War Day 592: Signals Point to Iran Strike, Hezbollah Commander Eliminated

War Summary, Day 592: Hostage negotiations stall again, many airstrikes overnight in Gaza, 93 trucks of aid delivered into Gaza with nothing being given in return, Iran’s Khamenei threatens America and says nuclear negotiations are likely to fail, intelligence indicates Israel is preparing to attack Iran soon, and EU and UK threaten Israel and Israel reminding them “The British Mandate ended exactly 77 years ago.”

By Mrs. Bruria Efune

58 held captive in Gaza.
35 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.
148 living hostages rescued.
49 hostage bodies rescued.
1,841 Israelis killed.
423 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
88 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
18 fallen soldiers and police in Judea & Samaria.
30,725 estimated projectiles fired at Israel.
10,000 Israelis estimated remain displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines:

– No progress in negotiations, U.S. trying to find a compromise
– Gaza takeover expected to take two months in initial stage
– Hamas commander eliminated
– Huge airstrikes in Gaza
– 93 trucks of aid delivered into Gaza
– Four humanitarian distribution centers to begin operating Sunday
– Khamenei says talks will likely fail, threatens America
– U.S. intelligence says Israel is preparing to attack Iran soon
– Hezbollah commander eliminated
– EU, UK, threaten Israel. Israel doesn’t heed.
– Large weapons smuggling from Egypt prevented

Hostages:

Israel’s negotiation team is returning from Qatar, since there are no breakthroughs in negotiations.

Israel is insisting on the original Witkoff framework, which would free at least 10 living hostages. Israel is rejecting any permanent ceasefire without Hamas disarming, and its leaders exiled from Gaza.

Hamas is still insisting on a guaranteed end to the war, and refusing to disarm or leave Gaza.

The U.S. is trying to negotiate a compromise which will allow both sides to claim that they got what they asked for.

Gaza:

Thank G-d, no fallen heroes were announced today.

The IDF is limiting information about IDF activity in Gaza, in order to keep Hamas in the dark. I’ll write only what’s approved, or already known inside Gaza and shared on social media.

Operation Gideon’s Chariot is still in its very early stage, in which preparations are being laid for what’s to come. It’s estimated that the full maneuver to take over all of Gaza will take two months. After that, another month will be put into doubling down, and deepening the grip, until Hamas’s capabilities are fully removed.

In the last day, the IDF hit over 100 terrorist targets throughout the Gaza Strip. Some of the explosions were so massive that they were heard in Central Israel (according to Ynet, though I can say we definitely heard it in Be’er Sheva).

The IDF announced that last week the commander of Hamas’s aerial forces in Northern Gaza, Moataz Dib, was eliminated in an airstrike. Dib had attempted to attack Israeli aircraft, and launched UAVs (attack drones) into Israel.

There are currently five divisions active in Gaza. The three from earlier: Division 252 in Northern Gaza; the Gaza Division (143) in areas of Southern Gaza; and Division 36 in the Morag Corridor and Rafah.

The IDF announced that two large brigades and an artillery regiment under the command of the 162nd Division have begun operating in Northern Gaza. The activity of the fifth division to join the operation has not yet been announced.

The 162nd Division has been operating in two main areas in Northern Gaza. In one area, they located and destroyed all suspicious structured in the area, and eliminated dozens of Hamas terrorists. Amongst the structures found, was a tunnel shaft full of weapons.

The second location is in the Tal al-Zaatar area, where forces began operating on Monday, and also destroyed terror structures and eliminated dozens of terrorists.

Locals in Gaza report that the IDF is using “ring of fire” methods in areas like Khan Younis. The method surrounds enemy targets with air and artillery strikes, in order to trap and eliminate them.

Gazans are still fed up with Hamas. A large protest marched against Hamas in Khan Younis today, shouting that they want to live. (Still no anti terrorism marches.)

Humanitarian Aid:

Today the IDF facilitated the entry of 93 trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The trucks held American-backed supplies, containing flour, baby food, medical equipment, and medicine. Additional truck are expected to be delivered in the coming days. This aid is being distributed by UN-backed organizations and the World Central Kitchen. The IDF says it is acting to prevent it from falling into Hamas hands.

Around Sunday, Israel will begin operating a new humanitarian mechanism, together with the new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Israel has already prepared four logistic centers for distributing aid. Three are in Southern Gaza, and one in Central Gaza (near the al-Mawasi coastal area). Each center is capable of distributing aid packages to around 300,000 Gazans. Four additional centers might be built later on.

The centers have IDF security in the outer perimeter, and American security contractors operating the delivery of goods to the centers, and managing internal operations. Details are still unclear, but it appears that international organizations may distribute the actual aid packages to those who are approved to enter.

Soon, a secured tent city will be established in Southern Gaza, and a pilot group of civilians will be able to enter and live in an area entirely rid of Hamas.

In a BBC interview, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, falsely claimed that 14,000 babies will die of hunger within 48 hours if the IDF doesn’t allow more food in. When asked where the figure comes from, he refused to explain, and instead said these are pregnant woman struggling with food insecurity. While food is running low in Gaza, it has not yet neared starvation levels, and Israel committed to ensuring that doesn’t happen—except for to Hamas terrorists.

Israel is also working to resolve bureaucratic issues in order to allow a quicker and more efficient evacuation of Gazans who which to leave the strip. However, there is still an issue of finding a country willing to accept Gazans who don’t have a second citizenship.

Iran:

At a ceremony, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, said that he doesn’t think that nuclear talks with the U.S. will be successful. He then issued threats to the U.S. and the crowd chanted “death to America.”

CNN reported that the U.S. obtained intelligence indicating that Israel is preparing to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. The intelligence is based on classified Israeli intelligence intercepted by the U.S., and on-ground observations of munitions movement.

This shouldn’t be a surprise, Israel likely never stopped preparing, in anticipation of either a bad deal, or failed talks. The question is if Israel will have to attack against the U.S.’s wishes under the context of a bad deal, or with the U.S.’s approval—and even assistance—after talks fall through.

CNN’s report says that Israel’s preparations appear to be for an imminent attack, but this has been said many times before. Israel does feel pressure to act soon, since Iran is far too close to being able to create nuclear weapons. While Iran has begun publicly declaring that they won’t stop enriching uranium, Israel might wait for U.S. President Trump to say that negotiations are over—and that would be the key signal that something is about to happen.

An attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities is expected to trigger a far larger and quicker response than Israel’s previous attacks. If the U.S. takes part in the attack, U.S. bases in the MidEast will likely also be targeted.

Lebanon:

In an airstrike, the IDF eliminated the commander of Hezbollah’s Al Mansouri compound in southern Lebanon. This terrorist had directed numerous attacks against Israel during the war, and was now attempting to restore the compound and bring in weapons—in direct violation of the ceasefire agreement.

Other:

The Gez family named the baby which was born to Tzeela Gez HYD after last week’s terror attack. While Jewish baby boys aren’t usually named until their circumcision (which is only done when they are healthy enough), the family chose to name the baby so that people can pray for him.

The baby is named Ravid Chaim. The name Ravid (pronounced Ruh-veed) was chosen because Tzeela really liked it, since it implies something beautiful and valuable. The name Chaim (life) was added as a prayer that the baby should have a healthy life.

Pray for Ravid Chaim ben Tzeela to quickly heal, gain strength, and live a full life.

**

The UK announced that it will suspend free trade negotiations with Israel, and impose sanctions on Jewish Israelis living in Judea and Samaria.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded stating that anyways the UK wasn’t advancing the negotiations, and the loss is to the British economy. The Ministry called the sanctions “unjustified and regrettable,” in light of the recent murder of Tzeela Gez, while her newborn is still fighting for his life.

And as a closing statement, the Foreign Ministry added: “The British Mandate ended exactly 77 years ago. External pressure will not divert Israel from its path in defending its existence and security against enemies who seek its destruction.”

**

The EU Foreign Minister, Kaja Kallas, said that today the EU Foreign Ministers’ meeting will discuss the proposal by the Dutch Foreign Minister to review the Association Agreement with Israel.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded with a rejection of her statement, saying that it “reflects a total misunderstanding of the complex reality Israel is facing.”

**

Once again, the IDF foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons from Egypt to Israel. This time a big shipment.

An IDF surveillance team near the Egyptian border identified a drone crossing into Israeli territory. The drone was shot down, and found to be carrying 19 pistols, three machine guns, and packs of ammunition.