October 22, 2023

ITC Update: Operation Iron Sword

Day 16

Sunday 22.10.23

IDF operated on four fronts overnight. It continues to attack Hamas inside Gaza, to respond and target Hezbollah in Lebanon, operate again terror infrastructure in Jenin and strike airports inside Syria. In addition, Israel acted to prevent a cyber-attack on an Israeli hospital.

Among the most prominent and widespread tactic employed by families of the hostages has been the distribution of “Kidnapped” posters all around the world, in dozens of languages, showcasing the faces and stories of each of the known captives. Now, the empty Shabbat table is poised to join those posters as a symbol of the captives’ plight. In addition to the Tel Aviv table, tables for hostages were set up in advance of Shabbat in the Jewish Quarter of Rome and on Australia’s Bondi Beach.

Families of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza set a symbolic Shabbat table with more than 200 empty seats for the hostages, at ‘Hostage Square,’ outside the Art Museum of Tel Aviv, October 20, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Northern front: Hezbollah continued their attack including towards Har Dov yesterday, where 20 launches were identified. There were several more cases of anti-tank missiles aimed at IDF posts on the border. The Israel Defense Forces and Defense Ministry announced Sunday that they were planning to evacuate another 14 communities close to the Lebanese border, amid repeated rocket and missile attacks by Hezbollah and allied Palestinian factions in the last two weeks. The ministry’s National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) said the residents would be taken to state-funded guesthouses.

The IDF has completed preparations for the ground incursion into Gaza. In the first phase the IDF will aim to take control of territory inside the Strip, then to dismantle Hamas’s operational and governmental infrastructure. This could take several months creating anxiety among recruits and their families .

Rocket alert sirens sound in southern Israel, including the coastal city of Ashkelon and in towns including Rishon Lezion, Holon and Bat Yam.

Following visits last week by President Biden, Prime Minister Sunak, Chancellor Scholtz, the latest visitors to Israel included Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Christodoulides of Cyprus. Both leaders met with both Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Herzog.

Thousands of Haredim have requested to join the IDF and national service (Sherut Leumi).  New recruits are to serve in support roles such as medics and in search and rescue. The unprecedented move of 3,000 from the Haredi sector reflects a change that had not been seen before.

ITC on the ground

ITC opened a National Resilience Center to provide clinical care support to people in areas not covered by the 12 existing Resilience Centers. Six other areas in the North and South have already been identified as the next areas in need.

Resilience center teams continue to provide intervention and trauma care in the evacuation hotels. The emphasis is on strengthening coping resources. The response is adapted to the needs of each local authority, and those of the residents. Work in the hotels has many challenges including the difficulty in finding safe, calm, and private space for treatments.

Communities are dealing with issues surrounding burial. There are families who have buried loved ones in temporary plots, expecting a permanent burial in their respective community cemeteries. As such, they will experience burial twice.

Work with First Responders, is ongoing for the initial response phase and preparation for the rehabilitation phase.

On-going work to expand response teams to deal with increase in the number of referrals and responses. Increasing treatment hours, number of treatment rooms, increasing group and community treatments.

ITC provided 70 Bedouin doctors and nurses from Soroka and Barzilai hospitals short training in session in the challenges working in a shared reality (doctor-patient, Arab-Jew), psychosocial information and the provision of emotional first aid.

ITC together with Bayit Cham (Warm House) an organization established to protect at-risk children and teenagers have opened a Bayit Cham to address the needs in Haredi communities. A designated hotline for the Haredi population is also set to begin operations in the next few days.

We will continue to keep you updated