War Day 295: Rocket Kills 12 Children, Israel to Retaliate

War Summary, Day 294 & 295: Hezbollah fired extremely heavily on Israel’s far north today with the most devastating hit resulting in the death of 12 children, Israel calculating its response to Hezbollah, whether it’s time to start all-out war, and despite the U.S. and Israel’s outspoken optimism that a deal to release the hostages is coming close, Palestinian sources say that Hamas plans to reject it.

War Summary, Day 294 & 295:

115 held captive in Gaza.
48 hostages confirmed murdered in Gaza.
116 hostages rescued.
24 hostage bodies rescued.
1,587 Israelis killed.
330 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
19 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:

• 12 children murdered by Hezbollah rocket in Druze Majdal Shams
• Israel calculating its response to Hezbollah, whether it’s time to start all-out war
• Sources indicate hostage deal not as imminent as Biden and Netanyahu say
• Soldier killed in Rafah
• Troops locate and destroy Hamas tunnel in Beit Lahiya
• IDF targets Hamas base in a UN school in Deir al-Balah
• IDF expands evacuation warnings in Khan Younis

Hostage Updates:

Despite the U.S. and Israel’s outspoken optimism that a deal to release the hostages is coming close, Palestinian sources say that Hamas plans to reject it. The Lebanese “Al-Mayadeen” network reported according to a “senior Palestinian source,” that Hamas refuses to accept any new proposal outside the last one that Hamas agreed to (which was an extreme distortion of the Israeli proposal). The source says that Hamas is demanding a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza, including from the Netzarim and Philadelphi Corridors, and a guarantee for a permanent ceasefire. He added that Hamas will not oppose a temporary transitional government, if no Palestinian unity government (with the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria, and Hamas in Gaza) is established in time.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi spoke with IDF officers in Khan Younis, and told them that the military os applying pressure on Hamas in order to make the conditions that force Hamas to accept a dal. Halevi emphasized that the IDF will not stop fighting Hamas until the hostages are returned, and “until we dismantle the last battalion, the last company” of Hamas.

Gaza Front Updates:

On Friday, Hamas fired rockets at Israeli communities in towns bordering Gaza, and for the first time in a month, at Ashkelon. No physical injuries were reported.

On Friday, the IDF announced the name of one hero who fell in battle in Gaza:

Cpl. (res.) Moti Rave, 37, from Shani

Four divisions of IDF troops are currently operating in Gaza: the 98th Division in Khan Younis; the 99th Division along the Netzarim Corridor, and on pinpoint operations in parts of Northern Gaza and neighborhoods of Gaza City; the Gaza Division in the buffer zone; and the 162nd Division in Rafah and along the Philadelphi Corridor. Over the last day, the IDF struck more than 50 terror targets in Gaza.

On Friday, the Air Force struck around 45 terror targets in Gaza, and today they struck dozens more. Targets included rocket launchers that were primed for attacks in Israel, and buildings used by Hamas.

The Netzach Yehuda battalion (part of the 99th Division) have been operating in Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, to locate and destroy Hamas infrastructure. In recent days, together with combat engineers, they destroyed a kilometer long Hamas attack tunnel with the main entrance in a residential neighborhood un Beit Lahiya. The tunnel was equipped for terrorists to reside in for long periods of time, and was also stocked with weapons and anti-tank missiles. In Beit Hanoun, troops found destroyed extensive Hamas infrastructure, including anti-tank launching posts and booby-trapped buildings.

In Deir al-Balah, Central Gaza, Israeli fighter jets used a precision strike on a Hamas command and control center, which was embedded within a UN school where civilians were taking refuge. Hamas claims that 31 people were killed in the strike, the IDF estimates that most, if not all, were Hamas terrorists. The IDF says that it took several measures to minimize civilian harm, including using specific munitions, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence-based methods.

In Khan Younis, IDF troops have eliminated over 100 terrorists since the operation was launched last week. Troops have been raiding Hamas sites, and locating tunnels ad weapons caches.

Today the IDF issued new evacuation warnings for civilians in parts of Khan Younis, and again removed an edge of the humanitarian zone in southern Khan Younis, due to it being used by Hamas to launch rockets at Israel (and miss, hitting civilians in Gaza). The IDF urged residents to evacuate to the adjusted humanitarian area in al-Mawasi to reduce civilian harm, using SMS, phone calls, and media broadcasts to communicate the warnings. Hospitals in the area are exempt from evacuation.

In Rafah, troops continue torrid Hamas sites, and engage in close-quarters combat with Hamas terrorists.

On Friday, the IDF announced that Cpl. (res.) Moti Rave was killed by anti-tank fire while operating a D9 bulldozer in Rafah.

Gaza Humanitarian Efforts Updates:

In addition to hundreds of trucks of aid transferred to Gaza this week, the IDF coordinated specialty transfers, including:
16 trucks carrying baby formula and food with extra nutrients donated by UNICEF.
4 empty trucks to boost the logistic capacity of UN aid agencies inside Gaza.
The rotation coordination of 112 humanitarian personnel.

Northern Front Updates:

Hezbollah fired extremely heavily on Israel’s far north today, with the most devastating hit resulting in the death of 12 children in a Majdal Shams playground, including four brothers from the same family. In the Golan Heights there are only a few seconds, if any, before impact from Hezbollah attacks, rarely enough to run to safety. The children were practicing soccer when the siren went off at 6:18 PM, and so they lay flat on the floor with their hands on their heads, as per Homefront Command instructions. The IDF had trouble intercepting the rocket, which then landed right on the soccer field.

The IDF says that the rocket was an Iranian-made Falaq-1 rocket, with a heavy warhead of over 50 kilograms of explosives, and launched by Hezbollah from an area just north of Chebaa, in Southern Lebanon. Hezbollah had earlier claimed to fire a Falaq rocket at an Israeli army base just north of Majdal Shams at the same time as the impact. Later, once the news that Druze children were murdered was published, Hezbollah denied that they attacked the town. Many Druze in Southern Lebanon oppose Hezbollah, who needs access to their towns to fire at Israel.

Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is set to cut his trip to the U.S. short, and return home soon, spoke with Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the leader of the Druze community in Israel, and told him that “Hezbollah will pay a heavy price that it has not paid so far.” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi visited the site of the deadly Hezbollah attack, and spoke with members of the community. The chief of the IDF Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin also met with local officials in Majdal Shams this evening.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s office says that after being presented by the top security officials with “options for action against Hezbollah,” he has “determined the courses of action and instructed the defense establishment accordingly.”

At 11pm, reports in Lebanon said that the IDF began attacking the area from where the launch was made.

Sky News in Arabic (not always a reliable source) quoted an Israeli security source saying “Our response against Hezbollah will be powerful, but we do not intend to start a war.” Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Barak Ravid of Axios: “The Hezbollah attack today crossed all red lines, and the response will be accordingly. We are approaching the moment of an all-out war against Hezbollah and Lebanon. We will pay prices, but at the end of the war Nasrallah and Hezbollah will be destroyed and the state of Lebanon will be severely damaged and we will restore peace and security to the residents of the north”

American sources told Axios that they are very concerned about this attack leading to an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, but still give Israel “iron-clad” support.

Israel has been trying to avoid an all-out war, with extreme tolerance, caution, and diplomatic talks. An all-out war, in addition to more heavy attacks like this one, would likely also mean a complete collapse of talks to return the hostages from Hamas. Many in the military also believe that Israel needs more time to prepare and acquire equipment before a Lebanon war. However, Israel has no choice but to retaliate strongly to the horrific murder of 12 children, and prevent further such tragedies.

Former Lebanese Druze minister, Wiham Wahab, who serves as head of the “Arab Union” party, and is close with Hezbollah, stated: “Majdal Shams—the village that preserved its identity and Arabness and stuck to Syria—is paying a heavy price today. We salute to our people in Majdal Shams and offers condolences to the families of those killed. Let’s find out what happened first.” He added: “Our blood is not cheap, we demand an independent investigation in which the United Nations will participate to reveal the circumstances of the massacre in Majdal Shams.”

While most Israeli Druze are patriotic and proud of their IDF service, the Druze in Majdal Shams have been cautious in their identity, due to long-standing fears that Israel might return the Golan Heights to Syria, and they may face the consequences of cooperating with Israel, once back under Syrian rule.

In addition to the attack on Majdal Shams, Hezbollah rockets on Israel’s far north today also hit homes, factories, and fields–which resulted in a wildfire in the pastures near Szold, and power outages in Menara and Misgav Am.

An IDF Navy Sa’ar 6-class corvette using the C-dome intercepted a Hezbollah drone over the Mediterranean Sea, which was headed towards Israel’s Karish gas field. The IDF is investigating wither the drone was explosive-laden, or just used by Hezbollah for surveillance and intelligence-gathering.

This morning the IDF struck several Hezbollah sites in Southern Lebanon, including a weapons Depot in Kafr Kila, where a cell of Hezbollah terrorists were seen. Hezbollah later announced the death of four terrorists who were eliminated by the IDF, and retaliated with heavy barrages of rockets on Northern Israel. Notably, only one of the four terrorists eliminated were from Southern Lebanon. After a number of targeted assassinations of Hezbollah terrorists by the IDF, Hassan Nasrallah the Secretary General of Hezbollah, instructed his terror organization leaders to store their phones in steel boxes for long periods of time, in order to protect their location, identity, and personal information from the IDF.

The IDF says that since October 8th, the military has eliminated over 500 terrorists (from various terror groups) in Lebanon since October 8th, and destroyed thousands of terror infrastructures. Hezbollah, who doesn’t announce all deaths, says that the number in their cohort is 380. The IDF has used great caution not to harm uninvolved civilians in Lebanon.

In the same time period, Hezbollah has killed 41 Israelis, including 22 civilians and 19 IDF soldiers.

Since Hezbollah began attacking Israel in October, analysts have been saying that an all-out war will begin with either side making a serious miscalculation. The question on everyone’s mind right now is whether today’s horrific tragedy will be the trigger.

Houthi & Iraqi War Front Updates:

On Friday, the US military announced that they had destroyed six Iranian-backed Houthi UAVs (attack drones) in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen, and engaged and destroyed three Houthi uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) operating off the coast of Yemen.

Reports today indicated that the US military also hit Houthi targets at the Hodeidah airport in Yemen.

Judea and Samaria Updates:

This morning, an IDF soldier was lightly wounded after a terrorist opened fire at an army post near Shechem (Nablus), firing from deep within the city. The soldier was evacuated to the hospital in good condition. Later, the IDF used a drone strike to hit a target in the Balata neighborhood of Shechem, targeting the terrorists behind the shooting attack, wounding 9, and eliminating one armed terrorist, named as Louay Masha, 17.