Israel

DAMASCUS, April 19 (Xinhua) -- In the early hours of Friday, the Israeli military launched a series of airstrikes targeting Syrian air defense sites in the southern region, the Syrian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The airstrikes started at approximately 2:55 a.m. local time on Friday (2355 GMT Thursday) from northern Israel and aimed at air defense installations in southern Syria, it said.

The strikes caused material losses, but no casualties were reported, it added.

18 April 2024; MEMO: The Israeli Ministry of Defence’s Rehabilitation Department said it has received 7,209 wounded soldiers since the beginning of the war on Gaza on 7 October, and that 30 per cent of them had developed psychological issues as a result of the war.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Defence said about 60 per cent of the wounded soldiers had psychological trauma as the primary form of injury.

01 April 2024; MEMO: Israeli officers and soldiers have admitted that most of the fatalities classified by the army as “terrorists” during its war on the Gaza Strip are actually civilians, a report said Sunday.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz collected testimonies from officers and soldiers who have fought in Gaza during the war, which has been ongoing since Oct. 7, 2023.

“The Israeli army says 9,000 terrorists have been killed since the Gaza war began,” the report said.

29 March 2024; AP: TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s Supreme Court on Thursday ordered an end to government subsidies for many ultra-Orthodox men who do not serve in the army — a blockbuster ruling that could have far-reaching consequences for the government and the tens of thousands of religious men who refuse to take part in mandatory military

27 March 2024; MEMO: Israel’s President Isaac Herzog defied the UN and called on Tuesday for the offensive against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to continue until the Hamas leader in the territory, Yahya Sinwar, is captured “dead or alive” and the Israeli hostages are freed.

28 March 2024; MEMO: The Israeli Prime Minister faces a challenge within his coalition government as tensions escalate over proposed legislation exempting the ultra-Orthodox, known in Hebrew as Haredim, from military service, threatening the coalition’s rule collapse, Anadolu Agency reports.

27 March 2024; MEMO: Israel has asked to reschedule a meeting with US officials to discuss its military plans in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, a US official said on Wednesday, days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly scrapped the planned talks, Reuters reports.

28 March 2024; MEMO: Former Israeli Chief of Staff Dan Halutz criticised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said he was leading Israel “from bad to worse”, Anadolu reported.

25 March 2024; MEMO: The Israeli war on the Gaza Strip will end with Jews settling north of the Gaza Strip, the head of the Knesset’s National Security Committee said on Sunday, Anadolu Agency reports.

“Israel must end the war when Jews settle in the entire northern Gaza Strip,” Zvika Fogel told the Israeli public broadcaster KAN.

22 March 2024; MEMO: Israeli occupation forces will eventually invade the Palestinian city of Rafah in southern Gaza and defeat Hamas, “even if the whole world is against Israel, including the United States”, Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, has said.