Yom Reva’ee
Wednesday
8 Tevet 5784
December 20 2023
UPDATE 10:00 PM
134 IDF soldiers have now fallen in the war in Gaza against HamISIS.
Announced today:
Master Sgt. (res.) Uriel Cohen, 33, from Tzur Hadassah, commander in the Administrative Assistance Unit, Givati Brigade, and fell in battle in southern Gaza.
Capt. (res.) Lior Sivan, 32, from Beit Shemesh, combat officer in the 363rd battalion, the 10th ‘Harel’ Brigade, and fell in battle in southern Gaza. As an added detail, Lior’s pregnant wife is expected to give birth to their second child this week.
May the memories of these brave soldiers always be for a blessing.
The hospital where most IDF wounded are first taken is Soroka Hospital in Beersheva. During the last 24 hours, 22 casualties were evacuated to Soroka by 3 helicopters and by mounted evacuation, 3 in serious condition. Currently, 50 wounded are hospitalized in the various wards, 14 of them in serious condition.
More Good News From the IDF Spokesman in the Last Hour
“IDF forces have completed the takeover of Hamas’ “Senior Quarter” in the center of Gaza City. From this space in the Palestine Square area, the governmental and military leadership of Hamas operated and was conducted. The complex includes a branching network of tunnels connecting hideout apartments, bureaus, offices and living apartments of the senior military wing and the Politician of the terrorist organization Hamas. This complex above and below the ground is a security control center of the Politician military arm of Hamas.
In recent weeks, the forces of the combat team of the 401st Brigade of the 162nd Division fought together with the forces of the Sheldag Unit, the 13th Fleet and the Helam in the area of the Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City, where Palestine Square is located. Combat team fighters began a combined and coordinated attack on the Palestine Square area and gained operational control over it. In recent days, the takeover of the area was completed.
In the battles that took place as part of this takeover, the forces eliminated approximately 600 terrorists from the ground and from the air. Palestine Square, which is a center of terrorism, is a military governing center of the terrorist organization Hamas and is surrounded by buildings that serve as command and control centers, tunnel shafts and strategic buildings of the organization.“
Combined with the news from yesterday that the IDF now has “operational control” over Jabaliya and the scene of destruction in Shujayieh that we posted in a previous update, the progress of the IDF has been remarkable given the fact that we are fighting in what is probably the most difficult urban warfare location in the world.
More Good News
It has now been nearly 30 hours since any missile or mortar has been fired out of Gaza. This is not to say that we won’t be hit by barrages tomorrow, but it is to say that our soldiers and IAF are doing a spectacular job taking out launch sites.
It should be pointed out that that there were 3 missile attacks on the Lebanese border today: Masade (19:20); Shomera (17:00); and Ma’alot Tarshicha (16:56). Also 6 missiles fired from Syria hit open spaces in the Golan Heights.
UPDATE 12:00 PM
*Another white flag incident in Gaza: this time 4 of our soldiers approached a man waving a white flag. When they drew near, he pulled out a gun and shot all four, seriously wounding them. No other details of this incident have been revealed by the IDF.
*A Palestinian terrorist tried to run over our soldiers at the Beit Anon Junction north of Kiryat Arba this morning. No soldiers were wounded; the terrorist was shot and killed.
*Insanity: apparently, the COGAT unit of the IDF–with no approval from the government has decided to allow almost 8,000 Palestinians to work in Judea and Samaria. This is nothing but a recipe for disaster and further evidence that the IDF simply does not learn from its mistakes.
*After 75 days of nonstop combat, 3 paratrooper battalions–the 101st, 202nd, and GDSAR, left for home on their first R&R since the war started.
UPDATE 8:00 AM
95-year-old Ezra Yachin, the oldest soldier in the IDF reserves. He began his 80 year service as a member of the Lehi underground in the 1948 War for Independence.
Yachin was interviewed last night on Israeli television. His words of wisdom are instructive to everyone:
“The War of Independence is not over, we achieved independence but the war is not over.
“. . . Our politicians stopped us on the way with the assumption that if we give the Palestinians parts of Israel, we will calm their pain and they will think that we are good for them, and then there will be peace.
“That’s what we thought then, that’s why we gave them territory so that they wouldn’t feel pain.
“We gave them Gaza so that they wouldn’t feel pain.
“We gave them Jericho and the Oslo Accords so that they wouldn’t feel pain.
“We gave them Hevron and the Y agreement so that they wouldn’t feel pain.
“We destroyed the entire Gush Katif block [in northern Gaza], destroyed the homes of ten thousand Jews and threw them to the dogs so that the Palestinians wouldn’t feel pain.
“And we see the results.
“We need to understand what hurts the Palestinians is that we are alive. They can’t bear to see us alive, that’s the only thing that hurts them.
Our politicians have to understand that.”
Ezra Yachin is exactly correct. They only thing that will make the Palestinians happy is the elimination of Israel and the murder of every Jew everywhere.
Overnight and This Morning on the Ground
Captain (res.) Lior Sivan, 32 years old, from Beit Shemesh, a combat officer in the 363rd battalion, the ‘Harel’ brigade, died in a battle in southern Gaza.
May his memory be for a blessing.
Two IDF reservists were moderately wounded last night as a result of shooting at an IDF post on the Lebanese border the Malkiya area (21:55).
The IDF Spokesman: “During the night, the IDF attacked terrorist targets from the air and the ground in the heart of Gaza City, in the Shejayieh neighborhood and in southern Gaza. The IDF attacked terrorist targets in the western part of the city of Khan Yunis. A short time ago the Air Force attacked terrorist targets in Jabaliya.”
In Judea and Samaria, the IDF is carrying out extensive operations this morning in Beit Omer, Tubas, the Aida neighborhood in Bethlehem, Silwad (beside Ramallah), Beit Dejan near Shechem, Luban a-Sharqiya, Asira Al Kabaliya, and Kfar Al-Dich.
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.