Operation Iron Swords - Day 52 - 27 November 2023

Ccontents

NEW - Operations NEW - By-Standers NEW - Axis of Resistance NEW - Allied for Democracy UPDATED - Oasis of Martyrs UPDATED - Hostages

The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that an agreement had been reached between the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) and Israel to extend the humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip. Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid Al-Ansari said in a tweet on the X website, “The State of Qatar announces that, within the framework of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip.”

On November 24, the temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian factions entered into force for 4 days, under Qatari, Egyptian and American sponsorship. In turn, Hamas said that it had agreed with the brothers in Qatar and Egypt to extend the temporary humanitarian truce for two days under the same conditions as the previous truce. Also, an American official confirmed to Al Jazeera that an agreement had been reached to extend the truce in the Gaza Strip for an additional two days.

Al-Ansari added that there are messages from both sides to extend the truce in the Gaza Strip, stressing that Qatar hopes that the humanitarian truce will lead to a permanent ceasefire. Reuters quoted an Israeli official as saying that Benjamin Netanyahu's government would agree to an additional day of truce for every 10 additional detainees released. The Israeli official added that his government is ready to release 3 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli detainee, on the condition that the additional days are limited to 5 days.

In a related context, a Qatari official said that both Israel and Hamas have an interest in prolonging the calm despite the differences between them The Qatari official added - in statements to Associated Press - that Doha is focusing on what is immediately possible, such as maintaining the ceasefire and preventing the outbreak of a regional war.

For his part, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, the Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, told the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemein that "Qatar has succeeded in creating a positive dynamic that we hope to build on regarding the war in the Gaza Strip." He added that there is no conflict that begins and ends on the battlefield, and in the end there are always agreements, reminding that there were a lot of feelings and anger in the beginning on both sides, and now the hostages are being released, and there are breaks in the fighting.

In Washington, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the Israelis agreed to continue the cessation of fighting to free more detainees and allow more aid to enter, and Hamas is also interested in moving forward with extending the deal. The humanitarian truce was supposed to end - according to the initial agreement - tomorrow, Tuesday, at 07:00 AM Palestine time, after 4 days during which dozens of prisoners were exchanged between Israel and Hamas, in addition to the entry of relief materials into the Gaza Strip, including fuel.

Once the operation is completed today, Monday, Israel will have released 150 Palestinian prisoners from its prisons, in exchange for Hamas releasing 50 Israeli civilians, as part of the truce agreement, which also includes the entry of humanitarian aid and fuel into the Gaza Strip.

US police arrested a suspect in the shooting of 3 students of Palestinian origin who were attending a gathering over the Thanksgiving holiday near the University of Vermont campus. The condition of two students was stabilized, while the third suffered from "more serious injuries." Burlington Police Chief John Murad said that two of the victims were wearing black and white Palestinian keffiyehs. Two of the students hold American citizenship, and the third is a legal resident.

Law enforcement agents arrested Jason Eaton, 48, during a search and investigation in the area of the shooting in Burlington. Authorities collected evidence during a search of Eaton's apartment in a building near the shooting site, and he is scheduled to appear in court Monday. Murad said in a statement on Sunday evening that the attack, which resulted in the injury of 3 Palestinian students around 6:25 pm on Saturday evening, “may have been a hate crime.”

His personal website is a plunge down a QAnon rabbit hole, new world order, and anti-everything. Mary Reid, Jason's mother, explained that her son "had problems before", but there were no signs that he would commit violent acts. She added that he is "a very religious and spiritual person," stressing that she was shocked by what her son had done.

Reid said that Eaton “previously suffered from depression and other mental health issues.” She said that her son, who moved through different jobs and previously worked as an “assistant financial manager,” was “completely normal last Thanksgiving, and the family had a wonderful holiday together,” adding, “It was our best holiday in years.” During the family Thanksgiving dinner, Reed said that Eaton did not mention anything about the war between Israel and Hamas, adding that her son “is a very religious person, communicates with different religious figures and often reads the Bible.”

She added: "He, like all of us, believes that the world is in chaos... He is a spiritual person," adding, "I cannot believe that he would do something like this."

Senator Bernie Sanders said in a statement, “It is shocking and deeply disturbing that 3 young Palestinian men were shot here in Burlington. Hate has no place here or anywhere. I look forward to a full investigation.” With them and their families."

Operational Update

David Ignatius in the Washington Post noted the crux of the problem is that Israel will resume the offensive at a time when international pressure is growing for a permanent truce. Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said: Our goal is for the deal to end in a permanent truce. It is worth noting that the State of Qatar is the mediator in the hostage release process. The biggest problem is that previous truces cut Israel off from the opportunity to eliminate Hamas fighters and get rid of the tunnel problem. Despite the massive destruction caused by Israeli attacks, fighters are still holed up underground. It turns out that the tunnels are more advanced than Israel thought.

The US military captured five attackers who seized an Israel-linked cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden amid missile attacks from Houthi-controlled Yemen. The destroyer USS Mason responded on Sunday to an SOS call from a commercial tanker that had been taken over by armed assailants in the Gulf.

Israeli media reported on Sunday that the Yemeni Armed Forces took over a commercial vessel, Central Park tanker, owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer, off the coast of the Gulf of Aden. However, following the claims, Arab sources confirmed to Al Mayadeen that these reports are "entirely questionable", stressing that they are either an Israeli fabrication or a ploy to force the deployment of foreign forces.

U.S. Central Command announced "On Nov. 26, the USS MASON (DDG 87), with allied ships from our coalition counter-piracy task force (TF 151), and associated aircraft responded to a distress call from the M/V CENTRAL PARK, a commercial vessel, that they were under attack by an unknown entity. Upon arrival, coalition elements demanded release of the vessel. Subsequently, five armed individuals debarked the ship and attempted to flee via their small boat. The MASON pursued the attackers resulting in their eventual surrender. The crew of the M/V CENTRAL PARK is currently safe.

"At approximately 0141 on Nov. 27 Sanaa time, two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen toward the general location of the USS MASON (DDG 87) and M/V CENTRAL PARK. The missiles landed in the Gulf of Aden approximately ten nautical miles from the ships. The USS MASON (DDG87), which is part of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, was concluding its response to the M/V CENTRAL PARK distress call at the time of the missile launches. There was no damage or reported injuries from either vessel during this incident. “Maritime domain security is essential to regional stability,” said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, USCENTCOM commander. “We will continue to work with allies and partners to ensure the safety and security of international shipping lanes.”

The Pentagon stated that the recent attempt to seize a ship in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday was not carried out by Yemen and seems to have been executed by armed Somali pirates. Pentagon Spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said it remains unclear who was the target of the two ballistic missiles allegedly fired from Sanaa-controlled areas toward the USS Mason and the ship.

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of Ansar Allah's Political Bureau, posted on X that the United States "invented a story of rescuing a commercial ship from militants in the Gulf of Aden." The official stressed that the location, where the act was allegedly carried out, is not a suitable spot for a capture operation. Al-Bukhaiti went on to debunk other details of the American narration of the events, in which the Pentagon claimed that two ballistic missiles were fired at the USS Mason, which responded to Central Park's distress call. Al-Bukhaiti explained that Yemeni ballistic missiles intended to target moving naval targets are equipped with active guidance systems and are capable of altering their trajectories accordingly. He also stressed that Yemen possesses precision-guided munition, saying it is impossible for such weapons to have a margin of error of 10 miles.

Al-Bukhaiti refuted the American story about liberating a commercial ship from the hands of militants in the Gulf of Aden and said: "The United States fabricated the play of rescuing the ship from the hands of militants in the Gulf of Aden." Al-Bukhaiti added: “In order to cover up its military impotence and moral decline in supporting the entity’s crimes in Gaza, and with the aim of raising the morale of its collapsed naval personnel, America fabricated the story of rescuing a commercial ship from the hands of militants in the Gulf of Aden.”

Several Israeli media outlets reported on the appearance of fighters from the Martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, in the areas of the northern Gaza Strip that witnessed the heaviest hostilities and Israeli ground incursions, stressing that the movement succeeded in demonstrating its ability to send its members to northern Gaza “despite The presence of the Israeli army nearby.

For its part, the Israeli newspaper "Israel Hayom" addressed the events, stressing that the Hamas movement is "far from collapsing" and calling for the continuation of Israeli military operations against the Gaza Strip with the aim of "breaking the movement." It also claimed that achieving this goal is important "in order to achieve an Israeli victory in The northern front as well,” referring to the confrontation with the Lebanese Hezbollah.

The newspaper's military affairs correspondent, Lilach Shoval, said that contrary to the claims of the Israeli "army" in recent days, "Hamas still has strong control over the land," noting that this control is in various regions of the Gaza Strip, and not just in its south. Shoval indicated that the consequences of the weak action of the occupation “army” against the Hamas movement “will be regional,” noting that after about 50 days of fighting, the Israeli “army” repeatedly repeats the message that “Hamas’ leadership and control in the northern Gaza Strip has been damaged.” severely, and that most of its brigades in this region disintegrated,” while since the beginning of the ceasefire, exactly the opposite is what is happening.

The military correspondence highlighted the clarity of the commitment of the resistance elements, with their leadership directing them to cease fire, which indicates a high level of organization. In addition, according to Shoval, the process of liberating prisoners from the Gaza Strip “is taking place exactly as Hamas wants, and it dictates the identity of the prisoners who are to be released, and sets the schedules time period for their release”. Shoval said that the behavior of the head of the movement’s political office in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar , indicates that even in the northern Gaza Strip, which is the main focus of the Israeli ground attack, the Hamas movement “is still far from the point of collapse.”

The Hebrew website "Ynet" of Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that a company commander and his deputy were dismissed following a battle in the northern Gaza Strip: the IDF decided to depose two combat officers after a battle in the northern Gaza Strip at the height of the ground maneuver , during which the force withdrew after not receiving fire support against dozens of terrorists who ambushed the soldiers. The unusual event created a crisis Acrimonious between the company commanders and their fighters and the battalion commander, in a way that caused about half of them not to return to the unit due to the brigade's decision to side with the general and not with the company commander. Officers in the brigade admitted that the force was sent on a mission in a poor manner after being in another prolonged activity in the Gaza Strip without rest, and that the incident created a difficult atmosphere in the battalion.

The battalion had suffered other severe events in the last month, which included the injuries of other officers and the death of another officer in battle, in addition to the injury of the major general who is at the heart of the controversy, in recent days. Soldiers from other units are brought in to fill the gap," the army claimed, "a crisis of confidence was created."

The Israeli army renewed its demand on residents of the Gaza Strip "to move from the north to the south, where humanitarian aid is available, given that the north of the Strip is a dangerous war zone." The Israeli army spokesman published a video clip on the “X” platform in which he called on residents to move towards the south of Wadi Gaza, and said: “Do not try to move to the north of the Gaza Strip. It is only possible to move to the south of Wadi Gaza, and it is forbidden to enter the sea or approach within a kilometer of the border with Israel". He stressed that the war has not ended and that the truce is temporary, and that they must obey instructions to preserve their safety, noting that the south of the Gaza Strip is a safe and suitable area for living, and humanitarian aid also enters it.

The testimony of an Israeli female soldier raised questions about whether the Israeli occupation army opened fire on residents of the Gaza Strip settlements , within the framework of the Hannibal Protocol, during the battle of the “ Al- Aqsa Flood ” on the seventh of last October. Hannibal is a controversial military protocol whose use has been attributed to the Israeli army since its official adoption in 2006. It allows the lives of Israeli prisoners to be risked, and it returned to the forefront again after the Al- Qassam Brigades and Palestinian factions in Gaza captured dozens, including high-ranking military personnel, in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

In a report published by the Hebrew Channel 12 on Sunday, Private Michel from the Israeli tank team spoke about her experience in pursuing Palestinian militants who stormed a number of settlements that day in an attack that surprised the Israeli political, security and intelligence levels. Michel said, "We arrived at the entrance to the Haulit complex and the gate was closed. A soldier came to me and was somewhat terrified. He was saying, 'Terrorists... enter now.' We entered the complex, smashed the gate with the tank, and followed the directions that the soldier had indicated."

She continued, "Then the soldier told me: Shoot this house, the terrorists are there. I asked him: Are there Israeli civilians there? And his response was: I don't know, just shoot." Michel added that she decided not to bomb the target (the house) with a tank shell because this was an Israeli gathering, but she opened fire using a machine gun at the entrance to the house.

The report tells the story of Israeli female soldiers in their early twenties who were assigned to drive tanks in order to pursue Palestinian militants in the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip on October 7. This has raised criticism about how such young female soldiers with no military experience are forced to fight in sensitive locations where civilians are deployed, which increases the possibility of them committing war crimes.

This report comes after Israeli military pilot Nof Erez revealed last Tuesday the possibility that his country's forces implemented the Hannibal Protocol during their response to the Hamas attack. In a statement to Haaretz newspaper, the pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Erez, said that it is not known whether the warplanes and drones opened fire on the detainees when they dealt with the attack launched by Hamas. He added that it appears that the Hannibal Protocol was implemented at some point on October 7.

A Haaretz report on October 18 also showed that an Israeli military helicopter opened fire on Palestinian and Israeli militants participating in a party organized near Kibbutz Reim in the Gaza Strip on October 7. Haaretz reported that the security establishment's assessments showed that an Israeli army combat helicopter arrived at the concert venue and opened fire on the attackers there, and apparently also wounded some of the festival's participants (referring to the Israelis).

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said - in an interview with the British newspaper the Financial Times - that Israel's declared goal of eradicating the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) from the Gaza Strip is "unrealistic." He added that destroying Hamas by continuing the war will never happen and will only fuel extremist rhetoric. He said that failure to extend the ceasefire would expand the scope of the war and destabilize the region.

The Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister spoke of great disappointment in the region with the West's reaction, and of unprecedented Arab anger at the sight of images of war and the lack of action. He added, "We expected that the West would consider the killing of Palestinians something worthy of condemnation." He said that the Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank need a political horizon to establish an independent state, choose their leadership, and have one government.

The Qatari official also confirmed that Israel handed Doha a list of 90 women and children who were detained during the Hamas attack on October 7, indicating that the only plan now is to stop the war on the Gaza Strip.

Human Rights Watch released its initial report on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital mass casualty event whereby it claimed that the strike on Al-Ahli Hospital "resulted from an apparent rocket-propelled munition, such as those commonly used by Palestinian armed groups, that hit the hospital grounds." However, the organization stated that its investigation was limited to "publicly available photos and videos, analyzing satellite imagery, interviewing five witnesses to the incident and its aftermath, reviewing analyses published by other organization and consulting experts."

Human Rights Watch stated "The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that 471 people were killed and 342 injured. Human Rights Watch was unable to corroborate the count, which is significantly higher than other estimates, displays an unusually high killed-to-injured ratio, and appears out of proportion with the damage visible on site.... "... the sound preceding the explosion, the fireball that accompanied it, the size of the resulting crater, the type of splatter adjoining it, and the type and pattern of fragmentation visible around the crater are all consistent with the impact of a rocket. Evidence available to Human Rights Watch makes the possibility of a large air-dropped bomb, such as those Israel has used extensively in Gaza, highly unlikely.... "A witness who was at the hospital on the evening of the explosion told Human Rights Watch that employees of “the Ministry of Interior took all the shrapnel that was on the site.” ... Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas leader and deputy minister in the Hamas-led Gaza governing authority, told the media on October 22 that “the missile has dissolved like salt in the water.… It’s vaporized. Nothing is left.” Human Rights Watched noted that substantial portions of munitions typically survive a detonation, even if parts of munitions are designed to break apart and may be made unrecognizable by thermal damage.... "This crater size is inconsistent with the point detonation of a large, air-dropped bomb with a high-explosive payload. The crater lacks features – such as lateral spray and a fuze furrow – that are characteristic of spin-stabilized artillery projectiles fired at a low angle (below 45°). The limited blast damage around the crater is inconsistent with high-explosive detonations such as those that accompany the impact of large air-dropped bombs or the anticipated effects of munitions fired by weapons systems that the Israeli military has acknowledged using in Gaza in this round of conflict.... "The extensive fire damage to cars in the hospital parking lot is inconsistent with the detonation of a high-explosive warhead alone. The fires appear to have been caused by burning rocket propellent that would have spread to – and ignited – fuel or some other flammable material present on the site." Palestinian Resistance factions, including Hamas, have condemned a recent report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW), which concludes that a misfired Resistance rocket killed hundreds of civilians in Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza, without reviewing any material evidence from the site of the attack. Hamas released a statement deploring HRW's initial report regarding "the Israeli aggression against hospitals in Gaza, especially [al-Ahli Baptist Hospital]," which took place on October 17.

The Resistance movement said the HRW's report adopted the Israeli narrative of the events, holding the Palestinian Resistance responsible for the atrocity "without providing clear material evidence." Moreover, Hamas stressed that the organization "ignored the Israeli policy of systematic targeting of hospitals, which affected all hospitals in the Gaza Strip." Hamas called on HRW to review the unfounded conclusions it made in the report, adding that it welcomes "the organization to visit Gaza and directly investigate the incident" once the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip ends.

Bystanders

International and Arab-Islamic calls were renewed to extend the temporary humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ).Israel was absent from this annual meeting of foreign ministers of the Union for the Mediterranean, a forum that includes European countries and countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, and whose work focuses on the war in Gaza.

In statements at the "Union for the Mediterranean Summit" in Barcelona, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that extending the truce is within reach and will allow the international community to work on a political solution to the conflict. Borrell added that the Palestinian Authority needs to regain control of the Gaza Strip from Hamas and offer it a "better and more viable" alternative. He considered that peace between Israel and Palestine had become a "strategic necessity" for the entire Euro-Mediterranean community and beyond, and added, "If a power vacuum occurs in Gaza, there will be demographic changes, and Europe will be its first victim."

At the same forum, an Arab-Islamic ministerial committee discussed ways to stop the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and extend the truce there. This came according to two statements by the Saudi and Egyptian Foreign Ministries, members of the committee that was formed by a decision of the Arab Islamic Summit in Riyadh on November 11.

The committee included Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, his Saudi counterparts, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Egyptian Sameh Shukri, Jordanian Ayman Al-Safadi, and Palestinian Riyad Al-Maliki, as well as Arab League Secretary Ahmed Aboul Gheit, according to the sources. The members of the Ministerial Committee stressed "the importance of the international community taking all effective measures to hold the Israeli occupation accountable for its continuing violations."

The ministers affirmed their "complete rejection of Israeli policies that target the forced displacement of the Palestinian people, whether inside or outside Gaza, to liquidate the Palestinian cause by imposing a new reality that makes it impossible to live in the Gaza Strip, in addition to their complete rejection of any attempts to separate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank."

In his speech at the forum, the Saudi Foreign Minister said, in a speech at the forum, that “the temporary ceasefire in Gaza will not achieve value unless it is followed by a comprehensive and permanent cessation of military operations.”

For his part, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said in Spanish, “There is no other solution but to stop the war, reach a ceasefire, and work to extend it to become permanent,” stressing that “we must stop counting the bodies.” He added, "We have an opportunity today," and "We are all working to extend this truce for a day, two days, or three. We do not know, but the most important thing is to extend it in order to save the lives of innocent people."

In Brussels, Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ) Jens Stoltenberg called for extending the humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip. Stoltenberg's statement came on the eve of the start of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at its headquarters in the Belgian capital, Brussels, on November 28 and 29. "I call for extending the truce, as this will ensure the arrival of the aid that people in Gaza desperately need and the release of more hostages," he said. He stressed that there is a need for a lasting political solution to the region's crisis.

Iraq sees a risk of regional conflict if the current truce in Gaza is not turned into a permanent ceasefire, the Iraqi prime minister’s foreign affairs adviser said, as mediators sought an extension of the temporary four-day Israel-Hamas truce. Israel’s devastating bombardment of Gaza in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel has drawn in Iran-aligned armed groups in the region including Lebanese Hezbollah and several Iraqi factions, who have mounted near-daily attacks on Israeli and US forces.

But there have been no reports of attacks on US forces in Iraq or Syria since Israel and Hamas began a four-day truce last week that was set to expire on Monday, compared to over 70 in the weeks prior.

ome of the main Iraqi armed factions behind the recent attacks, including Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada and Kataeb Hezbollah, have announced they will abide by the Gaza ceasefire but indicated they would resume attacks if it ends. They have also said in statements that they still seek the eventual ouster of US forces in Iraq. There are around 2,500 US troops on a mission the US says is to advise and assist Iraqi forces battling remnants of ISIS.

“The entire region is on the verge of a devastating conflict that may include everyone, and the extent of its expansion or how to control and stop it is not known,” said Farhad Alaadin, foreign affairs adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. For this reason, we see any ceasefire in the conflict as beneficial and important at this stage for the people of Palestine and Gaza first and for all countries in the region, including Iraq,” he told Reuters.

European Union Ambassador to Iraq Thomas Seiler said in a social media post that he hopes Iraqi factions “continue with their cessation of attacks.” Two sets of US strikes in Iraq last week killed 10 members of Kataeb Hezbollah, according to posts by the group on social media, a move condemned by the Iraqi government as escalatory and a violation of sovereignty.

Kataeb Hezbollah is part of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a group of mostly Shia Muslim armed groups formed to fight ISIS in 2014 that became an official security agency under the command of the prime minister. While technically part of the state, some of the PMF’s most powerful Iran-backed factions often act outside the chain of command. Sudani has said attacks by armed groups on foreign forces in Iraq were unlawful and went against the country’s national interest.

Axis of Resistance

Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi confirmed that the people of Gaza are the ones who decide the fate and future of Gaza, relying on the Hamas movement as a legitimate and legal government based on public voting in this sector, and not the United States. During a phone call with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ibrahim Raisi stressed that “the people of Gaza must decide the future of Gaza through Hamas as a legitimate and legal government that depends on the public vote in this region.”

Raisi added: "America has no right to intervene or make any decisions for the people of Gaza, and any action it takes in this regard will be doomed to failure." He saw "Iran and Turkey as two important and influential countries in the Islamic world," expressing his hope that "cooperation between the two countries will be a model for interaction and cooperation among Islamic countries."

The Iranian President also described the relations between the two countries as “friendly and historical, and based on good neighborliness, religious values, and common interests of the Iranian-Turkish people,” considering that “it is important to strengthen and improve the level of cooperation and relations between Tehran and Ankara in various political, economic, and cultural dimensions.”

In another part of this phone call, Raisi asserted that “America is the killer of the people of Gaza,” describing “any American interference in the future of Gaza as a continuation of America’s crime.” ccording to what the Iranian Anbar Agency "IRNA" reported, in this call, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed "the efforts made to raise his country's relations with Iran to a distinguished and exceptional level," noting "the good and constructive relations between Tehran and Ankara." Erdogan also confirmed "his country's readiness to hold a meeting of the Supreme Cooperation Council between the two countries."

Iran warned that there would be consequences if Israel resumed military operations in Gaza as the truce between Israel and Hamas entered its final day. “The return of the Zionist regime to a military approach will obviously not go unanswered,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told reporters.

Kanani said the “resistance groups” – a reference to a network of regional militant groups backed by Iran – “showed that they will not remain idle, they will not hesitate to support the oppressed Palestinian nation, and that they see the US government as part of the crisis.” He warned that the continuation of the war in Gaza and US support for Israel could “lead to an expansion in the scope of conflict, instability, insecurity and possibly war in the region.” ran wants the current truce to take a “stable form” to avoid a repetition of Israeli “aggressions,” he said.

The US, notorious for sponsoring, aiding and abetting the Zionist regime in the vicious crimes against Palestinians, is seeking to politically achieve what it has failed to fulfill in Gaza via the war, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said. In comments at a presser, Kanaani said there is evidence that the Zionist regime is after adventurism after launching its deadly onslaught against Gaza.

Based on what Iran has monitored in cooperation with other parties, the US intends to use political means to fulfill the objectives it has failed to achieve in Gaza amid the brutal Israeli war, he warned. The US has always been part of the problem in Palestine in the past decades, Kanaani added, saying the US was practically a main pillar of the recent deadly war against Gaza. “The US is not expected to be part of the solution. The help the US can offer is to cease supporting the Zionist regime,” the Iranian spokesman added. “The US’ unfair measures without considering the realities won’t help settle the crisis,” he noted.

Former Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said that the “ Al-Aqsa Flood ” battle brought the Palestinian issue back to the forefront of world developments again, while Israel considered it a forgotten issue until just before the seventh of last October and continues to normalize its relations with Islamic countries. He stressed that the recent battle exposed the occupation and "its official terrorism and the genocide it is committing against the Palestinians."

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Ansari said that the Palestinian resistance thwarted the Israeli plans to eradicate the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), which forced it to accept the temporary truce agreement. He added that the Israeli side failed to liberate any of its prisoners, despite the insane bombing of the Gaza Strip and its application of the scorched earth policy for more than 40 days, in addition to its retreat from the conditions it had previously set regarding preventing the entry of food, water, and energy into the Gaza Strip, and its enormous loss in equipment and equipment.

The former Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs believed that the liberation of a number of prisoners from Jerusalem and the West Bank within the framework of the ongoing truce agreement is an indication of the unity and cohesion of the Palestinian people and their common struggle to defeat the occupation and independence, stressing that this contradicts the persistent Israeli policies seeking to drive a wedge between the West Bank and Gaza.

. Israel's acceptance of a humanitarian truce, or its acceptance of a ceasefire during the next phase before achieving the goals announced by the occupation leaders, was considered a strategic failure of the Israeli war machine, a confirmation of the results of the "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation and a victory for the resistance. When referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s confirmation that he had instructed the Israeli foreign intelligence service ( Mossad ) “to act against Hamas leaders wherever they are,” Ansari said, “Israeli officials are threatening to assassinate the Palestinians in full view of the world and the media, and this confirms the clear fact that Israel is a state.” "Terrorist."

He called for employing political, legal and diplomatic efforts at various governmental, regional and international levels to establish the truth about what he described as official terrorism in Israel and pave the way for holding it accountable. He stressed that the Israeli occupation has been practicing genocide against the Palestinians for decades.

Ansari described the recent Israeli bombing of civilians in the Gaza Strip as “a real holocaust that the world witnessed live on television,” criticizing the silence of the international community regarding the Israeli massacres in Gaza. The former Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman described the Israeli occupation’s response to the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation on the 7th of last October as “insane,” and attributed the reason to the fact that what happened on this date constituted a strategic development in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestinian issue, which may not have occurred. Its aftershocks were less than an earthquake measuring 10 on the Richter scale, targeting the military, political and security establishments in the occupying entity.

He pointed out that the occupation has always applied the principle of surprise since its establishment and launched lightning operations to resolve battles within a few hours or days. He stressed that the Al-Aqsa Flood operation was the first in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as the Palestinian side grabbed the threads of the initiative and carried out the operation that achieved valuable goals inside the territories . 1948 occupied.

Ansari added that the Al-Aqsa Flood operation proved to the Palestinian side and the Arab and Islamic nations that Israel is “weaker than a spider’s web,” contrary to the image presented by the Israeli occupation over the decades of its imaginary ability and the myth of its “invincible army.”

The former official believed that the American and Israeli sides were surprised by the "flood of Al-Aqsa" and were not prepared to respond to such a battle, and that is why they have not yet been able to control its course, even though they threw all their weight into riding the wave of its developments, holding on to its strings, and containing its repercussions.

He added that the United States and its ally Israel do not have a road map for the stage after the “Al-Aqsa Flood” because they fell into a position of “reaction,” stressing that the side that engineered and managed the epic of last October 7 had no doubt thought and planned for the next stage and its developments. While pointing out that the period after the seventh of last October will not be the same as before, especially at the level of the Palestinian issue, he considered that the official Arab position during the current stage is much stronger than it was regarding Israeli behavior.

Ansari concluded that the Al-Aqsa Flood Battle imposed a new strategic balance in the region, and that the reaction of the Israeli side has not been able to shake it yet because the operation put it in front of a choice between bad and worse. He explained that the occupation fears, at the current stage, a prolongation of what it considers a humanitarian truce, because that will consolidate the victory of the resistance.

Deputy Prime Minister for Defense and Security Affairs in the Sanaa Government in Yemen, Jalal al-Rowaishan, told Al Mayadeen that the temporary humanitarian truce, between the Palestinian Resistance and "Israel", will not affect the government's decision to close the Red Sea off for Israeli vessels. "The truce concerns Gaza, and the military spokesman announced that our decision to close the Red Sea to the enemy still stands," al-Rowaishan affirmed. He emphasized that the Yemeni position on the war on Gaza has been popularly and officially declared, adding that Yemen will no longer seek diplomatic means in relation to the Israeli occupation's aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Iran has nothing to do with the seizure of Israeli-linked ships by Yemeni forces, who have done so in support of the Palestinian nation, the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson said. Speaking to reporters at a weekly press conference, Nasser Kanaani dismissed any connection between Iran and the Yemeni Ansarullah movement’s recent seizure of Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea. The Yemeni forces have announced that their measures have nothing to do with Iran, as the Ansarullah officials made it clear that they are not bound by limited options when it comes to countering the Zionist regime’s crimes, the spokesman added.

“Ansarullah had announced that it would take action against targets linked with the Zionist regime in order to support the Palestinian nation. The support for Palestine is not confined to Yemen as the other nations in the region and the world have also taken action,” Kanaani said. “What Yemen did is similar to what other nations have done in support of Palestine,” he stated.

Russia rejects the ideas of establishing international control over the Gaza Strip and dividing the enclave, Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov said. “Absolutely unacceptable and far-fetched ideas [are being floated] to establish international control over the Gaza Strip or divide Gaza, let alone the completely unacceptable initiatives to resettle Gaza’s population somewhere outside of the enclave in order to resolve the issue,” Viktorov as cited by state news agency TASS. “The most important thing is to ensure strong international support. Clearly, the negotiation process has not stalled by itself; it reflects the real complexity of this issue, which entails a plethora of intertwined elements,” he said. “We have always said that the Quartet should act in close coordination and interrelation primarily with the countries of the region, which are the ones most interested in restoring peace and stability.”

Israel will hardly be able to ensure its security even by “drowning the Gaza Strip in blood,” Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said. “Even by decapitating Hamas and even by drowning the Gaza Strip in blood it will hardly be possible to ensure Israel's security. After some time, the tide of hatred and terrorism may rise again with renewed force. This cannot be ruled out,” Ushakov said as cited by state news agency TASS. “The Palestinian problem is unrivalled in terms of its ability to spread to the global level,” he added. “Israel's military measures fail to narrow the activity of terrorist organizations. On the contrary, they expand it… This is entirely appropriate for the current tragedy in the Gaza Strip as well,” Ushakov stated.

Russian Presidential Assistant Yuri Ushakov said that the United States and its allies are losing their moral authority in the Palestinian crisis, and the desire of Middle Eastern countries to strengthen their sovereignty has become clear. This came during Ushakov’s speech at the international forum “Primakov Readings,” which opened yesterday in the Russian capital, Moscow.

The International Forum "Primakov Readings" is a large meeting of experts in the field of international relations and global economics. The forum was named after the political scientist and statesman Yevgeny Primakov, and it was held for the first time in the year of Primakov's death, who died on June 26, 2015 at the age of 85 years.

He continued, “The policy of supporting one party and monopolizing the Palestinian-Israeli settlement is what led to the current crisis, and the United States has played a role in obstructing the settlement of the Palestinian crisis".

Ushakov said that the growing influence of the global majority embodies a model of a global system that does not depend on blocs and poles, which is what Russia tends towards, as he stressed that the countries of the global majority do not oppose the West, and do not form new opposition blocs. Regarding relations with Iran, Ushakov stated that cooperation with Iran began with former Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, and today, taking into account what is happening, this cooperation has become “very important,” which everyone understands now.

Allied for Democracy

"Consider this a great privilege, because not every generation gets to fight a just war that must be won. And so we are all behind you". In a morale-boosting meeting with Givati and Armor soldiers who recently fought in Gaza, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant conveyed a message of unwavering support and determination. The meeting took place at a special complex established by the IDF Technology and Logistics Division, where soldiers could refresh themselves. Gallant conveyed a powerful message to the soldiers, stating, "When we return to fight, the power will be greater, and will exist all over the Strip."

The options presented to the Israeli political leadership after the end of the temporary truce seemed to be held hostage by the head of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar , who expressed his willingness to extend the ceasefire. This comes at a time when the Israeli army leadership insists on resuming the war on the Gaza Strip and expanding the ground incursion into the south, to dismantle Hamas’ military capacity and free the detainees.

These options also come amid internal challenges facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in light of mounting pressure from the families of detainees to continue the prisoner exchange process achieved by a ceasefire, in addition to rising calls in Europe and America for this truce to be a starting point for stopping the war and heading towards a political initiative.

Netanyahu and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy are aware that the prevailing awareness among the Israeli public about the continuation of the war on Gaza is the result of the collective shock that occurred as a result of the “Al- Aqsa Flood ” battle launched by the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades - the military wing of the Hamas movement - on the “ Gaza envelope ” settlements and towns. Israeli forces in the south on October 7th.

A position estimate issued by the “Israeli National Security Research Institute” affiliated with Tel Aviv University suggested that the state of war with Gaza may continue for a long period, perhaps for many months, with varying degrees of intensity, depending on the circumstances, and serious disruptions and ups and downs in achievements and damages may occur.

The Al-Aqsa Flood battle created a feeling of existential threat, and thus formed a broad consensus that Israel was fighting a war that was imposed on it, and this is the basis of the very broad popular support for the goals of the war and for the Israeli army. However, if the long war expands to additional fronts or becomes complex, according to the Israeli Research Institute, it will pose a major challenge to the ability of Israeli society to withstand, which may undermine public support and lead to the potential erosion of popular support for the war effort.

This will also, according to researchers at the Institute for National Security Research Meir Alran and Ariel Hayman, have effects on the national mood of the Israelis, which will be affected by the amount of casualties among soldiers and the recovery of the largest number of Israeli detainees. The researchers stressed that the echoes of the collective shock that occurred on October 7th will be secondary the longer the war lasts, and military achievements on the ground will be the criterion for maintaining popular support for the continuation of the war on Gaza, and vice versa in the case of losses and failure to achieve its goals.

Yedioth Ahronoth's army and security affairs correspondent, Yossi Yehoshua, believes that Hamas' evasion with Israel during the truce and the stages of the exchange deal reflects the trap set by Sinwar for the army penetrating the Gaza Strip, amid pressure from the Israeli street to free all the detainees. He explained that the option of the political level and the army in Israel to accept a truce and a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the return of a limited number of kidnapped persons does not improve Israel's deterrent power, as it comes precisely after the Israeli army recovered from the blow it suffered during the "Al-Aqsa Flood."

It is believed that the military leadership’s insistence on resuming and expanding the war on the Gaza Strip reflects the growing understanding in the General Staff leadership that the ground incursion had to go deep into Rafah and tighten the siege on Hamas there, to release all the detainees in one deal, and the threat to turn Gaza into a large refugee camp.

For his part, Eyal Zisser, a researcher in security affairs and the Middle East at Tel Aviv University, believes that the political level’s options are to accept the military level’s plan and continue the fighting and ground battles towards the south, “and that is if Israel wants to achieve any achievement that leads to undermining Hamas’ rule in the Gaza Strip militarily and politically.” Zisser explained - in an article in the newspaper "Israel Today" - that Halevy and government spokesmen declared and promised that the Israeli army will also continue fighting and ground battles in southern Gaza when the truce ends, and that when that happens, Hamas's ability to act as an organized military force will be eliminated. Its governance systems that control the Strip will also collapse.

But in light of international pressure to extend the truce and complete new stages of the exchange deal, Zisser says that fears are increasing about the possibility of suspending the decision to continue ground battles and the possibility of a resolution. He pointed out that some see the war on Gaza as a “war of independence and existence” to determine Israel’s fate and future in the Middle East for the next 75 years.

For this exact reason, the researcher in security and Middle East affairs says, “It is forbidden for the Israeli army to cease fire and withdraw from Gaza before deciding and achieving the goals of the war. Only decisiveness in Gaza will guarantee security for Israel and return it to the path that it was on on the evening of October 7.”

Regarding the options before the Israeli political leadership, the political affairs analyst in the newspaper "Israel Today", Sarit Eftian Cohen, says that the one-day delay in returning the detainees from the second batch showed that "strong, sovereign, independent Israel is a hostage in the hands of Yahya Sinwar." Cohen adds, “Despite the harsh blows that Hamas received on the battlefield, it was able to reach a deal according to its standards, and Israel and its political leadership were forced to agree to every additional demand so as not to lose the opportunity for the safe return of children and women, and determining the course of the war became dependent on the remaining detainees by Hamas and by Sinwar’s decision.”

In the face of the complexities of scenarios and options for extending the truce or resuming rounds of fighting, and the challenges of the detainees file, Cohen says, “Israel is facing international pressure calling for an end to the war.” The political analyst explained that the Israeli army formed the “Legitimacy Cell” - which is based in the Ministry of Security in Tel Aviv - and its mission is to monitor the level of international legitimacy for Israel in the war on Gaza.

She saw that with the start of the temporary truce and the completion of the exchange deal, this legitimacy gradually loses interest in the issue of Israeli detainees, and its interest in the comprehensive destruction of the Gaza Strip increases, amidst rising voices calling for an end to the war in light of the great sympathy for the Palestinians. She said that in the absence of any political horizon for the Netanyahu government regarding the future of Gaza after the war and “who will fill the void there in the wake of Hamas,” the international community - including Israel’s friends in Europe and America - wants to resume negotiations for a two-state solution. Thus, Cohen says, “the victory of Hamas will be complete, which will not disintegrate and will not disappear after the war ends.”

Governor of the Bank of Israel (Central Bank), Amir Yaron, expected that the costs of the war on the Gaza Strip would reach 10% of the gross domestic product . The statements came after a meeting of the bank’s monetary policy committee. In his speech, he warned of major economic impacts, whether on real activity or on financial markets.

He added that "there is a noticeable negative impact on Israel's economy during the first weeks of the war," and pointed out that the Central Bank built its expectations regarding the Israeli economy on the assumption that the impact of the war would continue until next year, and stressed that the expectations were made on the assumption that the war would be mostly on the Israeli front. One, which is Gaza, without opening the rest of the fronts.

War costs include direct expenses associated with military operations and reconstruction efforts. The estimates of the Governor of the Bank of Israel are consistent with estimates published earlier this month by the Israeli National Economic Council (governmental), which indicated that the cost of the war may reach 200 billion shekels ($54 billion). It represents 10% of Israel's gross domestic product, amounting to approximately $52 billion, according to the country's GDP figures for 2022, which amount to approximately $520 billion.

The Bank of Israel's Research Department lowered its GDP growth forecast to 2% in both 2023 and 2024, compared to 3.5% in previous estimates. The bank added that government expenditures due to the war are estimated at 160 billion shekels ($43 billion). The debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to reach 63% in 2023, and 66% in 2024, from 58% in 2022.

Last week, a study issued by an Israeli consulting company showed that Israel's losses due to the war on Gaza may reach $48 billion during the current and next years. The report issued by Leader Capital Markets, a financial consulting firm in Israel, stated on Thursday that Israel is likely to bear two-thirds of the total costs, while the United States will pay the rest in the form of military aid.

Last month, the Israeli Ministry of Finance estimated that the war costs the economy $270 million daily, noting that the end of the war does not mean the losses will stop.

Al Jazeera columnist Andrew Mitrovica wrote : "Biden’s hypocrisy and obstinacy have not only offended but also infuriated crucial constituencies – young Democrats and Arab Americans, among others – that the ageing commander-in-chief must carry if he intends to win re-election in less than 12 months from today. Recent polling suggests that Biden and myopic company have underestimated the breadth and visceral depth of the potent reaction to his unqualified backing of Israel and warm embrace of a media-savvy, calculating politician that millions of Israelis cannot abide.

"Biden’s approval rating has plummeted to a treacherous 40 percent among all registered voters in the wake of the hug – an all-time low since his inauguration. That animus is being driven mostly, pollsters say, by voters’ near-blanket rejection of Biden’s embrace of Israel and Netanyahu’s goal of destroying Hamas – no matter the appalling nature, extent and tally of human casualties that Americans and the world have witnessed....

"A clear majority of Democrats believe that Israel has “gone too far” in its retributive designs, in effect, to erase occupied Gaza and, bit by inevitable bit, the West Bank. Indeed, an astounding 70 percent of Democrats between 18 to 40 have made it plain to pollsters that they “disapprove” – to put it charitably – of Biden’s “handling” of the Israel-Gaza “war.”

“This poll is a stunner, and it’s stunning because of the impact the Israel-Hamas war is having on Biden,” one pollster sai The poll is, as well, a stunning rebuttal of the Biden administration’s belief that its diplomatic and military girding of Israel in light of Hamas’s murderous October 7 assault would prove popular and be welcomed as a necessary expression of Israel’s “right to defend itself” without limits or any measure of restraint dictated by humanitarian conventions and international law."

Butcher's Bill / Oasis of Martyrs

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.

About 15,000 Palestinians, including about 6,150 children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since October 7, the Gaza Press Office said. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Observatory reports that it had "counted up to this moment about 17,500 dead Palestinians". The Hamas-run government said more than 4,000 women were among the dead, with more than 33,000 more people wounded. The Palestinian Government Media Office in Gaza said the number of missing people had risen to more than 7,000 [nearly double the 3,750 previously reported], including 1,800 children still under the rubble, including 4,700 children and women. The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that the number of wounded as 36,000 [previously announced as about 32,000 wounded], 75 percent of them children and women.

Israeli forces killed eight Palestinians, including a child, in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, taking the total number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank to 239 since October 7. Israeli forces shot dead five Palestinians in the city of Jenin late on Saturday and early Sunday, and killed three others elsewhere in the West Bank, the ministry said on Sunday. Six other Palestinians were injured in the Israeli raid in Jenin.

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 number of Israeli soldiers that the IDF admitted were killed in ground battles with the Palestinian resistance reached 72, while the death toll for the Israel forces had risen to 392 soldiers since the beginning of Operation al-Aqsa Flood. At least 7,771 Israelis were injured. The IDF previously announced that more than 260 soldiers had been injured since the start of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip, including 100 in serious condition.

Israeli army (IDF) reported the total number of casualties since October 7th to 392 and the number of troop deaths there to 72 since the ground war began.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry released its first official casualty numbers in fighting, saying 77 people were killed and 251 wounded since the start of the war on Gaza.

Alalam News Network. Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, claimed "The crimes of stealing the bodies of Palestinian martyrs are not new to the Israeli entity, which has been accustomed to these crimes for many decades. According to what was stated by the head of the Studies and Documentation Unit of the Palestinian Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Authority, Abdel Nasser Farwaneh, the Israeli entity is still holding about 400 bodies of Palestinian and Arab martyrs who were martyred. In different circumstances and over the years, he added, the list of these detained martyrs includes people who were martyred from the 1970s until 2023.

"The theft of the bodies of the Palestinian martyrs, the presence of graves of the martyrs in cemeteries bearing numbers without names, known as number cemeteries, and the occupation authorities preventing the families of the martyrs from dissecting the bodies of their children upon receiving these bodies, raised many question marks and doubts about the reasons behind the actions and behaviors of the Israeli occupier, which Some thought it was impossible to humiliate the martyrs and their families, or keep them in order to barter them in prisoner and corpse exchange deals with the Palestinians, but the real reasons behind this barbaric behavior were horrific and terrible, after they were revealed later.

"Although Palestinian voices denouncing this brutal practice have been rising for a long time, they were ignored until 2001, when Swedish investigative journalist Donald Bostrom published an investigation in which he revealed the theft of organs from the bodies of Palestinian martyrs and their trafficking by parties in the Israeli entity . This was the first time this crime was revealed to international public opinion.

"What Bostrom revealed was mentioned by the expert in the Israeli entity in anthropology, Dr. Meira Weiss, in her book, which came under the title “Over Their Dead Bodies,” where she referred to the issue of the theft of organs of Palestinian martyrs, and said that in the period between 1996 and 2002, she was present in The Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv to conduct scientific research, and there she saw how organs were being stolen, especially from Palestinians, while none of the bodies of “Israeli” soldiers were touched."

Disinformation refers to fake or misleading information that is intentionally disseminated. Moscow’s claim of illegal human organ harvest and trafficking is a well-known trope in their disinformation campaigns. As our database has documented – see links below – this disinformation trope has surfaced in relation to Russia’s campaign in Syria against the White Helmets, against NATO, in Georgia where even former Georgian president Mikhail Sakhashvili’s wife was the target, in Kosovo and with greater intensity also in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Transplantation of organs is a complex and time-constrained medical procedure and is impossible to be carried out in field conditions. The topic is a “Manipulators delight”: it attracts attention because of its obvious high emotional charge. In this “click bait”-function it works similar to claims of mass graves, which always spread wide and very fast. With its smell of secret business and conspiracy it adds another layer where any debunk is exploited to further suggest that the debunker has something to hide.

Hostages

On Friday 24 November 2023, a 4-day humanitarian truce began between the Israeli army and Hamas, during which prisoners and hostages will be exchanged, after 49 days of war on the Gaza Strip. Hamas handed over 13 women and children hostages, 10 Thai citizens and one Filipino to the Israeli authorities. Israel, in turn, released 39 women and children in Israeli prisons, and is scheduled to release 150 Palestinian prisoners over the four days of the truce agreement.

Israeli government spokesman Elon Levy said that 184 people are still kidnapped by Hamas. He pointed out that 14 foreigners and 18 dual nationals are still kidnapped by Hamas. According to some estimates, Hamas was initially holding nearly 210 of the 240 hostages, while Palestinian Islamic Jihad was holding the remaining 30. About 40 Israelis remained missing. More than 40 hostages taken from Israel into Gaza on October 7th are not currently in the custody of Hamas, the group responsible for the attack, according to a CNN report based on a diplomatic source briefed on the negotiations, CNN's prior reports had indicated that an estimated 40 to 50 hostages were held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad or other unidentified groups or individuals.

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 Israeli army arrested 20 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, bringing the total number of detainees since October 7 to 3,200, the Palestinian Prisoners Club said.

The main points known about the hostage deal so far:

• there will be a ceasefire from both sides in the Gaza Strip,
• There is no ceasefire on the northern front with Lebanon, and the truce will be limited to the southern front with Gaza. But the ceasefire deal would also apply as a truce on the northern border with Lebanon, according to a Lebanese report in Nidaa al-Watan. "Hezbollah will adhere to the ceasefire on the condition that Israel does too," the first report announced, following a meeting between the leaders of the Lebanese and Palestinian organizations. An official source from Hezbollah later told Al-Jazeera that the group will respect the ceasefire also in Lebanon, reiterating the condition that Israel does too, adding that the Lebanese group was not consulted on the deal.
• there will be a halt to the movement of Israeli military vehicles penetrating into the Gaza Strip,
• During the days of the truce, the Israeli forces remain as they are and in their positions, provided that Hamas and the rest of the resistance forces adhere to a complete ceasefire.
• Israeli military overflights in the southern Gaza Strip will be halted for four consecutive days. Israeli military overflights in the northern Gaza Strip will be limited to six hours daily, in order to allow Hamas to locate the other hostages who are being held by Hamas terrorists and Islamic Jihad.
• Israel agreed to refrain from targeting or arresting any individuals throughout the truce's timeframe.
• freedom of movement will be ensured for all Palestinians along Salah al-Din Street, which connects the districts of the Gaza Strip.
• "The movement of residents from the south of the Gaza Strip to the north will not be allowed in any way, but only from the north to the south. Uncoordinated movement of trucks from the south to the north of the Gaza Strip will also not be allowed" the Israeli army spokesman, Avichay Adraee, said via “ X ”.
• The prisoners in Israeli custody will be handed over to the Red Cross, which will transport them to the Rafah area, and there, under the auspices of Egyptian, Qatari and American mediators, they will be transferred to the Israeli side.
• Upon their receipt by the Isreeli army, the occupation authorities begin releasing Palestinian female prisoners and children according to the agreed upon number
• 10 hostages will be released every day
• Minimum of 53 hostages will be released, mostly minors (under 19) and their mothers, [the 50 prisoners, who appear to be 30 children, eight mothers, and 12 elderly women]. Hamas has 80 captive children, mothers, and elderly women, but at least in the first stage, if Hamas does not find more, at least seven children and five mothers will remain in captivity. The number of foreign workers is 41 prisoners, meaning that Hamas has 195 Israelis, more than 100 of whom will remain in Gaza even after this deal.
• Israel will release approximately 150 Palestinian prisoners, women and minors (under 19), held in its prisons, and who do not have Jewish blood on their hands.
• potential of the total number released reaching 80 prisoners, out of about 300 minors (under 19), and 33 female prisoners, detained in its prisons. The mechanism of the process is for Hamas to send through mediators a list of Israeli prisoners who will be released the next day, and the Israeli government approves it, so that the implementation process begins the next day. The number of those released will be increased in later stages of implementing the agreement.
• hostages to be released do not include foreigners who do not have Israeli citizenship or foreign workers who were around the Gaza Strip.
• it is also possible that foreigners such as Thai citizens will be released, but this has nothing to do with the truce agreement.
• The deal does not include Israeli soldiers.
• on the fourth day of the truce, new names will be given to the Israeli detainees. Hamas will announce its desire to release them in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners, according to the agreed-upon equation, which is one Israeli for 3 Palestinians.
• Israel would extend the pause in fighting for one further day for each additional 10 captives released.
• Hamas expressed its approval for the Red Cross to visit the remaining kidnapped persons in Gaza, and that it had committed to searching for the remaining kidnapped persons not in its custody, with the aim of seeking their release at later stages. But Hamas refused to allow the workers of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit the hostages and evaluate their health condition. Hamas believes that "any information related to the hostages must come at a price paid by Israel."
• The agreement would also include the entry into the Gaza Strip, including in the north, of 4 trucks of fuel daily and two trucks of gas, in addition to at least 200 to 300 trucks of food, medicine and humanitarian aid
• HAMAS said the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip will continue beyond the days of the agreement, and that the aid that will enter the Strip includes basic materials and clothing.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Club said that the Israeli occupation army arrested 260 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank during the 3 days of the temporary truce with the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) in the Gaza Strip. Amani Farahna, media officer at the Prisoner’s Club (a non-governmental organization), told Anadolu Agency that during the four days of the humanitarian truce, the Israeli occupation authorities carried out an arrest campaign in the West Bank, including the city of East Jerusalem, targeting 260 Palestinians. She pointed out that this comes as part of a campaign of raids on Palestinian cities and towns, accompanied by acts of sabotage and attacks on detainees and their families.

According to Sarhana, since October 7, Israel has arrested 3,260 Palestinians in the West Bank. She pointed out that detainees are interrogated by Israeli intelligence officers, and some of them are released after hours or days or are transferred to administrative detention (without charge) or trial. On a daily basis, the occupation army carries out storming campaigns into villages and towns throughout the West Bank, accompanied by confrontations, arrests, and shooting and tear gas bombs at Palestinians.

Francesca Albanese , the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied territories, said when presenting her report last July that “Israel” has arrested about one million Palestinians, including tens of thousands of children, since 1967.