Israel at War - What happened on day 31?

The commander of Hamas's Deir al-Balah Battalion of the Central Camps Brigade, Wail Asfa, was eliminated overnight on Sunday by an Israeli airstrike, the IDF and Shin Bet said on Monday.

The strike, which was conducted by an IAF fighter jet, operated on intelligence provided by the Shin Bet and Military Intelligence Directorate in carrying out the operation.

Birthright Israel, the nonprofit responsible for taking hundreds of thousands of Diaspora Jews to Israel for free, announced on Monday that it will place alumni of its programs in volunteering opportunities throughout the Jewish State to support the country's war effort against Hamas in Gaza. 

The initiative, coordinated through Birthright's Onward Volunteer Program, will connect applicants from among Birthright's 850,000 alumni to kibbutzim and moshavim to harvest crops in the absence of thousands of foreign field workers who returned to their countries during the war. Participants will also work in donation centers to help with sorting, packing and distributing boxes of supplies for civilian evacuees and military units. Volunteers will work up to six hours daily.

This lookout point on Gaza is used by Birthright tour guides when they give a talk to participants in the program (credit: ROY LICHTSCHEIN)

First participants will volunteer this month

The first round of applicants will volunteer for two weeks in two rounds in November. More spots are expected to open in December.

"I have been gratified," said Gidi Mark, Birthright Israel's CEO, "by the Birthright Israel alumni - ranging from those who came to Israel just a few months ago, all the way to those who participated in our first year back in 1999 - who have reached out since October 7th to ask how they can help.

"This initiative is a meaningful and practical way to stand with Israel and to actively assist a great need," he said.

An elderly Jewish man was allegedly beaten to death at a pro-Israel rally in Los Angeles on Monday in America by a pro-Palestinian demonstrator, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed. 

According to eyewitnesses a confrontation developed between the elderly man and the suspect. The elderly man was then found on the ground bleeding and was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead from a cerebral hemorrhage.

"We are devastated to learn of the tragic death of an elderly Jewish man who was struck in the  head by a megaphone wielded by a pro-Palestinian protestor in Westlake Village," the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles said in a statement. "Our hearts  are with the family of the victim.

"While we wait for more information from our law  enforcement partners, we remind you that this is the fourth major antisemitic crime committed in Los Angeles this year alone," the federation continued. "Violence against our people has no place in  civilized society. We demand safety. We will not tolerate violence against our community.  We will do everything in our power to prevent it."

The incident was caught on film by locals and shared with a warning of graphic content on X by the NGO StopAntisemitism. 

Content warning ⚠️ - an elderly Jewish man has been killed by a pro Palestinian protestor who hit him over the head with a megaphone at yesterday’s Israel rally.

Sadly, the victim has passed away from internal bleeding.

May his memory be a blessing and his attacker be… pic.twitter.com/41ZXNutwvK

— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) November 7, 2023

'Long live the Intifada': Palestinians and pro-Palestinian supporters protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza amid days of conflict between the two sides, in Brooklyn, New York, US, May 15, 2021. (credit: RASHID UMAR ABBASI / REUTERS)

Police have declined to provide further details and it is unknown if the suspect has been arrested.

A pro-Palestinian demonstrator is under suspicion for allegedly beating to death an elderly pro-Israel demonstrator at a protest in Los Angeles, United States according to Ynet following confirmation from the Los Angeles Police Department.

According to eyewitnesses a confrontation developed between an elderly pro-Israel demonstrator and the suspect. The elderly man was found on the ground bleeding and was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead from a cerebral hemorrhage.

Police have declined to provide further details and it is unknown if the suspect has been arrested.

The government of Thailand is working through Iranian mediators to secure the release of Thai nationality hostages held by Hamas in Gaza following their October 7 massacre in southern Israel according to reports from Israel’s Ynet on November 7.

Thailand has 23 of its citizens among the 240 confirmed hostages being held in the Strip and representatives met Iranian officials in Tehran for discussions relating to their release according to the report.

The Thai nationals were working in Israel primarily in the agricultural communities around Gaza and as caretakers.

The Prime Minister of Thailand Sarta Thawisin confirmed yesterday that the workers are being held by Hamas and that "their situation is good and they should be released soon". 

Proof of life supplied

The prime minister also confirmed that the Thai Army had received pictures of the captives and that they appeared in good condition.

Families of people who are missing or were abducted from Israel by Hamas hold a press conference asking for a humanitarian corridor for the transfer of medicine and humanitarian aid for hostages, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 14, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)

The report claims that neighboring Malaysia, a Muslim country, is a part of the negotiations and that Hamas is waiting for a ceasefire to be able to evacuate them.

The deputy speaker of the Thai parliament also announced that the hostages are being “well treated.”

A total of 32 Thai nationals have been confirmed as having been killed during the attack.

Ynet cites sources as saying that Hamas intends to release the hostages through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt before returning them to Thailand via Iran.

Prime Minister Tavisin has been in contact with Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding the hostages.

Brandeis University, the nonsectarian university founded by the American Jewish community in 1948 as a response to antisemitism in other schools' admissions processes, has revoked its recognition of the Students for Justice in Palestine student group, according to a report in Jewish Insider, and banned the group from conducting activities on campus, or using the Brandeis name or logo in its promotions. 

"SJP's open support for Hamas, which the US has designated as a terrorist organization, was the driving factor in the decision," the report said, citing "a source familiar with Brandeis' plans." 

Brandeis's SJP chapter itself confirmed the disbanding via a post on social media. 

"With heavy hearts," the post said, "we would like to announce that our vigil today is canceled, as our organization has been derecognized [sic]. This decision by Student Affairs came as a response to our vigil as Student Affairs considers it 'a genuine threat' or 'harassment.'"

The national student group, which has chapters on hundreds of campuses across the United States, praised Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, in which thousands of terrorists invaded the country's south and murdered, raped, and kidnapped more than 1,400 civilians. The group called that attack "a historic win for Palestinian resistance," and called for "Not just slogans and rallies, but armed confrontation with the oppressors." 

Volen Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University, Waltham Massachusetts (credit: JOHN PHELAN / CC 3.0)

SJP calls the decision 'purely racist'

Brandeis SJP's social media post called the decision "purely racist," and said that the ban "goes against the values of Brandeis University, an organization that was built to fight racism in higher education."

But Brandeis's decision comes after the university's president, Ron Leibowitz, wrote an op-ed in the Boston Globe on the subject of "how universities should confront antisemitism on campus." Leibowitz argued that "universities cannot stop hate speech, but they can stop paying for it." 

"Brandeis will ensure that groups that receive privileges through their affiliations with the university, including using its name, will lose their affiliations and privileges when they spew hate."

In a letter to SJP obtained by Jewish Insider, the university explained its rationale: "This decision was not made lightly," it said, "as Brandeis is dedicated to upholding free speech principles." But "The National SJP," it said, "has called on its chapters to engage in conduct that supports Hamas in its call for the violent elimination of Israel and the Jewish people. These tactics are not protected by the University's Principles." 

The Pentagon on Monday put the number of civilians killed in Gaza in the thousands, but did not provide a specific number.

"As it related to civilian casualties in Gaza... we know the numbers are in the thousands," Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters.

During IDF activity in Gaza on Monday, Israeli soldiers located and destroyed several facilities, including one within a mosque, being used for launching rockets into Israel, the IDF said.

The operation to destroy the terrorist infrastructure within the mosque was conducted by the IDF's 460th Armored Forces.

In another facility, this one being used for youth activities, IDF personnel located over 50 rockets. The 50th Battalion of the Nahal Brigade destroyed the ordnance at the site.

Israel’s invasion of Gaza has been very distinctive and looked very different than what was originally expected.

While there are many sides to these differences, one key consequence could be a longer and more drawn out invasion in the South, which could lead to extended harm to Israel’s North.

Within the span of an hour on Monday, 30 rocket launches from Lebanese territory into Israel were detected, the IDF said.

The IDF responded with artillery fire towards the sources of the rocket launches.