War Day 543: Escalating Tensions: Hamas Rejects Israel’s Terms, Regional Security Developments, and International Diplomatic Efforts

• Hamas has not yet responded to Israel’s counterproposal to Egypt’s peace deal, but continues to demand the war’s end, the opening of crossings, and Gaza’s reconstruction as conditions for releasing hostages. They reject Israel’s terms regarding disarmament and the expulsion of senior Hamas figures. Israel aims to dismantle Hamas’s military capabilities in Gaza, making clear that the war will continue until Hamas is disarmed and expelled.
• In Gaza, Hamas launched a rocket at Sderot, which was intercepted by the Iron Dome. The IDF issued additional evacuation warnings for Beit Hanoun and conducted airstrikes. Gaza is experiencing a flour shortage, fueling internal unrest and protests against Hamas, including the execution of a Hamas policeman by a local clan. The Gaza evacuation plan is ongoing, with some residents being relocated to Germany.
• In Judea and Samaria, IDF operations led to the discovery of an explosives lab and the arrest of multiple wanted terrorists. The region remains tense.
• In Lebanon, the IDF eliminated Hezbollah operative Hassan Badir, who had been planning a significant terror attack against Israeli and Jewish targets.
• Reports indicate that Syria is exploring backchannel talks with Israel, possibly aiming for normalization with Saudi Arabia’s support. In Yemen, the U.S. intercepted a ballistic missile likely aimed at Israel.
• Iran is implicated in global terror activities, including threats to Jewish and Israeli targets during Passover, according to Israel’s National Security Council.
• Additionally, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu reconsidered his appointment of Eli Sharvit as Shin Bet director following public backlash. U.S. President Trump held discussions with Egypt’s President El-Sisi regarding military progress in Yemen and potential solutions for Gaza. Amit Sousana, a Hamas captivity survivor, received the U.S. International Women of Courage Award.

59 held captive in Gaza.
35 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.
147 living hostages rescued.
49 hostage bodies rescued.
1,828 Israelis killed.
413 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
87 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
18 fallen soldiers and police in Judea & Samaria.
30,696 estimated projectiles fired at Israel.
20,000 Israelis estimated displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines:

• Hamas leader says they’ll never surrender
• Rocket intercepted over Sderot
• Further expansion of buffer zone
• Heavy airstrikes in south and center of Gaza
• Flour shortages begin in Gaza
• Killings between Hamas and Gaza family clan, protests continue under Hamas crackdowns
• Hundreds of Gazans flown to Germany
• 27 terrorists arrested in Judea and Samaria
• Airstrike in Lebanon averted massive terror attack abroad, which aimed to kill hundreds
• Syria opening backchannels for normalization with Israel
• Israel warns: Iran planning Passover terror attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets around the world

Hostages:

Hamas has not yet responded to Israel’s counterproposal to Egypt’s deal. But, Hamas political bureau member, Suhail al-Handi, again made it clear that they will not agree to Israel’s conditions for a second phase of a deal:

“We are ready to release all the hostages,” he said, “on the condition that the war ends, the crossings are opened, and the [Gaza] Strip is rebuilt. We reject Netanyahu and Trump’s conditions regarding our disarmament and the expulsion of senior Hamas figures from the Gaza Strip.”

Israel’s negotiation team is not, and [I don’t think] ever was, under the illusion that Hamas would agree to disarm and leave Gaza. But so long as Hamas believes they have a hope for rebuilding their terror group in Gaza, they will continue to fight and hold onto hostages. That hope must be destroyed, beyond doubt.

Israel is therefore making it clear to Hamas that the war will not end without Hamas’s disarmament and expulsion from Gaza. Without any hope in sight, Hamas leaders are more likely to give up hostages here and there in exchange for brief ceasefires and replenishing and food,—or individual Hamas guards of hostages are more likely to give up hostages for the sake of their own personal survival and escape.

Gaza:

This morning, Hamas launched one rocket towards the Israeli border city of Sderot. Sirens were activated in the city and its suburbs. The rocket was successfully intercepted by the Iron Dome, and no physical injuries were reported. (This was during school time. Imagine getting hundreds of kids to shelter in under 15 seconds.)

The rocket was launched from Beit Hanoun, from where Hamas and their supporters have not yet fully evacuated, despite orders. Immediately after the rocket launch, the IDF reissued evacuation warnings. Later, heavy airstrikes were seen throughout Beit Hanoun.

The security buffer zone around Gaza has by now been significantly expanded, especially in the north. The exact size hasn’t been published, but in evacuation maps issues by the IDF, the greyed out area can be seen. According to Axios, if no hostages are released, Israel will take over a total of 25% of the Gaza Strip within 2-3 weeks. Based on the current buffer zone, and the evacuation warnings for Rafah, this is highly likely.

Residents of Israeli border communities were warned that it would be a noisy night, with heavy air traffic and loud explosions heard from Gaza. True to the warning, reports indicate very intense airstrikes and artillery fire in the south and center of Gaza, and especially in the center of Rafah.

Gaza is beginning to see a shortage of flour. Some bakeries are being forced to close, and long lines for where flour is available for purchase. This is exacerbating the tension between civilians and Hamas, and encouraging more protests against Hamas.

Today (Tuesday) a young man from the large “Abu Samra” family clan in the city of Deir al-Balah was killed by Hamas policemen while waiting in line for flour. There are different versions of events, but it appears that the Hamas police came and halted the sale, told everyone the flour is sold out, and shot into the crowd to disperse them. More than one man was killed, and several more injured, but the Abu Samra clan decided not to tolerate it.

The clan gathered arms, found the policeman who murdered their member, and executed him via firing squad. In turn, Hamas accused the clan of “cooperating with the occupation” and declared that they will respond with an iron fist.

It’s yet to se if Hamas is strong enough at this point to crack down, or if the uprising will continue.

Meanwhile, Hamas quietly dropped thousands of deaths from its casualty figures, further demonstrating that nearly half of the war casualties in Gaza were combat-age males, and likely Hamas terrorists. The casualties dropped from the list were all suspicious entries, that were either duplicates, or missing identifying information.

The Gaza evacuation plan is continuing to roll out. Today hundreds of Gazans, at their own choice, were brought from Gaza to the Ramon Airport near Eilat, and from there were flown to Leipzig, Germany.

Judea & Samaria:

During a counterterrorism operation in Tulkarm, Samaria, IDF troops located an explosives lab. The lab contained the equipment to create roadside bombs and pipe bombs, as well as several ready-made bombs.

In the last 24 hours of operations in Qabatiya and Tamon in Samaria, troops arrested 12 wanted terrorists.

15 more wanted terrorists were arrested in overnight operations throughout Judea and Samaria. Two guns and some other weapons were confiscated.

While freeing terrorists from prison has never done good in the long run, Israel’s prisons are beginning to refill and possibly get overcrowded again. If Israel does agree to free terrorists in exchange for hostages, these nightly arrests will provide an ample list of “less dangerous” terrorists to release, in place of the worse ones which Hamas was aiming to get.

Lebanon:

Following the unusual middle-of-the-night airstrike in Beirut, the IDF gave a little bit more information. The target of the airstrike, who was successfully eliminated, was arch-terrorist Hassan Badir, a member of Hezbollah’s Unit 3900 and the Iranian IRGC Quds Force.

Badir was working with Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups to coordinate what would have been one of the most significant terror attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets in recent years. According to Ynet, the attack could have killed hundreds, and was aimed at an international destination where many Israelis typically vacation on Passover. Thank G-d, the attack was averted with the elimination of the mastermind behind it.

The attack plans were uncovered by a special intelligence unit in the Shin Bet which tracks Hamas’s overseas activity. Hamas has been building cells in Turkey, and is working on branching out to Europe.

Separately, Spain’s internal security forced arrested a Hezbollah cell of five terrorists operating in Barcelona. The cell’s mission was to provide Hezbollah with logistic assistance in manufacturing drones and their accessories.

Syria:

i24 News reports the the new Syrian regime is working to open backchannels with Israel, to explore the possibility of normalization between the two countries. The effort is reportedly backed by Saudi Arabia.

Yemen:

This evening, the U.S. military intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis, while it was over Saudi Arabia. The missile was likely launched at Israel (News 12). No sirens were activated in Israel.

The U.S. is continuing to strike Houthi targets heavily, every evening.

The Pentagon announced that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hasseth has ordered the deployment of additional fighter jets to strengthen U.S. naval forces in the Middle East, amid the strike operation in Yemen and rising tensions with Iran.

Iran:

Israel’s National Security Council warned that global terrorist organizations backed by Iran, including ISIS, plan to target Jews and Israelis traveling during Passover.

“Iran is the central generator of global terror, directly or through its proxies, against Israeli and Jewish sites around the world,” the National Security Council said in the statement.

(Please don’t get anxious about this. Trust in G-d protecting us as always. Thank G-d, Israeli intelligence, and that of international allies, have a pretty good view of terror groups, and quietly thwart hundreds of attacks every week. Hopefully your synagogue has a security system in place, too. This warning is meant to alert those whose job it is to prevent terror attacks, and keep them on their toes.)

Other:

• As expected, Netanyahu called Eli Sharvit for a second meeting, and walked back his selection to head the Shin Bet, announcing that he will be interviewing further candidates. This comes after backlash over Sharvit’s earlier participation in anti-Netanyahu protests (when he was in a civilian position), and letter sharply criticizing U.S. President Trump’s environmental policy.
• U.S. President Trump says he spoke with Egypt’s president: “My telephone call with President El-Sisi, of Egypt, went very well. We discussed numerous topics, among which was the tremendous Military progress we have made against the Ship destroying Houthis in Yemen — Also discussed was Gaza, and possible solutions, Military preparedness, etc.”
• Amit Sousana, who survived Hamas captivity and has been speaking out about their cruelty, received a U.S. International Women of Courage Award, which was given to her by Melania Trump during a ceremony in the White House. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke about Amit’s bravery in sharing her story with the world.

The evacuation warning given to Beit Hanoun after a rocket was fired from the area. Notice the size of the buffer zone.

The cloud from a single Hamas rocket intercepted over Sderot

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