Amedi, 36, was wounded in January last year in an explosion in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, which killed six soldiers and injured several others.

By Sveta Listratov, TPS

Israeli actor and musician Idan Amedi will not reprise his role as undercover operative Sagi Tzur in the upcoming fifth season of Fauda.

Amedi, who was seriously injured while serving in Gaza and is undergoing a long rehabilitation process, informed the show’s producers that he would be unable to participate in the new season.

“The filming schedule conflicted with Amedi’s planned international tour, making it impossible for him to participate in the new season” explained a statement to The Press Service of Israel from the public relations office of Sari Israeli, which represents the actor-musician.

Amedi is scheduled to perform in Jerusalem on February 19, his birthday.

Amedi, 36, was wounded in January last year in an explosion in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, which killed six soldiers and injured several others. He was hospitalized for over two weeks at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan.

Despite the injury, he has announced a return to the stage, with performances scheduled to begin this month.

Upon his release from the hospital in January last year, when asked how his rehabilitation would impact the filming of Fauda, which was already known to be renewed for its fifth season, Amedi said, “The creators are already working to adapt the script to our current reality. I will be back in the series with God’s help next season.”

Now it is confirmed that the show’s creators will have to find a way to write out his character, Sagi Tzur, in the upcoming season.

Amedi, who joined Fauda in 2017, is also a well-known singer-songwriter. His debut song, “A Warrior’s Pain,” became one of Israel’s most iconic songs in 2010.

Last month, he released Superman, his first album since being wounded, which was met with great success. Over the years, he has released six albums, blending themes of military service, resilience, and Israeli identity.

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Yahya Sinwar claims IDF ‘destroyed’ in surprise October invasion.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Hamas head Yahya Sinwar made exaggerated claims of IDF losses and struck a defiant note in his first public words since the Hamas-Israel war began on October 7, Maariv reported Monday.

In a letter to the Hamas political bureau, the man behind the invasion of Gaza envelope communities on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, in which his fighters massacred 1,200 people, including the elderly and infants, and abducted some 250 to be held as bargaining chips, wrote that his men had “destroyed” the Israeli army.

“During the ground war, the al-Qassam Brigades attacked at least 5,000 soldiers and officers,” he wrote. “One third of them were killed, another third were seriously injured and the last third was permanently disabled. As for military vehicles, 750 of them were killed [sic.], destroyed completely or partially.”

“The al-Qassam Brigades,” he added, “destroyed the occupation army, and they are on their way to crushing it, and they will not submit to the conditions of the occupation.”

The IDF has almost complete control of the northern Gaza Strip, and is currently gaining ground rapidly in its center. The army believes that it has killed about 8,000 Hamas troops in the fighting, of the estimated 30,000 men the Iranian proxy is believed to have under arms.

Israel has so far mostly refrained from hitting the southern part of the coastal enclave, where it told Gazan civilians to go in order to escape its ground incursion, in its supreme effort to avoid hurting noncombatants while confronting Hamas forces. Sinwar himself, as well as many terrorists, are believed to have fled south during the humanitarian pauses the IDF initiated to aid in the civilian evacuation.

In terms of casualties, the IDF has announced the deaths of 152 soldiers since beginning its ground incursion into the Gaza Strip on October 27, in which tens of thousands of troops have participated, some for days and others for weeks and even months. Another 315 were killed while facing off with the Hamas invaders on October 7.

Last week, an IDF spokesman said that 1,860 soldiers had been injured so far, while Limor Luria, head of the Rehabilitation Division of the Defense Ministry reported to the Knesset’s Labor and Welfare Committee that her department was taking care of 2,816 new patients. Of these, 91% were lightly injured, 6% were moderately hurt, and 3% were severely wounded. In all, 18% are suffering psychologically rather than physically, she said, while acknowledging that PTSD symptoms can also appear long after physical wounds have healed.

The disparity in numbers may stem from the fact that the IDF was only counting those wounded in operational activities, while those injured include intelligence forces, policemen and members of standby units, as well as those hurt in accidents on the roads or in assembly areas. The IDF Personnel Division also does not include in the list of the wounded those who were treated in the emergency department and were released without hospitalization or without the severity of their injury being determined.

According to a Ynet report two weeks ago, over 2,000 soldiers, police officers and security services personnel have been officially recognized as disabled veterans since October 7. The report did not contain a breakdown of the levels of disability.

In contrast to Sinwar and other military leaders of the terrorist organization, Hamas’ political echelon mostly lives in rich splendor, mainly in the Qatari capital of Doha. According to a Wall Street Journal report last week, they have begun talking with their Fatah rivals in charge of the Palestinian Authority (PA) about the “day after” the war ends.

Egypt has begun yet another attempt to bring the two together, although many past attempts have failed, although the U.S. and Israel have said Hamas cannot play a role in any future government in Gaza. The U.S. has said that it wants to see the PA take control again of Gaza, although the administration would have to be “revamped” first to make it possible.

According to the American daily, Sinwar “doesn’t want Hamas to continue to govern Gaza, but believes the war isn’t lost yet and says it is too early to compromise.” He didn’t know about the talks, the paper’s sources said, and when he found out he demanded that they cease.

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The injuries were mainly caused by soldiers not wearing protective gear designed to shield their eyes from injury. 

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Hundreds of IDF soldiers serving in Gaza are suffering from eye injuries, and, in 10-15% of cases, are losing their vision in one or both eyes according to a KAN news report on Wednesday.

The injuries were mainly caused by soldiers not wearing protective gear intended to shield their eyes from injury.

Direct causes of injuries included shrapnel in the eye, recoil, or the backward momentum from firing a gun, or direct hits from terrorists.

Since October 7, 40 soldiers have been treated at the Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheva.

This week alone, 5 were admitted to Soroka with severe eye injuries and two of them have undergone eye surgery.

The IDF responded to the KAN news report, stating that there is no lack of protective gear for soldiers.

A team of ophthalmologists from Soroka Medical Center created a short video reminding soldiers about eye safety and wearing protective gear correctly.

In the past week since the ceasefire, the IDF has intensified its campaign in Gaza, which marks the third phase of the war.

Earlier this week, the IDF focused on above and below-ground terror targets in the Khan Yunis sector of southern Gaza where four Hamas battalions are stationed.

IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari  said Israeli forces “are fighting in northern Gaza in the heart of Shejaiya and Jabalia, destroying underground targets and killing terrorists,” he said. Targets that can be struck are hit, and the remainder of Hamas’s terror squads are confronted when they engage on the ground and attack the IDF.”

Hagari said 138 hostages are still being held in Gaza, adding that one person was added to this list after the military concluded that a missing person was, in fact, kidnapped.

“We are under a moral obligation to return them all home,” he stated.

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In addition, 8 soldiers were seriously wounded in the northern Gaza ground operation.

By World Israel News

On Saturday, the IDF announced the death of 5 additional soldiers in the Gaza ground operation, bringing total casualties in ground operations to 56.

They include:

Maj. Jamal Abbas, 23, a company commander in the Paratroopers Brigade’s 101st Battalion, from Peki’in
Cpt. Eden Provisor, 21, a platoon commander in the 401st Armored Brigade’s 52nd Battalion, from Alfei Menashe
Staff Sgt. Shlomo Gurtovnik, 21, a combat medic in the 401st Armored Brigade’s 46th Battalion, from Modiin
Staff Sgt. Adi Malik Harb, 19, of the Nahal Infantry Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, from Beit Jann
Staff Sgt. Shachar Fridman, 21, of the Paratroopers Brigade’s 101st Battalion, from Jerusalem

Additionally, the IDF announced the death of Master Sgt. (res.) David (Dudi) Digmi, 43, a paramedic from Rishon Lezion. He died on November 7th with no details released by the IDF about the circumstances surrounding his death.

Among the seriously wounded are four reservists of the 12th Brigade’s 6863rd Battalion, an officer in the Bislamach Brigade’s 17th Battalion, a soldier in the 46th Battalion, and a soldier in the 52nd Battalion. All were fighting in northern Gaza.

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Israeli artillery units responded by firing at the source of the attack in Southern Lebanon.

By TPS

Two soldiers were wounded on Wednesday afternoon when an anti-tank missile was fired from Lebanon at troops near Moshav Dovev in the Upper Galilee.

“Two IDF soldiers were lightly and moderately injured and were evacuated to receive medical treatment at a hospital. Their families were informed,” the military said.

Israeli artillery units responded by firing at the source of the attack in Southern Lebanon, added the statement.

Earlier on Wednesday, two launches were detected near Moshav Shtula and Kibbutz Yiftah. Israeli forces attacked the sources of the fire with tank and artillery fire.

The IDF on Wednesday also attacked a number of anti-tank missile launching pads belonging to the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization, the army said.

On Tuesday, terrorists in Lebanon fired some 20 rockets at Israel. Explosions were heard near Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, with videos on social media showing interceptor missiles being fired over the Druze town.

The IDF also prevented a “suspicious aerial target” from entering the Jewish state from Lebanon, according to the IDF.

The incident was reported as terrorists in Lebanon fired at an army outpost in the area of Arab al-Aramshe, a Bedouin village in Western Galilee, according to the IDF. Israel responded with artillery fire.

Israeli forces on Tuesday also attacked a Hezbollah position in Southern Lebanon, and an IDF tank targeted a terrorist cell preparing to fire an anti-tank missile toward Shtula.

Since Hamas’s Oct. 7 invasion of the northwestern Negev, Hezbollah has been initiating a series of exchanges of fire along the Israel-Lebanon border. Over the past month, at least seven IDF soldiers have been killed in attacks on Israel’s northern border.

In addition, an Israeli civilian was killed when an anti-tank missile from Lebanon hit a vehicle near Yiftah on Sunday.

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