War Day 267: Rockets Hit Tzfas, Miracle in Merom HaGalil

War Summary, Day Two Hundred and Sixty Seven: IDF nearing completion of Phase Two in Gaza war and preparing for Phase Three, huge barrage of rockets fired at the Tzfat area, multiple homes damaged and fires started, miracle in Merom HaGalil after family home hit, ICC delays arrest warrants, and Biden administration to release some of the bomb shipments for use in Lebanon.

By Mrs. Bruria Efune

120 held captive in Gaza.
46 hostages confirmed murdered in Gaza.
116 hostages freed.
19 hostage bodies rescued.
1,550 Israelis killed.
316 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
15 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
8 fallen soldiers in Judea & Samaria.
19,760 estimated rockets fired at Israel.
90,000 Israelis displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines:

• New operation in Shejaiya
• Fallen IDF soldier in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria
• IDF nearing completion of Phase Two in Gaza war, preparing for Phase Three
• Huge barrage of rockets fired at the Tzfat area, multiple homes damaged and fires started
• Miracle in Merom HaGalil after family home hit
• ICC delays arrest warrants
• Biden administration to release some of the bomb shipments, for use in Lebanon

Hostage Updates:

Unfortunately there are no updates about the hostages release at this time.

Gaza Front Updates:

Hamas fired rockets and RPGs once on Wednesday from Central Gaza, once on Thursday from Northern Gaza, and on Friday morning from Southern Gaza onto the Kerem Shalom humanitarian crossing. The rockets were fired toward civilian communities close to the border each time, but were either intercepted, or landed in empty areas, causing no physical harm.

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

Sgt. Eyal Shynes, 19, from Kibbutz Afik

Four divisions of IDF troops are currently operating in Gaza: the 98th Division in Shejaiya, Gaza City; the 99th Division along the Netzarim Corridor, and in select areas of 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.

On Thursday, the IDF’s 98th Division re-entered Gaza, and launched a surprise attack in Shejaiya, Gaza City, where Hamas terrorists have been regrouping and regaining control. Troops entered the area with the assistance of dozens of airstrikes against vital targets. After the surprise attack, which caught Hamas off guard, the IDF published notifications to civilians to evacuate and more to the designated humanitarian zones. The IDF was last in Shejaiya in April.

On Thursday night, the IDF struck a Hamas terrorist who was operating in a building in Deir al-Balah, in a designated humanitarian zone.

In Khan Younis, an IDF precision airstrike targeted a group of Hamas terrorists who were gathering in a school building. The terrorists used the building as a hideout from where to launch attacks against IDF troops. The IDF says that the airstrike was carefully planned, to minimize risk to civilians.

The IDF is nearing 80% control of Rafah, and is expected to complete takeover in the next 2-3 weeks. Sadly, IDF Sgt. Eyal Shynes was killed by a terrorists sniper in Rafah. While Hamas is nearly defeated as an organized terror group, there still remain many terrorists and small terror cells that act together in attacks against the IDF.

Israeli Air Force chief, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, commented at an IAF pilots graduation, that although this is the longest war since the War of Independence, troops continue to fight tirelessly, and “Hamas in Gaza will be defeated soon.” He added that the IDF is ready to face Hezbollah in the north, and “we have the means for this, we have the capabilities, and we certainly have the patience and fighting spirit.”

After the completion in Rafah, the war in Gaza will turn to Phase Three, in which the IDF will hold 2-3 “corridors” with bases, and continue to carry out targeted raids against Hamas cells, such as the one launched in Shejaiya today.

There are reports of early talks shaping a possible agreement with Egypt and the UAE taking over management of Gaza. The UAE has experience beating Muslim Brotherhood terrorism, and reforming a population to be against terrorism—but Egypt does not have a successful record in doing the same, and is pretty much under Muslim Brotherhood control. Aside from the amount of trust needed in the two countries, such an agreement would also come with strings attached, including requirements for a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza, and steps taken towards a two-state solution.

Gaza Humanitarian Efforts Updates:

On Wednesday, June 27:

353 aid trucks were transferred to Gaza yesterday. Aid entered via the Kerem Shalom and the Erez crossing and originated from Egypt, Israel, and the Ashdod port, as well the JLOTS (maritime route).

68 sick and injured patients exited Gaza to Egypt and other countries abroad.

15 coordinations for humanitarian missions were requested, all of them approved. 10 were carried out, and 5 were canceled by the organization.

6 tankers of fuel and 6 tankers of gas designated for the operation of essential infrastructure in Gaza, entered Gaza

53 trucks were collected from the Kerem Shalom crossing, all by the private sector. The content of 1,100 aid trucks is waiting to be collected by UN aid agencies.
72 trucks were collected from the Erez West Crossing by UN aid agencies.
No aid was collected from the offloading area of the JLOTS. The content of over 9,000 pallets of aid is waiting to be collected.

Northern Front Updates:

Hezbollah in Lebanon continues to fire heavily on Israel’s north, damaging dozens of homes and community buildings along the border, and causing multiple wildfires daily. On Thursday, Hezbollah launched a barrage of 40 missiles to Tzfat (Safed) and the area. Most were intercepted, but some caused damage, and shrapnel caused wildfires.

In the Merom HaGalil area, a missile made a direct hit on a family home—in which the family was celebrating a “chalaka” [aka, upsherin, the celebration of cutting a three-year-old boy’s hair]. The house was destroyed, but in what Amit Sofer, the mayor of the region, called a “great miracle,” no one was injured.

The IDF is continuing with airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon, with a heavy focus on targeted assassinations of terrorist commanders. On Thursday, Lebanese media reported an Israeli airstrike in Sohmor, in the Western Beqaa District, which eliminated a Hezbollah terrorist. Hezbollah now counts just over 350 dead.

The IDF also “allegedly” struck targets in Syria, near Damascus, belonging to the “Construction Jihad” group, which is affiliated with Hezbollah and the Iranian regime.

While in Washington, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned, “Israel does not want war, but can return Lebanon to the Stone Age.”

The US Embassy in Beirut warned citizens to “carefully consider traveling to Lebanon.”
The NBC network reported that the Pentagon is moving its military “assets” closer to the Middle East, as part of preparations for the possible evacuation of Americans from Lebanon, in the event of an all-out war between Hezbollah and Israel.
The “Financial Times” reports that Israel is pushing for the creation of a “security zone” within a range of five kilometers inside Lebanon, to prevent future attacks.

While a war with Lebanon is projected to be far more intense than with Hamas, the IDF will be able to act more quickly, due to the minimized number of civilians in the area. If the IDF does in fact “return Lebanon to the Stone Age,” and does it quickly in a surprise attack, then Hezbollah will have far less capability to attack Israel back.

Most importantly, ״הנה לא ינום ולא יישן שומר ישראל״ the G-d of Israel doesn’t rest, and watches over us, day and night. The most important thing is that we stand united, and not the least bit afraid.

Houthi & Iraqi War Front Updates

The Houthis, as part of a pattern of claiming more attacks than they actually carry out successfully, claimed to have attacked a “vital target” in the port of Haifa. No such attack was seen.

The US Army’s Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that they successfully intercepted a UAV that the Houthi rebels had launched towards the Red Sea.

The UN Security Council approved a resolution requiring the Houthis to stop their attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The resolution was approved by a majority of 12 in favor to 0 against, with Russia, China and Algeria abstaining. US Deputy Ambassador to the UN , Robert Wood, said that the Houthi attacks “threaten international peace and security,” and are a “global challenge” that “requires a global solution.”

Judea and Samaria Updates:

The IDF announced the name of one fallen hero in the war against terrorism in Judea and Samaria:

Cpt. Alon Sacgiu, 22, a sniper squad commander in the Kfir Brigade’s Haruv reconnaissance unit, from Hadera.

IDF troops carried out a counterterrorism raid in Jenin overnight Wednesday, into Thursday morning. During such raids, an IDF D9 bulldozer clears roads of mines and explosives ahead of troops. For some reason, the bulldozer missed two bombs that was placed under a road, and it exploded as an armored personnel carrier (APC) drove over or near them. While the soldiers inside the vehicle were mostly protected, there were soldiers walking outside of it, and sixteen soldiers were hurt, including one seriously, five in moderate condition, and 10 lightly hurt. Cpt. Alon Sacgiu was killed in the incident. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

The IDF is investigating the incident to understand why the bulldozer missed the bomb, and how to prevent such situations from reoccurring.

At the initiative of Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, the cabinet voted in favor of a series of measures against the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Judea and Samaria, in response to their attacks against Israel in the ICC, and the five countries unilaterally recognizing the PA as a state. Chief amongst the measures was the approval of recognizing five small communities in Judea and Samaria (one for each of the countries recognizing the PA), the communities are: Evyatar in Samaria, Sde Ephraim in Binyamin, Givat Assaf in Binyamin, Heletz in Gush Etzion and Adorayin on Mount Hebron.

The measures include canceling permits and various benefits for senior PA officials, restricting their movement and preventing them from leaving the country, enforcing penalties for incitement offenses, expelling senior officials, revoking enforcement powers from the PA in the Judean Desert, taking action against rampant construction in the area, and enforcing regulations in Area B to protect heritage sites and address environmental hazards, among other actions.

International Updates:

The International Court of Justice has permitted the United Kingdom to submit a document arguing that the court does not have the authority to investigate Israeli nationals in the probe into alleged Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity. The court has given the UK until July 12 to submit its argument. This means that the decision on whether to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant will be put on hold until the UK’s challenge is reviewed. It is not expected to take long.

General Updates:

After much delay, Axios reports that the Biden administration will likely soon release about 1,700 of 500-lb. bombs which were supposed to be shipped to Israel in April, but were held back because the U.S. wanted restrained action in Rafah. By the time Israeli receives the shipment, it will be done the major operation in Rafah, and will urgently need the bombs for Hezbollah in Lebanon.

U.S. and Israeli officials say the Biden administration is still reviewing another part of the shipment that includes 1,800 2,000-lb. bombs.

This update is sponsored by Shaindy and Avraham Kelman, in honor of our brave soldiers who are fighting and who are recovering; and for their families who should have the strength needed. May Hashem bless us all with health, peace, and simchot.

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