War Summary, Day 313: A major cyber attack hit the Central Bank of Iran and several other banks, leading to widespread disruptions in the country’s banking system, major counter-terrorism operation in Tubas leader to 5 dead terrorists, and the NYT received leaked negotiation documents.
By Mrs. Bruria Efune
War Summary, Day 313:
115 held captive in Gaza.
41 hostages confirmed murdered in Gaza.
116 living hostages rescued.
24 hostage bodies rescued.
1,619 Israelis killed.
332 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
19 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
9 fallen soldiers in Judea & Samaria.
20,650 estimated rockets fired at Israel.
90,000 Israelis displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.
Top Headlines:
- NYT received leaked negotiation documents
- Israel sending a flexibly negotiation team to Doha talks
- Hamas is still demanding a complete ceasefire and withdrawal
- Iran might be waiting for ceasefire talks before attacking, will pause of there is a deal
- Major cyber attack on Iranian finance system
- Several more terrorists than usual were eliminated in Lebanon
- Major counter-terrorism operation in Tubas leader to 5 dead terrorists
Hostage Updates:
The New York Times obtained leaked documents from the ceasefire negotiations, which they say proves that Prime Minister Netanyahu has added conditions to the original May 27th proposal. The added conditions are reportedly:
- After insisting for months that Israel would only agree to a cease-fire in which IDF soldiers can screen Gazans returning from Southern Gaza to the North of Gaza, to ensure that they don’t bring weapons, in the May proposal, Israel seemingly softened the position, and simply wrote that the returnees should not be carrying weapons—without including that IDF soldiers will screen them. (The NYT claims that Hamas then agreed to this condition, which is false.) In a leaked document, the NYT found that Netanyahu is now insisting that the screening of people returning to the north would need to be “implemented in an agreed upon manner.”
The NYT adds that, “Senior Israeli officials familiar with the latest negotiations, as well as leaders in Israel’s security forces, agree in principle with Mr. Netanyahu that it would be better to maintain checkpoints to screen people for weapons. But they also believe that it is not worth holding up a deal over this point, and want Mr. Netanyahu to back down ahead of the planned meeting on Thursday.”
- The NYT writes that in the May proposal, Israel had agreed to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor, and now Netanyahu wants to keep troops there. However, the NYT doesn’t explain that at the time of the original May 27th proposal, Israel had not yet taken the full border, or uncovered the 25 cross-border smuggling tunnels in the corridor, some of which full-sized jeeps can drive through, all of which were made and used under Egypt’s “supervision.”
Netanyahu’s office released a statement rebutting the article, and adding that, “The 27 July draft does not include new conditions and does not contradict the 27 May proposal. Hamas is demanding 29 changes, which the Prime Minister opposed.”
Today, a senior member of Hamas told CNN that Hamas won’t agree to anything less than “the cessation of ‘Israeli aggression’ [i.e., full ceasefire], the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza, the release of the [terrorist] prisoners, the return of all citizens to their homes, and the lifting of the siege [i.e., reopening borders to Israel and Egypt]. He says that Hamas won’t be going to the negotiating table unless Israel will be agreeing to that, because without, “there is nothing to talk about.”
Conversely, Barak Ravid of Axios reported that Netanyahu sent his negotiating team to the summit with a slightly expanded mandate, and flexibility that may make an agreement possible. The Israeli team is expected to arrive in Doha tomorrow for a few hours of talks, and if necessary, an Israeli working-level team will remain in Doha for further negotiations.
Israel’s security and intelligence services are reportedly growing concerned that time is running out for the hostages who are still alive.
Iran & Proxies Attack Updates:
In a meeting with senior Iranian officials, where it seems he was trying to reassure his people, the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, claimed that “the exaggeration of the capabilities of our enemies is intended to spread fear among our people, by the US, Britain and the Zionists. The hand of the enemies is not as strong as advertised. We have to trust ourselves. The enemy’s goal is to spread psychological warfare to push us into a political and economic retreat, and achieve his goals.”
A major cyber attack hit the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and several other banks, leading to widespread disruptions in the country’s banking system. This may have been one of the largest cyber attacks ever against the Iranian regime infrastructure. It is unknown who is behind the attack—Israel, the U.S., or vigilantes.
(In some areas, Iranians who are fed up with the regime taped signs to the non-functioning ATMS, reading “Dear Customers, It is not possible to withdraw money from this ATM. This is because all of Iran’s budget and national resources have been allocated to wars and the corrupt religious leaders of the Islamic Republic regime. We deeply apologize.”)
As usual lately, there are overnight GPS disruptions in Syria and Lebanon, and Syria’s airspace is closed, as well as in parts of Iran for military exercises.
It is still unknown if/when Iran will begin an attack against Israel, though at the moment it appears that Iran is waiting to see if there will be a ceasefire deal, which would give them the excise needed to bow out.
Gaza Front Updates:
Hamas did not successfully fire any rockets into Israel today. There was one false alarm in Holit, near tha Gaza border.
Thank G-d, the IDF did not announce any fallen heroes today.
Four divisions of IDF troops are currently operating in Gaza: the 252nd Division along the Netzarim Corridor, and on pinpoint operations in Central and Northern Gaza; the Gaza Division in the buffer zone; the 98th Division in Khan Younis; and the 162nd Division in Rafah and along the Philadelphi Corridor. The IAF struck over 40 Hamas targets throughout Gaza over the past day, including terrorist squads, and buildings used to launch anti-tank missiles at IDF troops.
Amongst today’s targets were sites near the rocket-launching position in Khan Younis, in which Hamas attempted to fire at Tel Aviv yesterday. The IDF says that the position was along the route which is used to deliver humanitarian aid to Gazans.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi visited troops in the Philadelphi Corridor (the strip along the border of Gaza with Egypt). Halevi threatened Hamas, saying, “Hamas should know that every day it holds our hostages, it will be more bitter for it than the previous day. We will act [against Hamas] even harder until we manage to return the hostages, and after that we will not allow Hamas to even raise its head.”
He stressed that holding the corridor is an important thing, because it stops Hamas from building up their forces, but added, “We are preparing options for whatever the political echelon decides. If it decides that we’re staying in Philadelphi, we’ll know how to stay there and stay strong. If it decides that we must monitor [the area] and carry out raids whenever we have an indication, we will know how to do it.”
Gaza Humanitarian Efforts Updates:
Yesterday, 169 trucks carrying humanitarian goods were transferred to Gaza, of which 40 aid trucks were coordinated to northern Gaza (which is supposed to be evacuated of civilians).
Over 600 trucks are still waiting for collection on the Gazan side of Kerem Shalom.
5 tankers of fuel and 6 tankers of cooking gas designated for the operation of vital humanitarian infrastructure entered Gaza yesterday.
13 bakeries are operational (7 in northern Gaza and 6 in central Gaza), producing close to 3 million pita loaves a day.
The IDF says that Hamas continues to hamper humanitarian efforts at the expense of Gazan civilians, including by abusing humanitarian routes and aid designated for the civilian population.Just yesterday, (Tuesday), Hamas terrorists opened fire toward the humanitarian route in the area of Rafah, as well as launching rockets from the Humanitarian Route in Khan Yunis toward central Israel. Hamas continues to deliberately embed its military assets used to carry out attacks against Israel next to humanitarian infrastructure and the civilian population inside Gaza.
Northern Front Updates:
Hezbollah in Lebanon continued with heavy fire on Israel’s far north, using rockets, missiles, and drones. No injuries were reported, but damage was caused. In one incident, two rockets hit the city of Kiryat Shemona, without any warning sirens. After assessments, residents in five northern towns were instructed to avoid congregating, avoid creating any traffic, and constantly be near a protected area.
The IDF carried out a significant number of airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon, with several targeted hits on Hezbollah terrorists throughout the area.
Hezbollah is reportedly ready to move into heavier attacks against Israel, but is waiting for Iran’s go ahead.
Houthi & Iraqi War Front Updates:
U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed two Iranian-backed Houthi vessels in the Red Sea. The Houthis have been continuously attacking vessels in the Red Sea which they (often incorrectly) claim are connected to Israel.
Judea and Samaria Updates:
IDF troops carried out a 12-hour counter-terrorism operation in the city of Tubas. Four IDF soldiers were injured during the operation, when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb.
During the operation, 5 terrorists who fired on troops and attempted to flee arrest, were eliminated, and three were detained. The IDF also seized seized five M-16 assault rifles, one makeshift submachine gun, and other weapons, including explosive devices.
Hamas identified one of the eliminated terrorists as Faiz Fuaz Dara’ma, a senior terrorist who was a security prisoner in Israeli jail, and served about 31 months in prison for terrorist activities, and was released in 2019. Dara’ma was reportedly killed after barricading himself in a village house.
The IDF spokesman announced that IDF forced, Border Police, and the Shin Bet, have been operating over the past two days in area of the villages of Habala near Qalqiliya, to prevent infiltrations and to thwart terrorism. During operations, forces searched for weapons, and confiscated a gun, a Carlo rifle, and 120 thousand shekels of terrorist money—in cash. In addition, the forces arrested five wanted persons.
General Updates:
The Defense Ministry’s rehabilitation center has received about 10,056 soldiers since the war began on October 7. This includes those dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Of these soldiers, roughly 3,500—about 35%—are struggling with PTSD or other mental health issues due to trauma. Another 37% have physical injuries to their limbs.
Out of the 10,056 soldiers, around 68% are reservists.
The center is also supporting approximately 62,000 veterans from previous conflicts and expects to treat around 100,000 by 2030, with at least half likely to have PTSD.
To say that 116 hostages were rescued doesn’t sound right. The majority were traded for Israeli concessions, so yes, they were removed from their horrible situations, but I think that the word “rescued” applies to the hostages extricated by the IDF. Maybe “released” is a better word for the others.
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