Around ‘1,500 bodies’ of Hamas Fighters Found in Israel

Israeli soldiers take combat positions near the border with Gaza (AP)
Israeli soldiers take combat positions near the border with Gaza (AP)
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Around ‘1,500 bodies’ of Hamas Fighters Found in Israel

Israeli soldiers take combat positions near the border with Gaza (AP)
Israeli soldiers take combat positions near the border with Gaza (AP)

Israel's army has "more or less restored control" over the Gaza border and has found more than 1,500 bodies of Hamas militants in Israel near the border, according to military spokesman Richard Hecht.

"Approximately 1,500 bodies of Hamas militants were found in Israel around the Gaza Strip," said Hecht, adding that security forces had "more or less restored control over the border" with Gaza, AFP reported.

"Since last night we know that no one came in ... but infiltrations can still happen," he said.

The army had "nearly completed" evacuation of all the communities around the border, Hecht added.

Meanwhile, Israel is planting mines in the parts where the barrier was toppled, the chief military spokesperson said on Tuesday.

In remarks aired by Israel's Army Radio, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said there had been no new infiltrations from Gaza since Monday. In an apparent response to rumours that gunmen used cross-border tunnels, he said the military had no such findings.

Also, Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed US support for Israel in a call with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, the State Department said in a statement early Tuesday.

Blinken "reaffirmed our efforts to secure the immediate release of all hostages", the statement said.

I spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen about how the US is supporting Israel as it "defends itself against Hamas’ terrorist attack and reaffirmed efforts to secure the immediate release of all hostages."

Blinken also spoke with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, reiterating their condemnation of Hamas's attacks on Israel, the department said in a separate statement.



Israeli Strikes Reportedly Target Hezbollah Ammunition Depot in Lebanon

Lebanese army soldiers check the wreckage of a vehicle after an Israeli airstrike targeted the area near the village of Burj al-Muluk, some 18 kms from the town of Nabatiyeh on July 20, 2024.  (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
Lebanese army soldiers check the wreckage of a vehicle after an Israeli airstrike targeted the area near the village of Burj al-Muluk, some 18 kms from the town of Nabatiyeh on July 20, 2024. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
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Israeli Strikes Reportedly Target Hezbollah Ammunition Depot in Lebanon

Lebanese army soldiers check the wreckage of a vehicle after an Israeli airstrike targeted the area near the village of Burj al-Muluk, some 18 kms from the town of Nabatiyeh on July 20, 2024.  (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
Lebanese army soldiers check the wreckage of a vehicle after an Israeli airstrike targeted the area near the village of Burj al-Muluk, some 18 kms from the town of Nabatiyeh on July 20, 2024. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)

Israeli strikes late on Saturday targeted a depot storing ammunition belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, three security sources told Reuters.

The strikes on the town of Adloun, about 40 km north of Lebanon's border with Israel, set off a string of loud explosions heard by witnesses across the south of Lebanon.

At least four civilians in Adloun were wounded in the strikes, a medical source and a security source told Reuters.

Hezbollah said that its fighters fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel on Saturday, targeting a kibbutz for the first time in nine months in retaliation for an Israeli drone strike earlier in the day that wounded several people including children.
Also Saturday, Hamas said it fired rockets from Lebanon toward an Israeli army post in the northern Israeli village of Shomera in retaliation for the “Zionists massacres” in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has carried out such attacks form Lebanon over the past several months, but they have been rare.
Hezbollah’s attack with dozens of Katyusha rockets on the northern Israeli kibbutz of Dafna came few hours after an Israeli drone strike hit a car in the southern Lebanese village of Burj al-Muluk, and shrapnel from the missile wounded several people who were standing nearby. The state-run National News Agency said that the wounded civilians are Syrian citizens and they included children.

The Israeli military said that about 45 projectiles were detected crossing from Lebanon into northern Israel in three separate barrages. It said that some were intercepted, while others fell in open areas, causing no injuries, but triggering several fires in the Golan Heights.