VFI News Two Hamas Commanders Eliminated, a Palestinian Toddler Mistakenly Killed

Two Hamas Commanders Eliminated, a Palestinian Toddler Mistakenly Killed

The IDF and ISA eliminated the Commander and Deputy Commander of Hamas’ Nuseirat Battalion in an airstrike, the IDF announced Saturday evening, January 6.

Ismail Siraj, the Commander of Hamas’ Nuseirat Battalion, as well as Ahmed Wehbe, his Deputy Commander, were eliminated during an IAF strike in an operation led by the Southern Command and with the direction of the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate and the ISA on Friday night.

Siraj, before becoming Commander of the Nuseirat Battalion had served as a Company Commander of Hamas’ Nukhba Unit and as a rocket manufacturing operative.

Siraj’s Deputy Commander, Ahmed Wehbe, assumed the position after the IDF and ISA killed the battalion’s previous Deputy Commander, Abd Al-Rahman Abed during the first weeks of the war. Wehbe held various positions, both in the field and on Hamas’ staff, including with the terrorist organization’s training program. He was also responsible for the planning and carrying out of terrorist attacks from the Gaza Strip against Israel.

During Hamas’ murderous invasion and massacre on October 7, the Nuseirat Battalion was responsible for terror attacks on Israeli communities in southern Israel, including Kibbutz Be’eri. The battalion’s operatives have since been involved in anti-tank missile and UAV fire targeting IDF troops during the war. (INN / VFI News)

“Lord, we thank You for delivering all the enemies to our defense forces one by one, so that peace and safety can prevail in Israel again. We are extremely grateful for everyone who prays for all the innocent people being plagued by the war, as well as for everyone who takes active steps to eliminate terrorism and the re-establishment of peace in our region.”

The articles included in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Vision for Israel. We try to provide accurate reporting on news pertinent to Israel, the Middle East, the diaspora, and Jewish issues around the world—and we hope that you find it both informative and useful for intercessory prayer.

Two Israelis, including a female Border Police officer, were wounded during a ramming attack at the Ras Biddu crossing near the Givat Ze’ev settlement in Judea and Samaria on Sunday, January 7. Additionally, a Palestinian toddler around the age of four was accidentally shot and killed during attempts to kill the terrorists, Israel Police confirmed.

Two United Hatzalah volunteer EMTs gave their account of what they experienced regarding the soldier and the toddler. “At the beginning of the incident, we provided initial treatment to a woman who suffered light limb injuries. While we were treating her, a four-year-old girl was brought to us in critical condition, and after unsuccessful resuscitation attempts, her death was pronounced at the scene,” they said.

It has also been confirmed that the occupants of the car used in the ramming were a man and a woman and that the toddler was in a separate vehicle that was stopped at the checkpoint at the time of the attack.

Israel Police released a statement with a video from the scene, stating that a Border Police officer mistakenly shot at the vehicle carrying the young toddler. The vehicle was inspected and cleared for entry by the forces initially before the ramming. Shortly after it was inspected, a second vehicle appeared driving at the forces. After the ramming occurred, Border Police officers chasing the second vehicle mistakenly fired on the first vehicle, killing the toddler. (JPost / VFI News)

“Lord, we pray that You comfort the family of the Palestinian girl who was killed yesterday. We send our heartfelt condolences to them and we pray that You alleviate their pain over time. We pray that You would give our police forces clarity of thought at all times and only attack when the target is evidently a criminal party or a potential offender.”

An East Jerusalem man was shot to death in a Judea and Samaria terror attack north of Ramallah on Sunday morning, January 7, as tensions in the restive territory continued to spiral.

Military forces launched a large manhunt for suspects and set up roadblocks around Ramallah following the shooting on Route 465 east of the Ateret settlement. The IDF determined that the deadly shooting was a terror attack, it said in a statement.

The victim was later identified by the media as Amar Mansour, a 33-year-old resident and father of two from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina. In the footage, he could be seen slumped in the driver’s seat of a silver Volkswagen on the winding road, with several bullet holes punched through the windshield. He was declared dead at the scene, the Magen David Adom rescue service said.

A 42-year-old woman, a pharmacist at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center, was seriously injured in the attack and was taken to a hospital in the city by passing Palestinian medics. She was then transferred to Hadassah, where she is undergoing treatment.

The shooting occurred between Ateret and the junction with Route 60, Judea and Samaria’s main north-south artery, in an area named for an old British police station.

The shooting would appear to be the first deadly attack in the region since November, though there have been several attempted attacks. (TOI / VFI News)

“God, we extend our sincerest condolences to the family of the young man who lost his life to terror. May You bring his loved ones comfort and peace so that they can continue their lives while honoring Amar’s memory. We pray for the woman who was also injured during the attack, as well as for everyone who has been personally afflicted by terrorism. We hope that they will all be delivered from the scars, fear, haunting memories, and trauma that they are likely dealing with.”

The IDF found cages in Gaza, which the Hamas terrorist organization seemingly built to hold the hostages they kidnapped on October 7, Israeli media reported on Saturday, January 6.

This is consistent with intelligence collected in the field indicating that the cages were used by the terrorists not just to hold hostages, but also to move them from place to place within the Strip. They are also the same cages Hamas uses for its own prisoners.

Last week, IDF soldiers took over the intelligence and strategy stronghold of Hamas in Gaza City. The forces carried out a targeted raid on the central building of the “Mizrahi Outpost,” where the stronghold they took over included 37 buildings and was located within civilian areas in the vicinity of residential buildings, schools, and hospitals.

In addition, the Israeli forces uncovered operation rooms and an underground control bunker, from which the organization’s commanders conducted the fighting in the Gaza Strip. The underground complex is at a depth of about 20 meters and includes long-term living spaces belonging to senior Hamas officials. (JPost / VFI News)

“From their callous hearts comes iniquity; their evil imaginations have no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.” - Psalm 73:7-8

In this heartfelt update, Barry Segal shares the latest on emergency, medical, and disaster relief efforts in Israel during the Swords of Iron War. Discover how your support has made a difference, from safety bomb shelters to winter jackets for soldiers. Join us in partnering with a vision for Israel's well-being.

Hamas uses summer camps for Palestinian children as a method of “promoting the resistance and Jihadi culture” among Gazan youths, President Isaac Herzog revealed in an interview on Sunday, January 7.

The president unveiled a secret document written by Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades last July, detailing the terrorist group’s self-proclaimed goals for the summer camps it operated across the Gaza Strip. One of the goals mentioned in the Hamas document, gathered by Israeli forces operating in Gaza, is to “promote the culture of resistance and the values of Jihad among the children.”

Also included as goals are the “spiritual, mental and physical preparation of children to serve the resistance in the future” and “to contribute to the militarization of society through training.”

Some of the activities for the children in the summer camps included shooting practice, which included simulations of terror attacks as well as rigorous courses, to prepare the Gazan kids to fight for terrorist groups against Israel.

According to Herzog, the summer camps were held by Hamas inside military sites belonging to the terrorist organization. “The document clearly shows the spread of the values of ‘jihad’ and ‘resistance’ just means terrorism,” he said. “It shows how to turn a summer camp into a military exercise...this is taking place all over the Gaza Strip.” (JPost / VFI News)

“It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.” - Luke 17:2

Khan Yunis has been visited recently by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Col. Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar, with intentions of helping to concentrate the military’s efforts in the Gaza Strip.

One of the challenges the forces face in the Gaza Strip, which allows Sinwar to control the Gaza Strip partially, is a command and control system, which provides him with a situational picture of what is happening on the ground.

According to estimates in the security establishment, Hamas surrounds the tunnel system in Khan Yunis - where the top of Hamas is hiding - in various circles of observers and messengers. These observers can be women, boys, and men of all ages, who report on the location and extent of the IDF forces, and any unusual activity in the area, which can be useful to Hamas’s plans.

According to army officers, “Some of the observers will stand on the roofs of houses or under the cover of buildings without weapons, only with a walkie-talkie or a telephone, and some of them will probably communicate what is happening with shouts or other signs. Some women will also cross the street with a baby carriage or children in order not to arouse suspicion.”

But the cynical and cruel step, according to army officers, is the use of children who are sent to battle zones and places occupied by the IDF, where there is no reason for civilians, especially children, to be.

“You know that the child arrived at Tzafat, you know that he is part of a larger system, but in the end, he is a child and we as commanders are in a dilemma, to shoot or to carry out a pursuit while risking our fighters. So we do not shoot at children under any circumstances, but Hamas certainly puts us in a very complex dilemma.”(JPost / VFI News)

Over the past few weeks, the Nahal Brigade combat team in the 162nd Division has been operating in the Daraj Tuffah area in the northern Gaza Strip. In cooperation with the Intelligence Directorate and special forces, the troops located a Hamas strategic tunnel shaft, leading to a 100-meter-long tunnel in which a weapons production site was located.

As part of these intelligence efforts regarding this weapons production site, the forces located findings that prove that Hamas terrorists learned - under Iranian guidance - how to operate and build precise components and strategic weapons, and gained technological knowledge in the field.

During the targeted raids, several terrorists were killed in close-quarters combat with the troops and in supporting air strikes.

Further, a new report claims that terror groups backed by Iran have been working together more than ever since the October 7 massacre. A renowned American media outlet has reported on the IRGC’s cooperation with various terrorist organizations in the Middle East that operate on orders from Tehran.

“The attacks can seem random, but they are the fruit of a carefully calibrated strategy forged in the wake of the 2020 killing of Qasem Soleimani, leader of Iran’s elite Quds Force, to bring cohesion to the loosely formed alliance of militias — designated by Tehran as the ‘axis of resistance.’ Although the groups seem unrelated — a rebel organization in Yemen; a guerrilla movement in Lebanon; and militias formed to fight U.S. troops in Iraq — they all have one thing in common: their loyalty to Iran, which arms, finances and inspires them,” the report writes. (INN / VFI News)

“Lord, we pray that You protect us from Iranian-backed terrorism and that You stop these terrorist organizations from achieving their evil operations. We hope that no more families will be left broken because of such malice and that all civilians will soon be able to rebuild their lives in peace.”

Dr. Alan Garber, an economist and Jewish physician, has been appointed as the interim president of Harvard University, replacing Dr. Claudine Gay, who resigned just three months into her tumultuous tenure.

Garber has previously served as the head of the prestigious institution and the chief academic officer, and his appointment was widely accepted with a broad consensus.

Dr. Garber, 69, holds a doctorate in economics from Harvard and a medical degree from Stanford. He is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Medicine.

Lawrence Summers, former president of Harvard and former U.S. Treasury Secretary, said that Dr. Garber “is universally liked, admired, and respected, and is a superb choice as interim president.”

In an interview with the university’s student newspaper, Dr. Garber expressed regret over Harvard’s initial response to the Hamas’ attack on October 7 and the beginning of the war in Gaza. (YNet / VFI News)

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

Want to see more from VFI? Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/visionforisrael and hit “like” if you like us!