Daily Recap: Hamas - Israel War October 29th, 2023 (19:30) - Day 23

29.10.23
IDF

Note that as of today, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, the IDF Spokesperson for Foreign Media, will be sharing his thoughts via the SubStack newsletter available here .

Key Links

 

Arena Overview

Southern Israel

IDF troops have been operating within the Gaza Strip, on the ground, since Friday night, as part of the ongoing intensification of the war on Hamas. As Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the IDF Spokesperson, said on Sunday morning, the IDF is continuing to expand the scope of ground activity within the Gaza Strip.

Over the last day, the IDF struck over 450 terror targets, including operational command centers, observation posts, and anti-tank missile launch posts. Combined forces, including ground forces, identified and struck terrorist cells that attempted to attack the forces, as well as terrorist cells planning to execute anti-tank missile launches. IDF forces also collaborated with the Israeli Air Force in order to implement aerial strikes on targets in Gaza.

 

 

Humanitarian Status in the Gaza Strip, based on briefing with Colonel Elad Goren, the Head of Civil Affairs at COGAT

In a briefing today, Colonel Elad Goren touched on humanitarian support to the Gaza Strip, prior to and during the War with Hamas, initiated by the Hamas attack on October 7th, 2023. The following is some key points from the briefing:

  • Prior to the Hamas attack on Israel, some 18,500 Gazans had entered Israel on a daily basis in order to work, typically earning salaries that were some 3.5x higher than the average local salary. 
  • Some 82,000 trucks of supplies were responsible for 2.2 million tonnes of goods that entered the Gaza Strip via Israeli crossings annually.
  • During the October Seventh massacre by Hamas, the very crossings and soldiers responsible for transferring aid into the Gaza Strip were targeted. Some remain abducted within the Gaza Strip.
  • In addition, Hamas attacks damaged two of the three water pipes that had transferred water into the Gaza Strip. In total, Israeli water had only accounted for ten percent of Gaza’s water supply prior to the attacks.
  • Hamas’ attacks also damaged nine of the ten power lines transferring electricity into the Gaza Strip. Col. Goren noted that all sensitive infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, including hospitals and sewage plants, have alternative sources of energy available, including generators and solar panels but that Hamas continues to direct usage of fuel and has been prioritizing terrorist usage. 
  • Since the attacks, Israel has invested in repairing the infrastructure while remaining at war with Hamas. Two water lines are currently active and are transferring 28 million liters of potable water into Gaza every day. There is currently no lack of water in the humanitarian zone near Khan Yunis although there are some issues distributing water towards the north, which is yet another reason why Gazan civilians are urged to move south.
  • In coordination with the United States, Egypt and the United Nations, Israel is inspecting goods at Nitzana crossing, after which they are transferred to Rafah crossing for movement into the Gaza Strip. To date, hundreds of tons of goods have been supplied and Israel intends to increase this significantly in the near future. 

 

Northern Israel

Hezbollah continues to initiate acts of aggression against Israel; the IDF will not tolerate these acts and will continue to strike in response. Hezbollah terrorists that near the fence will be targeted as well. Overnight the IDF targeted Hezbollah military targets, including infrastructure and military posts. 

Last night, sirens sounded in Margaliot, a community in northern Israel, after three rockets launched from Lebanon. The rockets landed in open areas. In response to these launches and other attacks over the past day, the IDF targeted Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanon.

Additional Arenas

So far, we have notified the families of 311 fallen IDF soldiers, as well as the families of 230 hostages. As the IDF Spokesperson said:

We are embracing the families. We will continue to accompany them at all times.

We are doing everything we can to return the hostages home - this is our ultimate goal. IDF soldiers are fighting in the field at this very time in order to achieve this goal.

Rocket fire towards Israel continued with sirens sounding in central and southern Israel.