Daily Recap: Hamas - Israel War November 5th, 2023 - Day 30

Additional information and thoughts from Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, the IDF’s International Spokesperson, is available in his Substack newsletter here .

Arena Overview

Southern Israel

Israel enters the fifth week of this war, triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israeli communities in southern Israel. IDF forces are continuing to operate deep within the Gaza Strip, combining air, navy and ground forces with pinpoint intelligence. Northern Gaza is encircled, with IDF forces present and conducting pinpoint operations deeper within Gaza. Since the ground operations began a little over a week ago, over 2,500 terrorist targets have been struck, including terrorist compounds, observation posts, terrorist tunnels, weapons depots, senior tactical leadership, and more.

In an example of one strike, following information obtained during Israeli Security Agency (ISA / Shabak) and IDF interrogations of Hamas terrorist operatives, IDF fighter jets targeted Hamas infrastructure on the roof of a building and a nearby tunnel shaft. The IDF also struck a command and control center, relying on information from these interrogations, neutralizing terrorists and obtaining intelligence materials. 

Israel continues to take feasible measures in order to mitigate the impact on Gaza’s residents. Over the weekend, 63 trucks of humanitarian supplies were transferred into the Gaza Strip. Hamas continues to hamper civilian evacuation in the Gaza Strip. In one example from this weekend, IDF forces attempted to open a humanitarian corridor on the Salah Al-Din route in the Gaza Strip between 13:00 and 16:00 and publicly announced this via the IDF Spokesperson for Arab Media’s Twitter (X) account. However, Hamas terrorists took advantage of this to fire mortar shells and anti-tank missiles at the IDF forces trying to open the corridor. 

On Sunday afternoon, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the IDF Spokesperson, exposed intelligence showing the extent to which Hamas exploits hospitals in the Gaza Strip. This included footage of Hamas terrorists firing from within hospitals, data on efforts made by the IDF to urge Gazan residents to move south, and more. A full recording of the briefing is available here .

Northern Israel

The IDF continues to respond towards Hezbollah fire on IDF positions along the border with tank, artillery fire and Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jet attacks on command posts, compounds, and rocket storage sites. The IDF is maintaining a high level of readiness and is well-prepared for any development in the area. A number of rockets were launched towards Israel on Saturday but they did not land in Israeli territory. Following the attack, the IDF targeted Hezbollah infrastructure. In addition, an anti-tank missile was fired towards Metula; no injuries recorded. On Sunday, a UAV was identified flying from deep inside Lebanon toward Israel. The UAV was intercepted by the IDF Aerial Defense Array over Lebanon.

In addition, on Sunday rockets were launched from Lebanon to Avivim in northern Israel and a fire toward the area of Malkia in northern Israel were identified.

Other Arenas

The Israeli homefront continues to come under fire, including rocket fire in northern and southern Israel and the IDF Home Front Command continues to update regulations. Active missile defense is playing an important role in maintaining security and stability; in one case, on Saturday, Hamas fired a long-distance rocket towards Israel’s southern Arava. This rocket was intercepted by the Arrow. 

There are currently 241 families whose families have been notified that their loved ones are being held hostage. Since October 7th, families of 345 Israeli soldiers and security forces have been notified that their loved ones were killed in action. 

Key Links

• A compilation of video footage of IDF force activity in Gaza ( Video )

• Saturday evening briefing from Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the IDF Spokesperson ( Video + English Readout )
• Footage of a Hamas attack on IDF forces opening a humanitarian corridor in Gaza