Operation Iron Swords - Day 98 - 12 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 |
Houthi official Abdulsalam Jahaf promised that the Ansar Allah movement "will set the whole of the Middle East on fire" in retaliation against the strikes.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in turn, said that the joint strikes were "intended to disrupt and degrade the Houthis’ capabilities to endanger mariners and threaten global trade."
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, for his part, said that his country "will always stand up for freedom of navigation and the free flow of trade" and that the UK has therefore "taken limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defense." This came as a joint statement by 10 governments said that they would "not hesitate to defend lives and protect the free flow of commerce in one of the world's most critical waterways".
"The Houthis' more than two dozen attacks on commercial vessels since mid-November constitute an international challenge. Today's action demonstrated a shared commitment to freedom of navigation, international commerce, and defending the lives of mariners from illegal and unjustifiable attacks," the statement added as Denmark, Germany, New Zealand and South Korea added their names to the six nations that took part in the joint strikes.
The British and the US forces carried out air strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, in retaliation for the militants’ attacks against ships in the Red Sea that has been ongoing since November 2023. US Air Force Central Commander Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich told reporters that American and coalition forces hit more than 60 targets at 16 Houthi militant locations in northern Yemen. The locations included the capital Sanaa, the Houthi Red Sea port of Hudaydah in the Dhamar governorate and the north-western Houthi stronghold of Saada. According to Grynkewich, over 100 precision-guided munitions were used in the strikes that targeted the Houthis’ command and control nodes, munitions depots, launching systems, production facilities and air defense radar systems.
CNN cited unnamed US military officials as saying that the strikes on the Houthis' positions were carried out from aircraft, ships and submarines. According to the officials, the USS Florida, a guided-missile submarine that crossed into the Red Sea on November 23, was part of the attack, firing the Tomahawk cruise missiles on Houthi targets. US F/A-18 Super Hornet multirole fighter aircraft operating from the US aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower took part in the attack. The UK apparently used several Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft that dropped Paveway IV laser-guided bombs.
Houthi leader Mohammed al-Bukhaiti tweeted that "America and Britain made a mistake in launching the war on Yemen because they did not benefit from their previous experiences." He added "Every individual in this world is faced with two choices. Either to stand with the victims of genocide or to stand with its perpetrators".
The Ansar Allah Houthi group in Yemen pledged to respond to the American-British attacks that targeted a number of its sites, causing deaths and injuries. While European countries supported the attacks, Russia criticized them and called for the Security Council to convene, and Arab countries expressed their concern about the current developments.
The spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced "The American-British enemy has perpetrated a heinous attack on the Republic of Yemen, as an extension to its continued support for Israeli crimes in Gaza, with seventy-three airstrikes targeting the capital Sanaa, and the provinces of Hodeidah, Taiz, Hajjah, and Saada". Saree announced. "These airstrikes resulted in the martyrdom of five individuals and the injury of six others from the ranks of our armed forces," he added. "The American and British enemies bear full responsibility for their criminal aggression against the Yemeni people, and it will not slide without retaliation and punishment. The Yemeni Armed Forces will not hesitate to target sources of threat and all hostile targets on land and sea, defending Yemen, its sovereignty, and independence." For former Israeli Intelligence Official and regional analyst Avi Melamed, the attack on the Houthis challenges the Iranian regime’s hegemonic aspirations while challenging both the regime’s long-term assumptions that have driven its strategies and tactics.
“The attack on the Houthis challenges the Iranian regime’s hegemonic aspirations while challenging both the regime’s long-term assumptions that have driven its strategies and tactics.
"Until last night, Iran’s hegemonic vision and its use of proxies throughout the region was based on the assumption that the United States and its allies would not use proactive force to deter Iran or its proxies. Last night’s proved otherwise sending a strong message not only to Tehran – but all of its partners as well – that the U.S. is resolved to proactively attack those that actively challenge its interests.
"Within the context of how Tehran is pulling the strings surrounding the war in Gaza- the Houthis are an integral, if not the most integral, component of the Iranian tactic to use its proxies to manipulate the U.S. to pressure Israel to halt its progress in Gaza. The last three months have clearly shown that Hezbollah – Iran’s largest proxy – is not interested in engaging Israel in a full-scale war at this time and the Iraqi militias are limited in what they can effectuate against Israel or the U.S.
"While until last night the major question reverberating throughout the region was focused on whether the U.S. would meaningfully defend its interests, today that question focuses on Tehran- will Tehran escalate and order its proxies to ramp up their efforts against Israel and the U.S., or will it protect those proxies by de-escalating at the cost of Hamas and PIJ in Gaza?”
The International Court of Justice adjourned its session, today, Friday, after hearing the Israeli legal team in the case of committing genocide in Gaza, while South Africa, the plaintiff, said that Tel Aviv failed to respond to the evidence presented. The court is expected to issue a ruling this month on a possible urgent decision ordering Israel to stop the war, but it will not quickly rule on genocide charges because this issue may take years.
Operational Update
Ayman Yousef, professor of political sciences and international relations at the Arab-American University in Palestine, said the United States and the UK “do not want Israel to be involved in this kind of confrontation” due to how sensitive the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip is to people in many Arab countries, so Washington and London resorted to attacking Yemen and the Houthis themselves. The professor also argued that the US and Britain want to “show their leadership over the world and their ability to strike and to confront any threat not only in Europe and in the Atlantic, but also in the Middle East.”
“I don't think the current strike will spill over to more direct confrontation between al-Houthis in Yemen and the US and the UK. It is still limited. It is still within a control,” he added. “We have to wait. We have to wait a bit and see if the confrontation will really have more implications for Iran, more implications for the current war in Gaza and for other actors in the region.”
While many Muslim countries merely condemned Israel for its invasion of the Gaza Strip, the Houthis had actually taken action against Israeli interests and are now “paying the price” for it, which the Yemeni movement will now wear with pride, according to Shahram Akbarzadeh, expert in the Middle Eastern politics at Deakin University. “The US action has confirmed the worldview that Washington is bent on protecting Israel and has no regard for Muslims,” Akbarzadeh remarked, adding that the US move “will reinforce the notion that Muslims are under siege and have no recourse to justice.”
The legal arguments about freedom of navigation at sea will be lost in the fog of war. The impression that will remain is that Muslims are at war with the West. This impression maybe simplistic and factually incorrect, but nonetheless potent and emotive,” he argued.
As for how this emerging crisis might unfold, Akbarzadeh suggested that the Houthis will surely “double down on their campaign in the Red Sea” while “Hezbollah and other anti-US paramilitary groups in the region are likely to see this escalation as a signals to strike US targets, which by definition would include soft targets outside the region.”
His sentiment was echoed by Yemeni political analyst Mohammad al-Qaidi who told Sputnik Arabic that Yemen’s response to this “US aggression” will not be limited to the Red Sea, with all US military installations in the region now becoming legitimate targets for the Houthis.
US President Joe Biden's announcement of launching air strikes on a number of sites used by the Houthis in Yemen did not come as a surprise to many experts and commentators who Al Jazeera Net spoke to. These experts said that Washington launched these attacks in particular after the publication of a study yesterday, Thursday, by the Congressional Research Service, which is the research body that provides members of the House of Representatives and the Senate with documented research, which stated that “in response to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, the US Navy placed multiple warships to intercept Those attacks formed the “ Guardian of Prosperity ” coalition, a multinational coalition to protect freedom of navigation in the Red Sea region.
On January 3, the White House, along with several Washington partners, issued an official warning to the Houthi group, stating that the Houthis “will bear responsibility for the consequences if they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and the free flow of trade in the region’s vital waterways”. The study noted that "attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen on commercial ships crossing the Bab al-Mandab Strait have prompted many major shipping companies to suspend or redirect shipments at great cost." To confront the threats posed by the Houthis, the United States is said to be considering different military options.
Some members of Congress, led by Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee Michael McCaul, called on the US administration to reclassify the Houthi group as a “terrorist group,” as US President Joe Biden had previously removed the group from the “list” days after the start of his rule in January 2021. State Department for Terrorist Groups,” which was placed there by the administration of former President Donald Trump , and the Biden administration is currently examining the possibility of putting the Houthis back on the list.
In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, the director of the Gulf States Studies Foundation, Giorgio Cafiero, considered that Washington’s directing of military strikes against Houthi targets on the ground in Yemen “is part of the administration’s efforts to deter the group from launching further operations in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, while showing that Washington is committed.” “By providing Israel with strong support amid its war on the Gaza Strip, which has many ripple effects throughout the greater Middle East.” Cafiero pointed to the many risks "that the Biden administration will have to bear," and said, "There is absolutely no guarantee that this will deter the Houthis, and may even lead to more subversive behavior on their part."
"It is important to see whether the Houthis will target Gulf Cooperation Council countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in their retaliation," he added. Cafiero explained, "The risk of this happening is a major reason why the capitals of the Arab Gulf warned the Biden team against launching military strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. It will also be important to see how such American strikes could affect Saudi-Iranian and Emirati-Iranian relations, amid "This is a period of détente between these countries."
Ned Lazarus, a lecturer specializing in international affairs at George Washington University, also indicated, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that one of the risks that the Biden administration fears after launching attacks on the Houthis “is that Washington will actually be drawn into a broader regional war, which is something the administration seeks to avoid.” “By keeping its military responses proportionate, after a series of attacks on US forces and interests by the Houthis and Iranian-sponsored militias in Iraq.”
Charles Dunn, a former official at the White House and the US State Department and currently an expert at the Arab Institute in Washington and a lecturer at George Washington University, spoke about the dilemma of not attacking the Houthis and attacking them. Dunn told Al Jazeera Net, "It's a devil's choice. Houthi attacks on navigation in the Red Sea may escalate if the United States does not attack them, but it is likely that the matter will escalate and attacks on shipping lines will also increase after they are attacked, and there is a risk of escalation to a broader war." "It is not necessarily limited to the Red Sea."
For his part, academic Lazarus added, “Since coming to power, the administration of President Joe Biden has constantly sought to calm the multilateral and long-term war in Yemen, between the Houthis, the internationally recognized Yemeni government, the Saudi-led coalition, and other parties, so there is another danger that it will lead to "These attacks could lead to new hostilities that would undo the progress that has been made on this front."
On the other hand, Lazarus accused Iran of providing essential technical support to the Houthis in their recent attacks on international ships, and said, "This certainly represents an escalation in tensions between Iran and the United States, which could lead to mutual retaliation in other parts of the region as well."
The ongoing Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, the renewed disturbances of US forces in Syria and Iraq, in addition to the Houthi attacks on shipping lines in the Red Sea, show that Washington’s desire to reduce its military presence in the Middle East is pure fantasy. Ironically, President Biden and his predecessors Donald Trump and Barack Obama have all sought to reduce the US military presence in the Middle East, yet recurring conflicts continue to draw the United States back in.
Tarita Parsi, Vice President of the Quincy Institute in Washington, tweeted on the “X” platform, commenting on these developments, saying, “The most effective way to avoid this escalation is not to bomb the Houthis, but rather to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, but Biden will not think about that, so instead of... "He is preparing for a regional war."
Representative Rashida Tlaib, of Palestinian origin and a member of the House of Representatives from Michigan, also accused President Biden of bypassing Congress by launching attacks on the Houthis. She said in a tweet on the X website that the US President “violated Article 1 of the Constitution by carrying out air strikes in Yemen without the approval of Congress. The American people are tired of the endless war.”
Alexandra Stark, a researcher at the Rand Corporation and author of the soon-to-be-released book entitled “The Yemen Model”, wrote an article in Foreign Affairs magazine and its title was directly “Do not bomb the Houthis...quiet diplomacy is enough to stop the attacks in the Red Sea.” It is known that the Houthis, since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza on October 7, intensified their attacks in the Red Sea against ships owned or operated by Israel or carrying goods to it.
The Israeli economy is the most affected, as tankers linked to Tel Aviv are being targeted in terms of exports and imports, the Israeli economy is suffering losses in the tourism sectors, and there is talk of an expected decline in growth rates. Houthi attacks on ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea increased shipping costs between Asia, Europe and the Americas by 173% since November 2023. The world's largest shipping companies - such as "MSC" and Maersk - have suspended their commercial flights through the Red Sea since mid-December, and replaced it with the route that passes through the Cape of Good Hope, south of South Africa.
Before the American-British raids on Yemen, and with the Houthis continuing to target Israeli ships or those associated with them, the United States announced on December 18 last the formation of a joint naval force from several countries called the “Guardian of Prosperity.” It explained that the goal of this force is to deter Houthi attacks in The Red Sea, through which approximately 20% of global trade passes.
But, what were the conditions like? What led her to where she was this morning? Why did the conflict between Washington and the Houthis escalate steadily in the Red Sea on December 31? Small boats belonging to the Houthis attempted to attack a commercial ship in the Red Sea, but US naval helicopters responded to the attack. The Houthis did not remain silent and were quick to respond to these attacks, but the American forces returned fire and sank 3 Houthi boats and killed 10 of their members. On January 9, the Houthis launched one of their largest attacks in the Red Sea, using 18 drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles, and an anti-ship ballistic missile.
In turn, Alexandra Stark, the American researcher at Rand - who called for quiet diplomacy with the Houthis instead of a Venetian dialogue - believes that the strikes may benefit them for the following reasons:
- Air strikes against Houthi targets may slightly erode their ability to launch missiles and drones, but it will be much more difficult to effectively target and eliminate small, cheap manned and unmanned Houthi boats.
- The Houthis may have recently appeared in global headlines, but they have been challenging the United States and its partners in the region for two decades.
- The use of force against the Houthis in the past - whether by the late President Ali Abdullah Saleh or later - has only served to allow the group to improve its military capabilities.
- The strikes will allow Ansar Allah to portray itself as a heroic resistance movement, enhancing its legitimacy at home.
- Air strikes on the Houthis, which have continued for years, have only exacerbated the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
It seems that the scene in the already troubled region after the Friday dawn raids will not be the same as it was before, and there are expectations that the waters of the Red Sea and its waves are about to increase their movement. The leader of the Ansar Allah Houthi group, Abdullah bin Amer, told Al Jazeera that the Houthis did not hesitate to respond, and stressed that the group has “capabilities, which allow us legitimate self-defense,” and that it will continue its operations in the Red Sea until the end of the aggression against Gaza, vowing to strike the bases. America and Britain if Washington and London expand the battle.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expressed its deep concern about the military operations taking place in the Red Sea region and the air strikes on Yemen, stressing the importance of maintaining the security and stability of the region, and called for “restraint and avoiding escalation.” The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that the US-British military strikes come in the context of supporting the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, and that their result will be more insecurity and instability in the region. International companies suspended the passage of their ships through the Red Sea due to Houthi attacks on Israeli (French) ships.
There are many fears expressed by observers of the rapid developments that the region is currently witnessing, and they are justified fears, namely the possibility of these raids expanding and the responses that may follow from the Houthis until they become a regional war. These fears are represented in the possibility of Israel entering with its planes and participating in what America and Britain have begun, and directing strikes against the Houthis similar to what it is doing in Syria.
American writer Jason Radian believes in an article in the Washington Post that American raids may lead to a broader war that could be disastrous, and therefore US President Joe Biden must ensure that dealing with the Houthis does not get out of control.
Arab researchers and analysts warned that the United States might inflame the conflict in the region through its use of military force against the Houthis, and said that it should have stopped the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip in order to end the tension in the Red Sea . The United States, along with Britain, launched air strikes on targets of the Ansar Allah Houthi group in Yemen. According to statements made by an American official to Al Jazeera, the strikes targeted radar sites, drone and missile platforms, and coastal monitoring sites.
The senior researcher at Al Jazeera Center for Studies, Dr. Liqaa Makki, said that the United States of America went for a security solution with the Houthis, because it was unwilling to stop the main reason that led to the outbreak of tension in the Red Sea, which is the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
In this context, the director of the Jerusalem Center for Political Studies, Oraib Rantawi, believed that whoever wants to preserve the security of navigation in the Red Sea must stop the massacre in the Gaza Strip, and he said, “The United States chose Israeli-style orgy in the Red Sea and resorted to mobilization, militarization, and building alliances instead.” Go to the core of the problem."
He added that the United States, with its military parades in the Red Sea, is prolonging the conflict in Gaza and giving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government more time to implement their criminal goals against the Palestinian people in Gaza. From Rantawi's point of view, Al-Houthi presented a very easy equation: Stop the massacre in Gaza, bring in aid, and open the crossings to bring in food and medicine. Everything will end and things will return to normal.
For his part, Dr. Hassan Ayoub, Professor of International Politics and Comparative Politics at An-Najah National University, pointed out - in his speech during the daily analytical segment on Al Jazeera Channel, “Gaza...what’s next?” - that the military strike directed at the Houthis “is one of the signs of the failure of American diplomacy.” ", given that Washington, from October 7 until now, has announced that it seeks to prevent the expansion of the war in the region.
He stressed that the United States and Britain did not have any cards to play at the diplomatic and political levels, and therefore they chose military force to deal with the Houthi attacks, which he said had caused an imbalance in global trade, 20% of which passes through Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea. Because American and Israeli policy aims primarily to deter the resistance and not allow it to achieve any victory, Washington is moving - adds the political science professor - to say publicly that it is an indispensable force and can resort to military force to protect its allies and major projects.
Regarding the expected repercussions after the American and British raids on the Houthis, Dr. Makki said that as long as the Houthis have the ability, they will continue their strikes, perhaps more strongly, by expanding the circle of targeting and threats. He pointed out that they threatened to strike American and British interests, military ships, and perhaps commercial ships, and it will later extend to all ships passing through the Red Sea and may develop into specific operations in other regions and even within the Gulf states where American interests are located.
On the other hand, the senior researcher at the Al Jazeera Center for Studies says that if Al-Houthi does not understand the American message, the strikes against him will continue. Makki spoke about Bahrain's role in the American attack on the Houthis, stressing that its participation was worthless and unnecessary, and its presence was outside the text. He attributed this to the fact that it does not have a military force in the Red Sea and does not have a coast there. He said that Bahrain, where there are American and British interests, may be a target for the Houthis, which may spark a security crisis in the Gulf region.
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, welcomed the measures aimed at securing the region, but the two companies did not clarify whether the US-British strikes would be sufficient to restore navigational operations leading to the Suez Canal, which is the fastest route between Asia and Europe and through which about 12% of container carriers in the world pass.
Shipping data from the London Stock Exchange Group and the Kpler global trade information platform showed that at least 4 oil tankers diverted from the Red Sea since the strikes carried out by the United States and Britain on Houthi targets in Yemen, amid growing fears of expanding tensions. The tankers Toya, Diana-i, Stolt Zulu and Navigate Pride LHJ were seen turning around mid-voyage to avoid the Red Sea, according to ship tracking data. The data showed that one of the tankers, the Toya, a huge crude tanker capable of carrying up to two million barrels of oil, was empty. The other three ships are fuel tankers.
Hafnia Shipping Company said that it had decided to immediately stop all ships heading towards or near the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Hafnia's statement said that the decision was taken after advice from the joint naval forces to stay away from the area after US-British air strikes were launched against the Houthi group in Yemen. It was followed by the Stena Bulk shipping company, which told Reuters that it had stopped transit in the Red Sea.
Oil Tanker Association (Intertanko) distributed a memorandum to its members in which it said that the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) are warning all ships "to stay away from Bab al-Mandab a great distance." “The threat period for shipping operations is expected to continue for several days,” Intertanko added. About 10% of global trade passes through the Red Sea.
Oil prices jumped 4% as oil tankers diverted from the Red Sea after air and sea strikes launched by the United States and Britain on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to attacks launched by the group since late last year. The trading price of Brent exceeded $80 due to high geopolitical risks, before falling to about $78.3. US West Texas Intermediate crude also rose 4% above $75, before falling to settle near $73 in evening trading. ING analysts said in a note that more than 20 million barrels per day of oil moves through the Strait of Hormuz, equivalent to about 20% of global consumption.
Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, said that the canal’s dollar revenue has decreased by 40% since the beginning of the year compared to 2023, after Houthi attacks in Yemen on ships heading to Israel led to their sailing route being diverted away from this corridor. Rabei mentioned to a late television program that ship transit traffic declined by 30% in the period from the first of January to the 11th of the same month on an annual basis.
He explained that the number of ships crossing the Suez Canal decreased to 544 ships so far this year, compared to 777 ships in the same period last year, according to what Reuters reported. The Suez Canal is a major source of foreign currency, of which Egypt suffers a shortage, and the authorities have been striving for years to boost its revenues, including by expanding the canal in 2015. More expansion operations are currently being implemented.
Electric car manufacturer Tesla announced that it will suspend most of its production for two weeks at its European factory near the German capital, Berlin, due to a shortage of components resulting from a delay in deliveries resulting from Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. “The significant increase in transportation times is causing a gap in supply chains,” Tesla said in a statement. BMW confirmed that its supply chain was not affected by the attacks. A company spokesman said, “The situation in the Red Sea has no impact on BMW Group production, as supplies to our factories are guaranteed.” The spokesman added, "We are in close contact with our partners in the logistics sector, and we do not expect any problems."
CEO of the Israeli maritime risk information company Windward, Ami Daniel, said that there has been a 4- to 8-fold increase in shipping rates for 20- and 40-foot containers to Israel, in addition to indications that shipping an MSC container will cost $10,000 a month. Next, an increase from the level of $1,700, as a result of the Houthi attacks on Israeli ships heading to Israel in the Red Sea, according to what was reported by the Israeli newspaper Globes.
He added - according to the newspaper - that there is a significant increase in the prices of shipping goods and products from China and other Asian countries, especially furniture containers, toys, and car carriers. He explained that container prices rose due to the decline in stocks and the economic crisis over the past few years, the repercussions of the war on Gaza, and the delay resulting from taking the Cape of Good Hope route around Africa to avoid the Red Sea, as quoted by Globes.
With regard to transporting cars, after the Houthi attack on the Galaxy Leader ship last November, the number of Chinese, Japanese and Korean brand car transport companies circulating around Africa tripled in December compared to the previous month, which It will soon add $1,000 to $2,000 to the price of the car, according to Daniel.
The repercussions of the "Al-Aqsa Flood" were not limited to the internal Israeli scene, as the path of "unity of the squares", which was adopted by the Palestinian resistance factions during the recent rounds of combat with the Israeli army, turned during the war on Gaza into a regional model, according to the Arab and Middle Eastern affairs analyst in the newspaper " Haaretz Zvi Barel.v Barel believes that the Palestinian resistance model that developed during Operation “Guardian of the Walls 2” (Sword of Jerusalem) in May 2021 was adopted by the various armed factions in the region and neighboring countries, adding that - with the war on Gaza - the various fronts were united with the "unity of the battlefields" which was invented and installed by the Palestinian resistance factions.
Bar'el believes that the model of "unity of arenas" in the Middle East gave a higher advantage to the Arab and Islamic resistance factions in the region over America and the great powers, which enabled them to achieve achievements at various levels. Barel pointed out that Hezbollah, the Houthis , and the armed Islamic militias in Iraq , under the auspices of the “Axis of Resistance,” were able to record achievements in their independent struggles, far from the directives of Iran , saying that “after the end of the war on Gaza, they do not intend to disappear from the scene.” They will continue to confront America, the great powers, and Israel with more challenges.”
Violent clashes are taking place between the Palestinian resistance and the Israeli occupation forces, in the Maghazi camp and the Zawaida neighborhood in the central Gaza Strip, in addition to the city of Khan Yunis in the south of the Strip. 08:37 | In El Ma'azi, the brigade combat teams operating under the command of the 36th Division eliminated about 20 terrorists and found many weapons in the last day. Among the terrorists who were eliminated, a commander in the Najaba force of the terrorist organization Hamas.
In Khan Yunis, an Air Force fighter jet attacked a military building of the Hamas terrorist organization directed by the fire center of the 98th Division and killed seven terrorists. Among them is a commander in the Najaba force who took part in the murderous attack on the surrounding settlements on October 7.
A force of the commando brigade identified three armed terrorists in the city area who came out of the house of a Hamas operative and approached our forces, the fighters of the combat team shot and hit the terrorists. Also in the Khan Yunis area, IDF fighters located a number of Kalashnikov weapons, RPG launchers and destroyed a weapons warehouse in the last day. In the Al Buraij area, the soldiers of the 414th collection battalion identified a terrorist who shot at our forces from the window of one of the buildings in the area, the soldiers of the battalion activated a drone towards the window from which the terrorist shot and eliminated him.
Following a warning about the infiltration of terrorists in the settlement of Adora in the Yehuda Division, terrorists fired at an IDF force that was on patrol in the settlement. "Adora", an illegal settlement located to the northwest of al-Khalil in the occupied West Bank, was subject to a "security breach", according to the Israeli Army Radio. According to the Israeli outlet, three Palestinians infiltrated the settlement just before sounds of intense gunfire erupted. IDF forces began a pursuit of the terrorists and extensive searches in the area. Reports indicate that three Resistance fighters infiltrated the settlement, opening fire on a group of Israeli soldiers after ambushing them. The Resistance fighters were reportedly martyred by the security forces, while two Israeli soldiers were wounded as a result. The forces continue scanning the area.
Air Force fighter jets completed an attack in the areas of the villages of Lavona, Ramya and Aita al-Sha'ab. As part of the attack, several terrorist infrastructures used by Hezbollah were destroyed. Also, during the day, a number of launches were detected from the territory of Lebanon towards various areas in the north of the country. IDF forces attacked the sources of the shooting and other areas in Lebanon. Some of them were found inside a cemetery, a school and a mosque in the Gaza Strip: more than 700 Hamas rocket launchers have been destroyed since the beginning of the maneuver. View the documentation .
In support of the Palestinian people in Gaza and their Resistance, the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah conducted multiple operations against Israeli military sites and targets. Hezbollah announced that its first operation of the day was conducted at 11:15 am targeting a grouping of Israeli soldiers positioned in the vicinity of the Hadab al-Bustan site, confirming direct casualties among the enemy force. Later in the afternoon, the Resistance successfully targeted al-Malkiya military site, confirming direct hits to the intended targets.
At 3:50 pm the Resistance conducted three simultaneous operations which extended from the "Hanita" military site near Lebanon's coast to the "Manara" military in al-Jalil Panhandle, located farther to the east. The first two operations targeted the "Hanita" military site and al-Aasi military site, while the third targeted a grouping of Israeli occupation soldiers positioned in the vicinity of the "Manara" military site opposite the Lebanese town of Houla. Hezbollah's military media confirmed direct hits on enemy soldiers.
Hezbollah's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was successful in "trapping" a large number of Israeli forces in the northern front and landed an "achievement" in terms of awareness by displacing tens of thousands of Israelis from dozens of settlements for over three months. The military affairs commentator on Israel Defense website, Amir Rapaport, stated that "the most significant events this week took place in the northern front, where assassinations and attacks attributed to Israel have increased, and, in return, Hezbollah has raised the threshold of its response."
Rapaport recalled that Hezbollah launched a powerful missile attack on the surveillance unit on the "Meron" air control and surveillance base, and a drone strike on the Northern Command Headquarters near Safed, pointing out that "Hezbollah may not have said its last word yet regarding its retaliatory plans."
"Escalating the situation does not necessarily contradict Israeli interests; on the contrary, to understand the reason, one can go back to October 8, when Nasrallah joined the battle and opened a northern front with Israel." The expert explained that "Nasrallah's declared goal was to trap a large number of army forces in the north, thereby fulfilling his role in supporting his brothers in Hamas."
According to him, a "security belt" was created inside "Israel," rather than in Lebanese territory in an unprecedented event, noting that "this is the first evacuation in the north since the beginning of Zionism."
"Many in the security establishment believe that the evacuation, including even "Kiryat Shmona," was hasty and wrong. Perhaps because this is precisely what gave Hezbollah the legitimacy to launch anti-tank missiles and rockets at civilian homes, something that would not have happened if the houses were occupied."
Meanwhile, statements at the political level, that the northern residents will not return to their homes without the relocation of Hezbollah's Radwan forces north of the Litani River, have "made Israel climb a high tree," Rapaport added, highlighting that such a scenario is extremely difficult as "Hezbollah's military capabilities are significant, and the geographical features of the fighting in Lebanon, when necessary, pose a bigger challenge (except for the tunnel issue. There is an unprecedented global military challenge in Gaza)."
Reserve Maj. General Gershon Hacohen said that Sayyed Nasrallah "was and still is a professor in managing conflict and combat." In an op-ed published in the Israeli Hayoum, Hacohen emphasized that Hezbollah's chief "focuses primarily on undermining Israel's morale and humiliating it." In turn, Major General Itzhak Brik criticized the "deterioration of the army's readiness and preparedness" to confront Hezbollah on the northern front, denying what Israeli officials say about "unprecedented readiness." Brik explained that the significant gap in the army's readiness is revealed by the poor preparation for the "strategic scenario" of Hezbollah's attempt to take control of army positions in the north.
Islamic Resistance in Iraq announced carrying out two separate operations against Israeli targets at Friday dawn using appropriate weapons, stating that the attacks came in response to the ongoing Israeli massacres in Gaza and in support of the people in the Strip. According to the Resistance group, one of the attacks struck a vital Israeli target in "Eilat" (occupied Umm al-Rashash), putting it out of service. The second attack near the Jordan River Park targeted a control center belonging to the Golani Brigade. The center is responsible for espionage and intelligence gathering balloons, the sources added.
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. These 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
The EU, last year, initially mulled a plan to expand its Atalanta mission focused on protecting shipping off Somalia, but that move was blocked by Spain. European diplomats announced a new plan, to be discussed next week, between EU countries, aimed at setting up a naval mission allegedly to help protect Red Sea shipping following the Yemeni Armed Forces' operations in the maritime route. The proposal -- in the pipeline in Brussels for several weeks -- was mooted before US and British forces struck Yemen. All EU efforts seek to complement a US-led coalition, including numerous countries from the bloc, already operating in the vital shipping route, knowing that many chose to stay out of it. According to the diplomats, the first discussion is going to be held in Brussels next Tuesday with the exact details of the size and scope of any EU mission to be sorted later. They also added that there is a possibility of striking a new agreement, by EU foreign ministers, on establishing the new mission. The United Nations regretted the obstacles placed by the Israeli occupation authorities in the way of delivering humanitarian aid to the northern Gaza Strip , noting that every delay costs more lives. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General, said: “Our humanitarian colleagues told us that between January 1 and 10, only 3 shipments out of 21 shipments of humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, water and other vital goods, could be delivered to the North of Wadi Gaza.” . Dujarric regretted that "the United Nations' ability to respond to the great needs in the northern part of Gaza is hampered by the repeated refusal to enter aid, and the lack of coordination by the Israeli authorities for safe access."
The international press highlighted Israel's trial in the International Court of Justice on charges of genocide in the Gaza Strip. The British newspaper "Financial Times" said that the issuance of a final ruling against Israel in the complaint submitted to it at the International Court of Justice - even if it is not enforceable - deals a blow to Israel's standing and changes the way other countries deal with it. The newspaper quoted an expert in international law as saying, “I do not know how Israel will be able to deal with a loss that directly harms its reputation?”
The Israeli newspaper "The Times of Israel" wrote that any ruling against Israel, whatever its nature, may have serious diplomatic and political consequences. It pointed out that "a ruling against Israel would affect the course of the ongoing war against the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) in Gaza, and hence Israel must be concerned about a threat to it that may come from The Hague."
An article in the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" saw that war with the Lebanese Hezbollah is inevitable, "but Israel does not have to be the initiator of it." The article justifies its presentation by saying that an escalation with Hezbollah may mean the intervention of other armed groups, and if the United States does not intervene to deal with them, Israel will be alone in the forefront. It pointed out that starting a new war also means fueling anti-Israel sentiment among American voters more and more.
In turn, the American newspaper "Washington Post" reported testimonies of Palestinian detainees held by the Israeli occupation army in Gaza describing what it called the violations they were subjected to inside secret detention centers. The newspaper said that some of them spent 17 days blindfolded and forced to kneel for hours on end, adding that among the detainees were those who were forced to sign a document written in Hebrew whose contents they did not understand, and among them were those who were offered money to spy for Israel.
Egypt denied what it described as “allegations and lies” by the Israeli defense team before the International Court of Justice , that Cairo is responsible for preventing the entry of humanitarian and relief aid into the Gaza Strip from the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing. The head of the Egyptian Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, said that the inconsistency and lies of the Israeli allegations are clear from the fact that all Israeli officials have confirmed dozens of times in public statements since the start of the aggression on Gaza that they will not allow aid to enter the Gaza Strip, especially fuel, because this is part of the war that Israel is waging. On the sector.
Writer Vincienne Joly said in a report published by the French newspaper La Croix that for the United Nations, the Gaza Strip - which has been subjected to Israeli bombing for 3 months - has become “a place of death and despair” and simply “uninhabitable.” The American Wall Street Journal reported in late December that 70% of homes and about half of the buildings in the Gaza Strip had been destroyed or damaged, which is “unparalleled destruction in modern urban warfare.”
According to the newspaper, it will take at least a year to remove the rubble and between 7 and 10 years to rebuild the destroyed homes.
The scale of the destruction prompted international law experts and some United Nations officials to describe the bombings as "domestic homicide." The concept is derived from the Latin term “domestica,” and describes the deliberate and systematic destruction of homes and infrastructure in order to make an area uninhabitable.
The term "domestic homicide" appeared in 2001 when writers Douglas Porteous and Sandra Smith studied the cycle of violence through the destruction or confiscation of "home" in a work entitled "Domestic homicide... the global destruction of the home." At the end of 2022, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, estimated in his report that there was a “major legal gap” in international law, and called for domestic homicide to be recognized as a crime under this law.
According to Rajagopal, killing homes causes “social and psychological trauma,” adding, “I saw how a house was destroyed in a few seconds. This dwelling, which was the culmination of a lifetime’s effort and the pride of entire families, turns into rubble. It is not just a house that was destroyed, there are also the savings of entire families.” "Memories and a feeling of belonging to a place."
Syrian researcher Ammar Azouz also explained how the Syrian regime used the method of killing homes during the war against opponents. In Homs, 50% of the city was completely destroyed and a quarter of it was partially destroyed. It was the neighborhoods opposed to Bashar al-Assad’s authority that were turned into rubble. According to Azouz, the destruction of homes has been used “as a tool of punishment, displacement, and violence against opponents of the regime,” and he believes that “the matter is not limited to erasing buildings and physical structures, but also eliminating the conditions for the existence of their personal identities.”
Axis of Resistance
"US airstrikes on Yemen are another example of the Anglo-Saxons’ distortion of UN Security Council resolutions and complete disregard for international law in the name of escalating the situation in the region for their own destructive purposes," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. Iran's representation to the United Nations condemned the "military aggression against Yemen" led by the United States and Britain and said that "the illegal actions carried out by the United States of America and Britain are not permissible according to international law". The representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations added: Iran condemns the American-British military aggression against Yemen . This unjustified aggression violates Yemen's sovereignty, international laws, the United Nations Charter, and Security Council resolutions, and endangers peace and security in the region. He continued: The illegal actions carried out by the United States of America and Britain are not permitted in accordance with international laws or Resolution 2722 issued by the United Nations Security Council. Their opposition to the Russian amendments to the resolution indicates a planned decision and a premeditated intention to commit this aggression. Nasser Kanaani, spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, strongly condemned the military attacks launched by the United States and Britain at dawn today on several Yemeni cities, and considered them an arbitrary act, a blatant violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a violation of international laws and regulations. Kanaani expressed his concern about the consequences of repeating such arbitrary attacks on regional and international peace and security, and called on the international community to prevent the expansion of war, instability and insecurity in the region with responsible reactions and measures. The Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) and Islamic Jihad condemned the attacks launched by the United States of America and Britain on Yemen. Hamas said in a statement, "We strongly condemn the blatant American-British aggression against Yemen, and we hold them responsible for its repercussions on the security of the region." It added, "The air and sea bombardment is a crime and a blatant aggression against Yemeni sovereignty, and a threat to the security of the region, which is witnessing American and British militarization that came to protect the Nazi-Zionist occupation and to cover up its crimes against the Palestinian people and the entire Arab region."
HAMAS pointed out that the "brutal aggression" against Yemen was an "uncalculated act, under the influence of the will of the Zionist occupation and its extremist Nazi leadership, and will only increase the region's combustion and tension, and Washington and London bear responsibility for its repercussions," as HAMAS put it. Hamas stressed that "the region will not witness security and stability unless the Zionist occupation ends."
The movement called on Washington and London to "review their colonial policies, and respect the sovereignty of countries and the interests of the Arab peoples, who will not stand idly by in the face of brutal Zionist crimes."
In turn, the Islamic Jihad movement said, "This aggression comes in the context of the military umbrella provided by Western colonial countries to their military barracks in Palestine." The movement added that this "confirms that the American administration is the one conducting the war of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza," stressing that "it is the resistance of the peoples of our nation that will prevail in the end." The Islamic Jihad movement called on the Arab and Islamic nations to “take action in rejection of the aggression against Yemen that rose in defense of Gaza and the holy sites of Muslims in Palestine.”
Allied for Democracy
Israeli media highlighted the failures of the security services and military intelligence in concealing information and warnings from the Israeli Army Chief of Staff, and its chief, Herzi Halevy, regarding Hamas’ preparations and readiness to launch an attack on the south. The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper's "Saturday Supplement" investigation also revealed the secrecy of the Israeli Military Intelligence Division, Unit 8200 (AMAN), about information and signals monitored from the Gaza Strip in the months preceding the events of October 7, 2023.
The intelligence information centered on the planning of the Al-Qassam Brigades , the military wing of Hamas, to carry out a military operation in the “Gaza envelope,” which officials in the Chief of Staff and Israeli army commanders did not know about until a few days after the surprise attack.
The Commander of the Army's Southern Region, General Yaron Winkelman, and the Chief of Staff were not informed of some of the threats, and information was concealed from them about specific warnings regarding the scenario of a Hamas military operation in the south, while the movement was dealt with "with disdain" in the months preceding the "Al-Aqsa Flood" battle.
This approach to dealing with Hamas, says investigative journalist Nadav Eyal, who prepared the investigation: “What was behind Chief of Staff Halevy’s decision to create an external investigation team was that what happened in Israel about 3 months ago was more dangerous than the Yom Kippur War,” underestimating Hamas in 2023. “It was much greater than the belittling of Egypt and Syria before the October War of 1973.”
On the night of October 6, according to what the newspaper reported in the investigation, unusual events and movements began in the Gaza Strip, and it is usual for military intelligence to warn and report the presence of “indicating signs” of an attack or war. It added, "At the beginning of the night, an indicative signal arrives as a result of operational activity carried out by the General Security Service, the Shin Bet , which raised suspicions of the possibility of a ground attack on Israeli territory."
Eyal pointed out that "such things have happened in the past. There was no raid, ground attack, or armed operations across the security fence with the Gaza Strip." Therefore, on the one hand, the Israeli journalist says: “This matter is being taken seriously, as the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, arrives at the intelligence headquarters and consultations begin. But on the other hand, the consultations lead to the fact that it cannot be said that this is a sign.” "It is absolutely certain that there is a ground operation, or even just an attack." Eyal adds: “There are also chilling signs that were not taken seriously during the Shin Bet consultations, allegedly to reduce the possibility that this was preparation for an attack.”
"I do not know exactly what the signals are", the Israeli journalist continues: “But I can imagine, on the one hand, a Hamas activist leaving his home in the middle of the night, and on the other hand, Israeli consultations mean that nothing will happen and end without decisions.”
Hours before the surprise attack, Chief of Staff Halevy, Southern Command Commander Winkelman, and Army Operations Wing Commander, General Oded Pasiuk, ask themselves: What is happening? While at the headquarters of Unit 8200 in the south, important and fundamental matters are happening that confirm the approaching moment of zero for the attack on the “Gaza envelope.”
The Israeli military tells me, Eyal says, “As the dawn hours progress, the turmoil increases. There are more signals from the enemy in the Gaza Strip, which can be estimated to have been transmitted through Hamas’ communications networks, raising the possibility of an imminent attack on Israel.” In the same conversation conducted by the Chief of Staff in the dawn hours, the investigation indicates that no actual signals, warnings, or information appeared from Unit 8200, nor was there any senior officer from Military Intelligence in the conversation, while the Southern Command does not know what is happening in the means of communications. Hamas, despite repeated talks during the night.
While the battle of “Al-Aqsa Flood” has its repercussions on the military and political arenas in Israel, and the fighting continues in the Gaza Strip, and it is not yet clear whether a comprehensive war will break out with Hezbollah on the northern border with Lebanon , in the meantime the Israeli army is waging a battle over the security budget for the year 2024.
The New York Times reported that the US intelligence agency, the CIA, is directly involved in the war on Gaza by helping in information gathering on behalf of Israel. “C.I.A. is collecting information on senior Hamas leaders and the location of hostages in Gaza, and is providing that intelligence to Israel as it carries out its war in the enclave,” the newspaper said, citing US officials. This procedure is part of a task force assembled soon after the Hamas military operation on October 7.
US officials who spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity said that “Immediately after the Oct. 7 attack, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, sent a memo to the intelligence agencies and Defense Department ordering the task force’s creation and directing increased intelligence collection on Hamas’ leadership.”
“Before the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas was a level four priority, meaning few resources were dedicated to collecting intelligence on the group,” the newspaper said, adding that “since then, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which helps oversee intelligence priorities, has raised Hamas to a level two priority.”
“Raising the priority level provides additional funding for intelligence collection and most likely increases the range and volume of information that the C.I.A. tries to collect on Hamas, which the United States has designated a terror organization.”
Democratic Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib argued that Biden lacked the authority to approve the military action, saying he was “violating Article I of the Constitution” and that Americans were “tired of endless war.” Other Democrats, including Ro Khanna, Val Hoyle and Mark Pocan, made a similar case, with Khanna penning a lengthy post on X (formerly Twitter) arguing that Biden “needs to come to Congress before launching a strike against the Houthis in Yemen and involving us in another Middle East conflict.” “That is Article I of the Constitution. I will stand up for that regardless of whether a Democrat or Republican is in the White House,” he added.
Republican Senator Mike Lee later weighed in on the strikes, saying: “I totally agree with [Ro Khanna]. The Constitution matters, regardless of party affiliation.” Republicans Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene also criticized the military action. “Biden can not solely decide to bomb Yemen,” Greene said.
Democratic Party Rep. Sara Jacobs said the Biden administration had a “solemn responsibility to protect our service members in harm’s way, and free and open laws of the sea.” Jacobs said “congressional leadership was briefed” before the attack, and stressed that “Congress alone authorizes war.”
Butcher's Bill / Oasis of Martyrs
Palestinian armed group Hamas launched thousands of missiles at Israel and deployed its militants to infiltrate Jewish settlements near the country’s border with Gaza on 07 October 2023. The 1,200 Israelis killed on the first day would be the equivalent of 36,000 Americans killed in an attack, as a proportion to Israel’s population of 9.3 million people (compared to 332 million in the USA). Israeli President Isaac Herzog stated: “Not since the Holocaust have so many Jews been killed in one day". PM Netanyahu stated "On October 7th, Hamas murdered 1,400 Israelis. Maybe more. This is in a country of fewer than 10 million people. This would be equivalent to over 50,000 Americans murdered in a single day. That’s twenty 9/11s. That is why October 7th is another day that will live in infamy."
It is the second largest loss inflicted on the Israeli forces after the 1973 war, as the Palestinian resistance killed more than 1,200, wounded more than 5,132 others, and captured more than 250, most of them military personnel, some of whom were high-ranking officers in the army.
The HAMAS Ministry of Health in the besieged sector announced that the number of victims of the Israeli operation its beginning had risen to about 23,708 dead [down from 23,840 martyrs four days prior], 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 60,050 [up from the 59,410 the previosu day]. 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 IDF intensified its military operations in the West Bank, and increased the pace of incursions and raids into cities, towns, and camps, resulting in the martyrdom of 342 Palestinians, the injury of about 3,950, and the arrest of 5,780, according to official HAMAS sources.
More than 130 Hezbollah fighters were killed in Lebanon during exchanges of bombing operations with Israel.
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 192, and 520 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, 9 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.
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.
According to the latest data published by the army, the number of wounded soldiers and officers has risen to 1,042 since the start of its ground attack on Gaza on October 27, including 228 seriously wounded, while the total number has reached 2,438 wounded since the outbreak of the war on the 7th of October.
The Israeli army reported that 2,438 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 1,042.
At least 12,957 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.
An estimate by the Israeli Ministry of Defense expected that the number of soldiers with disabilities in the war taking place in the Gaza Strip since October 7 of last year would reach 12,500 soldiers. The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said that the Soldiers' Rehabilitation Department of the Ministry of Defense has dealt with 3,400 soldiers who were classified as disabled in the army since last October 7.
The Israeli army revealed that about 9,000 of its soldiers have received “psychological assistance” since the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, and about a quarter of them have not returned to combat. This came according to a new statement revealed by the Army Medical Corps, according to Channel 12 and the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. According to the statement, nearly 9,000 soldiers have applied for psychological assistance since the beginning of the war, and approximately a quarter of them have not returned to combat.
The statement continued, "In total, about 13,000 regular and reserve soldiers required accompaniment or medical treatment at some level during the fighting, and thousands of them were injured in the battles."
Al Jazeera military and strategic expert Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi expressed his conviction that the numbers of dead and wounded announced by Israel “cannot represent the truth,” due to a discrepancy between the Israeli army’s data and the Walla website, which is close to the army itself.
Hostages
An opinion poll released 12 January 2024 by Maariv newspaper was conducted by the Lazar Institute (private) on a random sample of 515 Israelis, with a margin of error of approximately 4.3%. Among the Israelis surveyed, more than 56% said that continuing the fight against Hamas was the best way to recover the hostages. Only 24% supported the release of all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel in exchange for the release of all hostages, “even if that meant agreeing to Hamas’s demand to stop the fighting.”
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that an agreement had been reached, mediated by Qatar, to deliver medicines in the coming days to Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip . Netanyahu's office said that, under the latter's direction, "Mossad chief David Barnea led a movement toward Qatar that would allow medicines to be brought to hostages held by Hamas in Gaza." The statement said that medications would be provided to detainees "in the next few days."
Israel had previously estimated there were 116 living hostages in Palestinian custody. Israel declared 20 out of 136 people in Gaza captivity dead in absentia, after announcing its forces had recovered the bodies of two hostages. By another count, 132 of them are still being held in Gaza, and 25 of them have been confirmed dead. 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 that about 11,000 arrests were carried out by the Israeli 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 5,755, 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 on 09 January 2024 that, since the beginning of the war, approximately 2,650 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. On 08 January 2024 it was reported that more than 1,350 wanted persons had been arrested throughout the Judea and Samaria Division and the Bekaa and Valleys Division, more than 870 of whom are associated with the terrorist organization Hamas.
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