Daily Recap: Hamas - Israel War October 23rd, 2023 (19:00) - Day 17

• The IDF struck hundreds of targets in Gaza over the last 24 hours, focusing on both Hamas operatives and military targets, including weapons storage sites, underground terrorist tunnels, command centers, observation posts and more.
• An IDF soldier was killed by an anti-tank missile fired from the Gaza Strip near Kissufim
• Attacks from Lebanon on Israel’s northern border continued, including an attempted rocket launch, two UAVs that were launched and the identification of an anti-tank missile cell. These attacks were prevented by swift IDF action. 

Continue reading for a note from Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, key links for recommended reading, and a more in-depth arena overview.

Field Notes from Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, IDF Spokesperson to International Media

For a military spokesperson, the tension between what can and can’t be published is a dilemma that lies front and center.

Every briefing, every publication and every interview requires careful consideration on what intelligence sources may be jeopardized and what sensitive military capabilities may be exposed. 

This war, we’ve been forced to make another decision, far more gruesome in its nature. When Hamas attacked men, women and children across southern Israel on October 7th , it did so in the most brutal fashion. And as one would expect from a sophisticated terrorist organization, it proudly documented those horrors. Meticulously. 

If you had asked me three weeks ago, it would be clear to me that those images and videos would never see the light of day.

I’d be wrong.

Before we had even finished fighting off the terrorists in southern Israel, the denials started to come in. This reached a peak with absurd demands, requesting signed medical declarations about an incinerated baby. 

So today, we hosted over 200 journalists to sit through a screening of the terrorists' headcams. For nearly an hour, the screen played horrors and some of the most hardened journalists cried. 

This is not a war we wanted. This is not a screening that I would have ever dreamed we would run, not in my worst nightmare. But today, I - together with hundreds of journalists and their readers - stood witness.

Key Links

A children’s pink school bag rigged with explosives by Hamas terrorists, discovered by IDF sappers in southern Israel

Civilian dash cam footage from October 7th attack . This is part of the footage shown in the press conference Lt. Col. Hecht referenced above

IDF aerial photos of Hamas launch sites in close proximity to civilian locations

Arena Overview

Gaza

The IDF continues to strike Hamas military targets in the Gaza Strip, preparing for the intensification of operations in order to dismantle the Hamas organization. Over the last day, hundreds of targets were struck. Two of these targets were located in the vicinity of a mosque , as Hamas continues to use civilian infrastructure for terrorist activity. The IDF also continued to ensure that all those involved in the attacks on October 7 are brought to justice, targeting a member of the Nuhkba forces. 

Hamas efforts to target Israel continued as well. On Monday afternoon, two UAVs were launched from Gaza and thwarted by the IDF. In addition, an anti-tank missile cell was identified and targeted overnight by an IDF tank. 

The IDF continues to operate on both sides of the security fence in order to both gather intelligence and improve IDF operational flexibility for the next stages of the war. While carrying out these missions, one IDF soldier was killed and three others were injured near Kissufim after a tank and engineering vehicle were targeted by an anti-tank squad in the Gaza Strip on Sunday. 

Over 800 bodies of terrorists who invaded Israel on October 7th have been recovered in southern Israel, and some 200 terrorists are being detained. The IDF continues to carefully monitor southern Israel in the wake of October 7th’s attack. As part of these efforts, a pink school bag with an explosive device was located in the area of Kissufim. This bag was carried by Hamas terrorists in the October 7th attack and contains a remotely-activated explosive device, and explosives weighing about 7 kilograms.

Despite Hamas’s attempts to stop residents from following the IDF’s recommendations to temporarily move to southern Gaza, over 700,000 Gazan residents have already done so. Israeli security forces checked the 14 truck loads of humanitarian aid containing food, water and medicine that crossed into Gaza through the Rafah crossing on Sunday. The IDF has reiterated that it will not allow any aid to reach Hamas terrorists.

Northern Israel

On the northern border, Hezbollah terrorist attacks continue with anti-tank missiles fired at communities and military posts. The IDF continues to quickly identify and eliminate the abilities of terror cells preparing to launch attacks. Just in the last day, the IDF struck eight such cells, seven before they even launched rockets. Since the beginning of the war, over twenty Hezbollah cells have been targeted. On Monday afternoon, a UAV attempted to penetrate Israeli airspace from Lebanon via the sea, before being intercepted by the Israeli Aerial Defense Array. 

The IDF will continue to respond to every attempt or attack on its forces. 

The Israeli Homefront

Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north continue to fire rockets and launch UAVs at Israeli communities and military posts, with sirens sounding in southern Israel, Be’er Sheva, and in northern Israel. The National Emergency Management Authority said some 120,000 civilians have been relocated from southern and northern Israel.

To date, 222 families have been notified that their loved ones were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip and 308 families of soldiers were notified that their loved ones were killed in action.

Previous versions of this daily summary are available here.