Operation Iron Swords - Day 60 - 05 December 2023
Ccontents |
|
NEW - Operations NEW - By-Standers NEW - Axis of Resistance NEW - Allied for Democracy UPDATED - Oasis of Martyrs UPDATED - Hostages |
Israel launched 3 wars on the Gaza Strip, the first of which began in December 2008 and continued until January 18, 2009. The second war on Gaza was in 2014 and lasted for approximately 50 days, while the year 2021 witnessed the third war, which lasted 11 days. On October 7, 2023, Hamas surprised Israel with Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood,” where its fighters attacked the Israeli settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip, killing and capturing hundreds. On the other hand, the Israeli forces launched Operation “Iron Swords” 59 days ago, during which a truce lasted for 7 days, during which the shooting stopped and an exchange of prisoners took place, between the Palestinian movement and Tel Aviv.
A Hamas rocket reportedly struck an Israeli military base on October 7 where numerous nuclear-capable missiles are believed to be stored, according to a recent report. The rocket caused a fire near storage facilities at the Sdot Micha base in central occupied Palestine, as disclosed by the New York Times on Monday.
Despite Israel's non-acknowledgment, whistleblowers, US officials, and satellite data estimate the presence of 25 to 50 nuclear-capable Jericho missile launchers at the Sdot Micha base. It remains unknown how many nuclear weapons Israel possesses.
This previously unreported attack marks the first instance of a Hamas strike reaching so close to Israel's nuclear-capable missiles. It is uncertain whether Hamas has knowledge of the base's contents or targeted it as one of several military sites during the October 7 Al-Aqsa Storm operation. The Palestinian resistance movement and Israel have not provided comments on the strike at Sdot Micha.
The rocket hit the base, situated 15 miles west of Jerusalem al-Quds, around 10 a.m., striking a small ravine near the Jericho missile facility, according to the Times. NASA satellite images reveal the charred aftermath of the rocket's explosion, documenting efforts to extinguish the brush fire ignited by the blast.
Despite the destruction of 40 acres at the base, the fire did not reach any suspected Jericho missile facilities. It remains unclear if more than one rocket reached Sdot Micha, but on October 7, numerous missiles from Gaza stretched into occupied territories as the Iron Dome air defense system struggled to handle the volume of artillery.
Hans Kristensen, director of the Federation of American Scientists’ Nuclear Information Project, highlighted that even if the fire had reached the missile facility, the underground storage building could withstand the damage. However, he emphasized the risks posed by a fire of that magnitude reaching a critical munitions depot, stating, "All sorts of things can go wrong."
Recent satellite images depict new berms and barriers around the area where the rocket landed, indicating efforts to enhance Sdot Micha's defense against potential future attacks.
Israel is widely suspected of having significant nuclear capabilities, but has for decades maintained a policy of deliberate ambiguity, neither confirming nor denying that it possesses such weaponry. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Israel is estimated to have 80 nuclear warheads, 50 of which are capable of being launched by Jericho II medium-range ballistic missiles.
Operational Update
Firing over 100 thousand shells from the beginning of the ground maneuver - hundreds of men and women are being recruited into the artillery corps.
Chief of Staff, Lt. Col. Hertzi Halevi stated : "In the last few days we have moved to the third phase of the maneuver. We took over many strongholds of Hamas in the north of the Gaza Strip, and now we are operating against its centers of gravity in the south. We act professionally; evacuate the population ahead of time from the battle zones; Attack Hamas above and below the ground, with combined attacks from the air, sea and land; We bring our ground forces into combat in a cloak of intelligence and very high-quality and very powerful fire with a high level of accuracy....
"Our forces find weapons in almost every house, terrorists are found in many houses, we fight them. We understand that part of the method is that IDF is placed in houses, a terrorist comes to the house in civilian clothes and conducts the fighting from there. These things require the use of a wide range of fire, both to damage the enemy and, of course, to protect our forces. That is why they operate powerfully, and at the same time while Great efforts to minimize harm to the uninvolved as much as possible....
"Yesterday I had the chance to meet commanders fighting in the northern Gaza Strip. I hear them, I talk to them, they say very clearly - we are ready and willing to do everything to return abductees, to do everything to harm Hamas and dismantle this organization. And I see their wisdom, they also know how to turn these two tasks into complementary things rather than competing things, and we really do everything to return the abducted.
"I want to say a few words about the northern border, the Lebanese border. Hezbollah chose at the end of the truce to open fire. We recognized it in advance, we prepared for it, and we act resolutely against anyone who prepares, prepares, or commits harm to Israeli citizens, IDF soldiers, or creates a threat to our territory. in the Gaza Strip, but at the same time they continue the operational activity whose purpose is to bring about a better, much better reality on the northern border.
"At the Central Command, in Judea and Samaria, we are increasing the fight against terrorism, so far we must say with great success. In the last two months, over 1,200 Hamas operatives were arrested in Judea and Samaria, many terrorists were arrested and killed who carried out attacks, some of them very serious, in the past, some of them were preparing to carry out attacks, and we are very determined to continue this effort.
"A few days ago, we experienced a tragic event in Jerusalem, in which the late Yuval Doron Castleman was killed. It is important for me to say that we praise the heroism of a citizen who ran with great courage into the fire, to stop the killing of civilians. This is true heroism. At the same time, we emphasize the necessity of The basic rules that are necessary in such complex cases, shooting in a civilian environment. Do not rush to shoot when the risk is low and we do not shoot at those who keep their hands. The specific case itself is of course still under investigation, these insights, it is important that we all know now.....
"The goals of the maneuver are to severely damage Hamas, to disband its battalions and brigades in the areas of the maneuver, and to create the conditions for the return of the abductees. It will continue as long as it seems necessary, in in-depth talks and discussions with the political echelon and when we decide to stop we will know what achievements are behind us, it is important for me to emphasize."
IDF spokesman, Brigadier General Daniel Hagari : "We are in face-to-face battles with terrorists. We are focused on Gaza, but with a continuous effort in the north. ... 138 abductees and abductees are being held in Gaza - we defined one of the missing as a kidnapper. Not responsible for talking about inaccurate information regarding the abductions."
From the beginning of the resumption of fighting in Gaza, the Air Force planes went out in two powerful attack rounds in which dozens of planes from all the fighter squadrons of the Air Force participated. The planes attacked many terrorist targets, including operational infrastructure and anti-tank positions for the purpose of assisting and preparing the ground for the forces maneuvering in the field. In the last few days, IDF fighters have been operating in the heart of the terror strongholds of the terrorist organization Hamas in Jabaliya and Sha'iya and are conducting intense battles with its terrorists. In these areas, the two frontline divisions of the Southern Command, Division 162 and Division 36, which are leading the fighting in the Gaza Strip, are operating in these areas. Starting tonight , IDF forces are also fighting in the Khan Yunis area.
"We are in the most intense day since the beginning of the maneuver - in terms of terrorists killed, the number of encounters and the use of fire from the ground and from the air," said the commander of the Southern Command, Major General Yaron Finkelman, "We mean Continue to attack and deepen the achievement."
Fighter jets of the Air Force attacked a series of targets of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanese territory. Among the targets that were attacked, terrorist infrastructures, positions and military sites where weapons were stored and from which the terrorists of the terrorist organization operated. In addition, a number of launches were identified that crossed the territory of Lebanon towards various areas in the north of the country and fell in open areas.
IDF troops are operating in the area of Jabalya, after completing the encirclement of the Jabalya camp. Over the past day, IDF troops operated in Hamas strongholds and destroyed terrorist infrastructure in the area. During the activity, the IDF took control of key military posts from which attacks on IDF troops have been carried out. Yesterday (Monday), IAF and IDF troops struck buildings used by "Nukhba" terrorists for military activity and eliminated other Hamas terrorists. During the activity, IDF troops located and destroyed rockets found in the garden of a residence in the northern Gaza Strip.
Furthermore, IDF and ISA forces conducted a targeted raid on a Hamas Internal Security Forces command and control center in Jabalya where they located observation and control materials, weapons, and maps. Moreover, over the past day, Israeli Navy forces supported ground troops with strikes on dozens of operational targets belonging to terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip. These targets include compounds from which terrorists attacked and fired mortar shells at the forces.
The American newspaper The Washington Post said that the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) still maintains its strength despite the passage of 60 days since the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. The newspaper explained, in a report, that the military operations in the northern Gaza Strip are far from complete, even though Gaza has been razed to the ground, and that the ground occupation forces have not yet entered some of the main Hamas strongholds in northern Gaza.
The Post pointed out that during the recent truce , “dozens of armed men wearing masks appeared in a main square to hand over detainees,” in reference to the presence of the movement’s fighters in the area where the occupation army fought fierce battles and was believed to have weakened the movement’s control over it. It quoted the former head of the Palestinian department in Israeli military intelligence as saying that "a third of Gaza City is outside the control of Israeli forces, including areas expected to be heavily fortified."
The American newspaper's report explained that the IDF circumvented known Hamas military strongholds, including Shuja'iya, where some of the most ferocious battles in Operation Cast Lead took place in 2008, and where Hamas was likely holed up to fight. It quoted military officials as saying that the battle there “will be very difficult” and that Hamas “has already prepared all its infrastructure.”
An Israeli official, who refused to reveal his identity, stated that the army’s operations in the south of the Gaza Strip will be different from its operations in the north. The Washington Post indicated that the real battle in the Gaza Strip has not yet begun, explaining that estimates indicate that a third of the resistance tunnels are still intact.
According to the newspaper, the IDF claimed that 5,000 Hamas members were killed, noting that these are merely estimates and there is no evidence of their accuracy. The newspaper points out that the total number of resistance deaths is less important to the IDF, which seeks to undermine the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar , whom the occupation army described as “a dead man walking.” The Israelis allocated much of its intelligence forces to locate Sinwar and the main leaders of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas al-Qassam movement, such as Muhammad al-Deif, the brigades’ chief of staff.
Despite two months having passed since the Israeli aggression on Gaza, Hamas is still capable of launching rockets towards Israel. It fired several shells towards southern Israel on Tuesday, and one of its rockets hit a residential building in the city of Ashkelon . The Washington Post quoted the head of the intelligence department at the risk consulting firm Le Beck International as saying that it will be difficult for Israel to completely destroy Hamas’ missile capabilities, as many of them are produced locally. He added that Israel must "actually go and find missile manufacturing factories and disrupt the flow of materials.... Reaching the day when Hamas cannot launch any missiles towards Israel is a difficult day to reach."
Al Jazeera military and strategic expert Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi ruled out that the occupation army would engage in decisive battles in the built-up areas of the city of Khan Yunis (south of the Gaza Strip ), while stressing that the battle is confrontational and zero-sum and is based on operating “behind enemy lines.” Al-Duwairi stresse that the battle in the south will be tougher than its counterpart in the north, and pointed out that it will be “broader in scope, more violent, more targeted, and more ferocious, despite the horror of the first stage.”
He also added that it would be more difficult for the Gazan community in terms of killing, destruction, fire belts, and bombing of towers with the aim of "forcing residents to displace and leave outside Gaza," citing the bombing of Hamad Residential Town. The military expert believes that the occupation army is trying not to repeat the mistake of the north, especially since the southern region contains agricultural areas and towns, “so it may rely on imposing a field reality through the positioning of its forces and then developing its operations through a policy of gradual annexation of the areas.”
He stressed that the battle in the south is difficult and differs in its field data from the north, but with his conviction that Israeli losses will be higher, he said that “the first rain is a drop,” in his comment on the statements of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ). He attributed this to the presence of long distances to the south, and therefore the scenario of Beit Hanoun (north of the Gaza Strip) and Juhr al-Dik (east of the central region) looms on the horizon through continuous and intense targeting of occupation soldiers and vehicles.
He reiterated his assertion that the Khan Yunis Brigade is one of the strongest brigades in the defensive formation of the Al-Qassam Brigades, as it caused the Israelis to taste the calamities in 2014. He said it was likely that the occupation army would encircle Khan Yunis from two sides, north and south, to separate it from Deir al-Balah and Rafah, indicating that it was racing against time to search for a military achievement in another area that it would present to the Israeli street as contributing to the release of prisoners in Gaza.
Regarding the reasons for the occupation’s many ambushes inside the Gaza Strip, Al-Duwairi recalled his previous statement that Tel Aviv is fighting “an unknown enemy, a black box, and ghosts,” who exist underground and have an effective intelligence network capable of identifying targets and eliminating them. It is noteworthy that Al Jazeera obtained satellite images revealing the axes of the Israeli incursion into the south of the Gaza Strip, dating back to the third of December, and showing the positioning of Israeli vehicles at the intersection of Salah al-Din and Kissufim Streets. The images also showed the concentration of between 70 and 100 Israeli vehicles of various types near the mills area north of Khan Yunis.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Israeli army is considering the idea of flooding Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip with seawater. The newspaper said, citing its sources, that the Israeli army installed 5 pumping stations near the Beach refugee camp in mid-November. It confirmed that the pumps are capable of pumping water from the Mediterranean Sea to flood the tunnels within a few weeks.
She indicated that the Israeli authorities have not yet taken a final decision regarding such a step, and opinions were divided among the administration of US President Joe Biden, which Tel Aviv informed of such a possibility. The degree of water resistance of the tunnels is not clear. It added that it is almost impossible to calculate the impact of trying to flood it on the soil and groundwater, or to know what will happen to the water supply and sanitation in the Strip. Also, as a result of floods, hazardous materials that may be present in the tunnels may enter the soil.
The Wall Street Journal continued by saying that some former American officials believe that such a measure could put Biden and his administration in a difficult position and lead to condemnation from the whole world. Also, the militants hiding there will be able to leave within the time it takes to flood the tunnels. A former CIA official said that flooding the tunnels in the long term might force Hamas to abandon them, but if salt water were released into them, “this could exacerbate the humanitarian crisis ” in the Strip.
International media continue to cover the developments of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and its various repercussions on the local and international situation levels, as well as quoting testimonies of liberated Palestinian prisoners about the bad conditions in the Israeli prisons.
The American website "The Daily Beast" quoted former Israeli soldiers calling on their government to correct the course of the war, and warning them that "revenge is not a war plan." The website also quoted Uri Givati, an official in the "Breaking the Silence" organization, which includes veterans, as saying that he believes that Israel must respond to the attacks of the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas", but in a way other than cruelty and revenge.
For its part, The Independent newspaper reported that doctors in southern Gaza warned that infectious diseases were spreading rapidly due to overcrowding resulting from the mass evacuation of civilians as the Israeli military campaign moved south. The newspaper quoted Asim Muhammad, a volunteer doctor at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, as saying that the area surrounding the hospital is full of infectious and epidemic diseases, including fungal infections and skin and pulmonary infections.
A report by Le Monde newspaper correspondents in Jerusalem dealt with the Israeli bombing of the Shujaiya neighborhood in Gaza, where a series of bombings destroyed nearly 50 residential buildings, which led to one of the worst massacres since the beginning of the war on Gaza, according to the newspaper.
Shaul Horev wrote in an article for the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that the Houthi attacks on Israeli ships show a lack of benefit from what happened in 1973 when the Egyptian Navy imposed a siege on Israeli ships in the Red Sea. He believes that it is wise to take advantage of the understandings reached with then US President Gerald Ford to protect trade routes, either by removing the threat or avoiding confrontation.
In a lengthy article, The Washington Post discussed the testimonies of freed Palestinian prisoners, including children and teenagers, about harsh treatment in Israeli prisons. They were quoted as describing a “dark shift” in prison conditions after October 7, as prisoners were deprived of the few comforts they were allowed in their crowded cells.
Israeli press stated that Israel and the United States are considering forming a special operations force in the Red Sea , in response to attacks launched by the Yemeni Houthi group on Israeli ships. According to these reports, Tel Aviv approached countries, including Britain and Japan, to form a special operations force to operate in the Red Sea, noting that the Israeli request came as a result of the Houthi attack against 3 commercial ships linked to Israel and an American destroyer. It was explained that the special force that Israel seeks to form will operate within the framework of a multinational coalition in Bab al-Mandab .
Yesterday, Monday, the White House announced that Washington may form a military force to escort commercial ships in the Red Sea. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that Washington is discussing this idea with its allies, explaining that nothing has been done on the ground yet. His statements stated that Washington is talking with other countries about forming a naval force to secure maritime navigation.
"Israel is betting on what might result from the hastily planned and ill-considered Khan Yunis operation. Perhaps it is time to admit that complete victory is not on the horizon. In this case, it is better to devote our energy to recovering all the detainees and healing our deep collective wounds." With this introduction, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper opened an article by journalist Nahum Barnea, which began where the truce left off - according to his opinion - with the desire of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) to abandon discussion of the issue of the 15 women and two children it is still holding, and to reach an agreement regarding the sick and elderly on both sides, so that the Israeli side can begin. From where he left off in the bombing, exemplifying his unwavering determination and hopefully not driven by ego.
The writer believed that returning the detainees who are still in the Gaza Strip , and returning the bodies of those who died to Israel, is preferable to early entry into a ground attack on the south of the Strip, because what would require the Israeli army to penetrate deep into Khan Yunis could lead to massive geopolitical chaos. Therefore, it would be wise to lower expectations a little, since complete victory is unlikely in the current circumstances.
The writer considered that the entry of the Israeli army into Khan Yunis without a plan for the “next day” is a strategically unsound step, noting that the clock does not stop, the condition of the Palestinian population is deteriorating, and the pressures exerted by the administration of US President Joe Biden are increasing, which means that Israel has not It has more than two weeks, which is not enough time to achieve the goals declared at the height of Israeli anger and shock resulting from the October 7 attack, referring to the “ Al-Aqsa Flood .”
On the northern front - the writer says - there is optimism on the horizon, with the Americans and French bribing the Lebanese government, and Hezbollah agreeing to a type of arrangement that would end “hostilities” in the foreseeable future, allowing residents of the northern communities that were evacuated to return to their homes. As for Yemen, the Houthis , “at the request of their Iranian masters,” as he put it, launched multiple ballistic missiles toward southern Israel, since the start of the Israeli army’s ground attack, and they recently began attacking huge ships in the Red Sea. Several days ago, the writer says: Explosions were heard near their munitions factories near the capital, Sanaa, and no one can guess whether this was the work of the Israeli army, but if so, it was certainly designed to serve as an Israeli signal of some kind.
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps reiterated his country's intention to conduct reconnaissance flights with unarmed drones in the eastern Mediterranean, including the airspace in Israel and Gaza. Shapps explained in statements to members of the House of Commons that any information collected by reconnaissance aircraft regarding the detainees will be transferred to the relevant authorities, without naming them.
Regarding the issue of bringing aid into Gaza, the British minister explained that his country is working to distribute emergency humanitarian aid to the Strip by land, sea and air. At the same time, he revealed that the obstacle facing the entry of aid lies in the method of entering it through the Rafah crossing, and that work is underway to search for alternative methods.
Regarding the security situation in the Gulf of Aden, the British Defense Minister said that his country decided to send the destroyer HMS Diamond to the Gulf of Aden to confront the threats of Ansar Allah Al-Houthi.
The British Ministry of Defense had stated that it would conduct reconnaissance flights over the eastern Mediterranean, including the airspace over Israel and the Gaza Strip, with the aim of providing intelligence information to Tel Aviv supporting the “detainee rescue operation.”
The Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) and Islamic Jihad condemned Britain's intention to fly surveillance planes over Gaza , and considered this a direct participation in the Israeli "genocidal" war against the Strip and the massacres committed there.
The Hamas movement said - in a statement on the Telegram platform yesterday, Sunday - that “Britain’s disclosure of its army’s intention to carry out intelligence flights over the Gaza Strip makes it a partner with the Zionist occupation in its crimes, and responsible for the massacres to which the Palestinian people are subjected.”
Hamas believed that “London should have corrected its historical position that was offensive to the Palestinian people, and atone for the Balfour Declaration (1917), which is considered the sin of the century, instead of committing another sin and reminding the world of its shameful colonial past,” according to the statement.
Hamas stated - in its statement - that Britain's intention to conduct "reconnaissance missions" over the Gaza Strip puts the British government itself at enmity with the Palestinian people and all free people in the world who reject the Israeli aggression against Gaza. The movement called on Britain to withdraw what it described as its direct participation and political and financial support for the war of genocide against Gaza, and to stop its subordination to the United States, as well as its contribution to igniting wars, instead of contributing to peace and stability in the region.
In turn, the Islamic Jihad movement said that Britain’s announcement of the participation of its air force in intelligence missions in the Gaza Strip is an actual participation in the Israeli aggression.
Bystanders
Many countries accused Israel of committing "genocide" during the war in Gaza before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. This came on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 9, 1948.
Palestinian representative to the United Nations Dima Asfour said that the "man-made catastrophe" resulting from the massive bombing and ground attack by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip constitutes "a model case of genocide." She added, referring to the Genocide Convention, "Warning signs of genocide should prompt us to act". Asfour continued, "Over the past eight weeks, after broadcasting public calls for genocide, Israel began dropping tons of explosives with enormous destructive power into Gaza."
Asfour denounced a “widespread campaign of digital repression, including misinformation, censorship, online harassment, and bans from social networks,” which, she said, aims to silence Palestinian voices. She called on "technology companies and social platforms to take immediate steps to protect their users from being harmed online in light of the genocide taking place in Palestine."
For his part, the Iranian representative said that Israel committed “horrific genocide” against the Palestinians. While representatives of other Islamic countries accused Israeli leaders of "incitement to genocide." "Dear Europeans, Italians and Germans: After the Holocaust, we must know that genocide begins with the dehumanization of the other," he said. He added, "If the Israeli attack on the Palestinians does not prompt us to react strongly, then the darkest page in our modern history has taught us nothing."
Overnight, France quietly adjusted its position on the war in Gaza in an unexpected way. Paris, which is home to the largest Jewish and Muslim communities in Europe, is waging a fierce war internally against all manifestations of Islamic religiosity. It has gradually shifted the focus of its policies since the outbreak of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle on October 7. At the beginning of the attack, France was quick to join its counterparts in the European Union and declared its full support for the alleged right of the Israeli occupation to defend itself, while the Eiffel Tower was lit up in the colors of the Israeli flag. Among all the allies, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed forming an international coalition against the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas", similar to the international coalition against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, and at the same time banned pro-Palestinian gatherings on its territory.
France was not satisfied with that. Two weeks after the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation, Macron met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem as part of a tour that included Egypt and Jordan in solidarity with Tel Aviv, without caring about the numbers of civilian deaths in Gaza. But the French role did not proceed at the same pace. Within less than three weeks, Macron’s tone in support of the occupation calmed down, and his statements departed relatively from the European alignment, calling on Israel to stop killing civilians, while Paris hosted a conference to collect humanitarian aid for the Palestinians, and pledged to provide French donations. Between 20 million euros and 100 million euros this year.
In the last two decades, France's foreign policy has witnessed a slow shift away from positions that were previously established French doctrine regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict. France believed that the conflict could only be settled through a two-state solution (hence, in 2017, Paris refused to recognize former US President Donald Trump’s decision to make Jerusalem the capital of Israel, as it considered Jerusalem to be occupied territory). However, since the turn of the millennium, successive presidents have gradually begun to abandon this political doctrine and align more explicitly with Israel's positions.
France's official relationship with the Palestinian issue dates back to November 1947, when Paris voted in favor of the United Nations resolution on dividing Palestine into two states, one Arab and the other Jewish, and that decision resulted in the announcement of the establishment of the occupying state, which France recognized. However, secret documents indicate the role of the French government that paved the way for the emergence of the Zionist entity, starting with the Sykes-Picot Agreement and its approval of the Balfour Declaration. By the 1950s, France was the ally that the occupation turned to, and the main supplier of weapons and military equipment. It was the French who made the largest contribution to building the nuclear reactor in Dimona in the Negev Desert. The protection did not stop there. Rather, France intervened alongside Britain and Israel in 1956 as part of the tripartite aggression that aimed primarily to overthrow the rule of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser.
With the arrival of French President Charles de Gaulle to power, the pacts of friendship were no longer as strong as they were, and following the 1967 war, in which Israel occupied Sinai, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the Golan, France suspended deals to suspend the sale of arms to Tel Aviv, and also supported Security Council resolutions to end the Israeli military occupation. For the Palestinian territories, these steps represented a rift in relations between France and Israel. Diplomatic relations continued to be cold, while the occupying state tended to rely on its close alliance with Washington.
The 1980s witnessed signs of a new rapprochement with the arrival of French President François Mitterrand to power and his visit to the occupying state, but that did not prevent him from recognizing the Palestine Liberation Organization, which Washington and Israel at the time considered a terrorist organization. France then continued this approach following the appointment of President Jacques Chirac, who explicitly called for recognition of the State of Palestine.
In general, the period of rule of Mitterrand and Chirac was considered the golden age of the Palestinian issue in Paris, and with the arrival of Nicolas Sarkozy to the Elysee in 2007, coinciding with Israel’s attack on Gaza following the Hamas movement’s control of the Strip, French policy witnessed a turning point and a new turning point , the first evidence of which was the reception of the French President. Then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Paris despite the war crimes committed by his army against the Palestinians. French policy continued the pro-Israel approach with François Hollande and Emmanuel Macron, as they presented themselves as friends of the occupation, without formally abandoning the principle of the two-state solution, and recognizing the right of the Palestinians to establish their state. But what is different is that no one is anymore pressing hard for a just solution to the Palestinian issue in light of the development of relations between Paris and Tel Aviv.
Following the outbreak of the “Al-Aqsa Flood,” France was one of the first countries to unconditionally support the occupation, and unequivocally condemned the Palestinian resistance. Macron was not satisfied with providing support, but he flew to Tel Aviv to be close to his allies, and from there he called for the formation of an international coalition to eradicate Hamas, but after weeks passed during which the occupation failed to recover its prisoners or achieve any valuable military victories in the battle, at the time it was overthrown. In which thousands of civilians were killed in cold blood, Macron changed his approach to the event, and in an interview with the BBC, he criticized the occupation war and its ground campaign on Gaza publicly, saying: “Israel must stop killing children, women and the elderly in Gaza.” "There is no justification for the bombing." After he was calling on the world to stand with Israel, his tone changed and he began calling on European leaders and the United States to support his position in order to pressure Israel to cease fire.
Some of the secrets of this transformation are revealed in a memo that was supposed to be secret, but was leaked to the French newspaper Le Figaro. 12 French ambassadors to the Middle East and the Maghreb region wrote a collective memorandum that they signed and sent to the Elysee Palace and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is a precedent in the history of French diplomacy. The memorandum included explicit objections and warnings about the repercussions of the positions taken by Macron in support of Israel, and as a result, France became accused of complicity. In the acts of genocide carried out by the occupation in Gaza. Anger escalated to the point of threatening to kill one of the French ambassadors working in the region, and so the ambassadors took an internal diplomatic position in an attempt to change the position of the French government and bring it back to balance.
It seems that this message alone is not what prompted Macron to review his policy. The operation launched by Hamas and the Israeli ground invasion were enough to ignite deep tensions inside France. France is home to about half a million Jews, and at the same time, Muslims represent at least six million of France's population of 70 million people, most of them from the Maghreb, making them the largest Muslim community in Europe. These were considerations that Macron was supposed to take into account before declaring his unconditional support for Israel, and before the Paris police took a harsh stance against the protests in support of the Palestinian cause.
France quickly became the first country in the European Union to officially and publicly call for a ceasefire in Gaza, and for a sustainable truce between Hamas and the occupation to end the war. French motives were not the result of a late awakening, as much as they were linked to pragmatic reasons related to France's ambition to restore its lost influence on the global scene, and to reposition itself in the Middle East in order to gain sufficient credibility to allow it to be a real mediator with a heard voice. All of this comes within the framework of the policy of “strategic independence” from Washington that Paris is adopting under Macron’s leadership, in an attempt to recall the old legacy of de Gaulle, after Paris tended to align more with Washington since Sarkozy’s presidency.
The sudden transformations in Macron's statements can also be read in the midst of internal conflicts in France between different political factions. The political scene in the country has been divided into 3 main currents: the extreme right with its various leaders, the radical left led by the "Proud France" party, and then there is what is known as " The Macronist movement does not only express the supporters of the current French president, but it is a broad political movement that does not belong to the classical political movements and is forging a different line.
Initially, Macron and his movement chose to take a sharp stance on the Palestinian resistance attack against Israel on October 7, by showing a clear bias towards Tel Aviv, in order to avoid the bidding of the extreme right, which in recent years has been trying to get rid of the shame of the Nazi stigma, and to express Full support for the Jews represented in Israel, to overcome some old statements and positions that placed this movement in the category of “anti-Semitic”.Therefore, the French government supported Israel, trying at the same time to monopolize this support by recalling the old positions of the extreme right, which was stated in a tweet by Elizabeth Bourne, the head of the French government, in which she said that the presence of Marine Le Pen’s party in the “march against anti-Semitism” that was organized in Last November 12, “He does not deceive anyone”.
In the same tweet, Bourne said that the absence of the “France Proud” party speaks for itself, and here another piece of the French political puzzle emerges. Since the beginning of the events, the "France Proud" party took a position in support of Gaza, highlighting the crimes committed by Israel against Palestinian civilians. Some of its members also described what was happening in the Gaza Strip as ethnic genocide in the media (14), at a time when French talk shows were glorifying the occupying state day and night, and launching a strong attack on anyone who dared to criticize Tel Aviv and even Netanyahu.
The French government's strategy has always been to consider the radical left as another face of the extreme right, by accusing it of anti-Semitism and inciting public opinion against Israel, which is considered taboo in France, not to mention describing the "Hamas" movement as a "resistance movement", which is considered a major departure from the tone. prevailing politics in Paris. But with the continuation of the harsh Israeli war, and the "Jean-Luc Mélenchon" party continuing its support for Gaza, registering a permanent presence in the demonstrations in support of Palestine even during the period of official ban, Macron found himself required to find a balanced position to confirm his policy, which is different from the policies of "extremist movements", from his point of view, on both sides. This change began gradually. At first, there was relative leniency towards organizing gatherings and demonstrations in support of Palestine, then it ended with criticism of Israel’s desire to eliminate Hamas, under the pretext that this goal was unrealistic and could prolong the war for years, and the demand for a permanent ceasefire.
This change in the official French position cannot be read as a strategic vision as much as it can be seen as a reaction resulting from the great uncertainty in which the Elysee is living regarding a large number of issues, including the files related to the Middle East, as we cannot describe the French movements in the region as successful. Including its movements in Lebanon, the most prominent arena of French influence in the Middle East. At the same time, this relentless pursuit of dreams of returning to playing a broader external role is making Macron and his country lose a lot of credibility, as Agnès Levallois, a writer and researcher at the Institute for Research and Studies, sees regarding the Mediterranean and the Middle East, especially when he called for... Forming an alliance to eliminate Hamas. France also does not have any real means to achieve the solution that it has always called for, which is the two-state solution, and it also knows with certainty that the issue of handing over Gaza to the Palestinian Authority is no less difficult than ending the Islamic resistance in the Gaza Strip.
In addition to all of these aforementioned reasons, Macron has an important reason to take a different position, which is that the continuation of the war increases the internal explosion of the situation due to the simultaneous growth of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism on French soil. Therefore, the French president is forced to search for a delicate balance that does not anger Muslims and does not alienate the Jewish community in order to avoid exacerbating internal polarization, and at the same time to try to restore Paris’s lost influence. The last few days have proven the failure of the efforts of the parties that achieved immediate gains from igniting deep tensions in France in the hope of winning a share of the votes of voters on the right or left. More importantly, the blind Western support for the occupation has opened the door to new mediators away from London, Washington and Berlin, and this is considered an opportunity in the eyes of Macron to return again to the old Gaullist principle and restore traditional French policy towards the Palestinian issue.
Axis of Resistance
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei called for the formation of a coalition among the countries that have the same stance against the coercive behaviors of the US and the Western governments. Ayatollah Khamenei had a meeting with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and his accompanying delegation in Tehran on Monday.
In the meeting, the Leader referred to the numerous political and economic capacities of Iran and Cuba, underlining, "These capacities should be used to form an alliance and a coalition between countries that have the same stance against the coercive behaviors of the US and Western countries." "By focusing on economic cooperation, this coalition can take a common and effective position on important global issues such as the Palestinian issue,” the Leader stated.
Regarding Palestine, Ayatollah Khamenei explained that the issue of Palestine is not merely related to the recent events and the bombings in Gaza, "because in the past 75 years, the Palestinians have always been subjected to all kinds of torture, afflictions and massacres. But now the tragedy in Gaza is so great that the truth has been exposed to the global public opinion and it is impossible to hide it."
The Leader stated that the position of the Cuban president on global issues, especially the issue of Palestine, is in line with the views of the Islamic Republic, Khamenei.ir reported. Referring to the cooperation between Iran and Cuba in international forums, the Leader added that, "The relations between the two countries should be further strengthened in various fields, including the field of scientific cooperation. Considering that Mr. Raisi's administration is a hardworking government, I hope that the agreements will progress and reach the stage of implementation and action.”
The Leader also reflected on the meeting that he had 22 years ago with Fidel Castro, the late leader of Cuba. "The Cuban Revolution and the personality of Mr. Castro always had a special appeal for Iranian revolutionaries before the victory of the Islamic Revolution and this was due to his honesty in his revolutionary positions," he recalled. Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized that "revolutionary honesty", "revolutionary steadfastness" and "revolutionary seriousness" are the common features of the Cuban Revolution and the Islamic Revolution of Iran.
During this meeting, which was also attended by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Miguel Diaz-Canel expressed his pleasure with the meeting he had with the Leader of the Islamic Revolution. The Cuban president underlined that Ayatollah Khamenei’s words are in line with the concerns and positions of the Cuban government, adding that, "Relations between Iran and Cuba have been on the right track after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, and in our talks in Tehran, we concentrated all efforts to deepen these relations, especially in the economic and commercial fields."
The Cuban president also emphasized that the two countries can complement each other in various fields, especially in dealing with the interventional measures and sanctions by the United States and its allies. "Iran and Cuba can also increase their relations in international cooperation and be influential in important global matters such as the issue of Palestine," he added.
Regarding the events in Gaza and the issue of Palestine, Diaz-Canel remarked that, “What is happening in Gaza today is an unacceptable genocide, and international organizations have turned a blind eye to the killing of tens of thousands of Gazans, two-thirds of whom are children and women. And what’s surprising is that those who were constantly complaining about the war between Ukraine and Russia and the killing of civilians are now silent about the killing of tens of thousands of Gazans. What this shows is the terrible state our world is in."
Tehran responded to British accusations regarding its involvement in attacks on ships in the Red Sea, stressing that the resistance factions in the region do not obey Tehran’s orders and that the accusations are politicized. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, “We deny and reject Britain’s accusations that Iran is behind the recent attacks in the Red Sea, and we affirm that they are baseless.”
The ministry stressed that "these charges are politicized and distort the facts, as we have previously affirmed frankly that the resistance factions in the region do not follow our orders and are confronting Israel in response to its crimes and genocidal operations that it is carrying out against the Palestinian people."
In a statement issued on Monday, the British government condemned attacks launched by the Yemeni Houthi "Ansar Allah" group on commercial ships in the Red Sea, holding Iran responsible for those attacks. The government said in its statement: “Iran has long provided military and political support to Houthi militants, and it bears responsibility for the actions of its agents and partners.”
On Sunday, the Pentagon announced that an American warship and several commercial ships were attacked in the Red Sea. On Monday, the White House considered that the attacks on ships in the Red Sea were “supported by Iran,” while the targeting of three ships earlier this week constituted a “threat to international peace and stability.”
The British newspaper "The Guardian" said that the "Hamas" movement has been engaged for years in preparing for the "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation, and drawing detailed maps with the help of spies inside Israel. The Guardian reported that “the Israeli army obtained this information after examining huge quantities of phones, laptops and documents seized from militants on the battlefield (on October 7) and in Gaza,” noting that “Hamas fighters were carrying instruction manuals.” "On how to take hostages and a phrasebook from Arabic to Hebrew. The document was included in a cache of materials published by the Israeli Army's Amshat Military Intelligence Unit."
An Israeli officer said that the goal of Amshat, which was re-established after October 7, was to understand “Hamas’ offensive and defensive plans, obtain operational intelligence and better understand its doctrine.”
The Guardian pointed out that “the latest information that was revealed confirms how little the powerful Israeli security establishment understood Hamas’ capabilities before the attack and the huge amount of signs or evidence that were ignored,” noting that “among the documents that were found, there was a map.” Comprehensive of an Israeli military base, arguably more detailed than what was required by the Israeli army itself.”
An Israeli intelligence source said, "The compilation of such a map could only have been done using inside knowledge. It was almost certainly from a Hamas spy." The newspaper reported, "Laptops and handwritten notebooks indicate Hamas's plans to target military sites and key points in central Israel, indicating that the movement had aspirations to penetrate dozens of miles into Israel as soon as its fighters were ordered to breach the wall surrounding the Strip."
Sources told the Financial Times that the network of tunnels established by the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip is larger than the London Underground train network, and is also immune to the Israeli reconnaissance drone. According to the sources, “senior Hamas leaders and fighters were able to take refuge inside the tunnels, and most of them survived the Israeli attack that has been ongoing for about eight weeks,” stressing that “the tunnels, which are fortified against reconnaissance drones and many other Israeli capabilities, including air strikes, are also... The place where Hamas is believed to keep its arsenal of rockets, in addition to more than 130 hostages.
A former senior Israeli security official said that the word “tunnels does not do justice to what Hamas created under the Gaza Strip,” describing them as “underground cities.” Another Israeli official stressed that "the tunnels pose a tremendous challenge. Hamas has placed explosive traps inside these tunnels, in addition to obstacles that prevent us from moving, which increases the risks to our forces," stressing that "the government is pumping resources into finding a solution to destroy the tunnels."
The British newspaper said: “The first step is to locate the tunnels. Ground-penetrating radar and acoustic sensors could work, although Gaza’s dense urban environment and the rubble left by Israeli aerial bombardments limit their usefulness. There is a simpler tactic, known as "Purple Hair" involves throwing a smoke grenade into the entrance of a tunnel, which is then sealed with expanding foam to see if smoke appears elsewhere.
The security official considered that “such science fiction-like methods highlight the difficulties and time required to destroy Hamas’ secret world. They also explain why some officials regret that Israel did not complete the mission years ago,” stressing that “we should have destroyed it all when it was ( "Hamas's tunnel network was smaller, and we had all the intelligence."
A member of the Political Council of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement hailed the Palestinian forces’ recent military operation against Israel as a monumental milestone that has defined new regulations on the struggle with the Israeli enemy. In an interview with Tasnim, Mahmoud Qamati paid tribute to the Hamas fighters for their bravery after launching the Al-Aqsa Storm operation against the Zionist regime outside the Gaza Strip.
“Today, we are witnessing a new chapter, a qualitative leap, a military upheaval, and a change in the war patterns and in the rules of military battle against the Zionist enemy,” he said. Hailing the Palestinian resistance forces for “stabilizing their military power” by infiltrating into the Zionist settlements and the areas occupied by the Israeli regime, Qamati said the major development has marked a new, monumental and historical model in the history of confrontation with the Zionist enemy.
The Zionist regime’s army is neither capable of defense nor offense, is absent in the battlefield, and has practically fallen into a state of passiveness, the Hezbollah official stated, noting that the Zionist settlers are in panic because there is no army to take care of them. Qamati also said the unprecedented surprise operation by the Palestinian forces has dealt a crushing blow not only to Israel, but also to the United States and the West, the staunch supporters of the Zionist regime.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates called for urgent international and American intervention to stop the implementation of the Israeli plan known as the “Lower Channel,” which was approved by the government in Tel Aviv. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “The plan is based on building approximately 1,792 colonial units in a new colonial complex in occupied East Jerusalem.”
It stressed that “this plan is an integral part of the occupation’s plans aimed at flooding Jerusalem with colonies and colonialists, changing its existing historical, political, legal and demographic reality, Judaizing it and completely separating it from its Palestinian surroundings, and deepening its separation with this plan from the south of the occupied West Bank , devouring hundreds of dunams of allocated Palestinian land.” for development, and erasing any dividing lines or borders that define occupied East Jerusalem.”
It added, "Approving this plan is an Israeli exploitation of the circumstances of the bloody war on the Gaza Strip and the world's preoccupation with it, knowing that it was prepared in advance for decades, considering it a blatant aggression against our people, and falls within the framework of the systematic Israeli undermining of the opportunity to embody the Palestinian state on the ground with East Jerusalem as its capital." Within the framework of Israel's attempts to resolve the future of final-solution negotiating issues unilaterally and with the force of occupation, which closes the opportunity to revive the peace process and resolve the conflict through political means, and leads to plunging the conflict arena and the region into a never-ending spiral of violence that is difficult to control, and also threatens the security and stability of the region. And the world."
Allied for Democracy
An Israeli non-governmental organization accused the occupation authorities of exploiting the war on the Gaza Strip to build the first new settlement in East Jerusalem since 2012, warning of the repercussions of this on the political future of Jerusalem. The left-wing Ir Amim organization stated that the "lower canal" will be the first completely new settlement built on the lands of East Jerusalem since 2012. The past years have witnessed a massive expansion of illegal settlements existing on Palestinian lands in East Jerusalem. The organization concerned with East Jerusalem issues said, “On Monday, the Israeli authorities announced their approval of the lower canal plan to build 1,792 housing units” on the lands of the town of Sur Baher in East Jerusalem.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday condemned violence against Palestinians by Jewish settlers in the West Bank, saying in a state of law, only the police and the military had the right to use force. “There is, sadly, violence from extremists that we must condemn,” Gallant told a news conference, hours after the United States announced it would impose visa bans against individuals involved in undermining peace, security or stability in the occupied West Bank.
The West Bank, among the territories where Palestinians seek statehood, has experienced a surge of violence in recent months amid expanding Jewish settlements and a nearly decade-old impasse in US-sponsored peacemaking. “In a state of law, and Israel is a state of law, the right to use violence belongs only to those who are certified to do so by the government, in our case that’s the [Israeli army], the Israeli police, the Shin Bet (security service) and such,” Gallant said. “Nobody else has any authority to use violence,” he said.
The Al Jazeera military and strategic expert, Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi, said that a joint operations room composed of 5 Western countries supports Tel Aviv in its war against the Gaza Strip, and pointed out that its mission is to close “the loophole of the Israeli intelligence failure.” Al-Duwairi explained that the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Italy sent representatives from their intelligence services to Israel, where they are located in two places: the first, the General Command in Tel Aviv, and the second at the spy base in the Gaza envelope area.
The military expert stressed that there was no official announcement about the existence of a joint Western operations room, but he pointed out that the matter had been circulated on dozens of news sites and highly credible journalistic sources. He pointed out that there is no integrated and mature intelligence system, and when several different intelligence groups and agencies work, “the strengths are unified and combined to close the weak points.”
From this standpoint, the British government confirmed its intention to conduct reconnaissance flights over the Gaza Strip, whose mission is to "search and determine the locations of the hostages (prisoners)." These sorties are carried out by Shadow R1 aircraft, which are equipped with a set of defensive tools and have sensors that help collect intelligence information. Satellite communications links allow information to be downloaded and removed from the aircraft during the mission. Al-Duwairi stated that these drones have a great ability to conduct photoelectric imaging, and a superior ability to eavesdrop and jam, as they move along a 40-kilometre-long beach.
But the Al- Qassam Brigades - the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) - adopts what he called “passive defense,” which is based on not using anything related to technology, according to Al-Duwairi. He ridiculed the stated mission of the British drones to search for “hostages,” which he said was an excuse promoted by Washington and London in order to engage in the current war against Gaza.
As for the American “MQ-9” mission, Al-Duwairi said that it has a reconnaissance and combat role, and has a long history of tracking and hunting, as happened with the prominent leader of Al-Qaeda, Anwar Al-Awlaki in Yemen, and the commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Qassem Soleimani, in Iraq.
The military expert confirmed that “ Gaza tunnels ” are the password behind this large number of Israeli and Western reconnaissance aircraft flying, noting that some of the equipment and radars that arrived in Tel Aviv are tasked with sending signals and sound waves to penetrate the ground to detect tunnels. He added that British experiments were provided to Israel and were conducted in Wales on the operations of dealing with and detecting tunnels.
The Israeli army announced Monday that it “will not wait until the end of the war in Gaza to investigate possible failures” in preventing the attack launched by Hamas on October 7. Army spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters: “We will not postpone everything until the end of the war. This is our decision. We are thinking about the right point for us to start doing this, because we must provide these answers to the public,” CNN reported.
He added that the investigations will include an evaluation of the decision to transfer forces from the Gaza border to the West Bank in the days before the Hamas attack. Hagari continued: “The forces have already been transferred, and I say that this will be discussed in the operational review, and the answers will be fully provided to the public.”
Israeli Channel 11 said on Sunday that more than 100 soldiers were transferred on October 5 from the Gaza border to the West Bank. The report came after weeks of speculation in the Israeli media, and denials by the Israeli army. Hagari pointed out that "the deployment of forces carrying out regular operational activities (on the borders) of the Gaza Strip did not change before October 7."
When asked about the transfer of soldiers, he responded by saying, “Those decisions are made at the end of every week, according to the situation assessment conducted by the General Staff, about where to deploy reserve forces, in relation to threats,” and added: “We will investigate this issue.” The term “reserve forces” in this case does not mean the reserve army, but rather the forces that support different areas, based on assessments conducted by the General Staff of the Israeli Army. The two Commando Brigade companies that were reportedly transferred from the south were part of the reserve forces, not those carrying out routine security work.
Executive Director of the British “Action for Humanity” Foundation, Othman Muqbil, said that the interaction of British society with the Palestinian issue was very great, and this was reflected in the size of the demonstrations that took place throughout the country denouncing the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip . He added - in exclusive statements to Al Jazeera Net - that the number of non-Muslim Britons who participated in these demonstrations was between 80 and 90% of the participants, and that 76% of Britons supported the Palestinian cause, which put political pressure on party officials and voting rates in Parliament. He also stressed that the main obstacle to relief aid for this besieged sector is the opening of the crossings and the entry of supplies, and not the amount of money or the availability of goods because they are piled up outside the sector and are not allowed to enter.
CNN quoted a senior US administration official as saying that not everyone in the White House agrees on the stated position that Israel is responding to American warnings about reducing civilian casualties in Gaza. The American official said, "We do not feel comfortable using the word 'accept' in reference to Israel's reaction to American advice regarding the military operation in Gaza."
According to this official, the White House is deeply concerned about the development of Israeli military operations in southern Gaza. He said that the talks with Israel regarding not repeating what it did in the northern Gaza Strip were difficult, firm and direct. He stressed that the White House is keen to avoid any public confrontation with Israel regarding its military operation, "and the approach followed is to provide advice cautiously behind the scenes."
According to these leaks, what is said in secret is different from what is said in public. Publicly, the administration of President Joe Biden confirms that its pressure on Israel has yielded results regarding the implementation of more precise military operations and its keenness to reduce civilian casualties. US Vice President Kamala Harris said , “I think they are starting to listen,” in her response to journalists who asked her about the extent to which Israel accepts American advice to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza.
But US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that Washington does not see any evidence that Israel is deliberately killing civilians. Likewise, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that there is no evidence that Israel intentionally kills civilians, while there is no dispute that Hamas is doing so, as he put it.
The United States announced that it will refuse to grant visas to extremist Israeli settlers who carry out attacks against Palestinians, intense pressure to reduce the wave of violence witnessed in the West Bank in the wake of the Gaza war. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Tuesday that the United States would deny entry to anyone involved in “undermining peace, security, or stability in the West Bank,” or taking steps that “unjustifiably restrict civilians’ access to basic services and needs.” Nearly two months after the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in the Palestinian Territories, Lynn Hastings, warned of a “ more terrifying scenario ” in the Strip, which humanitarian operations may be unable to deal with.
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.
The HAMAS Ministry of Health in the besieged sector announced that the number of victims of the Israeli operation its beginning had risen to 16,248 martyrs. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Gaza's health ministry had two days 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 7,112 children killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since October 7, the Gaza Press Office said. The Hamas-run government said 4,885 women were among the dead.
The number of injured had risen to 43,000 with varying injuries, up from 36,000 four days 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 80, while the death toll for the Israel forces had risen to 400 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.
Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said that the rate of deaths of two Palestinian civilians in Gaza for every Hamas gunman is "very positive" given the challenges of fighting in urban areas. When asked by CNN about an Agence France-Presse report, citing a briefing to foreign media by senior Israeli military officials, that the Israeli military believes two civilians were killed in Gaza for every Hamas activist, Conricus said: “I confirm the veracity of this report.”
He added: "And I can say that if that is true, and I think our numbers will be confirmed - if you compare this percentage to any other conflict in urban areas between an army and a terrorist organization that uses civilians as human shields for itself, and is permeated among the civilian population, then this percentage is enormous, and very positive." "And perhaps unique in the world."
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant told reporters in a press conference on Saturday that the army had killed “thousands of terrorists,” without the Israeli army officially publishing any estimates of the deaths. The French news agency quoted an unnamed Israeli military official as saying, when asked about the truth about the killing of about 5,000 Hamas members: “The number is somewhat correct.”
Hostages
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,
Levy 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.
A state of anger prevailed among the families of Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip when they met with members of the War Council led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and some of them withdrew from the meeting in protest at the failure to answer their questions. The families say that there are 136 Israelis detained in Gaza by the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) and other Palestinian resistance factions.
Israeli Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu said in his response to the families of prisoners and detainees held by the resistance: Do you think that releasing the prisoners all at once is possible? He responded to his question by saying that if the opportunity permits, we will not hesitate, indicating that Hamas does not want only prisoners in exchange for prisoners, but rather wants to achieve other things.
Meanwhile, Israel Army Radio reported that Netanyahu informed the families of Israeli detainees in Gaza that “there is now no possibility of returning all the detainees.” During the meeting, he also stressed the continuation of the military operation in Gaza , considering it the only way to put pressure on Hamas to reach a new agreement.
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that Netanyahu refused to answer questions from the families of detainees in Gaza, and instead insisted on reading from a paper he wrote. Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that a number of detainees' families left the meeting with the war council angry and before its end date. It e pointed out that the meeting between the released detainees and representatives of the prisoners' families with the War Council was stormy and witnessed an exchange of shouts and accusations.
Israeli Channel 13 quoted the mother of a prisoner in the grip of the resistance as telling the war council: You are bombing planes above our heads. We are dying from terror and fear, and Hamas fighters do not wake up from sleep and not a hair on their bodies shakes, “We are the ones who are tormented, we are the ones who die,” adding that the remaining prisoners and detainees “ They are living in conditions more difficult than hell under the non-stop bombing, which we felt was among us and would hit us at every moment.”
Amit Segal, a political commentator on the Israeli Channel 12, stated that physical confrontations took place between the families of the kidnapped, against the backdrop of the presence of different factions in the families, between those who support the continuation of the ground operation and the majority that demands its cessation.
One of the commissioners said about the detainees' families to the Israeli Kan channel after the meeting, "There are no leaders here, only those holding positions. Today or tomorrow we will evaluate the situation regarding our next steps." Sharon Sharabi, brother of soldiers Yossi and Eli Sharabi who are detained by Hamas in Gaza, said, "We are not here to meet the leaders only, but we are demanding the return of the kidnapped people to Israel. Since they sent them to the front, they must return them."
The IDF stated"Following statements made in the past day regarding the situation of the hostages in the Gaza Strip, discourse on this issue is irresponsible, inaccurate and should be avoided. We are using intelligence to monitor the situation of the hostages around the clock, and demand that all international organizations verify their situation, their security and provide them with medical care – both men and women. Every moment in captivity endangers the hostages. We are doing everything we can to bring them home as soon as possible."
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
