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Yaakov Lappin

Yaakov Lappin

Yaakov Lappin is an Israel-based military affairs correspondent and analyst. He is the in-house analyst at the Miryam Institute; a research associate at the Alma Research and Education Center; and a research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University. He is a frequent guest commentator on international television news networks, including Sky News and i24 News. Lappin is the author of Virtual Caliphate: Exposing the Islamist State on the Internet. Follow him at: www.patreon.com/yaakovlappin.

Golan Heights
Analysis
IDF’s expanded presence on Syrian side of buffer zone appears long-term
Israel is waiting for Syria to stabilize, Lt. Col. (res.) Marco Moreno, a former senior IDF intelligence officer, tells JNS.
Feb. 24, 2025
Yaakov Lappin
Al-Qassam Brigades terrorists
Analysis
Israeli security control of Gaza is an existential necessity
Amid the pain and mourning, the need to erase the Hamas terror army from the face of the Earth emerges as a central imperative.
Feb. 21, 2025
Yaakov Lappin
A Russian soldier stands next to submarines at the Russian naval base in the Syrian Mediterranean port of Tartus on Sept. 26, 2019. Photo by Maxime Popov/AFP via Getty Images.
Analysis
As Russia’s influence in Syria wanes, Turkey steps in
Israeli observers offer contrasting outlooks on whether Russia will—or should, from Israel’s perspective—retain its foothold in Syria.
Feb. 20, 2025
Yaakov Lappin
Israelis in Metula view damage from an IDF operation across the border in Lebanon, Dec. 9, 2024. Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90.
Analysis
Why the IDF is remaining in five key posts in Southern Lebanon
As questions remain over the Lebanese Armed Forces’ ability to stop Hezbollah’s entrenchment, the IDF is completing the remainder of its withdrawal.
Feb. 18, 2025
Yaakov Lappin
Clashes between Hezbollah supporters and the Lebanese Army amid a Hezbollah-organized rally to block the road to Beirut International Airport over a decision to bar two Iranian flights from landing there, in Beirut, Feb. 15, 2025. Photo by Ibrahim Amro/AFP via Getty Images.
Analysis
Israel signals determination to continue Lebanon truce enforcement
Even after the IDF leaves southern Lebanon, cross-border raids and airstrikes seem certain to continue.
Feb. 16, 2025
Yaakov Lappin
Israeli forces operating in the area of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on March 31, 2024. Credit: IDF.
Analysis
IDF ready to rapidly re-enter Gaza if ordered
The timeline for an Israeli military return to the Strip is expected to be short.
Feb. 12, 2025
Yaakov Lappin
Field Marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, then Egypt's minister of defense and first deputy prime minister, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin (not pictured) at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence near Moscow on Feb. 13, 2014. Photo by Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images.
Analysis
Egypt’s large military presence in Sinai continues to raise questions
While Israel’s defense establishment touts ongoing cooperation with Cairo, observers have concerns
Feb. 7, 2025
Yaakov Lappin
Israeli troops operating in Southern Lebanon, in an undated photo published on Feb. 2, 2025. Credit: IDF.
Analysis
Hezbollah’s influence in Lebanon’s army remains under scrutiny
While Hezbollah’s influence in Lebanon has been significantly weakened, short of a new regional dynamic Israel will have no choice but to maintain its truce enforcement operations there, observers tell JNS.
Feb. 5, 2025
Yaakov Lappin
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi tours the Khan Yunis combat zone in southern Gaza on April 3, 2024. Credit: IDF.
Analysis
Selection process for next IDF chief looks to be rapid
The defense minister is interviewing three candidates for the formidable challenge of restructuring the military while facing active combat.
Jan. 31, 2025
Yaakov Lappin
IDF in Jenin
Analysis
What led to IDF op in Jenin—and why it won’t be the last
The city is a magnet for weapons, Iranian and Hamas-fueled terrorism, and gunmen who are increasingly using deadly IEDs
Jan. 27, 2025
Yaakov Lappin
Hezbollah weapons and other equipment that the IDF seized during its ground operation in Southern Lebanon are displayed for the media at an army base in the Galilee on Dec. 23, 2024. Photo by Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images.
Analysis
Keeping Southern Lebanon Hezbollah-free beyond Jan. 26
The IDF could continue to carry out targeted strikes on the Shi’ite group’s entrenchment efforts.
Jan. 23, 2025
Yaakov Lappin
Nahal Brigade infantrymen in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, January 2025. Credit: IDF.
Analysis
IDF withdrawal from north Gaza must be temporary
Despite maintaining control of the Philadelphi Corridor on the Egypt-Gaza border, Israel’s exit from Netzarim and delegation of checkpoints to U.S. contractors are disturbing vulnerabilities.
Jan. 19, 2025
Yaakov Lappin
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