A Jordanian truck driver killed three Israelis present at the Allenby Bridge border crossing between Jordan and the West Bank on September 8.[1] The driver arrived at the Israeli-controlled side of the border crossing, exited his vehicle, and opened fire at Israeli forces working there.[2] Israeli forces at the border crossing killed the shooter.[3] The gunman killed three Israeli civilians working at the border crossing.[4] The Israel Airports Authority—the Israeli government entity responsible for airports and land-to-land border crossings—closed Allenby Bridge, the Rabin crossing, and Jordan River crossing with Jordan until further notice following the shooting attack.[5]
Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah congratulated the Islamic Resistance in Jordan on September 8 for the shooting attack at Allenby Bridge.[6] Kataib Hezbollah spokesperson Hussein Moanes, also known as Abu Ali al Askari, said on April 1 that the Islamic Resistance in Iraq—a coalition of Iranian-backed militias—has prepared to “equip” 12,000 “Islamic Resistance in Jordan” fighters with a significant supply of weapons.[7] Moanes said that the Islamic Resistance in Iraq seeks to equip Jordanian fighters, so that Iraq and Jordan can jointly attack Israel to ”defend” the Palestinian cause. Jordanian Interior Minister Mazin Abdullah Hillal al Farrayeh said that the driver acted alone.[8] CTP-ISW cannot independently verify Kataib Hezbollah’s September 8 claim.
Senior Iranian military officials have continued to signal that Iran will attack Israel directly in response to Israel killing several senior Axis of Resistance leaders, including Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Ismail Haniyeh, in recent weeks. Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Coordination Deputy Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naghdi claimed on September 7 that Iran will “certainly” conduct a “second True Promise Operation,” in reference to the April 2024 Iranian drone and missile attack targeting Israel.[9] Naghdi claimed that Iran will retaliate “at the right time” to ensure that its retaliation generates “more effects.”[10] The United States, Israel, and their allies intercepted most of the projectiles that Iran fired toward Israel in April 2024, and the Iranian attack inflicted significantly less damage on Israel than Tehran intended.[11] CTP-ISW previously assessed that Iran could modify its April 2024 attack model in several ways, including by increasing the volume of projectiles it fires at Israel or changing the number of locations in Israel that it targets, to increase the likelihood of inflicting serious damage on Israel.[12]
Chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) Richard Moore stated on September 7 that he still expects Iran to retaliate against Israel the killing of Haniyeh.[13] Moore stated that “we won’t be able to let our guard down for the type of activity that the Iranians might try and prosecute in that direction.”
Key Takeaways:
- West Bank: A Jordanian truck driver killed three Israelis present at the Allenby Bridge border crossing between Jordan and the West Bank on September 8.
- Iranian Retaliation: Senior Iranian military officials have continued to signal that Iran will attack Israel directly in response to Israel killing several senior Axis of Resistance leaders, including Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Ismail Haniyeh, in recent weeks.
- Gaza Strip: The IDF Air Force struck and killed Hamas’ eastern Khan Younis Battalion rocket commander on September 3. The IDF said on September 8 that the commander launched rockets at towns near the Gaza Strip and central Israel throughout the war.
Gaza Strip
Axis of Resistance objectives:
Erode the will of the Israeli political establishment and public to sustain clearing operations in the Gaza Strip
Reestablish Hamas as the governing authority in the Gaza Strip
The IDF Air Force struck and killed Hamas’ eastern Khan Younis Battalion rocket commander on September 3.[14] The IDF said on September 8 that the commander launched rockets at towns near the Gaza Strip and central Israel throughout the war.[15] The IDF struck the commander in an unspecified area of Khan Younis on September 3.[16] The IDF Air Force separately struck 25 targets throughout the Gaza Strip on September 7 and 8, including Palestinian fighter cells and militia buildings.[17]
The IDF 252nd Division continued operations along the Netzarim Corridor on September 8.[18] Israeli forces killed several Palestinian fighters that posed a threat to IDF operations near the corridor.[19]
The IDF 162nd Division continued clearing operations in Rafah on September 8.[20] The IDF 401st Brigade has killed dozens of Palestinian fighters and destroyed militia infrastructure in Tal al Sultan “Casbah” over the past few days.[21] IDF 401st Brigade soldiers engaged Palestinian fighters barricaded in a building that had targeted Israeli forces with a grenade.[22] The IDF seized many weapons and documents from the building after killing the Palestinian fighters.[23] Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP) said on September 8 that its fighters targeted Israeli forces with rockets in eastern Rafah on September 4.[24]
West Bank
Axis of Resistance objectives:
Establish the West Bank as a viable front against Israel
Israeli forces engaged Palestinian fighters in six locations across the West Bank since CTP-ISW’s last data cutoff on September 7.[25]
Southern Lebanon and Golan Heights
Axis of Resistance objectives:
Deter Israel from conducting a ground operation into Lebanon
Prepare for an expanded and protracted conflict with Israel in the near term
Expel the United States from Syria
Iranian-backed militias, including Lebanese Hezbollah, have conducted at least seven attacks into northern Israel since CTP-ISW’s last data cutoff on September 7.[26]
The IDF Northern Command is pursuing a new pre-emptive strike strategy against Hezbollah launch sites according to an Israeli Army Radio correspondent.[27] The IDF has pursued this strategy since Hezbollah’s retaliatory strike against Israel on August 24. Hezbollah launches “hundreds” of munitions at Israeli towns along the Israel-Lebanon border, including those that have not been evacuated, in response to overnight Israeli airstrikes.
Iran and Axis of Resistance
The Houthis claimed on September 7 that they shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over Marib Governorate, Yemen.[28] Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sarea claimed that the Houthis have shot down eight US MQ-9 Reaper drones since the start of the Israel-Hamas War in October 2023. CTP-ISW cannot verify that the Houthis shot down a US drone on September 7.