Day 76 - A visit to Gaza's 'underground terror city'

Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Today is day 76 of the war. Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's podcast.

As of this morning, 137 soldiers have fallen during the Gaza ground operations. Fabian updates on the status of the fighting in the Stri, north and south.

Ahmed Kahlot, the director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan hospital in Jabaliya has revealed in a Shin Bet interrogation that his northern Gaza hospital was turned into a military facility under Hamas’s control and that at one point, it had housed a kidnapped soldier. Fabian tells us more.

Fabian reports back from his trip this week to Gaza City and a look at the underground terror city concealed under its surface, including private tunnels for Hamas leadership and an intricate network with plumbing, electricity and elevators.

A military investigation into the accidental killing of the three escaped hostages in the Gaza Strip by Israeli soldiers has found that one of the captives was recorded days earlier on a dog camera shouting for help during a gun battle between troops and Hamas terrorists at a site where they were being held. But, as Fabian explains, the recording didn’t make it to intelligence in time.

Finally, Iris Haim, whose son Yotam was shot dead in error by IDF troops in northern Gaza, recorded a message on Wednesday for the soldiers who killed him, telling them that she and her family love them and do not blame them for his death. Fabian relays her frankly heroic message.

For the latest updates, please look at The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Live blog December 21, 2023

IDF says it’s fighting in new areas as it nears end of ground offensive in north Gaza

Gaza hospital director admits Hamas used medical complex as operational hub

Under the heart of Gaza City, IDF digs up a vast hive of lairs where Hamas’s elite hid

IDF dog recorded escaped hostage calling for help days before mistaken slayings

‘Not your fault’: Mother sends love, support to troops who killed son in tragic error

THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel

THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown

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IMAGE: Israeli soldiers are seen on a Namer APC near Palestine Square in Gaza City's Rimal neighborhood, December 19, 2023. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.