Israel at war - What happened on day 30?

I have taken part in a few incursions into the Gaza Strip, but I have to admit that I have never been this scared. The intensity of the war, my family situation, including a son who’d been injured and undergone a long recovery, stirred up many conflicting thoughts. Yet when we received final approval from the IDF last Thursday to join the troops for a day, all my doubts dissipated.

By Friday, we were on our way down South to join up with the Negev Brigade, a reserve infantry brigade, as it traversed to Beit Hanun in the Gaza Strip.

Civilian communities on Gaza border turned into makeshift military bases

Immediately after the war broke out, many of the kibbutzim that border Gaza were turned into makeshift military bases, a different pace from previous military operations, where civilian activity mostly continued as usual. Today, barely any civilians remain in any of the communities.

“Up until October 7, we were reservists,” one soldier stationed in the area said. “Now, we are all soldiers. Some of the reserve units’ equipment was antiquated, but now we have everything we need.”

Rocket sirens sounded across Israel's northern border towns, including in cities such as Kiryat Shmona and Metula.

A barrage of around ten rockets from northern Israel was mostly intercepted by the Iron Dome system. One rocket fell on a vehicle in Kiryat Shmona, causing a fire in the city. A number of other rocket falls were reported in the vicinity of the city.

No casualties were reported, Israel Police said.

The security cabinet approved the transfer of the Palestinian Authority's tax funds on Thursday, but with an offset of all the funds intended for the Gaza Strip - and in addition to the offset of "pay-for-slay" funds, which the PA earmarks for terrorists and their families. 

It is unclear how much money will ultimately be deducted.

Officials in the Prime Minister's Office said that the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) is responsible for checking the amount of money.

One person was killed after an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon hit a vehicle near the Shushan military outpost in northern Israel, adjacent to Kibbutz Yiftach, IDF spokesperson in Arabic Avichay Adraee announced on Sunday evening.

The IDF confirmed the rocket launch and responded with artillery fire toward Lebanon. 

Later on Sunday, rocket sirens sounded across Israel's northern border towns, including in cities such as Kiryat Shmona and Metula.

#عاجل واصل #حزب_الله اليوم مهاجمة مواقع عسكرية وبلدات مدنية اسرائيلية دون تمييز بين مدنيين وعسكريين. وقد أسفرت احدى الهجمات عن مقتل مواطن إسرائيلي.

حزب الله الارهابي يواصل زعزعة الاستقرار الأمني على الحدود الشمالية ويستهدف سكان الشمال دون تمييز ويخاطر بالاستقرار في جنوب لبنان

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 5, 2023

Hezbollah claims: Three children killed in Israeli strike

A Hezbollah lawmaker claimed without providing evidence that artillery fire by the IDF killed three children and their grandmother in southern Lebanon, calling the attack "a dangerous development" that would have repercussions.

Palestinian telecommunications company PalTel said on Sunday that all communications and internet services have been cut again within the Gaza Strip.

"The main routes that were previously reconnected (were) cut off again from the Israeli side," it said.

Hamas terror leader Yahya Sinwar does not care about the Palestinians and is acting like a "little Hitler in a bunker," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday evening.

"He has no care for his people," Netanyahu charged.

Israel is not only fighting Hamas. Israel is fighting for the future of Western culture and values, according to MK Sharren Haskel.

The chair of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus and a prominent international advocate for Israel, Haskel, last week led a small delegation of Knesset members and ambassadors on a visit to southern Israel. Her purpose extended beyond showcasing the harrowing destruction in Israel's kibbutzim; it was to engage in a crucial discussion about the potential consequences should Israel not emerge victorious in its war against Hamas.

"We are preventing an international intifada," Haskel told The Jerusalem Post. "In America, Paris, Barcelona, they [extremist Muslims] are chanting for the massacre and murder of people who do not believe in Islam but believe in Western values.

"The Christians were the most persecuted minority in the Middle East," she continued. "They are almost done with the Christians. Obviously, the Jews are next."

The IDF continued its counter-invasion of the Gaza Strip on Sunday, uncovering an arsenal of Hamas weaponry including armed drones and RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) as Operation Swords of Iron entered its 30th day.

The IDF, which struck over 2,500 targets in Gaza in the past week as per Israeli media, operated in the vicinity of Beit Hanoun, in the northern Strip.

In a raid of a Gaza home conducted by the Israeli military's 551st Brigade, Israeli forces discovered a cache of weapons including Kalashnikov rifles, grenades, explosive devices, armed drones, and RPGs.

In addition, the cache included protective equipment and ammunition, hidden in the home for use by Hamas terrorists in continued fighting against Israeli soldiers inside the Strip.

The IDF said that some of the weaponry was destroyed while the rest was brought back into Israel for research purposes.

Israel won’t agree to any ceasefire activity in the Gaza war without the return of the hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to the Ramon Air Force base, as he explained that he is delivering this message both to the countries' allies and enemies. 

“I also want you to know that there is one thing that we will not do - there will be no ceasefire without the return of the captives,” Netanyahu told the pilots. The very idea of doing that “has to be removed from the conversation,” he added.

“We this to both our enemies and our friends. We will continue [the battle] until we have defeated them [our enemy]. We have no alternative. I think today everyone understands that,” he said.

Netanyahu spoke amid growing pressure from the international to press Israel to accept a mechanism for a series of humanitarian pauses, but Israel has feared this will become a de-facto cease-fire. Hamas has assured that close to 10,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza related violence.

Qatar calls for 'period of calm' in Gaza

Qatar's foreign ministry said on Sunday that without a "period of calm" in Gaza its mediators would not be able to secure the release of Israeli hostages held there.

“We this to both our enemies and our friends. We will continue [the battle] until we have defeated them [our enemy]. We have no alternative. I think today everyone understands that.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Ra'am MK Iman Khatib-Yassin was reportedly asked to resign on Sunday after claiming that Hamas didn't slaughter babies or rape women on October 7.

In an interview with the Knesset Channel, she said that according to the footage presented in the IDF Spokesperson's Unit's documentary, no babies were slaughtered during the attack, and no women were raped.

The documentary in question was made up of footage taken from security cameras and cameras that were taken from killed or captured terrorists. At 47 minutes, it does not contain all existing footage from throughout the whole attack.