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Eyewitness to fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza's deadly Netzarim Corridor: 'The challenges are constant'
Cease-fire talks continued last week as Israel, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar looked to find a solution to free the hostages and stop the war, yet life in the trenches goes on. Fox News Digital spoke with an IDF colonel based in the explosive Netzarim corridor in Gaza.
The Netzarim Corridor splits Gaza in half, and it’s here where IDF Col. Amir Ofri organizes his troops in a fight against terrorists. The atmosphere is tense, he says, and describes a recent incident where a Gazan woman stumbled toward his unit checkpoint, her movements erratic, suggesting disorientation. As she approached, he recalls her repeatedly glancing over her shoulder, seemingly reluctant to come closer. He says it was clear to him that she was under the influence of drugs.
“We try to assess whether she poses a threat or is armed,” Ofri tells Fox News Digital. But as the woman gets closer, it becomes obvious she is being directed by someone behind her. The decision is made to send her back, but as they do, his soldiers identify Hamas spotters in a nearby school in the refugee camp of Al-Bureij. As the soldiers move closer, terrorists fire at them from the windows, unleashing anti-tank missiles and explosives.
URBAN WARFARE EXPERT SAYS ISRAELI MILITARY TAKING UNPRECEDENTED STEPS TO PROTECT GAZA CIVILIANS
Hamas terrorists of the al-Qassam Brigades take part in a military parade to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel, in the central Gaza Strip on July 19, 2023. (Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images)
“Women and children, Hamas exploits the population in extreme and cruel ways,” he says during a Zoom interview. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
On the morning that Hamas attacked Israeli communities and settlements close to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, Col. Ofri was with his family in the north to celebrate his 46th birthday. A seasoned officer, he immediately reported for duty to a base in the Negev Desert a little more than 30 kilometers from the border. By the next day, his reserve armored brigade was positioned at the Gaza fence, ready for whatever lay ahead. “We were the first to enter Gaza on Oct. 21,” he recalls.
The responsibility he bears weighs heavily on him. “It’s been over nine months since I’ve seen my wife and children for more than a fleeting moment,” he says. Before the war, he directed a company with factories in Israel, Spain and the U.S. “My partner in Oklahoma was one of the first to call me after Oct. 7. He said he hoped the U.S. would send everything it could to help us.”
IDF Col. Amir Ofri with troops by the Nitzarim Corridor that splits Gaza in half. (Photo: IDF Spokesman’s Unit.) (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)
His mission along the Netzarim Corridor, which serves both as a lifeline for humanitarian aid and a strategic position in the ongoing conflict, is critical. “Our job is to keep the route open for humanitarian convoys,” Ofri explains. “Every day presents unique challenges and risks.”
The Netzarim Corridor is pivotal in the Gaza Strip. With the onset of the ground campaign, IDF forces established a four-kilometer wide corridor to split Gaza in two, from its eastern border to the Mediterranean Sea. Key towns sit along the route – Jabalia and Zeitoun to the north, and Al-Bureij and Nuseirat to the south.
The other side, Hamas, doesn’t account for the population; they exploit them. The terrorists we eliminate often wear civilian clothes. Some are disguised as women.”
Fifteen years after Gaza was last under Israel’s military control, this strategic route is again being held by the IDF. The majority of Gaza’s population has been evacuated south, allowing the IDF to maintain nearly full control over significant parts of the Strip. However, it has also become one of the most dangerous areas in the conflict, with Israeli soldiers killed and injured since operations began.
WORLD, UN SIGNAL NO EXIT FOR CIVILIANS CAUGHT UP IN GAZA WAR: ‘POLITICALLY TOXIC’
An IDF tank rolls through the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza. (Photo: IDF Spokesman’s Unit.) (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)
“I don’t like this mission at all,” he admits. In the early stages of the war, “when the brigade was on the attack, we were more efficient and lethal. In the Netzarim Corridor, the challenges are constant,” he says.
Despite these difficulties, Ofri’s brigade has operated with minimal casualties. “Eight fighters from my brigade have fallen since the fighting began,” he says somberly. “But we haven’t lost any soldiers while securing the corridor, and that’s the result of learning from others’ experiences.”
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has dominated media coverage since the conflict escalated, leading to significant criticism of Israel from the U.N. and various countries, including the U.S. Many organizations have highlighted the deteriorating situation for civilians, emphasizing that while they face hardships, the military also has a responsibility to minimize harm.
A map showing the Netzarim and Philadelphi Corridors in Gaza. (Reuters)
“They’re living in tents under difficult conditions, but they lack neither food nor water,” he says. “Every day, we transfer about 30 trucks filled with food, water, tents and medicine. The other side, Hamas, doesn’t account for the population; they exploit them. The terrorists we eliminate often wear civilian clothes. Some are disguised as women.”
IDF soldiers fighting in the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza. (Photo: IDF Spokesman’s Unit.) (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)
One evening as a convoy approached, an unplanned vehicle got into the line. “When we stopped the convoy, terrorists emerged from that vehicle – one dressed as a woman – and they opened fire. We eliminated two of them, while two others fled back to the vehicle,” Ofri says.
“All the convoys we needed to pass did pass, and then we saw Hamas setting up roadblocks, stopping and looting them,” he says, elaborating on the complicated dynamics on the ground. “Hamas targets specific trucks rather than looting indiscriminately. We observed them unloading supplies quickly, moving items into warehouses. We even saw armed Hamas vehicles leaving those locations, with guards at the entrances.”
DATA USED FOR GAZA FAMINE CLAIMS CHANGING AS EXPERT CAUTIONS ‘NO ONE SEEMS TO BE TRYING TO EXPLAIN WHY’
Displaced Palestinians flee Gaza City through an Israeli army corridor in Netzarim to Salah al-Din Street in central Gaza, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
When it comes to using civilians in the conflict, he disputes a recent reports claiming that the IDF uses Gazan civilians as human shields in operations against Hamas, at least when it comes to his brigade. “I’ve been in combat for a year; we don’t use civilians as human shields,” he says. “Hamas does. As someone who approves all operations for the brigade, I state clearly that no fire is intentionally directed at women or children. Not a single shell or airstrike is executed without assessing potential collateral damage.”
The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry claims more than 42,000 people have been killed in Gaza. Israel says the number is lower, but will not publish its assessment. Hamas doesn’t differentiate between civilians and terrorists in its calculations.
Displaced Palestinians fleeing Gaza City walk along the Israeli army corridor in the Netzarim area in central Gaza, on July 10, 2024. (Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“The problem lies in Hamas’s cynical use of the population,” Ofri says. He blames the terror organization for the loss of so many civilian lives. “We witnessed this during the recent Iranian attack. As soon as the Iranian assault began, on October 1, Hamas operatives attacked us. We were on the southern side of the corridor when they used short-range mortars to exploit the situation, pushing civilians toward our position. They forced people out of refugee camps, creating a dangerous environment as they told them to move closer to our forces,” he says.
IDF soldiers fighting in the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)
In October, Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ leader and the mastermind behind the Oct. 7 attack, was killed by the IDF in Rafah, in southern Gaza. While many speculate that Sinwar’s death may lead to a turning point in the conflict, Ofri remains dubious. “In my view, he was just another terrorist who deserved to die. He’s just another obstacle in the effort to release hostages. I understand we won’t be able to free them through military means alone. However, I believe military pressure is the only strategy that has led to the first hostage deal.”
And it is because of the hostages that Israel must continue fighting, he says. “There are 101 hostages left, many of whom are relatives of our soldiers. Oct. 7 affected us all. I lost friends that day as well,” Ofri says. “That’s why we come together time and again, although it gets harder and harder. If you ask any soldier, they will tell you it’s about the hostages.”
new video loaded: Reaching Rural Voters in North Carolina After Hurricane Helene
transcript
transcript
Reaching Rural Voters in North Carolina After Hurricane Helene
Ahead of Election Day, canvassers knocked on voters’ doors in Ashe County in storm-ravaged Western North Carolina.
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“What we know is that North Carolina is a dead heat right now. So the margin of victory is going to come from rural voters. You’ve got to get to where people are at, and this is rugged mountain turf. So sometimes the bridge is out to access the home, and you’ve got to go down and across the creek and up the other side to find out if the voter’s there. Sometimes, we’ve hit addresses where the house is gone and we’re finding people in tents.” “Hello, hello. Hi, my name is Bailey and this is Ibi. We’re from Down Home North Carolina. How did you, how did you do in the storm? It looks kind of hard around here.” Yeah, the water was up past these trees when it — and you see what happened to the car.” “And have you made plans to vote? Are you going to vote?” “I was actually able to go last Monday, so I did. Yeah, I was able to get in.” “Did your housemates also vote already as well?” “So they still need too. So trust me, I’m pushing on them. And my son, who’s in Greensboro, to make sure he gets in.” “Ashe County, it wouldn’t be where you would traditionally expect political efforts to be active at this phase in the campaign because it is so heavily a Republican county. And yet, we know every vote counts the same. So we’re really motivated to make sure that we end up with representatives all up and down who represent working-class people and are going to do what’s required to help rebuild Western North Carolina.”
Recent episodes in 2024 Elections
JERUSALEM—The devastating wars launched by Russia’s authoritarian leader Vladimir Putin against Ukraine and the Hamas terrorist movement against Israel are raising uncomfortable questions for President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris about their alleged lack of resolve toward an Israeli victory over the Islamic Republic of Iran-backed proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah.
Fox News Digital turned to experts on the Mideast and Russia for their reflections on the different war strategies embraced by Biden and Harris with respect to Ukraine and Israel.
“The strategic behavior of the United States toward Ukraine and Israel differs substantially,” David Wurmser, a former senior adviser for nonproliferation and Middle East strategy for former Vice President Dick Cheney, told Fox News Digital.
“There has never been any indication that the United States affords Russia any legitimacy to its reasons for invasion. While a cease-fire in place may be sought, there is no indulgence of Russia’s ostensible grievances or demands,” Wurmser said, adding, “In contrast, regarding the Palestinians, the October 7 attack was blasted as a horror and Israel’s immediate defense was accepted, but the thrust of U.S. policy almost immediately and certainly with ever greater intensity was that a legitimate grievance underlies Palestinian claims and led to these events.”
HAMAS ADMITS ‘PAINFUL, DISTRESSING’ LOSSES AFTER ISRAELI VIDEO SHOWS TERRORIST SINWAR MOMENTS BEFORE HIS DEATH
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris walk to an event on gun violence in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 26, 2024. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
While many Mideast experts see the effort to establish a Palestinian state as a failed project, the Biden-Harris administration has embraced Palestinian demands and sought to push Israel to accept a two-state solution before the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion and after Hamas massacred nearly 1,200 people in Israel.
The language of Biden and Harris towards Ukraine and Israel also shows a disconnect. In September, after Russian missiles killed more than 50 during an attack on a training facility and hospital, Biden said, “Make no mistake: Russia will not prevail in this war. The people of Ukraine will prevail. And on this tragic day, and every day, the United States stands with them.”
Vice President Kamala Harris shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the Summit on peace in Ukraine, in Obbürgen near Lucerne, Switzerland, on Saturday, June 15, 2024. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)
Terminology that advances victory is largely shunned by Biden and Harris when discussing Israel’s ground wars against Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Biden and Harris went as far as to threaten Israel with punitive measures if the Jewish state invaded the last stronghold of Hamas in the city of Rafah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhau called their bluff and defeated Hamas in Rafah, including the elimination of its terrorist leader Yahya Sinwar last month.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Biden announced last month during a discussion of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Victory Plan “their resolve to continue supporting Ukraine in its efforts to secure a just and lasting peace.” In the same statement, the western world leaders stressed “ending the war in Gaza,” a message to Israel that it recoil from its anti-terrorism war.
NETANYAHU SIGNALS TEHRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM COULD BE NEXT TARGET AS IRAN PLANS FUTURE ATTACK
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conducts a security assessment at the air force HQ at the Kirya Base in Tel Aviv with the Minister of Defense, the Chief of Staff, the head of Mossad and the head of Shin Bet. (Israeli Prime Minister’s office)
Israel Defense Forces have not rooted out all Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip and Hamas’ leadership insists on continuing its war to obliterate the Jewish state.
The juxtaposition of U.S. policies and language toward the prosecution of wars in Ukraine and in Gaza and Lebanon has revolved around blunting Israel’s paths to victory and its efforts to re-establish deterrence, argue critics of the Biden-Harris school of thought. Ukraine has not experienced the same offensive war restrictions from Biden and Harris, argue experts.
Wurmser noted that “Ukraine is not facing an incessant attempt from the first days of the Ukraine war of self-defense to stop the war in a way that allows its enemy to consolidate its gains and pocket a victory. Only recently has the United States begun to indicate the preference for, but did not impose material pressure on yet, Ukraine to move toward a cease-fire. Not so with Israel. From the first week of the war, the United States [has tried] to restrain Israel and press it towards a cease-fire.”
Israel Defense Forces soldiers are battling terrorists in the vital Netzarim Corridor in Gaza. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)
He continued, “From the start of the Hezbollah attack on Israel on October 8, the United States pressed Israel to minimize its response and move to a cease-fire. After the Houthis blockaded Israel’s southern port in late October 2023, sent missiles and drones into Israeli cities and attacked Israeli and world shipping, the United States pushed Israel to defer to the United States to guarantee its interests—which it then failed to do. After missiles and drones were sent by Iraqi militias in November 2023 into Israeli cities and ports, the United States similarly urged Israeli passivity but failed to provide Israel security.”
Iran’s regime supports and funds the Houthi movment in Yemen and pro-Iran Iraqi militias.
US DEPLOYS ADDITIONAL MILITARY FORCES TO MIDDLE EAST AMID INTENSIFYING REGIONAL TENSIONS: PENTAGON
Biden and Harris have, however, imposed a restriction on Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles. Zelenskyy appealed to the White House, in a late September meeting, that Biden and Harris increase Ukraine’s leverage to defeat Russia by lifting the ban on long-range missiles that can strike Russian territory. Key Republican lawmakers also urged Biden and Harris to permit Ukraine to use the U.S. long-range missile systems.
Former U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency officer Rebekah Koffler told Fox New Digital that the “Biden-Harris Team has been trying to appease Iran by trying to micromanage Israel’s war fighting campaign, in which Israel is working to eliminate the existential threat. This incompetent approach — constantly pressuring Netanyahu to do a cease-fire, not letting him finish the job — is inviting escalation from Iran. Iran is emboldened, having witnessed that Biden-Harris don’t have Israel’s back. Iran has gotten so out of control that they’ve targeted Netanyahu’s home – think about that. The Ayatollahs clearly feel that Biden-Harris are on their side.”
Battalion 120 Territorial Defense takes part in training exercises near the Belarus border as the war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for the last two years in Chernobyl, Ukraine, on March 16, 2024. (Photo by Gian Marco Benedetto/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei taunted the U.S. and the Jewish state with a “tooth-breaking” response to the actions of both countries on Saturday. Iran’s regime vowed to launch a third attack on Israel in response to Israel’s Oct. 26 attack on Iran, which targeted critical military infrastructure. That attack from Israel came in response to a wave of 200-some missiles launched from Iran into Israel on Oct. 1.
The U.S. State Department referred Fox News Digital to the White House for a comment. The White House and the Harris campaign declined to respond to Fox News Digital press queries.
Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
A constitutional amendment more than two centuries old determines the choice of winner in case of a draw.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are fighting down to the last vote to gain the upper hand in tomorrow’s election. There’s a remote possibility that the US poll could end in a draw, however.
This concerns the machinery of the US Electoral College, the winner-takes-all system that determines which presidential candidate will win the White House.
The Electoral College comprises 538 votes, distributed in varying proportions among the fifty states plus the District of Columbia. A tie between two presidential candidates is therefore theoretically possible.
Harris and Trump could each receive 269 electoral votes, resulting in a complete draw scenario, with both candidates unable to achieve the majority of electoral votes required to become president.
Similar stalemates have occurred twice in US history, in 1800 and 1824.
What happened when there was a tie in the past?
In the 1800 election, Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republicans defeated the incumbent Federalist President John Adams.
At that time, presidential candidates had a “running mate” from a different state, similar to today’s candidates for vice president. The electors had to cast two votes each: the candidate with the most votes would become president, while the candidate with the second-most votes would become vice president.
However, the Democratic-Republicans did not coordinate well, resulting in their candidate for president (Jefferson) receiving the same number of votes as their candidate for vice president (Aaron Burr).
The election was therefore decided by the House of Representatives using a one-state, one-vote rule after a long deadlock that nearly resulted in a military confrontation, as Sanford Levinson, a professor at the University of Texas Law School, has noted.
For this reason, the 12th Amendment was introduced, which still regulates the election of the US president. It clarifies that electors “shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice President,” to avoid any possible tie between candidates from the same party.
However, there remains the possibility that no candidate receives a majority of the total number of electors appointed—currently, that crucial threshold is 270.
This actually happened in 1824, when Andrew Jackson received 99 votes, John Quincy Adams 84, William Crawford 41, and Henry Clay 37. All of these candidates were from the same Democratic-Republican political party, which was split into regional factions.
The 12th Amendment states that in such cases, the House of Representatives shall immediately choose the president by ballot from the top three choices of the electors. Votes are taken by state, with each state having one vote and a simple majority required.
This means that Wyoming, the smallest state in the US with fewer than 600,000 people, would have the same say in choosing a new president as California, which has almost 40 million residents (even though Wyoming appoints only three electors and California 54).
Additionally, the choice of the new president would depend on the composition of the House of Representatives, which is set to be voted on in parallel with the presidential elections.
ADVERTISEMENTHow likely is a tie?
While a tie is unlikely, it is still a possibility to consider, with various scenarios outlined by the website 270toWin.
One scenario is that Trump wins Pennsylvania and Georgia, while Harris secures victories in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, and one electoral vote in Nebraska, which alongside Maine is the only state that splits its allocation of electors.
Another scenario, even more unlikely, is that Harris wins all the states Biden won, plus North Carolina, which current polls indicate could go to Republicans. If Trump then reclaims Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and also wins Nevada for the first time, the outcome would be a 269-269 tie.
This would trigger a “contingent election,” with the House of Representatives tasked with deciding the US president for the first time in two centuries, requiring a simple majority of 26 states to elect the new commander-in-chief.
ADVERTISEMENTWith the country sharply divided, newly sworn-in US congress members would face immense pressure and, in some cases, might have to choose between backing their party candidate or the one who received the most popular votes in their own state (there is no requirement for state delegations to honour the winner of their state’s vote).
This situation would likely unfold on 6 January, right after Congress determines that no candidate has a majority, according to an analysis by the Congressional Research Service.
Even more surprisingly, the tie scenario could lead to cohabitation between a Republican president and a Democratic vice president or vice versa.
Indeed, according to the 12th Amendment, in the event of no majority, the US vice president is chosen by the Senate from the two candidates with the highest number of electoral votes, with each senator entitled to one vote (the US Senate has 100 members, with each state electing two).
ADVERTISEMENTFinally, the Senate could select a vice president even if the House is deadlocked in the election of the president. So, if a president is not selected by Inauguration Day, 2o January, the newly chosen vice president would serve as acting president. This is a scenario that no one in the US can envision as of today.
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