Seven hundred Israelis killed, more than 2,000 injured, and 130 forcibly taken into Gaza. These are the numbers today. The numbers are not numbing—they are enraging. I’m eager to put into words my feelings but yet I struggle to do so. Especially after I saw a video of a young, unconscious, partially-unclothed Israeli women on the lap of a terrorist, being spit on by another terrorist as she was being taken in the back of a truck to an unknown location in Gaza. Therefore, I will rely on the video below sent to me by a friend to express my feelings.
Meanwhile, in the north, Hezbollah put its toe in the water today when it fired anti-tank missiles at three IDF military positions. The missiles were fired from a school! Just another example of Hezbollah’s and Hamas’ callous use of their own civilians as shields. This bit of information was revealed by Alma, the education and research organization that I support.
So what now?
General Yaakov Amidror opined that we will likely see the IDF engaging in four stages of operations:
Destruction and elimination of all terrorists still in Israel. Much of that has now been done, but tonight it appears that a few pockets may still remain and Hamas terrorists made new attempts to sneak into Israel.
Using air power to destroy all identified targets in Gaza, killing as many terrorists as possible, and limiting the number of new missile launches. This is happening now and will likely take days.
Conquering the Gaza Strip to eliminate the ability of Hamas to engage in military operations again. Doing this will require a ground attack. Although it is not clear that Israel has decided to do this, it is clear that it must do it. It is also clear that Israel is preparing to do it. Such an operation will take weeks not days to complete.
Afterwards, Hamas must never be permitted to regain its strength. Therefore, we can expect the IDF to take a much more aggressive posture as long as the need to do so continues.
A wild card in all this is attribution to Iran. The Wall Street Journal broke a story today that charges Iran overtly collaborated with Hamas—to the point that it recently gave the go ahead. This comes as no surprise to those knowledgeable about the region. However, how that will impact what Israel will do remains to be seen.
Will Israel have the opportunity to take action on such a sustained and aggressive basis? In part, it is up to us. Up to us to wage the information war ahead. To supply the context, the whys, and the need to do so.
For now, in the words of a friend of mine at a high level in Israel, “we are still enjoying a small window of legitimacy, [even] pity, for the mass losses, the carnage, the hostages.” But, he made clear that usually does not last long. Once Israel strikes back, as brutal as it may be because of Hamas’ use of human shields and disregard for human life, “we will need every voice.”
Our voices. Our actions. Our energy.
To all of you receiving this bi-monthly newsletter for the first time, please write to me about what you think could be improved. While normally this newsletter exclusively focuses on Hezbollah, today mandated that I do something different. And, of course, unsubscribe if you would rather not get this. But, if you think it worthwhile, please forward this newsletter to anybody who you think would be interested in reading it.
Death Toll from Hamas Onslaught Passes 700, over 100 Kidnapped, as Israel Strikes Gaza—Written by Emanuel Fabian, Michael Bachner, and TOL Staff—October 8, 2023 —As of 10:00 PM, this is the most current news I could find.
Israel Must Send a ‘Very Clear Message’ to Hamas: Sarit Zehavi — Sarit’s seven minute interview on Fox News.
Israel’s Struggle with Hezbollah—A War Without End is now available in eBook and hardback format on Amazon and IngramSpark. This compelling narrative explores Hezbollah’s origins and cancerous growth, traces Israel’s response, and reveals Israel’s present readiness to meet Hezbollah’s challenge.
Cliff Sobin
Important Link—Alma Research and Education Center: Understanding the Security Challenges on Israel’s Northern Border