Israel-Hamas war day 215: What's going on in Gaza?

In the policy world, every now and then very sophisticated people make arguments which underneath rely on a foundation of blatantly circular logic.

The West’s critique of Israel’s policy to handle Iran – a policy which will need to be fundamentally reevaluated after Tehran’s massive April 14 attack - has recently run into this issue.

On one hand, many in the West have criticized Israel for assassinating Iran Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander for Syria and Lebanon, Mohammed Reza Zahedi, on April 1.

Critics use logical fallacies

But at the same time, these same critics have urged Israel not to attack the Islamic Republic’s nuclear weapons program.

In the end, Israel heeded these critics somewhat, with Sports Minister Miri Regev confirming an Israeli attack on Iran’s S-300 anti aircraft missile system – a warning to Iran of the damage Israel could have done, but not actually doing any deep long-term damage.

The S-300 missile system is seen during the National Army Day parade ceremony in Tehran, Iran, April 17, 2024. (credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters)

It is far from clear that Israel’s limited action made it safe from future direct attacks from Iran.

In any case, those who slammed Jerusalem for removing Zahedi from the board said he was too high ranking and it destabilized the region.

They add that Israel itself was surprised that Tehran was furious enough at his death that it retaliated with around 350 aerial threats in its first-ever direct attack on the Jewish state.

This is brought as further proof that attacking him was overly aggressive.

Some of these same critics then urged Israel not to attack Iran back so as to avoid the conflict deteriorating into a regional war. Most importantly, to avoid regional war, they urged Israel not to touch Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

One way to summarize these critics' advice to Israel is to sit back and wait for the ayatollahs and their proxies to do their worst against Jerusalem and to just always play defense.

Zahedi was not killed in a vacuum the way that much of the global media have reported it – as if the conflict between Israel and Iran started with his unprovoked death on April 1.

Rather, he has been directing a relentless terror campaign against Israel for years from both Syria and Lebanon.

Hezbollah in Lebanon have fired on Israel thousands of times with rockets and anti-tank missiles since October 7, and militias in Syria have likely fired on Israel hundreds of times.

But for around a decade before October 7, the IRGC, led by Qasem Soleimani or Zahedi, or both, was rallying Hezbollah and Syrian militias to attack Israel and to develop a huge threat buildup of rockets and militias on Israel’s borders to ready for an invasion or multi-front war, such as the current one.

Israel has been trying to hold Iran, its proxies, and Zahedi at bay with thousands of its own strikes on attempts by Tehran to smuggle more advanced weapons to the border with Israel, either from the Lebanese or Syrian side.

All of this is in the context that Israel has nothing against Iran at all if the ayatollahs ever just left the Jewish state alone.

This is no land disupute 

There are no land disputes between the countries – they are around 1500 kilometers apart.

Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin sat down for an intimate discussion with Felice Friedson, on the harrowing months of championing on behalf of their son, Hersh’s release from the hands of Hamas. They speak about their inner discussions away from the media, their heartbreaking challenges, and the moments of hope.

The Goldberg-Polin family are Americans who moved to Israel, previously living in Chicago and Virginia. Rachel is slender, composed and articulate, each word crafted. Jon: tall, softer. Each has a complementary strength which has carried them through the most unthinkable path one can’t imagine, fighting to save their child’s life.

On October 7, Hamas infiltrated Israel’s border with Gaza, massacring 1,200 people and taking 252 citizens and soldiers hostage. Currently, 133 hostages are still being held in Gaza and possibly beyond, as a cease-fire has faltered; each day that passes brings more complexity and grave concern.

"We will leave no stone unturned"

“Don’t worry about us … focus on yourself,” Rachel says to Hersh, believing he knows they are leaving no stone unturned to get him home. We discuss the message Rachel and Jon want their son to hear today.

“We have not stopped for one second in 209 days doing everything possible to bring him home, to bring home all of the hostages,” Jon tells The Media Line.

Jon says that if a hostage agreement is not reached, it will bring grief not just to the families of the hostages. “Everybody in the region is suffering.”

The IDF struck 20 Hezbollah targets, which included ammunition depots and terror infrastructures, in a span of a few minutes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday afternoon.

Israeli forces utilized fighter jets and artillery in the area around the Ramyah village. 

Secondary explosions were also detected during the attacks, indicating the presence of ammunition depots.

Additional areas also struck

The town of Marwahin and the Kafr Kila village were also struck earlier in south Lebanon. The strikes came in response to a few rounds of rocket barrages Hezbollah fired on kibbutzes, moshavs, and small towns in northern Israel.

The Ephraim Regional Brigade thwarted the establishment of a new terrorist organization in the West Bank, the IDF announced Sunday.

In Kalkilya, the most central Palestinian city in the Ephraim region of the West Bank, a new terrorist organization had been established in recent months under IDF observation. Now, the organization has ceased to exist.

"I received an update on massive disturbances in Kalkilya," recalled Col. Netanel Shamka, commander of the Ephraim Region Brigade. "We are doing a lot of work in the city, and since the outbreak of the war we have arrested 130 Hamas operatives, so we realized that there was an unusual event here." 

Kalkilya has approximately 70,000 residents who are primarily affiliated with Fatah. However, there is also a clear Hamas presence in the area. The city does not have a refugee camp, however there are several neighborhoods that have terrorists present.

As soon as the security forces in the area discovered the emerging terrorist organization, a divisional effort began with the cooperation of intelligence units, the Shin Bet, and the Border Police. The commanders created an action plan, intending to discover who is behind the battalion, what they are plan, and how best to thwart their activities. 

View of Arab town of Kalkilya, May 2009. (credit: YOSSI ZAMIR/FLASH90)

"The founder of the battalion is Alaa Nizal, a terrorist with no affiliation to any terrorist organization," said Lieutenant A., the battalion's intelligence officer. "He and his supporters received funding totaling hundreds of thousands of shekels to carry out attacks. They operated in a very organized manner - using lookouts who warned of the IDF forces' locations and attempted to dispatch terrorists towards them."

Targeting the "head of the snake"

As the Ephraim Brigade built an intelligence arsenal on the emerging organization, they decided that Alaa Nizal must be eliminated. 

"Alaa behaves like a fugitive," recounted the Brigade’s Colonel, "He wears a black baseball cap, conceals his face, sits in a café until two in the morning, and then returns home. After that, he wanders for a few hours to cover his tracks and stays with one of the activists or in other hidden apartments."

Therefore, an operation was launched to target him, which took almost 7 hours, involving reservist units and the Gideon unit (33). The operation began in the early hours of the morning. Alaa opened fire and fled immediately as the security forces closed in on him. Then, security forces chased after him and another senior figure, which ended in a firefight. The IDF forces eliminated both individuals. 

Immediately after the two terrorists were eliminated, IDF forces entered terror cells based on collected intelligence to ensure that the organization's operatives would not succeed in appointing replacements. "Out of 8 replacements appointed after Alaa's elimination, half surrendered, and half were arrested," the battalion's intelligence officer announced.

"It needs to be clarified," noted the deputy commander of the battalion, Lieutenant Valeri, "That the 'Kalkilya Battalion' didn't consist of several battalion activists - but rather isolated terrorists, who were neutralized before they could execute the organization's plan. We arrested almost 30 operatives."

The security forces in the division continue to act to uproot the organization's infrastructure in Kalkilya. The unit ensures, "We will do everything to continue and maintain order."

IDF troops led by the 162nd Division and guided by intelligence information gathered by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), the Intelligence Unit, continued precise operations against Hamas and its terror infrastructure in eastern Rafah, the military said on Wednesday. 

Troops of the 401st Brigade killed terrorists and uncovered terror infrastructure and underground shafts in the area, which the forces subsequently began to destroy.    

The Foreign Affairs Ministry published a video on Wednesday saying, “Recognizing a Palestinian state after the October 7th attacks, the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, would be like handing over an Islamic state on a silver platter to Osama bin Laden after the September 11th attacks.”

85-year-old former hostage Alma Avraham, who has been in hospital since she was released from Gaza captivity, was discharged on Wednesday morning from hospital.  

The IDF and COGAT announced in a joint statement on Wednesday morning the reopening of the Kerem Shalom crossing into the Gaza Strip. 

The military added that trucks from Egypt containing humanitarian aid, including, among others, food, water, and medicine, were arriving at the crossing. Following examination by Israeli Defense Ministry officials at the crossing, the assistance would be transported to the Palestinian side of the crossing.   

Israel Air Force jets struck Hezbollah terror targets in six areas of southern Lebanon, the military said on Wednesday. 

Jets struck military structures in the Kfarkela, Ayta ash Shab, Khiam, and Maroun El Ras areas, in addition to as well as terror infrastructure in the Houla and Aitaroun areas of southern Lebanon. 

The IDF further said it had attacked in the area of Tayr Harfa and Jibbain to remove a threat. 

Protesters blocked traffic early Wednesday morning on the Ayalon highway northbound, calling for a hostage deal, according to Israeli media reports. 

The highway has since re-opened.