Press Briefing by IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari December 16th, 20:15

Today, we published the details of the preliminary review into the severe incident in which three Israeli hostages were killed by our forces. The initial findings of the review were immediately conveyed to combat troops in the Gaza Strip. IDF representatives presented the findings to the families of Yotam, Alon, and Samer, may their memory be a blessing. The whole IDF bows its head and embraces the families at this difficult time. We will continue to investigate this incident thoroughly. We are in the midst of a war that presents us with very difficult and complex situations with unprecedented characteristics that we have not faced until now.

Over the weekend, IDF and ISA forces operated in Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabalya, which served as a central headquarters for Hamas. We apprehended more than 80 terrorists and questioned the hospital staff, who led us to weapons concealed in the maternity ward and other parts of the hospital. In addition, we struck terrorist infrastructure in the Rafah area through which weapons were smuggled into the Gaza Strip.

In the north, fighter jets struck a series of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, including military buildings, launch sites, terrorist infrastructure, and terrorist squads. This was in response to launches and UAVs that crossed today from Lebanese territory. One of the aircraft was shot down, and another hit IDF soldiers. Unfortunately, in this incident, Command Sergeant Major (Res.) Yehezkel Azaria, aged 53, was killed. May his memory be a blessing. The forces in the Northern Command are in a high state of readiness and vigilance, and we will continue to kill any terrorist who tries to fire into our territory or tries to infiltrate it. We will continue to fiercely strike Hezbollah targets in response to any hostile activity against the State of Israel.

Today, we were reminded of our cooperation with our allies in protecting the region. The U.S. Fifth Fleet, operating in the Red Sea under CENTCOM, intercepted 14 UAVs launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen near Hodeidah en route to the State of Israel. They intercepted them in the Red Sea. Since the IDF’s transfer to CENTCOM, the Fifth Fleet has been in close cooperation with the Israeli Navy, IDF Operations Directorate and Military Intelligence Directorate and are building a joint picture together. Here is the proof of this, as the Fifth Fleet - not for the first time - intercepted threats towards the State of Israel. This is in addition to the visit of CENTCOM Commander, General Michael “Erik” Kurilla, who visited the IDF this weekend and held a regional situational assessment with the Chief of the General Staff, which included defense challenges in the region and threats from the Houthis at Iran's behest, threats with global implications. We discussed all these topics and the continuation of the war.