Yom Rishon
Sunday
5 Tevet 5784
December 17 2023
UPDATE 9:00 PM
Sgt. Boris Dunavetski, 21, from Kiryat Bialik, an armored fighter in the 46th Battalion fell in battle in northern Gaza today.
May His Memory Always Be For a Blessing
A Remarkable Officer
A vicious stabbing attack occurred at a gas station near the Rantis Checkpoint beside Beit Aryeh this evening.
A 49-year-old reserve IDF officer in uniform–and father of 7 children–was in line to pay inside at the checkout cashier when a Palestinian terrorist came up behind him and stabbed in the back.
Remarkably, the officer chased the terrorist out of the station–with the knife still in his back–and opened fire on the terrorist who was captured shortly thereafter by more IDF soldiers in the area.
The officer is listed is “moderate condition” at a nearby hospital.
UPDATE 4:00 PM
What Do You Think Of When You Think Of A “Tunnel”?
Our soldiers are finding tunnels like this (IDF photo of Defense Minister Gallant in a tunnel a few days ago.)
Part of a letter sent to PM Netanyahu today by families of soldiers who have fallen in Gaza, and read by him at the Sunday Cabinet meeting:
“You have a mandate to fight, you don’t have a mandate to stop in the middle! This is the will of the fallen and this is our duty for life . . . Only determined fighting will lead to the defeat of Hamas and the return of the abductees . . . The people are strong and their spirit is strong, the citizens and the heroic soldiers are determined to achieve complete victory – until the objectives are completed we cannot sit quietly.”
On the Ground in Gaza Today
*Fighters of the 7th Brigade have fought their way to and taken control the headquarters of the HamISIS Commander of the Khan Younis Brigade and Bnei Suhila Square in central Khan Younis. In the process of their battles there this week, the IDF spokesman says that the fighters of the brigade “eliminated many terrorists, some of whom were eliminated by tank fire and exposed about 30 tunnel shafts. In addition, they attacked and destroyed dozens of anti-terrorist positions and observation posts, confiscated weapons such as grenades, RPGs, and located many intelligence tools such as telephones and computers.”
Missiles and Mortars Today
In the south: Nirim, Nir Oz (12:47); Sufa, Holit (11:00)
In the north: Margaliot (15:30)
UPDATE 1:00 PM
Photo of the Day
The ultra-left in Israel continues to berate the orthodox for not doing its share despite every evidence to the contrary. The Nahal Brigade fights valiantly wherever it confronts the enemy, and young orthodox men have enlisted to join the battle against HamISIS. Virtually every Brigade is infused with orthodox fighters. Look carefully at this photo from the Tel Aviv promenade yesterday. Did you see the M16 on the man’s back?
On the Ground In Judea and Samaria This Morning
*IDF troops have been engaged in extensive operations in Tulkarm. 5 terrorists have been killed in combined air and ground attacks.
*According to preliminary information, a soldier has been wounded in a shooting attack at the Yehuda Junction near Hevron.
UPDATE 9:00 AM
Two More Soldiers Fell Yesterday
Master Sgt. (res) Yosef Avner Doran, 26, from Jerusalem, fighter in the operational mobility unit (HBLAN), was killed yesterday in a battle in northern Gaza.
Sgt. Major (res) Shalev Salzman, 24, from Ramat Yishai, a fighter in Battalion 6623, was killed yesterday in a battle in southern Gaza.
May Their Memories Be For a Blessing
The War Takes A Different Turn
A few days ago, we posted a photo of a bustling market in Khan Younis with throngs of people and food vendors galore. It seemed to run counter to what we have been hearing from the IDF about how the battle has moved south into Khan Younis.
Apparently, however, we have not understood what is happening there. Khan Younis is a huge city spread out over a large area, a city that some have compared to Tel Aviv in terms of its sprawl.
What the IDF has been doing is attacking the periphery of the city and carrying out extremely dangerous raids into various neighborhoods. No bombing of HamISIS assets is taking place in Khan Younis’ densely populated neighborhoods (or any more in other such neighborhoods in Gaza). In the heart of Khan Younis, civilian life continues with schools, stores, and hospitals operating as usual.
Meanwhile, northern Gaza is not nearly under the control that the IDF announced last week. HamISIS fighters disguised as “civilians” are still everywhere. Pockets of intense resistance pop up every day in what has very much become a guerilla war. HamISIS is perfectly happy to lose two or three dozen of its terrorists each day if it can pick off two or three IDF soldiers at the same time.
Early in the war, we repeated the words of a strategist who said that in order to maintain public support for any war, the public has to see concrete achievements. It is not enough for Defense Minister Galant or IDF Chief of Staff Halevi to come out everyday and declare that we are “deepening our achievements”–particularly in the situation in which we see virtually no achievements concerning the rescue of hostages.
What is the bottom line?
We all recognize that HamISIS must be destroyed but what that means will need to be redefined. There is no way to eliminate every terrorist when every other civilian is a terrorist and every other house is a HamISIS outpost. And this is not even talking about the vast city under Gaza.
However we define it, HamISIS destruction will take many months if not years. Short of some dramatic development, this may be a war that has no end.
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.