UPDATES ON THE WAR – Day 36 (Nov 11th):
*We are one Day 36 (Nov 11th). Rocket fire and suffering continues on both sides. We have created categories to make our summaries easier to read and understand.
IN THE SOUTH (GAZA):
- 9,500 rockets fired at Israel since Oct. 7, including 3,000 in 1st hours of onslaught. Some 900 rockets were launched from within civilian sites, including mosques, schools, hospitals and cultural centers. Around 12% of the rockets fell short inside the Gaza Strip, according to the IDF data. Some 2,000 projectiles have been intercepted by the IDF’s air defense systems – During the first four hours of Hamas’s shock onslaught on southern Israel on October 7, some 3,000 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel, according to the IDF data. For comparison, during the entire 2014 Gaza War, which lasted 50 days, some 4,000 rockets were fired in total.
- The IDF says that since the ground operation began, it has identified “a significant decrease” in the amount of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip in the last few days.
- It says that for the first time ever, all of Israel’s air defenses are active at the same time.
- IDF surrounding three Gaza hospitals, tells Al-Shifa director to evacuate all patients. Israeli senior official: ‘Hostages may be held under Al-Shifa hospital’
- IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari: Hamas has lost its grip on the Gaza Strip: IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in an evening briefing that Israeli military forces have deepened their activities in the Shati refugee camp, which is a central stronghold of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, over the last day. “Hamas has lost its grip on the strip, the residents of Gaza have left contrary to its instructions. To prevent this, it is lying about what is happening in the hospitals,” Hagari said. “Yesterday, they rushed to accuse us of an attack on Al-Shifa hospital. We checked our systems and once again it was a failed launch by terrorist organizations in the strip. Hamas is committing a war crime in its use of hospitals.“
- Hagari emphasized, also in English, that “in the last few hours, false news has been published that we are surrounding the Al-Shifa hospital and attacking it. These are false reports. We are fighting with terrorists who choose to fight right next to hospitals.”
- 50,000 Gazans Move South Amid Negotiations on Cease-fire
- Rafah border crossing to reopen for foreigners on Sunday
- Gaza’s border authority announced that the Rafah border crossing into Egypt would reopen on Sunday for foreign passport holders.
- IDF says it took control of 11 Hamas command outposts
- S. defense official confirmed to Fox News that Iranian-backed Houthis shot down a U.S. drone near the Yemeni coast. The MQ-9 Reaper drone was reportedly surveilling Yemen when a Houthi militia fired at it. The drone is estimated to cost around $30 million. “We can confirm that a U.S. military MQ-9 remotely-piloted aircraft was shot down while in international airspace over international waters off the coast of Yemen,” the official said. “U.S. Central Command officials are assessing the incident.” The Pentagon also acknowledged last week that it is flying MQ-9s over Gaza in intelligence gathering efforts regarding hostages taken captive last month.
- Israel Attacks in Syria in Response to Eilat Drone Strike. Israeli Army Says Drone Struck Israel’s Southernmost City Came From Syria; IDF Retaliates
POST WAR GAZA:
- What Would Israel and Hamas Consider a ‘Win’ in Gaza? For Israel, nothing less than eradicating the terror organization here and now will be seen as a win. Hamas wants to sustain a permanent state of conflict, so just living to fight another day will be seen as a victory by its leaders.
- Hamas is not thinking about the here and now but in terms of decades. It seeks to undermine and delegitimize Israel, so a military defeat – as resounding and decisive as it might be – does not detract from that goal. While Hamas cannot tolerate the Mideast status quo that existed, especially with the prospect of Israeli-Saudi relations, Israel turned the status quo into a comfort zone of denial.
- One area in which Hamas is gradually succeeding is world opinion. However grisly, atrocious and vile the October 7 attack was, there are now pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel demonstrations around the world. They blend anti-Zionism, antisemitism, half-baked anti-colonial theories, and disingenuous and grossly irrelevant identity politics. In the United States, a new University of Maryland/IPSOS poll shows a significant decline in support for Israel among the younger age group since its military response in Gaza. In other words, Israel needs the win to be strategic in scope, while Hamas, if it is not entirely obliterated, may see defeat merely as a tactical setback.
- It is conceivable that a decisive and comprehensive military defeat of Hamas is attainable. It is equally plausible that it will be entailed by a consequential political outcome of incapacitating Hamas’ political power and ability to govern Gaza. But even if that materializes, it does not constitute a strategic triumph, because it fails to address the ultimate question of “Who rules Gaza now?”
- This is the epicenter of U.S. concerns about Israeli planning, and this is where friction in U.S. and Israeli interests will occur in the next few weeks.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference that he would not agree to relinquish security control of the Gaza Strip “under any circumstances.”
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s answer to both CNN and ABC’s question “Who will rule Gaza?” was an evasive and vague “Israel will have overall security responsibility.” Neither the interviewers, viewers or the Biden administration know exactly what that means.
- The IDF is expecting to be fighting in Gaza for as long as it takes, Channel 12 reports. It says the IDF is set to expand its ground operations into areas where the IDF has never operated before. “There is no pressure to hurry,” the unsourced report says. “That is the message army commanders are being told all the time: Work slowly and securely. Bring the results.”
- The report says the IDF is “preparing for a period of a year of fighting… in different areas… different methods, but a year of fighting to get to the fourth stage of this war: The entry of a new government in Gaza that is not Hamas and is not backed by the Iranians.”
IN THE NORTH (LEBANON):
- Israel said to carry out drone strike 40 km inside Lebanon. Earlier this morning, Lebanese media outlets reported that an IDF drone struck a truck near the coastal village of al-Zahrani, some 40 kilometers from the Israeli border, just south of Sidon. There were no reports of injuries in the strike.
- Hezbollah Leader Nasrallah Demands Pressure on U.S. to Force Cease-fire on Israel
In his second public speech since the war in Gaza began, Hassan Nasrallah calls on countries at Arab and Islamic summit to intervene diplomatically ■ Israeli Defense Minister Gallant: ‘What we do in Gaza, we know how to do in Beirut’
- Much of Nasrallah’s speech was devoted to extolling Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel’s north and highlighting the threat posed by armed groups in other countries that are also backed by Iran. Nasrallah said the “axis of resistance” was restraining Israel with “heroic containment.”
- Hezbollah launches drones against Israel “every day,” some used for attack and some for reconnaissance, the Hezbollah leader boasted.
- The Hezbollah leader also took the time to praise Iran, its chief backer, saying that it supports resistance against Israel “in all aspects: economically and militarily, politically, and morally. If there is any reinforcement of the balance of regional deterrence, it is thanks to Iran.”
IN THE EAST (SYRIA):
- S. Strikes Iranian Targets in Syria, Pentagon Confirms; Nine Killed, Report Says
- Israel Attacks in Syria in Response to Eilat Drone Strike. Israeli Army Says Drone Struck Israel’s Southernmost City Came From Syria; IDF Retaliates
- Reports say Israeli strikes on Syria kill three pro-Iranian fighters: At least three members of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement were killed in Israeli strikes that targeted their posts in southern Syria, a monitor group said.
- S. strikes facility in eastern Syria used by Iran Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and affiliated groups, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says. The strike was conducted by two F-15s against a weapons storage facility, Austin noted. “This precision self-defense strike is a response to a series of attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by IRGC-Quds Force affiliates,” he added, noting that Biden “directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel and its interests.” Austin added the U.S. is “fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities. We urge against any escalation,” noting that U.S. personnel will continue to conduct counter-ISIS missions in Iraq and Syria.
- Damascus Int’l Airport Shut for a Month Following Reported Israeli Strikes
WEST BANK:
- Israeli Army Conducts Daytime Airstrike in West Bank; At Least Seven Palestinians Killed
NEGOTIATIONS – HOSTAGE RELEASE:
- Thousands Rally Across Israel Urging Gov’t to Release Hostages
- Joe Biden wants a pause in the fighting. What he cares about is the hostages, especially the ones with American citizenship. The problem is that a pause of a few days would effectively be a cease-fire leading to the end of the war, and we can’t afford that. After all, we still haven’t achieved the main goal: destroying Hamas.
- So we mustn’t stop now. If we did, we would undermine the goals of the war and allow Hamas to regroup. We mustn’t end the war without completely destroying the organization’s military and political power. After all, Hezbollah is watching, and it needs to thoroughly understand what will happen if it attacks us.
- Western, Arab Officials Talk Gaza Aid in Paris; Macron Pushes for Humanitarian Ceasefire
- 240 hostages held in Gaza, 40 remain missing
GLOBAL RESPONSE & INVOLVEMENT:
- Arab leaders at Saudi Arabia summit call for halt to fighting in Gaza; ask world not to remain silent
- As of November 2023, 85% of UN members recognized Israel as a country, compared to 72% for the State of Palestine. As of November 2023, 164 of the 193 UN members recognize Israel as a state, including all G7 countries. Even the State of Palestine recognized Israel as part of the Oslo Accords in 1993.
- Thousands Rally Across Israel Urging Gov’t to Release Hostages
- Over 100 U.S. Democrats urge Biden to take steps to protect Palestinians: More than 100 Democrats from both houses of Congress urged U.S. President Joe Biden to take steps to protect Palestinians in the U.S.
- One area in which Hamas is gradually succeeding is world opinion. However grisly, atrocious and vile the October 7 attack was, there are now pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel demonstrations around the world. They blend anti-Zionism, antisemitism, half-baked anti-colonial theories, and disingenuous and grossly irrelevant identity politics. In the United States, a new University of Maryland/IPSOS poll shows a significant decline in support for Israel among the younger age group since its military response in Gaza.
- S. Senator Bernie Sanders, who chairs the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, requested a classified briefing from the FBI and Education Department on rising antisemitism and Islamophobia in schools across the country.
- ISIS-like Hamas doesn’t care about jobs or development. If it did, it could have striven for this back in September 2005 when Israel withdrew from Gaza. But what Hamas wants is blood and death. Hamas is an extremist organization comprised of fanatic Sunnis with a Nazi ideology, and it’s part of a broader radical Islamic movement: Al-Qaida, the Islamic State, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, the Houthis and the Muslim Brotherhood. For this movement, killing as many Jews as possible with extreme brutality (to sow fear and dread) is a religious commandment. The head of the Muslim Brotherhood said it explicitly: “The Muslims need to finish the job Hitler started.”
- Three-quarters of U.S. Jews Fear for Their Safety Because of Israel-Hamas War, Poll Shows
SUMMARY OF LOSSES & RESPONSES:
- At least 1,300 civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas massacre on October 7,
- 241 hostages held in Gaza and 40 unaccounted for
- Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza: Over 11,000 killed
FOOD FOR THOUGHT / PROPHETIC QUOTES:
What is the best solution and resolution?
The following is a snippet from a talk given in Oct 2023 by the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Russell M. Nelson who is esteemed by his followers as a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator:
“Please don’t let your prayers sound like a shopping list. The Lord’s perspective transcends your mortal wisdom. His response to your prayers may surprise you and will help you to think celestial.” (“Think Celestial!” By President Russell M. Nelson, Oct 2023)
*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:
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
What should Israel do in order to illuminate the Hamas threat of repeated attacks and also retrieve hostages? What would you recommend Israel’s approach should be right now?
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
