JC Israel Briefing Day 546: Ground operation underway in Gaza’s Sajaiya neighbourhood

In Syria, Israel conducted airstrikes, destroying what the IDF called “terror infrastructure.” The army said it seized weapons after coming under fire. Syrian authorities claimed nine civilians were killed. The IDF is ramping up operations in Syria, where long-time President Bashar al-Assad was recently toppled, amid fears that Syria is trying to exploit the instability to entrench itself in the country.

Yesterday, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said it is now “clear” Ankara wants to “have Syria as a Turkish protectorate.” Ankara hit back at Israeli operations with a statement saying that Israel should “stop undermining efforts to establish stability in Syria."

In the West Bank, soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian man during a raid. The man had allegedly thrown explosives at soldiers.

For the first time, video footage has shown an Israeli hostage being interrogated inside Gaza. The clip, aired by Channel 12’s Uvda, features captured soldier Matan Angrest being interrogated by his Hamas captors. He appears injured, disoriented and under duress. The footage follows a video from the moment of Angrest’s abduction. In that clip, which was published earlier yesterday and filmed near Nahal Oz on 7 October, he is seen being dragged unconscious from his tank by a Gaza mob and loaded onto a motorcycle.

Former hostage Eliya Cohen gave his first public interview. He told Channel 12 that Hamas gunmen executed a fellow hostage who tried to escape shortly before their group was transferred into Gaza. Cohen was released in February.

Key developments in the Qatargate scandal, in which police and Shin Bet are investigating allegations of inappropriate links between Netanyahu aides and Qatar:

The newspaper editor who was under house arrest in the same investigation has been released. Zvika Klein, editor of The Jerusalem Post, travelled to Qatar and wrote a series of articles about the country, but according to Hebrew media, denies receiving benefits from Qatar.

A court extended the detention of Netanyahu’s aides Eli Feldstein and Jonatan Urich until today. Police suspect the two received money to promote Qatar’s role as a hostage mediator while sidelining Egypt.

The court confirmed that Feldstein and Urich are represented by Netanyahu’s lawyer, Amit Hadad. The overlap has raised concerns over conflicts of interest. Prosecutors said the decision to summon three journalists and question a second businessman was justified by “the nature of the case."

Qatar has broken its silence on the case, calling the claims “baseless allegations serving only the agendas of those who seek to sabotage the mediation efforts and undermine the relationship between the states.” It said the reports were part of a “misinformation campaign” and warned they risk “increasing the suffering of the Palestinians."

The top US soldier, Central Command chief Michael Kurilla, visited Israel yesterday and met IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. Separately, Prime Minister Netanyahu arrived in Hungary — his first European trip since the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest. Budapest authorities did not arrest him, and hours after his arrival, the Hungarian government announced its withdrawal from the court, calling it “political."

Hamas gunmen stumbled upon the Nova festival site on 7 October 2023, after diverting from their planned route to the town of Netivot, an IDF investigation has found. The probe revealed that the army approved the event but failed to adjust nearby deployments or alert forces in the area to ensure its safety. The Nova production company called the failures “multi-systemic, shocking and incomprehensible.” Relatives of victims gathered at the site yesterday and demanded a state commission of inquiry.

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