its two day shooting war with the PIJ in Gaza, going so far as to accuse Israel of murdering children.
"For a couple of days, while Israeli officials have attacked Palestinian civilians, we have clearly demonstrated our stance: There is no excuse for murdering babies. The Republic of Turkey stands with the people of Gaza and our Palestinian brothers and sisters."
Thankfully, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, condemned the Islamic Jihad over their rocket fire on Israel, saying:
“We are deeply saddened by reports of civilian casualties and need to swiftly and thoroughly investigate each of them. We should refrain from jumping to conclusions until we can determine the facts. As just one example, Israel was originally blamed for an attack that inflicted civilian casualties in Jabaliya refugee camp. It now appears to have been caused by a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket. So let us be sure to follow the facts and see where they lead us.”
“We fully support Israel’s right to defend its people against terrorist threats, including from rocket fire aimed at civilians or without regard to them. We also believe that Israelis and Palestinians equally deserve to live in safety and security – and we are working assiduously toward that end.”
She went on to condemn the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and praise Yair Lapid for his leadership in this time.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid addressed the nation of Israel Monday night following the ceasefire
He said, “Operation Breaking Dawn’ gave Israel back the initiative. It brought back Israeli deterrence. All of our goals were achieved. The entire military elite of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza was routed within three days. The strength and sophistication of the IDF dealt the enemy a heavy blow.”
Address from the secretary-general of Hezbollah
In an address in honor of the Muslim holiday of Ashura, Hezbollah secretary-general, Hasan Nasrallah threatened Israel and sent a message to fellow Arab nations.
He talked about the IDF’s recent operation in Gaza, addressing fellow Arab nations, specifically those with ties to Israel. He said:
"Palestine is a major issue, we do not expect compassion or justice from the Americans or the tyrants (referring to Israel), but we turn to those who call themselves Arabs: where are they when Arab blood is spilled in the West Bank, in Jerusalem, and Gaza."
