Swords of Iron: Here is what happened on days 3, 4 and 5

The IDF on Wednesday announced that intelligence collected from the battle with Hamas on the Gaza corridor proves that the terror group's plan was to conquer the area and hold it for an indefinite period.

Equipment, logistical items, and other data show that the terrorists expected to stay in the area and came prepared for such an operation, before facing a faster and more powerful counter-attack than what they had foreseen.

If Hamas succeeded in surprising the IDF and Israel completely at stage one of the invasion, clearly the IDF's second round response, as opposed to a longer period of shock, waiting, and negotiation over hostages, took Hamas by surprise.

IDF Chief Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari also said on Wednesday that three Hamas invaders had recently been found and killed just south of Ashkelon, the farthest north within Israel's south that any invaders have succeeded in penetrating.

He clarified that they were found and killed in an industrial area and not within Ashkelon itself.

IDF soldiers (credit: Courtesy)

The IDF is still probing how they got that far.

Further, Hagari gave the first update in days on total rocket fire from Hamas, now above 5,000, with the first day numbers just over 2,000.

The IDF has steadfastly refused to give statistics about Iron Dome's effectiveness, saying this would tip off Hamas.

IDF fighting on five fronts

Hagari also discussed the IDF's efforts now fighting on five fronts, including: within Gaza, the Gaza corridor, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank.

Still the tone from Hagari suggested that overnight attacks from Syria were small and not indicative of a new large conflict, while Lebanon has intensified, but also remained under the level of a new big separate fight.

Mainly, he said that the IDF would continue to quickly counter attack any source of fire, but was not looking to overreact when no, or very few, Israelis were being harmed.

The chief spokesman said that 18 Hamas invaders had been killed since Tuesday morning to go with 1,000 dead Hamas invaders in the Gaza corridor and over 1,500 dead Hamas terrorists total, when working in those killed in Gaza by airstrikes.

He explained that airstrikes were currently all in large waves, but that there was an emphasis on trying to kill top Hamas officials.

Further, he hinted that more Hamas officials besides the two announced on Tuesday, had likely already been killed, but that he would not confirm their name suntil Hamas did publicly.

The Biden administration is reportedly working on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians and Americans currently in Gaza, NBC reported on Wednesday, citing senior government officials.

The plan is to evacuate them all through a southern corridor that leads into Egypt, the report said. The US is coordinating with other countries to realize this plan.

The report comes amidst Hamas killing around 1,000 Israelis since Saturday morning, and that the southern corridor will provide a way for innocent civilians in the crossfire to escape the war zone - as Israel seeks to destroy Hamas after the recent attacks.

Biden and Netanyahu

According to the report, US President Joe Biden also called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to minimize as many civilian casualties as possible. The report quoted the US president, saying "If the United States experienced what Israel is experiencing, our response would be swift, decisive, and overwhelming."

The phone call between Biden and Netanyahu was the third one between the two since Saturday, with the two expecting to talk again in the next few days.

US President Joe Biden, accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, makes remarks about the situation in Israel following Hamas' deadly attacks, October 10, 2023 (credit: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST)

The attacks in Israel saw several US citizens die, with a White House National Security Council spokesperson confirming so on Monday.

Reuters contributed to this report. This is a developing story.

The IDF stated that it attacked over 200 targets in the Al-Furqan neighborhood in Gaza on Wednesday.

The neighborhood reportedly serves as a terror nest for Hamas, the IDF said.

Overall, the IDF has so far attacked about 450 targets in this neighborhood during Operation Swords of Iron.
 

The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations on Tuesday described Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip and vowed to impose a complete siege on the Hamas-controlled Palestinian enclave as "nothing less than genocidal."

Hamas militants carried out their deadliest attack in Israel's history on Saturday, when gunmen rampaged through Israeli towns, killing more than 1,000 people and taking scores of hostages to Gaza. Israel has retaliated with air strikes on Gaza that have razed entire districts as it prepares for a possible ground offensive.

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant drew international condemnation by announcing on Monday a "total blockade" to stop food and fuel from reaching Gaza, home to 2.3 million people. Gallant said Israel was battling "beastly people."

"Such blatant dehumanization and attempts to bomb a people into submission, to use starvation as a method of warfare, and to eradicate their national existence are nothing less than genocidal," Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour wrote in a letter to the UN Security Council on Tuesday, seen by Reuters.

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, on October 10, 2023. (credit: ATIA MOHAMMED/FLASH90)

"These acts constitute war crimes"

"These acts constitute war crimes," he wrote.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that his understanding was that "the concept of siege is not something that in fact is going to be pursued by the Israeli government," adding that Washington was speaking with the Israeli government "about their actions in this regard."

Sullivan also said US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday discussed "the difference between going full bore against Hamas terrorists and how we distinguish between terrorists and innocent civilians."

Israel's UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan on Sunday accused Hamas of war crimes and said it was time to "obliterate Hamas terror infrastructure," as the 15-member UN Security Council met behind closed-doors on the conflict.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday said he was "deeply distressed" by Israel's announcement of a complete siege on Gaza.

"The humanitarian situation in Gaza was extremely dire before these hostilities; now it will only deteriorate exponentially," Guterres said.

The Israeli death toll from Hamas's attacks on the country has risen to at least 1,200, according to an early Wednesday update from Israel's public broadcaster KAN.

The total amount of Israelis injured, according to that same update, has risen to 3,000.

ישראל במלחמה | מניין הנרצחים עלה לכ-1,200. @avishaigrinzaig מסביר כיצד מתבצע עדכון המספרים pic.twitter.com/EQC7uR1ekv

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 10, 2023

Legal Affairs reporter Avishai Grinzaig explained on the broadcasting network the sudden spike in the Israeli death toll, stating that "not all the bodies have arrived at the center where the identities of the dead are determined.

"I will not give too graphic descriptions, especially at this time," he continued.

Number is continuously rising

"The number is continuously rising because we also have to understand how many people we are talking about. This really was a massacre in the south. It takes time."

Israeli forces outside the entrance to the southern Israeli town of Sderot, west of Hamas terrorists. October 8, 2023. (credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

"We hope that the number will not rise of course. This is the story. And it must be said that the State of Israel has never dealt with this many deaths at once, and so people that already understand that those close to them have been murdered are still waiting for the official confirmation."

"The State of Israel has never dealt with this many deaths at once, and so people that already understand that those close to them have been murdered are still waiting for the official confirmation."

Avishai Grinzaig

The IDF attacked more than 70 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night, according to a report by KAN.

A flight carrying around 200 South Koreans from Tel Aviv arrived at Incheon Airport in South Korea on Wednesday after a surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel over the weekend forced airlines to suspend flights to and from Israel.

Some 560 South Koreans were staying long-term in Israel while over 500 were staying short-term, South Korea's Foreign Minister Park Jin said during a parliamentary audit on Tuesday.

The Ben Gurion Airport was "crowded" and "hectic," said Jang Jeong-yoon, a 62-year-old who was on board the Korean Air flight home after traveling to Israel to take part in the festival of Sukkot.

"As flights were canceled or delayed, there was fear and people were rushing to leave the country," she said.

Some relatives of those on board the plane were seen waiting at Incheon Airport early Wednesday morning.

No South Korean casualties had been reported, the foreign minister said on Tuesday. Many of the short-term South Koreans travelers were visiting the country for a pilgrimage.

Korean Air has cancelled flights departing from Incheon to Tel Aviv on Monday and Wednesday and expects future flights to be irregular.

The IDF said several launches from Syria into Israeli territory were identified.

The IDF said that “part of the launches crossed into Israeli territory and presumably fell in an open area.” Israel responded with artillery fire.

Meanwhile, near Gaza, IDF soldiers killed two terrorists in the area of Kibbutz Re'im and killed another two terrorists in the area of Kibbutz Mefalsim. In Lebanon, terrorists fired an anti-tank missile toward a military vehicle near Avivim. The conflict that Israel has prepared for appears to be emerging.

Incidents coming together

It is increasingly clear that a large number of incidents are coming together. This includes the horrendous October 7 invasion by Hamas that led to 29 breaches in the fence around Gaza and saw terrorists attack 20 communities. The full scale of the attack is still being understood but it is known that 1,000 people were murdered and many communities destroyed. Thousands were injured. Israel has retaken the border area and called up 300,000 people. 

However, Hamas is now joined by terror groups in Lebanon and Syria. This included Hezbollah provocations over the last several days. In the past, Israel has seen this phenomenon of attacks from Lebanon, Syria, and even from Iraq during the May 2021 war. Israel also saw earlier this year rocket fire from Lebanon during the Passover holiday, and over the summer, there were increasing attacks from Jenin.

Israeli soldiers near the Israeli border with Lebanon, northern Israel, October 10, 2023 (credit: David Cohen/Flash90)

So far the attacks in the north have been small. These are similar to what would have been referred to as a “battle day” before the 2006 war. However, the slow drumbeat is growing of concerns about a multi-front conflict. Israel has prepared for this scenario over the years.

However, as was made clear by the Hamas invasion and massacre around Gaza, the preparations may exist, but all plans must also make contact with the enemy at some point. The enemy in Gaza used a complex combination of attacks to strike at IDF posts and observation sites, and then to strike at communities.

More video evidence emerges every day of what they did, including the horrors, but also how terrorists wandered up to communities, slowly waiting to see if they could find victims.  

Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have also warned they may join the war on Israel. Reuters reported that “Yemen's Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi said on Tuesday that if the US intervenes in the Gaza conflict directly, the group will respond by firing drones and missiles, and take other military options.” The Houthis also claimed that "there are red lines when it comes to Gaza.” They may be willing to coordinate with other groups. 

Iranian-backed groups in Iraq are also making threats.

Hadi al-Amiri of the Badr organization has threatened to intervene if the US intervenes. "If they intervene, we would intervene...if the Americans intervened openly in this conflict...we will consider all American targets legitimate … and we will not hesitate to target it.”

In the past, Asaib Ahl Al-Haq, a terrorist group, has threatened Israel and its leader went to Lebanon several years ago to make common cause with Hezbollah. Iran has also entrenched in Syria and moves weapons to Hezbollah via Syria.

In the last years, it appears the Iran axis has also operationalized other units in Syria and Lebanon. Hamas, for instance, has sent its leadership to Lebanon to coordinate. This is part of Iran’s effort to “unify” various fronts against Israel.

Iran also operationalizes small terror groups in Syria that it uses as cut-outs for its larger threats. It prefers to use small groups so Iran has plausible deniability for these efforts. In some ways, Iran’s policy looked in the past like a lot of little attacks, but this “thousand paper cuts” strategy has now bloomed.

The Canadian Foreign Affairs Ministry said that they are working to help evacuate Canadian citizens in Israel.

Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said: "We are working on additional options for those who cannot reach the airport in Tel Aviv."

My message to Canadians in Israel, West Bank and Gaza: pic.twitter.com/lbUxpVr66i

— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) October 10, 2023

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Israeli President Isaac Herzog to reaffirm "unwavering" US support for Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas’ horrific terrorist attacks, the US Secretary of State spokesperson announced Wednesday morning. 

Secretary Blinken reiterated his condolences for all those killed or injured and for those still missing.