War Summary, Day Fifty Nine: Hamas displayed a weakening in its attacks, while IDF keeps hitting targets and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says that “The army is working at its best, the Chief of Staff is managing things fearlessly, and with great success.”
By Mrs. Bruria Efune
War Summary, Day Fifty Nine:
137 held captive in Gaza.
110 hostages freed.
4 hostage bodies rescued.
1,200+ Israelis murdered.
75 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:
In a Press Conference, State Department Spokesperson Mathew Miller expressed what we are all afraid to be true: That Hamas didn’t release the remaining female hostages, because they don’t want those women to tell what happened to them while in captivity.
The Director General of the Red Cross visited Gaza and primarily commented on the situation of the Gaza civilians under the IDF operations. Towards the end she said that “the hostages must be released and the organization [Red Cross] allowed to visit them safely.”
The Prime Minister’s Office announced that at the request of the families of the abductees, the War Cabinet will meet with them on Tuesday at noon.
A funeral was held for Col. Asaf Hamami, 41, from Kiryat Ono, the commander of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade, who fell in battle on October 7. His body was kidnapped to Gaza, but in light of new evidence, the military rabbi ruled that a funeral could be held for him.
Defense Minister Galant eulogized Hamami: “You were one of the best sons of our beautiful country, one of the revered commanders of Givati. I came here today to promise you, to promise us all: the IDF fighters and their commanders will complete the mission. In the name of the security establishment, in the name of all the fighters and commanders in the IDF and in all the security branches, we salute today in your memory and in memory of all those who fell in the war.”
Gaza Front Updates:
There was an increase in the range of rocket and missile fire today, over yesterday, still showing a diminished strength of Hamas. Be’er Sheva received the first rocket fire in three weeks, after many previous attempts by Hamas at the city resulted in misses. A small barrage was also fired at the Tel Aviv area.
A fragment of an interceptor missile was found in the yard of a school in Ganei Tikva, no damage or casualties were reported.
The IDF announced the names of three heroes who died in battle against Hamas terrorists in Gaza:
- Sgt. Maj. (res.) Neriya Shaer, 36, of the 55th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade’s 6655th Battalion, from Yavne.
- Sgt. First Class (res.) Ben Zussman, 22, of the Combat Engineering Corps’ 601st Battalion, from Jerusalem.
- Sgt. Binyamin Yehoshua Needham, 19, of the Combat Engineering Corps’ 601st Battalion, from Zichron Yaakov.
IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, held an assessment in the Gaza Strip today, showing the confidence of IDF control.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant commented on the IDF’s expansion to southern Gaza: “The army is working at its best, the Chief of Staff is managing things fearlessly, and with great success. This action that is happening now, in the north of the Gaza Strip, will soon lead to the shattering of [Hamas in] the entire area of Gaza City and the north of the Gaza Strip. At the same time, the IDF has begun to work in the south of the Gaza Strip. The fate of the terrorists in the Hamas battalions there will be the same and worse than those in the north.”
Last night the IDF attacked about 200 Hamas terror targets in Gaza, including rocket launchers and weapons depots. Terrorist infrastructures were found inside schools in the northern Gaza Strip, and were destroyed. The IDF announced several activities of troops in Gaza, without announcing the location as they usually do.
They announced that troops of the 7th Armored Brigade spotted three Hamas operatives during a battle and directed a drone strike on them. Other forces spotted Hamas operatives firing an RPG at them, and responded with gunfire, killing two Hamas members. Two Hamas gunmen opened fire at troops from the entrance to a tunnel—the soldiers in response demolished the tunnel, eliminating the pair. Troops also directed a drone strike on three Hamas operatives near them.
On Monday afternoon the Internet went down in all areas of the Gaza Strip.
In the north of Gaza, the IDF is operating most fiercely in Jabaliya and Shejaya. According to Palestinian reports, a terrorist squad was eliminated today near the government hospital Kamal Adwan.
In the south of Gaza, after asking Gaza civillians to evacuate the areas, the IDF has taken up positions on a central road in Khan Yunis, having entered directly from Israeli territory.
For the first time since 2005, the IDF’s Kfir Infantry Brigade is operating in the Gaza Strip, during its first-ever ground maneuver. The Kfir brigade specializes in anti-terror fighting and combat within dense, urban areas. They are active in the major Palestinian cities, including in the Palestinian section of Hebron, Tulkarem, and Jenin, and were active in the Gaza Strip up until the 2005 disengagement. They arrived in Gaza with tank forces from the Kiryati Brigade, combat engineers, and artillery forces.
The IDF did not announce where the Kfir brigade is operating, but it’s likely in Khan Yunis, which is expected to have heavier urban combat, due to being in an area with less evacuations. The IDF announced that during the Kfir brigade’s operations, the soldiers discovered around 30 Hamas tunnel shafts and directed around 100 artillery strikes against Hamas terror sites.
After Hamas terrorists quickly transferred a wounded man to the hospital in Khan Yunis, and blocked people from seeing who it was, rumors began to spread that it was senior Hamas official, Nizar Awadallah. Avdallah, 67 years old, is part of the Hamas leadership, and is among the associates of the organization’s founder, Ahmed Yassin. At the end of the first intifada he was arrested and imprisoned in Israel for six years, and then was released in the Shalit deal in 2011.
According to a Reuters report: In response to Kann news publishing statements by Shin Bet chief, Ronen Bar, in which he stated that Israel would act to eliminate the leaders of Hamas, even on the soil of Turkey and Qatar, the Turkish intelligence system sent a warning to Israel that such an act would have “serious consequences.”
Gaza Humanitarian Efforts Updates:
As the battle landscape in Gaza changes, the IDF closed the previous humanitarian route, and opened a new one, which it announced to civilians who wish to evacuate to safety but haven’t yet, 58 days after being warned to do so.
A huge increase in humanitarian aid was delivered on Monday, despite Hamas’s violation of the ceasefire. 180 humanitarian aid trucks were dispatched through the Rafah crossing, to the international aid organizations operating in Gaza, after undergoing a security check at the Nitzana crossing. The humanitarian aid trucks carry food, water, shelter equipment, and medical supplies.
In addition, two diesel fuel tankers were sent from Egypt to the humanitarian aid organizations operating in the Gaza Strip. The admission of fuels, which are designated for the operation of vital infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, was coordinated and supervised by Israel. Unfortunately, there is evidence that Hamas is taking this fuel.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, made a false post on X (previously known as Twitter), claiming that the IDF told them to evacuate their supplies from their medical warehouse in southern Gaza within 24 hours, as ground operations will put it beyond use.
The IDF’s COGAT unit (responsible for transferring aid) replied that this was completely false, and that “The truth is that we didn’t ask you to evacuate the warehouses and we also made it clear (and in writing) to the relevant UN representatives. From a UN official we would expect, at least, to be more accurate.”
Northern Front Updates:
Hezbollah and other terror groups have been firing heavily into communities in Israel’s far north, including the city of Kiryat Shemona, as well as at IDF soldiers, and many empty fields. It was announced that on Sunday an Air Force fighter jet successfully intercepted a hostile aircraft that was on its way to Israeli territory from Lebanon.
Last night, a number of mortar bombs were fired from Lebanon towards an IDF post in the Shetula area, lightly injuring three IDF soldiers.
The IDF responded to all sources of fire, and also made some proactive moves on Hezbollah targets in the area, amongst the, a munitions warehouse, operational headquarters, terrorist infrastructures, and military buildings.
It is still unclear how and when the IDF plans to eliminate the threat of Hezbollah and other terror groups in the north. While residents of the communities on the Gaza border are beginning to receive timelines of when they will return, those in the north are not hearing anything concrete. It is possible that the IDF is waiting for Hezbollah to make bigger moves, which would reduce the international pressure on Israel not the respond heavily, or that the IDF is waiting for Hamas to run lower on rocket power so that civilian air defense can be more available for fire from the north.
Additional War Fronts Updates:
The Pentagon announced that the USS Carney shot down drones over the Red Sea after several commercial vessels reported being attacked with missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels backed by Iran.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry published a video explaining who the Houthis are, how they destroyed Yemen, and why they are problematic.
Addressing the Houthi’s attacks on ships in the Red Sea, the Foreign Ministry wrote: “Yemen’s Houthi rebels, backed by the Iranian regime, are escalating attacks on commercial ships in key trade routes—directly jeopardizing global commerce and maritime security. Iran and its proxies pose a serious threat to the free flow of international trade.”
There are Currently reports of possible late night air strikes against Houthi positions in Yemen, by an unknown aircraft.
Judea and Samaria Updates:
The IDF operated in Qalqiliya today. While arresting two armed terrorists, gun battles broke out. Two terrorists were killed, and two injured. A gun and an M16 belonging to the terrorists were found and confiscated from their vehicle.
International Updates:
The American State Department spokesperson made it clear: “We have seen no evidence that Israel intentionally kills civilians or harms journalists.”
Secretary Hillary Clinton spoke at the UN session led by the State of Israel on the gender based and explicit violence against women on October 7. The session came as many international women’s organizations denied or refused to recognize the horrific reports of what Hamas terrorists did to women on October 7th.
In her remarks, Clinton said, “As you well know, many women and girls were attacked brutally by Hamas on October 7th, and they have testified to the gender based violence that they both experienced and witnessed. As a global community, we must respond to weaponized explicit violence wherever it happens, with absolute condemnation.”
General Updates:
After municipal elections were indefinitely postponed from October 30th, Interior Minister Moshe Arbel announced that they will be held on January 30, with the exception of 14 municipalities that were evacuated: Kiryat Shmona, Sderot, Metula, Ajjar, Shlomi, Eshkol, the Upper Galilee, Ashkelon Beach, the entrances to Hermon, Meta Asher, Ma’ale Yosef, Marom Galil, Sdot Negev, and Shaar Hanegev.
The article was updated to remove a report of an arrest in the West Bank, which turned out to be inaccurate.
So amazing to see Israel heading in The Rebbes direction, intent on victory!! Never happened, truly history!!