Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 85?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stern warning to Iran and Hezbollah and confirmed that the Gaza war could continue for months, amid a push to bring to fruition a Qatari proposal to secure the release of additional hostages.

“On the northern border - we are landing heavy blows against Hezbollah, eliminating many terrorists and destroying the enemy's capabilities,” Netanyahu said in a press conference in Tel Aviv on Saturday night.

He spoke as Israel continued its military operation to destroy Hamas in Gaza even as it thwarted Hezbollah violence along its northern border, working to contain the situation from escalating into a full-fledged war.

Netanyahu said that diplomacy was the best option to restore security to that border, but noted that Israel would not hesitate to act against the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah should those options fail.

“We approved operational plans for the continuation of the fighting. If Hezbollah expands the war - it will receive blows it never dreamed of, and so will Iran. We will act in any way until we restore security to the residents of the north,” Netanyahu stated.

“Iran leads the axis of evil and aggression against us on the various fronts,” Netanyahu stated.

“This aggression is directed not only against Israel but against the entire free world. We act against Iran all the time, everywhere, in every way,” Netanyahu said, as he declined to provide details to back up his statement.

Israel’s new multi-dimensional ‘Ghost’ unit is active in Gaza fighting terrorists using the latest technology. Earlier this week, The Jerusalem Post had a chance to spend an afternoon with the unit, on the border of Gaza and also inside Gaza in Jabalya as the unit conducts its mission against terrorists.

In Jabalya, the soldiers had taken over several buildings where they were monitoring the neighborhood and collecting information using drones and other new technologies. The unit directed a tank to neutralize a threat in a building and used precision mortars against the enemy.

The multi-dimensional unit was created in 2019 as part of the IDF’s larger plan, known as Momentum, to bring more technology to frontline forces. This meant knitting together infantry units with combat engineers, armored units and also the air force, so that all these forces could work seamlessly together and bring the most amount of effective firepower to the front as fast as possible.

The Ghost unit is part of the 99th division, which combines these elements. In 2020 the new multi-dimensional unit was deployed to the northern border. In 2022 the unit trained with other elements of the 99th division in Tze’elim for the kind of warfare they are facing now in Gaza.

Members of the unit fell during the October 7 attack on Israel. Col. Roi Levy, the commander of the Ghost unit was killed in battle near Reim. Members of the unit also helped liberate Kibbutz Beeri from terrorists. The unit has lost three other members in battles since the Hamas attack on that dark Shabbat.

Members of the Multi-Dimensional 'Ghost' unit discussing operations near the Gaza border. (credit: SETH J. FRANTZMAN)

Now the Ghosts have been able to bring the fight to the enemy inside Gaza. The IDF said on December 24 that in Jabalya, “soldiers, in cooperation with the Multidimensional Unit and the Yahalom Unit, exposed a strategic tunnel network that served as Hamas' northern headquarters in Gaza.”

The IDF also said on December 18 that the multi-dimensional unit helped uncover a terrorist cash stash in a house in Jabalya. This included around 5 million NIS. The 99th division has also eliminated hundreds of terrorists.

Entering Gaza with the 'Ghosts'

To prepare to go into Gaza with the Ghosts, we arrived at a field near the border with Gaza. The fields are now turned a lush green because of the winter rains. However, the fighting casts a shadow. As we prepared to embark into Gaza there was a red alert and sirens and mortars fell in the field nearby.

The Ghost unit is an elite infantry unit that also uses new technology. As such it tries to be both a combat unit and also harness information to bring in air strikes and coordinate other missions as fast as possible. For instance, the new Iron Sting precision mortar system was used to target terrorists during our time with the forces.

In addition, small drones are constantly being cycled in and out of Gaza. These drones can act in swarms or as a group to gather information. IDF units like this also provide feedback to the companies that make this technology, such as Elbit Systems.

A Namer Armored Personnel Carrier would be our transport into Jabalya. We packed into the iron belly of the APC and the door sealed us in. From then we could only hear the churning of the treads of the vehicle, as we ascended into the heart of Jabalya.

The battle in Gaza since October 7 is not the first operation they have done. They were active in Operation Guardian of the Walls. In Gaza, the unit has eliminated at least 86 terrorists, part of the larger number eliminated by the 99th division and other units fighting in Jabalya.

Using new technologies fighting in Jabalya

The fighting in Jabalya combines new technology with the old methods of warfare that have worked for hundreds of years. For instance, the unit coordinated with tanks to neutralize a threat in a building 100 meters from our position. The tank fire destroyed a room and machine gun fire completed the job. Drones also were used by the unit to monitor the situation.

That means it combines drones and precision and knits together intelligence to bring in air strikes quickly; while using manpower on the ground to clear areas, bit-by-bit.

It has been more than eighty days of fighting. Units like the Ghosts were supposed to bring the technology that would make wars more efficient and firepower more effective, to defeat enemies faster. To get to that ideal, the IDF will need to integrate this kind of technology on a much larger scale, while the fighters act as a test bed for the new tech.

A longer version of this article will appear in an upcoming Jerusalem Post Magazine

The IDF published the names of two soldiers on Saturday who fell in battles in the Gaza Strip.

Staff-Sergeant-Major (res.) Constantine Sushko, 30 years old, from Tel Aviv, fell in battle on Saturday in central Gaza. Sushko was a soldier in the Golani Brigade's 7086 Combat Engineering Battalion, part of the Golani Brigade.

In the incident where the Staff-Sergeant-Major was killed, another reservist from the 7086th Golani Battalion was seriously wounded. 

Captain Harel Ittah, 22 years old from Netanya, also passed away on Saturday after being wounded on December 22 in battle in the southern Gaza Strip.

Ittah was a soldier in the IDF's Givati Brigade.

Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck Hezbollah terror infastruction the southern Lebanese village of Kfarkela, the IDF announced on Saturday evening.

The operation had two extensive periods of strikes throughout Saturday, targeting numerous Hezbollah targets in the village, which the IDF noted is a Hezbollah stronghold.

"The organization uses infrastructure in the area for terror purposes, exploiting civilians and using them as human shields for its activities," the IDF spokesperson noted.

Footage of the strike can be viewed below.

The Aleppo International Airport in Syria was struck on Saturday afternoon in an alleged Israeli airstrike, according to Syrian media.

"At approximately 5:20 pm today, the Israeli enemy carried out an air aggression from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Latakia, targeting several points south of the city of Aleppo.

"The aggression resulted in some material losses," said Syrian state media SANA.

Lebanese media claim 3 killed and 2 wounded from the strike. 

"Three civilians were martyred and two wounded as a result of the Israeli aggression that targeted the farms of the village of Al-Dhahabiya in the southern countryside of Aleppo," Lebanese news site Al Mayadeen reported.

🚨 Aleppo, Syria, is being bombed by the Zionist entity.

The aggression targeted al-Nayrab and al-Dhahabiya farms in the vicinity of Aleppo Airport. pic.twitter.com/hl7xXMG8C3

— ‎أبو سجاد الكربلائي | HST 🇮🇶 (@Twelver313) December 30, 2023

An IDF reservist was wounded on Saturday afternoon in a suspected ramming attack at the Beit Hagai intersection near Hebron, in the West Bank, the IDF confirmed.

The attack targeted an Israeli military post located near the Palestinian town of Fawwar, the IDF said.

The driver was shot at before being detained by Israeli forces, operating in increased presence in the area.

The IDF published the names of two soldiers on Saturday who fell in battles in the Gaza Strip.

St.-Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Constantine Sushko, 30 years old, from Tel Aviv, fell in battle in the center of the Gaza Strip.

Capt. Harel Ittah, 22 years old from Netanya, died of his wounds today after being wounded on December 22 in a battle in the southern Gaza Strip.

In the central Gaza battle where Sushko fell, a reservist from the 7086th Golani Battalion was seriously wounded. 

Three more soldiers were seriously wounded in recent battles across the Gaza Strip, the IDF confirmed.

The Aleppo International Airport in Syria was struck on Saturday afternoon in an alleged Israeli airstrike, according to Syrian media.

"At approximately 5:20 pm today, the Israeli enemy carried out an air aggression from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Latakia, targeting several points south of the city of Aleppo.

"The aggression resulted in some material losses," said Syrian state media SANA.

This is a developing story.

The IDF's Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee announced on X on Saturday that about 80% of Hezbollah rockets launched from Lebanon fall within Lebanese territory.

Adraee then attacked the terror organization for violating UN resolution 1701 and called on them to stop using the Lebanese people as hostages. 

سقط داخل الأراضي اللبنانية نحو 80% من قذائف حزب الله الارهابي الصاروخية التي أطلقت يوم أمس لاستهداف أراضينا.#حزب_الله يخرق القرار الدولي 1701 ويواصل استخدام اللبنانيين رهائن في قراراته للتضامن وإسناد دواعش حماس قتلة الأطفال ومغتصبي النساء.

ردًا على اعتداءاته نواصل ضرب مواقع… pic.twitter.com/ooPsbrUJEV

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) December 30, 2023

"In response to his attacks, we continue to strike Hezbollah’s positions and its deployment in #South_Lebanon, which will never be the same as it was before October 7."

This comes the same day as a drone attack struck the Mount Dov area, which Lebanon claims as its territory.

Failed launches from Lebanon towards Israel, December 30, 2023. (credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)

Hezbollah targeted in response

Hezbollah also announced that four of their operatives were killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, on Saturday.

Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War, more than 160 Hezbollah members have been killed. 

1 in 5 Hezbollah rockets fired toward Israel falls within Lebanon. Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets and missiles towards Israel since October 7.

Rockets aim to harm and kill—putting both Israeli and Lebanese civilians at risk. The IDF will continue to defend Israel's… pic.twitter.com/xbOP8yWL3k

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 14, 2023

The 80% failure rate is a huge increase in rocket failures, earlier in December the IDF reported that only 20% of the rockets failed to reach Israel.