Latest news with #IDF
Sky News
an hour ago
- Health
- Sky News
IDF does not 'deliberately target hospitals', says former Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz
A former Israeli defence minister has told Sky News it is "absolutely not true" that the country's military deliberately targets hospitals. In an interview with Yalda Hakim, Benny Gantz - who quit Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet last year - also said he has "nothing against" the people of Iran or Gaza. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said at least 94% of all hospitals in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed. A total of 917 healthcare workers in medical facilities have been killed, the WHO said last month. Asked about the figures, and if the Israeli military deliberately targets healthcare buildings, Mr Gantz replied: "This is absolutely not true." He said that when the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) targeted al Shifa hospital in Gaza earlier in the war, it "did everything in our capacity to ensure nobody was getting hurt". Mr Gantz continued: "Those hospitals are a coverage, they are being used by Hamas to put all their infrastructure under those hospitals, underneath those schools. "We alert them and evacuate it, then we do what we have to do. We do not deliberately go and hit a hospital just because it's a hospital. There's no way we're doing it." 27:55 The Israelis' military action in Gaza began after Hamas's attacks on 7 October 2023. Israel last week started launching airstrikes on targets in Iran as tensions between the countries escalated. Describing himself as a "man of peace", Mr Gantz said: "I have nothing against the people of Iran as much as I don't have anything against the people of Gaza. "I do hope that one day they can live with something they can live with and we can live beside. "Until then, we must continue to operate to free our hostages, to make sure that Hamas is not threatening is anyone and we can move forward." He said of Israel's military action: "Yes we are fighting for own security [..] but aren't we serving strategically the region? Aren't we serving strategically the global society?" His comments came after an Israeli airstrike on a camp in north Gaza killed a total of 19 people on Thursday, according to the director of al Shifa hospital. They included three children and five women, Mohamed Abu Selmiyah said. Since the war began in October 2023, a total of 55,706 people have been killed Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry has said.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Former Hamas hostage Edan Alexander returns to a hero's welcome in New Jersey
Nearly 600 days after he was abducted by Hamas during the October 7 massacre, Edan Alexander returned home to New Jersey on Thursday to a deeply emotional homecoming. Hundreds of residents lined the rain-soaked streets of his hometown of Tenafly, waving American and Israeli flags and holding handmade signs, eager to welcome him back. Alexander, 21, was seen smiling and waving from the passenger seat of a black SUV as it slowly rolled through the 50,000-resident town, flanked by a police motorcade and cheering supporters. "Our community has been praying for him—585 days," said Rabbi Mordechai Shain, the family's longtime rabbi. There was a march every week for him to come home. It was like we lived it." Raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, Alexander moved to Israel at 18 to volunteer for military service in the IDF's Golani Brigade. He lived with his grandparents in Tel Aviv and at Kibbutz Hazor, where he was part of a group of lone soldiers. Alexander was serving in the Israel Defense Forces when he was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists during its deadly assault on southern Israel when he was 19 years old. In May, he was released after more than 19 months in captivity, in what was described as a goodwill gesture following quiet negotiations between U.S. officials and Hamas. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Special Hostage Envoy Adam Boehler, played a key role in securing his release. Rabbi Shain, who has known Alexander since he was two years old, said Edan was known for his quiet kindness. "Even when he was a little boy, he was the one who helped without anyone knowing," the rabbi recalled, noting that Edan had taken a friend's shift on October 7, so the other soldier could go home—an act that led to his capture. "As a person and a family, he just wants to go back to life and move on," said the rabbi. "This is a process. It's going to take time to heal because we don't even know how much torture he went through. He hasn't told us." During his time in captivity, Tenafly's Jewish community held weekly prayers, marches, and even celebrated Edan's birthday in his absence. "Over 800 people came to his Hanukkah birthday celebration," said the Rabbi. "We wanted him to know we hadn't forgotten." Alexander is expected to remain in New Jersey for now as he focuses on his recovery. He reportedly weighed just 121 pounds upon his release and suffered hand injuries.
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Iran threatens strike against Israeli TV news offices
Iran has issued an evacuation warning for Israel's Channel 14 news offices. It says it will target the offices in the coming days after the IDF struck Iran's state news channel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Iranian regime "arch-terrorists" of the world as he visited a hospital in southern Israel, which was targeted by Iranian missiles.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Here in Israel, it's very clear: Iran cannot seriously damage this nation
Hezbollah was the dog that didn't bark when its Iranian masters came under attack. That's because it had been muzzled by Israel. Over decades Tehran had built up a massive arsenal of missiles in Lebanon using its number one proxy, Hezbollah. That had a specific purpose which was to deter Jerusalem from attacking Iran, and if it did, to unleash hell across the length and breadth of Israel. But Hezbollah's fighting capabilities were severely written down last year with huge numbers of missiles and launchers taken out by attacks from ground and air. And Mossad decapitated the terrorist organisation in a breathtaking wave of attacks against terrorist leaders with explosive-laden pagers. The IDF eliminated many others with precision air strikes, including the long-standing Secretary General, Hasan Nasrallah. Perhaps the ayatollahs should have paid more attention to both elements of Israel's operations against Hezbollah, because they gave a devastating foretaste of what was to come on their own territory. Now, reeling from strike after strike over the last week, its military rudderless and deprived of its primary deterrent, Tehran is having to rely exclusively on an armoury of ballistic missiles to hit back. Its fleets of drones – considered by many to be the future of warfare – have achieved nothing. Of 1,000 launched, not one impacted on Israeli territory. I have been in various parts of Israel since the start of this war and can confirm that the most widespread effect of Iran's missile campaign has been sleep deprivation, with most salvoes fired during the night and citizens repeatedly sent running to their bomb shelters. That is not to understate the tragic deaths of 24 Israeli civilians, the wounding of many others and destruction and damage to buildings, the most recent being a direct hit on Soroka Hospital in Beersheba. As with all Iranian missile impacts in this war which have struck civilian population centres, firing at a hospital is a war crime. Tehran claimed that it was aiming at a nearby army base but there are no military installations within 2 kilometres. With all the patients inside shelters, fortunately there were only light casualties. That is one reason why Iran's barrages have had only limited effect so far. Israel has engineered a highly-developed alert and shelter system, and it is estimated that, had every citizen taken cover as instructed, the death toll would have been only three. There are two other reasons for Tehran's failed counteroffensive. First, a very sophisticated intelligence and surveillance system that has been able to provide up to half an hour's warning of most missile launches. Second, ground, air and sea based air defences. The US Navy and Air Force have made a significant contribution, and Israel's Arrow ballistic missile defence system has been backed up by America's Thaad and Patriot launchers based inside Israel. Then there has been the relentless air campaign against Iran's weapon stocks, launchers and production facilities which has taken out an estimated 40 per cent of launchers and many missiles. Iran has only managed to fire some 400 missiles since the war began, with at least 80-90 per cent successfully intercepted. Just 23 have hit urban areas. Tehran had by far the most powerful ballistic missile capability in the Middle East, with an arsenal of 2,000-3,000, although many of these did not have the range to reach Israel. Tehran was estimated to have the capability to produce 50 missiles per month which is not adequate to meaningfully replenish its ever-dwindling stocks. In any case, probably nothing like that number can be achieved now following Israel's attacks on production facilities. With their military strategy failing, the ayatollahs might decide to change tack, and start using some of their short-range missiles against energy facilities or US military targets in the Gulf. Iran also has anti-ship missiles capable of attacking maritime targets in the region. It has threatened to block the Straits of Hormuz to strangle global oil trade. Any of these moves would increase the chances of President Trump's direct intervention in the war, something that may be imminent in any case. Khamenei, now in a desperate situation, with his most trusted military advisers all dead and the IDF rampant in his skies, seems to fear that the most. His request for a meeting in the White House has been rejected and his foreign ministry is about to meet its appeasement-seeking European counterparts to discuss nuclear disarmament. Although that will achieve nothing, the last thing the Europeans should be doing now is to throw this tottering terrorist regime any kind of lifeline. Instead they should be joining forces with Israel, at least diplomatically, to hasten the end of Iran's war on the West, which began at the dawn of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The best outcome is not a badly wounded Khamenei who can lick his wounds and live to fight another day, as the Europeans might like, but a more enlightened Iran under new management that does not have the arrogance to provoke a militarily stronger power and believe it can prevail.
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Israeli hospital hit in devastating Iranian missile strike
Israel's Defence Minister says Iran's Supreme Leader can not continue to exist after a barrage of Iranian missiles damaged a hospital in southern Israel. Israel says Soroka Hospital in Beersheba was hit, leaving two people seriously injured and 40 others wounded. Iran's Foreign Minister claims there were military targets close to the facility. Meanwhile, the IDF has attacked Arak heavy water reactor, targeting its core. The International Atomic Energy Agency says the reactor does not contain any nuclear material as it is under construction.
