Operation Iron Swords - Day 85 - 30 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

The Wall Street Journal said that the IAF dropped 29,000 bombs on the Gaza Strip, destroying approximately seventy percent of the Strip’s homes. The newspaper added that the bombing completely destroyed or damaged half of the buildings in the Strip, in addition to the bombing of Byzantine churches, historic mosques, factories, shopping centers, luxury hotels, theaters and schools.

The Israeli government is working to expel the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media reports Israeli Channel 12 reported that the “top-secret” Foreign Ministry report includes recommendations that this step take place in 3 stages, “the first is to reveal in a comprehensive report the alleged cooperation between UNRWA and Hamas,” the second stage “includes reducing UNRWA operations in the Gaza Strip, And searching for different organizations to provide education and social care services to the Palestinians in Gaza.” The third stage will be "the process of transferring all UNRWA's functions to the body that will govern Gaza after the end of the war." A report by Israeli Channel 12 indicated that the plan will be presented to the Israeli Cabinet “in the near future.”

Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, said in response to the Israeli allegations that accuse the organization of helping Hamas and transferring some humanitarian aid directly to it, that Israel “created a stream of misleading and baseless information,” and stressed that “even after the opening of the Karm crossing Abu Salem, the Israeli authorities restricted humanitarian access to Gaza through bombing and disrupting communications and Internet networks for long periods.

Israel has long accused UNRWA of “perpetuating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” by expanding refugee status to include millions of descendants of Palestinians who fled or were forced to flee their homes during the founding of Israel in 1948, and believes that the description of refugee is “limited to original refugees,” as happens with asylum groups around The world, according to The Times of Israel.

The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth considered that the intensification of the Israeli raids in Syria was linked to an attempt to prevent the passage of shipments of Iranian missiles, known as “Product 358,” and said: Although Iran’s attempts to transfer these missiles are not new, they have intensified recently, which prompted Israel To begin disrupting this deployment, especially at the military airport in Damascus.

Israeli forces continue to launch an arrest campaign in the West Bank , and the US State Department announced that it used the emergency law to pass an arms deal to Israel worth $147.5 million, without the approval of Congress.

Israeli forces (IDF) lacked a structured response plan for a scenario similar to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, as per an investigation released by The New York Times, quoting past and present soldiers and officers. "As far as I recall, there was no such plan," said Yaakov Amidror, a retired Israeli general and former advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as quoted by NYT. "The army does not prepare itself for things it thinks are impossible."

v The investigation found that "Israel’s" military was "undermanned, out of position, and so poorly organized" that soldiers communicated in WhatsApp groups created on the spot and relied on social media posts for targeting information. Troops rushed into battle thinking that the combat would be brief so they were armed as such. Helicopter pilots were ordered to look for news reports and Telegram channels to choose targets.

Prior to the operation, Israeli intelligence officials thought that it was unlikely that Hamas would execute such an ambitious attack that they minimized the radio surveillance of Hamas, deeming it "a waste of time." The true extent of the situation became evident in the weeks following October 7, having discovered that Hamas infiltrated the border into the occupied territories at 30 different points and rapidly advanced toward settlements along the Gaza border, it added.

Additional information from The New York Times investigation revealed that it took the IDF and Israeli security forces several hours to comprehend the full scale of the incident. Moreover, the IDF units positioned as the "initial line of defense" in the Gaza envelope settlements were not adequately trained for this scenario. The report revealed that Israeli forces were so disorganized that soldiers used WhatsApp groups and turned to social media for information. Helicopter pilots were instructed to depend on media reports and Telegram channels to identify the Resistance fighters.

In the Times investigation, it was revealed that Israeli commanders at the Kirya in "Tel Aviv", operating from a bunker called The Pit, were attempting to make sense of reports of Hamas rocket fire in southern "Israel".

Interviews with dozens of officers, soldiers, and eyewitnesses, many speaking anonymously, shed light on the disorganization. The initial deployed units were relatively small, suggesting a lack of understanding of the attack's magnitude. The first order for all emergency forces and available units to head south was issued at 7:43 am, prompted by a message from a base along the border reporting an attack, though the commander was unaware of the full extent of the operation.

The New York Times report asserted that certain IOF units in the Palestinian territories just outside Gaza were inadequately trained, and military reservists were not ready for rapid mobilization and deployment. Furthermore, when the operation commenced, soldiers in the area were reportedly trying to save themselves rather than protecting settlers in their vicinity or coordinating a strategic response to the operation.

Soldiers were forced to abandon the "Nahal Oz" base, leaving behind their dead fellow soldiers. At "Kibbutz Re'im", housing the Gaza Division base, understaffing was reported. A soldier mentioned to the NYT that some were unaware of the attack until Resistance fighters entered their sleeping quarters.

One reservist shared that his paratrooper unit departed its central base near "Tel Aviv" in a convoy around 1:30 pm. The mobilization was independent, lacking a formal call-up order. He anticipated encountering crowded roads filled with soldiers, equipment, and armored vehicles heading south. "The roads were empty!," he recounted in an interview, only to wonder roughly seven hours later: Where is the Israeli army?

Operational Update

The northern and southern axes of the Gaza Strip witnessed fierce confrontations between the Israeli forces and the Palestinian resistance, while the IDF gunboats fired heavy shells at the beaches of Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis. Israeli fighters and artillery also intensified the bombing of the central region, especially the Bureij, Nusseirat and Khan Yunis camps, where there is a high population density of refugees and displaced people from the Gaza Strip.

The Al-Qassam Brigades announced that they targeted occupation vehicles in the Bureij camp, and clashed with the Israeli army with heavy machine guns, while the Al-Quds Brigades said that they clashed with the occupation soldiers in Khan Yunis amid violent raids. Information is very vague, but in the north the clashes are concentrated in 2-3 neighborhoods. In most areas the IDF has withdrawn tanks, perhaps leaving some garrisons (images also show Palestinians returning to these areas), Palestinian attacks have also been reported in other areas already considered under control (such as Sheikh Ajin). In the center the director is now on the nuiserat field, while also in the south, the IDF is preparing to cut off the rear part of Khan Yunis and divide it into several areas. Clashes were also reported east of Raffah, but here deep action and a long conflict could create problems with Egypt. Clashes continue in the Daraij and Tuffah areas, mainly along Yaffa str. But clashes were also still reported in Sheikh Radwan and along al Sarftawy str. Some bombing on Jabalia field by Tank, but there doesn't appear to be any active fighting.

"Today we completed a broad attack on the area of Kayla in southern Lebanon, 80% of Hezbollah's missiles fell on Lebanese territory yesterday," the IDF spokesman said in his statement this evening, "we are fighting in the last significant Hamas stronghold in the north of the Gaza Strip. We destroyed Hamas's intelligence chief in the north of the Gaza Strip."

The divisional combat team of the 188th Brigade has been operating since the beginning of the week at Al Buraij Camp in the area of the Central Camp in the Gaza Strip. During their activities in the area, the fighters of the brigade encounter many terrorists who attack the force from inside buildings and from areas of the civilian population. for all the details.

Fighter jets of the Air Force attacked terrorist infrastructures of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in the area of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon, in an operation that included two waves of attacks targeting a series of targets in the morning and afternoon hours. Kfar Kila is a stronghold of the terrorist organization Hezbollah, when the organization uses the infrastructure in the area for terrorist purposes, exploiting the civilian population and using it as a human shield for its operations. Since the beginning of the war, the organization has carried out many launches from the area of the village towards the territory of the State of Israel.

A fighter jet and an Air Force aircraft attacked three terrorist squads in Lebanese territory earlier today. In addition, the IDF attacked an operational infrastructure of the terrorist organization Hezbollah and also attacked with artillery fire this morning several areas in the territory of Lebanon. During the day, a number of launches were detected from the territory of Lebanon towards the territory of the State of Israel. In addition, the air defense fighters successfully intercepted a suspicious aerial target that crossed the territory of Lebanon towards the territory of the State of Israel.

The fighters of the 7th Brigade's combat team deepened the maneuver to the south and raided Hamas military headquarters in the heart of the city of Khan Yunis, and among them the terrorist organization's military intelligence commander in the city. The military intelligence commander is responsible for all the intelligence operations of the Hamas terrorist organization in the region . In the targets raided by the fighters, very valuable documents were found. In addition, in the HML compound of the intelligence, a HML of the Palestinian Jihad terrorist organization was located.

The combat team fighters of the Givati Brigade raided many terrorist infrastructures in the area and eliminated terrorists who were preparing to attack the forces through sniper and tank fire. The brigade's fire complex carried out several attacks using aerial vehicles in which armed terrorists were eliminated and targets such as a site for the production of weapons and a stronghold of Hamas terrorists were destroyed.

Also, as a preliminary step to the entry of the ground forces, the fire complex of the 98th Division, in cooperation with the Air Force, carried out about 50 airstrikes on a variety of targets, including underground targets and terrorist infrastructures, and also carried out strikes to destroy the enemy as part of escorting the forces in the area.

A drive-by attack happened at a military post near the El Fawar refugee camp in the Yehuda Division, IDF reserve fighters neutralized the terrorist. The security forces are deployed and increasing axes in the area.

The IDF forces continue to operate in the Gaza Strip. The fighters conduct fierce battles against terrorists, the Air Force attacks terrorist units and infrastructures under the direction of the forces, and the fighters of the naval arm assist the forces maneuvering in the Strip with attacks and fire from the sea.

During an operation in Sheja'ia in the northern Gaza Strip, fighters from the 414 Collection Battalion identified a terrorist cell operating near them and a terrorist armed with an RPG. An Air Force aircraft attacked and eliminated the squad at the direction of the fighters.

As part of the operations of the 14th Reserve Brigade's combat team forces in the Gaza City area in the last day, the fighters eliminated dozens of terrorists. In four different detections carried out by the forces, more than 15 armed terrorists were eliminated from the air in less than three hours, and at the end of battles conducted by the fighters, additional terrorists were eliminated in the area.

In the activity of the 551st Brigade Combat Team in the area of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, the reserve fighters of the combat team destroyed two military buildings used by the terrorist organization Hamas. Before the attack on the buildings was carried out, the fighters located many weapons, among them, explosive charges, weapons, military equipment and radios.

Also, in another activity carried out by the forces in the area, the fighters identified two enemy observers in a building near the rest of the forces and after certain identification of the terrorists, an armored force fired from a tank at the building where the observers were staying and eliminated them.

Al-Jazeera's military and strategic expert, Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi, said that what the Israeli occupation army broadcast regarding the bombing of a tunnel that led to the destruction of residential buildings above it, under the pretext of targeting the apartment of Yahya Al-Sinwar, head of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), is a cowardly act, indicating that he will regret broadcasting a martyrdom video. A resistance member, after being targeted by a drone.

The Israeli army had previously announced that its forces had destroyed what it said was an apartment for Sinwar and part of a network of tunnels underneath it near Gaza City. It claimed that the apartment “was used by Yahya Sinwar as a hideout,” and that the opening of a strategic tunnel was discovered underneath it, used as a headquarters for senior figures from both military wings. And a politician in the Hamas movement.

Al-Duwairi said that the occupation army’s claim that the tunnel is strategic requires evidence and proof, adding that finding a tunnel is normal, but blowing it up in this way that led to the destruction of an entire area is an act that was done “with the utmost cowardice,” as the tunnel could have been destroyed in a similar way. It eliminates its usefulness without this great destruction.

The military expert believes that the occupation army is trying to show any image of achievement in the face of the resistance’s achievements proven in clear and significant video clips, while the occupation army’s clips still show one side, and no other opposing party appears in the confrontation. He continued sarcastically, if the Israeli street compared its army's videos to what the resistance forces broadcast, it would demand that the army send its moral guidance department to the Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas) to take a course that would help it improve its field performance.

In a related context, Al-Duwairi expects that the Israeli occupation will regret broadcasting on one of its channels the scene of targeting one of the resistance youth with a drone, because they will see the positive impact of this scene, which revealed the strength of the Palestinian fighter’s belief, and also conveyed the message that whoever faces someone like him and hopes to defeat him is “crazy.” , as he put it.

A video clip broadcast on Israeli channels showed a Palestinian resistance member moving from one building to another, running, before he was targeted by a missile at an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft, where he was hit by one of its shrapnel. The resistance fighter tried to gather his strength despite the injury, as the footage showed him raising his index finger to the sky before assuming the prostrate position to be promoted to martyrdom in this state. The military expert pointed out that the video broadcast by Al-Qassam yesterday evening, Friday, showed a different approach to the performance of the resistance, and this was a reflection of the nature of the area in which it was filmed. These are the areas of Al-Tuffah and Al-Daraj, where - for the first time - reliance on archers to target an armored vehicle was demonstrated.

Al-Duwairi justified this by saying that the shooting angles in that area were difficult, and there was a possibility that the first shooter would miss the target. Because of the circumstances of the place, the administrative decision was to have a second shooter, which also reveals high skill and precision in preparing the teams and preparing for all possible possibilities.

Regarding Al-Qassam’s announcement of shooting down a “Skylark-2” reconnaissance plane that was on an intelligence mission for the occupation army in Beit Hanoun, Al-Duwairi said that this was done through a confusion operation, as it did not appear injured, which means that it was not targeted by fire.

He believes that this plane is a strategic treasure, as it will be studied after it is dismantled, which will allow obtaining information that will help in developing the performance and movements of the resistance later. It is also possible to determine its specifications, and how to simulate its manufacture with development or modification through the use of reverse engineering.

Regarding tracking down tunnels in the Gaza Strip and the discovery of some of them by the occupation forces, Al-Duwairi said that failure is the major factor in these tracking operations. Despite the training and simulation that was conducted, the use of multiple methods, and the benefit of external experiences, the occupation did not succeed in achieving a real goal in this path.

Al-Duwairi reiterates that the lesson of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood - which began last October 7 - will be a source of inspiration for many of the world’s armies, and will be taught in the most prestigious military institutes, according to his opinion. In this context, he pointed out that the South Korean army conducted a simulation exercise of what happened in the attack of last October 7, for fear that the experience would be copied by North Korea.

The YouTube channel Weeb Union [RU = Web Union], is a pro-Russian youtuber who pposes as neutral. According to one users "is good for daily map updates, but his analytical mumbo jumbo is" not so good.

Weeb Union reported that the situation is mainly focused around the Khan Yunis area in the south of the Gaza Strip, the main area for the Palestinian forces now that the Israelis have captured most of Gaza City. The command center of the Hamas is actually located here. The Rafa area is largely untouched by the Israeli forces but there's also a very large concentration of civilians in that area so neither side has an interest in fighting in that area. Therefore the fighting is focused in areas that are largely abandoned by the civilian population. There will be a lot of air strikes by the Israeli forces in all of these areas but for ground units there will be no movement there until the Israelis gain full control over these areas.

Israelis are fighting within the areas that they "control" as these areas they do not really control or not as much as is represented with the maps. Palestinian fighters are in the tunnels. HAMAS aren't really on the surface except for when they are actually fighting - 90% of the time they're in the tunnels. This is why although the Israelis hold an area they don't really control it until they've removed all of the tunnels.

The Israeli soldiers evacuated their personnel from the Beit Hanoun area which had been a center of fighting since the very start of the Israeli operation inside the Gaza Strip when they first started doing their night raids it was here in the North Direction. Since then they launched operations inside Beit Hanoun and fought over it, however they have now retreated. One of the reasons why they retreated from it was they had achieved some of their goals in this direction - they managed to destroy the infrastructure of Hamas fighters. They destroyed some of these tunnels and they limited the capacity of the Hamas fighters in this direction.

The Israelis had captured most of the northern part of the Gaza Strip and are now limiting the areas where they actually fighting to Gaza City itself and the Jabalia camp area, because these are the main areas of the Hamas fighters. The Beit Hanoun area was a sort of military outpost while the Gaza City and jabalia camp areas are large enough to both include the main command centers as well as military outposts. So the Israelis were now focusing r on taking down the command of the Hamas fighters rather than defeating Hamas itself. If they managed to get rid of the leadership of Hamas they have the ability to win. They cannot fight the ground soldiers of the Hamas fighters to win because they'll just drag out the war and that is not something that they're interested in. They're really interested in finishing this war as soon as as possible.

The Israelis need to establish military bases and command centers within the Gaza Strip. They are building a Command Centers in the ruins of demolishment so after they demolish these areas they actually built their own camps and bases in the areas that they demolish. They clear the buildings in the area to build their own camps that are required to continue these longterm offensive operations.

It is unknown how much resources the Hamas Fighters still have. Whether they're able to fight for years or just months is completely unknown because unlike the Israelis who have what will eventually be an endless supply of ammunition, food, water adn other supplies and materials for their forces inside of the Gaza Strip, the HAMAS fighters do not have such a supply. They do not have a production base - all that they have is what they had prepared before the war. the Israelis do not know how much HAMAS has available but there's definitely the risk of this war going on for months and months and months depending on how much supplies Hamas has in stock.

Israeli warplanes targeted several air strikes at Aleppo and Nayrab airports, and a number of points belonging to the Syrian regime forces south of Aleppo. The Syrian regime's SANA agency quoted a military source from the regime's forces as saying: "At approximately 17:20 pm today, the Israeli enemy carried out an air attack from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Latakia, targeting a number of points south of the city of Aleppo, and the aggression resulted in some material losses."

It was reported that the raids put Aleppo Airport out of service, while Al-Watan newspaper, which is close to the regime, said, “Aleppo International Airport is operating as usual and has not been put out of service.” For its part, the Iranian Fars News Agency quoted sources that said it "likely suggested that the Zionist entity was the one that targeted Aleppo International Airport."

The Israeli bombing of Aleppo and Nayrab airports comes hours after an Israeli bombing of regime and Iranian militia positions south of Damascus. The Israeli occupation army announced that it was carrying out strikes in Syria in response to an attack with two missiles launched from the occupied Golan region towards northern Israel.

An aerial attack targeted areas near the city of al-Bukamal, in the countryside of Deir Ezzor, eastern Syria near the border with Iraq, which resulted in the martyrdom of seven people and the injury of others. Al Mayadeen's correspondent mentioned that the aggression targeted the al-Hajana building and Badr Hospital in the southern part of the city. On its part, the Israeli occupation military said it carried out rocket strikes on Syria after two rockets allegedly fired from Syrian territory fell into territories it occupies, triggering sirens to sound.

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates explicitly condemned the constant Israeli attacks on Syria, affirming that they represent "Israel's" intrinsic nature to destroy and kill. In a letter to United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, and the United Nations Security Council, Syria detailed the extensive violations the Israeli occupation is committing in Palestine, saying that in blatant defiance of UN resolutions, advocacy from members of the Security Council, and the global public opinion, "Israel" strikes Syria as an extension to the genocide in Palestine.

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

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Axis of Resistance

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry warned that the ruling right in Israel would continue to carry out what it called “genocide” led by (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu, noting the ease of killings carried out by Israeli forces in the West Bank, and the theft and Judaization of land. The Foreign Ministry said that the ruling right in Israel treats all Palestinians as enemies who must be killed or displaced. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry described the Israeli killings as “genocide”.

Allied for Democracy

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reported that the National Security Council held eight meetings to discuss the "day after" the war. Netanyahu stated, "With regard to the 'day after' the war, we must eliminate Hamas first." The Israeli Prime Minister stressed that Gaza must be governed by a local administration, neither “Fatah Stan” nor “Hamas Stan.” The official Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that the Israeli Prime Minister decided at the last minute not to discuss the "next day" of the war in the War Cabinet.

Israeli media reported that Netanyahu's cancellation of the post-war discussion in the war cabinet came due to pressure from coalition partners. Israeli Channel 12 reported at the time that the Israeli War Cabinet would discuss today for the first time the issue of the next day in Gaza after the war.

Smotrich demanded discussion of the "next day" of the war within the government. Extremist Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir criticized the move, stressing that the War Cabinet was authorized to manage the military operation and not to discuss the politics of the next day. Itamar Ben Gvir explained that "discussing the post-war period is the task of the mini-cabinet, not the war council with Benny Gantz."

The former Israeli minister, head of the "Israel Our Home" party, Avigdor Lieberman , called for demolishing the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, or what is called the "Philadelphia axis" to force the Palestinians in the Strip to flee to Sinai. In a television interview, he told Parliament that the head of the Egyptian regime, Abdel Fattah al- Sisi , failed to curb the smuggling of peace through the Philadelphia axis into Gaza, and that 90% of the weapons in Gaza come from Egypt.

He continued: "The Philadelphia axis must be demolished, and then the Palestinians will voluntarily go to Sinai." He added, "We will not deport the Palestinians, but we will not prevent them from leaving for Egypt."

Earlier, Lieberman said that the only solution to the Gaza dilemma is to give it to Egypt to administer it, and in the West Bank to transfer responsibility for Area A to Jordan to administer it, considering that this is the only solution for stability in the region. Lieberman continued in his vision for the post-war period, according to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, that turning back the clock is possible, and that he believes that the solution lies in canceling the Oslo Accords and granting Gaza to Egypt, and certain areas in the West Bank to Jordan, because the idea of returning power to Gaza is futile. Multinational forces will not solve the problem, such as UNIFIL in Lebanon.

He pointed out that Egypt is the only one that can control Gaza, and that Israel must close the crossings with Gaza completely and forever, and abandon supplying it with water and electricity, and the Egyptians must be placed under a fait accompli, saying: “If the Egyptians do not like this, let them do what they want.”

He said that the two-state solution is dead, and that the solution in Area A in the West Bank is a long-term confederation with Jordan, noting that “Tel Aviv” must reject the American position on the two-state solution, or the return of power to Gaza, and that “Israel’s” leaders must Not to stutter in front of Washington. Areas (A) constitute approximately 18% of the area of the occupied West Bank. According to the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority controls most of the affairs in these areas, including internal security only, while external control is for the Israeli occupation and constitutes Areas (B). and (C) approximately 21% and 60% of the area of ??the occupied West Bank, respectively. Most of the Israeli settlements are located in area (C).

Lieberman indicated that the “Oslo” Accords had died, saying: “We evacuated the Gaza settlements, returned to the 1967 lines, and signed On Oslo in 1993, we paid the price of peace with three thousand dead Israelis, and in return, Hamas came and killed the Jews like what happened to them in the Holocaust. Regarding Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Lieberman said that without Israeli support he would not last a single week, indicating that his return to Gaza is a failed option.. saying: “We tried them for 30 years.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Philadelphia axis must be in the hands of Tel Aviv and we control it, stressing that any arrangement other than that will not be accepted by Israel. Netanyahu addedthat they will continue the war until the end. The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth had said that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant proposed to his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin, the establishment of an underground wall on the Egyptian side to separate it from the Gaza Strip, with American funding. The newspaper explained that the proposed wall may reach a length of 13 kilometers and include sensors and technologies to detect the possibility of imminent excavations near it.

The Hebrew channel "I24 NEWS" also published an analysis of the Philadelphia border axis with Egypt, and whether it is a "red line that can be crossed." "I24" indicated that "with the Israeli war on Gaza entering its third month and with Israel expanding its operations throughout the Gaza Strip, the "Philadelphia" axis, located on the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, returns to the forefront," pointing out that the Israeli army, which seeks through its operations By land, sea and air, to dry up Hamas’s sources, it also seeks to stop the supply lines coming to it in order to tighten its grip on the Gaza Strip and achieve the most important goals of its military campaign.”

According to "I24", Israeli soldiers were deployed alongside their armored personnel carrier awaiting orders to withdraw from the ruins of what was a military site on the Philadelphia Corridor on the Egyptian border in the southern Gaza Strip on September 11, 2005. On the other hand, “Cairo warned against Israel carrying out any military operations in the buffer zone, which would push the residents of Gaza to flee en masse to Egypt under the weight of bombing and closure, which is an issue that Egypt considers sovereign and represents for it a red line that cannot be crossed.”

The Philadelphia Axis, or Salah al-Din Axis, extends from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south along the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip, which is about 14 kilometers. The peace treaty that Egypt signed with Israel in 1979, known in the media as the “Camp David” Treaty, stipulated the establishment of a buffer zone along the border, or what was known as the Philadelphia Axis.

Former Chief of Staff of the army, Dan Halutz, harshly criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stressing that the only solution to save Israel from a civil war is to remove Netanyahu and his government. Former prime ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert also criticized Netanyahu, stressing that talk of defeating Hamas is not realistic.

The failure of the Israeli army to achieve a clear achievement in the Gaza Strip had begun to weigh heavily on the political life of Benjamin Netanyahu internally. Many criticisms began to be directed at Netanyahu's government, reaching the point of warning of a catastrophic reality awaiting Israel after the end of the war.

Former Chief of Staff of the army, Dan Halutz, harshly criticized Netanyahu, and believed that the only solution to save Israel was to overthrow Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. Halutz confirmed that the army is being defeated in Gaza in the face of the resistance. This defeat is reflected internally, as Halutz warned of a civil war that would ravage the entity if Netanyahu continued to rule and his alliance with the extreme right remained.

Ehud Barak considered that achieving a pivotal achievement in confronting Hamas is unattainable, and said that those who believe that it is possible to defeat Hamas and force the Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip voluntarily are dreaming.

In turn, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called on Netanyahu to conduct a comprehensive prisoner exchange deal and end the war. Olmert stressed that there is still a long way to go before talking about defeating Hamas, considering that Israel is facing difficult days even after the end of the war.

Netanyahu's nightmare is not limited to criticism, as he is now facing widespread opposition in the street, with increasing demonstrations and protests demanding that the government accept an end to the war and close the issue of prisoners, an issue that may explode in the face of Netanyahu's government at any moment, with the passage of time and the absence of any field achievement by the army.

The Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper suggested that Israel is approaching the "third stage" in its operations in Gaza, but disagreements with the United States are increasing over the timing of the transition to this phase. After Israeli Security Minister Yoav Gallant and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held a phone conversation Thursday evening, a US statement was issued on the discussions, but it "concealed the main gap between Israel and the United States" regarding the timing of the transition to the third stage of the war, the newspaper pointed out.

The statement mentioned that both sides discussed "Israel's military campaign in Gaza and preparations for the stabilization phase that will follow major combat operations." The Yedioth Ahronoth report pointed out that both the Americans and the Israelis are aware that the transition from a high-density operational phase to a phase with reduced bombing and firing pace should take time as the Israeli military needs at least a few days to safely withdraw two brigades, especially since the size of the Israeli forces in Gaza is approaching five brigades.

The newspaper indicated that the gap between Washington and Tel Aviv is widening regarding timing, as the United States wants to see the transition to the next stage completed, while Israel wants to launch it only.

Channel 12 political affairs analyst, Amnon Abramovich , said that if the United States had not helped Israel with weapons and ammunition, we would have been “forced to fight with sticks and stones.” Abramovich explained that this “reflects the logic of Israel’s absolute dependence on the United States,” as Biden “stood at the beginning of the war alongside Israel, sending two aircraft carriers, a nuclear submarine , and an unprecedented air train of munitions, and it has not stopped until now.” .

Earlier, Major General in the Israeli reserve and former head of AMAN, Aharon Farkash, said, “Israel cannot continue and achieve its goals in Gaza without the military, political, and strategic support of the United States.”

The United States continued to supply the occupation entity with ammunition and military weapons since the beginning of the war. Yesterday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken approved the sale of 155 mm artillery shells and related equipment to “Israel” without review by Congress, according to the US Department of Defense, “the Pentagon.”

This is the second time this month that the Biden administration has bypassed Congress's review of the sale of weapons to the occupying entity, as the administration used emergency authority, on December 9, to allow the sale of about 14,000 tank shells to Israel. In addition to direct American military support for “Israel,” Washington sought to deploy at least 12 air defense systems in many countries in the Middle East, as part of its fear of the expansion of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle and the participation of other fronts. This support was also represented by the visits of American officials to the occupied territories, led by Biden, in addition to consistency with the Israeli narrative in reporting the events.

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.

Regarding what is happening in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) representative Osama Hamdan said that the Israeli aggression there left 313 martyrs and injured more than 3,000, which is a continuation of the plans of the Netanyahu government. 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 21,672 martyrs, and the killing of more than 7,700 Palestinian children. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The number wounded was 56,165. The Palestinian Government Media Office in Gaza had said much earlier that the number of missing people had risen to more than 7,500, including including 4,700 children and women, and this number had not changes in recent weeks.

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 Israeli army announces the killing of a major in the engineering battalion of the Golani Brigade and a team leader in the Givati patrol in Gaza. The officially announced number of deaths among the Israeli army since the start of the ground incursion on October 27th to 176, and 504 deaths since the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on the 7th of the same month. Among them are 56 with the rank of platoon commander, 43 with the rank of company commander, 8 with the rank of battalion commander, and 5 with the rank of brigade commander. These officers constitute 23% of the total deaths of the Israeli army in the war on Gaza.

The Israeli army reported that 2,159 officers and soldiers had been injured since the beginning of the war, and that 329 of these wounded were seriously injured, 576 moderate, and 1,161 minor. Since the start of the ground incursion, the number of wounded rose to 921. The Israeli army reported that 198 of the wounded soldiers had serious injuries, 327 moderate injuries, and 349 minor injuries.

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 12,227 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 earlier 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. The Israeli army reported that 431 wounded soldiers were still receiving treatment in hospitals, including 44 in critical condition.

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

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 4,795. 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 said that, since the beginning of the war, approximately 2,550 wanted persons have been arrested throughout the Judea and Samaria Division and the Bekaa and Valleys Division, approximately 1,300 of whom are affiliated with Hamas.