VFI News As Ceasefire Ends, Israel Starts Eliminating Hamas Terrorists; At Least 5 Higher-ups Dead

Israel’s air strikes have already targeted key Hamas positions, resulting in significant casualties among Hamas operatives. With hostages still in captivity and Hamas engaging in deceptive negotiations, Israel's military operations are set to intensify.

Meanwhile, the US has escalated its actions against the Houthis in Yemen, launching air strikes in response to their attacks on global shipping. Tensions between the US and Iran also reach a boiling point, with President Trump warning of dire consequences for Iranian actions.

On Israel's northern front, Hezbollah faces growing pressure from the jihadist HTS regime in Syria, while the IDF continues its strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and Syria. As conflicts unfold across the region, the balance of power in the Middle East is shifting.

Stay informed with the latest developments from Israel and the wider Middle East as these critical events unfold.

#IsraelMilitary #Hamas #MiddleEastTensions #houthi #Hezbollah #vfinews

The IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) began conducting extensive strikes on terror targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday morning, March 18, in accordance with the political echelon, said the IDF and Shin Bet in a joint statement.

The Hamas-controlled Gaza Information Ministry claimed that at least 250 were killed in the Israeli strikes, which reportedly hit dozens of targets. It later updated the number to 308 and then to 412, claiming among them to be many children. 

The Prime Minister's Office said that “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have instructed the IDF to take strong action against the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip.”

“This follows Hamas's repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators,” the statement added.

“The IDF is, at this time, attacking targets of the Hamas terrorist organization throughout the Gaza Strip in order to achieve the objectives of the war as they have been determined by the political echelon including the release of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased.”

“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength. The operational plan was presented by the IDF over the weekend and approved by the political leadership,” the statement concluded. (INN/VFI News)

“Dear Lord, we pray for the war to finally be over and for all of our hostages to be released as soon as possible. We trust in You, we know that Your thoughts are higher than our thoughts and we pray that You guide us into Your Will at all times. In Yeshua's Name we pray, amen.”

Israel targeted senior members of Hamas in its surprise attack on Gaza. According to Palestinian reports, at least five senior members of Hamas were killed including Mahmoud Abu Watfa Dir. General of the Hamas Interior Ministry who was in charge of the Hamas police force. He redeployed police forces charged with civilian obedience and order and was seen in a video last January vowing to rebuild the Strip and Hamas's rule. 

Among the leaders who were killed were also two members of the Hamas political bureau, Issam Aldialis and Mohammad Al-Jmasi, the commander of internal security and the director-general of the Hamas Justice Ministry. 

Further, the IDF and ISA reportedly struck and eliminated the terrorist Rashid Jahjuh, head of Hamas' General Security Forces, as well as the terrorist Ayman Atsalih, head of the Khan Yunis sector within Hamas' General Security Forces. 

All of those senior officials, targeted by Israel played central roles in the rebuilding of Hamas rule over the Strip after the fighting stopped and the cease-fire came into effect. 

In an additional strike, the IDF and ISA eliminated Ismail Abd al-Aal, a central terrorist in the Islamic Jihad's Weapons Smuggling Unit.

The aerial campaign was launched as a surprise attack after the military collected and identified hundreds of targets in the two months of truce and after over 20,000 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists had returned to positions across the Strip. (YNet/VFI News)

Israeli security officials said they had observed increasing efforts by Hamas to target IDF troops in the Gaza Strip and launch attacks on Israeli communities across the border before Israel launched its surprise attack ending the fragile ceasefire.

Defense officials warned in recent weeks that Hamas was rehabilitating its capacities under the protection of the ceasefire and rebuilding its military forces. They also said the terror group had not abandoned its intentions to attack Israel as it had during the October 7 massacre.

Hamas's rebuilding efforts, the officials warned, include reorganizing its battalions and brigades, using underground tunnels that were not discovered or building new ones, clearing IEDs placed by the terrorists from areas repopulated by civilians and placing new ones in anticipation of an incursion, and setting up rocket launchers and cameras. 

Hamas likely learned from Israel's offensive and repeated raids. The officials said the terror group had not exhausted its entire force during the war after it understood that it would be fighting Israel alone and that Hezbollah would not open a new front against Israel. 

The security forces also talked about the identified Hamas use of civilian needs to rebuild its economic strength as well as take control of municipalities across the Strip. Hamas began collecting taxes and demanding pay for humanitarian aid from the civilian population so that it could pay its operatives. (YNet/VFI News)

“Our Heavenly Father, we pray for all the innocent civilians who are being exploited daily by Hamas and are led to starvation. Please, take care of all their physical needs and comfort them in Your love and mercy. We also pray in Yeshua's Name for the complete eradication of Hamas and its ideology so that we can all live peacefully in the land You have given our forefathers.”

For the first time in two months, sirens were sounded early Thursday morning, March 20, in central Israel, the Shfela region, and in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, following the firing of a missile from Yemen. 

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF before crossing into Israeli territory. The sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol.

Magen David Adom reported that at this stage, no reports of impacts or physical injuries have been received. It added that MDA medics and paramedics provided medical treatment to approximately 13 people injured while heading to shelter and three individuals suffering from anxiety. 

During the sirens, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was evacuated from the Knesset plenum, where discussions on the Arrangements Law were taking place overnight, to the Knesset shelter. 

The Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for launching the missile toward Israel, asserting they fired a missile at Ben Gurion Airport. Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said the attack was carried out in response to "massacres against our brothers in the Gaza Strip." (INN /VFI News) 

“Dear God we pray for all the injured after Thursday's attack. We pray in Yeshua's Name that You heal them completely and also take care of their mental health. Please help them not be afraid but trust in You and Your promises to those who love You. We thank You and praise You for protecting us at all times and not letting the enemies harm our people.”

Pessy grew up in Leipzig and quickly bore witness to unspeakable atrocities acted upon her family and the other Jews of Europe during the Holocaust. Her harrowing tale of escape, heroism, and redemption serves as an example—both of the inhuman treatment inflicted by the Nazis and the powerful perseverance of the faithful.

The UK parliament’s Israel friendship group releases a 318-page report that aims to establish an incontrovertible historical record of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led atrocities in southern Israel. 

“The purpose of commissioning our report has been to chronicle the events of 7 October with clarity and meticulous, fact-checking precision, to ensure it is never forgotten,” says Lord Andrew Roberts, an influential historian who chaired the report. The report gives a unique “catalog of events,” providing an unprecedentedly comprehensive timeline of the massacre, a source familiar with the project told Israel media.

Compiled by the UK-Israel All-Party Parliamentary Group based on research that began in January 2024, the publication outlines the atrocities committed by the Hamas terror group against Israel on October 7 and 8, using survivor testimonies, open-source evidence, and interviews with relatives of hostages and victims, as well as expert analysis from government and security officials, first responders, and medical and military professionals in Israel and the UK. 

The report determines that 7,000 individuals participated in the massacre, and includes information on the nature and scale of the murders, including Hamas’s youngest victim, a fetus shot in the womb, as well as its oldest victim, a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor killed in his safe room by a grenade. 

The document corroborates a previous report by the United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence, confirming that sexual violence occurred at multiple attack sites on October 7. Hamas and other groups committed “acts of rape, gang rape, forced mutilation, sexualized torture, forced nudity, and posting sexualized images of victims on social media without consent,” says the report. (TOI/VFI News) 

“Dear God, we pray for all the women who experienced sexual violence at the hands of Hamas. We pray in Yeshua's Name that You erase from their memories all details of the awful abuse they endured and that You engulf them in Your love, peace, and comfort. We pray for all the people who have been afflicted by Hamas’ massacre, all the hostages, and the families of the victims, and we ask that You give them strength and hope for the future, as well as for eternal life.”

Eli Sharabi, who survived Hamas captivity and whose family was murdered during the October 7th Massacre, briefed the ambassadors of the United Nations Security Council and recounted his experience in captivity. 

Eli stated: “My name is Eli Sharabi and I am 53 years old. I have come back from hell. I have returned to tell my story. For 491 days, I was kept underground in Hamas terror tunnels — chained, starved, beaten, humiliated. The chains they kept me in tore into my skin from the moment I entered until the moment I was released. I was treated worse than an animal. I had to beg for food and beg to use the bathroom. Begging became my existence.”

He criticized: “Where was the Red Cross when we needed them? Where was the United Nations? 491 days of torment. 491 days of starvation, of being chained underground. The civilians saw us suffering, and they cheered our kidnappers.”

“I know you discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza very often, but let me tell you, as an eyewitness — I saw what happened to this aid. Hamas stole it. I saw Hamas terrorists carrying boxes with the UN and UNRWA emblems on them into the tunnel.”

“Dozens and dozens of boxes, paid by your government, feeding terrorists who tortured me and murdered my family. They would eat many meals a day from the UN aid in front of us, and we never received any of it.” (INN/VFI News)

“Lord, we plead that the world’s eyes will be opened to see the atrocities that were and still are being done against the Israeli hostages by Hamas and all those who cooperate with them. We ask that You bring justice to those who have suffered. We pray that you will deal with those who have kept silent in the UN and Red Cross and prevented medical aid and support to our hostages and victims. May Your will be done in this matter. In Yeshua’s name we pray.”

US President Donald Trump has issued a two-month ultimatum to Iran to reach a new nuclear deal, an American news agency's correspondent reported.

According to the report, Trump laid out the ultimatum in the letter he recently sent to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. It is unclear when the timeline for the ultimatum begins.

Last week, Iranian officials stated that they had received the letter from Trump calling for negotiations on the country's nuclear program.

The letter said that Trump prefers to hold negotiations with Iran, but if there is no chance that negotiations will succeed, then the other alternative is "to do something, because Iran cannot have nuclear weapons."

Trump also said that the US will take the necessary steps to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear capabilities.

"If Iran doesn't negotiate, it will be very ugly for them," he told another American news outlet. "Iran can’t have nukes. Other options are available." (INN/VFI News)

“Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever” - Psalm 61:1-4a

Israel is witnessing an increase in birth rates, particularly among Jewish families, according to the latest birth statistics for 2024, after a prolonged decline in the number of children per family. Birth rates in the Arab sector, however, have continued to decline. 

The 2024 data present a fascinating picture: approximately 134,000 births, compared to 131,000 in 2023 and 132,000 in 2022. The decision to bring a child into the world is a clear expression of optimism. 

The number of births has increased, proving that society is more resilient and hopeful than we tend to think. The full trends in birth rates are still unclear, as comprehensive demographic data has yet to be released. 

However, it is evident that despite the war, reserve duty, societal divisions, and the rising cost of living, people have not been deterred from having children – quite the opposite is true. The difficult reality has strengthened the desire among many to expand their families or at least maintain their size. (JPost/VFI News) 

“And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth and multiply in it.” - Genesis 9:7

The suggestions, opinions, and scripture references made by VFI News writers and editors are based on the best information received.

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