War Summary, Day One Hundred and Seventy Six: The IDF says that a few more senior Hamas terrorists were eliminated in Shifa hospital, the IDF began an intensive search operation in Yericho for the terrorist who fired at a school bus in the Jordan Valley on Friday, and the Palestinian Authority (PA) announced the official formation of a new government, formed by new Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa.
By Mrs. Bruria Efune
War Summary, Day One Hundred and Seventy Six:
134 held captive in Gaza.
112 hostages freed.
11 hostage bodies rescued.
36 hostages confirmed murdered in Gaza.
1,480 Israelis murdered.
254 fallen soldiers in the battle in Gaza.
6 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
4 fallen soldiers in Judea & Samaria.
11,549 injured.
14,430 estimated rockets fired at Israel.
102,100 Israelis displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.
Top Headlines:
- Hostage negotiations back on, with internal debates in Israeli war cabinet
- Egoz unit hit in Khan Younis
- UN failing to deliver aid in Gaza
- Top Hezbollah commander eliminated
- Hints at increased airstrikes in Syria
Hostage Updates:
The IDF returned their negotiating team to Qatar, to respond to a new proposal.
The current deal on the table includes a temporary ceasefire during which hostages will be released in exchange for a significant number of terrorists—amongst them convicted murderers, and other demands from Hamas. According to reports from Israel’s Channel 12 News, there is a disagreement between the Mossad’s negotiating team and members of the Israeli War Cabinet over concessions in the deal.
Mossad chief David Barnea suggested partially giving in to Hamas’s demand to allow an unchecked return of the Gaza population to Northern Gaza. War cabinet minister Benny Gantz, and war cabinet observers Gadi Eisenkot and Ron Dermer are reportedly in support of the idea. Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi oppose the idea and are instead for applying further pressure on Hamas by preparing for a move into Rafah.
Reportedly, Hamas will also only allow a few dozen hostages to be released before a complete ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal goes into effect.
Between 15-12 families of hostages broke apart from the main apolitical group, to demand Netanyahu’s resignation, citing the Prime Minister as the reason the hostages are not yet home. After Shabbat, tens of thousands marched in Tel Aviv, demanding an immediate deal for the release of the hostages.
While it is impossible to imagine the pain and agony which the families of hostages are feeling, or to judge their actions, many analysts are concerned that the protests encourage Hamas to raise their demands, knowing that the Israeli war cabinet is under pressure to concede.
Gaza Front Updates:
Hamas did not successfully launch any rockets at Israeli civilians today.
The IDF announced the names of one hero who fell in battle against Hamas in Gaza:
Sgt. First Class Alon Kudriashov, 21, of the Egoz commando unit, from Modiin
Kudriashov fell in Khan Younis after a Hamas terrorist fired an RPG at a building which the Egoz unit was using as a base near Nasser Hospital. Sixteen other soldiers from his unit were wounded, six of whom are in serious condition. Thus incident is a significant tragedy, and setback for an operation the elite commando unit had been prepared for in the area.
In Northern Gaza, the operation in Shifa Hospital is continued into its 13th day. After eliminating over 200 and arresting over 500 terrorists in the first days of the operation, the troops are now hunting down the last remaining terrorists who are hiding throughout the hospital campus. Over the last days the IDF says that a few more senior Hamas terrorists were eliminated in the hospital, among them:
- Mahmoud Khalil Zakzuk, the deputy commander of Hamas’s rocket unit in Gaza City.
- Fadi Dweik a senior member of Hamas’s intelligence division who was responsible for a terror attack killing four Israeli civilians in 2002. Dweik was arrested, and then released and exiled to Gaza in the 2011 Shalit deal, from where he continued to advance terror attacks.
- Zakaria Najib, a senior terrorist in Hamas’s Judea and Samaria division, in which he is responsible for planning terror attacks. Najib was arrested in 1994 after kidnapping and killing an IDF soldier named Nachshon Wachsman, in central Israel. Najib was released in the 2011 Shalit deal, also exiled to Gaza from where he continued organizing terror attacks.
No civilians were hurt in the battles in Shifa Hospital.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi visited troops at the hospital today, and commended them for the successful operation carried out in a complex arena. “So far, very great achievements… no one can roll back such a large amount of arrested terrorists, such a large amount of dead terrorists, so many senior figures.”
Halevi noted that while the operation has achieved its goals, it will continue more thoroughly.
Elsewhere in Northern Gaza, IDF troops continue to root out remaining Hamas holdouts, and airstrikes eliminated terrorist squads and buildings they were using.
In Central Gaza, IDF troops continue with small battles on ground which the IDF has not released much information about, but does say that troops eliminated several terrorists over the last day, some in a drone strike. Separately, the Air Force struck a building in Nuseirat, which was being used by Hamas. An airstrike was reported in Deir al-Balah.
In Southern Gaza, battles continue in Qarara, and in the Al Amal neighborhood of Khan Younis, with troops eliminating several terrorists in both areas. The Israeli Air Force assisted troops on ground with dozens of airstrikes throughout the day. An airstrike was also used to destroy three tunnel shafts in an area from where a (failed) rocket was fired towards the Israeli community of Kissufim.
According to CNN, officials in the American administration said that it is possible that the Israeli delegation will arrive in Washington to discuss the Rafah issue as early as this Monday. However, they noted that the date has not yet been finalized.
Meanwhile in Iran today, the red carpet was (literally) rolled out at the foreign ministry for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s secretary-general, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, with a grand welcoming ceremony.
Gaza Humanitarian Efforts Updates:
On Thursday:
205 humanitarian aid trucks were inspected and transferred to the Gaza Strip via Kerem Shalom and Nitzana. 195 trucks were distributed within Gaza by UN aid agencies.
9 WFP food aid trucks were coordinated directly to northern Gaza. So far, 47 trucks were coordinated through a new delivery route.
7 aid trucks were transferred to Gaza via the Jordanian route.
131 packages (1 ton each) of humanitarian aid were airdropped over northern Gaza.
4 tankers of cooking gas and 3 tankers of fuel designated for the operation of essential infrastructure in Gaza, have entered the Gaza Strip.
As requested by the UN, Israel did not transfer aid to Gaza over Shabbat, to give time for the week’s pileup to be delivered. 400 trucks worth of aid are waiting on the Gaza side of the border for UN agencies to deliver. The IDF’s COGAT unit, which is charged with coordinating aid to Gaza, wrote that “UNRWA and UN aid agencies lack the logistic capacity for performing their jobs. They must enhance its logistic capacity and admit its failures.”
COGAT also wrote that only 77% of the humanitarian aid that entered Gaza since the start of 2024 was distributed within Gaza. The remaining 33% may well be in Hamas storehouses.
COGAT responded to a report from CNN in which the data was manipulated to present a false picture of starvation in Gaza. CNN presented a graph indicating that before October 7th Gaza received 150 trucks of food per day, and now only receives 69. COGAT says the figures are completely wrong, and pre-war only 70 food trucks entered per day, whereas now the average since October 7th is 140 trucks per day, with much higher numbers in recent weeks.
UNRWA announced that since the beginning of the war, 171 of its employees have been killed in IDF strikes in the Gaza Strip. They did not specify whether the employees also worked for Hamas or not.
Northern Front Updates:
Hezbollah continues with heavy rocket fire on communities in Israel’s far north. One rocket hit a chicken coop in Moshav Adamit, and at least two Hezbollah attack drones were down before entering Israeli airspace from both Lebanon and Syria.
Israel responded with airstrikes to Hezbollah positions in Southern Gaza, with a focus on eliminating terrorist squads and launch positions. On Friday morning, the IDF used a targeted airstrike on a vehicle to eliminate Ali Naim, the deputy commander of Hezbollah’s rocket unit. Naim was a significant source if knowledge to Hezbollah, and leader in the filed of heavy-warhead rocket fire.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says that the IDF is explaining the campaign against Hezbollah, and will increase the rate of attacks in the north, and emphasized that “Israel is turning from defending to pursuing Hezbollah.”
Pointing the blame, he added “The one responsible for the serious damage in Lebanon is Hezbollah and the one responsible for the many casualties in the Hezbollah group is [Hassan] Nasrallah personally. They have over 320 terrorists killed, and we will exact a price for any action that comes out of Lebanon.”
Likely hinting at recent airstrikes in Syria, which over the past couple days eliminated a top Hezbollah commander and dozens of other terrorists, Gallant warned, “We will reach wherever the organization operates, in Beirut, Damascus and in more distant places.”
After claims that the IDF attacked a UNIFIL vehicle in Lebanon, the IDF denied involvement. UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) are an international force with the task of ensuring international peace in the area.
Judea and Samaria Updates:
Overnight, the IDF began an intensive search operation in Yericho (Jericho) for the terrorist who fired at a school bus in the Jordan Valley area on Friday. Counterterrorism operations were also reported in the villages around Ramallah and Chevron (Hebron), and a more intense operation took place in Jenin, during which exchanges of fire took place arrests were made, and at least one terrorist was eliminated.
After the Palestinian Authority (PA) announced the official formation of a new government, formed by new Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, the US State Department sent its well-wishes, stating: “The United States looks forward to working with the new cabinet to promote peace, security, and prosperity and will be engaging this new government to deliver on credible reforms. A revitalized Palestinian Authority is essential to delivering results for the Palestinian people in both the West Bank and Gaza and establishing the conditions for stability in the broader region.”
President Mohammad Abbas remains the most powerful figure in the PA, holding the position of president. Abbas initiated the new government to demonstrate his willingness to meet International demands for reform.
In missed news late last week: After Finance Minister threatened to collapse the PA economy, the Biden administration pulled back on some of the sanctions against 7 Israelis in Judea and Samaria, saying that Israeli banks won’t be punished for providing services to them.
Please continue with your plans. Do not listen to this administration as their aims are strictly political for themselves not Israel or America. God be with all of you.