Swords of Iron: Here is what happened on days 3, 4 and 5

The IDF released 31 more names of fallen soldiers Thursday morning, as it let the public know that no sirens had been heard since midnight, including in the Gaza envelope.

The US changed it travel ruling to level 3 for Israel, the IDF added, with Gaza being just a level above on the travel warning scale, with the highest being level 4.

In addition, the IDF clashed with terrorists in Jenin overnight, the IDF confirmed.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed in a phone call with the Turkish president that the kingdom is making unremitting efforts regionally and internationally with the aim of joint coordination to stop ongoing escalation in relation to the Israeli-Hamas war, the Saudi state news agency said in a statement on Wednesday.

The crown prince asserted the need to stop the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip, it said, adding he also stressed the kingdom’s firm position towards supporting the Palestinian cause, efforts aimed at achieving comprehensive and just peace.

Hamas says a female prisoner and two children, who were held hostage in Gaza after being captured on Saturday, have been released, Walla! reported.
 
Initially streamed on Al Jazeera, grainy and unclear footage of what was believed to be a woman released with a young child and infant. The video showed the three being set free and making their way back to Israel, allegedly taking place on Saturday and later streamed online.

The mother of the three children is expected to still be held captive.

Avital Aladgem spoke to N12 after her release, after her release with 4-year-old Negev and 6-month-old Ashel. The mother of the two children was apparently kidnapped to the Gaza Strip. Aladgem was reportedly freed the same day of her capture. 

חמאס אומר ששוחררה שבויה ושני ילדיה שנשבו במהלך המתקפה. ההודעה של הארגון מצוטטת על ידי אל-ג'זירה

— Guy Elster (@guyelster) October 11, 2023

The purpose of publishing the piece is apparently to provide a counterpoint to the international criticism of Hamas and the comparison between it and ISIS, according to Israeli media.  

The children were not released with their mother

The children's mother, 33-year-old Adi Vital-Kaplon, was apparently kidnapped from her home in Holit along with the two children. 

They were helped back to the border by Israeli soldiers, according to Israeli media.  

The long Road 232 to Sderot snakes through rolling hills and fields until it enters from the north of the city. This is one of the only roads into Sderot these days, as the road leading along the border has been closed since the first days of the war. That road usually would be how local residents get to Ashkelon, a quick 10-minute drive.

These days, it’s much longer. For the residents, this is not the main concern. They have been at home for five days, and there are still concerns about terrorist threats in the areas around the city.

Sderot became a huge beating heart of the country after the first days of the war. After terrorists were defeated in the police station, which they attacked on Saturday, the city has changed. Now, it is not just on the front line; military units, first responders, media representatives, and soldiers have all converged here.

This mixed multitude is now festooned around the entrance to the city and one of the community centers. The city has seen this in past wars, but it has changed today. People don’t go out when the sirens stop. All the shops are closed. Some people are leaving, and a city of 30,000 feels deserted.

Unlike the nearby kibbutzim, Sderot was not taken over by the terrorists. Instead, they raided the city, and many terrorists were killed there. Dozens entered the police station and killed police. They were then killed, and the station was destroyed. The police are operating in a new temporary location.

Israeli officers patrol in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, October 11, 2023 (credit: FLASH90/CHAIM GOLDBERG)

Meanwhile, the city’s residents have braved the hardship. The nearby kibbutzim, some 20 communities along the border, have all been evacuated; about 19,0000 residents have left. Sderot, by contrast, is waiting to see what will happen. Mayor Alon Davidi is defiant and has called for Israel to finally remove the Hamas threat that has plagued the South for so long.

US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul told reporters on Wednesday that Egypt had warned Israel three days before Hamas's assault on southern Israel that "an event like this could happen," according to US media.

"There seems to have been a failure of intelligence. We're not quite sure how we missed it. We're not quite sure how Israel missed it," said McCaul after a classified briefing about the war.

"We know that Egypt had warned the Israelis three days prior that an event like this could happen. We know this event was planned perhaps as long as a year ago," added the House Foreign Affair chair.

Series of reports claim Egypt warned Israel ahead of assault

McCaul's statements come after a series of reports that Egyptian intelligence officials had sent warnings to Israel ahead of Hamas's assault over the weekend.

Health Minister Moshe Arbel issued a directive to the public health system in Israel to refuse to treat captured terrorists on Wednesday afternoon.

"Since the beginning of the fighting, the issue of treating the damned and despicable Hamas terrorists within the public hospitals has piled up a tremendous difficulty on the health system," wrote Arbel.

"In these difficult times, the health system should focus fully on the treatment of the victims of the criminal massacre, the IDF soldiers and preparedness for the next," added the health minister. "The task of securing and treating the cursed and despicable terrorists within the public health system significantly harms these efforts and therefore, under my guidance, the public health system will not treat them."

"The handling of the matter should be entrusted to the IDF or the Shin Bet, and of course the Health Ministry is ready and willing to assist these bodies, as needed."

Arbel called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to instruct the relevant bodies to act accordingly.

Germany has given Israel the go-ahead to use two Heron TP combat drones in its counter-attack against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Wednesday.

Germany had rented the two Israel-made combat drones to train 16 prospective German drone pilots in Israel but the military trainees are now returning to Germany because of the Hamas attack.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Wednesday approved a request by Israel for the drone use over the weekend, said Der Spiegel, which did not specify its sources.

A spokesperson for the defense ministry in Berlin said she could not immediately comment on the Spiegel report.

Austria's plans for an evacuation of its citizens from Israel by military aircraft on Wednesday were thwarted when its only available C-130 Hercules had a technical failure, forcing the country to book seats on a commercial flight instead.

Austria said on Tuesday it would begin evacuations to Cyprus on Wednesday with one of its aging C-130 aircraft. These are the biggest in its fleet but also among the oldest, in service since the 1960s. The government is in the process of replacing them ahead of their retirement.

As the aircraft was preparing to set off for Israel from Austria on Wednesday morning, smoke in the cockpit made taking off impossible and it was taken for repairs.

In the evening as it became clear it would not leave that day, the Foreign Ministry said it had booked 100 seats on an Israir Airlines flight to the Cypriot airport of Larnaca that was due to land at 9 p.m. (1800 GMT).

Moody's sent a warning to Israel on Wednesday just days before a scheduled rating review that a prolonged war with Hamas could drag down the country's credit score.

Surprise attacks by Hamas at the weekend have sparked the worst escalation in violence in 50 years and raised questions about not just the humanitarian cost, but the economic toll as well.

Moody's, which is scheduled to review Israel's "A1 stable" rating on Friday, said the chances of a downgrade would depend on how the war develops.

"In the past, Israel’s sovereign credit profile has shown resilience to terrorist attacks and military action," a group of the firm's top analysts said in a note. "However, a prolonged conflict that durably and significantly impairs economic activity and policymaking would test that resilience".

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Unity MK Benny Gantz are set to address the nation on Wednesday evening following the agreement on the formation of an emergency government

This is a developing story.