93rd Day: Hezbollah Ups the Ante, Israel to Ban UNRWA

War Summary, Day Ninety Three: A barrage of around 40 missiles were fired from Lebanon onto the Mount Meron area. Israel is working towards banning UNRWA from Gaza after the war.

By Mrs. Bruria Efune

War Summary, Day Ninety Three

132 held captive in Gaza.
110 hostages freed.
11 hostage bodies rescued.
33 hostages confirmed murdered in Gaza.
1,300+ Israelis murdered.
176 fallen soldiers in the battle in Gaza.
5 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
8,000 injured.
12,500 rockets fired at Israel.
187,533 Israelis displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Hostage Updates – Skip this section today if you’re sensitive:

Hamas released a new psychological terror video showing the three hostages who were accidentally killed by IDF fire, as well as another hostage who was allegedly murdered in Hamas captivity. The IDF and Israeli government recommend against watching or sharing such videos.

At a rally for the remaining hostages, Agam Goldstein-Almog, a 17-year-old who was released from Hamas captivity after being held in Gaza for 51 days, spoke of her time in captivity, and said “One day we moved from a house to a tunnel. Suddenly the door opened and we met six girls. Many girls experienced severe gender-based abuse, they are injured with very severe and complex injuries that are not treated. I can’t even imagine what their situation is and what hope they are holding on to.”

Gaza Front Updates:

Hamas’s rocket fire continues to be suppressed, with only a couple barrages to the Gaza Envelope communities over the last two days. No injuries were reported. It’e assumed that Hamas still has a large arsenal of rockets, perhaps even a quarter of what they started out with before October 7th. The reduced attacks are mainly due to their reduced command on ground, and the lack of “need” to provoke Israel further.

Since Friday, the IDF announced the name of one hero who fell in battle in Gaza: Lt. Col. Roee Yohay Yosef Mordechay, 31, from Tel Aviv.

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu spoke to the nation and addressed both the concerns about the IDF slowing down in Gaza, and the surfacing political tensions. Attempting to put both at ease, he said:

“Three months ago, Hamas committed a terrible massacre against us. The government led by me directed the IDF to go to war to eliminate Hamas, return our hostages, and ensure that Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel. We must not stop the war until we achieve all these goals. We do not give Hamas immunity anywhere, and we are fighting to restore security both in the south and in the north [of Israel]. Until then and for that purpose, we should put everything aside, and continue with joint forces, until we achieve complete victory.”

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari announced that the IDF has completed dismantling Hamas’s “military framework” in the northern Gaza Strip. This doesn’t mean that there are no Hamas terrorists left in the area, or that no more rockets will be fired from it—rather that Hamas no longer has a military infrastructure in the area to organize activity. Small groups of holdouts remain, and the IDF continues to search for them, and keep control of the area while they starve them out.

Addressing the thousands of Israelis displaced from their homes in the south, Hagari said that the IDF is building new defenses along the Gaza border so that they may return to their communities, though he didn’t explain further.

According to reports from insiders, Israel is working towards banning UNRWA from Gaza after the war. Israel has compiled a detailed report on UNRWA’s cooperation with Hamas, and in some areas, takeover by Hamas. UNRWA, whose full name is “United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees” grants refugee status to Palestinians several generations after they left Israeli territory in response to Arab League calls to temporarily evacuate for war. Numerous Hamas terrorists were found with UNRWA staff badges, missiles and other weapons were found in almost every UNRWA school building, and many UNRWA aid bags were found in Hamas tunnels. Many Palestinians in Gaza complain that UNRWA aid is not being delivered to them, but rather to the Hamas military.

The IDF released a photo of Hamas’s military commander, Mohammed Dief, which was found on a digital recovered by the IDF in Gaza along with other intelligence items. In the photo, Dief is seen holding a cup in one hand and dollar bills in his other hand. Shows are seen in the background. The arch-terrorist had been rumored to be an amputee and half paralyzed after many pervious attempts by the IDF to eliminate him long before October 7th. The photo disproves those rumors.

In Northern Gaza, at the Blue Beach Resort, the IDF destroyed a complex tunnel system under the hotel. The tunnel had been discovered in November, but the IDF only finished clearing it out recently. The tunnel had seven separate entryways from above ground, and many terrorists had been hiding inside, all of whom were eliminated by the IDF. The IDF also found assault rifles, explosive devices, and Hamas drones inside age tunnels.

In Gaza City, IDF troops found military equipment belonging to Hamas’s elite Nukhba forces hidden in UNRWA aid bags, inside a medical clinic

In Central Gaza, which the IDF described as “dense and full of terrorists,” the IDF eliminated two senior terrorists in an airstrike, using intelligence provided by the Shin Bet. The terrorists, Ismail Siraj, commander of Central Gaza’s Nuseirat battalion, and his deputy, Ahmed Wahaba, were responsible for directing their battalion in the massacre of Kibbutz Be’eri and neighboring communities on October 7th.

In Khan Younis, troops raided the home of the Hamas commander of the East Khan Younis battalion, amongst others, where intelligence and weapons were found.

In Bani Suheila, just outside Khan Younis, the troops operated in a school where many Hamas terrorists were hiding. More arms and intelligence were found in this location.

Khan Younis has an “underground city of branching tunnels,” according to IDF intelligence. It is highly possible that Hamas’s chief leaders are holed up there, along with many hostages. Before entering the tunnels, the IDF must gather as much intel as possible, and clear out as many terrorists as possible, in order to reach the hostages safely. If the IDF knew for sure that the hostages aren’t in those tunnels, they likely would have blown the tunnels up long ago.

Yesterday, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy and the head of the Shin Bet entered a Hamas tunnel in the heart of Khan Younis, for an assessment, and perhaps also a warning to Sinwar.

Gaza Humanitarian Efforts Updates:

A total of 151 trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including food, water, medical supplies, and shelter equipment were inspected and transferred to the Gaza Strip.

Yesterday, 4 tankers of cooking gas designated for the operation of essential infrastructure in Gaza, entered the Gaza Strip.

Additional field hospitals are in the process, expected to be operational in the coming days. Additional equipment and personnel for field hospitals have entered the Gaza Strip.

10 bakeries in the Gaza Strip have resumed operations after the World Food Program (WFP) has supplied flour, sugar, salt, and fuel as necessary. At the current capacity, these bakeries can bake 2 million pita breads a day.

Equipment for for WFP warehouses have entered the Gaza Strip. These warehouses are expected to be set up in the coming days and will better the logistic capacity of the organizations receiving the humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.

It is hoped that the WFP will do a better job than UNRWA at distributing food to Gaza civilians, rather than to Hamas terrorists.

Northern Front Updates:

Hezbollah missile fire increased significantly, although mostly remaining in the far north. A barrage of around 40 missiles were fired from Lebanon onto the Mount Meron area. A few drones entered Israeli territory, although most were destroyed before crossing in. Remarkably, no injuries were reported in Israel, although a chicken coop was severely damaged.

Sirens in Sefad were a false alarm.

Hezbollah claimed that the attack on Meron was targeting an Israeli military installation, and that it was “an initial response” to the assassination of Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri. The IDF still hasn’t taken credit for the assassination.

Hezbollah also fired a surface-to-air missile at an IDF surveillance drone, and missed.

The IDF carried out extensive airstrikes against Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon, including against two significant military compounds used by Hezbollah’s are defense unit. Other targets included rocket launch positions, a command center, and hideouts belonging to the terror group.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the European Union, Joseph Borrell, landed in Lebanon, where he arrived to discuss the “situation on the border with Israel.” Hezbollah reportedly said there’s nothing to talk about until the war in Gaza ends.

Additional War Fronts Updates

The Central Command of the US Army announced this evening that this morning a drone was intercepted as it was flying towards the American warship “Levon” in the Red Sea. There were no casualties and no damage was done. The drone was launched by the Houthi rebels from the territory of Yemen.

In an interview with the BBC network, the head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council in Yemen said that any country that participates in the multinational force established by the US to protect traffic in the Red Sea “will become a target.”

Judea and Samaria Updates:

The IDF ran a counter-terrorism operation for about 10 hours in the village of “Katana” near Jerusalem. The forces confiscated many weapons throughout Judea and Samaria, and equipment at a Hamas-run propaganda printing press in Shechem (Nablus). Palestinians reported severe clashed between terroirsts and the Israeli forces in the area.

So far, since the beginning of the war, approximately 2,600 wanted persons have been arrested throughout the Judea and Samaria region, approximately 1,300 of whom are affiliated with Hamas, while the rest affiliate with other terror organizations.

International Updates:

On Friday, the United States State Department announced that they are offering up to $10 million for information on five Hamas financiers, or anything leading to the disruption of the Palestinian terror group’s financial mechanisms.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is currently on tour in the Middle East where he is requesting of leaders to push to prevent the conflict from spreading. So far he visited Turkey and Greece, and is next headed to Arab countries.