Israel-Hamas War - What happened on day 69?
Hamas terrorists arrested across Europe for terror plots against Jews • Gaza war will take 'months,' Israel tells US
Eight IDF soldiers wounded in southern Gaza battles, Israel says
Also, on Thursday, the IDF made slow but steady progress in both northern and southern Gaza.
Four soldiers from the 603rd Engineering Battalion, Combat Engineering Corps, as well as an additional officer from Golani's 12th Battalion, were seriously injured in battle in the southern Gaza Strip, according to a report by the IDF.
Another three were injured in a separate battle in the southern Gaza Strip.
All were evacuated for immediate medical treatment, with their respective families informed.
IDF's 12th Battalion commander hurt in Gaza fighting
One of the injured was the lieutenant colonel and commander of the 12th Battalion, who had already replaced the previously injured commander.
This came a day after 10 IDF soldiers were killed and six were wounded, marking a series of difficult days in terms of IDF soldier casualties.
Despite those benchmarks, only 12 rocket sirens sounded on Thursday, with no hits, and many of the rockets were in the North, marking a low for rockets from Hamas in the recent time period since the late November temporary ceasefire.
There were at least three rounds of exchanges of fire between the IDF and Hezbollah in the North, with the Lebanese terror group attacking with rockets and anti-tank missiles and the IDF striking back with air strikes and artillery.
However, there were fewer public statements about escalation from the sides as the week wore on.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday told US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan that it will take more than a few more months to finish off the Gaza War with Hamas.
Although this would seem to pit Israel in serious tension with the US timeframe for finishing the war in the coming weeks, the Jerusalem Post has clarified that Gallant was referring to the expected counter-insurgency stage of fighting Hamas.
In other words, Gallant and other defense officials would still stand by the end of January as an expected endpoint for the main invasion will the full volume of multiple IDF divisions involved.
Rather, even after the main invasion is considered concluded and IDF forces in Gaza are reduced to a number which can be maintained over a longer period, it has been expected that the IDF will need to fight smaller battles against insurgents for three to nine months.
The defense minister explained that Hamas had spent years creating its terror forces and infrastructure and that taking all of this vast network apart, would require much longer than the initial full invasion stage.
Gallant thanked the US "for its unqualified support."
Sullivan is visiting Israel at a critical point in the conflict with the Biden administration seeking to decide how much longer it will go on protecting Israel from global pressure for an immediate ceasefire. In addition, the two governments have engaged in a series of unusually public jabs at each other about if and to what extent the Palestinian Authority will be involved in running Gaza once Israel withdraws.
In addition, the defense minister said he discussed with Sullivan the question of how to neutralize the threat posed to Israel by Hezbollah in the North.
Along with that issue, Gallant explained how important it is to create new security realities which will allow Israel's tens of thousands of evacuees from the North to return to their homes.
The US has significantly pressured Israel not to engage in a broader fight with Hezbollah and Jerusalem has hoped that Washington will repay some of its restraint by leaning hard on the terror group to keep its forces farther away from the northern border than it has since the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
After that war, UN Security Council Resolution 1701 mandated that Hebzollah stay out of southern Lebanon, but shortly after, the group systematically violated those limits.
In addition, Gallant said Israel welcomes a global approach to holding off maritime threats from the Yemen Houthis, though he said any attack on an actual Israeli ship would lead to a direct Israeli response.
Trying to bring down Gaza’s top leaders, the IDF distributed flyers across Gaza on Thursday, promising huge rewards to anyone who would provide information on the locations of senior Hamas leaders hiding in the Strip.
The flyers state that $400,000 is being offered for information on Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, and $300,000 for his brother Muhammad Sinwar.
A lower reward, worth $200,000, will be awarded by the IDF to those who provide information on the location of Rafa Salama, the Khan Yunis Brigade commander; for the location of Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas's military wing, the army will give $100,000.
"Confidentiality is guaranteed," the IDF states in the flyer, and a phone number is provided to call.
IDF makes progress in Gaza's north and south
Also, on Thursday, the IDF made slow but steady progress in both northern and southern Gaza.
IDF troops from the 460th Combat Brigade of the 162nd Division operated in the Kamal Adwan Hospital area with the Shin Bet, with scores of Hamas terrorists being killed or detained.
During the operation, the IDF troops located a building close to the hospital that was being used by Hamas terrorists. An exchange of fire took place, in which a number of Hamas terrorists were killed.
Some 70 terrorists surrendered and left the building with their weapons and were detained and taken for interrogation by the Shin Bet.
This was one of several rounds of large-scale surrenders in recent days, though IDF sources indicate Hamas is still far from completely cracking.
Kamal Adwan Hospital is in the Beit Lahiya area north of Gaza City, near the Israeli border.
In mid-October, various media outlets quoted Hussam Abu Safiya, head of pediatrics at the hospital in northern Gaza, saying it did not evacuate despite calls to do so by Israel. The UN had warned at the time that hospitals would run out of fuel in two days on October 15.
The fuel continued to flow despite the warnings. On November 4, CNN reported that “MedGlobal, a US-based organization that supports local health programs for vulnerable populations across the globe, issued an urgent appeal for fuel to power a generator at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.”
Go to the full article >>IDF strikes Hezbollah terror cell in Lebanin after rocket barrage
The IDF on Thursday located and struck a Hezbollah terror cell that attempted to launch anti-tank missiles at northern Israeli border towns, the Israeli military said.
Rocket sirens sounded across Israel's North earlier on Thursday. The IDF said that rockets launched toward Yiftah and Margaliot fell in open fields, with fighter jets later striking the source of the fire as artillery forces continued bombing terror targets across southern Lebanon.
Explosion heard as Red Sea ship told to change course, head to Yemen
The British maritime security company Ambrey said on Thursday it is aware of reports that a group claiming to be the "Yemeni Navy" is demanding a vessel sailing in the Bab al-Mandab Strait change course to head for Yemen.
Ambrey and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency are investigating the incident and another one in the Indian Ocean off Yemen, they said in advisory notes.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group has sought to support their ally Hamas in its war in Gaza by firing missiles at Israel and threatening shipping in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which lies next to Yemen at the southern entrance to the Red Sea.
Go to the full article >>Israel denies Netanyahu blocked Mossad from restarting hostage talks
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said that they feel like the government is playing "Russian roulette" with the hostages.
The Mossad has complete freedom to advance negotiations to release hostages from the Gaza Strip, an Israeli source said after it was reported on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prevented David Barnea from flying out to Qatar.
On Wednesday evening, Channel 13 reported that Netanyahu denied the intelligence chief a request to fly out to Doha for hostage negotiations. Instead, Netanyahu told him to "listen" to offers arriving from Qatar but not to initiate any talks.
Israeli media reported that sources within Israel's cabinet are interested in reigniting hostage negotiations. Minister Benny Gantz reportedly stated in meetings, "Israel must seek out an opportunity for a deal."
Gaza hostages' families fear the government's Russian roulette
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum reacted to the report late on Wednesday, expressing dismay and adding that this report "joins recent disregard over a request by mothers of hostages to meet with the prime minister, as well as a request by the fathers to meet Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
"The families demand to receive an urgent update due to the total freeze in hostage negotiations talks," the Forum noted, saying that they feel like the government is playing "Russian roulette" with the hostages.
"The feeling is that every evening, a Russian roulette is being played in which families are being notified of their children's deaths in captivity."
Go to the full article >>IDF drops leaflets offering huge rewards for Hamas leaders' locations
The flyers state that $400,000 is being offered for information on Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, $300,000 for his brother Muhammad Sinwar.
The IDF distributed flyers across Gaza on Thursday, promising huge rewards to anyone who would provide information on the locations of senior Hamas leaders hiding in the Strip.
The flyers state that $400,000 is being offered for information on Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, and $300,000 for his brother Muhammad Sinwar.
A lower reward, worth $200,000, will be awarded by the IDF to those who provide information on the location of Rafa Salama, the Khan Yunis Brigade commander and, for the location of Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas's military wing, the IDF will give $100,000.
"Confidentiality is guaranteed," the IDF states in the flyer and a phone number is provided to call. 
Sinwar fled south in humanitarian convoy
Yahya Sinwar fled Gaza City in northern Gaza to Khan Yunis in southern Gaza in a humanitarian convoy soon after the war began, an Israeli source told KAN news last Saturday.
Hamas terrorists who surrendered in Shejaia and Jabalya over the weekend told Israeli security forces that Hamas leaders, including Sinwar, were "denying reality" despite being updated on the situation on the ground.
"The terrorists complain that the leadership of Hamas is disconnected from the serious situation they're in on the ground," IDF Spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari said. "There is also a widespread feeling that the underground Hamas leadership does not care about the Gazan public above ground. This also greatly worries the military operatives of Hamas."
IDF operations in Khan Yunis have intesified as Israel ramps up the search for the Hamas leaders.
A few weeks ago, KAN reported that Sinwar and the commander of Hamas's al-Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif, were believed to be hiding in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
WATCH: IDF detains 70 Hamas terrorists after fighting at hospital
Some 70 terrorists surrendered and left the building with their weapons.
IDF troops from the 460th Combat Brigade of the 162nd Division operated in the Kamal Adwan Hospital area with the Shin Bet, according to an IDF and Shin Bet statement on Thursday.
During the operation, the IDF troops located a building that was being used by Hamas terrorists. An exchange of fire occurred, in which a number of Hamas terrorists were killed.
Some 70 terrorists surrendered and left the building with their weapons and were detained and taken for interrogation by the Shin Bet.
Kamal Adwan Hospital is in the Beit Lahiya area north of Gaza City, near the Israeli border.
In mid-October various media outlets quoted Hussam Abu Safiya, head of pediatrics at the hospital in northern Gaza, saying it did not evacuate despite calls to do so by Israel. The UN had warned at the time that hospitals would run out of fuel in two days on October 15.
The fuel continued to flow despite the warnings. On November 4, CNN reported that “MedGlobal, a US-based organization that supports local health programs for vulnerable populations across the globe, issued an urgent appeal for fuel to power a generator at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.”
Hamas terrorists surrendering en masse
Images and videos have been circulating all week of Hamas terrorists surrendering to Israeli troops en masse as the terror group continues to lose control over the coastal region.
Heavy fighting in northern Gaza in recent days has seen 10 IDF soldiers, including several senior officers, were killed and six wounded in one of the bloodiest battles of the IDF’s invasion of Gaza, the army announced early Wednesday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, and IDF Southern Command Chief Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkleman all eulogized the dead as tragic heroes, while maintaining a broadly optimistic tone about the war’s future course.
Although the battle of Shejaia in northern Gaza is going generally well for the IDF – about 350 terrorists have been killed – and the military believes it will have most of the area clear of Hamas’s major forces by the weekend, at around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, IDF forces were hit by a multi-round ambush in inner-Shejaia.
Go to the full article >>IDF soldier recites 'Shema Yisrael' prayer inside Jenin mosque
An IDF soldier is seen holding a microphone and reciting Shema Yisrael through the mosque's loudspeaker.
In a video circulating on social media, an IDF soldier can be seen reciting the Shema Yisrael prayer in a mosque in Jenin, where the IDF is currently operating extensively against terrorist infrastructure.
In the video, a soldier is seen holding a microphone and recited Shema Yisrael, the same microphone that would be used for the Muslim call to prayer. The echoes of the Shema could be heard bouncing off the walls in Jenin.
דיווחים פלסטינים: חיילי צה"ל משתמשים בכרוז של אחד המסגדים במחנה הפליטים ג'נין ומשמיעים בו שירי חנוכה וקריאות שמע ישראל | תיעוד@eliorlevy pic.twitter.com/Pcr53t2Wcb
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) December 14, 2023
Operations in Jenin
A number of tunnel opening were also identified in the area on Wednesday.
Four IDF soldiers were seriously injured, one lightly, while on the other, seven terrorists were killed, and five were injured, following an extensive operation conducted by combined forces of the Border Police and the IDF under the guidance of the Shin Bet, which lasted for over a day in the area.
During the operation, the forces were attacked by armed individuals who threw explosive devices at them, and in response, shots were fired at the terrorists, who were then injured and apprehended.
During the operation, 15 suspects involved in terrorist activities and attempts to harm the security forces were arrested and taken in for questioning by the Shin Bet.
Additionally, 230 Palestinians from Jenin and the refugee camp were detained for questioning, and the decision regarding their release will be made after their interrogation.
Go to the full article >>Turkish MP dies after suffering heart attack in parliament
Hasan Bitmez, 54, a member of parliament from the opposition Felicity (Saadet) Party, died in Ankara City Hospital, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told reporters in televised remarks.
An opposition Turkish lawmaker died on Thursday, two days after suffering a heart attack and collapsing in front of parliament as he finished a speech criticizing the government's policy toward Israel.
Hasan Bitmez, 54, a member of parliament from the opposition Felicity (Saadet) Party, died in Ankara City Hospital, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told reporters in televised remarks.
A graduate of Cairo's Al Azhar University, Bitmez was the chairman of the Centre for Islamic Union Research and had previously worked for Islamic non-governmental organizations, his parliament biography shows.
He was married and a father of one.
Parliament's official broadcast showed Bitmez collapsing to the floor after having been standing at the podium before the general assembly on Tuesday.
MP was criticizing Erdogan's relationship with Israel
He had been criticizing President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party (AKP) over Turkey's ongoing trade with Israel despite the war in Gaza, and despite the government's sharp rhetorical criticism of Israel's military bombardment.
"You allow ships to go to Israel, and you shamelessly call it trade... You are Israel's accomplice," Bitmez said in his speech after placing a banner on the podium reading: "Murderer Israel; collaborator AKP."
"You have the blood of Palestinians on your hands, you are collaborators. You contribute to every bomb Israel drops on Gaza," he told lawmakers during debate over the foreign ministry's 2024 budget.
After finishing the speech, Bitmez suddenly fell backward on the floor, with other MPs rushing from their seats to help.
Koca said afterward that an angiography revealed that the two main veins in his heart were completely blocked.
"His heart stopped beating, then he was resuscitated in parliament and transferred within 20 minutes to hospital" where medical machinery kept him alive, Koca had said on Tuesday.
The small Islamist Saadet Party joined the main opposition bloc backing challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the May presidential elections against Erdogan, who prevailed.
The alliance's agreement allowed for Saadet deputies like Bitmez to win seats in parliament by being named on the main opposition party CHP lists.
Go to the full article >>Senior Hamas official suggests recognizing Israel
Mousa Abu Marzouk made the claim in an interview with Al-Monitor.
A senior Hamas official suggested the terror group could recognize the State of Israel in order to end the current war between Israel and the Gaza-based group.
Mousa Abu Marzouk, in an interview with news website Al-Monitor from his office in the Qatari capital, Doha, stated, “You should follow the official stance. The official stance is that the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) has recognized the state of Israel.”
Hamas has come under pressure on both the international stage and within the Arab world for the conflict caused when hundreds of Hamas terrorists crossed the border into Israel on the morning of October 7, slaughtering, raping, and maiming 1,200 civilians and kidnapping over 240 people to Gaza.
Hamas chief claims open to ending war
The interview came just before Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said in a televised address on Wednesday that any arrangement in Gaza without Hamas is a "delusion".
"We are open to discuss any ideas or initiatives that could end the (Israeli) aggression and open the door for putting the Palestinian house in order both in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip," Haniyeh added.
The PLO recognized Israel as part of the 1993 Oslo Accords, but Hamas has refused to recognize the Jewish State, and just a few years ago released an updated policy document with amended political rhetoric, although the terror group still views the destruction of Israel as one of its major objectives.
Since Israel responded to Hamas's attacks on October 7, some 445 Israeli soldiers have died in the conflict, and thousands of Gazans have been killed.
However, a recent poll of Palestinians found that Hamas has gained significant support for its October 7 attacks.
The poll found that there were "significant differences" between the attitudes of West Bank residents and Gaza residents. In the West Bank, 82% believed that Hamas' decision to launch the attack was correct, and only 12% said it was incorrect, while in Gaza, 57% said it was correct, and 37% said it was incorrect.
Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis go all-in supporting Hamas and war
The Houthi statements and widespread coverage of this issue in their media show they are using Gaza as a new rallying cry; they want to potentially distract from problems at home, and show strength.
Three key Houthi leaders put out statements on Thursday discussing Gaza and their widening war in the Red Sea targeting commercial shipping.
The Iran-backed Houthis have ramped up attacks in the Red Sea in the last week and say they will target all ships bound for Israel. On Wednesday, December 14, Israel President Isaac Herzog slammed the Houthis in an unprecedented statement.
Herzog said, “The Houthis have crossed a red line in the Red Sea.” He also said, “The US-led international activities against the Houthi terror-pirates must be bolstered and strengthened in the form of a truly international coalition.”
The Houthis are now going all-in with their own statements. The Houthi, so-called “Field Marshal” Mahdi al-Mashat, who heads their supreme political council, issued a statement that was broadcast by the Houthi’s Al-Masirah network.
In addition, another member of the Houthis Political Bureau, Abdul-Malik Al-Ajri, also put out a statement. As if that wasn’t enough messaging, Muhammad Abdel Salam, the head of the Houthi negotiation delegation, which deals with foreign issues, also put out a statement. Salem confirmed that his group is backing a ceasefire in Gaza and humanitarian aid.
This kind of policy is new for the Houthis. They began as a Yemen-based movement trying to take over the country. From 2015 to 2022 they fought against the Yemen government. Yemen’s government was backed by Saudi Arabia.
Houthis making an effort to grow regional influence
Having secured a ceasefire with Riyadh, they seem to be trying to grow their influence around the region. As such, they are using the Iranian model of backing the Palestinians to achieve influence. Most countries in the region don’t care about the Houthis and see them as a small local problem. Now, they are showing they will “ride” the Palestinian issue to expand their role and also give themselves the rights to attack ships in the Red Sea with impunity.
Ajri, in his statement, said that the US and other coalition partners will not be able to bring security to the Red Sea. “The only way to restore calm in the Red Sea is linked to the return of calm to Gaza,” he said. He also posted about this issue on X, formerly known as Twitter, discussing the “permanent ceasefire and lifting the siege on Gaza.”
The head of the national negotiating delegation, Muhammad Abdel Salam, said that “in light of the operations in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, we are receiving several communications and messages from active countries confirming their support for the ceasefire in Gaza and their commitment to working to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people and that they are against the expansion of the conflict.”
The Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Security, Field Marshal Mahdi Al-Mashat, also slammed the “American enemy” and discussed “Yemen’s defense of Palestine and Jerusalem and its support for Gaza,” which he said was as important as “defense of Yemen and the nation.”
He discussed escalation against Israel. “He added that the crimes of the American enemy today in Gaza are not new, but rather they are only one point in the record of its heinous crimes against humanity since its inception and appearance,” Al-Masirah reported.
This is an important message of discipline for the Houthis. The group’s official slogan is “Death to America, death to Israel, curse the Jews,” so their hatred for Israel and the US is not a secret. However, they have not usually acted on it because they were fighting a mostly local war.
Iran sought to operationalize them in 2015 to also use Yemen as a test bed for drones and ballistic missiles. The Houthis used these against Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. However, its ability to strike Israel has grown.
Now, it has targeted Eilat numerous times. Israel has used F-35s and the Arrow system to defend Eilat. The Israel Minister of Defense also showed off photos of the Iron Dome in southern Israel, illustrating that the Iron Dome has also been used in interceptions.
The Houthi statements today and widespread coverage of this issue in their media show they are using Gaza as their new rallying cry, and they want to potentially distract from problems at home by showcasing their ability to attack ships in the Red Sea. So far, they have had impunity to do so, which has only made their appetite grow.
Go to the full article >>Israel-Hamas War: What you need to know
- Hamas launched a massive attack on October 7, with thousands of terrorists infiltrating from the Gaza border and taking some 240 hostages into Gaza
- Over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were murdered, including over 350 in the Re'im music festival and hundreds of Israeli civilians across Gaza border communities