War Day 319: Six Hostage Bodies Rescued, Iran In No Rush

War Summary, Day 319: Overnight, the IDF rescued the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in Khan Younis, Netanyahu hinted to families of hostages and fallen soldiers that there are more rescue operations in the works, and Iran is continuing with their threats, but now adding that they’re in no rush.

By Mrs. Bruria Efune

War Summary, Day 319:

109 held captive in Gaza.
35 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.
116 living hostages rescued.
30 hostage bodies rescued.
1,625 Israelis killed.
335 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
20 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
9 fallen soldiers in Judea & Samaria.
20,780 estimated rockets fired at Israel.
88,000 Israelis displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines:

• 6 hostage bodies rescued
• Netanyahu promises he won’t abandon the Philadelphi or Netzarim Corridor
• Hints of more such operations to come
• IDF bombs multiple Hezbollah weapons warehouses
• Gallant says center of gravity is moving north

Hostage Updates:

Overnight, the IDF rescued the bodies of six hostages, from a tunnel in Khan Younis.

The hostages are:
Alex Dancyg, 75, from Kibbutz Nir Oz
Yagev Buchshtav, 35, from Kibbutz Nirim
Chaim Peri, 79, from Kibbutz Nir Oz
Yoram Metzger, 80, from Kibbutz Nir Oz
Nadav Popplewell, 51, from Kibbutz Nirim
Avraham Munder, 78, from Kibbutz Nir Oz

Five of the hostages had earlier been confirmed by the IDF to have been killed in captivity, but the status of Avraham Munder had been unknown until today.

The IDF says that they will investigate the cause of the hostages death, including the possibility that they were killed in an airstrike.

Amidst ceasefire and hostage release negotiations, Prime Minister Netanyahu met with representatives of the Gevurah Forum (which represents 250 families of fallen soldiers) and the Tikva Forum (which represents a number of families of hostages). The representatives request, Netanyahu reaffirmed that “Israel will not, under any circumstances, withdraw from the Philadelphi Route or the Netzarim Corridor despite immense pressure to do so. These are strategic assets crucial to Israel’s security.”

Conversely, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken told reporters that “The agreement is very clear on the schedule and the locations of IDF withdrawals from Gaza and Israel has agreed to that.”

While these two statements seem to contradict, what’s likely is that Netanyahu is only speaking about the first phase of the deal, since he expects it to fall through after that, while Blinken might be speaking about stages two and three.

PBS news reported that former President Trump has been pressuring Netanyahu to avoid a ceasefire deal with Gaza, allegedly to hinder the Harris campaign.

Iran & Proxies Attack Updates:

Iran is continuing with their threats, but now adding that they’re in no rush. Brigadier General Ali-Mohammad Naini, a spokesman for the Islamist Revolutionary Guards Corps, said today, “Time is on our side and the waiting period for this response to the criminal Zionist regime may take a long while. Not a single attack on Iran has ever remained unanswered, and the enemy should expect measured and precise strikes in due time.”

Gaza Front Updates:

Hamas did not successfully fire any rockets into Israel today.

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, Hamad, and Deir al-Balah; and the 162nd Division in Rafah and along the Philadelphi Corridor.

The IDF carried out a precision airstrike against Hamas terrorists in a Hamas command room which was located inside a school building in Gaza City. The IDF as usual went to extreme lengths to minimize risk to civilians, even though Gaza City is under strict evacuation orders.

In Central Gaza, and along the Netzarim Corridor, troops continue to locate and eliminate terrorists. In one incident today, troops spotted two armed terrorists emerge from a tunnel shaft and attempt to plant a bomb near the troops. The troops quickly eliminated them.

The IDF’s operation to recover the bodies of six Israeli hostages from Khan Younis in Southern Gaza was notable for its speed and precision. After expanding its presence in Khan Younis, the IDF quickly achieved operational control over a key neighborhood based on solid intelligence about a tunnel where the bodies were hidden. Combat engineers from the elite Yahalom unit identified a 10-meter deep shaft leading to a complex tunnel system. They discovered that Hamas had concealed the bodies behind a false wall and secured the area with blast doors and other obstructions. The engineers breached these defenses, uncovering weapons and explosives alongside the hostages’ remains. The mission involved intense combat, with IDF troops engaging and killing several Hamas operatives guarding the tunnel. Some terrorists were found dead near the tunnel, armed and likely tasked with protecting the site. The successful operation marked the fastest recovery of hostages’ bodies so far in the war.

Netanyahu today hinted to families of hostages and fallen soldiers that there are more rescue operations in the works.

Further south, in Rafah, troops eliminated around 40 armed terrorists in battles in the Tel Sultan neighborhood. In one instance troops directed a drone strike at a building where a cell of RPG-wielding terrorists were hiding.

Media in Gaza reports that Israel release 33 detainees back into Gaza this morning. This is something the IDF has done before, with prisoners who were proven not to be terrorists, or to be low-risk
This is done in order to free up space in Israeli prisons.

Gaza Humanitarian Efforts Updates:

163 trucks carrying humanitarian goods were transferred to Gaza yesterday.
About 480 trucks worth are waiting for collection.
6 gas tankers designated for the operation of essential infrastructure in Gaza, entered Gaza yesterday.
47 aid trucks were coordinated to northern Gaza yesterday.

13 bakeries are operational (7 in northern Gaza and 6 in central Gaza), producing close to 3 million pita loaves a day.

Northern Front Updates:

Hezbollah fired extremely heavily on Northern Israel today, with 115 rockets and 5 drones fired before 8pm. No injuries were reported in Israel.

There are reports in Lebanon’s northeastern Baalbek District that the IDF bombed 5 Hezbollah weapons warehouses. Videos show large explosions, and secondary explosions. This might be the heaviest bombing of Hezbollah sites deep in Lebanon, and is a significant departure from the cautious and limited airstrikes in Southern Lebanon.

In addition, the IDF struck several Hezbollah sites in Southern Lebanon, and eliminated several terrorists.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant commented on a shift in action, “Our center of gravity is moving from south to north, we are in a gradual change, we have more tasks in the south, we have hostages, we need to bring them, we are negotiating on this and I believe we will succeed in reaching results, this is a very important thing. We want to return the [displaced] residents to the north, we want to return them safely. If it is possible to do this in an agreement, we will do it in an agreement,” he says, warning that without a diplomatic solution, Israel will need to use military means.

International Updates:

The UN set up a memorial to terror victims, to mark International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism—but the memorial contained zero Israeli victims.

From the mission to rescue six bodies of hostages from a tunnel in Khan Younis.

A look at Hezbollah’s sophisticated and expansive web of tunnels in Lebanon.