Israel at war: What happened on Day 58?

The US has given Israel around 15,000 bombs, including 100 BLU-109, 2,000-pound bunker buster bombs, and about 57,000 artillery shells, since Hamas initiated the Israel-Hamas war with its attack on southern Israel in early October, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The WSJ report observed that the Biden administration is walking a diplomatic tightrope as it continues to supply hundreds of millions of dollars worth of arms to the Jewish state while also urging it to do its best to avoid excessive civilian casualties.

“President Biden and I have been clear,” US Vice-President Kamala Harris told reporters on Saturday. Israel has a right to defend itself and we will remain steadfast in that conviction. President Biden and I have also been clear: as Israel defends itself, it matters how.”

Israel has a right to defend itself. As Israel does so, it matters how.

Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. As Israel pursues its military objectives in Gaza, we believe Israel must do more to protect innocent civilians. pic.twitter.com/2LRNGESU8N

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) December 3, 2023

In her address, the American vice-president went on to state the need for international humanitarian law to be respected and that too many innocent Palestinian civilians have already been killed.

According to the WSJ, included in the US-supplied ordnance to Israel are over 5,000 Mk82 “dumb” bombs (bombs that are unguided), over 5,400 Mk84 2,000 pound warhead bombs, about 1,000 GBU-39 small diameter bombs, and roughly 3000 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) kits.

Israeli soldiers enter the school, near which the army located Hamas tunnel shaft, during the ongoing ground operation of the Israeli army against Hamas, in a location given as Beit Lahiya, in Gaza, in this handout still image obtained from a video released on December 2, 2023. (credit: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS)

JDAM kits turn “dumb bombs” into precision-guided missiles.

Bombs that can nullify concrete shelters

The WSJ noted that the approximate one ton BLU-109 bunker buster bombs are intended to penetrate a concrete shelter.

It is unclear how extensively this particular munitions have been used, but the IDF stated on Sunday that it has destroyed around 500 of the 800 Hamas tunnel shafts it has discovered since the start of the war.

Israel says that many of these tunnel shafts, including a number that the IDF has provided the public with direct footage of, are located in densely populated civilian areas.

On Saturday, the Israeli military released footage of the entrance to a tunnel shaft located in the wrecked courtyard of a school compound.

The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, was set to visit the Gaza Strip on Monday as part of efforts to get Hamas to allow Red Cross representatives to check on hostages being held by the terrorist group, Army Radio reported on Sunday.

An IDF fighter jet conducted a targeted strike in the area of the Shati refugee camp outside of Gaza City, successfully killed the commander of Hamas’s Shati Battalion, Haitham Khuwajari, the IDF and Shin Bet said on Sunday evening.

"Today, the IDF, based on guidance by the Shin Bet and intelligence units, and as part of the Southern Command's operation, targeted and killed the commander of the Shati Battalion through an airstrike," IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari stated during a subsequent press briefing.

The IDF noted that Khuwajari, in addition to being the commander of the Hamas forces in the Shati area, was one of the Hamas commanders that orchestrated the deadly Hamas rampage in southern Israel on October 7.

Securing Hamas activity inside of Al-Shifa Hospital

The IDF also said that Khuwajari was responsible for facilitating Hamas activity inside of Al-Shifa Hospital and had previously carried out a number of terrorist attacks on Israelis.

"Under his command, there were also infiltrations into Israeli territory, including the brutal massacre on October 7th," Hagari said. "We will continue to pursue, locate and eliminate every commander who terrorizes the area under their control, as we did yesterday in the Shejaiya Battalion.

On Saturday, the IDF eliminated Hamas Shejaiya Battalion commander Wissam Farhat, the terrorist responsible for directing the attack on Nahal Oz on October 7.

The IDF subsequently warned the remaining Shejaiya Battalion commanders that they had the option to either surrender or be similarly eliminated.

The IDF on Sunday continued its third day of bombing parts of the southern Gaza Strip, with a special focus on Khan Yunis, while its ground forces remained focused on the north.

Two more soldiers were named as killed in action on Sunday: St.-Sgt. Aschalwu Sama, 20, from Petah Tikva, who died from wounds sustained in battles in the north on November 14, and St.-Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Or Brandes, from Shoham, killed in central Gaza on Saturday.

IDF sources hinted there is more than meets the eye when it comes to the southern operation, with no Palestinian reports of a serious invasion yet, though these moves are likely setting up positions for an upcoming one.

IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi told troops they would be taking the same tactics used to seize most of northern Gaza – for the south.

Past attacks

One notable attack happened late on Saturday, when the IDF killed Wissam Farhat, the head of Hamas’s Shejaia Battalion, who is behind a 2014 attack that resulted in the abduction of the body of Oron Shaul, still being held in Gaza, along with the hostages from October 7. Farhat was also behind the deadly massacre in Nahal Oz.

In 2014, Farhat commanded Hamas terrorists in an attack on an armored personnel carrier in Shejaia, killing seven soldiers, including Shaul.

He was also one of the terrorists who planned a deadly attack against a pre-military school in Atzmona in Gush Katif back in 2002 and an anti-tank attack against a bus in 2011.

In 1995, Farhat was arrested while on his way to carry out a suicide attack and was imprisoned for 10 years. After he was freed and returned to Gaza, he worked in rocket production for Hamas.

Palestinian Hamas terrorists attend an anti-Israel rally in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip May 27, 2021 (credit: REUTERS/IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA)

Following his killing on Sunday, IDF Arabic Spokesman Avichay Adraee warned the commanders of the Shejaia Battalion on X after the IDF resumed military operations in Gaza, presenting them with two options: surrender, or end up like Farhat.

Hamas fired dozens of times on southern Israel, one of which directly hit a synagogue in Sderot.

At press time, Hamas had not fired on Sunday toward the center of the country, namely Tel Aviv, something it had done both on Friday and Saturday after the temporary pause collapsed.

On Sunday, the IDF announced that its special joint operations unit within the air force carried out over 10,000 air strikes since the invasion began. This unit is unique because it is trained from the start to work in direct cooperation with ground forces.

Although the IDF tried to make this kind of joint operating activity between air and land forces standard practice in the war, for most of military history in which air forces existed, there was nowhere near this level of coordination.
Additionally, the amount to which air forces of democracies could support ground forces advancing in real time in dense urban settings was minimal, both because of the concern of hitting civilians, and the concern of accidentally hitting friendly forces, given the blunt power of bombs dropped by aircraft.

The unit within the IAF has flipped all of these problems using a mix of unique training with ground forces long before the war, along with using advanced precision munitions.

These new trends have allowed the special unit – which at first was mostly made of attack helicopters, but over time has added drones and even some other kinds of aircraft – to strike within 150 meters of advancing IDF forces, most often without hitting civilians or IDF forces.

A senior IDF official told of three particular instances where the elite unit saved IDF forces who would have taken larger losses without its intervention. In one case, a battalion from Brigade 551 was pinned down by Hamas’s anti-tank missiles and sniper units while operating in Beit Hanun of northern Gaza. Despite their efforts, the IDF infantry could not even get near the Hamas positions without being gunned down. Within 15 minutes of being warned, the IDF special unit struck from the air and removed the Hamas threat.

In another instance, Unit 401 was being ambushed in Jabalya in northern Gaza, by a complex trap again of anti-tank missiles and other Hamas forces. In this case, the IDF already had wounded soldiers and it was unclear whether there would even be a safe way to evacuate them. In one hour, the Joint Special Forces-Air Force unit attacked Hamas 11 times, ended the ambush, and succeeded in spiriting off the wounded IDF soldiers.

In the third incident, Golani forces were being ambushed and having trouble extracting themselves. The special unit carried out eight attacks against Hamas within 15 minutes, helping the Golani forces deal with the situation.

Questioned about whether these tactics could work in southern Gaza, where there are even more Palestinian civilians than before, and the urban setting may be even more dense, a senior IDF official said the same tactics used in the North should work in the South, and that years of training and drilling together had made his special unit ready for the current challenges.

Halevi said that a large component of IDF victory in Gaza would be the strong joint work of the different arms of the Israeli military.

The IDF said late Saturday that the 551st brigade completed a mission in Jabalya, having eliminated Hamas terrorists and destroyed terrorist infrastructure, which included tunnels and subterranean structures.

During the operation, which began before the initiation of the temporary pause, IDF troops destroyed a terrorist tunnel that extended dozens of meters underground, located in the courtyard of a school compound. Another one was located and destroyed in the home of a Hamas naval force operative, the IDF stated.

Soldiers of the 551st brigade, along with special forces, also worked to eliminate subterranean infrastructure north of Jabalya, where troops subsequently isolated and secured an area to facilitate further IDF activity.

Additionally, along with the air force and artillery units, troops destroyed numerous pieces of Hamas combat equipment, including weapons, explosives, launchers, and ammunition.

Overall, the IDF said on Sunday that it had discovered over 800 tunnel shafts in Gaza since the ground invasion against Hamas began, of which 500 have been destroyed.

Many of the tunnels connected strategic Hamas locations underground and were located in civilian areas, such as in or near kindergartens, mosques, and children’s playgrounds, amounting to further evidence of Hamas’s use of Gaza’s civilian population as a weapon of war.

After discovery, the IDF carries out in-depth research to understand the layout of the tunnel network and then prepare it for demolition. The 500 tunnel shafts so far destroyed have been done with a mix of explosives, blockages, and flooding.

Despite this success, IDF sources failed to deny that the vast majority of tunnels in Gaza have yet to be destroyed, given that each tunnel can have many shafts branching off to others. 

Two ships hit in an attack near the Bab al-Mandab strait claimed by the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen on Sunday had no connection to the State of Israel, IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a briefing on Sunday evening.

"Today, missiles were fired at two commercial vessels with no connection to the State of Israel, I repeat once more to be clear, without any connection to the State of Israel," said Hagari. "One ship was significantly damaged and is in distress with an apparent risk of sinking and another ship was slightly damaged."

Hagari stressed that the Houthis used Iranian weapons and intelligence to conduct such attacks, adding that this is also a global and regional problem. "Freedom of navigation is becoming dangerous in this part of the world," said Hagari.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday night that four attacks had been conducted against three separate commercial vessels in the southern Red Sea. The three vessels are connected to 14 separate countries.

Israel Navy missile ships head to the Red Sea after several aerial intrusions by Houthi drones, November 1, 2023 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

According to CENTCOM, the Arleigh-Burke Class destroyer USS CARNEY responded to distress calls issued by the ships and provided assistance.

The attacks began with a ballistic missile strike fired from Houthi controlled areas of Yemen targeting the Unity Explorer. The attack was detected by the USS Carney.

A few hours later, the Carney shot down a drone launched from Houthi controlled areas. While the drone was headed toward the Carney, its specific target is not clear. No damage was caused to the US vessel and no injuries were reported.

Shortly afterward, a missile hit the Unity Explorer causing minor damage, with the Carney responding to a distress call from the vessel. While assisting with a damage assessment, another drone was launched toward the vessel which the Carney intercepted. The Unity Explorer is a Bahamas flagged, UK owned and operated, bulk cargo ship crewed by sailors from two countries.

A few hours afterwards, the Number 9 was struck by a missile fired from Houthi controlled areas of Yemen while operating in the Red Sea. The vessel was damaged and no injuries were reported. The Number 9 is a Panamanian flagged, Bermuda and UK owned and operated, bulk carrier.

Shortly afterward, the Sophie II sent a distress call saying they were struck by a missile. The Carney responded to the call and reported no significant damage. The Sophie II a Panamanian flagged bulk carrier, crewed by sailors from eight countries.

While en-route to give support to the Sophie II, the Carney shot down another drone headed in its direction.

"These attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security," said CENTCOM. "They have jeopardized the lives of international crews representing multiple countries around the world. We also have every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran. The United States will consider all appropriate responses in full coordination with its international allies and partners."

The Houthis said its navy had attacked two Israeli ships, Unity Explorer and Number 9, with an armed drone and a naval missile.

A spokesperson for the group's military said the two ships were targeted after they rejected warnings, without elaborating.

In a broadcast statement the spokesperson said the attacks were in response to the demands of the Yemeni people and calls from Islamic nations to stand with the Palestinian people.

The reported incident follows a series of attacks in Middle Eastern waters since war broke out between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas on Oct. 7.

An Israeli-linked cargo ship was seized last month by the Houthis, allies of Iran. The group, which controls most of Yemen's Red Sea coast, had previously fired ballistic missiles and armed drones at Israel and vowed to target more Israeli vessels.

Multiple engagements

The Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier Unity Explorer is owned by Unity Explorer Ltd and managed by London-based Dao Shipping Ltd, LSEG data showed. The ship was scheduled to arrive in Singapore on Dec. 15. Dan David Ungar, an Israeli citizen, is listed as the director at Unity Explorer LTD.

Number 9, which was headed to Suez port, is a Panama-flagged container ship owned by Number 9 Shipping Ltd and managed by Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK-based Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), the data showed.

BSM said in a statement to Reuters Number 9 is currently sailing and there were no reports of injuries or pollution after the incident. The vessel was hit by a projectile while transiting the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the company said.

Unity Explorer's owners and managers could not be reached immediately for comments.

British maritime security company Ambrey and sources said earlier that a bulk carrier and a container ship had been hit by at least two drones while sailing in the Red Sea.

Ambrey said the container ship had reportedly suffered damage from a drone attack about 63 miles northwest of the northern Yemeni port of Hodeidah.

Last week a US Navy warship responded to a distress call from an Israeli-managed commercial tanker in the Gulf of Aden after it had been seized by armed individuals.

The IDF on Sunday continued its third day of bombing parts of the southern Gaza Strip, with a special focus on Khan Yunis, while its ground forces remained focused on the north.

Two more soldiers were named as killed in action on Sunday: St.-Sgt. Aschalwu Sama, 20, from Petah Tikva, who died from wounds sustained in battles in the north on November 14, and St.-Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Or Brandes, from Shoham, killed in central Gaza on Saturday.

Emma and Yuli Cunio, 3-year-old twins, were separated in captivity in Gaza. Their mother recounted on Sunday: 'I recognized Yuli's crying.'

Until the collapse of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, 106 abductees who were in the captivity of Hamas, including 80 Israelis, were released. After their return, an entire country witnessed the horrors and the harsh conditions in which they were held by the terror organization in the Gaza Strip.

The existing Palestinian Authority lacks the credibility to govern Gaza once Israel’s military campaign to oust Hamas from the enclave is over, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told ABC’s This Week.

“Whatever governance looks like in Gaza, it has to be responsive to the aspirations of the Palestinian people and right now the Palestinian Authority doesn’t have that credibly,” he said.

For approximately 50 days, Israel fought a war against Hamas and Hezbollah, took a pause of about a week, and returned to an intermediate level of conflict.

What may the southern incursion bring to the trajectory and arc of the war and the future of the region going forward?