Nothing Left to Prove at Shifa

And Happy Thanksgiving to my American Readers!

Yesterday one of my officers, Lt. Masha Michelson, led journalists to see the newly revealed Shifa tunnel.

This tunnel is meters underground and, as I mentioned yesterday, has many rooms. It’s not a small dirt tunnel that you imagine when hear about underground tunnels.

While she was there, she recorded this quick video of her impressions:

You can hear more about what Lt. Michelson saw in our latest podcast episode, which just dropped today. Spoiler alert: you’ll also hear from an elite 669 Search and Rescue soldier, as well as a senior medical officer who was glamping on vacation right near the Gaza border when the rockets started flying on October 7.

As we expose more and more of the tunnel, we’ve been bringing in more reporters to see it first hand. Their jaws drop as they walk through the parts of the tunnel we’ve secured. Multiple rooms, ventilation, a bathroom, a kitchen…It’s simply irrefutable. Hamas has been using Shifa - and other hospitals - for terror purposes.

It doesn’t end there.

While investigating where this tunnel leads, we discovered another tunnel opening near Shifa. This one emerges in a house doubling as a classroom, chalkboard and all. And the IDF continues to reveal more and more, finding more branches of the tunnel.

Here’s Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the IDF Spokesperson, walking through the classroom yesterday:

Yesterday, one week after first entering the complex, the evidence became so compelling that to reject it is to reject reality.

For much of the past week, Hamas has been getting a free pass. It abused hospitals, denied it, and enjoyed as Israel was condemned for acting against this massive underground network of tunnels.

It takes seconds to lie but days, or even weeks, to prove something conclusively. There’s a reason court cases can stretch out - evidence isn’t always immediately evident.

This calls for more measured reporting. As I mention in an opinion piece I published today:

But complex reality doesn’t always fit into 24-hour news cycles. In situations like Shifa Hospital, there’s a clear right or wrong. Either there are weapons and terrorist infrastructure or there isn’t. Until then, the cost of hasty reporting is misinformation, its impact on both public perception and operational strategies, and lives that are in heightened danger as a result.

So we continue to fight…and will until we get the political directive to hold our fire.

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We’re finding tunnels elsewhere too. For example, the 401st Brigade combat team found four deep tunnel shafts on the outskirts of Jabalya, where heavy mortar fire was being launched toward Israel. These tunnel shafts had electricity and were conected to a central tunnel shaft located in a building affiliated with a senior Hamas operative.

The same force also continued to find weapons - and lots of them - in numerous bedrooms and under children's beds.

As I said, we’ll continue to fight as we achieve the objectives we received - bringing home the hostages and dismantling Hamas. For now, the best way to do the former is by continuing to do the latter.

Happy 🦃 Day to my 🇺🇸 readers!

Richard

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Operational Updates

Southern Arena Summary

• Widespread operations continued in northern Gaza, including UAV and tank strikes against terrorist cells and observation posts. Over 300 Hamas terror sites were targeted, encompassing command centers, tunnels, and weapon facilities.

• Egoz” Special Forces conducted precise raids in Gaza's Shati area, targeting Hamas infrastructure and destroying booby-trapped buildings, with significant seizures of ammunition, explosive belts, and grenades.

• Humanitarian assistance continued, including ongoing tactical lulls for civilians to evacuate to safer areas, fuel trucks for humanitarian organizations, and some 200 trucks of goods and supplies being screened before being transferred into the Gaza.

Northern Arena Summary

• In response to ongoing Hezbollah rocket launches, which exceeded 35 rockets, the IDF targeted Hezbollah infrastructure and rocket sites in Lebanon. IDF strikes leveraged helicopters, fighter jets, and the "Iron Sting" system for these strikes.

• An IDF aircraft identified and targeted an anti-tank missile cell near the area of Zar'it in northern Israel.

• Overnight, a surface-to-air missile was launched toward IDF aircraft in Lebanon. The missile was intercepted by the Aerial Defense Array. In response to the launch, IDF aircraft struck the launcher and a weapons storage post.

Quote of the Day

Ok, it’s not actually a IDF quote this time, but it is Thanksgiving…

”I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise…and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation”

- Abraham Lincoln, Proclamation of Thanksgiving, 1863

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What I’m Reading

Israeli army displays tunnel beneath Al Shifa it says served as Hamas hideout - Reuters