Operation Iron Swords - Day 91 - 05 January 2024
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NEW - Operations NEW - Operations Maps NEW - By-Standers NEW - Axis of Resistance NEW - Allied for Democracy UPDATED - Oasis of Martyrs UPDATED - Hostages |
The demonstrators confirmed popular support "for the decisions of the leadership and the operations of the armed forces against the American and Zionist enemies". The statement declared that "the blood of the Yemeni Navy martyrs in the American aggression will not be in vain." The statement renewed the call for Arab countries to open land crossings and facilitate the passage of hundreds of thousands of Yemeni fighters to occupied Palestine.
Danish shipping giant Maersk announced that its ships, which were scheduled to cross the Red Sea, will change their course toward the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. This cames after the firm made mixed signals recently over its final decision regarding its vessels navigating through the strategic trade route, due to the Yemeni operations targeting Israeli and "Israel"-bound ships in response to the genocide in Gaza and in support of the people of the Strip.
Maersk had announced less than two weeks ago that its ships would resume sailing in the Red Sea, citing the launching of the US-led maritime coalition under the Operation Prosperity Guardian initiative. After the 20-nation group failed to prevent Sanaa from actionably enforcing its equation and Yemening the Maersk Hangzhou ship heading to the occupation entity last week, the firm said it would pause all vessels passing through the Red Sea and has since begun redirecting operations around Africa.
"The situation is constantly evolving and remains highly volatile, and all available intelligence at hand confirms that the security risk continues to be at a significantly elevated level," a company statement read. Reaffirming Sanaa's position, the armed forces declared that all navigation is safe for all vessels, and operations will only target those fitting the criteria set by Yemen. European nations are hesitant to join the US-led Prosperity Guardian coalition, in part because they do not want to be regarded as siding with Israel in Gaza.
Operational Update
IDF forces from the air, sea and land attacked more than 100 terrorist targets in the territory of the Gaza Strip, including military headquarters and sites, launching positions and buildings where terrorist infrastructure was stored alongside weapons.
An Air Force fighter jet attacked an operational headquarters of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in the area of the village of Leida in southern Lebanon. Also, the IDF attacked several areas in Lebanese territory from the morning hours with tank fire and artillery fire. In addition, a number of launches from the territory of Lebanon towards the territory of the State of Israel were detected, the IDF attacked the sources of the firing.
Fighter jets of the Air Force completed an attack in the area of Aita al-Sha'ab and Majdal Zon in the territory of Lebanon. As part of the attack, a number of terrorist infrastructures of the Hezbollah terrorist organization were destroyed, along with a position and a military site where the organization's terrorists were operating.
TSK 646 and the IDF destroy Hamas terrorist infrastructure: Amalah, a chemical laboratory for the production of weapons, shafts and anti-tank firing positions - documentation from the heart of the Towers neighborhood in Gaza. The neighborhood consists of tall buildings that dominate the area and is used as a terrorist infrastructure by the terrorist organization Hamas. The buildings in the neighborhood were used as anti-tank and anti-aircraft firing positions on our forces and rocket launchers armed and ready to fire, trapped buildings, shafts and many charges were found there. The fighters of the combat team conducted battles with an enemy located in the compound, eliminated terrorists and located and destroyed many shafts.
The fighters of the 414th collection battalion were operating in Al Buraij camp, during the operation an armed terrorist squad tried to attack a tank, the fighters started chasing the squad in a built-up area. A drone of the force followed the squad and after certain identification of the terrorists, the fighters directed an Air Force fighter jet which attacked the building where the squad was entrenched and eliminated the terrorists. In the Khan Yunis area, the fighters of the 4th Brigade Combat Team located a number of launch positions from which launches were made towards Israeli territory. The fighters destroyed the launching positions and during several clashes in the area they eliminated many terrorists.
The Al-Qassam Brigades and the resistance factions continued their heroic confrontation with the Zionist occupation forces on the incursion fronts, targeting tanks, detonating a minefield, and destroying the Zionist crowds with mortar shells. The Al-Qassam Brigades announced that its fighters were able to detonate a minefield consisting of 3 anti-personnel devices in a Zionist foot force consisting of 7 soldiers, leaving them dead and wounded in the Khuza’a area, east of the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip .
The Al-Qassam Brigades targeted a Zionist bulldozer with an “Al-Yassin 105” shell in the town of Khuza’a, east of the city of Khan Yunis. In a joint operation, the Mujahideen of the Martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades and the Al-Quds Brigades were able to target 3 Zionist Merkva tanks with “Al-Yassin 105” and “Tandum” shells in the Ma’an area in the city of Khan Yunis. Al-Qassam fighters destroyed a gathering of occupation vehicles west of the Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip with heavy-caliber mortar shells.
Military and strategic expert Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi said - in his daily analysis on Al Jazeera - that the Palestinian resistance factions in the Gaza Strip have made a “tactical change” in managing the ongoing battle between them and the Israeli occupation forces in various regions of the Strip. Al-Duwairi added that resistance fighters began to rely on what are called fixed ambushes and mobile ambushes, as well as deceptive ambushes in which the opponent is lured into the combat zone, in addition to moving the battle to the back lines.
Al-Duwairi also confirmed that the resistance factions in Gaza activated the joint operations room, meaning that coordination between them moved from the planning level to the executive level, and two small groups of fighters were brought together into one group, indicating the existence of a common language between the fighting factions and similar skills between the fighters on the ground. the earth.
The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), announced a joint operation with the Al-Quds Brigades , the military arm of the Islamic Jihad Movement, during which 3 Israeli Merkava tanks were targeted in the Ma'an area in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.
On the other hand, the videos broadcast by the resistance factions about their operations in the Crimean region north of Gaza and in the central and southern regions deny - as Al-Duwairi says - the concept of control as claimed by the occupation forces. He said that several days ago, the occupation reduced the number of forces and kept 4 brigades fighting in the eastern region of Gaza, in Al-Shuja'iya, Al-Tuffah neighborhood, Al-Daraj, and the outskirts of Jabalia.
He believed that the Israeli army's management of the battle in Gaza was unclear, because the differences within the Israeli war council were reflected in the field reality, indicating that the occupation forces were suffering from confusion, as they were between announcing a withdrawal and carrying out incursions.
Israeli warplanes and artillery renewed their bombardment on a number of villages in southern Lebanon, noting that a new type of smoke bomb was used. The Israeli-Lebanese border witnessed an escalation in the exchange of bombardments, especially between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, which raises fears of an expansion of the conflict. Israel warned that it would intensify its military action unless Hezbollah fighters withdraw from the border.
An RT correspondent reported that Israeli warplanes and artillery renewed their bombardment on a number of villages in southern Lebanon, noting that a new type of phosphorus smoke bomb was used. The Israeli army used a type of phosphorus smoke bomb that it had never used before, a number of which fell in the towns of Khiam and Kafr Kila in the eastern sector, flooding entire neighborhoods with white smoke. According to experts, one shell is equivalent to 5 shells that were previously used.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that they prefer "the political path on the northern front to the military option." During a tour in the northern region, Gallant indicated that Israel prefers the political path on the northern front over the military option, adding: “We are approaching the moment of turning the hourglass.” Galant added, "The Israeli army is directing strikes at Hezbollah and the Palestinian organizations that seek to attack Israel from Lebanon, and is achieving achievements." He stated that "the goal is clear, which is to return the residents of the north to their homes safely."
v Israeli army spokesman Avichai Adraee responded to the speech of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, claiming that the latter "knows very well that the war that Lebanon has been dragging into for three consecutive months lacks legitimacy."
For its part, the Lebanese Hezbollah announced that it had targeted the Israeli site of Barkat Risha with artillery shells and “Burkan” missiles, and the position of Israeli army soldiers in the vicinity of the Al-Dhahira site with “Burkan” missiles, confirming that direct hits had been achieved.
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech that “the Islamic resistance carried out more than 670 operations against Israel within 3 months ,” noting that “48 border sites were targeted more than once.” Nasrallah stressed that Lebanon will be exposed if the assassination of the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Saleh Al-Arouri, in the southern suburbs is kept silent, and that "a response will inevitably come."
In an interview with Israeli public broadcaster KAN, former Mossad officials voiced several alarms about the Israeli occupation's ability to handle simultaneous threats from multiple fronts, particularly in light of potential developments in Lebanon. The officials shed light on the internal challenges the country may face if another front is opened from Lebanon, emphasizing the critical need for strategic planning and preparedness.
One notable voice in the discussion was a former Mossad official who expressed uncertainty regarding the military's capacity to effectively engage on both fronts. While acknowledging the potential challenges, the official emphasized the certainty that the internal front would encounter significant obstacles in confronting the expected firepower in the event of a new front opening up from Lebanon.
Reserve Captain Nadav Haetzani, a KAN political commentator, added a unique perspective by cautioning the settlers of the northern settlement of "Manara" against returning to their homes. Haetzani cited the exposure to Hezbollah as a primary concern, advising against complacency due to the national acceptance of a situation caused by the Lebanese Resistance in the north. Despite the evacuation of numerous individuals from their homes, Haetzani stressed that this acceptance was strategic, playing according to the rules set by Hezbollah, rather than an endorsement of the situation.
A strategic reality on the Lebanese border is gradually gaining an advanced position in the considerations of the Israeli government and the security establishment, especially after the assassination of the leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) , Saleh Al-Arouri , in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. On the northern border and in the Upper Galilee region, where nearly 100,000 Israelis were evacuated from border towns and settlements, amid ongoing tension in parallel with the war on Gaza, things seem at first glance less complicated, but the security tension is on an upward trend.
Even without Israel officially acknowledging that it carried out the assassination of Al-Arouri, military analysts unanimously estimate that the intensity of tensions on the northern front is escalating in an unprecedented way since the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
According to Israeli analysts, the escalation of tension that may herald a comprehensive confrontation is not only because Hezbollah and Hamas will seek revenge for the assassination of Al-Arouri, but also because Tel Aviv finds itself in a complicated situation, which may push it to take broader military action if diplomatic efforts do not succeed in removing Hezbollah fighters. About borders.
Despite the consensus in Tel Aviv that Hezbollah has become “a deterrent and not interested in a comprehensive and widespread war,” the escalation in security tension reinforces the scenario put forward by the Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Galant , of the necessity of directing a pre-emptive strike against the party.
Estimates agree that Israel is heading toward a scenario of comprehensive war on the northern front with Lebanon, as the military establishment begins to draw lessons from the security perception regarding the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip , “that it is deterred and not interested in a comprehensive war.” But this hypothesis collapsed with the surprise attack on October 7, 2023.
The political analyst at Maariv newspaper, Ben Caspit, says that the assassination of Al-Arouri “puts Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah’s decision to enter into a comprehensive confrontation before challenges, at a sensitive time also for Israel, with the American announcement of the return of the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier to the West and the reduction of... Its military presence off the coast of Beirut, which contributes to the decline of Israeli deterrence.”
He adds, "Nasrallah is aware that his cards are still bad. Israel is prepared, reserve forces have been mobilized in the north, the population has been evacuated, and the Air Force is retaining most of its strength in the Upper Galilee. Nasrallah's game between intimidation and escalation must be resolved soon. But as for Tel Aviv, will the confrontation with Hamas turns into a multi-front war?
A position assessment by the Institute for National Security Research, affiliated with Tel Aviv University, concluded that Nasrallah’s speech and statements show that the Lebanese party has become “deterred and not interested in escalating the fighting on the northern border.” Orna Mizrahi, a researcher at the institute, says that Nasrallah “renewed his warnings to the Israeli leadership in order to deter it from waging a large-scale war when Tel Aviv threatened a harsh response, especially since the assassination of Al-Arouri in Beirut exacerbates the dilemma of Nasrallah, who is in a predicament opposite her,” in her estimation.
Mizrahi believes that the features of the escalation are revealed through the implementation of assassinations in Beirut or the military operations carried out by the Israeli army in southern Lebanon, which caused widespread damage to Hezbollah’s assets in terms of infrastructure and weapons, the assassination of many elements, and harm to the residents of the Lebanese villages from which the party’s elements originate.
Under the title, “The government has promised change in the north, and this may push Israel to take broader military action,” the military analyst for Haaretz newspaper, Amos Harel, wrote an article in which he reviewed the gradual escalation on the northern border. He pointed out that the field reality in the Upper Galilee, the failure to change the reality according to what the Israeli residents in the border towns want, and the escalating security tension on the Lebanese border, would push Tel Aviv towards launching a wide military operation and a comprehensive war with Hezbollah.
Harel adds that the Israeli government and the army pledged at an early stage of the tension on the Lebanese border “to work to change the situation, and in doing so they may have tied themselves without a choice to the military operation and the comprehensive war with Hezbollah.” It is expected that the exchange of fire between the Israeli army and Hezbollah forces will continue in its current form for several months, during which American and French action will be attempted to reach a political settlement.
But the chances of diplomacy succeeding, Harel says, "are not high, and therefore there is a possibility that after exhausting diplomatic contacts, Israel will also prepare for military action." The military analyst believes that Tel Aviv is taking the scenario of a confrontation with Hezbollah into consideration even before the assassination of Al-Arouri, as Israeli expectations estimate the possibility that the party's harsh reaction to the assassination will put both parties on the path to miscalculation and to an actual and comprehensive escalation.
In turn, Tal Lev-Ram, a military analyst in the Maariv newspaper, says that the assassination of Al-Arouri and the intensification of the raids attributed to the Israeli Air Force in Syria and the targeting of Iranian headquarters “are of course a message directed to Hassan Nasrallah that Israel is ready to raise the level of risks in the war in Lebanon.” .
He explained that perhaps for the first time since the beginning of the war on Gaza and the escalation on the northern border, Israel - following the assassination of Al-Arouri - “is the one that places the leader of Hezbollah in a major dilemma about how to respond,” saying that the assassination that occurred in the southern suburb of Beirut constitutes another stage. In the war.
Lev-Ram indicated that the Israeli security establishment also took into account the possibility of security deterioration on the Lebanese front, but it estimates that Nasrallah is likely to have quite a few interests, and therefore, in his response or military operations, he may avoid the scenario of a comprehensive and severe war with Tel Aviv. In any case, he says, “the Israeli Defense Forces are required to prepare for a military response that goes beyond the pattern followed by Hezbollah so far, in an attempt to extract a heavy price from Israel. Therefore, as happened in the past few days, which were characterized by high tensions in the north, the next war will Be more strict."
The Hermes 900 is the newest drone. It officially entered service in the Israeli army in 2017, and was used before that for the first time in its war on Gaza in 2014. During the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip in 2023-2024, the Palestinian factions announced that they shot down a drone from this model on Wednesday, January 3, 2024.
Maps
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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
Deputy Chief of Dubai Police, Dhahi Khalfan, stated that the term “two-return solution” instead of the “two-state solution” should be used as a final and just solution to the Palestinian issue. Khalfan said in a tweet on his account on the “X” platform: “I liked this new term, “the two-return solution,” not the “two-state solution.” No matter how short or long the time is, there will be no final, just, legitimate, and permanent solution to the Palestinian issue other than the two-return solution, and not the two-state solution.”
Khalfan explained: “They saw that there is no effective and eternal solution to the Palestinian issue that is compatible with international law except the two-return solution, not the two-state solution, which is represented by the return of Palestinian refugees and displaced persons to their homes and their compensation in accordance with United Nations resolutions, and the return of the Jews to their countries of origin from which they came as invaders of Palestine.” They still retain their nationalities, where there is safety, prosperity and a comfortable life.” The Deputy Chief of Dubai Police concluded by saying: “The term two-state solution should be generalized because it is logical and realistic, and the use of the two-state solution should be cancelled.”
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, stated that the Gaza Strip has become a place of death and despair, with a health catastrophe looming on the horizon. “Three months after the horrific attack on October 7, Gaza has become a place of death and despair,” Griffiths said, adding that tens of thousands of people, most of them women and children, were killed or injured, and that families were sleeping outdoors in low temperatures.
As the Deputy Secretary-General noted, areas where civilians were ordered to move for their safety were bombed. "Medical facilities are under constant attack. The few hospitals that are partially functioning are overwhelmed with infected patients and severely lacking all necessary supplies," Griffiths said. “A public health catastrophe is looming, ” the Deputy Secretary-General noted . “Infectious diseases are spreading in overcrowded shelters due to overflowing sewage. About 180 Palestinian women are giving birth every day amid this chaos. People are facing the highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded. Famine is not far".
Griffiths stressed, " The Gaza Strip has simply become uninhabitable. Its residents face a daily threat to their existence - and the world is watching. It is time for the parties to fulfill all their obligations under international law, including protecting civilians, meeting their basic needs, and releasing all hostages immediately." The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs stressed that "the time has come for the international community to use all its influence to achieve this."
Earlier, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres confirmed that Israel's military operations obstruct the arrival of aid to the Gaza Strip, indicating that what is happening there is unprecedented, "and the war must stop in order to deliver aid."
David Hirst, editor-in-chief of the British Middle East Eye website, said that the request submitted to the International Court of Justice, in which South Africa accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza , is devoid of any rhetorical or biased nature. He added - in his article - that the 84-page document was carefully drafted by international experts in the field of genocide, and is full of supporting evidence and carefully discussed from a legal standpoint.
The International Court of Justice has agreed to hold a hearing next week to discuss South Africa's request for an urgent ruling. Hirst emphasized in his article that the fate of international justice depends on this issue.
He continued that the South African document presents a large number of evidence of deliberate acts of genocide in Gaza, and divided it into seven main categories: the volume of killing operations, whose victims exceeded 22 thousand martyrs, 70% of whom were women and children, and the cruel and inhuman treatment of large numbers of civilians, including Among them are children who were arrested, blindfolded, and forced to take off their clothes and stay outside in cold weather before being transported to unknown locations.
This is in addition to the continuous retreat from security promises, in light of Israel’s bombing of the areas to which residents were advised in leaflets to flee. In addition to this, there is the deprivation of access to food and water, adequate shelter, clothing, and hygiene, as well as the destruction of health services infrastructure, and the demolition of cities, residential buildings, schools, universities, and the entire infrastructure.
This is in addition to statements by Israeli officials of genocidal intent against the Palestinian people, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s references to the biblical story of the complete destruction of the Amalekites at the hands of the Israelis, President Isaac Herzog’s statement that “the entire nation of Gaza is responsible,” and Defense Minister Yoav Galant’s assertion That Israel is fighting "human animals."
Hirst pointed out that Giora Eiland, the former head of the Israeli National Security Council and a government advisor, was particularly prominent in expressing what Israel is doing, as he said, “We have cut off the supply of energy, water and fuel to the Strip, but that is not enough. In order to make the blockade more effective, we must To prevent others from providing assistance to Gaza, the people must be told that they have two choices: either stay and starve, or leave.”
The writer explained that the importance of South Africa's lawsuit is that it relates to a genocide that occurs directly every day and will continue if no external force intervenes. In addition, the request was made by South Africa, which suffered from the apartheid regime and proved that the struggle for liberation against this very powerful authoritarian regime could succeed.
Hirst said that Israel responded to South Africa's move by absurdly accusing it of collusion with the Islamic Resistance Movement " Hamas ," an allegation for which there is no evidence. The writer pointed out that Israel's main supporters called for South Africa's move to be rejected, even before it was heard in The Hague.
John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, called the South Africa case “worthless, counterproductive, and with absolutely no basis in reality.” Boris Johnson, the former British prime minister, also separately condemned the Metropolitan Police's investigation into Israeli war crimes, complaining of the "worrying politicization" of the police force. The writer explained that there is no need for a law degree to understand what is going on, as one can get an idea about the daily production of hate speech in Israel by watching and listening to videos of soldiers, singers, artists, and politicians.
They represent - the writer adds - what the mainstream in Israel believes is support for genocide, and they are proud of their racism, joke about it, and make no effort to hide it. Hirst said that history does not support the policy of targeting resistance leaders for assassination, as the killing of the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Saleh Al-Arouri, in Beirut is compared to the Mossad’s pursuit of the planners of the Munich Olympics incident in 1972. But the targeted assassination of Palestinian leaders is not a new matter, nor has it clearly succeeded.
The writer reported that, nearly two decades ago, Israel targeted the founder of the movement, Ahmed Yassin , who suffered from quadriplegia and sat in a wheelchair, with missiles fired from a helicopter, while he was being transported to the mosque to perform the dawn prayer. Only two years after his killing, Hamas won the first free elections held in Palestine in many years. Today, it has become larger, stronger, and more popular at the political and military levels than it was before.
He continued that the assassination of Hamas leaders will only encourage a new generation of resistance leaders to move forward, with each generation stronger than the previous one. By targeting them, Israel is targeting people with whom it must one day negotiate.
Hirst quoted Peter Hain, the South African-born former British Minister for the Middle East, as saying that peace talks are the only way forward for Israel and its allies. “I write this from Cape Town, where South Africans of all races and creeds despise what they see as a profound double standard by leaders of the Global North, who want to support self-determination for Ukraine, but are complicit in denying Palestinian self-determination,” Hein wrote in The Guardian. "Responsible for the terror in Gaza."
"The geopolitical rift with the Global South is deepening, and will cost Washington, London and Brussels dearly in an increasingly turbulent world," Haine continued.
Axis of Resistance
The time and location of reaction to the recent tragic terrorist attack in Iran’s Kerman will be determined by the Iranian Armed Forces, President Ebrahim Raisi said on Friday. Addressing the funeral of 89 people that died in a terrorist attack in the southern city of Kerman on January 3, President Raisi said people constitute the Islamic Republic’s “most important component of power”. The president noted that the enemies have already observed and experienced the magnitude of Iran’s power. Regarding Iran’s revenge for the heinous terrorist attack in Kerman, Raisi gave an assurance that “the Iranian Armed Forces take the initiative and will determine the time and location” of the reaction.
Head of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) , Ismail Haniyeh, called on US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to focus during his visit to the region on ending the aggression against Gaza on the way to ending the occupation. In a speech addressed to Blinken, Haniyeh said, “We hope that Blinken has drawn lessons from the past three months and realized Washington’s mistakes in its support of the occupation.”
The head of Hamas's political bureau added, "We hope that the officials of the Arab and Islamic countries" that will meet with Blinken will confirm to Washington that "the stability of our region is linked to the Palestinian issue." Haniyeh said, "Thousands of massacres and terrible destruction cannot achieve security or stability unless our people obtain their freedom and their independent, fully sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital."
Blinken arrived in Istanbul, his first stop on a tour in the region centered on the war in Gaza. In addition to Turkey and Greece, Blinken will visit Jordan, Qatar, the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, as well as Israel and the West Bank, as part of this fourth tour in the region since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza . Commenting on this visit, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, “It is not in anyone’s interest, neither Israel, nor the region, nor the world, for this conflict to extend beyond Gaza,” adding that Blinken will discuss steps to avoid escalation, which he did not specify. "We don't expect every conversation on this trip to be easy," Miller told reporters yesterday.
Telegraph newspaper editor Paul Nockey wondered whether the leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah , would unleash a barrage of missiles on Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Saleh Al-Arouri, deputy head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), in the southern suburb of Beirut on Tuesday evening, or whether he would wait.
He presented several questions: What about the two explosions that tore apart a crowd of people in the Iranian city of Kerman yesterday, Wednesday, which killed more than 100 civilians near the grave of the former commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard , Qassem Soleimani ? Will this also be attributed to Israel? And if so, could Iran ask Hezbollah to launch a major attack on Israel?
The writer pointed out that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei did not name Israel in his response to yesterday Wednesday’s bombing. But he pledged a "harsh response." He added that if Iran intended the response to be directed at Israel and to come from Hezbollah, this was not clear in Nasrallah's cautious speech that the world heard yesterday evening.
He also adopted a “nothing to do with us” approach after the October 7 attack on Israel, telling the world that Hamas had acted independently and without warning; He backed down again and described the raid on Beirut as “a major and dangerous crime that we cannot remain silent about,” but he did not make any explicit threats, saying only that if Israel launched a war on Lebanon, it would “regret it” and that Hezbollah would fight “until the end.”
Noki hinted that Iran had been maneuvering since the October 7 attack to distance itself from the attack. It fears - perhaps rightly so - that some in Israel might want to drag the United States into an all-out regional war, and does not want to give it any other excuse to do so. It is also concerned that Israel may have already determined that Hezbollah - its trump card - will be wasted. For this reason, Israeli analysts expected a "thoughtful" response from Nasrallah before his speech.
The writer believes that Hezbollah's response is still expected, but it is likely to be a limited strike on a military target. And possibly the killing of an Israeli army group, which would fit within the accepted boundaries that are now considered normal on Israel's northern front. On the other hand, the missile attack on Tel Aviv and the killing of civilians may precipitate a sweeping Israeli attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
He added that any Israeli attack on Hezbollah, and perhaps even Iran, also has a military logic, which is that the Israeli cities in the north have already been evacuated, the fighting in Gaza is slowing down, and the United States has a naval force in the region that can be exploited to provide assistance if necessary. The logic is, “Why live with Hezbollah with a sword drawn over your head when you can go ahead and bomb it in its own backyard,” as some in the Israeli government say.
However, the writer believes that even if Nasrallah and his Iranian supporters prefer caution, there is a great danger that some of his fighters will act alone, or that the boring daily exchange will deviate and quickly escalate into an all-out war. He concluded his article by saying that Nasrallah knows that Israel is losing international support as the memory of the October 7 attack fades, and he can also see the rift in Israeli society and Israeli politics. If he can contain his fighters, he will wait to strike Israel at the weakest possible moment. For the same reason, Israel may decide to eliminate Hezbollah now.
The National Gathering of Palestinian Tribes, Clans and Families in the Gaza Strip confirmed the Palestinian people’s rally behind the resistance and their rejection of the occupation’s projects regarding the management of the Gaza Strip, stressing that this matter is an internal Palestinian matter. The group said in a statement: “The Palestinian tribes, clans and families followed the talk of some occupation leaders about the tribes taking over the management of civil life in Gaza. This is ridiculous talk that only those within the orbit of the occupation and its henchmen will deal with, and it is completely rejected.”
The gathering's statement stressed that the Palestinian tribes, clans and families will only be a safety valve for the Palestinian people and their valiant resistance. The tribes affirmed their rejection of all Zionist occupation projects regarding the administration of Gaza because the administration of Gaza is a Palestinian matter that is discussed at the national table, adding: “We call on the masses of our steadfast people, Al-Murabit, notables, mukhtars, and notables of Gaza to continue to protect the back of the resistance and secure the internal front.”
The rally’s statement added: “We direct revolutionary salutes to our proud resistance and declare our complete and absolute support for the Palestinian resistance, which led the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood with all skill and ability and made a strategic shift at the level of the Palestinian cause, but on a global level.”
It concluded by saying: “We assure all those who bet on the displacement of our people that we will not leave this land, no matter how great the sacrifices are, and that every price we offer for the sake of Palestine is cheap for the sake of this holy land, and we call on the resistance to strike the occupation forcefully everywhere until it submits to the conditions of our people and leaves Gaza humiliated and submissive. It carries the tails of defeat and disgrace.”
Allied for Democracy
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted senior ministers in the Israeli government as saying that the war cabinet will not last long, and that there is an attempt to hold the security establishment responsible for the failure on October 7. The Commission also quoted Israeli ministers as saying that the attack on the Chief of Staff was planned in coordination with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu .
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized the recent cabinet session, describing it as a new, unprecedented decline, saying that ministers are trying to insult Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing nothing, adding that this is not a government but a “national disaster.”
Lapid said that Israel has a powerful army and a weak, miserable government, against the backdrop of the conflict occurring between members of the mini-ministerial council due to the formation of a team to investigate the October 7 attack. Lapid added that National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir , who supports terrorism and did not serve in the army, is attacking Saul Mofaz, the worthy leader and hero in Israel, according to him.
In turn, Benny Gantz , a member of the Israeli War Council , said that the attack on the Chief of Staff in the Council of Ministers was politically motivated, and the Prime Minister must choose unity and security or politics. For its part, the Likud Party said that it expects Gantz to stop looking for excuses to break his promise not to withdraw from the emergency government until the war ends. Israeli Army Radio also quoted Minister Itamar Ben Gvir as saying, “Even in the ministerial council, Gantz continues on the path to failure.”
The Israeli "Wala" website had said that the meeting of the Israeli mini-ministerial council ended after sharp disagreements between the Chief of Staff and a number of ministers, due to the formation of a team to investigate the events of October 7, which prompted Netanyahu to break up the meeting that was scheduled to discuss some stage. After the war.
Israeli Channel 12 revealed that a dispute broke out between Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant , against the backdrop of Netanyahu preventing the heads of the Mossad intelligence service, David Barnea, and the Shin Bet internal security service , Ronen Bar, from attending a war cabinet session. The channel explained that Gallant told Netanyahu that preventing such meetings would harm Israel's security, while Netanyahu and Gallant denied the existence of such differences, and stressed that they were working together to achieve victory in the war.
The website added that ministers in the mini-council attacked the Chief of Staff because of the appointment of Shaul Mofaz - who supervised the implementation of the unilateral withdrawal plan from Gaza in 2005 - to head the investigation team. The investigation team includes a number of former security officials, including Mofaz, in addition to the former head of the Military Intelligence Division, Zeevi Farkash, and the former commander of the Southern Army Command, Sami Turgeman.
For its part, Israeli Radio reported that military officials left the small council meeting after the ministers attacked the Chief of Staff. The Israeli Army Chief of Staff had decided to form a security team to begin conducting an investigation into the failures of the October 7 events, in their security, military and intelligence aspects. Israeli media said that the investigations will also include the conduct of military operations during the war on Gaza.
Netanyahu did not admit to any personal negligence, unlike some senior officials, and spoke only generally about the need to hold accountable all decision-makers involved in setting the policy adopted by Israel towards Gaza, including those who preceded his long term in office. Two far-right ministers in the Israeli government expressed their annoyance at the inclusion of Shaul Mofaz in the military investigation committee. The two ministers, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accused another former general helping in the investigation of weakening the army by supporting reservists who protested Netanyahu’s judicial changes last year. “These are the people who should be investigated, not included in the investigation committee,” Ben Gvir said in a post on social media.
Also in a post on social media, Smotrich said that he did not oppose the military investigation aimed at improving military performance, but he added that any investigation into the reasons that led to the events of October 7, and into security practices in general, requires the contribution of the Council of Ministers.
The opposition expressed by broad circles in the Israeli government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu to Shaul Mofaz, Minister of Security and former Chief of Staff of the Army, heading a committee to investigate the failure to repel the sudden attack by the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), reflected the concerns of the political level that the recommendations would lead to the dismantling of the government even during the war on Gaza.
These opposition voices carried within them many messages, including accusing Mofaz of evacuating settlements from the Gaza Strip , and that he was a partner in formulating the security perception towards Hamas, criticizing him for his positions questioning the feasibility and effectiveness of the war on Gaza and the ground incursion, and calling for the conclusion of a comprehensive exchange deal.
Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy decided to begin the process of investigating the war on Gaza, including the conduct of military operations, the ground incursion into the besieged Strip, and the failure to prevent the events of October 7, 2023. The investigation team includes Shaul Mofaz - who supervised the plan to disengage from Gaza in 2005 - the former head of the Military Intelligence Division, Major General in the Reserve Aharon Zeevi, and the former commander of the Southern Command of the Israeli army, Major General in the Reserve Sami Turgeman.
Mofaz - who served as Minister of Security during the disengagement plan - told Israeli Channel 12 following Hamas' surprise attack on the " Gaza Envelope " settlements and the western Negev that he "bears responsibility for the disengagement." He pointed out that he was proud of this step, saying, "If the settlers had continued to remain in the Gaza Strip near the claws of these predatory animals, there would have been armed operations against Hamas," as he put it.
An investigation committee headed by Mofaz will be launched in conjunction with the current examination mechanism of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, led by Major General Moti Baruch, to investigate the events of military operations in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army says that there is no connection between the procedures that will be launched in The Hague and the external investigation team, according to what was reported by the website of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
The investigation team headed by Mofaz is supposed to submit an interim report in the coming months, and the start of the investigation, according to Yoav Zeitoun, the military correspondent for the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, may lead to “demanding some ministers to also initiate the establishment of an official investigation committee, which will shorten the path to accountability or resignation among senior officials.” Government officials."
Zaitoun said that the reasons for opposing the appointment of an investigation committee headed by Mofaz are political among the government coalition parties, which fear that this will pave the way for the rapid establishment of an official investigation committee and hold its leaders and the government responsible for failing to prevent the attack and not listening to the assessments of the military level, which warned of a scenario of a surprise attack planned by Hamas.
In an indication that reflects the opposition expressed by ministers from the far-right camp to this committee, the military correspondent indicated that Halevy made it clear in conversations with security officials that he intends to conduct a professional investigation to examine the army’s behavior in the war to improve its performance, and that the examination will include the extent of the army’s and military leadership’s readiness, and will not include The political and governmental levels.
Regarding the government, political analyst Akiva Eldar believes that the attack on the Chief of Staff during the cabinet session by right-wing and Likud ministers against the backdrop of the formation of an investigation committee in the army to examine the failure, failure, and conduct of the war would not have been carried out without a green light from Netanyahu.
In his intervier with Al Jazeera Net, Eldar reviewed the reasons for opposition among broad circles in the Israeli government to establishing an investigation committee within the army, saying that this serves as a prelude that paves the way for accelerating procedures to establish an official investigation committee even before the end of the war, and it is the committee that poses a threat to the far-right government coalition.
As for the opposition of ministers on the extreme right to appointing Mofaz as head of the investigation team, it is due to political reasons, as his return to the Israeli political scene is considered a slap to the Netanyahu government, which sees Mofaz and the traditional right as a political threat, Eldar added.
The political analyst pointed out that Mofaz is still convinced that what the government did at the time was correct, and that he strongly opposed the Netanyahu government’s decision to cancel the disengagement in the northern West Bank , in addition to that he and the movement he represents in the right-wing camp support moving towards a political process with The Palestinians the next day after the war.
In turn, Israeli Channel 14 criticized the appointment of Mofaz as an investigator into the failure of last October 7. The channel - affiliated with the extreme right and settler camp - reviewed the reasons for its rejection, saying that it was an opponent of the Netanyahu government launching the war on Gaza. It added that Mofaz expressed his reservations about the ground incursion and doubted the possibility of the war achieving its declared goals, as he called for a comprehensive exchange deal and the emptying of Palestinian prisoners from prisons in exchange for the liberation of all Israeli detainees, including military personnel.
According to the channel’s political affairs department, Mofaz is considered the godfather of the disengagement plan and unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, where he was Minister of Security, and it was claimed that he bears responsibility for what Israel reached with the Gaza Strip with the sudden attack, and therefore he cannot be objective in the recommendations that the investigation committee headed by him will reach.
In turn, Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir responded to the appointment of Mofaz with a tweet on the “X” platform in which he said, “The appointment of Mofaz is one of the central figures - who prepared the disengagement plan - and a political figure, and an essential partner in the security perception that brought us to this point in the investigation team.” The events of October 7 are a sin and atonement for the crime.”
He added, "The investigation must also include the issue of the historical bloodshed to evacuate settlers from the Gaza Strip, and certainly the failure to appoint its engineers to examine the failure that resulted from their actions. The same applies to Aharon Zeevi, who supported the disengagement that was the catalyst for the events of October 7," he added.
Arab experts and analysts believe that the differences between politicians and the military in Israel pose a threat to the Israeli military performance in the war on the Gaza Strip , and serve the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, which seeks to turn Israeli society against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli Channel 12 revealed earlier that a dispute had broken out between the Prime Minister and Defense Minister Yoav Galant , against the backdrop of Netanyahu preventing the heads of the Mossad intelligence service, David Barnea, and the Shin Bet , Ronen Bar, from attending a war cabinet session.
The researcher specializing in Israeli affairs, Adel Shadid, pointed out the collapse of trust between the components and factions of the political system in Israel, including within the representatives of the Likud Party in the government, as the crisis is no longer between the Prime Minister and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy, but rather between Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant, who belongs to For the Likud Party.
The most dangerous thing is that the collapse of trust - adds Adel Shadid - has taken on institutional dimensions, as there is almost a lack of trust between the political level represented by the government and Netanyahu’s partners, specifically the group of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and the hard-right base - also - in the Likud Party, and so on. Between the army institution, which Israel has been keen since its establishment to remain outside of all political tensions, to the point that the army was described in the 1970s and 1980s as a “sacred cow” because it was forbidden to criticize it.
The researcher specializing in Israeli affairs - who was speaking during the daily analytical session on Al Jazeera channel “Gaza...what next?” - said that there is a conviction among the Israeli military elite that Netanyahu has been carrying out - since the beginning of the current war in the Gaza Strip - a broad campaign of incitement against the army. And security, and they are responsible for the major failure on October 7, 2023 and its aftermath.
From the point of view of the military and strategic expert, Brigadier General Elias Hanna, what is happening in Israel today is that the political dimension affects the military dimension, and that the Al-Aqsa Flood operation “brought down a very large security system, and even security, intelligence and strategic convictions, and this matter was covered by the war on Gaza.”
He said, “The tactical level reflected the internal disputes in Israel at the strategic level,” highlighting that the political government set major goals, or maximum goals, represented in: “Destroying the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), destroying infrastructure, and creating an environment in the Gaza Strip for a period after Hamas.” He added that the battle on the field demonstrated the incompatibility of the military and the political, stressing that the political division poses a threat to the military performance of the Israelis in their war on Gaza.
The writer and political analyst, Hossam Al-Dajani, spoke about the position of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza regarding internal divisions in Israel, and said that it monitors everything large and small and works to strengthen these differences, and that the media materials that the resistance broadcasts regarding its Israeli detainees aim to reinforce the idea that there will be a societal movement. Inside Israel against the Netanyahu government.
He said that the letter from the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh , to the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken , comes from the aim of strengthening the American position, stressing that the resistance believes that Benny Gantz - a member of the Israeli War Council - is more closely linked to the US administration, and then working to disintegrate it. The ruling coalition running the war in Gaza. In a speech he addressed to Blinken, who was visiting the region, Haniyeh said: “We hope that Blinken has drawn lessons from the past three months and realized Washington’s mistakes in its support of the occupation.”
Time magazine published an article by two people interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in which they criticized and analyzed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s handling of the repercussions of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) attack on October 7. The authors of the article - David Halperin, CEO of the Israel Policy Forum, and his colleague Michael Koplow, the forum's policy officer - stated that Netanyahu has been declaring in recent weeks his rejection of the establishment of a Palestinian state and for the Palestinian Authority to have a role in the Gaza Strip . It also refuses to transfer all tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority, and does not allow Palestinians from the West Bank who hold work permits to resume work in Israel.
In an article in the Wall Street Journal on December 25, Netanyahu put forward three “undefined” preconditions for peace, namely the elimination of the Hamas movement; the demilitarization of Gaza; and the eradication of “extremism” from Palestinian society. But he failed - according to The article - in presenting any vision of how to mobilize international or regional support to achieve its goals.
He appears to be focused on limiting the repercussions of the Hamas attack and the subsequent Israeli aggression on Gaza. It appears that the Hamas attack and the new situation it has provoked in the Gaza Strip have provided new opportunities that Israel has been looking for for a long time, according to Halperin and Koplow.
Israel has always sought international support, which has been eluded on some issues. “It has warned for years of the consequences of Iran providing aid to Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah ,” and of the Palestinian Authority paying money to martyrs and prisoners. The two writers praised the “clear success” achieved by the Abraham Normalization Agreements with Arab countries, while Israel seemed “frustrated” because its complaints about the Iranian axis, and the “incitement” against Israel included in the school curricula drawn up by the Palestinian Authority, did not find many deaf ears.
However, the two writers believe that Netanyahu's continued refusal to discuss a political horizon for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and his successive "enthusiastic" speeches and statements against the Palestinian Authority make it difficult, if not impossible, to obtain international support for these issues. Halperin and Koplow expressed their understanding of US President Joe Biden's growing frustration, and advise him of the need to increase pressure on Netanyahu and his government to adopt a more flexible vision of the opportunities available at the present time, and not focus only on the risks.
They stressed that the United States should not waste time holding donor forums or conferences for the reconstruction of Gaza until Netanyahu sets an effective political vision for the post-war period that is consistent with the priorities of countries in the region. Otherwise, Washington's efforts will be in vain. While this situation will lead to more friction between the United States and Israel, there is significant political support from both the Democratic and Republican parties in America for efforts aimed at “real reform” of the Palestinian Authority, and expanding the scope of the normalization process in the region.
Advisor to the US Department of Education, Tariq Habash , said in his resignation letter published by NBC News: “I cannot continue to remain silent while this administration turns a blind eye to the atrocities being committed against innocent Palestinians during the genocidal campaign waged by the Zionist entity as described.” Prominent experts in the field of human rights ...that is why I must resign.” Habash added, “The United States failed to convince the occupying entity to stop using collective punishment methods against the Palestinians.” Habash's resignation comes more than two months after the resignation of a senior official in the US State Department, in protest against President Joe Biden 's decision to supply the occupying entity with weapons, in light of the operations of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip.
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 22,600 martyrs, and the killing of nearly 10,000 Palestinian children and 6,600 women killed. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The number wounded was 57,910. 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 spokesman for the HAMAS Ministry of Health in Gaza, Ashraf Al-Qudra, stated that 326 health personnel were martyred in the Israeli aggression, and 104 ambulances were destroyed and taken out of service. He confirmed that the occupation deliberately targeted 150 health institutions and put 30 hospitals out of service, in addition to continuing to arrest 99 health personnel in inhumane conditions.
Lebanese Hezbollah announced the killing of one of its members in southern Lebanon during confrontations with Israeli forces, bringing the party's death toll to 134 since last October 8. The statement said, "With greater pride and honor, the Islamic Resistance mourns the martyr, the Mujahid, Ali Ahmed Saad Jibril, from the city of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, who rose as a martyr on the road to Jerusalem," according to the official Lebanese News Agency.
The Israeli bombing led to the killing of a number of civilians, and 3 journalists.
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 officially announced number of deaths among the Israeli army since the start of the ground incursion on October 27th to 177, and 509 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.
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.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that 29 of the army's deaths were caused by "friendly fire" and operational incidents since the start of the ground war in Gaza, late last October. The Israeli authority explained that "18 army soldiers were killed by friendly fire, two were killed as a result of gunfire (without explanation), and 9 Israeli soldiers were killed in ammunition, weapons, or run-over accidents." The Jerusalem Post newspaper revealed that 15 soldiers were killed in the Strip without their bodies being found.
The Israeli army reported that 2,324 soldiers - including 355 seriously injured - have been injured since the beginning of the war on Gaza, including earlier reports of 576 moderate, and 1,161 minor. The number of wounded since the start of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip on October 27 had risen to 1,020.
At least 12,387 Israelis were injured, according to i24 TV.
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
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' Club revealed on Wednesday that about 11,000 arrests were carried out by the Israeli occupation army during the year 2023 in the West Bank , including occupied Jerusalem , in addition to arrests from the Gaza Strip before the seventh of last October. The Prisoners' Club explained that arrests after the 7th of October amounted to more than 5,660, in contrast to the detainees in Gaza after the 7th of the same month. The Prisoners' Club stated that cases of arrest among women amounted to (300), and this toll includes women from the occupied interior detained after October 7, while the number of cases of children reached 1,085.
Israel said that, since the beginning of the war, approximately 2,570 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.
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