The President's Daily Brief - October 30th, 2023: Ground Offensive, Strikes in Syria, & Brooklyn Protests

Episode Date: October 30, 2023

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: The second phase of Israel's war in Gaza continues to unfold. Israeli forces have expanded their operations, resulting in reported casualties on both sides, including injuries to an Israeli officer and soldier in northern Gaza. Tensions are escalating following a drone attack in western Iraq by Iranian proxies in retaliation against U.S. airstrikes in Syria. President Erdogan's stern warning to Israel is also discussed, highlighting his support for Hamas and implications of potential military intervention. In the Back of the Brief, over 7,000 pro-Palestinian protesters have occupied the Brooklyn Bridge, causing significant disruptions and calling for the elimination of the Jewish State by "any means." Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. Email: [e-mail]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some follow the noise. Bloomberg follows the money, whether it's the funds fueling AI or crypto's trillion dollar swings. There's a money side to every story. Get the money side of the story. Subscribe now at Bloomberg.com. Well, here we are at the start of a new week. It's Monday, October 30th. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. We'll start today's program with, breaking news from the Middle East. The second phase of Israel's war in Gaza has begun. Israeli forces are actively engaged in ground combat, having expanded their operations significantly over the weekend. Casualties are reported on both sides. Later in the episode, regional tensions are on the rise as Iranian proxies retaliate against U.S. airstrikes launching a drone attack in Western Iraq. Plus, There are mounting concerns in the international community after Turkey's president Erdogan issues a stern warning to Israel, where he expressed support for Hamas and hinted at potential military intervention.

Yes, that's correct. Erdogan referred to the Hamas terrorists as freedom fighters. Apparently, in Erdogan's world, the slaughter of men, women, elderly, children, and babies, it doesn't qualify you as a terrorist. Finally, in today's back of the brief, we turn our attention to the U.S. domestic front, where over 7,000 pro-Palestinian protesters took over the Brooklyn Bridge this weekend, advocating for the elimination of the Jewish state by, quote, any means. Apparently, anti-Semitism is the new drink of choice for the self-righteous protest mob now.

But first, our PDB spotlight. The Israeli defense forces long-anticipated ground offensive into Gaza has begun, although not with the all-out invasion that was first envisioned by pundits in the media. Clashes are currently ongoing across the northern Gaza Strip, where local Hamas fighters are in direct combat with IDF armored vehicles and infantry units. This latest surge in hostilities began on Friday, nearly three weeks since Hamas terrorists initially rampaged across southern Israel, committing acts of murder, rape, torture, against civilians, including children and babies,

as well as taking over 200 hostages. Over the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu marked the start of this new phase of the conflict, labeling it Israel's, quote, second war for independence. He emphasized the two-fold agenda of this offensive. firstly, to incapacitate both the military and governing capacities of Hamas, and secondly, to bring the hostages back home. The IDF is keeping many of the details of the new offensive guarded, as you could imagine, but they have shared videos and images showcasing tanks firing from Gaza's northern coast mine. This evidence suggests that the IDF has already made substantial inroads, potentially advancing nearly two miles into Palestinian territory. Now, in addition to the ground offensive, its air offensive over Gaza has also intensified.

A key focus of Israel's military efforts so far in Gaza has been targeting Hamas's intricate tunnel system and other underground facilities. A spokesman for the IDF confirmed that fighter jets targeted 150 underground sites in the northern Gaza Strip. These strikes successfully neutralized Tamas tunnels, combat areas, and other strategic underground setups inflicting losses on the militant group. With this new phase of the conflict beginning, we're likely to see, of course, casualties mount on both sides. As a matter of fact, the Israeli military reported its first combat injuries from inside Gaza. Two of its personnel, an officer and a soldier, sustained injuries during the operations in the northern region. While the officer's condition is critical due to a mortar shell

injury, the soldier's wounds are moderate, having encountered Hamas militants in direct combat. Hamas, in response to the invasion, released a defiant statement, asserting that neither Netanyahu nor his army would secure any form of military triumph. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry has stated that the death toll in Gaza now stands at approximately 8,000. As always, it's crucial to approach this number with caution. Even the White House. has voiced skepticism, indicating that the reported death figures by Hamas might be inflated. That's a diplomatic way of putting it, and there's no clarity at this point on how many of those claimed fatalities include the targeted Hamas fighters.

Since the beginning of this conflict, shortly after the 7 October Hamas attacks, IDF personnel and the Israeli government have repeatedly stated that their response to the attacks will be at a time, place, and manner of their choosing, and that their response will take time, noting that this effort to degrade and destroy Hamas won't be a day's long operation. It will likely take weeks or months. Now, moving through northern Gaza, targeting Hamas infrastructure, tunnel networks, bomb-making factories, and command and control facilities, all while attempting to locate and rescue hostages and minimize civilian casualties,

it's the most complex urban combat the IDF has seen, and they're facing Hamas fighters, whom, over the past few years, have been increasingly trained and supplied by Iran's Revolutionary Guard. The IDF faces an enemy that has home court advantage, with limitless fighting positions within the urban environment, the ability to deploy, with Iran's expert guidance, a vast array of IEDs and booby traps, better and larger amounts of ammunition, including

armor-piercing rounds, and the willingness of Hamas to use Palestinian civilians as human shields. Hamas understands fully that the higher the civilian death toll, the louder the world's condemnation of Israel, and they use the Palestinian civilians for that purpose. All right, coming up after the break, Iranian proxies retaliate against U.S. air strikes in Syria with a drone attack in Western Iraq. And Turkey's president sends a chilling message to Israel, voicing support for what he termed Hamas's freedom fighters. I'll be right back. This is Euphoria Calvin Klein, the new elixir collection featuring three perfume intense scents, inspired by a unique orchid accord paired with vanilla, each with its own distinct attitude,

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to respond, successfully intercepting and neutralizing the drone miles from its target. No casualties or infrastructure damage have been reported. Furthermore, on the same day, rocket were launched at U.S. troops in northern Syria, but they landed well away from U.S. personnel. Now, these latest attacks were a response to Thursday's targeted strikes by U.S. aircraft against Iranian proxies in Syria. Employing two U.S. Air Force F-16s, they zeroed in on two facilities near Abu Kamal, a town that's nestled in the far eastern part of Syria, right by the Iraq border. A military official revealed that one of these locations was a weapon storage area and the other was primarily used for ammunition storage. Both facilities had ties to militias

aligned with Iran. As we've reported previously on the PDB, this was all set in motion by a series of attacks by Iranian-backed militias. These groups are believed to be behind over a dozen rocket and drone attacks on American forces in both Iraq and Syria, and the attacks left dozens of U.S. service members injured. Following the U.S. air strikes, the Biden White House stated that the strikes proved that the U.S. would do what was necessary to protect American troops overseas. Now, the fact that Iran responded almost immediately with another attack on U.S. facilities is an indication that, at least in the minds of the Iranian regime's leaders and the IRGC, the U.S. response wasn't sufficient to be considered a deterrent. It's worth pointing out that

Iran's targeting of U.S. personnel and facilities didn't just start following the 7 October Hamas attacks. They've been added for some time. And of course, during the U.S. military's time in Iraq, Iran was responsible for countless IED attacks that injured and killed many U.S. military personnel. So the question is, if Iran continues its provocation using its proxies to continue targeting U.S. soldiers and facilities, what is the Biden White House willing to do? in order to actually establish a policy of deterrence. Now, of course, there's growing concern about widening the conflict. But not responding in an appropriate manner to continue to tax

only emboldens the Iranian regime to continue pursuing their goal, which, as we've discussed here before, and the regime has stated many times and is in the Hamas charter, is the destruction of Israel. Look, Iran doesn't want peace in the region. if there's peace, if there's normalization of relations between the Saudis and Israel and with other Arab nations, that by definition means that Israel exists and their existence is accepted. And that is unacceptable, according to the Iranian regime.

Now, while Israel is fighting Hamas on the ground, it's also fighting a diplomatic war as it faces condemnation from international organizations like the UN as well as from countries across the Middle East. I want to focus in on Turkey because Turkey occupies an important position on the world stage, straddling the West and the East, and let's not forget that Turkey is a member of NATO. Tensions between Israel and Turkey have reached a new high. During a massive rally in Istanbul, marking Turkey's 100th anniversary, President Erdogan announced preparations to label Israel as a, quote, war criminal due to its actions in Gaza. In his hour-long speech, Erdogan stressed his stance that Hamas isn't a terrorist organization

and branding Israel as an occupier. He also placed blame on Western countries for the casualties in Gaza, accusing them of not halting Israeli attacks. Erdogan stated, quote, Israel, we are preparing to declare you as a war criminal to the world. Now, as a direct result of Erdogan's rhetoric, Israel announced its decision to withdraw its diplomats from Turkey, stating that they're going to reassess their relationship. Yeah, no doubt. This decision is significant, especially considering the two nations had only recently moved to thaw their icy relationship. Just last year, they mutually agreed to reappoint ambassadors after a

10-year-long diplomatic freeze. President Erdogan's backing of Hamas has become louder over time, though his initial comments on the Israel-Hamas conflict after the attacks were reserved, urging both sides. to seek peace, his current rhetoric strongly supports Hamas. It's important to highlight that Turkey views Hamas as a legitimate political entity, especially after its victory in the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006, one can argue about how fair those elections were. High-ranking Hamas officials have been welcomed in Turkey on numerous occasions, decisions which have often drawn criticism from Israel and much of the West. Now, there's no word yet from Erdogan as to whether he's also reassessed his opinion of the PKK.

Perhaps he'll label them as freedom fighters as well. Finally, in today's back of the brief, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters occupy the Brooklyn Bridge, calling for an end to the state of Israel. Hey, honey, it's mom. Did you know if we switch to Verizon we can get four phones for $0, plus four lines for $25 a line? Call me back. Me again. That's just $100 a month for four lines on unlimited welcome.

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auto and home and save up to 10%. Tap the banner to learn more and get a quote at usaa.com slash bundle. Restrictions apply. Welcome back. Over the weekend, New York City witnessed a very large pro-Palestinian protest, and that's the subject of today's back of the brief. The rally drew about 7,000 demonstrators, and organizers dubbed it, quote,

flood Brooklyn for Gaza. That choice of name is interesting. You might remember that the high, Amos operation, which resulted in the deaths of 1,400 individuals in southern Israel, bore the name Operation Alaksa flood. Now, the rally began in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. For those of you who aren't from New York City, Crown Heights has a sizable Orthodox Jewish community. I'm sure that was just a coincidence that protest organizers decided to start the rally within that community. As the evening set in, around 6 p.m., the protesters made their way to the Brooklyn Bridge,

halting Manhattan-bound traffic. Some demonstrators climbed metal barriers and proudly banished Palestinian flags and an assortment of banners. Now, some of those banners add slogans like, uh, from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, which I suspect you already know is a way of calling for Israel's destruction. Another subtle banner carried by protesters read, F Israel, Justice Palestine. They didn't just have the letter F there. I just cleaned it up a little bit. And in case passurbys were confused over the protests

anti-Semitic bona fides, one particularly large banner declared by any means necessary. Look, we've discussed this aspect of the Israel-Hamas conflict before. It was inevitable because it's always the narrative that shortly after the brutal 7 October murder spree by Hamas, condemnation of Israel would become the order of the day, particularly by the international media, of course, the well-oiled Iranian and Hamas propaganda machines, and all the self-righteous, useful idiots who can't resist a good protest. Now, I suspect, maybe I'm cynical, that many of those

folks pumped up with their righteousness over the weekend at the protest, couldn't find Gaza on a map if you opened an atlas to the page marked Gaza and circled Gaza with a Sharpie, much less explain the intricacies of the conflict beyond their college freshman class talking points of occupier and colonizer. It might be worth them taking a bit of time to study Hamas's treatment of their own people, their corruption and misuse of funds intended for actually improving Palestinian lives, maybe the Arab world's lack of interest in bettering the plight of Palestinians and around support of terrorism throughout the region to realize their goal of removing the Jewish state forever. And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Monday 30 October.

If you have any questions or comments, reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.