War Day 58: 2 IDF Soldiers Killed, Fighting Moves to Southern Gaza

War Summary, Day Fifty Eight: 137 men, women and children still held hostage in Gaza, Shin Bet head Ronen Bar says that the Shin Bet will eliminate senior Hamas officers in Qatar and Turkey.

By Mrs. Bruria Efune

War Summary, Day Fifty Eight

137 held captive in Gaza.
110 hostages freed.
4 hostage bodies rescued.
1,200+ Israelis murdered.
72 fallen soldiers since entering Gaza.
7,771 injured.
10,600+ rockets fired at Israel.
187,533 Israelis displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Hostage & Injured Updates:

Defense Minister Yoav Galant met with a group of families of abductees. Galant listened to the families and answered their questions. He emphasized his commitment to the return of the abductees, and explained to the family members how Hamas violated the agreed outline for the return of all women and children. Gallant said that “the return of the fire will lead to further progress in the return of abductees.”

It appears that Israel’s primary strategy for rescuing hostages is to put intense military pressure on Hamas to get them to the negotiating table. Despite the broken ceasefire, Israel is still open to receiving a list from Hamas of women and children that it intends to release in exchange for another day of truce. So far none has arrived.

ICC Prosecutor, Karim Khan, visited Israel at the request of families of hostages and victims of the October 7th attack, and toured Kibbutz Be’eri. In his statement afterwords, he said, “The attacks against innocent Israeli civilians on October 7th represent some of the most serious international crimes that shock the conscience of humanity, crimes which the ICC was established to address.”

Khan added that his office will work to hold those responsible to account, and called for Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release all the hostages.

Gaza Front Updates:

Hamas’s rocket power is back to a significant decrease, which means that the hit they took until now has been strong enough that nine day ceasefire was not enough time for them to set up back to even half their previous strength. Today’s fire was limited to the Gaza Envelope communities, and one to Ashkelon and the area. Three falls in Sderot caused damage, but no known casualties. Most Sderot residents are still following instructions to evacuate.

Due to the significant decrease, the Homefront Command lowered warning levels countrywide; most of Israel is now in the green, and allowed to resume normal activity with gatherings of up to 1,000 people. Excluded from this are the Gaza Envelope communities, Western Lachish (Ashkelon and the area), and communities along the confrontation line in the north, including Kiryat Shemona.

The IDF announced the names of two heroes who died in battle against Hamas terrorists in Gaza:

Staff Sergeant Aschalwu Sama, 20 years old, from Petach Tikva, died of his wounds last night after being wounded in a battle on 14.11.23 in the northern Gaza Strip.

Sergeant 1st Class (Res.) Or Brandes, 25 years old, from Shoham.

Since the beginning of the ground maneuver in the Gaza Strip, the IDF forces have located more than 800 underground tunnel shafts belonging to Hamas, of which approximately 500 have been destroyed through a variety of operational methods, including explosions and blockades. Some of the shafts located connected strategic assets of Hamas through the underground medium. The IDF also destroyed many kilometers of underground tunnel route, but with caution, to avoid areas where hostages may be held.

The IDF is continuing to advance in Gaza, primarily around Gaza City. There are now two main fronts; north Gaza, and south. In the north, the IDF long ago called for all civilians to evacuate the entire area. In the south, the IDF delivered detailed maps, and is using a website to tell civilians in specific small zones to evacuate, and where to go.

The IDF’s process in the north usually follows a four step program to take over each neighborhood: First the Air Force destroys the threats from above, then large D9 bulldozers plow through the roads to destroy any small booby-traps, then tanks follow to eliminate threats, and only then the infantry comes through for direct combat with Hamas terrorists in hiding, and to locate hidden terror infrastructure and tunnel shafts. On occasion, small missions of elite units went ahead to gather intelligence ahead of a full ground invasion.

In the south, it’s still unclear if the IDF will follow through to the same extent as in the north, but it’s beginning to look like they might, in the cities where Hamas has strongholds—such as Khan Yunis. The Air Force has already begun heavy bombing of Hamas infrastructure in specific areas of Khan Yunis after calling on civilians to evacuate, and there are rumors of IDF tanks spotted in the area.

For the first time, IDF spokesman, Lt. Col. Daniel Hagari, made a clear statement about the IDF operations expanding to the entire Gaza Strip. He said, “the IDF continues and expands the ground operation against the centers of gravity of Hamas in the entire Gaza Strip. The forces fight face-to-face with terrorists and eliminate them.” In a later statement, he also said, “The commanders in Hamas will meet the IDF everywhere in a very, very strong way. We fought hard and thoroughly in the north of the Gaza Strip, and we will do it now in the south.”

Last night, across the Gaza Strip, the Air Force targeted Hamas infrastructure and attacked tunnel shafts, military headquarters, munitions warehouses and more. In addition, a remotely manned aircraft eliminated terrorists, directed by fighters from the 7th Brigade’s combat team.

Last night, the IDF eliminated Haitham Khojari, the commander of the Shati battalion, using a fighter jet as an intelligence directive. He led the fighting for the past month in the area of ​​Shatti, and he also took part in the command of the brutal massacre on October 7. During his time as commander, Khawajri was responsible for a lot of terrorist activity against the residents of the State of Israel.

In a final ultimatum to the commanders of the Sajaiya Battalion, led by Wissam Farhat, IDF spokesman Avihai Adrai issued a warning in Arabic in which he informed them that they are in the crosshairs. He wrote. “Hamas, there are two options before you: surrender and lay down your arms, or face a fate similar to that of Wissam Farhat and Younes Moshtaha [who were assassinated recently].”

According to Palestinian reports late Sunday night, a terrorist squad was eliminated near the government hospital Kamal Adwan, in northern Gaza.

In a first, the Shin Bet allowed Kann News to share an audio recording of Shin Bet head, Ronen Bar, in which he says explicitly that the Shin Bet will eliminate senior Hamas officers in Qatar and Turkey. He expressed that it may take time, but it will get done, as it’s imperative to the security of Israel.

Gaza Humanitarian Efforts Updates:

Over the last few days, Israel facilitated the opening of 2 field hospitals in Gaza, donated by Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. The field hospitals are designed to treat hundreds of Gaza civillians in Khan Yunis and Rafah, offering comprehensive healthcare services.

Dozens of trucks of aid were delivered to Gaza via Egypt’s Rafah crossing.

Northern Front Updates:

Hezbollah fire was minimal, but lethal. An anti-tank missile made a hit near an IDF vehicle in Beit Hillel, resulting in 12 patients between the ages of 20 to 60 being checked in to Ziv Medical Center with light injuries, four of the patients were IDF soldiers.

Other falls occurred in Zareit, where no injuries were reported.

The IDF responded by attacking the sources of fire in both Lebanon and Syria.

Additional War Fronts Updates:

Following the reports of the attacks on the ships in the Red Sea, the Houthi spokesman claimed that their navy attacked two “Israeli ships.” According to him, the Houthi Navy launched a missile at one of the ships, and attacked the other with a UAV, after “the ships did not respond to warning messages.”

The Associated Press reported today that a British-owned ship sailing in the Red Sea was hit by rocket fire. The report was based on information from a British monitoring group. At the same time, the activity of a UAV was reported in the area.

According to a Reuters report, the US military said that today the Houthis attacked 3 ships in the Red Sea. This would not have been possible without Iran’s assistance. The US will consider all appropriate responses.

There are also growing hostilities between Iranian-funded militants in Iraq and Syria, and the U.S. military bases in those countries.

Judea and Samaria and Internal Updates:

The police and the Shin Bet arrested Mahmoud Rafik Abdel Rahim Masarwa, 19 years old, a resident of Tayibe, Israel, on suspicion of serious security offenses, including aiding the enemy in war, membership in a terrorist organization, and firing a firearm. According to the findings of the investigation, a report was filed against him today at the district court in Lod.

The Shin Bet and the IDF also arrested several terrorists suspected of carrying out the attack on Route 5 and confiscated the weapons that were allegedly used to carry it out.

International Updates:

On Sunday evening, Jordan accused Israel of killing the son of a Jordanian citizen in Gaza. It appears the family did not follow IDF instructions to evacuate.