Israel SitRep: Dec. 6, 2023

Today’s Issue: IDF Southern Command Head: IDF Is in the Heart of Jabalya, Shejaiya, and Khan Younis | IDF Report Shows Hamas Commanders in Tunnel; Five Have Been Killed | IDF Attacks Hezbollah Complex in Lebanon, Lebanese Army Suffers Casualties | IDF Discovers and Seizes Large Stockpile of Weaponry in Northern Gaza | Latest FDD Analysis

IDF Southern Command Head: IDF Is in the Heart of Jabalya, Shejaiya, and Khan Younis: Overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday morning, IDF troops were involved in heavy fighting in Gaza. On Tuesday, the IDF published a report quoting IDF Central Command head Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman as stating that the army was “in the very heart of Jabalya, Shejaiya, and Khan Younis and adding: “We are in the most intense day [of fighting] since the beginning of the maneuver in terms of terrorists killed, the number of clashes, and fire from the ground and from the air.” The IDF announced on Wednesday that in the previous 24 hours, the Israeli Air Force struck some 250 targets in Gaza and that Israeli forces were locating and destroying “weapons, underground shafts, explosive charges, and other terror infrastructure.” It added that the 7th Armored Brigade directed strikes against two launchers used for the missile barrage against central Israel on Tuesday. In addition, the IDF eliminated members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members and destroyed a number of terrorist infrastructures.

IDF Report Shows Hamas Commanders in Tunnel; Five Have Been Killed: The IDF on Tuesday published a report showing senior Hamas officials from the Northern Gaza Brigade and the Gaza City Brigade who have been “eliminated” by Israel during the war. The photo in the report shows 10 men sitting in a room in a tunnel around a table with food. Five are circled in red, with the caption “eliminated” and their name and military title. The report states that the IDF, guided by intelligence from the Shin Bet and Aman, attacked the tunnel in which the terrorists were hiding, “under civilian homes and near the Indonesian hospital,” killing brigade commander Ahmed Ghandour, deputy commander Wael Rajab, and other senior officials. The report also has a video showing Rajab walking through a tunnel. On November 26, Hamas announced the deaths of several top commanders, including Ghandour and Rajab, and the IDF then confirmed that it had killed them.

IDF Attacks Hezbollah Complex in Lebanon, Lebanese Army Suffers Casualties: On Tuesday, the IDF announced that earlier in the day, it attacked a “launch and observation complex” connected to Hezbollah in Lebanon. The army said that the attack was intended to eliminate a “concrete threat” from the complex, located near Al Awadi on the Lebanese border. The Lebanese Army stated on Tuesday that one of its soldiers was killed and three were wounded in an Israeli attack near the border, and the IDF issued a statement saying that the Lebanese Army was not the target of the attack and the IDF regrets the incident and is investigating it. Also on Tuesday, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari announced that a “hostile aircraft” was identified in Israel’s north, in the area of Margaliot in northern Israel. There were no casualties.

IDF Discovers and Seizes Large Stockpile of Weaponry in Northern Gaza: On Wednesday, the IDF announced that it had discovered one of the largest collections of drones, long-range rockets, missiles, missile launchers, and explosives in the northern Gaza Strip, ready for use, near a school and a health clinic. Forces from the IDF’s 460th Brigade and 50th Battalion found the materiel, including “hundreds of missiles and RPG launchers of various types, dozens of anti-tank missiles, dozens of explosive charges, long-range missiles aimed at the center of Israel, dozens of grenades, and unmanned aerial vehicles.” According to the IDF, the forces seized the materiel, detonating some in the field and sending some for further investigation. The announcement includes footage of soldiers removing the material.

Latest FDD Analysis:

“7 Things to Know About Campus Support for Hamas and Antisemitism,” FDD Experts, FDD Insight

“Erdogan Does Not Care About the Palestinians,” Sinan Ciddi, The National Interest

“Hamas Remains Intact, Yet Blinken Hedges on Support for Israeli War Effort,” Enia Krivine, The Messenger

“Israel expands offensive into southern Gaza,” Seth J. Frantzman, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Israel at War: December 4, 2023,” Joe Truzman, Bill Roggio, and Behnam Ben Taleblu, Generation Jihad (by FDD’s Long War Journal)

“Houthis in Yemen Target Vessels in Red Sea,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Israel Enters Hamas Stronghold in Gaza’s South,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Israel Responds to Hezbollah Attacks with Airstrikes in Lebanon,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Egypt Accepts Only Small Number of Temporarily Displaced Gazans,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Israel SitRep: Dec. 4, 2023,” FDD Experts, FDD Israel at War Situation Report