War Day 328: Cemetery Hit by Rocket, Tulkarem Planned Attack Thwarted

War Summary, Day 328: Negotiations ongoing with Philadelphi still main point of contention, 70% of Hamas smuggling tunnels dismantled, Hamas has been falsifying data showing support amongst Gazans, Hezbollah appears deterred from expanding the conflict, Gallant begins move to focus on the north, Tulkarem terrorists had been planning large attack on nearby Jewish town, Houthis burn oil ship, and IDF reservists lose confidence in Chief-of-Staff.

By Mrs. Bruria Efune

107 held captive in Gaza.
35 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.
117 living hostages rescued.
31 hostage bodies rescued.
1,635 Israelis killed.
344 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
21 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:

• Negotiations ongoing, with Philadelphi still main point of contention
• Further evacuation calls in Deir al-Balah
• 70% of Hamas smuggling tunnels dismantled
• Hamas has been falsifying data showing support amongst Gazans
• IDF saves humanitarian convoy from Hamas hijackers
• Hezbollah appears deterred from expanding the conflict
• Gallant begins move to focus on the north
• Tulkarem terrorists had been planning large attack on nearby Jewish town
• Khalid Mashal calls for suicide bombings and increased terror from Judea and Samaria groups
• Large-scale operation in Tulkarem area ongoing
• Top PIJ commander eliminated in Tulkarem
• Houthis burn oil ship
• IDF reservists lose confidence in Chief-of-Staff

Hostage Updates:

The IDF identified the hostage who had been held with Farhan al-Qadi as Aryeh Zalmanovich. Aryeh was 86 when then hostage by Hamas on October 7th. Farhan says that they were held together, and he watched as Aryeh slowly deteriorated and ultimately passed away due to starvation and neglect. The IDF had announced the death of Aryeh in December, based on intelligence information.

Negotiations for a ceasefire-hostage deal are ongoing. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters in Beijing that “Negotiators are bearing down on the details, meaning that we have advanced the discussions to a point where it’s in the nitty gritty, and that is a positive sign of progress.” However, he explained that everything changed hour to hour, and “at the end of the day, nothing is done until it’s done.”

The primary issue still has not been resolved, and that is Hamas’s demand that the IDF fully withdraw from the Netzarim Corridor (which separates the north of Gaza from the rest of the strip) and Philadelphi Corridor (which stretches along the Gaza-Egypt border) before any hostages are released. Prime Minister Netanyahu has been insistent that the IDF will not leave Philadelphi, though it’s unclear where he now stands on the Netzarim Corridor issue.

While all Israelis want the hostages returned home, Netanyahu’s firm stance on the Philadelphi Corridor has strong support from his voters, as seen by a poll published by Channel 14 today, in which Netanyahu surged ahead, with nearly double the numbers of his nearest opponent.

Gaza Front Updates:

Hamas fired two rockets towards the Israeli community of Kissufim, near the Gaza border. The rockets hit empty areas, causing no damage or physical injuries.

Thank G-d, this 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 pinpoint operations in Central Gaza and Gaza City; the 98th Division in Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah; the 162nd Division in Rafah and along the Philadelphi Corridor; and the Gaza Division in the buffer zone. The Israeli Air Force struck over 40 terror targets in Gaza today, including direct strikes on squads of terrorists, and buildings being used by Hamas to attack IDF troops.

Strategic intelligence-based operations continue in Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah, with heavy searches for major Hamas gathering sites, tunnels, and any intelligence that would lead to hostages, or Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar. While Sinwar has been known to be hiding in a tunnel under Khan Younis with hostages as human shields, intelligence as of late suggests that he has been forced to occasionally leave the tunnel (for air or meetings), and does so in disguise as a woman in a full dress and burqa. The IDF is hoping to catch him in the same way that they caught Muhammad Deif in July—without harming hostages.

Troops are moving forward in Deir al-Balah, and the IDF today issued further evacuation warnings for an additional neighborhood in which the IDF has not yet operated on the ground.

A drone strike in Rafah yesterday eliminated Osama Gadallah, a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) intelligence officer who had participated in the October 7th attack. Dozens more terrorists were eliminated in Rafah today, where the IDF announced that Hamas’s Rafah Brigade has now “collapsed” (after earlier stating that it had been “defeated”).

The IDF also says that 80% of Hamas tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor have been destroyed or otherwise neutralized. It is not yet confirmed that the IDF found every Hamas smuggling tunnel which stretches into Egypt. Additional tunnels in Rafah lead northward, into other parts of Gaza, including Khan Younis. The IDF has set up ambushes in several of these tunnels, and caught a number of terrorists attempting to flee Rafah.

The IDF released documents recovered in Gaza, which show that Hamas falsified data from polls conducted by the independent Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), which is run by prominent Palestinian pollster, Khalil Shikaki.

The documents show how Hamas changed the results of the poll to show a significantly larger support amongst Gaza residents for Hamas, Sinwar, and the October 7th attack. This is seen as efforts by Hamas to maintain public support, both internationally, and in Gaza.

The IDF released these documents as it begins setting up infrastructure for the IDF to temporarily manage humanitarian services in Gaza, in place of Hamas or another Palestinian government.

Gaza Humanitarian Efforts Updates:

Today the IDF used an airstrike to take out Hamas terrorists who hijacked an aid convoy. The convoy of aid trucks belonged to the American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) organization and was driving through Rafah when armed terrorists took over vehicles in the front of the convoy. The IDF eliminated the terrorists at the lead without harming the rest of the convoy, which was able to continue to its destination.

216 trucks carrying humanitarian goods were transferred to Gaza yesterday. 165 via Kerem Shalom and 51 via the Erez Crossing. Trucks carried food and medical equipment, including supplies for the logistic operation of the polio vaccination campaign.

136 trucks were collected from the Gazan side of Kerem Shalom. 124 by the private sector and only 12 by the UN.

6 tankers of cooking gas designated for the operation of essential infrastructure were transferred.

UNICEF announced that it will be leading the three-day polio vaccination campaign for kids in Gaza, which will begin on Sunday.

Northern Front Updates:

Hezbollah continues to fire mortars, rockets, anti-tank missiles, and drones into the Upper Galilee and Golan, causing extensive damage to homes, community buildings, roads, and nature reserves.

A Hezbollah “intelligence gathering” drone landed in evacuated Kibbutz Dan, and was picked up by the IDF.

The IDF struck several Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon over the past day.

Defense Minister Gallant met with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi to discuss “expanding the goals of the war.” The current stated goals are 1. To return the hostages, and 2. To defeat Hamas, Gallant’s recommendation is to now add the third goal of returning the 60-80,000 evacuated Israeli residents of northern border communities to their homes. Gallant views this as something that can be done either through war or through a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, which will lead Hezbollah to stop fire as well.

The talk of the addition of a new goal is a sign that Gallant and Halevi see the war in Gaza as entering the third stage of ongoing maintenance, which will need fewer troops on ground and can free up resources for Israel’s north. The coming days will see meetings with the war cabinet, where Netanyahu is likely to agree on the motion.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah seems very intent on limiting the conflict. Today, the Lebanese “Al-Mayadeen” channel reported that allegedly “six UAVs managed to hit the Gillot base” during the Hezbollah attack at the beginning of the week. This very false report is Hezbollah propaganda attempting to convince people that they hit major IDF targets, and therefore don’t need to attack further to avenge the killing of Fuad Shukr and risk further IDF airstrikes.

In addition to attack drones from Hezbollah, today IDF fighter jets intercepted a drone over Syria, as it was heading towards Israel.

Judea and Samaria Updates:

Khalid Mashal, Hamas’s most prominent leader outside of Gaza (living in Qatar), published a video calling for “martyrdom operations” (aka, suicide bombings) in Israel, and called for escalated violence in Judea and Samaria.

The rise of terror groups and support for Hamas is one reason for the ongoing large-scale operation in the Tulkarem area. In addition, Kann News says that the IDF had received intelligence about a terror squad in Tulkarem planning an imminent attack on a Jewish community nearby, October 7th style. Some of the terrorists in the squad have already been eliminated in the ongoing operation, but the threat is not yet ruled out.

The ongoing operation is focused on dismantling terror groups in the areas of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Far’a, where the terror groups are seen as operating together. Residents of these areas were recommended, but not required to evacuate during the operation, in which IDF bulldozers plowed streets to remove dozens of explosives planted by terror groups. Several gunfights broke out in the battles, and troops called in drone strikes for assistance.

In the first 24 hours of the operation, troops eliminated at least 12 terrorists from Hamas and the PIJ, including Muhammad Jaber, aka Abu Shuja’a, who was the commander of the PIJ’s Nir Shams wing, in Tulkarem, and was involved in planning several deadly terror attacks on Israelis. Ten other terrorists were arrested.

One IDF soldier was moderately wounded in the operation, and one officer from the police’s elite Yamam counterterrorism unit was lightly injured.

A security source told Sky News in Arabic that terrorists in east Shechem (Nablus) are handing themselves over to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces in an attempt to prevent an IDF operation in Shechem similar to the one in Tulkarem. The PA has its own jails, and will likely hold and treat the terrorists well, and release them once the threat is seen to have passed.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote on Twitter: “Latest developments in the occupied West Bank, including Israel’s launch of large-scale military operations, are deeply concerning. I strongly condemn the loss of lives, including of children, and I call for an immediate cessation of these operations.”

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon wrote in response: “Since October 7th, Iran has been actively working to smuggle sophisticated explosive devices into Judea and Samaria, intended for use in suicide bombings in the heart of Israeli cities. The State of Israel will not sit idly by and wait for scenes of buses and cafes exploding in city centers. The IDF’s operations in Judea and Samaria have a clear goal: preventing Iranian terror-by-proxy that would harm Israeli civilians.”

Houthi & Iraqi War Front Updates:

Today, the Houthis released footage showing their fighters detonating bombs aboard the abandoned Greek-flagged oil tanker, Sounion, in the Red Sea. This followed an earlier agreement by the Houthis to allow tugboats and rescue ships to assist the tanker, which they had set ablaze in a previous attack on August 21.

The tanker, carrying approximately 1 million barrels of oil, had been targeted by the Houthis with small arms fire, projectiles, and a drone boat. After the initial attack, the crew was rescued by a French destroyer and taken to Djibouti.

On Thursday, a European Union mission confirmed that the Sounion was not yet leaking oil, though fears of a massive environmental catastrophe remain. Diplomats continue to seek a solution to prevent further damage as the situation unfolds.

Iran & Proxies Attack Updates:

A mysterious explosion was reported last night in a military facility operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Isfahan Province, Western Iran. The blast resulted in one death and at least ten injuries. Iranian state media claimed that the cause was a gas balloon explosion.

General Updates:

A survey published today by the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy showed that 58% of IDF reservists have lost confidence in IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi. Only 12% had somewhat high confidence, and 8% had very high confidence in the Chief of Staff. 49% said that Halevi should resign at the earliest possible moment.

According to my own conversations with many reservists in various units in the south, a large part of this distrust comes from the chief’s willingness to evacuate (even temporarily) strategic points in Gaza, which many soldiers lost their lives for, and many believe that they will lose more if forced to fight for it again. Many see this as a sign that he has not learned from the mistakes leading up to October 7th.

Troops however maintain a high level of trust in field commanders, on the ground—which is ultimately what matters most in day-to-day battle.

A cemetery in Kiryat Shemona, Northern Israel, hit by a Hezbollah rocket today:

IDF tractors shovel up roads in Tulkarem, to clear out road bombs: