Israel News for 2-5-2024
News Update
Combat operations continue in Gaza.
IDF troops operating in Gaza found a detailed Hamas manual for the production of explosives and rocket propellant material using Hydrogen Peroxide supplied to hospitals. The IDF has captured over a half million Hamas documents including operational plans and combat strategies.
IDF troops captured the primary base for the Khan Younis Brigade, which was used to train terrorists for the October 7 massacre. The base contained advanced weapons production facilities and warehouses filled with rockets and mortar shells. According to an IDF assessment, over 100 miles of tunnels have been mapped beneath Khan Yunis. The army has facilitated the evacuation of over 120,000 civilians from Khan Yunis in the last 2 weeks.
Sgt. First Class (res.) Shimon Yehoshua Asulin, 24, of the Combat Engineering Corps’ 924th Battalion, from Beit Shemesh, was killed in southern Gaza.
For a complete list of the soldiers killed in the ground offensive, click here.
Hamas has reportedly ordered members of its police force to resume working in the northern part of Gaza, where the IDF presence has been significantly reduced and where civilian daily life is beginning to resume. The police has been instructed to arrest Gazans involved in looting houses and shops. In footage released from the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, Hamas police officers, masked and armed, are seen leading partially naked detainees who allegedly looted homes in a “walk of shame.” Leaders of the Hamas military wing reportedly have appointed new battalion commanders, deputies and field personnel to replace those eliminated by the IDF.
US envoy Amos Hochstein outlined the key elements of a diplomatic plan to deescalate tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. The plan consists of two phases. In phase 1, Hezbollah would cease hostilities along the border and withdraw 8 to 10 kilometers north from the border. A large deployment of the Lebanese army and UNIFIL peacekeeping forces would maintain quiet in the border area. In phase 2, Israel and Lebanon would begin negotiations to demarcate the land border, including discussions on 13 points on disputes along their shared boundaries. Simultaneously, the U.S. and the international community would explore offering “economic incentives” to Lebanon. The proposal was approved by the Lebanese government. Israel has stated that it is open to a diplomatic solution, but its first priority is to the safety and returning them to their homes in the north.
Over the weekend, dozens of rockets were fired at Israeli communities from Lebanon. The IDF responded with strikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.
The IDF’s 36th Division, which includes the Golani Infantry Brigade, the 188th Armored Brigade, and the 282nd Artillery Brigade, has been deployed to the Lebanon border following their withdrawal from Gaza.
A terrorist attempted to stab Border Police in the town of al-Eizariya, outside of Jerusalem. The officers shot and neutralized him. No Israelis were hurt. Security forces arrested 33 terror suspects in overnight raids throughout the West Bank.
Pramila Patten, the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Special Envoy for Sexual Violence in Conflicts who is in Israel investigating the sexual crimes against Israeli women on Oct. 7, said that she has been unable to sleep for a week since viewing the 47-minute video compiled by the IDF of the atrocities committed on October 7. For more, click here.
