Israel Update: January 5 (day 457)

by | | Israel Updates

Jay Zeidman
Jan 05, 2025

Situational Update

  • On Saturday, Hamas published a propaganda video on Saturday revealing a sign of life of hostage Liri Albag. “I’m only 19 years old. I have my entire life in front of me, but now my entire life has been put on pause,” she says in the video.
    • Albag’s family ask that the media not publish the video or images from it, so I will not do so here. The image above is what the Hostages Families Forum has used.
    • The three-and-a-half-minute-long video is not dated, though Albag states that she has been held for over 450 days, indicating it was filmed recently.
    • Liri is a surveillance soldier who was stationed at the Nahal Oz post and was abducted along with six others by Hamas terrorists on October 7. One was rescued and another was recovered dead after she was murdered in captivity. The other five — Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Naama Levy and Daniella Gilboa — are still hostages.

The Testimonies Archive

  • Tablet Studios and the USC Shoah Foundation have joined forces to create The Testimonies Archive, a curated collection of audio and video interviews, in an effort to grow, share, and amplify the reach of their October 7 testimony collections.
  • In this archive are firsthand testimonies of those who survived the massacre, those who risked their own lives to save others, and those whose lives were changed forever when they lost loved ones. There are also testimonies from family members, and beloved friends, and stories about the impact the war has had, in Israel and abroad.
  • Link: The Testimonies Archive | Tablet Mag

The Numbers

Israeli journalist Marc Schulman published the 2024 casualty data from the IDF and writes, “these statistics illustrate the human cost to the Israeli Army.” As you read through the information below, I recommend following up with Seth Mandel’s article in Commentary: The Weight Israel Carries.

  • All of which is yet another reminder that Oct. 7, 2023, caused a seismic change in Israel and the Jewish world. In the immediate aftermath of the Hamas attacks, Israel’s HMOs “reported record levels of requests by patients for sleeping pills, painkillers, and tranquilizers,” Tablet’s Hillel Kuttler reported. According to the IDF, of the 17 soldier suicides in 2023, seven of them—40 percent—happened in just the final three months of the year after the attacks.

2023 Statistics:

  • Total fatalities: 558 (compared to 44 in 2022) which includes 329 killed during the October 7 attacks
  • Breakdown by Cause:
    • Combat/Operations: 512 fatalities
    • Terror and enemy actions: 3 fatalities
    • Accidents (16 total):
      • Training accidents: 2
      • Civilian road accidents: 4
      • Military vehicle accidents: 5
      • Weapons accidents: 1
      • Other accidents: 4
    • Medical/Health related:
      • Illness: 10 fatalities
      • Suspected suicides: 17 (under investigation)

2024 Statistics:

  • Total fatalities: 363
  • Breakdown by Cause:
    • Combat/Operations: 295 fatalities
    • Terror and enemy actions: 11 fatalities
    • Accidents (23 total):
      • Civilian road accidents: 17
      • Military vehicle accidents: 3
      • Other accidents: 3
  • Medical/Health related:
    • Illness: 13 fatalities
    • Suspected suicides: 21 (under investigation)

Casualties

  • 1,817 Israelis have been killed including 825 IDF soldiers since October 7th (no change since Wednesday)
  • The South: 390 IDF soldiers during the ground operation in Gaza have been killed (no change since Wednesday)
  • The North: 131 Israelis (84 IDF soldiers) have been killed during the war in Northern Israel (no change since Wednesday)
  • Additional Information (according to the IDF):
    • 2,529 (+8 since Wednesday) IDF soldiers have been injured during ground combat in Gaza, including at least 479 (no change since Wednesday) who have been severely injured.
    • 5,576 (+10 since Wednesday) IDF soldiers have been injured since the beginning of the war, including at least 815 (no change since Wednesday) who have been severely injured.
  • According to unverified figures from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, 45,361 (no reported change Sunday) people have been killed in Gaza, and 107,803 (no reported change Sunday) have been injured during the war.
  • Facts about the Gaza Casualty Count:
  • The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes official details on every civilian and IDF casualty.

Hostages (no change)

  • There are currently 96 hostages taken on 10/7 currently in captivity in Gaza
  • 7 hostages are Americans: Meet the Seven American Hostages Still Held By Hamas
  • On October 7th, a total of 261 Israelis were taken hostage.
  • During the ceasefire deal in November, 112 hostages were released.
  • 145 hostages in total have been released or rescued
    • The bodies of 38 hostages have been recovered, including 3 mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
  • 8 hostages have been rescued by troops alive
  • This leaves 100 hostages still theoretically in Gaza
    • At least 34 confirmed bodies are currently being held in Gaza
    • 30-50 hostages are assumed to be dead and held in captivity
    • Thus, at most, 50-70 living hostages could still be in Gaza.
    • Hamas is also holding 2 Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of 2 IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.

Watch

From the IDF: DECLASSIFIED: In September 2024, before the fall of the Assad Regime, our soldiers conducted an undercover operation to dismantle an Iranian-funded underground precision missile production site in Syria.

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian with the Times of Israel added some color on the operation in an X post and article:

  • The Israeli Air Force reveals details and footage from one of its most daring and complex commando operations ever, in which 120 members of special forces units raided and destroyed an underground Iranian missile manufacturing plant deep in Syria in September.
  • The raid — dubbed internally by the Israel Defense Forces “Operation Many Ways” — was aimed at destroying an underground facility used by Iranian forces to manufacture precision missiles for Hezbollah in Lebanon and for the Assad regime in Syria.
  • The facility, codenamed by the military “Deep Layer,” was dug into a mountain at the Scientific Studies and Research Center, known as CERS or SSRC, in the Masyaf area of Syria, west of Hama. The site lies more than 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of the Israeli border, and some 45 kilometers (28 miles) from Syria’s western coastline.
  • The IDF said the site was Iran’s “flagship project” in its effort to arm Hezbollah.
  • The military says the raid was carried out successfully by the IAF’s elite Shaldag unit, along with the search and rescue Unit 669.
  • The troops spent just over 2.5 hours on the ground, and none were injured during the entire operation.
  • The destruction of that site, as well as other IDF strikes in Syria targeting weapon shipments to Hezbollah, led Iran to rethink its strategy, according to the military
  • [FULL STORY] For a full report on the entire operation, including details on the years of planning and intelligence, to the actual execution, I encourage you read the entire story here from the Times of Israel here: 120 commandos deep inside Syria: IDF reveals daring raid on Iranian missile factory

Listen

  • The string of Israeli successes against Hezbollah — culminating in the killing of Hassan Nasrallah — last September was partly the work of Israeli military and intelligence agencies infiltrating Hezbollah’s networks, planting booby-trapped communication devices, and tracking the leaders’ movements to dismantle the group’s military capabilities. This campaign crippled Hezbollah by also destroying thousands of missiles and disrupting its leadership, delivering a blow to Iran’s regional strategy.
  • An investigative report recently published by the New York Times delves into how deeply Israeli intelligence had penetrated Hezbollah ranks. Our guest today is one of the report’s authors: Ronen Bergman.
  • Link to the NYT Report (detailed in the last update): Behind the Dismantling of Hezbollah: Decades of Israeli Intelligence

Reports, Opinions, and Analysis

The Dogs of (Urban) War: Lessons from Oketz, the Israel Defense Forces’ Specialized Canine Unit by John Spencer in Modern War Institute

  • The IDF’s canine unit, the Oketz, has demonstrated how a highly specialized and well-integrated canine force can enhance operational effectiveness, safeguard human lives, and support soldier welfare in high-intensity combat. By examining the way that the IDF has employed this unit in Gaza—from remote canine operations to group deployment to mitigate psychological stress to integration of innovative, dog-specific equipment—the US military can adapt these insights to its own urban warfare capabilities.
  • The IDF’s military dog program was heavily shaped by the guiding influence of Professor Rudolphina Menzel, a pioneer in canine psychology. By the 1980s, the program became formally institutionalized as Oketz (“sting,” in Hebrew). Since then, the unit has played pivotal roles in every major conflict involving the IDF, from the 2006 Lebanon War to ongoing operations in Gaza.
  • Oketz sources nearly all of its military working dogs—99 percent—from breeders in Europe. The dogs are primarily Belgian Malinois, with some German Shepherds and Labradors. Each year, the IDF procures approximately seventy dogs, ensuring they are one year old to strike the right balance between developmental maturity and training flexibility. Their rigorous and multiphase training lasts up to two years and emphasizes bonding between handlers and dogs for operational cohesion.
  • Each Oketz dog is trained for a specialized role. Some are used tactically as attack dogs to neutralize threats in combat, while others work in explosive ordnance detection. Still others work to locate survivors or find the remains of fallen soldiers or civilians in disaster or combat scenarios. Among the most innovative ways Oketz employs its dogs is training some specifically for underground warfare to operating in tunnels, a frequent feature of combat in Gaza.
  • Yet it is not only dogs specially trained for subterranean environments that have proven vital during ongoing combat operations in Gaza. Those working in explosive ordnance detection and attack roles have likewise been critical in the urban environment. Dogs have been instrumental in saving IDF soldiers’ lives, finding hidden explosives, and uncovering Hamas fighters concealed within the dense urban fabric of Gaza. Their heightened senses and ability to navigate narrow or debris-filled spaces make them invaluable assets in areas where traditional methods fall short.
  • Gaza’s dense urban environment has highlighted the necessity of maintaining a large and flexible canine force. The Oketz unit integrates dog teams across operations, reflecting the value of both redundancy and specialization. After October 7, the IDF accelerated procurement, sending teams to Europe monthly to replenish its canine ranks. This reflects a key lesson: having a scalable program ensures readiness for prolonged or large-scale conflicts.
  • Four lessons stand out:
    • Remote Operations and Technology Integration: During operations in Gaza over more than a year, small cameras mounted on dogs have provided real-time intelligence, allowing handlers to assess tunnel systems, detect booby traps, and identify combatants without exposing soldiers to direct risk.
    • Scaling the Force for High Demand: After October 7, the IDF accelerated procurement, sending teams to Europe monthly to replenish its canine ranks. This reflects a key lesson: having a scalable program ensures readiness for prolonged or large-scale conflicts.
    • Mental Health Benefits of Group Deployment: The IDF deliberately pairs handlers and dogs within small, cohesive teams—each team with a commander, a deputy, and two handler-dog pairs. This structure is designed to address the psychological challenges of urban warfare, providing mutual support for both handlers and dogs.
    • Attention to Operational Details: The IDF’s introduction of protective rubberized booties for dogs exemplifies the type of adaptation required by the unique challenges of urban environments.
  • The IDF’s reliance on military dogs comes at a significant cost. Since October 7, Oketz has lost three soldiers and forty-two military working dogs.
  • Link: The Dogs of (Urban) War: Lessons from Oketz, the Israel Defense Forces’ Specialized Canine Unit

The dream of a free Middle East is coming true by Jake Wallis Simons in The Telegraph

  • The Islamic Republic has never been so weak. Much has been written about its spectacular military humiliation. The Israeli evisceration of Hezbollah wasted tens of billions of dollars and decades of hard work; the Houthis sign their own death warrant nightly by firing missiles at the Jewish state; Syria has fallen, which Tehran views with foreboding; and in October, Jerusalem left the Ayatollah’s air defences in ruins. The following month, he spoke openly for the first time about ways to handle his own eternal rest.
  • But it’s the people that may bring down the tyrant in blood and fury. After years of sanctions and mysterious attacks on gas pipelines, Iran is in the grip of a winter energy crisis, suffering power outages daily. The economy is in freefall, with the rial plunging to record lows against the dollar, a $500 billion infrastructure deficit and inflation topping 30 per cent.
  • The benighted residents of Tehran are in Covid-style lockdown, on account of unbearable levels of pollution trapped in the city by the nearby Alborz mountain.
  • According to leaked figures, the regime executed 1,000 people last year, cowing the population as Iran came under pressure from abroad. To appease the restive zealots, new morality laws are due to be imposed. They may also be forced to hike gas and oil prices, measures which in 2019 provoked the uprising that was so bloodily suppressed. With all this in mind, chemical weapons are being prepared for use on their own people.
  • We are on the verge of a new Middle East and despite the bleating of jihadi propagandists, that’s excellent news for Britain.
  • Link: The dream of a free Middle East is coming true

Antisemitism

The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism released its 2024 review.

  • FCAS’s Command Center registered a 51% increase in online social media posts in 2024, equaling 1.13 billion posts in total, reaching over one billion mentions for the first time.
  • 50% of the posts were made in April and May this year, connected to the protests on college campuses.
  • October 1st was the day with the single most posts: over 7 million posts as people reacted to Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel.
  • The majority of the discussions monitored by the Command Center centered on Israel and the Israel-Hamas war, with the next two leading topics of conversations being about the Holocaust and activities on college campuses as will be explored below.
  • Conspiratorial content saw a notable rise, with mentions of phrases like “Jewish control” increasing by 95%, “Jewish lobby” by 334%, and “Jewish supremacy” by 199%.
  • In 2024, conversations about antisemitism on college campuses surged by 137%, with over 13 million posts reflecting the growing concern about these issues.

Gaza, Land of Make-Believe by Seth Mandel with Commentary Magazine

  • Last week, a woman claiming to be a doctor in Gaza got a wave of attention after posting a picture of her feet supposedly swelling from the cold. It turned out that the temperature wasn’t exactly freezing—a low of 50 degrees Fahrenheit. And the good doctor had posted an image not of her own feet but of the main picture on the Wikipedia page for a particular toe condition.
  • Just a few days ago, the IDF rounded up 240 terror suspects from that hospital, including Safyia. According to the IDF, of the first 21 “patients” evacuated from the hospital, 13 were terror operatives who tried escaping on stretchers and in ambulances.
  • Medical professionals who aren’t what they seem, working at hospitals that aren’t exactly hospitals, fits a general theme of this war.
  • At around the same time the IDF was closing in on Kamal Adwan, headlines in the BBC and CNN accused Israel of killing several journalists in one strike. The predictable outrage ensued before Israel released a Palestinian Islamic Jihad roster found in Gaza that proved the IDF had indeed taken out terrorists, not civilian journalists.
  • In September, the Emmys awarded a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine activist for her “coverage” of the war, despite her work with the designated terrorist organization being well-known by then. The media have already mourned as fallen journalists a Hamas tank operative, a deputy Hamas commander in its Khan Younis Battalion, a Hamas drone operator, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket specialist, an engineer in Hamas’s Gaza City Brigade and the like, as noted here.
  • As for Kamal Adwan itself, when Hamas operatives returned to the area in the fall, they did their best to draw the IDF to buildings around the hospital itself, hoping to protect the higher-level Hamas officials stationed in the hospital (along with weapons). When it finally cleared the way to the hospital complex, the IDF evacuated the premises, moving hundreds of patients and actual medical personnel to other facilities. Two Hamas cells tried to escape and were eliminated via drone. Medical equipment was then transferred to the nearest hospital, as were the patients. There is so far no evidence of civilian deaths at the complex.
  • That leaves a very different impression from the one pushed by the media. But it’s easy to see through the mainstream press’s smokescreen if you try: The medical staff and patients who aren’t medical staff or patients trying to flee the hospital that isn’t a hospital; the journalists who aren’t journalists getting caught in the field of battle rather than at a newsroom working the phones; the teachers who aren’t teachers gathering at schools that aren’t schools.
  • And the aid workers that aren’t aid workers—who are these folks even trying to fool? When Israel’s Channel 12 was finally given access to the Palestinian side of one of the crossings, their cameras surveyed a staggering amount of aid just sitting there, expiring by the day. This is all aid that Israel has approved to be distributed, so it’s waiting for these humanitarian relief organizations to live up to their names. Instead, they mostly complain.
  • Link: Gaza, Land of Make-Believe

UNRWA’s Refusal to Accept Israeli Sovereignty Will Harm the Palestinians by Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch in Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA)

  • Israeli authorities found that more than 2,135 UNRWA employees were also terrorists in either Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). One-fifth of UNRWA school administrators were Hamas terrorists, and 10% of the senior positions (school principals and their deputies, directors, and deputy directors of training centers) were members of Hamas or PIJ.
  • UNRWA’s facilities in Gaza had been turned into terror bases. Hamas had dug extensive tunnels under UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City in which they placed one of their main computer server farms. The electricity for the computers, as well as water, came directly, and in plain sight, from within UNRWA’s headquarters.
  • Having concluded that UNRWA had lost all credibility and morphed into a vassal of the terrorists, Israel’s Knesset passed laws on Oct. 28, 2024, to end Israel’s June 1967 invitation to UNRWA to operate in Israel, Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. The laws will come into full force on January 30, 2025.
  • For 76 years, UNRWA has served as the primary vehicle for perpetuating the lie that the “Palestine refugees” will one day demographically and democratically destroy Israel. Under UNRWA, the number of “Palestine refugees” has swelled from 711,000 in 1949 to six million in 2023.
  • Despite having been given sufficient notice, terror-infested UNRWA is refusing to wrap up its operations and transfer its functions to other actors. It would seem that UNRWA believes it can force itself upon Israel, irrespective of the new legislation.
  • However, by acting in this manner, UNRWA is doing a disservice to the people to whom it provides services. The international community would be wise to find suitable alternatives.
  • The active participation of employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the October 7, 2023, massacre opened a Pandora’s box. Delving into the details, Israeli authorities revealed that more than 2,135 UNRWA employees were also terrorists in either Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). One-fifth of UNRWA school administrators were Hamas terrorists, 2 and 10% of the senior positions (school principals and their deputies, directors, and deputy directors of training centers) were members of Hamas or PIJ.
  • The ground operations in Gaza further revealed that UNRWA’s facilities in Gaza had also been turned into terror bases. Under UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City, Hamas had dug extensive tunnels in which they placed one of their main computer server farms. The electricity for the computers, as well as water, came directly, and in plain sight, from within UNRWA’s headquarters.
  • The “Law to Cease the Operations of UNRWA in the Territory of the State of Israel”4 provides that UNRWA will be banned from having any representative branch, will not provide services, and will not conduct any operations, directly or indirectly, in Israel’s sovereign territory.
  • The “Law to Cease the Operations of UNRWA”5 stipulated that Israel’s June 1967 invitation to UNRWA to operate in Israel, Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, would end, symbolically, exactly one year after the massacre on October 7, 2024. To meet formal requirements, Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs was required to inform the UN of the decision. The main operative clause of the law added, “A government authority, including other bodies and individuals performing public duties according to law, shall not have any contact with UNRWA or anyone acting on its behalf.”
  • Both laws provided that they would come into full force three months after their publication. Since the laws were published in the Official Gazette on October 30, 2024, they are set to come into full force on January 30, 2025.
  • Link: UNRWA’s Refusal to Accept Israeli Sovereignty Will Harm the Palestinians

Bipartisan chorus of officials call on U.S. airlines to restore service to Israel: El Al is the only airline flying from the U.S. to Tel Aviv, leading to exorbitant airfares and limited seats. So why won’t Delta, United and American resume their flights? By Gabby Deutch with The Jewish Insider

  • For all but two brief periods in 2024, the major U.S. carriers — Delta, United and American — have not flown to Tel Aviv since the war broke out, citing security concerns. El Al, now passengers’ only option for direct flights to and from America, doesn’t have enough planes to meet travelers’ demand, leading to crushingly high prices and flights that are often sold out weeks or months in advance.
  • Some European airlines have recently resumed flights to Israel after Israel reached a cease-fire deal with Lebanon, while several Gulf airlines have been flying to Israel throughout the conflict, including the United Arab Emirates-based Etihad Airways, which is now operating three daily flights to Tel Aviv. But those realities have not swayed U.S. airline executives.
  • At a meeting of United’s board of directors in early December, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said he has “no interest in returning to Tel Aviv only to pull out for a third time,” according to a source with knowledge of the conversation. United has also not resumed service to Amman, where it flew during the first several months of the war but suspended service in August.
  • In March 2024, United became the first U.S. airline to resume flights to Tel Aviv, but stopped them weeks later after Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel. In June, Delta and United began operating flights to Tel Aviv again — but suspended them by August, amid an escalation in fighting between Israel and the terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Delta said its flights to Israel would be canceled until the end of March 2025, and American said it won’t resume service until September 2025. United flights are canceled until further notice.
  • The U.S. airlines’ decision to maintain the pause on service to Tel Aviv has drawn high-profile critics from across the ideological spectrum. Tom Nides, who served as U.S. ambassador to Israel during the Biden administration, said the airlines need to “figure this out.”
  • Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) called for a congressional investigation into the matter and questioned whether the continued cancellation of flights to Tel Aviv amounts to “politically motivated boycotts of Israel.” In a statement to JI this month, Cruz cited allegations of “antisemitic discrimination by airlines” and “calls by unions not to fly to Israel [that] were motivated solely by pro-Hamas activists.” Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) said in August that the airlines are “effectively boycotting” Israel by not flying there.
  • It’s hard to quantify exactly what impact the limited flight options have had on Israel’s economy, particularly since tourism to Israel is already significantly deflated because of the ongoing war. But it’s clear that the decision by the three major U.S. carriers to suspend their routes to Tel Aviv has led many people who do want to come to Israel to stay away.
  • The dramatic reduction in flights has also impacted Israel’s high-tech sector, which relies on international travel for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. El Al announced this month that it would reserve 15-20 seats on flights to New York, London and Paris for tech executives who may not be able to plan trips far in advance.
  • Several Israeli tech CEOs and investors are hoping to launch a direct daily flight between Tel Aviv and New York later this month on a new airline called TechAir, but they need a certain number of people to buy seats before the service begins — so it is still not guaranteed.
  • Cruz’s accusation that the airlines’ choice not to fly to Tel Aviv is rooted in anti-Israel politics, or, worse, antisemitism has become almost gospel among many travelers. They see that there is an unmet demand and question why the airlines, which are businesses seeking to turn a profit, don’t simply step up and offer the flights that were once big money-makers for them.
  • Still, at a time when hostility toward Israel has crept into so many spheres in American life, it’s natural to wonder whether a similar sentiment has reached U.S. airlines. The flight attendants union signed onto a Nov. 2023 letter demanding a cease-fire in Gaza, and is now a member of the National Labor Network for Ceasefire, which has called for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel. This political advocacy has prompted questions about whether American flight attendants are refusing to fly to Israel for political reasons.
  • Link: Bipartisan chorus of officials call on U.S. airlines to restore service to Israel

Sources: JINSA, FDD, IDF, AIPAC, The Paul Singer Foundation, The Institute for National Security Studies, the Alma Research and Education Center, Yediot, Jerusalem Post, IDF Casualty Count, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Institute for the Study of War, and the Times of Israel