Operation Iron Swords - Day 57 - 02 December 2023
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NEW - Operations NEW - By-Standers NEW - Axis of Resistance NEW - Allied for Democracy UPDATED - Oasis of Martyrs UPDATED - Hostages |
The Israeli official also said - according to what the agency reported - that Israel is working on a plan to reduce the damage to civilians in any operation in southern Gaza, as he claimed. Reuters quoted an American official - whom it described as a senior - that the United States is working with Israel "on a plan to reduce the harm to civilians in any operation south of Gaza." In turn, the Wall Street Journal quoted an American official as saying that Israel pledged to carry out a “more targeted” military operation with the aim of what was described as reducing civilian casualties and damage to buildings and other infrastructure.
In this regard, Qatar - which played a pivotal role in the mediation efforts - said that negotiations are still ongoing with the Israelis and Palestinians to return to the truce, but the renewed Israeli bombing of Gaza complicates the mediation efforts. For its part, the Wall Street Journal quoted Egyptian officials as saying that the mediators from Egypt and Qatar failed to reach a breakthrough yesterday, Friday, regarding the truce in Gaza, and they said that the mediators were expected to continue the talks today, but they faltered against the backdrop of determining who the Islamic Resistance Movement would release ( Hamas ) later.
The officials said - according to the newspaper - that Israel wants Hamas to release its remaining women and children, and the movement is offering instead to release the bodies of dead and elderly detainees. The truce that began on November 24 has been extended twice, and Israel said it could continue if Hamas released 10 detainees every day, but the mediators were unable to find a formula to release more detainees, including Israeli soldiers. A Palestinian official said that the collapse of the truce occurred after Israel demanded that Hamas release female soldiers detained by Hamas.
Israel published a link to a map showing Gaza divided into hundreds of areas, and said it would be used in the future to determine safe areas. Despite this, Israel is bombing Rafah and other areas in the south, where hundreds of thousands of Gazans are taking refuge due to the fighting in the north. Medics and witnesses said that the bombing was intense yesterday in Khan Yunis and Rafah.
For his part, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said at a press conference in California, "We will continue to work with Israel, Egypt and Qatar in efforts aimed at returning to calm," blaming the Hamas movement. The Wall Street Journal quoted a US official as saying that Israel pledged to carry out a more targeted military operation with the aim of reducing civilian casualties and damage to buildings and other infrastructure.
The official said that US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken , pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli war government about how long the war would last and did not receive a clear answer. The officials explained that international pressure may force Israel to stop its operations by the beginning of the year, especially if civilian casualties continue at high levels, a timetable that Israel has not accepted.
Senator Mark Warner, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, told Reuters that Washington should put pressure on Israel, adding, "We must push Israel to realize that this is not only a military conflict, but rather a conflict for the hearts and minds of people in the world and people in the United States."
Operational Update
Israel renewed its assertion that the war against Hamas “continues until the elimination” of the Palestinian movement, which is listed on the terrorist list in the United States and other countries. Israeli government spokesman Ofir Gendelman said in a press conference from Tel Aviv: “The war is not complete, and will not end until the elimination of Hamas,” adding: “The war will continue no matter how long it takes until all of Hamas is destroyed and the kidnappers are returned.”
When he received US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, in Tel Aviv on Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said, “The ground operation will take several months.” Blinken responded by saying: “I don’t think you have many months,” referring to the need to end the war quickly. Blinken asked the Israelis how long they expected the military campaign in the Gaza Strip to continue, and he did not get a clear answer.
Political analyst Joab Stern said, "This war has no clear end if Israel wants to achieve its declared goals." However, the Israeli analyst added in his interview with Al-Hurra website, saying, “Israel cannot fight an endless war, and therefore we cannot currently predict a specific time for the end of this war.”
The strategic expert, retired Major General Samir Faraj, said that “Israel, after more than 50 days of fighting, has not achieved anything” of its goals of eliminating Hamas and freeing the hostages. Speaking to Al-Hurra website, Faraj said that the war could take a very long period for Israel to achieve its goals, but he ruled out this scenario. He added: "The war will not last beyond January, when the election campaign for US President Joe Biden begins, who does not want to lose more voters sympathetic to the Palestinians." Stern agrees, saying that the duration of this war may "not exceed two months" after the resumption of fighting, but Israel's goals will only be partially achieved, as he puts it.
In this regard, Mukhaymar Abu Saada, a professor of political science in Gaza, said, “There is a global consensus that Hamas is an ideology that cannot be eliminated in the presence of occupation.” He added in his statements to Al-Hurra website that Israel may "succeed in directing a major military strike against Hamas, but it will not be able to eliminate the idea of ??resistance that has been going on for 75 years." He continued: "At the beginning of the war, Israel said that it needed months, without specifying the exact time, to reach its goals of destroying Hamas and removing it from power. Later, the goal became to destroy Hamas' military capabilities and release the Israeli detainees."
Stern goes in the same direction, saying that Israel will achieve partial goals in its military campaign, including “a severe blow to Hamas.” He continued: "I believe that the return of the kidnapped people may ultimately be negotiated, given that the military methods have failed because they risk their lives, and Israel wants to return them while they are alive."
Israeli forces launched an attack on Gaza that included large areas of the Strip, which Palestinian sources said was the bloodiest since the start of the war and left hundreds dead and wounded as a result of the use of giant bombs. Israeli aircraft also launched intense and violent raids today, Saturday, on Hamad Town in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces carried out a violent fire belt targeting the eastern and northern areas of the city of Khan Yunis at dawn today.
An attempted stabbing attack occurred against an IDF reserve force from Battalion 7037 operating at a roadblock at the X Junction, near the city of Nablus in the area of the Shomron Brigade. The force suspected a terrorist who arrived at the roadblock and began questioning him, the terrorist pulled out a knife and began to advance towards the force. The fighters attempted contact and "responded by shooting at the terrorist, who was eliminated". There were no casualties to Israeli forces.
In an operation by the Shomron Brigade in the city of Nablus, reserve fighters arrested five wanted men, located and confiscated explosives, a gun, stun grenades, cartridges and military equipment. In addition, parts of a lathe for the production of weapons were located and confiscated. During the operation, terrorists shot at the force and threw an explosive device at them, the force responded by firing. A hit has been detected. In the city of Yatta in the Yehuda Division, the fighters confiscated technological equipment used by the terrorist organization Hamas.
In the village of Al Bira, reservists worked to seal a printing press that printed incendiary materials, where the fighters located and confiscated an airsoft gun. During the activity, suspects threw explosives and paint bottles and threw stones at the forces, who responded with measures to disperse demonstrations.
In the past day, the IDF attacked over 400 terrorist targets throughout the Gaza Strip. During the night, Air Force fighter jets attacked over 50 targets in an extensive attack in the Khan Yunis area. Fighters of the 551st Brigade Combat Team eliminated Hamas terrorists and infrastructure in the Beit Lahia area by shooting tanks and by directing aircraft to attack from the air.
The 215th fire brigade activated artillery fire and directed airstrikes in the north of the Gaza Strip. Among the attacks directed by the brigade, a terrorist squad that ambushed our forces and a mosque that was used by the GAP as an operational headquarters by a fighter jet. Fighters of the 261st Brigade (Bahad 1) directed aircraft for attacks and destroyed targets from the air and from the ground. Among the targets - a military depot, and terrorist infrastructures that were used for the enemy's reorganization.
Fighters of the 401st Brigade Combat Team, in cooperation with the brigade fire complex, eliminated terrorist squads and directed fire against terrorist targets in the north of the Gaza Strip.
During the night, the naval forces carried out a targeted operational activity in the south of the Gaza Strip, in the Khan Yunis anchorage and Deir al-Balah, in which they attacked Hamas military targets with precision weapons, as well as infrastructure and equipment used by the organization's naval force.
Following the alert that was activated in the Dishon area during the night, a number of launches from Lebanese territory into Israeli territory were detected, no interceptors were launched according to policy. In response, IDF artillery attacked the area from which the shooting was carried out, and an Air Force aircraft attacked the squad that carried out the shooting.
IAF fighter jets struck terrorist infrastructure used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanese territory. In addition, a number of launches toward the area near the border with Lebanon were identified. In response, the IDF is striking the sources of the launches with artillery fire. Following the sirens that sounded in northern Israel, an IDF fighter jet intercepted an IDF UAV that was identified as having a technical error. The alert, that warned of rocket and missile fire, was triggered by the interception. The interception was carried out in a controlled manner and there is no fear of a security incident.
The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), announced that it bombed Tel Aviv with a missile attack “in response to the Israeli massacres” against civilians, and that it targeted a “Zionist foot force” stationed inside a building in the Tawam area in the northern Gaza Strip, killing and wounding its members. The Al-Qassam Brigades said that its fighters targeted an Israeli tank with a "Shawaz" device, causing several explosions inside it and destroying it completely. They also targeted the turret of another tank with a "Al-Yassin 105" shell. It added that it targeted a house in the Sheikh Radwan area in which there were a number of Israeli soldiers with an anti-fortification TBG shell. The Brigades confirmed that they also targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers east of Deir al-Balah with a short-range "Rajum" missile system.
The "Al-Qassam Brigades" announced that it lured an Israeli foot force stationed inside a building into a controlled ambush in "Al-Tawam", northwest of Gaza, and targeted it with anti-personnel devices, anti-fortified shells, and heavy machine guns. It confirmed in a statement that "force members were killed or wounded."
Al-Qassam also pointed out that it bombed “Ashkelon” with a missile barrage, and it also targeted “enemy forces” concentrations in “Zakim” with the 114 mm short-range “Rajum” missile system. The Al-Qassam statement continued: “We also targeted another tank turret with an Al-Yassin 105 shell, and a house in which a number of enemy soldiers were present with an anti-fortified TBG shell in the Sheikh Radwan area.” Meanwhile, the "Al-Qassam Brigades" targeted "enemy" concentrations in the "Kissufim" area with the 114 mm "Rajum" short-range missile system. In addition to targeting "enemy" concentrations east of Deir al-Balah with the 114 mm short-range "Rajum" missile system as well.
For its part, the "Jerusalem Brigades", the military wing of the Palestinian "Islamic Jihad" movement, announced that it bombed "enemy concentrations" in the Kissufim forests with a barrage of mortar shells. In addition to bombing "Ashdod" and the "Eshkol" complex with missile attacks. It announced in a statement that it bombed "Sderot" with concentrated missile bursts, and bombed "Re'im" with concentrated missile bursts. The statement continued: “Our Mujahideen were also able, since this morning, to destroy a Zionist tank with a “Thaqib” device, and to target two vehicles with “Tandum” shells in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood,” according to a statement by the “Jerusalem Brigades.”
Lebanese Hezbollah announced that it targeted Israeli artillery positions at the Khirbet Maar site, on the southern Lebanese border, with missile weapons, and hit them directly. A statement issued by the Islamic Resistance said: “In support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in support of their valiant and honorable resistance, the Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance targeted at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday 12/02/2023 artillery positions at the Khirbet Ma’ar site with missile weapons. "She was hit directly."
Later, Hezbollah announced that it had targeted the Pranit military barracks and the Raheb site with appropriate weapons, injuring them directly. Hezbollah announced after midnight on Friday/Saturday that it had targeted, at 11:20 pm on Friday, with Katyusha “Grad” rockets the Dishon artillery positions that bombed the town of Hula, indicating that its targeting had resulted in direct hits.
Al Jazeera Military expert Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi confirmed that the nature of the Israeli bombing of areas in the Gaza Strip and the request from residents to displace and move to safe areas foretells the next step that the occupation is planning related to expanding the war. Al-Duwairi said - in the military analysis on Al Jazeera - that the Israeli military operation during this stage will be broader and more violent than before, and the occupation army will excessively use force against the Gaza Strip.
He added that the occupation forces, which separated the northern part of the Gaza Strip from the central and southern parts, are now seeking to separate the central part, stressing that the central region, including the Nuseirat, Bureij and Deir al-Balah camps, will separate it, and it has automatically been separated from the north.
Khan Yunis will also be separated from Rafah, and the Israeli attack - according to Al-Duwairi - will be from the east in three main directions: a direction in the northern region, a direction in Deir al-Balah to separate Bureij and Nuseirat, and another direction that separates Khan Yunis from Rafah.
The military expert revealed details regarding the movements of the Israeli army, saying that it is currently focusing on the Khan Yunis area, and the ground movements will come from the east of the Khan Yunis area in the southern Gaza Strip.
Al-Duwairi expected that the occupation would avoid the Gaza City scenario in which it suffered losses, and its forces would move in the spaces between cities and towns for rapid penetration, and would avoid entering high-density civilian areas such as Khan Yunis, Deir al-Balah, Bureij Camp, and Nuseirat, and would work to surround them and prevent entry and exit while continuing to Bombing and asking to leave.
On the other hand, Al-Duwairi pointed out that there was an American green light that gave Israel a specific time frame, and it may have been given weeks or less than a month, as the Americans said to their ally: “Do whatever you want to reach the goal and purpose.” He said it is noteworthy that the occupation continues its aggression for the second day after the end of a week-long truce, and its aircraft launched raids on various parts of the Gaza Strip, and committed a new massacre in the Jabalia camp (north), resulting in the martyrdom of more than 100 Palestinians.
Major General Nasr Salem confirmed that Israel was unable to eliminate Hamas, after two months of war, and was resorting to genocide against defenseless Palestinians after its failure in the face of the steadfastness of the Palestinian resistance. The expert said during a telephone interview on the “Sada El Balad” channel, that the Israeli army “has so far failed to determine the locations of the Hamas movement.”
He added: "There is a strong and clear desire from the occupying state not to continue the truce, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to continue the war on the Gaza Strip in order for him to remain in power, because if a ceasefire is reached , Netanyahu will be removed from his position." He added, "Egypt and the entire world have rejected what the occupying state is calling for to displace the Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip," explaining that "the state and its institutions provide all the aid the Palestinian people need and what they need to withstand the occupation army."
Major General Salem stated that “the withdrawal of the Mossad team from the negotiations with Hamas that were taking place recently in Qatar is due to the occupation army’s desire to return again to bombing innocent people, children, women, hospitals and schools.” Salem stated that the resistance and the Palestinian people have achieved major victories recently, while Israel has not achieved any military or political success on the ground.
Despite possible incompatibility with international humanitarian law, Israel continued to warn Gazans to evacuate their homes immediately and leave without delay to areas it has designated for them. Some experts and analysts have criticized this method, which they say violates international law. The writer and political analyst, Iyad Al-Qara, described the conditions of people in the Gaza Strip as very difficult in light of the Israeli warnings to evacuate, as many of them were forced to flee towards the central and southern regions of Gaza to escape the continuing Israeli bombing, which today targeted entire residential towers.
He said that the occupation is demanding that people move to the Rafah area, and he estimated the number of those displaced from the northern regions at about 20% and about 30% from the eastern regions. He stressed that the displaced people had to move 3 to 4 times, because they could not stay in their homes that were being subjected to brutal Israeli bombing, pointing out that they had the idea that there was no safe place in Gaza, and even those who were displaced from the north wished they had not done so, because the army The occupation follows them everywhere.
According to military expert Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi, the method that Israel uses with the Palestinians in Gaza is not used in wars. He gave an example of the Syrians, who he said left their country of their own free will and without dictates during the revolution, and had absolute conviction that the crisis would end and they would return to their homes.
While what Israel is doing is uprooting the Palestinians from the roots and not an evacuation process from one place to a safe place, according to Al-Duwairi, who stressed that there is no safe place in Gaza, indicating that the occupation that was asking the residents of the northern regions to go to the central and southern regions, here it is. Today, he is asking the people of the southern regions to go to Rafah, while he is bombing Rafah.
The military expert did not rule out that the occupation would then ask the citizens to leave Rafah to Area C in the Sinai Desert, as stated in the Camp David Accords. Al-Duwairi - who was speaking during the daily analytical stand on Al Jazeera channel “Gaza...what next?” - concluded that the occupation is carrying out a systematic process to resettle or empty Gaza, which is a forced evacuation of the Palestinian population outside the borders of their homeland.
For his part, the senior researcher at the Al Jazeera Center for Studies, Dr. Liqaa Makki, indicated that Israel began what he called temporary or limited regional displacement operations after the temporary humanitarian truces, and that it divided Gaza into about 2,300 sections and published maps, and that its army announced that there would be calls to abandon These areas, according to Makki, appear to be a response to an American desire to avoid killing a larger number of Palestinian civilians. He said that the United States of America spoke about forced displacement, not displacement under the pressure of war or the pressure of humanitarian need.
Makki talked about two scenarios that might be behind the Israeli warnings to the residents of Gaza. The first is that Israel’s goal, under international and even American pressure, is to establish buffer zones on the Gaza border with Israel that are deep, such that people are confined to narrow areas on the coastal strip.
As for the second scenario, which is the most dangerous, it is preparing to move towards deporting people after opening “humanitarian crossings” in which they are forced to migrate in search of security and the basic necessities of life, as Makki said.
The first researcher at the Al Jazeera Center for Studies pointed out that the second scenario is not a hidden goal for the Israelis, and there is a report published in an Israeli studies center that spoke about these details accurately, under the title “How are the residents of Gaza completely displaced?”, in addition to a document being circulated in Congress. The American plan relates to distributing the people of Gaza among 4 Arab countries, including Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan. American aid - adds Makki - to the four Arab countries is linked to their acceptance of the Palestinians from Gaza.
Makki considered that the United States abandoning its promises to prevent displacement would cost it its relations with Arab countries, and described In the southern Gaza Strip: - Residents of Khirbet Khuza’a, Abasan, Bani Suhaila and Ma’an - Bani Suhaila residents residing in blocks 217, 218, 219, 220, 42, 45, 50 For your safety, we call on you to evacuate your homes immediately and go to the known shelter centers in Rafah. - Al-Qarara residents residing in the following blocks: 39, 224, 2250, 2260, 2270, 2280, 2351, 132, 136, 137, 138, 139: For your safety, we call on you to evacuate your homes immediately and go to the known shelter centers in Rafah and the region. Humanity in Al-Mawasi neighborhoodthe issue of displacement as a dangerous matter that could reach the West Bank .
Today, Saturday , 55 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, coinciding with bombardment launched by the IDF on areas of the Strip, killing more than 200 martyrs. Wael Abu Mohsen, media director for the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, said that 55 trucks carrying humanitarian aid had entered the Gaza Strip since Saturday morning.
The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed that its crews received 50 aid trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent through the Rafah crossing today. The Palestinian Red Crescent said - in a post on Facebook - “Today (Saturday) our crews received 50 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent through the Rafah crossing, loaded with humanitarian aid. The trucks contain food, water, relief aid, medical supplies and medicines.” Israel informed the Palestinian Red Crescent Society on Friday evening that it had prevented aid trucks from entering the Gaza Strip from the Egyptian side, through the Rafah land crossing, “starting from Friday until further notice.” Rafah is the only border crossing into the Gaza Strip that is not controlled by Israel.
Bystanders
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Kesili said that Israel completely ignores international law and human rights in the Gaza Strip, and its brutality cannot be described as self-defense. Kesheli's statement, as indicated by the Foreign Ministry, comes in response to a message from Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on social media. Kecheli said: “The history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has shown that the more Israel oppresses the Palestinians and deprives them of basic freedoms, the more their resistance increases, and the more the Palestinians defend their collective and individual rights.” According to him, the roots of the conflict lie in the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, and in the expansionist and oppressive Israeli mentality that completely ignores (international) law and human rights. Considering what you are doing as legitimate self-defense.
For its part, Doctors Without Borders said that its investigations proved the Israeli army's responsibility for the attack on its evacuation convoy in Gaza City two weeks ago.
Axis of Resistance
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that the resistance’s response to Israel’s resumption of the attack on Gaza is harsher than before. This came during a call held by the Iranian Foreign Minister with his Omani counterpart Badr al-Busaidi about the current developments in the Gaza Strip. Abdullahian said that he heard from resistance leaders during his visit to Beirut last week that its response to Israel’s resumption of their attack “will be regrettable and harsher than before.”
Abdullahian told his Omani counterpart, “The return of the Zionists to committing war crimes against the people of Gaza indicates their indifference to the demands of the international community and global public opinion,” stressing that “it is necessary for all Islamic countries to increase their efforts to stop these crimes.” For his part, Al-Busaidi considered that the outbreak of war again and its expansion in the region is a cause for regret, and stressed the necessity of establishing a sustainable truce, sending humanitarian aid on a large scale, and effective action by the international community in this regard.
The Independent Commission for Human Rights in the Gaza Strip said that 80% of the population of the Strip have become displaced under very difficult humanitarian conditions, while the Ministry of Health accused the Israeli occupation of forcing residents to flee by targeting hospitals. The human rights body added - in a statement - that the occupation aims to transform internal displacement in the Gaza Strip into external displacement.
In the same context, the spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Dr. Ashraf Al-Qudra from Khan Yunis, confirmed that the Israeli occupation wants to take all hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip out of service, with the aim of forcing the rest of the population to flee. He added to Al Jazeera that the occupation raids also targeted hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip.
On the other hand, the Director of Civil Defense in the northern Gaza Strip, Ahmed Al-Kahlot, said that the Strip needs 50 excavators and 50 bulldozers in order to continue rescue operations and recover the bodies of the martyrs, after the occupation destroyed most of the civil defense mechanisms and equipment.
Allied for Democracy
The Israeli Defense Minister announced a major attack on the Gaza Strip. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant confirmed that the Israeli army will intensify its attacks on areas that it had not attacked before. Gallant said while he was in the Gaza Strip enclave: “We are attacking in places we have not attacked yet, and our attack will intensify.” He added: "We will adapt to the conditions in which we will fight. The battalion leaders in Khan Yunis understand what happened to their counterparts in the northern Gaza Strip."
Displacing the Gazans is an old plan. Its introduction dates back to the time of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. An Israeli study revealed precise data about the plan to displace Gazans and place them in camps in the Egyptian Sinai.
On the other hand, opinions differed about the size of the temptation offered to Egypt, from writing off Egypt’s foreign debts to thirty billion dollars in economic aid. Temptations did not seem to have changed Egypt's opinion, which prompted the Israelis to begin the second phase of the ground operation. Egyptian sources considered the focus of strikes on the south and Rafah Governorate on the Egyptian border to be repercussions originally intended for Egypt, explaining that the goal was to slowly move the population towards the Egyptian border.
In light of the historical Egyptian rejection, and the Palestinian emphasis on not accepting another Palestinian Nakba, repAlalam News Network. Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasorted Israel searched for alternatives, and found what it sought in the plan to establish a buffer zone on the border with Gaza. An Israeli security source revealed that the idea is being studied, indicating that it is not currently clear how deep the area is, and whether it will reach two kilometers or hundreds of metres. However, the plan, in its general form, appears to be being proposed, and is based on a three-level process, which includes destroying Hamas, disarming Gaza, and eliminating what it called extremism in the Strip, according to one of Netanyahu’s advisors.
Two Egyptian security sources indicated that the occupation proposed during the mediation talks the idea of disarming northern Gaza , and establishing a buffer zone in the northern Gaza Strip under international supervision. Regional sources reported that the Arab countries agreed to establish a security barrier between the two sides, but there is disagreement about its location.
Egyptian and regional sources said that the occupying entity informed several Arab countries of its desire to establish a buffer zone on the Palestinian side of the Gaza Strip borders, to prevent any future attacks on it, as part of proposals regarding the Strip in the post-war period. According to Reuters, three regional sources reported that Israel informed its neighbors Egypt and Jordan, in addition to the UAE, with which it normalized relations in 2020, of this idea.
The sources indicated that this idea was also presented to Saudi Arabia, which does not have relations with “Israel” and stopped efforts to normalize it with it through American mediation after the outbreak of the Gaza war on October 7. The sources did not explain how the information reached Riyadh, which does not have direct official communication channels with Israel. The sources said that Türkiye was also informed of these plans.
A senior regional security official, one of the three sources who asked not to reveal their nationalities, said, “Israel wants to establish this buffer zone between Gaza and Israel from the north to the south to prevent any infiltration or attack on it by (Hamas) or any other militants.” A senior Israeli security source told Reuters that the idea of a buffer zone “is being studied,” adding, “It is not clear at the present time how deep it is (the buffer zone) and whether it might reach one kilometer, two kilometers, or hundreds of meters (inside Gaza).”
Military expert Majid Al-Qaisi said, "Israel wants to establish this area starting from Beit Lahia with the sea to Jabalia and Beit Hanoun, all the way to Rafah in the south." Al-Qaisi added in an interview with Al-Hurra website, “This buffer zone may be approximately four kilometers, two of which will be the dividing line between the smart security fence in the Gaza envelope and the borders of the built-up areas inside the Strip.” Al-Qaisi points out that there are "also possibilities that Israel will intend to control large parts of the northern part of the Gaza Strip and push the Palestinians towards Khan Yunis and Rafah."
In turn, the expert in Palestinian-Israeli affairs, Ashraf Abu Al-Hol, points out that “the talk is not about an area in itself to establish a buffer zone, but rather it is linked to all of Gaza’s borders with Israel, from the east by approximately 41 kilometers and to the north by approximately 14 kilometers.” Abu Al-Hol confirms to Al-Hurra website that Israel “can therefore establish a buffer zone at any point of contact with Gaza.”
From a military and security perspective, establishing a buffer zone with the Gaza Strip will not have any positive impact on the security situation in the Israeli areas close to the Palestinian side, according to experts. Military expert Akram Kharif says, “Israel does not need to establish this zone, because it is simply capable of establishing checkpoints” inside the Strip in order to prevent communication between Hamas militants. He added in a call with the "Al-Hurra" website that "Israel can completely isolate Gaza, as is happening now in the north, and it is capable of applying the same method to the entire sector." Regarding his expectations regarding the location of the buffer zone in question, Kharief explains, “It could be in the olive fields between Gaza City and Khan Yunis in the south, and perhaps around Rafah.”
Expert Majid Al-Qaisi believes that "this buffer zone will not have any military value, because there is no sufficient depth to allow Israel to prevent Palestinian attacks in the future, whether by missiles or even by land." Al-Qaisi continues, saying: “We are talking about a strip that is on average 8 kilometers wide, and in some places 9 to 10 kilometers, and 42 to 45 kilometers long. This means that the area has no military depth.” He points out that "the settlements on the Gaza Strip are very close and are only a few kilometers away, and therefore missiles can easily reach them, and even reach Tel Aviv."
Abu Al-Houl agrees with this proposal and points out that “any buffer zone established in Gaza will be of no use to Israel for the simple reason that most of the Strip is of very small width and therefore the possibilities of confrontation are possible even with the presence of the buffer zone.” Abu Al-Hol adds, “Some areas in Gaza are only six kilometers wide from the sea to the eastern border with Israel. If Israel wanted to create a buffer zone one or two kilometers wide, or even 200 to 300 meters wide, its forces would be within range of the Palestinians, and it would not avoid direct clashes and confrontations with them".
Abu Al-Houl believes that “the idea of a buffer zone is rejected by all Arab, regional and international parties, because in the end it will make the conflict ignite more and continue for a longer period and will not stop once the war stops.” Abu al-Hol stresses the necessity of "looking for a political solution that includes the exchange of hostages and detainees, a ceasefire, and the search for a solution to the Palestinian issue, because it is the only solution in which confrontations can stop and wars are not renewed again."
It is noteworthy that Arab countries, including Jordan, Egypt and other countries, expressed their fears about Israel’s expulsion of the Palestinians from Gaza in a repeat of the confiscation of lands from the Palestinians when the establishment of the State of Israel was declared in 1948. The Israeli government denies any such goal, and according to a Reuters report, during recent mediation talks with Egypt and Qatar, Israel proposed the idea of disarming northern Gaza and establishing a buffer zone in the northern Gaza Strip under international supervision, according to two Egyptian security sources.
Other sources told Reuters that several Arab countries oppose this. She added that the Arab countries may not oppose the establishment of a security barrier between the two sides, but there is a disagreement over its location. Regional sources likened the idea of the buffer zone in Gaza to the "security zone" that Israel established in southern Lebanon. Israel evacuated that area, which was about 15 kilometers deep, in 2000 after years of fighting and attacks launched by Lebanese Hezbollah.
Signs of disagreement between the pillars of the Israeli War Council appeared during the first weeks of the war on Gaza. The dispute emerged between them amid mutual accusations regarding failure to prevent the Al-Aqsa Flood operation carried out by the Palestinian resistance on the seventh of October. Netanyahu accused the army and intelligence services of responsibility for failing to warn and prevent the events of “Black Saturday”. Gantz then addressed Netanyahu, saying, “When Israel is at war, the leadership must be responsible, take the right steps, and support the army and security forces to achieve what is asked of them.”
On 12 November, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and War Council member Benny Gantz shook hands after the end of a press conference in Tel Aviv, but they ignored Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The pictures showed Netanyahu collecting his papers and about to leave the stage without comment, while Israeli media commented on this shot by saying: “Two against one, this is the focus of the war.”
The underlying dispute between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Galat returned to the forefront today, Saturday, when Gallant refused to hold a joint press conference with Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. Netanyahu said that he proposed to Gallant to hold a joint press conference, but he “chose what he chose,” indicating that he held a separate press conference in Tel Aviv.
The Israeli Prime Minister added that he has a mandate from the Israelis to lead them, and that he does not act according to opinion polls. He was referring to the frequent opinion polls that showed a significant decline in the popularity of the Israeli Prime Minister and the ruling right-wing parties, led by Likud, in contrast to the rise of the opposition parties.
Both Netanyahu and Gallant promised - in their press conferences - to continue the war on Gaza until the military power of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) is undermined.
Netanyahu confirmed that the Palestinian Authority will not enter the Gaza Strip now, indicating the necessity of establishing “a complete Israeli security zone for years” under the pretext of “preventing the emergence of more terrorism.” In the context of his statements about future control in the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu said: “The Palestinian Authority does not fight terrorism, but rather funds terrorism,” explaining that it is “not the party supposed to enter Gaza now.” In his speech, he touched on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and said: “Abu Mazen, after more than 50 days, still refuses to apologise.” He added: “And someone close to him, Jibril Rajoub, said that the same scenario (October 7 - Al-Aqsa Flood) must be applied in the West Bank.
Before that, earlier Saturday evening, Defense Minister Gallant announced that he had seen with his own eyes the results of returning to combat “from the cockpit of the plane,” considering that “the results are very impressive.” Gallant said: "'Hamas thought they found a way to divide Israelis between those prioritizing hostage release and those pushing to prosecute the war. But we found a way out of this trap...
"In the last two days, we are also operating in areas where we did not operate in the last month and this will increase. This action will reach every area that needs to be reached. We are going for the complete elimination of the Hamas organization. We have had very good achievements in the first month."
French President Emmanuel Macron warned Israel that its declared goal of completely eliminating Hamas could lead to a war that would last 10 years, and announced that he was on his way to Qatar to seek to resume the truce that lasted 7 days and ended yesterday morning. Macron said in a press conference on the sidelines of the climate conference in Dubai, UAE, "What does it mean to completely eliminate Hamas? Does anyone believe that this is possible? If so, the war will last 10 years."
He urged Tel Aviv to clarify its goal of eliminating Hamas, warning of an endless war. The French President also said that confronting what he called terrorism is not a matter of systematic and continuous bombing, and that the response to Hamas attacks is not the elimination of an entire region or the bombing of entire civilian infrastructure.
Macron continued that Israel's permanent security cannot be guaranteed if it is established "at the expense of Palestinian lives, thus displeasing all public opinion in the region," calling for responding to the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians, by achieving a two-state solution. He called for redoubling efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all detainees held by Hamas, and the delivery of aid to Gaza, saying that he was heading to Qatar - today, Saturday - to help establish a new truce that would lead to a ceasefire.
The French President adopted a position in support of the Israeli war on Gaza, and also called for the establishment of an international coalition against the Hamas movement. In the middle of last month, Macron was forced to clarify his statements regarding targeting civilians in Gaza, as he denied during a call with his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog that he had accused Israel of intentionally harming civilians.
Alalam News Network. Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, commented "- Gaza revealed the truth about Macron, and the rest of the leaders of Europe and the West, led by America, and showed them as they really are, without values ??or principles, and also revealed the falsity and lies of all the slogans they were raising about human rights, freedoms, human dignity, equality and justice, so when we see Macron He speaks in this elegant way. This is not out of concern for the lives of the Palestinians, but rather out of concern for the existence of “Israel”, which has implicated itself and the West in Gaza, due to Biden’s stupidity and Netanyahu’s arrogance, and the Western accompaniment of this failed duo. Macron’s statements could represent a lifeline for the occupier. The Israeli leaders, who were struck in the face by the “Al-Aqsa Flood,” still take pride for sin, and they are trying to take revenge, madly, for their false dignity, which has been covered in mud."
According to a senior administration source, Biden aides worked around the clock during the truce to help them develop a more targeted military strategy. Officials from the US emphasized that "Israel", which has blocked off northern Gaza and has not permitted inhabitants to return, could not also seal off southern Gaza and launch another murderous aerial strike on the 2 million civilians who live there.
Israeli officials claimed they are taking the advice of their American counterparts, but several analysts said they saw no evidence that the fresh Israeli bombing strikes were being carried out with the delicacy required to prevent civilian fatalities at all.
Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former official in the Clinton administration, expressed that the change of tone in the US comes from the increased pressure on Biden to call for a ceasefire. Riedel emphasized that Biden, who is now in a "very unpleasant place," has "belatedly realized" that the war on Gaza was harmful to US interests, particularly the death of thousands of Palestinian civilians, which "damages America’s reputation throughout the Middle East, the Islamic world and beyond."
Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, expressed that not only is the US change of tone "not substantive", but if Israel were to pursue its indiscriminate bombing, then the US “really hasn’t had an effect.” Former Israeli ambassador to Washington Itamar Rabinovich stated that Israeli leaders know that what occurred in the north cannot be repeated. However, he predicted that the occupation and the US would publicly disagree about what will happen after the war.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing American officials, that Israel had been provided with bunker-buster bombs with a BLU-109 warhead designed to penetrate concrete before detonating. The process of supplying Israel with additional weapons and ammunition, including 15,000 bombs and 57,000 artillery shells, began shortly after Hamas' attack on Israel, and the process is still ongoing. The Wall Street Journal said that America, which supplied weapons to its most important allies in the region even before the Gaza War, had not previously disclosed the number of weapons provided to Israel or the number of bunker-buster bombs.
One of the largest labor unions in the United States, representing workers in the automobile, aircraft, agricultural tools, and other industries, called for a complete ceasefire in Gaza following the end of a temporary truce and the resumption of the Israeli aggression on the devastated Strip. The United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) comprises over 400,000 active workers and more than 580,000 retirees in these sectors across the US. The announcement was made by the Union's President Brandon Mancilla during a conference held at a rally outside the White House on Friday. The demonstrators, who went on a hunger strike in support of Gaza, carried banners reading: "Biden, you are starving Gaza."
Butcher's Bill / Oasis of Martyrs
Gaza’s Ministry of Health says at least 109 people had been killed since Israel renewed its attacks this morning.
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.
The HAMA Ministry of Health in the besieged sector announced that the number of victims of the Israeli operation its beginning had risen to 15,207 martyrs. Gaza's health ministry had a day earlier registered the deaths of over 18,000 Palestinians, a major jump from the "about 15,000" reported a few days earlier. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Observatory reports that it had "counted up to this moment about 17,500 dead Palestinians". The count included about 6,150 children killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since October 7, the Gaza Press Office said. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The Hamas-run government said more than 4,000 women were among the dead. The number of injured had risen to 40,652, with varying injuries, up from 36,000 a day earlier [which was up by 3,000 from the previous report]. The Palestinian Government Media Office in Gaza said the number of missing people had risen to more than 7,500 [ 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.
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 75, while the death toll for the Israel forces had risen to 395 soldiers since the beginning of Operation al-Aqsa Flood. At least 7,771 Israelis were injured.
The Hebrew newspaper Haaretz revealed that the number of soldiers who were injured since the start of the war reached about a thousand soldiers, noting that 202 soldiers were seriously injured. The army rarely referred to casualties when talking about the deaths of soldiers during battles. According to the same newspaper, this policy differs from what was prevalent in previous wars and military campaigns, during which the army also published the number of its wounded, in addition to publishing other details. 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.
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.
Hostages
Deputy Head of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), Saleh Al-Arouri, announced that the movement’s official position requires that prisoners not be exchanged before the aggression stops, and he told Al Jazeera, “There will be no exchange of prisoners until after the war stops.”
Al-Arouri stressed - in an interview with Al Jazeera - that “there will be no exchange of prisoners until the end of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and a comprehensive and final ceasefire,” stressing that “our Zionist prisoners will not be liberated until all our prisoners are liberated and after the ceasefire.”
The Hamas leader revealed that the remaining prisoners in the Gaza Strip are soldiers and civilian men who served in the occupation army, although the occupation insists that the resistance still has women and children, pointing out that the elderly men detained served in the army and some of them are still in it. In the same context, Al-Arouri confirmed that the movement said it was ready to exchange bodies for the bodies of martyrs, but it needed time to exhume the bodies of the Israelis. “We need time to exhume the bodies of the Israelis who were killed in the occupation raids in Gaza.”
Regarding the extent of the Palestinian resistance’s readiness to continue the battle with the occupation after the collapse of the truce, Al-Arouri responded, “The resistance is prepared for all Israeli military scenarios, whether land, air, or other wars.” He stressed that it is equipped and reinforced with a popular incubator, and “it is all resistance,” stressing, “There is no fear or anxiety over The resistance will win." On the other hand, he said that the Israeli occupation will fail again to achieve the goals it set for itself, "liberating prisoners and what he calls the elimination of Hamas," accusing the United States of America of covering up the crimes carried out by Israel in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority quoted informed sources as saying that Israel informed the mediators that it wanted to return to calm in the Gaza Strip for one day, while the White House said that it had expectations of the possibility of declaring a new truce in the Strip. Israel wants a one-day truce in exchange for the release of more women and children detained in Gaza, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority. But the sources told the Broadcasting Corporation that the possibility of a return to calm tonight is slim, and that there is a chance of reaching an agreement within two or four days.
With negotiations to renew the truce faltering, the head of the Mossad orders his men to return from Qatar. The Israeli Mossad announced that the negotiating team that was in Qatar had received an order to return to Israel, after negotiations with Hamas on extending the truce reached a "dead end." A rare statement issued by the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on behalf of the Mossad said: “Due to the impasse in the negotiations, and on instructions from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mossad Chief David Barnea ordered the negotiating team in Doha to return home.”
The statement added that Hamas "did not fulfill its obligations under the agreement, which included the release of all women and children on the list submitted to Hamas." The statement concluded, "The head of the Mossad thanks the head of the CIA, the Egyptian Minister of Intelligence, and the Prime Minister of Qatar for their partnership and tremendous mediation efforts that led to the release of 84 women and children detained in Gaza, in addition to 24 foreign citizens."
According to Israeli media, the return of the Mossad team from Qatar and the full resumption of fighting in Gaza is considered a message that “there will be no negotiations without a full return to the agreed upon plan, that is, the release of women and children.”
Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy told reporters that Hamas still held 137 captives. The resistance released 10 Israeli detainees, 4 Thais and 2 Russian women, who were released outside the agreement. Over the course of 6 days, Israel has received 102 detainees, women and children, including 78 Israelis, in exchange for the release of 234 Palestinian prisoners, women and children,
Eylon Levy, the Israeli government spokesperson, told reporters 01 December 2023:
- Hamas still holds 137 hostages from the October attacks, in addition to four others who went missing before the war
- The hostages include two children aged four and 10 months, who, Hamas now claims, are dead
- 117 male hostages are still kept in Gaza, including the two children, as well as 20 females
- 126 hostages are Israelis, and 11 others are foreign nationals
- Foreign nationals are eight Thais, one Nepalese, one Tanzanian and one French Mexican citizen
- Ten of the remaining hostages are 75 and older. There are seven missing people since the October 7 attack
- Hamas has released 110 hostages so far – 86 Israelis and 24 foreign nationals.
The Al-Qassam Brigades announced the death of an Israeli woman and her two children who were detained by them as a result of a previous Israeli bombing of Gaza. The Israeli army confirmed the deaths of five hostages held in Gaza, saying their families had been informed, and the body of one of them returned to Israel. “In recent days, the IDF and Israel police notified the families of the hostages Eliyahu Margalit, Maya Goren, Ronen Engel and Arye Zalmanovitz about their deaths,” army spokesman Daniel Hagari said. He also said troops had brought back the body of a fifth person that he identified as Ofir Tsarfati. Hagari said Gaza militants were still holding “136 hostages, among them 17 women and children.”
Before the release of the sixth batch of Israelis detained in Gaza, Israeli government spokesman Elon Levy said that 161 Israelis are still detained in the Strip [al-Jazeera reported "more than 100 prisoners" remain with the resistance]. Levy added that Israel has prepared a list of 50 Palestinian detainees to be released if Hamas continues to release detainees. At least 76, and possibly more than 80, hostages had been released by Hamas over six days of a cease-fire. During the pause, Hamas fighters released 60 Israeli women and children. In return, Israel released 180 security detainees from its prisons, all of them women and minors under the age of 19. Hamas also separately released 19 foreign hostages, most of them Thai farm workers, under separate agreements parallel to the truce agreement.
Thirty children held by Gazan terrorists have been released as part of a four-day ceasefire deal with Hamas that began Friday, but 10 still remain in the Strip. The terror group has said it planned to release 20 more hostages as part of a two-day extension to the deal. U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the Biden administration believes eight or nine more Americans are still being held but the U.S. does not have "solid information on each and every one of them." Perhaps 100 are Israeli civilians. Some of the rest are soldiers, seized when Hamas raided military bases in Israel. They may end up being held the longest. The Israeli military had not specified how many soldiers were captured, nor their ranks.
By one account
- 236 confirmed abducted civilians and IDF soldiers.
- 18 of the abductees are elderly people aged 75 and older.
- 121 of the abductees have foreign citizenship (including dual citizenship).
Conflicting estimates were provided regarding the number of Thai nationals still in captivity. The Wall Street Journal reported 25 November 2023 that Hamas is interested in releasing 23 Thai citizens during the four days of the ceasefire, mediated by Iran. On the other hand, the Thai Foreign Ministry claimed 20 more citizens who are held captive by Hamas, and that four of the ten who were released were not included in the number initially estimated.
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.
Since the start of the war on October 7, at least 3,400 people had been detained, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society. Israel said that, since the beginning of the war, about 2,100 wanted persons have been arrested throughout the IOS Division and the Bekaa and Emekim Brigade, about 1,100 of them are affiliated with Hamas.
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