War Summary, Day 349: The IDF shot at 100 Hezbollah rocket launchers which were primed with around 1,000 barrels for immediate attacks on Israel, Israel offered a deal which would allow Yahya Sinwar a safe exit from Gaza in exchange for the release of all 101 hostages at once, and Americans no longer think a hostage deal is in the near future.
By Mrs. Bruria Efune
War Summary, Day 349:
101 held captive in Gaza.
35 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.
117 living hostages rescued.
37 hostage bodies rescued.
1,652 Israelis killed.
350 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
25 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
14 fallen soldiers and police in Judea & Samaria.
24,500 estimated rockets fired at Israel.
88,000 Israelis displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.
Top Headlines:
- Americans no longer think a hostage deal is in the near future
- Israel offered an out for Sinwar in exchange for all the hostages
- Large Hamas weapons depot blown up
- Most Gazans no longer believe October 7th was a good idea after all
- Two fallen soldiers in the north
- Major 1,000 rocket attack on Israel prevented at last minute
- New Home Front Command instructions for residents of the north
- Israel manufactured and sold the pagers to Hezbollah
- Nasrallah dares Israel to enter Lebanon
- Bombing attack on Northern border thwarted
- Intense ongoing operations in Qabatiya, Samaria
Hostage Updates:
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, American officials no longer expect a hostage-ceasefire deal to take place before January 2025. This implies that all negotiation efforts at this point are primarily aimed to prevent—or delay—a wider war from breaking out before elections in the U.S.
Kan News reports that Israeli envoy, Gal Hirsch, presented a proposal last week in a meeting with US officials from the White House and State Department, which would allow Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, a safe exist from Gaza, in exchange for the release of all 101 hostages at once. The deal would also include a ceasefire and release of Hamas terrorists from Israeli prison. It’s unclear if the wider Israeli government backed this deal or not, but regardless, Hamas already rejected the offer.
Gaza Front Updates:
Hamas did not fire any rockets into Israel today.
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.
IDF troops continue to battle Hamas holdouts in Rafah, particularly in the Tel Sultan neighborhood, where they so far eliminated over 300 terrorists, including the battalion leadership. The IDF released a video showing a Hamas rockets and weapons storehouse being demolished by troops. The warehouse contained many long-range rockets, which can be seen flying in various directions as the building is demolished.
A survey conducted by the Palestinian Center for States and Research published this week found a decline in support for Hamas, amongst Gazans and residents of Palestinian Authority (PA) areas.
According to the survey, only 39% of Gaza residents now believe that Hamas’s decision to attack Israel on October 7 was correct—a drop from 71% in March, and only 37% of Gazans believe that at the end of the war Gaza will remain in Hamas’ hands. In the PA areas in Judea and Samaria, support for the October 7th attack dropped from 82% in December to 64% this month.
The survey also found that only half of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority expect a victory for Hamas – a drop from the two-thirds who thought so three months ago. The drop is greater in Gaza – from 48% to 28%. In the PA 65% believe that Hamas will win – compared to 79% three months ago months.
This drop in support for October 7th amongst Gazans and PA residents does not come out of regret for the terrorism and murder of Israelis, but rather out of anger for their own suffering in the following war.
Gaza Humanitarian Efforts Updates:
On Tuesday:
182 trucks carrying humanitarian goods were transferred to Gaza
Approximately 480 trucks worth of aid are waiting in total for collection, 460 of which are the UN’s responsibility.
6 gas and 1 fuel tankers designated for the operation of essential infrastructure in Gaza, entered Gaza.
Northern Front Updates:
Hezbollah fired heavily on Israel’s far north, resulting in a few fires, and 8 injured soldiers.
The IDF announced the names of two heroes who fell in drone and missile attacks while defending Northern Israel:
Maj. (res.) Nael Fwarsy, 43, from Maghar
Sgt. Tomer Keren, 20, from Haifa
The IDF started off the day with heavy bombing of Hezbollah targets, primarily in Southern Lebanon, with some deeper into Lebanon, aimed at “taking away Hezbollah capabilities.”
Later in the evening, the IDF began the heaviest round of airstrikes in Lebanon since this conflict began, sparking dramatic scenes of multiple explosions and large fires across Southern Lebanon. The IDF then explained that it had struck over 100 Hezbollah rocket launchers, which were primed with around 1,000 barrels for immediate attacks on Israel, as well as several weapons depots. This is the second time that the IDF prevented a major Hezbollah rocket attack in the last minutes before launch.
Following the airstrikes, the IDF updates Home Front command guidelines for areas in the north, and published specific guidelines for residents in the Merom HaGalil Regional Council, Upper Galilee Regional Council, Mevo’ot HaHermon Regional Council, Yesud HaMa’ala, Hatzor, Rosh Pina, Safed, Metula, and towns in the Golan Heights from Katzrin and northward.
The guidelines direct civilians to reduce movement outside of homes, avoid large gatherings, guard the entrances to the community, and remain close to bomb shelters until further notice. The mayor of Safed instructed residents to stock up on a little extra groceries.
Meanwhile in Lebanon, following the pager and walkie-talkie explosions, the health ministry updated the total death toll to 37, and injured to nearly 3,000. Hezbollah admitted to 37 terrorists eliminated over the last two days, including from IDF airstrikes.
Israeli commentator, Ben Caspit wrote that according to Western intelligence sources, Hezbollah is hiding the real casualty numbers which are between 300 and 400 terrorists killed, with about 600 blinded, and hundreds more missing limbs, as well as hundreds injure in the reproductive organs. In addition, three security guards close to Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah were seriously injured.
The NYT reported that Israel didn’t just tamper with the Hezbollah devices—it manufactured them. The project began in 2022, when Nasrallah indicated that he wanted to replace his militia’s hackable cellphones with beepers. The Mossad, with the help of Aman (the IDF intelligence), set up a front company in Budapest called BAC Consulting. BAC manufactured pagers for a Taiwanese company, and sold them to a variety of clients, unaffiliated with Hezbollah. In the summer of 2022, the company began shipping thousands of devices to Hezbollah. The devices shipped to Hezbollah were produced separately, and the batteries were laced with the explosive PETN, in an undetectable way, and had a built-in explosive trigger which Israel could call at any time. BAC Consulting seemingly disappeared the day the explosions began.
Nasrallah gave a speech Thursday afternoon, in which he mourned the attack, and admitted a setback, but claimed that Hezbollah is winning, due to the evacuation of 60-80,000 Israeli’s from the north of Israel. Nasrallah then said that he won’t stop firing on Israel until Israel withdraws from Gaza, and dared the IDF to enter Lebanon, in the plan to make a buffer zone, threatening that Hezbollah will make it a giant trap.
As Nasrallah spoke, IAF F-15 jets flew low over Beirut, dropping flares into the sky, and then bombed Hezbollah targets throughout Southern Lebanon, creating dramatic fires.
In a separate incident, the IDF released for publication that on Monday troops foiled an attempted Hezbollah bombing attack on the Lebanon border. Surveillance troops had spotted two armed terrorists approaching the border, and alerted the Golani Brigade troops, who stationed in an ambush near the Tziporen Post in Upper Galilee, and opened fire and artillery shelling on the terrorists, eliminating them.
This morning, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi approved battle plans for the northern front, and in the evening, presented the plans to the Prime Minister and Defense Minister.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant today addressed the possibilities ahead, saying, “This is a new phase in the war, it has significant opportunities, but also heavy risks. Hezbollah is feeling chased and the sequence of our military operations will continue. Our goal is to return the residents of the north to their homes safely. As time goes by, Hezbollah will pay an increasing price.”
In a war with Lebanon, Israel’s goal will likely be to push Hezbollah past the Litany River, into the lowlands, from where they are less capable of firing at Israel.
Judea and Samaria Updates:
IDF Duvdevan troops are reportedly operating in Qabatiya, near Jenin, where a wanted terrorist is holed up in a building. The troops are using the “pressure cooker” tactic of escalating fire at the building to force the terrorist out. So far 4 armed terrorists have been eliminated, and zero troops harmed.
In a separate incident, the IDF used a drone strike against a group of armed terrorists in a vehicle in Qabatiya, and says details will be provided soon.
Iran & Proxies Attack Updates:
A Shin Bet and police investigation revealed that a Jewish Israeli businessman in his 70s, living in Turkey for extended periods, was recruited by Iranian intelligence through intermediaries in Turkey. The businessman first met with representatives of an Iranian businessman, “Eddy,” in Turkey in April 2024. In subsequent meetings, he was smuggled into Iran, where he met with Iranian intelligence officials who attempted to task him with possible missions for the Iranian regime, including assassinations of top Israeli officials such as Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant.
The businessman demanded $1 million upfront to carry out these tasks but received only €5,000 after multiple meetings. The plot was seen as retaliation for Israel’s alleged assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. The businessman, who appears to not have actually carried out any directives of significance, was indicted today. According to reports, he claims to be relieved to have been caught.
International Updates:
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated: “Nasrallah could stop the terrorist attacks across Israel, and I guarantee you, if he did that, we would be impressing upon Israel the need to maintain calm on their end. The bottom line is, he hasn’t stopped those terrorist attacks, and so as long as Hezbollah is launching terrorist attacks across the border, of course, Israel is going to launch military action to defend itself as any country would.”
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to speak with the Lebanese leadership in an effort to prevent further escalation between Israel and Hezbollah. France reiterated its demand from Hezbollah to immediately stop its attacks on Israeli territory
Southern Lebanon aflame, as the IDF bombs over 100 rocket launchers tonight.
IAF F-15 fighter jets flying over Beirut amid Nasrallah’s speech, and dropping flares.
Watch secondary explosions in the demolition of a Hamas weapons warehouse in Rafah, which contained long-range rockets.
“A drop from 71% in March … dropped from 82% in December”
Didn’t the IDF publish findings (like a month ago) that these results were falsified in favor of Hamas??