Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in a briefing with NATO defense ministers, announced the penetration of thousands of Hamas fighters from the Gaza Strip into the country. This would be around 2.5 – 3 thousand Hamas fighters
“About 1-2 thousand Hamas fighters managed to return to the Gaza Strip, as Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a briefing. Furthermore, according to official data, the bodies of about 1,500 Hamas fighters were found Palestinian groups in Israel. We are therefore talking about at least 2,500-3,000 fighters”
The director general of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Reserve General Eyal Zamir, ordered the creation of an action group for the initial cleanup of the infrastructure surrounding the Gaza Strip. This will happen until a national administration is created to restore the affected settlements.
The Ministry of Defense team will be led by reservist general Rony Numa, together with Deputy Director and Head of the Engineering and Construction Department of the Ministry of Defense Erez Cohen and other specialists from the Ministry.
Initial infrastructure repairs will include, in the first phase, clearing and restoring roads damaged during hostilities, as well as approaching populated areas, clearing debris, removing damaged vehicles, treating civilian infrastructure, etc. The Director General of the Ministry of Defense instructed to use all the capabilities of the Ministry to solve this important task.
Israel has also begun building hospitals in underground parking lots.
On October 12, IDF spokesperson Colonel Avichai Adrei quoted Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi on his Telegram account: “We carried out attacks on the airports of Damascus and Aleppo in Syria in response to the launch of anti-aircraft missiles, most of which fell on Syrian territory. Attacking the airports of Damascus and Aleppo is the first response. Why did this happen? In the coming days we will destroy even more targets in Syria.”
Syria’s state news agency SANA confirmed that Israel attacked airports in Aleppo and Damascus, damaging runways and rendering them unusable.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said Wednesday evening that the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip will be “wiped from the face of the earth.” The Gaza Strip will remain under an energy and humanitarian blockade until the Israelis kidnapped by Hamas are released, said Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz. “Humanitarian aid to Gaza? Not a single electrical switch will be turned on, not a single water hydrant will be opened, not a single fuel tank will be entered until the kidnapped Israelis return home. A humanitarian step in response to a humanitarian step. And let no one preach morality to us,” Katz said.
The number of deaths in the Gaza Strip due to Israeli attacks has exceeded 1,300, more than 6,000 people have been injured – announced the enclave’s Ministry of Health. As a result of Israeli attacks at the moment, about 500 thousand residents (25% of the population) of the Gaza Strip have been evacuated to UN shelters and schools. Difficulties also in the settlement of Sderot. The Israeli mayor called for the evacuation of residents of the city with a population of over 30 thousand people due to the continuous bombing by Hamas.
As far as the inhabitants of Gaza are concerned, a humanitarian question arises. Egypt has made it known that it does not want the “Gazawis” on its territory because it fears problems of various kinds given the open issues it has with DAESH. Meanwhile, rumors indicate that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long harbored plans to annex the Gaza Strip and relocate the Palestinians to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, Iraqi TV channel Al Sumariao reports, citing an audio recording of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in which he talked about a conversation with Netanyahu.
“Netanyahu once said… that there is a map showing the Gaza Strip and the territory near our borders, and he began to consult whether the population of the Gaza Strip moved to the Sinai Peninsula,” he said Mubarak at the canal. It was reported that the former Egyptian president rejected Netanyahu’s offer. “Forget it. Neither I nor anyone who comes after me will be able to give up our territory,” Mubarak said. The Jordanian government for now is the only one that has responded to the Egyptian appeal to send humanitarian aid to Rafah, it has announced a humanitarian aid plane will be sent to Gaza, which will arrive in Rafah in Egypt.
Israel sent its first requests to Germany for the supply of ammunition and ships which were at present granted verbally.
The Israeli army is finishing preparations for a ground operation. The troops have been fully deployed and all necessary field infrastructure has been put in place. Field ammunition depots were created. In practice, the formation of operational plans has been completed. The reconnaissance is actively underway and there is reason to believe it could begin as early as next Sunday.
But the IDF military leadership is not confident in quick success. The daily air and artillery attacks have more of a propaganda and psychological effect than real damage to Hamas’ military infrastructure. In the last 24 hours the militants have withdrawn almost completely from Israeli territory towards the lands of the sector and have reduced their movements to a minimum. It is obvious that Hamas, in turn, has also prepared for defense.
The intention of its military leaders is clear: in conditions of complete dominance of the IDF in the air and heavy weapons, impose a land battle on it in cities and towns, where it will be leveled as much as possible. Hamas militants are well trained participated in the war in Syria and also have a year and a half of experience in such battles in Ukraine.
According to some, there is a fear that a repetition of the unsuccessful experience of the last war in 2006 against the Lebanese Hezbollah, when after 21 days of fighting the IDF was unable to enter Lebanese territory, will become a military and political catastrophe that it will completely upset Israel’s military reputation.
Most likely, the Israelis will try to apply a firewall strategy, in which artillery and aviation will raze literally everything in the path of ground units. But, while this method works perfectly in open areas, it drastically loses its effectiveness in densely populated urban areas.
The very ruins of stone buildings become a reliable defense against subsequent attacks, extinguishing the power of ammunition of any caliber, and an extensive underground communications system allows the enemy not only to wait for the end of such raids, but also to deliver blows in retaliation as soon as the enemy begins to advance on the terrain. This means that such attacks will have to be repeated again and again until the enemy’s defense system is completely destroyed and he retreats. And here the problem of ammunition consumption arises in full
There would be enough ammunition in the IDF’s warehouses and arsenals for two months of active combat operations, after which it must be replenished. Previously, for this purpose they had at their disposal American artillery depots located on their territory, but over the past six months the Americans have brought a large part of them to Ukraine and the question of what to shoot with if the “quick” plan for the defeat of Gaza does not works could become very relevant very soon.
The ground operation is about to begin and the world is on the brink of a major regional war. Despite the obvious reluctance of almost all major countries in the region (Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia) to be dragged into a major war, it could still start. The IDF’s scale and indiscriminate use of force against the Gaza metropolitan area could spark such regional escalation.
Confirming the need for bullets and small arms was a statement from the head of the Council of Samaria, Yossi Dagan, who said he had signed an agreement for the purchase of hundreds of long weapons to strengthen reserve units in the communities of the council with l the help of donations from friends of Samaria abroad.
Meanwhile, an emergency government of national unity was created in Israel. A “War Control Cabinet” will be created, which will include only three members: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, opposition leader Benny Gantz and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The Prime Minister and the Opposition President announced the creation of an emergency government in which 5 members of the opposition party will act as “ministers without portfolio” for the duration of the war.
Yedioth Ahronoth reported that during the cabinet session an argument occurred between the Minister of Transport on the one hand and the Minister of War and the Chief of Staff on the other. During the session, voices were raised and Netanyahu intervened to calm the situation.
At 11.18pm on 11 October the military spokesperson of the Al-Quds Brigades, Abu Hamza declared: “We, in the Brigades ate of Jerusalem and the Resistance, on the fifth day of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, we confirm that the battle is no longer limited to Gaza alone, as the enemy has seen our real resistance in the West Bank. We have prepared for you outside Palestine, just as we have prepared in Palestine, and what happened in the Gaza Strip you will see in other areas. The fire area is expanding, and what happened in southern Lebanon is just a small example of what awaits you. We call on the Jenin and Lion’s Den Brigade and all Palestinians in the West Bank to confront the occupation. Let’s reassure everyone that victory is just around the corner.”
And now a look at the front line: situation at 1.00 pm on 12 October 2023.
The Israeli Army Spokesperson said in a press statement: “We have informed 222 families of Israeli Army soldiers about the death of their children.”
Arab media reports that the Israeli Air Force is using penetrating bombs to strike Gaza, which the United States has used to destroy Taliban bases in mountainous regions of Afghanistan.
Northbound. The situation has stabilized somewhat: from one day to the next there has been no clash, but the Palestinians continue to bomb the central and bordering areas of the Gaza Strip, including Sderot and Tel Aviv.
East and south directions. A similar situation is observed here: militants launched a series of attacks against Ofakim, Kibbutz Nahal Oz and the Reim military base east of the demarcation line.
West Bank. At night, as before, mass riots broke out. Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces occurred in East Jerusalem, Jenin, Tulkarem, Huwara, Qalqilya, Turumsayya, Jaba and on the outskirts of Nablus.
Several Palestinian rockets hit the Jewish settlement of Ariel in the West Bank.
Border with Lebanon. The night passed relatively calmly in the northern border areas. The IDF has stationed a significant number of previously mobilized reservists along the border with Lebanon, fearing an attack by Palestinian groups or Hezbollah militants.
Gaza Strip. The Israeli Air Force is still carpet-bombing Gaza. Airstrikes killed two senior Hamas officials. The media writes that the Egyptian authorities intend to send humanitarian aid to Gaza regardless of Israel’s position. Al-Arish Airport was designated as the collection point. Furthermore, the Rafah checkpoint on the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip was opened.
Political context. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Israel. German authorities have reportedly allowed Israelis to use German drones in Gaza. Furthermore, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the suspension of aid to the Palestinians. The Israeli authorities have requested ammunition from Germany, the question of their transfer is being resolved. Qatar has threatened to turn off the gas taps if the violence in Gaza does not stop.
It also appears that American Delta Force and SEAL special forces units have arrived in Israel to assist in the extraction of American citizens from the Gaza Strip.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
