Update Nov 29th (Day 54)

UPDATES ON THE WAR – Day 54 (Nov 29^th):

*We are one Day 54 (Nov 29^th) – The CEASE-FIRE CONTINUES and the EXCHANGE OF HOSTAGES/PRISONERS.

[We have created categories to make our summaries easier to read and understand.]

More Hostages Freed

• A four-day pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip began Friday (Nov 24^th) as Hamas released 24 hostages (13 Israeli women and children, 10 Thai nationals, and one Filipino citizen) while Israel released 39 Palestinian women and children detainees. The exchange is part of a short-term cease-fire deal brokered by Qatar and marks the first time fighting has temporarily halted between the two sides since Hamas captured more than 240 people during a surprise cross-border attack seven weeks ago.
• During the duration of the pause, Hamas is set to free at least 50 hostages in exchange for the release of at least 150 Palestinians held in Israel’s prisons. Israel has said the truce could be extended for an extra day for every 10 hostages released. At least 137 trucks carrying aid and fuel also entered Gaza Friday through the Rafah crossing as part of the agreement, with UN officials calling the humanitarian convoy the biggest since Hamas’ Oct. 7 raid.
• 10 Israeli Hostages, Two Thai Nationals Freed From Hamas Captivity
• Sixteen hostages freed from Gaza Strip on Wednesday (Nov 29^th), including 12 Israelis
• The 12 hostages released on Wednesday are Yarden Roman Gat, 36; Raz Ben Ami, 57; Raaya Rotem, 54; Liam Or, 18; Ofir Angel, 17; Amit Shani, 16; Gali Tarshansky, 13; Itai Regev, 18; Moran Yanai, 40; Liat Atzili, 49; Elena Trupanov, 50 and her mother, Irena Tatti, 73.
• The Israel Prison Service said early on Thursday (Nov 30^th) it had freed 30 Palestinians from Israeli jails in the sixth such release under a truce arrangement with Hamas. The Palestinians were released from prison facilities in Israel, the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, the prison service said in a statement.

YEAH:

• Egyptian security sources: negotiations going well, number of hostages to be released still being determined; expected that truce can be extended for another two days.
• After the U.S. airlifted 54,000 pounds of humanitarian aid to Egypt for civilians in Gaza, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stressed how urgently needed relief would not have been possible without the ongoing humanitarian pause.
• “The humanitarian needs in Gaza demand that the international community do much more. The United States is committed to this effort. In the coming days and weeks, President Biden and other senior members of the Administration will continue to work to sustain and expand the international humanitarian response and rally the international community to urgently increase support to the UN Flash Appeal for Gaza,” he said.

OUCH:

• Thousands have been killed on both sides. 🙁
• 159 hostages are still held by Hamas in Gaza
• Defense Minister Gallant says IDF is ‘ready to resume fighting immediately’
• Director of the pediatrics department at Dana Children’s Hospital, said that children who were kidnapped by Hamas and returned to Israel lost 10-17% of their body weight during captivity.
• An AC-130 gunship fired on an Iran-backed militia vehicle in Iraq on Monday night after the occupants fired a missile at a base housing U.S. troops, the Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday (Nov 28^th). The aircraft was already overhead when the close-range ballistic missile hit al Asad airbase, Defense Department spokeswoman Sabrina Singh confirmed during a press briefing, adding that in addition to planned strikes on Iran-backed militia facilities over the past month, U.S. forces in the Middle East have immediately returned fire after some of the dozens of attacks on bases housing U.S. troops since mid-October.
• The attack on al Asad brought the total attacks on US Troops since Oct. 17 up to 66, including 32 in Iraq and 34 in Syria. It was the first attack by a ballistic missile, Singh confirmed, as drones and rockets had been the go-to weapons previously. The Pentagon did not plan to make this retaliatory strike public, Singh confirmed, but reporting by multiple news outlets forced DOD to confirm.
• The Israeli army said on Tuesday (Nov 28^th) that three explosive devices had been set off in the last hour near soldiers in two separate incidents in northern Gaza – in violation of cease-fire rules – and that several soldiers had been lightly wounded. According to the army statement, in one incident a shot was fired at an IDF soldier and there was an exchange of fire. In both cases the army forces stayed within the agreed cease-fire lines.
• With Hamas seeking the release of over 6,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, Israel has about one week to make a decision regarding the continuation of fighting if another hostage deal is not reached
• No official word whether cease-fire would continue on Thursday

IN THE SOUTH (EILAT):

• A U.S. Navy warship sailing near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait (Red Sea) shot down a drone launched from Yemen, a U.S. official said Wednesday (Nov 29^th), in the latest in a string of threats from Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. It was shot down over water in the southern Red Sea as the ship was moving toward the strait

IN THE SOUTH (GAZA):

• Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday during a situation assessment along with the heads of Israel’s security establishment that Israel is “doing all in its power to return all the hostages” held by Hamas in Gaza. Gallant added that the Israeli military is “ready to resume fighting immediately.”
• The Israeli military said it had killed a commander of Hamas’ naval forces in an airstrike in the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip Thursday (Nov 30^th).

POST WAR GAZA:

• The United Nations called for the international community to move towards a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, saying Jerusalem should serve as the capital of both states.

IN THE NORTH (LEBANON):

• According to initial estimates cited by Hebrew-language media, between 30 and 50 rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Upper Galilee, making it the largest barrage since the beginning of the fighting on the northern border (Nov 24^th).

IN THE EAST (SYRIA):

IN THE WEST (TEL AVIV):

WEST BANK:

• IDF Kills Senior Islamic Jihad Commander, Mohamed Zubeidi.
• IDF Arrest 17 Palestinians in West Bank Operation: During an exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Palestinian terrorists, two boys, aged 15 and 9, were killed. An army source told a news source that the two had been throwing explosives at the troops
• Hamas said in response that they were “proud of the heroes of the Palestinian people who confronted the enemy’s forces. We call on the Palestinian people in the West Bank to intensify the struggle against the army and the settlers as a continuation of the campaign in Gaza.”
• Five fugitives, one of them classified as a senior Hamas operative in the West Bank, were arrested on Wednesday in Hebron. Flags of the organization were confiscated. The IDF said that since the beginning of the war more than 2,000 fugitives, 1,100 of them identified with Hamas, were rounded up in the West Bank.
• While the world is watching the Israel-Hamas war unfold in Gaza, Palestinians in the West Bank are suffering some of the worst violence and restrictions on their daily lives in years.
• Since Hamas infiltrated Israel on October 7, Israel’s security forces have cracked down on Palestinian factions in West Bank cities. They have also detained a huge number of Palestinians and allowed settlers to threaten and attack West Bank residents without consequence.

NEGOTIATIONS – HOSTAGE RELEASE – CEASE FIRE:

• Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan said at the UN Security Council that the war in Gaza can “end tomorrow, even today, if Hamas returns all the hostages, and turns in all the terrorists that participated in the massacre” or October 7. He added that it is possible “to achieve a true cease-fire that could last decades.”
• The Qatar and US-mediated cease-fire began Friday (see previous write-up), with Hamas agreeing to release at least 50 of around 240 hostages abducted during their initial Oct. 7 attack in Southern Israel in exchange for about 150 Palestinian prisoners. The majority is said to be primarily women and children on both sides. As of late yesterday (Mon Nov 27^th), 43 hostages had been released by Hamas, while around 100 prisoners had been released by Israel.
• Seventeen hostages held in the Gaza Strip were released yesterday (Mon Nov 27^th), the third group freed during a tenuous four-day cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that was held over the weekend and up to early this morning. In exchange, Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners.
• Among yesterday’s group was at least one American—4-year-old Abigail Mor Edan. Reports suggest she was taken Oct. 7, during which both her parents were killed. Also released was 9-year-old Israeli-Irish citizen Emily Hand, who was previously believed to have been killed.
• Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend their temporary cease-fire deal an additional two days, with Hamas agreeing to release at least 20 more hostages in exchange for the release of 60 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. The extension comes after the two sides yesterday (Tues, Nov 28^th) swapped a fourth group of Hamas-held hostages and Israeli-held prisoners, completing an original four-day deal brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the US.
• According to reports from French news agency AFP, a source close to Hamas said that the group is ready to extend the cease-fire by an additional four days.
• As of Monday, Hamas has released 69 hostages of the more than 240 people who were abducted Oct. 7, while Israel has released 150 prisoners. Under the original plan, Hamas had agreed to release 50 hostages and Israel had agreed to release 150 prisoners, three for every hostage released. A majority of the people freed on both sides are said to be women and children. Humanitarian aid continues to enter the Gaza Strip.
• The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Tuesday it had completed the release of 11 Palestinian detainees from Israeli detention centres and has transferred them to Ramallah.
• 14 Israelis and three Thai citizens were released from Hamas captivity on Sunday, 51 days after being kidnapped to Gaza in Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel. 13 of the abductees were released as part of the third round of the exchange deal, including nine children. Another abductee, Ron Kariboi – who also has Russian citizenship – was released following talks between Hamas and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Additionally, three Thai citizens were released following talks between Hamas and the government in Bangkok. One of the abductees, 84-year-old Alma Avraham, was hospitalized at Soroka Hospital. The hospital reported that she is in life-threatening condition.
• The 13 abductees included in the exchange deal were released from the center of the Gaza Strip into the area of Kibbutz Be’eri, while the other four, Kariboi and three Thai citizens, were transferred to Israel through the Rafah crossing. The three Thai citzens are Wichian Temthong, Surin Kesungneon and Phonsawan Pinakalo.

GLOBAL RESPONSE & INVOLVEMENT:

• The United Nations called for the international community to move towards a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, saying Jerusalem should serve as the capital of both states.
• UN Chief Guterres said that the sexual violence during Hamas October 7 attacks must be vigorously investigated and prosecuted.
• Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven countries support the further extension of the pause and future pauses as needed in fighting in Gaza to increase assistance and facilitate the release of all hostages, they said in a joint statement. They did not, however, call for a permanent cease-fire and reemphasized the G7’s commitment to “Israel’s right to defend itself and its people, in accordance with international law, as it seeks to prevent a recurrence of the October 7 attacks.”
• The statement called for the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and the facilitated departure of all foreign nationals. Every effort must be made to ensure humanitarian support for civilians, including food, water, fuel, and medical supplies. We support the further extension of this pause and future pauses as needed to enable assistance to be scaled up, and to facilitate the release of all hostages,” the joint statement added.
• The statement also called on the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen “to immediately cease attacks on civilians and threats to international shipping lanes and commercial vessels and release the M/V Galaxy Leader and its crew, illegally seized from international waters on November 19.”
• President Joe Biden welcomed the release of 16 hostages, including American citizen Liat Beinin, held by Hamas for over 50 days. Expressing deep satisfaction, Biden said the U.S. is determined to secure the release of all hostages from Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
• The Russian Embassy in Israel stated that Moscow exerted pressure on Hamas to release several grandchildren of Holocaust survivors held in the Gaza Strip.
• U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that he would work with the Israelis during his trip to Israel in the coming days to see if a temporary cease-fire that has been in place and allowed hostages kidnapped by Hamas to go free could be extended.
• Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is calling for an international conference to resolve the Mideast conflict.
• Abbas said Wednesday (Nov 29^th) that the Palestinians are ready to work with the international community on a “serious political process” that leads to an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, territories Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war. Abbas further said that he calls to halt the ongoing war Between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
• Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan said at the UN Security Council that the war in Gaza can “end tomorrow, even today, if Hamas returns all the hostages, and turns in all the terrorists that participated in the massacre” or October 7. He added that it is possible “to achieve a true cease-fire that could last decades.”
• Pope Francis called for the continuation of the ongoing truce in the Gaza Strip, for the release of all hostages and for humanitarian aid access into the territory.
• Wednesday Nov 29^th: The United States is imposing sanctions today on over twenty individuals and entities involved in a financial facilitation network that benefits Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force. Iran’s commodity sales, carried out through a network of foreign-based front companies, provide revenue that helps the regime to continue its support for terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Iranian military entities and their business partners enable these sales and exploit the international financial system to recoup the revenue. The Iranian regime uses this illicit revenue to support conflict and spread terror throughout the Middle East. The United States will continue to disrupt Iran’s funding support for terrorists.
• U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer described spiking antisemitism as a ‘five-alarm fire,’ compelling him to speak out.
• Egyptian security sources: negotiations going well, number of hostages to be released still being determined; expected that truce can be extended for another two days.

SUMMARY OF LOSSES & RESPONSES:

• At least 1,200 civilians and soldiers killed in Israel since October 7^th
• Over 200 hostages are still being held in Gaza Strip
• Hamas-controlled health ministry: 14,128 dead in Gaza
• Since October 7, more than 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces in the West Bank

FOOD FOR THOUGHT / PROPHETIC QUOTES:

What is the best solution and resolution?

The following is a snippet from a talk given regarding Gratitude in Nov 2023

Roman philosopher Cicero said that “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the PARENT of all others.” Psalms tells us: “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.” And also, “Come before His presence with thanksgiving.” Paul told us, “In everything give thanks.” And Jesus frequently expressed gratitude to His Heavenly Father, and especially before asking for anything. Like when He raised Lazarus from the dead, as He prayed to His Father, He first said, in John 11, “Father I thank thee that thou has heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always…” when He fed the multitude, the scriptures in Matthew 15 says he took the loaves and fishes, and “gave thanks” and also at the Last Supper he gave thanks. The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “the grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for, and with him the good outweighs the evil, love overpowers jealousy, and light drives darkness out of his life.”

 

*If you would like to gain more understanding of the history of this country and conflict from a scriptural standpoint we recommend you take our Holy Land Scripture Course created to accompany our Virtual Tour of the Holy Land. Link below:

Holy Land Scripture Series

 

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

What should Israel do in order to illuminate the Hamas leaders and hostages who they believe is hiding and operating under the largest hospital in Gaza?  

What should Hamas do to get needed support and help? (They are land-locked and restricted and are experiencing extreme economic conditions)

*We know the questions are MANY and the issues deep and complex. We hope the information shared on this blog will help you process all the information and issues.

*If you would like to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications when new posts are made please email Dr. Clark Anderson at clark@andersontours.com