Israel-Hamas War day 306: What happened in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon?

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry stated on Thursday that the death toll in Gaza has reached 39,699 since the war started on October 7 of last year.

A further 91,722 have thus far been wounded in the conflict, the Gazan ministry added.

The number has not been independently verified, and the ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its toll.

A new documentary about the Hamas massacre titled October 7th: Voices of Pain, Hope, and Heroism brings individual stories of some of the many heroes and victims of the tragic day and the ongoing war since, which had its premiere on Wednesday night.

It includes unseen footage of the Hamas attacks from that dark Saturday morning, some of which was taken from personal family archives.

The documentary, which is set to be released next Monday on Tisha B’Av, was produced by the Aish Jewish organization. Their vision is to create a culture of Jewish learning and to inspire people to live more spiritual and thoughtful lives through sharing Jewish wisdom, according to their website, where you can also pre-register to watch the documentary.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to apologize for Israeli security failures that allowed for the Hamas-led invasion of Israel on October 7, in an interview published Thursday in Time Magazine. 

He clarified that he planned to continue to safeguard the country and did not intend to step down from office.

“Apologize?” Netanyahu asked when pressed on the issue by Time. 

Israel Air Force jets struck Hamas command and control centers that were concealed within the presence of schools in Gaza's Daraj Tuffah area, the IDF said on Thursday afternoon.

The IDF added that the school compounds were used as command and control centers by Hamas terrorists and commanders, from which they planned attacks against Israel and its military.

The attack was guided by intelligence from the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate, the Shin Bet, and the Southern Command. The IDF emphasized that before the strike, "numerous measures were taken to minimize the risk to civilians, including the use of precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence."

The IDF Nahal Brigade located terror shafts while operating in Rafah within residential homes and attacked a terrorist squad hiding in an apartment, Israel's military said on Thursday.

The team found passages in the walls, made by terrorists, to pass between the houses of citizens. Terrorists would use the passages to ambush the IDF and use citizens as human shields, the military added.

In another residence, a shaft was located by a drone in the bathroom of the home.

15 missiles were identified as crossing over from Lebanon, with many falling in open areas in Israel's North following the rocket sirens that went off Thursday afternoon, Israeli media reported.

No casualties or damage were reported from the missile launches.

Iranian intelligence agents have been approaching Israeli citizens on various social media platforms in an attempt to recruit them for tasks in Israel that could harm the state's security, the Shin Bet revealed on Thursday.

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) found numerous fake profiles used by Iranian intelligence, which have been identified and monitored.

There are many political and operational issues surrounding the arrest of nine reservist soldiers serving as prison guards at the IDF’s makeshift Sde Teiman detention facility, who allegedly sodomized a Palestinian detainee there.

The central question is: Did they do it? If they did, the law – both Israeli and international – has a clear stance: The guards must be punished regardless of the strong emotions triggered by Palestinian terror instigated against Israelis, particularly in relation to some of the terrorists who participated in the October 7 massacre currently being held at Sde Teiman.

Over the course of the years, the responsibilities that had belonged to Israel’s National Emergency Authority (Rachel) were moved over to The Home Front Command, harming Israel’s ability to handle emergencies, Brig.-Gen. (res.) and former Rachel head, Zeev Tzuk Ram told an unofficial, civilian-led October 7 probe on Thursday.

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant published a letter to the people of Lebanon on Thursday in Arabic on his X, formally Twitter, account, in which he emphasized that Hezbollah is responsible for the ongoing escalations.