Israel at War, Everything You Need to Know as We Enter Day 18

A ground offensive could come any minute as the United States prepares for the worst

Today is October 24, 2023, and here is the latest about what is happening in Israel. If you enjoy these daily updates, and want access to more, exclusive content, or to support my work, then please consider becoming a monthly subscriber by clicking the button below.

We have now entered the eighteenth day of the war in Israel, and here is everything you need to know. One note before I dive into the news: With war, there is a lot of information that is often difficult to compartmentalize into easily digestible reads. And, with the news moving at a fast pace, news is often missed and information is often interpreted incorrectly at first.

1) United States Prepares for Worst Case Scenario

The United States is preparing for a possible worst case scenario in the Middle East. According to the Washington Post, the White House has asked the Department of Defense to make preparations for a possible worst case scenario in which the military would have to evacuate the over 600,000 Americans currently living in the Middle East. This operation is said to have a specific focus on the Americans currently living in Israel and Lebanon. 

This is not surprising. In recent days, the rhetoric from the United States State Department has increased significantly as it relates to Lebanon, already asking residents to leave the nation as Hezbollah prepares to get involved in the war. Any such operation would be massive and take a lot of logistical planning. U.S. officials have stressed that they are merely in the planning phase and that such a mass evacuation of U.S. nationals would not occur unless the worst case scenario truly pans out. Although it is unclear exactly what would trigger this, expect evacuations to begin if a regional war breaks out with other third-parties, like Syria, Iran, and Lebanon getting involved. More to come on this soon. 

2) Israel Makes Final Preparations for Ground Operation

Meanwhile, the Israeli military is making final preparations for what will be a lengthy ground operation. There has been increasing rhetoric coming from the Israelis suggesting that they are impatient to begin the offensive in Gaza as some speculate that the United States is asking Israel to delay any offensive until all of the hostages currently in Hamas custody are released. Yesterday, two Israeli hostages were released by Hamas, and reports of up to 50 more may be coming soon. Over the past 24 hours, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated that Israel is preparing for a "multilateral operation" that would include attacks from the "air, ground, and sea." These latest statements come as new reports suggest that Israel may not have finalized its military objectives in Gaza, especially after they are successful in removing Hamas from leadership. In the event a ground operation does occur, expect it to last several weeks, if not months, as the Israeli military has stated that it will not stop until all of Hamas is wiped off the face of this earth. 

3) Humanitarian Crisis Worsens

As the ground operation looms large, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is getting worse quickly. As of this post, thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed, many of which are children. In addition, only 34 trucks of humanitarian aid have been allowed into Gaza since the start of the war. This pales in comparison to the over 400 trucks that typically enter Gaza on a daily basis. One of the large issues developing is the lack of fuel at many hospitals in Gaza. With Israel currently preventing any electricity from running into Gaza, hospitals and other buildings have been forced to run on generators that require fuel. As of this post, fuel is quickly running out with many hospitals already becoming inoperable. It is important that more fuel is allowed into Gaza, but that any aid that comes into Gaza does not fall into the hands of Hamas. Historically, Hamas has taken aid meant for Palestinian civilians to use to further its own objectives and to support its leaders. It is unclear if or when more aid will be allowed into Gaza via the Rafah border crossing in Egypt. More on this as we learn more. 

Disclaimer: With any war, news and information is often scattered and hard to come by, as I learn more you will be the first to know.