Operation Iron Swords - Day 80 - 25 December 2023

Contents

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the war in Gaza “will be long and is not close to ending.”

In his annual Christmas message, Pope Francis briefly described the Israeli war in Gaza as an "appalling harvest" of civilians. "May peace come in Israel and Palestine, where war is devastating the lives of those people. I embrace them all, particularly the Christian communities of Gaza and the entire Holy Land. I plead for an end to the military operations with their appalling harvest of innocent civilian victims and call for a solution to the desperate humanitarian situation by opening the provision of humanitarian aid."

Egypt presented what is described as an ambitious plan to end the war in Gaza with a ceasefire. The proposal, which was presented to Israel, Hamas, the United States and European governments on Monday would see Israel fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip, all captives held by Hamas, and many Palestinian prisoners, freed, and a united technocratic Palestinian government installed in the enclave.

The proposal, developed with the Gulf state of Qatar, includes several rounds of captive and prisoner exchanges, reports Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith from Tel Aviv. In the first phase, Hamas would free all civilian captives in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners over a truce of 7-10 days.

During the second stage, Hamas would release all female Israeli soldiers in return for more Palestinian prisoners, taking place during another weeklong truce. In the final phase, the warring parties would engage in “a month of negotiations to discuss the release of all military personnel held by Hamas in exchange for a lot more [Palestinian] prisoners and Israel pulling back to Gaza’s borders”, said Smith. Close to 8,000 Palestinians are held by Israel on security-related charges or convictions, according to Palestinian figures.

Throughout the ceasefire, Egypt would also lead talks to reunite Palestinian factions Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, who would then jointly appoint a government of experts to run the West Bank and Gaza, ahead of future elections, reports The Times of Israel.

An Al Jazeera correspondent said that the Israeli War Council will meet tonight to discuss the new approach to negotiations with Hamas and the Egyptian proposal. Although the proposal was rejected before because it stipulates stopping the war in its third phase. The correspondent indicated that the Egyptian proposal may be the basis for negotiations that may resume again in the coming days.

“One challenge is a ceasefire versus a truce,” Mohammed Cherkaoui, a professor of conflict resolution at George Mason University, told Al Jazeera. “Palestinians are talking about a full-fledged ceasefire. The Israelis are hearing a ‘truce,’ a pause.” Cherkaoui added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would also have to pull back from its stated mission of eradicating Hamas.

“On the one hand [Netanyahu] is still negotiating with Hamas indirectly, but at the same time his main dream is to eradicate Hamas.” Cherkaoui said “He lives in two separate worlds and he needs to unify them”. A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that Netanyahu and his hawkish government were unlikely to accept the full proposal.

Extremist Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich confirmed that the “Religious Zionist Party,” which he heads, will not be a partner in any government that agrees to stop the war on Gaza. Bezalel Smotrich told his party: “I want to say clearly...the war government does not have a mandate to stop the war before achieving the goals of destroying Hamas, returning all the kidnapped people, and removing the threat from the Gaza Strip.” Smotrich added: "We will not be partners in any government that agrees to stop the war, or agrees in one way or another to control Gaza by any party linked to the Palestinian Authority or Hamas."

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Hamas and the allied Islamic Jihad had rejected the proposal that they relinquish power in the Gaza Strip, quoting Egyptian security sources. But later a Hamas official denied rejecting the Egyptian deal. Izzat al-Risheq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said in a statement that the group had “no knowledge” of the information published in the Reuters report.

In response to publications about Egypt's proposals for a hostage deal, "sources" in the leadership of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Palestine said that Egypt heard what their vision is for ending the war, their clear positions and their red lines according to which there will be no negotiations before the end of the aggression and a cease-fire, without truces and without a deal partially kidnapped. According to them, they will only accept one exchange deal on the basis of "all for all", in addition to starting the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip immediately.

Taher Alnono, Ismail Hania's adviser, denied the reports in the Israeli media regarding the approach of an exchange deal. According to him, Hamas did not discuss the ratio of "1 for 10" reported by the Israeli media, nor did it discuss other details related to the issue, and it emphasizes that the phase of indirect negotiations with Israel is conditioned on the cessation of aggression even before it begins. Elanunu also noted that there is no coordination with the Palestinian Authority on this issue. He also noted that the Egyptian effort and the Qatari effort on the issue complement each other and that both are valued and work together to stop the aggression. He emphasized that Hamas' relationship with the Egyptian and Qatari sides is one of brotherhood, and Hamas does not treat Cairo and Doha as mediators but as its brothers, who are making an effort to end aggression against the Palestinians.

Operational Update

The Jordanian military and strategic expert, Major General Fayez Al- Duwairi , responded to the invitation of a fighter from the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas resistance movement, to analyze a video scene of the moment the Israeli occupation soldiers were targeted in the middle of the Gaza Strip. Al-Qassam had published a video clip documenting the moment one of its fighters celebrated his success in targeting a house where 10 Israeli soldiers were holed up in the Juhr al-Dik area in the central Gaza Strip, calling on Major General Al-Duwairi, who appears on Al-Jazeera channel in analytical stops of resistance operations, to analyze with the phrase, “Analyze, Al-Duwairi.” As soon as Al-Qassam published the video clip documenting the invitation of one of its fighters to Al-Duwairi, the phrase “Resolve, Duwairi” topped the list of top interactions on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter). When the retired Jordanian general appeared on Al Jazeera's screen in the military commentary segment, he said in response to the broadcaster's words about the existence of a special invitation for him to perform the analysis: "Analysis, Duwairi! I will analyze." Since the start of the brutal aggression on the Gaza Strip, the name of the Jordanian Brigadier has become prominent due to its continuous daily appearance on Al Jazeera to analyze the military operations in the Gaza Strip and the painful strikes directed by the Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation army. Al-Duwairi had more than once praised the capabilities of the “Al-Qassam” fighters and their steadfastness in the face of the occupation army. He also indicated in a previous statement that “the fighters of the Martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades are the best performing graduates of elite military institutes in the world,” which sparked widespread interaction with the description of the Jordanian brigadier through Social media platforms. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Economy Minister Nir Barkat for expressing dissatisfaction that insufficient measures were being taken to safeguard the lives of IDF soldiers. Barkat told ministers as quoted by several Israeli media outlets, “The number of air force bombardments has fallen dramatically. Soldiers are being sent to booby-trapped buildings like [sitting] ducks.”

Barkat asserted that as a consequence, strategies that are “unnecessarily endangering soldiers" were being employed. In response, Netanyahu stated, “The fact that you keep saying this doesn’t make it true. There are operational considerations.” Barkat asserted “No consideration can justify endangering the lives of our soldiers for some imaginary morality”. Barkat acknowledged “Leadership is tested by the ability to withstand pressure and, unfortunately, this cabinet does not withstand pressure”.

Netanyahu, evading the blame, said, “There are countries [whose positions] we have to take into account. If we don’t do that, eventually there’ll be a UN decision to impose a blockade on us. The whole world will be against us.” When questioned about Barkat's critique, IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari stated later that any IDF ground force "requiring air support for any mission receives the essential protection."

Upon arriving for the cabinet meeting earlier, Barkat conveyed to the media, "Surrendering to any external pressure, even if it is from our best friends, is a grave mistake." This statement appears to reference US concerns regarding the rising civilian casualties, which have now exceeded 20,400 Palestinians in war-torn Gaza. “It is unacceptable that we would endanger our soldiers, and send them exposed into buildings that haven’t been bombed,” he said. “We are too nice, and we are too considerate", in reference to the Israeli claim that IDF is "the most moral army in the world."

HAMAS is strengthening its positions - and the residents of the Gaza Strip are paying the price and trying to survive the difficult war. The big issue now are the new refugees who have found shelter in the southern gaza strip, over 1.9 million refugees according to the UN between Khan Yunis and Rafah. A resident of gaza told News 14: "they used to say about us that we were sha'ab al jabrin (with the heroes), today we are sha'ab al shahadeen (with the beggars)."

There is no one to manage the crisis in the Gaza Strip, no one to distribute the food, no one to take care of the millions of refugees. the civil HAMAS government collapsed a long time ago.

The military media affiliated with the Martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), broadcast a video clip of the launching of rocket salvoes towards Israeli settlements and towns.

The Al -Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), published two video clips showing it targeting Israeli vehicles and forces in the Juhr al-Dik area, east of the central region of the Gaza Strip. The scenes in the first clip relate to the explosion of a minefield, which Al-Qassam said was a precise ambush of 4 Israeli command vehicles in Juhr al-Dik on December 23. Al-Qassam indicated that the rescue forces that arrived at the scene to evacuate the dead were also targeted, as the force was killed and wounded, according to the statement.

Al-Qassam also broadcast another clip - dating back to December 24 - targeting an Israeli special force consisting of 10 soldiers holed up in a house in Juhr al-Dik with an anti-fortified shell.

At the end of the clip, the fighter who fired the missile shouted, “Analysis, Doueiri,” in reference to the military and strategic expert, Major General Fayez Al-Doueiri, who was famous for his military analyzes on Al Jazeera during the current war.

Al-Jazeera military and strategic expert, Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi, stressed that the current battle is different and unparalleled because it is an asymmetric war between a regular army and armed factions, and also because it is a war inside cities where the Israeli army has no experience, in addition to being the first time that the surface of the earth separates the two sides of the fighting.

Al-Duwairi said that the withdrawal of the occupation army from large areas in the northern Gaza Strip comes to get rid of a lost and failed battle, stressing that the tunnels that were discovered are service tunnels, not defensive ones. He explained - during his military analysis of - that the word withdrawal was not on the Israeli agenda after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation , as the talk was about occupying the Gaza Strip and displacing its population, but these terms changed and were introduced at the battle level in light of field developments.

He pointed out that the rule in military science says that withdrawal does not take place during the battle except to get rid of a failed battle and under duress and smokescreen, or to redeploy forces to help another area, indicating that the second case does not apply to the Gaza battles.

Commenting on the occupation army's statements that it had discovered strategic tunnels in Gaza, the military expert said that tunnels had already been discovered, but they were not defensive or offensive, but rather they were logistical service tunnels, dormitories, and ammunition storage areas.

He pointed out that some tunnels were designed for specific purposes, such as the tunnel that was discovered near the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing, pointing out that whoever designed them had a high sense of security and separated their types, as it is not useful to flood them with water, because they are not based on the theory of cross-shaped vessels. He added that the number of tunnels in Gaza is estimated at 1,300, and their length reaches 570 kilometers, and some of them may reach 3 floors.

The Lebanese Hezbollah announced that it had carried out a number of operations against Israeli army positions on the southern border of Lebanon. Hezbollah said in a series of statements: “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 10:35: A deployment of Israeli army soldiers in the vicinity of the Mitat Barracks was targeted with appropriate weapons.
• At 12:40: The Beit Hillal military base, east of Kiryat Shmona, was targeted with appropriate weapons, causing confirmed casualties.
• At 01:00: The Israeli army gathering in the vicinity of the Birkat Risha site was targeted with appropriate weapons.
• At 12:40: Buildings in the Miskav Am settlement were targeted with missile weapons.

The incident of the Israeli attack in the Alma'azi refugee camp received extensive coverage. The Information Office of the Hamas administration announced that more than 66 people were killed and dozens injured "in the massacre carried out by the occupation army" against four residences in the Al-Ma'azi refugee camp in the Gaza Strip (Hamas administration's Telegram channel, December 25, 2023). Al Jazeera later reported that the death toll had risen to seventy. In a statement issued by Hamas, it condemned the attack and claimed that it was a "horrific massacre and a new war crime" and that an attack against residential buildings is an attempt to restore the image of the defeated IDF (Hamas' Telegram channel, December 25, 2023). Ruhi Open, senior Fatah official and chairman of the Palestinian National Council , also condemned "the massacre in Alma'azi and the war crimes of the occupation." He blamed the US for the "ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza" and called for the sending of investigative teams from the UN and human rights organizations to "document the acts of repression and ethnic cleansing and the siege in the Gaza Strip" (Wafa, December 25, 2023).

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) is learning and training during the war with the Israeli army, and is using more snipers and camouflage traps, while this reminds Israeli security officials of Hezbollah fighting in the security zone in Lebanon as if “there are Lebanese operations in Gaza .”

The newspaper explained - in a report written by Yoav Zeitoun - that the fighting in Gaza began to take fixed and similar patterns, and that its pace slowed for several reasons, such as the Israeli army’s fear of the presence of fighters in the areas that had been combed, and its fear of friendly fire after the shock of the shooting of the three detainees held by it. Hamas” more than a week ago, and Hamas is also investigating, learning lessons, and searching for weak points in the Israeli army forces after each incident in preparation for another round of fighting.

The writer suggested that Hamas fighters fear being constantly eavesdropped on, as soldiers who inspect the bodies of the dead find in some cases that their pockets contain instructions on how to surprise the forces, from what angle they should be ambushed, and even on what date they should leave their underground hideout.

The writer reviewed cases of the Israeli army luring fighters, which led - according to his claim - to the elimination of a number of them, before pointing out the multiplication of reports about Hamas’ use of snipers against the Israeli army, and revealing some of its weak points, explaining that the movement is constantly searching for ways to circumvent the situation. The readiness of the Israeli army against its weapons. The Israeli army published a video clip that was found - according to the writer - in the helmet of one of the fighters, and it shows - as the writer says - that Hamas is learning to hide explosive devices and placing an explosive device in a narrow alley under a dirty towel and an egg carton, where infantry fighters cannot avoid passing by it.

The commander of the elite brigade in the Israeli army, Brigadier General Dan Goldfus, stressed that the "Hamas" movement should not be underestimated, and called for a visit to the forces that fought in Gaza to obtain information to learn about the movement's combat principles.

In recent weeks, the IDF forces, led by the combat team of the 551st Brigade in the 162nd Division, gained an operational grip on the area of the Jablia refugee camp - one of the centers of gravity of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The fighting in the refugee camp included intense battles in which many terrorists were eliminated and hundreds of weapons were found. During the operation and following preliminary intelligence, the forces uncovered a network of tunnels that served as the northern headquarters of the military wing of Hamas. The underground headquarters consisted of two levels, one with a depth of about ten meters and the other with a depth of several tens of meters. The network of tunnels included many branches and was used to manage combat and the passage of terrorists. One of the shafts in the tunnel network was located in the home of Ahmed Ehandor, the commander of the northern division of Hamas, who was killed by IDF forces in November 2023. The route of the underground network passed under a school and a hospital.

In Gaza City, IDF forces operated in the Elsheikh Rachoan neighborhood located three kilometers northwest of the city center. The forces carried out a targeted raid, based on intelligence information, at schools in the neighborhood, where evacuated residents are housed. Many weapons were found in the schools, which are adjacent to mosques and residential buildings, including grenades with advanced and modern operating mechanisms, RPG missiles, explosives and various media. During the raid, the forces killed many terrorists. Also, dozens of terrorists were transferred for further investigation in Israel.

Maps

All maps are lies. But it is impossible to comprehend the war in Gaza without reference to maps, otherwise the entire conflict is reduced to an endless series of meaningless acts of random violence and the suffering of civilians. The first characteristic of guerrilla warfare is the loss of a front line. Evidently, different mappers have different ideas of how to depict the war in Gaza, notably those that seek to depict Israeli progress in the ground campaign. Part of the problem is latency. The news that forms the basis of the maps takes time to filter out to mappers, and the cartographers take time in crafting their maps, and it takes time to curate them. Thes processes are uneven among mappers, so their maps may differ in detail. Probably there is some ideological bias, or at least thematic apperception, which is understandable in wartime. It may come as no surprise that al-Jazeera maps depict rather less Israeli territorial progress than other sources. Finally, there remains the epistemological question of just exactly what are the colored in areas depicting. Naively, this might be understood as areas of Israeli control, that are no longer contested by the HAMAS. Or possibly these are areas of Israeli presence, in many of which the possibility of an RPG-wielding HAMAS militant popping out of a tunnel unexpectedly remains a live possibility. With the "zero-range" combat characterized by small unit tactics on both sides, maps may be prey to a fallacy of misplaced concreteness.

Bystanders

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, stated that “genocide” in the Gaza Strip is currently occurring with the permission of the world, as happened in Srebrenica and Rwanda previously. This came in her tweet on the “X” platform, in response to the accusation leveled by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights against Israel of “extrajudicial execution” of 11 unarmed Palestinians in front of their families in the Al-Rimal neighborhood in the Gaza Strip.

Albanese pointed out that what is happening in the Strip "is no different from other massacres committed (around the world) against civilians." She continued: "Genocide is not an individual act, but rather a process that extends through stages and everyone must work to obstruct it." She stressed that the "genocide" in Gaza is currently taking place in front of the world's eyes, citing previous examples such as Brenica and Rwanda.

Albanese explained that the "genocide" and massacres against Gaza's children are being carried out by "mercenaries" from several countries, including France, the United States, Britain, Ukraine, Italy, Germany, South Africa, and India. She added: "But no one refers to them as foreign terrorists."

The UN rapporteur urged the need to put pressure on the judiciary in countries that send fighters to commit war crimes in other countries, including the occupied Palestinian territories, to prosecute them and hold them accountable for their actions. Albanese's statements come in light of her exposure to great pressure due to her positions against the Israeli occupation since she assumed her position at the United Nations in 2022.

The World Health Organization reports that of Gaza's total 36 hospitals, only 9 are now partially operating, all of them in the south. The organization described the scenes of patients left begging for food and water as "unbearable." The organization’s Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus , said in a post on the X platform, “The elimination of the health system in Gaza is a tragedy,” and added, “We continue to call for an immediate ceasefire.” The World Health Organization counted 246 attacks on health care facilities in Gaza as of December 20, including hospitals and ambulances, resulting in the death of 582 people and the injury of 748 others.

During a phone call, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez notified US President Joe Biden of his readiness to follow a political solution that would bring a peaceful and secure "coexistence" between "Israel" and Palestine. Sanchez took to social media platform X to say, "I just had a telephone conversation with President Joe Biden ... We discussed the dramatic situation in Gaza, and I expressed my willingness to seek a political solution that will make it possible for the State of Palestine and the State of Israel to coexist in peace and security".

According to Sanchez, both leaders reiterated the need to back transatlantic unity to overcome global challenges. Sanchez has previously raised concerns about the footage depicting the increasing civilian death toll in Gaza, mainly among children, and stated, "I have serious doubts Israel is complying with international humanitarian law." He condemned the indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians, particularly thousands of children, deeming such actions "completely unacceptable".

A report by the Washington Post detailed that the US has been working to convince Israel to keep the Palestinian Authority's economy afloat so that it may take over control of Gaza once the war comes to an end. Palestinians perceive Abbas' administration as increasingly aligning with "Israel's" interests. As a result, the popularity of Palestinian Resistance Hamas has reportedly increased, while support for Abbas has declined. Some officials in Ramallah express concerns that there might be little left to govern once the Israeli aggression in Gaza concludes.

Deputy Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority Nabil Abu Rudeineh told the newspaper that even if the Palestinian government agreed to Washington's "day after" plan, it would not be put into action due to "Israel's" intent to undermine the Palestinian Authority. Other Palestinian officials, questioned by WashPo, expressed concerns about the absence of a clear "political horizon" for the attainment of Palestinian statehood.

Sabri Saidam, an adviser to Abbas and a member of the central committee for the Fatah party, conveyed to the newspaper that not everyone in Ramallah was satisfied with the US playing a role in determining the future of the Palestinian Authority. "It's always this colonizing mentality, whereby, 'We decide your leadership, we are the ones basically designing your strategy for the day after, we tell you how to live, we tell you how to breathe, and we tell you how to run your land,'" he said.

Axis of Resistance

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi confirmed that Israel's assassination of the Revolutionary Guard advisor in Syria, Radhi Mousavi, "is a sign of his frustration and inability, and he will certainly pay the price for this crime." The Iranian President: Israel's assassination of the Revolutionary Guard advisor is a sign of its frustration and inability, and it will pay the price for this crime.

Raisi said in a message regarding the killing of Reza Mousavi in Syria by an “Israeli attack”: “I extend my condolences to the Iranian people and their comrades in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for the martyrdom of Seyed Reza Mousavi in the missile attack launched by the criminal Zionist regime on Damascus.” Raisi added: “This brave and courageous general, who was the companion of the martyr, Major General Hajj Qassem Soleimani, was martyred under the guise of an advisor to the axis of Islamic resistance in protecting the shrine of Ahl al-Bayt in Syria, and in order to preserve the lofty ideals of Islam, he attained martyrdom and left an immortal name for himself.” He added: "There is no doubt that this measure is another sign of the frustration, impotence and helplessness of the usurping Zionist entity in the region, and it will certainly pay the price for this crime." The Iranian Revolutionary Guard confirmed that “Israel will pay the price for the crime of assassinating a former military advisor in Syria.”

In his first public message since the massacres of October 7, Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar remained defiant, while grossly inflating the terror group’s achievements in the war. Hamas is facing a “fierce, violent and unprecedented battle” against Israel, Sinwar acknowledged in a message to Hamas’s political leadership. But he also claimed that the terror group was on its way to crushing the Israel Defense Forces, and, referring to Israel, said Hamas will not submit to “the occupation’s conditions.” Sinwar falsely claimed that the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, had “targeted” over 5,000 Israeli soldiers and officers, and killed about third of them — that is, over 1,500.

Muhammad Alhandi, Deputy Secretary General of the Islamic Jihad in Palestine, reported that the organization's delegation had arrived in Cairo, and that it would discuss with Egyptian officials over the next two days the issue of ending aggression in the Gaza Strip.in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem, and on the subject of the abductees deal. According to him, the Islamic Jihad's position on the issue is clear, according to which there will be no talks on the exchange of prisoners before the cessation of aggression and the complete withdrawal of IDF forces from the Gaza Strip. He added that when the negotiations begin, he will deal with all issues, and not only the exchange of prisoners, but also the lifting of the siege, the rehabilitation, and the cessation of all forms of aggression in Judea and Samaria, Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. He also noted that the future of the Palestinian issue and the realization of Palestinian rights will undoubtedly be discussed, and this is at the heart of the agenda of the "resistance". Regarding the future of the Gaza Strip, Alhandi emphasized that the one who will decide on the issue is not Netanyahu or the US government, but the Palestinians. He also noted, it is not possible to talk about the future of the Gaza Strip separately from the future of Judea and Samaria. Alhandi completely rejected the talk of ceasefires, noting that the situation of the "resistance" is good, morale is high and they can continue fighting for a long time.

Allied for Democracy

In an opinion article published in the Wall Street Journal, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin set “three preconditions” that are necessary “to achieve peace between... Israel and its Palestinian neighbors in Gaza. The Israeli Prime Minister wrote in his article: “Hamas must be destroyed, Gaza must be disarmed, and extremism must be eradicated from Palestinian society.” He added: "A temporary security zone must be established on the periphery of Gaza, and an inspection mechanism on the border between Gaza and Egypt, that meets Israel's security needs and prevents the smuggling of weapons into the Gaza Strip." Netanyahu confirmed his refusal to assign future management of the Strip to the Palestinian Authority, which he accused of "financing and glorifying terrorism" in the West Bank. The former head of Israeli Military Intelligence ( Aman ), Aharon Zeevi Farkash, stated that the goals set by Israel in the Gaza Strip are unrealistic, and he believed that the war would not end unless the detainees were returned. Farkash said in statements to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper on Monday, "We have begun to destroy Hamas, but in the meantime there is a decisive challenge. It is impossible to end the war without the return of the kidnapped people."

The government of Benjamin Netanyahu had set the goals of its war on Gaza as eliminating the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) and returning Israeli prisoners, but it was unable to achieve any of its goals, in addition to incurring heavy losses in troops and equipment. Earlier, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that the government was considering a settlement that proposed transferring Hamas leaders abroad with the aim of ending the war, which was considered a reduction of Netanyahu's declared ambitions.

The Israeli government repeatedly stated that it seeks to liquidate Hamas leaders, led by the movement's head in Gaza, Yahya al-Sinwar, and the leader of its military wing, Muhammad al-Deif. It has also allocated financial rewards to anyone who provides information about their whereabouts.

The Israeli arena witnessed more disagreement regarding the war on the Gaza Strip . At a time when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that the war would not stop on Gaza, opposition leader Yair Lapid called for stopping the war and paying “heavy prices” for the return of the prisoners. This coincided with the announcement of the Israeli Finance Minister that the war caused a financial deficit about 3 times what it was.

Netanyahu renewed his refusal to stop the war on the Gaza Strip , and said, “The war in Gaza is far from over,” and he denied before his party’s representatives what he described as “false media speculation” that his government might call for stopping the fighting against the Strip. Netanyahu told representatives from his Likud party , “We are not about to stop,” noting that the army will intensify “the fighting in the coming days, and the fighting will take a long time and is not close to the end.”

In reference to his closeness to the soldiers and his emphasis on the presence of support for the continuation of the war, he said in his speech, “I am now returning from Gaza, where I met a reserve division in the field. Everyone asked me only one thing: not to stop and continue until the end.” Netanyahu, who is under severe criticism and pressure due to the war on Gaza, stressed, “We need patience, cohesion, unity, and adherence to the message.” He emphasized the content of his speech once again in a speech before the Knesset that Israel would not be able to "liberate all the hostages without military pressure." Netanyahu added in his speech, "We would not have succeeded so far in releasing more than 100 hostages without military pressure."

Al Jazeera's correspondent said that the families of the Israeli prisoners interrupted Netanyahu's speech, demanding the release of their relatives detained by the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ). Relatives of the detainees, who carried photos of their children, chanted “now, now” when Netanyahu said the army needed “more time” to complete the military operation in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu's continuation of the war on the Gaza Strip was supported by the extremist Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir , who said that "we will not be able to free the rest of the kidnapped people without military pressure, and we must increase its intensity."

During a press conference with Netanyahu, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid opposed the latter's position on the continuation of the war, and said, "Israel is strong enough to pay heavy prices in the war it is waging in Gaza," as he put it. He added that the opposition supports any deal to return those detained by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

While Netanyahu stated that his government is making every effort to recover those detained by Hamas, adding that he spoke with the American and French presidents and the British Prime Minister about this matter. He revealed that he called on the Chinese and Russian presidents to intervene in order to "liberate the detainees in Gaza."

"To you, IDF soldiers, and to you, hurting families and relatives of the hostages, and from this podium, I say: We are not stopping and we will not stop until we are victorious, because we have no country but this one, and we have no other way. Together with you, together with every home in Israel and every citizen of Israel, I pray for the well-being of our hostages, our brothers and sisters: 'Our brothers, the entire family of Israel, who are delivered into distress and captivity, whether they are on sea or dry land – may God have mercy on them and remove them from stress to relief, from darkness to light, from subjugation to redemption now, speedily and soon.'

"I would like to add another prayer, a prayer for the well-being of our IDF soldiers: "He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — may He bless the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our G-d, from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea. May the Almighty cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our soldiers from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor."

"We will fight together, and with G-d's help, we will win together."

The former leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Shelly Yachimovich, called for an investigation into the Israeli army’s implementation of the “Hannibal Protocol” in Israeli towns surrounding the Gaza Strip on October 7. The controversial "Hannibal Protocol" stipulates the use of heavy weapons in the event that Israelis are captured, even in the event of a threat to their lives, with the aim of preventing the prisoners from leaving the scene of the event, as it is considered that it is better for the Israeli to be dead than to remain captive.

The Israeli army's implementation of this protocol sparked widespread controversy, after information was published about the killing of Israelis by "friendly fire" during the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas ) attack on towns and military bases in the Gaza Strip on October 7.

The American New York Times published an investigation into the killing of 12 Israelis as a result of an Israeli tank bombing a house in the Be'eri settlement, under the direction of military commander Barak Hiram, after they were detained by Palestinian resistance fighters.

The former Israeli opposition leader said on the X platform that Brigadier General Hiram ordered firing from a tank and storming a house in the Be’eri area, resulting in the deliberate killing of 12 hostages, including children. He said that a violent campaign exists to disrupt Any investigation or discussion about what he described as the “inferno incident.”

It is noteworthy that the Israeli writer Noa Lemon, in an article published in the Haaretz newspaper, wondered whether Israel had implemented the Hannibal Protocol in the incident of Israeli hostage-taking in the Be'eri settlement on October 7.

Channel 13 quoted Reserve General Guy Tzur, former commander of the Ground Forces, as confirming the necessity of investigating the incident, adding, “It would be a major disaster if we investigated it and reached the conclusion that the army relied on the Hannibal Protocol and decided to kill a number of the kidnapped (detainees) in exchange for a number of saboteurs (Resistance elements) Oh, woe to us at that time.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant assessed the situation in the Northern Command, saying, "We will not allow a return to the previous situation we were in until October 6 (before Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood)." Yoav Galant added: “We are hitting Hezbollah hard...the air force is flying freely over Lebanon, and we will intensify all these efforts.” He added: "One thing is clear... in order to return the population, we need either a consensual measure that interests us, where a different situation will be determined, or we will achieve a different reality as a result of military activity."

The mayor of the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Shmona, Avichai Stern, confirmed that he will block the highway with his body to prevent residents from returning if the threat posed by Hezbollah along the border is not dealt with. In a radio interview, Avichai Stern explained, “If necessary, I will lie down on Route 90 and close the road and will not allow the residents to return to be sheep for the slaughter... We all expect and want to return to our homes, but the Ridwan force sits along the fence.” Stern added: "This reality must change, and if this does not happen, we will not be able to return."

Roads and towns near the Lebanese-Israeli border were closed to civilian traffic on Monday morning until further notice, due to escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. On Monday, the Israeli authorities decided to close a large group of northern settlements from six in the morning until further notice, for fear of a “possible war” with the Lebanese Hezbollah.

The Jerusalem Post newspaper said that five years after Israel launched Operation Northern Shield against Hezbollah's cross-border tunnels, there are concerns about the threat to Hezbollah's tunnels again. The Lebanese Hezbollah announced on Monday that it had targeted Israeli soldiers and buildings in the Miskav Am settlement and the Beit Hilal military base in the south of the country. The border between Lebanon and Israel has witnessed tension and an exchange of fire between the Israeli army and Hezbollah since the start of the confrontation between Hamas and Israel on October 7.

Danny Danon, the Israeli permanent representative to the United Nations cited a recent study conducted by an Israeli sample and campaign company Direct Polls affirming that the majority of the Israeli settler society is in favor of mass displacement in Gaza. The study surveys a representative sample of Israeli public opinion on their stance regarding the Israeli authorities' efforts to "encourage the voluntary immigration" of the residents of the Gaza Strip. The results show that:

• 68% are very supportive of "encouraging the voluntary immigration of residents of the Gaza Strip";
• 15% are quite supportive of "encouraging the voluntary immigration of residents of the Gaza Strip";
• 8% are not so supportive of "encouraging the voluntary immigration of residents of the Gaza Strip";
• only 9% are not supportive at all of "encouraging the voluntary immigration of residents of the Gaza Strip".

Israeli Channel 12 announced that the Israeli army dismissed the commander of the 51st Battalion of the Golani Brigade after endangering the lives of soldiers in the Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza. On Thursday, December 21, Channel 12 announced that the Golani Brigade in the Israeli army withdrew from the Gaza Strip , “to catch their breath after suffering heavy losses.” It said: "After more than 70 days in Gaza, and the loss of 44 of its fighters, Golani Brigade fighters left the Gaza Strip to catch their breath and visit their families for a few days."

An Israeli woman in Tel Aviv attacked a soldier from the Golani Brigade, accusing him of killing innocent people and three Israeli detainees inside the Gaza Strip during an Israeli army operation.

On December 13, Israeli media revealed an ambush carried out by fighters of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, on soldiers from the Golani Brigade in the Shujaiya neighborhood, which led to the killing and wounding of a large number of officers and soldiers. The Israeli army allowed the publication of the names of 9 officers and soldiers from the Golani Brigade who were killed in the ambush, and 4 others were seriously injured. Hebrew media described that battle in Shujaiya as a “dangerous incident that lasted for more than two hours.”

The Israeli newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" published an article by the strategic analyst in national security affairs, Dr. Avigdor Haselkorn, in which he said that US President Joe Biden's unprecedented support for Israel is not primarily motivated by his deep friendship for Israel, or his disgust with the attack of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) in October.

He explained that Biden and his predecessor Barack Obama believed that Israel could take military steps that might surprise the United States and put it in a dilemma. He stated that Biden and Obama believe that Israel is unique in the Middle East with a mentality and means that can turn it into a raging bull, and therefore the only way to mitigate a nightmare in the region is to prevent Israel from escaping, on the basis that Washington is the only power with influence. Enough to allow it to exercise effective controls over Tel Aviv.

The writer added that this factor is the main motivation behind Obama's persistent adherence to reaching an agreement to limit Iran's nuclear program in 2015 so that the region does not fall to the brink of abyss. The writer quoted a comment by Doug Rusinov, professor of history at Metropolitan University, in Time magazine last month, in which he said that Biden set aside the strategic and political considerations that guided the responses of previous American leaders to Israel’s wars, joined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , and faithfully echoed the Israeli talking points.

He said Biden was concerned by the growing consensus in Israel that after the Hamas attack, the country was at war with “the Nazis who aim to attack it from multiple fronts,” and that the very existence of the country may be at stake. He added that after the Hamas attack, the specter of Israel using what Prime Minister Yair Lapid in 2022 called “other capabilities that keep us alive, and will keep us alive as long as we and our children are here,” became a reality.

Haselkorn continued to say, “There should be no doubt that Biden was fully aware of the strategic importance of this Israeli threat assessment, and then his effort to prevent the nightmare of Israel using its last weapon.” There is no doubt that the conviction that Netanyahu’s ruling coalition includes the most extreme figures in Israel, as Biden himself said last July, has increased American fears.

Worse still, the writer says, the period of hostility shown by the White House towards Netanyahu could have been interpreted by the Israeli government as putting Israel in isolation from its main ally, which may reinforce the perception that Israel has no choice but to resort to extreme measures to save itself from extermination.

As a result, the Biden administration rushed to take several interconnected steps, all aimed at preventing desperate Israeli action. It sent an aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean Sea and the regions of the Arabian Gulf, in addition to additional air and ground reinforcements, and issued strict warnings to Hezbollah and Iran not to take advantage of Israel’s predicament, and provided Israel with a strategic umbrella to enable the Israeli army to move to remove the Hamas threat, without it spreading anywhere. Else, or face a large-scale attack from multiple directions.

The United States also immediately launched massive conventional arms air and sea operations; So that Israel's arsenal does not run out of these weapons, and prevents the Israeli army from achieving its military objectives by conventional means. In addition, America moved to defend some Israeli strategic sites; For example: the nuclear reactor in Dimona.

The writer continues, saying that, in a move that historian Doug Rusinov described as dramatic, Biden himself quickly visited Israel and sat as part of Netanyahu’s war government, to dispel any idea of Israel being isolated and alone against a multi-front attack. At the same time, Haselkorn says, the Biden administration sought to impose tight controls on Israel's conduct of the war from the beginning, consistent with its basic perception that Israel was a potentially mad actor. This concern is likely to have been reinforced given the devastation in Gaza.

The writer adds, describing the magnitude of American support for Israel, saying that since the Hamas attack, a large number of high-ranking American military and political officials have arrived in Israel, to inform and “advise” Israel on the progress made in the fighting. While Americans often express Washington's "firm" commitment to Israel's security, they are particularly concerned about the potential for escalation in the north, which will continue as long as the Gaza campaign continues, and the resulting attacks by Hezbollah.

The writer notes that Biden is concerned that after the dismantling of Hamas in Gaza, the Israeli army will turn to dealing with Hezbollah or even pledge to confront Iran directly, and that he fears that this “scenario” could lead to an uncontrollable explosion. “It is no wonder that Washington is trying to defuse a possible escalation against Hezbollah by launching a diplomatic initiative towards the Lebanese government.”

Finally, once Biden became convinced that enhanced US regional deployments were effective in deterring Hezbollah and Iran from intervening full force in the conflict, he became more critical of the IDF’s conduct in the war not only for domestic political reasons, but also to send a message to Israel not to misinterpret His strong initial support means giving her free rein to do what she wants.

To prevent a frightening regional war, Washington also pressured Israel not to respond to the missile and drone attacks launched by the Houthis against targets in southern Israel. Instead, for the first time, Washington assigned US Navy ships stationed in the Red Sea to intercept Yemeni fire to prevent Israel from responding.

The American magazine "Mother Jones" published a lengthy report on Biden's deep relationship with Israel, in which it recounted many of the events and details in which this relationship is evident. The “progressive” magazine, which focuses on news and investigative reporting on topics including politics, the environment, and human rights, said in the report written by its correspondent Noah Lanard, that Biden’s unconditional support for Israel in launching its current aggression against Gaza. Recent history put him at odds with most of the world and large parts of his political base. However, the president has so far shown little sign of backing down from his strong support for Israel.

Lanard noted that Biden once said, “It is possible that Israel will enter into a fistfight with America , and yet we will still defend it.” In another statement, Biden said that he preferred the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state, and he did not forget to affirm his firm support for the “Jewish nation,” saying, “We will not do anything except protect Israel. Nothing, ever.”

The report went on to say that it took a full month from the start of Israel's sweeping attack on the Gaza Strip for Biden to begin criticizing Israel in a meaningful way, warning that the "indiscriminate bombing" of Israel was costing America international support, but Biden's own support for the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remained the same.

He added that before and after the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) attack on Israel on October 7, the American president did not show any sympathy with the Palestinians. Regarding this bias towards Israel, the writer quoted Rashid Al-Khalidi, professor of modern Arab studies at Columbia University, as saying that he does not believe that Biden sees the Palestinians at all, but, on the other hand, he sees the Israelis as they are presented very carefully by their government and their huge media apparatus.

A former Biden administration official also quoted a similar view, saying, “The president does not seem to acknowledge the humanity of all parties affected by this conflict. He has described Israeli suffering in great detail, while remaining vague about Palestinian suffering, if he mentioned it at all.” He explained that all of the American, Israeli and Palestinian officials and academics he met revealed that Biden has an instinctive sympathy for Israel in exchange for his lack of interest in the Palestinians, and he has an increasingly outdated view of domestic politics on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which is that peace will only come from the absence of disagreement between Israel and the United States.

The result is that Biden prioritized providing Israel with largely unconditional support and space to continue the fight in the face of intense international opposition, adding that any US president would have supported Israel in the wake of the Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people, but Biden went further than any of his Democratic colleagues in defense of Israel.

Lanard recounted that when Biden was a senator, he supported moving the US embassy to Jerusalem decades before Donald Trump made that a reality, and he bragged about attending more fundraisers for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee ( AIPAC ) than any other senator . He attacked George H.W. Bush's attempt to push Israel toward negotiations with the Palestinians.

As Vice President, Biden undermined US President Barack Obama's efforts to push Israel toward peace. As president, before October 7, he continued the policies implemented by Trump, which were based on marginalizing the Palestinians.

Despite Israel ignoring many of its recommendations, the report says, the Biden administration continues to push Congress to provide $14 billion in military aid, mostly without restrictions, after the United States had already provided Israel with thousands of bombs that destroyed large parts of Gaza, displacing more than 80%. of its population, and committed the war crime of using starvation of civilians as a weapon of war, according to a report from Human Rights Watch.

Lanard said that in the first days of the war, Biden described the size of the Hamas attack by saying that it was equivalent to 15 times the September 11 attacks for a country the size of Israel, but he forgot to say that the killing of more than 20,000 people so far in Gaza is approximately 900 times the September 11 attacks. September on the same scale.

Menachem Begin received a warm welcome from Biden when he visited Washington after the Lebanon War in 1982. After that, Lanard explained Biden's deep relationship with Israel, saying that her motives were completely personal. Regarding these motives, the report stated that the US President often attributed this to dinner table conversations with his father about the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust and to a meeting in 1973 in Israel with Prime Minister Golda Meir during his first year as a member of the Senate, and long discussions with Henry. "Scoop" Jackson, the famous hard-line Democratic senator from Boeing.

Under Jackson's influence, the writer said, Biden appeared as a fanatical supporter of Israel. In 1982, the year Biden and Netanyahu met for the first time, Israel invaded Lebanon , angering people in the Arab world and being opposed by prominent American officials. Biden showed clear support for Israel at the time. In the first weeks of the war, far-right Prime Minister Menachem Begin came to Washington to shore up support, in the face of intense public criticism. Begin received a warm welcome from Biden.

The New York Times reported at the time that Biden told Begin that he did not criticize the invasion of Lebanon. After his return to Israel, Begin provided more details to the Israeli press and said that a young senator had given an "impassioned speech" during a private meeting with members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Begin said that this senator argued that Americans "would not pay attention if America killed men, women or children in retaliation for a similar attack from Canada."

During a 1992 speech to AIPAC, Biden again expressed strong support for Israel, shouting and beating his chest for emotional effect as he criticized President George H.W. Bush's unprecedented public campaign to push Israel toward addressing Palestinian demands for sovereignty and ending Israel's military occupation. For the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and other territories.

The writer said that any thinking leader might change his course, but Biden remained committed to his approach, as he explained in an interview during his candidacy for the presidency, saying, “During my 34-year career, I have never hesitated toward the idea that the only time progress was made in the Middle East was When the Arab countries knew that there was no difference between us and Israel.”

In doing so, Khalidi said Biden was embracing the diplomatic version of the right-wing militaristic outlook set a century ago by Zeev Jabotinsky, the founder of revisionist Zionism that helped shape the Likud Party. In other words, Khalidi explained, Biden meant “only when the Arabs understand that they have to accept everything Israel is willing to offer, will there be peace.”

Khalidi, one of the world's most prominent scholars of Palestine, continued, "I think that represents his position to some extent to this day. I honestly don't think this man has any sense that there is another side to this conflict. I don't think he understands or cares about humanity, or rights." Or the mere presence of Palestinians.

After Biden became vice president in 2009, he stuck to his position on the Palestinian issue, and his commitment to protecting Israel from popular pressure undermined Obama's policy at an important moment when he was trying to revive peace talks. The writer quoted an article by journalist Peter Beinart that: “During a critical period early in the Obama administration, when the White House considered putting real pressure on Netanyahu to keep the possibility of a viable Palestinian state alive, Biden did more than any other government-level official to protect... Netanyahu from this pressure.”

In 2010, the Netanyahu government angered Obama and his advisors by announcing a major settlement expansion, but Biden, who was in Israel at the time, worked alone on the emerging conflict. The Obama camp took a different path by drawing up a list of demands that must be presented to Netanyahu. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton then gave the prime minister 24 hours to respond, warning him, "If you are unable to comply, it could have unprecedented consequences for the bilateral relationship of a kind never seen before."

Biden was soon in touch with a stunned Netanyahu. A former US administration official said, “Biden completely undermined the Secretary of State’s efforts and gave Netanyahu a strong signal that everything that was planned in Washington was reckless and that he could defuse it when he returned.” When Netanyahu and his staff visited the White House shortly after, one of his senior advisers told the New York Times that Biden told Netanyahu, “Just remember that I am your best friend here.”

Thanks in part to Biden's support, Netanyahu learned not to worry about Obama's efforts to push for Palestinian statehood. A senior US official told Israeli journalist Ben Caspit: “Netanyahu is beginning to understand that Obama’s bark is much worse than his bite, and that there is no reason to fear him.”

During Obama's last days in office, a United Nations resolution was issued demanding a halt to Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and other occupied territories. In an invitation to discuss how the United States would vote at the United Nations, several administration officials said that Biden and then-Treasury Secretary Jack Lew were the only ones who supported vetoing the resolution. Unusually, Biden and Lew failed in this effort. Lew is now Biden's ambassador to Israel.

The writer said that Lew's return indicates that Biden did not change towards Israel before October 7, as he adhered to Trump's decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem, and did not back down from a major announcement by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that reversed decades of American policy by saying that Israeli settlements do not Necessarily violating international law, he failed to reopen a separate consulate for Palestinians that Trump closed.

Biden did not do much to modify his dealings with Israel after it elected the most right-wing parliament in its history in November 2022, and he did not stand even once against the policies of the extreme right-wing government that resulted from this parliament. It is certain, the writer says, that the Hamas attack against Israel led to a deepening of Biden’s connection with Israel. Instead of pressing for a ceasefire, the Biden administration transferred the weapons, including at least 100 one-ton bombs, munitions that were four times the size of what the United States typically used during its 2017 air battles against ISIS in Mosul , Iraq.

The writer explained that the political repercussions of Biden's position have now become global in scope. Shibli Telhami, a professor of peace and development at the University of Maryland, said Biden may now overtake Netanyahu as the most hated leader in the Arab world, adding, "There is a level of shock now in the Arab world that I did not see even during the Iraq war, when it was absolutely horrific."

Lanard concluded his report by saying that there was no indication that Biden's support for Israel was declining, but the problem is that many from his party are no longer with him, and therefore perhaps he, a veteran politician, realizes what he must do in the face of international and domestic pressure. He may soon try to stop the current war, or he may resist for as long as possible.

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 about 20,674 martyrs, and the killing of more than 7,700 Palestinian children. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The number wounded was 54,536. The Palestinian Government Media Office in Gaza had said many days earlier that the number of missing people had risen to more than 7,500 [double the 3,750 previously reported], including including 4,700 children and women.

Palestinian Ministry of Health has announced that the total number of Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank by the Israeli occupation this year had reached 505 people, including 111 children. The Palestinian Ministry of Health earlier explained that the death toll in the West Bank since the beginning of this year has risen to 465, including 257 martyrs since last October 7.

The Israeli bombing led to the killing of 126 Hezbollah members, a number of civilians, and 3 journalists. Lebanon’s Health Ministry released an official casualty numbers in fighting, saying 77 people were killed and 251 wounded since the start of the war on Gaza.

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 IDF acknowledged the death toll to 162 between officers and soldiers since the start of the ground incursion, while the number of wounded since the beginning of the ground operation rose to 652, including 146 seriously injured. This brings the total number of dead officers and soldiers whose names the Israeli army allowed to be published to 489 since the Palestinian resistance launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7th.

Israeli media reported that 27% of the Israeli military casualties in the war were officers. In detail, the media highlighted that three brigade commanders, four battalion commanders, and other senior officers have been killed in the war so far.

At least 11,845 Israelis were injured, according to i24 TV. The IDF updated the number of soldiers injured in the war and attacks on October 7 to 1,683.

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper had reported that 5,000 soldiers had been wounded since the beginning of the war on October 7, and that the Ministry of Defense had recognized 2,000 soldiers as disabled so far.

According to some reports statistics indicate that 20% of the Israeli losses were due to friendly fire. Because the nature of the battle has become completely different from what was expected, and it lacks a front line.

Hostages

The Israeli occupation army announced the recovery of the bodies of 5 Israeli prisoners who were killed in the Gaza Strip , 3 of them soldiers and 2 civilians, during its discovery of a network of tunnels in Jabalia, north of the Strip. This came in a press conference held by army spokesman Daniel Hagari, who explained that Israeli soldiers recovered five bodies of prisoners who were killed inside the tunnel network. Hagari did not explain the reason behind the killing of the prisoners whose bodies were recovered.

Israel had previously estimated there were 116 living hostages in Palestinian custody. Israel declared 19 out of 135 people in Gaza captivity dead in absentia, after announcing its forces had recovered the bodies of two hostages. Israel considers those still held by Hamas to be hostages regardless of whether they are dead or alive.

Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy earlier had 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 held 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 had released 110 hostages so far – 86 Israelis and 24 foreign nationals.

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.

According to some estimates, Hamas was initially holding nearly 210 of the 240 hostages, while Palestinian Islamic Jihad was holding the remaining 30. About 40 Israelis remained missing. More than 40 hostages taken from Israel into Gaza on October 7th are not currently in the custody of Hamas, the group responsible for the attack, according to a CNN report based on a diplomatic source briefed on the negotiations, CNN's prior reports had indicated that an estimated 40 to 50 hostages were held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad or other unidentified groups or individuals.

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

The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) and the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission released a new tally of Palestinians detained by "Israel", revealing that the number of Palestinian prisoners in the West Bank has risen to 4,695. Some 150 women have been arrested thus far, both from the West Bank and the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948. Additionally, more than 255 children had been arrested. Israel had earliers said that, since the beginning of the war, about 2,100 wanted persons had been arrested throughout the IOS Division and the Bekaa and Emekim Brigade, about 1,100 of them are affiliated with Hamas.

By late December 2023 a video was circulating in Israeli media which purported to show the surrender of some Hamas fighters. But critics say it is staged and cast doubt on its authenticity. The footage comes as Hamas continues to resist Israel's relentless assault, more than nine weeks into the conflict.