Israel-Hamas War - What happened on day 78?

The IDF had allegedly informed Egypt of its intention to occupy the Rafah border area and asked Egyptian soldiers to evacuate the area, Arab media reported.

The report also claimed that the IDF emphasized to Egypt that they would not be responsible for the safety of their forces during the attempt to control the Rafah border area. It even emphasized that the military operation in the area will continue whether Egypt agrees or rejects it.

Arab media also reported that the IDF is firing shells at an area in southern Rafah. There are also reports of tanks operating west of the Kerem Shalom crossing.

This is a developing story.

Rocket sirens were heard in Kiryat Shmona.

Rocket sirens were heard in Manara.

Over 200 Hamas terrorists have been arrested by the IDF and Shin Bet in the past week in the Gaza Strip, spokespersons for the two said on Saturday morning.

The terrorists were taken in for further questioning by Israeli forces and were taken to Israel.

The arrests were made amongst hundreds of others in Gaza who were also arrested under suspicion of involvement in terror activities in Gaza.

In total, more than 700 operatives from terror organizations in the Gaza Strip were taken for questioning.

This is a developing story.

The IDF said it attacked several terrorist targets belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization on Friday night and Saturday morning, including operational infrastructures and a military compound.

This is a developing story.

The IDF's Yiftach reserve brigade, as part of the ground operation in southern Gaza City, carried out a decoy shooting incident on Friday that led to the evacuation of dozens of terrorists into a building that served as a Hamas infrastructure.

After that, the forces directed an IAF fighter jet that attacked the structure and eliminated the terrorists.

The fighters of the 179th Brigade Combat Team located a stockpile of weapons in a kindergarten in the Bakshi neighborhood in the center of the Gaza Strip.

They found toy boxes containing dozens of mortar bombs and RPG-type anti-tank missiles.

IDF soldiers began an extensive operation to arrest wanted persons in Jenin early Saturday morning.

Also, throughout the night, Israeli forces arrested other wanted persons in several locations throughout the West Bank, including Hebron, Bethlehem, and south of Nablus.
 

The air force struck targets in Gaza City and other locations in central Gaza, including Deir el-Balah, the Israeli media outlet, Walla, reported on Saturday morning.

Documentation from a camera found on the body of a terrorist reveals the terror activities and fighting carried out in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF stated on Friday. 

The videos show several clips of soldiers from the IDF’s Nahal Brigade in combat, terrorists laying wire down next to a wall, and other terrorists hiding a black case from which the wire came. One video also shows a man tinkering with wires. 

The footage of the IDF troops in combat shows the Israeli soldiers on the ground level in close-quarters engagements with terrorists sheltering on an upper floor of a building.

In recent weeks, Nahal Brigade combat team soldiers in Battalion 162 have been operating in the northern Gaza Strip area. Over the course of their activities in the area, the Israeli troops have succeeded in eliminating numerous terrorists, destroying Hamas infrastructure, and discovering various terrorist assets used against Israel and IDF troops.During one encounter, soldiers from Battalion 931 encountered terrorists who were hiding in a building, the IDF noted. The terrorists concealed themselves on the third floor and began throwing grenades towards the soldiers. 

Terrorists prepare an ambush

The soldiers reached the building, engaged, and neutralized the terrorists. Subsequent searches revealed a camera on one of the terrorists' bodies containing footage documenting the terrorists preparing explosives and setting up ambushes to target IDF forces.

Nahal Brigade soldiers find rockets in northern Gaza. December 22, 2023. (credit: IDF)

The video footage itself shows IDF soldiers running through Gaza rubble and firing within buildings as commanders issue orders.

The footage showing Israeli troops firing at terrorists in the upper floor of a building appears to show that, after a span of engaging the fighters with small arms, a tank arrives to provide heavier fire.