DAY 173 OF THE GAZA WAR: Fighting Continues in Gaza, US Public Support for Gaza Operations Drops, Temple Mount

Tel Aviv Diary, March 27, 2024

I will have to delay this week’s zoom until next week. However, I will be speaking at WJC in Mamaroneck on Wed April 3rd, at 8 PM and Young Israel of Hillcrest on Monday, April 8th, at 8 PM

IN THE NORTH

This morning, Hezbollah launched 30 rockets at Kiryat Shmonah. The majority were intercepted by Iron Dome system, however, three managed to strike the town. One rocket hit a factory that was still operating, resulting in the death of a 25-year-old Druze worker.

This attack followed an Israeli attack on a “military building” in Habbariyeh, which eliminated a key figure from the al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya terrorist group. A number of other buildings in Kiryat Shmonah sustained damage. Later in the evening, an Israeli offensive hit a target in southern Lebanon, resulting in multiple Lebanese casualties.

IN GAZA

Combat continues inside Shifa Hospital complex, as terrorists are still hiding there.  The same is the case at Amal Hospital in Khan Younis.

Here’s the latest update from the IDF Spokesman:

IDF and Shin Bet forces continue their focused combat in the area of Shifa Hospital. Combat teams from the 401 Brigade, the Nahal Brigade, and the Shayetet 13 forces under the command of Division 162 are fighting in the area, avoiding harm to civilians, patients, medical teams, and medical equipment. During the last day, the fighters eliminated dozens of terrorists and located terror infrastructures and means of warfare in the hospital area. So far, hundreds of terrorists affiliated with the organizations operating in the Gaza Strip have been arrested in the hospital complex, and dozens have been killed.

IDF and Shin Bet forces, led by Division 98, continue to fight in the areas of Al Amal and Al Qarara. Over the course of the last day, the troops have killed terrorists and located means of warfare in the Al Amal area.

Fighters from the 7th Brigade's combat team killed three terrorists in the last day. An aircraft attacked and killed two additional terrorists who approached the forces armed with RPG missiles.

Combat teams of the Commando Brigade and the Givati Brigade continue to operate in the Al Amal area in Khan Younis, killing several terrorists in cooperation with the Air Force. During a raid on terror infrastructures in the region, the fighters located means of warfare, including magazines, launchers, Kalashnikov-type weapons, and grenades.

NISSIM KACHLON

This evening it was announced that Staff Sergeant Nisim Kachlon (21) was killed in combat at Al Amal Hospital.

WEST BANK

Last night, the IDF conducted an aerial strike in Jenin, killing three terrorists.

ULTRA-ORTHODOX DRAFT

I could write extensively on the subject of ultra-Orthodox draft, delving into various speculations currently swirling around Israel — including the possibility of a call for an immediate election. However, that would be mere conjecture, and clarity is expected by tomorrow.

Presently, there has been no consensus between the ultra-Orthodox factions and Netanyahu on a new legislative proposal. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has refused to represent the government in the Supreme Court tomorrow, neither to provide a response nor to seek a postponement. In her statement tonight, Baharav-Miara wrote that the government’s current plan lacks the necessary basic staff work and fails to demonstrate how it will increase the draft of ultra-Orthodox individuals. Stay tuned for more concrete updates by tomorrow evening. At 23:45 Israel time the Attorney General asked for a delay until tomorrow afternoon to give an answer to the court, It was due tonight by midnight.

GALLUP POLL

A set of recently released Gallup polls present several quite troubling findings. The polls reveal a substantial decline in support for Israel's military action since November. Contrary to what Prime Minister Netanyahu claims, the majority of Americans now oppose Israeli military action.

Those who closely follow the combat tend to support Israel's actions more than those who are not following it.

Currently, Republicans are the only group backing Israel’s actions, although their support has waned over the past four months.

You might wonder why are the results of this Gallup poll differ significantly from the Harvard/Harris Poll. For insights into the credibility of the Harvard/Harris polls, refer to the critique presented in the Harvard Crimson.

https://www.thecrimson.com/column/forging-harvards-future/article/2024/3/26/bodnick-/

TEMPLE MOUNT

The following article, originally written in Hebrew for Ynet by a close friend, delves into his area of expertise: the Temple Mount.

BETTER TO BE WISE THAN TO BE RIGHT— The Temple Mount in the Eye of the Storm

by Prof. Yitzhak Reiter, Pres. of the Israeli Association for the Study of the Middle East & Islam

Although the first two Fridays of Ramadan indeed passed relatively quietly, it still doesn't predict anything about what's to come. Everyone is now focused on the issue of returning the hostages, but this tension could return as soon as next Friday and may even intensify in the coming weeks. Especially since it does not appear Hamas has abandoned its plan to set the entire Middle East ablaze with the claim of harm to Al-Aqsa.

The use of religious symbols is not new in the Jewish-Arab conflict. In the 1920s, the Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini used an incident at the Western Wall to claim that the Jews wanted to take over the Temple Mount and rebuild the Temple. His goal was to enlist the entire Muslim world into the Palestinians' struggle in the name of religious values. Just like then, the same is the case now.