MayelynP@bocafed.org

The Latest: Tomorrow marks one month of Israel’s War with Hamas, as heavy fighting continues in Gaza. It is confirmed that 31 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ground offensive began, and 242 hostages are being held by Hamas in Gaza. In addition, over the last week, the IDF has struck more than 2,500 Hamas targets by land, air and sea. An Israeli civilian in Kiryat Shemona was killed when his car was hit by a Hezbollah rocket. In other violence, two police were stabbed by a terrorist in Jerusalem – one of whom has sadly now died, and over the weekend, a 30-year-old Israeli father of three was shot and killed by a terrorist in the Shomron region. Ukrainian leader Vlodimir Zelensky is set to visit Israel in the coming days.

As Shabbat approaches in Israel, Jewish Federations’ Israel Office presents a shortened summary of the latest developments in the War. Full updates will resume next week. Meanwhile, from Jerusalem, we wish all of Israel, and Jews around the world, a comforting, safe and peaceful Shabbat. The Latest: At the end of the fourth week of the war with Hamas, the IDF has confirmed 23 soldiers dead in battles inside Gaza since the ground incursion began. In the last 24 hours, fierce battles have been fought between the IDF and Hamas terrorists. In one attack, dozens of Hamas gunmen ambushed Golani troops, emerging from tunnels, climbing on to armored personnel carriers, and trying to gain control of IDF vehicles. The Hamas militants were successfully repelled. (Watch video footage from inside a tank during the battle here and here). In the evening hours yesterday, over 130 terrorists were killed in fighting. See more about the fighting on the ground here, watch descriptions of the battles by some of the soldiers here, and see photos here.