Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 73?

Seven more soldiers were announced as having fallen as the IDF reported that the Duvdevan unit was among forces that had smashed through Hamas’s Khan Yunis Brigade’s defense lines.

The IDF has described Khan Yunis as Hamas’s remaining governmental and military “center of gravity” following the fall of Gaza City to IDF forces in mid-November.

While operating in the area, Duvdevan troops have struck targets with precision missiles and directed air strikes. They have also destroyed terror infrastructure and eliminated Hamas terror cells in the city.

The Duvdevan soldiers, along with engineering forces and the Oketz special forces canine unit, swept the area and uncovered a system of Hamas tunnels and shafts.

During the IDF operations, Hamas fighters emerged from these tunnels and fired at the Israeli forces.

IDF Duvdevan troops operate a drone in Khan Yunis. December 18, 2023. (credit: IDF)

IDF destroys Hamas tunnels

The IDF personnel responded with fire, successfully eliminating the terrorists before demolishing the tunnel system.

The Israeli troops also found and destroyed a facility dedicated to drone production. They also destroyed a number of rocket launchers aimed at Israel.

Over the course of one of these raids, the Duvdevan troops encountered an explosive device which, upon going off, resulted in the deaths of Sergeant-Major Liav Aloush and Staff-Sergeant-Major Etan Naeh.

The explosion also killed Staff-Sergeant-Major Tal Filiba of the Yahalom unit of the Combat Engineering Corps.

The IDF announced the names of these three soldiers, along with the name of Sergeant-Major Urija Bayer, as the most recent IDF soldiers killed on Monday morning.

Bayer was a soldier in the Nahal Brigade’s Maglan special forces unit and a German Evangelical Christian who chose to volunteer in the army.

Another Duvdevan soldier was seriously wounded.

In response, the Duvdevan troops directed combat helicopters and attacked the area until it was destroyed.

Besides those soldiers, Sgt. Major (res.) Lidor Yosef Karavani, Capt. Yarin Gahali, and Capt. (res.) Netanel Silberg were all also announced as having fallen.

Despite those losses, the IDF's progress has been significant enough in reducing Hamas’s operating capabilities above ground and its rocket fire that the IDF Home Front announced a reduction in emergency rules for Ashkelon.

Almost all of the rocket fire on Monday was from Hezbollah, and recent days and weeks have seen a dramatic drop in rocket fire since the IDF made progress in Khan Younis.

IDF sources have confirmed that Rafah is one of the last places where Hamas can still more easily fire rockets, and even Rafah was attacked this past weekend by the IDF.

Hezbollah has been conducting attacks on Israel from positions nearby to UN and Lebanese army positions, the IDF said on Monday. The announcement came after a day of exchanges of fire between Israel and the Lebanon-based Iranian proxy.

Earlier, the IDF identified a number of rocket launches directed at Israel's northern border coming from within Lebanon.

Additionally, the IDF reported that previous alarms that sounded in Israel's north warning local residents of a hostile aircraft intrusion were later found to have been activated due to rocket launches coming from Lebanese territory.

The IDF responded to the attack by targeting the sources of the launches with artillery fire.

Further, IAF fighter jets struck a number of Hezbollah terror targets on Monday, the IDF added. Among the targets were Hezbollah infrastructure, a launch post, and a military site.

IDF troops also identified and targeted terrorists operating in an area that is known to be used by Hezbollah for military purposes.

Later, the IDF announced that Israeli air defenses intercepted a suspicious aerial target that crossed into Israel from Lebanese territory.

Lebanon-based terrorists also fired an anti-tank missile towards the northern Israeli border community of Avivim, the IDF said.

Again, the IDF responded with artillery fire in Lebanese territory.

On Monday evening, the IDF reported that since October 7, Hezbollah attacks have claimed the lives of five civilians and displaced 80,000 more from their homes in northern Israel. These attacks, the IDF added, are in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

Further, the IDF stated that these attacks have been conducted from positions near UN and Lebanese Armed Forces installations.

Meanwhile, suitcases with funds amounting to over NIS 5 million (about $1.3 million) were found in the home of a senior Hamas member in the Jabalya area, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said on Monday.

Additionally, many weapons were found by soldiers from the 551st Brigade in the Hamas member's home.

Overall, the IDF struck over 150 terrorist targets throughout the Gaza Strip on Sunday.

In one instance, the 646th Brigade targeted terrorist infrastructure where many weapons were found, including explosives, combat equipment, and RPGs. A stockpile of mortars and ammunition was also found in the same structure. 

In Khan Yunis, the Air Force spotted a suspicious cell entering terrorist infrastructure and struck the cell, eliminating it.

Since the start of the war, the IDF has intercepted over 100 aerial threats, including drones and cruise missiles, the IDF said Monday, releasing new footage of the interceptions.

Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman contributed to this report.

IDF soldiers of the Golani Brigade captured the center square of Gaza City’s Shejaia neighborhood and destroyed a statue dedicated to the deaths of IDF soldiers, the IDF stated on Monday evening.

The Shejaia square, named “Palestine Square,” had a statue erected glorifying a blow dealt to troops of the Golani Brigade during 2014’s Operation Protective Edge.

On July 20, 2014, at 1:05 a.m., an armored personnel carrier (APC) carrying seven soldiers of the Golani’s 13th Battalion detonated an explosive device it had driven over in Shejaia. All seven on board were killed.

Another six soldiers from the brigade were killed in combat in the area over the course of the morning.

"Wherever such a statue is erected, we will come and destroy it"

"We are here, the 13th battalion, at the place where the terrorist organization Hamas erected a statue glorifying the tragedy that befell the brigade during Protective Edge,” the commander of the 13th Battalion said. “We send a clear message to Hamas: wherever such a statue is erected, we will come and destroy it."

The Golani Brigade's 13th Battalion in front of Hamas statue dedicated to killing of soldiers from their unit. December 18, 2023. (credit: IDF)

After Protective Edge concluded, Hamas subsequently dedicated a victory square at the site with a statue featuring a fist coming out of an APC. The statue also had three discs, one of which bore the name of Oron Shaul, a fallen IDF soldier whose body is held by Hamas, the IDF added.

On Monday, nine years after the thirteen Golani soldiers fell in Shejaia, troops from the 188th Brigade’s combat team, along with the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion, seized control of the site and demolished the Hamas statue.

The seizure of Shejaia’s infamous “Palestine Square” comes several days after another IDF victory in the neighborhood.

On Friday, IDF troops of the 188th Brigade took over and destroyed the headquarters of the Hamas's Shejaia Battalion.

Three rockets fell in the Golan Heights after being fired from Syria, Israeli media reported Monday night. 

Ships travelling in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea are safe except those that belong to Israel, Mohammed Abdulsalam, a spokesman for the Houthis in Yemen said in a post on X on Monday.

Hamas's armed wing released a video on their Telegram channel on Monday night showing three of the elderly male Israeli hostages still in captivity. 

In the video, the hostages plead for Israel's help in securing their release, stating that they do not want to be killed by an Israel Air Force strike.

The three also state that they are in poor health.

The video ends with the three pleading, "Do not let us grow old here." 

France will impose measures on Israeli settlers who have attacked Palestinians in the West Bank, its foreign minister said on Monday, a day after meeting Palestinian farmers in Ramallah, who had been targeted in recent weeks.

UN figures show that daily settler attacks have more than doubled since Hamas' surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and the ensuing assault on the Palestinian enclave of Gaza. More than 200 Palestinians have been killed in the violence this year, including in attacks by settlers.

"We will not accept these acts. France will not wait any longer. We've asked Israeli authorities to put an end to this and it will take national measures against certain radical Israeli settlers," Catherine Colonna told a news conference in Beirut after a two-day visit to Israel, Ramallah and Lebanon.

The European Union is studying the prospect of sanctions against violent Jewish settlers.

MDA paramedics treat a 27-year-old woman who was shot near Ateret in the West Bank on December 18, 2023. (credit: MDA SPOKESPERSON)

"This land is Palestinian and will be part of a Palestinian state," she said.

Peacekeeping in Lebanon

Colonna was in Beirut on Monday to meet Lebanese officials, UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, and pass messages to Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Paris is hoping to broker with its partners some sort of an arrangement to ensure all sides keep to the terms of Security Council resolution 1701.

"We are far from it," she said.

The resolution, passed at the end of the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, stated that no armed factions should be present between Lebanon's Litani River and the border.

The resolution banned all unauthorized weapons between the Litani River and the UN-monitored border between Israel and Lebanon. Under the resolution, Lebanon's army is responsible for security on its side of the border in a zone from which any other armed force, including Hezbollah, is banned.

Colonna, who did not meet Hezbollah during her visit, called on both sides to abide by the resolution and begin putting steps in place to ensure its full implementation.

"Neither side is implementing it. Both sides accepted it," she said. "We need to engage a form of de-escalation. We can't continue like this without a serious risk of escalation," she said, without saying whether either side was willing to take steps.

Threats against Israel from Hezbollah and other terrorist groups in Lebanon are increasing. On Monday, December 18, there were several attacks and Israeli responses.

The larger context is that Iran is trying to pressure Israel ahead of any negotiations with Hamas over future hostage releases, and Iran hopes to improve its position in the region.

Iran knows that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is in Israel and visiting the region. Iran also wants to try to shut off shipping in the Red Sea. Therefore, it uses Hezbollah to threaten Israel in the north, which Iran sees as one of the “arenas” or “fronts” to challenge Israel.

 Hezbollah continues to increase attacks against Israel

IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said recently that Hezbollah has been increasing its attacks against Israel.

He noted that 80,000 Israeli civilians have been displaced since October and had to leave around 40 communities in the north. “Since Hezbollah began its attacks, the IDF has been responding by striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon,” Hagari said. He notes that Hezbollah is a proxy of Iran.

Israeli leaders have said that Hezbollah might be pushed back from the border as part of some agreement and they have threatened Hezbollah. They have also said Hezbollah should watch what has happened in Gaza and that the same can happen in Lebanon.

However, Iran is also watching what is happening in Gaza. It wants a ceasefire to protect Hamas. It has watched the UK, Germany, and France begin to move toward greater pressure on Israel regarding the Gaza conflict.

Also, the US may want Israel to move toward low-intensity conflict in Gaza. In addition, Hamas leaders have met in Turkey this week, according to reports. This indicates that Hamas is also strategizing the next step. Hamas is hosted in Qatar and backed by Iran. Turkey also backs Hamas. Russia has provided excuses for Hamas as well. This is all good news for Iran and its proxies.

On Monday, December 18, there were attacks from Hezbollah numerous times. The IDF had to use air defenses to intercept threats. Launches targeted Ya’ara in northern Israel.

IDF soldiers and aircraft struck an anti-tank missile terrorist cell in Lebanon, the IDF said. Numerous launches from Lebanon occurred in the afternoon. There was also a drone threat. Sirens also sounded in Yiftah, Avivim, and Shlomi in the afternoon. IDF artillery responded to the threats.

The new challenge in Israel's North

However, the overall picture now is that there are more attacks and sirens in the north than as a result of Hamas rocket fire. This presents a serious new challenge. IDF reservist soldier Warrant Officer (res.) Yehezkel Azaria, 53, was killed by a Hezbollah drone that struck near Margaliot on Saturday.

He was a member of the 8th armored brigade, a reserve brigade stationed along the northern border. The soldiers were from the Alexandroni Brigade’s 6609th Reconnaissance Battalion. These are two units the ‘Post’ recently spent time with during training that was profiled in our weekend magazine.

Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in this handout picture released on December 18, 2023. (credit: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS)

The men had described the difficulties they faced along the border at the time. The attack by the drone represents how deadly Hezbollah drones have become. This is a clear and present danger along the border.

There was also a recent attack on Kibbutz Sasa. The northern front is now simmering and Iran is clearly seeking to operationalize Hezbollah threats.

Al-Mayadeen media also said Monday that Hezbollah had attempted to target Iron Dome batteries in the north. This article also indicates how Hezbollah is seeking to escalate. 

Iran must stop its support of Houthi attacks on freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, US Secretary of State Lloyd Austin during his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Monday, as he also pledged continued military support for the Gaza war.

“In the Red Sea, we are leading a multi-national maritime task force to uphold the bedrock principle of freedom of navigation,” Austin said.

“Iran’s support for Houthi attacks on commercial vessels must stop,” he said.

Austin said that his visit marked the fourth time he had arrived since taking office, and the second since Hamas infiltrated southern Israel, killing over 1,200 people and seizing some 250 hostages.

“Israel is a small, tight-knit country, and I know that all Israelis were touched by the vast evil committed by Hamas. 

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Kirya military base, December 18, 2023. (credit: DAVID AZAGURY, US EMBASSY TEL AVIV)

“I am here to mourn with you for the innocent souls taken from you on October 7th. I am here to stand alongside the families of those still missing in Gaza, including US citizens,” Austin said. 

“America’s commitment to Israel is unwavering. No individual, group, or state should test our resolve,” he said.

“We will continue to provide Israel with the equipment you need to defend your country, Mr. Prime Minister, including critical munitions, tactical vehicles, air defense systems,” Austin said. 

He spoke as mounting attacks by the Iran-aligned Yemeni Houthi militant group on ships in the Red Sea are disrupting maritime trade as leading global freight firms reroute around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Suez Canal.

Houthi attacks are "response to Israel's assault on Gaza"

The group said it launched a drone attack on two cargo vessels in the area on Monday, the latest in a series of missile and drone strikes on shipping which it says are a response to Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip.

Several major freight companies -- including MSC -- have begun to sail around Africa instead. According to industry analysts, these detours add costs and delays, which are expected to compound over the coming weeks. About 15% of world shipping traffic transits via the Suez Canal, the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

The war between Israel and Hamas, which began on Oct. 7, has sent shockwaves through the region and threatened to cause a broader conflict.

The Red Sea attacks have shown the ability of Middle Eastern paramilitary forces backed by Iran to upset global trade at a time when Tehran and its proxies are positioning themselves against the United States and Israel.

Combined, the companies that have diverted vessels "control around half of the global container shipping market," ABN Amro analyst Albert Jan Swart told Reuters. "Avoiding the Red Sea will lead to higher cost due to longer travel time," Swart said.

The oil and gas giant BP temporarily paused all transits through the Red Sea, and oil tanker group Frontline said on Monday its vessels will avoid passages through the waterway. These announcements signified the crisis was broadening to include energy shipments. Crude oil prices rose on those concerns on Monday.

"War risk insurance premiums are on the rise naturally, but as vessels get re-routed around Africa, shipping supply will be tighter as cargoes travel longer," Frontline CEO Lars Barstad told Reuters. "That would put rates under a strong upward pressure."

Later on Monday, Norwegian energy group Equinor EQNR.OL said it had rerouted "a few ships" carrying crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) away from the Red Sea. The company declined to say how many vessels were affected.

Tanker firm Euronav said it was avoiding the Red Sea until further notice.

The Houthi attacks were also forcing companies to rethink their connections with Israel, with Taiwan's Evergreen Marine saying on Monday it had decided to temporarily stop accepting Israeli cargo.