Israel at War: What happened on day 40?

IDF Chief Spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari on Wednesday night presented Hamas weapons, military equipment, and intelligence technology which IDF soldiers found in more than 18 hours of searching Shifa Hospital since the early morning.

However, at press time, the IDF's findings were not the same level "smoking gun" as the vast explosives, advanced weapons, and hostage holding room which it found at Rantisi Hospital just a few days earlier.

France's President Emmanuel Macron posted a message in Hebrew on Wednesday in support of releasing hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

אנחנו מפעילים את כל כובד משקלנו, את כל כוחנו, על מנת לשחרר את חטופינו ולאפשר למשפחות להתאחד עם יקיריהם.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) November 15, 2023

"We are putting all our efforts, all our strength, into freeing the hostages held by Hamas and allowing their families to be reunited with their loved ones," Macron posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, in Hebrew, English, and French.
 
 
 

A billboard truck operated by JewBelong, a national nonprofit organization, was vandalized on the campus of George Washington University on Wednesday. The truck, which displays messages condemning Hamas and antisemitism, was targeted when an unidentified perpetrator threw a rock at it, shattering the glass over one of its signs.

The truck, known for its striking pink and white design, features slogans such as "Let's be clear. Hamas is your problem too,” and other messages aimed at raising awareness about antisemitism. It was present in Washington DC to participate in the March for Israel, a rally supporting American and Israeli Jews. According to eyewitnesses, the perpetrator shouted "Free Palestine" during the act of vandalism. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, even though a driver was present in the truck at the time of the incident.

Archie Gottesman, co-founder of JewBelong, expressed dismay over the attack, stating, "This vandalism is incredibly disheartening and heinous, especially after the peaceful rally we had just participated in. It underscores the need for our continued efforts to educate and stand against antisemitism." Gottesman also emphasized the importance of recognizing the threat posed by groups like Hamas, not just to Jews and Israel but to broader societal values.

The vandalized billboard truck operated by JewBelong. (credit: @FIVELUCKYFINGERS/Instagram)

JewBelong's billboard trucks against antisemitism

JewBelong's billboard trucks have been a fixture in their national campaign against antisemitism, appearing at various college campuses and cities across the country. The organization has also been the target of repeated vandalism, particularly in California.

Reports have been filed with both campus and local police, and an investigation into the incident is underway.

The United Nations Security Council called for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses to the Gaza war” as it passed its first resolution on that conflict in a 12-0 vote on Wednesday afternoon.

Three countries abstained, the United States, Great Britain, and Russia. 

The US said it supported the resolution but did not vote for it because the text failed to condemn Hamas. 

“I am horrified that a few members of this council can still not bring themselves to condemn the barbaric terror attack that Hamas carried out against Israel on October 7,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.

Her comment referenced Hamas’ infiltration of Southern Israel last month, during which time it killed over 1,200 people and seized over 239 captive.

“I am horrified that a few members of this council can still not bring themselves to condemn the barbaric terror attack that Hamas carried out against Israel on October 7.”

Linda Thomas-Greenfield

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan and other members of the Israeli delegation wear a yellow Star of David at the UN Security Council last week. (credit: Screenshot/Maariv)

UNSC has never condemned Hamas

In pondering why the UNSC has never condemned Hamas, she asked, “What are they afraid of?” 

“What is stopping them from unequivocally condemning the actions of a terrorist organization that is determined to kill Jews and that gunned down civilians and burned families alive and executed children,” she said.

It’s a “group that killed and took hostages including children from over a dozen countries, including the US,” she said.

“Let's be crystal clear Hamas set this conflict in motion because Hamas only cares about the death and destruction of the Israeli people. They do not care one whit about the safety and the protection of the Palestinian people.

“If they did, they would not use civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, schools, mosques, and hospitals to store weapons and operate command and control nodes,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

“Ultimately the US could not vote yes on a text that did not condemn Hamas or reaffirm the right of all member states to protect their citizens from terror attacks,” she said. 

The US will continue to urge the council to condemn Hamas, she added.

She pointed to the portion of the resolution that called on Hamas to release the hostages. “This is the first time we have ever adopted a resolution that mentions the word Hamas. In addition, we fully support the resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all the hostages,” she stated.

Did 200 Hamas forces, who IDF intelligence claims were present at Shifa Hospital after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, vanish out of thin air?

All of the following could change radically if the IDF finds a larger smoking gun overnight Wednesday or on Thursday, but at press time, the IDF had presented a much weaker case to the world about Hamas’s presence at the hospital than expected.

A US Navy warship shot down a drone in the Red Sea that emanated from Yemen, two US officials told Reuters on Wednesday, in what appeared to be only the second time the United States has brought down projectiles near its warships since the Israel-Hamas conflict began.

Washington is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups as regional tensions soar during the conflict and has been trying to ensure that it does not spread in the region.

Twenty-three Irish citizens left Gaza on Wednesday through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt, the first Irish group to do so since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, local media quoted foreign minister Micheal Martin as saying.

The Irish government has previously said around 40 Irish citizens were stuck in Gaza and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said earlier that he expected additional Irish citizens to be added to a list of those allowed to leave in the coming days.

"The good news today is that 23 Irish citizens have come through, or are in the process, at Rafah," the Irish Times quoted Martin as telling reporters in Cairo on Wednesday.

The Knesset hosted a second screening of the IDF's October 7 documentary for current and past MKs on Wednesday.

The documentary, which the IDF put together from footage from security cameras and body cams taken from terrorists who were killed and captured, includes uncensored footage of the Hamas's massacre of 1,200 people.

Over 20 rockets were fired from Lebanon toward Kiryat Shmona, Matat, Shlomit, and other areas along the Lebanese-Israeli border on Wednesday, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit. Hezbollah took responsibility for the rocket fire toward Kiryat Shmona.

The IDF responded to the rocket fire with artillery fire targeting several sites in southern Lebanon, including a Hezbollah observation point.

Yaron Ashkenazi, founder and managing partner of Awz Ventures, the Canadian-Israeli venture capital firm that invests in commercial applications of AI-based, deep-tech, fintech, cybersecurity, and intelligence technologies, told attendees at the reception hosted by the Israel Allies Foundation and The Jerusalem Post in the Capitol on Tuesday that Awz’s portfolio companies have helped identify missing people and the victims, and are assisting Israel in the crucial mission of finding the hostages with their deep-learning AI technology.

“I am proud to stand here as a representative of the Israeli hi-tech community,” said Ashkenazi. “I am proud of the technologies we are building – technologies that are serving democracies and values that protect humanity, that protect good against evil. We, the Israeli hi-tech sector, deliver, no matter what.”