DAY 26 OF THE GAZA WAR: IDF Suffers Casualties as Rocket Attacks Decrease, Economic Concerns Mount

Tel Aviv Diary, November 1, 2023

Unfortunately, my fears were correct. When I saw the helicopter land on Ichilov Hospital yesterday, I felt certain there were critically wounded soldiers on board. One soldier was pronounced dead shortly after arrival, and the second soldier is currently fighting for his life, connected to a heart-lung machine.

The two wounded warriors were among the 13 soldiers from the elite Givati Brigade killed yesterday when a missile penetrated their highly armored troop carrier. It appears a Hamas missile detonated ordnances stored in the carrier, killing all of the carrier’s occupants. According to the IDF spokesman, scores of RPGs and Kornet missiles have been fired at other IDF armored vehicles, causing little or no damage and no casualties.

Two additional soldiers died today when their tank hit an IED.

One soldier was killed near Gaza from mortar fire.

It was another somber day in Israel. We watched the first military funerals on TV. Announcers read the names and a little about each soldier— who they were and some of their dreams— it was utterly heartbreaking.

In total, the army has released the names of sixteen soldiers who have died in the last 36 hours. The IDF is deeply entrenched in Gaza, including Gaza City, which they have effectively encircled. Various divisions are moving slowly toward the center of Gaza. According to some reports, Israel is already fighting in the tunnels, trying to flush out Hamas terrorists. The IDF released footage showing the close coordination between ground forces and the Air Force. An IDF tank spotted a Hamas squad on a rooftop setting up an anti-tank weapon and called in an airstrike, despite being only 20 meters away; the strike eliminated the target.

At this point, all attempts to reach a negotiated release of our hostages seem to have reached a standstill. We can only hope that our security services, in concert with our special forces, will be able to locate and rescue as many hostages as possible.

Rocket fire from Gaza was notably lighter today, both around Gaza and in the center of the country. Today there was only one missile barrage in our area.

In the North, there were fewer clashes with Hezbollah today. The IDF eliminated one squad of Hezbollah fighters who were attempting to fire a missile into Israel.

Last night, the Houthis sent one or more additional UAVs to bomb Israel. These UAVs were all shot down. Israel has moved two Navy Missile Ships to the Red

Sea.

MORE ABOUT THE OCTOBER 7th HAMAS MASSACRE

Today, the IDF has released additional information about the attack on October 7th. In the first attack wave, 3,000 Hamas terrorists crossed into Israel — of which, Israel killed 1,000, and captured 250, while the rest returned to Gaza, together with over 200 Israeli captives. Another swarm of Gazans crossed into Israel after the initial throng of Hamas terrorists to loot and steal.

WEST BANK

The IDF greatly fears a second front could open up on the West Bank. By-and-large, the West Bank residents have not been receptive to Hamas’ calls to take up arms and fight the IDF. There have been repeated clashes, as the IDF has been rounding up all of the Hamas leaders in the West Bank. According to reports, as many as 100 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the beginning of the war — mostly in clashes with the army, but in a few cases, they were killed by settlers.

Jewish West Bank settlers are clearly making the situation more difficult. Together with their political leaders, the settlers are causing real trouble. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotritch refuses to transfer the tax funds to the Palestinian Authority, claiming they “support Nazis”. Tonight, Smotritch’s co-conspirator, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stated “Minister Smotritch is right, we cannot go back to the previously-held dangerous ‘conception’ (line of reasoning). The Palestinian Authority supports the massacre carried out by Hamas.  They do not deserve to receive one shekel.”

On the other hand, the man actually responsible for the defense of the country, Defense Minister Yoav Galant, has demanded that the tax money belonging to the PA be returned. The security establishment knows one simple fact: over 100,000 Palestinians have not been allowed to work in Israel for the past month, which means those people are not bringing in any income. If the PA does not receive its money, it won't be able to pay the salaries of its police, security personnel, and other workers. This is not a recipe for calm.

MEDIA BIAS

The US media has learned nothing this past week. Last night, all the major media outlets pushed a notification asserting Israel killed scores of civilians in the Gazan Jabaya refugee camp. Over the course of the night, these veteran, widely respected news organizations each began to fact-check and correct the story, but the damage had already been done. Most people will never read the story, they just take in the notifications that flood their screens. The actual facts are captured in these tweets from within Gaza

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ECONOMY

On the economic front, the Treasury announced that the direct cost of the war, to date, has been NIS 40 billion. This sum does not account for all the money lost by businesses that have been shuttered during the three-week period.

I participated in an i24News discussion panel today. After the broadcast, I had a conversation with one of the anchors with whom I have worked before. She said what we need to worry about is raising money to help people when this is all over. Israel doesn't have a FEMA. The government will help some businesses, but it clearly won't be enough.

As I rode my scooter back home from i24, I went through the main street of Jaffa, where barely a store was open. Then, I rode up through the main street of Neve Tzedek (Shalom Shabazi Street), where I saw the same thing — everything was closed. Shabazi, a well-known tourist attraction, has been particularly hard-hit. The 1,000 or so foreign journalists posted here do not make up for the total lack of tourists. This war is going to be long. Israel is not economically prepared for a long war, especially not under the navigation of its present leadership.

Meanwhile, Israeli airlines are asking for government assistance to pay refunds owed to customers whose flights were canceled due to the war. The airlines would also like to return money to those who canceled their flights, something they are not legally required to do. In total, it's estimated that El Al could owe as much as $600 million in advance purchases that need to be refunded.

BUSINESS

On a positive note, some Israeli start-ups are still raising money.

Guidde, a tech-startup specializing in AI-driven video platforms, recently secured $11.6 million in a Series-A funding round, elevating the total investments in the company to $15.6 million. Guidde’s video platform uses AI to allow employees to create video-based guides and documentation for any software or process. This fundraising comes one year after their product's launch, which is already in use by 500 organizations. The funding round was led by Norwest Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors, like: Entrée Capital, Honeystone Ventures, Crescendo Ventures, and Tiferes Ventures.

Jerusalem-based Neteera Technologies has completed its Series-B funding round, raising $6.7 million. The round was led by Aescuvest and Taiwanese company Foxconn Technology. The first part of the round closed in April 2023, with about $13 million, making the company’s total Series-B funding approximately $19.7 million. Founded in 2015, Neteera develops a remote physiological monitoring system, based on electromagnetic radiation emitted from sweat pores. The Neteera system has FDA approval, and sales have begun in the United States. Foxconn's involvement suggests it will also manufacture the systems

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