Israel-Hamas war: What happened on day 92?

IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari revealed a new and up-to-date photo of senior Hamas official Muhammad Deif on Saturday. The photo shows him holding a stack of US dollars and a plastic cup of juice.

Recent Israeli intelligence information was received that Deif's physical condition was functioning, and he is functioning well and suffers only from damage to his eye and a slight limp.

IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari (credit: IDF)

Hagari also said that "Hamas's military framework in the northern Gaza Strip has been completely dismantled."

This is a developing story.

The IDF has discovered and consequently destroyed tunnels run by the terrorist group Hamas which were hidden beneath the Blue Beach Hotel in the northern Gaza Strip.

The combat team of the 14th brigade, operating under the 162nd Division, uncovered seven shafts leading to Hamas tunnels, within which were boarding rooms for Hamas terrorists and a variety of weapons and surveillance devices, under the Gazan hotel, located close to the beach in the north of the coastal enclave, operating in coordination with the Yahalom combat unit.

The Yahalom soldiers conducted an in-depth investigation of the shafts, and this week, they destroyed the entire infrastructure.

Terrorists using the hotel as shelter

The Hamas terrorists used the hotel as a shelter from which they managed tactics and planned attacks from both above- and below-ground.

An aerial photograph of the Blue Beach Hotel complex and the location of the shafts in the area. January 5, 2024. (credit: IDF)

During the operation, dozens of Hamas terrorists barricaded themselves inside the hotel, firing anti-tank missiles from within it at the IDF units, who in turn returned fire. The IDF also encountered terrorists in the area of the hotel and eliminated some of them. 

There were hotel rooms inside that appeared to have been used for long-term boarding and fighting for Hamas terrorists.

Reservists of the 14th Brigade have been in the northern Gaza Strip, namely Jabaliya, Beit Hanun and Gaza City, for several months, destroying munitions stockpiles, missile launchers aimed at Israel, and Hamas underground headquarters.

The French and Jordanian air forces have dropped seven tonnes of urgent humanitarian and medical aid for a field hospital set up in Gaza's second city, Khan Yunis, a French presidency official said on Friday.

Jordan has previously carried out drops in Gaza. It was the first time Paris had directly taken part in such an operation, although it has so far supplied about 1,000 tonnes of aid into the enclave over land.

The airdrops come three months since Hamas terrorists from Gaza attacked southern Israel, sparking an Israeli offensive that Palestinian health officials say has killed 22,600 people, devastated the enclave and displaced thousands.

Humanitarian concerns

A general view of a tent camp sheltering displaced Palestinians, who fled their homes due to Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, January 3, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/SALEH SALEM)

A French presidency official said the operation, which took place on Thursday night, involved a French aircraft and a Jordanian plane.

"The humanitarian situation remains critical in Gaza," President Emmanuel Macron said on X.

"In a difficult context," France and Jordan delivered by air aid to to the population and those who are bringing them help."

The official declined to say what exactly was dropped or whether Israel had given the green light to the operation.

Israel had approved a previous Jordanian air-dropped aid mission in November.

Jordan has recalled its ambassador to Israel and told the Israeli ambassador to stay away in protest at the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, saying the attacks had killed innocents and caused a humanitarian catastrophe.

Israel's humanitarian liaison office COGAT said on Friday the humanitarian situation was stabilizing and denied blocking water purifiers, medical supplies and tent poles as stated by sources in Gaza and in an Egyptian Red Crescent document.