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.”

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Iranian pro-regime media said on Sunday. The meeting was widely expected and had been reported yesterday. However, Iranian media reported it on Sunday. Fars News and Tasnim News in Iran both noted that the “head of the political office of Hamas and the delegation met with the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei.” 

Haniyeh presented the Iranian Ayatollah with an update on “developments in Gaza” and also accused Israel of “crimes.” He also discussed “developments in the West Bank,” Iranian media said. “The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also once again expressed his appreciation for the patience and perseverance of the steadfast people of Gaza and strongly deplored the crimes committed by the Zionist regime with the direct support of the United States and some Western countries,” the report noted.

Sirens sounded across southern Israel and the Gaza border communities amid a heavy rocket barrage from the Gaza Strip on Sunday afternoon.

This is a developing story.

The full scale and scope of the Israeli intelligence and defense establishment on October 7 will likely only become clear several months or more down the road when evidence starts being brought before an expected commission of inquiry.

But after weeks of waiting, already the Jerusalem Post has learned some pieces of the intelligence failure from IDF intelligence officials, both from what they have said and what they have not said.

One of the primary failures of Israeli intelligence was extremely high confidence that Hamas was deterred from starting any war with Israel in the foreseeable future.

There were several pieces that were used to prove this deterrence, including that Hamas had stayed out of multiple fights between Islamic Jihad of Gaza and Israel.

It was costly for its reputation within Gaza that Hamas stayed out of these fights, something which seemed to even more greatly prove that the terror group was deterred from starting a new conflict.

Evacuations of injured Gazans and foreign passport holders through the Rafah crossing to Egypt have been suspended since Saturday, two Egyptian security sources and one medical source told Reuters.

One of the security sources and the medical source said the evacuations were suspended after an Israeli strike on Friday on an ambulance in Gaza being used to transport injured people.

The Rafah crossing to Egypt's Sinai peninsula is the only exit point from Gaza not controlled by Israel. Aid trucks were still able to travel into the territory, two of the sources said.

"We believe it will (open) this afternoon," a senior US State Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Don't hold me to it," the official added.

Israeli forces prioritized evacuation offers above other operational missions in the Gaza Strip, IDF spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari reassured on Sunday in a statement presenting Israeli evidence showing Hamas's use of hospitals in Gaza as bases of operation.

Over a million and a half pamphlets were dropped into Gaza by Israeli fighter jets since the beginning of the operation, Hagari said, showing footage of an aircraft dropping the pamphlets and another video of a journalist showing and reading the IDF pamphlets.

Close to six million phone calls were carried out by the IDF's Spokesperson's Office, he added. "Hamas is weak without human shields," Hagari said.

"Hamas is weak without human shields"

IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari

Hagari showed photo evidence of Hamas launchpads adjacent to hospitals across Gaza, with the knowledge the IDF could not strike the launchpads due to collateral damage that would be done to the hospital.

"They say there is a fuel shortage in Gaza, they are liars, liars," a Gazan official the IDF said was close to Hamas was heard saying in a recorded conversation, which Hagari said the United States had verified.

"There is no fuel shortage of fuel in Gaza. It is in the hands of Hamas."

This is a developing story.