The IDF announced that it had provided air support to the Gaza Strip in cooperation with several countries

Tel Aviv: According to The Jerusalem Post, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Friday that it has coordinated with other nations to airdrop humanitarian goods into the Gaza Strip.

In a statement quoted by the source, the IDF said that “126 aid packages, containing food for the residents of both the southern and northern Gaza Strip, were airdropped by six different countries over the past few hours.”

The United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Spain, France, and Germany were all involved in the operation. This was the first time the three European countries had worked together on such an operation.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir vehemently refuted claims of intentional malnutrition amid growing international condemnation of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

According to The Jerusalem Post, Zamir said, “The false campaign about starvation these days is a deliberate, coordinated, and deceptive attempt aimed at accusing the IDF–a moral army–of war crimes.”” Hamas is the organization in charge of the deaths and suffering of Gaza’s citizens. IDF leaders and troops uphold international law and the IDF’s ethos by acting honorably and morally.

Regarding the state of hostage talks, Zamir said that the military will continue its operations notwithstanding any partial agreement.

“I estimate that in the coming days we will know whether we can reach a partial deal for the release of our hostages,” he said to the commanders. They said, “If not, the fighting will continue without pause,” according to The Jerusalem Post.

Notwithstanding the truce in November 2024, the IDF said that it will carry out targeted attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon in order to completely disarm the organization, even at the danger of a fresh battle.

The IDF claims that Hezbollah’s military capabilities have been severely diminished. According to The Jerusalem Post, the organization, which once had tens of thousands of launchers and around 150,000 missiles, now only has a few thousand launchers left and has reduced its total rocket arsenal by 70–80%.

As a consequence, Hezbollah’s shooting capability has drastically decreased, going from perhaps launching 1,500 rockets at once to just a few dozen at this time. “Hezbollah also has lost virtually all of its multiple rocket launching platforms,” stated sources from the IDF.

Attacks now depend on individual launchers, which are more exposed and susceptible, further limiting the group’s operational flexibility. Even while Hezbollah still has some long-range precision missiles, their deployment has been challenging due to IDF control over strategic launching areas, several of which have been hit.

Additionally, smuggling routes throughout Syria have been blocked. The IDF claims that the new Sunni government in Syria has struck Hezbollah a serious blow by aggressively preventing the majority of Iran’s arms deliveries to the organization, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The IDF has launched up to five attacks on sites that are located on the border between Syria and Lebanon in order to keep an eye on and combat threats. Israeli military authorities are nonetheless worried about Iran’s ongoing backing, which is believed to be USD 1 billion a year, in contrast to the USD 250 million that the West provides to Lebanon, even if the group’s senior leadership is temporarily discouraged.

The IDF has launched more than 500 assaults on Hezbollah sites since the truce. According to The Jerusalem Post, they include the killing of 230 agents, the destruction of 90 rocket launchers, 20 attacks on bases and outposts, 40 attacks on weapons storage facilities, and three targeted attacks on training camps for the elite Radwan force.

According to Israeli intelligence, between 4,000 and 5,000 Hezbollah militants have been killed overall, and over 9,000 have been left permanently disabled. This represents more than half of Hezbollah’s 25,000-strong regular army.

“Hezbollah was also said to have tens of thousands more reservist fighters, but IDF sources estimate that only 10 percent of them are still active now,” according to the article. With fewer than 6,000 troops, the elite Radwan group is now mostly focused on internal security.

According to the IDF, Hezbollah is not yet in danger of a full-scale invasion. The military claims that the chance of a large-scale, coordinated infiltration has been eliminated for the foreseeable future; however, small-scale attacks are still possible.

The IDF praised U.S. efforts to handle ceasefire breaches, stating that the present dispute resolution procedure has been more successful than earlier initiatives conducted by UNIFIL. The IDF reported 1,263 infractions, of which 456 were handled internally and 666 were sent to the Lebanese army, who addressed 82% of them.

The Jerusalem Post went on to say that while American assistance has assisted in reducing Hezbollah’s operations, the IDF nevertheless takes unilateral action as required, particularly in cases of complicated infractions.