Day 535 - IDF strikes Hamas leadership, preps for larger operation

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute
audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and
the Jewish world.


Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host
Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's Daily Briefing.


A 85-year-old man has been shot dead in a terror attack near the
northern town of Yokne’am. Another person, later identified as a
20-year-old soldier, was seriously injured. Fabian updates us
with initial accounts of the attack.


A string of senior Hamas officials have been targeted by the IDF
in the past week. We learn about the uptick in their
assassinations and who several of these figures are.


On Sunday morning, the IDF announced that it had restarted ground
operations in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun a day earlier. With the
former humanitarian zone no longer in use, the IDF said that it
was enabling Palestinian civilians to evacuate the “combat zone
for their safety.” We learn where the IDF is currently operating.


Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said on Friday, that he instructed
the IDF to seize additional areas of the Gaza Strip if Hamas
refused to release hostages, stating, “As long as Hamas continues
its refusal, it will lose more and more land that will be added
to Israel.” Also this week, we learned that during a visit to
Washington DC this week, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer
will discuss with senior US officials a plan for Israeli military
control over the Gaza Strip. We ask Fabian: With its current
manpower shortages, is the IDF capable of controlling the Strip?


Days after six rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern
Israel, which drew dozens of Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah
in return, the terror group has denied any involvement in
the Saturday rocket attack on Metula, and called Israel’s
accusations “pretexts for its continued attacks on Lebanon.” So,
if not Hezbollah, who could it have been?


Even as there still isn’t a governmental commission to probe the
failures leading to the October 7 massacre, the new Israel
Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Saturday
announced that he had appointed an external panel of former
senior officers to evaluate the military’s probes into Hamas’s
October 7, 2023, onslaught. What is the end game of this new
commission?


Please see today's ongoing liveblog for
more updates.


For further reading:


Elderly man killed as terrorist rams bus stop, opens fire
on cars in north


Senior Hamas official killed in targeted strike on Gaza
hospital as IDF widens offensive


IDF strike in south Gaza kills senior Hamas official;
ground ops restart in Beit Hanoun


Israel to discuss taking full military control of Gaza
with senior US officials: source


IDF strike kills Hezbollah operative in Lebanon, day
after rocket fire at Metula


New IDF chief appoints external panel to evaluate army’s
Oct. 7 probes, implement findings


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podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.


IMAGE: Armored vehicles of the 36th Division are seen at a
staging ground in southern Israel, in a handout photo issued by
the military on March 23, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)


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