Forget Negotiations: Unconditional Surrender

Israel Weekly War Diary, July 13, 2025

Weekly Israeli War Diary- July 13, 2025

We are still reeling from the tragedy that unfolded at the beginning of the week on July 8 when five Israeli soldiers were killed and fourteen wounded by three remotely detonated Hamas roadside bombs in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday night. The soldiers were part of a fresh offensive with the 646th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade in Beit Hanoun, which began on Saturday, aimed at clearing the area of terror operatives hiding there.

The precious fallen were:

• Staff Sgt. Meir Shimon Amar, 20, from Jerusalem

• Sgt. Moshe Nissim Frech, 20, from Jerusalem.

• Staff Sgt. Noam Aharon Musgadian, 20, from Jerusalem.

• Staff Sgt. Moshe Shmuel Noll, 21, from Beit Shemesh.

• Sgt. First Class (res.) Benyamin Asulin, 28, from Haifa.

Four out of the five casualties were members of the haredi Netzah Yehuda Battalion. They were infantry soldiers who were on foot when hit. The first bomb killed them and the second killed and injured those who rushed in to help. The third bomb was accompanied by enemy artillery fire.

Following the attack, the IDF dispatched Israeli Air Force drones, helicopters and fighter jets to the area to prevent any potential attempts by Hamas to abduct the soldiers. Within an hour and a half, the incident was considered over, the military said.

Since this attack, Golani infantry and Yahalom combat engineers have located and dismantled 130 terrorist infrastructure sites in southern Khan Yunis, including: A 13-meter-deep tunnel stretching 500 meters; weapons depots; booby-trapped buildings; observation posts; rocket launch positions. The IDF has attacked Beit Hanoun with dozens of bombs, and tanks stand behind the tents of the human shields meant to protect Hamas, forcing them to flee the area.

On Wednesday terrorists came out of an underground tunnel and attacked IDF troops and attempted to abduct Abraham Azulai who served as an engineering vehicle operator. Three armed terrorists climbed onto his vehicle. He heroically killed two of them, but the third killed him. Security forces operating in the area opened fire and killed several terrorists in the area. Captain Ro’ie Biran, a squad commander in the Golani Reconnaissance Unit, Golani Brigade, fell during combat in southern Gaza yesterday.

I agree with Itamar Ben Gvir who said that the ”more Israel is involved in dangerous negotiations to satisfy Hamas terrorists, the more their motivation grows to kidnap more soldiers.” The “negotiations” need to stop. Period. Unconditional surrender. That’s where the negotiations need to start and end.

I am not alone. According to Abu Ali: “Last night, three surveys were conducted on the Hebrew channel regarding a deal with Hamas. The results after about 120 minutes and approximately 33,000–36,000 participants in each of the polls:

· 81% of voters in the poll and 88% of those with an opinion support rejecting the demands presented by Hamas as a condition for a single-phase deal;

· 49% of voters are in favor of a partial deal if a single-phase deal cannot be reached, compared to 42% who oppose it;

· and 68% of voters support defeating Hamas by increasing the intensity of the fighting, even at the cost of risking the lives of the hostages.

As for those who say that more soldiers have died than the twenty hostages we hope are still alive and are trying to save, they are missing the point. This is not a numbers game. This is about our sovereignty, our ability to save and protect our people. It is about defeating a brutal, animalistic enemy so that they never again threaten our communities and our borders. The noisy, wrongheaded “let’s surrender to Hamas” oh, sorry “let’s save the hostages at any cost” crowd are devastatingly short-sighted and wrong. These people have always prematurely pushed Israel to withdraw and make “peace” as soon as they can in every conflict, no matter the price. And the Israeli government usually gives in.

But this time, Hamas’ shocking brutality has upended the usual scenario. Let them wail and curse and beat their drums. There is not going to be any surrender. Hamas will not be in power; it will not be armed and on our borders. Our soldiers are priceless lives. But look how fast our enemy killed 1,200 of us and kidnapped hundreds more! Our leaders and the IDF are doing the right thing, despite the unbearable cost.

As for the “ceasefire talks,” let’s be honest. They are useless. They are a way for the defeated Hamas to use our precious hostages to remain in power to kidnap, rape and murder again. No deal will satisfy Hamas that does not leave them in power. Take their demand that the IDF leave the Morag corridor which is a stretch of up to 12 kilometers in Rafah near Khan Yunis with a minimum width of 300 meters in all directions. This stretch of land is meant to accommodate vetted Gazan civilians who will be allowed to set up tents in anticipation of their emigration. It has also been cleared so the IDF can quickly respond to terrorist weapon manufacturing and smuggling.

If the IDF leaves, Gaza will quickly descend into civil war as Hamas seeks vengeance against the various clans and militias that have turned against it, under cover of the IDF. We must honor the deaths of our soldiers by refusing to accept defeat by Hamas’ cruel ploys.

Meanwhile the IDF contractor Rafael has developed a small suicide drone that can hang around a target area while it finds, tracks, and ultimately eliminates a target. This “loitering munition,” the Spark Firefly, will help IDF soldiers target and take out terrorists embedded in the civilian population while minimizing collateral damage.

The Gazans are hell bent on getting their cash cow back, doing all they can to derail the American food distribution set up. Following a video showing an American security guard firing tear gas, Hamas channels are "pushing" a false narrative (of course backed up by the Gazan “Ministry of Health”) that 29 Gazans were killed today by gunfire. Let’s be clear. There is no documentation of gunfire beyond the tear gas, no documentation of fatalities... All of this is part of the Hamas propaganda machine, whose reports are accepted as absolute truth by many in the Western world (and in Israel). From the IDF: “Contrary to the reports, a review found no known injured individuals from IDF fire adjacent to the aid distribution site in Rafah. The IDF continues to operate in order to facilitate the distribution of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip and to enable passage to the distribution sites via designated and secure routes. The IDF urges caution regarding unverified reports.”

Hear that BBC, Reuters, and other fake news outlets?

On a personal note, I received much comfort from this week’s Bible portion in which the enemy of Israel attempts to have a “prophet” Bil’am curse the Israelites. As Bil’am looks down upon the tents of the Jews, wanting only to curse them at the bidding of the king, the words of God nevertheless pour from his mouth: Numbers 24, 5-9 במדבר

How good are your tents, Jacob, your encampments, Israel!

They will extend like streams, like gardens by the river, like aloes that God planted, like cedars by the water.

Water will flow from your wells. Your seed will have abundant water. Your king will be raised over Agag, and your kingdom will be exalted.

God, who has taken you out of Egypt with the strength of His loftiness, will consume the nations that are your adversaries, skin their bones, and dye His arrows in their blood.

You will settle and dwell like a lion, like a fearsome lion that no one would dare rouse. Those who bless you will be blessed, and those who curse you will be cursed.”