Emanuel Fabian
@manniefabian · Israeli journalists — military, security, Arab affairs
Emanuel Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent and the fastest reliable source on IDF operations in English.
The IDF publishes footage showing the demolition of Hezbollah's tunnels beneath the Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon. https://t.co/iQpbGhRpnc
The IDF says more than 1,100 tons of explosives were used to demolish the Hezbollah tunnels beneath the Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon this evening.
Footage shows the demolition of Hezbollah's tunnels beneath the Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon by the IDF tonight. https://t.co/dpFDSok54n
The Hezbollah tunnels beneath the Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon were just blown up by the IDF moments ago.
A Hamas terrorist who invaded Israel during the October 7, 2023, onslaught and was involved in the killing of then-Nahal Brigade commander Col. Jonathan Steinberg was killed in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip earlier this week, the military announces. The strike in southern Gaza's Khan Younis on Monday killed Ismail Ibrahim Darwish Qandil, a member of Hamas's elite Nukhba Force, according to the IDF. The IDF says Qandil invaded Israel on October 7 and took part in killing Steinberg near the border community of Kerem Shalom. Recently, Qandil had been advancing attacks on troops and civilians, as well as attempting to restore Hamas capabilities, "in systematic violation of the ceasefire," the military says, adding that he was killed "to remove the threat he posed."
The Israeli military says a terror operative was killed in an airstrike on a building in the northern Gaza Strip overnight, after Palestinian media said that four members of a family, including two children, were killed in the attack. According to the IDF, the building near the "Yellow Line" in the Beit Lahia area had been used in the past by terror operatives. Before carrying out the strike overnight, the IDF says that it issued a warning "to allow civilians to evacuate the structure." "Only after the warning was issued was the strike carried out, while additional measures were taken to reduce the risk of harming uninvolved [civilians], including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance," the military says. The army says that the strike killed Muaman Abd al-Rahman Ahmad, "a military operative who took a direct part in fighting against IDF troops."
Three Hamas weapon depots were destroyed in Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip yesterday, the IDF and Shin Bet announce. The military says the sites were used by Hamas to store firearms, explosive devices, anti-tank rockets, and other equipment. https://t.co/lywf7qRMuo
The Hamas terror group announces the death of a top member in an Israeli strike in Gaza City today. Farah Hamed is described by Hamas as a "commander and fighter" in the terror group's military wing, and a member of the "Military Council of the al-Qassam Brigades in the West Bank." Hamed was a member of the "Silwad cell," which operated during the Second Intifada and carried out a series of deadly shooting attacks in the West Bank. Originally from the Ramallah area, Hamed was deported to Gaza in 2011 as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal. In May 2024, the head of the cell, who was also released in the Shalit deal, was killed in Rafah. Hamed was targeted in a strike in Gaza City's Sheikh Ijlin neighborhood earlier today, according to Palestinian media. The IDF has not yet issued a statement on the strike.
Palestinian media reports an Israeli strike on a building in Gaza City's Shati camp a short while ago, following a warning issued by the military. The IDF has not yet commented on the strike. https://t.co/O6HRG09AdI
Lebanese media reports one killed in an Israeli strike on a motorcycle on a road between the towns of Harouf and Zebdin in southern Lebanon. There is no immediate comment from the IDF. https://t.co/paO308U6Y2
The Israeli military says it apprehended three Palestinian Authority police officers who illegally set up a blockade in Area C of the West Bank and detained and assaulted an off-duty reservist last month. In the incident on August 23, the armed Israeli settler was stopped by the PA officers on a road near the Palestinian town of Beitunia, and allegedly beaten by them. The PA officers took the man in their cruiser toward Ramallah, but shortly after handed him over to Israeli forces. The roadblock had been set up by the PA officers in Area C of the West Bank, which is supposed to be under full Israeli civil and security control. The IDF says the PA officers had "exceeded their authority to operate in these areas," and Israeli security authorities "described the incident as a serious overreach by the [PA] security forces, endangering the life of the Israeli civilian and using aggressive and severe force against him." The army says that three PA officers were detained this week over their involvement in the roadblock and the assault of the Israeli man, and they are now being questioned by the Shin Bet. "The IDF maintains security coordination in accordance with the directive of the political echelon. At the same time, the IDF will not tolerate any deviation from procedures," the military adds.
Three weapon depots and a rocket-launching site were destroyed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip yesterday, the IDF announces. The military says the weapon depots, belonging to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, were used to store dozens of weapons, including rockets and assault rifles. Recently, according to the IDF, Hamas operatives were identified arriving at the weapon depots and using the guns stored there for "guarding and establishing control over the Gaza Strip." In addition, the strikes yesterday also destroyed a rocket-launching pit that had been used during the war to fire projectiles at Israel, the military says. The IDF says it will continue "to operate decisively to degrade the capabilities of terror organizations in the Gaza Strip while thwarting any attempt to rebuild capabilities or possess weapons intended to harm our forces."
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir announces that the military will soon inaugurate a new "unmanned systems and artificial intelligence" branch. "The battlefield is changing at a dizzying pace, and we are changing with it. We understand that the future includes unmanned systems, robotics, drones and widespread use of artificial intelligence," he says at a Navy officers' graduation ceremony. Zamir says that last week he finalized the plans for the establishment of the new branch, which he says "will be responsible for the rapidly developing field" of unmanned systems and AI. "Maritime, land and aerial robotic capabilities will be developed. The capabilities that unmanned systems will provide will enable them to operate alongside manned combat teams or in independent missions. They will increase operational activity on the battlefield and save human lives," he says. "The Navy will also benefit from its fruits by incorporating advanced and autonomous capabilities above and below the sea," Zamir continues. Zamir says that the IDF intends to be a "global leader" in the field, and therefore, the new branch will be inaugurated by Hanukkah in early December.
In a message apparently aimed at Turkey and the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, Israeli Navy chief Vice Adm. Eyal Harel says Israel will not allow any threat to its freedom of action at sea by those seeking to "change the balance of power in the Mediterranean and Red seas." "In the new maritime arena, there is no longer any distant front," Harel says at a Navy officers' graduation ceremony. "To anyone seeking to challenge the State of Israel from the maritime and distant arena, I say from here: distance will not provide immunity to anyone seeking to harm us. The Navy was built to bring the power of the State of Israel and the IDF to anyone seeking to challenge it from thousands of miles away," he says. Harel addresses "anyone seeking to change the balance of power in the Mediterranean and Red seas," saying that "we see the actions, monitor them and prepare for them." "The Navy will not accept a reality in which the freedom of action of the State of Israel, or the strategic interests in the national maritime arena, are subject to threat. We will be there, and everywhere else, openly and covertly, to fulfill our responsibility and mission in every way," he adds.
Over 30 Palestinians were recently detained over their membership in a "significant and extensive" terror network based in the West Bank and Jerusalem area, the Shin Bet security announces. The network had been planning "attacks against Jews and security forces," the Shin Bet says in a joint statement with the military and police. Five Jerusalem residents who were members of the network were charged with "serious" security offenses, including "managing a terror organization, active membership in a terror organization, conspiracy and preparation to commit an act of terror involving murder under aggravated circumstances, weapons and property offenses for terror purposes, recruiting and attempting to recruit members to a terror organization," and other offenses. Indictments against some of the West Bank Palestinians involved in the network are expected to be filed by army prosecutors in the coming days, while the investigation of others is still ongoing. Two of the Jerusalemites, Sabih Abu Sabih and Rashid Rishk, are members of the Shabab al-Aqsa group, which is affiliated with Hamas, according to the security agency. Abu Sabih is the son of Mesbah Abu Sabih, who carried out a deadly shooting spree that killed two Israelis in Jerusalem in October 2016, and Rishk was released in January 2025 as part of a hostage deal with Hamas. The other three Jerusalemites charged in the case are named as Muhammad Abu Sabih, Muhammad Azmi Bakri and Ahmad Azmi Bakri. The Shin Bet says Rishk and Sabih Abu Sabih established the terror network, "under which they recruited military terror cells under their command throughout the West Bank," intending to carry out attacks. Security forces captured several weapons the agency says the network intended to use in the attacks. According to the Shin Bet's investigation, Ahmad Azmi Bakri and Rishk planned a terror attack at a restaurant in the central city of Modiin, where Ahmad worked. Additionally, Muhammad Azmi Bakri instructed Rishk and Muhammad Abu Sabih how to build explosive devices, after they told him of their intention to carry out attacks, including a shooting attack against Israeli security forces in the West Bank town of al-Eizariya, according to the security agency.
The Israeli Air Force targeted a terror operative in Gaza City and struck Hamas infrastructure sites in the Strip's south a short while ago, according to the military. Palestinian media reports that the strike in Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighborhood wounded several people. The strikes in southern Gaza's Khan Younis also wounded several Palestinians, according to the reports. The IDF says it will provide further details on the strikes later.
The IDF says troops shot dead a wanted Palestinian who attacked the forces during an attempt to question him in the northern West Bank overnight. Troops raided the town of Aqraba, south of Nablus, in an attempt to question Abd al-Karim Muhammad Salem Khader, who the army says is "a terrorist affiliated with a terror organization." As the troops arrived at a building where Khader was residing, he threw a Molotov cocktail and an improvised bomb at them, without causing injuries, the military says. The soldiers then surrounded the building and carried out a tactic known as "pressure cooker," which involves escalating the volume of fire against a building to flush suspects out. Palestinian media reports that the IDF fired shoulder-launched missiles at the building and used a bulldozer to demolish part of it. Eventually, the soldiers breached into the building, and troops of Nahal Brigade's Reconnaissance Unit opened fire and killed the wanted man after identifying him brandishing a knife "with which he intended to attack our forces," the IDF says. The official Palestinian WAFA news agency reports that Khader's body was seized by the Israeli forces. Also overnight, troops operated in the villages of Qabalan, Awarta, and Yatma, during which the army says they detained three Palestinians involved in terror activity and questioned some 60 other wanted suspects.
The IDF announces the killing of two more terror operatives in the Gaza Strip in recent strikes. A strike on Sunday in Gaza City's Shati camp killed Sabhi Khader al-Hashem al-Batrihi, a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad who took part in planting bombs against Israeli troops, the military says. A separate strike in Gaza last week killed Ahmad Fuad Khalil Khalas, identified by the IDF as a member of Hamas's elite Nukhba Force who also planted explosive devices against Israeli troops. The IDF says both terror operatives had "posed a threat" after they were advancing attacks "in systematic violation of the ceasefire." In the past week, at least 14 terror operatives were killed in Israeli strikes in the Strip, including five company commanders in Hamas's elite Nukhba Force and five Nukhba platoon commanders, according to the military.
The IDF says it diverted a munition mid-air while attempting to target a Hamas operative in the Gaza Strip yesterday, after identifying civilians in his surroundings. "Since it was not possible to abort the munition after it had been released, the munition was diverted from its trajectory in real time in order to prevent it from striking civilians," the military says. The IDF says it has committed to "distinguishing between terrorists and civilians and taking all possible precautions to minimize harm to them."
A Hamas commander was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City yesterday, the military announces. The strike on Sunday killed Yusuf Aqila, a company commander in Hamas's elite Nukhba Force, according to the IDF. The military says Aqila was targeted because he had been advancing attacks on troops and Israeli civilians, as well as attempting to restore Hamas capabilities "in a systematic violation of the ceasefire."
Two IDF soldiers were lightly wounded in a clash with a Hezbollah operative near Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon earlier today, the military announces. Troops of the Golani Brigade's Reconnaissance Unit were carrying out scans in the Beaufort area when a Hezbollah gunman hiding inside a building opened fire on them, according to the army. Two of the soldiers were lightly hurt and were taken to a hospital for treatment. The IDF says their families were notified. The soldiers returned fire and carried out artillery shelling toward the building, killing the Hezbollah gunman, according to the military. The IDF says it struck other Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon in response to the gunfire, including weapon depots and command centers.
For the third time in a week, Hezbollah launched two explosive drones at Israeli troops operating in the Ali Taher Ridge area of southern Lebanon overnight, the military says, prompting strikes on the terror group in response. The IDF says that no injuries and were caused in the drone attack. In response, Hezbollah infrastructure sites in several areas of southern Lebanon, including a weapons depot, were targeted in airstrikes, the military says. Additionally, the army says it struck several Hezbollah operatives who were identified moving weaponry in the town of Kfar Remen. Lebanese media reported earlier that 11 people, including two children, were killed in strikes in Kfar Remen. The military says it is looking into the reports that civilians were harmed in the strikes. Additionally, in response to a separate Hezbollah drone attack on Sunday, the military says it struck and killed several members of the terror group in Nabatieh.
The Palestinian terrorist who stabbed an Israeli man in the West Bank earlier and fled was shot dead by Israeli troops a short while ago, the military says. The IDF says troops located the terrorist in a nearby village next to his vehicle. After the Palestinian tried to stab the soldiers, a company commander of the 411th Artillery Battalion shot him dead, the army adds.
The IDF says it has launched a manhunt for the Palestinian who stabbed an Israeli settler at a farming outpost in the West Bank a short while ago. The Israeli man was stabbed multiple times at the Maoz Yehuda settlement farm, and is listed in moderate-to-serious condition, the Magen David Adom ambulance service says. The military says the "terrorist armed with a knife" who attacked the Israeli man near the Palestinian village of Usarin fled the scene. "Numerous IDF troops" were dispatched to the area to search for the attacker, the army says, adding that it has imposed closures on nearby Palestinian towns.
An Israeli man was severely wounded in a suspected stabbing attack at a West Bank farming outpost a short while ago, the military and medics say. The Rescuers Without Borders emergency service says a Palestinian arrived in a vehicle to the Maoz Yehuda settlement farm, near the village of Usarin, and stabbed a settler before fleeing. He is being treated in serious condition by medics, the service says. The IDF says troops were dispatched to the Usarin area following the reported stabbing, and further details are under review.
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- IDF Accelerates Demolition of Hezbollah Tunnels at Ali Taher Ridge
- IDF Identifies Nukhba Terrorist Killed Monday in Col. Steinberg Attack
- IDF and Shin Bet Destroy Three Gaza Weapons Depots and Rocket Launch Pit
- IDF Arrests Three PA Police Officers Over Beitunia Area C Assault
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