DAY 60 OF THE GAZA WAR: Intense Fighting in Gaza as Israel Makes a Surprise Entry Into Khan Younis, Netanyahu Press Conference
Tel Aviv Diary December 5, 2023
Today, the IDF fought in ways that many of us had hoped for since the beginning of this war. Instead of focusing on one area in Gaza and advancing slowly, the IDF is fighting with three divisions in three different areas. The most audacious action was the movement of an IDF division that traveled down the main road in Gaza overnight. By morning, Hamas discovered a major ground force in the center of Khan Younis. Khan Younis is believed by the IDF to be the location of Hamas' leadership, and likely where some hostages are being held.
The combat in Khan Younis is intense. To take control of Khan Younis, the IDF deployed a fresh division into Gaza. In Khan Younis, the IDF aims to reach the leaders of Hamas and possibly the hostages. In northern Gaza, the IDF is battling in both Shuja’iyya and Jabaliya, where they have Hamas cornered — with Hamas’s only options being to surrender, or fight to the death. So far, Hamas has chosen to fight to the death. It is expected to take a few days to eliminate all of Hamas from the area. Even after the major forces are destroyed, additional time will be required to clear the rest of northern Gaza. The IDF continues to find armaments and other military equipment wherever they go.
The cost of the change to faster combat on multiple fronts has been high. This evening, the names of seven IDF soldiers who died over the course of the last day were released. Unfortunately, more names of soldiers are likely to be added to the ranks of the fallen in the days to come.
Hamas managed to launch a missile strike on Tel Aviv in the middle of the afternoon. Portions of one rocket fell in the city, however, fortunately no one was injured.
PRESS CONFERENCE BY IDF CHIEF OF STAFF
At a press conference outside Gaza, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi HaLevy was asked about the Wall Street Journal report that asserted Israel plans to flood the Hamas terror tunnels. While HaLevy did not confirm the story, his answer clearly hinted that the story might be true.
ESCALATION ON OUR NORTHERN BORDER
Hezbollah escalated its attacks on Israel today, launching 12 separate strikes. Israel responded. It's unclear if this is a trend, but thankfully, there were no casualties on our Lebanese border.
NETANYAHU, GALANT, GANTZ PRESS CONFERENCE
The United States today announced that it would impose sanctions on settlers who have taken violent action against Palestinians. The issue of the sanctions was raised by a reporter at the joint press conference with Netanyahu, Galant, and Gantz this evening. Gantz stated that it was not fair to label the perpetrators of the increased violence against Palestinians as settlers but rather as a small group of extremists. However Galant declared there was no place for settler violence against Palestinians.
At the press conference, Gantz turned to Netanyahu and asked him to show leadership by cutting the originally agreed upon (i.e., before the war) coalition funds, which include a substantial increase in funding for Yeshiva students. Netanyahu's response was that he did not cut the funding for Habima (the national theater), so why should funding for Yeshivot be cut. This was slightly disingenuous, since the discussion was not about cutting funding to the ultra-Orthodox, but rather about reducing the additional funds that had been added.
The rest of the press conference consisted mostly of standard statements without anything new. The one exception was Netanyahu's extended comments about the raping of women on October 7th, and his observation that the worldwide women's movement does not seem to care. The deafening silence of feminists around the world regarding the atrocities that Israeli women endured on October 7th has been an ongoing struggle and a profound source of disappointment for Israelis. While many organizations have ignored the use of sexual violence as part of Hamas’s stated war plan, some radical groups have either denied that rapes occurred, or justified them as revolutionary action. One prominent female activist tweeted questioning why no rape kits were used, seemingly oblivious to the fact that those who were raped were either killed or taken hostage. One fact that emerged from survivor testimony today was that the terrorists not only raped women, but raped men, as well.
Read this excellent article by Brett Stephen: Silence Is Violence — but Not When It Comes to Israeli Rape Victims
WAR CABINET MEETS WITH HOSTAGE FAMILIES
The families of the hostages held a meeting today with the war cabinet. It was an extremely tense meeting, and the families did not like what they heard. Netanyahu is reported to have said, “There is no possibility right now to bring everyone home. Can anyone really imagine that if returning everyone home was an option, anyone would refuse it?” This statement angered the families, but unfortunately, it reflects reality. Let's just hope the IDF can somehow reach the remaining hostages before it's too late.
ULTRA-ORTHODOX AND ARAB ISRAELIS STRENGTHENING ISRAELI IDENTITY
Two areas of light in the midst of these dark days are in both the ultra-Orthodox and Arab Israeli communities. Among the ultra-Orthodox communities, a small but significant number of men have volunteered for army service. More interestingly, in some Hasidic groups, specifically Belz and Gur (the two largest Hasidic sects) the Rebbes have instructed their followers to physically defend the community — even on Shabbat. As a result, groups of Hasidim have been undergoing training in the use of firearms. It is somewhat incongruent to see a Hasid in full Hasidic garb standing at a firing range, learning how to fire a gun.
Regarding the Israeli Arab sector, a poll conducted among Arab Israelis by Tel Aviv University researchers found that when asked what was the most important aspect of their personal identity, 33.2% asserted their Israeli identity was primary, 32.1% indicated their Arab identity was most important, 8.2% cited their Palestinian identity, and 22.6% said their religious identity was of greatest import. When the same poll had been administered in May, only 21% listed their Israeli identity as paramount, while 37.7% considered their Arab identity as their foremost identity.
BUSINESS
The Israeli start-up company Foretellix, which developed a system for testing and verifying autonomous driving systems, announced a $42 million round of funding. This is the second phase of Series-C, following a first phase announced last May. The entire round amounts to $85 million, bringing the total company fundraising to $135 million. The round was led by 83North, with new investors in the round being Isuzu and Singapore's Temasek. “The investment was closed during the war,” says Ziv Binyamini, CEO and co-founder of Foretellix. “These investors are smart, they asked questions and know what's happening. But they proceeded and it did not stop or slow them down.”
My weekly radio show from yesterday