Daily Digest Online

In a major blow to Hamas's military wing, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced it killed senior commander Ra'ad Sa'ad, the head of the group's weapons production and a top figure in planning the October 7, 2023, attacks. The targeted drone strike hit Sa'ad's car on Al-Rashid road, west of Gaza City, on Saturday, December 13, 2025. The attack killed four to five people and wounded at least 25 others. While Israel confirmed Sa'ad's death and his family sources reportedly acknowledged it to news agencies, there was no immediate confirmation from Hamas or local medics. Who Was Ra'ad Sa'ad? Ra'ad Sa'ad (also reported as Raed Saad/Saed), born in 1972, was a pivotal figure in Hamas's military structure. His roles and significance include: Senior Military Commander: He was the head of the Weapons Production Headquarters for Hamas's military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, leading the group...

A senior Israeli official has issued a blistering accusation against Qatar, alleging the Gulf state is engaged in a deliberate campaign to "destroy the relationship between Israel and the Trump administration from the ground up" . According to a report by The Times of Israel, the official went so far as to state that Qatar is engaged "in jihad," highlighting the extreme depth of distrust in a critical regional relationship . These explosive charges come at a moment of high tension and complex diplomacy. The U.S. is actively working to implement the second phase of President Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan, an effort that critically depends on coordination between Israel, Qatar, and the United States . The allegations suggest that beneath the surface of diplomatic talks, a fierce behind-the-scenes battle for influence is raging. The Flashpoint: A Shocking Strike in Doha The current crisis traces directly back to September 9, 2025, ...

Israel's far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, is pushing to demolish the tomb of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, a historical figure from the 1930s for whom Hamas's military wing is named. The move has drawn a sharp warning from Hamas and is opposed by Israeli security officials, setting the stage for a Knesset debate next week that could inflame tensions amid an already fragile ceasefire in Gaza. Who Was Izz ad-Din al-Qassam? Izz ad-Din al-Qassam was a Syrian-born Muslim preacher and revolutionary who led armed resistance against French and British colonial forces in the Levant during the early 20th century. After being forced out of Syria, he resettled in British Mandate Palestine and was killed in a battle with British forces in 1935. His legacy is complex and viewed very differently by each side: *   For Palestinians: He is revered as a nationalist martyr who fought against colonial rule. In his honor, Hamas named its military wing the "...

The family of a young Tanzanian student murdered during the October 7th Hamas attacks has filed a lawsuit against the Israeli government, alleging authorities inflicted additional trauma by publicly releasing graphic video footage of his killing without their consent. The legal claim, filed on behalf of the family of Joshua Loitu Mollel, seeks significant damages. It argues that the Israeli Foreign Ministry caused severe distress by reposting the footage from an attacker's body camera on its official social media account. The clip, which showed Mollel being shot, was shared before the family had been formally notified or had a chance to view the material privately. A Young Farmer's Dream Ends in Terror Joshua Loitu Mollel, 21, was an agricultural student who had traveled to Israel just weeks before the attacks, filled with ambition for his future. "My son wants to make his fortune in agribusiness and become one of Tanzania's most successful farm...

GAZA CITY — Search teams from Hamas and the International Committee of the Red Cross have concluded an operation in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, failing to locate the remains of the last Israeli hostage believed to be held in the territory. The operation, which concluded on Monday, December 8, 2025, was focused on finding the body of Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili. Gvili, a 24-year-old officer from Meitar, was among the 251 people abducted by Hamas during its attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Israeli authorities believe he was badly wounded and did not survive long after being taken to Gaza. Video footage from the scene showed armed Hamas militants standing guard beside ICRC vehicles before a convoy drove into the neighborhood to conduct the search. This coordinated effort was part of the broader arrangements tied to the current U.S.-brokered ceasefire and ongoing hostage negotiations. The teams reportedly combed through multiple sites in the des...

A quiet storage facility in Vienna. A rural property in Orbaek, Denmark. A roadside plot outside Plovdiv, Bulgaria. For years, these unassuming locations across Europe held a deadly secret: buried caches of Kalashnikov rifles, pistols, silencers, and ammunition. These were not the weapons of local criminals but part of a long-term, strategic contingency plan laid by Hamas, designed to give the group the capacity to strike far beyond the borders of Gaza and the West Bank. For decades, Hamas's military operations were geographically confined, focusing on Israel and the Palestinian territories. However, a series of high-profile arrests, disrupted plots, and intelligence disclosures over the past two years reveal a decisive and dangerous shift.  European and Israeli security officials now assess that Hamas, with its capabilities in Gaza severely degraded by war, has taken a strategic decision to "go global," actively plotting attacks on European soil. ...

TEL AVIV — The family of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last confirmed deceased Israeli hostage held in Gaza, is demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump secure the return of his remains before a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement with Hamas proceeds to its second phase. In a statement carried by Hebrew-language media, Gvili's family issued a direct appeal to the leaders. "The first phase of the hostage deal is still not completed, while Rani hasn’t returned home," the statement said. "We demand that Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump pressure Hamas and Islamic Jihad to return Rani home immediately! We can’t move to the second phase of the deal without Rani here." The demand creates a significant hurdle for diplomatic efforts. The Trump administration is reportedly aiming to announce the transition to Phase Two of its Gaza peace plan within approximately two weeks. This next phase is intended t...

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone conversation on Saturday, focusing on critical Middle Eastern security issues, with Iran's nuclear program at the forefront of their discussions. According to an official Kremlin statement, the two leaders exchanged views on the fragile ceasefire in Gaza and the ongoing process of exchanging captives between Palestinian and Israeli sides. The statement confirmed that "both sides also reviewed issues related to Syria, as well as the status of Iran’s nuclear program," noting a shared "interest in exploring negotiated solutions concerning the Iranian nuclear file." Russian state media indicated this dialogue is part of an ongoing diplomatic channel between the two leaders. A previous conversation occurred on October 6, where they discussed broader regional developments, the situation in Gaza, and former U.S. President Donald Trump's pr...

In a high-profile interview at the Doha Forum, Syria's interim president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, delivered a sharp condemnation of Israel, accusing it of "exporting crises" and pursuing a military campaign against fabricated threats.  Speaking with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Al-Sharaa demanded that Israel withdraw from territories occupied in the past year and fully reinstate the 1974 deconfliction agreement that had maintained a fragile calm for five decades. The Core Accusation: A "Fight Against Ghosts" Al-Sharaa argued that Israel is using broad security pretexts to justify aggression across the region. “Israel has become a country that is in a fight against ghosts,” he stated, suggesting that Israeli leaders exploit the trauma of past attacks to legitimize military actions in neighboring countries like Syria. He framed these actions as an attempt to divert international attention from the conflict in Gaza. A Year of Escalation and Occupatio...

At a farm in central Israel, a former soldier feels the cold skin of a snake wrapped around his forearm. For a moment, the world shrinks. The noise of a passing drone, a helicopter in the distance—the triggers for flashbacks to Gaza—fade into the background. "I'm here with the snake right now," he says. It is the only thing that brings him peace. This is the new frontline of Israel's longest war—one not against Hamas, but against an enemy within: a spiraling mental health crisis that is claiming the lives of Israeli soldiers not with bullets, but through suicide. The death of Tomas Adzgauskas, a Lithuanian-Israeli sniper commander who took his own life after confessing to acts he "cannot be forgiven" for, is a stark, individual tragedy in a devastating national pattern. A Crisis in Numbers The data paints a picture of an army under profound psychological strain. A report by Israel's Knesset Research and Information Cen...

Tomas Adzgauskas, a Lithuanian-Israeli soldier who fought in Gaza, has died by suicide. In a final, harrowing social media post, he wrote of being haunted by "a demon" since the October 7th attacks and of committing acts for which he could find no forgiveness. A former Israeli soldier has died by suicide after publishing an anguished final message describing the profound psychological trauma he suffered following his military service in the Gaza Strip. Tomas Adzgauskas, a Lithuanian-born Israeli citizen who served as a commander in an elite sniper unit, was found dead on Friday, December 5. Prior to his death, he posted a lengthy and deeply personal confession on his Facebook account, which has since circulated internationally. In the post, Adzgauskas directly linked his severe mental distress to the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the ongoing war. "October 7, the date that ruined my life and destroyed everything I was...