Today’s Image
No, that is not me sailing. But it is an Israeli sailboat being rescued by an IDF Naval Patrol Boat near the border with Lebanon. The boat was found drifting towards the Lebanese coastal city of Tyre. It is strange because the sails look like they are full, so there is wind. But, perhaps their rudder broke?? In any case, I am taking the family and friends out sailing tomorrow. Will have to be careful.
Gaza Rockets
No rockets fired from Gaza landed in Israel in the past 3 days.
Casualties
No casualties, civilian or military, were reported resulting from The War in the past day.
Gaza Operations
The IDF Spokesperson’s Office issued a statement today summarizing its achievements in Rafah, approximately three months after it entered. Let me remind everyone that the Biden Administration was absolutely adamant that the IDF cannot enter Rafah, it cannot evacuate the civilian population in less than three months and the operation will lead to disaster. This policy was repeated by the US Defense Secretary as well as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Their public statements were parroted by leaders across Europe and the Western World. Originally Israel wanted to enter Rafah as early as February, 2023. It was only due to statements like these that it hesitated… Bear this in mind as I go through the key elements in the IDF statement. It will make you wonder what kind of military infrastructure exists in the free world…
As of this week the IDF has “decimated” the Hamas and PIJ Rafah brigades that were fighting in this southernmost town. Prior to the IDF’s formal entry into this combat zone, about 1.1 million civilians evacuated the area within about two weeks and moved to the area set aside as a humanitarian zone. The IDF estimates that about 2,300 Hamas and PIJ combatants were killed during the operation. Not one, let me repeat, NOT ONE civilian was killed during the operation. The IDF casualties from the fighting were about 24. Over 13 km (about 8 miles) of tunnels were found and destroyed during the operation. These tunnels had no less than 200 entrances hidden under children’s beds, inside schools, inside mosques, etc. The uncovered tunnels stretched from the Egyptian border to about 300 meters into the outskirts of the city of Rafah. Out of the 200 tunnels only 9 crossed into Egypt. All 9 had been previously blocked by either Egypt or Hamas. None of the cross border tunnels will be easy to recover, but of course new ones could be built. There are still a few dozen tunnels that are still being explored. Once completed they will also be destroyed, estimated to be 3-4 weeks from now.
Given this assessment of the tunnels it is now believed that the arms and materials for building the arms have been mostly smuggled over land through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. Either inspectors on the Egyptian side were bribed to look the other way, were active collaborators with Hamas or both. However, it is also possible that the tunnel blockages were recent and that they were active until the onset of The War. The IDF did state that one major tunnel system built 40 meters deep was used during The War. The IDF insists that the tunnel complex below the city was perhaps larger than the city itself.
The IDF was near declaring its tunnel investigations complete when they stumbled across the one living hostage Farhan al-Qadi a month ago followed by the 6 murdered hostages about a week later. This is why no tunnels are destroyed by the IDF until they are investigated for the possibility of hostages. The IDF was surprised that there were any hostages in Rafah as they had presumed that the terrorists would take them with them as they were fleeing the area. Perhaps that was the case with some, but not the unfortunate six. You can read more here.
There is a major argument under way between the UN and Israel. It seems like this is a daily occurrence. On Tuesday of this week, the IDF struck a mostly abandoned school in Nuseirat, one of the last remaining strongholds of Hamas in Gaza. The school, Al-Jawni, was being used by Hamas to plan and execute attacks on IDF troops. The UN claims that 18 people were killed. Some of the casualties it insists were staff members. The IDF has the facility under surveillance for some time, days. It was tracking who was going in and out of the facility. It struck using a missile fired from a drone whose explosive charge was at the lower end of the missile size. The IDF has produced a list of 9 Hamas combatants killed in the strike, including names. Among the 9 combatants were 3 UNRWA staff members who doubled as combatants. If you really, really want to know their names and what they did you can check this out.
In response to all this, the IDF contacted UNRWA and asked for the names of its staff members that it claims were killed. UNRWA has yet to reply. I won’t go through the list, but the IDF has incredible details on them. They seem to know who did what and when.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric briefed reporters saying:
We condemn all airstrikes that target civilians and those that also target UN facilities. Our policy is clear. UN premises should never be targeted, nor should UN premises be used by any groups or any force from which to launch military activities. UN premises need to be protected. UN premises need to be respected, and that is by all parties to any conflict.
Well they only seem to go public and complain when the IDF acts. Where was the spokesperson complaining when Hamas used its facilities for a Data Center, Communications Centers, Arms Storage Facilities, Arms Manufacturing Facilities, etc., etc. Why wasn't he busy making statements then??
Israel’s representative to the UN, Ambassador Danny Danon has this to say:
It is unconscionable that the UN continues to condemn Israel in its just war against terrorists, while Hamas continues to use women and children as human shields. The solution is not a ceasefire, but the release of all hostages still held in Gaza and the elimination of Hamas.
Lebanon Operations
This evening IDF fighter jets struck several buildings used by Hezbollah for launching rockets, storing weapons and planning operations in southern Lebanon.
Earlier in the evening Hezbollah launched several kamikaze drones from Lebanon. Altogether 15 rockets were fired from Lebanon into the northwestern part of the country.
And in a very unusual situation, the IDF Naval Forces had to come to the rescue of an Israeli sailboat that ended up drifting into Lebanese territorial waters and was heading toward the southern coastal city of Tyre. More hostages in the making…. You can see a video of the rescue operation here. I am taking family and friends sailing tomorrow. Maybe we should consider a quick hop up to Beirut??
Yemen Operations
The Greek oil tanker Sounion is still on fire.
It has been 58 days since the IDF struck Yemen’s port of Al-Hodeidah, and without any missiles fired from Yemen towards Israel.
Syria/Iran/Jordan/Egypt/Iraq/Turkiye
And here is one of the most incredible reports out of Syria I have read in a long time. On Monday, I reported on a widespread missile attack on a “scientific research institute” near Hamas, Syria. That is a bit north of Damascus. Apparently, IDF special forces were actually on the ground operating inside the facility inside Syria for at least an hour before they called in the air attack. This “scientific research institute” apparently was one of the chemical weapons and precision missile factories operated by Hamas and Iran on Syrian Soil. I guess that they “crossed Israel’s Red Line”. But rather than passing on a prior commitment like President Obama did in 2016 when he stepped down after saying that Syria would cross the US’s red line if it was found they were using chemical weapons, the IDF chose to take out the facility. Apparently, the special forces were brought in by helicopter and rappelled down ropes so the helicopter would not have to land. After landing there was intense fighting with Syrian troops. And between 2-4 Iranian nationals, “scientists”, were captured and taken back for interrogation. According to news reports here in Israel the IDF operation was target at an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) facility for the development of ballistic missiles and drones. Roads surrounding the facility were bombed so that Syrian troops could not reach the facility while the IDF troops were on the ground. After confiscating many, many documents alone with the Iranian nationals, the facility was bombed from the air. Despite all these details neither the IDF nor the government are confirming any of these reports. I cannot over emphasize the significance of this operation. The target, the execution, the results… all inside enemy territory. Unbelievable. You can see videos from Syrian TV and various X posts on the operation here.
In what is a very unusual move, the IDF announced that it was responsible for a drone strike in southern Syria that killed a Hezbollah operative and one linked to an Iran terror group. It is unusual because Israel seldom claims credit for such actions. The victim was Ahmed al-Jaber, a member of Hezbollah’s so-called Golan File unit.
Aid
The World Health Organization announced that its polio vaccination program has hit its target by vaccinating more than 90 percent of the Gazan children under the age of 10 years old. In a separate announcement the WHO announced that it was evacuating 100 patients from Gazan hospitals to get care in The United Arab Emirates.
IDF
The top commander of the IDF’s famous Signal Intelligence Unit, 8200, Brig. General Yossi Sarid, submitted his resignation today. In his resignation letter he took responsibility for the mistakes made in his organization on October 7, in a general sense.
Politics/Protests
The government appointed commission responsible for overseeing the rehabilitation of the Gaza Otef, the region surrounding Gaza that was devastated on October 7, announced that they are near completing plans with an assigned budget of $80 million USD. More than 15% of the budget will be used during the rebuilding process to make the area a green and environmentally friendly example for the country. I am not holding my breath. I have heard talk like this before.
In response to demands from one of the ultra-orthodox parties, the government claims it is going to advance a law providing wide ranging exemptions for the draft eligible ultra-orthodox. I think that one part of the government is contradicting another. There is a bill being worked on inside the appropriate committee in the Knesset that does provide for staged drafting of the ultra-orthodox. The chairman of the committee, Yuli Edelstein, is a senior member of Netanyahu’s own Likud Party. And he stated long ago that whatever emerges from his committee will have broad support across the government and opposition. As I have said before, I believe that this issue more than any others is the one likely to bring this government down. But, the irony is that the leaders know that they would see a much worse outcome from a different government. Yet, they are threatening to leave the coalition.
And there is a major budget problem in the government. By law, the government must pass a full, binding budget prior to the onset of the fiscal year. A failure to do so automatically causes the coalition to fall. But, as you might guess, there is a major deficit. And the special interests of the two extreme right wing parties and their coalition partners, the ultra-orthodox refuse to cut the huge extra allocations made to them. So now the Finance Ministry wants to force the closure of 5 newly created ministries. Those ministries and their budgets were created to satisfy the political demands of certain coalition partners. They are superfluous. This government is tragic. They should be cutting all the funding to the special interests, cutting back on the superfluous ministries and allocate the budget for increase Defense expenditures and the rebuilding of destroyed communities in the north and south. What idiots!!
International
After the fact reports have trickled in regarding dual Turkish-American national Aysenur Eygi - 26, who was shot and killed last Friday during an intense demonstration in Judea/Samaria (West Bank). It appears now that the victim was shot some 20 minutes after the left the main site of the demonstration and about 150 meters away from IDF troops. If so, it is hard to see how she could have been an active threat to the IDF troops. Something is not right about this. I hope that the IDF pushes for more internal investigation.
The US Navy announced that is is redeploying its two aircraft carriers that were dispatched to the Middle East after threats from Iran in retaliations for the assasination of Ismail Haniyeh were heightened. I guess that they are needed elsewhere.
Today it was reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu is insisting that the Attorney General launch an immediate investigation into his and Defense Minister Gallants conduct during the war, thinking that this will cause the demands of the International Criminal Court Prosecutor to issue an arrest warrant to disappear. What would really be effective is to launch a widespread investigation into the government’s failings prior to the war and its actions during the war which has been an ongoing demand of many people in the opposition. Ironically, when such an investigation takes place and issues its conclusions, which are more than a year away, “heads are likely to fall” not only in the government but also for many in the opposition who were Defense Ministers or Chief of Staff during the years preceeding The War.
And In Your Copious Spare Time…
I guess that we aren’t the only ones having a difficult few days. It seems that President for Life Hassan Nasrallah, chief terrorist for Hezbollah, is having a difficult time.