War Day 546-548: Netanyahu in Washington, Rocket Hits Ashkelon

Summary: April 4-6, 2025

• Buffer Zone Expansion: In response to escalating threats, the buffer zone around Gaza has been significantly expanded, both to the north and south, to enhance security and reduce risks to surrounding communities.
• Construction of New Morag Corridor: The construction of a new security corridor, known as the Morag Corridor, has begun. This is part of Israel’s ongoing efforts to strengthen defenses and improve the movement of military and logistical assets in the region.
• Top Gaza Terrorists Eliminated: Three high-ranking members of Hamas, identified as key figures involved in planning attacks against Israel, have been eliminated in recent operations.
• Clarifications in Medic Incident: Israel has provided further clarifications regarding an incident involving a medic, aiming to clarify the facts and dispel misinformation.
• Senior Hamas Commander Eliminated in Lebanon: A senior Hamas commander, believed to be involved in orchestrating attacks from Lebanon, has been eliminated in a targeted operation.
• Iran’s Potential Ballistic Missile Threat: Israel is preparing for the possibility of an Iranian response involving the launch of hundreds of ballistic missiles. The government is strengthening defense measures and bolstering readiness in anticipation of such an escalation.
• Netanyahu Returns to Washington: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has returned to Washington for discussions with U.S. officials, focusing on the ongoing security situation and regional concerns.

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.
30,708 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 rocket hits Ashkelon
– Deir al-Balah evacuated for the first time
– Buffer zone greatly expands in north and south of Gaza
– Construction of new Morag Corridor has begun
– Three top Gaza terrorists eliminated
– Clarifications in the medic incident
– Senior Hamas commander eliminated in Lebanon
– Israel preparing for possibility of Iran firing hundreds of ballistic missiles
– Netanyahu is back in Washington

Hostages:

Hamas published a cruel propaganda video showing signs of life from hostages Bar Kupershtein and Maxim Herkin.

Since taking the position of IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has been meeting with families of hostages every weekend. In this week’s meeting, he addressed the purpose of the ongoing operations in Gaza, and the IDF’s commitment to returning the hostages as a top priority.

Gaza:

Thank G-d, no IDF heroes have fallen in Gaza since the return to war. May it continue this way! While there are many reasons, two significant ones are (a) a wider freedom of defense for IDF soldiers, and (b) more ammunition, giving troops the ability to destroy buildings from a distance after searching with a drone. In the past, soldiers had to enter and search suspicious buildings, which frequently led them into traps. Troops had a limited amount of explosives and artillery fire, which means they couldn’t destroy every dangerous building, and sometimes had to use dangerous methods to destroy the buildings. The artillery and bomb shortage was due to a freeze imposed by the Biden administration, which has thankfully been freed up and delivered by the new administration.

On Sunday evening, Hamas fired a barrage of 10 rockets towards Ashkelon and Ashdod. This was the first Hamas barrage of its size since August. The Iron Dome intercepted 5 rockets. Four landed in open areas. One hit a car in Ashkelon, and damaged the surroundings, including an apartment, with shrapnel.

27 people were evacuated to the hospital in light condition: 17 suffered from acute anxiety, 7 had shrapnel wounds, 1 had an eye injury, and 2 were injured while running to shelter.

The rockets were launched from Deir al-Balah in Central Gaza—an area largely untouched by the war. For the first time, the IDF issued an evacuation for the entire Deir al-Balah.

The site of the rocket launcher was bombed, leaving a crater. More action can be expected soon, as both the Prime Minister and Defense Minister urged the IDF Chief-of-Staff to respond harshly.

Over the weekend, the IDF heavily increased activity in Gaza, and expanded the security buffer zone significantly on both sides. Over 130 terror infrastructures in Gaza were struck, and dozens of terrorists eliminated.

Amongst the terrorists eliminated were:

• Mohammed Awad, a senior military commander of the Mujahideen terror group, which works together with Hamas. Awad commanded the attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz, including the abduction of the Bibas family. He was involved in the murder of Shiri, Kfir, and Arial Bibas. He was also responsible for the abduction and murder of Gad Haggai and Judy Lynn Weinstein, as well as additional citizens of Thai origin. Awad remained active throughout the war, directing attacks, and recruiting terrorists.
• Saeed Ahmad Alabd Alkhachri, a central money exchanger for Hamas. The IDF says his elimination is a severe blow to Hamas’s abilities to purchase arms and organize.
• Mohammed Salah Mohammed Bardawil, who served as a propaganda and psychological terror operative in Hamas’s military wing. He played a significant role in incitement to terror. He was also involved in producing the cruel propaganda films of the hostages.

The buffer zone has mostly expanded in the northern end of Gaza, and eastern outskirts of Khan Younis. The entire Rafah until Khan Younis is under evacuation warning, while the IDF works through the area. The IDF is not publishing locations of operation in Rafah, in order to keep Hamas suprised.

The IDF has begun building the Morag Corridor, which separates Rafah from Khan Younis, and will act as a second Philadelphi Corridor, to cut Gaza off from smuggling routes through Egypt. They began by creating a dirt road, and are building walls along it out of mounds of dirt. Expect it to eventually be fully paved with proper walls or fences.

When an area is added to the buffer zone, the IDF begins by searching every building for terrorists, weapons, explosives, and rocket launchers. All buildings with terrorist infrastructure are destroyed. Civilians are given multiple warnings, and several days to evacuate.

Medic Incident:

The IDF is reinvestigating an incident which occurred on March 23, in which 15 aid workers were killed in Rafah. 6 of the workers were found to be registered Hamas terrorists.

The incident occurred in the Tel Sultan neighborhood, which was under an evacuation warning.

The incident began at 4 a.m., when IDF soldiers set up an ambush on a road in Tel Sultan. Aid workers were warned to coordinate before entering the area. Several ambulances and civilians passed through the road without incident.

At 4:30 a.m., a Hamas vehicle drove through. The IDF soldiers exchanged fire with the terrorists, eliminating one, and capturing two others. The vehicle remained at the side of the road.

At 6 a.m., a convoy of ambulances turned onto the road, without coordinating in advance. IDF drone operators warned the soldiers that the convoy was behaving suspiciously. When the convoy began to approach, the troops opened fire. The troops were further surprised when members of the convoy jumped out of the ambulances, and ran towards the Hamas vehicle which was at the side of the road.

15 medics were killed, of which 6 were immediately identified as Hamas terrorists. (Since Hamas recruited many new terrorists recently, not all identities are known with certainty to the IDF.)

In an initial investigation, a soldier said that the lights on the ambulances were off. Video footage later showed that the lights were on.

Contrary to Hamas reports, the shooting was not close range, and there were no exceptions. After the incident, the troops buried the bodies in one spot in a shallow grave. This is a common practice in order to prevent wild dogs and other animals from eating the corpses. The IDF coordinated a UN group to pick up the bodies.

The IDF is receiving heavy flack for initially reporting that the ambulance lights were off. While mistakes should be avoided, it is normal to incorrectly recall events that occurred under high stress.

However, two important points are being ignored:

• The ambulance convoy did not coordinate use of the road, which they were instructed to do.
• The convoy was carrying known Hamas terrorists—an act which should remove their immunity.

If the ambulances had been allowed to pass, there is an extremely high likelihood that they would have brought the terrorists behind IDF lines, from where they would be able to attack IDF soldiers. IDF soldiers are obligated to act when they recognize a threat, so as not to endanger the lives of their comrades. While the loss of innocent life is tragic, in this case, it did protect the soldiers by removing a definitive threat.

Judea & Samaria:

At least 9 terrorists were arrested in operations over the weekend. In Brukin, troops located a stockpile of combat equipment, including weapon parts, magazines, and a large amount of ammunition.

The IDF is cracking down on terrorists who throw large rocks at Israeli vehicles driving on highways. Several terrorists were arrested for doing so. In one incident, a terrorist who did not stop was eliminated with gunfire.

Lebanon:

On Friday, the IDF eliminated Hassan Farhat, the commander of the western sector of Hamas in Lebanon. During the war, Farhat promoted numerous terror plans against Israel. He was responsible for the rocket launches toward Safed in February 2024, in which Sgt. Omer Sarah Benjo was killed, and several other soldiers were injured. He continued to promote terror plans even after the ceasefire agreement.

On Sunday, the IDF struck two Hezbollah terrorists who were operating an engineering vehicle in Southern Lebanon, in an attempt to rebuild Hezbollah terror infrastructure. This was a direct and public violation of the ceasefire agreement, which the Lebanese Army did nothing to stop.

Syria:

IDF troops in Syria recently raided an outpost that acted as a headquarters for the previous Syrian regime. Troops located and confiscated decommissioned tanks, armored personnel carriers, cannons, and weapons, including mortars and dozens of rockets.

Yemen:

On Friday night, the IDF intercepted an attack drone over the Dead Sea, launched by the Houthis in Yemen. No sirens were activated, as the drone was intercepted before it became a threat. The Houthis claim that they targeted a “military area in Tel Aviv.”

Iran:

A “senior official” told Channel 14 that Israel is preparing for the possibility that Iran may attack Israel with hundreds of ballistic missiles. He stated that the coordination between Israel and the U.S. militaries has reached a new level, and is ”the best ever.” The source added that Trump’s deadline for Iran to negotiate is about a month away, and everything is on the table.

It is unclear if Iran would wait for Israel and/or the U.S. to attack first, or if they will. Iran has long been boasting that they are preparing to attack Israel in response to Israel’s last attack (as part of a series of back and forth), with Operation True Promise 3, and that they will do it “when the time is right.”

This may be the reason why the U.S. just delivered a second THAAD battery to Israel. The first THAAD air defense system has been operating in tandem with Israel’s Arrow 3, to intercept Houthi ballistic missiles, which are also Iranian made.

The Trump administration gave a warning to Iran, advising that they prefer a negotiated solution, but will attack if necessary. However, the two are in deadlock: The U.S. will only enter direct negotiations, and Iran will only enter indirect negotiations. Iran also says that they will never close all their nuclear facilities, claiming that they are just for “civilian” use.

Some analysts suspect that there is still a possibility of negotiations happening.

There is also heavy speculation that these preparations are the real reason for Netanyahu’s sudden Washington visit, and that the tariffs are just an excuse.

Defense Minister Israel Katz revealed documented evidence that Iran delivered $500 million to Hamas in funding towards the October 7th massacre.

Katz shared a 2021 letter from Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Muhammad Deif to Iran’s Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani, requesting $500 million in support for their long-term plan to destroy Israel. The letter, found in Hamas tunnels in Gaza, outlines a $20 million-per-month funding request over two years and expresses extreme confidence in wiping out Israel. Iran’s IRGC accepted, with Saeed Izadi affirming Iran’s commitment to funding Hamas despite domestic hardships. Katz presented this as proof of direct Iranian support for Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack and broader terror efforts in the region, calling Iran “the head of the serpent.”

Other:

Prime Minister Netanyahu is currently in Washington, on a very sudden visit. His office announced that Netanyahu and Trump will discuss “the tariff issue, the efforts to return our hostages, Israel-Turkey relations, the Iranian threat and the battle against the International Criminal Court.”

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