Yom Shishee
Friday
6 Tammuz 5784
July 12 2024
9:00 AM ISRAEL TIME
May His Memory Be For A Blessing
Maj (res). Valeri Chefonov
Major (res.) Valeri Chefonov, 33 years old, from Netanya, vehicle officer of battalion 9308, Alon brigade (228), died yesterday from wounds received in a Hezbollah drone attack in northern Israel.
The Quotes of the Day
Quote 1:
“It seems that the current Israeli government is not convinced of the two-state solution.”
President Joe Biden speaking at the NATO meeting yesterday.
Well maybe Biden finally gets it. Our Israeli governments and people have been saying this for years but nobody in Washington among the Democrats was ever listening.
By the way, at the same press conference, Biden stumbled again saying that his vice-president, Donald Trump, would make a good president.
Quote 2:
“Without the work of the IDF and the power we exert in Gaza, we would not have achieved anything. The stronger and more aggressive the army works in Gaza, the more successful we will be in negotiations. We need to increase the pressure in Gaza. Without the clauses that the Prime Minister insists on, we will not be able to renew the war, we will not win, and we will not return all the abductees.”
David Barnea, head of Mossad in a closed meeting yesterday.
Of course Barnea is right about Netanyahu’s demands, but can you believe it? We finally have someone in the security hierarchy here supporting PM Netanyahu.
On the Ground in Gaza
Massive IDF and IAF attacks have taken place overnight with explosions heard all over southern and central Israel; a sample:
–Combat helicopters attacked west of Gaza City.
–8 terrorists were killed in a firefight in Khan Younis.
–Artillery fire targeted El Burriage, Zabra, Tel Alawa, central Rafah, the Alasra Towers north of Nuseirat.
–An IAF missile struck west of Rafah in the Al-Mawazi neighborhood.
Here at OneIsrael we get the distinct impression that the IDF has ramped up attacks in all areas in advance of a possible hostage deal–even though Israeli government officials led by PM Netanyahu insist that “wide gaps” remain.
On the Ground in the North
Hezbollah unleashed 5 barrages of missiles and explosive drones yesterday including the one that killed Maj. Chefonov.
On the Ground in Judea and Samaria
A funeral through the streets of Jenin last night (source: 301).
Armed PLO terrorists shot in the air and chanted calls for revenge and the murder of Jews at the funeral of the terrorist Ali Rabaya who was killed earlier yesterday.
The Long Awaited IDF Report On The Be’eri Massacre
IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari spoke for almost 20 minutes last night; this was how his report began:
“Today we began the process of presenting the military inquiries regarding the events of October 7th. On that day, the IDF failed in its mission to protect the civilians of Israel. We were not prepared for the murderous Hamas terror attack involving thousands of terrorists who infiltrated the country at dozens of points simultaneously and began a killing spree, massacre, and abduction in the southern communities and IDF military outposts.”
In short, without the above sugar-coating (“we were not prepared”), the report chronicles what we already knew: the IDF General Command and some of the commanders on the ground at Be’eri failed miserably on and before October 7.
The General Command had been operating since 2014 under the conception that Hamas was no threat at all, that their endless military drills along the fence were nothing to worry about, and that in any case, the technologically marvelous fence would protect Israelis against any threat. The General Command was so sure of these ideas that they completely ignored urgent warnings from our own observers on the ground on the days leading up to October 7.
Amazingly and extremely disconcertingly, the Army was notified of the massive breach of the fence as early as 6:30 am that day and the breaking in of the Be’eri Gate by 6:55 am, yet no IDF forces (except for a small contingent of Sheldag which entered Be’eri and then inexplicably left and stood by the Gate while the massacre was taking place) entered the kibbutz until after 1:30 pm—by which time 101 Be’eri residents had been slaughtered and 30 more taken hostage.
In short, they entered when the massacre was over.
During that time, there were only around 15-20 kibbutz security personnel to try to defend against up to 300 terrorists who stormed in–and the two kibbutz security leaders who had keys to the kibbutz armory were killed before they could unlock it.
The report also notes that not only did the Army personnel fail to defend those in the kibbutz, but also they failed to provide relief once they finally entered.
What the report does not address is why virtually all of those in the General Command who were involved in the egregious failure–from Chief of Staff Halevi on down are still in their positions.
You can read an English translation of Hagari’s entire comments here.
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.