Israel-Hamas War: What happened on Day 93?

Despite months of saying that all of the Hamas leaders are in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, some may be in central Gaza, the Jerusalem Post has learned.

Generally before October 7, Hamas’s “civilian” functions leadership, such as Yahya Sinwar’s apparatus for governing the Gaza Strip, was in Gaza City in northern Gaza.

There was also a military quarter in Gaza City where Hamas military chief Muhammad Deif spent time.

However, either in preparation for the October 7 invasion, around the time of the IDF invasion of October 25-27, or at the latest, once they saw that the IDF was invading for real and routing Hamas forces, the Hamas leadership fled in a southern direction from Gaza City.

For months, all top IDF and defense officials said that most or all of the hostages and Hamas high command had fled to southern Gaza, most likely to Khan Yunis.

Incorrect predictions of Hamas leaders hiding places

There were already holes in some of these predictions when it turned out during the ceasefire week that Hamas was holding hostages in Shejaia.

Between December 10-18, the IDF learned that a second set of hostages had also been held in Shejaia, which the IDF mistakenly killed, thinking they were terrorists.

Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip on December 30, 2023 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

In a partial explanation of the mistaken killing incident, top IDF officials said they had not fully trained Shejaia regular soldiers for the possibility of running into hostages. This second incident was the strongest testament to how convinced the IDF was at some point that all the hostages and Hamas leadership were in southern Gaza.

In addition, in early December, the IDF for the first time started to invade portions of central Gaza. However, a more aggressive invasion of central Gaza did not start until weeks later.

The Post can now reveal that portions of Hamas’s top leadership may be in central Gaza with hostages, and not only in southern Gaza in Khan Yunis, which was “the party line” for the defense establishment for a couple of months.

Given that central Gaza was one of the last pieces of the Strip on the IDF’s radar screen, there are now questions about whether the IDF missed the idea that some top Hamas leaders and some hostages might be in central Gaza or whether it was known, but kept under wraps, to focus on northern Gaza and then Khan Yunis.

The theory that the IDF missed central Gaza’s importance would raise questions about whether its other estimates about the Hamas leadership locations are correct.

The theory that the IDF knew, but kept the focus on southern Gaza could have been an attempt to catch any Hamas top leaders with hostages in central Gaza by surprise.

In fact, there was a period of days when IDF sources had told the Post and other media that there were hostages in central Gaza where the Israeli censor temporarily blocked publication.

Hamas uses summer camps for Palestinian children as a method of "promoting the resistance and Jihadi culture" among Gazan youths, President Isaac Herzog revealed in an interview with NBC's Meet The Press program on Sunday.

The president unveiled a secret document written by Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades last July, detailing the terrorist group's self-proclaimed goals for the summer camps it operated across the Gaza Strip.

One of the goals mentioned in the Hamas document, gathered by Israeli forces operating in Gaza, is to "promote the culture of resistance and the values of Jihad among the children." Also included as goals are the "spiritual, mental and physical preparation of children to serve the resistance in the future" and "to contribute to the militarization of society through training."

Training for terror: How Gazan children are radicalized by Hamas

Some of the activities for the children in the summer camps included shooting practice, which included simulations of terror attacks as well as rigorous courses, to prepare the Gazan kids to fight for terrorist groups against Israel.

According to Herzog, the summer camps were held by Hamas inside military sites belonging to the terrorist organization.

Palestinian Hamas militants take part in a rally marking the 31st anniversary of Hamas' founding, in Gaza City December 16, 2018. (credit: REUTERS/IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA)

"The document clearly shows the spread of the values of 'jihad' and 'resistance' just means terrorism," Herzog told NBC. "It shows how to turn a summer camp into a military exercise...this is taking place all over the Gaza Strip.

"We all know summer camps and their goals - we want to give a special experience for children and teens, allowing them to become citizens with freedom, happiness, and joy," the president added. 

"Instead, at Hamas's summer camps, the real goal is to turn them into young terrorists."

A Palestinian toddler around the age of three was accidentally shot and killed during an attempt to neutralize a car-ramming attack on Sunday near the Givat Ze'ev settlement in the West Bank, Israel, Israeli media sources report.

It is unclear at the moment who is specifically responsible for the shooting of the toddler, police report.

Police also added that two people were lightly wounded in the car-ramming attack and that the terrorist was killed.

Aharon Barak, a retired president of the Israeli Supreme Court, is set to represent Israel at the ICJ genocide hearing at the Hague, Israeli media reported on Sunday.

According to standard procedure, a country is allowed to send a judge on its behalf to join the panel at the ICJ the moment it is sued.

The hearing, initiated by South Africa, will take place on Thursday and Friday of this week.

Around eight rockets were fired from Lebanon, landing near the "Astra" army post on Mount Hermon early Sunday afternoon, the IDF said on Sunday.

The IDF has returned fire to the sources of the rockets in Lebanon.

At this time, there are no reported injuries from the barrage.

Khan Yunis has been visited recently by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Col. Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar, with intentions of helping to concentrate the military's efforts in the Gaza Strip. They are hoping to help forge the path to finding the hideouts of the Hamas military leadership, who are using hostages as their "human shields."

One of the challenges the forces face in the Gaza Strip is a branched system of tunnels. The tunnels and shafts are used for several purposes, including logistics (food, water, medicine, etc.), ventilation, electricity, and the entry and exit of activists and senior officials from area to area during battle. The deeper they went, the greater the passage of the activists in the tunnels.

Another important challenge that must be faced, which allows Sinwar to partially control the Gaza Strip, is a command and control system, which provides him with a situational picture of what is happening on the ground.

According to estimates in the security establishment, Hamas surrounds the tunnel system in Khan Yunis - where the top of Hamas is hiding - in various circles of observers and messengers.

Who are Sinwar's observers?

These observers can be women, boys, and men of all ages, who report on the location and extent of the IDF forces, and any unusual activity in the area, which can be useful to Hamas's plans. According to army officers, "some of the observers will stand on the roofs of houses or under the cover of buildings without weapons, only with a walkie-talkie or a telephone, and some of them will probably communicate what is happening with shouts or other signs. Some women will also cross the street with a baby carriage or children in order not to arouse suspicion."

But the cynical and cruel step, according to army officers, is the use of children who are sent to battle zones and places occupied by the IDF, where there is no reason for civilians, especially children, to be.

"You know that the child arrived at Tzafat, you know that he is part of a larger system, but in the end he is a child and we as commanders are in a dilemma, to shoot or to carry out a pursuit while risking our fighters. So we do not shoot at children under any circumstances, but Hamas certainly puts us in a very complex dilemma. We feel that we are getting closer to the goal. In the end it will happen. We will crack what is needed. We need a lot of patience. Every day that passes we are more than enough," explained one of the officers who left the Khan Yunis area.

The assessment of security officials is that in this way, Yahya Sinwar and his brothers Muhammad, Muhammad Daf, Marwan Issa, and the other members of the political leadership actually manage to communicate with each other, establish contact with foreign officials, and build a situational picture of what is happening in the Gaza Strip, except for what they seen and heard in the Arab and Israeli public media.

The IDF announced on Sunday that its intelligence apparatus has obtained evidence of Iranian involvement in training Hamas to manufacture and fire precision rockets and other strategic weapons.

There was a direct connection between the timing of the announcement and the IDF's penetration and taking over of a large strategic tunnel in the Daraj Tuffah area of northern Gaza in recent days.

As part of the operation, the IDF brought in experts to analyze the long-range and precision rockets and other items it found there.

The IDF declined to specify exactly what signs there were of Iranian training and guidance in the manufacturing and firing of the weapons, but in the past, some weapons have had Iranian signs or Persian words on them.

Underground elevator discovered by IDF soldiers, January 7, 2024 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

In other instances, there have been guidebooks or messages recovered from electronic devices with connections to the Islamic Republic.

Though Hamas is an independent entity, Israeli intelligence has said for years that the terror group could not have pulled off the October 7 surprise attack or reached the level of its current fighting prowess without general funding, logistics support, and training from Tehran.

However, such statements are often made in a general manner, and Sunday's findings were more direct evidence than usual of the ayatollahs' involvement.

These various weapons systems were found only after traversing 100 meters of tunnel space in an area that itself had been identified by Israeli intelligence as requiring deeper investigation.

Those Hamas forces guarding the area also put up a more significant fight, including face-to-face clashes, than the terror group is often putting up in other areas, where its tactics tend to be sudden hit and runs popping out of tunnel shafts and fleeing back to those shafts.

Drones and helicopters were critical to assisting IDF Nahal land forces during the battle.

Hamas's last stronghold in northern Gaza falls

Daraj Tuffah was viewed by the IDF as the last stronghold of Hamas in northern Gaza after the fall of Jablia on December 19 and the fall of most of Gaza City in mid-November.

Nahal Commander Col. Yair Zuckerman said, "We are in Daraj Tuffah along with our integrated battle teams. In recent days, we encountered the enemy, many cells, [terror] infrastructure and boobytraps...we found defensive tunnels and rocket firing platforms, from right here," signaling where he was standing.

Zuckerman was appointed to lead Nahal forces on October 7 after its pre-war commander, Col. Jonathan Steinberg, was killed on his way to try to rescue Israelis in the South under invasion by Hamas. 

A picture taken with a drone shows a monument of a Hamas rocket with pictures of late commanders from armed Palestinian factions, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip February 2, 2021 (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMMED SALEM)

The invasion of Daraj Tuffah was broken down roughly into two stages over around two weeks of fighting. 

In the first 4-7 days, the fighting was the heaviest, with much more organized attacks by Hamas forces.

During the second stage, Hamas terrorists still mounted a significant challenge but started fighting more using hit-and-run tactics from underground areas. 

Over Friday and Saturday, the IDF took out an area where Hamas had set up 30 platforms for firing rockets and from where it had even fired rockets on Ashkelon and toward Ashdod in recent days.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a veiled threat to the Hezbollah leadership warning that members of its group were not immune to IDF reprisal actions.

“I suggest that Hezbollah learn what Hamas has already learned in recent months: No terrorist is immune,” Netanyahu said.

He spoke close to one week after Deputy Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri was assassinated in Beirut. Israel has been accused of killing him but has not taken responsibility for it. 

Netanyahu also spoke amid a week of high-level diplomacy, including regional visits by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is scheduled to visit Israel later this week, and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who visited Lebanon on Saturday.

Both men have spoken, as has Netanyahu and caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib have all spoken of the importance of preventing the outbreak of an all-out war on the Israeli-Lebanese border where the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah has entrenched itself.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and Lebanon's caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib attend a joint press conference in Beirut, Lebanon September 1, 2023 (credit: REUTERS/EMILIE MADI)

But none of them have put forward a diplomatic roadmap for preventing the outbreak of war.

Violence on that border has continued to escalate since the Hamas October 7 attack against Israel that sparked the Gaza war.

"I have a clear message for our enemies: What happened on October 7 will not happen again,” Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly government meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday.

“This is the commitment of my government, and this is the reason why our soldiers in the field are giving their lives,” Netanyahu said as he pledged not to end the war until he had destroyed Hamas.

“The war must not be stopped until we achieve all of its goals: Eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages, and ensuring that Gaza will never again constitute a threat to Israel. I say this to both our enemies and our friends. This is our responsibility and our commitment.

Restoring the safety of the citizens

“Every other consideration must be set aside, and we must continue until total victory. This victory will be achieved only when we complete our goals and when we restore security to residents of the north and south alike,” he said.

Netanyahu referenced ins remarks the residents of both Israel’s southern and northern border were evacuated immediately following the October 7 attack. 

“We are determined to defend our citizens and to return the residents of the north safely to their homes. This is a national goal that we all share and which we are all working to achieve responsibly. If we can, we will do so diplomatically, and if not, we will work in other ways,” Netanyahu stated.

Minister Benny Gantz stated. “The reality where the citizens of Northern Israel cannot return to their homes - requires an urgent solution. 

“The world must remember that it was the terrorist organization Hezbollah that initiated the escalation. Israel is interested in a diplomatic solution, but if one cannot be found - Israel and the IDF will remove the threat. 

“All of the War Cabinet’s members share this view. The only consideration here is Israel’s security and nothing else. That is our duty to our country and our citizens,” he said.

Khan Yunis has been visited recently by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Col. Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar, with intentions of helping to concentrate the military's efforts in the Gaza Strip. They are hoping to help forge the path to finding the hideouts of the Hamas military leadership, who are using hostages as their "human shields."

One of the challenges the forces face in the Gaza Strip is a branched system of tunnels. The tunnels and shafts are used for several purposes, including logistics (food, water, medicine, etc.), ventilation, electricity, and the entry and exit of activists and senior officials from area to area during battle. The deeper they went, the greater the passage of the activists in the tunnels.

Another important challenge that must be faced, which allows Sinwar to partially control the Gaza Strip, is a command and control system, which provides him with a situational picture of what is happening on the ground.

According to estimates in the security establishment, Hamas surrounds the tunnel system in Khan Yunis - where the top brass of Hamas is hiding - in various circles of observers and messengers.

Who are Sinwar's observers?

These observers can be women, boys, and men of all ages who report on the location and extent of the IDF forces, and any unusual activity in the area, which can be useful to Hamas's plans. According to army officers, "Some of the observers will stand on the roofs of houses or under the cover of buildings without weapons, only with a walkie-talkie or a telephone, and some of them will probably communicate what is happening with shouts or other signs. Some women will also cross the street with a baby carriage or children in order not to arouse suspicion."

But the cynical and cruel step, according to army officers, is the use of children who are sent to battle zones and places occupied by the IDF, where there is no reason for civilians, especially children, to be.

"You know that the child arrived at Tzafat, you know that he is part of a larger system, but in the end he is a child and we as commanders are in a dilemma, to shoot or to carry out a pursuit while risking our fighters. So we do not shoot at children under any circumstances, but Hamas certainly puts us in a very complex dilemma. We feel that we are getting closer to the goal. In the end it will happen. We will crack what is needed. We need a lot of patience. Every day that passes we are more than enough," explained one of the officers who left the Khan Yunis area.

The assessment of security officials is that in this way Yahya Sinwar and his brothers Muhammad, Muhammad Daf, Marwan Issa, and the other members of the political leadership actually manage to communicate with each other, establish contact with foreign officials, and build a situational picture of what is happening in the Gaza Strip, except for what they seen and heard in the Arab and Israeli public media.

The IDF announced on Sunday that its intelligence apparatus has obtained evidence of Iranian involvement in training Hamas to manufacture and fire precision rockets and other strategic weapons.

There was a direct connection between the timing of the announcement and the IDF's penetration and taking over of a large strategic tunnel in the Daraj Tuffah area of northern Gaza in recent days.

As part of the operation, the IDF brought in experts to analyze the long-range and precision rockets and other items it found there.

The IDF declined to specify exactly what signs there were of Iranian training and guidance in the manufacturing and firing of the weapons, but in the past, some weapons have had Iranian signs or Persian words on them.

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, after a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas expired, December 1, 2023 (credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)

In other instances, there have been guidebooks or messages recovered from electronic devices with connections to the Islamic Republic.

Though Hamas is an independent entity, Israeli intelligence has said for years that the terror group could not have pulled off the October 7 surprise attack or reached the level of its current fighting prowess without general funding, logistics support, and training from Tehran.

However, such statements are often made in a general manner, and Sunday's findings were more direct evidence than usual of the ayatollahs' involvement.

These various weapons systems were found only after traversing 100 meters of tunnel space in an area that itself had been identified by Israeli intelligence as requiring deeper investigation.

Those Hamas forces guarding the area also put up a more significant fight, including face-to-face clashes, than the terror group is often putting up in other areas, where its tactics tend to be sudden hit and runs popping out of tunnel shafts and fleeing back to those shafts.

Drones and helicopters were critical to assisting IDF Nahal land forces during the battle.

Hamas's last stronghold in northern Gaza falls

Daraj Tuffah was viewed by the IDF as the last stronghold of Hamas in northern Gaza after the fall of Jablia on December 19 and the fall of most of Gaza City in mid-November.

Nahal Commander Col. Yair Zuckerman said, "We are in Daraj Tuffah along with our integrated battle teams. In recent days, we encountered the enemy, many cells, [terror] infrastructure and boobytraps...we found defensive tunnels and rocket firing platforms, from right here," signaling where he was standing.

Zuckerman was appointed to lead Nahal forces on October 7 after its pre-war commander, Col. Jonathan Steinberg, was killed on his way to try to rescue Israelis in the South under invasion by Hamas. 

A picture taken with a drone shows a monument of a Hamas rocket with pictures of late commanders from armed Palestinian factions, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip February 2, 2021 (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMMED SALEM)

The invasion of Daraj Tuffah was broken down roughly into two stages over around two weeks of fighting. 

In the first 4-7 days, the fighting was the heaviest, with much more organized attacks by Hamas forces.

During the second stage, Hamas terrorists still mounted a significant challenge but started fighting more using hit-and-run tactics from underground areas. 

Over Friday and Saturday, the IDF took out an area where Hamas had set up 30 platforms for firing rockets and from where it had even fired rockets on Ashkelon and toward Ashdod in recent days.