Israel SitRep: Nov. 7, 2023

Today’s Issue: Netanyahu Talks With ABC About Postwar Plans, Gallant Speaks to Knesset About Gaza Goals | IDF Kills Hamas Battalion Commander, Captures October 7 Terrorists, Strikes Terrorists near Al-Quds Hospital | Thirty Projectiles Launched From Lebanon, Border Town Residents Warned of Possible Security Incident | Seventy Humanitarian Aid Trucks Enter Gaza, Foreign Nationals and Medical Evacuees Resume Movement From Gaza to Egypt, IDF Says Gazans Are Moving From North to South | Latest FDD Analysis

Netanyahu Talks With ABC About Postwar Plans, Gallant Speaks to Knesset About Gaza Goals: In an interview with ABC that aired on November 7, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated his belief that Israel, after the war, “for an indefinite period will have the overall security responsibility [in Gaza] because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have it.” He also reiterated that there will be no ceasefire if the hostages are not released, though Israel has previously allowed short “pauses” for the delivery of aid and in the future will “check the circumstances” to decide if this is possible. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on November 7 that the IDF will achieve three main objectives in Gaza: Hamas will cease to exist militarily and as the government in Gaza; Hamas will not be a threat to Israelis; and the IDF will have complete freedom of action.

IDF Kills Hamas Battalion Commander, Captures October 7 Terrorists, Strikes Terrorists near Al-Quds Hospital: On November 6, the IDF announced that Wail Asfa, commander of Hamas’s Deir al-Balah battalion, was killed in an airstrike. The same day, the army captured two terrorists who participated in the October 7 attacks and has detained them in Israel. That evening, the IDF destroyed locations that were used for rocket launches, including one in a mosque. It also found more than 50 rockets ready for launching in a building used for youth activities. Overnight, IDF naval forces struck Hamas targets using precision weapons. On November 7, the IDF found terrorists barricaded in a building near Al-Quds Hospital who were planning to attack IDF forces. An aerial attack on the site led to “significant secondary explosions,” which the IDF says showed it was a weapons depot. On November 7, the IDF said that in the past day, its forces took control of a Hamas outpost in northern Gaza, where they found anti-tank missiles and launchers and a variety of intelligence materials.

Thirty Projectiles Launched From Lebanon, Border Town Residents Warned of Possible Security Incident: The IDF announced on November 6 that in the space of an hour, 30 projectiles were launched from Lebanon toward Israel and that IDF forces responded with artillery fire. On November 7, an IDF tank attacked a terrorist cell in Lebanon that attempted to launch an antitank missile toward Israel near Shtula. On the morning of November 7, border town residents in locations such as Metula, Misgav Am, and Yiftah were told to stay near shelters because of a possible security incident, and several roads were closed.

Seventy Humanitarian Aid Trucks Enter Gaza, Foreign Nationals and Medical Evacuees Resume Movement From Gaza to Egypt, IDF Says Gazans Are Moving From North to South: Israel announced on November 6 that 70 humanitarian aid trucks with food, water, and medical supplies entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing. The same day, Reuters, citing Egyptian security sources, stated that “dozens” of foreign nationals and “some medical evacuees” crossed over to Egypt through Rafah following a two-day suspension of these movements. On November 6, the IDF released footage of its soldiers opening an evacuation corridor to allow residents of the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate to the south. The Israeli Defense Ministry’s Unit for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) reported on the afternoon of November 7 that thousands of residents of northern Gaza were going south through the IDF’s evacuation corridor. Palestinian sources reported on November 7 that trucks carrying tents entered Gaza through Rafah. The tents are apparently intended to be used for additional tent cities for Gazans who have moved to the south of the strip.

Latest FDD Analysis:

“10 Things to Know About Hamas Tunnels,” FDD Experts, FDD Insight

“Defense Department Report Highlights Cyber Threat from China,” RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery and Jiwon Ma, The Cipher Brief

“Antisemitism, Russian Disinformation and the West,” Ivana Stradner and Jason Jay Smart, Kyiv Post

“To win, Israel must destroy the labyrinth of Hamas tunnels,” Seth J. Frantzman, The Spectator

“Seven ways China can benefit from the Israel-Hamas war,” Cleo Paskal and Col. Grant Newsham, The Sunday Guardian

“Israel enters new phase of war with Gaza City now encircled,” Seth J. Frantzman, FDD’S Long War Journal

“IDF Reopens Humanitarian Corridor in Gaza,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Terrorist Murders Israeli Policewoman in Jerusalem Who Immigrated from U.S.” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Hamas-Led Terrorist Cell Thwarted in West Bank,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“No Reliable Data on Gaza Death Count,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Rockets From Lebanon Set Off Sirens Near Haifa,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief