Israel-Hamas War - What happened on day 68?

Four IDF soldiers were lightly wounded by controlled explosions and friendly fire during a widespread IDF, Shin Bet and Border Police operation in the West Bank, the Israeli military said Monday.

The four were injured during a raid of the Jenin refugee camp. They were treated at the scene and rushed to a nearby hospital for further treatment, the IDF said.

The IDF continued operating for over 30 hours in Jenin, Hebron and other sites used by Palestinian terrorists across the West Bank.

A group of left-wing Israeli organizations submitted a letter to United States President Joe Biden on Tuesday, asking that he encourage Israel to discontinue military actions in the Gaza Strip and continue administering aid. 

The letter, which begins by condemning the October 7 massacre committed by Hamas but neglects to use the word “terrorist,” accuses Israel of not complying with the US instructions to act in self-defense in accordance with international law and the rules of war. 

Despite the implication that Israel is committing breaches of international law, the letter goes on to say that they do not wish to focus on this but their concern over the worsening humanitarian crisis developing in Gaza. 

A humanitarian crisis in Gaza

The groups argue that “Israel’s policy has driven the humanitarian crisis in Gaza to the point of catastrophe - not only as an inevitable outcome of war.” One example they give is that Israel discontinued the sale of water and electricity to the strip.

The letter claims that most of the civilian population does not have access to safe drinking water, although the letter does not cite where this information has come from.

Israeli left-wing orgs. urge Biden to stop 'humanitarian catastrophe' in Gaza. (credit: B'TSELEM)

Only 10% of Gaza’s water supply is provided by Israel, as reported by the Jerusalem Post in October. Eyal Pinko of the Department of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University also told the Post at the time that "Israel is meeting the basic criteria" for meeting international law.

A Hamas terrorist wounded in overnight battles with the IDF in the northern Gaza Strip was hospitalized in Israel and underwent surgery, Channel 13 reported on Wednesday.

This is a developing story.

Vandalists desecrated the Tomb of Joshua complex, located near the Palestinian West Bank village of Kifl Haris, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.

As per reports, the tomb was graffitied over with antisemitic phrases and calls in support of Hamas's October 7 massacre.

In addition, the unknown vandalists spraypainted the names of several terrorists who claimed the lives of Israelis in attacks on the burial complex, in the West Bank's Samaria region.

"This is a barbaric hate crime which amounts to a terror attack," Samaria regional council head Yossi Dagan said in response to the incident. 

"This is a reminder that the enemy in Gaza and the enemy in the West Bank has one shared goal - destroy the State of Israel and murdering Jews," Dagan added.

Palestinians in West Bank using 'ISIS-like methods,' Dagan charges

Palestinian terrorists are using ISIS-like plans to root out Israel's historical roots in its holy sites, in addition to "harming Jewish souls in barbaric manners," the Samaria regional council head charged, as per Israeli media.

"There is a reason these barbarians do both together, using the same methods adopted by ISIS," he said.

Sharon Sharabi, a 48-year-old whose brothers Eli and Yossi are currently held captive by Hamas, spoke out about the constant fear for their lives amid threats of execution by the terrorist organization. In an interview with 103FM, Sharabi emphasized that all of Israel is shaken by this situation, not just the affected families. 

He stressed the need for someone to take responsibility and called on the Israeli government to do everything possible to prevent them from being murdered.

Sharabi, who lost his sister-in-law and two nieces during the October 7 massacre, expressed concerns about the potential implementation of Hamas's murderous threats against the hostages, including his brothers.

Sharabi urged international powers such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany to lead the negotiations with Hamas, alongside Qatar and Egypt, in order to influence the terrorist organization to release the hostages. He also emphasized the importance of international pressure on Hamas.

Is Israel's leadership trying to free the hostages from Gaza?

Despite his criticism, Sharabi acknowledged that he sensed a willingness to listen from those leading the war effort.

The United Nations refugee chief warned that the Gaza conflict could spur more displacement in the wider region as UN officials, politicians and aid groups gathered in Geneva on Wednesday to seek solutions to a global displacement crisis.

A record 114 million people around the world have been driven from their homes, including about 40 million refugees fleeing dozens of active conflicts including in Sudan and Ukraine.

Flight from Israel's bombardment of Gaza since the October 7 attack by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel has also internally displaced 85% of the Palestinian enclave's population.

"A major human catastrophe is unfolding in the Gaza Strip and so far the Security Council has failed to stop the violence," Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, told the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, an event hosted every four years.

"We foresee more civilian deaths and suffering and also further displacement that threatens the region."

Grandi also urged the international community not to forget other crises spurring displacement.

"While a strong focus remains and must remain on Gaza, I have a plea: Please do not lose sight of other pressing humanitarian and refugee crises," he said.

Although the general battle of Shejaia in northern Gaza is going well for the IDF – about 350 terrorists have been killed - and the military believes it will have most of the area clear of Hamas’s major forces by the weekend, around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, IDF forces were hit by a multi-round ambush in inner-Shejaia.

Ten were killed and six wounded.

A mix of IDF units 53 and 51, including both Golani and engineering personnel were looking to clear a certain structure and its surrounding areas when they came under a mix of gunfire and improvised explosives.

It is unclear whether the initial explosives were thrown or set off remotely.

The names of the IDF's fallen heroes:

Today, the IDF regrets to announce the deaths of the following soldiers, who fell in combat in northern Gaza:

🕯️LTC Tomer Grinberg, 35 years old, the Commander of the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion

🕯️MAJ Roei Meldasi, 23 years old, a company commander of the Golani Brigade’s… pic.twitter.com/U7rrtss6TR

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 13, 2023

- Lt. Col. Tomer Grinberg, 35 years old, Malmog, commander of the 13th Battalion, Golani Brigade, was killed last night in a battle in the northern Gaza Strip.

-Colonel Yitzhak Ben Bassat, 44 years old, commander of the 11th Reserve Commando Brigade, was killed last night in a battle in the northern Gaza Strip.

- Major Roei Meldasi, 23 years old, from Afula, a company commander in the 13th Battalion, Golani Brigade, was killed last night in a battle in the northern Gaza Strip.

- Major Moshe Avram Bar-On, 23 years old, from Ra'anana, a company commander in the 51st Battalion, Golani Brigade, was killed last night in a battle in the north of the Gaza Strip.

- Sergeant Achia Daskal, 19 years old, from Haifa, a fighter in the 51st Battalion, Golani Brigade, was killed last night in a battle in the northern Gaza Strip.

- Captain Liel Hayo, 22 years old, from Shoham, a platoon commander in the 51st Battalion, Golani Brigade, was killed last night in a battle in the northern Gaza Strip.

- Major Ben Shelly, 26 years old, Makdaron, commander of a platoon of fighters in the Special Rescue Tactical Unit (669), was killed last night in a battle in the northern Gaza Strip.

- Major Rom Hecht, 20 years old, from Givatayim, a fighter in the Special Rescue Tactical Unit (669), fell last night in a battle in the northern Gaza Strip.

- Sergeant Oriya Yaakov, 19 years old, from Ashkelon, a fighter in Battalion 614, the School of Combat Engineering, was killed yesterday in a battle in the north of the Gaza Strip.

-Sargeant Eran Aloni, 19 years old, a fighter in the 51st Batallion, Golani Brigade, was killed last night in a battle in the northern Gaza Strip.

Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.

The United Nations refugee chief said on Wednesday that he foresees more displacement in the Middle East due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas that has internally displaced 85% of Gaza's population.

"The events that have occurred in Israel and Gaza since October 7 are outside the mandate of UNHCR," Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said at the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva.

"Tragically, however, we foresee more civilian deaths and suffering and also further displacement that threatens the region."

A speedboat with armed men aboard approached two vessels transiting off the coast of Yemen's Red Sea port of Hodeidah, an advisory note from British maritime security company Ambrey said on Wednesday.

Britain's Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it had received reports of an incident in the vicinity of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, without giving more details.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have waded into the Israel-Hamas war raging over 1,000 miles (1,620 km) away, attacking vessels in vital shipping lanes and firing drones and missiles towards Israel in support of Gaza's Palestinian terrorists.

Operating from their seat of power in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, Houthi forces have been targeting vessels allegedly owned by Israeli businessmen or companies, or ships headed to ports in Israel, and obstructing their passage through the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea.

Ambrey said a Marshall islands-flagged chemical tanker reported an "exchange of fire" with a speedboat 55 nautical miles (around 102 kilometres) off Hodeidah, adding that the boat approached the tanker and initiated the gunfire at a distance of 300 metres (1,000 feet).

It said the tanker was hailed by an entity claiming to be the Yemeni Navy that asked the vessel to alter course but a "coalition" warship advised the ship to maintain it.

Ambrey did not clarify which coalition it was referring to. Coalition Task Force (CTF) Sentinel, the operational arm of the International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC), is known to operate in the region. IMSC was formed in July 2019 in response to an increase in threats to navigation and the flow of trade.