Today’s Image
This is a former Hamas Police station in Gaza, no longer operating. There seems to be an emerging interest inside the IDF and government in preventing any further destruction of the police force in Gaza. IDF commanders in the field are being requested to refrain from killing or targeting former police officials in Gaza unless they are fired on first. The goal, appears to be to try and preserve a police force so something can be constructed soon to try and maintain order in Gaza. See article in Wall Street Journal below.
Gaza Rockets
No rockets fired from Gaza crossed into Israel in the past 24 hours.
Casualties
The IDF reports that Master Sgt. (res.) Nadav Elchanan Knoller - 30 (Z’’L) and Maj. (res.) Eyal Avnion - 25 (Z’’L) were killed in battle in central Gaza. today. Their deaths bring the total KIA during operations in Gaza to 322. In addition the IDF reported the death of Sgt.-Major (Res.) Yehuda Geto - 22 (Z’’L), killed during operations in Judea/Samaria (West Bank).
Gaza Operations
The IDF issued warnings and dropped leaflets on parts of Khan Younis providing residents advanced warning and instructions on where they should go. I am not at all surprised as I was certain that the IDF would need to re-enter Khan Younis about now. Many of the Hamas combatants that were in Rafah escaped before the IDF arrived as they were given ample time to set many booby traps in Rafah before evacuating. Out of the 4-5 expected brigades in Rafah, the IDF only encountered one, suggesting that the other 3-4,000 fighters left to either blend in with the civilians or to regroup in other locations. We now know that some moved back to Jabaliya, Nuseirat and Sheijiya. But Khan Younis was the main operations center for Hamas so it is natural that they are trying to congregate back there.
Fighter jets and drones led airborne attacks on parts of Khan Younis indicating that this is a preliminary step before IDF troops enter the area. At this point it is believed that the leadership of Hamas as well as the hostages are inside a very deep tunnel, perhaps 100 meters deep, underneath Khan Younis. So the IDF troops will have to be careful how they deal with the myriad of tunnels below Khan Younis. The IDF was operating there up until early April, but they did not find all the tunnels and certainly did not destroy them all. The jets also attacked the locations from where yesterday’s rocket barrages were fired, in Khan Younis.
At this point the IDF estimates that about 1.9 million of the total Gaza population of 2.3 million are living in the IDF designated humanitarian zone known as al-Mawasi, west and southwest of Khan Younis. A few hundred thousand reside in northern Gaza and tens of thousands are still in Rafah.
Operations are continuing in Rafah, Shehaiya and the Netzarim Corridor. But the intensity of the close-quarters combat seems to be slowly ramping down. Each day they are reporting dozens of combatants killed and the uncovering of arms manufacturing and storage facilities.
Lebanon Operations
The Associated Press reports today that during an interview with the deputy leader of Hezbollah, Sheik Naim Kassem, he informed them:
If there is a ceasefire in Gaza, we will stop without any discussion… If what happens in Gaza is a mix between ceasefire and no ceasefire, war and no war, we can’t answer [how we would react] now, because we don’t know its shape, its results, its impacts.
Earlier today Hezbollah fired a barrage of 15 rockets into the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona. Ten of the rockets were neutralized by Israeli air defenses and the others caused neither damage nor injuries.
IDF fighter jets struck several Hezbollah facilities in southern Lebanon. The IDF sho down several kamikaze drones today launched by Hezbollah.
A top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader says the Islamic Republic and its proxies would support Hezbollah with “all means” if Israel launches a war in Lebanon.
Yemen Operations
The Houthis claim that they successfully attacked four more ships in the past two days. Despite this claim, neither British Maritime Offices nor CENTCOM reported any distress calls from ships operating around Yemen in either the Gulf or The Red Sea. Specifically it said that it targeted an Israeli ship MSC Unific in the Arabian Sea and a US Oil tanker, Delonix. There are no other reports regarding these claims.
Aid
Israel has hooked up Gaza to Israel’s electric grid. It was disconnected at the onset of the war. This should make it easier for hospitals to operate and it will make it possible for the major source of water for Gaza to resume operation as a desalination plant. Some of the extreme right wing members of the Government aren’t happy about this.
IDF General
The IDF is testing a set of applications written for Apple TV and Android TV that are intended to interrupt TV broadcasts with specific alerts from the Israeli Home Front Command.
An article appeared in The New York Times quoting Israeli “sources” that the upper echelon of the IDF wants a ceasefire in Gaza, even if it means Hamas remains in power, so they can focus its forces on the coming war in the north, with Hezbollah. You can find the article here, behind a paywall. This story is being strongly denied by the Government today which emphasized that removing Hamas from power in Gaza remains one of the key goals of the operations in Gaza.
After yesterday’s debacle with the release of the Shifa Hospital Director from prison, the Government has launched an investigation into how the authorization for that decision happened and what recommendations to make for the future.
Hostages/Ceasefires
Representatives of the “Hostage and Missing Families Forum” made a formal request today for the establishment of a rehabilitation centers to help support them through their ordeal. I am not sure how the Government will react. Right now they receive help like every other citizen of Israel.
International
Several bills are making their way through the Knesset dealing with the activities of UNRWA in Israel. With support from not only parties in the Government but also the opposition, it appears that the bills will be combined and are targeted to severely curtail the operations of UNRWA. It has been the view of the Government and many, many in Israel and the IDF that UNRWA directly collaborates with Hamas and other Palestinian terror organizations, and in many cases permits their workers to participate in terror attacks.
The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, said today that his country would be willing to send peacekeeping forces to Gaza, along with Indonesia, to aid in efforts to bring about a long term ceasefire. I don’t know if this is good or bad. Malaysia has been consistent in its ongoing diplomatic attacks on Israel.
Politics/Protests
The demonstrations took on a much more constructive direction today with hundreds of women protesting in front of the Parliament building, the Knesset, today singing songs of peace and urging a hostage deal. For a change the protests were peaceful without ugly accusations thrown at politicians, attempts to set fires on freeways and spitting on police.
A ceremony was held today in the Galilee near several Druze villages today involving the planting of many olive trees as a way of commemorating those Druze Israelis who were killed in action during fighting in Gaza and on October 7. So far about 15 Druze IDF soldiers have been killed. The ceremony was organized by the International Jewish Organizations - Keren Kayement L’Yisrael and The Jewish National Fund. Both organizations have been active for more than 100 years both buying property/land in Israel as well as planting many forests across the country.
And In Your Copious Spare Time…
This article in The Wall Street Journal is the results of an investigation into the rise of street crime and gang related crime in Gaza. Even before this article came out the IDF issues a new order for troops to refrain from attacking Hamas Police forces, but continue taking out Hamas terrorists. I believe that there is going to be an attempt to integrate some of the existing police force into some kind of “post Hamas” administrative police force… but I do not know for sure.
And here is another article written by Dr. Daniel Pipes recently. In it he argues that Israel must achieve a full victory in order to secure a long term peace. In his view, only if the Palestinians are fully defeated with no view or hope of realizing their dream of full conquest of Israel, “From the River to the Sea”, will they eventually come around to accepting a peace agreement. It is a “different” view. Daniel is a very smart guy so even if you think his idea is preposterous, you might learn something by reading it.