What You Need to Know About War Against Israel: Day Five

As the war launched against Israel by Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip late Friday night (ET) enters its fifth day, the stream of barbaric scenes continues to unfold. The bodies of burned Israelis, killed as they tried to flee the Hamas terrorists who breached the border and ransacked kibbutzim, continue to be found. Nursery walls splattered with blood show where Hamas terrorists slaughtered innocent babies while they slept. Car seats filled with the blood of young children provide searing reminders of the evil motivating Israel's enemies.

This is Kibbutz Kfar Aza. In the background is Gaza City.

On Saturday morning, Hamas terrorists charged across the fields. Some landed in paragliders.

The terrorists went house to house, massacring babies, mothers and fathers in their bedrooms.

Hamas will pay for this crime. pic.twitter.com/GxTwYYeR7o
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 11, 2023

As Townhall reported, IDF soldiers clearing Kibbutz Kfar Aza near Gaza found the unimaginable: whole families massacred by Hamas, including scores of babies and children, some of whom were beheaded by the monsters who raided their homes.

In the days since the surprise attack was launched, Israel has, by and large, cleared its territory of Hamas terrorists, though continuous attempts to infiltrate Israel from Gaza have to be headed off by airstrikes and ground forces as Hamas continues to launch rockets at Israeli civilians across the country.

🚨Sirens sounding in central Israel🚨
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 11, 2023

The Israeli Air Force has been almost continuously bombarding targets in the Gaza strip to take out Hamas terrorists, their weapons and munition stockpiles — some of which were kept in or under mosques — and other infrastructure used to support their vile aims.

Hamas transformed an institute of knowledge into an institute of destruction.

A short while ago, the IDF struck an important Hamas operational, political and military center in Gaza—the Islamic University.

Hamas transformed a university into a training camp for weapons… pic.twitter.com/pWKxR8Dhmd
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 11, 2023

Beyond Gaza, Israeli forces have responded to attacks launched by Hezbollah terrorists from Israel's northern border with Lebanon that continued to escalate significantly — as Katie reported here — on Wednesday, as well as returning fire toward the origin of projectiles fired from Syria into the Golan Heights.

Large alert in northern Israel. pic.twitter.com/qpKFccRBJ2
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) October 11, 2023

🧵1/2

Hezbollah is testing Israel. But not yet fully committed to this war. Reminder about who Hezbollah is:
-Like Hamas, Hezbollah is funded, trained, equipped by the Islamic Republic of Iran
-The most heavily armed non-state actor in the world https://t.co/5knJD5Oukq
— Enia Krivine (@EKrivine) October 11, 2023

According to the last update from the IDF at the close of day four, the number of Israelis killed in the initial attack and fighting since has surpassed 1,000 while there are more than 2,800 reported injured and 50 remain confirmed as hostages or missing.

We will forever honor our courageous soldiers who sacrificed their lives so we could live ours.

May their memories be a blessing. https://t.co/EJLB5mCdO1 pic.twitter.com/ONfxlPXZSG
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 11, 2023

Amid the more than 4,500 rockets launched by terrorists from Gaza, the IDF reported that it had successfully struck 2,294 Hamas targets since its response began.

With the ongoing work to defend Israelis from continuing attacks and eliminate terrorists' ability to create more carnage happening on one front, Israel's government is forging ahead with an emergency unity government as well — proving those who were hoping to tear Israel apart from the inside with the stress of an external onslaught wrong.

Huge. 3 thoughts:
-The deep resilience of the Israeli ppl.
-Iran and all of their evil tentacle organizations profoundly misjudged the Jewish state and will now pay an enormous price.
-Proves the western pundits who thought the Zionist project over were way, way off. #Israel https://t.co/GKNWbkVZn0
— Enia Krivine (@EKrivine) October 10, 2023

As for Americans, President Biden confirmed in remarks on Tuesday afternoon that "at least" 14 U.S. citizens are among the slain while a still-unknown number of Americans remain as Hamas hostages or unaccounted for. On Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. death toll was increased to 22 by the State Department.

BIDEN: At least 14 Americans have been killed by Hamas pic.twitter.com/BDHjOQWpuC
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 10, 2023

Hamas continues to threaten broadcasts of hostage executions, drawing warnings from Israeli officials for parents to remove popular social media apps from their kids' phones and a call not to share any videos that should emerge.

The USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group has been sent to the eastern Mediterranean, and an additional strike group with the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower was subsequently ordered to the region and is expected to depart Norfolk on Friday as part of the U.S. military's efforts to show power and deter any other malign actors from seeking to take advantage of the terror unfolding against Israel.

As always, Israel is not backing down from the critical work of eliminating Hamas — and other terrorist groups' — ability to kill more Israelis.