Yom Shleeshee
Tuesday
7 Tevet 5784
December 19 2023
UPDATE 10:00 PM
Hopeful News From Gaza
Comments tonight from Lt. Col. Itzik Cohen, Commander of IDF Division 162:
“Division 162 is under operational control in Jabaliya. Jabaliya is not the Jabaliya it used to be; we killed nearly 1000 terrorists from three Hamas Battalions in Jabaliya and captured about 500 terrorists many of whom surrendered, some 70 of whom were the “special Hamas ‘Nochba’ forces” that took part in the events of the seventh of October around Kfar Aza. The fighting of the division’s forces led to the dismantling of the military capacity of the northern brigade of Gaza City. Thanks to the maneuver, we are operating in the heart of Gaza City with operational freedom; Division 162 will continue its operations in the Gaza Strip until the mission is completed.”
The IDF spokesman tonight talked about how we are hot on the trail of Yahya Sinwar (as reported by Walla):
“Three homes of Yahya Sinwar were also located throughout Gaza in the heart of Gaza City, in the east of the city and in the Shati neighborhood. Under each of them is a shaft opening to a tunnel that connects to the command and control centers. Another shaft reached Shifa Hospital.
Sinwar’s house in the heart of Gaza City included 40 closed circuit cameras, all the windows of the house cannot be viewed from the outside and are covered with curtains. During the search of the house, one of the soldiers in a corner felt suspicious about the flooring since it had no filling material between tiles; after an inspection it turned out that stepping on the tiles opens two hydraulic doors that lead to a shaft with a diameter of 2 meters by 2 meters, from which you go down dozens of meters using a luxurious elevator.”
UPDATE 4:30 PM
What Has Happened On The Ground In The Last 8 Hours?
Amidst reports that Israel is demanding that Hezbollah withdraw a scant 10 km (6 mi) from the Lebanon border, the following missile attacks and aircraft penetrations (suicide drones) have occurred on the northern border:
Dishon, Iftach, Mt. Hermon Regional Council (15:31); Dovev, Matat, Dalton (14:34); Betzet, Shlomi (14:29); Ayelet HaShachar, Gadot, Amuka (13:34).
A statement from the IDF Spokesman an hour ago: “Fighter jets of the Air Force attacked a short time ago a series of military targets of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in the territory of Lebanon; among the targets attacked, terrorist infrastructures, military buildings, a warehouse of weapons and a launch site of the terrorists.”
Meanwhile, missiles and mortars targeting the center and south:
Sufa (15:58); Sufa (15:23); Yavne, Tel Aviv, Nes Ziona, Ramat Gan, Palmachim, Ekron (13:01).
At the moment, fierce battles are reported in and around Khan Younis.
The Mothers and Wives of Fighters Make Demands
The organization Mothers of Fighters which consists of 7,000 mothers and wives of soldiers fighting in Gaza has demanded an immediate meeting with PM Netanyahu because “humanitarian” measures being taken by the IDF are increasing the risk to IDF soldiers.
Pointing out the large number of casualties in the last week, the group wants the ability to use live fire not be restricted and an IDF guarantee that any building or structure that may contain terrorists be destroyed before our soldiers go in.
In particular, the group is demanding that the government not cave into American demands that more care be taken in dealing with terrorists.
We here at OneIsrael could not agree more!
The same group blocked the Kerem Shalom Crossing this morning to protest its opening to provide more aid to Gaza.
As a spokeswoman said: “We are blocking Kerem Shalom because aiding the enemy is not humanitarian.”
Another Hostage Deal in the Works?
Rumors abound. One making the rounds at the moment would lead to the release of the hostages in exchange for the safe passage of Yahya Sinwar and all his commanders to Qatar.
There is no reason to believe that this is going anywhere; however, PM Netanyahu is meeting with the families of the abductees tonight.
UPDATE 9:00 AM
Two More Fallen Heroes
Maj. (res.) Daniel Yacov Ben Harosh, 31, from Elon, a fighter in Battalion 6551, in the Hace Hash formation (551), fell in battle in northern Gaza.
Capt. (Res.) Rotem Yoseff Levy, 24, from Oranit, deputy platoon commander in the Yalam unit, was killed in battle in northern Gaza.
May Their Memories Be For A Blessing
A New Phase?
According to Defense Minister Galant, Israel is about to move to a new phase. He believes that some areas of northern Gaza have been sufficiently cleared for the reserve companies fighting there to be released.
In other words, we have reached “the day after” scenario in some areas even as fierce fighting continues in others–such as in Sujayieh neighborhood and in Khan Younis.
Yesterday soldiers from the Golani Brigade reached “Palestine Square” in the middle of Sujayieh and destroyed it. On the way there, they found and destroyed dozens of missile launchers and tons of armaments. And they eliminated hundreds of terrorists.
Savages
You may remember that in one of our updates two days ago, we reported on how dozens of terrorists were captured who were hiding in a school in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza. These weren’t just any terrorists: those you see below whose heads are circled in red were in the Gaza communities on October 7 murdering, raping,and burning children, women, and men. We know this because of their own videos that they took.
*The Houthis in Yemen attacked two more ships in the Red Sea last night: the M/V Clara cargo ship, and the Swan Atlantic oil tanker. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin who is in Bahrain after visiting Israel announced last night that a multinational task force has been in established in the Red Sea to protect shipping lanes in the Red Sea.
The countries in the force are the U.S., Bahrain, Britain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the Seychelles. The U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia have not joined for the moment because they prefer a more aggressive, pro-active approach.
*The UN’s abominable humanitarian coordinator, Lynn Hastings, was kicked out of Israel last night after Israel refused to renew her visa because of her brazen attacks on Israel.
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.