DAY 222 OF THE WAR: Heavy Fighting With Casualties in the North and Gaza, Gallant Publicly Confronts Netanyahu, Tel Aviv's Soaring Skyscrapers

Tel Aviv Diary May 15, 2024

It has been a difficult few days in Israel, marked by what was undoubtedly the saddest Yom Ha’atzmaut in our history by far. This Yom Ha’atzmaut wasn’t just sad; it was a day marred by intense fighting in both the North and the South. But I’ll get back to that shortly.

The main headline tonight in Israel was Defense Minister Gallant’s speech, in which he called on Prime Minister Netanyahu to clearly state that Israel does not intend to reoccupy Gaza— warning that doing so would be a disaster for both the Army and the country. Gallant also stressed the importance of developing a plan for “the day after.” Moreover, Gallant stated that before the ground attack, he had emphasized the necessity for such a plan, which the government repeatedly refused to discuss. Gallant also declared that he would not support the new draft plan that Netanyahu is advocating (but I will write about that in-depth tomorrow).

Gallant’s speech followed the first public statement in which the IDF Spokesman mentioned that “having an alternative governing body to Hamas would help, but that is a political matter.” Prime Minister Netanyahu immediately issued a statement asserting that there can be no plan for “the day after” until Hamas is totally defeated, which has not happened yet.

Tonight, several ministers are urging Netanyahu to fire Gallant. While it is possible that he will do so, the prevailing sense is that he will not. However, Netanyahu is not likely to address Gallant’s demand to provide a plan for “the day after.” Tonight, Netanyahu already issued an initial response, saying he will not allow “Hamas-stan” to be replaced by “Fatahstan” in Gaza.

As I have already written numerous times, Netanyahu cannot entertain any real discussion regarding any plan for “the day after” in Gaza because his ultra-right-wing ministers believe in resettling Gaza— and no other plan would be acceptable to them. Consequently, we are now more than seven months into a war, with no plan on how to end it.

IN THE NORTH

Yesterday, there were four separate barrages on targets along the Northern border. When a missile was fired at Adamit, three soldiers were wounded. A civilian, Elad Fingerhut (38), a father of three, went to help them, but Hezbollah fired another missile, killing him. In the evening, the IDF responded by killing Hussain Ibrahim Mekky, a senior field commander of Hezbollah, while he was in a car in near Tyre, in Southern Lebanon.

This morning, Hezbollah responded with a massive barrage of 60 rockets targeting parts of the borders, including the Mt. Meron Air Force radar station. This evening, a suicide drone managed to evade Israel’s air defenses and exploded at the Golani Junction, located 50 km south of the border.

IN THE SOUTH

The situation was not much better in the South. Yesterday, there were barrages of rockets launched at both Ashkelon and Sderot. The attack on Sderot occurred during a political rally advocating for the resettlement of Gaza.

Today, there were three separate rocket barrages aimed at Sderot. One rocket evaded Iron Dome and struck a building in the town. Fortunately, the building was still under construction, and no one was inside. The Army explained that Hamas was firing the rockets because Israeli troops were advancing into the Jabaliya camp, targeting locations where the rockets were stored. So, it was a case of either "use it or lose it."

Meanwhile, intense fighting continues in both the Jabaliya area and Rafah, where Israeli troops have been extending their operations. Yesterday, Sergeant Ira Yair Gispan (19) was killed fighting in Rafah. Regrettably, the civilian Liron Yitzhak (30), who had been seriously wounded yesterday in Kerem Shalom, succumbed to his injuries. Yitzhak had planned to get married in two weeks. Earlier today, the Army announced that a paratrooper officer was severely wounded in the fighting in Jabaliya. The battle in Jabaliya is ongoing, and I fear we will receive more bad news tomorrow morning.

An Israeli delegation traveled to Egypt today to attempt to address the deterioration of our relations with Egypt due to our actions in Rafah. The Egyptians are angry that we moved so quickly and did not coordinate our actions with them.

The Egyptians have joined the South African petition to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to demand an immediate end to the war—this request in furtherance of South Africa’s earlier demand which was turned down. The ICJ is scheduled to convene tomorrow, leaving Israel no time to prepare. The current President of the ICJ is a Lebanese.

IDF SPOKESMAN’S REPORT

Below is the Army Spokesman’s account of fighting in Gaza earlier today:

Division 98 began operations last night in the heart of the Jabaliya camp: The forces, in collaboration with the Air Force, closed in on the terrorist cell responsible for launching rockets at Sderot yesterday; simultaneously, Division 162 continues its activities in eastern Rafah.