Israel at war: What happened on days 42-43?

Rocket sirens sounded across northern Israeli border towns on Saturday morning after a barrage of at least 25 rockets was fired from Lebanon, the IDF confirmed.

The Israeli military said it was striking the source of the fire, as well as several Hezbollah terror positions across the border. 

Sirens also sounded in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona later on Saturday. The IDF said it responded to the rocket fire.

The IDF strikes Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon on November 18, 2023 (credit: REUTERS/ALAA AL-MARJANI)

Hezbollah says it shot down Israeli drone

The Iran-backed Hezbollah said it shot down an Israeli drone near the border in the early hours of Saturday.

Lebanese officials said an Israeli airstrike hit a building in an industrial area near the town of Nabatieh, one of the deepest Israeli strikes inside Lebanese territory since fighting resumed last month. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incident.

"Defeating Hamas is a local fight in Gaza, but has an effect all over the Middle East," said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday. "A complete victory in the war will push away future wars for a long time."

Gallant made these statements shortly after completing a situation assessment at the 98th Division headquarters.

"The ground operation brings goals to achieve: one, it destroys Hamas and damages the chain of command, whether it's their commanders, bunkers, tunnels - whatever is necessary.

"The second thing is it gets us closer to bringing the hostages back. Hamas only understands power. The more we hit them, the more likely they will free the hostages."

He continued to say "If for murder, and the killing and kidnapping of 1,500 children, women and civilians, we do not exact a dramatic price - the destruction of Hamas as an organization, everyone else in the vicinity will think to test us. Therefore, the results of the operation should be two things: One, achievement and tactical results in the field. And two, influence and example for anyone who wants to test the State of Israel in the future. A complete victory in this war will prevent future wars for a long time."

 Bahrain's Crown Prince on Friday called on the Palestinian militant group Hamas to release Israeli women and children taken hostage in Gaza and for Israel in exchange for releasing Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons.

After Hamas’ devastating October 7 massacre in which some 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were murdered, the globe was divided into people able to condemn the attack and people perceiving the terrorists as "freedom fighters."

Palestinian society seems much less divided on the issue compared to the rest of the world, according to a November 14 poll by the Arab World for Research and Development. When asked the leading question “How much do you support the military operation carried out by the Palestinian resistance led by Hamas on October 7?” Palestinian responses showed support for the attack.

Palestinians living in the West Bank overwhelmingly answered that they supported the attack to either an extreme or “somewhat” extent (83.1%.) Only 6.9% answered that they were “extremely” or “somewhat” against the attack, and 8.4% expressed that they had no opinion either way.

Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip show a little less consensus but the overall majority supported the attack. A mass of 63.6% said that they supported the attack “extremely” or to a “somewhat” extent. A further 14.4% answered that they did not oppose or support the attack. Showing a greater rift than that of the West Bank, 20.9% of Palestinians living in Gaza opposed the attack to some degree. 

A total of 75% of respondents agreed with the October 7 attack to any extent.

Hamas published a video Friday evening that claims to show the 86-year-old Israeli resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz, Aryeh Zalmanovich, thought to be one of the 237 taken hostage in Gaza, in critical condition.

Zalmanovich's family has asked for the video not to be broadcast and asked reporters not to contact them at this stage to respect their privacy.

Six ambulances given by Saudi Arabia will reach the Gaza Strip on Friday, Saudi state TV reported.

The IDF attacked Hezbollah targets in Lebanon after the terrorist group fired anti-tank missiles toward the northern Israeli kibbutzim of Shumra, Shatula, and Menara bordering Lebanon on Friday.

Four were wounded from the anti-tank missile that fired in Menara, Army Radio reported, with one in serious condition and the other three in light condition.

The Upper Galilee Regional Council reported that two of the injured are members of the kibbutz's defense unit. The injured received initial treatment in the field and were taken to the hospital for further treatment.

Earlier in the day

The IDF acted earlier that day in the area of ​​Metula where they identified a drone that crossed from Lebanese territory to Israel.

Israeli forces were on the lookout for a vehicle, which was suspected of carrying explosives, and shot it down.

The recent announcement about the discovery of an explosives laboratory in the Shuafat refugee camp did not surprise residents of Pisgat Ze’ev. They are used to the sounds of explosions and automatic weapons for years and have even become accustomed to collecting the bullet casings from the children’s trampolines.

This is what neighborhood resident and journalist Uri Rodriguez Garcia wrote this week, with more than a hint of bitterness. However, starting on October 7, what was almost background noise that many have become used to has turned into a real state of war.

Crisis in Pisgat Ze'ev: Fears of Palestinian attack post-October 7

Yael Entebi, a long-time resident and candidate for city council (although municipal elections have been temporarily postponed due to the war), said that the craziest thing about this situation is that it is not an area in the territories and not in Gaza – but here, in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.

Recently, parents of children who participate in sports classes in a facility located next to the security fence asked authorities to provide solutions to the dangerous situation before a disaster occurs. Parents who attend evening classes at the Teddy Kollek School, near the security fence, are demanding that armed guards be stationed there. So far, the municipality has authorized increased patrols in the area, but that solution hasn’t calmed the parents.

Rocket sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and across central Israel cities on Friday evening amid a heavy rocket barrage from the Gaza Strip.

This is a developing story.

Israel will not agree to a ceasefire without a mass release of hostages taken by Hamas terrorists into Gaza, National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi said on Friday afternoon.

Hanegbi further said that the decision to send fuel into the Strip was made to "prevent the spread of disease."

He also said that before a decision was made, a consultation was held with senior security officials: "Their unequivocal opinion was that it was possible to accept the US request and this is indeed the decision that was made."

Hanegbi also said: that the IDF "are now in the heart of Gaza City, in all the places we wanted to hit. Thousands of terrorists have been killed, all the targets that the cabinet has approved one by one. We will not stop until all the military and governmental qualities of Hamas and Jihad are eliminated."

"The return of the hostages is not an easy goal to achieve, but it is a central goal, and the cabinet is united around the ways to achieve it," he added. "We've faced terrible pressures for a ceasefire and humanitarian truces without the release of hostages.