War Day 262: Terrorists in ‘Humanitarian Areas,’ Top Hamas Official Eliminated

War Summary, Day Two Hundred and Sixty Two: Netanyahu emphasizes that he will only accept a deal that returns all hostages and leaves Hamas without power, IDF dealing with terrorists in humanitarian areas, top Hamas official eliminated, troops continue to advance in Rafah, three seriously injured from Hezbollah fire in the north, and Jewish man killed in Qalqilya terror attack.

By Mrs. Bruria Efune

120 held captive in Gaza.
45 hostages confirmed murdered in Gaza.
116 hostages freed.
19 hostage bodies rescued.
1,550 Israelis killed.
315 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
15 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
7 fallen soldiers in Judea & Samaria.
19,600 estimated rockets fired at Israel.
90,000 Israelis displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines:

• Netanyahu emphasizes that he will only accept a deal that returns all hostages and leaved Hamas without power
• IDF dealing with terrorists in humanitarian areas
• Top Hamas official possibly eliminated
• Troops continue to advance in Rafah
• Three seriously injured from Hezbollah fire in the north
• Jewish man killed in Qalqilya terror attack

Hostage Updates:

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 14, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that he’ll only agree to a ceasefire deal that allows for the completion of the war against Hamas in Gaza, and that the IDF will not withdraw until all the hostages are released. He later clarified that Hamas are the ones refusing and preventing Biden’s proposed ceasefire-hostage release deal.

Gaza Front Updates:

Hamas continues to fire one or two short range rockets per day, at Israeli communities near the Gaza border. Most rockets are fired from Southern Gaza, or from humanitarian areas in Central Gaza.

Since Friday, the IDF announced the name of one hero who fell in battle in Gaza:

Sgt. First Class (res.) Gross Malkia, 25, from Susya

Three divisions of IDF troops are currently operating in Gaza: the 99th Division along the Netzarim Corridor, and in select neighborhoods of Gaza City and Central Gaza; The Gaza Division in various areas in Gaza on pinpoint operations, and in the buffer zone; and the 162nd Division in Rafah and along the Philadelphi Corridor.

As IDF troops sweep through Rafah and areas in Central Gaza, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists are increasingly embedding themselves between evacuated civilians in humanitarian zones, and firing from those locations—both at IDF troops in Gaza, and Israeli civilians in Israel. Aside from attacking Israelis, it seems that at least half of the rockets they’re launching to Israel fall short, and land in Gaza. The IDF is one by one dealing with these “humanitarian” hideouts, with extreme caution not to harm the civilians sheltering in the are.

On Friday, the IDF used a targeted drone strike to destroy a PIJ rocket launching site that was inside a designated humanitarian zone in Khan Younis. On Shabbat, IDF troops neutralized two terrorists who were firing at them from the “humanitarian route” along which aid is transferred from the Kerem Shalom Crossing into Gaza. On Sunday, the IDF used an airstrike to eliminate around 30 Hamas and PIJ terrorists who were gathering in a defunct UNRWA headquarters building in Gaza City.

In addition, on Shabbat, there were reports of a strike in the al-Mawasi area, which damaged a Red Cross building and killed around 22 people. The IDF says it was not active in that area, and did not carry out that attack. While the IDF didn’t day what caused the strike, it’s possible that it was a failed Hamas rocket launch.

Before Shabbat, IDF troops completed a raid on a university campus in Central Gaza, from where terrorists had been firing at IDF troops. On the campus, IDF soldiers found a large weapons cache, and barrels filled with explosives,

On Shabbat, an unusually heavy airstrike in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, reportedly targeted Raad Saad, a senior Hamas commander who heads the terror organization’s operations department. The IDF did not confirm the target, but indicated that there would be a follow-up report. The status of Raad Saad is unclear—if he was eliminated, it would be the most senior target eliminated in several months.

Troops continue to hold the Netzarim Corridor, and battle terrorists in the area, and eliminated around a dozen over the last few days.

On Sunday, IDF troops took over the Hamas training site in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah. At the terror base, troops found and raided the offices of two senior terrorists: Yasser Natat, who was responsible for the local rocket launching efforts, and Mahmoud Hamdan, the commander of the Tel Sultan base. In addition to large stockpiles of weapons and several tunnel shafts, troops located valuable intelligence. Most of the base was demolished after the raid.

The IDF is continuing to advance towards the West and North of Gaza, with intense and fire-heavy battles.

Gaza Humanitarian Efforts Updates:

On Sunday, the 23rd of June, 275 humanitarian aid trucks were transferred to Gaza.

The content of 1,200 aid trucks is waiting to be collected from the Gazan side of Kerem Shalom, and over 4,689 pallets of aid are waiting to be collected from the JLOTS pier offloading area.

The Jordanian army announced that a road accident, involving three military trucks which were part of a convoy of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, occurred on the way to the Dead Sea, and a Jordanian officer and a soldier were killed.

Northern Front Updates:

Hezbollah is continuing to fire on Israeli communities in Northern Israel, with an expanded reach to the Central Galilee area. The terror group is increasingly using drones for attacks, and is attempting to demonstrate their ability to target sensitive sits in Israel. In one instance, drones were intercepted right above a Rafael Technologies (the company that makes the Iron Dome and other defenses) production site.

On Sunday night, two men from the Metula security team were severely injured by an anti-tank missile. Earlier in the day, an IDF soldier was seriously injured by an explosive drone attack in Ayelet HaShachar, in which the drone evaded air defense systems and no siren was triggered. Airstrikes also caused damage to homes and community buildings, and started a few wild fires.

The IDF has been carrying out an increasing number of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon, and an increasing speed.

An IDF airstrike deep into Lebanon’s Western Beqaa District, eliminated Ayman Ghatma, a prominent Hamas and al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya terrorist in Lebanon, who was responsible for supplying weapons to the terror groups, and advancing attacks against Israel.

While the Israeli government has been clear that it prefers a diplomatic resolution with Lebanon, the option is looking unrealistic, and Israel is gearing up for a Lebanon war. The Biden administration is continuing efforts to dissuade Israel, warning threats to Hezbollah’s existence may trigger a wider regional warm which will include Iran. AP News reported that thousands of fighters from pro-Iranian militias throughout the Middle East have offered to join Hezbollah and fight in its ranks if an all-out war with Israel begins. The U.S. does not want to get involved if this happens.

U.S. Arms Shipments:

Defense Minister Yoav Galant is currently visiting Washington, where he is expected to hold a series of meetings with senior officials in the White House, the State Department, Congress, and the US government. Gallant will discuss the continuation of the war, the diplomatic efforts to return the hostages, the steps required to strengthen regional stability, and the special cooperation between the Israeli security establishment and the American government. Most importantly, Gallant will be attempting to solve the issue of the delayed arms shipments.

Addressing the issue at a cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu said: “Since the beginning of the war, we have received support in spirit and material – with means of defense and means of attack. But about four months ago, there was a dramatic drop. The large mass of armaments was left behind.

The Times of Israel reported, according to an anonymous American official, that the U.S. simply removed emergency procedures that were in place to fast-track weapons to Israel toward the beginning of the war. Now weapons are no longer being fast-tracked to meet the urgent needs of the war. This is likely an administration effort to delay or prevent a Lebanon war.

Houthi & Iraqi War Front Updates

On Sunday morning the IDF reported that overnight IDF fighter jets shot down a drone heading towards Israel from the east—usually meaning Iraq. The drone was intercepted before reaching Israeli airspace, and so no sirens were triggered. The Iranian-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq took credit for the attacks, claiming to have targeted Eilat.

The US Ary announced that a Houthi drone hit an American ship on Sunday. Several crew members were injured, but the ship continued on its way despite being damaged. Earlier, the army had announced that they destroyed three unmanned vessels belonging to the Houthis in the Red Sea.

Judea and Samaria Updates:

On Shabbat, a Jewish man was shot and killed while in his vehicle, in the Palestinian Authority controlled city of Qalqilya. He was named as:

Amnon Muchtar, 67

The IDF was already operating in Qalqilya on Friday, after an earlier attack on and Israeli. During the operation on Friday, two wanted terrorists were eliminated after they attempted to run away, while firing at troops. The two belonged to the PIJ, and were planning on carrying out terror attack.

On Sunday, the IDF, Shin Bet, and Border Police forces carried out another counterterrorism operation in Qalqilya, in which they confiscated materials for preparing explosives and about NIS 70,000 in terrorist funds. In addition, the security forces arrested 13 wanted persons throughout Judea and Samaria. So far, since the beginning of the war, about 4,150 have been arrested throughout Judea and Samaria, about 1,750 of them are associated with the Hamas, and the rest with other terror groups.

General Updates:

On Monday morning, the Ministry of Defense announced that it had executed a test launch of a rocket propulsion system, from a base in the center of the country. The experiment was predetermined by the security system and was carried out as planned.