Updated October 12, 2023 at 6:40pm (PDST)
The number of Israelis murdered by Hamas rose to 1,300 on Thursday.
According to the Times of Israel, the “IDF said Thursday evening that it had so far carried out strikes against some 3,600 targets in the Gaza Strip, using more than 6,000 munitions. The Hamas-run health ministry said 1,417 Palestinians have been killed and another 6,268 wounded in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.”
The White House confirmed that 27 Americans were killed and at least 14 Americans are still missing. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby admitted the U.S. does not know the whereabouts of the U.S. hostages. Hamas has threatened to execute hostages and post their executions online in response to any future IDF attacks on Gaza.
Breitbart reports that Ali Baraka, a senior Hamas official, told Russia Today on Sunday, that “Hamas had been secretly planning the invasion of southern Israel for two years.” He also stated that Iran assisted Hamas and that Hamas wanted to “carry out a prisoner swap with the U.S., as the Biden administration recently did with Iran – releasing $6 billion and five Iranians held in the U.S.” In a separate interview with the Associated Press, Baraka said he was surprised by the success of the Hamas terrorists, stating, “We were surprised by this great collapse. We were planning to make some gains and take prisoners to exchange them. This army was a paper tiger.”
In a separate article, Breitbart also noted that first responders discovered a manual dating to October 2022 and was reportedly used by the Hamas terrorists on Saturday. The manual “includes plans for a raid on Israeli towns near Gaza, including details about breaching the border fence, and about expected Israeli defenses. The plan also called for taking ‘prisoner soldiers, residents, and … hostages for negotiations.’”
Israel Hayom reports that, according to Israeli intelligence sources, “The signal for the Saturday morning attack was given secretly to preserve the element of surprise, but the planning took place over a period of about ten months in secret trilateral meetings in Beirut, involving members of Hamas, Hezbollah, and senior Iranians. . . . Iran gave the command. This fact is already known to all and is responsible for over a thousand fatalities and thousands of wounded.”
Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff, acknowledged, “The IDF is responsible for the security of the country and its citizens, and on Saturday morning in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip, we did not handle it,” he said. “We will learn, we will investigate, but now is the time for war.”
In the same article, the Times of Israel also reported “that Halevi and a series of IDF generals held a phone consultation on the situation in Gaza just hours ahead of the Hamas onslaught, due to some warnings and irregularities. However, the generals involved, including IDF Southern Command chief Yaron Finkelman and Military Intelligence Directorate chief Aharon Haliva, reportedly decided to wait until morning in order to respond. The Hamas assault began around 6 a.m.”
Hamas has called for Muslims around the world to stage a “Day of Jihad” this Friday, October 13th, urging Muslims to “display their anger not just in Muslim countries but also in diaspora communities around the world.”
MSN.com reports, “The New York Police Department has ordered all officers to report in uniform on Friday in anticipation of a threatened “global day of rage” in support of Palestinians in Gaza.”
Pray for the peace of Israel.