Operation Iron Swords - Day 38 - 13 November 2023

Palestinian armed group Hamas launched thousands of missiles at Israel and deployed its militants to infiltrate Jewish settlements near the country’s border with Gaza on 07 October 2023. The 1,200 Israelis killed on the first day would be the equivalent of 36,000 Americans killed in an attack, as a proportion to Israel’s population of 9.3 million people (compared to 332 million in the USA). Israeli President Isaac Herzog stated: “Not since the Holocaust have so many Jews been killed in one day". PM Netanyahu stated "On October 7th, Hamas murdered 1,400 Israelis. Maybe more. This is in a country of fewer than 10 million people. This would be equivalent to over 50,000 Americans murdered in a single day. That’s twenty 9/11s. That is why October 7th is another day that will live in infamy."

It is the second largest loss inflicted on the Israeli forces after the 1973 war, as the Palestinian resistance killed more than 1,200, wounded more than 5,132 others, and captured more than 250, most of them military personnel, some of whom were high-ranking officers in the army.

Butcher's Bill / Oasis of Martyrs

Palestinian health authorities say that more than 11,240 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza, more than four times the number killed in the six-week-long war in 2014. The death toll included 4,630 children [down from 4,800 children previously reported, and Israel’s attacks had killed 4,104 children in Gaza during the current war, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported] and 3,130 women, and 678 elderly people. These subtotals fluctuate inexplicably]. The average of children martyrs was six per hour, while female martyrs is five per hour.

In addition, the number of injured rose to more than 29,000 [though some earlier reports had totaled over 32,000 Palestinians injured since October 7th, including at least 6,360 children and 4,891 women]. More than 2,650 were missing, including 1,500 children, and presumed buried under rubble. On the West bank, at least 183 Palestinians had been killed, and more than 2,300 injured [a big jump from the previous 1,980 injured].

Alalam News Network, part of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, reported "War crimes committed in Gaza , affecting 42,000 Palestinians , who are direct victims of this war, including martyrs, wounded and missing, meaning about 2 percent of the total population of Gaza became direct victims as a result of this aggression, either martyrs or wounded, which means that the hospitals of the Gaza Strip are receiving an average One "

Israel revised down the death toll from the October Hamas attacks in southern Israel from 1,400 to 1,200. IDF had said previously it was holding 1,500 bodies of terrorists, a total that now would increas to about 1,700.

The Israeli army reported the death of 357 soldiers and officers, 44 of them were killed since the start of the ground operation in the besieged Gaza Strip. At least 7,771 Israelis were injured.

Some 241 hostages are being held by HAMAS in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said 03 November 2023. About 40 Israelis remained missing.

Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said on Hamas’ telegram account that 23 bodies of the 60 missing Israel hostages were trapped under the rubble. “It seems that we will never be able to reach them due to the continued brutal aggression of the occupation against Gaza,” he said.

The armed wing of Palestinian militant group Hamas said they told Qatari mediators that the group is ready to release up to 70 women and children held in Gaza in return for a five-day truce. “The truce should include a complete ceasefire and allowing aid and humanitarian relief everywhere in the Gaza Strip,” a spokesman for the armed wing of Hamas said in a recorded audio published on the group’s Telegram channel.

Hamas leader Osama Hamdan accused the Israeli government of obstructing any agreement to conclude a prisoner exchange deal, while American and Israeli officials hinted at the possibility of reaching a prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel. Hamdan said - in an interview with Al Jazeera - "Until now there is no final formula for a deal regarding the detainees that achieves the required goals, and Israel is trying to exert psychological pressure on the resistance and the mediators in the hostage file."

He continued, "It cannot be said that we are getting closer or further away from a deal until a final agreement is reached," stressing that "any prisoner exchange process must be linked to the entry of food and medical aid and fuel to hospitals and the Palestinian people and the cessation of Israeli aggression."

On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated in an interview with the American network NBC the possibility of reaching an agreement to release prisoners held by the Hamas movement. In turn, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said, "The United States is engaged with Qatar and Israel in the negotiations related to the hostage issue."

The American NBC News network quoted a diplomat familiar with the prisoner exchange talks between Hamas and Israel as saying, “The ongoing Israeli ground attack on the Gaza Strip increases the state of uncertainty regarding the fragile talks.” The diplomat stressed that the agreement on the prisoner exchange should happen this week, because the more the Israelis advance at the expense of Hamas fighters, the more they believe they do not need those negotiations.

He added that the potential agreement could include the release of between 10 and 20 Israeli prisoners, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, and a temporary ceasefire agreement of one to three days, with the introduction of more humanitarian aid to the Strip, including fuel. He pointed out that the administration of US President Joe Biden is pressuring the Israeli government to stop the fighting to allow the release of the prisoners, but Netanyahu says there will be no ceasefire without their release.

Former Israeli military officials said that real prices must be paid that affect Israel's national honor to return its prisoners from the Gaza Strip , while one of them acknowledged that pressure on the Strip does not necessarily increase the chances of their return. Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen said that in the event of a prisoner exchange deal, Israel must pay real prices that affect its national honor, relying in this on his previous experiences in managing negotiations with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), as he said that it is unimaginable To unilaterally liberate prisoners.

Speaking to Hebrew Channel 12, Cohen believed that it is better for Israel, socially and economically, not to remain in the Gaza Strip after the battles end, stressing that the army cannot be responsible for the 2.2 million residents of the Gaza Strip, whether it is alone or with other Israeli civilian agencies.

For his part, the former commander of the land forces, Reserve General Guy Tzur, in his interview with Channel 13, saw that talk about the partial liberation of prisoners comes within the framework of psychological warfare, criticizing the continued belief of some in what was mentioned at the beginning of the events that the more pressure on the Gaza Strip increases, the more this will happen. It would increase the chances of returning prisoners.

As for Denion Biran, who was formerly the main reserve officer, he believes that it is necessary to abandon the "addiction to painkillers" and move from the defensive method to the offensive, indicating that this is the only way to overcome terrorism, as he puts it. Meanwhile, Tal Lev Ram, a military analyst for Maariv newspaper, does not see a correlation between the advance of the army forces and its ability to intervene and besiege the vicinity of hospitals and what is happening at the level of international political coordination.

The issue of Israeli detainees held by the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip still dominated the discussions of officials and analysts in the Israeli media. Channel 12 reported a heated argument between a Likud Party official and an Israeli whose family was detained by the resistance. Avitai Broditis - whose wife and three children were detained in the Gaza Strip - entered into a heated discussion with Boaz Basmut, a member of the Likud Party’s Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, and told him that those detained by the Palestinian resistance had not returned. “So what victory are you talking about?”

He added, "The army, the Minister of Security, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not defend me on the seventh of last October...", referring to the painful blow that Israel received at the hands of the Palestinian resistance that launched the Battle of the "Al-Aqsa Flood . " Brodetz repeated his statement, “The problem is not with (the Islamic Resistance Movement) Hamas , but with the army that did not defend me.” He added, “The Israeli army collapsed and Hamas understood that. It was smarter than us and carried out a brilliant campaign.”

While the Likud member told him that the goal of the war launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip is “to eliminate the Hamas movement and prevent it from ruling a territory,” Brodetz responded to him, saying, “You are living in a movie and accusing Hamas... What does it mean to eliminate it?... You have been repeating that since 20 years..".

Some analysts focused on the ongoing negotiations regarding Israeli detainees held by Palestinian factions in Gaza, and Reserve General Nadav Badan, former commander of the Central District, said that if decision-makers in Israel had the opportunity to free hundreds of detainees or dozens of detainees, “I think that not liberating them would be a mistake, and if the decision-makers in Israel had the opportunity to free hundreds of detainees or dozens of detainees, "It is a tangible and real opportunity that must be taken seriously."

As for Ilan Segev, a senior employee at the former head of the Israeli Internal Security Service ( Shin Bet ), he said, “We cannot allow ourselves not to free a soldier who is captured, even if the price for doing so is great.” He acknowledged that negotiations with Hamas are not easy, stressing that there is one difference between what happened in the Gilad Shalit deal and what is happening today. He said that in the case of Shalit, the other party was only Hamas, and the negotiator was Ahmed Al-Jaabari, who could have been talked to through the Egyptians.

It is noteworthy that Shalit's release was in exchange for the release of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.

Operational Update

U.S. President Biden reportedly rejected additional Response Options for Halting the Attacks by Iranian-backed militias on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria provided to him by Military and Defense Officials, instead opting for Limited Strikes meant to cause low casualties; some of the Options were seen by the President as “Too Aggressive”.

Lebanese pro-Hezbollah TV channel al-Mayadeen said a rocket strike targeted the US base in the Conoco gas field, northeast of Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria, in retaliation for the American strikes on the Syrian cities of al-Mayadeen and al-Bukamal. The pro-Iranian channel cited sources as saying that the “resistance” targeted the US base with 15 rockets which were aimed at the command headquarters of the US military base in the Conoco gas field. A source told al-Mayadeen: “Several US soldiers were killed in the strikes that targeted the Conoco base in eastern Syria.” The TV channel also said the attack was carried out using Grad missiles and left four US soldiers dead.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed Hamas has “lost control” of the Gaza Strip it has ruled for 16 years. “Hamas has lost control of Gaza. Terrorists are fleeing southward. Civilians are looting Hamas bases,” he said without providing evidence. “They don’t have faith in the government anymore,” Gallant added in a video broadcast on Israel’s main TV stations. Galant stated, "There is no power of Hamas capable of stopping the IDF. The IDF is advancing to every point. The Hamas organization has lost control of Gaza, terrorists are fleeing south, civilians are looting Hamas bases, they have no confidence in the government."

Galant highlighted the intensified efforts against tunnels, aiming to force terrorists out of hiding. He asserted, "This will get the terrorists out of the tunnels, and there either they will be eliminated or they will surrender unconditionally, there is no third option." "We work according to tasks, we don't have watches, we have goals," declared Galant. "We will achieve our goals, first of all, a complete victory over Hamas and the return of the kidnapped to their homes."

Troops of the IDFs Golani Brigade posed with Israeli flags inside Gaza’s parliament building in Gaza City’s main Omar Al-Mukhtar street, after seizing the site. A clear illustration of Hamas’ loss of control over Gaza.

IDF troops continued operations in the Gaza Strip. IAF aircraft and ground forces have conducted 4,300 strikes, struck hundreds of anti-tank missile launch posts, approximately 300 tunnel shafts, approximately 3,000 terrorist infrastructure sites, including over 100 structures rigged with explosives, and hundreds of Hamas command and control centers.

These forces have not found a single hostage, nor have they killed or arrested a single senior official in the Islamic Resistance.

Israel doubled down in its claims in a New York Times article in which eight Israeli defence and intelligence officials described further details of a subterranean hub underneath the hospital that can hold at least several hundred people. The complex relies in part on electricity diverted from Al Shifa Hospital, they said in a statement. American officials who wished to remain anonymous told the New York Times they were “confident” Hamas was using a tunnel network under Al Shifa as an operations headquarters and for weapons storage.

Yet The New York Times concluded that photos it had been shown as evidence of entrances to the tunnels near Al Shifa Hospital could not be authenticated.

“It is very, very hard to verify much of the narrative that the Israelis want to present when they don't allow independent journalists into Gaza to actually give first-hand witness accounts about what is actually happening on the ground,” said Clive Jones, Professor of Regional Security Durham University. “Unless both sides are prepared to let independent observers to go in and verify the claims of each other then all we have is narratives and counter-narratives,” he added.

Hamas has said it would welcome such an investigation, which would require ensuring safe access for a team of independent experts along with lengthy analysis of multiple data sources such as footage, maps and satellite imagery. In the current circumstances, such an investigation is highly unlikely. This plays to Hamas’ advantage, according to Dr Marina Miron, researcher in the War Studies Department at King’s College London. . “For them, depicting [the narrative] as Israeli atrocities targeting the hospital is beneficial.”

An investigation conducted by Al-Jazeera Network analyzed satellite images to reveal data about Israel’s ground operation in the Gaza Strip. The high-quality satellite images, taken during the period between November 1-10, showed the exact number of Israeli military vehicles in the Strip, their precise locations, and their advancing lines. The satellite images themselves could not be published due to the standards imposed by the companies which provided the data, the news network said.

, Satellite channels broadcast satellite images showing a decrease in the number of vehicles belonging to the Israeli forces in northwest Gaza on November 8 to 295, after it was 383 on the third day of the same month. These pictures indicate, according to military experts, that the 88 vehicles were out of service because they were destroyed or damaged by the resistance in Gaza. Otherwise, it is not possible that the disappearance of this large number of vehicles came in light of orders to withdraw, given the intensity of the battles in northern Gaza.

It is worth noting that Abu Obeida, the military spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades – the armed wing of the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas – announced the complete or partial destruction of 136 military vehicles in the Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun axes.

Israel is trying to urge as many civilians remaining inside Gaza City, believed to number around 100,000, to leave for the south. Palestinian photographers and journalists, through field tours in camps and cities in the northern Gaza Strip , documented visual scenes of the normal functioning of life and the presence of large numbers of citizens, to respond to the Israeli claims that all residents of the north have been displaced and that its cities are empty. The HAMAS Ministry of Interior in Gaza indicated that about 900,000 Palestinians remain in Gaza City and the northern sector. The population of Gaza City and its surrounding areas exceeds 1.1 million out of 2.2 million Palestinians living in the Strip.

Israeli forces reached the gates of Gaza City’s main hospital, the primary target in their battle to seize control of the northern half of the Gaza Strip, where medics said patients including newborn babies were dying for lack of fuel. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll at Al-Shifa hospital rose to 34 since the weekend as the facility suffered fuel shortages. The latest toll included 27 adult intensive care patients and seven babies, deputy health minister in the Gaza Strip, Youssef Abu Rish, told AFP. At least 650 patients were still inside, desperate to be evacuated to another medical facility by the Red Cross or some other neutral agency. Israel says the hospital sits atop tunnels housing a headquarters for Hamas fighters, who are to blame for its plight for using patients as shields, which Hamas denies.

Israel told civilians to leave and medics to send patients elsewhere. It says it has attempted to evacuate babies from the neo-natal ward and left 300 liters of fuel to power emergency generators at the hospital entrance, but the offers were blocked by Hamas. HAMAS health ministry spokespersonQidra said the 300 liters would power the hospital for just half an hour, and Shifa needed 8,000-10,000 liters of fuel per day delivered by the Red Cross or an international agency. An Israeli official who requested anonymity said 300 liters could last several hours because only the emergency room was running.

A terrorist squad embedded itself in the area of the 'Al-Quds' Hospital, fired from the hospital entrance at IDF soldiers, and was subsequently eliminated. RPG fire and small arms fire were directed at soldiers from the direction of the Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City. The shooting was carried out by a terrorist squad that had embedded itself within a group of civilians at the entrance of the hospital. During the exchange of fire, civilians were seen leaving the hospital building, and other terrorists who came out of adjacent buildings hid among them and joined the attempted attack. After the terrorists fired RPGs, they returned to hide in the hospital. The forces fired shells toward the sources of the fire. During the incident, approximately 21 terrorists were killed and there were no casualties to Israeli forces.

UN officials called in a joint statement for “urgent international action” to end Israeli attacks against hospitals in the Gaza Strip. The regional directors of the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Children’s Fund ( UNICEF ), and the World Health Organization stressed that “the world cannot stand silent while hospitals (in Gaza), which should be a safe haven, turn into scenes of death, destruction and despair.” They pointed out that attacks on medical facilities and civilians "are unacceptable and constitute a violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and therefore cannot be condoned."

The appeal came from Laila Bakr, from the United Nations Population Fund in the Arab countries, Adele Khader from UNICEF in the Middle East and North Africa, and Ahmed Al-Mandhari from the World Health Organization for the Eastern Mediterranean. The statement added, "Decisive international action is needed now to ensure an immediate ceasefire on humanitarian grounds, prevent further loss of life, and preserve what remains of the health care system in Gaza." "The violence must end now," he said.

Quoting World Health Organization figures, they pointed out that “at least 137 attacks were recorded on health care facilities in Gaza during the past 36 days, resulting in the death of 521 people and the injury of 686 others, including 16 deaths and 38 injuries to health workers while on duty.” The statement continued, "We are horrified by the recent reports of attacks that targeted the vicinity of Al-Shifa Hospital, Nasser Al-Rantisi Children's Hospital, Al-Quds Hospital and others in Gaza City, especially the northern areas, resulting in the deaths of many, including children."

The British Economist magazine said that Israel's predicament in the Gaza Strip is getting worse, as Tel Aviv faces all pressing options. Should it give priority to victory, "hostages", or its relations with America?

The magazine quoted an Israeli officer as saying that this opportunity would be their only opportunity to destroy as much as possible of the secret tunnel network built by the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), which is a complex network estimated to be about 500 kilometers long. He added, “We do not know how long we have to work and we need to Make the most of it.” He added that Western support for the Israeli attack has begun to waver, which is putting pressure on Israel to implement what it wants from its attack.

Although Israel's closest ally, America, had not yet called for a ceasefire, the IDF is not wasting any time. However, it has reached a point in its campaign where the contradiction between the Israeli government's declared goals, which is the destruction of Hamas' military infrastructure, is becoming more acute, as is rescue the 239 detainees still in Gaza.

Indirect talks about any kind of agreement are still ongoing, but the last word will be that of the head of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar , who is one of Israel's main targets. The magazine stressed that it is not clear whether any agreement “will postpone the Israeli army’s attempt to destroy any Hamas facilities near or under Al-Shifa Hospital ,” as it seems unlikely that this will be abandoned. The Israeli Cabinet had not yet taken a decision to storm Gaza hospitals, because it hopes to reach an agreement with Hamas regarding the release of a large number of prisoners and allowing more supplies, including fuel, to enter the Strip.

The military and strategic expert, Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi, military analysis on Al-Jazeera, said that the Israeli ground war on the Gaza Strip has entered the stage of “mobile war.” He stressed that urban warfare has a higher cost to the attacker, because his vehicles are considered fixed targets. He stressed that the battle is measured in meters. Al-Duwairi explained that the occupation army in a mobile war enters new areas and retreats from them against its will, in reference to its imminent arrival at Al-Saraya Square, which is more than a kilometer away from Al-Shifa Hospital, which means a development towards further entry into... The depth of Gaza City.

He pointed out that in this war, the occupation army entered from the west of Gaza City, contrary to the usual practice of entering from the east, relying on fire barrages. Al-Duwairi added, "Before advancing, he resorted to bombing the targeted area with violent air, land, and sea strikes in order to flatten the ground, as residential buildings would then become vulnerable to collapse. He also expected the tunnel openings to be closed."

However, according to Al-Duwairi, the occupation army is surprised by fierce resistance from the Al-Qassam Brigades , the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), and other resistance factions. He stressed the need to differentiate between the arrival of Israeli military vehicles in the areas and control over them, and that “there is no control, as fighting and clashes exist,” citing Al-Qassam’s statements about the destruction of vehicles and tanks in the areas of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, Tal Al-Hawa, Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia, and others.

Regarding the most prominent weapons used by the resistance in Gaza, the military expert pointed out that innovative explosive devices were added to the battle, and are divided into two types: factory-ready explosive devices or devices prepared in the field. He pointed out that they are widely used against vehicles, individuals, tunnel entrances, and inside buildings. The anti-explosive device is used for individuals and military vehicles, and is made of explosives such as mortar shells. It works via remote control, as it consists of a power source, a detonation initiator, and a main explosive charge.

Regarding the occupation army's resort to arresting Palestinian civilians and stationing its vehicles in front of schools and hospitals, Al-Duwairi said, "Israeli forces use citizens as human shields to limit the resistance's ability to target them." The military expert added that Israel is protected from the Security Council, and there are three countries in it that are absolutely supportive of “Tel Aviv” - referring to America, Britain and France - and renewed his description of the Israeli army as “the morally worst in the world,” and what is happening in Gaza is unprecedented in history. Military history since Alexander the Great.

The humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip , its siege, and the displacement of its population have become part of the occupation’s arsenal, and a bargaining chip in negotiations over the release of prisoners, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. The most widely read newspaper in Israel says that this crisis instills in the Palestinian consciousness the “horrific punishment” that will face anyone who dares from now on to challenge Israel.

It seems that this scenario presented by “Haaretz” was paved for it by the statements of current or former Israeli officials, moderate or extremist, as everyone knew about this “rooted strategic perception that believes that human suffering can lead to security gains for Israel, which is the concept that considers the siege of Gaza An indispensable reality,” according to Haaretz.

During a press conference after the Israeli War Council meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was asked about the reasons for not dismissing the Israeli Minister of Heritage, Amichai Eliyahu , after his statements last week of dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza. He replied that what “he said was not true, and I rebuked him and excluded him, and he assured me that he would not He repeats these statements, otherwise there will be another deal with the minister.” It was clear from Netanyahu's answer that what was more important to him was denying Israel's possession of nuclear weapons and not restricting the statements of the minister, who belongs to the far-right "Jewish Greatness" party led by Itamar Ben Gvir .

Military expert Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi explained that the weight of the Hiroshima bomb was 15,000 tons, while the volume of what Israel dropped on Gaza reached 12,000 tons of explosives, but “the development that has occurred in increasing the effectiveness of bombs, along with the stability of the quantity of explosives, may make this quantity equivalent to 1.5 of the size of a bomb.” "Hiroshima."

In this context, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Observatory revealed that the per capita share of the continuous Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since the seventh of October exceeded 10 kilograms of explosives. Israel dropped more than 25,000 tons of explosives on the Gaza Strip, equivalent to two nuclear bombs.

If Eliyahu proposed a “solution” that “the Gaza Strip must not remain on the face of the earth,” then Ben Gvir, the head of his party and the Israeli Minister of National Security, called for the elimination of all sympathizers with the Hamas movement and described them as terrorists, and that “includes those who sing, those who support, and those who distribute “Candy,” in reference to the Palestinian street’s celebration of resistance operations.

The head of the "Israel Our Home" party, Avigdor Lieberman, appears to say that "there are no more crossings or supplies to Gaza. But above all, Hamas leaders must be eliminated, and even those abroad are legitimate targets." In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, the former Defense Minister revealed that he prepared a document in 2016 that predicted a large-scale Hamas attack. His conclusion at the time was "the opposite of our entire military establishment, despite its experience and professionalism." After joining the government led by Netanyahu that year, he actually handed him a report that he had written with his advisors. In 2018, he resigned because the government accepted a ceasefire with Hamas, but today he insists that “no agreement will be reached with it.”

Lieberman also believes that prisoners should be released by force, no deals should be made with Hamas, and Israel should have freedom of action in Gaza and a buffer zone along the border after Hamas is defeated. He said that Israel "will change with this war."

The Israeli media revealed a large part of this extremism. “972” magazine reported that everything that has been said and implemented - for more than a month in Gaza - is literally based on a plan published by the Minister of Finance and Supreme Governor of the government in the West Bank, Bezalel Smotrich, which was published 6 years ago (when he was He is still a young member of the Knesset), and its summary is that the Palestinians must choose between “immigration or extermination.”

The website continued that Israeli public opinion tends towards adopting ideas for a plan that politicians had rejected and considered imaginary and dangerous. The plan stated that “there is a contradiction between Jewish and Palestinian national aspirations, and this contradiction does not allow for any kind of settlement, reconciliation or division.” The far-right politician continued that instead of maintaining the illusion that reaching a political agreement is possible, the issue must be resolved unilaterally and forever.

The plan includes only passing references to Gaza, as Smotrich seems content with Israel's encirclement of the Strip as an ideal solution to what he calls the "demographic challenge" posed by the very presence of the Palestinians. As for the West Bank, he calls for its complete annexation. In the last clause of the plan, it will alleviate “demographic concerns by offering 3 million Palestinians a choice: to abandon their national aspirations and continue to live on their land with minimal rights, or to emigrate abroad.”

“If they choose instead to take up arms against Israel, they are designated as terrorists and the Israeli army proceeds to kill those who must be killed,” the plan explains. When he was asked at a meeting in which he presented his plan to religious Zionist figures, if he also intended to kill families, women and children, Smotrich replied: “This is war.”

Since the seventh of last month, Smotrich's vision has been implemented with a severity that he may not have expected, and is more extreme than the text of the plan itself. This is because, in practical terms, Israel removes from the agenda the first possibility presented, which is for the Palestinian to live with the minimum rights, and the alternative becomes immigration or extermination.

And if these were the statements of extremist politicians, then those who are described as moderates would not have lowered the ceilings of their words. For example, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, who served for a period as Prime Minister of the occupation, said that “the Israelis live on their biblical land.” The politician who supports the two-state solution is committed to settlements and settlements, stressing that there is a confusion between the settlements or establishments and colonies, "we did not occupy the State of Palestine because this state never existed."

Lapid did not specify - in an interview with a French television station - where the alleged Palestinian state would be established? But he stressed that the Israelis "are not colonizers." The opposition leader concluded, "The priority issue for achieving the two-state solution is eliminating Hamas. The issue now is that we are fighting for our lives against a terrorist organization, an organization against the two-state solution."

American officials who spoke to the New York Times respond to the question that the Israeli army has limited time to carry out its operations in Gaza before anger among Arabs in the region and frustration in the United States and other countries over the rising death toll limit Israel's goal of eliminating Hamas. Chief of Staff General Charles Brown says he is concerned that "every civilian killed in Gaza could generate future individuals who join Hamas."

One of the officials revealed that senior American military commanders try - daily - to push their Israeli counterparts to be “more precise” in targeting. Other officials urged Israel to use satellite-guided bombs instead of munitions weighing between 454 kilograms and 900 kilograms. Other officials point out that Israel's decision two weeks ago to halt a large-scale invasion of Gaza and instead carry out a more deliberate and phased ground offensive is in line with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's suggestions to his Israeli counterpart.

General Kenneth McKenzie Jr., former head of US Central Command, said that the Israeli army has identified five main targets in Gaza:

1. Dismantling Hamas
2. Recovery of hostages
3. Reducing the risks to his forces
4. Reducing civilian casualties
5. Avoid expanding the war beyond Gaza.

General McKenzie said that Israel is "achieving most of these goals," but strategically, time is "not necessarily on Israel's side." Criticisms directed at Israel are increasing as memories of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation fade and images of the massacres in Gaza dominate news headlines. This puts pressure on the occupation army - according to the newspaper - to harm Hamas as quickly as possible. General Brown said that the longer the war lasted, the more difficult it became for Israel.

White House counterterrorism unit official Christopher Costa believes that "Israel's risk tolerance is very high, and they are willing to accept criticism regarding civilian deaths during operations that take place in a complex and densely populated urban environment." However, the former head of the Israeli Internal Security Service (Shin Bet), Yaakov Perry, feels “concerned that Israel is working to create a new generation of fighters... whose sons we will fight within 4 or 5 years.”

The Martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades , the military arm of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), said on Monday that it had destroyed 10 Israeli military vehicles in the ongoing battles west of Gaza City. The Brigades said in separate military reports that they destroyed an Israeli troop carrier west of Gaza City with an “ Al-Yassin 105 ” shell and burned it completely. They also targeted 4 military vehicles in the axis northwest of Gaza City with “Al-Yassin 105” shells. Al-Qassam added that it targeted 5 Israeli tanks west of Gaza City with “Al-Yassin 105” shells and a “Tandum” shell.

The Brigades confirmed that they destroyed the occupation forces penetrating western Gaza and eastern Juhr al-Dik with heavy-caliber mortar shells. Earlier, the Brigades stated that “its fighters are engaged in fierce clashes, and are blowing up enemy vehicles in all axes and points of the enemy’s advance in Gaza.” This comes at a time when the Israeli army is intensifying its bombardment with aircraft and artillery on Al-Shifa Hospital and its surroundings, in Gaza City, causing it to be out of service.

IDF troops continued to conduct raids on the outskirts of the Al-Shati Camp, targeting terrorist infrastructure located in central governmental institutions in the heart of the civilian population, including schools, universities, mosques, and residences of terrorists. Hamas' terror infrastructure was deliberately located inside civilian structures, including in the "Al-Quds" University, and inside the "Abu Bakr" mosque.

The troops uncovered a section of the mosque which housed a large number of explosive devices and flammable materials. During the activity, the troops seized dozens of weapons, military equipment, and operational plans belonging to Hamas. IDF ground troops entered the residence of a senior Islamic Jihad terrorist and located a large number of weapons inside the kids' room of the residence. During an additional activity in the area of Beit Hanoun, IDF troops located a tunnel shaft, intelligence materials of the terror organization, and weapons.

Terrorists launched an anti-tank missile from Lebanon toward the area of Netu'a in northern Israel. In response, IDF artillery is striking the sources of the fire. Furthemore, following the reports regarding sirens that sounded in Arab al-Aramashe in northern Israel, mortar launches that crossed from Lebanon to Israel were identified. The launches fell in open areas. No injuries were reported. Following the sirens that sounded in the area of Gornot HaGalil in northern Israel, two mortar launches that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory were identified. The launches fell in open areas. No injuries were reported. IDF artillery struck the sources of the launches. Overnight, an armed terrorist cell was identified in Lebanon near the Biranit area. IDF soldiers struck the cell and a hit was identified.

The soldiers of the Israeli Navy’s Unit for Underwater Missions (“Yaltam”) have located dozens of weapons and military devices in the Gazan maritime region, both above and underwater. A large number of weapons used by the Hamas terrorist organization in their attempts to infiltrate Israeli territory were located. Hamas’ attempts were thwarted by Israeli Navy Forces. Amongst the weapons and military devices were explosive devices, explosive belts, ammunition, inflatable boats and more. The weapons suspected of containing explosives were neutralized.

Weeks of hostilities across the Lebanese-Israeli border have escalated, with growing casualties on both sides and a war of words fuelling concerns of a widening conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah. So far, more than 70 Hezbollah members and 10 civilians have been killed in Lebanon, and 10 people including seven troops have been killed in Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hezbollah not to broaden its attacks. "This is playing with fire. Fire will be answered with much stronger fire. They should not try us, because we have only shown a little of our strength," he said in a statement. Asked at a news conference on Saturday about what Israel's red line was, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said: "If you hear that we have attacked Beirut, you will understand that Nasrallah has crossed that line."

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin characterised the violence as "tit-for-tat exchanges between Lebanese Hezbollah and Israeli forces in the north", predicting Israel would remain focused on the threat from Hezbollah "for the foreseeable future" he told reporters in Seoul, although he said it was hard to predict what might happen. "And certainly no one wants to see another conflict break out in the north on Israel's border in earnest".

In response to the launches over the past day, IDF fighter jets struck a number of Hezbollah military sites and terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon. These targets included terror infrastructure, weapons storage compounds, and an operational command center used by Hezbollah.

Israeli forces lack the ability to conduct wide-scale ground maneuvers past the Palestinian-Lebanese borders, Israeli media outlets reported. The effectiveness of the Israeli air force against Hezbollah's anti-tank units had decreased in the past few days, Israeli Channel 13 reported following several operations conducted from South Lebanon, targeting various Israeli positions alongside the Lebanese-Palestinian border. The Israeli broadcaster noted that the number of red alerts in northern occupied territories exceeded those that originated from the Gaza Strip.

The IDF is "in a defensive situation in the north, where we receive hits and injuries," and Hezbollah's tactics have become more effective in the face of Israeli airstrikes, Channel 13 reported. More importantly, the Israeli broadcaster revealed that Hezbollah has figured out the tactics used by the Israeli Air Force to target its positions, which means that the Resistance party's operations on the Northern Front have become more effective.

Israeli Security Minister Yoav Gallant had previously admitted that the majority of "Israel's" aerial capabilities were transferred to the Northern Front, further testifying to the pressure that Hezbollah has exerted on the occupation's military apparatus, as its aggression on Gaza ensues. Moreover, Israeli Channel 12 reported that Sunday's events mark the most intense clashes since the battle ensued in the north. Nir Dvori, a military correspondent for Channel 12, said that Sunday's developments are a marker of shame for "Israel", adding that Hezbollah had already crossed the red line that Gallant spoke of.

Gallant had previously said that the Israeli public would know if Hezbollah crossed the red line when Lebanon's capital, Beirut gets bombed. "If Nasrallah makes a mistake, the fate of Beirut will be like the fate of Gaza," Gallant claimed after Hezbollah's Secretary-General made a speech commemorating Martyr's Day.

Moreover, Dvori pointed to the 24 evacuated settlements in northern occupied Palestine and the mounting death toll of Israeli occupation soldiers, as a result of Hezbollah's operations. Therefore, he says that confrontations in the north of occupied Palestine are just as dangerous to "Israel" as the evolving events in the Gaza Strip.

Mounting pressure on "Israel" from Hezbollah to the north of occupied Palestine, coincided with continued targeting of Eilat in the southernmost part of occupied territories. The city, which lies on the shores of the Red Sea, had been targeted by Yemen's Armed Forces. To put things into context, Sanaa, Yemen's capital city, lies around 1,800 km away from "Eilat". However, Sanaa has continued to support the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza by launching long-range drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles at Israeli targets.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq also announced that it targeted the Israeli settlement of "Eilat" early Sunday, underlining its commitment to supporting the Palestinian people and their struggle.

Israel had not yet responded to any of the aforementioned attacks, as the Israeli military finds itself overloaded with heavy casualties suffered both in Gaza and in northern occupied Palestine. The continued operation on the Gaza Strip has been met with escalating responses from multiple factions within the Axis of Resistance. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had previously outlined two primary objectives that the Resistance seeks to achieve, "halting the aggression on Gaza and ensuring the victory of the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza, especially Hamas."

Bystanders

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said at a routine press conference on Monday, "The current situation in the Gaza Strip is quite dire, and China supports all efforts aimed at de-escalating the conflict and restoring peace." Mao noted that since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out, China has been in close communication with relevant parties to call for ceasefire and restoration of peace. On halting the current conflict, China's position is very much similar to that of the vast Arab, Islamic and African developing countries. "China will work with relevant parties to continue to work relentlessly to protect civilians, deescalate the situation, resume talks for peace and realize peace," said the spokesperson.

Mao said at the press conference that "The humanitarian situation in the region has been extremely dire for over a month. The struggling Dar Al-Shifa Hospital is an epitome of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza." China urges all parties involved to immediately cease fire, protect civilians, increase humanitarian assistance, and alleviate the humanitarian crisis, Mao said, noting that the international community should take concrete measures and make greater efforts to address this issue, she noted.

Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called on the European Union and the United Nations to "parachute aid" into the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by fighting between Israel and Hamas. "I call on the United Nations and the European Union to parachute aid into the Gaza Strip, especially the north," he said, referring to the area where fighting is most intense.

Senior Palestinian Authority official, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, repeatedly blamed the situation on the 'occupation' and stability would be ensured if it ended. Palestinian Authority (PA) Deputy Prime Minister Nabil Abu Rudeineh declared in a statement on Sunday that the Gaza Strip was an integral part of the "State of Palestine,” under the responsibility of Ramallah. Abu Rudeineh, also serving as a spokesman for PA President Mahmoud Abbas and as Information Minister, said the continuation of the "occupation" in the West Bank and East Jerusalem will not bring security to anyone.

The senior PA official further claimed that the Israeli attempts to separate the West Bank from the Gaza Strip were doomed to failure. "Israel must end its aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and the US administration must act immediately to end Israel's war of extermination in the Gaza Strip," the PA Deputy Prime Minister said in his statement. "Security and stability in the region and the world will only be ensured with an end to the Israeli occupation and the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, which will include the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip," he added.

According to Abu Rudeineh, "the end of the occupation is what will bring security and stability.” He claimed that international efforts will be in vain as long as the "occupation" of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem continues. "The end of the occupation is the only solution to restore stability and prevent the situation from exploding throughout the region,” he reiterated. Abbas previously stated the PA can only return to power in the Gaza Strip once a "comprehensive political solution" was reached for the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Axis of Resistance

TASS news agency, citing a report obtained from the press office of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Services (SVR), reported that the US has been pressuring "Israel" to accelerate its genocidal campaign in Gaza in order to avert consequences to US President Joe Biden's pre-election standing or ratings. The SVR noted that various representatives from the US State Department and Defense Department are advocating for a ceasefire. However, a contrary reality unfolds in private conversations between US officials and the Israeli leadership. The US has been effectively urging "Israel" to expedite their aggression on the strip to avoid prolonged conflict, fearing it could detrimentally affect Biden's pre-election position, as noted by the SVR.

Israel’s war against Palestinian militant group Hamas playing out in the Gaza Strip has spilled over into neighboring Lebanon and could likely expand in scope to the wider Middle East, head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Aerospace Force said. “Today, we can see that the war has expanded, with Lebanon being embroiled in it,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Amir Ali Hajizadeh as saying. Tensions continue to grow north of the Israeli border, with attacks by Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah launching regular attacks targeting Israeli sites and the Israeli military returning fire. Hajizadeh added: “It is probable that the extent of clashes will grow even bigger. The future is unclear, though Iran is prepared for all conditions.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani declared Iran's diplomatic outreach to Arab and Islamic nations against the Israeli occupation's crimes in Gaza as a success. In a press conference in Tehran, Kanaani outlined Iran's priorities since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, focusing on ceasing the aggression, lifting the blockade, facilitating humanitarian aid, and opposing the forced displacement of the Palestinians in the Strip.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said that Washington's obstruction of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will lead to the expansion of the war, and it considered that Israel is committing unspeakable crimes in Gaza and that the United States bears responsibility for them. The ministry added that stopping the Israeli aggression and the withdrawal of the occupation forces from Gaza will prevent the expansion of the war, stressing that the American administration that supports Israel is the one who bears responsibility for the expansion of the scope of the conflict in the region.

This came in a statement by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani, who considered that Washington should pay attention to its actions instead of accusing others. He said regarding the American allegations that the Palestinian resistance factions received orders from Iran, “The resistance forces decide and implement according to what they see.” Kanaani stressed that the American allegations are to mislead and divert public opinion from the truth, and that rejecting the truce in Gaza will open new fronts.

Experts' opinions differ regarding what Iran can do in light of the continuation of the Israeli war on Gaza and Tel Aviv's announcement that it is determined to eliminate the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ). Some of them believe that Tehran will intervene directly in the war, while others rule out this hypothesis unless Iranian territory is being hit directly. Iran also considered that Israel's siege of Al-Shifa Hospital and its targeting of medical centers in Gaza is a "brazen crime", and its responsibility is due to the countries of the world's failure to show a deterrent response against Israel.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani announced that Tehran also had reservations about considering the PLO the sole representative of the Palestinians, based on its belief that all Palestinian movements represent Palestine and have the right to defend their land and self-determination. This came two weeks after the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Arab resolution calling for a humanitarian truce in Gaza, where Tehran voted in favor of it, which some political circles in Iran considered “a green light to move forward in implementing the two-state solution option” referred to in Text of the resolution.

At the time, Tehran rejected predictions that it would accept the principle of a two-state solution as a solution to the Palestinian issue, and its permanent mission to the United Nations circulated a statement in which it explained that despite its reservations about “some paragraphs of the Arab resolution that contradict Iran’s principled and decisive policies towards Palestine,” it considered any negative vote on the resolution “as tantamount to Playing in the court of the Zionist entity and its supporters.”

The former Iranian ambassador to Jordan, Nasrat Allah Tajik, revealed that the Islamic Republic had previously voted repeatedly in favor of some UN resolutions and other final statements of international conferences according to what it saw as being in the interest of the Palestinian people, but it expressed its reservations publicly and renewed its vision towards the ideal solution in the Palestinian territories, according to Saying it. Tajik believes that Iran’s vision towards the Palestinian issue is compatible with the right to self-determination (Iranian press)

Tajik told Al Jazeera Net that Tehran sees "holding a democratic referendum for all indigenous people in the Palestinian territories, including Muslims, Christians and Jews" as a solution to the Palestinian issue, stressing that the Israeli occupation is the main obstacle to the two-state solution.

The vision of the two-state solution is based on the establishment of a Palestinian state - alongside an Israeli state - within the borders drawn in the wake of the 1967 war , which includes the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. Tajik believed that the Palestinian issue has reached unprecedented complexity, and that holding a general referendum or seeing a two-state solution may not be an ideal solution, unless one of them or any other initiative is able to guarantee the rights of the landowners, especially the right of return.

The former Iranian diplomat concluded that his country's vision is consistent with the right to self-determination as it is an inherent right that guarantees the people the kind of rule they want and integration with a neighboring political unit or separation from it, noting that international laws recognize the right of liberation movements in their struggle to be free from the grip of colonialism.

On the other hand, a segment of Iranians see their country’s insistence on holding a general referendum in the Palestinian territories and its permanent reservations about the two-state solution as interference in the affairs of others, as political science professor Sadiq Ziba Kalam asked about the party that authorized Tehran to be “more Catholic than the Pope” on the Palestinian issue. In a debate organized by the “Azad” platform affiliated with Sharif Industrial University between the conservative writer Koros Aliani and the reformist academic Zeba Kalam, the latter criticized his country’s policies towards the Palestinian issue, and demanded clarification as to whether there was a party that assigned Tehran responsibility for eliminating Israel.

Kalam believed that "the principle of the two-state solution, which was ratified by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, is an appropriate solution to the Palestinian issue." He quoted the former Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Saeb Erekat , who conveyed a verbal message to former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , asking him to exert his efforts to establish the name of Palestine on the world map “instead of attempts aimed at removing Israel from the map.”

On the other hand, writer Koros Aliani saw that the principle of the two-state solution is unfair to the Palestinians and does not do them justice in distributing power and its institutions, stressing that it would have been better for his colleague Ziba Kalam to question who authorized Israel to undermine Iran and carry out terrorist operations within its territory.

Setara Sobh newspaper quoted the former Director General of the Middle East Affairs Department, Qassem Moheb Ali, as saying that the position of the member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Arab League is clear, adopting a two-state solution on the 1967 borders, while Tehran adopts a different position. It also quoted him as saying that it is unlikely that the Iranian road map will be welcomed by other countries, as holding a referendum “is no longer a practical option for the Palestinian issue.”

For its part, the official Iranian media republished the speech of Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian , last month, before the United Nations General Assembly, in which he said that his country supports the full implementation of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination and the establishment of their state with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. Abdullahian stressed in his speech that Palestine belongs to its indigenous people and that Tehran sees the necessity of holding a general referendum in the manner registered with the United Nations.

The Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) denounced accusations by European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell of the resistance using hospitals and civilians as “human shields.” The movement said - in a statement - that Josep Borrell's accusations against the resistance of using hospitals and civilians as human shields are a reversal of the facts and a European cover for the occupation to commit more crimes against children and defenseless civilians. Hamas confirmed that Borrell's statements are very dangerous, because they ignore the pictures, testimonies, and international reports documenting the occupation's crimes, which confirm that the occupation army killed more than 11,000 martyrs, the majority of whom were women and children.

HAMAS continued, "The occupation army deliberately targeted civilians, in their homes, shelter centers, schools, and internationally protected hospitals, with the aim of terrorizing them and forcibly displacing them from their lands, in a crime of genocide, which took place in audio and video, in full view of the world." The movement called on the European official to immediately retract his "outrageous and inhumane" statements.

The head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council, Mr. Hashem Safi al-Din, said, “We still adhere to the equation of killing that will be matched by killing with the enemy and civilian versus civilian.” Mr. Hashem Safi Al-Din affirmed , in his speech during the commemoration of the martyrs of the Ainata massacre , which was held in the Al- Mujtaba complex (peace be upon him) in the southern suburb of Beirut, that “resistance continues, it is a need and a necessity, and the weapons remain in our hands to confront the enemy who cannot be reassured.”

Mr. Safi al-Din pointed out that “the resistance is now in a position of action and will remain present to protect the homeland and our people, and what is happening in Gaza confirms that it is not possible to rely on any force in the world for protection,” and he added, “We are facing an enemy that does not know any values, especially since it has cover. ” “Politicians from the United States to exercise their aggression, including killing and targeting everything in Gaza.”

Mr. Safi al-Din said, “The Gaza experience proves that resistance action is the most effective, and we respond to the enemy by confirming that we will work to improve our missile capabilities,” and he continued, “The enemy is delusional and mistaken if he believes that he can eliminate Hamas or other resistance factions,” and stressed that “ The resistance has increased in presence, strength, and strength, and what is happening in Gaza is a repetition by the enemy of an obsolete experience,” he stressed, “Hamas will remain, the resistance will remain, the buildings and hospitals will return better than they were, and the resistance will become stronger because it is real.”

Allied for Democracy

Prime Minister Netanyahu kicked off the meeting by saying "This is a time of war and I ask that no details be leaked from here" according to the Channel 12 anchor. Israeli media outlets indicate troubled relations between the Israeli military command and the Israeli political command. The leak from the closed meeting shed light on the deep-rooted divisions within the Israeli occupation's political scene, which are expected to fully fledge when the operation on the Gaza Strip comes to an end.

According to Israeli Channel 12 anchor, Yaron Avraham, the Israeli chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, fell out with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and other officials during a closed meeting held between Israeli officials. Avraham says that Halevi accused other participants of leaking information from previous meetings, which aimed to put the Israeli military command in a bad light in front of the Israeli public.

"This evening we are talking about a difficult exchange between the Prime Minister, the ministers, and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, in one of the closed consultation discussions that took place in recent days, when in this discussion the Chief of Staff claims that details are being leaked that present the IDF in a negative light," Avraham posted on his personal X account.

To which Aryeh Deri the leader of the Shas political party, which is part of the Israeli ruling coalition, said, "I don't quite understand, you're not talking in the right forum. Leaks don't come from here" The Israeli Chief of Staff, Halevi, then said, "Indeed, information is coming out of here," as he later explained to Deri that the information "Usually have a thing in common which is slander against the IDF," he said in reference to the Israeli occupation forces.

Avraham also highlighted the fact that Israeli authorities have not been able to organize a press conference that features the Israeli Prime Minister, the head of the Shin Bet, and the Israeli Chief of Staff. Failure to do so has brought to light stark divisions between the Israeli military and intelligence command on one side and the Israeli political command on the other. The Israeli journalist says that the unprecedented exchange indicates that Halevi is "frustrated" with the conduct of Israeli politicians.

Former Israeli intelligence chief Lieutenant General Amos Malka slammed the conduct of the Israeli occupation's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, during a radio interview, stating, "His judgment in the conduct of the war at the moment is flawed and tends towards a blame game and a plan to detach himself from responsibility." In fact, Netanyahu has not yet accepted any direct responsibility for the Israeli military and intelligence failure that occurred on October 7.

Malka added that Netanyahu is preoccupied with securing his position rather than focusing on managing the war on Gaza. "If he has the time on the second and third day of the war to deal with whether the commission of inquiry that will be established will be governmental or state, and if he engages in delusional and dangerous tweeting for three hours during the IDF's operation to rescue of Pvt. Ori Megidish - I see that he is not focused on conducting the fighting. He is focused on survival," he said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said that international pressure is increasing on Israel to end the war in the Gaza Strip because of the humanitarian situation there, adding that they have two to three weeks to resolve the war before the pressure becomes effective. Cohen did not mention what they would do if international pressure for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip increased, but he said that the issue of Israeli detainees held by the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) is an essential tool that gives Tel Aviv legitimacy to continue the war.

Cohen explained, "The world accepts that Israel will not stop fighting until all detainees are released." It is noteworthy that international support for Israel has begun to decline with the increasing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and the death of more than 11,000 people, most of whom are children and women. Voices also rose in Israel calling for a ceasefire and the conclusion of a comprehensive prisoner exchange deal, warning against reoccupying the besieged Gaza Strip.

In the United States, the largest supporter of Israel, Congress witnessed a movement against the war in Gaza with the growing American public pressure rejecting Washington’s absolute support for Tel Aviv. In a letter sent by 26 Democratic senators to US President Joe Biden, they stressed the need for Israel to adhere to the rules of war, including Protection of civilians.

After continuing to emphasize “Israel’s right to defend itself,” French President Emmanuel Macron recently issued a statement in which he acknowledged Israel’s killing of Palestinian civilians and the necessity of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. In an interview with the BBC last Saturday, Macron said, “We share Israel’s pain and we share its desire to get rid of terrorism. But there are civilians being bombed. These children, these women, and these elderly people are being bombed and killed, and there is no justification or any legitimacy for that.” "There must be a ceasefire."

This statement angered the Israelis, as their Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, quickly responded, saying, “The French president made a grave mistake.” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant went further than Netanyahu and said, “Where does this audacity come from to preach morality to us during war?”

The Israeli presidency announced that French President Emmanuel Macron denied, in a phone call with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, that he had accused Israel of “deliberately harming civilians,” while French Minister of the Armed Forces, Sebastien Le Cornu, urged Israel to take measures to protect Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip . A statement issued by the Israeli presidency stated that Macron said in a call with his Israeli counterpart that he “did not accuse Israel of intentionally harming civilians” in Gaza, in reference to statements he had made during an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Last Friday, it angered the Israeli government.

The Israeli presidency statement indicated that the French President made it clear that his statements to the BBC “relate to the humanitarian situation, which remains an important issue for him and for many countries.” He also noted that Macron affirmed his support for “Israel’s right and duty to defend itself and expressed his support for the war that Israel is waging against Hamas.” The statement stated that Herzog welcomed Macron's clarification of his previous statements, which the Israeli presidency said "caused a lot of pain and discomfort in Israel."

Macron, who called - on October 24 - for the formation of a regional and international coalition to combat the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), is the same one who called for the formation of a humanitarian coalition for Gaza, 3 weeks after his first statement, which was met with disapproval from local and international parties. This position regarding the war in Gaza - which some described as confused - was commented on sarcastically by the leader of the leftist “France Proud” party, Jean-Luc Melenchon, in a tweet on the X website last Thursday, saying, “After a month and two days of non-stop bombing, and 10,000 dead, including 4,500 children, the French President finally raised the discussion about the ceasefire. Will he finally act?"

The comments of social media activists varied regarding Macron’s statement, and the episode (11/13/2023) of the “Shabakat” program monitored some of them. Lama believed that Macron's statements are "evidence that the Western world is gradually moving towards disavowing Israel's crimes, which will drown them all if they do not stop to condemn from time to time." Muhammad al-Sayyid followed in the same vein, saying in his comment, “Over time, Israel will gradually lose support, then friends will abandon it, then disagreements will kill them, then escape and disappear.”

As for “Ahmed,” he questioned Macron’s statements, as he wrote, “A chapter from the new play and its title is: With you, on them, with them for you.” He added, "This demonstrates a new concept of the game. When negotiations take place, Macron attacks them alongside Palestine, to be an eye for the entity in the guise of defending the cause."

“Rawan” interpreted Macron’s statements as saying that they may constitute an obstacle in French and Israeli relations, “because Israel currently measures the world according to who aligns with it, and any attempt to condemn it, even from afar, is prohibited.” It should be noted that the Israeli presidency announced, a few days after that statement, that Macron called his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, and told him, “I did not accuse Israel of intentionally harming civilians in Gaza. We unequivocally support Israel’s right and duty to defend itself.”

In an attempt to mitigate the statement of the Israeli presidency, the Elysee Palace announced that Macron affirmed in the phone call “Israel’s right to defend itself and that this battle must be conducted in accordance with international humanitarian law and taking into account the protection of the civilian population.”

The talk of several Israeli officials about their intention to maintain security control over the Gaza Strip for an indefinite period once their war ends prompted a quick American reaction confirming Washington’s opposition to Israel’s reoccupation of the Strip. After the administration of President Joe Biden showed full support and adoption of the Israeli position following the attacks of October 7, some minor differences began to appear more than 5 weeks after the start of the Israeli operatio in Gaza.

Ambassador David Mack, former US Assistant Secretary of State for Middle Eastern Affairs, believes that there were differences from the beginning, but they were not expressed publicly. He told Al Jazeera Net: "The only point they agreed on, secretly and publicly, is that the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) is an evil organization and must not be allowed to continue as the ruling authority in Gaza." Mack added that as the days and weeks passed, it became more clear that President Biden and his senior foreign policy and national security aides were aiming for a much broader settlement than the events in Gaza.

He continued, "Specifically, the permanent solution requires that the Palestinian Authority be the ruler in both Gaza and the West Bank , and that ultimately requires a fully sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, which is what Netanyahu rejected, and his partners in the far-right coalition are more insistent on the rejection."

Mack considered that there is a desire among Netanyahu and his coalition partners to force the Palestinians to leave their occupied territories and seek refuge in countries such as Egypt and Jordan, and that the Biden administration “opposes from the beginning the occurrence of another catastrophe that will be considered ethnic cleansing, something that American public opinion also opposes.” He demanded that the Biden administration have red lines for Israel in this crisis and beyond, which it can impose by withholding military supplies and political support at the United Nations .

Mack believes that it is not clear whether Biden can obtain congressional support for such measures, and that the approaching 2024 elections make it likely that Biden’s opponents in the Republican Party will exploit this issue to achieve domestic political advantages, especially since public opinion is still “fluid” regarding this issue. matters.

Former diplomat and international affairs expert Wolfgang Postztai indicated that the Biden administration agrees for Israel to continue the military operation until the military goal is achieved, which is to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and release the hostages. Postztay said that the Biden administration does not accept the Israeli refusal to allow a sufficient amount of humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and continues to press for this, and that he urges the Israelis to keep civilian casualties to the lowest possible level.

He continued, "The United States strongly opposes the harassment of Palestinians in the West Bank who have no connection to Hamas. It expects the Israeli leadership to put extremist settlers under control in particular and punish them for any violent violations." The former diplomat stressed that the Biden administration's red line is a permanent occupation of Gaza by the Israeli army, "and Washington is not willing to accept that politically, nor to pay the price for it. Therefore, I expect the Israelis to withdraw their forces from Gaza very soon after the end of the military operation."

As for Asal Rad, a researcher at the Eurasia Group Foundation, she explained - to Al Jazeera Net - that the Biden administration stands firmly with Israel, including its request for an additional $14 billion in American aid to Israel and voting against the United Nations ceasefire resolutions despite overwhelming international support for that. She continued, "However, there appears to be some frustration on the part of the Biden administration, which has called for a longer humanitarian truce and opposes Israel's reoccupation of Gaza, although many would argue that the Israeli siege of Gaza and control of its borders and resources amounts to a situation of actual occupation."

In addition, last Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken made his strongest comments yet, noting that “a very large number” of Palestinians have been killed and that more effort is needed to prevent civilian deaths, according to Rad. The expert confirmed that there were differences regarding post-war Gaza between the Biden administration and Israel, and Netanyahu rejected the American idea that the Palestinian Authority would participate in governing the Strip and said that Israel would maintain security control. Rad says that despite any differences, the US administration continues to provide its full support. Biden did not announce any red lines, and there is no indication that aid and support from the United States will be affected by Israel's actions.

Rad believes that these small differences do not seem to affect the Biden administration’s full support for Israel’s response to the attacks of last October 7 and the ongoing military campaign in Gaza. Rather, “in fact, the White House reiterated that the United States does not draw red lines for Israel. ” She adds that White House National Security spokesman John Kirby stated as such last month, and reaffirmed this position just days ago, “Thus, despite the high death toll, the majority of whom are civilian victims, including thousands of children, the Biden administration has maintained its full support for Israel.” "No red lines were drawn for it."

As for Matt Doss, executive vice president of the Center for International Policy and former foreign policy advisor to Senator Bernie Sanders, he believes that there are clear differences emerging, as evidenced by Secretary Blinken’s recently stated concerns about the high number of Palestinian civilian casualties, as well as Netanyahu’s rejection of “post-war Gaza principles.” "which Blinken put forward last week. Doss confirmed - to Al Jazeera Net - that the Biden administration "was not prepared to announce public red lines to Israel. Although they talked about this in their ongoing meetings between the two parties, Washington did not show any real willingness to actually impose them, so Israel has no reason to listen."

For his part, Adam Shapiro, responsible for the Palestinian-Israeli file at the Democracy for the Arab World Now organization, ruled out the existence of differences between the two sides, but he believes that “the American administration has a different time frame for military activity than Israel, and that Washington gives more priority to the release of hostages than it does.” Israel at this stage. Shapiro confirmed - to Al Jazeera Net - that Biden did not set any red lines, and said, “We have to wonder whether this administration will actually impose red lines at a time when it knows that Israel has almost complete support from Congress, and important elements in the administration, despite the overwhelming popular opposition to what "You do it in Gaza."

An internal dissent memo from the State Department obtained by Axios accuses President Biden of disseminating misinformation regarding the war on Gaza and asserts that "Israel" is clearly engaging in war crimes in Gaza. The memo, organized by a junior diplomat named Sylvia Yacoub, reflects the deep divisions within the Biden administration concerning the war on Gaza, Axios said.

Signed by 100 State Department and USAID employees, the memo urges a reevaluation of US policy toward "Israel" and demands a ceasefire in Gaza, highlighting the high number of Palestinian casualties. The memo further underscores the need for the US to question "Israel's" war crimes in Gaza and specifically points to the US's continuous military support to "Israel" without establishing clear boundaries. It also critiques US policy in the Middle East for failing to promote a viable two-state solution, expressing dissatisfaction with the White House and the National Security Council's handling of the conflict. Additionally, it criticizes Biden's questioning of the death toll in Gaza.

The five-page memo, signed by about 100 employees of the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), calls on senior officials to reevaluate their policy toward Israel and demands a ceasefire in Gaza, Axios said. “We have failed to reevaluate our position toward Israel,” the memo said. “We have doubled our consistent military assistance to the Israeli government without clear or enforceable red lines.” Without providing a specific example, the memo accuses Biden of “spreading misinformation in his October 10 speech,” and also criticizes him for “questioning the death toll” of the war in Gaza. The US President said on October 27 that he “does not trust” the numbers provided by the Ministry of Health in Gaza, but he also said that he is “sure that innocent people have been killed” there.

The employees “strongly recommended that (the US administration) call for the release of hostages held by Hamas and (Israel),” referring to “thousands” of Palestinians detained in Israel, including those who have not been charged.” Axios said that although the memo begins by referring to the "recent atrocities" committed by Hamas in its attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and sparked the war, it focuses on the Israeli response to the attack.

It added that Biden supported the Israeli response to the Hamas attack, while at the same time expressing his concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. However, the memorandum saw that Biden must do more to question Israel about its actions in the Strip. The memorandum said, according to Axios , that the measures taken by Israel following the attack, which include cutting off electricity, restricting aid, and launching attacks that led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, “all constitute war crimes and/or crimes against humanity under international law.”

Yacoub twitted "Hey @POTUS- so long as you keep showing absolute support for Bibi with no clear, actionable redlines or calls for ceasefire, you continue to support genocide. Your rhetoric and approach from day one has resulted in the deaths of thousands. There is so much blood on your hands." Mitchell Plitnick, co-Author of "Except for Palestine" and President of ReThinking Foreign Policy, wrote "Sylvia Yacoub works for the State Department. She is, of course, absolutely right but her posting like this shows how @SecBlinken and #GenocideJoe are not listening to voices a lot wiser, more human, and smarter than them."

Dr Omar Suleiman is an American Imam, a widely respected theologian, human rights activist, champion of interfaith dialogue and president of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, a non-profit that "pioneers Islamic research in creative, cutting-edge formats tailored to meet people where they are." These days, Suleiman is passionately campaigning for an immediate end to Israel's war on besieged Gaza and has already addressed multiple protest gatherings in the United States, including in the capital Washington, DC.

"My father was born before the creation of the state of Israel. My mother was born just after it ... and they met in Texas. I was born and raised in the US. Every single Palestinian has a story of either their parents being displaced or themselves being displaced ... Growing up, I had the second grade wake-up call when I realised that Palestine was not on the map, and I had to kind of understand from my parents why that was the case....

"Israel has sought to basically ensure that the world is silent while it carries out its systematic ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. And so if you look at a map and you go from 1948 until 2023, you will notice that all along, while this so-called two-state solution and these peace talks that never yield anything but more misery for the Palestinians are hanging over our heads, settlers are regularly pillaging Palestinian villages without any sense of accountability....

"Hence, you have the Abraham Accords, which have essentially become arms deals that ensure sweet business deals for Arab countries at the exchange of normalising with Israel, meaning that the Palestinians no longer have a seat at the table in determining their future, their future state and things that directly involved them.

"And, of course, you have here in the US, unfortunately, where two parties cannot agree on how to feed the average American and how to just keep the government functioning, where you have numerous shutdowns that are taking place or that are threatened because these two parties cannot agree, over 400 congressmen from both parties could suddenly agree on continuing to bolster aid to apartheid Israel to continue the suppression of the Palestinian people....

"Islamophobic framing is that these people that these Muslims, these Arabs, these Palestinians are too violent to be treated like normal human beings and to be trusted as neighbours. And therefore, they deserve a level of brutality in order to protect the world from them....

"Biden in particular has been deeply disappointing in this administration, not that anyone didn't know that he was a Zionist and that he was pro-Israel. He has made that very clear over the course of his career. But I think the one-sidedness of this, all the unconditional support that's been given to Israel to carry out this genocide, the refusal to actually make any meaningful demands to stop it, the level of ignoring the Palestinian catastrophe and the Palestinian community here, has definitely yielded a sense of anger and betrayal within these communities....

"Joe Biden has deliberately ignored Palestinian humanity. He has given a blank check to genocide. He has been an active participant in this genocide. It's American weapons that are being used."