In a sign that Israel is preparing for a potential escalation with Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces’ 98th Division is being moved from the Gaza Strip to the country’s northern front.
The elite paratroopers and commando division will join the 36th Division under the Northern Command after months of fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza under the Southern Command.
During its time in Gaza, the division led an operation in Khan Yunis from early December to early April.
Iran’s Lebanese terror proxy has vowed revenge after blaming Israel for Tuesday’s nationwide attack, in which at least nine people were killed and some 3,000 wounded when pagers carried by Hezbollah operatives exploded simultaneously. Jerusalem has not taken responsibility for the attack.
The attack came hours after Israel’s Security Cabinet added returning Israelis displaced from their homes in the north due to Hezbollah’s ongoing attacks to the country’s war goals.
According to Israeli government figures, over 60,000 people have been evacuated from their residences near the Lebanese border since last October, when the Iranian-backed terror army began near-daily rocket, missile and drone attacks in support of Hamas.
The Hezbollah attacks have so far killed more than 40 people in Israel, and have caused widespread damage.
IAF hits Hamas terrorists in former school
The Israeli Air Force on Wednesday struck Hamas terrorists operating within a command and control center embedded inside a former school in the Gaza City area.
The compound, which previously served as the Ibn Al-Haytam School, “was used by the Hamas terrorists to plan and carry out terrorist activities against IDF troops and the State of Israel,” the military said, stressing that precautionary steps were taken to minimize the threat to noncombatants, including using precision munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence.
“This is a further example of the Hamas terrorist organization’s systematic abuse of civilian infrastructure in violation of international law,” the IDF said. “The IDF will continue to operate against the Hamas terrorist organization in defense of the State of Israel.”
