Dan Goldfus – The general who came closest to catching Sinwar
IDF Maj. Gen. Dan Goldfus is the incoming head of the Northern Corps and the Multi-Domain Joint Maneuver Array. He is best known for breaking down Hamas’s tunnel network in Khan Yunis in Gaza while commanding Division 98, the IDF’s special forces division of sorts.
However, this meant that he was only minutes away from catching Gaza Chief Yahya Sinwar.
In January, Goldfus’s soldiers started reaching places where hostages were being held.
In March, they penetrated into the heart of Khan Yunis and arrived at an underground compound, where Sinwar had fled.
According to Goldfus, they were super close – the closest the IDF has been on his heels since the start of the war – and had they caught him, perhaps the war would have ended; at least the results of the war to date would have been different.
Of course, Goldfus still believes the IDF has made very significant achievements; he would merely argue that catching Sinwar then could have sped up Hamas’s defeat.
How did Sinwar escape? Was it the sheer volume of tunnels? Was it because the IDF could not fire on him, knowing he was surrounded by hostages?
The Jerusalem Post has learned that in Goldfus’s view, the reason is unimportant; at the end of the day, no one has actually found Sinwar to date.
He would have been dead if the IDF had found him, but he is already considered a dead man walking.With patience, Goldfus tells those close to him that the IDF will eventually reach Sinwar, just like it got to Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif.
This last point raises questions about whether and how Sinwar could be better at hiding than Deif, whom Israel had failed to assassinate for many years despite half a dozen attempts.
Without overanalyzing, Goldfus would simply remark that since the IDF got Deif but not Sinwar, he is now clearly the hardest to reach.
Concerning Deif, Goldfus places importance on the fact that the IDF located and killed him while he was hiding in a presumably safe humanitarian zone.
So, Goldfus believes that eventually Sinwar will go to a place that he thinks is safe, where it would be harder for the IDF to reach him because of its generally restrictive rules relating to humanitarian zones, and he will make a mistake.
Goldfus is certain that when that happens, the IDF will show up in time to get Sinwar and that Sinwar knows this as well.
During a Jerusalem Post embedded visit with Goldfus in December 2023, he said he hoped Sinwar wanted to live for the sake of making a deal to get more hostages back alive. Goldfus still believes this, even more strongly now. His view is that there is no doubt about it and that Sinwar is not only seeking to enhance his personal safety but also to secure insurance or immunity following the signing of a ceasefire agreement.
According to Goldflus, if Sinwar’s people were important to him, he would have cut a deal a long time ago.Next, Goldfus would note how much money Hamas invested in the tunnels, as well as what they could have done in Gaza instead. Given the right approach, it could have become another Singapore.
Therefore, according to Goldfus’s understanding of Sinwar, the Gaza chief cares only about his continued rule.Goldfus also made news with a speech in March slamming the political class for its unseemly debates about exempting haredim (the ultra-Orthodox) from serving in the IDF just as he was losing soldiers in battle. Not wanting to cause problems for the IDF high command, he apologized for his sharp tone but refused to back down on the substance.
Israel is a state of laws, and he had volunteered to serve in the elite Shayetet 13 reconnaissance naval unit on the basis of those laws. His view is that everyone must observe the existing laws, which includes serving in the IDF.Goldfus, the son of immigrants from South Africa with many extended family members murdered in the Holocaust, believes there is no greater honor than to defend Israel and serve the Jewish democratic state.
Dr. Yoram Klein and Prof. Israel Dudkiewicz, Sheba Medical Center
Dr. Yoram Klein, Director of the Trauma and Urgent Surgery Unit, and Prof. Israel Dudkiewicz, Chairman of the Rehabilitation Division at Sheba Hospital, have played key roles in the treatment of wounded soldiers and civilians during the Israel-Hamas war.
Dr. Klein is an expert in multisystem trauma care, emergency surgery, as well as intra-abdominal and soft tissue infections, and tends to the wounded during the war the minute they arrive at Sheba via helicopter or ambulance.
On October 7, 92 patients arrived at Sheba Hospital within a span of eight hours, many with severe injuries, including penetrating wounds, extensive internal bleeding, and nerve damage.
Remarkably, all survived that day.
Dr. Dudkiewicz is an expert in the use and development of new technologies, mainly in prosthetics, orthotics, and assisted technology. He has s treated many of those wounded in the war, assisting them in the crucial rehabilitation process necessary for their return to normal function.
As director of Sheba’s rehabilitation division, he expanded its capacity at the war’s outset, adding 86 beds to its existing 140.
Since October 7, 70% of all injured soldiers have been treated at Sheba, and most impressively, 99% of all critically injured soldiers flown to Sheba within an hour of being injured have survived their injuries to date.
Sheba’s success in treating the wounded from the Israel-Hamas war is undoubtedly due to dedicated doctors such as Dr. Klein and Dr. Dudkiewicz, as well as its entire medical staff.