134 held captive in Gaza.
112 hostages freed.
11 hostage bodies rescued.
32 hostages confirmed murdered in Gaza.
1,400+ Israelis murdered.
235 fallen soldiers in the battle in Gaza.
6 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
3 fallen soldiers in Judea & Samaria.
14,900 injured.
13,300 rockets fired at Israel.
186,000 Israelis displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.
*Hostage and Negotiations Updates:*
After the IDF revealed that medications which were sent to Gaza for the hostages were found undelivered in Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, today Qatar put out a statement in which they claim, “We received confirmation from Hamas that the transfer of the medicines to the hostages has begun.” The medications had been delivered to Gaza in January.
President Joe Biden’s adviser on Middle East affairs, Brett McGurk, is expected to arrive in Israel and Egypt this week in order to promote a hostage deal. In the meantime, Reuters reports that two senior American lawmakers met with Arab and Israeli leaders in order to bring about a ceasefire before the start of the month of Ramadan.
The spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry says that there has been no progress in mediation between Israel and Hamas in recent days. It appears that Hamas is continuing to demand a complete IDF withdrawal and other extreme conditions to which Israel will not give in.
Ismail Haniyeh, the political head of Hamas who lives in Qatar is currently in Cairo at the head of a delegation to hold discussions with senior Egyptian officials about the ongoing negotiations.
In response to U.S.’s talks of Israeli normalization with Saudi Arabia in exchange for a Palestinian State, the Saudi Prince bin Sultan and his foreign minister said in an interview with the FRANCE 24 network that “recognition of a Palestinian state is a preliminary requirement but not sufficient. We need a clear path to the establishment of the Palestinian state – this cannot be just a political commitment.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu has given several strong statements to reassure Israelis that he will not agree to a Palestinian State under current circumstances. The vast majority of Israelis, both right and left, agree that a Palestinian State is not possible now, and a majority believe it should never be done, for security reasons.
*Gaza Front Updates:*
No rockets were successfully fired from Gaza onto Israeli civilians today.
The IDF announced the name of a soldier who fell after being wounded in battle in Gaza last week:
Staff Sgt. Maoz Morell, 22, from Talmon
There are multiple rumors going around about Hamas Military head, Yahya Sinwar’s location and state of health. It appears that the IDF believes Sinwar is still in Gaza and has not escaped to Egypt. It is unclear if it’s true that he has returned to communicating with Hamas outside Gaza, or is suffering from complications of pneumonia. Regardless, Israelis countrywide wish the infection a speedy success, until the very end.
Battled in Gaza were extremely intense today, with both heavy airstrikes, and intense and dangerous close-quarters combat. A large number of wounded soldiers were evacuated to the hospital.
In Khan Younis, the IDF made a sudden advancement to the west, towards the Khan Younis port, which is right above the humanitarian zone. There is still a heavy Hamas presence in that area.
In other parts of Khan Younis, the IDF continued clearing out remaining terrorists, and searching for weapons, rocket launchers, and tunnels, in clearing out operations. In one operation, soldiers raided the home of the head of the Khan Younis Brigade’s anti-tank unit, where they found valuable intelligence materials and weapons.
Hamas terrorists in Gaza leave their weapons spread out between many hiding spots so that they can walk around unarmed and pose as civilians, but with the ability to pick up a weapon from nearby at any moment.
The IDF released footage of a Hamas cache of weapons inside a building which was connected to a UN school in Khan Younis. The IDF explained that Hamas terrorists would hide in the UN school, where civilians are taking shelter, and climb through a hole in the wall to the adjacent building, from where they would take weapons to attack IDF troops. Another nearby building contained even more weapons.
In parallel, the IDF soldiers worked to evacuate the civilian population from the school building, which is in a heavy combat zone, and unsafe. Approximately 60 terrorists who were hiding among the civilians tried to take advantage of the evacuation process to escape, but were detained by the IDF.
In Central Gaza the IDF began heavy and deadly airstrikes in Deir al-Balah and Nusriyat, both Hamas strongholds where the IDF has not yet maneuvered extensively. Similar heavy airstrikes are reported in Rafah.
In Northern Gaza, many civilians have returned despite ongoing battles and warning from the IDF that it is not yet safe to return. The IDF Spokesman in Arabic today gave strong warnings to those staying in Zeytoun and Turkaman to evacuate south through the Salah al-Din humanitarian route.
Civilian-led protests reportedly broke out across Rafah, where demonstrators have been calling for the overthrow of Hamas, and specifically have been calling out Osama Hamdan, the Hamas spokesman who is in Beirut and claims that Hamas is winning the war. Hamas terrorists fired at the protesters.
A report in the Saudi newspaper “A-Sharq Al-Awast” claims that on October 7, Hamas planned to storm the central prison in Ashkelon (Shakma Prison) and release Palestinian prisoners—but the plan failed due to a navigation error.
*Gaza Humanitarian Efforts Updates:*
According to security data published on Kan News, 440 UNRWA employees are active terrorists in Hamas’s military, 2,000 are Hamas operatives who are not part of the military, and 7,000 have at least one first-degree relative who is a member of Hamas. This means that four out of five UNRWA workers have close ties to Hamas.
Over the last 24 hours, the IDF successfully coordinated and facilitated medical teams, medical supplies, and refueling to Nasser Hospital, Al Aqsa Hospital, and European Hospital, in an effort to keep them functioning.
131 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were inspected and transferred to Gaza via Kerem Shalom, and 4 tankers of cooking gas and 2 tankers of fuel designated for the operation of essential infrastructure in Gaza, have entered the Gaza Strip.
Over the past few days, the United Arab Emirates sent to Egypt five automatic bakeries that are supposed to reach the Gaza Strip, as part of a new humanitarian operation.
Protesters demonstrated at the Kerem Shalom border crossing today, to block trucks from bringing aid into Gaza until all the hostages are returned. It appears that yesterday they were successful in blocking the aid that was to be sent via the Nitzana crossing.
*Northern Front Updates:*
Hezbollah appears to be testing out the IDF’s radar systems, and how to evade it. Multiple anti-tank missiles were fired into Israel, not triggering any sirens, and for the second time this week, a drone was found crashed near the city of Akko (Acre), despite no warning sirens.
Addressing the incident with the drone, the mayor of the head of the Mata Asher Regional Council and the chairman of the Line of Conflict Forum, Moshe Davidovitz, wrote: “In broad daylight, Hezbollah sends a UAV near my yard. If this is not war then what is it? A kite competition in the neighborhood? This is not escalation, this is war. The enemy is going to target the leadership, on the way to target all the residents wherever they are. Hezbollah cracks our defenses, penetrates our skies, threatens our lives. And we – remain silent, contain, evacuate. We need to put an end to the situation in the north, before the death of the north is declared. I call on the cabinet and the prime minister, come to the north and understand what is happening here!”
The IDF carried out heavy airstrikes on multiple Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon. Late night reports (or, early Wednesday morning) in Lebanon claim that the IDF conducted an airstrike in Jebel Safi, near the center of Lebanon—much further than the IDF’s usual strikes.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the Israeli Air Force in the north, and particularly a new giant missile-detecting balloon which is set to be deployed in the region. Gallant said that Hezbollah director, Nasrallah, is being deterred by the IDF’s attacks in all locations. “Every day the IDF wins and Hezbollah loses,” he told the soldiers. “I hope there won’t be more difficult days, but if there are, you are ready.”
The IDF has been taking advantage of time to better prepare for a large scale war with Hezbollah on multiple fronts, foremost by improving air defense systems, and providing improved protection to sensitive targets. The IDF earlier indicated that war against Hezbollah would begin after the main war against Hamas is done—which is now estimated to be within 6-8 weeks if there is no temporary ceasefire. At that point the weather in the north will also be much easier on the soldiers.
The question is if at any point during this time an agreement will be made with Hezbollah, preventing an all-out war, or if Hezbollah will decide to escalate first.
*Houthi War Front Updates*
Houthi attacks and capabilities in the Red Sea have significantly escalated. The pentagon confirmed that the Houthis shot down an American MQ-9 REAPER UAV in the Red Sea last night.
According to Arab reports, the US and Britain attacked the Houthi-controlled area of al-Hudaydah in Yemen.
The spokesman for the Houthis claimed that they carried out a drone attack on Israeli sites in Eilat. No sirens or attacks were seen in Eilat.
*Judea and Samaria Updates:*
Overnight, the IDF and border police arrested 11 wanted persons for their associations with terror groups, and confiscated weapons throughout Judea and Samaria. Palestinian sources reported that IDF special forces operated in Ein Sultan, north of Jericho.
The IDF carried out a large counter-terrorism operation in Jenin, which is the primary terrorism center in Judea and Samaria. Explosives were thrown at IDF forces, in one instance causing a large explosion next to an IDF vehicle. The IDF called in a drone strike for assistance in the battles that ensued— three terrorists were eliminated, multiple were injured, and arrests were made.
A vehicle, with an Israeli license plate, left the village of Zurif and drove wildly towards an IDF force, attempting to run them over. The soldiers carried out a suspicious arrest procedure, including shooting in the air and throwing stun grenades. A Palestinian driver got out of the vehicle and tried to escape. The suspect was arrested by the soldiers, but two other Palestinians who were in the vehicle managed to escape back to Zurif.
The IDF is on high alert of a potential violent outbreak from the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, and will keep a strong presence especially once Ramadan starts.
*International Updates:*
Algeria brought a unilateral ceasefire resolution against Israel to the UN security council to vote. Multiple third world countries, along with France, Japan, and Switzerland voted favor. The UK abstained, and the U.S. vetoed it. This makes the third ceasefire resolution that the United States has used its P5 power to veto.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, in his speech at the Security Council, addressed the Chinese ambassador directly and demanded that China work for the release of Noa Argamani from the hands of Hamas: “Noa was violently abducted by Hamas to Gaza on a motorcycle. The look of terror in her eyes became a symbol of the plight of the hostages. Did you think of Noa Argamani when you voted for a ceasefire? Noa’s mother, Liora Chong Hong Lee, an Israeli of Chinese descent, is currently dying of stage four brain cancer and all she wants is to see her home for the last time.”
Erdan added, “I am addressing you on behalf of Noa’s mother: instead of pressing for a harmful cease-fire that would leave Noa in Gaza, press Hamas to release Noa so that her mother can fulfill her last wish to see her home one last time before she dies.”
*General Updates:*
About 12 military polling stations were opened today in the combat zones to allow regular and reserve IDF servicemen to vote in the upcoming municipal elections, on February 27th.
© 2024 Bruria Efune