Daily Briefing Dec. 29: Day 450 – ToI reports from semi-permanent IDF bases inside Gaza

Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today’s show.

Some 240 suspected terror operatives were detained during an operation against Hamas at northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, including the medical center’s director and 15 terrorists who participated in the October 7, 2023, onslaught on southern Israel. Fabian sheds light on the operation, which involved the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit.

Israeli air defenses on Saturday intercepted two rockets fired from Gaza’s Beit Hanoun toward the Jerusalem area, a rare occurrence after nearly 15 months of war. The IDF said both rockets were successfully intercepted, with no injuries or damage reported. Overnight, Israeli fighter jets struck the launchers used by the Palestinian terrorists. We hear what surprised Fabian about this rocket attack.

Air defenses intercepted a missile fired from Yemen that triggered sirens in the Jerusalem, southern West Bank and Dead Sea areas early Saturday morning, the military said, in the sixth such overnight attack on the center of the country in less than two weeks. Along with Israel’s defense array, the Thaad system was used for the second time, after its use early Friday morning. Fabian explains how it complements Israel’s air defense systems.

Fabian was deep in the Gaza Strip last week and writes that everything the Israel Defense Forces has established in the Netzarim Corridor is reportedly temporary, “but the reality on the ground in this zone bisecting the Gaza Strip indicates that the IDF will remain here for the foreseeable future.” In the second half of the program, we discuss the massive zone and the dozen-plus small military outposts stationed there.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

IDF completes raid on north Gaza hospital, says some 240 terror suspects arrested

IDF intercepts rare 2 long-range rockets fired from Gaza at Jerusalem area

IDF downs missile from Yemen as sirens blare in Jerusalem, Dead Sea area

In Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor, IDF establishes temporary bases for an indefinite stay

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

Check out yesterday’s Daily Briefing episode here: