The 167th  Day of Israel’s War Against Hamas

Day 167 of the war wherein ground troops and the Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) continue to operate in the Shifa Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, according to an IDF report early on Thursday morning.  Shayetet 13 and the 401st Brigade operated at the scene while avoiding harm to civilians, patients, medical teams, and medical equipment.  IDF soldiers eliminated over 50 terrorists in the proximity of the hospital and located terrorist infrastructure and weapon caches. Since the beginning of the operation at al-Shifa Hospital, over 140 terrorists have been killed.

Additionally, the 7th Brigade launched a divisional operation in northern Khan Yunis and in the town of al-Qarara, during which IDF troops worked to destroy terrorist infrastructure that was located in the area. They eliminated terrorists approaching the soldiers, located more weapons, destroyed dozens of terrorist infrastructures, and destroyed a rocket launch pit.

Israeli security officials are quietly developing a plan to distribute aid in the Gaza Strip that could eventually create a Palestinian-led governing authority there, Israeli and Arab officials said, according to a report in today’s New York Times, causing a fierce backlash from Hamas and creating divisions in Israel’s war cabinet.  A top Israeli defense official has held talks with Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan to build regional support for an emerging effort to enlist Palestinian leaders and businessmen who have no links to Hamas—a U.S.-designated terrorist organization— in distributing aid, some of the officials said.

The aid would enter by land and sea after Israeli inspection and would head to large warehouses in central Gaza, where Palestinians would then distribute it, the officials said. When the war is over, the people in charge of aid would assume authority to govern, backed up by security forces funded by wealthy Arab governments, the officials said. The effort represents some of the first steps Israel has begun taking to fill a power vacuum left by its invasion of the Gaza Strip following Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The U.S. and Arab governments have pressured Israel to do more to get humanitarian aid for Gazans and lay out a clear vision for postwar Gaza’s administration.

The effort has already hit obstacles and could fall apart. It so far doesn’t have the support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, given that some of those involved would be affiliated with Fatah, a rival party to Hamas seen by Netanyahu as supporting terrorism.  “Gaza will be run by those who do not seek to kill Israelis,” said a senior Israeli official from the prime minister’s office.

Fallout continues from the Schumer Senate speech last week with the Israeli government firm in its belief that the war cannot be won unless Hamas’s military capabilities throughout the Gaza Strip are neutralized, including in Rafah.  Pinpoint strikes are already being conducted there with success.

Future Leadership

Shelly Hod Moyal is Founding Partner and Co-CEO of iAngels and the General Partner of iAngels Ventures. She co-founded iAngels with Mor Assia in 2013.  She is a finance and investment expert and has led iAngels to be one of the most active venture funds in Israel. Shelly oversees deal flow and due-diligence, investor relations and portfolio management.

As a General Partner, Shelly holds numerous board positions and is actively involved in bringing value to iAngels portfolio companies through assistance with marketing, finance, recruiting, fundraising and business development efforts.

Prior to founding the firm, she served as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs and a research analyst at Avenue Capital, where she covered financials at the height of the global financial crisis. Her Wall St. background lends itself to her passion for modeling growth plans of early-stage companies that lead to the deployment of data-driven investment decisions.

A Northwestern University- Kellogg MBA graduate, Shelly is a sought-after authority for international conferences regarding Israeli tech investing across disparate verticals and digital assets.

One would think that a newly constituted government after the war ends could certainly use someone with her capabilities and background…..one would think.