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The IDF launched an investigation into the incident in which four Palestinian children were killed on a Gaza beach Wednesday afternoon. "The inquiry into the event by the IDF is ongoing at this time. Initial findings show that terror activists were in the area that was attacked and that it served as a launching point for terror activities." The IDF statement said that "it is a tragic event if innocent civilians were hurt in the incident." The military stressed that "it is important to remember the cynical use of Gaza Strip residents by Hamas who hold them as hostages has...

Israel resumed its heavy bombardment of Gaza on Tuesday and warned that Hamas would "pay the price" after the Islamic militant group rejected an Egyptian truce plan and instead unleashed more rocket barrages at the Jewish state. Late Tuesday, the military urged tens of thousands of residents of northern and eastern Gaza to leave their homes by Wednesday morning, presumable a prelude to air strikes there. Rocket fire from Gaza killed an Israeli man Tuesday, the first Israeli fatality in eight days of fighting....

Of course it's a shame for civilians, alas they've become all but indistinguishable from actual Hamas members after mass brainwashing of the territory's youth, who are considered military assets... And it's those same ordinary Gazans that democratically elected martially-obsessed Islamists (w/ charter sworn to destroy Israel) to be their leaders in the first place- so you could say they have it coming...  Yeah, that's a bit harsh, and actually some in Gaza are also blaming Hamas for recent escalations, asking why they brought this retaliation/pending invasion upon them, and what exactly did they expect to gain from starting a battle they can't win...

The UN's special refugee agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, reported Sunday that about 4,000 residents of northern Gaza have fled their homes after the IDF told them to do so, starting last night. In addition, about 850 Palestinians with foreign nationalities are leaving Gaza through the Erez checkpoint. Three hundred of these had already done so by the early afternoon. Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets on border areas in northern Gaza, calling on the citizens to evacuate their homes before noon Sunday as it prepared to bomb the area. The IDF warned that those who do not obey their instructions will be...

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit has uploaded a video which shows how the IDF calls off Gaza airstrikes upon realizing that there are innocent civilians in the area. In this video, showing a planned airstrike from Thursday, the airstrike was cancelled when the pilot realized that children were near his target. During the current escalation, Hamas has openly boasted about the "success" of its strategy of using civilians as human shields, and the IDF has published extensive evidence of the practice. Hamas has been encouraging as many noncombatants as possible to "protect" its positions with their bodies.

Sunny with light missile cover in Tel Aviv this morning. I awoke to muffled thuds in the distance, Iron Dome shooting down Syrian-made missiles launched from Gaza, according to news reports. I attended the obligatory morning mixer for hotel guests at the bomb shelter, which fortunately lasted only five minutes before the all-clear sounded. I’ll write something more comprehensive on this soon — Tablet is scheduled to run my essay next Monday — but the thumbnail version is that Hamas is making a demonstration out of weakness.

Hamas has instructed Gaza residents to ignore text messages and phone calls urging them to evacuate buildings, in an apparent effort to grow its supply of "human shields." The calls and messages are sent by Israeli military officials in order to give civilians time to evacuate the area, and are communicated before the IDF targets a house terrorists were using as cover for firing missiles at Israel or for other military purposes. The Hamas-run Palestinian Authority Interior Ministry said in a message to Gaza residents that the messages "are designed to weaken our resolve and to sow panic and fear...

IDF units intercepted a Hamas commando unit that sought to infiltrate Israel from the sea at Zikim Beach, just north of the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. Soldiers killed several terrorists, and pursued at least one more, security sources said, stressing that they were speaking as the incident continued to unfold. A senior security official said an IDF detachment was dispatched to Zikim Beach after the military detected suspicious movements in the area. The unit engaged the terrorists, and shot and killed five of them. One soldier was lightly wounded in the exchange of fire.

Tuesday on CNN's "The Situation Room," host Wolf Blitzer asked Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, the Israeli Defense Forces spokesman if Hamas stopped their aggressions if further military action could be avoided.

Israel came under a heavy barrage of rocket fire on Tuesday night, with code red sirens sounding off in central Israel, the Jerusalem area and as far North as Binyamina. More than 40 rockets were fired into Israel in the biggest ever salvo of long-range fire from Gaza. The Iron Dome rocket defense system intercepted a number of rockets and no significant injuries have been reported in the attacks. Meanwhile, 5 Hamas gunman attempted to infiltrate Israel at Zikim beach, near Gaza where they exchanged fire with IDF forces. All five terrorists were killed...

The family of Tariq Abu Khdeir, the 15-year-old Tampa boy whose brutal beating at the hands of Israeli police has made global headlines, was relieved to learn Sunday that he was released from jail. Tariq was sentenced to nine days of home detention while police investigate his involvement in violent protests that started after his cousin, Mohammed Abu Khdeir, 16, was abducted and burned alive last week in Jerusalem. Tariq’s aunt, Sanah Abu Khdeir, of Tampa, said Sunday she hopes that the boy and his parents will be home by July 16. Tariq is an American citizen of Palestinian descent....

According to reports, sites in Khan Younes, Rafah and Beit lahia were hit Air force hits Hamas, Islamic Jihad structures; 4 reported wounded; 2 rockets explode in Israel causing damage, hours after discovery of kidnapped teens’ bodies. The Israeli Air Force struck 34 targets in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, carrying out “precision strikes” against Hamas and Islamic Jihad structures, the IDF said in a statement early Tuesday

The IDF launched extensive airstrikes in Gaza on Monday night, hitting more than 30 targets in the Hamas-controlled region. The IDF said in a statement that 34 terrorist targets throughout the region were targeted in the strikes. The statement noted that the airstrikes were in retaliation for rocket fire on southern Israel. “The IDF will continue to act decisively and as necessary against any party, until peace and the normal lives of the residents of the State of Israel are restored,” said the statement, which placed the responsibility for the rocket fire on Hamas and its different branches. Earlier Monday...

The Israel Air Force struck seven terror sites in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night in response to a volley of rockets fired at southern Israel earlier in the evening. The IDF targeted five underground rocket launchers in the northern Gaza Strip, one terror activity site in central Gaza and a weapons manufacturing site in south Gaza, according to the IDF Spokesman's Office. "The Hamas terror organization and its offshoots are responsible for what happens in its jurisdiction," the Spokesman's Office said. Palestinian terrorists fired several rockets from the Gaza Strip toward southern Israel on Tuesday evening. The Iron Dome...

A new book by an IDF reserve colonel that studied women's role in combat units says that the women shouldn't be there. "The study found that a particularly high percentage of women who served in combat roles suffered physical harm during their service and will suffer for the rest of their lives from ruptured discs, stress fractures in the pelvis, uterine prolapse and more,” Sagi told Maariv/NRG. While men also suffer injuries during their military service, he said, studies prove that the female rate of injury is much higher and that the seriousness of the average injury is greater,...

Faced by threats from Iran and her proxies, the Israelis can't even count on the standard logic of deterrence, which is built upon the assumption of self-preservation. That might work if your enemy is North Korea -who's elite are enjoying life/perks- but Israel's enemies are mostly genocidal kooks who can't wait to die for the cause, from Tehran all the way down to the ground in southern Lebanon/Gaza... But what they can do is ensure they possess the capability to smash any foolishness from Hezbollah and/or Hamas promptly, since these groups lack the infrastructure for any sort of mass attack on...

Home » News & Views » Israel » IDF » TED Publishes Anti-Israel Lies in Interview With Arab Photographer On the TED blog, Mohammed was allowed to caption her own pictures. In those captions and during brief sections of the interview, Mohammed provided wildly inaccurate accounts of the activities, ethical standards, and operating procedures of the Israel Defense Forces. By: Lori Lowenthal Marcus Published: May 23rd, 2014 You are currently on page: 1 2 All Pages print The TED Universe. The TED Universe. Photo Credit: Facebook Who doesn’t love TED? For those who don’t know, TED is the phenomenally popular...

Palestinian Arab activists and radical leftists have uploaded an edited video that claims to show security camera footage of the IDF shooting two Arab youths, in an incident that took place last Thursday, on “Nakba Day.” The youths hurled rocks at IDF soldiers at the Bitunia checkpoint, not far from Beit El. The footage appears to show them dropping to the ground as they walked away from the IDF position. The IDF said that the video is heavily edited in order to give a false picture of what really took place. “On Thursday, a violent and illegal disturbance took place...

Almost two years after a Haifa court ruled that Israel was not negligent in the 2003 death of American activist Rachel Corrie during a protest against IDF operations in the Gaza Strip, the Supreme Court heard her family’s appeal of the verdict Wednesday afternoon. Speaking before the hearing in Jerusalem, Craig Corrie, the activist’s father, said the lower court’s ruling had given the army “immunity and impunity.” “I think that’s very dangerous,” he said. “I hope the Israeli high court will change the findings, but if they don’t, I hope the world and the world press will bring it into...

The IDF has ruled that the army has no reason to prevent a soldier preaching Christianity if he is meeting with soldiers in an informal and routine social activity.