Israel’s military has begun pumping seawater into Hamas’s vast complex of tunnels in Gaza, the Wall Street Journal reported. Israel’s ambassador to the UN displayed the phone number of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who he said was responsible for agreeing to a cease fire. A Gaza resident blamed Hamas for “destroying us”.
“I want to convey my message to the Hamas governemnt,” a Gaza resident told Hebron radio station Al-Alam. “May Allah take revenge on you and curse your forefathers. May Allah curse you, (Hamas leader Yahya) Al-Sinwar, you son of a dog. May Allah take revenge on you, you’ve destroyed us. We mograted from Gaza City to Khan Yunis, and from Khan Yunis to Rafah. We were scattered, us and our family, our wives, our children. Give the Israeli hostages back, these dogs who are in your possession. Al-Sinwar, is hiding underground with (Hamas terror leader Muhammad) Deif, and all the disgusting ones like him.”
Israel’s military has begun to pump seawater into Hamas’s vast complex of tunnels in Gaza, according to U.S. officials briefed on the Israeli military’s operations, part of an intensive effort to destroy the underground infrastructure that has underpinned the group’s operations, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The water is being pumped from the nearby Mediterranean Sea.
A spokesperson for Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (Likud) declined to comment to WSJ, telling the news outlet that “tunnel operations are classified.”
But it’s already happening, possibly already for days, writes the WSJ: “Flooding the tunnels, which would likely be a weekslong process, began around the time Israel added two more pumps to the five pumps installed last month and conducted some initial tests, U.S. officials said.”
The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying Israel has installed seven industrial pumps and began the process when it added the last two pumps to the initial five. The process is expected to last for several weeks.
US officials have expressed concern about the plan since 137 Israeli and foreign hostages remain in Hamas captivity. Israel has identified at least 800 tunnels and believes the network is still much bigger.
“We are not sure how successful pumping will be since nobody knows the details of the tunnels and the ground around them,” a source told the WSJ. “It’s impossible to know if that will be effective because we don’t know how seawater will drain in tunnels no one has been in before.”
Watch: A soldier from the IDF’s Yahalom unit encounters and eliminates two terrorists despite being wounded himself.
As the Israel-hating United Nations, which is dominated by the Arab Bloc and condemns the tiny state of Israel more than all other nations in the world combined, the General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” to spare Hamas, which is being absolutely destroyed.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan displayed a phone number he claimed belongs to the Hamas offices in Gaza and terror mastermind Yahya Sinwar, with the words “For a Ceasefire Dial: +972-599373765. Ask for Yahya Sinwar.”
Erdan tweeted: “If the assembly wants a real ceasefire, call the Hamas offices in Gaza and ask for Yahya Sinwar. Tell him that when Hamas lays down its weapons, turns itself in, and returns all the hostages, then there will be a real ceasefire that will last forever.”
הכוחות הקרקעיים, חיל האוויר ולוחמי זרוע הים ממשיכים לתקוף שורת מטרות ותשתיות טרור ברצועת עזה, במהלך היממה האחרונה הותקפו מעל 250 מטרות pic.twitter.com/Ebwm2kbC2R
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 13, 2023
IDF troops identified a terrorist cell in the area of Shejaiya en route to launch rockets toward Israel – and thwarted the attempt, Arutz Sheva reports. After identifying the terror cell, the troops directed an IAF aircraft to strike the terrorist cell and rocket launcher.
“IDF ground, air, and naval forces are continuing precise strikes on terror targets and infrastructure across the Gaza Strip, with over 250 terror targets struck over the last day,” the IDF said.
Watch: Close quarters combat – Givati Brigade Battle Team in southern Gaza
On Tuesday, the IDF reported that it took out a rocket launcher used to fire missiles toward the southern city of Sderot, according to Arutz Sheva.
“Since Monday, the IAF has hit a number of launch posts used to fire rockets at Israelis across the country from inside the Gaza Strip. IDF troops in Jabalya identified a post launching rockets toward the city of Sderot. In response, the forces directed an aircraft that struck the launch post,” the IDF said.
נפצע מרימון, חתר למגע וחיסל שני מחבלים: תיעוד היתקלות פנים אל פנים ממצלמת הקסדה של לוחם יהל״ם>>https://t.co/FRhL7eqWYx pic.twitter.com/8qDv9mQo0W
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 12, 2023
8 IDF Soldiers were killed by Hamas explosives trying to rescue their trapped comrades, Jewish Press reported. “A Golani Brigade combat team searched buildings in the Kasbah of the Shuja’iyya neighborhood, a dense area in northern Gaza. Fire opened on the fighters from one of the houses, and an explosive device was set off by Hamas terrorists. The force returned fire, and when the soldiers took battle positions, the force split in two. In the effort to rescue the trapped soldiers who were under heavy fire, another force arrived and entered the building, where an explosive charge was activated, followed by another, causing the death of eight soldiers, including the commander of the 13th Battalion.”
Two IDF soldiers from the Golani Brigade fell in battle in Northern Gaza, the IDF said.
The casualties bring the number of IDF soldiers killed since October 7 to 442. 115 soldiers fell in battle since the beginning of the ground incursion in Gaza October 7th.
On Tuesday morning, December 13th, IDF shared:
Operational update regarding the national mission of bringing back our hostages by IDF Spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari: pic.twitter.com/tIvabN9icK
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 13, 2023
The bodies of hostages Eden Zakaria, who was kidnapped from the Supernova music festival, and Sergeant Major Ziv Dado were recovered by IDF Special Forces in Gaza “during a complex rescue operation” and brought back to Israel, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said.
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