Monday
Yom Shnee
6 Tevet 5785
January 6 2025
BREAKING NEWS (9:45 AM)
Palestinian terrorists in a vehicle opened fire minutes ago on an Israeli bus and a car between Karnei Shomron and Kedumim in Samaria. 3 Israelis were murdered–2 women in their 60s and a man in his 40s–and 6 more were evacuated (1 critical, 1 serious, 4 moderate). The terrorists escaped.
BREAKING NEWS (9:30 AM)
The Saudi Al-Sharq channel published from Hamas sources this morning the 34 Israeli hostages which Hamas has agreed to release in the first phase of a hostage/ceasefire agreement. We should take this with a grain of salt because Hamas does not specify who is alive and who is dead. On top of this, PM Netanyahu’s office says that Hamas has not given Israel such a list (apologies for the blurriness):
Notable on the list are the members of the Bibas family– Kfir (1), Ariel (5), and Yarden (35)– whom Hamas announced months ago are dead.
Update 10:00 am: PM Netanyahu has announced that this is the list that Israel gave to Hamas in July–not one that Hamas came up with itself.
UPDATE 9:00 AM ISRAEL TIME
The View from Ashdod and on the Ground in Gaza
We had a relatively quiet night here in Ashdod as the IDF/IAF turned to striking small groups and individual terrorists in Gaza.
From the IDF spokesman:
“The IAF conducted an intelligence-based strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating in a command and control center in the Humanitarian Area in Khan Yunis. The command and control center was used by the Hamas terrorists to plan and execute attacks against IDF troops.
Additionally, an IAF aircraft struck an Islamic Jihad terrorist who executed terrorist attacks from the Humanitarian Area in Dier al-Balah.”
And another announcement:
“Sa’ed Saeed Zaki Dahnoun, a company commander for Palestinian Islamic Jihad and deputy head of the group’s rocket division in northern Gaza, was killed by IDF troops during close-quarter combat operations in Jabaliya.
Dahnoun, who infiltrated Israel and participated in the October 7, 2023, attack, was also linked to multiple assaults on IDF forces in the Beit Lahiya area.”
*It was revealed yesterday that 60 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists, who were captured at the “Kamal Adwan” hospital in Gaza last week have outrageously been brought for medical treatment in hospitals in Israel.
On the Egyptian Front
Three reports concerning our neighbors today:
1. The IDF has become aware that contrary to the peace agreement with Egypt, the Egyptian army has been busy constructing armored obstacles in central Sinai–and apparently engaging in other logistic preparations.
2. The IDF has discovered more than ten more tunnels in the Rafah area along the Gaza-Egyptian border. Some of the tunnels are more than two dozen meters deep and extend deeply into the Sinai.
3. The Egyptians indicated yesterday that they may be ready to attack the Houthis in Yemen because Houthi attacks on shipping in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea have resulted in a significant loss of income due to fewer toll-paying ships passing through the Suez Canal.
On the Ground in Israel
*Highway 1 was closed down early this morning as special forces intercepted terrorists near the Latrun Junction. There is no further information at this time:
*There has been endless complaining in Israel over the fact that the ultra-orthodox are not doing their fair share of national service–especially when it comes to enlisting in the IDF.
Yesterday came the dramatic announcement that the first 150 ultra-orthodox have been recruited and will form the basis of a new ultra-orthodox Hahashmonaim Brigade. They will begin infantry training immediately.
According to the IDF:
“The recruits enlisted today mark the initial step in establishing the ultra-orthodox brigade, a significant milestone in expanding the service of the ultra-orthodox sector in the IDF, particularly in light of the operational needs arising from the demands of the war.
In preparation for the brigade’s establishment, an extensive preparation process was undertaken, which included identifying and training personnel, adapting policies, renovating the training base, and adjusting it to accommodate the ultra-orthodox way of life.
Throughout the day, additional enlistments of ultra-orthodox pre-recruits are taking place for various other tracks that have been established to facilitate their integration into the IDF.”
The Initial Report on October 7
The intelligence community has published its first report on what happened 15 months ago on October 7. The astonishing findings:
“Approximately 6,000 terrorists infiltrated, 3 main waves, at least 114 breaches.
Approximately 1,400 were eliminated, most of them from the air, 200 were captured.
40 terrorists in 5 boats infiltrated from the sea, 2 boats were stopped by the navy, 3 (the majority) arrived at the Zikim beach and committed a massacre.
8 paragliders, each carrying a terrorist, took off for the encirclement: 1 fell in Gaza territory, 3 from the north landed on the Enrichment Road and murdered 20 residents, and 4 more infiltrated from the center of the Gaza Strip into the village of Gaza and joined the terrorists who infiltrated from the ground.
Hamas also launched 30 drones, which, among other things, severely damaged the Roa Yora observation system.
About 4,500 rockets and mortar shells were fired at Israel. There were two strategic locations that Hamas targeted the most: the military outposts in the Gaza Envelope and the air force bases – Nevatim, Ramon, Palmachim and Tzerim. Another air force base that was targeted, specifically from the ground, was Tel Nof.
Hamas had a well-organized plan; after the terrorists took control of the roads in the first two waves, in the third wave the Nuhva Company with 10 vans would rush towards the Tel Nof base. The goal – to capture the base. However, the terrorists in the vans were eliminated by a UAV in Black Arrow, and a map of the base was found on the body of one of them.
The ones who led the raid on the ground were Hamas’ junior commanders – 15 companies of the Nuhavot and several battalion commanders. Not even a single battalion commander crossed the fence. The middle and senior command managed matters from within the Strip. The battalion that brought the most terrorists to Israel was the Nusirat Battalion, the one that carried out the massacre at the NOVA party and at Kibbutz Be’eri.”
What is astonishing about this is that Israel apparently had no inkling about what Hamas had been planning for years–and no plan in hand to counter such an attack. What a disastrous intelligence and military failure.
And so it goes in Israel this morning . . . so far . . .
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.