50 Hamas tunnels dismantled this week as IDF announces 17,000 terrorists killed
50 Hamas terror tunnels were dismantled by the IDF this week along the Philadelphi Corridor which runs between the Egypt and Gaza border, as the IDF announced that it has killed 17,000 Hamas terrorists in Gaza since October 7th. The IDF has not disclosed how many tunnels crossed into Egypt, though it is widely understood that smuggling tunnels have been used for years to bring advanced weaponry into Gaza from Egypt.
In a separate operation, over 30 Hamas sites including booby-trapped buildings, terror tunnels, and weapon storage units, were targeted by the Israeli Air Force on Wednesday.
Hamas released an image of a male hostage this week who they said was killed recently by a Hamas guard – the first time the terror group has publicly admitted killing an Israeli hostage. The IDF have confirmed that the hostages body was recovered in an IDF operation in November and this is not a new attack. Hamas has also announced that it shot two female hostages this week.
The IDF on Thursday issued a new humanitarian evacuation order for Palestinian civilians in the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza, following recent rocket attacks on Israel.
Hostage truce talks continue in Doha
A senior Israeli delegation has participated in a two-day summit in Doha in an effort to advance ceasefire negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages who have been held by Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza for 315 days. U.S. President Joe Biden has claimed that “we’re closer than we have ever been” to a hostage truce deal being agreed. The mediating parties are expected to reconvene next week in an attempt to finalise a deal after circulating a ‘bridging proposal’.
Israel’s delegates, led by Mossad chief David Barnea, were joined by mediators from the U.S., Egypt and Qatar present. Hamas has reportedly rejected Israeli requests that its troops remain in Gaza along the border with Egypt, where the IDF has destroyed 50 Hamas terror tunnels this week alone. Hamas is understood not have a delegation in attendance, amidst claims that new Head of the Political Bureau Yahya Sinwar cannot be contacted. Hamas is understood to be demanding a “complete ceasefire, [and] a complete withdrawal from the Strip”.
Israel has pushed for 33 hostages, identified as alive by their intelligence agencies, to be released in the first phase of the hostage/ceasefire deal – the health and well-being of all other hostages remain unclear. Hamas has insisted that the 30 released include living and dead hostages, causing further concern of the well-being of the other hostages still held captive in Gaza. Of the 111 hostages still in Gaza, Israel has announced the deaths of 39.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani has reportedly implored Iran this week not to launch its anticipated attach on Israel while negotiations continue following the assassination of Hamas’ Political Leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Hezbollah has also reportedly temporarily paused its own plans to launch a major attack on Israel in the aftermath of Israel’s killing of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
Iran continues preparations for major attack on Israel
Iran conducted naval drills in the Caspian Sea and Air Force exercises in the northern part of the country to prepare for an attack against Israel, amid the resignation of Iranian Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif, an opponent to an attack on Israel. The Islamic Republic is believed to have temporarily paused its planned attack on Israel, in the aftermath of the killing of Hamas’ Political Leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in late July, pending the outcome of hostage truce negotiations in Doha.
“The Iranian people are tired of our government’s policies”, Zarif said. “They are tired of being more Palestinian than the Palestinians themselves”.
Tehran have reportedly rejected Western proposals to resume talks on the Iranian nuclear programme in turn for not attacking the Jewish State. Iran International News reported that Iran is currently working to advance their nuclear weapon programme by manufacturing missiles with the ability to carry nuclear warheads.
Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei said that “the enemy is looking for psychological warfare to create fear and force the Iranian people to retreat. The exaggeration of the capabilities of our enemies is intended to spread fear among our people by the USA, Britain and the Zionists. The enemy’s hand is not as strong as it is advertised”. “The reaction will come and only Allah and I know when”, he threatened.
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant underscored that he is “aware of the tensions and the great burden placed on the citizens of Israel”, adding that Israel is “following what is happening in Beirut, Tehran, and other places [and is] engaged both in removing the threats and preparing all possibilities”.
Gallant also announced sanctions against 18 oil tankers said to be used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force “to finance and strengthen” Iranian-backed terror groups Hezbollah and Hamas through sale proceeds.
In a statement by Israel’s Defence Ministry’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF), it was revealed that “the oil originates in the Iranian regime’s allocations to Quds Force, which transports the oil in tankers under a legitimate facade, in an effort to circumvent international sanctions in the context of terrorism financing, using methods that constitute a violation of maritime safety and environmental laws, in order to sell the oil to a wide range of countries”.
Hezbollah continued its rocket attacks against Israel, hitting a branch of Israel’s Bank Leumi in Kiryat Shmona on Wednesday.
In response the Israeli Air Force (IAF) targeted Hezbollah infrastructure in Ayta ash-Shab, southern Lebanon.
