Israel SitRep: Dec. 4, 2023

Today’s Issue: Israeli Ground Operations and Airstrikes in Gaza Continue | IDF Announces Targeted Killings of Two Hamas Commanders | IDF Arabic Spokesman Calls on Hamas Leaders to Surrender | IDF Opens Humanitarian Corridor, Calls Salah ad-Din Road a “Battle Zone” | Latest FDD Analysis

Israeli Ground Operations and Airstrikes in Gaza Continue: On Sunday, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari stated at a press conference that the army was expanding its ground offensive to “all areas of the Gaza Strip.” The IDF announced on Monday that ground forces are operating in Gaza and the air force is carrying out extensive strikes. Overnight, the IDF struck some 200 Hamas targets and destroyed terror infrastructures located inside schools in the northern Gaza Strip. According to the IDF, troops found explosives, weapons, and two tunnel shafts, one of them booby-trapped, in a school. The announcement added that Israeli Air Force planes foiled an “imminent attack” against IDF soldiers by hitting vehicles with missiles, mortar shells, and weapons. In addition, the Israeli navy attacked the Hamas terror infrastructure and naval observation posts in Gaza harbor.

IDF Announces Targeted Killings of Two Hamas Commanders: On Saturday, the IDF announced that the army and the Shin Bet killed Wissam Farhat, commander of the Hamas Shejaiya Battalion. The announcement noted that Farhat “was responsible for the APC disaster during Operation Protective Edge [in 2014] and sent Nukhba terrorists to Kibbutz Nahal Oz and the Nahal Oz outpost on October 7.” In the APC (armored personnel carrier) disaster, seven Golani soldiers were killed in the Shejaiya neighborhood in Gaza City. Along with Saturday’s statement, the IDF published footage of the strike that killed Farhat. On Sunday, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari announced that Israeli Air Force jets killed Haitham Khuwajari, commander of Hamas’s Shati Battalion. Khuwajari commanded the Hamas terrorists who raided southern Israel on October 7 and was responsible “for a great deal of terrorist activity” against Israelis. According to the statement, Khuwajari was in charge of security for Hamas in Shifa Hospital and commanded the fighting against IDF forces in the Shati Refugee Camp. The statement also included footage of the strike.

IDF Arabic Spokesman Calls on Hamas Leaders to Surrender: Early on Sunday, IDF Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee issued a warning to leaders of Hamas’s Shejaiya Battalion, whose commander, Wissam Farhat, was killed in an IDF targeted strike on Saturday. Adraee called on the other battalion leaders to surrender, warning that this is a “final notice” and that “you are all targets.” Nothing that “the IDF will work with extreme force in the neighborhood in order to dismantle the Hamas terrorist infrastructure,” he gave the leaders two options: to “surrender and lay down your weapons” or “face a fate like Wissam Farhat’s.” The statement was accompanied by a graphic showing eleven top leaders in the Shejaiya Battalion, including Farhat.

IDF Opens Humanitarian Corridor, Calls Salah ad-Din Road a “Battle Zone”: On Monday, as the IDF advanced on Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee issued “urgent instructions” for the civilian population. The announcement stated that because of the fighting, civilians cannot move through the Salah ad-Din road, Gaza’s main north-south highway, in the areas north and east of Khan Younis. It added that the road is a battle zone and therefore “extremely dangerous.” According to the statement, the IDF will allow civilians to move through a bypass route west of the city. Specifically, it said, “passage from the Rafah and Khan Younis areas toward Deir al-Balah and the camps of central Gaza will be available through the following routes: al-Rashid coastal road and al-Shuhada Street in Deir al-Balah.” The announcement also noted that there will be a temporary humanitarian suspension of military activities in the Rafah camp for supply purposes.

Latest FDD Analysis:

“President Biden must face reality: It’s time to act vs. Iran,” Mark Dubowitz and Richard Goldberg, New York Post

“Stop With the Nice Words on Qatar,” Jonathan Schanzer, Commentary

“Biden’s Imaginary Iran,” Richard Goldberg, National Review

“Terror in Jerusalem shows spillover from Gaza threat,” Seth J. Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post

“Iran-backed Houthis claim Red Sea only safe if Gaza war ends,” Seth J. Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post

“55 days of war: The Israel-Gaza conflict by the numbers,” Seth J. Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post

“Israel at War: December 1, 2023,” Joe Truzman, Bill Roggio, and David Daoud, Generation Jihad (by FDD’s Long War Journal)

“Houthis target U.S. warship, commercial vessels in the Red Sea,” Joe Truzman and Bill Roggio, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Hamas Renews Attacks on Israel as Pause in Fighting Ends,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Hamas Terrorist Commander Killed in Gaza,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Six More Israeli Hostages Died in Hamas Captivity, Israel Says,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Israel Deepens Gaza City Push,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Killed in Reported Syria Strike by Israel,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Blinken Sends Mixed Messages to Jerusalem,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Israel SitRep: Dec. 1, 2023,” FDD Experts, FDD Israel at War Situation Report