IDF announces fallen soldier, Hezbollah fires 80 rocket barrage to Israel, wounding several

Major (Res.) Itamar Levin Fridman, 34, from Eilat, from the special counter-terror LOTAR Unit, fell in battle in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, the IDF announced.

Maj. Fridman was in combat in Jabalya under the command of the Givati Brigade's combat team and fell after an anti-tank missile was fired at the force. Two other soldiers were also injured in the incident.

A 17-year-old boy was lightly wounded by shrapnel in Kiryat Ata, Magen David Adom reported, after approximately 80 rockets were seen crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory, targeting Haifa and its bayside suburbs on Monday afternoon. 

Magen David Adom (MDA) reported that a 40-year-old woman was lightly injured from Shrapnel.

In October 2024, Hezbollah launched four times as many attacks on Israel as in previous months, data from the Alma Center, a research institute focusing on Israel’s security challenges along the Israel-Lebanon border, revealed last week.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for 694 of the 1,158 recorded incidents in Israel. Since Hezbollah initiated its attacks on Israel on October 8, 2023, there have been 3,235 incidents, averaging 270 per month. October alone saw 54 deaths in northern Israel from Hezbollah actions: 40 IDF soldiers, 10 Israeli civilians, and four foreign workers.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been holding security meetings in an underground saferoom, N12 reported on Sunday. 

In October, a drone that infiltrated from Lebanon struck his home in Caesarea, though Netanyahu and family weren’t present at the time of the attack. 

Since then, N12 reported that Netanyahu has been operating within a secure room in the basement of the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem, with heightened protective measures.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense attorney, Amit Hadad, submitted a request to the court on Sunday to postpone his testimony in Cases 1000, 2000, and 4000 by 10 weeks.

Hadad argued that recent security developments hindered adequate preparation. “Preparation for giving testimony became impossible,” he stated. “This short delay will allow the defense to prepare properly for his testimony without harming the public interest.” Currently scheduled for December 2, the defense seeks a new testimony start date in March 2025.

Everyone agrees that Israel’s intelligence and political classes both failed to foresee or prevent Hamas’s October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel.

No one agrees on what to do about it.

The latest idea being pushed by MK Amit Halevi on behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to create a new intelligence advisor and staff within the prime minister’s office who answers directly to the premier and is separated from the three big intelligence services: IDF, Shin Bet, and Mossad.

Sirens sounded across the Jerusalem hills, Beit Shemesh, Kiryat Arba, and surrounding communities early Monday morning.

The IDF confirmed that it had identified a single missile launch from Yemen, which was successfully intercepted with no casualties reported. However, explosions were heard in Beit Shemesh and nearby areas. Police and Magen David Adom (MDA) teams began scanning the affected locations for potential damage or debris.

As part of the IDF's activity to destroy Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon, the IDF operated near a UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) post last Thursday, the military announced on Sunday.

In their statement, the IDF countered claims by stating that engineering vehicles did not enter the UNIFIL position in the area. 

The IDF had intercepted an Islamic Resistance drone crossing from Lebanon, the IDF reported on Monday overnight.

The report follows an announcement stating the army had identified the threat before it crossed into Israeli territory and that it was being monitored.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq later took responsbility for the drone, according to Arab media, stating it had targeted "essential targets."