War Day 80: 10 Soldiers Killed, Gazan Youth Protest Hamas

War Summary, Day Eighty: The IDF announced the names of ten soldiers killed in battle, young Gazans burned tires in front of the Hamas police station to protest a shooting at one of the residents that ended in his death, and a two story tunnel with an elevator and control center was discovered.

By: Mrs. Bruria Efune

War Summary, Day Eighty:

129 held captive in Gaza.
110 hostages freed.
11 hostage bodies rescued.
32 hostages confirmed murdered in Gaza.
1,300+ Israelis murdered.
154 fallen soldiers since entering Gaza.
7,800 injured.
11,590 rockets fired at Israel.
187,533 Israelis displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Hostage Updates:

Once again there are a lot of rumors going around about potential deals. All we know for sure so far is that Israel offered a temporary ceasefire agreement in exchange for hostages, and Hamas insists that they won’t agree to anything less than a complete ceasefire that leaves them to continue their rule in Gaza.

Unverified rumors claim that Israel is considering an agreement in which Hamas’s top terrorists, Sinwar and Dief, are exiled instead of executed.

Any deal would first get out the remaining women and children, elderly, and wounded.

Gaza Front Updates:

Hamas fired rockets twice at the Gaza Envelope communities, and once to the Ashkelon area today. No injuries or damage was reported.

In Ashkelon, an explosive device was found and neutralized by the police. This is a week after the police issued a warning regarding explosive warheads that apparently fell in various locations following the interception of rockets, are dangerous to touch or shake and have already caused serious injury to a person in the past.

The IDF announced the names of ten heroes who fell in battle in Gaza:

Staff Sgt. David Bogdanovskyi, 19, from Haifa
Staff Sgt. Orel Bashan, 20, from Haifa
Staff Sgt. Gal Hershko, 20, from Yiftah
Staff Sgt. Itamar Shemen, 21, from Lapid
Master Sgt. (res.) Nadav Issachar Farhi, 30, from Herzliya
Master Sgt. (res.) Eliyahu Meir Ohana, 28, from Haifa
Sgt. First Class (res.) Elyassaf Shoshan, 23, from Jerusalem
Sgt. First Class (res.) Ohad Ashur, 23, from Kfar Yona
Staff Sgt. Roy Elias, 21, from Tzofar
Maj. (res.) Aryeh Rein, 39, from Mishmarot

According to information which is not cleared for publication, our soldiers are facing a new danger in Gaza, and need more prayers and good deeds done in their merit, to protects them.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the difficult weekend with heavy casualties, “We are deepening the fighting in the Gaza Strip. We are paying a very heavy price in the lives of our fighters, and we are doing everything to preserve their lives. We will not stop until we achieve victory.”

The Prime Minister’s spokesman for the Arab media announced that since the beginning of the war, the IDF has eliminated 7,860 terrorists.

Midsts intense battles, the IDF says the Air Force, Navy, and ground forces struck around 200 terror targets in Gaza over the past day. The IDF is continuing to move forward as most of Northern Gaza is under control. The heaviest battles are now taking place in the southern end of Gaza City, and in Khan Younis.

In the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City, IDF troops raided a school that was being used as a shelter, after receiving intelligence warnings of Hamas terrorists in the area. The IDF first evacuated the civilians, and then battled and eliminated many Hamas terrorists, while dozens more surrendered. Inside, hidden where the civilians were taking refuge, the IDF found many weapons, including “explosive belts adapted for children,” dozens of mortars, hundreds of grenades, and intelligence documents.

In Jabaliya, the IDF is continuing to eliminate terror cells, and directed the Air Force to attack a building where terrorists were taking cover, and thus eliminate 7 of them.

The IDF published information about a large tunnel network in Jabaliya, where earlier this month the IDF found bodies of five slain Israeli hostages. The IDF had intelligence about hostages being held in Jabaliya. During searches, they located several tunnel shafts, which they investigated further. The massive underground tunnel network was about one square kilometer, had two levels, an elevator, large halls, restrooms, and a command center. Some of the tunnels went underneath a school and hospital, or led into the home of the former commander of Hamas’s Northern Gaza brigade.

After a thorough search and investigation, the IDF destroyed the tunnel network.

The Palestinians report that Ahmed al-Fajam, who was released in the Shalit deal, was killed a short time ago in an attack on Khan Yunis.

According to the reports in the Arab networks, clashes broke out today between Gazans and Hamas terrorists in Rafah. Young Gazans burned tires in front of the Hamas police station in Rafah, following a shooting at one of the residents that ended in his death. The young people put the responsibility on the Hamas leadership.

Northern Front Updates:

Hezbollah fired heavily on Israeli towns in the far north of Israel. In Avivim, a house took a direct hit, and two more rockets landed in Margaliot, one near a preschool and one in the yard of a house.

While Hezbollah fires less frequently and in shorter range than Hamas, their missiles can be much more deadly. 80,000 residents of the north were forced to evacuate due to Hezbollah fire, and the damage to the communities is extensive—in one town half of the houses have been damaged by missile fire.

The IDF announced that they carried out a wide-scale airstrike attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon this morning. Fighter jets hit Hezbollah military buildings, rocket launchers, and other terrorist infrastructure.
The IDF also attacked Hezbollah sites along the border.

The IDF says it struck further Hezbollah sites in Lebanon in response to attacks on the border today, as well as fire to remove threats in a number of areas along the border.

Due to the IDF’s assessment of the situation, starting at 6 am until further notice, many roads in the Upper Galilee and the entrances north of Kiryat Shmona will be closed.

Houthi War Fronts Updates:

On December 23 two Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired into international shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea from Houthi controlled areas of Yemen. No ships reported being impacted by the ballistic missiles.

The Houthis claim that today an American warship attacked a Yemeni patrol drone.

Following the establishment of an international force, the shipping giant Maersk announces that it will resume operations in the Red Sea.

Judea and Samaria Updates:

Reports of IDF forces operating in Nur Shams in the Tulkarm region.

General Updates:

Israel’s President Herzog gave a speech this evening, in which he addressed the importance of continued unity.

“The soldiers are fighting so that we do not return to bloodshed again and again and again. They are fighting so that the people of Israel and even humanity as a whole will have a better future. We are in the midst of a campaign against those who came to murder Jews. It is important for me to say that this is a necessary campaign and painful, but we must not break—the enemy is only waiting for us, to see cracks within us. He celebrates every time when disagreement divides us.”

Following his words, Herzog addressed the members of the Knesset: “The enemy sees and celebrates the political confrontations, hold back a little more with the campaigns.”