War Day 279: Two Hostages Killed, Hamas Military Chief Eliminated

War Summary, Day Two Hundred and Seventy through Ninety: Two hostages confirmed killed by Hamas in Gaza, Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif is most likely eliminated, and a kidnapping plot was foiled in Judea and Samaria, by the Shin Bet.

By Mrs. Bruria Efune

War Summary, Day Two Hundred and Seventy through Ninety:

Round up from July 3 – July 22

120 held captive in Gaza.
48 hostages confirmed murdered in Gaza.
116 hostages freed.
19 hostage bodies rescued.
1,571 Israelis killed.
327 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
18 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
9 fallen soldiers in Judea & Samaria.
20,100 estimated rockets fired at Israel.
90,000 Israelis displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines:

• Two hostages confirmed killed by Hamas in Gaza
• Israel to deliver final ceasefire offer to Hamas on Thursday
• The IDF is now operating in Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Rafah.
• Hamas military chief, Mohammed Deif, is most likely eliminated.
• Hamas is finally beginning to feel defeat.
• The IDF is operating heavily in Gaza, to deepen achievements ahead of possible ceasefire agreement.
• The IDF needs a few more months in Rafah, to find remaining tunnels.
• Israel is still delivering significant humanitarian aid in Gaza, and Hamas is still hijacking it.
• Several terror attacks in Israel, including one which killed an off-duty hero.
• A tourist with a Canadian passport attempted a stabbing.
• Hezbollah attacks killed a civilian couple in the Golan Heights.
• The IDF is preparing for high-risk air strikes amidst Hezbollah’s Iranian air-defense systems.
• The IDF eliminated top Hezbollah commanders.
• The Houthis attacked Tel Aviv, killing one.
• The IDF retaliated with a dramatic display of strength.
• A kidnapping plot was foiled in Judea and Samaria, by the Shin Bet.

Hostage Updates:

On July 22nd, the IDF confirmed the deaths of hostages Alex Dancyg, 75, and Yagev Buchshtav, 35, from Kibbutz Nir Oz and Kibbutz Nirim. Their deaths were determined based on new evidence acquired by the IDF, by a panel of health experts and members of the rabbinate (allowing the families to sit shiva, and mourn their loss). In March, Hamas claimed that Yagev Buchshtav died due to a lack of food and medication, and that Alex Dancyg was killed by Israeli fire. Neither claims are confirmed, as Hamas frequently blames hostage deaths—which are their own doing—on the IDF. The two were held hostage in Khan Younis, and Hamas is still holding their bodies.

After a marathon of discussions with mediators, Israel is expected to deliver its final ceasefire and hostage release offer to Hamas on Thursday. According to reports, Hamas is finally beginning to feel the pressure to agree to a deal, but is still keeping high demands. The discussions are based on the outline delivered by Biden on May 27.

According to Egyptian reports, at the heat of discussions are Hamas’s demands that Israel evacuate the Netzarim and Philedalphi Corridors (Egypt also wants the IDF away from the Philadelphi Corridor), and allow full movement for people in Gaza during a ceasefire. While such a move is likely to cause a disastrous setback to the IDF’s efforts in Gaza, and risk to the lives of IDF soldiers, the negotiating team is reportedly discussing if and how to give in to this demand, while maintaining a level of security and preventing further smuggling and rearming via Egypt.

Despite the heavy negotiations, it is speculated that the ceasefire won’t last past the first stage of 6-8 weeks, and won’t bring home all the hostages. The IDF fully intends to return to Gaza at the end of the agreement.

There is heavy pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu to bring about a deal, and he likely has the government votes needed to make it go through. However, Ministers Smotrich and Ben Gvir threaten to collapse the government in the case of a damaging deal, leading to elections.

Gaza Front Updates:

Hamas has been firing rockets and mortars around twice daily at Israeli communities near the Gaza border, many times launching from humanitarian zones. These launches come from small terror cells spread all across Gaza. Most projectiles are intercepted, or land in open areas. On July 3rd, an anti-aircraft missile launched from Gaza hit a home in Kfar Maimon, causing extensive damage, but no physical injuries.

Since July 3, The IDF announced the names of 5 heroes who fell in battle in Gaza:

Cpt. Elay Elisha Lugasi, 21, from Kiryat Shmona, in Shejaiya on July 3
Cpt. Roy Miller, 21, from Herzliya, in Shejaiya on July 3
Staff Sgt. Eyal Mimran, 20, from Ness Ziona, in Shejaiya on July 4
Maj. Jalaa Ibrahem, 25, from Sajur, in Rafah, on July 7
Sgt. First Class Tal Lahat, 21, from Kfar Saba. In Central Gaza, on July 9

Four divisions of IDF troops are currently operating in Gaza: the 98th Division in Khan Younis; the 99th Division along the Netzarim Corridor, and in southern neighborhoods of Gaza City; 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.

The IDF says it is beginning to see an end to Hamas in sight, with the terror group weakened to a shadow of what it used to be. The IDF has eliminated half (7 of 14) of Hamas’s most senior military leadership. Intelligence found in Gaza indicates that Hamas may be down to a third of its original fighting force, and is struggling to keep the remaining terrorists motivated to battle. The terror group is also finally running low on weapons, and no longer has a means by which to smuggle in more. In addition, terrorists are moving out of tunnels and establishing an increasing number of bases above ground—both because the IDF has located and destroyed a significant amount of the tunnel network, and also because the terrorists are struggling to stay underground after 9 months. The above-ground bases are far easier fir the IDF to locate and attack.

However, Hamas still maintains firing power, and is estimated to still be able to fire rockets deep into Israel, and is still trying to recruit new terrorists from the large young population in Gaza.

The IDF is working intensely with targeted raids to weed out remaining Hamas squads as much as possible ahead of a potential ceasefire deal to release hostages prioritizing hits to any abilities to produce weapons, recruit, or regroup. Although the details of a potential ceasefire agreement are still unknown, the IDF’s expected plan ahead is to maintain (or re-establish post-ceasefire) the Netzarim and Philedalphi Corridors for the long-term, and use the locations as bases from where to launch low-intensity operations weeding out Hamas members from throughout Gaza.

In the past two weeks alone, more than 1,000 terrorists have been eliminated across Gaza, including dozens who participated in the October 7th massacre. Amongst the eliminations were several targeted assassinations, or high-profile hits, including:

• Mohammed Deif, the commander of Hamas’s military wing, and Rafa’a Salameh, the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade. This is the 8th time the IDF has tried to assassinate Deif, and while still not definitively confirmed, it is highly likely that this attempt was finally successful. Salameh’s death was confirmed.
  The pair were targeted with heavy bombing while in a low building between the al-Mawasi humanitarian area and Khan Younis, in a civilian environment, within the designated humanitarian zone—but not in a tent camp for displaced civilians. The IDF says its airstrike was accurate, and did not target civilians, though there were dozens more Hamas terrorists with Deif and Salaamed at the time of the strike.
  The IDF also assessed that no Israeli hostages were being held at the site, during the airstrike. This assassination was likely the biggest morale blow to Hamas so far.
• Hossam Mansour, head of a department in Hamas’s internal security forces in Gaza. Mansour also served in Hamas’s military wing, and ”took a significant and continuous part in the preservation and presence of Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip, while undermining Israel’s efforts in the region.” Mansour was also a director of the UK-based al-Khair foundation, an “aid group” known for transferring funds to terror groups in Gaza.
• Ihab al-Ghussein, deputy head of the Hamas-run labor ministry.
• Ayman Shweidah, deputy commander of Hamas’s Shejaiya Battalion, who was also involved in the October 7th massacre.
• Ubadah Abu Hain, one of the Shejaiya Battalion’s veteran and prominent company commanders.
• Adil Hamdiya, the intelligence officer of Hamas’s Gaza City Brigade.

Amongst hundreds of airstrikes over the last three weeks, the IDF targeted several “humanitarian” sites which were being used by Hamas as command centers. Before each strike in a civilian location, the IDF takes extreme measures to mitigate risk to civilians. Some of the most prominent targets were:

• An active rocket launcher in the Deir Al-Balah section of the humanitarian zone, adjacent to a shelter for displaced civilians.
• A building, also in the Deir Al-Balah section of the humanitarian zone. The site was being used to store and transfer significant terror funds for Hamas, and as a location from where to carry out terror activities.
• In Nuseirat, UNRWA’s al-Jaouni school, which was being used by Hamas as a command center, a hideout and as active operational infrastructure.
• Also in Nuseirat, UNRWA’s Al-Razi School, which terrorists were using to plan and carry out attacks against troops operating in Gaza.
• In Gaza City, UNRWA’s Al-Qahirah and Musa schools, which were being used by both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists as a command center and gathering site. A separate site in the school was being used to manufacture weapons.
• A UNRWA building in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, which was being used as a Hamas command center.
• A municipality building in Khan Younis, used as Hamas staging grounds, under which was a tunnel shaft that connected to Hamas’s underground network in Khan Younis.

In Shejaiya, the IDF wrapped up a highly successful two week operation, during which troops demolished 8 major tunnels, and eliminated over 150 armed terrorists. Troops also located a Hamas command room which was based in a school and health clinic, and found valuable intelligence documents belonging to Hamas—which were hidden among uniforms and equipment belonging to UNRWA.

In Gaza City, the IDF called for evacuation of the entire city, before beginning operations. The operation primarily opened in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, where troops eliminated over 150 armed terrorists, and demolished over 100 terror sites, including a weapons manufacturing site. Troops also returned to UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City, where they located heavy weapons and an active Hamas command room.

In Khan Younis, after earlier calls to evacuate the east of the city, on July 22 the IDF issued expanded evacuation warnings for western areas of Khan Younis which are in the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone. This came after rockets were launched from the humanitarian zone, towards Israeli civilian communities. The hospitals were told that they do not need to evacuate. The IDF entered later in the day, after carrying out 30 targeted airstrikes of Hamas terror sites.

In Rafah, the IDF has so far found around 25 major tunnels, and believe they need at least several more months to find the remaining tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border. Hamas’s Rafah Brigade is mostly defeated, though still functioning at a minimal level. The IDF has not yet entered all areas of Rafah, leading to speculation that there are neighborhoods where the IDF has intelligence about hostages being held, and does not want to risk their safety. Rafah was heavily booby-trapped, in a Hamas effort to keep the IDF away from the tunnel network. To get around this, the IDF had to destroy many buildings wherever they operated.

Gaza Humanitarian Efforts Updates:

From July 3 – 22:

• 3,677 trucks of humanitarian aid were delivered into Gaza
• 103 pallets of humanitarian aid were airdropped into Gaza
• 80% of aid transferred was food, 7.5% was water
• 72 tanks of cooking gas were transferred to Gaza in July

The JLOTS Pier built by the U.S. Army is no longer functional.

Hamas terrorists continue to hijack aid on the humanitarian delivery route from Rafah, towards civilian areas. This past week, IDF troops located a group of armed Hamas terrorists holed up in a school building adjacent to the humanitarian route—waiting to pounce on the next aid delivery trucks. After eliminating the terrorists, troops found a tunnel shaft in the school courtyard.

Terror Attacks in Israel:

On July 3rd, a terrorist stabbed two off-duty soldiers in a mall in the northern city of Karmiel. One soldier managed to open fire and eliminate the terrorist, before succumbing to his wounds. The fallen soldier is named as:

Sgt. Aleksandr Lakiminskyi, 19, a truck driver in the 188th Armored Brigade’s 71st Battalion, from Nahariya.

The second soldier was seriously injured in the attack.

The terrorist was an Arab Israeli, from the town of Nahf.

On July 14, a terrorist drove into people at a bus station at the Nir Tzvi junction adjacent to the Tzrifin military base.. Two were seriously injured, two lightly injured. Border Police eliminated the terrorist. The terrorist was an East Jerusalem Palestinian.

On July 16, terrorists opened fire and lightly injured three Israelis in their vehicle, near Beit Lid and Shavei Shomron.

On July 22, a Canadian citizen on a tourist visa, identified as Quraishi Zachareah Adam, approached the security officers outside Netivot HaAsarah (a small community near the Gaza border), shouted “the IDF is killing civilians in Gaza,” and then drew a knife. Security eliminated him before he could do any harm.

Northern Front Updates:

Hezbollah fire continues in Israel’s north, causing heavy destruction and wild fires. The fire is primarily aimed along the Israel-Lebanon border, but occasionally escalates as far as Tzfas (Safad) and Tiveria (Tiberias). These escalations usually happen in response to a senior terrorist being eliminated, and typically last 1-4 days before returning to the “normal.”

Since July 3rd, the IDF announced the names of three heroes who fell while guarding Northern Israel:

Maj. (res.) Itay Galea, 38, on July 4
Master Sgt. (res.) Valeri Chefonov, 33, from Netanya, on July 11
Sgt. First Class (res.) Efraim Ben Amram, 25, from Yesud HaMa’ala, critically injured June 30, passed on July 18

Two civilians were killed by Hezbollah fire in the Golan Heights, while in their car on July 9th. Noa and Nir Baranes, from Kibbutz Ortal, both aged 46, are survived by their three children.

The IDF continues to retaliate by striking Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon (up until the Litany River), with one notable airstrike deeper into Lebanon on July 10th, which struck Hezbollah air defense units in the northeastern Baalbek District. While Hezbollah continues to threaten further action, they also say that they will stop firing if a ceasefire is enacted in Gaza. The IDF stresses that they see Hezbollah as a separate equation from Hamas.

The IDF is prepared for a potential war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, but assess that the Air Force will need to take significant risks in order to combat Hezbollah’s air defenses. Hezbollah has Iranian-made anti-aircraft systems, which they’ve used in the past months to shoot down at least five large IDF drones, and have attempted to shoot Israeli jets, with no success. The IAF is making strong efforts to locate and destroy such systems, but also plans for an intensive high-risk start to an all-out war with Hezbollah, as they make the first moves to gain air superiority.

While earlier reports indicated that the IDF would move into a larger attack against Hezbollah around the start of August, it is now unclear if this will be held off, due to serious ceasefire talks with Hamas.

In the meantime, the IDF is focusing on eliminating top terrorists in Lebanon. Amongst the high profile eliminations over the last three weeks, were:

• Muhammad Nimah Nasser, head of Hezbollah’s Aziz unit, one of three regional divisions in south Lebanon. Nasser’s eliminations was one of three times Hezbollah admitted that the IDF eliminated a top commander. Hezbollah responded with heavy barrages of over 200 rockets and 20 drones in one day. One IDF reservist, Itay Galea, was killed in the attack.
• Maytham Mustafa al-Attar “a significant source of knowledge” in Hezbollah’s air defense unit, who was involved in planning and carrying out attacks against Israel. Al-Attar obtained his knowledge during visits to Iran, and was involved in procuring Iranian weapons. Hezbollah responded to his elimination with heavy fire in the Lower Galilee, which severely injured an Israeli civilian near Kfar Zeitim, and an American civilian at an army post near the northern community of Zar’it.
• Yasser Qarnabash, a senior officer close to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, was eliminated in an “alleged” IDF strike on the Beirut-Damascus highway, in Syria. Hezbollah responded with a barrage that killed civilian parents, Noa and Nir Baranes. The IDF then struck a Hezbollah target in northeastern Lebanon.
• Muhammed Jabara, a senior Hamas commander, who was responsible for advancing and carrying out attacks, including rocket fire, on Israel. Jabra worked alongside the Lebanese terror group al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, which also claimed him as a member.
• Hassan Muhanna, a prominent member of Hezbollah’s engineering unit in the Qana region of southern Lebanon.
• Ali Jaafar Maatouk, an operations officer in the Radwan force’s Hajjar regional unit, which is responsible for attacks on northern Israel’s Ramim Ridge region.

In addition, the IDF shelled Syrian Army sites in Southern Syria, which were violating the 1974 post-Yom Kippur War disengagement agreement. The shelling came after two shahed attack drones were shot down by Israeli fighter jets, just north of Eilat. The drones were launched from Syria.

Houthi & Iraqi War Front Updates:

Since October 8th, the Houthis have launched more than 220 drones and cruise missiles fro Yemen, towards Israel—primarily Eilat. The U.S. Army is stationed in the Red Sea, and has intercepted a large number of attacks, but many still break through, and the IDF usually intercepts those. On July 8th, the IDF intercepted a Houthi drone over Eilat.

On July 19th, a Houthi drone made a large explosion in Tel Aviv, which injured 8, and killed Yevgeny Ferder, 50, in his bed.

The IDF detected and tracked the drone for six minutes, but it was not intercepted, due to human error. The human operators who spotted the drone were unsure if it was a false alarm (such as a bird), and were actively tracking targets from the east (Iraq), while not expecting anything from the west. The IDF has since doubles the operators in the area. According to most analysts, the Houthis are unlikely able to make such a hit again, and this one was a “lucky shot.” The drone was a modified Iranian-made Samad-3, and it flew over 2,600 kilometers, in a 16-hour indirect flight path to Israel, in order to avoid detection.

The IDF responded with the first direct attack on Yemeni soil, hitting fuel depots and other facilities on the Al-Hudaydah port. The IDF says that the attacks were aimed at preventing the Houthis from importing more Iranian weapons, and causing the terror group financial damage. The airstrikes on the fuel depots caused dramatic fires, which burned for well over 24 hours.

The Israeli retaliation was at a distance of over 2,200 kilometers from Israel. Israel coordinated with the U.S., and according to unverified reports, with Saudi Arabia, before the strike. The Saudis publicly denied cooperation.

On July 21st, the Houthis attempted a retaliation, and the IDF intercepted a ballistic missile using the Arrow 3 defense system.

The Iranian-backed militia in Iraq are also still trying to attack Israel, though most of their launches fall short. On July 9th the IDF intercepted an Iraqi drone before it entered Israeli airspace.

Judea and Samaria Updates:

The IDF is continuing with nightly counter terrorism raids against Palestinian terror groups in Judea and Samaria, preventing significant terror attacks.

On July 21st, the Shin Bet announced that it had prevented a shooting attack, which was directed by a Hamas branch in Turkey. An elite police unit arrested a terror cell made up of students from Hamas’s student body at Birzeit University. An assault rifle and thousands of dollars in cash provided by Hamas were also seized.

On July 22, the Shin Bet announced that it had foiled a very serious attempt by a terror cell from Aqabat Jabr, to carry out a kidnapping attack. The terrorists had dug a hole in the ground near one of their homes, and then covered and camouflaged the hole, where they intended to hide Jewish kidnapping victims. The cell also acquired firearms and other weapons (including a makeshift submachine gun), and recruited additional members to assist with the kidnapping, and with shooting and explosive attacks in the aftermath.

General Updates:

On July 9 the Defense Ministry rehabilitation center delivered a 9-month report on activity since the start of the war. According to the report, is has received around 9,250 soldiers since October 7th. 3,600, or 21% of the patients are suffering from PTSD. 70% of patients are reservists.

The Shin Bet foiled a very serious attempt by a terror cell from Aqabat Jabr, to carry out a kidnapping attack. The terrorists dug this tunnel for hiding hostages.

A Houthi fuel depot burns at Al-Hudaydah Port in Yemen, after IDF airstrikes.