Israel launches raids in West Bank and looks to remain longer in Lebanon after cease-fire quiets Gaza
Israeli forces raided a terror cell in the West Bank while diplomats began pushing back on its cease-fire deal with Hezbollah to the north – two shows of force after the cease-fire in Gaza halted the fight against Hamas.At least 10 terrorists were killed when the Israel Defense Forces raided the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank Tuesday – including two people it said were responsible for the murder of three Israeli civilians, the Times of Israel reported.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation was part of Israel’s plan to secure the safety of its citizens following the Oct.7, 2023 terror attacks.“This is an additional step in achieving the objective that we have set — bolstering security in Judea and Samaria,” Netanyahu said, according to the Wall Street Journal.The IDF rolled into Jenin with hundreds of troops backed by armored vehicles and air support, and went house-to-house routing out a group of terrorists called the “Jenin Battalion,” another of the numerous Iran-backed terror cells – including Hamas — across the region that Israel is fighting to neutralize.In Lebanon, Israel is pushing back against the terms of its cease-fire with Hezbollah.
The Lebanese terror group started attacking Israel just one day after the Oct.7 terror attacks — but agreed to a cease-fire in November following Israel’s invasion of Lebanon and its assassination of the group’s top leaders.Israel is now lobbying to extend that deadline to withdraw from Lebanon — originally the end of January — by 30 days, arguing that Hezbollah has violated the terms of the cease-fire hundreds of times with weapons movements and attempted attacks on Israeli troops and territory.Israel has also said Lebanese government forces have not filled in behind the IDF’s withdrawal fast enough, leaving a power vacuum along Israel’s norther border that Hezbollah could fill in.“Israel is committed to implementing the ceasefire agreement, but will not compromise on...