Yom Chamishee
Thursday
2 Tevet 5784
December 14 2023
It’s the last night of Chanukah! OneIsrael wishes joy to all as we conclude our celebration (image courtesy of rotter.net).
UPDATE 5:00 PM
*In its second major thwarting of a HamISIS terror attack in two weeks (the first one was in Crete), Mossad announced today that another terror attack directed against Israelis was stopped in Denmark. This one involved 7 terrorists.
*The Houthis in Yemen have stopped another ship headed to Israel in the Red Sea.
*Dozens more HamISIS terrorists have surrendered in the area of the Kamel Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.
*Jenin update: 10 terrorists eliminated, more than 600 terrorists detained and arrested, 10 underground shafts located, numerous weapons confiscated.
*The absurd quote of the afternoon. From former PM Naftali Bennett: “For the first time in 15 years, I let 20,000 workers from Gaza enter Israel even though the security forces were opposed. That’s why Hamas did not join a previous round of fighting against Israel. Because of my relationship with Egyptian President Sisi, I decreased the smuggling from Rafah to Gaza to very low levels.”
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
It is now fully documented that HamISIS did not participate in the mini-war because its successful strategy was to lull the IDF asleep.
And how many of those 20,000 Bennett let in were terrorists who gathered information and took it back to Gaza for the October 7 massacres?
More than this, there is no indication whatsoever that weapons smuggling to Gaza decreased one iota; on the other hand, it increased during Bennett’s tenure. Just ask the soldiers that are now in the field facing fierce fighting against the terrorists.
Naftali Bennett is fully delusional.
UPDATE 11:00 AM
Another IDF soldier has fallen in defense of Israel:
Maj. (res.) Elisha Loewenstern, 38 years old, an armored fighter in the 8104th Battalion. He died when his tank was hit by an anti-tank missile.
May his memory be for a blessing.
Maj. Loewenstern is yet another orthodox Jew who has died in battle. In one alone, 6 out of 7 fighters have been killed.
One other point. Stop for a moment and think about the extraordinary number of soldiers in the reserves who have died. And think about the extraordinary number of children who are now fatherless. Maj. Loewenstern leaves behind his wife and three small children.
On the Ground In Gaza
*Massive IDF artillery fire taking place towards eastern Khan Younis and Deir al Balah.
*Face to face firefights have taken place this morning in the Sheikh al-Ridwan neighborhood in Gaza City and in the Al Juran neighborhood of Jabaliya.
On the Ground in the North
*IDF artillery currently targeting the areas between Tayba and Kfar Kila as well as at Hayam and Zerait.
UPDATE 8:00 AM
On the Ground Overnight and This Morning
In Judea and Samaria
With the focus on Gaza and the Lebanese border, it is easy to overlook the amazing fight that the IDF has been waging against Palestinian terrorists in Judea and Samaria.
Our soldiers have been in Jenin for the past three days tackling what is being called a mini-Gaza. Nine terrorists have been eliminated thus far as our soldiers have destroyed tunnels, observation posts, terror headquarters, and weapons repositories.
In Gaza
The foci this morning are the same as they have been for the past week and likely will be for the coming months: Khan Younis, Rafah, and Deir Al-Balah.
Meanwhile, humanitarian supplies continue streaming into Gaza to save the “poor starving Palestinians” (as described by UNRWA). However:
This was the marketplace in Jabaliya yesterday. Despite IDF activities in and around the city, the market was full of people and full of vendors selling food.
Is HamISIS A Barbaric Terror Organization?
A rhetorical question.
We all know the answer.
But most of the world doesn’t.
Consider the following from StandWithUs:
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.