War Summary, Day 649: Israel may give up key Rafah and Philadelphi Corridors, new 15km Magen Oz corridor splits Khan Younis, two terror attacks thwarted in Judea & Samaria, Syria’s army massacres 300+ Druze civilians in Suwayda, IDF responds with heavy strikes on Syrian regime targets, America brokers truce, and Israeli Defense Minister heads to Washington for talks.


By Mrs. Bruria Efune

50 held captive in Gaza.
28 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.
148 living hostages rescued.
57 hostage bodies rescued.
1,906 Israelis killed.
451 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
88 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
18 fallen soldiers and police in Judea & Samaria.
32,352 estimated projectiles fired at Israel.
5,000 Israelis estimated remain displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Hostages:

Negotiations for a hostage-ceasefire deal are “going well,” according to U.S. envoy, Steve Witkoff, and there’s “good news” coming soon, according to U.S. President Trump.

Two sources told JPost that the significant progress comes after Israel agreed to give up control of the Morag Corridor in a ceasefire deal. The Morag Corridor separates the city of Rafah from Khan Younis and the rest of the Gaza Strip. Rafah is on Gaza’s border with Egypt, from where Hamas used to smuggle in tons of weapons.

Talks are reportedly now down to how much of Rafah Israel will maintain control of. Prime Minister Netanyahu wanted to use Rafah to build a Hamas-free humanitarian zone. Now there are reports that Israel might even give up the Philadelphi Corridor, abandoning the border between Gaza and Egypt for Hamas smuggling. (I find this hard to believe.)

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Right after the 12-day Iran war, Netanyahu and Trump expressed a strong belief that Hamas was prepared for a deal, that would give up the hostages on simpler terms. Even Qatar was confident that Hamas wanted a deal, so that they could have time to recuperate and reorganize.

According to Israel Hayom’s sources, Hamas was prepared to accept the Witkoff deal—but Iran swooped in and told them not to. Iran has been trying to sabotage any ceasefire deal in Gaza because quiet in Gaza would lead to Israel making peace with Saudi Arabia, Syria, and other Arab countries.

Gaza:

Thank G-d, the IDF didn’t announce any fallen soldiers in Gaza!

In the past 24 hours, the Air Force struck over 120 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip. Among the targets were terrorist squads, military structures, weapons storage facilities, underground tunnels, and other terrorist infrastructure.

Five IDF divisions are active in Gaza: Divisions 99 and 162 are in Beit Hanoun and other areas in Gaza’s north, Division 98 is in Gaza City, Division 36 is in Gaza City, and The Gaza Division is in Rafah and the buffer zone.

Divisions 99 and 162 have made significant progress in Beit Hanoun, eliminating dozens of terrorists, destroying tunnels, and destroying buildings used by Hamas (which is basically all buildings).

Division 98 is slowly advancing in Gaza City, but holding off on significant advancement until hostage negotiations fall apart.

Division 36 completed construction of a new IDF corridor in Gaza, called the “Magen Oz corridor.” This corridor is approximately 15 kilometers in length, and splits Khan Younis right across the middle, separating the east and west of the city. The Magen Oz corridor connects to the center of the Morag Corridor, and allows the IDF quick access to the areas, for a significant military advantage.

Earlier this week, troops in Khan Younis located and destroyed a key Hamas tunnel, which stretched 3.5 kilometers (2.17 miles) long. The tunnel contained many rooms, including sleeping quarters used by the terrorist militia.

The IDF has been advancing, and destroying significant amounts of Hamas infrastructure in Gaza (which mostly means blowing up every building and then turning it to rubble). But the advancements are at a slow pace, and will only speed up if negotiations for a hostage deal fall through, or stop progressing.

Humanitarian Aid:

Over 130 patients and caregivers, including children, exited Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Allenby Bridge Crossings today (July 16) for treatment in a third country.

Over the past few weeks, over 2,500 Gazans have exited either for treatment in a third country or with dual residency.

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Over the past couple of days, we facilitated the entry of over 500 tons of baby formula and high calorie special food for children.

Recently, over 2,000 tons of baby food and formula entered Gaza.

Right now, there are thousands of pallets of humanitarian aid already inside Gaza, waiting to be picked up and distributed from the crossings by UN agencies and international organizations.

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On Tuesday, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distributed 29 truckloads of humanitarian aid, packed in 25,056 boxes, which made up 1,607,760 meals.

Unlike the UN organizations, the GHF distributes aid directly to civilians in Gaza, without allowing Hamas to profit off of it. Hamas sees the GHF as a significant threat to their control over Gaza.

The GHF reported that 20 people were killed at their Khan Younis distribution site on Wednesday. The foundation believes that an armed Hamas terrorist entered amongst a dense crowd, and stabbed someone, resulting in a stampede in the immediate area.

Iran:

In a press conference today, alongside the Crown Prince of Bahrain, U.S. President Trump said that Iran wants a deal, but has not yet come to the table—and America is in no rush.

Defense Ministry Director General Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Amir Baram met with the heads of Israel’s leading defense companies to assess lessons from the recent war in Iran. He warned that Iran is already making an effort to regroup and build global capabilities.

Baram stressed the need for urgent preparation and a fast-tracked force-building plan for the coming year and the demanding security decade ahead, emphasizing that time is limited and valuable.

There are several hints that Israel may be preparing to compete the strikes against Iran.

Yemen:

On Tuesday, Israel’s Air Force intercepted a UAV (attack drone) launched by the Houthis in Yemen. No sirens were activated.

On Wednesday, The Houthis fired a missile towards Be’er Sheva. It was intercepted before entering Israeli airspace, with sirens activated just over the Dead Sea area.

Judea & Samaria:

Om Tuesday a terrorist attempted to drive over IDF soldiers who were operating in the Jericho area. The soldiers immediately fired at, and neutralized the terrorist.

In a separate incident, troops identified an armed terrorist near Maoz Zvi—and eliminated him before he could do harm.

Lebanon:

On Tuesday the Air Force carried out a series of heavy airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa region of Lebanon.

The strikes specifically targeted weapons warehouses and training camps belonging to Hezbollah’s Radwan forces. The Radwan forces are an elite Hezbollah unit who had prepared a plan to attack and infiltrate Israel in an October 8th style. The IDF destroyed most of their capabilities and setup in September 2024.

In recent months, the Radwan forces have been working to restore their capabilities, in violation of the ceasefire agreement.

Syria:

On Tuesday, Syrian regime forces entered the Druze minority Suwayda area, which is just south of Damascus (around 70 kilometers from Israel). The forces included terrorists aligned with Al Qaeda and ISIS. The terrorist-filled army began a brutal killing spree, in which they murdered over 300, including wounded patients in the hospital. They also forcibly shaved off mustaches of captured Druze elders. In the Druze religion, mustaches are a sign of maturity, wisdom, and piety.

Israel has previously promised to protect the Druze of Syria. Israel has a strong Druze minority, who serve in the IDF at all levels, and are a very respected part of society. Most Israeli Druze have relatives in Syria, often first cousins or even siblings, who were separated after Israel captured the Golan Heights.

When the Israeli Druze saw the videos coming from Suwayda, demonstrating the brutality of the Syrian attacks, they demanded stronger IDF action. Around 1,000 Druze men broke across the border and entered Syria, to help the Syrian Druze fight.

The IAF had begun with warning strikes the moment the Syrian Army approached Suwayda. When Syrian tanks began to enter the city, Israel’s Air Force blew one up. When the initial soft strikes didn’t work, the IDF fully escalated with heavy strikes throughout Tuesday, and more intensely on Wednesday.

IDF strikes targeted military infrastructure of the (newish) Syrian regime, including:

– Tank convoys, rocket launchers, combat equipment, and pickups armed with heavy machine guns making their way to the Suwayda area.
– Strikes to block access routes to Suwayda.
– The Syrian Army General Staff compound in Damascus, from where regime commanders manage the fighting and dispatch troops.
– A “military target” in the area of the Syrian regime’s Presidential Palace in the Damascus area.
– Several armored and armed vehicles equipped with heavy machine guns and combat equipment, which were heading to the Suwayda area.
– Syrian regime firing positions, weapons storage facilities, and other military targets.

On Wednesday evening, U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, announced that Israel, the Syrian regime, and the Syrian Druze had agreed to steps towards a truce. Following the announcement, the Syrian army began to withdraw from Suwayda.

Israel then began to deliver food and medical aid to Suwayda, via helicopter drops.

In addition to the conflict within Suwayda, On Thursday afternoon, IDF forces identified dozens of terrorist suspects attempting to infiltrate Israel from Syria. The IDF prevented their entry. Earlier, the IDF had increased troops all along the Syrian border, in anticipation of such a scenario.

In addition to protecting the Syrian Druze from a real genocide, the IDF sent a strong message to terrorist elements in Syria, that it is not worth striking Israel.

Other:

Defense Minister Israel Katz is set to visit Washington tonight, to meet with his American counterpart, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, and other officials.

WATCH: