War Summary, Day 671: Cabinet votes to take all of Gaza, plan will start with Gaza City evacuation, Beit Hanoun battalion is neutralized and no longer active, troops operating in Deir al-Balah, previously jailed terrorists arrested while trying to establish terror cell in Ramallah, UAVs from Houthis intercepted, Lebanon government votes to disarm Hezbollah, Hezbollah has no intention to disarm, IDF eliminates key Hezbollah terrorist directing activity in Syria, and IDF targets Hezbollah rebuilding efforts.

By Mrs. Bruria Efune

50 held captive in Gaza.
28 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.
148 living hostages rescued.
57 hostage bodies rescued.
1,916 Israelis killed.
459 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
88 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
18 fallen soldiers and police in Judea & Samaria.
32,363 estimated projectiles fired at Israel.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines:

– Cabinet votes to take all of Gaza
– Plan will start with Gaza City evacuation
– Beit Hanoun battalion is neutralized and no longer active
– Troops operating in Deir al-Balah
– Aid floods into Gaza
– U.S. to quadruple GHF food distribution sites
– Previously jailed terrorists arrested while trying to establish terror cell in Ramallah
– UAVs from Houthis intercepted
– Lebanon government votes to disarm Hezbollah
– Hezbollah has no intention to disarm
– IDF eliminates key Hezbollah terrorist directing activity in Syria
– IDF targets Hezbollah rebuilding efforts

Hostages & Next Steps:

After assessing that Hamas currently has no interest in any deal to release the hostages, and that the hostages can’t wait much longer, Prime Minister Netanyahu decided to advance a plan to occupy the full Gaza Strip.

Overnight, between Thursday and Friday, the government cabinet voted in favor of Netanyahu’s plan.

As of now, the IDF controls around 75% of Gaza, all of which is empty, aside from Abu Shabab’s small Hamas-free zone in East Rafah. The remaining 25% is Central Gaza and most of Gaza City. It’s estimated that just under one million people are living in Gaza City now.

According to Amit Segal of Channel 12, Netanyahu’s plan will start with an advanced evacuation warning for all of Gaza City. Israel will give some time for civilians to evacuate, and for more humanitarian services to be set up in the Mawasi humanitarian zone (which is not under IDF control).

Once operations begin, Amit Segal estimates that it will be a matter of a few weeks until Gaza City is under IDF control. Others estimate that it will take longer.

After Gaza City, areas in Central Gaza will be next.

Netanyahu still prefers to make a deal with Hamas. He said today “This operation is not irreversible. We are willing to consider stopping if Hamas agrees to Israel’s conditions.” (Channel 12)

By going to Gaza City first, rather than sending troops to take Central Gaza at the same time, Netanyahu is giving Hamas a lot of time to change their mind and take a deal. For now, Hamas does not seem to be in a rush for a deal at all. They feel that they are winning, and hold all the keys so long as they have any number of living hostages.

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir strongly prefers a deal, and proposed alternative plans in place occupying all of Gaza. Reportedly, he prefers to surround Hamas strongholds and apply pressure until they agree to release hostages. The plan to start with Gaza City only, may be a compromise, while he hopes it leads to a deal.

(Note: In Israel—including in the IDF, there is a strong culture of opinion, where it’s encouraged to voice alternative views, even to superiors. This goes all the way from the bottom through to the top. While Zamir is expected to voice alternative views to the government’s, at the end of discussions he carries out the government decision.)

— There is a small number of hostages in Gaza City. Hamas will likely try to move them out before the IDF enters. In the past, Hamas moved hostages around by dressing them in full female Muslim garb and walking them along with crowds of civilians, or by hiding them in vehicles amongst crowds.

Gaza:

Thank G-d for no fallen heroes!

Hamas fired a little rocket towards the Nir Am shooting range, on the border. The rocket was intercepted.

Gaza has been extremely noisy lately, as the Air Force strikes dozens of Hamas targets, and tanks fire shells to destroy buildings used by Hamas.

While the IDF has already reached the objectives of Operation Gideon’s Chariots, they continue to deepen accomplishments by further destroying Hamas infrastructure, and advancing slightly.

Division 162 is operating in Northern Gaza, in Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and the Daraj and Tuffah neighborhoods of Gaza City. They are now also carrying out small operations in Deir al-Balah, Central Gaza.

Beit Hanoun is now almost entirely flattened, with most of the terrorists of the Beit Hanoun battalion either eliminated or taken prisoner. The IDF has concluded that the Beit Hanoun battalion is now inactive.

In Daraj and Tuffah, troops recently found and destroyed a kilometer long underground tunnel. They also eliminated dozens of terrorists, and found and destroyed rockets, launchers, and weapons—some hidden in a cemetery.

During an operation in Deir al-Balah, troops identified around 10 terrorists in the area. They called an airstrike, which eliminated them all.

Division 99 is also in Northern Gaza, primarily in Beit Hanoun and other areas alongside Division 162.

Division 36 is operating in Khan Younis, though they don’t appear to be advancing much to take the second half of the city. Instead, they’re primarily finding and destroying tunnels and terrorists in areas already captured.

The Gaza Division (143) is operating throughout southern Gaza, and some of Central Gaza, mostly along the eastern side in and around the buffer zone. They have been finding and destroying tunnels which were previously missed.

Humanitarian Aid:

Hundreds of trucks of humanitarian aid flow into Gaza daily, with no restrictions on food and medical items.

On Tuesday (the last report compiled), the IDF’s COGAT division facilitated that:
– Over 300 trucks entered Gaza and are now awaiting collection and distribution, along with hundreds of others still queued for UN pickup.
– Close to 300 trucks were collected and distributed by the UN and international organizations.
– 3 Tankers of UN fuel entered for the operation of essential humanitarian systems.1
– 10 pallets of aid were airdropped in cooperation with the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Germany, Canada and Belguim.

Today (Thursday), 160 children in need of medical treatment, along with their caregivers, as well as Gazans with dual citizenship exited Gaza through the Kerem Shalom Crossing to the Allenby Bridge Crossing for treatment in Jordan and to the EU.

***

Separately, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distributes boxes containing between 1.5 and 2 million meals daily. Unlike UN aid, Hamas is not able to hijack and profit off GHF aid.

Ambassador Mike Huckabee told Fox News that U.S. President Trump plans to quadruple the number of GHF distribution sites so that there are 16. $1 billion will be invested in this, from America and other countries.

This is in Israel’s interests, since the GHF essentially removes Hamas’s power over Gaza and cuts off their source of income.

Yemen:

On Thursday night, the Air Force intercepted two UAVs launched by the Houthis to attack Israel. No sirens were activated.

Judea & Samaria:

Security forces arrested two terrorists from Palestinian Authority controlled Ramallah, who were attempting to establish a terror cell.

The two, who were armed, were arrested in an intensive operation. This is not their first arrest—the Shin Bet says they were jailed before for terror activity.

Lebanon:

The Lebanese government unanimously approved a decision to disarm Hezbollah. In response, Hezbollah organized a large protest with followers in Beirut.

In an airstrike on Wednesday, the IDF eliminated a Hezbollah terrorist in the Bekaa region of Lebanon. Hussam Qassem Gharab, operated from Lebanese territory to direct terrorist cells in Syria that planned to launch rockets toward the Golan Heights.

In a separate wave of airstrikes in southern Lebanon, the IDF destroyed weapons depots, a launcher, and infrastructure in which engineering tools were stored to be used for the restoration of terrorist infrastructure in the area.

WATCH: