GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 164

Lines In The Sand Drawn

Hamas Leaders Back In Hospital

We found out today that the Israel Defense Force (IDF) had to go back into the Shifa Hospital to take out Hamas leaders who regrouped there as we see in a report from The Jerusalem Post:

The IDF's reinvasion of Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza started around 2:30 a.m. early Monday morning and included a mix of IDF Division 162 regular infantry, armor, special forces, the Shin Bet, and IDF intelligence collection Unit 504.

Although the IDF said it achieved surprise on a group of terrorists who had returned to Shifa, it said it had both given a general warning to the medical staff there and had been following the return of terrorists for a long time.

More specifically, the IDF said it had planned the operation for a number of days, waiting for the right timing when they could most catch Hamas off guard.

The IDF didn’t tell reporters why they did this during Ramadan when they knew earlier:

Other than that this was a time when more terrorists had returned to Shifa, including some commanders, the IDF did not explain why taking over the hospital during Ramadan and heated criticism from the US over the humanitarian situation was smart strategic timing.

It appeared that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was updated about the operation, but not the full cabinet.

No high ranking command officers were killed, but there may be a bigger problem:

There were no indications from the IDF that any members of the Hamas high command had been killed, wounded, or targeted, but the IDF said that several or more unidentified Hamas terrorists had been killed. Their identities were still unclear…Rather, the IDF said it had arrested around 80 persons, some of whom are Hamas. The IDF is currently distinguishing who is among Hamas and who is a civilian or medical staff.

The IDF said that there was no information to indicate that Hamas had used terror tunnels as in November.

Rather, this time, they had stayed within the Shifa buildings themselves.

Apparently Hamas is still in the area or never even left the building the first time it was taken back by the IDF. This highlights how difficult it will be to totally eradicate every member of the terrorist organization. And we also see that Israel may have to totally restaff these hospitals until they can be certain that no one working there are either Hamas terrorists or working with them as the previous hospital director eventually admitted to under questioning. In this last sentence we see why Hamas was there again:

The IDF said that Hamas was trying to return Shifa to its status as a Hamas command center.

Vast Majority Of Israel Supports Government Goals

In the continued public battle of words between US government officials and Israeli officials, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took more time to repudiate charges he is out of touch with his people. Here is more on that from an article in the Jerusalem News Syndicate:

Victory in the war against Hamas would deliver a “stinging blow to the Iran terror axis,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday, adding that Israelis are united in pursuit of this goal.

“The vast majority of the people, the army, the [IDF] reservists. They want victory because they understand that victory is essential for survival,” the premier told board members of the pro-Israel AIPAC lobbying group at his office in Jerusalem.

Contrary to the picture being presented in the United States, Netanyahu asserted that the vast majority of the public is behind the government’s goals of destroying Hamas, freeing the hostages and preventing Gaza from again threatening Israel.

Netanyahu said they have to deal with Hezbollah as well, something I’ve been saying for some time now. He expanded on his assertion that Israel is united on their war goals and why the global leaders need to also unite behind Israel:

“The description [being painted in the U.S.] is that you have an outlier prime minister with some extreme fringe groups and that is what is driving the policy. It is false, deliberately false. Wrong. There is unity among the people to achieve victory along the lines I described. It is within reach, and we are going to do it,” Netanyahu said.

“If we achieve these goals, then we will also deliver a stinging blow to the Iran terror axis which is behind everything that we are seeing here today,” he continued.

This is not just Israel’s battle, but also “the battle for the victory of the Israel-American-moderate Arab axis against the Iran axis,” the prime minister stressed.

The Prime Minister rebuffed concerns over evacuating civilians from the Rafah area:

Netanyahu attempted to allay concerns about evacuating noncombatants from Rafah in southern Gaza, saying that there is “plenty of space” between Rafah and the central corridor that takes up 65% of the Strip’s territory.

He said that those arguing against the Rafah operation, who would leave the remaining Hamas battalions in place, are making a case for losing the war.

He then addressed where the obstruction really lies:

“They keep saying that local politics is interfering with this. They may be right, but on which side of the pond? We have to win this war.

“We have to stand together here, and we have to stand together there, because it’s the right thing to do and the necessary thing to do,” Netanyahu said. “It’s the one thing that will ensure the viability, future and security of the State of Israel.”

Chances Of Hostage Deal Are Slim

As more talks for the next hostage release deal happen in Doha, Qatar we hear that both sides are going into the negotiations with “red lines” making a deal difficult to say the least as read in an article from i24news.tv:

Israeli sources told i24NEWS that Israel's delegation, led by Mossad chief David Barnea, is departing for Doha to continue ceasefire and hostage release negotiations with the aim of changing the outline proposed by Hamas, which they define as "bad."

Officials in Jerusalem are downplaying the prospect of a new hostage release deal, following Hamas's counterproposal to an outline put forward by international mediators.

The Israeli delegation goes back to talks with a mandate in hand:

On Sunday evening, Israel's war cabinet discussed the mandate which would be given to Barnea for the negotiations in Qatar, particularly since Hamas continued to set problematic conditions. According to Israeli news site Ynet, the negotiating team requested “a significant amount of time to conduct the negotiations" in order to improve the existing deal on the table.

The Security Cabinet would also be involved in a wider discussion on a hostage release and ceasefire deal, despite what they call "absurd" demands, such as Israel agreeing to steps toward a permanent ceasefire as part of the deal.

The Hamas demands are their red lines:

Hamas's proposal called for a full withdrawal of Israeli forces, allowing Gazans to return to the northern part of the Strip, and specific demands on the Palestinian security prisoners who would be released in exchange for the Israeli hostages.

Such demands were described by Israeli officials as an attempt by Hamas to erase Israel's achievements in dismantling the terrorist organization during the war in Gaza, which has been a primary goal alongside the return of hostages, following the October 7 attack and massacre.

As we’ve seen with Hamas trying to reestablish itself in Gaza at the Shifa Hospital, letting anyone back into previously cleared areas isn’t a good idea as these terrorists are very good at hiding in plain sight. And releasing hostages at a 100 to 1 rate is hardly acceptable since Hamas wants these prisoners released back into Israel where they can begin the same terrorist activity that put them away in the first place. I want hostages to be released just as much as anyone else, but I see the only way the rest of those who are alive will be freed is when the IDF locates and releases them.