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Tag: Southern Command

  • IDF to increase Gaza border security due to smuggling risks

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    IDF officials identified Hamas’s struggle in Gaza, after more than two years of war have left it without stocks of standard explosives, to obtain weapons as well as additional equipment.

    The IDF announced it will deploy military police at crossings along the border fence between Israel and Gaza, in an attempt to prevent smuggling by inspecting military vehicles and the belongings of Defense Ministry contractors operating in the Yellow Line area.

    IDF officials identified Hamas’s struggle in Gaza, after more than two years of war have left it without stocks of standard explosives, to obtain weapons as well as additional equipment intended for its future military buildup.

    The Southern Command, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and police understand that Hamas’s need for equipment is driving it to seek out actors inside Israel who will help supply what it lacks, including by establishing contact with Bedouin or Arab Israeli elements who have ties to contacts in Gaza. From there, the process develops through the construction of smuggling routes, some of which rely on soldiers, contractor employees, and officials operating in the Yellow Line area around Gaza.

    On Monday, the police informed the Southern District Court that the State Attorney’s Office would file dozens of indictments against 16 suspects allegedly involved in smuggling to Gaza. As of now, the police, the Shin Bet, and the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division are handling two significant smuggling cases into Gaza. In parallel, there are investigations into the removal of weapons from IDF storage sites along the Yellow Line into Israel, with some of them ending up in criminal hands.

    In recent weeks, Southern Command, under Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor and the Gaza Division 143, under Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram has led a move to tighten supervision of movement at crossings between Israel and Gaza.

    HUNDREDS OF packets of cigarettes being smuggled. (credit: POLICE SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)

    There are two types of crossings along the border with Gaza. The first are regulated crossings for the transfer of goods, operated by the Defense Ministry, including the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings. Oversight at these crossings is regulated and strict, and includes technological measures to prevent smuggling. The second type of crossings is “operational gates,” gates along the fence through which IDF forces, contractors, and suppliers of military equipment cross from Israel into the Yellow Line area.

    It was decided to install technological systems at the crossings to monitor entries. It was also decided that the gates would remain locked around the clock, and only when entry is required would a sector patrol arrive with the keys.

    Only after a name check would be conducted and cross-referenced with the sector command center list, confirming that everyone in the vehicle is approved and that their entry into the Yellow Line has been coordinated, would authorization be given for the patrol to open the gate.

    Southern Command allocates military police to West Bank crossings, Gaza border

    In parallel, Southern Command decided to deploy military police forces trained in inspections to crossings in the West Bank and along the Gaza border. The aim is to increase supervision by conducting inspections of vehicles entering and exiting, exactly as the IDF did during the period when it held the security zone in Lebanon, or at entry crossings such as the Fatima Gate in Metula or at the Rosh Hanikra crossing, where military police carried out checks to prevent smuggling.

    At the same time, the IDF says this is a preventive activity that will be prioritized by the Shin Bet, the police, the Intelligence Directorate, and the Defense Ministry.

    The IDF is determined to act forcefully against attempts to develop smuggling routes from Israel to Gaza through the crossings, based on the understanding that Hamas will continue in the coming period to try to induce Israelis to cross the lines and smuggle into Gaza tobacco products, cigarettes, drugs, mobile phones, drones, explosive materials, weapons, and more.

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  • US military says 2 strikes on alleged drug boats kill 5 in eastern Pacific

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    The U.S. military said Thursday that it had conducted two more strikes against boats it said were smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing five people.U.S. Southern Command posted on social media, “Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” though it did not provide evidence. It posted videos of each boat speeding through water before being struck by an explosion.The military said three people in one vessel and two in the other were killed.The attacks brought the total number of known boat strikes to 28 while at least 104 people have been killed, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and asserted the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.The administration is facing increasing scrutiny from lawmakers over the boat strike campaign. The first attack in early September involved a follow-up strike that killed two survivors clinging to the wreckage of a boat after the first hit.

    WASHINGTON —

    The U.S. military said Thursday that it had conducted two more strikes against boats it said were smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing five people.

    U.S. Southern Command posted on social media, “Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” though it did not provide evidence. It posted videos of each boat speeding through water before being struck by an explosion.

    The military said three people in one vessel and two in the other were killed.

    The attacks brought the total number of known boat strikes to 28 while at least 104 people have been killed, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and asserted the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.

    The administration is facing increasing scrutiny from lawmakers over the boat strike campaign. The first attack in early September involved a follow-up strike that killed two survivors clinging to the wreckage of a boat after the first hit.

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  • US military’s 20th strike on alleged drug-running boat kills 4 in the Caribbean

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    The U.S. military’s 20th strike on a boat accused of transporting drugs has killed four people in the Caribbean Sea, the U.S. military said Friday, coming as the Trump administration escalates its campaign in South American waters.The latest strike happened Monday, according to a social media post on Friday by U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in the Caribbean and Latin America. The latest strike brings the death toll from the attacks that began in September to 80, with the Mexican Navy suspending its search for a survivor of a strike in late October after four days.Southern Command’s post on X shows a boat speeding over water before it’s engulfed in flames. The command said intelligence confirmed the vessel “was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics.”Southern Command’s post marked a shift away from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s practice of typically announcing the attacks on social media, although he quickly reposted Southern Command’s statement.Hegseth had announced the previous two strikes on Monday after they had been carried out on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is expanding the U.S. military’s already large presence in the region by bringing in the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier. The nation’s most advanced warship is expected to arrive in the coming days after traveling from the Mediterranean Sea.Hegseth on Thursday formally named the mission “Operation Southern Spear,” emphasizing the growing significance and permanence of the military’s presence in the region. Once the Ford arrives, the mission will encompass nearly a dozen Navy ships as well about 12,000 sailors and Marines.The Trump administration has insisted that the buildup of warships is focused on stopping the flow of drugs into the U.S., but it has released no evidence to support its assertions that those killed in the boats were “narcoterrorists.” The strikes have targeted vessels largely in the Caribbean Sea but also have taken place in the eastern Pacific Ocean, where much of the cocaine from the world’s largest producers is smuggled.Some observers say the aircraft carrier is a big new tool of intimidation against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S. Experts disagree on whether American warplanes may bomb land targets to pressure Maduro to step down.Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. doesn’t recognize Maduro, who was widely accused of stealing last year’s election, as the leader of Venezuela and has called the government a “transshipment organization” that openly cooperates with those trafficking drugs toward the U.S.Maduro has said the U.S. government is “fabricating” a war against him. Venezuela’s government this week touted a “massive” mobilization of troops and civilians to defend against possible U.S. attacks.Trump has justified the attacks by saying the United States is in “armed conflict” with drug cartels and claiming the boats are operated by foreign terror organizations that are flooding America’s cities with drugs.Lawmakers, including Republicans, have pressed for more information on who is being targeted and the legal justification for the strikes.Rubio and Hegseth met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers who oversee national security issues last week, providing one of the first high-level glimpses into the legal rationale and strategy behind the strikes.Senate Republicans voted a day later to reject legislation that would have put a check on Trump’s ability to launch an attack against Venezuela without congressional authorization.

    WASHINGTON —

    The U.S. military’s 20th strike on a boat accused of transporting drugs has killed four people in the Caribbean Sea, the U.S. military said Friday, coming as the Trump administration escalates its campaign in South American waters.

    The latest strike happened Monday, according to a social media post on Friday by U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in the Caribbean and Latin America. The latest strike brings the death toll from the attacks that began in September to 80, with the Mexican Navy suspending its search for a survivor of a strike in late October after four days.

    Southern Command’s post on X shows a boat speeding over water before it’s engulfed in flames. The command said intelligence confirmed the vessel “was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics.”

    Southern Command’s post marked a shift away from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s practice of typically announcing the attacks on social media, although he quickly reposted Southern Command’s statement.

    Hegseth had announced the previous two strikes on Monday after they had been carried out on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is expanding the U.S. military’s already large presence in the region by bringing in the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier. The nation’s most advanced warship is expected to arrive in the coming days after traveling from the Mediterranean Sea.

    Hegseth on Thursday formally named the mission “Operation Southern Spear,” emphasizing the growing significance and permanence of the military’s presence in the region. Once the Ford arrives, the mission will encompass nearly a dozen Navy ships as well about 12,000 sailors and Marines.

    The Trump administration has insisted that the buildup of warships is focused on stopping the flow of drugs into the U.S., but it has released no evidence to support its assertions that those killed in the boats were “narcoterrorists.” The strikes have targeted vessels largely in the Caribbean Sea but also have taken place in the eastern Pacific Ocean, where much of the cocaine from the world’s largest producers is smuggled.

    Some observers say the aircraft carrier is a big new tool of intimidation against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S. Experts disagree on whether American warplanes may bomb land targets to pressure Maduro to step down.

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. doesn’t recognize Maduro, who was widely accused of stealing last year’s election, as the leader of Venezuela and has called the government a “transshipment organization” that openly cooperates with those trafficking drugs toward the U.S.

    Maduro has said the U.S. government is “fabricating” a war against him. Venezuela’s government this week touted a “massive” mobilization of troops and civilians to defend against possible U.S. attacks.

    Trump has justified the attacks by saying the United States is in “armed conflict” with drug cartels and claiming the boats are operated by foreign terror organizations that are flooding America’s cities with drugs.

    Lawmakers, including Republicans, have pressed for more information on who is being targeted and the legal justification for the strikes.

    Rubio and Hegseth met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers who oversee national security issues last week, providing one of the first high-level glimpses into the legal rationale and strategy behind the strikes.

    Senate Republicans voted a day later to reject legislation that would have put a check on Trump’s ability to launch an attack against Venezuela without congressional authorization.

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  • Katz: Gaza will be destroyed, Hamas eliminated if terror group does not disarm, return all hostages

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    Defense Minister Israel Katz warns Hamas to disarm and release hostages as the IDF gains control of over half of Gaza City and demolishes terror infrastructure.

    Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened Hamas terrorists in Gaza with serious consequences if the war continues in a post on X/Twitter on Saturday night.

    “If Hamas does not release all the hostages and disarm, Gaza will be destroyed and Hamas will be eliminated,” he wrote.

    “We will not stop until all the war’s objectives are achieved,” he added.

    Katz noted that his warning comes amid the IDF intensifying operations in Gaza City, with over 750,000 residents evacuating to the south of the enclave.

    During the operations, the IDF has destroyed terror infrastructure, including what Katz referred to as “terror towers.” The military linked terror infrastructure with Gaza City high rises which were demolished in the beginning of the operation to take control of the last remaining Hamas stronghold.

    Smoke rises as a building hit by an Israeli air strike collapses, in Gaza City, September 5, 2025 (credit: REUTERS)

    Southern Command assesses IDF controls over half of Gaza City

    The IDF’s Southern Command assessed that the military gained operational control of more than half of Gaza City as of Saturday.

    Sources in the Southern Command told Walla that the IDF’s territorial gains resulted from coordinated maneuvers at multiple points by various divisions as part of Operation Gideon’s Chariots II.

    Amir Bohbot contributed to this report.

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