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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.

Despite significant degradation, Israeli observers warn that Hezbollah retains the capability for localized cross-border raids.
The IDF has been stepping up raids and targeting inciters, the police have prioritized readiness.
Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi: “We failed to protect civilians at the start of the war—our most important mission.”
Defense minister says Israel to pursue Hamas “across the Middle East” • In Gaza, elite Israeli commandos and Shin Bet intelligence coordinators clear “Hamad towers” of terrorists • Some 250 enemy combatants surrender.
The airstrikes come after a rocket volley from Lebanon damages a building in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona; in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces’ Counter-Terror Unit is operating in the heart of Khan Yunis.
“We have female hostages, I captured one,” Hamas terrorist who worked at UNRWA school teacher says in recorded call • IDF estimates that UNRWA employed more than 450 terrorists.
Established in January, the new unit is a reflection of the IAF’s defined responsibility to be prepared for a future order to mount strikes on sites in Iran.
The raid on the medical center, which saw some 200 terrorists surrender without firing a shot, is an indication of IDF operational quality and decreasing Hamas morale.
Absent a hostage deal, the army will likely dismantle four Rafah Hamas battalions by end of April, senior former official assesses.