Israel at War: What happened on day 19?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted for the first time that he would have to answer for the military failure that occurred on October 7, when Hamas caught the IDF by surprise and infiltrated southern Israel.

“This failure will have to be investigated to the last degree. Everyone will have to give answers,” he said. “Myself included.”

The admission came on the 19th day of the war, and after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other top brass in the military had already admitted to one of the bigger military fiascos since the creation of the state.

“Citizens of Israel, October 7 was a black day in our history,” but the issue of accountably can only occur after the war is over, Netanyahu said.

"Everyone will have to give answers, myself included."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the October 7 Massacre

“As prime minister, I am responsible for securing the future of the country, and now my role is to lead the State of Israel and the people to a crushing victory over our enemies. 

“Now is the time to join forces for one goal: To charge forward to victory,” Netanyahu said.

The invasion and massacre in Israel on October 7 brutally showed how Hamas has significantly improved and strengthened its  tactical and strategic terror capabilities since it began to dig into and hide in the Gaza Strip decades ago. 

The infamous Hamas tunnels have played a central role in this worrisome development. Prof. Joel Roskin, a geomorphologist and geologist at Bar-Ilan University's geography and environment department, has followed the changes in the Gaza tunnels over the years, analyzed the conditions that allowed their formation and expansion and revealed what geological and security conditions have enabled their speedy development. 

Three years ago, Roskin published a book chapter based on his study “Underground Warfare in the Gaza Strip and the Military Complexity of Combating It.” A timely article on the same topic and with the same name is currently in the final stages of acceptance by the academic journal Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. 

The article, based on his experience as head of the terrain research department in the Southern Command in the 2000s and on information publicized in the media, describes the field data and the geopolitical conditions that literally provided the fertile ground for the development of the tunnels.

When wailing sirens warn of incoming rockets from Gaza, workers at Israel's Port of Ashdod stop operations within moments and quickly resume their work minutes later when the all clear is given.

It's an unusual way for a port to keep operational but it has become the only means to keep supply lines moving in time of war.

Israel has vowed to annihilate the Hamas terrorist organization after terrorists stormed through Israeli towns from Gaza on October 7, killing 1,400 people and seizing more than 220 hostages in the worst attack on civilians in Israel's history.

A combination of practice drills, protective shelters and an Iron Dome air defense battery nearby have meant the government-owned port, which is 40 km (30 miles) from Gaza, can minimize any supply chain disruptions amid concerns over tightening supplies for the home front.

The entire port is dotted with protective shelters and the waiting time for staff under protection is around 10 minutes to ensure that even after a rocket falls there is no risk of falling shrapnel, port foreman Yigal Ben Kalifa told Reuters.

Israel condemned Erdogan's statements on Wednesday afternoon, with the Foreign Ministry spokesperson writing that "even the Turkish president's attempt to defend [Hamas]... will not change the horrors that the whole world has seen and the unequivocal fact [that Hamas is ISIS.]

"Israel wholeheartedly rejects the Turkish President’s harsh words about the terrorist organization Hamas," Lior Haiat wrote on X. "Hamas is a despicable terrorist organization worse than ISIS that brutally and intentionally murders babies, children, women and the elderly."

The United States is a "definite accomplice of Zionist criminals," Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed on Wednesday.

American hands are "stained with the blood of children, women and other martyrs of Gaza, and in fact, Americans are managing these crimes," Khameini was quoted by Iranian state media as saying.

Four rockets were launched north of Israel at Kiryat Shmona, near Israel's borders with Lebanon and Syria, the IDF confirmed Wednesday.

Residents of the nearby border towns of Kfar HaGiladi and Tel Hai were also told to seek shelter amid a rocket attack from the North.

The four rockets landed in open fields, the IDF said. The Iron Dome was not activated. The Israeli military was reportedly striking targets in Lebanon following the launch.

This is a developing story.

Rocket sirens sounded in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona, near Israel's borders with Lebanon and Syria, on Wednesday afternoon.

Residents of the nearby border towns of Kfar HaGiladi and Tel Hai were also told to seek shelter amid a rocket attack from the North.

This is a developing story.

Living in Israel these days feels like existing in a state of suspended animation. 

We’re caught in an uneasy in-between moment: after the shocking events of Oct. 7 and before the uncharted territory of a dangerous ground war of uncertain duration and scope. 

We know how it started, but we don’t know how it will end. 

Everything feels different from before the Hamas attack. With 360,000 Israeli reservists mobilized, a huge swath of Israelis aged 20 to 50-something have disappeared from homes, families, workplaces and communities. My son’s homeroom teacher has been called off to war. My neighbor’s son. My brother. 

In the central Israeli city where I live, located alongside the West Bank security fence, armed volunteers staff makeshift checkpoints at city entrances. Unarmed residents like me have been deputized for neighborhood watch duty, cruising around in siren-bearing vehicles equipped with walkie-talkies and instructions to report any suspicious characters or activity. 

The IDF on Wednesday claimed to have revealed the identity of Hamas terrorist and spokesperson of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades known as Abu Obaida. 

Hudhayfah Kahlot, as named by the Israeli military's Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee, "hides behind his red keffiyeh just as Hamas hides behind civilian facilities to launch rockets toward Israel.

"Hudhayfah Kahlot, you have been exposed," Adraee wrote with an attached video revealing the terrorist's face. "It is time to stop covering up. The mask and keffiyeh will not help you."

#عاجل هذا هو المدعو حذيفة كحلوت الذي يتستر وراء كنية أبو عبيدة وهو يتستر كذلك وراء كوفيته الحمراء. تمامًا مثلما تتستر حماس وراء المنشآت المدنية لإطلاق القذائف الصاروخية باتجاه إسرائيل. هو وغيره من قادة #دواعش_حماس يحبون التستر داخل الأنفاق ووراء النساء والأطفال، وكذلك وراء… pic.twitter.com/FmtuByc7Bv

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 25, 2023

This is a developing story.

Diplomatic intervention by Qatar in humanitarian aspects of the war with Hamas in Gaza is "crucial at this time," Israel's National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi wrote on Tuesday amid talks of a breakthrough in the release of some Israeli hostages from Gaza.

"I’m pleased to say that Qatar is becoming an essential party and stakeholder in the facilitation of humanitarian solutions," Hanegbi said in a post on the social media platform X.

"Qatar’s diplomatic efforts are crucial at this time," he added.

Qatar's PM: some progress on hostage negotiations

Qatar's prime minister said on Wednesday there was some progress on hostage negotiations after Palestinian militant group Hamas abducted more than 200 hostages during its October 7 massacre in southern Israel.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who is also the foreign minister, said at a press conference with his Turkish counterpart that he hoped there would be breakthroughs on hostage releases "soon."