October 193, 2023, "The War"

My 146th post on The War

As promised I will start posting images of members of the IDF, who are fighting and making the sacrifices needed to keep the one and only Jewish State safe. I will rotate through various images that do not infringe on the copyrights of others. Today’s photo is of our Chief of Staff, who is doing an outstanding job of leading our forces in operations on four fronts simultaneously, sometimes six fronts.

No rockets fired from Gaza landed in Israel in the past 48 hours. No IDF casualties were reported in the past 48 hours from combat in Gaza.

The IDF confirmed today that during operations in Gaza today, three of Ismail Haniyeh’s sons were killed. One, Amir Haniyeh, was a squad commander in Hamas’s military wing and the other two were lower ranking operatives in Hamas. There are un-verified reports that two of his grandchildren may have been killed in the attack as well. Haniyeh issued a statement “thanking God for bestowing upon us the honor of their martyrdom.”

Meanwhile, battles are persisting in the central Gaza corridor still protected by the single IDF Nahal Battalion. I do not see how this situation can last more than a few more days. The evacuation of the other two brigades were evacuated by the government in a gesture to the Biden Administration which seems to want a ceasefire more than any other party in this conflict. Clearly this is all about domestic politics. And now, US Speaker Nancy Pelosi issues a statement that Netanyahu only cares about his own survival. I think that those living in glass houses should not throw stones.

With the Israeli brigades gone, at the insistence of the Biden Administration, Hamas cells have re-emerged in Khan Younis, taking control over parts of the city. While Israel evacuates the bulk of Gaza, Hamas cells are moving back in and setting up shop. At some point, the IDF will have to go back in and clean house. Former IDF generals, during random interviews over the past couple of days have asserted that it will take the IDF until late 2026, early 2027 to fully eliminate Hamas forces in Gaza.

There are so many conflicting rumors here regarding the timing of the Rafah Operation that I do not think it warrants a comment from me yet, other than this. If this government does not issue the order of the IDF to enter Rafah in order to eliminate the last remaining terrorist battalions, the government will fall and be replaced by a government that will.

The Houthis claim that they have targeted for attack three commercial and one military ships in the Gulf of Aden this afternoon. They claim that two were Israeli affiliated vessels, one under Panamanian and one under Liberian flags. It also claims to have attacked a US flagged Maersk and a US warship. It claims that all four attacks were successful. So far there is no confirmation from anyone, other than the Houthis.

Rockets were fired into Israel’s northern city of Kiryat Shmona by Hezbollah this afternoon. No injuries or damage were reported. And today the Lebanese state-run National News Agency reports that a Mohammad Sarur was found shot to death in his villa in the Lebanese mountains. Sarur was under US sanctions for funneling money from Iran to Hamas. Apparently he was hit with a volley of five bullets. Whoever conducted this assassination did not bother to steal the cash lying around his villa.

Today, Minister Benny Gantz leader of the “National Unity” Party, comprised of eight Knesset members that joined the current government as an emergency measure after October 7, visited the embattled city of Sderot near the Gaza Envelope. There, in a speech, he emphasized that the war in Gaza will continue, at a different level of intensity, for years to come. He said that Hamas’s leaders and forces are either dead, imprisoned or in hiding, that victory will come step by step and that we will enter Rafah and we will return to Khan Younis. This pretty much sums up the expectation of most of us here in Israel.

In a clear warning to Iran, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said today that any attack on Israel will be met by attacks on the territory of those that attack us. He made those statements today while visiting troops manning a set of Iron dome batteries. Yesterday, during a European Football match in Iran, fans booed loudly during the intended “minute of silence” dedicated to the IRGC generals killed in the Syrian strike.

Later in the day, Defense Minister Gallant issued a full statement regarding five new initiatives being deployed by the IDF regarding aid to Gaza:

• re-open the Israeli port city of Ashdod to accept the entry of aid destined for Gaza,

• re-open a new northern border crossing from Israel into Gaza in order to reduce the pressure on Kerem Shalom,

• boost aid through Jordan, including cooperation with the Jordanian Air Force,

• the establishment of a Coordination and Deconfliction Mechanism in cooperation with several aid groups in order to avoid a repeat of the World Central Kitchen tragedy and

• several other aid oriented projects including the US Army initiative to establish an artificial loading pier in Gaza and several construction projects such as new water lines.

If you are interested in the details, you can visit COGAT’s web site where you can see all the statistics regarding aid. And today a large convoy that departed from the United Arab Emirates, crossing Saudi Arabia and Jordan, entered Israeli territory and then Gaza comprised of 17 trucks carrying 370 tons of aid.

Israel’s Supreme Court requested that the government provide it detailed information on the aid to Gaza and any changes in policies/actions related to that aid. Previously they “ordered” the government to provide unhindered access to Gaza for humanitarian aid.

Speaking of the Supreme Court, there is an initial hearing scheduled to hear the government’s current plan on removing the ultra-orthodox IDF draft exemption. On April 1, the court insisted that the government issue draft notices to the eligible ultra-orthodox as the “stay”, requested by the government more than seven years ago, expired.

Reports here suggest that Hamas will be rejecting the US sponsored deal proposal, after the US succeeded in getting very generous terms from the Israeli government. Reports in the Hebrew Press claim that Hamas leadership abroad approved the proposal, but Sinwar and Deif are rejecting it. Hamas says that it will come back with a counter-proposal that, once again, will demand a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza, reinstatement of Hamas leadership into ruling power, a permanent ceasefire and lots of money. Statements in the Hebrew Press, presumably leaked from the government, suggest that Israelis are blaming the combination of the gesture of removing two brigades from Gaza, the US abstention at the UN Security Council, recent statements by President Biden saying that Israel should unilaterally move to a ceasefire and the massive surge in humanitarian aid result in Hamas getting what it wants without having to give up a single hostage.

And I am happy to report that the Turing Prize, the most prestigious worldwide award for mathematicians, was awarded today to an Israeli researcher, Professor Avi Wigderzon.

Finally, here is a great article to read, once again from the Wall Street Journal. It is entitled “Western Democracy’s Future Depends on Israel’s Victory”. It is written by the paper’s editor in chief. I could not agree more with the article. Many Israelis insist that we are fighting this war not only for ourselves but for Western Civilization as we know it. And I concur with this assessment. If Israel is blocked from eliminating Hamas as a military and political power, the implications will propagate way beyond the Middle East. I have absolutely no doubts about this.