War Day 334: Sign of Life From Hostage, Tzfas Bombarded

War Summary, Day 333-334: IDF troops had recently found a recording in Gaza where hostage Matan Angrest an IDF soldier can be heard asking Prime Minister Netanyahu to make a prisoner exchange, over Friday and Shabbos Tzfas was bombarded with rockets, and Israel plans to take over territory in Southern Lebanon to ensure that Israelis in Northern Israel are safe to return home.

War Summary, Day 333-334:

101 held captive in Gaza.
35 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.
117 living hostages rescued.
37 hostage bodies rescued.
1,646 Israelis killed.
346 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
21 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
14 fallen soldiers and police in Judea & Samaria.
24,300 estimated rockets fired at Israel.
88,000 Israelis displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines:

• Signs of life from IDF hostage, Matan Angrest
• Sirens in Ashkelon
• 100 terrorists eliminated in Tel Sultan neighborhood
• 559,000 children in Gaza vaccinated against polio
• Hamas took so much “humanitarian aid” they don’t even have room to store it anymore
• Evidence that Hamas is taking the fuel trucks, which UN aid groups are supposed to protect
• City of Tzfat bombarded with rockets, Friday and Shabbat
• IDF bombs munition warehouses deep into Lebanon
• Israel in limbo over when to start Lebanon war
• Tunnel found in Tulkarem, in Judea & Samaria
• The Houthis are planning a surprise again

Hostage Updates:

The Hostage Families Forum released an audio recording, which IDF troops had recently found in Gaza. In the recording, Matan Angrest an IDF soldier taken hostage by Hamas, can be heard asking Prime Minister Netanyahu to make a “prisoner exchange” so that he can be free. In the recording, Natan is clearly repeating what he is instructed to by Hamas, as no IDF soldier would call the release of terrorists from prison a “prisoner exchange,” and his words follow the same script as all videos of hostages released by Hamas.

Matan was brutally taken hostage by Hamas from the Nachal Oz outpost while he was unconscious, and seriously injured. Until this recording was found, it was unknown if he had survived October 7th. It’s unknown when the recording is from, and if Matan is still alive after 334 days in captivity.

Gaza Front Updates:

Hamas fired two rockets at the city of Ashkelon on Shabbat, one landed in the sea, and the other was intercepted by the Iron Dome over the city.

Thank G-d, the IDF did not announce any fallen heroes.

Three 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 162nd Division in Rafah and along the Philadelphi Corridor; and the Gaza Division in the buffer zone.

The IDF called on civilians in Beit Lahiya, Northern Gaza, to evacuate, after Hamas fired rockets at Ashkelon from the area. Beit Lahiya has already been warned to evacuate many times, and is considered a dangerous combat zone, with ongoing minor operations.

On Friday, the IAF (Israeli Air Force) targeted two buildings which Hamas was using to direct attacks and manufacture weapons, the Gaza CIty’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood. The IDF says that contrary to claims inside Gaza, it was not targeting a fuel facility.

Today, the IAF targeted a group of Hamas terrorists in a command room which was inside a former school in Gaza City. The IAF used precision strikes, to avoid harm to the civilians who were sheltering in other wings of the building.

After declaring Hamas’s Rafah brigade defeated, the IDF continues to comb through the border city, to weed out remaining terrorists and Hamas infrastructure. Over the last few days, the IDF eliminated over 100 armed terrorists in the Tel Sultan neighborhood, and located rocket launchers, weapon caches, and other Hamas infrastructure. The IDF has found the most long-range rockets in Rafah, compared to any other area in Gaza. Terrorists mostly fired these from tunnels very close to the Egyptian border, where Hamas knew the IDF would be hesitant to hit with airstrikes.

Gaza Humanitarian Efforts Updates:

The polio vaccination campaign was completed last week, with a total of 559,000 children vaccinated across the entire Gaza Strip during the entire campaign. The campaign was executed in coordination with the WHO and UNICEF.

Israel’s Channel 12 played an intercepted recording between to Hamas terrorists, which demonstrates that the terror group is not only controlling and profiting off all of the humanitarian aid (including the fuel, which UN organizations promised wouldn’t go to Hamas), but that they have amassed so much, that they don’t even have enough space to store it anymore. The recording:

Terrorist 1: “We have trucks filled with goods alongside the diesel trucks. At this point, we have everything… The warehouse is at full capacity. We’re just waiting for the green light to start transferring.”
Terrorist 2: “Coordinating with Samer is difficult due to a reception issue. If you can move them elsewhere, go ahead.”
Terrorist 1: “Can you take them to Khan Yunis, or will that cause a delay?”

The IDF attempted to cut Hamas out of the food and medicine distribution, by working with civilian merchants in Gaza, who had been in the business before the war. However, Hamas immediately began to take 20% of profits from the merchants, and so the trial is expected to end next week.

Northern Front Updates:

Hezbollah in Lebanon continues to escalate their rocket and drone fire, day by day, testing Israel’s limits. Residents of Tzfat (Safed), Rosh Pina, and other Upper Galilee cities which have not been evacuated, were woken up by warning sirens at 1AM on Friday, the barrage included 20 rockets aimed at Tzfat alone. More rockets targeted Tzfat on Friday afternoon, 1AM on Shabbat, and then barrages totaling around 50 rockets between 8-9AM. Other large volleys targeted areas in the Upper Galilee and border communities.

Imagine for a moment, being woken up at 1AM with 15-30 seconds to get your family into a bomb shelter.

Thank G-d, no physical injuries were reported, though large fires were sparked in the Birya Forest and Amid area.

Following the escalation, the Home Front Command issued instructions to specific non-evacuated towns in the Upper Galilee, where time to shelter is 15 seconds, to reduce movement, avoid gatherings, and stay near bomb shelters.

On Shabbat afternoon, the IAF carried out airstrikes around 140km deep into Lebanon in the Beqaa Valley and Baalbek region, where it targeted Hezbollah weapons depots.

Over the last couple days, the IDF also carried out many airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon, including multiple buildings where groups of Hezbollah terrorists were gathered , weapons depots, launch sites, and a terrorist on a motorcycle.

According to News 13, Israel has decided to move to a wider war against Hezbollah (other sources indicate that it will be a long war, and Israel will take over territory in Southern Lebanon to ensure that Israelis in Northern Israel are safe to return home. However, it is unclear whether this war will begin within weeks, or months. The Israeli government and IDF want to first ensure that they have international support for the war, and the munitions needed for mass air defenses, heavy bombing, and the destruction of fortified tunnels deep inside Lebanese mountains. This support might only come after current negotiations with Hamas come to an end, or after U.S. elections are over. In the meantime, Hezbollah has made Israel’s far north unlivable.

While troops have extensively trained for a ground invasion, the IAF is still working to fill holes in the air defense systems, particularly against small drones, and swarms of heavy missiles combined with drones.

Judea and Samaria Updates:

Operation Summer Camps continued into its 18th day, in recent days around 10 terrorists were eliminated in gun battles and drone strikes.

The IDF announced that troops found a short tunnel near a hospital in Palestinian Authority-controlled Tulkarem. The tunnel appeared to still be under construction, as it only had an entrance, and no exit. The IDF says that the tunnel will be destroyed after an investigation.

This evening, vigilant IDF troops spotted a heavy explosive device on the road near Beit Horon, and called saboteurs to dismantle it, avoiding tragedy.

Houthi & Iraqi War Front Updates:

The Yemeni Houthi Defense Minister: We warn our enemies that the coming days hold surprises they are not expecting.

International Updates:

Abdullah bin Zayed, the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, wrote in his X (twitter) account: “the United Arab Emirates is not ready to support the day after the war in Gaza without the establishment of a Palestinian state.”