Israel Identifies 199 Hostages in Hamas Captivity, Rockets from Gaza Reach Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
Hezbollah destroys IDF surveillance cameras as Israel evacuates civilians, secures northern border.
Ten days after Hamas terrorists infiltrated into southern Israel to massacre and kidnap civilians, the Israeli military raised the number of hostages in Gaza to 199.
“The families of 199 people have been notified so far that their loved ones are being held in the Gaza Strip after they were abducted during Hamas’s terror onslaught in southern Israel on October 7,” The Times of Israel reported Monday, citing IDF officials. “Israelis and foreign nationals — infants, children with special needs, octogenarians with chronic health issues — were dragged by terrorists into Gaza.”
Many of the captives are women, children, and elderly. Several U.S. nationals are also among the hostages.
The Israeli military may have some information on the captives’ whereabouts and was conducting strikes away from those locations. An IDF spokesman “emphasized that IDF strikes are intelligence-based to avoid harming the captives,” the Ynet reported Monday.
According to credible reports, most of the hostages in Gaza are women and children — the men they have killed. There are also reports that the terrorists went house to house raping women in Sderot and are raping the Israeli women in Gaza.
— Brooke Goldstein (@GoldsteinBrooke) October 7, 2023
Hezbollah destroys IDF surveillance cameras as Israel evacuates civilians, secures northern border
As Israel’s military secures the country’s borders and gears up for a possible ground offensive against Hamas terrorists in Gaza, the Iran-sponsored terrorist militia Hezbollah is stepping up attacks on Israel’s northern border.
On Monday, Hezbollah snipers destroyed surveillance cameras along the Israel-Lebanon border in a bid to conceal terrorist activities near Israeli military posts. The attempt was made less than a day after the Iranian foreign minister threatened Israel with unleashing another large-scale terrorist attack if the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued strikes on Hamas terror targets in Gaza.
The IDF, expecting a terrorist offensive from Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon, has begun evacuating Israeli civilians from the north. The military has created a 4-kilometer-wide security zone along the 80-mile Israel-Lebanon border to prevent a terrorist intrusion similar to the one staged by Hamas last Saturday.
"If Hezbollah tries to test us, the answer will be deadly"
The IDF spokesperson issued a warning to Hezbollah during his daily briefing, during which he also urged residents of Gaza to evacuate to the south of the Strip and blamed Hamas for blocking their passage pic.twitter.com/xXleWkTG1O
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) October 16, 2023
The Associated Press reported Hezbollah activities on Israel’s border:
Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group said Monday it has started destroying surveillance cameras on several Israeli army posts along the border as tension rose following the Israel-Hamas war that began Oct.7.
Hezbollah’s military media arm released a video showing snipers shooting at and destroying surveillance cameras placed on five points along the Lebanon-Israel border including one outside the Israeli town of Metula.
The militant group appears to want to prevent the Israeli army from monitoring movements on the Lebanese side of the border after days of fire exchange that left at least seven people dead, including four Hezbollah fighters, on the Lebanese side.
Hamas rockets reach Tel Aviv, Jerusalem
While IDF is working to evacuate civilians from northern Gaza ahead of a possible ground offensive, Hamas has stepped up rocket fire on cities across Israel. On Monday, Hamas bombarded Jerusalem and Tel Aviv with rockets, forcing Israeli lawmakers to adjourn the parliament session.
#BREAKING: Initial reports of explosions in #Jerusalem as Hamas terrorists target the capital city and other densely populated areas — including #TelAviv — with a massive barrage of rockets. pic.twitter.com/dfzreBAkH2
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) October 16, 2023
The Israeli news website Ynet reported:
Central Israel and Jerusalem came under a rocket attack on Monday afternoon. The sirens alerted of incoming fire, disrupted the opening of the winter session of parliament and sent lawmakers and guests into protected areas, soon after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ended his address. In it he warned Iran and Hezbollah, not to open a second front against Israel in the north.
Sirens in Jerusalem a short time ago following rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/ehvZwdJ1GG
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) October 16, 2023
IDF strikes Hamas targets, culprits behind cross-border terror attack
Meanwhile, the Israeli military conducted air strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza, particularly against its Nukhba special forces, which led to last Saturday’s terrorist incision into Israel, the IDF disclosed in a statement released on Monday afternoon.
“Over the last few hours, dozens of military command centers and mortar shell posts were destroyed. In addition, the operational command center of Ali Qadi, one of the commanders of the Hamas “Nukhba” commando forces who was killed several days ago, was struck,” the IDF statement said. “Furthermore, IDF fighter jets killed several Hamas terrorists inside of a military compound belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization.”
The Jerusalem Post reported the latest IDF strikes:
The IDF carried out strikes against dozens of Hamas operational headquarters across the Gaza Strip, as well as one mortar launcher, the Israeli military said Monday.
Among the headquarters destroyed was the one used by killed Nukhba commander Ali Qadi, who was successfully targeted in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday.
A number of Hamas terrorists were killed by airstrikes targeting a Hamas military complex in the Strip, the IDF added.
Hamas is a genocidal terrorist organization.
We will eliminate Hamas. pic.twitter.com/pjz6mC2FYl
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 16, 2023
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They are the living dead now. I would etch their names on the bombs that will be needed to teach Iran a permanent lesson. I so much want to wipe the sh–eating grins off the faces of all those that celebrated this attack. Replace “Khaybar” with “Gaza”.
My heart breaks for the captives, it will be unspeakable horrors for all, many will never see civilization again.
One of the heartbreaking stories I’ve read was of a father who was relieved when told they had found the body of his 8-year-old daughter. He was relieved because she didn’t have to suffer captivity in Palestinian hands.