Israel at war: What happened on days 28-29?

Israeli forces will reach Hamas terror leader Yahya Sinwar and will kill him, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed on Saturday evening briefing on developments in Operation Swords of Iron.

Further, Gallant said that "by the end of the war, there will be no Hamas in Gaza. There will be no threat to Israeli civilians from the Strip."

Israel intensified its ground operation in Gaza over the weekend, successfully targeting and dismantling vital Hamas elements, including their critical infrastructure and personnel.

Thousands of cross-border Gazan workers and laborers in Israel and the West Bank were sent back to Gaza on Friday, witnesses said.

Some of the Gazan workers returned through the Kerem Shalom crossing east of the Rafah border crossing between the besieged Gaza Strip and Egypt, the witnesses said.

Gazans who were working with permits in Israel and were detained after Hamas's October 7 assault have petitioned the High Court of Justice to release them to the West Bank and let them meet with their relatives, KAN news reported on Friday.

Over 560 Gazans are being represented in the lawsuit which was filed through the Gisha organization and the Center for the Defense of the Individual.

Justice Ruth Ronen has requested that the state provide a response to the lawsuit by Wednesday.

The security cabinet stated on Thursday that Israel was "cutting contact" with Gaza and that any Gazan workers who were in Israel would be returned to Gaza.

A Palestinian police officer checks the documents of Palestinian workers as they enter the reopened Erez crossing to Israel, after Israeli ends a ban on workers from Gaza, in Gaza City September 28, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA)

About 4,000 Gazan workers detained in Israel

The Center for the Defense of the Individual reported on Wednesday that Israel was detaining about 4,000 Gazan workers.

تغطية صحفية| مصادر محلية: "الاحـتـلال يُفرج عن عمّال غزة الذين اعتقلهم من الداخل والضفة عبر معبر "كرم أبو سالم" شرق رفح". pic.twitter.com/111md6Y3tD

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) November 3, 2023

Palestinian media reported on Friday morning that some of the Gazan workers were released through the Kerem Shalom crossing back into the Gaza Strip on Friday.

Hamas is ready to have a "complete compromise" in order to carry out a prisoner exchange, according to Hamas official Ghazi Hamad who spoke on Thursday with NBC correspondent Matt Bradley.

Hamad's terms were the same as Hamas's previous demands: Release every single Palestinian prisoner in Israel in exchange for the 240 Israeli hostages. 

The Hamas official also maintained that the civilian casualties on October 7, 2023 were the result of unexpected "complications on the ground" - a term he also used in his interview the previous week with Lebanese media in which he said that Hamas would repeat the events of October 7 over and over again.

'We will repeat October 7 again and again' 

In his interview with NBC, Hamad was challenged to clarify that statement about repeating the October 7 massacre. He largely deflected, bringing up the massive number of Gazan civilians who have been killed since the start of the war. He said that the people of Gaza have been suffering for 17 years and it is the legal right of Palestinians to "fight against the occupation." 

He furthered his point by bringing up the plight of Jews in Nazi Europe. "It is according to international law," Hamad said. "According to all of the regulations and the law. In Europe, you right against the Nazis."

Ghazi Hamad. (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Hamad also made it clear that Israel would have to draw back its offensive in Gaza in order to have any kind of hostage negotiation. "We want to stop the aggression and killing and the slaughters on our people. And after that, we can talk about hostages, about the prisoners, about everything. But first, they have to stop the aggression."

Ghazi Hamad's previous interviews with international media

The week before, Hamad was interviewed by Lebanese media outlet LBCI and was firm in his stance that the Palestinians must remove any Israeli presence from the State of Israel and reclaim the land. He stated that "the al-Aqsa Flood is just the first time. There will be a second, a third, a fourth."

He also claimed that all of Hamas's actions were justified because the Palestinians are "victims of the occupation."

In an even earlier interview with the BBC, Hamad stormed out of the room when asked about the massacre of 1,400 civilians on October 7. 

Soldiers from the 13th Battalion of the Golani Brigade and armored troops from the 53rd Battalion clashed with many Hamas terror squads inside the Gaza Strip on Thursday night.

The terrorists fired anti-tank missiles at the soldiers and activated several IEDs. The soldiers fought a lengthy battle with composure under heavy fire, and during the incident, several terrorists attempted to climb onto the soldier’s vehicles and were killed.

In tandem, the forces on the ground directed aircraft and artillery airstrikes. The Hamas terrorists were killed and the danger to the troops was removed.

IDF completes encirclement of Gaza City

The IDF completed its encirclement of Gaza City on Thursday. Over 130 Palestinian terrorists were killed in clashes in Gaza on Thursday evening, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.

A number of military headquarters used by senior Hamas leaders were targeted by the IDF.

Israeli forces demolished the home of the Hamas terrorist who murdered Hallel and Yagel Yaniv in Nablus early Thursday morning, according to Palestinian reports.

The terrorist, Khaled Harusha, shot and killed the Yaniv brothers in Huwara in February. Hallel and Yagel were 22 and 19 at the time of their murder respectively. Yagel was supposed to celebrate his 20th birthday two weeks after the attack. The brothers were from the Har Bracha settlement in Samaria and were laid to rest at the Mt. Herzl military cemetery.

One Palestinian was wounded in clashes as Israeli forces operated in Nablus.

Palestinians inspect the damage after last night's raid of Israeli security forces, in the West Bank city of Jenin, October 30, 2023 (credit: NASSER ISHTAYEH/FLASH90)

Palestinians, Israeli forces clash in Jenin

Some two Palestinians were killed in armed clashes with Israeli forces in Jenin early Friday morning, according to Palestinian reports.

Israeli forces entered the West Bank city on Thursday night and were still operating in Jenin as of Friday morning. At least one Israeli drone strike was conducted against a target in the city, according to Palestinian reports.

During the raid in Jenin, the IDF reportedly dropped leaflets warning residents of the city to not cooperate with Hamas and other terrorists organizations.

Additionally on Friday morning, two Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli forces in the Fawwar refugee camp near Hebron, according to Palestinian reports.

This is a developing story 

Gaza City—what you can’t see from above. pic.twitter.com/RKoi1R2CAL

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 3, 2023

Gulf Arab power the United Arab Emirates warned on Thursday that there was a real risk of a regional spillover from the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, adding that it was working "relentlessly" to secure a humanitarian ceasefire.

"As we continue working to stop this war we cannot ignore the wider context and the necessity to turn down the regional temperature that is approaching a boiling point," Noura al-Kaabi, a minister of state for foreign affairs, told a policy conference in the capital, Abu Dhabi.

"The risk of regional spillover and further escalation is real, as well as the risk that extremist groups will take advantage of the situation to advance ideologies that will keep us locked in cycles of violence."

Thailand is in touch with Iran and other governments that can make contact with Hamas for the safe release of nearly two dozen Thai nationals being held hostage by the organisation, its foreign minister said on Friday.

Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara said Iran, which is close to Hamas, has promised to help with negotiations.

At least 23 Thai nationals were among more than 240 people taken hostage when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on Friday that four Indonesians and one wife of an Indonesian national had been evacuated from Gaza on Nov. 2.

The evacuees had arrived in Cairo, she said in a press conference.