Yom Shabbat
Saturday
27 Cheshvan 5784
November 11 2023
UPDATE 10:00 PM
On The Ground
Israeli forces are currently attacking in Gaza, in Lebanon, and in Syria.
5 More Soldiers Have Fallen In Battle
The names of the dead:
Major (res.) Matan Meir, 38 years old, from Odem, a fighter in the 697th Battalion, the 551st Brigade (the half-fire formation), fell in battle in the north of the Gaza Strip.
Major (res.) Moshe Yedidyah Leiter, 39 years old, Mein Zurim, MP Brigade 697 Battalion, Brigade 551 (Fire Arrow Design), served as a platoon commander in the Sheldag unit, fell in battle in the northern Gaza Strip.
Maj. Gen. Yosef Haim (Yossi) Hershkovitz, 44 years old, from Gibeot, a fighter in the 697th Battalion, 551st Brigade (the half-fire formation), was killed in battle in the north of the Gaza Strip.
Maj (res.) Sergey Shmerkin, 32 years old, from Kiryat Shmona, a fighter in the 697th Battalion, the 551st Brigade (the half-fire formation), was killed in battle in the northern Gaza Strip.
Major (res.) Netanel (Nati) Harush, 34 years old, from Jerusalem, a fighter in the Administrative Assistance Unit 5084, Givati Brigade, fell during an operational activity in the northern Gaza Strip.
We haven’t been listing the names of the fallen soldiers here at OneIsrael, but tonight we are doing so to show not only the high ranks of each of them, but also that all of them were officers in the reserve Brigade 551 composed of veteran commandos.
They all died when a booby trap exploded in a tunnel shaft in the Beit Hanoun area.
The IDF should stop any effort whatsoever to enter the tunnels. Flood them with nerve gas; flood them with water; burn them out with explosive fuel, but do not enter them. Not one soldier should die in or beside a tunnel.
UPDATE 5:00 PM
On the Ground
It is looking increasingly as if the “humanitarian ceasefires” in Gaza are solely applicable to the evacuation routes from northern to southern Gaza. There has been fierce fighting in virtually all other sectors of northern Gaza all morning and afternoon. Here in Ashdod (25 km/16 mi north of Gaza), we have heard the nonstop bombing and artillery fire all day.
In the north, the IDF continues to pound the launch sites in southern Lebanon of anti-tank missiles and drones.
There have been numerous missile and mortar attacks in the last 4 hours.
In the South:
Beersheva, and dozens of Bedouin settlements in Southern and Central Negev (14:30), Kissufim (13:00), Kissufim (12:01)
In the North:
Cabri, Manot (15:12), Netua (14:32)
New Facts from the IDF Spokesman:
Since the beginning of the war, the IAF has attacked about 5000 targets in real time to support IDF forces on the ground.
More than 3,300 strikes were carried out by fighter jets.
860 strikes were carried out by helicopter gunships.
572 strikes were carried out by drones.
In the process carrying out air support, the IDF has been trying to shorten the time between calling in the strike and carrying out the strike. The process is now taking about 6 minutes.
A Rather Amazing Emergency Meeting of the Arab League
The meeting in Saudi Arabia has concluded and there was a unanimous call for a ceasefire, but the resolutions were not unanimous–particularly regarding these 5 clauses:
1. Prohibition of American bases in their territory from supplying weapons of ammunition to Israel.
2. Freezing diplomatic, economic, security, and military relations with Israel.
3. Using oil sanctions and other sanctions to back up policy.
4. Preventing Israeli civilian flights through their country’s airspace.
5. Establishment of an Arab ministerial committee to speak for the Arab League.
These countries voted for the above: Syria, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, Lebanon, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Libya, Yemen and the Palestinians.
These countries voted against or abstained (the official record did not record who abstained and who rejected): Bahrain, Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates.
As you can see, there was a striking division among the Arabs when it came to dealing with the U.S. and Israel.
UPDATE 12:00 PM
Your humble servant has had it with all the talk about the “poor Palestinian civilians.” The outcry over their situation is personally nauseating. All focus on the Israeli hostages being held in unbearable conditions in deep underground tunnels has flown out the window. Why isn’t anyone talking about a “humanitarian corridor” to let our people go?
Lest we forget, here are photos of some of our people being held in contravention of all “humanitarian law”:
From Kibbutz Nir Oz:
Where is the world’s outcry?
On the Ground Right Now
More ceasefires: more “civilians” escape from northern Gaza to southern Gaza:
The evacuation route on Saladin Street is for 7 hours today.
The evacuation route from Jabaliya is for 4 hours today.
We will never find out from the IDF how many soldiers were killed or wounded today during these “humanitarian ceasefires.” 40 minutes ago–during the ceasefires–HamISIS terrorists fired more mortars at our soldiers in a staging area near Be’eri.
UPDATE 11:00 AM
The air force has spent the morning intensively attacking terrorist targets in the Nusirat neighborhood between Gaza City and Deir al-Balach.
The IDF spokesman reports:
*The IDF has taken control of 11 HamISIS military outposts.
*The Nahal Brigade located, attacked, and destroyed a tunnel beside an elementary school.
*The 215th Brigade in conjunction with the IAF eliminated a terror squad on the verge of attacking Givati Brigade soldiers.
*IDF forces including Naval forces closed a circle of fire around the Shati neighborhood. It is reported that more than 50,000 people in that neighborhood are moving south this morning.
In the North:
The IAF struck Hezbollah targets 40 km north of the Lebanese border in response to the missile fire yesterday in which 5 Israelis were wounded. This is the deepest attack into Lebanon since the war began.
Sirens sounded (09:35) in Kiryat Shmona, Metula, Tel Hai, Margaliot, and the Upper Galilee for “aircraft penetration” from Lebanon. It turned out that there was no penetration. There are mixed reports about whether there was a direct hit in Kiryat Shmona.
UPDATE 8:00 AM
On The Ground
The IAF has been attacking east of Khan Younis this morning.
Mortars and Missiles so far this Morning
In the South:
Kissufim (06:12); Kissufim (7:28)
In the North:
There were reported interceptions from Lebanon over Nahariya early this morning (07:37).
The Judea and Samaria Front
IDF troops captured more HamISIS terrorists in the Jilazon settlement near Ramallah last night. Since the war began, more than 1000 HamISIS operatives have been arrested.
Three Asinine Comments From Yesterday
1. “We at the World Health Organization are very concerned about the health of the abductees in Gaza.”
Tedros Ghebreyesus, head of the WHO speaking at the U.N.
We are glad the WHO has awakened after 35 days of doing and saying absolutely nothing.
2. “Israel must stop killing children and women in the Gaza Strip. There is no justification for these attacks.”
Emmanuel Macron, President of France speaking on the BBC
This outrageous comment is from the same pathetic Macron who came to Israel weeks ago ostensibly to support Israel but ended up embracing the Palestinians and offering a hospital ship to park off the coast of Gaza.
3.
This brilliant cartoon from Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Ramirez precisely portrays the animalism of HamISIS in using human shields–even to the point of using their own families (for example, think of billionaire HamISIS political leader Ismail Haniyeh who lounges in Qatar and sends his family out to “protect” HamISIS facilities in Gaza).
The cartoon appeared in the Washington Post online edition two days ago, but was abruptly deleted with this accompanying comment from David Shipley, the Post’s Opinions Editor:
“A cartoon published by Michael Ramirez on the war in Gaza, a cartoon whose publication I approved, was seen by many readers as racist.”
Asinine and gutless. Perhaps Shipley should recall his newspaper’s slogan: “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” The Washington Post and The New York Times have become the darkest of newspaper rags.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.