Swords of Iron: Here is what happened on days 3, 4 and 5

Residents of the Israeli town of Alonei Habashan in the Golan Heights near the Syrian border have been instructed to stay indoors due to a suspected terrorist infiltration.

The government on Tuesday approved the mobilization of up to 360,000 IDF reservists to continue Israel's ongoing fight against the Gaza-based Hamas terrorist group, Israeli media reported.

This is a developing story.

Israel has retaken control of the Gaza border fence breached by Palestinian Hamas gunmen who carried out a weekend mass-incursion, and is planting mines in the parts where the barrier was toppled, the chief military spokesperson said on Tuesday.

In remarks aired by Israel's Army Radio, IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said there had been no new infiltrations from Gaza since Monday. In an apparent response to rumors that gunmen used cross-border tunnels, he said the military had no such findings.

In his statement, Hagari noted that weather conditions had an impact on the military's approach to striking their targets.

The fourth day of the war between Israel and Hamas has marked a new level of readiness across the nation, marking a particularly high level of readiness in the north. 

Identification for countries with Iranian proxies are being closely watched by Israeli authorities. Hagari also emphasized the importance of deterrence efforts by the United States.

Hagari added that a wave of attacks on the Far Rimal neighborhood in the heart of the Gaza strip lasted for an hour and a half and hundreds of targets were attacked. Several assembly points have been identified.

Dozens of Hamas militants were killed at sea when trying to infiltrate via the Mediterranean sea, leading Hamas to cease attempts to send them via sea and air.

All settlements adjacent to the Gaza fence have effectively been evacuated, with the exception of few who refused to leave, according to the spokesperson.

35 battalions are on the front, activating tens of thousands of IDF fighters in the Gaza envelope area. Additionally, there was an intrusion on the northern border, where multiple terrorists were neutralized. Of the four just nearby Idamit, 2 were killed and 2 escaped.

The United States has sent defense material for protection and deterrence purposes.

Within just 48 hours, 300,000 reservists were activated. "This is war. They sleep in sleeping bags and eat battle rations," he noted, adding that "patience is required." 

More than 30 kidnapped families were reached, with extensive efforts underway by military intelligence to identify prisoners of war and missing persons, however it will take a few more days to still establish a larger picture. 

So far, 122 IDF soldiers have been killed so far.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Eighteen Thai nationals are believed to have been killed due to the Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel, Thailand's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

This comes after seven Argentinians were reported as killed during the attacks by Hamas terrorists in Israel over the weekend, and 15 more are still missing, Argentina's Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said Monday.

Around 625 nationals still in Israel have also requested repatriation, he added.

Thailand and Argentina are just two of the many countries whose nationals are missing in action in Israel, with many believed to either be held hostage of murdered by Hamas terrorists. Several nations have shared details of their missing and murdered as Israel continues to get bombarded by rocket fire from both Gaza and Israel’s northern border.

Thailand hopes to rescue its citizens in Israel from Hamas

Around 30,000 Thai nationals work in Israel, making up one of the largest migrant worker groups in the country.

Thai labourers work on a cabbage field near Kibbutz Nahal Oz, just outside the northern Gaza Strip February 11, 2010. The Karni border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip is seen in the background. (credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)

Thailand said on Monday it is working with Jordan, Egypt, and Malaysia to secure the release of its citizens taken hostage during a shock Hamas attack on Israel, with over 1,000 Thai migrant workers caught in the conflict looking to return home. “We are coordinating with countries that have links to the country that have taken our nationals hostage to negotiate for their release,” Deputy Foreign Minister Jakkapong Sangmanee told a press briefing.

The Israeli military suggested on Tuesday that Palestinians fleeing its air strikes in the Gaza Strip head to Egypt, which also borders the blockaded enclave.

"I am aware that the Rafah crossing (on the Gaza-Egypt border) is still open," Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Hecht, chief military spokesperson to the foreign media, said in a briefing. "Anyone who can get out, I would advise them to get out."

The IAF continued conducting airstrikes throughout the Gaza Strip early Tuesday morning, with Palestinian media reporting airstrikes in and near Khan Yunis, Gaza City, and along the coast of the Strip.

Overall, at least 12 Palestinians were killed amid the strikes overnight, according to Palestinian reports. Palestinian media claimed that a number of journalists were killed amid the strikes as well.

Prominent Harvard University alumni on Monday denounced a pro-Palestinian statement from students that blamed Israel for violence engulfing the region and urged the university to take action against the signatories.

The Hamas terrorist movement, which controls the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, attacked Israel on Saturday in the worst breach of the country's defenses since Arab armies waged war in 1973. Israel has responded with air strikes on Gaza.

Hundreds of people in Israel and Gaza have been killed

A coalition of 34 Harvard students organizations said they "hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence" following decades of occupation, adding that "the apartheid regime is the only one to blame."

The organizations signing the letter included Muslim and Palestinian support groups plus others named for a variety of backgrounds including the Harvard Jews for Liberation and the African American Resistance Organization.

Reuters could not verify how many students supported the letter.

People carry a Palestinian flag during a rally in front of City Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 9, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/Kyaw Soe Oo)

Harvard President Claudine Gay and senior leadership including 15 deans issued a statement on Monday that said they were "heartbroken by the death and destruction unleashed by the attack by Hamas that targeted citizens in Israel this weekend."

But the statement avoided direct references to the student letter or the reaction to it.

Harvard is the most influential university in US politics, having produced eight former presidents and four of the nine current Supreme Court Justices.

Harvard President Lawrence Summers, the former US Treasury Secretary under Democratic President Bill Clinton and former university president, was one of several Harvard graduates to criticize the current Harvard leadership for failing to respond.

"The silence from Harvard's leadership ... has allowed Harvard to appear at best neutral towards acts of terror against the Jewish state of Israel," Summers wrote on social media platform X. "I am sickened."

While universities traditionally have been a bastion of free speech and radical ideas, the student letter struck a chord within the political establishment.

Elise Stefanik, a Republican US Representative from New York and a Harvard graduate, called the statement "abhorrent and heinous" for excusing the "slaughter of innocent women and children."

Republican US Senator Ted Cruz, a Harvard Law School graduate, wrote on X: "What the hell is wrong with Harvard?"

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Brown Jr spoke on Monday with the Chief of the Israeli General Staff Herzi Halevi, the Pentagon said, adding they discussed Hamas' attack and steps to strengthen US military posture in the region.

Brown warned Iran not to get involved in the crisis in Israel and said he did not want the conflict to the broaden.

Asked what his message for Iran was, Brown said: "Not to get involved."

"We want to send a pretty strong message. We do not want this to broaden and the idea is for Iran to get that message loud and clear," Brown told a small group of reporters traveling with him to Brussels.

Residents of Metula were instructed to shelter in place due to a suspected infiltration on Monday night, according to local authorities.

This is a developing story.

Israeli forces clashed with Palestinian terrorists near Sa'ad in southern Israel on Monday night, as rocket sirens blared in Sa'ad, Kfar Aza, Nahal Oz, and Alumim, according to initial reports.

This is a developing story.