DAY 177 OF THE GAZA WAR: Fighting Continues in Gaza, Two Terror Attacks in Israel, Demonstration in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

Tel Aviv Diary, March 31, 2024

On Friday in Khan Younis, a Hamas fighter launched an RPG at a building containing numerous Egoz elite IDF combat soldiers. The rocket strike led to the collapse of a wall within the structure, resulting in the death of Sergeant Major Alon Kudriashov (21) and Sergeant first-class Sivan Wail, as well as injuries to 15 other soldiers.

On Friday, Chief of Staff Hertzi Halevi visited Shifa Hospital, where fighting continued, and spoke about the operation's success under difficult circumstances.

Operations continued in Shifa Hospital over this weekend. The reconnaissance unit of the Nahal Brigade encountered and eliminated Hamas senior operatives Fadi Dweik and Zakaria Najib during a pursuit in the maternity ward of Shifa. The site also discovered a significant cache of weapons and a large quantity of ammunition.

According to the IDF and Shin Bet, Dweik was a high-ranking member of Hamas’s Intelligence division. In addition, Dweik was responsible for a terrorist shooting in the West Bank settlement of Adora in 2002, which resulted in the deaths of four civilians. Years later, as part of the 2011 Shalit deal between Israel and Hamas, Dweik was transferred to the Gaza Strip. In this agreement, Israel released 1,027 Palestinian prisoners who were convicted of terrorist offenses in exchange for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held captive.

Hamas commanders Mahmoud Khalil Zakzuk, Zakaria Najib, and Fadi Dweik were reportedly killed by IDF troops at Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital on March 30, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces).

On Sunday, an aerial attack targeted a command center of the Islamic Jihad located in the parking area of Al-Aqsa Hospital in the Dir al-Balah. The hospital itself sustained no damage.

IN THE NORTH

On Thursday night, the Air Force attacked and destroyed a major arms shipment en route to Aleppo, resulting in the deaths of several Hezbollah and Syrian operatives. On Friday morning, the Air Force assassinated Ali Abad Hassan Adin, the deputy head of Hezbollah’s rocket corps. In retaliation, Hezbollah escalated its rocket attacks on the North, striking areas such as Shlomi and Kiryat Shmonah.

Attacks continued over Saturday and Sunday, resulting in minor injuries to one Israeli soldier. On Sunday, the Air Force launched an attack on a vehicle in the Konin village area, in which terrorist Ismail Ali Alzin, a key operative in Hezbollah’s Radwan Force anti-tank missile unit, was located. Alzin was killed in the strike.

TERROR ATTACKS

This morning, an Arab Israeli from Rahat stabbed a soldier at the Beersheba bus station. The soldier was lightly wounded, and the attacker was killed.

Tonight, in a separate incident, a terrorist attack occurred in the city of Gan Yavneh (located southwest of Rechovot). Three people were stabbed and are in serious condition. As of now, the victims have been evacuated and rushed to a hospital for emergency medical care in an effort to save their lives. A policeman, together with a municipal enforcement officer, neutralized the terrorist, who originated from the Hebron area and once held an Israeli work permit that was no longer in effect.

DEMONSTRATIONS

Saturday night, the protests in Tel Aviv were particularly vigorous, with many of the hostage families joining the calls to replace Netanyahu now. This was the largest demonstration since the start of the war, fueled by growing anger over perceptions that Netanyahu has not been doing everything in his power to bring about a hostage release deal. A four-day series of demonstrations is set to commence tonight in Jerusalem, where up to 100,000 demonstrators rallied for both the return of the hostages and call for a new election.

Today, a delegation of Israeli negotiators flew to Cairo to try to negotiate a deal for a ceasefire as well as the release of the hostages.

RAMADAN

This past Friday, the third Friday of Ramadan, 125,000 Muslims prayed peacefully on the Temple Mount, marking the largest since the beginning of the war. Up to this point, Hamas's efforts to incite violence during Ramadan have been unsuccessful.

NETANYAHU

Prime Minister Netanyahu held a press conference tonight, during which he denied reports he was delaying a hostage deal. Rather, Netanyahu maintained it was Hamas who was delaying the deal. Netanyahu further attacked those calling for a new election, asserting that would “paralyze the country, bring an end to the war, [and] freeze the hostage negotiations, and the first to celebrate this will be Hamas.”

Ultra-Orthodox and the Draft

The ultra-Orthodox community has reacted with expected indignation to the Supreme Court's mandate to cease funding Yeshiva students who are eligible for military service, viewing the ruling as an assault on the Torah world. Despite the uproar, the Haredi parties are not expected to leave the coalition immediately. Starting April 1, all ultra-Orthodox youth men aged 18-26 will become draft-eligible, although there is no immediate plan actually to draft them. Nevertheless, the army is in pressing need of additional recruits.

Out of the 60,000 young men reaching the age of conscription this year, 17,000 belong to the ultra-Orthodox sector. While the army does not expect to draft the majority, it emphasizes the importance of initiating the process. The army has given an example of how a process of drafting ultra-Orthodox youth could begin — e.g. the enlistment of 500 ultra-Orthodox individuals, coupled with the establishment of a special Yeshiva near the Jordanian border, could eliminate the necessity of drafting thousands of reservists annually.

In a related development at a security cabinet meeting recently, it was reported that one of the ministers asked Chief of Staff Halevi, "How can we talk about absolute victory while at the same time thinning out forces in Gaza? Why are so many forces being withdrawn?”

Halevi, replied to the ministers:

I do not have enough brigades. Every reserve duty decision must consider developments in all arenas, especially in the northern arena. I would have been pleased if I had 2 or 3 more brigades in Khan Younis, but I don't. We will need to call up reserve soldiers sooner and will have to take this into account. I am managing this in a balanced and responsible manner.

On Sunday, the Attorney General warned other government ministers should not dare to transfer additional money to the Yeshivas to make up for the money the courts ordered by cut.

Additionally, the AG instructed the Army to start drafting Haredi men as of tomorrow (April 1).

LATEST OPINION POLLS

In an interesting poll conducted by Channel 13 regarding the opinions of Israelis, it appears that Netanyahu's message of “total victory” is not resonating effectively.

Israelis also feel pessimistic about the developments in the North.

Israelis think that Netanyahu is justified in his conflict with Biden.

However, a growing majority of Israelis favor holding new elections this year.

BUSINESS

Coro, the Israeli cybersecurity platform for small and medium-sized organizations, has announced a significant milestone today, securing $100 million in a Series-D financing round. This round was led by One Peak, with participation from existing investors such as Energy Impact Partners and Balderton Capital. This recent fundraising effort brings the total capital raised over the past two years to $255 million. Coro stands out as one of the fastest-growing cybersecurity firms in North America. Over the past year, it has significantly expanded its customer base across various industries, tripled its revenue for the fifth consecutive year, and has been recognized as a leading company by both Fortune Cyber 60 and Deloitte Technology Fast 500. The newly acquired funds are earmarked for broadening the company's marketing initiatives, research and development, and existing product lines, aiming to double sales annually in the forthcoming years

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A PIECE OF HISTORY

Operation Yoav

The Bernadotte plan had proposed that the Negev should be part of the Arab state, thus, making it evident that the only way to alter the plan required changing the facts on the ground. By the time the second truce came was implemented, most of the Negev was occupied by the Egyptians, with the exception of only a few isolated kibbutzim. During the truce, the Israeli army continued to expand. They also sent additional troops to reinforce the isolated settlements. In total, Yigal Allon, Commander of the Southern Front, had 30,000 fully equipped soldiers at his command, waiting for the opportune moment to deploy them.

On October 14th, 1948, Allon was granted that opportunity when the IDF received approval to resupply the settlements. When a convoy reached one of the settlements, an explosion occurred from a bomb previously planted by the IDF. This incident served as an excuse for the IDF to spring into action. With a significantly expanded Air Force, they launched immediate attacks on Egyptian positions, supply routes, and railway lines. Following the aerial strikes, the Army advanced up the coastal road towards Beit Hanoun.

However, this was not the main attack. The primary focus was the assault on the Egyptian fortifications at Iraq al-Manshiya. This was a fierce battle with numerous casualties on both sides, but the Israelis emerged victorious. On October 20th, the Israeli Army launched an attack on the heavily defended Huleiqat, which was the anchor of Egyptian forces in the Negev. Following its capture by the Israelis, the entire Negev region became accessible. Subsequently, Allon dispatched three brigades to Beersheva, which they swiftly conquered.

Before the UN Security Council could enforce another ceasefire, the Egyptians withdrew as many of their troops as they could by sea. During this operation, the IDF sunk two Egyptian Naval vessels, including their flagship, the Emir Farouk, which went down with 700 soldiers on board. When the hostilities finally came to a total halt, 3,000 Egyptian troops found themselves surrounded in the Faluja pocket.