Fortified Terror Tunnel Exposed Underneath the Shifa Hospital Complex.
Based on IDF and ISA intelligence, IDF troops discovered a 55-meter-long terror tunnel 10 meters beneath the Shifa Hospital complex.
A steep stairway leads to the entrance of the underground shaft, which has a blast-proof door, a firing hole, and other fortifications. The Hamas terrorist organization uses this style of obstacle to prevent Israeli forces from accessing Hamas command centers and underground assets. The subterranean shaft was discovered beneath a shed in the hospital area, beside a vehicle containing several weapons including RPGs, explosives, and Kalashnikov rifles. IDF and ISA personnel are continuing to trace the tunnel’s course. The findings clearly show that Hamas is using many structures in the hospital complex as a cover for terrorist infrastructure and activities. This is more evidence of Hamas’ callous use of Gaza citizens as a human shield for their horrific terrorist acts.
General:
-Today, Israeli authorities officially announced the death of 12-year-old Liel Hetzroni from Be’eri, whose charred remains were finally identified after 44 days.
In the north, the State of Israel is in a war of attrition. Hezbollah is trying to divert Israel from focusing on fighting Hamas while attacking communities and civilians in northern Israel. Over the weekend, the terrorist organization Hezbollah has significantly increased its attacks against Israel, making use of missiles, mortar shells, ATGMs, and UAVs.
In the south the IDF is continuing its offense against Hamas and PIJ terrorists in Gaza, causing critical losses to the terror organizations. The operation at Shifa Hospital is still in progress. Just in: Fortified Terror Tunnel Exposed Underneath the Shifa Hospital ComplexThe IDF has penetrated further into the areas surrounding Gaza City.
-On Friday, the body of IDF soldier Corporal Noa Marciano, who was abducted by the Hamas terrorist organization, and was announced KIA on Nov. 15, was found by IDF troops in a structure adjacent to the Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip and was transferred to Israeli territory.
Since Saturday morning Oct. 7, 1,225 Israeli civilians have been murdered.
-380 IDF soldiers were killed in action.
-More than 8,650 Israelis wounded have been evacuated to the hospitals so far.
-238 confirmed abducted civilians and IDF soldiers.
-Among the murdered are 33 minors and 25 aged 80 and over.
-34 of the abductees are children and teenagers – of which 10 are under the age of 5.
-18 of the abductees are elderly people aged 75 and older.
-288 of the murdered and 15 of the missing have foreign citizenship (including dual).
-119 of the abductees have foreign citizenship (including dual citizenship).
-Since the beginning of hostilities over 10,000 rockets have been launched into Israel.
– To date, an estimated 130,000 Israelis have been officially required by a government directive to leave their homes in the communities and towns adjacent to the northern border and the Gaza Strip (97 communities in the north and south), and have since been placed in various locations across the country (70 thousand evacuees in the south, approximately 60 thousand in the north). Many more people evacuated their homes on their own initiative from communities not covered by the government’s plan, (bringing the unofficial total to 200,000 evacuees).
-360,000 Israeli IDF reservists have been recruited.
– Efforts to identify the victims continue the police update: 860 civilians murdered in the war have been identified so far.
Operational Updates:
Northern Arena:
Over the weekend, Hezbollah has increased its attacks considerably in the northern sector.
– Since the commencement of the conflict, Hezbollah has sustained a total of 77 casualties.
– Last Friday night, a surface-to-air missile was launched at an IDF aircraft and was successfully intercepted by the air defense. In response, IDF fighter jets hit the advanced surface-to-air system from which the attack originated and destroyed it.
-Over the weekend and today, numerous rocket, mortar, ATGM, and UAV attacks have been launched against many northern Israeli communities and towns. In all the incidents the IDF attacked the fire’s origins and Hezbollah terrorist facilities. IDF soldiers operating in the Metula area of northern Israel sighted a UAV that had crossed from Lebanon to Israel. The UAV, which was suspected of transporting explosives, was tracked and intercepted by the military.
– An IDF UAV made an emergency landing in an open area in northern Israel yesterday morning. The aircraft was not damaged by hostile fire. The incident is being investigated.
Today, Hezbollah accepted responsibility for 11 attacks on Israel.
– 07:45 Hezbollah reported Israeli attacks in a number of south Lebanese villages such as Marun al-Ras and Aitaroun.
– 9:00 It was reported that 10 mortar shells were fired to the north. 10 minutes later, the IDF attacked the source of the fire with fighter jets.
– This morning around 10:30 and then again at 13:00, suspicious aerial targets crossed into Israel from Lebanon, in both incidents the hostile aircraft were successfully intercepted by the IDF Aerial Defense Array.
-11:30: mortar shells were launched toward the community of Misgav Am. All falling in open areas and causing no damage.
13:20: Sirens in Margaliot, Shlomi, and Betset, due to the launching of mortar shells. Hezbollah fired at IDF outposts in Biranit, Hanita, and Adamit. All munitions fell in an open area without casualties or damage to property.
14:07: Rocket launched towards Kfar Giladi and Tel Hai. 2 rockets fell in an open area without casualties or damage to property.
15:00: Two launches were detected from Lebanon toward the Margaliot area. No interception according to protocol (expected to fall in open areas).
Gaza and Southern Israel:
the Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi with troops inside the Gaza Strip: “We are close to dismantling the military system in the Northern Gaza Strip. As far as we are concerned – we will continue to other areas.”
– The Southern Command continues to expand its operational activities in other regions throughout the Gaza Strip. Troops from the 162nd Division operated in the Jabalya area, home to Hamas’ Northern Gaza Brigade’s command and control center, as well as one of the most prominent terror strongholds, with four Hamas battalions operating there. numerous terrorists were encountered and killed by the IDF throughout the operations activity.
Forces of the 36th Division are combating Hamas’ “Zaytun” Battalion, one of the organization’s core battalions, in Gaza City’s Zaytun district. Concurrently, additional forces are fighting on the outskirts of Zaytun, including Sheikh Ijlin and Rimal, clearing out terrorists and targeting Hamas infrastructures. The Rimal region accommodated high-ranking Hamas officials, who have commandeered the local structures in order to orchestrate and oversee terrorist operations and harbor Hamas infrastructure and military outposts.
The divisions’ engineering units, infantry, and armored corps aided by the IAF, encountered terrorists who operated from within civilian areas, attempting to assault troops with anti-tank missiles and explosive devices. Several terrorists were killed during the engagements, and IDF forces struck a vast number of terror infrastructures, including underground infrastructure and important Hamas targets.
-In conjunction with the Armored Corps, Engineering Corps, and the Israeli Air Force, Paratroopers Brigade soldiers conducted operations in the Sheikh Ijlin and Rimal regions with the objective of locating and obliterating Hamas assets and infrastructure. In addition to eliminating terrorists, the military discovered around thirty-five tunnel shafts and a significant quantity of weaponry throughout the operations. In addition, the soldiers conducted operations within a Hamas military base that belonged to the Hamas military intelligence branch. In the course of the operation, IDF personnel discovered seven rocket launchers and ammunition depots.
– Yesterday, less than an hour after Hamas fired a heavy rocket barrage of rockets toward the central cities in Israel, reservists from the Jerusalem Brigade identified the terrorists who carried out the launching from the roof of a building and directed an Air Force aircraft to eliminate them.
-In one of the battles, Nahal’s brigade combat team identified a terrorist squad that was about to fire on the troops from the roof of a residential building, the force directed a manned aircraft from a distance that eliminated the terrorists.
At the same time as the ground fighting, the soldiers of Shayetet 3, the flotilla of missile ships, attacked targets of the terrorist organization Hamas along the Gaza Strip assisting the land forces with fire and observation by opening axes, escorting with fire, thwarting land threats against our forces and providing cover for land missions from the sea.
Human Sheild Tactics-
Hamas Tactics – Hospitals as Operational Hubs:
As part of their strategy, Hamas uses hospitals to launch attacks against Israel. Here are only a few of the hospitals that Hamas has used since the beginning of the war.
Many of Hamas’s military facilities are located within or near UN facilities, mosques, schools, and other protected sites. Specifically, Hamas places key military sites and its main headquarters inside and under hospitals in order to take advantage of the protection afforded to these facilities in combat situations – thus it violates this protection.
– IDF troops are continuing their precise and focused operation against Hamas at the Shifa Hospital complex. The IDF responded favorably to the request of the director of Shifa Hospital to allow Gazan citizens who were sheltering in the hospital and who wish to evacuate from Shifa Hospital towards the humanitarian crossing in the Gaza Strip via a secure axis. At the same time, the IDF forces, through the Directorate of Coordination and Liaison to Gaza (CLA-COGAT), delivered over 6,000 liters of water and over 2,300 kg of food rations including fish, canned goods, bread, spreads, and dates to Shifa Hospital.
– Over the weekend, throughout the Gaza Strip, the IDF is continuing its operations according to plans. IDF troops took control of a stronghold of the commander of the Islamic Jihad’s northern command area, while the IAF struck numerous terror targets in the Gaza Strip destroying heavy-weight rockets and UAVs located in an Islamic Jihad post in the northern Gaza Strip.
-Hamas continues to demonstrate its capabilities to launch missiles into Israel. Over the weekend and today, rockets were launched from Gaza toward the center and south of Israel.
Of the more than 10,000 missiles and rockets fired at Israel with the intention of hitting population centers and civilians, over a 1,000 fell in the Gaza Strip itself – hitting, among other things, Gaza hospitals and schools.
Humanitarian aid:
It should be noted that under the Rules of War, Israel is under no obligation to supply for the needs of its enemy, Hamas.
-Rafah crossing on the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip remains open for the flow of humanitarian aid carrying, medicine, medical equipment and food. Israel has agreed to allow 100 trucks a day. The IDF emphasizes that all equipment is checked before entering the Strip.
-According to the Israeli Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), throughout the weekend, 170 trucks of humanitarian aid were inspected and transferred into Gaza. The trucks contained 2,095 tons of food, 398 tons of medical equipment, 400 tons of water and 125 tons of shelters. 964 aid trucks comprising of food, water and medicine or medical supplies have entered via Rafah since October 21, when Israel first began allowing the tightly controlled shipments. Furthermore, Israel has opened two water pipelines to the south of the Gaza Strip, supplying about 28 million liters of drinkable water each day.
– Humanitarian corridor: The IDF continues to urge Gaza City inhabitants to move to a safe humanitarian zone in the Gaza Strip’s southwest, in the Al-Mawasi area, where international aid is supplied via the Rafah crossing. Hamas terrorists are attempting to impede their evacuation through persuasion or force, to exploit these civilians as “human shields.”
– Again today, IDF spokesman in Arabic, Lt. Col. Avihai Adrei, informed the residents of Gaza that the Salah al-Din Road will remain open until 16:00 for the benefit of residents moving to the south of the Gaza Strip. In addition, Lt. Col. Adrai announced a pause in the fighting between the hours of 10:00 and 14:00 in the Rafah area – for humanitarian purposes.
–Fuel into Gaza: Hamas requires diesel fuel to power its terror tunnels’ ventilation and electrical systems, for this reason, Israel refuses to supply Gaza with fuel. Nevertheless, due to a specific request of the US president, the Israeli cabinet voted in favor of permitting 2 fuel trucks a day into the Gaza Strip for humanitarian reasons (to prevent epidemics – desalination plants and sewage pumps and UNRWA aid trucks).
There are persistent voices in Israel, civilians and members of cabinet, protesting the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, despite the fact that Israel receives neither humanitarian help or information about the abductees and hostages held by Hamas. Despite repeated requests to the Red Cross, which claims to have no power over Hamas, nothing has been done.
Judea and Samaria:
– During a joint IDF and ISA nighttime counterterrorism operation in the Balata Camp, an IDF aircraft bombed a hideout used by terrorists preparing imminent terror operations against Israeli citizens and military objectives. Muhammad Zahed, a resident of the camp and a renowned terrorist in the city of Nablus, was among those eliminated during the operation. Zahed was involved in shooting attacks in the Nablus area and planned other terror activities.
Furthermore, during the joint IDF, ISA, and Israel Border Police operation in the Balata Camp, the forces demolished an explosives production facility in the region, as well as a quantity of ready-to-use explosive devices. Additionally, IDF forces discovered IEDs hidden beneath and on the sides of the road with the intent of harming the soldiers. Terrorists opened fire on the soldiers, who retaliated with live fire. There were no known IDF injuries.
During the operations, 19 wanted persons were arrested, 11 of them are associated with Hamas. A IED manufacturing laboratory was located and destroyed.
So far, since the beginning of the war, approximately 1,800 wanted persons have been arrested throughout the Judea and Samaria Division and the Bekaa and Amakim Division, approximately 1,050 of whom are associated with the terrorist organization Hamas.
Yemen:
The Houthis are increasing their attacks from Yemen while threatening to attack Israeli or Israeli-owned vessels sailing in the Red Sea. This afternoon, The Houthis seized a ship in the Red Sea. Israeli Prime Minister’s Office: We strongly condemn the Iranian attack against an international ship. The ship, owned by a British company and operated by a Japanese company, was hijacked on Iranian instructions by the Houthi militia in Yemen. On board the ship are 25 crew members of different nationalities, including Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Filipinos, and Mexicans. No Israelis were present on the ship. This is another act of Iranian terrorism that expresses a leap forward in Iran’s aggression against the citizens of the free world and creates international implications regarding the security of global shipping lanes
International Arena:
-The pro-Iranian militias continue attacking US soldiers and bases throughout Iraq and Syria. Today they announced that they attacked the US military base in Harir in northern Iraq and another base in Tal Baydar in eastern Syria.
