DAY 229 OF THE WAR: Israelis Shaken by Newly Released Video, Three Soldiers Killed in Gaza, Government Overreacts to Recognition of Palestine

Tel Aviv Diary, May 22, 2024

Today’s diary entry has been exceptionally difficult to write. I am drafting this update after viewing the video just released by the hostage families of the young female soldiers’ capture. You can see the 3-minute, 10-second clip below. It’s unbearable to watch. For those of us just starting to recover from the post-trauma of October, this video has thrust us all back into deep distress. If these young women soldiers were not hostages, I would be in favor of relentless fighting until every last member of Hamas was eradicated. But that’s not the case.

Even before seeing the kidnapping footage, there was an overwhelming sense that we were plummeting into free fall. The setbacks just keep mounting. As I was writing the paragraph above, news was released that we lost three soldiers today in Beit Hanoun in Northern Gaza, a place that the Army has entered several times.

A little perspective… The video documenting the abduction of the women soldiers was discovered and seized by the Army in Gaza over a month ago. It had since been shown to the families of those soldiers. With negotiations now at a complete standstill, the families decided to allow the edited portion of the video to be distributed widely. There was a brief discussion tonight of all nights, on TV about whether Israeli broadcasters are neglecting their journalistic duties by not showing some of the widespread suffering in Gaza. This question presents a very difficult dilemma. I believe it is difficult for the world to grasp the extent of the trauma the events of October 7th, coupled with our profound failures in conducting this war, have caused most Israelis.

I am reminded of the statement attributed to Golda Meir:

We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children, but we can never forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.

It's been at least 50 years since Golda Meir made this statement. While thankfully, we have made peace with some of our Arab neighbors, we have made no progress with a significant segment of the Palestinians. With them, we appear to be trapped in an endless cycle of severe violence.

GAZA

Combat in Gaza remains intense. Israel now has more troops inside Gaza than at any time since January. The largest number of soldiers are currently fighting in the Rafah area. At this point, Israel is said to control 70% of the Philadelphia Corridor along the border with Egypt. The expectation is that Israeli troops will reach the sea soon. The army is planning to install a deep fence similar to the one we have along our border between Israel and Gaza to stop the smuggling into Gaza from Egypt. I am skeptical about the feasibility of this plan, given that Rafah has been divided for over 100 years between Rafah, Egypt, and Rafah, Gaza, and smuggling has been a lucrative business for nearly as long.

Fighting continues in Jabaliya. IDF Troops returned to Beit Hanoun, one of the first places we attacked in the ground operation. The following three soldiers were killed in combat today in Beit Hanoun: Master Sgt. (res.) Gideon Chay DeRowe (33), of the Combat Engineering Corps’ elite Yahalom unit from Tel Aviv; Cpt. Israel Yudkin (22), an officer in the Kfir Brigade’s Netzah Yehudah Battalion from Kfar Chabad, and Staff Sgt. Eliyahu Haim Emsallem (21) of the Kfir Brigade’s Netzah Yehuda Battalion from Ra’anana. A sniper murdered Yudkin and Emsallem, while DeRowe was killed by an explosive device.

The Army released the following description of combat today in Gaza: