October 196, 2023, "The War"

My 148th post on The War

On Friday we attended a wedding in Tel Aviv and did not return to Jerusalem until late in the day. Due to the onset of Shabbat I was unable to file a post in time… sorry.

The photo I post today is not of a senior official in the IDF, but an Israeli Bedouin who has been cited as a hero from the October 7 massacre. Hamid Abu Ar’ar is a father of nine children living in a Bedouin village in Gaza. He is a former resident of Gaza. On October 7, his wife was driving him to work in agricultural field in the Negev when the Gaza terrorists spotted them and fired on their car, killing his wife. He and his young baby survived with injuries. He hid with the baby in a nearby electrical closet, constantly hearing the banter of the terrorists in Arabic. Then he heard Hebrew, stripped off his clothes (so the IDF soldiers would know that he was unarmed) and then directed the IDF forces against the positions of the terrorists. In respect for his assistance the government gave him Israeli citizenship. Again, I will try to provide photos and stories behind the photos on my daily posts.

Rockets were fired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad at the Israeli southern city of Sderot yesterday. Israel’s Iron Dome intercepted three of the rockets. There was no damage or injuries reported. No IDF casualties were reported resulting from fighting in Gaza in the past five days.

The IDF continues with its focused attack strategy in Gaza. Overnight, IAF drones launched missiles focussed on active rocket launchers uncovered as part of the IDF intelligence gathered. Also, based on the intelligence there were more than 20 airborne attacks on terrorists positions in Gaza over the past two days. Targets included armories and anti-tank missile launchers. In the meantime, IDF infantry launched a focussed operation near the Gaza town of Nuweirat in central Gaza where they found and destroyed several tunnel entrances, rocket launchers and armories. There are weapons storage facilities everywhere in Gaza, small one in homes and larger ones in schools.

An interesting report was published in the UK’s The Guardian newspaper based on interviews with Hamas officials in Gaza. Ordinarily The Guardian takes positions very negative to Israel. You can read the article for yourself here. In essence, the article notes that while Hamas has suffered severe damage to its facilities and operatives, they remain active and assert control from where the IDF has evacuated. [None of this surprises us here in Israel. The view here is that it will take 2-3 years of ongoing IDF operations, at a lower intensity and with focussed operations, to fully remove Hamas as a power in Gaza.] The article also points out major splits between the leadership in Gaza and that in Doha, Qatar. Also, the article points out that Hamas is now extremely unpopular amongst the ordinary residents of Gaza.

On Friday and this morning, Hezbollah launched several barrages, more than 60, of rockets against Israeli villages in the northern part of the country. In addition, five explosive-laden drones, sometimes called a kamikaze drone, struck near the kibbutz of Kfar Blum. A second kamikaze drone exploded near the Israeli town of Hanita. A resident was seriously injured and rushed to the hospital. The other drones apparently blew up in open fields (I am not sure how that happened unless the IDF is able to jam the communications on these drones.) This afternoon IDF artillery struck several Hezbollah military facilities in southern Lebanon, including a large Hezbollah weapons storage facility.

The main issue of the day here is the expected response of Iran to the assassination of its top IRGC leadership in Damascus twelve days ago, on April 1. No one has claimed credit for the attack, but most accuse the IDF. The government has advised the population to refrain from excursions far from home or work. Some people are stocking up on supplied, worried that Iran will attack parts of Israeli infrastructure. Some schools are cancelling classes for tomorrow. The Biden Administration has issued pronouncements that it will assist in defending Israel from an Iranian airborne attack. The US Administration has claimed that is had REAL intelligence that an attack can be expected in the next 24 to 48 hours. The US Defense Department identified the movement of Iranian drones and cruise missiles within Iranian territory, suspecting imminent launches. The US has also repositioned some of its military ships in and around the Arabian Gulf. That announcement came on Friday morning. Until now, Saturday night, there is no sign of an attack. Yet people remain nervous and “on their guard”. The IDF has stated that any state that launches an attack from their own territory can expect a response on their territory from the IDF.

On related Iranian news, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps seized a commercial cargo ship in the Straits of Hormuz, in International Waters. The ship was just off the UAE port of Fujairah and was bound for India. The ship, MSC Aries, was under a Portuguese flag and owned by a London based investment firm, Zodiac Maritime. A wealthy Israeli, living in London, is a shareholder in the firm. The IRGC has commandeered the ship and taken the 25 crew members hostage. The IRGC apparently used a Soviet MI-17 helicopter. Israel has called on the world to label the IRGC as pirates in violation of international maritime laws.

Yesterday, Friday, an Israeli teenager, 14 year old Benjamin Achimeir, went missing when the flock of sheep he was tending returned to his village without him. His village is located in Samaria (West Bank) a few kilometers outside of the Palestinian Authority city of Ramallah. A wide scale search started yesterday involving residents of his and nearby towns along with the IDF. This morning his body was found and the IDF declared that he was the victim of a terror attack. Unfortunately, members of his village went on a rampage, entering six nearby Arab villages, setting vehicles on fire and, in some cases, attacked some of the villagers. After four hours, the IDF got control of the situation, forcing the Israeli residents back to their villagers. No deaths were reported, but two Palestinian villagers were rushed to the hospital for treatment. All other injuries were minor. I do not remember a previous situation when something like this happened. That is, such a large vigilante reaction. I expect that arrests will be forthcoming. The Defense Minister and Prime Minister released statements this evening that the Israeli Public cannot take issues into their own hands, but must continue to rely on the IDF and border police. The IDF has announced that it is increasing deployments in the area to prevent any further violent outbreaks.

On the subject of ceasefire/hostage negotiations, Hamas has returned with its formal response stating that it rejects the US proposal and demands that Israel announce the full withdrawal of IDF troops from Gaza, the restoration of its (Hamas’s) authority in Gaza, major financial aid, etc., etc. No surprises here.

Protestors congregated in Tel Aviv, not far from my apartment, as has become routine this evening, Saturday. This time they received permits from the police in order to block traffic at a major intersection in Tel Aviv. These protests are primarily anti-government protests, but have merged with the hostage families. So far the size of these protests are still far, far away form the size of Anti-Judicial Reform protests taking place before the October 7 attack. Protestors are demanding immediate new elections and immediate return of the hostages. On Thursday, last week, a smaller protest was held in Jerusalem. That protest was to demand that the government continue with the Gaza operation and start having the IDF enter Rafah as soon as possible.