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The Palestinian Islamic Jihad

Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (July 22 – 29, 2025)

IDF forces continued widespread aerial and ground attacks on terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip and eliminated Hamas terrorist operatives. Three IDF soldiers were killed in the fighting. Hamas raised its level of alert, fearing of an Israeli operation to rescue hostages; Hamas claimed "surprise" after the American administration accused it of not being willing to reach a ceasefire agreement despite the mediators' efforts. The movement reiterated its claim that it had shown "flexibility" and its desire to end the war. Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, said there was no point in continuing the talks under the "attack, destruction and hunger" of the Palestinians in the Strip, and angered Egypt and Jordan after he accused them of not doing enough and called on their citizens to march toward "Palestine."; The IDF initiated a series of measures to improve the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip, including airdrops and opening humanitarian corridors. Nevertheless, Hamas continued to promote the false narrative of "deliberate hunger" and blamed "collaborators with Israel" for looting aid trucks; IDF forces took peaceful control of the ship Handhala, which tried to reach Gaza with about 20 foreign activists; Eight soldiers were injured in a vehicular ramming carried out by an Arab-Israeli terrorist near Kfar Yona. Stabbings were prevented in the communities of Migdal Oz and Shim'a. The terrorist who planted explosives on buses in the Dan region in February 2025 was detained; The UN conference for a two-state solution sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia began in New York. The Palestinian Authority prime minister said they aspired to establish an independent and democratic state which would live in peace alongside Israel. The Palestinians welcomed the French president's announcement that France would recognize a Palestinian state.
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Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (July 15 – 22, 2025)

IDF forces continued extensive air and ground attacks on terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip and launched a ground operation in Deir al-Balah for the first time since the beginning of the war. Hamas and other terrorist organization commanders involved in the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre were eliminated. Two IDF soldiers were killed in the fighting; Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas continued without a resolution. Hamas said they were reviewing the new maps delivered from Israel and continued to claim they agreed to all proposals and that Israel was the party delaying progress; Hamas continued to promote the "hunger narrative" despite the ongoing entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Humanitarian Aid Fund accused Hamas of responsibility for the deaths of about 20 people in a riot that broke out after armed men were seen among civilians waiting near an aid distribution point; The ship Handala sailed from Italy en route to the Gaza Strip with 20 pro-Palestinian activists aboard, after claims of a "deliberate sabotage attempt."; A new civilian initiative in the Gaza Strip called for the establishment of a civilian-executive body led by Egypt to manage daily life until Palestinian unity was achieved and the transfer of negotiation management with Israel to the PLO and the Palestinian Authority; Israeli security forces continued extensive counterterrorism activity in Judea and Samaria and detained terrorists who were planning attacks; Senior Palestinian Authority officials, led by Mahmoud Abbas, escalated their rhetoric against Israel on the international stage, accusing it of "mass killings" in the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria. Mahmoud Abbas announced new elections for the Palestinian National Council by the end of 2025. Hamas accused the move of being unilateral and contrary to prior understandings.
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Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah and Lebanon (July 14–21, 2025)

IDF forces attacked Hezbollah facilities and eliminated operatives as part of continued activity against Hezbollah's presence in south Lebanon in violation of the ceasefire understandings and against the organization’s efforts to renew its arsenal and military capabilities. Radwan Force facilities in the Beqa'a Valley were attacked and Lebanon claimed that 12 people had been killed; Na'im Qassem, Hezbollah secretary general, accused the United States of trying to promote a new agreement which ignored the "thousands of violations" Israel had committed since the beginning of the ceasefire. Hezbollah demanded that Lebanese state institutions put an end to the "useless silence" following the "killing" in the Israeli attacks in the Beqa'a Valley; Thomas Barrack, the American special envoy to Lebanon, met with President Joseph Aoun and was given a new Lebanese response regarding Hezbollah’s disarmament. Barrack said that no progress on the issue would be disappointing, but the United States had no intention of taking punitive measures and only sought to assist and guide. Qassem claimed that relinquishing the weapons would place Lebanon and the "resistance" in existential danger and "allow ISIS to take over the country."; Iran reportedly successfully transfers weapons to Hezbollah through Iraq and Syria using small vehicles instead of large trucks, and the organization also manufactures its own unmanned aerial vehicles and medium-range missiles; A new directive from the Bank of Lebanon, Lebanon's central bank, bans any ties with the al-Qard al-Hassan Association, Hezbollah’s economic wing, due to American sanctions and the Association's financing of terrorism. Hezbollah condemned the decision, and al-Qard al-Hassan said it was continuing its operations and opening additional branches; The Palestinian national security forces reported that they had begun handing over the weapons at some of their headquarters in Lebanon in accordance with the directive of Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas. However, a senior operative in one of the armed "factions" in the refugee camps said that it was unrealistic to ask the Palestinians to disarm without guarantees for their security in light of the "complex" regional situation.
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Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (July 8-15 ,2025)

IDF forces continued extensive aerial and ground attacks on Hamas and other terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip. Terrorist operatives were eliminated, including the former Hamas justice minister, battalion commanders and a Hamas operative who had held an Israeli hostage. Five IDF soldiers were killed during the fighting. The Hamas military wing admitted that it was planning to abduct soldiers; Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas continued in an effort to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and secure the release of the hostages. The disagreements centered on the scope of the Israeli withdrawal and the distribution of humanitarian aid, while Hamas continued to blame Israel for the stalemate; The humanitarian aid fund announced the successful completion of a pilot program to distribute food directly to needy Gazans. Yasser Abu Shabab, head of a militia supported by Israel, announced the establishment of a body to coordinate aid efforts and ease civilian life; Senior Palestinian Authority officials said that only full PA governance in the Gaza Strip, disarmament of Hamas and general elections would end the internal Palestinian schism and restore legitimacy to the Palestinians. Hamas claimed it had never sought to rule the Strip and accused the PA of corruption and coordinating with Israel; A new "aid" ship departed from Italy in an attempt to "break the siege" on the Gaza Strip; An Israeli civilian was killed in a combined terrorist attack in Gush Etzion and a shooting was prevented in northern Samaria. Israeli security forces continued widespread counterterrorism operations in Judea and Samaria; a soldier was stabbed by a terrorist during an operation near Jenin; Two Palestinians were killed, one of them an American citizen, in a violent clash between Palestinians and Jewish settlers in Sinjil; The Palestinian foreign minister stated that the Palestinian Authority was ready to cooperate with the American president to achieve peace within a designated timeframe and added that the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia was not possible without the establishment of a Palestinian state.
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Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (July 1–8 ,2025)

IDF forces continued extensive aerial and ground attacks on Hamas and other terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip and took control of 65% of the territory. Terrorist operatives were eliminated, including the commander of the Hamas naval force in the northern Gaza Strip. Eight IDF soldiers were killed in the fighting, including five who died when an explosive device detonated in Beit Hanoun; Hamas responded positively to the proposal for a sixty-day ceasefire and the release of hostages, while presenting demands for substantial amendments regarding humanitarian aid, IDF withdrawal, and an end to the war. As a result, indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas began in Qatar in an attempt to reach agreements; Two American workers for the humanitarian aid foundation in the Gaza Strip were wounded by shrapnel grenades. For the first time, over one million meals were distributed in a single day at one of the foundation's distribution centers; An officer in the Hamas security forces admitted that the movement had lost control of the Gaza Strip and that armed clans were filling the vacuum. In anticipation of a ceasefire, Hamas security forces escalated their pursuit of "agents and collaborators with Israel," foremost among them Yasser Abu Shabab, who was ordered to surrender to face charges of treason. Abu Shabab claimed that he was acting only in coordination with the Palestinian Authority, not Israel; The Freedom Flotilla Coalition announced its intention to dispatch another vessel in an effort to "break the siege" on the Gaza Strip; Israeli security forces continued extensive counterterrorism operations in Judea and Samaria. A terrorist squad en route to carrying out an attack was detained in the village of Barta'a, inside Israeli territory.
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The “Resistance Axis” and the Israel-Iran War

Iran's use of the proxy organizations throughout the Middle East which compose "resistance axis," is one of the central tenets of Iran's national security doctrine and has motivated its regional activity since the Islamic Revolution. A primary goal in constructing the "resistance axis" was to deter Israel from attacking Iran's nuclear facilities and to provide an immediate response in the event of such an attack; Israel's attack on Iran on June 13, 2025, found the "resistance axis" organizations in crisis after nearly two years of combat, during which many leaders and thousands of operatives were eliminated and their military capabilities were severely damaged. Throughout the 12 days of the Israel-Iran War, during which the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities were attacked and dozens of commanders and nuclear scientists were eliminated, the proxy organizations took virtually no offensive action against Israel and the United States. Instead, they issued statements of support for Iran and condemnation of Israeli and American attacks, while threatening they would intervene in the fighting if circumstances changed; Iran's leadership has yet to respond to the proxy organizations' lack of action during the war, but senior figures in Tehran have stated that the Islamic Republic remains committed to supporting the "resistance axis" until the "struggle against Israel" has been completed; From the perspective of the "resistance axis," the elimination of Mohammad Saeed Izadi (Hajj Ramadan), the head of the Palestine branch of the Revolutionary Guards' Qods Force, was critical. He was the key figure in Iran's ties with the Palestinian terrorist organizations and with Hezbollah, and played a role in preparing for the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre; The results of the Israel-Iran War will have an impact on the proxy organizations in the immediate future. The United States, Qatar, and Egypt have increased efforts to advance a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip and the release of the hostages, exerting greater pressure on Hamas; Hezbollah is struggling to rebuild its military-terrorist capabilities, has been forced to halt payments to homeowners affected by the fighting with Israel, and is facing increasing pressure to disarm; the issue of dismantling the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq has resurfaced; and the Houthis, who remain the only active "support arena," are attempting to raise their status within the "resistance axis," including by improving their military-terrorist capabilities with Iranian assistance; In ITIC assessment, Iran will now be forced to invest significant resources to rebuild the military capabilities damaged in the Israeli attacks and in stabilizing its military and security apparatus after the elimination of dozens of commanders. Despite the declarations of continued support for the "resistance axis," Iran will struggle to provide the scale of support for its proxies which existed before October 7, 2023. In all probability the elimination of Izadi will have a substantial impact on the continued financial and military support received by the proxy organizations because of his many years of experience. The proxies will also try to adapt to new, unprecedented concessions regarding their military capabilities.
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