War Day 159: Galant Hints to Rafah Invasion, Junior Terrorist Stabs Soldiers, Eliminated

War Summary, Day One Hundred and Fifty Nine: Defense Minister Galant visited troops in Gaza City and hints to Rafah invasion, Nasrallah pulls forces from the border, and a 15-year-old Palestinian boy stabbed two soldiers at a Jerusalem checkpoint now listed in “good to moderate condition” and the junior terrorist was eliminated.

By Mrs. Bruria Efune

134 held captive in Gaza.
112 hostages freed.
11 hostage bodies rescued.
34 hostages confirmed murdered in Gaza.
1,400+ Israelis murdered.
249 fallen soldiers in the battle in Gaza.
6 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
3 fallen soldiers in Judea & Samaria.
14,900 injured.
14,000 rockets fired at Israel.
160,000 Israelis displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines:

• Brigadier General Goldfus broke protocol to address politicians.
• Senior Hamas terrorist eliminated in Rafah, Southern Gaza.
• Senior Hamas terrorist eliminated in Southern Lebanon, preventing international attacks.
• Terror attack in Jerusalem.

Hostage Updates:

Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh said about negotiations, “There is an opportunity for a multi-stage agreement if the Israeli government gives up its stubbornness; we strive for an end to the war.” In other words, Hamas is not giving up on their unreasonable demands which go way past Israel’s red line.

Gaza Front Updates:

For the first time since since Thursday, air raid sirens blared in Gaza Envelope communities, including in Yad Mordechai where most residents have already returned home and had less than 15 seconds to run to safety. No physical injuries were reported.

Thank G-d, and quite miraculously, the IDF did not announce the names of any fallen soldiers today.

In a rare defiance of usual military protocol, Brigadier General Dan Goldfus shook the country today when he added his own unapproved comments at the end of a speech. Goldfus is the much-admired commander of the 98th Division, and himself has been fighting alongside his soldiers inside Gaza, who just completed an operation in Hamad. After wrapping up field updates, he turned to read from his own notepad, and said, “I ask at this opportunity to address our leaders—from both sides—and I hope that they will have the time to listen to the heart of a soldier,” talking to Israel’s political leadership, he spoke about the tireless determination and integrity of his soldiers to win the war and bring the hostages home.

”We bow our heads over our resonant failure on October 7, but at the same time we push forward, carry out operations at the highest level of quality, protect our values, and reach many achievements on the battlefield. But you, you need need to be worthy of us. You need to be worthy of the soldiers who lost their lives. You need to be worthy of the reservists who don’t care for what [political] side they are on, and fought and fight alongside each other. Make sure that everyone takes part, you must. You must make sure we do not return to October 6, that all the effort and sacrifice won’t be in vain. This you must keep well in your minds, every day, every hour.

“From my heart, I ask of you to be together, united, push away the extremism, and adopt the togetherness. Find what unites, we on the battlefield found it, and we will not give up on it. Make it worth it.”

Defense Minister Yoav Galant visited troops in Gaza City, and with hints to Rafah, remarked, “Even those who think we are delaying will soon see that we will reach everywhere. Everyone who was involved in the events of October 7th will be brought to justice in Israel, or we will eliminate him. There is no safe place for terrorists, neither here, nor outside Gaza, nor anywhere in the Middle East, we will bring everyone to their place.”

Early in the afternoon, two suspects in diving gear were spotted by the IDF swimming towards the border of Northern Gaza and Israel. Navy soldiers tracked the divers and fired warning shots, and the pair immediately fled back to the coast.

Battles in Gaza continued in Gaza City, Central Gaza, and Khan Younis.

In Deir al-Balah, Central Gaza, the IDF carried out heavy airstrikes against a large number of Hamas targets in the city, including tunnels, missile launching position, and staging grounds.

In Hamad, troops wrapped up the 10-day operation eliminating the last known remaining terrorists, after terrorists from the city who surrendered gave away all their positions. Over 100 terrorists were eliminated in the city, dozens were arrested, and 100 airstrikes were carried out against Hamas positions and infrastructure, including several tunnels.

In Rafah, Southern Gaza, the IDF and Shin Bet called an airstrike to eliminate a senior Hamas commander, Muhammad Abu Hasna, who was coordinating and directing various Hamas terrorists units in battle. Hasna also directed a war room that collected intelligence on movement of the IDF inside Gaza, and was involved in seizing humanitarian aid that came into Gaza, and distributing it to Hamas terrorists and storerooms.

In a statement, the IDF said that Hasna’s elimination “significantly harms the functioning of various Hamas units in Rafah.”

In typical strategy of senior Hama commanders, Hasna stayed in an UNRWA aid distribution center. The IDF eliminated him when he briefly stepped outside, to avoid destroying the building.

According to various reports, the U.S. gave Israel conditions for entry into Rafah. The IDF has repeatedly made it clear that a maneuver in Rafah is mandatory for dismantling Hamas, and will not be cancelled.

Gaza Humanitarian Efforts Updates:

207 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were inspected and transferred to the Gaza Strip yesterday, as well as 4 tankers of cooking gas and 2 tankers of fuel designated for the operation of essential infrastructure in Gaza.

133 trucks were distributed by aid organizations inside Gaza. The IDF facilitated a World Food Program (WFP) truck convoy directly into northern Gaza from Israel territory. Over the last 2 weeks, more than 150 trucks were transferred to the northern Gaza Strip, most by the private sector.

The Palestinian “Quds” network reported that the solar panels at the al-Ma’amani hospital in Gaza City were destroyed following deliveries of humanitarian aid that were dropped from the air, likely by the Jordanian army.

According to a Reuters report, the U.S. is preparing for the cessation of funding to UNRWA to become permanent.

Abraham Wyner, a professor of statistics and data science, published an article pointing out major flaws in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health’s daily death count reporting. In what should be the most obvious clue that the numbers are made up, the ministry reports deaths with a regular daily increase of 15%, or an average of 270 deaths per day—a consistency that makes no sense in a war. The “Health Ministry” also claims that 70% of the deaths in Gaza are of women and children, and on some days, they report deaths of almost exclusively children and no men. This, despite the fact that they include Hamas terrorists deaths in the tally. Today, the reported total reached 31,272. At least 13,000 Hamas terrorists have been eliminated by the IDF, meaning even if the Hamas number is true, 42% are male Hamas terrorists, not women and children.

Northern Front Updates:

Following previous patterns, where Hezbollah escalates fire and then matches the IDF’s response of escalation with a scared de-escalation, Hezbollah fired slightly less missiles on Israel’s far north today. No hits or injuries were reported. While Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah talks big threats, it appears that he is actually afraid of going to an all-out war with Israel, and reports indicate that he has pulled 94% of his elite forces away from the border, to avoid losing them.

The IDF struck multiple Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon today, amongst them, a targeted strike which eliminated a senior Hamas commander in Lebanon, named Had Mustafa. Mustafa is the fourth senior Hamas commander to be eliminated in Lebanon, and was involved in directing terror cells in Lebanon and countries abroad, to advance attacks against Jews outside Israel. According to the Alma Research Center, this chain of assassinations significantly decreased Hamas’s ability to direct terror attacks in Israel and around the world, in time for the expected flare-up during Ramadan.

Houthi War Front Updates:

The US Army’s Central Command announced that last night the Houthis fired a close-range ballistic missile at the USS Laboon destroyer in the Red Sea – but the missile did not hit, there were no casualties, and no damage was caused. In addition, it was reported that the US Army, in cooperation with the international coalition, intercepted two Houthi drones.

According to a report in the Financial Times, the US held secret talks with Iran in order to stop the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. It’s yet to see if any results came from the talks.

In the same report, it was claimed that the European Union is preparing to provide Egypt with eight billion euros in aid against the background of the major damage to its economy, among other things due to the effects of the Houthis hindering the movement of vessels through the Suez Canal.

Judea and Samaria Updates:

This morning a 15-year-old Palestinian boy biked to a checkpoint south of Jerusalem and stabbed a 19-year old female soldier and 25 year old male security guard, who are now listed in “good to moderate condition.” The junior terrorist was eliminated.

Overnight, the IDF arrested seven wanted persons throughout Judea and Samaria, for their involvement in terror groups. During one arrest, an explosive was found placed under an IDF vehicle. The soldiers safely removed and destroyed the explosives.