Israel at war: What happened on day 41?

There is a debate at the highest levels of the government and the IDF about whether the military should already begin its invasion of southern Gaza or whether this must wait for an interim deal on hostages, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Numerous leaks have been made about terms that Israel or Hamas wants as the sides negotiate what might be an interim deal getting significant numbers of Israeli civilian hostages back, but not all hostages, for some kind of pause and prisoner exchange, but not necessarily that Hamas has demanded.

Whether Israel agrees to a deal or not which Hamas has been desperate for, even the possibility of being close to a deal may currently be slowing the push into southern Gaza, the Post understands.

The concept is that this is a unique tipping point where the IDF has mostly taken over northern Gaza and could make a natural pause.

Following Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel and the subsequent war, antisemitism abroad has become far more extreme than it was before, but this doesn't surprise soldier Madeleine Bollag, who grew up in Los Angeles and whose parents grew up in Switzerland and Iran experiencing antisemitism.

"On my dad's side, my grandparents survived the Holocaust," she told The Jerusalem Post. "One of them was in a concentration camp. My mother grew up in Iran, and her father was arrested with 12 other Jews. She escaped to Israel when she was 18 with her father."

Bollag made aliyah three years ago with her family and enlisted in the IDF three months ago. She is currently in Michve Alon, which is where new olim and lone soldiers acquire the Hebrew they will need for their service. Bollag hasn't been assigned a job yet for when she finishes her basic training, but she hopes to be assigned to a job in international relations or the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.

"Growing up outside of Israel, I always felt that there was a lot of misinformation," she explained. "I always felt that I had to explain to people what is going on and open their eyes to the truth."

The United States is confident in its intelligence assessment that Hamas used Gaza's Al Shifa hospital as a command center and possibly as a shortage facility, White House spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday.

The United States is confident in its intelligence assessment that Hamas used Gaza's Al Shifa hospital as a command center and possibly as a shortage facility, White House spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday.

An IDF soldier was murdered in a terror attack carried out by Hamas terrorists on Route 60, south of Jerusalem on Thursday, the Israeli military confirmed.

Three Palestinian terrorists began shooting at a checkpoint near the entrance to Jerusalem, injuring several people before being shot dead by Israeli troops at the scene.

Five other Israelis were wounded to varying degrees, as per Israeli reports. They were later rushed to Hadassah-University Medical Center and Shaare Zedek Medical Center in the capital for further treatment.

Hamas took responsibility for the attack.

Israeli forces found rockets hidden underneath the beds in a child's bedroom at a Hamas terrorist's Beit Hanun home, the IDF said on Thursday.

The raid was carried out by the IDF's 551st Reservist Brigade following intelligence gathered amid Operation Swords of Iron.

In addition, dozens of kilograms' worth of explosive material and devices were found in the terrorist's home.

The explosives were safely detonated following the raid.

Israeli forces have conquered and eliminated all terrorist threats from the western side of Gaza City, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced on Thursday afternoon.

Speaking following a situational assessment and a visit to the IDF's 36th Armored Division, Gallant noted that the IDF has "significant findings" from its operation in Al-Shifa Hospital.

He also said that the Israeli military had conquered the Western part of the main city in the Strip, adding the IDF had begun its second stage of the war.

Palestinian terror organization Hamas could exploit the war with Israel to carry out terror attacks on American soil, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Cristopher Wray told the US House of Representatives late on Wednesday night.

"We cannot - and do not - discount the possibility that Hamas or another foreign terrorist organization may exploit the current conflict to conduct attacks here, on our own soil," Wray told the House Committee on Homeland Security.

"We’ve kept our sights on Hamas and have multiple investigations into individuals affiliated with that foreign terrorist organization.

"And while, historically, our Hamas cases have identified individuals located here who are facilitating and financing terrorism overseas," the FBI head added, "we continue to scrutinize our intelligence to assess how the threat may be evolving."

All telecom services in the Gaza Strip have gone down as all energy sources sustaining the network have been depleted, Gaza's main telecommunications companies Paltel and Jawwal said in a statement on Thursday.