GNITN – Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 72

Not Fighting Fair

Hostage Negotiations Intensify

As we expected after the accidental killing of three hostages, calls for another hostage release is gathering momentum in Quatar. We read more about this in this article from The Times Of Israel:

Egyptian security sources tell Reuters that both Israel and Hamas are open to a new ceasefire agreement that would include the release of hostages held by the Gaza-ruling terror group.

The sources say that Egypt and Qatar demanded that aid shipments be expedited and that Israel reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing with Gaza as conditions for restarting negotiations. The first humanitarian convoy entered Gaza through Kerem Shalom earlier today.

Apparently Hamas wants to make the decision on who is released next:

The sources also say that Hamas is insisting on unilaterally deciding the next hostages to be freed and wants Israeli troops to withdraw to pre-set lines. According to the sources, Israel rejected the latter term, and demanded to see the list of hostages before the time and duration of the ceasefire are determined.

In the same live blog we read that the Mossad chief is meeting with officials from Qatar to negotiate the new hostage deal:

Mossad chief David Barnea will travel again to Europe in the coming days for talks with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani about a potential hostage deal with Hamas, according to Hebrew media reports.

The reports say Barnea will be accompanied by Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, who is commanding intelligence efforts to find the abductees.

Updated Information On Negotiations

And now we learned a little more about these talks from a report from i24news.tv:

In a significant development aimed at advancing discussions on the release of hostages, the director of Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad, engaged in talks with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani on Friday, diplomatic sources revealed to CNN.

The sources highlighted that the meeting between Mossad Director David Barnea and the Qatari Prime Minister was described as positive.

The article points out that Israel and Hamas usually talk to each other directly and it also reiterates why the sudden change of heart by Israel to negotiate again:

Notably, Israel and Hamas typically refrain from direct communication, making intermediary negotiations crucial in these discussions.

This meeting followed a previously canceled trip by Barnea to Doha earlier in the week, as directed by the Israeli government. However, despite the setback, the latest encounter between the Mossad director and Qatari official held urgency, particularly after the incident where three Israeli hostages were accidentally killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza on Friday.

What will come of this is still unknown. What we do know is that Qatar is pro-Hamas and Israel needs to be wise as a serpent when dealing with a mediator that is slanted against them.

Largest Tunnel Found

A report from i24news.tv states that the IDF discovered the largest underground tunnel, yet:

The Israeli military on Sunday exposed the biggest Hamas tunnel found yet in Gaza, some 400 meters from the Erez Humanitarian Crossing.

Until October 7, the Erez Humanitarian Crossing, operated by COGAT’s Coordination and Liaison Administration (CLA) for Gaza, served as an oasis of peaceful coexistence. The Erez crossing was the place through which 17,000 workers from Gaza crossed in every day to work in Israel and earn wages far higher than they could in Gaza. The adjacent Erez base was built with the sole goal of allowing for Gazan to be treated in Israel, but these were exactly the targets Hamas was looking for.

More specifics on the tunnel was also given:

The IDF exposed Hamas subterranean tunnel system of attack tunnels built in the immediate vicinity of the Erez crossing. This massive tunnel system, splits into branches of tunnels, spans well over four kilometers (2.5 miles) and reaches only 400 meters (1,310 feet) from the Erez crossing.

This subterranean tunnel system was a project led by Mohammad Sinwar, the brother of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

According to the IDF, all of the tunnels must be dealt with:

"Without dismantling the Hamas tunnel network we can't dismantle Hamas," an IDF officer said.

Even More Details On The Tunnels Discovered

We now turn to a story from The Times Of Israel that gives us more on what the IDF is finding out about the tunnel they just found:

The tunnel, of which around four kilometers (2.5 miles) were uncovered by the IDF, goes down some 50 meters (165 feet) underground in some areas and appears to be wide enough for vehicles to pass through. It did not enter Israeli territory.

One of the shafts was found just 400 meters (a quarter mile) from the Erez Crossing, which until Hamas’s October 7 onslaught facilitated the movement of Palestinian civilians into Israel for work and medical care.

The IDF said that over the last few weeks, the Combat Engineering Corps’ elite Yahalom unit and the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade used “advanced intelligence and technological means” to uncover the “strategic” tunnel network, scan it and clear it of any potential threats.

The tunnels show signs of a sophisticated plan that used specialized equipment:

According to the IDF, the construction of the tunnel involved a team of dozens of Hamas terrorists “who came especially for its construction from Khan Younis [in the southern Gaza Strip] to the north of the Gaza Strip.”

The IDF said the materials used to build the tunnel “have not been seen so far in Hamas tactical tunnels.” It said the tunnel-boring machines used in the construction had been smuggled into the Strip.

According to military estimates, Hamas has invested millions of dollars in its tunnel network across the Gaza Strip.

A great deal if not all of the money sent to Gaza was used for the building of the system:

“Since the beginning of the war, as well as during these days, the IDF has been working to locate and destroy dozens of attack tunnel routes, as part of the systematic dismantling of Hamas infrastructure,” it said.

In a press conference Sunday night, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the tunnel was “no ordinary tunnel. It’s a city. A terrorist city underground that Hamas dug and built instead of investing money in the residents of Gaza.”

And now the world community is wanting more money to flow into Gaza for “humanitarian” purposes. I’m sure that it will be used for that purpose, right?

Hamas Isn’t Playing By The Same Rules

As if we needed more examples to support this, the IDF found a tunnel shaft in child’s room detailed in an article by i24news.tv:

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) broke through to Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, taking control of central positions and infrastructure of the terrorist organization Hamas, including its leader’s vacation house in the area, as well as other senior officials, according to an announcement on Sunday.

During battles over the last week, many terrorists were eliminated, heavy weapons were found and confiscated, as well as equipment containing operational intelligence such as phones, computers and various documents.

Hamas has cynically used civilians, their homes and civilian infrastructure as human shields. The IDF announced earlier on Sunday another example of a residential home being used to hide an operational terror tunnel, within a child’s bedroom and covered by a baby crib.

When will the world start demanding that terrorists stop using these tactics? When will they decry the use of human shields and places like hospitals, schools, and houses of worship to stage their attacks and store their weapons? The IDF is castigated and berated constantly for targeting civilians by the United States when it is Hamas that is doing so all the time. Much like the IDF, we as Christians must recognize such evil strategies being used by these terrorists are exactly like the enemy of our souls, the Devil. But we have better weapons and a stronger army fighting for us. As we pray for Israel let us also pray for each other so that those taken hostage by Satan and his minions will be released as well.