Transcript [00:00] Hey everyone, so right now everyone's [00:01] attention is on Iran, on Lebanon, and [00:04] that's understandable and there's this [00:05] sense that Gaza is just kind of stuck. [00:08] Um diplomatically that's true, that [00:10] Trump 20 point plan, the board of peace, [00:12] right? Who's going to disarm Hamas? [00:13] We've talked about all that. Um but I [00:16] saw a clip on [00:18] from Channel 14 cable news in Israel and [00:20] it blew me away because it shows [00:22] something completely different about [00:23] what's actually happening on the ground [00:24] in Gaza day by day right now. And stick [00:27] around for the end of it because there's [00:28] a personal moment near the end of this [00:30] clip that hit me really hard, harder [00:31] than almost anything that I've that I've [00:33] reacted to in quite some time. [00:36] Now the clip is in Hebrew, so I'm going [00:37] to be doing a voice over [00:40] um and so I'll try to I'll try to do as [00:42] as good a job as I possibly can here [00:44] with the voice over rather than play the [00:46] Hebrew or just read a transcript. Here [00:48] we go cuz you want to see you want to [00:50] see the visuals here as well. [00:53] So hi, how are you doing? Thank you for [00:54] having me out here in your sector, my [00:56] pleasure. We are right at the southern [00:58] tip of the Philadelphi Route, the very [01:00] edge of the Gaza Strip, close enough [01:03] that you can actually make out the [01:04] residents of the strip in the distance [01:05] from here. [01:09] And he says um [01:12] he says we're actually standing at [01:14] what's called the yellow line zone. What [01:17] that means is that this is a buffer area [01:19] to kept clear of civilian communities [01:22] there for the protection of our forces. [01:23] Specifically we're in a stretch where [01:25] there are no communities at all. We're [01:27] right at the edge of the Philadelphi [01:28] Route. [01:30] Okay, let me explain. So this clip is [01:32] from Channel 14 as I said. [01:35] It's kind of the equivalent of Fox in [01:37] America in some ways. It's like more [01:38] conservative, more right wing. The [01:40] interviewer is Letal Shemesh, a [01:41] well-known Israeli journalist. So she's [01:43] out at the edge of the Philadelphi [01:45] Corridor [01:46] and she's talking to a battalion [01:48] commander who is stationed there. Now [01:49] let's let's a little let's pull up a map [01:52] just so we remember what the Philadelphi [01:53] Corridor is. [01:55] So [01:56] uh, Philadelphi Corridor is the strip [01:58] running along the Gaza-Egypt border. [02:00] Okay, it's been one of the most, uh, [02:02] contested pieces of land in this whole [02:04] war. Strategically, it became an [02:06] imperative for Israel, [02:07] excuse me, [snorts] [02:09] to, um, to take it because it was [02:11] Hamas's main smuggling route. There are [02:12] massive tunnels running underneath the, [02:15] uh, the, uh, the Gaza-Egypt border, and [02:17] that's where all the [02:19] all the, all the, all the weapons and [02:21] all the raw materials and everything [02:23] that Hamas needed that was being [02:24] smuggled in over the years was was going [02:26] through there, and it became a a [02:27] strategic necessity for Israel to shut [02:29] that down and to hold Philadelphia, to [02:31] hold that border between between Egypt, [02:34] uh, and Gaza. And of course, Rafa, uh, [02:36] if you you might remember very [02:37] controversial about Israel going into [02:39] Rafa, and that was why, because it was [02:40] the it was this Hamas stronghold right [02:42] on the Egypt border with a lot of [02:44] tunnels into Egypt, and Israel took [02:46] Rafa, and that was a very it was an [02:47] important turning point in the war. [02:49] So, that's where they are, and they're [02:51] at the yellow line. Take a look at the [02:52] yellow line on the map. The yellow line [02:54] is the area that Israel withdrew to in [02:57] phase one of the 20-point plan. Okay, so [02:59] that's where [03:01] that's where they are, uh, in this in [03:03] this clip. Okay, so let's, uh, pull this [03:05] down, get the clip back there, [03:08] and we will continue. [03:12] Okay, here we go. [03:14] And [03:18] So, behind the headlines about [03:19] ceasefires and the peace council, while [03:21] Israel and the world's focus is [03:22] elsewhere, the IDF keeps operating on [03:24] the ground in Rafa and Khan Yunis, [03:27] uh, [03:27] and it is, um, reshaping the security [03:30] space here. Part of this work is [03:32] building out the barrier system. It's [03:34] complex, several defense layers. Right [03:36] now, I'm building part of an obstacle in [03:38] the ground meant to slow the enemy down [03:40] and make it harder for them to reach our [03:41] forces for any future activity here. The [03:44] pastoral-looking coastline out on the [03:46] horizon is deceiving. Hamas has has lost [03:48] a lot of its strength, but it's still [03:50] trying to reorganize. [03:55] There we go. Okay, that's where we're up [03:57] to in this. So, this is the part I think [04:00] a lot of people miss. There's an [04:01] assumption out there that things have [04:03] quieted down in Gaza, and he's telling [04:05] you flat out that that is not the [04:06] reality on the ground. This is the kind [04:08] of inside detail you're not going to get [04:10] from mainstream media. Um they're [04:13] they're they're building these barriers. [04:15] There's There's construction happening [04:17] on the Israeli side, building these [04:18] barriers so that they have layers of [04:20] defense. [04:22] Um and uh [04:24] and there's a lot of activity. [04:27] But it Wait for this next I mean And now [04:29] you really get the, you know, we're [04:31] going to go a little deeper into what [04:32] that activity looks like. [04:34] Okay, let's resume the clip. [04:37] People back home might feel like things [04:38] have calmed down in Gaza. That's really [04:40] not the case, she's saying. Aren't we [04:42] constantly running into new underground [04:43] tunnel networks, even having [04:45] confrontations with the enemy? She says, [04:47] "We do see Hamas trying to reorganize [04:49] with whatever territory they've got left [04:51] and whatever resources they have left, [04:53] but look at the territory we've taken [04:55] from them. It's enormous and it's slowly [04:57] choking them. We're carrying out all [04:59] kinds of operations inside this buffer [05:01] zone, chipping away at what's left of [05:03] this organization day after day. [05:06] In recent months, we've found even more [05:07] underground infrastructure near the [05:09] supply routes and the bases Hamas spent [05:11] years building. This work is far from [05:13] finished. We're dismantling it [05:14] systematically meter by meter, every bit [05:17] of it of infrastructure we destroy sends [05:19] a clear message to the other side, and [05:21] it also helps us locate more of it. This [05:23] continues until we can say with total [05:25] certainty that there's nothing left." [05:36] There we go. I got a little bit ahead of [05:38] it. [05:39] So, you notice how matter-of-fact he is [05:41] about all this. He's not, you know, he's [05:42] just describing the daily grind. This is [05:45] his day-to-day work as a battalion [05:47] commander down in Gaza. They're not [05:48] sitting on their hands. They're going [05:50] tunnel after tunnel. [05:52] Weapons depots, they're finding [05:54] infrastructure, they're dismantling and [05:56] destroying tunnels meter by meter. And [05:59] there's like hundreds and hundreds of [06:00] meters. [06:01] I mean what I'm talking about hundreds [06:03] of kilometers. There's thousands and [06:04] thousands of meters. They're just going [06:06] methodically destroying the [06:07] infrastructure. [06:09] So think about that for a second. While [06:10] the board of peace and the Americans and [06:12] the diplomats are all still kind of [06:14] working through how to get to the next [06:15] phase of the point plan, Israel is not [06:18] waiting around for the process to play [06:19] out. [06:20] Now, let me let me pull back the camera [06:22] and think back. When Trump announces the [06:24] 20-point plan, Israel's attitude in the [06:26] war was we are out to destroy Hamas. And [06:30] we're like, "No, no, no, no, no. We're [06:31] going to stop. We're going to have a [06:32] We're going to have a peace treaty and [06:34] we're going to get them to lay down [06:35] their weapons. And we're going to move [06:36] forward with this 20-point plan." And [06:38] Israel's attitude was kind of like, [06:39] "Okay, if you're saying that that's [06:41] what's going to happen, we're on board. [06:42] But that is what we're agreeing to." And [06:44] of course, it never is happening. But [06:46] Israel's position was very clear at the [06:47] time that we're not going to just sit [06:50] around and let the disarming of Hamas [06:52] not happen. If we see that this process [06:54] is not leading to the is not leading to [06:56] the disarming of Hamas, we're going to [06:58] do it ourselves. [06:59] And that's what's actually happening [07:01] now. That's That's the reason I made [07:02] this video. That's what blew me away [07:03] about this. I was like, "Wait a second." [07:06] The war in Gaza is not over. They are [07:08] encountering the enemy. They're [07:10] destroying infrastructure. They're [07:11] proceeding according to a plan day after [07:13] day, day after day making progress. [07:16] Destroying [07:17] what's left of Hamas. They're and [07:19] they're they're choking them out. [07:22] So the destruction of Hamas, the [07:24] disarming of Hamas is a project. It's a [07:26] long, slow, methodical project. But [07:28] Israel's not waiting around for the [07:29] world or the international stabilization [07:31] force of the board of peace or or [07:33] foreign troops or anything like that. [07:35] Israel's doing it. That's amazing. [07:38] Okay? So it has nothing to do, you know, [07:41] regardless of the of the diplomacy or [07:43] or, you know, Israel's like, "Listen, we [07:45] are going to destroy Hamas. We're not [07:47] going to have this this enemy rebuild [07:49] themselves." And he mentions there that [07:51] they're constantly trying to [07:52] reconstitute themselves. We're not going [07:53] to stand for it. We're not going to let [07:54] it happen. [07:55] Okay. Now, he's going to [07:58] He's going to go deeper into this. Here [07:59] we go. [08:03] He says, "Khan Yunis is still a major [08:05] center of activity, too, after the big [08:07] operations there. We're continuing [08:09] targeted raids against terror cells, [08:11] seizing weapons, trying to stop Hamas [08:13] from rebuilding its military capability. [08:16] Overall, Rafah isn't what it used to be. [08:19] It's not the same brigade we fought here [08:20] before. That brigade brought serious [08:22] destruction on itself. [08:25] Alongside the fighting here, our forces [08:27] are also handling [08:29] one of the most sensitive parts of this [08:31] mission, overseeing the entry of [08:33] humanitarian aid into the strip. Trucks [08:36] keep coming in under physical inspection [08:38] to try to stop weapons from being [08:39] smuggled in alongside aid meant for [08:41] civilians." [08:44] He says, "I'm not the one securing the [08:46] aid trucks. That's not our job, but we [08:47] are responsible for making sure the [08:49] screening process happens properly. [08:50] There's professional inspection in [08:52] place, and we secure the people doing [08:53] that inspection. The goal is making sure [08:55] nothing that isn't supposed to get into [08:57] Gaza gets in." [09:03] Okay. [09:04] So, I want to flag this carefully here [09:06] because it's very precise language. He [09:07] What he's saying is that his unit [09:09] secures the aid trucks. He's [09:11] I'm sorry. He's not saying that they [09:13] secure the aid trucks. They're not [09:14] providing security for the aid trucks. [09:16] They're saying that they're making sure [09:17] that the screening process happens [09:19] properly. That distinction matters, [09:20] especially with how often stuff gets [09:22] twisted in the media, what Israel's [09:24] doing, what they're not doing. Israel is [09:25] not in the business of a of providing [09:30] Israel's not going along with the [09:31] charade that we're providing [09:32] humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza [09:34] and it's to their benefit. [09:36] Because [09:37] I mean, of course they need the aid, but [09:39] this aid is going directly into the [09:41] hands of Hamas. Hamas is using it. [09:42] They're weaponizing it uh [09:44] uh to to retain control over the people. [09:47] They're They're using it to enrich [09:48] themselves. They're using the resources [09:50] from it to recruit and to rebuild. So, [09:54] Israel is not participating in giving [09:57] the aid, and that's why he's very clear [09:58] there. He's saying, "Listen, I'm I'm not [10:00] here. I'm not helping them give [10:02] truckloads of of goods to Hamas. We're [10:05] not Israel's not going to be not going [10:06] to participate in that. We want to [10:08] dismantle Hamas, and that is the only [10:09] way forward to have a better to have a [10:11] peaceful Gaza Strip, [10:13] to have any type of future there." [10:15] So, we're not going to participate in [10:16] this charade [10:18] where uh Hamas gets enriched, but we're [10:21] providing security for the people who [10:23] are doing the checking of the trucks [10:25] because we're not going to allow any any [10:28] uh [10:29] We're not going to allow in weapons. [10:30] We're not going to allow in in things [10:33] that should not be allowed into the Gaza [10:34] Strip. And therefore, the people who are [10:36] doing those checks to make sure that [10:38] nothing gets in that shouldn't get in, [10:39] that's who we're here to protect. Very [10:42] interesting distinction. Okay, let's [10:44] finish up the clip. [10:49] Actually, this isn't even the last uh [10:50] this isn't even the last uh clip. Okay, [10:52] so we have two more uh [10:54] we have two more pieces of this. Here we [10:55] go. [10:57] So, now she says, "Even with the focus [10:59] elsewhere right now, the goal is the [11:00] same. Deal with Hamas fully. Dismantle [11:02] it. Disarm it. Look, as a fighting [11:04] force, we're always ready." He He now [11:06] says, "As a fighting force, we're always [11:08] ready, no matter where we're called. [11:10] When we were called to Lebanon, we moved [11:12] within 2 weeks, and then we came back [11:13] down here. So, yeah, we're ready." [11:17] And through all of this, the soldiers [11:18] and commanders have been away from their [11:20] home for 2 years now, far from their [11:22] families. [11:24] Wow. [11:26] Okay, this sets up something very [11:27] important. This is a guy who's been [11:29] moved around the entire map of this war. [11:31] He's been in Lebanon, back down south to [11:32] Gaza, now here, all over the place. [11:36] And we're about to hear about the toll [11:38] that that takes. [11:40] Okay? Listen to this. This this is uh [11:45] You know, these are family men. [11:47] He says, "I ran with my kids to the [11:48] shelter." Meaning he was home on leave. [11:50] Here, let me pause this for a second. [11:53] What he's about What he's now describing [11:55] is that he was home on leave. [11:58] And [11:59] while he was home [12:02] like he was in between tours [12:03] of reserve duty. Reservists are given [12:05] time off to go to be with their families [12:07] intermittently. [12:08] And there was an air raid siren, and [12:10] they had to run to the bomb shelter. So, [12:11] he's describing running with his small [12:14] children to the bomb shelter, this this [12:16] battalion commander. [12:19] He says, "I ran with my kids to the [12:20] shelter. [12:22] Uh he says, "I think it was the first [12:23] time I've ever done that [12:25] with my kids. [12:26] And my daughter almost uh [12:29] you know [12:30] you know, lost it in her pants. He says, [12:33] "She was so scared. I remember getting [12:34] back to the base afterwards, and I just [12:35] sat there. I looked at myself and [12:37] thought, 'I'm almost embarrassed to say [12:38] this, but it hit me what half the [12:39] country deals with all the time.' I have [12:41] four children. The youngest was born [12:43] right on October 19th, 2023, right after [12:45] I left home. My wife was 9 months [12:47] pregnant at the time. [12:49] The toll, I won't lie, is enormous, but [12:51] it comes back to what I said. When you [12:53] understand what we're doing, there's [12:54] strength in that. There's power in that. [12:56] You have to make space for home. You [12:57] have to know when those moments matter. [13:00] And you have to know how to give [13:01] strength back. What strengthens us, the [13:04] soldiers, more than anything is the home [13:05] front. [13:06] Out here at the edge of Philadelphi [13:11] with our communities behind us in the [13:13] ruins of Rafa ahead, the message from [13:14] the commanders on the ground stays [13:16] clear. [13:17] He says, "I always look back before I [13:19] cross the border. I do it every time. [13:21] It's the space between me and the [13:22] community that will welcome me home. [13:24] That's something burned into me from [13:26] being held captive back in October. [13:31] Okay. Pull the clip down. [13:33] Hope you got all that. I hope that went [13:34] well in terms of the uh [13:37] terms of doing the voiceover. Let's pull [13:38] the clip down now. We don't need it [13:40] anymore. [13:42] >> [sighs and gasps] [13:44] >> So, this really This really hit me hard. [13:47] Let me just say on a personal note, you [13:49] know, I have [13:52] multiple children who've served in [13:54] combat situations all over this war. [13:57] Um two sons, a daughter, a son-in-law. [14:00] My son-in-law is uh is a more senior [14:02] commander. [14:04] And he is um [14:07] My son-in-law and my daughter have a [14:09] have a son, my grandson, who's 2 years [14:10] old. He was born during this war. And [14:14] And my son-in-law has spent a lot of [14:15] this war in service. [14:17] Um [14:19] So, this hit me really hard on a [14:20] personal level. [14:23] This guy you're that we're talking to [14:24] here has spent [14:26] the last few years defending [14:28] Israel. [14:31] Um and he you know, he goes home on [14:33] leave and he's running to a a bomb [14:35] shelter with his little daughter. [14:38] And he feels like ashamed that he didn't [14:40] understand what the civilians were [14:42] living with every day. I mean, this is a [14:43] very morally serious person. [14:48] Anyway, this clip it really stuck with [14:50] me. [14:51] Um [14:53] But here's the big takeaway. The big [14:55] takeaway is really that this is what [14:56] real progress against Hamas actually [14:58] looks like. [14:59] Um [15:01] you know, methodical work on the ground [15:03] day after day. [15:05] And uh [15:07] you know, and this [15:08] you know, this is uh [15:11] This is where things stand in Gaza. [15:12] Israel's not sitting on its hands. [15:13] Israel's taking over more and more of [15:15] the Gaza Strip, cleaning it up, getting [15:16] out the the terror infrastructure. The [15:19] work of dismantling Hamas, the work of [15:22] destroying Hamas is actually happening. [15:24] Okay, it's happening like I said, day by [15:26] day, meter by meter. [15:28] They're progressing. [15:30] Hamas is being degraded. They're not [15:32] waiting around for the you know the [15:34] dilly-dallying of all these countries [15:36] and like you know and the Turks getting [15:38] involved and the Qataris have an [15:40] interest and everyone wants you know and [15:41] the board of peace is meeting in Egypt [15:43] to discuss plans and Jared Kushner has a [15:45] PowerPoint presentation about what Gaza [15:47] is going to look like and but who's [15:48] going to disarm Hamas? The answer is [15:50] Israel is doing it. Israel is not going [15:52] to allow this danger [15:55] this existential danger to Israel to [15:57] rebuild itself in the Gaza Strip. [15:59] They're not going to allow Hamas to [16:00] continue [16:02] the [16:03] like I said before when they when they [16:05] agreed to the 20-point plan all the way [16:07] back in September [16:08] the idea was that Israel was getting [16:11] uh what was being told [16:14] don't worry, we have a plan and it [16:16] involves the disarming of Hamas and all [16:18] these countries are signed on and Trump [16:20] said, "Oh yeah, I've got 13 different [16:21] countries who are willing to go in and [16:22] disarm Hamas." And and Israel's attitude [16:24] was, "Fine. You want to do that, go [16:27] ahead and do that. But if we see it's [16:28] not happening, we are not going to give [16:30] up on this goal [16:32] of destroying Hamas and [16:35] there you go. [16:36] There are things happening. Don't think [16:38] that the Gaza situation is stagnant or [16:40] that there's no war going on down there. [16:42] It is still very much is still very very [16:44] much um [16:46] a a an active [16:49] um an active arena. [16:51] All right. I hope this was helpful. I [16:52] hope you found it interesting. Hope it [16:54] worked. Let me know in the comments what [16:55] you thought of this whole voiceover [16:57] situation and how it went or if you'd [16:59] prefer I just read the transcript. I'm [17:01] not sure how to do it but I really [17:02] wanted you to see the visuals in this [17:04] one also. I'd really like some feedback. [17:05] I'd appreciate it. Thanks a lot [17:07] and God bless.
