DAY 80 OF THE GAZA WAR: Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Killed, Back to Politics as Usual? Christmas in the Holy Land

Tel Aviv Diary, December 25, 2023

According to sources from both Iran and abroad, Israel reportedly killed General Sayyed Razi Mousavi, one of the leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Forces, in Damascus. Mousavi was responsible for supplying weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon. If Israel indeed executed the attack, and not the Nepalese, the air strike would serve two purposes: first, accomplishing a direct attack on an operative accountable for arming Hezbollah. Second, sending a clear message to Iran that if they instruct their proxies (e.g., the Houthis) to attack Israel, Israel is capable of directly responding to the sponsor. The Iranians have vowed to retaliate.

Heavy fighting continued in Gaza today, predominantly in the southern city of Khan Younis, although there was also significant combat in the Tuffah District of Gaza City (an area in the northern Gaza in which Israel had not previously engaged). Israel continues to discover additional arms and military supplies in Northern Gaza.

Found; the car of one of the hostages

In Khan Younis, the IDF uncovered a concrete factory likely used in tunnel construction. However, concrete is also obviously an essential material for building structures. Equipment used for building rockets was also found. Overall, the IDF has confiscated thousands of rockets throughout Gaza, leading to a palpable decrease in attacks. Tonight, a few rockets were fired towards Ashkelon and some surrounding villages of Gaza. However, the frequency of the attacks on Israel has dropped significantly, from an average of 100 rockets a day to about ten.

The IDF announced the deaths of two more soldiers, they both fell in the northern part of Gaza,  as a result of small-scale ambushes.

IN THE NORTH

Hezbollah continued its attacks, destroying more buildings in the Kibbutzim along the border. Under normal circumstances, Israel would have escalated to full-scale war, in response to the damage inflicted by Hezbollah on towns and villages in northern Israel. However, given the situation in Gaza, and the fact that most of the population surrounding the border has already been evacuated, we are attempting to contain the situation in the north, for now. I understand and agree with the policy of focusing on the Gazan front first, but the success of this approach

hinges on whether the strategy leads to the end of Hamas's rule in Gaza.

NETANYAHU’S KNESSET ADDRESS

Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the Knesset today. Netanyahu emphasized that the war must persist until Hamas is defeated. The Prime Minister’s speech was disrupted by families of the hostages, who chanted in unison, demanding the immediate return of their loved ones. Netanyahu completely ignored them.

POLITICS AS USUAL?

The outbreak of the war transformed a very divided country into a very united one. Unfortunately, as the war has gone on, politics and divisions have begun to return. The main cause of this change has been the politically motivated narrative primarily being propelled by associates of Netanyahu. They are crafting stories to rationalize Netanyahu’s ongoing tenure as Prime Minister, despite the alleged disasters he has caused in the country. There is a noticeable effort to portray the hostages' families as “leftists,” while characterizing those who advocate for ongoing combat — at any cost — as the “true patriots”.

However, it wouldn't be fair to solely blame Netanyahu for promoting parochial conclusions. Today, in response to criticism directed at a senior commander, who is religious and was responsible for some of the IDF's controversial actions in retaking Kibbutz Beeri on October 7th, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett pointed out that 40% of the casualties in the current Gaza war are soldiers from the National Religious Camp.

While it's true that the Religious-Zionist community does shoulder a disproportionally large share of the military service burden relative to their population size, the percentage of casualties cited by Bennett is more reflective of his perception rather than the actual statistic. It is noteworthy that officers from the National Religious community often serve in infantry roles, and infantry officers have indeed constituted a significant portion of the casualties. Nonetheless, statements and actions that divide us based on “who suffers more” or “contributes more” do little to unite us in this prolonged war.

REPORTS FROM INSIDE GAZA

I follow a Gaza journalist whose reports have generally been accurate. This journalist claims that the Egyptian plan to secure the release of Israel’s hostages is an effort by Saudi Arabia and Jordan to supplant Qatar's role supporting and guiding the Palestinians. According to this journalist, the proposed Egyptian plan starts with the premise that Abu Mazen cannot continue as head of the Palestinian Authority. They suggest the formation of a thoroughly reformed Palestinian Authority that would eventually assume control of both Gaza and the West Bank. Should Israel consent to the Egyptian proposal, Saudi Arabia will consider normalizing relations with Israel.

Meanwhile, reports indicate that both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad have unequivocally rejected the Egyptian proposal. Their rejection is not centered on the specifics of the ceasefire, or the number of Palestinian prisoners slated for release. Rather, their dismissal of the Egyptian plan stems from their opposition to any plan that would undermine their hold on power. If this appraisal is indeed the correct, it suggests the Gaza conflict will persist until its bitter end.

CHRISTMAS IN THE HOLY LAND

Christmas this year has been a very low-key affair in Israel. Below, you will see two photos: one from last year taken in the main square of Yaffo, and another from last night.

While I was in the i24News studio a colleague reported last night from Jerusalem. She described Jerusalem as an almost deserted city this Christmas Eve, with hardly any signs of the holy day. Of course, there are no tourists here this year to celebrate. Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating it!

BUSINESS

ZutaCore, based in Sderot, which had temporarily suspended its operations due to the Hamas attack on October 7th, has now resumed full operations and begun a capital raising campaign, seeking to raise $30 million. A week and a half before the outbreak of the war, Mitsubishi made the first investment from its commitment, amounting to about $8 million, and now ZutaCore is preparing for the completion of the fundraising, which will bring the total investment in the company to about $80 million. Established in 2016, ZutaCore was based on an invention that optimizes the use of an insulating liquid for cooling processors and servers. The company's technology, HyperCool, has been certified for cooling processors by Intel and AMD.

An interesting statistic in these days of drone warfare… There are 129 companies developing and selling drones in Israel.  Since 2014, Israeli drone companies have raised 1.8 Billion dollars.

Belkin Vision, an Israeli company, has received FDA approval for its Eagle device, a novel laser technology for first-line glaucoma treatment, already approved in Europe in 2022. The Eagle offers an innovative approach, different from standard laser treatment (SLT). It performs automatic, non-contact, seconds-long laser therapy (DSLT) as opposed to the traditional 5-10 minute procedure requiring a special lens and direct eye contact, typically conducted by glaucoma specialists. This intuitive method allows any ophthalmologist to administer first-line glaucoma treatment, enhancing accessibility and ease of treatment for patients.