War Summary, Day 676: Preparations for IDF to takeover Gaza City by October 7th 2025, concerns that Hamas will use the hostages as a “nuclear weapon” to end the war on their terms, eliminated Hamas terrorist had lucrative side job as Al Jazeera journalist and content creator, Tehran is running out of water, and IDF to remain in Jenin, Tulkarem at least until year’s end.

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.
32,367 estimated projectiles fired at Israel.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines:

– Preparations for IDF to takeover Gaza City by October 7th 2025
– Netanyahu willing to accept a deal to release all hostages, with Hamas’s full surrender
– Concerns that Hamas will use the hostages as a “nuclear weapon” to end the war on their terms
– Hamas still firing projectiles at border communities
– Eliminated Hamas terrorist had lucrative side job as Al Jazeera journalist and content creator
– Some advances in Gaza City
– Concerns of burnout amongst IDF combat soldiers
– Independent journalist in Gaza silenced by Hamas, fears for his life
– Humanitarian aid floods into Gaza, enriches Hamas
– Story of little boy named Amir shot by IDF was false, may have led Hamas to kidnap the boy
– Tehran is running out of water
– Hezbollah’s Radwan forces are down by half
– Hezbollah terrorists eliminated
– IDF to remain in Jenin, Tulkarem, at least until year’s end
– Counterterrorism operations in Judea & Samaria lead to several arrests
– Counterterrorism operations in southern Syria

Hostages:

In short: Israel is preparing a drawn out operation to recapture the entire Gaza City, and this time flatten all Hamas infrastructure. However, Prime Minister Netanyahu and the IDF are still hoping that the pressure will lead Hamas will agree to a hostage and ceasefire deal.

— The plan to take over Gaza City is expected to be completed by October 7th, 2025, after allowing a lot of time for civilians to evacuate the city, or for Hamas to agree to a deal.

There are mixed reports as to whether Netanyahu is willing to agree to a partial deal, or only a full deal. In a partial deal only half the hostages are released, in exchange for a temporary ceasefire and withdrawal, and release of terrorists. In a full deal, all hostages are released, and Hamas disarms and leaves control of Gaza, while the IDF withdraws and a permanent ceasefire is put into place.

News 12 reports that (under pressure from Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich) Netanyahu will only go for a full deal.

However, the chance of a deal being made soon is slim—U.S. President Trump told Axios that he doesn’t see it happening soon, and that Hamas needs more military pressure. U.S. Secretary of State, Marc Rubio, repeated what Israel’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister have been saying: The announcements from France and other European countries who state that they would soon recognize a Palestinian State, motivated Hamas against making a deal.

**

In a press conference, Netanyahu outlined his conditions for ending the war in Gaza:

1. Hamas disarmed
2. All hostages freed
3. Gaza demilitarized
4. Israeli overriding security control
5. Non-Israeli peaceful civilian administration in Gaza.

**

It should be clear by now that Hamas has no intention of ever releasing the last hostages. The hostages have become far too valuable, and a seeming guarantee for Hamas’s survival—or as Amit Segal calls it, Hamas’s nuclear weapon. There is a real and horrific chance that if Hamas sees the IDF on the way to a victory, they will choose to execute a hostage in order to shock Israel, and spark mass Israeli protests against the war.

Gaza:

Thank G-d, the IDF did not announce any fallen heroes!

On Sunday, Hamas fired two projectiles towards Israeli border communities, where sirens were activated. Both landed in empty areas, with no casualties.

Within an hour, the IDF destroyed the launch site in the Shejaya area.

**

On Sunday evening, the IDF eliminated Hamas terrorist Anas al-Sharif, with an airstrike in the Gaza City area. Al-Sharif commanded a Hamas terror cell, and promoted rocket fire against Israeli civilians. The IDF produced documentation confirming his position in Hamas, and active payroll.

Al-Sharif was also on Al Jazeera’s payroll, working as a “journalist.” He had a large social media following, and produced pro Hamas content in English.

Prior to eliminating Al-Sharif, the IDF took steps to reduce harm to civilians, and followed accurate intelligence which indicated that he was busy in a terrorist role at the time of the strike. Precise munitions were used, to minimize the area of impact.

**
In recent days, the IDF carried out targeted operation to eliminate terrorists who took part in the October 7th massacre, including:

• Murad Nasser Moussa Abu Jarad, the deputy commander of the PIJ’s Beit Hanoun Battalion. He also served as the battalion commander for most of 2024.
• Mahmoud Shuki Tayem Dardasawi, the deputy head of the PIJ’s anti-tank array in the Gaza City Brigade.

**

The remaining Hamas strongholds are in Gaza City, Central Gaza, and the al-Moasi humanitarian zone. The IDF is preparing to takeover the remainder of Gaza City. Some small operations may take place in the central areas.

Four IDF Divisions are active in Gaza, capturing and destroying Hamas infrastructure, and eliminating around one to two dozen terrorists daily.

Divisions 162 and 99 are in Northern Gaza. They have made significant progress in the Daraj and Tuffah neighborhoods of Gaza City, and some in Shejaya and Zeitoun. They also continue to destroy Hamas infrastructure in captured areas in Gaza’s north, including many tunnels which near Israel’s border. They are also operating along the Netzarim Corridor, which divides the north of Gaza from the center, and from there, has been launching small operations in central Gaza areas such as al-Bureij.

Division 36 is in Khan Younis, where they have made slight advancements in the northern direction, but are focusing more on destroying Hamas infrastructures in captured parts of the city, which they passed over earlier.

The Gaza Division (143) is operating primarily in southern Gaza in Khan Younis, as well as throughout the buffer zone, with small operations in other areas.

Context: When you see photos of parts of Gaza where buildings have been turned to rubble, remember that all civilians were evacuated first, and Hamas used the buildings to set up booby traps for whoever would enter next. Most of the buildings also had tunnel shafts or weapons storages.

**
In a situational assessment today, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir found that there are high levels of burnout and exhaustion amongst the soldiers—both in regular service and reserves (Amir Bohbot, Walla).

The IDF is concerned that amidst the burnout, there are not enough combat soldiers to complete the takeover of Gaza.

**

An independent journalist in Gaza is begging for help to escape. Omar Abd Rabou, a 31-year-old journalist from Gaza publicly condemned the October 7th attack on the very first day, and continued to criticize Hamas’s actions. He has since been arrested and brutally tortured by Hamas twice, and forced into silence.

Humanitarian Aid:

On August 10:

• Over 280 trucks entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings.
• 300 trucks were collected and distributed by the UN and international organizations.
• Tankers of UN fuel entered for the operation of “essential humanitarian systems” was imported to Gaza.
• 131 pallets of aid were airdropped into Gaza, in cooperation with the UAE, Jordan, Germany, Belguim, Italy, The Netherlands and France.

Last week, an average of 300 trucks of aid entered Gaza daily.

Hamas continues to hijack between 85% to 90% of aid imported by the UN.

Separately, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) continues to distribute around 2 million meals worth of food items per day, without allowing Hamas to steal or profit off any of it.

**

A GHF contractor named Tony Aguilar, who had been fired for “disruptive and unprofessional” behavior, was caught in a big lie by the Daily Wire.

On an American podcast called Unxeptable, Aguilar shared a story of a little boy named Amir, who kissed his hand in gratitude for food, and was then shot and killed by the IDF as he walked away. The story, full of holes and denied by the IDF, went viral, capturing the hearts of gullible people around the world.

However, body cam footage from a nearby worker, and an interview with the boy’s mother found that the story was almost entirely made up. Most notably, Aguilar claimed that the boy was shot on May 28, but the boy’s mother said he only went missing on July 28th—the day that Aguilar shared the story in an interview, long after Aguilar was fired by the GHF and returned to America.

It’s possible that Hamas disappeared the boy after Aguilar shared the story, because it serves their goal of discrediting the GHF.

Detailed evidence, and a video interview with the boy’s mother, can be seen on the Daily Wire report by Kassy Akiva.

Iran:

The 10 million people who live in Tehran are weeks away from having no water, if nothing drastic is done soon. This comes as key reservoirs dry up, following decades of poor water management.

Judea & Samaria:

Defense Minister Israel Katz says that the eight-month operation in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams in Samaria, has reduced terror alerts by 80%. Most residents evacuated during the operation, as hundreds of terrorists were arrested and eliminated, and terror infrastructures were destroyed.

— Minister Katz says that the IDF will remain in these cities at least until the end of the year.

**

Overnight between Sunday and Monday, the IDF operated in Burqin (near Jenin in Samaria), and several villages in the Etzion area (in Judea).

In Burqin, two terrorists and a weapons dealer were arrested. During searches in the first terrorist’s home, the forces located and confiscated pipe bombs, a weapon, and a Hamas flag.

In the Etzion area, two terrorists who previously threw Molotov cocktails at Israeli civilians were arrested. Three more wanted people were arrested, along with weapons that were located and confiscated.

Lebanon:

While before the war, Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Forces had around 6,000 terrorists, the IDF estimates that the number may be down by more than half now. Some were eliminated by the IDF, others were injured, and others simply abandoned the failing terror group.

**
In targeted strikes in recent days the IDF eliminated two Hezbollah terrorists. One belonged to the elite Radwan Force, and was working to rebuild Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Gaza. The other was caught gathering intelligence on IDF positions in southern Lebanon. Both were in violation of the ceasefire agreement.

**

The IDF confirmed: Last week, in an airstrike in the Bekaa region of Lebanon, the IDF eliminated Mohammed Washah “Abu Khalil,” a senior Syrian terrorist in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in Syria.

Abu Khalil was responsible for establishing collaborations with other terror organizations, strengthened cooperation with the Shiite axis, and recently worked to advance military activity against Israeli targets.

Syria:

The IDF is continuing work to keep southern Syria clear of anti-Israel militia.

Overnight on Sunday to Monday, IDF forces operated in the Tranja area of southern Syria, where they arrested a weapons dealer who was arming terrorists.

Separately, on Shabbat, an Air Force aircraft struck an armed vehicle with a machine gun in the southern Syria region.

Other:

Once again, IDF forces intercepted an attempt to smuggle weapons from Egypt into Israel. A small drone was caught carrying 10 firearms and 6 magazines.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that Germany will “not approve any exports of armaments that could be used in the Gaza Strip” until further notice.

The UK Times reports that Israel is subtly threatening to cut security ties with the UK, if Keir Starmer recognizes a Palestinian state. While it’s unlikely to actually happen, the UK has a lot to lose if it does.