DAY 153 OF THE GAZA WAR: Five Months of War; Where Are We? INNS Conference, Biltmore Conference

Tel Aviv Diary, March 7, 2024

FIVE MONTHS SINCE OCTOBER 7TH

Today marks exactly five months since the start of the current Gaza war, a moment for reflection on our current position. The events that transpired on October 7th were profoundly horrific and utterly devastating. On that day, the failures and shortcomings of both the government, as well as the IDF have inflicted deep wounds that will take years to heal.

While each of us may have our own theories for what went wrong, it is only now, five months later, that the Army has begun its own internal investigation to identify the factors that contributed to our disastrous lack of preparedness. It took the military apparatus a few days to fully regain control of our territory, as tens of thousands of reservists began streaming to both the Gaza border and our Northern border, as there were fears of a coordinated attack.

Once the Army secured our border, the next step was to begin operations inside Gaza. Despite the extreme caution regarding the Army’s lack of preparedness expressed by a few former generals, once we launched our attack, IDF forces rapidly took control of most of Northern Gaza, including Gaza City — which was cleared of Hamas in less than three weeks. Our swift and decisive actions in Northern Gaza undoubtedly prompted Hamas to enter into the first hostage agreement, which led to the release of most of the women and children they had taken captive. However, when Hamas failed to uphold their side of the agreement regarding who was being released — for whatever reason — the ceasefire and the release of hostages came to an abrupt end. Our leaders stated that intensifying pressure on Hamas would lead to a more favorable deal.

That was three months ago. When the fighting resumed, we made the only one genuinely surprising tactical move— we rapidly advanced into Khan Younis. However, we did not surround Khan Younis, we just slowly took control of the city … so slowly, that I am confident that Hamas had plenty of time to smuggle out any high-value targets, including our hostages.

Since then, we have dedicated nearly three full months gaining control of a city that is only a quarter the size of Gaza City, and comparable in size to the NY suburb of Scarsdale. Indeed, the presence of underground tunnels complicates the operation, and takes significantly more time. However, we have also released almost all our reserve troops, which limits our available forces. For much of the last three months, military commentators have repeatedly suggested it would take “just another few days until we complete our operation in Khan Younis.” Yet tonight, the commentators reported it will take “a few more days to fully secure Khan Younis’ Hemed neighborhood.

For three months, it seems our forces were involved in a fruitless chase after an illusory victory, aiming to capture or eliminate Yahya Sinwar, who is probably long gone. In the meantime, we have not effectively dealt with the Hamas forces in the Central Camps, nor in Rafah. Today, Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has yet to accept responsibility for the tragic failures of October 7th, asserted that those who oppose our incursion into Rafah, essentially want us to lose the war.

However, the truth is, we lost the war on October 7th. The reality is we created an almost impossible situation by driving Gaza’s population southward to Rafah — without a clear strategy of how to move the million refugees out of Rafah. Most troubling, it seems that Hamas is in no rush to negotiate a hostage deal, leaving 134 hostages, whether dead or alive, under the brutal control of Hamas. While the situation could still change at the last moment, such an outcome seems doubtful.

And — if all this was not bad enough, it appears we’ve been failing to grasp that we’re engaged in a multidimensional war: one on the battlefield, another in cyberspace, and a third on TV screens. While we have an excellent Army Spokesman’s office, doing commendable work, they’re limited by the resources at their disposal. Our decision-makers all seem to lack an understanding of how our actions, though justified, impact our global image, even among our friends.

I am uncertain about the actual extent of a hunger problem in Gaza, given that 267 trucks carrying food and equipment entered the area, today alone. Yet, that fact seems to hold little weight, as the prevailing perception is that a hunger crisis is indeed occurring. That perception, coupled with the Israeli government’s inability to address the problem meaningfully, has led to the absurd announcement this evening from the U.S, that U.S. forces will construct a temporary harbor to facilitate food deliveries by sea.

Given Hamas’s continued presence, It is impossible to confirm the actual effectiveness of the distribution of food and resources that we’ve sent into Gaza. We will never change the minds of our steadfast haters. I am convinced there are large numbers of people who might not hate us, but who are troubled by our conduct in this war — both our actions and inaction that is beginning to fray our most important relationship, the United States.

Meanwhile … more than 80,000 Israelis from communities along the Northern Border are residing in hotels, as their homes face daily bombardment by rockets and missiles from Hezbollah. While we talk about deadlines for reaching a negotiated deal, the reality is that until the war in Gaza comes to an end, Hezbollah will continue to fire on the North, and the Houthis will continue to disrupt the sea lanes in the South.

TODAY IN GAZA

The Army continued combat in Khan Younis, primarily in the Hemed neighborhood. Here is the statement released by the Army Spokesman's office today:

The combat team of Brigade 7 continued over the last day in raids on several terror infrastructures in the Hemed neighborhood of Khan Younis, discovering a warehouse used for the production of weaponry, explosives, and military equipment. Additionally, the forces identified and destroyed command centers belonging to terror organizations in the Gaza Strip.

Commando unit fighters continued their raids and scans of buildings in the neighborhood, finding weapons and eliminating a number of terrorists.

During an attack in the Al-Qarara area, the combat team of the Light Infantry Brigade (828) identified six armed terrorists entering a military building with a launch pad. A fighter jet attacked and eliminated the terrorists.

In another operation by the fighters in western Khan Younis, an armed terrorist with an RPG entering a building with an underground infrastructure was identified. A fighter jet eliminated the terrorist.

In the central Gaza Strip, the combat team of the Nahal Brigade eliminated about ten terrorists over the last day. In one of the attacks, a terrorist cell was spotted loading military equipment onto a vehicle near our forces. An aircraft attacked the vehicle, destroyed the equipment, and eliminated several terrorists. Secondary explosions were observed after the attack, indicating the presence of weaponry in the vehicle.

In another attack, forces on the ground identified a moving terrorist cell in their sector. The forces directed a remotely piloted aircraft to the location, which attacked and eliminated the terrorists.

Institute for National Security Studies (INNS)

Today was the annual conference of the INNS (Institute for National Security Studies). Here are some highlights from the presentations:

Tamir Pardo (Former Mossad Head):

The thought that it’s possible to conduct a military campaign against a terror organization as one conducts a military campaign against an organized country is folly…From the moment the war started, Israel made every possible mistake.

Tzipi Livni (Former Foreign Minister, Justice Minister)

Unfortunately, there is an American president who makes the right decisions for Israel’s security, despite the political prices he pays, and a prime minister in Israel who is unwilling to make decisions in favor of Israel’s security because of the political prices he may pay. The coming weeks will decide whether the war is just for the heavy prices we have paid … Precisely now, following the military achievements of the war and the Saudi aspect, there is a historic opportunity that should not be missed.

Nadav Argamon (Former head of the Shin Bet)

Sinwar is still alive because the State of Israel has decided that it does not want to go on an adventure in the Gaza Strip. The bottom line is that the State of Israel has chosen to become addicted to silence.

In my opinion, Hamas was never deterred. I knew that Hamas was not deterred because of the intelligence I saw—an organization that is deterred does not continue to perpetrate terrorism in the West Bank and strengthen the forces in the Gaza Strip.

Finally I will say that I am still optimistic. One, because there is no other choice, and two, because the people of Israel deserve to have another place. First and foremost, we must replace this disastrous government. We have no other choice, because otherwise there is no room for my optimism. This government is the main failure, and it is what prevents us from creating a future in the Gaza Strip. It is the one that prevents us from creating a coalition led by the United States with the participation of the Sunni countries and to act against Iran.

BUSINESS

Claroty  a security firm raised $100 million in its sixth funding round, which investors close to the company have defined as a “pre-IPO round.” The funding reflects an increase in the company's value—a rare achievement for any company these days—with its valuation slightly exceeding $2 billion, approaching the $2.5 billion mark—a detail the company refused to confirm. Claroty also revealed that last year it crossed an annual revenue rate of $100 million, but did not disclose the accounting revenue figure, which is lower. The annual revenue rate is a term that provides entrepreneurs and investors with an idea of the company's growth rate over short periods.

The new round was led by Delta-V Capital, and included participation from Toshiba, Standard, AllianceBernstein, and A.B. Private Credit. The funding also includes a debt component from First Citizens Bank, which inherited the holdings of the bankrupt Silicon Valley Bank.

Sweet Security unveils its Series-A funding round of $33 million. The round was led by Evolution Equity Partners, with participation from Munich Re Ventures and Glilot Capital Partners, which led the company's seed round. The company's seed round was announced just six months ago, and it included participation from Gerhard Eschelbeck, former CISO of Google, and Travis McPeak, who was responsible for product security at Databricks.

Traditionally, cloud security products focused on the security of development environments and cloud configurations, user permissions, compliance with public cloud infrastructure practices, and more. However, according to Sweet Security, cloud attacks can only be stopped during runtime; therefore, they aim to provide security teams with the tools they need to protect the cloud in real-time. Their system can prevent, detect, and stop cloud attacks in real time, giving security, SOC, and IR teams direct access to what's happening in their cloud, a privilege that was mainly reserved for development teams.

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A PIECE OF HISTORY

The Biltmore Conference

May 10, 1942, was Mother's Day. On that day, 600 men and women gathered in the ballroom of the Biltmore Hotel. The Biltmore, built in 1913 alongside Grand Central Station, was filled that day with delegates from all the Zionist organizations. Attending were both the aging head of the World Zionist Organization, Chaim Weizmann, and the younger David Ben-Gurion, who led the Jewish Agency and represented the Jews of Palestine. Weizmann and Ben-Gurion represented two different approaches to achieving a Jewish homeland.

Weizmann believed in working with Great Britain, an approach that had resulted 25 years earlier in the issuance of the Balfour Declaration. Ben-Gurion advocated for a more activist approach of both confronting England and building the basis of a future state. When World War II broke out, Ben-Gurion stated, “We shall oppose the White Paper as if there was no Hitler, and we shall oppose Hitler as if there was no White Paper.” After the issuance of the White Paper by Great Britain, even Weizmann had to admit that his approach had not worked.

Going into the conference, American Zionists were also split as to what approach to take. Most were in favor of a Jewish homeland as a refuge, but as the implications of World War II became understood, that began to change. Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, a leader of American Zionism, in January 1941 became the first American Zionist leader to openly call for the establishment of a Jewish state. The conference opened with a fiery speech by Rabbi Stephen Wise, who stated,

This nationwide emergency Zionist Conference has been assembled in order that unity may come to obtain in the councils of the Zionist Movement. We are meeting together so that all American Zionists, irrespective of party sectarianism, undivided in resolution, may be enabled to win over an ever larger number of American Jews, indeed all American Jews, to support the Zionist cause.

But what was the goal of the Zionist cause? Ben Gurion knew what he wanted. He stated that “Zionism in Action means nation-building, state building. The Yishuv would bear the brunt of the effort but the Jews in Palestine would be supported by their brethren all over the world. It will redeem forever our suffering and do justice to our national genius, It will be pride of every Jew in the diaspora and command the respect of every people on earth.”

Extraordinary Zionist Conference at the Biltmore Hotel, New York, May 1942, which recommended an end to the British Mandate and the establishment of a Jewish commonwealth in Palestine. Among those present were: (1) Israel Goldstein, 2) Louis Levin-thal, 3) David Wertheim, 4) Louis Lipsky, 5) Meyer Weisgal, 6) Stephen S. Wise, 7) Chaim Weizmann, 8) David Ben-Gurion, 9) Nahum Goldmann, 10) Tamar De Sola Pool, 11) Abba Hillel Silver, 12) Devorah Rothbart, 13) Hirsch Ehrenreich, 14) Isaac Naiditsch. Courtesy Zionist Archives, New York.

The conference ended with a ringing endorsement of Ben Gurion’s vision. In a resolution that became known as the Biltmore Resolution, it stated that “the gates of Palestine be opened; that the Jewish Agency be vested with control over immigration into Palestine and the necessary authority for upbuilding the country, including the development of its uncultivated lands; and that Palestine be established as a Jewish commonwealth integrated in the structure of the new democratic world. Then and only then will the age-old wrongs of Jewish people be righted.”