Monsters Under the Bed
What we discovered in a child's bedroom in Gaza's Beit Hanoun.
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Most parents of daughters (I, myself, have two) go through similar experiences when raising little girls. First there’s an obsessions with sparkly unicorn dolls.
Then it’s the same Disney movies on repeat until you find yourself listening to their songs in the car even though they aren’t there.
But, of course, before that, there’s insisting that mom and dad check for monsters under the bed.
And looking at this room in Gaza, you’d be excused for thinking that everything would be normal inside:
Everything is not normal here.
Part of Hamas’ human shield strategy is to embed terrorist infrastructure in places that, when the IDF needs to operate there, their mere presence screams “illegitimate.” That’s the PR play behind their weapons in MRI rooms.
When they show these types of images, juxtaposed next to IDF troops, it seems absolutely ludicrous that we would need to send troops in.
But troops from the 551st Brigade looked for the monsters under the bed:
Those are rockets. Under a little kid’s bed.
Rockets under a kid’s bed discovered by troops searching the home of a Hamas terrorist in Beit Hanoun.
This is level of the evil we’re facing.
When we say Hamas uses children to protect their weapons, I can think of no better example than this video. Besides, maybe, this Islamic Jihad phone call we intercepted and are declassifying in which one operative tells the other to move missiles in…a baby stroller.
This isn’t just human shields. It’s baby shields. And it’s inexcusable.
Tomorrow I’ll share more about what I saw last night, when I took a few journalists with me to visit the Shifa Hospital. We are just now beginning to uncover just how much Hamas exploited the hospital.
Have a safe and quiet weekend.
- Richard.
Operational Updates
One important update. As we mentioned at the start of this war, our two primary goals are to dismantle Hamas - to prevent them from ever executing another attack like the one they did on October 7th - and to bring the 239 hostages home.
Yesterday the IDF located the bodies of two of the abducted Israelis:
Yehudit Weiss’s body was extracted by IDF troops from a structure near Shifa Hospital in which additional military equipment, including Kalashnikov rifles and RPG's, were also located.
The body of an IDF soldier, Corporal Noa Marciano, who was abducted by the Hamas terrorist organization, was also extracted by IDF troops from a structure adjacent to the Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip and transferred to Israeli territory.
As I’ve said before, we will do everything in our power to bring our hostages home.
Southern Arena
Israeli Air Force jets struck the residence of Ismail Haniyeh, the Head of Hamas’ Political Bureau, which was used as terrorist infrastructure and often served as a meeting point for Hamas' senior leaders.
During the takeover of the Shati camp over the last few days, IDF troops located and destroyed a Hamas naval forces weapons cache, containing diving gear, explosive devices, and weapons.
In a joint operation, soldiers of the 188th Armored Brigade, and Shayetet 13 (Israel’s equivalent of the Navy SEALs), took operational control of the Gaza harbor, which was controlled by the Hamas terrorist organization. 10 terror tunnel shafts and four structures used for terror were destroyed, and 10 terrorists were killed. All buildings in the harbor area were cleared.
Northern Arena
Following multiple attacks yesterday, including anti-tank fire, the IDF carried out strikes on Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon. The targets included a number of military posts from which Hezbollah terrorists have been operating from.
IDF soldiers struck a terrorist cell in Lebanon that attempted to launch anti-tank missiles toward Israeli territory. Separately the IDF struck a terrorist who was operating in Lebanese territory, adjacent to the area of Shlomi in northern Israel.
Terrorists attempted to carry out a number of launches toward the area of Misgav Am in northern Israel, as well as IDF posts in the areas of Metula and Yiftah. No injuries were reported. In response, artillery fire was directed toward the sources of the launches.
Quote of the Day
“We are hitting Hamas both on the ground and underground - We have hit thousands of terrorists already, and we will reach them all; The Israeli Air Force, as the strategic wing of the State of Israel, is prepared and operates throughout the Middle East, wherever it is needed - in every place.”
-Commanding Officer of the Israeli Air Force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar
What I’m Reading
Hamas command centre, weapons found at Gaza hospital (Reuters)
Documenting Hamas’ use of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza city for terror.
The most endearing words I understood, from my limited Hebrew, from soldiers calling their children at home the first time they had their mobiles handed back to them was Chaim Sheli - My Life!
In my my mother semitic tongue we call our children 'Qalbi' - My Heart.
I am a reading animator to pre-school children and to protect these toddlers further we even take off our shoes at the door!
I feel for Palestinian babies because they deserve better from their own parents.
To Life and safe childhoods!
Wow that means nothing is off the table in terms of where weaponry is hidden; funeral homes, dugouts in the ground, in cellars and in the homes of so-called ‘neutral’ actors / orgs. What a tough job the military are doing