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Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (May 5 –12, 2026)

IDF forces continued operations within the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip, destroying terrorist infrastructure and eliminating terrorists who posed a threat, including those involved in the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre. The son of the Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas' political bureau in the Gaza Strip, was killed in an attack in Gaza City; Hamas continued to accuse Israel of preventing the transition to the second stage of the ceasefire agreement while refusing to comply with the demand to disarm. Hamas downplayed the importance of Israeli threats to renew the fighting, but said the Palestinians would "defend themselves" if attacked; Reportedly, 5,000 Palestinian policemen will undergo Israeli security screening and deploy under the supervision of the committee for managing the Gaza Strip; There has reportedly been a sharp decline in the flow of international aid to the Gaza Strip since the halt of the war against Iran; Hamas continued strengthening its civilian rule in the Strip, with increased "security" activity against "collaborators" and militias supported by Israel; According to reports, another international flotilla which was supposed to leave Turkey for the Gaza Strip was postponed after a request from the United States because of concern over a violent confrontation; Hamas is preparing to select the new head of the political bureau in a contest between Khalil al-Hayya and Khaled Mashal; The Israeli security forces continued counterterrorism activity in Judea and Samaria. A terrorist was shot and killed after shooting at the forces in the Qalandia refugee camp; there were no casualties; A court in Ramallah overturned the decision of the Palestinian minister of finance to stop payments to a Palestinian prisoner incarcerated in Israel.
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Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah and Lebanon (May 4 – 11, 2026)

The IDF continued to destroy terrorist infrastructure and eliminate terrorists within the forward defense zone (the Yellow Line) and other areas in south Lebanon, as well as the Beqa'a Valley. The commander of the Radwan Force was eliminated in a strike in the Dahiyeh al-Janoubia in Beirut, the first of its kind in a month. An IDF soldier was killed and at least 16 were wounded by explosive drones; Hezbollah ramped up its attacks and issued 132 claims of responsibility for attacks on IDF forces in south Lebanon and on military targets in northern Israel, with nearly half of the attacks using explosive drones; On May 14 and 15, 2026 Lebanon and Israel will reportedly hold the third round of direct talks in Washington with the participation of expanded delegations. The Lebanese administration continues its attempts to institute a complete ceasefire to focus the discussions on the remaining issues, but the United States and Israel reportedly insist on practical steps to disarm Hezbollah; Hezbollah continued its opposition to the continuation of direct negotiations, claiming they violated the Lebanese constitution and damaged state sovereignty, but did not rule out the possibility of indirect negotiations with Israel; The al-Qard al-Hassan association, Hezbollah’s financial arm, reportedly renewed its activity in a branch in the Dahiyeh al-Janoubia which was not attacked by the IDF, while the organization continues to operate an international financing network to bypass sanctions and to reduce dependence on Iranian assistance; The Syrian authorities exposed a Hezbollah cell which trained in Lebanon and planned attacks and assassinations. Hezbollah denied the existence of such a cell and claimed that it had no presence in Syria; Hezbollah accused the American ambassador to Beirut of damaging coexistence in Lebanon after he visited the Maronite Patriarch following attacks on him by Hezbollah supporters.
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Hezbollah’s Unit 121

The Lebanese government measures taken against Hezbollah and its decision to open direct negotiations with Israel increased the tension between Hezbollah and the Lebanese leadership, as senior figures in the organization and its supporters accused President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam of betraying the "resistance" and collaborating with Israel. According to reports, the IDF Intelligence Directorate also warned that direct negotiations could put Aoun's life in danger; The concern that the escalation of Hezbollah’s rhetoric will threaten and possibly compromise the lives of Lebanese senior officials has put Hezbollah's Unit 121 in the spotlight. The Unit is a covert entity subordinate to the organization’s secretary general and has been responsible for a series of assassinations of Hezbollah opponents in the political and security arena during the past two decades. The most prominent case was the assassination of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri in February 2005; The operational patterns of the unit, as revealed in the proceedings of the Special Tribunal for the Hariri assassination, indicated high intelligence, technical proficiency and the use of deception to disrupt and sabotage the efforts of investigative bodies attempting to discover responsibility for the assassinations, and therefore, none of the unit’s operatives has ever been arrested; In Amit Institute assessment, Hezbollah’s inability to change the decisions of the Lebanese government from within, since its ministers represent less than a third of the total number, together with the growing internal pressure from the state leadership determined to implement the state’s monopoly on weapons and to conduct direct negotiations with Israel, may lead the organization to renew political assassinations to halt moves perceived as an existential threat to Hezbollah and to reestablish its deterrent power. In such a case, Hezbollah will most likely exploit the capabilities of Unit 121 and its years of accumulated experience.
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Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (April 28 – May 5, 2026)

IDF forces continued operating within the Yellow Line and eliminated terrorists who posed a threat, among them the head of the operations department in Hamas' military intelligence headquarters who helped orchestrate the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack and massacre; The mediators delivered to Israel and Hamas a 15-part document proposing a phased implementation of the second stage of the ceasefire agreement. It included disarming under the supervision of a national and international committee, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the reconstruction of areas which had been disarmed. Hamas and the other Palestinian terrorist organizations demanded full implementation of the first stage by Israel and the dismantling of militias supported by Israel before moving to the second stage. Gazans called on Hamas to consider the proposal for disarmament lest the war be renewed; Hamas continued to claim damage to the public health system in the Gaza Strip, high levels of unemployment, poverty and almost complete dependence on humanitarian aid. A commander of an Israeli-supported militia claimed that they had taken control of 11% of the areas held by Hamas; The IDF halted more than 20 boats which participated in the Global Resilience Flotilla to the Gaza Strip, and two of the organizers were brought to Israel on suspicion of ties with Hamas. Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed it was "piracy on the high seas" targeting "solidarity activists."; Hamas renewed the election for a new head of the movement's political bureau in a race between Khalil al-Hayya and Khaled Mashaal; Israeli security forces continued counterterrorism activity in Judea and Samaria and located weapons, ready-to-use explosive devices and drones. Two soldiers were stabנed and wounded in the village of Silwad, one terrorist was killed.
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Spotlight on Terrorism Hezbollah and Lebanon (April 27 – May 4, 2026)

Hezbollah issued 49 claims of responsibility for attacks on IDF forces in south Lebanon, about half of them using explosive drones. Hezbollah admitted that thousands of the organization’s operatives had been killed since the beginning of the hostilities on March 2, 2026. Hezbollah secretary general Na'im Qassem claimed there was no ceasefire in Lebanon and praised the "resistance fighters'" hit-and-run methods against Israeli forces; Simon Karam, former Lebanese ambassador, will reportedly participate in the third meeting held by the ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel in the United States to demonstrate his country’s commitment to direct talks with Israel. However, Beirut said a meeting between President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not on the agenda, and they continued to demand a complete halt to Israeli attacks; Hezbollah secretary general accused the Lebanese authorities of stabbing the resistance in the back and claimed that direct negotiations with Israel would serve only the interests of Netanyahu and the United States. The editor of Hezbollah-affiliated daily al-Akhbar  warned that if Aoun met Netanyahu he would be considered a president working on behalf of the "occupation."; A satirical video on a Lebanese television channel showed the Hezbollah secretary general as a character from Angry Birds and angered Hezbollah supporters, who responded with drawings that insulted the Maronite Christian leader.
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Hezbollah Uses First Person View Drones Againt Israel

Rapid First Person View (FPV) drones, which are based on fiber optics and make precise strikes possible at distances of dozens of kilometers while overcoming electronic warfare capabilities, have become a cheap and accessible weapon on the battlefield in recent years, as was seen in the war in Ukraine; Hezbollah began limited use of FPV drones during the previous war against Israel (October 8, 2023-November 27, 2024). In the current war, which began on March 2, 2026, Hezbollah increased its use of explosive drones, and since the start of the ceasefire it has focused the attacks on IDF forces in south Lebanon; Hezbollah reportedly operates workshops in south Lebanon and the Beqa'a Valley to assemble the drones, which cost only hundreds of dollars. It was also claimed that last year the Lebanese army seized a shipment of 5,000 drones which were smuggled into Lebanon, but dozens of other shipments have reached the organization; Reports in media outlets affiliated with Hezbollah and the "resistance axis" noted the use of FPV drones as a game-changers in the war in south Lebanon, making it possible for the organization to wage an asymmetric war against Israel’s technological superiority, based on low cost, precision and flexibility; Hezbollah also exploits the drone attacks for propaganda, quoting reports and commentaries from Israeli media to strengthen the idea of a threat and make it seem as though Israel's technological superiority has been eroded; The use of fiber-optic FPV drones enables Hezbollah to increase pressure on IDF forces cheaply while increasing their propaganda value because they are difficult to intercept. In ITIC assessment, Hezbollah will continue using drones while improving their capabilities and integrating them into more complex combat arrays.
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