Mannie's War Room

Israeli troops razed a two-kilometer tunnel in the IDF-held portion of the Gaza Strip recently, the military says.

The IDF says it comes amid efforts to clear the areas of the Strip under Israeli control of Hamas infrastructure.

Two Hamas operatives, including one involved in smuggling funds to the terror group, were killed in separate Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip yesterday, the military announces.

One strike in central Gaza's Deir al-Balah killed Jabr Moqbel, identified by the IDF as a Hamas member and head of the "Moqbel" money exchange network, "which transferred millions of shekels in foreign currency to Hamas."

"These funds are used by Hamas to finance terrorists, restore military infrastructure, and advance attacks against IDF troops," the army says.

Another strike on Thursday in southern Gaza's Khan Younis killed Hasan al-Batta, identified by the IDF as a Hamas sniper operative.

Both operatives were involved in advancing attacks and restoring Hamas capabilities "in systematic violation of the ceasefire," the military says, adding that they were killed "to remove the threat."

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has ordered the establishment of a panel of experts to investigate the deadly "safety incident" in the Gaza Strip yesterday, in which two reservists were killed by a crashed military drone.

The team will be headed by a brigadier general from the Ground Forces, and it will "examine the circumstances of the incident in order to prevent similar incidents from recurring in the future," the army says.

Two IDF reservists were killed yesterday after a small explosive drone they were operating in the Gaza Strip crashed for an unknown reason and exploded shortly after, the military announces.

The troops are named as Master Sgt. (res.) Nadav Kali, 24, from Har Halutz, and Master Sgt. (res.) Ofek Moalem, 23, from Jerusalem.

Both served in the Jerusalem Brigade's 7007th Battalion.

According to a preliminary investigation by the military, the two soldiers on Thursday afternoon had been operating first-person view (FPV) drones known as "Atalef" -- Hebrew for bat -- from an army post inside the military's Gaza buffer zone in the Strip's north.

A first drone carried out its intended mission, while a second, during its takeoff, crashed inside the army post for an as-yet-unknown reason. The soldiers approached the crashed drone several minutes later, picked it up, and it then exploded, fatally wounding them, according to the initial probe.

The pair were taken to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, where their deaths were declared.

Amid the investigation into the cause of the crash and explosion, the military has temporarily grounded all small drones capable of carrying explosive payloads -- both suicide drones and those that drop their explosives on a target.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says the military continues to monitor Iran and its proxies, at a ceremony marking the arrival of the Israeli Navy's sixth submarine, INS "Drakon."

"Even these days, our eyes remain open to what is happening in Iran and among its proxies. The Iranian regime is wounded and battered but has failed to change its intentions," says Zamir at the ceremony.

Zamir says that with the arrival of INS Drakon, "the Navy reaches an improved maritime posture and new heights in its capabilities and operational strength: More covert, farther-reaching, deeper, and more lethal."

Defense Minister Israel Katz says the arrival of the Israeli Navy's sixth submarine, INS "Drakon," this evening, is a message to Iran.

After around 12 years of planning, construction, and testing, INS Drakon made a 3,792-nautical-mile (around 8,000 km) voyage of 23 days from Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems' shipyard in Kiel, Germany, to the Haifa Naval Base.

“The submarine’s arrival is an important message to all those who seek to threaten us, foremost among them the murderous Ayatollah regime in Tehran," says Katz at a ceremony for the arrival of INS Drakon.

He says Israel "will continue to build capabilities to thwart threats, while our enemies clearly understand a fundamental principle: Distance does not grant immunity, not in the air, not on land, and not at sea."

"The Navy has been a full partner in all the achievements across the various combat arenas, as well as in other arenas that cannot be discussed," Katz says, adding that "one thing is clear to us all: the Navy’s role is growing, and in the future, it will grow significantly more.”

The Israeli military says troops detained several Israeli civilians who attempted to cross into the Gaza Strip earlier today.

Their motive is not immediately clear.

According to the IDF, the civilians crossed a security barrier, and entered a buffer zone inside Israeli territory on the border.

Troops dispatched to the scene detained the Israelis and brought them back through the fence.

The IDF’s Gaza border fence is built several dozen meters inside Israeli territory, and the military says the Israelis never entered the Strip itself.

"The IDF is focused on its defensive mission in the Gaza Strip and emphasizes that the area adjacent to the barrier is designated as a closed military zone, and entry into it is strictly prohibited. Arriving at this area endangers the safety of civilians and IDF troops operating in the area," the military says.

The Israeli government's public mapping site, govmap, has partially re-blurred the sections of the northern Gaza Strip that were uncensored recently.

The imagery in northern Gaza on govmap.gov.il, revealing military sites, still appears to be the same high-resolution aerial footage as before. However, upon zooming in, a blur is now applied to the imagery.

A representative of govmap told The Times of Israel yesterday that all of the site's imagery is published "in accordance with relevant guidelines and approvals," however, following our inquiry, the site will "examine it with the authorized authorities."

A Hamas commander who held seven Israeli hostages in captivity during the war was killed in a strike in Gaza City over the weekend, the military announces.

The strike killed Mahmoud Abd al-Fattah Awad, who the military says held hostages Daniella Gilboa, Karina Ariev, Doron Steinbrecher, Naama Levy, Ziv Berman, Omri Miran, and Eitan Mor in a tunnel in Gaza City.

Recently, the Hamas commander planned and advanced attacks on troops and Israeli civilians, and acted to restore Hamas capabilities, "in systematic violation of the ceasefire," the military says.

Separately, the army also confirms killing Hamas's chief financial officer in southern Gaza yesterday.

Muhammad Abu Alwan, who served as head of the terror group's finance department, directed the transfer of over a billion dollars to Hamas during the war, according to the IDF and Shin Bet, "making him a key figure in maintaining the terrorist organization’s rule and survival."

Abu Alwan had also been involved in restore Hamas infrastructure, in violation of the truce, the military says.

The reservist soldier seriously wounded in the car-ramming attack at a checkpoint in the West Bank earlier is Neria Leiter, the son of Israeli ambassador to the US, Yehiel Leiter.

Another of Leiter's sons, Moshe, was killed during fighting against Hamas in northern Gaza in November 2023.

In a rare step, the headquarters of the military's 98th Division will take responsibility for some sections of the West Bank amid heightened security tensions in the area following several recent terror attacks.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered the 98th Division's headquarters to command over the Judea and Etzion regional brigades, tasked with the southern portion of the West Bank, following a fresh assessment, the military says.

The two regional brigades are normally under the responsibility of the Judea and Samaria Division. The move means that the headquarters of the 98th Division will take responsibility for the two brigades to alleviate pressure from the Judea and Samaria Division. The 98th Division is not deploying its organic units in the West Bank as part of the move.

"Activating the division headquarters in the area is part of strengthening command and control, in order to enhance defensive and offensive capabilities" in the West Bank, the army says, adding that it comes against the backdrop of recent terror attacks and an effort to "enhance security during this tense period."

Police say the victim of the car-ramming attack at a checkpoint in the West Bank a short while ago is an IDF soldier.

The assailant accelerated toward a police cruiser stationed at a checkpoint on Route 433, running over a soldier who was operating alongside a cop, the police say.

IDF troops stationed in the area returned fire, killing the driver.

The soldier in his 30s was taken to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem in serious condition, medical officials say.

The Israeli Navy plans to multiply its naval fleet in the coming years to contend with a maritime arms race in the region and new threats at sea.

Tomorrow, the Israeli Navy is set to recieve its sixth submarine, INS “Drakon” — or Dragon — following a 3,792-nautical mile (around 8,000 km) voyage of nearly a month from Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems’ shipyard in Kiel, Germany, and after around 12 years of planning, construction, and testing.

Navy officials say that the delivery of the INS Drakon was delayed by several months because Denmark and Norway prevented German contractor TKMS from conducting tests of the submarine in their deep waters. Instead, TKMS had to take INS Drakon further out into the North Sea, in international waters, to conduct the tests during its construction.

The Navy will hold a ceremony at the Haifa Naval Base tomorrow to receive the Dolphin 2-class submarine, coming in at 74 meters long and weighing a whopping 2,600 tons — the largest and heaviest submarine yet in Israel’s service.

The installation of Israeli systems inside the new submarine is expected to take two to three months, and only months later will it be declared operational.

The arrival of the INS Drakon comes as the Navy is seeking to massively increase its fleet in the coming years, after detecting that other countries bordering the Mediterranean — both allies and nations with strained ties — have significantly larger navies than Israel.

In addition, the military has understood that it must have a stronger Navy to contend with new threats at sea, following developments in the past few years, and especially in recent months, in the straits of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, where Iran and the Iran-backed Houthis have prevented freedom of movement in the Gulf and Red Sea, harming major shipping routes.

Navy officials say they fear the same harm to freedom of navigation and shipping could occur elsewhere, including in the Mediterranean.

To contend with those threats, in the next three to four years, the Navy is set to receive the first of five Reshef-class corvettes. These are due to replace the two oldest models of Israel’s Sa’ar 4.5-class missile boats, set to be retired after four decades. In practice, this means that the Navy is increasing the number of small missile boats in its fleet.

An Israeli man in his 30s is seriously injured in a car-ramming attack at the Maccabim Junction in the West Bank a short while ago, the military and medics say.

The IDF says troops operating at the scene shot dead the assailant who carried out the ramming.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says its medics are treating an unconscious man in his 30s in serious condition after he was hit by a car at the checkpoint on Route 443.

Israeli combat engineers located a tunnel in the central Gaza Strip today, the military says.

The 600-meter-long passage runs from the Israeli side of the "Yellow Line" into the Hamas-held part of the Strip, according to the IDF.