Rockets rain over North, security cabinet discusses adding new war goal

The IAF struck Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in the areas of Beqaa and Baalbek in Lebanon, the IDF reported on Saturday night.

Over the last few days, over 100 terrorists have been killed, and critical terrorist infrastructure, including weapons caches and rocket launchers, have been located and destroyed, the IDF reported Saturday.

IDF troops have been conducting targeted, intelligence-based operations in the Tel al-Sultan area of Rafah, engaging with heavily armed terrorists from the Tel al-Sultan Battalion.

While sweeping the area, the troops discovered a large weapons stockpile containing sniper rifles, grenades, anti-tank missiles, and ammunition.

Over the last two weeks, IDF forces have also identified several tunnel shafts and mapped out extensive underground networks.

Footage from the activity of the troops of the 401st Brigade in the Tel al-Sultan area. (IDF Spokeperson's Unit)

Defeat of Hamas in Rafah

The IDF claimed that Hamas's Rafah Brigade has been defeated in the first week of September. The Tel al-Sultan battalion was a major part of its fighting force. 

The IAF eliminated Hamas terrorists operating from two military structures in the area of Al Furqan in Gaza City on Saturday, the military announced. 

Hamas terrorists were using the military structures to manufacture weaponry and conduct various other military activities, according to the IDF. 

The structures were reportedly adjacent to a school sheltering displaced civilians. 

The IDF stressed that, despite claims, the military did not strike a fuel facility in the area.

Rocket sirens sounded in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon on Saturday afternoon.

The IAF eliminated Hamas terrorists operating from two military structures in the area of Al Furqan in Gaza City on Saturday, the military announced. 

Hamas terrorists were using the military structures to manufacture weaponry and conduct various other military activities, according to the IDF. 

The structures were reportedly adjacent to a school sheltering displaced civilians. 

The IDF stressed that, despite claims, the military did not strike a fuel facility in the area.

The military noted that, before the strike, it took numerous steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence. 

Hezbollah's war against Israel, which the terror organization began on October 8 of last year, has evolved from supporting Hamas in Gaza to becoming an existential fight, a "military source" told the pro-Syrian Lebanese news outlet Ad-Diyar on Friday.

The shift reportedly comes as Hezbollah understands that Israel is pivoting its military weight from Gaza to the northern front.

Earlier this week, speaking to the IDF’s 9th Brigade after it concluded exercises in northern Israel in preparation for ground maneuvers in Lebanon, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, “The center of gravity is shifting to the north. While we are wrapping up our missions in the South, an important task remains in the North: to restore security and allow residents to return to their homes."

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza stated on Saturday that the first phase of the polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip had finished after 560,000 doses had been administered to children under 10, Ynet reported.

According to Ynet, this figure represents roughly 87% of children in this age group. The first phase of the campaign reportedly ended despite falling just short of its target of vaccinating 90% of children under 10.

Ynet added that the first phase occurred across the Strip in three rounds over 12 days.

Two additional phases of the vaccination operation are reportedly set to be held in the future.

After completing intense operations in the Gaza Strip, the 179th Armored Brigade has trained for and is ready to initiate ground operations in Lebanon, Col. Itzik Alfasi, the commander of the brigade, told Maariv in a recent interview.

“The reserve units have achieved significant results in the ground maneuvers. They came to the war with a high level of readiness. The soldiers are maximizing their capabilities and operating at the highest level of professionalism. Spending a month and a half in offensive combat with infantry and engineering units – whether you like it or not, you keep improving. In every maneuver, in every battle, we see the rise in professionalism,” said Alfasi.

In the past year, the soldiers of the 179th Armored Brigade, operating under Division 99, were the first to maneuver through the corridor in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF's aerial defense array intercepted rockets in two separate Saturday morning barrages, during which a total of over 55 rockets were fired into Israeli territory from Lebanon, the IDF reported.

Earlier, at 8:17 a.m., rocket sirens sounded in a number of Israeli cities and towns in the North, including Safed, Dishon, Malkia, Hukok, and Kahal.

The IDF later confirmed that during this earlier barrage, some 20 rockets crossed from Lebanon into Israel. 

A second, approximately 35-rocket barrage was identified during a second round of sirens that blared at around 9:00 a.m. in Eifelet, Dishon, Rosh Pnina, and other locales in the Upper Galilee.