The IDF has now surrounded Gaza City on three sides, and is slowly, methodically, making its way, house by house, street by street, into the city itself. Hamas continues to inflate its casualty figures, and does not distinguish between its own operatives, of whom more than 5,000 appear to have been killed, and civilians, who were unfortunately killed because they did not heed Israeli warnings to leave targeted areas, especially those who were unwilling or unable to leave the northern part of the Strip, as Israel had been urging them to do for almost four weeks.
More on the state of the war, as of November 2, with Israel facing the prospect of possible war from Hezbollah in the north, armed attacks in the West Bank, Houthis lobbing UAVs and missiles from the south, and backing them all, the turbaned fanatics of the Islamic Republic, can be found here “The Gaza Terror Offensive – 29 October – 2 November 2023,” b Dr. Eado Hecht, BESA, November 3, 2023
Gaza:
As noted in my last update, during the night of 27-28 October a new chapter began in the war – the IDF ground offensive. Over the six days the IDF have advanced into Gaza from three directions: initially from the northwestern corner along the coast (what the Turkish newspaper calls the Beit Lahia axis); the following night also from the northeastern corner (what the Turkish newspaper calls the Beit Hanoun axis) and since Sunday also from the east just south of the city of Gaza (what the Turkish newspaper calls the Johr al-Dik axis), cutting Gaza City (the northern third of the Strip) from the rest of the Gaza Strip. Over the past 24 hours Palestinian reports suggest that IDF units are entering the edges of Gaza City itself along the coast from north and south.
A Turkish newspaper published the above map [not shown] based on Palestinian reports. The IDF hasn’t published a map of its own and I am not sure how accurate the Turkish map is, but it is probably close enough to give the general idea.
The initial advance through the open ground between the border and the built-up areas was conducted behind a rolling barrage that destroyed many of the bombs hidden in the ground. Underneath this open area is a warren of tunnels with many hidden openings – the Hamas fighters let the IDF troops pass then climbed out of the tunnels to attack them from behind or from the flanks. They also attempted to fire long-range anti-tank missiles from high-rise buildings inside Gaza that overlook the open areas and to send armed-drones against the Israelis. In the majority of the cases these attacks failed. After a few days of fairly light fighting, on 31st October the intensity of the fighting escalated considerably as the IDF reached the outskirts of the built-up areas.
So far the IDF has reported the death of 18 of its soldiers and a couple of dozen wounded (the exact number of wounded has not been published). A few bulldozers (leading the advance to clear underground bombs and other obstacles), one tank and one APC have been heavily damaged. In most cases the Israeli active defense system mounted on these vehicles have intercepted the missiles and rockets before they hit.
Behind the leading units advancing to the city, other units are scouring the ground to find the hidden doors of the tunnel complex in order to destroy them and block the ability of the Hamas forces to use them.
Hamas casualties are not clear because the official Hamas reports are not credible and they deliberately hide military casualties among the civilian casualties. However, they are clearly very high (I would rather not speculate). Furthermore, many of the Hamas personnel that have been killed were hiding underground when their positions were hit with ground-penetrating bombs (bombs that explode only after penetrating to a certain distance into the ground). Also, many Hamas personnel have switched from wearing uniforms to civilian clothing.
While the ground forces are advancing the air force is continuing to strike targets located by IDF intelligence all over the Gaza Strip, though especially in the northern third. There is a deliberate hunt going on for senior Hamas commanders and more than a dozen have been reported killed. All together, since the beginning of the war, the Israeli air force has struck some 12,000 targets with a wide variety of ordnance – from ground penetrating bombs to regular bombs dropped by manned aircraft to small accurate missiles launched by drones and anti-tank missiles launched by helicopters.
The IDF has also launched a campaign for acquiring information on the kidnapped people (meanwhile the number of confirmed kidnapped has grown to 242). In flyers thrown all over the Gaza Strip stating that whoever holds kidnappees, alive or dead, or has information on their whereabouts will be provided payment and safe passage for them and their families if they hand them over to the IDF. Conversely, whoever is found to be holding women or children and does not hand them over will be killed.
Hamas propaganda has been reporting time and again that the fuel necessary to operate the electricity generators in the hospitals has run out and that this would create a humanitarian disaster – each time, photographs from the various hospitals mentioned collected from social media show that the electricity is still on. For example – the following screenshot [not shown here] shows the Indonesian Hospital (named after the country that donated it) half an hour after the Gaza Health Ministry declared the electric generators to be no longer working (collected by Israeli blogger Abu Aly Express): all the lights are on In the hospital.
Also, the IDF published an intercepted telephone conversation between a Hamas battalion commander and the director of the Indonesian Hospital in which the commander describes taking 1,000 liters of fuel from the hospital stocks.
In the other direction Hamas and the other Gazan groups have continued to fire rockets all over central and southern Israel – since the beginning of the war they have fired more than 8,500 rockets – that is approximately 1,000 more in the past 7 days. About 10% of the rockets fell inside Gaza.
Hamas allowed several hundred residents of Gaza with foreign citizenship to leave today via Egypt. Meanwhile several hundred trucks carrying humanitarian supplies have crossed into Gaza from Egypt over the past week….
Now if only the Bidenites would rethink their insensate desire to pressure Israel to agree to call a “pause” — really, a “ceasefire” by another name — in the fighting, which can only work to Hamas’ advantage, allowing it to regroup, and rearm, its forces, just as it is being pummeled by the IDF, and let the IDF to get on with the business of methodically destroying, root and branch, the terror group, so that it cannot ever again be a threat to the Jewish state.
Walter Sieruk says
It can’t be repeated to much that being on the receiving end of a strong power of the force of military might is the only language that the jihadists of Hamas will understand. Therefore, that how they need to be dealt with. Therefore, it’s impotent to hit it hard , hit it long and keep on hitting it with strong powerful forceful military strikes until it’s unable to raise up again with its ugly , vicious and deadly jihad Islamic head.
Walter Sieruk says
It should be reiterated that since that hostile jihad entity, Hamas struck Israel first, the use of the military force against Hamas is an very important and fitting response of self-defense.
As the former US President James Monroe, had rightly and wisely, in a speech declared, “The right of self -defense never ceases. It is among the most sacred, and alike necessary to nations and individuals.”
Furthermore, the way to defeat that murderous jihad terror entity ,Hamas , is by a use of a very strong force of the power of military might. For the sad and tragic reality is that this is the only language that the jihadists will understand, because they will not and cannot respond to reason and logic.
Therefore Israeli military air strikes are both appropriate and necessary actions against the jihadists of Hamas.
As Thomas Jefferson has ,so rightly , written ‘With every barbarous people…force is law.”
Wellington says
“Now if only the Bidenites would rethink their insensate desire to pressure Israel to agree to call a ‘pause,’…”
Ain’t gonna’ happen because EVERYONE in the bogus Biden Administration is at least a doofus or, at worst, aligned with evil. Respecting the “evil category,” I most certainly place Merrick Garland and Jack Smith, among so many others.
Biden is an utter disgrace. Frankly, this pathetic, creepy, mendacious and corrupt excuse for a man is helping to destroy America and one knows this by now or should know it. So are all in his administration one way or another destroying America, examples (there are so many) being Kirby, Austin, Blinken, KJP (the most pathetic press secretary ever), the execrable Mayorkas, the complete incompetent who is “Mayor Pete,” the perpetual monumental nothing who is Kamala Harris, et al.
America is now led by fools and rogues. Anyone denying this is simply part of the massive problem now confronting the American Republic. No exceptions. Not one damn one. And, oh yes, all those who ACTAULLY voted for Biden in 2020 should hang their head in shame for a very long time, perhaps forever.
Westman says
They definitely believe their own rhetoric that Russia is losing the Ukraine War, they are ready to take on China if it moves on Taiwan (unlikely), and now that China has achieved 7nm production quantity microchips it can’t compete with the West.
The report from Ukraine is the rats are, “stealing like there is no tomorrow”, while the Biden admin calls the war a stalemate. Do we believe the delusional words from comfortable offices, or, the rats abandoning the ship?
These guys are talking war with China and damaging Russia, that they can, “walk and chew gum at the same time”, yet can’t tie their shoes to save Israel, first.
Brian Osborn says
I couldn’t have put it better Wellington. Sad but true. They are a perverted lot in an evil cabal.
commonsense says
Bravo, Wellington, as usual.
James Lincoln says
100% true spot-on post, Wellington.
Westman says
I’ll second that.
Westman says
Well, a little late, but apparently, to get his message past the broken puppet, the former gasbag, Divider-in-chief, THE puppet-master, has weighed in for Hamas, saying, “all of us are complicit to some degree”. No, stupid, we’re not. It’s Islam controlling the minds of aggressive men who then can’t allow Jews to live, anywhere.
Mr. Shadow Government talks of “occupation” in Gaza where there has been none since 2015. He forgets the Palestinian refusals for all the 2-state solutions that didn’t include Jews in the sea.
Russia, at great expense, finally stopped the 2nd Chechen jihad by making certain jihadists never forgot its cost. Israel must do the same. The Palestinians voted for Hamas. If they now think it’s a mistake, then they must say so and push Hamas out.
Ahh, but Mr. Puppet-Master, Hamas has been killing Palestinians who try to escape Gaza. Doesn’t that make Hamas the real “occupier”? Are you complicit in that?
Westman says
Typo on the date of no occupation in Gaza by Israel, it was 2005, not 2015.
When it was turned over with production-ready industries, the Gazans, instead of thanking Allah for their good fortune and becoming productive, simply destroyed everything left behind and lived as dependent people. Does anyone believe if Israel was gone, the Arab nations would continue supporting the “Palestinians”? Gaza and the West Bank are just their proxies to irritate the Israelis.
James Lincoln says
Westman,
If Israel was “gone”, it would soon become indistinguishable from Gaza.
tgusa says
“all of us are complicit to some degree”
He is speaking to his fellow democrats. They haven’t done enough to support the terrorists and their ambush murders of women children and the elderly. Tonight they are at the gates of the white hut screaming FJB! We are witnessing what DC has brought to our country and it is ugly. Barry the rat is a stain on our republic. Our choices going forward are pretty clear now.
Brian Osborn says
Good comment. Spot on!
commonsense says
What Biden and his obedient court Jew, Blinkered Blinken, are demanding of Israel is that it agree to a hudna – a classic Muslim tactic used when they are losing a battle. The hudna is used to rearm and regroup. While Biden and his lackey Blinken are almost certainly clueless about how Muhammed’s historic Treaty of Hudaibiyya with the pagan Meccans, which incorporated and exploited the hudna with great success, the Turks, Egyptians, and Jordanians, who are demanding a ceasefire, are well aware of how Hamas will use the hudna to its advantage. Israel, hopefully, is onto them.
commonsense says
Sorry about the italics. Forgot how to use HDML just to italicize “hudna.” Bit rusty.
commonsense says
I meant HTML…I think.
dumbledoresarmy says
re hudna: EXACTLY.
It is very very difficult for most sane and decent humans to understand, and hard for them to do.. but.. when dealing with mohammedans… and this applies not just to Israel, but to EACH AND EVERY non-Islamic state that find itself in a war of self-defence against merciless Jihad whether waged by state or non-state entities … think of India, think of the Philippines and Southern Thailand… it is imperative that when the mohammedans start wailing and calling for a ‘ceasefire’, the Infidel side should take that as the cue to .. go in and hit harder and *keep on hitting*!!
BEcause the mohammedan demand for a ‘ceasefire’ or a ‘treaty’ or whatever, will only EVER be a hudna, a breathing space that the mohammedans, who have been weakened, will use to .. regroup and rearm so that, at some future time, they can go back in again for the kill.
NO free non-Islamic country should be forcing Israel to stop NOW. Instead Israel should be assisted and encouraged to .. hammer Hamas into the ground. the more complete Hamas’ defeat, the stronger the message to the REST of the Mohammedan mob… **don’t mess with the non-Muslims, you will just .. get.. squashed flat**.
Hamas should lose Gaza. Totally. It’s nothing but a **military base for Jihad**.. and it should be treated as the military base that it is. When you capture an enemy’s fortress what do you do with it? you destroy it.
The jihad-promoters and jihad fellow travellers that call Gaza a prison are totally misrepresenting what it is. It’s a FORTRESS; a military base; an arsenal, a weapons factory; a forward operating base of the GLOBAL jihad. It’s no more innocent than was Hitler’s Berlin and if it is levelled as was Hitler’s Berlin, that is no more than justice.
commonsense says
Exactly right, DDA. Be well. Nice to see you’ve posted again.
bill says
To Walter Sieruk. “The right of self -defense never ceases. It is among the most sacred, and alike necessary to nations and individuals.”
I wonder if he applied that to the native Americans, to whom he applied his Monroe Doctrine of constant movement Westward, which repeatedly robbed them of their land and livelihoods. It is interesting to note that that policy inspired Hitler in his Eastward expansion.and war of extermination against the ‘inferior’ Slavs
Fran says
Your insistence on repeating Indian-versus-white-man is tired rhetoric. The Indians were no more “innocent savages” than the barbarian Hamas cowards. They killed and raped and kidnapped, and no one is alive from that era, so why bring it up? However, the jihadis filmed their own despicable deeds, and deserve to be squashed by Israel.