Update Nov 7th (ONE MONTH)

UPDATES ON THE WAR – Day 32^th (Nov 7^th):

*We are one month to the day that the conflict began on that terrible Oct 7^th day. 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):

• 93 aid trucks entered Gaza in past 24 hours, totaling 569 trucks since October 21
• Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland was pessimistic on Saturday about the progress of the ground operation. In an interview with Channel 12 television, he sounded different than most of the other generals interviewed on TV: “There are no signs that Hamas is breaking,” he said. “We’re seeing them conduct complex coordinated operations with drones, mortars, antitank missiles. This isn’t a few people fighting for their lives, but a functioning system. They can move forces from place to place, they control at least 80 percent of the underground and they know how to respond quickly to what we do. Gaza is still the world’s biggest fortified target.”
• The harder the fighting becomes, the greater the chances of killing civilians. During American operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the ratio was sometimes 1:10 – one armed man killed for every 10 civilian deaths.
• Officials say the human loss is relatively small compared with early predictions. This is due in part to the use of what is being termed the “elephant path” method: a slow advance by large formations allowing direct contact between the IDF and Hamas terrorists. According to officials’ estimates, most of the civilian population of Gaza, around 800,000 people, has managed to flee the battle zone due to this methodological approach and also due to the warnings that Israel sends out to the public prior to their advances.
• The difficulty lies, among other factors, in the definition of the mission. The government and IDF described it as the destruction of Hamas rule, denying it its military capabilities. This is a goal with a path that is not entirely clear, which almost invites the counting of enemy bodies. Commanders and reservists who participated in previous operations in the Gaza Strip say there is no comparison between the intensity and destruction this time and that of previous rounds of fighting. In Beit Hanoun, where reserve forces are operating, there are entire neighborhoods that have been completely flattened during the battles there.
• A REPORTEER JOINS THE ISRAELI TROOPS AND OFFERS THE FOLLOWING INSIGHTS:…
• Haaretz military correspondent Yaniv Kubovich joined the forces operating in the southern part of Gaza City for a few hours on Friday and was impressed by the intensity of the firepower being used, by the resolve of the combatants and by the high professional standards of commanders on the ground. The IDF is in real war mode, and is not conducting only a limited operation.
• The IDF’s ground maneuver into Gaza has been mainly on its most advanced and best-protected vehicles: Merkava Mark IV tanks, and Namer and Eitan heavy infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs). They advance in large numbers using heavy fire. Even after airstrikes have flattened many of the small towns to the north, the gunners inside the tanks and IFVs still scour the ruins using their thermal cameras, searching for any sign of ambush.
• Hamas, as was assessed in advance, is almost not attempting to block the movement of IDF forces. The organization is relying on its defensive tunnel network, sending its fighters up through shafts to launch anti-tank missiles and to deploy explosive charges close to IDF armored vehicles. Hamas is also employing attack drones.
• For now, despite pressure exerted by the IDF, there is no apparent significant effect on Hamas command and control, which continues to function. At the same time, the focus must be the demolition of defensive tunnels. Some of these were dug not very deeply and can be destroyed from the air with no great difficulty. This depends mainly on the quality of intelligence provided by Military Intelligence and the Shin Bet security service.
• ‘We Barely See the Terrorists. They’re Underground’: On the Ground in Gaza With Israeli Soldiers. Eight days into Israel’s ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces combat soldiers know the hardest battles lie ahead
• “There’s a lot of small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades,” says Maj. Yiftach, a tank officer who left his law studies to return to the brigade. “But we barely see the terrorists. They’re underground and only emerge to ambush you. We’ve already found quite a few tunnel exits. When that happens, we call in Yahalom [an elite combat engineering and demolition unit], which blows them up.” But there still appear to be many exits yet to be discovered, and despite the IDF statements about killing hundreds of Hamas fighters, many gunmen are still trying to ambush the forces.
• The level of destruction inside the city is not as extensive as in the towns to the north. Near the command post is a large school building. The wing overlooking the post has been destroyed. “We didn’t want to shoot at the school,” says one of the brigade commanders, “but Hamas fired on us from there and we had to respond. They fired at us also from the mosque.” The narrow minaret is now leaning to one side.
• On Sunday evening (Nov 5^th), IDF airstrikes in northern Gaza intensified significantly; these strikes apparently targeted the tunnels. At the same time, internet and phone service in Gaza once again went down. IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari said Sunday that there is no real shortage of fuel in Gaza, and that Hamas is hoarding quantities of fuel, at the expense of hospitals and other civilian structures.
• The presence of women soldiers, who were so prominent in the fighting on October 7, continues in the ground offensive. Women tank officers are present in the command post inside Gaza and among the medical teams.
• Even in the ground offensive, much of the fighting is being done, for now, on screens. The tanks and IFVs have cameras giving the commanders views from every direction, day and night. On the same screens, they can also see the up-to-date battlefield situation, including the location of every vehicle and surveillance footage from the drones buzzing overhead. But as the difficult maneuvering into the small and crowded command post proves, with Gaza’s city center darkening in the background, it will become much more difficult to use tanks and IFVs as the IDF penetrates deeper toward its main objective: the Hamas leadership’s underground headquarters. As the armored columns are forced to use the narrow streets leading to the center, they will become much more vulnerable to ambush. The most difficult and dangerous part of the operation, when the soldiers will have to dismount and advance on foot, still lies ahead.
• “The IDF is conducting this operation as if there are no hostages,” says Col. Y., a brigade commander in the 36th Division. He immediately adds, “The people responsible for the hostages are operating as if there is no ground operation here.” “We don’t ignore any scrap of information about the hostages,” he says, “but the war machine now in Gaza will be hard to stop and restrain.”
• “Snipers, anti-tank missiles and raids pose the main threats,” explains Col. Y. “The enemy is quite cowardly, but when he tries, he can sting us. I tell my soldiers we have to complete the mission first, then protect ourselves. We’re here to win.”
• Toward the end of the tour, Col. Y. says he was surprised to some extent by how events played out in the first days. “The resistance is less than we thought we’d find here,” he explains. “There was resistance, and there were combat casualties, but we’re holding the ground very strongly.” He says Hamas fighters are active mostly during the day.
• They don’t necessarily go after rocket launchers or armed militants. In the words of the commanders on the ground: They aim to drain the swamp and not deal with the mosquitoes. “A soldier, in the end, has to locate and kill the enemy, find ditches and find intelligence, so that we can win without any dilemmas,” Y. summarizes. “To the soldier, the mission is very clear.”
• Gaza Rocket Hits Road in Southern Israel

 POST WAR GAZA:

• Official Says Israel Will Want Security Control of Gaza After War Ends
• S. State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel responded to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s comments on ABC News about indefinite control over the Gaza Strip: “Our viewpoint is Palestinians must be at the forefront of these decisions. Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land. Generally speaking, we do not support reoccupation of Gaza and neither does Israel.”
• Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that one of the main goals for the period after the war is to guarantee the IDF’s freedom of action in Gaza “without limitations.”
• Saudi Arabia will host summits of Arab and Islamic nations in coming days to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Saudi Arabia’s investment minister said on Tuesday.
• Erdogan Is Looking Ahead to the Day After the Israel-Hamas War: The Turkish president, who sees his country as a regional power, wants to lead to a political solution while forming a front with the leading Arab countries. The news was contained in a sharply worded statement that “Netanyahu can no longer be considered a partner, we have written him off.” “We won’t leave our brothers in Gaza alone,” Erdogan said. “It is our historical responsibility to call out the crimes of those supporting this immoral, unscrupulous, despicable massacre [by Israel].” He added that Turkey planned to “bring Israel’s crimes” before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
• Erdogan himself was quick to declare that “Gaza must be part of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.” This is how Erdogan has inserted himself into future developments, even if for now the U.S. (not to mention Israel) has no idea what the day after will look like.
• However, the Israel-Turkish diplomatic honeymoon that began 15 months ago isn’t entirely over. Erdogan said that his foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, and İbrahim Kalin, the head of intelligence, have had discussions with people in Israel and that breaking off diplomatic relations is not on the agenda because, as he put it, “there is no such thing as severing relations, especially not in relations between countries.”
• ‘Hamas Cannot Govern Gaza:’ EU Chief Presents Roadmap for After Israel-Hamas War:

Ursula von der Leyen’s says path toward the day after the Israel-Hamas war may include an ‘international peace force under UN mandate’ and calls for immediate release of all hostages held in Gaza. She elaborated 5 fundamental principles for the day after the Israel-Gaza War:

1. The first principle presented by the top EU official is that Gaza “can be no safe haven for terrorists.” She stated, “We know what happened after the previous Gaza wars. Hamas immediately started rebuilding its arsenal and preparing for the next conflict. This cannot be the case any longer.”
2. Secondly, “the terrorist organization Hamas cannot control or govern Gaza. There should be only one Palestinian Authority, and one Palestinian State.”
3. Von der Leyen added that there should not be a long-term Israeli security presence in Gaza. “Gaza is an essential part of any future Palestinian State,” the former German defense minister said.
4. Another principle is that there should be no forced removal of Palestinians from Gaza, as it would only be a recipe for more regional instability, von der Leyen said.
5. Her fifth point that there should not be a sustained blockade of Gaza. “Hamas has continued to build up its arsenal, while the economy of Gaza has collapsed, so it is just the opposite of what we want,” she said.

IN THE NORTH (LEBANON):

• 20 Rockets Launched at Israel From Lebanon, IDF Responds With Artillery Fire (Nov 7^th)
• Hezbollah leader (Nasrallah) signals in his speech that he does not want an all-out war with Israel in the north, however this does not rule out potential escalations.
• Even though the fighting is focused in the Gaza Strip, fears of an escalation on the northern border revived on Sunday. In the afternoon Hezbollah fired an anti-tank missile at a water tanker near Kibbutz Yiftach in the Upper Galilee. The civilian driving the tanker was killed. In response, an Israel Defense Forces drone hit a car on the Lebanese side of the border. The Lebanese reported that a woman and three children, her grandchildren, had been killed. Hezbollah responded by launching rockets at Kiryat Shmona.
• Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said that every Israeli strike would draw a commensurate response, and if Israel killed Lebanese civilians, Hezbollah would kill Israeli civilians. This opens a door to escalation that would include more widespread Hezbollah fire at Israeli communities, even though Nasrallah also signaled in his speech that he isn’t seeking all-out war.
• Rumbling in the North as Israel Works Against U.S. Clock in Gaza: Israel does not have an unlimited amount of time to fight Hamas, and Biden’s room for maneuver is shrinking
• The Shi’ite organization has fired rockets and anti-tank missiles into Israel from Lebanon, killing six soldiers and one civilian. It has lost dozens of fighters in battles with the Israel Defense Forces, pinned down Israeli reserve forces along the border to protect the north and causing the evacuation of large numbers of civilians from border communities. Nasrallah implied that Hezbollah may intensify its attacks (there were several incidents along the border Saturday).
• In this regard it is worth noting IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi’s statement, in a remark referring to the northern front, that the Israel Air Force has not yet deployed most of its capabilities in this war. (Nov 5^th)
• Regarding the north, the source said, “Hezbollah cannot currently breach the border because of our forces’ preparedness and readiness, so the idea of occupying the north is gone.”

IN THE CENTER:

• U.S. Sends Attack Submarine With Tomahawk Missiles to Middle East
• Rockets fired toward Tel Aviv from Gaza landed in the sea near central Israel; no sirens were activated
• Rocket sirens sound in central Israel (Nov 7^th noon)

WEST BANK:

• Israeli Army Says they Killed Four Terrorists, Including Hamas, Fatah Members in West Bank
• Religious Zionism leader and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has been handed broad authority over civilian issues in the West Bank, enabling him to deepen Israel’s presence in the West Bank, increase settlement construction and thwart Palestinian development.

NEGOTIATIONS – HOSTAGE RELEASE:

• The officials believe that despite the negotiation efforts led by Qatar, the parties are not on the verge of a deal to release the hostages. The prevailing assessment that a deal is highly unlikely, they said, led to the decision to launch a significant ground operation in Gaza.
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News on Monday that a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is dependent on the release of all Israelis being held hostage by Hamas but did say that Israel could allow “tactical pauses” for humanitarian purposes.
• On Sunday, a Washington Post report said that American officials were advocating a deal to release civilian hostages from Gaza in exchange for a five-day cease-fire. Israeli defense officials said this idea went nowhere because Hamas opposed it. Both America and Qatar tried to promote it, they said, but Hamas evaded any serious discussion of it.
• Jordan, Bahrain and Bolivia have recalled their ambassadors but have not announced their severing relations with Israel.Even the two times that Egypt recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv – during the First Lebanon War and during the Second Intifada – working relations continued as usual, including security cooperation. Israel’s commercial and intelligence ties were maintained during the years relations were frosty and neither country posted an ambassador with the other.
• Hamas is holding 25 Thai citizens hostage in Gaza, according to data published by the Thai government. The first group of Canadians has been evacuated out of Gaza, according to the Canadian government.
• The Washington Post reported, based on diplomatic sources who sound suspiciously like Blinken himself, that there is a Hamas proposal to release all civilian hostages (but not soldiers) in exchange for a five-day ceasefire. Israeli officials are not relating to this proposal publicly.
• If Israel agreed to such a deal, with hostages released in exchange for a temporary cease-fire, the more the IDF penetrates urban areas, the harder it will be to halt fire since the army will be in close proximity to Hamas fighters, causing it to avoid risks that would endanger IDF forces. A further issue is that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and senior IDF commanders expect to have a period of months in order to defeat Hamas as they promised to do. But a deal may put pressure on Israel to not resume fire after the deal is completed.
• 240 hostages held in Gaza, 40 remain missing

GLOBAL RESPONSE & INVOLVEMENT:

• Today (Nov 7^th) Israel is holding memorial ceremonies across the country to mark one month since the October 7 massacre.
• One can sense that U.S. patience with IDF operations in the Gaza Strip is waning, given the prolongation of the fighting. Blinken called on Israel to allow increased aid to reach Gaza, warning of a humanitarian disaster there. He noted that pauses in the fighting would help the efforts to release Israeli hostages.
• The world, and even the United States – Israel’s biggest supporter, which has given it unprecedented diplomatic and military assistance – has other considerations that need to be taken into account. That message is coming from President Joe Biden, the Pentagon and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited Israel over the weekend. Will the Americans lose patience and retreat from their uncompromising support for the war on Hamas? Israeli officials involved in the issue say it’s a question of when, not if. And the answer, according to some assessments, is sometime between Thanksgiving (November 23) and Christmas.
• Muslim members of Congress issue statement condemning anti-Palestinian hate
• The three Muslim members of Congress – Reps. Andre Carson, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib – issued a joint statement condemning rising anti-Palestinian hate evidenced by a Republican bill seeking to expel Palestinians from the U.S. “Unfortunately, this legislation is part of a growing tide of bigoted anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian hate pervading our politics,” they noted. The lawmakers noted the “dangerous rhetoric” is already costing lives, and that the “targeting does not just put Palestinian-American lives at risk, but all Muslim-Americans, Arab-Americans, Sikhs, and other people of color who share our identities.“
• ‘Alarming and New’: Big Spike in Antisemitic Attacks in Italy as a Result of Gaza War (also in Europe)
• S. Campus Antisemitism Over Gaza War Creates Dilemma for College-bound Jewish Kids
• ‘It’s Important That Jews Join and Say That a Palestinian Life Is Worth the Same as Any Other Life’ Several thousand protesters marched through the French capital on Saturday, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. While most protesters were from pro-Palestinian groups and the left, a handful of Jews were also there to ‘protest for peace’
• One of the main slogans heard was “Palestine will live, Palestine will prevail,” which echoed a similar slogan shouted at pro-Israel gatherings: “Israel will live, Israel will prevail.”
• The world was in complete solidarity with Israel, which, for several hours, was the victim of Hamas’ atrocious attack. But after that, the status quo ante returned. Israel resumed being the strongest country in the region, which controls land, sea and air. Hamas resumed barricading itself underground. And Gaza’s residents were left vulnerable to tons of explosives. Shtrasler tells all the people criticizing Israel for responding disproportionately that it’s impossible to win a war proportionately.
• South Africa Recalls Ambassador in Tel Aviv, Accuses Israel of ‘Genocide’ in Gaza
• Saudi Arabia to host Arab and Islamic summits to discuss Gaza conflict
• Israeli Human Rights Orgs Call for Ceasefire, Hostage Deal, Political Solution to Conflict
• Explained: Who Are Yemen’s Houthis, and Why Are They Attacking Israel? Despite being situated 2,000 kilometers south of Israel, the Houthi movement has now launched three separate attacks toward the resort city of Eilat. Experts explain why this is in line with its wider anti-Israel, antisemitic agenda, and why it is more a partner than proxy for its Iranian patron. It served as a resistance group to Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled the country from 1990 until his resignation in 2012. The group’s 2014 takeover of the capital of Sanaa was the catalyst for the ongoing civil war in Yemen, in which the movement is supported by Iran. A Saudi-backed coalition joined the fray in 2015, bringing other Gulf States into the battle against the Houthis, who now control large parts of the country’s west and its major population centers. The war has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and a dire humanitarian crisis – one the United Nations called the world’s worst in 2021. “Iran has helped the Houthis out in their war against Saudi Arabia and their civil war within Yemen. Part of the Houthi ideology is anti-Israeli antisemitism, and it’s a worldview they share with Iran,” he says. “Opposition to Israel’s presence in the region has become part of the Shi’ite revivalist ideology.”
• The Houthis have not been coy about their ideology. The flag of their movement bears their slogan in Arabic: “God is great, death to America, death to Israel, a curse upon the Jews, victory to Islam.”

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 10,000 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:

“So, my dear brothers and sisters, how and where and with whom do you want to live forever? You get to choose. When you make choices, I invite you to take the long view—an eternal view. Put Jesus Christ first because your eternal life is dependent upon your faith in Him and in His Atonement. It is also dependent upon your obedience to His laws. Obedience paves the way for a joyful life for you today and a grand, eternal reward tomorrow. When you are confronted with a dilemma, 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:

Holy Land Scripture Series

 

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