ירמיהו, פרק ל״ט, פסוק ב׳

After a prolonged siege of about a year and a half, the defenses of Jerusalem finally collapsed. This devastating event took place during the eleventh year of Zedekiah, specifically on the ninth day of the fourth month, known as Tammuz [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The physical breaking and opening of the city walls marked the end of the resistance [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The underlying cause of the city's fall was not merely military might, but the severe starvation that had taken hold inside Jerusalem. The heavy famine played a deciding role in how the walls were ultimately compromised. One perspective suggests that the Babylonian armies forced their way in from the outside. However, the event is described as if the wall simply opened up on its own. This passive description highlights that the residents of Jerusalem were completely drained of their strength due to starvation, leaving them entirely unable to fight back or delay the invading forces [מצודת דוד].

Another approach offers a different reality, suggesting that the initial break in the wall actually came from within the city. Driven to desperation by the unbearable famine, the people themselves broke through their own defenses in order to escape and surrender to the king of Babylon. According to this view, it was only after this internal collapse and desperate exit that the Babylonian officers were able to march into the city [מלבי״ם].