Israel-Hamas war: What happened on day 82?

The IDF on Wednesday utilized explosives to destroy a network of strategic tunnels multiple kilometers long beneath and around Rantisi Hospital and the nearby Ramaz Fahrah School in northern Gaza.

Some of the tunnel shafts descended dozens of meters, with the tunnel under the school descending 20 meters, including an elevator and significant electrical connections and capabilities for use as a command center. 

On November 13, IDF Spokesman R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari revealed Hamas's underground command center under the Rantisi Hospital, which not only contained suicide vests, rocket-propelled grenades, and a variety of weapons but also signs, such as baby bottles, that Hamas had held Israeli hostages there.

How elite IDF intelligence units uncovered the Rantisi tunnel network

At some later date, intelligence collected by interrogations of Hamas forces performed by IDF Unit 504 led to the military discovering the tunnel under the school, which hooked up with the tunnel network under Rantisi.

Further, tunnels led between the school and another nearby school, and tunnels from Rantisi hooked up with other parts of Gaza City, including with the hidden headquarters of Hamas's naval commander.

Israeli military spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari shows what he says is the house of a senior Hamas naval commander located next to a school at a location given as Gaza, in this still image taken from video released November 13, 2023 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

The IDF's Yahalom and Unit 14 Engineering units worked on exposing the full extent of the tunnel network as well as planning its destruction.

In order to take over the Rantisi area, Brigades 401 and 460, along with navy seals Shayetet 13, had previously killed dozens of Hamas terrorists.

IDF claims evidence of Rantisi Hospital's use on October 7

Back in mid-November, Hagari said there was evidence and independent separate intelligence that Hamas terrorists had returned directly to Rantisi Hospital after their attacks and mass murders of Israelis on October 7.

He also noted that an IDF robot found additional terror tunnels, including electricity being siphoned off from the hospital for use by the terrorists underground.

A video showed the basement of the hospital, which showed a location disconnected from the rest of the hospital where the significant terror explosives and armaments were kept.

The IAEA’s leaked report on Tuesday saying that Iran re-sped up, or tripled its pace of 60% uranium enrichment as of late November, places before Israel and the West a much darker challenge than anything coming from Gaza or Lebanon.

The threat is no longer “just” possibly one Iranian nuclear weapon, but rather a potential arsenal of nuclear weapons.

At its current rate, Iran can roughly produce enough uranium for a new nuclear weapon every four-and-half months if it decides to breakout over the nuclear threshold.

It made no sense for Hamas to carry out the October 7 assault, given the IDF’s response which either has ended the group’s 16-year rule or set it back at least 5-10 years.

Residents of Kochav Yair-Tzur Yigal, a town of about 9,000 in Israel’s Sharon region, have told authorities in recent weeks that they feel “shaking and drilling and excavation noises” in their homes at night. 

The town is located near the Green Line, only about 800 meters from Kalkilya in the West Bank, which is governed by the Palestinian Authority. Residents are concerned that they are hearing the excavations of tunnels of the sort used by Hamas to attack Israel in the South and Hezbollah to attack Israel in the North. 

“I felt like there was an earthquake far off like the bed I was lying on was moving and sailing,” said Baruch Ben Neria, a resident who reported his experience to the authorities. “I’m not making it up,” he said. “I’ve been feeling this for the last two years, and sometimes it lasts for minutes in the middle of the night. There’s quiet outside, and then suddenly, it happens.

“At first, I thought it might be heavy trucks passing on the road,” said Ben Neria, “but there weren’t any trucks in the middle of the night.”

Israel's emergency coalition was in danger of collapse on Wednesday evening after National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir pushed through plans to end Israel Prison Service commissioner Katy Perry's term next month.

Ben-Gvir's decision caused uproar among ministers from Benny Gantz's National Unity faction, which argued that the decision violated the emergency government agreement signed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Gantz in the wake of the October 7 massacre.

Under the emergency government's formation agreement, all political hires were to be delayed until after the conclusion of the IDF's war on Hamas in Gaza.

Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and Gantz hold emergency talks

Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir, and Gantz met on Wednesday evening in hopes of reaching a solution to the conflict following a tussle between ministers on the subject in a cabinet meeting held earlier that day. 

"Four days after the war broke, we formed an emergency government and agreed that all senior officials remain in their posts," National Unity Minister Chili Tropper was quoted by Israeli media as saying at the cabinet meeting. "Violation of this agreement conveys that unity and security are less important. [It conveys that] political decisions take precedence over the people's unity.

"If there is an agreement, one must uphold it," Tropper told Ben-Gvir, who argued in turn that the emergency government agreements were signed between Netanyahu and Gantz and do not apply to his realm of responsibilities as National Security Minister.

"Unity means caring for everyone," Ben-Gvir was quoted as saying. "One party cannot make a deal with a second party, which then tells a third party what to do," he explained.

An Israeli 18-year-old was tried and sentenced to 30 days in military jail for refusal to enlist in the IDF, citing the Israel-Hamas war and occupation for his conscientious objection. Tel Aviv resident Tal Mitnick entered an army recruitment center to announce his refusal to enlist.

Mitnick is the first Israeli conscientious objector to be imprisoned since the start of Operation Swords of Iron.

Mitnick entered the Tel Hashomer enlistment center accompanied by other young activists from the Mesarvot Network, a group of conscientious objectors in the country. After entering the base, he was given an exceptionally long sentence for first-time refusers, 30 days in military prison after trial.

Mitnick is expected to continue to be imprisoned for further sentencing after his initial release, according to a statement released by representatives for the teen.

"I refuse to believe that more violence will bring security, I refuse to take part in a war of revenge. I grew up in a home where life is sacred, where discussion is valued, and where discourse and understanding always come before taking violent measures. In the world full of corrupt interests in which we live, violence and war are another way to increase support for the government and silence criticism," his statement read.

"We must recognize the fact that after weeks of the ground operation in Gaza, at the end of the day - negotiations, an agreement, brought back the hostages. It was actually military action that caused them to be killed. Because of the criminal lie that 'there are no innocent civilians in Gaza,' even hostages waving a white flag shouting in Hebrew were shot to death. I don't want to imagine how many similar cases there were that were not investigated because the victims were born on the wrong side of the fence. 

An Israeli airstrike on a residence in south Lebanon has killed a Lebanese-Australian man, his wife, and his brother, who was a member of armed group Hezbollah, security and local sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

The strike late on Tuesday, part of a flare-up of border area hostilities between Israeli and Hezbollah forces, hit a home in the town of Bint Jbeil, where the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah enjoys widespread support.

The Lebanese-Australian civilian man was identified by one of his relatives as Ibrahim Bazzi. His wife, a Lebanese national, also died. Hezbollah then announced the killing of Ali Bazzi, his brother and one of the Shi'ite Muslim group's fighters.

Asked about the incident, the Israeli military said one of its jets had struck a Hezbollah military site overnight in Lebanon. Australian media quoted a spokesperson for Australia's foreign ministry as saying it was aware of the report and was seeking confirmation.

An IDF fighter staying in a military-affiliated Ashkelon resort fired wildly upon waking up from a nightmare, injuring an undisclosed number of soldiers.

Recently withdrawn from fighting in the Gaza Strip along with his unit, the soldier in question stayed in the Recreation Village in the southern Israeli city as part of a military-mandated refreshment period.

The soldier, feared to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), woke up from a nightmare and began firing at his bedroom wall. 

Several soldiers sleeping in the room with him were wounded by shrapnel.

The incident occurred last week, according to Israeli media.

A residential building in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona was the target of a direct rocket hit following a barrage from the Lebanese border.

Israeli forces encountered and killed a cell of Hamas terrorists that operated from orchards in the Gaza Strip where five rocket launchers were located, the IDF said Wednesday.

During the 50th Battalion operations in the Gaza City district of Tuffah, terrorists carrying rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and rifles began shooting at the forces before being gunned down by the IDF.

Two terrorists who were identified while attempting to sneak toward forces were killed by an IDF tank. The IDF released bodycam footage of the forces killing the Hamas terrorists.

On Wednesday Russian Israeli billionaire Roman Abramovich and the Israeli NGO Zaka filed a lawsuit against Bank Mizrahi, alleging that the bank unlawfully denied Abramovich's request to transfer a crucial donation of NIS 8 million to Zaka. The funds were intended to support the NGO's activities in the ongoing war and aid in preparing for future conflicts and disasters in the North. The lawsuit demands an immediate release of the blocked funds.

The basis of the dispute centers around the bank's refusal, citing sanctions imposed on Abramovich by the European Union and the British government. The bank contends that due to these sanctions, Abramovich's account is blocked, rendering it unusable for any financial transactions.

Abramovich's sanctions

The sanctions against Abramovich were imposed in February 2022 following Russian President Vladimir Putin's directive to deploy troops into Ukraine. The EU froze substantial Russian assets, including those of Abramovich, who contested the measures in a legal dispute. However, the EU court in Brussels upheld the sanctions, emphasizing Abramovich's significant role in the Russian steel company Evraz, a major contributor to the Russian government's revenue.

The suing parties argue that Bank Mizrahi's decision lacks legal basis and is fundamentally flawed. Abramovich, an Israeli citizen, had opened the account years ago, and the disputed funds were deposited during that time. Notably, both the Israeli and US governments have refrained from imposing sanctions on Abramovich in connection with the conflict in Ukraine.

Abramovich, renowned for his philanthropy, has been a long-time supporter of Israeli institutions and programs, including the Jewish Agency, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv University, KKL, City of David, and various projects across the country.

Mizrahi-Tefahot branch in Jerusalem. (credit: DARIO SANCHEZ/FLASH90)