Israel at war: What happened on day 16?

A poll commissioned by the Israel Victory Project found that 70% of the Israeli public wants ‘eliminating Hamas’ to be the primary objective of Operation Swords of Iron. 54% of the respondents who said they had voted for an Arab party in the last election chose this option.

A separate answer, that the primary objective should be to ‘disarm Hamas completely,’ received 13% of responses. Only 15% of respondents chose ‘the unconditional release of captives’ as their choice for the operation’s primary objective.

The poll did not define ‘eliminating Hamas,’ but it did ask respondents who they thought ‘should rule Gaza after the overthrow of the Hamas regime.’

On this, respondents were almost evenly split into four camps: 24% said that Israel should govern Gaza, 22% chose the Palestinian Authority, 19% chose ‘Arab nations,’ and another 24% chose, simply, ‘new leadership in Gaza.’

When given a choice between ‘launching a ground operation in Gaza to eradicate Hamas’ or ‘avoiding a ground operation and finding another way to deal with Hamas,’ 68% said they would choose the ground invasion, while 25% chose the more nebulous second option. 

Asked how much consideration Israel should give to its opinion abroad, 43% of respondents said Israel must consider the perspective of allies, particularly the United States, while 55% responded that Israel ‘must ignore external demands and make its own security decisions.’

Asked whether, ‘if Saudi Arabia demands significant concessions to the Palestinian Authority by Israel as the price for formal ties,’ Israel should agree to the terms, 72% said no, while 21% said yes.

Billboard displayed near Prime Minister Bennett’s home, June 17, 2021. (credit: Courtesy)

Poll supports the views of the group that commissioned it

The Israel Victory Project (IVP), which commissioned the poll, states as its purpose “to put an end to the Palestinian resistance and thus ensure conditions for ending the conflict with the Palestinians and the bloodshed.”

The group argues on its website that “Only after [the Palestinians] acknowledge the defeat of their struggle against Israel will it be possible to negotiate the final settlement.” 

In 2022, before the national elections which resulted in the current (pre-war) government, the group paid for billboards in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv depicting Arab lawmakers wrapped in Israeli flags, with the caption “This is what a picture of victory will look like.”

Condemning “leaders like [Ahmed] Tibi and [Ayman] Odeh” as “pouring oil on the fire,” Gregg Roman, Director of the Middle East Forum, said that “the violence and the bloodshed will stop only when [Palestinians] have accepted that the war against Jewish sovereignty has ended.” 

For many years prior to the outbreak of this most recent war, the IVP has been advocating a “total elimination” of Hamas. In 2021, the group sponsored a billboard outside then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s house, reading “The nation demands victory!” Roman, speaking on the subject of Bennett’s inauguration, said that “the most important issue on the agenda should be to address restoring security for the citizens of Israel, and eliminating Hamas.” 

Respondents split on worst failure of Oct. 7

The poll also asked respondents “Which do you see as key mistakes leading to the catastrophic failure on Oct. 7?” With more than one answer permitted, 27% replied “A military that relies too much on defensive measures,” 29% replied “Poor intelligence capabilities,” 49% responded “Misconduct by the political echelon,” and 29% replied “The wrong ‘concept’ about Hamas.”

The poll was conducted by Shlomo Filber and Zuriel Sharon through Direct Polls Ltd on October 17, 2023. 1,086 Israeli adults were sampled with a statistical sampling error of 4.0%.

The IDF attacked a terrorist cell within Lebanese territory on Sunday night and destroyed the anti-tank launcher that the cell had used. Forces suspect that the terrorists had planned to fire an anti-tank missile into a peaceful area.

El Al is operating cargo flights between the United States and Israel, carrying medical and military equipment to assist with the war effort.

One flight is expected to take off Monday, financed by the Phoenix Group and the NGO 'Amudim,' in partnership with El Al. 

The cargo on board, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, includes essential medical equipment such as first aid kits, tourniquets, bandages, and stretchers.

The cargo also includes thermal clothing for IDF soldiers and civilian goods purchased for displaced families from the Gaza envelope region.

This flight will join two other flights that arrived in Israel last week from New York carrying more than 30 tons of cargo. 

EL AL PLANES at Ben-Gurion Airport. The major airline alliances have rejected the Israeli flag carrier’s admission several times. (credit: MOSHE SHAI/FLASH90)

El Al has been involved since the beginning

El Al has been involved in the war effort since it began on October 7. Over the two weeks since then, the airline has carried more than 200,000 passengers, more than 100,000 of whom were returning to Israel from abroad.

The company has flown approximately 1,400 flights since the war began, dozens of which were extra fights added as necessary to bring Israelis home from abroad. 

US citizens in Lebanon are urged to leave now, due to the unpredictable security situation, the US State Department said on Sunday:

"The Department of State urges US citizens not to travel to Lebanon," the agency said in a statement online. "We recommend that US citizens in Lebanon make appropriate arrangements to leave the country; commercial options currently remain available.  

"We recommend that US citizens who choose not to depart prepare contingency plans for emergency situations," the advisory added.

The department had issued previous travel advisories as tension rose on Israel's northern border, but this was the first to offer travelers loans to purchase tickets to leave the country. 

The advisory also provided a crisis intake form for US citizens to fill out, but urged that citizens who had already submitted the form not do so again, lest the processing be slowed down for others. 

People gesture during the funeral of Hezbollah members Ali Ftouni and Hussam Ibrahim, who died during Israeli shelling on south Lebanon yesterday, in Khirbit Silm, southern Lebanon October 10, 2023. (credit: MOHAMED AZAKIR/REUTERS)

Advisory comes as tensions continue to rise

The notice comes at a time of uncertainty, with regular exchanges of fire between IDF and Hezbollah forces and concern that Israel's ongoing war with Gaza may expand into a northern front with Hezbollah in Lebanon as well. 

The IDF attacked military infrastructure of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon, said the IDF spokesperson on Sunday, including a military compound and an observation post used by the organization.

Also, an IDF aircraft attacked a terrorist squad operating in the border area and destroyed weapons in its possession.

An urgent project to map and renovate thousands of bomb shelters in disadvantaged neighborhoods of Israel’s north has renovated about 1,000 shelters in its first week and a half, following the outbreak of the war with Hamas on October 7. The project, called Ir Miklat (the Biblical term for a ‘city of refuge’) was launched as a partnership between JNF UK and the NGO Ossim Shechuna (literally, ‘Making a Neighborhood.’). 

The project, which bears a NIS 4 million price tag, is meant to prepare for a possible northern front, should Hezbollah go to war with Israel amidst the fighting in the Gaza Strip. Any war with Hezbollah is expected to include heavy missile barrages aimed at Israeli population centers. 

There are about 53,000 shared private shelters in Israel, which cater to 1.3 million people. Half of all shelters in disadvantaged neighborhoods are defined as “unsuitable for emergencies.” Of these, 70% are in a state of neglect, 20% of have been occupied by residents of the building and 10% have infrastructure problems.
 
During Operation Guardian of the Walls in 2021, NF UK and Ossim Shechuna were involved in renovating hundreds of unusable shelters for 20,000 residents in disadvantaged neighborhoods in cities in the south and center. Renovation workers were alarmed to discover shelters that had been turned into warehouses, filled with garbage or made use of by drug addicts. This left residents, including children, exposed to missile fire without a protected space.

Volunteers work to clean up and renovate shelters in Israel's North, to prepare for a possible war with Hezbollah. (credit: JNF UK)

'A few golden hours to continue working' 

Yonatan Galon, Managing Director of  JNF UK’s Israel team, said the problem was “urgent,” that “population centers in the north, which is expected to be hit particularly hard, are not prepared” should a northern front break out.

“We must take advantage of this time,” he said, “to learn the lesson from the events in the south and from the Second Lebanon War as well, when many shelters had become filled with junk and were not usable.

“Right now, we still have a few golden hours to continue working, clearing shelters, arranging electricity and water, painting and providing essential furniture and supplies. For this purpose, we need as many volunteers as possible."

Israeli fighter jets launched an air strike on the southern outskirts of Aitaroun town, southern Lebanon, the Lebanese state media of NNA reported late Sunday.

The United States increased its military forces in the Middle East as it braced for increased Iranian proxy attacks against American targets as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu worked to avoid a two-front war with Tehran-backed terror groups.

“We are concerned at the possibility of Iranian proxies escalating their attacks against our own personnel, our own people,” Blinken told CBS on Sunday. “We’re taking every measure to make sure that we can defend them and, if necessary, respond decisively. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday as the 16th day of the war with Hamas drew to a close.

Netanyahu also spoke French President Emmanuel Macron, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Sunday.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will travel to Israel for talks on Monday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Rutte's office said on Sunday.

President of the National Assembly of France Yael Braun-Pivet visited Israel on Sunday together with three French members of parliament.

The delegation joined Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana on a tour of Kibbutz Beeri, which was one of the towns that was hit the hardest in Hamas's October 7 massacre, the site of the rave near Re'im where at least 260 people were murdered, and one of the labs where ongoing efforts are being made to identify bodies.

"Only two weeks ago, this place was a paradise," Ohana told the French delegation. "But what people went through on that Saturday was more than being killed. The terrorist didn't come just to kill, they came to make a statement.