Israel-Hamas War - What happened on day 68?

Four IDF soldiers were lightly wounded by controlled explosions and friendly fire during a widespread IDF, Shin Bet and Border Police operation in the West Bank, the Israeli military said Monday.

The four were injured during a raid of the Jenin refugee camp. They were treated at the scene and rushed to a nearby hospital for further treatment, the IDF said.

The IDF continued operating for over 30 hours in Jenin, Hebron and other sites used by Palestinian terrorists across the West Bank.

 US President Joe Biden must transform his words into actions and call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Hussein Al-Sheikh, secretary general of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said on Wednesday in a post on X.

"US President Biden's statements yesterday must transform into actions, starting with calling for an immediate ceasefire and putting forward a comprehensive political plan based on international legitimacy and international law, ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state," he said.

Israel is close to reaching a "diplomatic solution" to move terror organization Hezbollah away from the northern border with Lebanon, KAN News reported Wednesday morning.

Along with Israel's main goal of moving Hezbollah forces north of the Litani River and away from Israeli civilians, discussions with European partners included the potential strengthening of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), situated in the country's south.

KAN further reported that Minister Benny Gantz held conversations on the subject with the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom and France.

Hezbollah warns of 'new escalation' on Israel's northern front

On Sunday, a Hezbollah MP warned that Israeli airstrikes that caused widespread damage in the town of Aitaroun near the Israeli-Lebanese border on Sunday were a "new escalation," adding that the terrorist group would continue its attacks on Israel.

Lebanese media portrayed the IDF's response to Hezbollah attacks on Sunday as a significant escalation compared to other clashes along the border in recent weeks.

Humanitarian aid trucks' entry into Gaza through the Rafah crossing has been delayed for over an hour and a half, IDF Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee claimed on Wednesday.

"Humanitarian aid trucks wait more than an hour and a half outside the Rafah crossing, waiting for the Palestinian side in Gaza to open," Adraee wrote on X. "Residents of Gaza, why does aid not reach you?"

Adraee further charged that Hamas "does not care about the residents of the Gaza Strip."

Israeli fighter jets struck down a Hamas terrorist cell that was preparing to launch a barrage of rockets at Israel, the IDF said Wednesday morning.

IDF ground troops, operating in the Shejaia neighborhood of Gaza City, directed the aircraft to strike the cell, as well as as a rocket launcher in their possession.

Over 250 terror targets were struck across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, the Israeli military added.

Australia's vote in favor of a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza at the UNGA on Tuesday night was "difficult to understand," Israeli ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon charged on Wednesday morning.

"[How can] Australia support Israel’s right to defend its people from terrorist aggression, while also voting in support of a ceasefire that will embolden Hamas and enable it to resume its attacks on Israelis?

"This war can only end with Hamas being totally defeated and the liberation of all our hostages," Maimon wrote.

IDF soldiers were under attack from two different directions. The ambushing Hamas forces had video surveillance of the area and had deployed at multiple high points in multiple structures.

An initial force of four IDF soldiers was completely cut off and lost communications with general IDF forces.

Realizing this, several IDF commanders, including Lt. Col. Tomer Grinberg, commander of the 13th Battalion, Golani Brigade, jumped into action to try to save the four soldiers.

They did not know whether the soldiers were alive, wounded, or whether their Hamas attackers were already trying to drag them away into a tunnel as hostages or seized dead bodies for later negotiations. They did know that Hamas had a nearby tunnel it was using as part of the defense and operations in the area.

IDF forces approached the fighting from three different directions to the courtyard and different structures. One set of forces came through a similar area to where the original forces had come to try to get to them faster and were re-ambushed by another set of explosives.

Another set of IDF forces came from the opposite side to gain some surprise and outflank the Hamas forces.

Eventually, IDF forces succeeded in getting to the original four soldiers, all of whom it turned out were dead, but IDF forces were able to secure and rescue their bodies.

Britain's Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said in a post on X on Wednesday that it has received reports of an incident in the vicinity of Bab al-Mandab Strait.

UKMTO advised ships to transit the strait with caution.

Although the general battle of Shejaia in northern Gaza is going well for the IDF – about 350 terrorists have been killed - and the military believes it will have most of the area clear of Hamas’s major forces by the weekend, around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, IDF forces were hit by a multi-round ambush in inner-Shejaia.

Nine were killed and seven wounded.

A mix of IDF units 53 and 51, including both Golani and engineering personnel were looking to clear a certain structure and its surrounding areas when they came under a mix of gunfire and improvised explosives.

It is unclear whether the initial explosives were thrown or set off remotely.

How the tragic IDF battle with high losses played out

IDF soldiers were under attack from two different directions. The ambushing Hamas forces had video surveillance of the area and had deployed at multiple high points in multiple structures.

An initial force of four IDF soldiers was completely cut off and lost communications with general IDF forces.

Realizing this, several IDF commanders, including Lt. Col. Tomer Grinberg, commander of the 13th Battalion, Golani Brigade, jumped into action to try to save the four soldiers.

The IDF retrieved the bodies of Eden Zechariah and IDF Warrant Officer Ziv Dado, two of the Israelis taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said on Tuesday.

The bodies were retrieved by soldiers from Unit 504 of the Intelligence Directorate and the 551st Brigade operating in Gaza.

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The bodies underwent an identification procedure by medical officials and military rabbis, together with the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Israel Police.

The Zecharia and Dado families have been informed.

Zecharia was kidnapped from the party in Re'im and Dado was kidnapped while serving as a logistics foreman in the 51st Battalion of the Golani Brigade.