Israel at war: What happened on days 28-29?

Israeli forces will reach Hamas terror leader Yahya Sinwar and will kill him, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed on Saturday evening briefing on developments in Operation Swords of Iron.

Further, Gallant said that "by the end of the war, there will be no Hamas in Gaza. There will be no threat to Israeli civilians from the Strip."

Israel intensified its ground operation in Gaza over the weekend, successfully targeting and dismantling vital Hamas elements, including their critical infrastructure and personnel.

Israel's Arrow air defense system intercepted a Hamas long-range missile launch from Gaza over the Negev desert on Saturday evening, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.

"Following the initial report on the activation of a warning in the Arava area, one launch from the Gaza Strip was detected and intercepted by the Arrow air defense system," said the spokesperson.

The Israel Aerospace Industry congratulated the IDF on the successful operational interception of a long-range ballistic missile of the Arrow missile defense system.

Israeli forces will reach Hamas terror leader Yahya Sinwar and will kill him, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed on Saturday evening briefing on developments in Operation Swords of Iron.

Further, Gallant said that "by the end of the war, there will be no Hamas in Gaza. There will be no threat to Israeli civilians from the Strip."

This is a developing story.

 The leader of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, met Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a visit to Tehran in recent days, a Hamas official said on Saturday in remarks broadcast by al-Mayadeen television.

Osama Hamdan, a senior official in the Iran-backed Hamas, gave no further details about the visit to Tehran, speaking in Beirut. Haniyeh has resided between Qatar and Turkey since 2019.

Israel intensified its ground operation in Gaza over the weekend, successfully targeting and dismantling vital Hamas elements, including their critical infrastructure and personnel.

"Our victory [against Hamas] will be decisive and clear," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday in a video address. "Our forces are operating in all sectors and with full strength.

"The goal of our enemies is the destruction of the State of Israel," the prime minister said. "I say to you, and I say to them – our enemies will fail. They will be defeated. We will not relent until we achieve our goals, which include the elimination of Hamas, the return of our hostages, and providing security for our citizens and children."

He said that Israel's efforts would "send a message to our enemies" that would reverberate for generations. 

The Saudi Prince Abdulrahman bin Mosaad, launched a sharp attack on the Secretary General of Hezbollah on Saturday, Hassan Nasrallah, after the speech he gave regarding the war in Gaza.

Prince bin Mosaad said "There is no doubt that the Axis of Resistance is a big lie. The 100,000 missiles and massive weapons that Hezbollah has, have nothing to do with supporting the Palestinian cause.

"The so-called Axis of Resistance has been dealing with the Palestinian issue for years and is only a means of implementing Iran's agenda in the region," he continued.

"Hassan Nasrallah's speech in which he said that Operation Al-Aqsa flood is a Palestinian operation only and that the resistance axis was surprised by this, and everything that was said in the speech dropped all the masks."

He then said: "All illusions based on loud slogans and resonant speeches should fall with him. Nasrallah did not believe his own speech until he said that all efforts must be made to stop the war in Gaza. Why do you say what you do not do? It's so disgusting that you say what you don't do."

The October 7 invasion and massacre of Israelis by Hamas is "the greatest success of the Islamic world," Sardar Abolfazl Shekarchi, Iran’s deputy for culture and defense propaganda of the General Staff of the IRGC, said in celebration of the massacre, as per Iranian state-owned Tasnim.

The October 7 attack took the lives of 1,400 Israelis, including children and civilians.

Shekarchi’s statement read: “The greatest success of the Islamic world after the Al-Aqsa storm operation is the consensus of the nations of the world against the oppressive and bloodthirsty Zionist regime.”  Hamas refers to the October 7 attack at the “Al-Aqsa storm.”

"Standing up against global arrogance is one of the greatest achievements of the Islamic Revolution, which has been gifted to the oppressed and oppressed of the world," he continued.

Israel's Arrow air defense system intercepted a Hamas long-range missile launch from Gaza over the Negev desert on Saturday evening, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.

"Following the initial report on the activation of a warning in the Arava area, one launch from the Gaza Strip was detected and intercepted by the Arrow air defense system," said the spokesperson.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday both Washington and Arab states believe the status quo of a Hamas-controlled Gaza cannot continue and that he has discussed with his Arab counterparts how to chart a better path forward towards a two-state solution.

Speaking at a news conference in Amman, alongside his Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts, the top US diplomat also said Washington was worried about violence by extremist settlers in the West Bank.

No support for a ceasefire from Blinken

The United States believes that a ceasefire in Israel's military offensive in Gaza would leave Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in place and allow it to regroup and carry out similar attacks to the one on Oct. 7, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday.

That attack killed more than 1,400 people, the worst assault in Israel's history. Blinken made his comments at a news conference in Amman, alongside his Jordanian and Egyptian counterparts who have repeatedly urged for an immediate cessation of hostilities.

Aaron David Herschman and Daniel Smith have been friends for decades. In the wake of the October 7 massacre of 1,400 people in Israel at the hands of Hamas terrorists, the two friends decided they would come to see how they could volunteer to help. Both men served in the US Army and served in Iraq in 2005 and subsequent years. They are both trained as combat lifesavers, meaning they have training as medics.  

“We saw what happened on October 7 and it violated the code we live by,” says Herschman. He describes that code as the military code against killing civilians, such as women and children, as Hamas did. “Some think I came because I’m Jewish, but it was more personal, if you came into my home and did this [what Hamas did on October 7] you’d get a serious reaction. We wanted to help, whether volunteering at the hospital or holding a rifle,” he says. 

Herschman was born in Gary, Indiana and lives in Maryland. He is married and has two kids. His friend Smith was also born in Maryland and lived in the state his whole life. In the early days after October 7 the US helped arrange for Americans stuck in Israel to leave. Some left on a ship from Haifa, bound for Cyprus. At the same time many Israelis returned to Israel to serve in their reserve units. The two American volunteers stuck out in their decision to come. However, they wanted to show support in any way they could.  

“We got on a plane and came here…and we didn’t have a return ticket,” Herschman recalls. “We thought we’d come until [it ends]…we didn’t know what to expect. We knew a war was coming, the news was speaking of 4,000 rockets being fired from Gaza, and the US was sending [aircraft carriers]…we didn’t know what to expect, but we were willing to help.”