Hezbollah Launches Missiles At Central Israel
Sirens sounded at 1:15 on Friday morning (10th) in Tel Aviv and its surrounding cities after the Hezbollah terrorist organization launched at least two missiles from Lebanon. One missile was intercepted, and a second fell in an open area. No injuries were reported.
Earlier on Thursday evening (9th) , sirens sounded in Haifa, the Bay area, the Upper Galilee, and along the Israel-Lebanon border due to four launches from Lebanon. One missile was reportedly intercepted, and the others apparently fell in open areas.
MDA said that no reports of injuries were received following the launches.The incident occurred after a day of escalation, during which over 50 rockets were launched towards northern communities.
Earlier on Thursday evening (9th), the IDF warned that in accordance with the situational assessment, and following the launches from Lebanese territory since this morning, additional areas across the State of Israel could come under fire.
The IDF emphasized that, at this stage, the public should remain vigilant, alert, and act responsibly, while continuing the Home Front Command’s instructions.
The IDF added that should there be any changes in the situational assessment, the public would be updated accordingly. The military noted that it is prepared to operate both defensively and offensively.
Earlier on Thursday (9th), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he instructed the cabinet to hold direct negotiations with the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah and reach a peace agreement.
That being said, the prime minister stressed that “there is no ceasefire in Lebanon. We continue to strike Hezbollah with force, and we will not stop until we restore our security.”
According to him, the goals of the negotiations are clear: “the disarmament of Hezbollah “and a sustainable historic peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon.”
Before the announcement of the negotiations, Netanyahu praised the recent strikes in Lebanon, emphasizing: “Our message is clear. We will strike anyone who acts against Israeli civilians – they will be targeted. We will continue to strike Hezbollah wherever necessary until full security is restored for residents of the north.”
Netanyahu Announces Direct Negotiations With Lebanon
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday (9th) that he has instructed the cabinet to open direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible.
According to the Prime Minister, the decision follows repeated requests from Lebanon for direct talks.
Netanyahu noted that the negotiations would focus on disarming Hezbollah and on establishing peace relations between the two countries. He further stated that Israel appreciates the Lebanese Prime Minister’s call to demilitarize Beirut.
The direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon will be led, on behalf of Israel, by Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, the US side will be led by the Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, and lebanon will be represented by its Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh-Moawad, who is a close affiliate with President Joseph Aoun.
Israeli officials clarified that the negotiations will be conducted under fire, and that IDF forces would continue to operate in Lebanon.
Later in the day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed residents of the north, saying: “There is no ceasefire in Lebanon. We continue to strike Hezbollah with force, and we will not stop until we restore your security.”
According to him, the goals of the negotiations are clear: “the disarmament of Hezbollah,” and “a suitable historic peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon.”
The announcement came minutes after NBC news cited an American official who said that President Trump asked Netanyahu to reduce strikes on Lebanon.
According to the report, the request is intended to ensure the success of the ongoing negotiations with Iran.
The American official added that despite formal statements claiming Lebanon is not part of the agreement with Iran, Israel agreed to be a “helpful partner.”
At the same time, the Iranian IRGC news agency Fars quoted a source as saying that the issue of Lebanon and a ceasefire there is a prerequisite for any new negotiation process on the part of Iran.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that “the only solution to the current situation in Lebanon is achieving a ceasefire with Israel. The proposal for a ceasefire with Israel and the start of direct negotiations with it has begun to receive positive feedback.”
Gaza Ceasefire On The Brink As Hamas’ Disarmament Deadline Expired Thursday
Israel is bracing for a return to full-scale fighting in the Gaza Strip as the deadline given to Hamas to comply with the US demand to disarm expired Thursday (9th). Nickolay Mladenov, head of the Board of Peace, was set to meet with Hamas representatives on Thursday (9th) and receive their formal response on the demand – a condition tied directly to the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Based on statements from senior Hamas officials in recent days, the organization’s opposition to the move appears firm, as expected. It should be noted that the Gaza ceasefire agreement is contingent on Hamas’ disarmament. In Israel preparations are underway to resume combat operations should Hamas maintain its refusal following the deadline.
Earlier this week The New York Times reported that Hamas had been given a final deadline to submit its position. To date, Hamas has rejected demands to hand its weapons over to Gaza’s National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG).
On Wednesday (8th), IDF forces eliminated a Hamas terrorist who had operated under cover as an Al Jazeera journalist. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said, “IDF forces under Southern Command attacked and eliminated Muhammad Samir Muhammad Wshah, a senior operative in Hamas’ rocket and weapons production headquarters, who had planned terrorist attack routes against IDF forces operating in the central Gaza Strip.
Wshah, had used his position as an Al Jazeera journalist as cover, exploiting the role to advance terrorist operations against IDF forces and the State of Israel. Throughout the war, Wshah took part in the production of drones, rockets, and combat equipment, and was involved in transferring weaponry within the Gaza Strip.
Also Thursday (9th), the IDF and the Shin Bet announced that, under Southern Command, IDF forces eliminated, on Sunday, (5th) Abd al-Rahman Amar Hasan Khoodari, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) operative who had worked to advance a terrorist attack in northern Gaza. Khodari had also taken part in the raid on Kibbutz Nir Oz during the murderous massacre on October 7.
Israel Quietly Greenlights 34 New Communities In Judea And Samaria
Israel’s security cabinet quietly approved the establishment of 34 new communities in Judea and Samaria in what Hebrew reports describe as the largest single approval of its kind ever passed in one cabinet.
The decision, reported first by i24NEWS and echoed by Srugim, would bring the total number of approved communities to 103 from 69, with some of the new sites reportedly slated for remote areas in northern Samaria that even the army reaches infrequently.
According to the report, IDF Chief of Staff LTG. Eyal Zamir, who was present at the meeting did not flatly oppose the move but warned about manpower limits and urged a phased rollout rather than opening so many sites at once.
Two of the communities named in the report, Nova and Emek Dotan are said to be planned inside Palestinian enclaves between Areas A and B, with Emek Dotan intended to link Sa-Nur, Homesh and Shavei Shomron.
The most consequential detail may be buried in the classified annex: infrastructure for electricity and water would reportedly be allowed to move forward even before the land-regulation process is completed, a precedent-setting step that could accelerate facts on the ground well before the usual legal and planning stages are finished.
The report said the decision was kept under light classification in part to avoid US pressure during the Iran campaign,
Defense Minister Israel Katz and Minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich did not comment on the report.
Iran’s Flagrant Assault On The Rules Of War – John Yoo
Iran’s response to the war launched by the U.S. and Israel provides a reason beyond pure American self-interest to end the rule of the ayatollahs. Tehran broadened the conflict by attacking civilians in neighboring countries uninvolved in the war. A regime that launches systematic warfare against civilians violates the core rules of civilized warfare. The U.S. and Israel would do the world enormous good by ending a regime that flouts our common moral norms in such a flagrant and destructive manner.
Iran has launched missiles and drones at Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Jordan – nations that had committed no aggression against Iran and posed no threat of attack against Iran. It also attacked neutral vessels in the Persian Gulf and prevented them from passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. and Israel have sought to conduct the war with the highest regard for minimizing civilian casualties. Compared to this, Iran has struck major civilian targets in neighboring countries, including residential buildings, airports, utilities and ports. Iran hit the Aramco complex at Ras Tanura in Saudi Arabia, the Ras Laffan LNG facility in Qatar, oil and gas facilities in the UAE, and a water desalination plant inBahrain, none of which are American military assets.
It fired missiles at the Old City of Jerusalem, landing fragments 1,200 meters from the Temple Mount and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. It struck residential areas in Dimona and Arad, wounding over a hundred civilians, including children. It has fired more than 350 ballistic missiles at Israel, half carrying cluster munitions designed to scatter explosive bomblets in civilian neighborhoods.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important shipping lanes and a waterway governed by the international law of the sea, which guarantees free passage to all neutral nations. Tehran’s disruption of the Strait is pure economic blackmail against the rest of the world. Iran effectively attacks the rest of the world by targeting purely civilian ships.
The rules of war are not complicated. Militaries may strike military targets. Militaries may not deliberately target civilians or threaten the commerce of neutral nations. Iran has crossed those lines repeatedly. Tehran’s flouting of all the rules of morality in war explains why the U.S. and Israel were right to confront the Islamic Republic now, rather than wait for its threat to gain in strength in the future, potentially wielding nuclear weapons.
The writer is a senior research fellow at the Civitas Institute, and a visiting professor at the University of Texas at Austin. (Civitas Outlook)
What Was Achieved In The War Against Iran? – Amnon Lord
I suggest that anyone swept up in the euphoria of claims that Israel’s war in Iran was a failure should look at the information and analysis coming from American sources. It is hard to believe that such a large-scale operation, in which, according to the Israel Air Force, target destruction rates were 10 to 20 times greater than in the 12-day war in June 2025, is being portrayed by talking heads as a failure.
By any measure, this was the most successful military operation since the IDF and the Israel Air Force began conducting such operations. Israel and the United States achieved the objective of destroying every production cycle, every component,and every plant and laboratory connected to Iran’s nuclear project.
Security needs mean neutralizing the nuclear threat and reducing missile-launch capabilities. The Iranians could have raced ahead and built a missile wall that would deter Israel and the U.S. from taking military action against them, as North Korea did in its time. That parallel missile and nuclear race was cut short. This is an enormous success.
Trump and Netanyahu acted against the trend that had prevailed in the U.S. and Israel over the past 35 years. They chose military action, and they succeeded. The precedent set by this dual alliance, combined with demonstrated military superiority, carries enormous significance.
