Channel 14 News Israel

Category: Israel

  • IDF Kills Hamas Finance Chief in Khan Younis Strike

    IDF Kills Hamas Finance Chief in Khan Younis Strike

    A direct strike on the economic lifeline of terrorism: The IDF and Shin Bet eliminated Muhammad Abu Alwan, the head of Hamas terror organization’s finance department, in Khan Yunis today (Wednesday). Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a joint statement confirming the details of the operation, commending the security forces, and clarifying that the campaign against Hamas targets not only field commanders but also the financial power centers that enable the organization’s survival.

    The official joint statement issued by Netanyahu and Katz read: “The IDF recently eliminated Muhammad Abu Alwan, the head of the Hamas terrorist organization’s finance department, in Khan Yunis. We commend the IDF and the Shin Bet for this precise operation and for their vigorous action to thwart our enemies.”

    Hamas terrorists | Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib, Flash90

    The two emphasized that the operation is part of a systematic plan to dismantle the organization’s support networks: “We continue to pursue Hamas commanders and operatives, strike its funding sources, and destroy its terror infrastructure.” “We will not allow Hamas to rebuild its strength, and we will not stop until Hamas no longer exists in Gaza.”

    The elimination of Abu Alwan illustrates the security establishment’s deepening impact on Hamas’s governance and support mechanisms—extending beyond its direct military wing. The terrorist organization’s finance division serves as a critical artery for paying operative salaries, rehabilitating tunnels, procuring and smuggling weaponry, and distributing civilian resources to maintain control on the ground. Eliminating the head of this apparatus in Khan Yunis is intended to disrupt Hamas’s ability to manage remaining resources in the Strip and to prevent any attempts at regrouping for “the day after.”

    Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip | Photo: Shutterstock

    Abu Alwan’s elimination follows a series of targeted operations against senior Hamas figures in the Khan Yunis area. On September 11, the IDF and the Shin Bet announced the killing of Muhammad Yazouri, commander of the Khan Yunis Brigade within Hamas’s military wing. That same strike also killed Hudayfa Ma’amar, a company commander, and Muhammad Bahjat Rachi, another operative in the brigade.

    Hamas subsequently confirmed Yazouri’s death, stating that he was a member of the military wing’s General Military Council. Prior to his appointment as brigade commander, he had served—among other roles—as commander of the Central Khan Yunis Battalion, head of the brigade’s intelligence staff, and deputy brigade commander. According to the organization, he also participated in the October 7 attack. A few days later, Rafat Abu Zamar—a company commander in the military wing’s operations headquarters—was eliminated in Khan Yunis. According to the IDF, Abu Zamar was involved in training terrorists for the October 7 attack and subsequently continued to engage in training and the development of Hamas’s combat capabilities.

    Photo: Shutterstock

    Earlier, in late August, the IDF and the Shin Bet eliminated Hazem Musa and Razek Sahil Suleiman Abu Shahma in the Khan Yunis area. According to the IDF, both men participated in the raid on the Re’im base on October 7; Abu Shahma had even previously served as a bodyguard for Yahya Sinwar. The IDF stated that in the period leading up to their elimination, the two had been engaged in advancing terror plots and attempting to rehabilitate the organization’s capabilities.

    This activity is not limited to the Khan Yunis Brigade. On September 15, Nayel Abu Obeid—commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade, who had been appointed to the role following the elimination of his predecessor, Muhammad Shabana—was killed. Previously, Abu Obeid had served as the brigade’s deputy commander and as commander of the Tel al-Sultan and Yibna battalions. According to the IDF and the Shin Bet, he was responsible for the brigade’s terrorist operations and had attempted to rebuild its force structure following the damage it sustained during the war.

  • Liberman: Bring Jordan Back into Judea and Samaria

    Liberman: Bring Jordan Back into Judea and Samaria

    In an interview to Basheva today, veteran Israeli politician MK Avigdor Lieberman called for a controversial proposal alongside an attack on Prime Minister Netanyahu. “The only one who declared willingness to establish a ‘Palestinian’ state, in the Bar-Ilan speech, is Benjamin Netanyahu,” Lieberman said.

    He laid out his position: “I’ve said it several times and I’ll say it again: The Palestinian Authority is a terrorist organization, and the division between it and Hamas is clear. Hamas specializes in armed terror, and the Palestinian Authority in diplomatic terror. Therefore, the State of Israel must create territorial continuity between all Area C territories and maintain absolute control there. At the same time, we must find an alternative to administrative and security control in Areas A and B.”

    Lieberman drew a hard line on direct Israeli governance. “I strongly oppose Israel managing the lives of Palestinians in Shechem [Nablus], Jenin, or Tulkarm.” His solution: bring in Jordan. “Therefore, to prevent a vacuum that Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorists will enter, we need to reach an agreement with Jordan on their management of Areas A and B—an Israeli-Jordanian confederation.”

    He closed with a blistering attack on Netanyahu’s record: “Someone who supported the expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif, who released Yahya Sinwar and 1,026 other terrorists, and who initiated the transfer of Qatari money into the Gaza Strip has no right to preach morality to anyone.”

    Netanyahu slammed Liberman, writing, “Liberman, I knew you were on the left ever since you formed a government with Mansour Abbas. I know you’re on the left because you’ll form a government with Eisenkot, Yair Golan, Bennett, and the Arab parties. But I didn’t believe you would propose today that the Jordanian army control the territories of the Land of Israel. Retract this immediately!”

  • Israel Slams Macron Over Claim Hamas Absent in Judea

    Israel Slams Macron Over Claim Hamas Absent in Judea

    The Prime Minister’s Office issued an exceptionally sharp response on Tuesday evening to statements made by French President Emmanuel Macron, placing the murder of Netanel Shakron—a father of six who held French citizenship and was murdered in a Binyamin shooting on Yom Kippur Eve—at the center of its diplomatic rebuttal. The PMO denounced Macron’s characterization of Judea and Samaria, declaring: “Ignorance is no excuse for erasing their blood.”

    President of France, Emmanuel Macron | Photo: Shutterstock

    In an official statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office: “The grotesque absurdity in Emmanuel Macron’s statement is astounding. On Sunday, Yom Kippur Eve, just two days ago, Netanel Shakron—a French citizen and father of six—was murdered in his car by a Hamas terrorist in Judea and Samaria. With his dying breath, he told his son to run. Hamas terrorists carry out attacks against Jews almost daily. They have murdered countless Israeli citizens in Judea and Samaria. Ignorance is no excuse for erasing their blood.”

    The rebuke followed Macron’s speech before the United Nations General Assembly, in which the French president asserted that Hamas does not operate across Judea and Samaria, arguing that there is no justification to link the terror organization to the wider ‘Palestinian’ population in the area.

    The funeral of Nati Shakron | Photo: Hillel Ben Or, Flash90

    Macron addressed the conflict by attempting to draw a strict boundary between Hamas’s military infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and affairs within ‘Palestinian’ Authority territory. The comments triggered immediate indignation in Jerusalem, which cited a steady succession of attacks executed by Hamas operatives across the sector—culminating in Shakron’s murder—as incontrovertible evidence of the group’s active presence in the territory.

    Correspondent Eliya Aviv reported that concurrent with Macron’s UN address, Hamas published an operational incitement video calling on Arabs in Judea and Samaria to execute further attacks against Jewish targets. The propaganda video featured an AI-generated rendering explicitly modeled after Sunday’s Yom Kippur Eve shooting in which Shakron was murdered.

    נתנאל שקרון הי"ד
    Netanel Shakron R.I.P.

    The diplomatic clash unfolds against long-standing strains between Jerusalem and Paris regarding French Middle East policy. Earlier this month, France joined Britain and Canada in issuing joint diplomatic statements criticizing Israeli policies, while insisting on their nominal commitment to Israel’s overall security.

    Netanel Shakron, a 48-year-old resident of Alei Zahav, arrived Sunday afternoon with his eldest teenage son at the Ein Raya spring near Neveh Tzuf for traditional pre-holiday immersion. A terrorist arrived and opened fire at close range, mortally wounding Shakron, who later succumbed to his injuries at Beilinson Hospital.

    The scene of the attack | Photo: Hillel Ben Or, Flash90

    Security findings revealed the shooter to be a 37-year-old Hamas operative from the Birzeit area who conducted reconnaissance at the spring 24 hours prior. After an IDF tracker engaged and wounded the fleeing assailant, elite Duvdevan operators and the Shin Bet arrested him inside a Ramallah medical facility. While Hamas stopped short of an official claim of responsibility, the organization publicly celebrated the deadly shooting and urged an expansion of armed terror across Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem.

  • Macron Falsely Says Hamas ‘Never Active’ in Judea, Samaria

    Macron Falsely Says Hamas ‘Never Active’ in Judea, Samaria

    World leaders from across the globe addressed the United Nations today (Tuesday), with some focusing much of their remarks on criticism of Israel. One of them was French President Emmanuel Macron, who spread serious falsehoods against Israel and in defense of Hamas from the UN stage.

    The French president condemned the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria: “Look at what is happening in Judea and Samaria. Why is this happening? Hamas has never been active in Judea and Samaria!” Macron added: “What we need is respect for the legitimate right of the ‘Palestinian’ people, the legitimate right to exist. This is a prerequisite for security today and tomorrow for the people of Israel.”

    Macron made the remarks just two days after the Hamas terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the deadly terrorist attack in Neve Tzuf. As previously reported, Netanel Shakron, may his memory be a blessing, was murdered in the attack after protecting his children when an Arab arrived at a spring near the community armed with a long-barreled weapon and opened fire.

    Screenshot from the Hamas video

    Beyond the timing of Shakron’s murder, C14 reporter Eliya Aviv reported that, as Macron delivered his speech at the UN, Hamas released another video calling on Arabs in Judea and Samaria to go out and carry out terrorist attacks against Jews in the area. The latest video featured what appeared to be an AI-generated simulation resembling the terrorist attack carried out on the eve of Yom Kippur, in which, as noted, Netanel Shakron was murdered.

    Bezalel Smotrich | Photo: Jonathan Zindel, Flash 90

    Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded to Macron’s remarks: “President Macron is lying. This week, on Sunday, a vile terrorist from the Hamas terrorist organization murdered Netanel Shakron, may his memory be a blessing, who was bathing with his sons at a spring ahead of Yom Kippur. This is just one terrorist attack out of hundreds of attacks led by the Hamas terrorist organization. The terrorist organization fuels Arab terrorism in Judea and Samaria and is a significant part of it and its activities.”

  • IDF Completes Major Ground Operation in Southern Lebanon

    IDF Completes Major Ground Operation in Southern Lebanon

    First reported by C14: As part of the ongoing effort to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding its foothold near Israel’s northern border, Israeli forces completed an extensive and thorough brigade-level ground operation in the village of al-Mansouri in southern Lebanon. The village is of clear strategic importance because of its forward location near the “Yellow Line” in the security zone. The soldiers operated in the area over an extended period to clear military infrastructure, locate weapons stockpiles and deny the terror organization the ability to reestablish itself in the area.

    Al-Mansouri in Lebanon

    Recent Lebanese reporting has documented sustained Israeli operations, demolitions and military movements in al-Mansouri. A security official told C14 News: “Our forces operated in the area of the village of al-Mansouri, which is operationally significant, among other reasons because of its forward location near the Yellow Line in the security zone. The forces operated thoroughly and systematically, cleared terror infrastructure, located weapons and worked to remove the infrastructure that had enabled Hezbollah to operate and establish itself in the area.”

    IDF forces in Lebanon | Photo: Hillel Ben Or, Flash 90

    According to the official, reserve soldiers carried the bulk of the operation: “This is a significant achievement by the forces, the reservists who sought engagement and operated in the area over an extended period, carrying out thorough work that changed the reality on the ground and strengthened the defense of the residents of the north.” The raid in al-Mansouri is not an isolated event, but part of a broader wave of activity in recent weeks that, according to reports in Lebanon, has included controlled explosions and the demolition of structures used by Hezbollah.

    IDF forces in Lebanon | Photo: Hillel Ben Or, Flash 90

    The offensive activity in the forward village was intended to thwart Hezbollah’s efforts to return to observation and direct-fire positions facing Israeli communities along the confrontation line, and to prevent dangerous friction with forces operating in the area. Lebanese reporting throughout September has documented repeated Israeli demolitions and strikes in al-Mansouri. Since the understandings between Israel and Lebanon were formulated in June, IDF forces have continued to maintain an operational presence in the security zone in southern Lebanon.

    IDF forces in Lebanon | Photo: Hillel Ben Or, Flash 90

    Israeli defense officials stress that Hezbollah has not yet disarmed as required and is attempting to exploit every opening to rebuild its damaged military systems. Lebanon, meanwhile, argues that Israeli activity violates the country’s sovereignty and the terms of the understandings. Current reporting confirms that implementation of the U.S.-mediated framework continues to face obstacles.

    In practice, implementation of the arrangement—which was supposed to include the deployment of the Lebanese Army and its assumption of security responsibility for the territory—has encountered significant difficulties. The IDF has made clear that as long as Hezbollah attempts to return to villages near the border, proactive operations to uncover and destroy infrastructure will continue in order to preserve the achievements of the campaign and ensure the safety of residents of the Galilee.

  • Iranian Threats Target Israeli Arab Activist Yoseph Haddad

    Iranian Threats Target Israeli Arab Activist Yoseph Haddad

    Yoseph Haddad, an Israeli Arab activist and the number two candidate on the Imti Yisrael (With the People of Israel) party list, received a series of emails containing severe and explicit threats on his life, believed to originate from sources linked to Iran.

    “We will cut off your fingers one by one,” one message read. Another threatened: “We will dismember your bodies.” Haddad responded to the threats: “This didn’t scare me in the past and it doesn’t scare me today—on the contrary, it strengthens me.”

  • Muslim Candidate: “Proud” of October 7 Days After Massacre

    Muslim Candidate: “Proud” of October 7 Days After Massacre

    Channel 14 aired footage Tuesday evening of Knesset member Sami Abu Shahadeh speaking to an Arabic media outlet just two days after the October 7 massacre. In the interview, Abu Shahadeh expressed solidarity with the terror organization while Israeli forces were still fighting the last terrorists who had invaded the Gaza border communities.

    “This is an act of extermination, not a war,” Abu Shahadeh said of the IDF’s operations in Gaza. “The State of Israel has one of the largest armies in the world, and over the course of decades it has developed one of the most horrific machines of destruction in the world,” he added.

    The Balad chairman then said he was proud of Gaza’s resistance against Israel, adding that Israel and Hamas are not equal: “There are not two equal sides here, and people need to be told the truth.”

    In his response to the Central Elections Committee, Abu Shahadeh claimed that on October 8 he still didn’t know the full scale of the massacre. But now it’s been revealed that he made similar statements two days after the massacre, when the scope of the atrocities was already clear to everyone.

    The interview has resurfaced as the committee considers a petition to disqualify Abu Shahadeh’s candidacy for the upcoming Knesset elections.

  • Netanyahu to be in US Just 6 Hours, Return After UN Speech

    Netanyahu to be in US Just 6 Hours, Return After UN Speech

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to depart Wednesday afternoon for one of his shortest-ever visits to the United States. Netanyahu will land in New York on Thursday, spend just six hours in the city, address the United Nations General Assembly at 9:00 p.m. Israel time, and then immediately depart for Israel without spending the night in the United States, aiming to return home before the start of the Sukkot holiday. Reports have likewise indicated that the New York portion of the trip could last only six hours.

    Prime Minister Netanyahu at a previous UN General Assembly, archive | Photo: Screenshot

    Ahead of the visit, efforts were made to arrange several diplomatic meetings. However, scheduling constraints—including Israel’s Tishrei holiday calendar and U.S. President Donald Trump’s schedule—meant only a few hours remained in which the two leaders could potentially meet. Current reporting indicates that no Netanyahu-Trump meeting is planned during the brief New York visit.

    Trump and Netanyahu in Florida, 2025 | Photo: Reuters

    Efforts were also made to arrange a meeting between the prime minister and billionaire Elon Musk. Netanyahu’s associates estimate that a meeting between the two will take place before Israel’s elections. Earlier plans for Netanyahu to visit Musk’s SpaceX facilities in Texas were also dropped for logistical reasons.

    Elon Musk | Photo: Shutterstock

    Meanwhile, Netanyahu convened a multi-front security consultation Tuesday evening with the heads of Israel’s defense establishment. One of the purposes of the consultation was to coordinate positions ahead of Netanyahu’s U.S. visit and diplomatic meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, against the backdrop of ongoing security developments and rising tensions across multiple fronts.

  • Hamas Denies Plot to Kidnap Israelis After Katz Warning

    Hamas Denies Plot to Kidnap Israelis After Katz Warning

    Senior Hamas sources responded Tuesday to Defense Minister Israel Katz’s warning that Gaza City would be evacuated southward if a civilian or IDF soldier is kidnapped. The sources told the Qatari channel Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that they “deny the Israeli claims about preparations for operations or a plan to kidnap Israeli soldiers.”

    חמאס |
    Hamas terrorists | Photo: Flash 90

    According to the Hamas sources, Israel is preparing aggression that will include an attack on civilian and government assets in the Gaza Strip. The terror organization called for establishing a committee to verify Israel’s claims. Hamas also claimed it is “committed to the ceasefire agreement” and called on mediators to pressure Israel.

    Katz’s warning followed a Channel 14 report regarding concrete intelligence of a Hamas plan to kidnap an Israeli soldier or civilian. Speaking at a memorial ceremony for fallen soldiers of the Yom Kippur War, the defense minister said intelligence had been received indicating Hamas intended to carry out kidnapping operations. Katz warned that if an Israeli soldier or civilian is abducted, Israel will respond with a broad military operation in the Gaza Strip.

  • Two Muslims Arrested in Jenin Mob Attack on Mother and Son

    Two Muslims Arrested in Jenin Mob Attack on Mother and Son

    Two suspects have been arrested Thursday in connection with an attempted lynching of a mother and son who accidentally entered Jenin. Following their interrogation by the Central Unit of the Judea and Samaria District Police, prosecutors filed a notice of intent to indict in the coming days, police said.

    The incident occurred on August 13, when the mother and son were driving from the Samaria region toward Afula. The driver made a wrong turn and entered the Muslim city. According to police, a mob that spotted the Israeli license plates gathered around the vehicle, blocked it, and tried to prevent it from continuing.

    Several people in the crowd smashed the car’s windows in what police described as an attempted lynching. The driver managed to escape and was later handed over to security forces.

    The investigation was conducted jointly by the Central Unit of the Judea and Samaria District Police and the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency. After the suspects were identified, the two were arrested, interrogated, and detained. Their detention was extended repeatedly until the evidentiary foundation against them was completed.

    Police urged the public to check travel routes in advance and pay attention to roadside signs. They emphasized that anyone who accidentally enters Area A should immediately call the police emergency line, and that entering these areas knowingly is illegal and life-threatening.