https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJOGo3adyvE

Dozens of lives have been saved thanks to a fearless tank driver who drove over a car moments before it exploded.

The car bomb went off at a security checkpoint in the Sinai Peninsula on Monday and seven people were killed.

However, it is believed the death toll could have been significantly higher if the tank was not used as a crushing tool.

Inside the car there were four gunmen and 200lbs of explosives, a spokesman for the Egyptian army said.

The tank managed to drive away and the victims were civilians standing close to the scene.

The military said it intercepted the vehicle at a checkpoint near the city of Arish, the capital of North Sinai province, and tried to contain the expected blast by running over the car with a tank.

A spokesman claimed that up to 50 lives had been saved. They added: ‘The armed forces reiterates that such terrorist acts only strengthen our determination to continue to eradicate this terrorism in our beloved Sinai from the roots.

‘The armed forces will continue to sacrifice all that is precious, our sons’ lives, in order to preserve and protect this nation and its great people.’

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Four gunmen were inside the vehicle, the army said.

An insurgency in Egypt’s Sinai region has gained pace since the army toppled President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s oldest Islamist movement, following mass protests against his rule in mid-2013.

A Palestinian terrorist stabbed an Arab Israeli in Petah Tikva on Monday in what authorities have described as a case of mistaken identity.

The Arab victim, a 32-year-old bus driver, was mistaken for being Jewish and was stabbed in the neck by the terrorist as he stood next to a shawarma stand in the city center. The victim was rushed to Rabin Medical Center with severe injuries. The terrorist reportedly informed police, “I did it for Al-Aqsa,” referring to the mosque on the Temple Mount.

The terrorist, a 21-year-old Palestinian from Qalqilya who was in Israel illegally, attempted to flee the scene after the stabbing, but was tackled by pedestrians and handed over to police. The Palestinian had been imprisoned from 2015-2016 for a terror attack.

Egypt’s Armed Forces announced on Tuesday the killing of 40 Islamist militants accusing other fellow Muslims of blasphemy, in North Sinai as part of the implementation of the “Matry’s Right” operation fighting terrorism.

A statement by Egypt’s Armed Forces stated that the authorized military forces conducted several raids on “terrorist dens” in Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid under aerial protection.

The raids also resulted in the destruction of four motorbikes used by “takfiri elements” in targeting security checkpoints, as well as demolishing storage cells of explosives and weaponry.

The operation is part of the armed forces efforts to combat terrorism in the region.

Seven Egyptian civilians were killed when a terrorist vehicle loaded with explosives went off near a military checkpoint in the country’s North Sinai province, military spokesman said.

The military spokesman said in a press statement that the terrorists planned to explode the car at a crowded checkpoint in Arish city, but a military tank ran over the vehicle 200 meters before reaching the checkpoint.

Two children and two women were among the victims, the spokesman said, adding that the attack would have caused the death of at least 50 military personnel and civilians if the terrorists managed to reach the checkpoint.

Moscow announced the deployment of monitors from its military police 13 kilometers from the demarcation line between Israeli and Syrian troops in the Golan Heights, like reported by aawsat.com.

The new step removes “Hezbollah” from the cross-line as part of a deal struck between Russia, the US and Jordan to fix the boundaries of this zone and impose a ceasefire in the area.

General Sergey Rudskoy, spokesman for the Russian General Staff, said Monday during a scheduled press briefing in Moscow: “On July 21 and 22, two checkpoints and 10 observations posts were established around another de-escalation zone near the country’s southwestern border with Israel and Jordan.”

According to the Russian general, this step “will help maintain the ceasefire, allow unfettered access for humanitarian aid, and enable refugees and displaced persons to return.”

Rudskoy said the observation points were set up after informing Moscow’s allies, the Americans, the Jordanians and the Israelis, about Russia’s deployment.

Russian forces also set up two checkpoints and four observation posts around Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus, he added.

The general said that when Russia launched its anti-terrorist operation in Syria in September 2015 on invitation from the country’s government, the Syrian government controlled about 19,000 square kilometers of territory, while now it has taken over 74.2 thousand square kilometers, which means taking back in the two last months 40 percent of the overall Syrian size from various militant groups, including ISIS and Al-Qaeda affiliates.

Rudskoy said hostile activities in Syria have also decreased by a third in the first three weeks of July compared to the same period a month before.

Meanwhile, spokesperson of Syria’s Tomorrow Movement party Monzer Aqbiq told Ria Novosti on Monday that the Syrian opposition accepted that only Russian forces monitor the de-escalation zones in eastern Ghouta.

“Iranian forces would not participate in the monitoring operation,” he said.

The battle of Jaroud Arsal, launched by Hezbollah on the Lebanese-Syrian border, has multiple goals, like reported by eurasiareview.com .

This battle was waged after a primary Russian-US agreement regarding safe zones in Syria. Iran apparently did not welcome this agreement, thinking it marginalized Tehran; its discontent was manifested in efforts to assert its influence in Syria and Lebanon, where the Arsal battle is taking place.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah paved the way for this battle through a large political media campaign in Lebanon supported by political forces, either because they are Hezbollah’s allies or have decided to surrender to its power. Behind the fabricated speeches about “protecting Lebanon,” they are in fact working to create a safe zone for future repatriated Syrian refugees. Iran also wants to strengthen its areas of influence in Syria and tighten the safety belt around these areas.

Hezbollah knows that no one in Lebanon can object to this battle because no one wants to keep Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham (JFS), the militant group formerly known as Al-Nusra Front, controlling the barren areas on the borders. Hezbollah knows very well how and when to take advantage of decisive moments.

Hezbollah waged these battles, supported by shallow patriotic feelings, and undermining the role of the military institution on the borders. Hezbollah was able to get the needed compassion and support by launching a campaign of hatred against the Syrian refugees by spreading racist videos, in which Lebanese were seen beating Syrians, following the killing of Syrian detainees tortured by the Lebanese army. Hezbollah sowed misperceptions about Syrian refugees and the terrorists.

Patriotism in Lebanon today is just blind, ignorant hatred, and allows for the depiction of what is going on in Jaroud Arsal as a battle against terrorism. It is in fact a battle to confirm regional Iranian influence and undermine Lebanon even more.

What homeland are they defending, when the citizens’ feelings are being fueled with hatred against refugees, who are portrayed as terrorists?

The Lebanese have accepted the army’s killing of four Syrian detainees because they believed that this will pave the way for a stronger state fighting terrorism. However, it is really about preparing the soil for a wider regional sectarian plan.

Hezbollah is today the sole decision-making power in Lebanon. The government has to secure the party’s mission in Syria, in return for trivial rewards. No one cares about refugee camps being set on fire, detainees being tortured and killed, a journalist being arrested for commenting on Facebook or a lawyer being threatened because she dared to defend victims of torture. All this no longer offends anyone in Lebanon, and we cannot escape the fact that Lebanon is now a state ruled by Hezbollah.

What is happening in Arsal is that Hezbollah is expanding its influence, with the Lebanese army remaining mute. When there is no value to borders, sovereignty and citizens, the end of Lebanon becomes a crystal clear reality.

Hezbollah said its forces seized a strategic valley from Sunni Muslim militants, the latest advance in an offensive to oust jihadists from their last foothold along the Syria-Lebanon border, like reported by jpost.com.

The Shi’ite Muslim Hezbollah said it had advanced from several directions in the Wadi al-Kheil valley in Juroud Arsal, a barren mountainous border zone that has served as a base for militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

The advance gave Hezbollah control over what had been “the most important base for Nusra Front” in the area, Hezbollah’s military media unit said in a statement.

The offensive, launched on Friday by Hezbollah and the Syrian army, has so far focused on militants from al Qaeda’s former Syria branch, previously called the Nusra Front.

Hezbollah has reported rapid advances against Nusra fighters. The next target will be territory held by Islamic State militants, local media have reported.

The Syrian army and Hezbollah recaptured the area around the town of Fleita on the Syrian side of the border on Sunday, the Syrian state news agency SANA said.

The offensive has so far killed 19 Hezbollah combatants and more than 130 Sunni militants, according to a security source.

Hezbollah has played a critical part in previous campaigns against Sunni insurgents along Lebanon’s border, part of its wider role backing President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s six-year-old civil war.

Hezbollah’s role has been criticized by its Lebanese political opponents, including Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, who is a Sunni.

Egyptian police killed eight people in a shootout west of Cairo on Sunday, according to the country’s interior ministry.

The ministry said the eight were killed during a raid on their training camp in Fayoum province.

The statement said the eight were members of Hasm group, which the authorities links to the Muslim Brotherhood and blames for a string of attacks in recent months.

The Brotherhood denies any relation to Hasm and has repeatedly denounced violence.

Last week, police forces shot dead two Hasm members in a shootout east of Cairo.

Egypt was roiled by violence when the military deposed Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president and a Brotherhood leader, in a 2013 coup.

A Palestinian man attempted to stab a group of soldiers outside the Arab village of Teqoa in the central West Bank on Thursday, the army said.

The assailant was shot dead by the troops on the scene, according to the military. None of the soldiers were injured.

The IDF said the attempted stabbing occurred at a checkpoint the army had set up near the entrance to the Palestinian village of Teqoa.

“In response to the immediate threat, forces fired shots towards the assailant,” the army said in a statement.

The nearby Jewish settlement of Tekoa alerted its residents to the attack, telling them to keep away from the area and off the road until further notice as a riot had broken out.

Tekoa’s security department also called for contractors to remove their Palestinian workers from the settlement immediately.

Last Monday, a soldier was injured in a car ramming attack also outside Teqoa.

The driver of the vehicle was shot dead by security forces at a junction on the road between the settlements of Tekoa and Efrat in the central West Bank south of Jerusalem, the army said.

The injured soldier was approximately 20 years old. He suffered moderate wounds and received treatment at the scene by both civilian and military medics, the Magen David Adom ambulance service said in a statement.

According to the military, the assailant, who has yet to be identified, exited his vehicle after the ramming attack and tried to stab another soldier before he was shot.

Army medics treated the Palestinian man on the scene, but he was pronounced dead a short while after the car ramming.

According to an eyewitness, soldiers on the scene had earlier been checking passing Palestinian vehicles “without a barrier or protection.”

The past two years have seen an ongoing wave of violence in the West Bank and Israel, though it has waned in recent months.

Since September 2015, mainly Palestinian assailants have killed 43 Israelis, two visiting Americans, a Palestinian man and a British student, mainly in stabbing, shooting and vehicular attacks. In that time, some 280 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, a majority of them attackers, according to authorities.

The Israeli government has blamed the terrorism and violence on incitement by Palestinian political and religious leaders compounded on social media sites that glorify violence and encourage attacks.