Israel at War: What happened on day 19?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted for the first time that he would have to answer for the military failure that occurred on October 7, when Hamas caught the IDF by surprise and infiltrated southern Israel.

“This failure will have to be investigated to the last degree. Everyone will have to give answers,” he said. “Myself included.”

The admission came on the 19th day of the war, and after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other top brass in the military had already admitted to one of the bigger military fiascos since the creation of the state.

“Citizens of Israel, October 7 was a black day in our history,” but the issue of accountably can only occur after the war is over, Netanyahu said.

"Everyone will have to give answers, myself included."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the October 7 Massacre

“As prime minister, I am responsible for securing the future of the country, and now my role is to lead the State of Israel and the people to a crushing victory over our enemies. 

“Now is the time to join forces for one goal: To charge forward to victory,” Netanyahu said.

Eight soldiers were killed in the Israeli airstrike near the city of Daraa on Tuesday night, the Syrian army announced on Wednesday morning. 

The IDF struck infrastructure belonging to the Syrian Army, including mortar launchers, in response to rocket fire earlier in the evening from Syria toward Israel, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said early Wednesday morning in a rare statement.

Syrian media reported that the strikes targeted a radar site near Qarfa in the Daraa region of southern Syria and warehouses of the 12th Armored Brigade in Izraa in Daraa.

The IDF rarely takes responsibility for strikes attributed to Israel in Syria.

Sirens sounded in the towns of Neot Golan, Bnei Yehuda, and Givat Yoav, to the East of Lake Kinneret on Tuesday evening, with the IDF saying that two rockets were launched at Israel from Syria and fell in open fields.

Israeli artillery forces struck the source of rocket fire from Syria on the Golan Heights on Tuesday evening, the IDF confirmed.

An IDF soldier stands atop a tank near Alonei Habashan on the Golan Heights, close to the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria (credit: REUTERS)

IDF strikes terror cells in Lebanon

The IDF targeted a terrorist cell that fired anti-tank missiles at Israel from within Lebanese territory, it said on Tuesday.

The Israeli military responded with artillery forces to anti-tank fire directed at the northern border towns of Shutla and Menara. The IDF destroyed the weaponry used to launch the missiles, it added. 

This is a developing story.

Some four Palestinians were killed and 11 others were injured in a strike conducted by the IDF in the Jenin refugee camp early Wednesday morning, according to Palestinian reports.

The IDF stated that the drone strike was carried out after armed terrorists fired and threw explosives at Israeli forces operating in the Jenin refugee camp. No Israeli personnel were injured in the clashes. At least one of the Palestinians killed in the strike was part of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The strike came just a few days after an IAF fighter jet conducted a strike on an underground site used by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad under the al-Ansari Mosque in the Jenin refugee camp.

Clashes reported throughout West Bank overnight

Clashes were also reported in Tubas, Burkin, and Nablus as well overnight, among other locations.

Palestinian gunmen speak at a press conference in the Jenin Refugee Camp, July 6. (credit: RANEEN SAWAFTA/REUTERS)

In Burkin, armed terrorists clashed with Israeli forces, with Israeli forces arresting two suspects during the raid.

A number of suspects were arrested in Nablus as well, according to Palestinian forces. At least one Palestinian was injured amid clashes in Askar, near Nablus.

Senior Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said on Tuesday that the civilians Hamas captured on October 7 would be freed if Israel stopped attacking targets associated with the terrorist group in the Gaza Strip.

Meshaal, in an interview with Sky News, refused to refer to the civilians captured by Hamas as "hostages," and claimed that Israel had killed at least 22 of those captured in airstrikes on Gaza. Of those reportedly dead, he said that many were Israelis, but did not elaborate on which countries the rest were from. Axios reported that those numbers could not be verified.

"If Netanyahu was keen on their safety, if the Europeans and the Americans are keen on their safety, let them force Israel to stop its aggression, to stop this genocide, these brutal war crimes that are committed every day," he said. "Let them stop this aggression and you will find the mediators like Qatar and Egypt and some Arab countries and others will find a way to have them released and we'll send them to their homes."

"If Netanyahu was keen on their safety if the Europeans and the Americans are keen on their safety, let them force Israel to stop its aggression, to stop this genocide, these brutal war crimes that are committed every day."

Khaled Meshaal

The report came the same day that IDF Chief-of-Staff (Lt.-Gen.) Herzi Halevi said that Israeli forces are ready and prepared to invade Gaza.

However, a day before Meshaal's interview, two Israeli officials told Axios that Israel was willing to delay the invasion into Gaza to allow talks on Hamas releasing a large number of hostages. Israel told Egyptian mediators that Hamas has to release all its women and children hostages for any kind of deal, the report said. The next day, the IDF dropped leaflets in the Gaza Strip saying that Palestinian civilians who had information on any hostages would be rewarded with cash and safety from Hamas if they disclosed the details to the IDF. 

Hamas' exiled politburo Khaled Meshaal (front R) and Egyptian-born Sheikh Yussef al-Qaradawi (front L) arrive at the opening session of the gathering in Doha of Muslim scholars in support of the Palestinians (credit: REUTERS)

The IDF urged Gazan civilians to contact them through WhatsApp, Telegram, or through a secured line, for those in fear of repercussions by Hamas.

The report that came from Sky News, however, comes over a week after an unnamed senior Hamas official, in an interview with NBC News, also said that the terrorist group would release all civilian hostages if the IDF ceased its operation in Gaza.

However, the official in the NBC interview also said that IDF soldiers would only be released if all Palestinians detained by Israel were released.

What else did Meshaal say in the interview?

Meshaal also falsely stated in the Sky News interview that civilians weren't killed by Hamas's military wing al-Qassam Brigades on Oct. 7. He went on to say that any civilian deaths that were caused by Hamas were not intended.

He also said that the attacks a little over two weeks ago did not involve Iran in any capacity and that Hamas acted alone.

The full interview can be viewed below:

Also shortly after the interview, 10 Hamas terrorists were killed in waters off the shore in Zikim, a town bordering Gaza, in an attempt to infiltrate into Israel. The IDF stated that a Hamas terrorist cell exited a tunnel along the coast of the Gaza Strip to orchestrate their infiltration.

Hamas was holding more than 200 hostages as of Wednesday morning. The terrorist group has recently released a combined total of four people they've captured.

Israeli officials said that even with a hostage deal, the IDF won't abandon its plans for a ground invasion, Axios reported.

Yonah Jeremy Bob and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.

Rania Al Abdullah, the Queen consort of Jordan and wife to King Abdullah II, said on Tuesday that there is what she describes as a "glaring double standard" in the Western world's reaction to the Hamas massacre on October 7 and Operation Swords of Iron, claiming that much of the reaction is more sympathetic towards Israelis who were negatively impacted by the conflict than Palestinians.

Rania, who is of Palestinian descent, made this statement during an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, where she notes that the people of Jordan are feeling "shock, grief, and pain" in reaction to the images of civilians impacted in Gaza.

"I think that people all around the Middle East, including Jordan, we are just shocked and disappointed by the world's reaction to this catastrophe that is unfolding.

The full interview can be viewed below:

In a world exclusive, @QueenRania of Jordan spoke with me about the ongoing bombing of Gaza, civilian deaths, the massacres of October 7, and what she calls “a glaring double standard” in the West’s reaction to all this. Watch our full conversation. pic.twitter.com/68QUO3Vez9

— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) October 24, 2023

"In the last couple of weeks, we have been seeing a glaring double standard in the world. When October 7 happened, the world immediately and unequivocally stood by Israel and its right to defend itself and condemned the attack that happened. But what we're seeing in the last couple of weeks, we're seeing silence," she continued, referring to the Gazan civilians that have severely been impacted negatively by the war.

View of houses destroyed in Israeli air strikes, in the Gaza Strip, as seen from the Israeli side on October 24, 2023 (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

"Countries abroad stopped expressing concern" - Rania

She claimed that countries worldwide have stopped expressing concern or acknowledging the casualties in Gaza and instead expressing support for Israel.

"Are we being told that it is wrong to kill an entire family at gunpoint, but it's okay to shell them to death? This is the first time in modern history that there is such human suffering and the world is not even calling for a ceasefire.

"Are we being told that it is wrong to kill an entire family at gunpoint, but it's okay to shell them to death?"

Queen Rania Al Abdullah

The Queen consort continued by saying that the silence for Palestinian rights is deafening and that many believe that such silence makes the Western world complicit in the suffering of Gazan civilians.

Amanpour then asked Rania what she felt during October 7 of the Hamas massacre, to which she stated that the attack shocked her and that the country of Jordan "condemns the killing of any civilians, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli." She also noted that it is also Islam's position to condemn the killing of civilians, and then reiterated her belief that there is no equal condemnation of the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.

Delta Air Lines said on Tuesday it will cancel all flights to Israel through November 15 because of the ongoing conflict in the region.

Since earlier this month, United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta have all temporarily halted direct flights to Israel. Delta had said it planned to resume some flights on November 1. American has canceled flights through December 4.

Jordan's foreign minister said on Tuesday that Israel "appeared" to be above international law and urged an end to what he termed "double standards" in dealing with the Gaza conflict.

In remarks after a United Nations Security Council meeting that did not call for an end to hostilities, the minister, Ayman Safadi, said the international community had an obligation to end Israel's war "against Palestinians" in Gaza.