War Day 173: IDF Surrounds 2 Hospitals, Start Rafah Evacuation

War Summary, Day One Hundred and Seventy Three: The IDF is Currently surrounding both Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals in Gaza City, Israel has begun preparing for the evacuation of civilians from Rafah, and the IDF eliminated group of terrorists in building strike in Southern Lebanon who were planning an imminent and advanced attack on Israel.

By Mrs. Bruria Efune

War Summary, Day One Hundred and Seventy Three:

134 held captive in Gaza.
112 hostages freed.
11 hostage bodies rescued.
36 hostages confirmed murdered in Gaza.
1,479 Israelis murdered.
253 fallen soldiers in the battle in Gaza.
6 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
4 fallen soldiers in Judea & Samaria.
11,549 injured.
14,300 estimated rockets fired at Israel.
102,100 Israelis displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines:

• IDF surrounds two hospitals in Khan Younis, being used by terrorists
• One killed in missile attack on Kiryat Shemona
• Continued escalation in the north

Hostage Updates:

There are no ongoing negotiations, as Hamas refused to back down from their demands for a complete ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, along with the release of over 800 deadly terrorists. Hamas political leader, Khaled Mashaal, said that hostages won’t be released until the IDF withdraws from Gaza.

Israel expects that a ground operation in Rafah to apply immense pressure on Hamas and force them to change their mind.

Gaza Front Updates:

Hamas launched one rocket at Israeli civilians in Kissufim, in the Gaza Envelope area. No injuries were reported. Within minutes of the attack, the IDF located the terrorist who launched the missile, and eliminated him with an airstrike.

The IDF announced the name of one hero who fell in Gaza today:

Staff Sgt. Nisim Kachlon, 21, of Givati, from Hadera

After Prime Minister Netanyahu cancelled the delegation to Washington to discuss the Rafah incursion, today he announced that the delegation will go, at the request of President Biden, on a yet to be announced date. Insider reports say that in fear of a rift with Israel, US President Biden backed down from his earlier demands that Israel doesn’t enter Rafah, and instead now reduced demands to a plan for the evacuating civilians, and the day after the war in Gaza.

The Israeli Air Force struck a few dozen targets in Gaza, mostly in providing support to troops on ground by eliminating terror squads and tunnel shafts.

In Northern Gaza, the operation in Shifa Hospital is continuing into its 10th day, as IDF troops cautiously battle and eliminate terrorists in up-close gun battles. The IDF says that “dozens” of terrorists were eliminated in the hospital today, and more weapons were captured. So far, over 200 terrorists have been eliminated in and around the hospital, and over 500 have been arrested and brought to Israel for interrogations. Zero civilians were harmed. It’s estimated that around 200 terrorists remain hiding in the hospital.

The IDF has also been operating in areas around Northern Gaza, such as Shati and Beit Hanoun, in locating and eliminating remaining lone terrorists and terror infrastructure.

In Central Gaza, the IDF says that more terrorists were eliminated, but they don’t state where.

In Southern Gaza, IDF troops continued eliminating terrorists in Qarara, and Khan Younis. The IDF says that they received intelligence about a “significant” tunnel network in the Al-Amal neighborhood of Khan Younis, and upon its discovery, also located three tunnel shafts which had been missed when they battled in the area last month. The intelligence received also indicated that terrorists are operating out of the Al-Amal Hospital. The IDF is Currently surrounding both Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals in Gaza City.

Since the beginning of the war, the IDF has significantly improved its advantage on ground, thanks to a number of factors. For one, many tunnel shafts were destroyed, which means that Hamas terrorists have less ways to hide or escape—as seen in the siege of Shifa Hospital, where terrorists were no longer able to escape via tunnels. Another advantage is the large amount of useful intelligence gained both from materials found in Hamas commanders homes, and from commanders who surrendered and opened up in interrogations. A lesser known improved advantage is in Israel’s drone and surveillance warfare, which has been significantly developed and improved on since the beginning of the war, allowing troops to see ahead and behind wherever they go.

The IDF published footage today, in which soldiers used drone surveillance to spot a terrorist who was spying on them from a distance, and then called an airstrike to eliminate him. A few of our readers have sponsored some of these drones, and personally brought down the IDF death toll by doing so.

According to Israel’s Channel 12 News, Israel has begun preparing for the evacuation of civilians from Rafah, and has ordered 40,000 large tents from China, to be set up in a humanitarian zone for women and children.

Gaza Humanitarian Efforts Updates:

274 humanitarian aid trucks inspected and transferred to Gaza, 164 carried food.
25 food aid trucks coordinated to northern Gaza overnight.
156 packages (1 ton each) were airdropped over northern Gaza.

4 Mobile desalination units for water supply in Gaza were donated by UNICEF were transferred to Gaza yesterday. These units provide 2-3 liters of water a day to tens of thousands of residents in the Rafah area. Currently, there are dozens of liters of water available per person daily in Gaza.

A new field hospital operated by UK Med began treating patients. With a capacity of 66 beds, personnel of 200 and comprehensive care, the hospital is now the 7th field hospital which the IDF’s COGAT division facilitated, and will bolster the medical response for civilians in Gaza.

Prices on food inside Gaza continues to drop, and food is more abundantly available, since Hamas has reduced their presence at the crossings and in “distribution” of the aid. Some point out that these price drops and improved availability began immediately after the IDF eliminated the Hamas police who were in charge of the humanitarian aid distribution.

Northern Front Updates:

The back-and-forth cautious escalation in the north continued today at a deadly pace. Last night, the Israeli Air Force struck a military building in Southern Lebanon, in which they eliminated a “significant terrorist” of the ‘al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya’ group, along with 6 others of the Hezbollah group. The IDF says that those eliminated in the attack were planning an imminent and advanced attack on Israel.

In the morning, Hezbollah fired a barrage of at least 30 missiles at the small northern city of Kiryat Shemona. Several hits were made leading to multiple fires, and in one of them, a buliding that was hit partially fell on its inhabitants, killing one and injuring a second. The Israeli civilian killed in Kiryat Shemona is named as:

Zahar Bashara, 25, from the Druze town of Ein Qiniyye

The IDF responded with multiple airstrikes on targets in Southern Lebanon, in which at least 8 more Hezbollah terrorists were eliminated.

A Hezbollah drone was found crashed near the northern border community of Rosh Hanikra. IDF troops safely removed the drone, and the incident is under investigation. The IDF has largely disabled GPS systems in the north, in order to reduce the ability of Hezbollah to fly attack drones in the area.

Houthi War Front Updates:

Overnight, the United States Central Command successfully engaged and destroyed four long-range unmanned aerial systems (UAS) launched by Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen. These UAS were aimed at a U.S. warship and engaged in self-defense over the Red Sea. There were no injuries or damage reported to U.S. or coalition ships.

Judea and Samaria Updates:

The IDF carried out a counter-terrorism operation in Jenin overnight. During the operation, the IDF used a drone strike to eliminate three terrorists who opened fire at troops. Troops also shot at and eliminated a terrorist who was throwing explosive devices at them. Also during the raid, troops located explosives on the road, destroyed a vehicle fulled with explosives, and arrested a wanted person.

General Updates:

The Israeli Air Force has resumed training exercises after pausing them since October 7th. A new training program has been approved with a focus on preparing for conflict in the north. The program aims to enhance readiness for extended combat situations. Exercises will involve long-range strikes, operations in enemy territory, and decision-making under war conditions. The drills are designed to complement ongoing operations without disrupting routine activities.