Israel’s Operation Swords of Iron Update October 13, 2023
JINSA
Israel’s Operation
Swords of Iron Update
October 13, 2023
Ari Cicurel
Assistant Director of Foreign Policy
Yoni Tobin
Policy Analyst
Zachary Schildcrout
Policy Analyst
Anna Schaftel
Programs and Outreach Associate
On October 7, Hamas launched an unprovoked and unprecedented multi-pronged attack on
Israel by land, air, and sea. JINSA issued a NatSec Brief with an early assessment of the war on
October 8 and has produced daily updates during the war. JINSA also held a webinar yesterday
about lessons learned from past Israel-Gaza wars with JINSA Director of Foreign Policy
Jonathan Ruhe, JINSA Distinguished Fellow LTC Geoffrey S. Corn, USA (ret.), and JINSA
Hybrid Warfare Policy Project Member Lt Gen Thomas “Tom” Trask, USAF (ret.). Below are
updated information and analysis, which JINSA will continue to produce throughout the conflict.
Last 24 Hours
Attacks Against Israel
l At least 6,000 rockets, mortars, drones, and other projectiles have been fired from Gaza
during the war.
» There were roughly 1,000 rockets targeting Israel in the last 24 hours.
- On Friday, at least seven rockets hit Sderot and several more struck Ashkelon,
which faced at least three bombardments in the span of forty-five minutes. No
injuries were reported. Infiltration sirens sounded in the southern kibbutz Nahal Oz.
- Sirens sounded in northern Israel, near Tzfat and east of Haifa. The IDF confirmed it
had intercepted one rocket over Haifa. Hamas claimed responsibility in what
appeared to be the furthest location in Israel Hamas had targeted since the war
began.
l At least three rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel on October 12, with sirens
sounding on the Lebanese border in the towns of She’ar Yeshuv, HaGoshrim, and Dafna.
l On October 12, two Israeli policemen were shot and injured, one moderately and one
seriously, after a terrorist attack at the Shalem police station in Jerusalem, and on October
13, a terrorist was shot and killed near Ashkelon by Israeli forces.
l On October 12, the Israeli Foreign Ministry warned that rallies planned for October 13
inspired by Hamas’ call for a “Day of Rage” across the globe present risks to Jews, and
Israelis abroad should take caution.
» On October 13, a teacher in Arras, France, was killed in a terrorist attack by an individual
known to authorities for ties to radical Islamism.
