Israel at war: What happened on Day 58?

Over 800 tunnel shafts have been discovered in Gaza since Israel's ground invasion against Hamas began, of which, 500 have been destroyed, the IDF announced on Sunday.

Many of the tunnels connected strategic Hamas locations underground and were located in civilian areas, such as in or near kindergartens, mosques, and children's playgrounds, amounting to further evidence of Hamas's use of Gaza's civilian population as a weapon of war.

Palestinian terrorists from the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, stand inside an underground tunnel in Gaza August 18, 2014. (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMMED SALEM)

Weapons found in tunnels

In some of the tunnels, the IDF found weapons and other Hamas material that were abandoned as terrorists fled south within the Strip.

After discovery, the IDF carries out in-depth research to understand the layout of the tunnel network and then prepare it for demolition. The 500 tunnels so far destroyed have been done so with a mix of explosives, blockages, and flooding.

Hamas has spent billions of dollars and years perfecting its underground tunnel network, with many routes leading into Israeli territory. It was also where many of the Israeli hostages captured on October 7 were kept when they were taken back to Gaza. 

At the outbreak of Israel's war against Hamas, it seems that the people of Israel put their internal disputes aside and united against their enemies.

The recruitment of male and female fighters for the combat units of the November-December 2023 cycle has begun, and the IDF has revealed the data of all recruits In the shadow of the war against Hamas. Hundreds of new and ultra-Orthodox immigrants have joined the war effort, IDF data reveals.

In the coming weeks, thousands of recruits and recruits are expected to visit recruitment sites throughout the country and begin their military service. Among the recruits are men and women destined for service in significant combat positions in the field units. According to data published by the IDF, 39.62 % of all those enlisting in the fighting positions are women, and 60.38% are men.

At the onset of the war, the IDF began the process of implementing accelerated sessions of basic training and junior command training. Commanders who participated in combat were integrated into the training, lessons from the current combat were incorporated into the training, and where necessary, an "operational chapter" was even integrated towards the end of the training.

As a lone soldier at the Shivta base in the South of Israel (credit: Liron Tzour)

Many lone soldiers have joined

According to data from the IDF, 449 ultra-Orthodox soldiers were conscripted in Phase B since the beginning of the war - of these, the number of lone soldiers is 195. Some 135 of them are starting their training today. In addition, in the current recruitment, 129 immigrants and new immigrants are being recruited, of whom 90 are lone soldiers. In total, 356 lone soldiers are enlisting in the current recruitment.

Britain's Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) on Sunday said that it has received reports of drone activity and a possible explosion in the Red Sea's Bab al-Mandab strait.

UKMTO said the drone activity originated from Yemen, and called on vessels in the vicinity to exercise caution.

Reuters wasn't immediately able to confirm the reports.

The incident is the latest in a series of attacks in Middle Eastern waters since war broke out between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas on Oct. 7.

The Houthis actions in the Red Sea

An Israeli-linked cargo ship was seized last month by the Houthi group, an ally of Iran which controls Yemen's Red Sea coast. The group had previously fired ballistic missiles and armed drones at Israel, and vowed to target more Israeli vessels.

Amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD-5), a component of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East region transits the Red Sea. (credit: US NAVAL FORCES CENTRAL COMMAND/US 5TH FLEET/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis on Sunday's incident.

Last week, a US Navy warship responded to a distress call from an Israeli-managed commercial tanker in the Gulf of Aden that had been seized by armed individuals.

Britain's Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) on Sunday said that it has received reports of drone activity and a potential explosion in the Red Sea's Bab al-Mandab strait.

UKMTO said the drone activity originated from Yemen and called on vessels in the vicinity to exercise caution.

Qatar is expected to host foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries on Sunday. The meeting, reported in Arab News, is expected to take place ahead of the 44th Gulf Cooperation Council Summit, the bloc said in a statement on Saturday.

“GCC Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi said the bloc’s 158th ministerial meeting will be chaired by Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman — whose country is also the current president of the ministerial council — and will be attended by member states’ foreign ministers,” Arab News reported.

 The GCC meeting will take place on Tuesday. This is important because of the continuing conflict in Gaza. Doha hosts Hamas and has also positioned itself as a mediator for the pause in fighting between Hamas and Israel. The report about plans for the upcoming meeting was thin on details. But it can be expected to be important for regional developments.

Family group photos of all the participating members during the Member States of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) Summit (ASEAN-GCC Summit) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia October 20, 2023 (credit: Saudi Press Agency via Reuters)

 Meanwhile, Jordan’s King Abdullah met with the Japan Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on Saturday. This happened on the sidelines of the COP28 events in the UAE. The countries are trading partners. The report at Jordan’s Petra News noted that they discussed Gaza.

“Turning to the situation in Gaza, the two sides agreed on the need to work towards a permanent ceasefire, and to maximize and sustain the volume of humanitarian aid to the Strip, while ensuring its direct and uninterrupted delivery.” The King of Jordan “reaffirmed Jordan’s rejection of attempts to displace the Palestinians in Gaza, or any attempts to separate the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, stressing the need to stop settler violence against the Palestinians in the West Bank.” 

The fourth group of Gazans being aided by the UAE arrived in the Emirates on Saturday, according to a report In the UAE’s The National. “The group of 77 patients – accompanied by 43 family members – were evacuated from Gaza and transported to the Emirates from El Arish Airport in Egypt,” the report said. It notes that this is one of several UAE initiatives that have been ongoing to help Gazans in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the current war.

The report noted that “Donation drives and aid collection campaigns have also been held across the Emirates. President Sheikh Mohamed and US Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday spoke about the importance of protecting civilians in Gaza, by working towards a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.”

People walk at the site of an Israeli strike in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on November 18, 2023 (credit: REUTERS/IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA)

In addition, the UAE field hospital in Gaza is also now open. “Medical teams from the UAE will provide aid and treatment to injured Palestinian residents in Gaza,” the National Said. The hospital has 150 beds. “It can be used for general surgery, orthopedics, children and women, anesthesia, and intensive care for children and adults. It also offers clinics in internal medicine, dentistry, psychiatric treatment, and family medicine.”

This is important because Israel is now beginning to focus on southern Gaza where Hamas leaders are believed to be hiding. Israel carried out airstrikes in the south over the weekend. Arab News reported that one of these airstrikes targeted a housing complex that had been funded by Qatar. Israel surrounded Gaza City earlier this month. Gaza is cut in half by Israeli troops, who executed a maneuver during the ground operation that places an Israeli armored division between Gaza City and southern Gaza. Israel has asked Gazans to move to the south to safety and a new map provides more details on safe zones. More than 1 million Gazans are estimated to have already moved south.

'Flexible plan'

A separate article at Arab News described the conditions faced by medics the UAE sent for the flights that are helping some Gazans. “UAE doctors and nurses have no knowledge of the cases they will receive beforehand, prompting them to follow a flexible plan throughout the mission. They must be prepared with all types of equipment and a range of specializations,” the report noted. “To increase their future preparedness, the medical staff constantly learn from the challenges of each mission and aim to improve for the next. During the first evacuation mission, for example, the team faced difficulties moving a patient with a spinal cord injury into the plane due to a lack of equipment to prevent his neck from moving. Another mission received a far higher number of patients than expected.”

This is important because it illustrates the key and important role the UAE is playing, along with other Gulf countries, to offer support to those in need in Gaza, or those who can be evacuated for medical reasons. The UAE is playing a practical and helpful role. Other countries such as Iran and Turkey have instead focused on fanning the flames of tensions. 

Israel’s Kan reported over the weekend that the man responsible for Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force unit, is Ibrahim Aqil, a Hezbollah terrorist who has been sanctioned in the past by the United States.

The report noted that the Radwan force includes many of Hezbollah’s elite fighters and that this force has suffered casualties in the last sixty days of tension with Israel in the north. Hezbollah has lost more than 100 fighters, injured and killed, since October 7 when Hezbollah began to launch rockets, drones and mortars at Israel to back Hamas.

The report said that Aqil is “also the one who is largely responsible over the last two years for the movement of Radwan personnel toward Israel’s northern border.” The Kan report then noted that under Aqil’s leadership, the elite force has seen several operational failures.

“Dozens of failed launches of anti-tank missiles have led to casualties and damage to property on the Lebanese side.” In addition, “following the [pause in fighting on November 24], the presence of the Radwan force in the border area has decreased compared to the period before October 8, when Hezbollah joined the fighting….Since the fire was renewed yesterday in the north, Aqil continues to conduct his war effort despite the many failures and deaths in the first round.”

Ibrahim Aqil wanted by US State Dept. (credit: US State Dept/Rewards for Justice)

 Hezbollah has failed but real threats persist

The main gist of this discussion is to highlight the fact that this known Hezbollah terrorist has failed. Nevertheless, the Radwan force and Hezbollah in general remain a major threat.

The Alma Research and Education Center noted on November 29 that “Hezbollah’s Radwan unit is capable of invading the Galilee at any given moment.”

That report noted that Hezbollah has had to shift some of its posture in the wake of October 7. “Even if most of the Radwan operatives have distanced themselves from the border since the beginning of the war, in our assessment this does not neutralize their ability to fulfill their main objective. It is our assessment that the Radwan unit is continuing to collect intelligence near the border and is making adjustments to its operational plans.”

Furthermore, the report noted that “as of this writing, around 90 Hezbollah operatives have been killed since October 7. It seems that some of those killed were operatives and commanders in the Radwan unit. The number of operatives killed has no bearing on Hezbollah’s overall competence or the Radwan unit in particular.”

Aqil is a central figure in Hezbollah. He played a role in Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syrian war after 2011, according to a July 2021 article by Matthew Levitt at Middle East Institute. He is a member of the group’s “Jihad council.” He was sanctioned by the US to the tune of $7 million in April 2023. The reward noted that  “Ibrahim Aqil, also known as Tahsin, serves on Hizballah’s highest military body, the Jihad Council.

During the 1980s, Aqil was a principal member of the Islamic Jihad Organization—Hizballah’s terrorist cell—that claimed the bombings of the US Embassy in Beirut in April 1983, which killed 63 people, and the US Marine barracks in October 1983, which killed 241 US personnel.” It also noted he had been involved in hostage-taking and that on July 21, 2015, the US Department of the Treasury designated Aqil and in 2019 added him to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists.

 The overall trajectory of Aqil and his role in the current Hezbollah tensions remains unclear. Whether Hezbollah has failed in Lebanon and this failure has led to losses for the group, or whether the group sees this as a success, will take time to tell. This is because, although Hezbollah has suffered losses, its threats continue. It has a lot of military hardware and numerous fighters. 

Mossad Director David Barnea has said he will have "zero tolerance for games from Hamas," in negotiations over hostages with the Gaza terror group and the relevant Qatari mediators.

A week-long temporary ceasefire brought back 86 Israeli hostages taken by Hamas during its October 7 invasion, but left some 130-150 hostages and remains of dead hostages still in Hamas's hands.

There were multiple sources for the blowing up of the ceasefire on Friday morning, from Hamas offering less than 10 female hostages in return, claiming some were dead or some were beyond its reach in the hands of other Gaza terror groups, to Hamas firing rockets on Friday morning. 

Barnea wanted to convey to Hamas that such games would only lead to more military pressure from Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen next to Mossad Director David Barnea at a pre-Passover toast, on April 4, 2023. (credit: KOBI GIDEON/GPO)

Mossad staff instructed to return to Israel

He was also instructed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to have his Mossad staff in Qatar return to Israel to show the seriousness of Jerusalem's commitment to continuing the war if Hamas would not keep its word.

Some additional statements about returning all the Israeli female hostages to Israel were also attributed to Barnea, though some statements from his office tend to mix in messages being emphasized by the PMO.

Still, it was unusual for any kind of public statement to leak from Barnea, who has been the quietest in public of the various hostage czars involved, which has also included former IDF Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, and former IDF Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon.

The PMO emphasizing Barnea's role and his travels to and from Qatar has been a rare insight into the spy agency's role in a mix of normalization talks as well as contacts with countries with whom Israel does not officially have diplomatic relations.

Stories also leaked over the weekend about Israel communicating some of its potential future security plans for Gaza, such as a northern area security zone, to Arab countries in the region.

While some countries who received the update, like the UAE and Egypt, now have diplomatic relations with Israel, others like the Saudis are understood to still be primarily handled by Barnea and the Mossad.

Even with countries like the UAE, the Mossad still has a strong role, given its long history with the country's top players.