War Day 593: Rockets from Gaza Land in Gaza, IDF Advances in Northern Gaza

Summary May 21, 2025

• Israeli Leadership: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined conditions for ending the war, while reaffirming Israel’s right to defend itself against threats from Iran.
• IDF Operations: The Israel Defense Forces conducted over 150 airstrikes in Gaza, advancing further into northern Gaza and Khan Younis. During operations, Israeli forces confirmed the elimination of Muhammad Sinwar, a senior Hamas figure and brother of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
• Casualties: One Israeli soldier was killed during combat.
• Rocket Fire: Rockets launched from Gaza reportedly misfired and landed within Gaza itself.
• Hamas Activity: Intelligence reports suggest that Hamas is preparing for renewed attacks against Israel.
• Humanitarian Aid: Approximately 100 aid trucks successfully entered Gaza to provide relief to civilians.
• International Incident: An international diplomatic delegation deviated from its designated safe route inside Gaza and received warning shots from Israeli forces.
• Resolved Case: The murder of Tzeela Gez has been solved, with the perpetrator reportedly neutralized.

58 held captive in Gaza.
35 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.
148 living hostages rescued.
49 hostage bodies rescued.
1,842 Israelis killed.
424 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
88 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
18 fallen soldiers and police in Judea & Samaria.
30,725 estimated projectiles fired at Israel.
10,000 Israelis estimated remain displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines:

– Netanyahu lays out conditions to end war
– Hostage-ceasefire deal not in sight
– Fallen hero in Gaza
– Rockets from Gaza land in Gaza
– Heavy airstrikes continue: over 115
– IDF advancing in Northern Gaza, and Khan Younis
– Muhammed Sinwar confirmed eliminated
– Just nine Hamas leaders remain alive in Gaza
– Hamas preparing to attack Israel again
– 100 aid trucks delivered to Gaza
– UN refuses to deliver
– US pressures Israel to deliver more aid
– 3 phases of aiding Gaza, outlined
– Blood libel over false 14,000 babies story
– Houthis launch missile at Tel Aviv
– Netanyahu says Israel reserves the right to defend against Iran
– Talks of upcoming strike on Iran, may last several days or a week
– International diplomatic delegation steers off safe route, gets warning shots
– Murder of Tzeela Gez solved and eliminated
– Three terrorists eliminated Lebanon

Hostages:

Prime Minister Netanyahu held a press conference with Israeli media today, which I’ll be quoting in the relevant sections throughout this update. On the topic of the hostages, Netanyahu said “If there is an opportunity for a temporary ceasefire to return additional hostages, We are ready for a temporary ceasefire.”

So far, Hamas has not agreed to any temporary ceasefire without guarantees that it will lead a permanent ceasefire. (They might have agreed to one out of desperation for food and fuel, but now that humanitarian aid is entering Gaza, that desperation is disappearing.)

In response to demands to end the war—not just from Hamas but also from world leaders—Netanyahu spelled out Israel’s conditions. These conditions, he said, are meant to guarantee that Hamas will not be able to rearm and attack Israel again:

– All of the hostages must be returned.
– Hamas must lay down its weapons
– Hamas must leave power of Gaza
– Hamas leadership (whoever is left) must be exiled from the Strip
– Gaza must be completely demilitarized

The “Trump plan” needs to be carried out, to allow any resident of Gaza who wishes to leave, to be able to do so.

Netanyahu stressed that “whoever calls on us to stop the fighting before these objectives are achieved – is, in effect, calling for Hamas to stay in power.”

Hamas has repeatedly rejected these conditions, and spokesman Jihad Taha again today rejected them. So unless Hamas gives up on the demand for a permanent ceasefire, and takes a temporary agreement, there will be no hostage deal.

The IDF will continue to put pressure on Hamas using warfare, and the possibility of miraculous rescues still remains open. Once Hamas is fully dispersed, it’s possible that individual terrorists who are guarding hostages might give them up in exchange for a reward and safe ticket out of Gaza.

Gaza:

The IDF announced the name of a hero who fell in battle:

Staff Sgt. Danilo Mocanu, 20, of the 7th Armored Brigade’s 82nd Battalion, from Holon

Danilo was tragically killed in Southern Gaza, when a building exploded prematurely, and collapsed on him.

Hamas launched rockets at Israel twice on Wednesday evening. The first launch triggered sirens in two Israeli communities on Gaza’s northern border—but all three rockets fell short, and landed inside Gaza.
The second launch was one single rocket, which activated sirens in Ashkelon. The rocket was successfully intercepted, and no injuries were reported.

Following the rocket launch towards Ashkelon, the IDF issued an evacuation warning from the area of the launch site: Sheikh Zayed, Salatin, Beit Lahiya, Jabalia, and nearby towns in Northernmost Gaza. Much of this area was either already under evacuation warning, or about to be anyway. Air strikes soon followed.

**

Over the last 24 hours, the Air Force struck more than 115 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip. Targets included launchers, military structures, tunnels, terrorist cells, and other terrorist infrastructure. As Netanyahu told the press today—we could feel the heavy airstrikes all the way in Be’er Sheva (but to be honest, there were times when we felt way more). Naval forces also assisted in attacks at terror targets in Northern Gaza.

While the IDF has not published the locations of IDF soldiers in Gaza, Gazan media reports that they advanced in areas of Northern Gaza, as well as further into Khan Younis in Southern Gaza, where they are nearing the European Hospital (where Sinwar #2 was killed).

A Hamas Nukhba terrorist who entered Israel and took part in the October 7th massacre was eliminated in a targeted airstrike. The IDF and Shin Bet are continuing the mission to eliminate every terrorist who took part in the attack.

Gazan media reported that Ahmed Mohammed Mansour “Abu Wasim,” director of the Humanitarian Relief Office in Gaza, was eliminated in an airstrike. While he leads a humanitarian office, there is ample evidence that he was a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group.

**

Defense Minister Israel Katz today cited Shin Bet intelligence, and told Navy forces that Hamas is focusing all its energy now on preparing to attack Israeli communities again.

“All that Hamas is doing now,” Katz said, “is updating targets in the border communities through sources that provide it with information, like the Iranians and others. It is also handling planning on how to continue, and therefore we must win here; there is no entity that cannot be defeated. We must make sure that [Hamas] does not stay here.”

PM Netanyahu today confirmed that Hamas leader, Muhammad Sinwar, has been eliminated. He also confirmed again that Operation Gideon’s Chariots will end with the entire Gaza completely under Israeli security control, and Hamas totally defeated.

At the beginning of the war, the IDF gave soldiers cards with the top 54 Hamas terrorists who needed to be eliminated. 35 are now eliminated. 9 are living outside Gaza, and just 9 remain alive inside Gaza.

Humanitarian Aid:

100 trucks carrying humanitarian aid from the UN and the international community, including flour, baby food, and medical equipment were transferred today (Wednesday) via the Kerem Shalom Crossing into the Gaza Strip, for UN organizations to deliver. All aid was transferred after a thorough security inspection.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter said early Wednesday morning that Israel cleared and transferred 200 trucks loads of aid in 3 days—but the UN refused to deliver it. Explaining, “the UN knew the usual Hamas looting would be photographed proving they are incapable of really getting aid to the people who need it most. Bad image. Better to let people go hungry while libeling Israel.”

Later on Wednesday evening, videos emerged on social media of trucks being driven through Gaza—and then looted of sacks of flour by Gazans. The trucks were later reported to arrive at at least one bakery, and hospital.

**

PM Netanyahu said that the mechanism to distribute aid in Gaza is divided into three stages:

Stage A: What’s happening now. The bringing in basic food to Gaza – in order to prevent a humanitarian crisis, and in order to allow IDF operations to continue.

Stage B: This will happen in the coming days. The opening of food distribution points by American companies, secured by the IDF.

Stage C: While taking control of areas in the Gaza Strip, the IDF will create a “sterile zone” in the southern strip, to which the civilian population will be evacuated from the combat areas. In this zone, which will be Hamas-free, the residents of Gaza will receive full humanitarian assistance.

Netanyahu again said that the aid is being distributed now, ahead of plan, due to international pressure which would otherwise stop the war. “I hear from Israel’s best friends, in the Senate, true friends of our country, they say: ’We will give you full backing. We will send you weapons. We will give you full backing in the Security Council. Eliminate these monsters, eliminate them. But there is one thing we cannot accept: We cannot accept a situation in which there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.’”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a hearing today (Wednesday) confirmed that the U.S. pressured Israel to begin delivering aid ahead of plan, and was still demanding more.

**

Many media outlets and influencers picked up UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher’s false claim, and ran with it, creating a sort of blood-libel. The claim was that 14,000 Gazan babies would die of malnutrition within 48 hours, because of Israel’s blocking food entry. There is no evidence of a single child in Gaza suffering of severe malnutrition due to a lack of food. While variety may have decreased, Israel’s assessment was that Gaza still had enough food for another week.

Yemen:

The Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen launched another ballistic missile at Tel Aviv. Sirens were activated at 3 a.m., Thursday morning, in the extended Tel Aviv area. The missile was successfully intercepted, and thank G-d, no injuries were reported. (Pray for the teachers in Tel Aviv today, who will have to deal with tired cranky students who were woken up in the middle of the night.)

Iran:

Addressing Iran, PM Netanyahu said that Israel is fully coordinating with the U.S., with consistent communication.

About negotiations, he said, “We hope that they will achieve an agreement that will prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons, meaning that it will deny Iran the ability to enrich uranium. If this is achieved, we would, of course, certainly welcome it.”

Hinting to military action, Netanyahu added, “But in any case, the State of Israel reserves to itself the right to defend itself from a regime that threatens to destroy it.”

Israel feels crushed for time to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities. Earlier plans were to attack before summer. Don’t expect many more hints beforehand, but Netanyahu might order strikes to begin the moment U.S. President Trump expresses that talks with Iran are collapsing.

This strike won’t be like previous strikes: Attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities to completely destroy them could take a week. Iran is unlikely to sit still either while being attacked for several days in a row, and will probably fire back at Israel (and U.S. bases, if the U.S. joins in).

A year ago, Israelis might have been panicking about this, and stocking up their bomb shelters. But by now, everyone is far more used to the reality of ballistic missile attacks, and the reality of G-d protecting all of Israel. (My one recommendation: book your trip to Israel with an airline that doesn’t cancel at every boom, like ELAL.)

Judea & Samaria:

Wednesday morning, an international diplomatic delegation arrived in Jenin for a visit coordinated with Israeli security forces. The delegation members were given an approved route to follow—for their own safety, in order to avoid active combat zones.

At one point, the delegation deviated from their route, and neared a dangerous area where IDF forces were operating. The forces, who were unaware that the group was a diplomatic delegation, fired a warning shot. Nothing was damaged, and no one was hurt.

The IDF later apologized for the inconvenience. The delegation who risked their own lives and the soldiers lives by deviating from the safe route, did not apologize. Instead, countries like Spain, Italy, and Qatar, condemned the IDF actions.

**

Overnight (Tuesday-Wednesday), Israeli security forces arrested 25 wanted terrorists, in operations throughout Judea and Samaria.
In Jenin, forces arrested the mastermind behind the terror attack that took place in Pondak on January 6, 2025, and in Qabatiya, five terrorists with ties to ISIS were arrested. In the Hebron area, two M16 and M4 weapons, cartridges and ammunition, were located and confiscated.

In a separate operation, IDF forces worked together with the Shi’ite District police in the town of Al-Khader, near Bethlehem. In the operation, forces arrested suspects in terror attacks against civilians, and confiscated a quarter of a million shekels of terrorist funds, weapons, and ammunition.

**
The terror attack near Bruchin on May 14, 2025, in which Tzala Gaz was murdered, has been solved. The terrorist, Nael Samara—a former Hamas prisoner—was eliminated by IDF forces during a pursuit near the scene. He was carrying an M-16 rifle and explosives. Two other suspects were arrested for investigation by the Shin Bet. The investigation revealed that the terror cell was also responsible for three other recent shooting attacks, including one near Ariel that injured an Israeli civilian.

Lebanon:

IDF airstrikes eliminated three Hezbollah terrorists in Southern Lebanon today.

In the Tyre region, Hussein Nazia, an experienced engineer in Hezbollah’s Development and Production Directorate (aka, weapons production division). He was specifically responsible for the production of precision surface-to-surface missies, and was continuing to operate in violation of the ceasefire agreement.

In the Yatir region, a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan forces.

In the Itrun area, another Hezbollah terrorist who was active in terror activity.

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