Operation Iron Swords - Day 103 - 17 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 |
He emphasized that "Jaish ul-Adl, a terrorist group linked to Israel, was targeted," pointing out that “none of the nationals of the friendly and brotherly country of Pakistan were targeted by Iranian missiles and drones.” Additionally, he highlighted that "everyone will be impacted if Israel's offenses in Gaza are not promptly halted."
The Iranian Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced carrying out multiple strikes, using ballistic missiles and drones, on terrorist targets in Syria and Mossad headquarters in Iraqi Kurdistan's Erbil. Then, in a later statement on Tuesday, it revealed another strike on strongholds belonging to Jaish ul-Adl in Pakistan, a group designated as "terrorist" by Iran.
According to Iranian media, the operation came after long years of communicating with several regional governments regarding terrorist attacks targeting Iran that were originating from their countries, including Iraq. On its part, the IRGC announced the strikes were in response to the terrorist explosions against civilians in Kerman, which resulted in the martyrdom of around 100 people, and the assassination of senior IRGC and Resistance leaders.
However, the operations saw heavy protests from Pakistan and Iraq, who announced a series of diplomatic measures against Iran in response. Amir-Abdollahian said the strikes are “in line with combating terrorism and legitimate self-defense.... We have no reservations when it comes to securing our national interest with any other country."
Operational Update
The Middle East region is witnessing an “unprecedented escalation” on several fronts, against the backdrop of the war between Israel and the Hamas movement, which is classified as a terrorist organization in the United States and other countries, while specialists spoken to by the Al-Hurra website are arguing about the consequences of the successive tensions in the region, and the possibilities of it turning into a “wide-ranging regional war.” the range". US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, said, on the sidelines of his participation in Davos, that “there is a great opportunity for the war to spread throughout the Middle East,” but Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor to US President Joe Biden, sought, on Tuesday, to reassure senior leaders. Global and business leaders indicated that the war in the Middle East would not escalate into a "global conflict."
Speaking at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Sullivan said the United States, its allies and other regional powers must produce a “joint and coherent response” to prevent the spread of war, according to the New York Times. In statements to Al-Hurra website, Israeli political analyst, Joab Stern, monitors the flaming fronts in several regions of the Middle East after tension and escalation in the Red Sea, mutual bombing between Lebanon and Israel, and Iranian strikes on Iraq and Syria, in light of the escalating situation in the Gaza Strip.
Iran is behind the ignition of these fronts at the same time, and uses its "various arms", such as Hezbollah and the Houthi group, to achieve its goals in the region, but Tehran "will not seek to expand the scope of the conflict," according to his talk to the "Al-Hurra" website. But on the other hand, Iranian political analyst Saeed Shawwardi points out the possibility that the scope of the conflict will expand and turn into a “broad regional war.” He told Al-Hurra website that if the regional war erupts, it will be between Iran and its allies on the one hand, and between America and Israel on the other hand.
According to the Iranian political analyst, Israel is currently facing a “strategic danger” represented by the targeting of its ships in the Red Sea by the Houthi movement, in addition to the strikes it received from Hezbollah on the northern front.
For his part, Emirati political analyst, Abdul Khaleq Abdullah, warns that the Middle East region is currently on the "hands of the demon." The situation was not like this a year ago, and a “conciliatory mood” prevailed in the region amid efforts to ease tensions, but currently there are “several burning spots in the region and they are getting hotter daily,” according to his talk to the Al-Hurra website.
As for the Palestinian political analyst, Ayman Al-Raqab, he does not believe that the current developments have reached, or may reach, the point of a “regional war.” However, if the situation in Gaza continues and the war in the Strip continues for a long time, “heating on the various fronts” may occur, according to Al-Hurra website.
Tension prevails in several areas in the region against the backdrop of the Gaza war, and on Tuesday, the United States faced intense military action by Iran and its allies, which is an escalating threat to the efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden to contain violence throughout the Middle East after the war in Gaza, according to a report For the Washington Post.
The mutual strikes between US forces and Iranian-backed armed groups are a test of Washington's attempt to reduce regional instability and avoid direct confrontation with Tehran. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced that it bombed “terrorist” targets in both Syria and the Iraqi Kurdistan region with ballistic missiles, stressing that it “destroyed a spy headquarters” and “a gathering of anti-Iranian terrorist groups” in Erbil, the capital of the region.
The Guard said that the strikes in Iraq targeted an Israeli Mossad center, noting that they were a response to targeting the leaders of the “Axis of Resistance,” referring to the killing of a Revolutionary Guard leader weeks ago in an Israeli raid in Syria, and the killing of a Hamas leader and another in Hezbollah in Lebanon in Raids also attributed to Israel.
For its part, the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned in a statement the "attacks" on Erbil, and summoned its ambassador in Tehran for consultations. The Iraqi National Security Advisor, Qasim Al-Araji, also denounced the “false and incorrect” claim regarding the presence of an “Israeli Mossad headquarters” in Erbil.
As for Yemen, American forces launched strikes targeting four missiles that were threatening civilian and military ships, according to what Agence France-Presse reported from an American official on Tuesday. The White House said that new American attacks destroyed ballistic missiles that the Houthis were preparing to launch. John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said, "We are not seeking to expand this... The Houthis have a choice to make, and they still have time to make the right choice, which is to stop these reckless attacks."
At the border with Lebanon, where daily exchanges of bombing are recorded between Hezbollah and the Israeli forces, and on Tuesday, the Israeli army announced the launch of new strikes against the party’s positions in southern Lebanon. The risks of a regional war were confirmed by a series of Israeli air strikes on Lebanon, representing an escalation in the ongoing confrontation between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, according to the Washington Post.
The Lebanese Hezbollah is Iran's largest and most powerful proxy, but it has not unleashed the full power of its huge missile arsenal against Israel in recent months. Therefore, Al-Raqab points to “the consequences of Hezbollah entering with full force on the front line,” as it is Iran’s most important arm in the region. But he confirms that Tehran is working with “high pragmatism,” and therefore it will not seek to go to a regional war or expand the circle of confrontations.
For his part, Stern stresses that the escalation on the Israel-Lebanon front came in the form of "exchanged strikes and a test of military readiness and readiness," without reaching the point of a "regional war." Stern does not believe that there is “intention or actions” that rise to the level of a “regional war,” but he confirms that the front between Lebanon and Israel is “potential to ignite” in light of “exchange of strikes and bombing between the Israeli army and Hezbollah.” He points out the possibility of the situation escalating “rapidly” on the Israeli-Lebanese front, because both parties are in a state of “full readiness and readiness for a large, expanded confrontation.”
But the events on the Israel-Lebanon front have not yet gone in the direction of a “total war,” which will be “expensive” in terms of the number of deaths, injuries, destruction, and devastation, according to the Israeli political analyst. He talks about “restrictions on both sides and self-restraint to contain the crisis,” but he says, “If the Lebanon-Israel front ignites completely, we will witness an escalation on all other fronts.”
During the past week, the US military and its allies carried out three rounds of strikes in Yemen against the Houthis, while the Iran-allied group threatened to expand their attacks to include US ships in response to US and British strikes on their positions in Yemen. The Houthi attacks on ships in the region since November have affected companies and raised concerns among major powers, in an escalation of the war in Gaza. The Houthis say they are launching their attacks “in solidarity with the Palestinians.”
Therefore, Abdullah believes that the Red Sea is “the most flammable area at the present time.” The Emirati political analyst points out the possibility of "Houthi recklessness under orders from Iran, which leaves us facing an increasingly hot spot," adding, "If that happens, no one knows where the region is headed."
For his part, Shawwardi believes that the Red Sea front will be “more heated,” because the Houthi group will implement its threats to target and harass the American naval fleet in the Red Sea. The Houthis likely have "advanced weapons through which they can create serious threats to American destroyers and ships in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bab al-Mandab Strait," according to the Iranian political analyst. He points out that the Houthis possess a force equal to or even superior to that of Hezbollah, because the group possesses many components that are not available in Lebanon, including human power, given the population of Yemen compared to Lebanon, as well as the vast lands that fall under its control.
Stern does not believe that "Iran is interested in expanding the scope of the confrontation more than it currently has, so as not to lose its current existing power and the cards in its hand." According to the Israeli political analyst, if the situation flares up in Iraq and Yemen, the United States will “be forced to intervene alongside its allies in the region,” and the issue will be bigger than an Israeli-Iranian confrontation. Israel does not want to stand alone in the face of the threats of “the arms of the Iranian octopus in the region,” but it prefers to have a “regional or international coalition that stands in the way of Tehran’s actions,” according to Stern.
But Al-Raqab believes that the Gulf states and the majority of Arab countries will not intervene in this conflict, because they are “not interested” in entering into this escalation, the price of which will be “exhausting and tiring.” Abdullah agrees with him, stressing that the Gulf states are against escalation even if they “do not want Hamas, the Houthis, or the Iranian militias,” but they do not want escalation of any kind in the region.
But the Emirati political analyst expects tensions to escalate in the region, in light of a trend to reduce Iran's influence and curb its militias. For his part, Shawwardi speaks of an "Iranian belief" that the United States and the countries of the region do not want "the expansion of the war," and says that "the only party that wants that is Israel." The Iranian political analyst believes that "the important and influential regional Arab countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia will remain neutral," because if these countries participate and support the United States and Israel, "they will be targeted by the axis of resistance."
Shawwardi points out that “if the United States launches any war against Iran and the axis of resistance, Russia and China will support Iran and its allies to exhaust America economically and militarily, and this will be in the strategic interest of Moscow and Beijing by having Washington enter the quagmire of war in the Middle East again,” as he put it.
The Palestinian resistance announced the destruction of about 15 vehicles of the Israeli occupation army and the killing of more than 12 people among its ranks. While the Israeli raids continued to bomb many areas in the Gaza Strip , leaving 163 martyrs, a number of its reserve forces refused to participate in the fighting inside the Strip.
The Izz al-Din al -Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), said that its fighters in the Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip confirmed the destruction of 6 Israeli Merkava tanks. In Al-Maghazi camp and Al-Tuffah neighborhood, they destroyed 3 vehicles, including a troop carrier and a bulldozer, one of which was destroyed in a joint mission with the Al-Quds Brigades , the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement .
The Al-Qassam Brigades said that its fighters killed 5 soldiers, 4 of whom were snipers in the Maghazi camp, while the fifth was killed in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood. Al-Qassam in Al-Maghazi camp targeted a special force of 7 soldiers with a TPG shell, and finished them off from a distance of zero. In the Khan Yunis axis, the Al-Qassam Brigades targeted a gathering of incursive occupation soldiers and vehicles with mortar shells. Al-Qassam said that its fighters targeted an Israeli foot force, killing and wounding its members on the outskirts of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City.
In the Karama neighborhood - northwest of Gaza City - Al-Qassam fighters ambushed a special Israeli force in a house and detonated an anti-personnel device. They also targeted 3 tanks in the Karama neighborhood and in Khan Yunis, including two Merkava tanks, with an “ Al-Yassin 105 ” shell. Al-Qassam broadcast pictures that it said were of the seizure of two Skylark drones in Gaza City. It also broadcast pictures that it said were of Qassam mortar units targeting enemy concentrations in the areas of incursion into the Gaza Strip.
For its part, the Al-Quds Brigades said that they bombed with mortar shells gatherings of Israeli soldiers south of Bureij in the central Gaza Strip, and targeted a military vehicle and a bulldozer east of Bureij. The Al-Quds Brigades announced that they shot down an Israeli Quadcopter drone while it was carrying out an intelligence mission in the Bureij camp. Al-Quds Brigades also stated that they targeted "the Zionist enemy's command headquarters with a guided missile in the vicinity of the College of Science and Technology, south of Khan Yunis."
On the other hand, the Israeli army stated that it carried out an airdrop to the 98th Division, which is fighting in Khan Yunis in Gaza. Pictures published by the Israeli army showed the process of transferring this equipment to warplanes. It also showed the flight of the planes and then the airdrop operation over Khan Yunis. The equipment included weapons, fuel, and food.
The Israeli forces continued their continuous bombing throughout the Gaza Strip, and the Ministry of Health in the Strip announced that the number of martyrs today alone exceeded 163, dozens of them in targeting homes and residential buildings in the Al-Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City, and others in the vicinity of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.
Special photos from Al Jazeera showed Israeli aircraft bombing residential buildings in the Qaizan al-Najjar area, southeast of Khan Yunis. Pictures obtained by Al Jazeera also showed the effects of the occupation forces’ destruction of the “Block C” residential area in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip. The Israeli forces repositioned themselves on Salah al-Din Street, near the northern entrance to the Nuseirat camp. Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that clashes took place between the Palestinian resistance and the Israeli forces in the southwestern areas of Gaza City. The reporter confirmed that the occupation forces targeted these areas with several raids.
The Israeli army announced the destruction of rocket launchers after they were found by the Israeli 646th Brigade and said they were being used to target the Netivot settlement. The Israeli army said in a statement: “Over recent weeks, the forces of the 646th Brigade worked near the Bureij area in the Gaza Strip, and during the forces’ activity, a salvo of about 25 rocket shells was detected towards the city of Netivot, where the forces took the initiative to chase the terrorists suspected of launching the rocket shells.” Seven armed saboteurs were arrested, and in addition, during the activity, a number of other saboteurs were eliminated.”
The statement added: "After the end of the chase, the launch complex was found, which contained 3 platforms with 10 nozzles, some of which were stuffed and ready for launch. The complex and the platforms were destroyed in an engineering operation."
The military and strategic expert, Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi, described the Israeli occupation army as lacking individual skill at the levels of commanders, non-commissioned officers, and officers, noting that the resistance in northern Gaza has turned into a new stage in the fighting. Al-Duwairi commented on the refusal of Israeli reserve soldiers to participate in the fighting in the Gaza Strip , saying that “this is an indicator of weakness,” and that the training foundations since 2006 are no longer the same after adopting different approaches that focus on elite forces, especially the air force and elite forces, in exchange for a decline in interest in the ground forces.
Al-Duwairi pointed out that the operational tactical exercises did not focus on the ground forces, “so the performance of officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers declined,” noting that these soldiers were brought to guard the settlements in the Gaza Strip on a defensive mission, but they did not return to perform offensive roles. He added that the reserve soldier knows with certainty that if he enters Gaza, he will not return alive, "so he criticizes, rejects, and rebels in order to remain alive, and his excuse is that he did not receive training."
Al-Duwairi's comment came after Israeli radio revealed that reserve soldiers who refused to participate in the fighting in the Gaza Strip spoke of serious gaps in the level of training.
In a related context, the military expert said that the resistance in the northern Gaza Strip has begun to move into a stage of exhaustion and thickening of the occupation forces, which will re-enter the region when they obtain intelligence information regarding the prisoners and others. Al-Duwairi added that these goals are an incentive to enter and push the forces, “and therefore the resistance’s mission is to set up ambushes and lure the forces invading the killing areas,” where the occupation will incur a bill equal to or greater than the one it was paying in the context of the combat battle.
He pointed out that the southern border of the Northern Strip, which meets the northern border of Wadi Gaza (Juhr al-Dik and the outskirts of the Zaytoun neighborhood and Tal al-Hawa), is where the occupation forces are subjected to elaborate ambushes, so they resorted to fire dams and refrained from entering them for days.
He stressed that the defensive and combat roles of the brigades under the Qassam brigades had been redrawn after they were distributed along geographical lines, as the Shuja'iya Battalion was obligated to defend the Shuja'iya neighborhood only, but its roles have now expanded to defend the Al-Tuffah and Al-Daraj neighborhoods. The Beit Hanoun Battalion's defensive mission also differed, and it shifted from confrontational combat to "operating behind the lines of the occupation forces."
Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi, mocked the airdrop operation carried out by the Israeli occupation army in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip , and said that the operation reflects its failure to impose its control over the region. The Israeli army announced - earlier - that it had carried out an airdrop for the 98th Division in Khan Yunis, which included weapons, equipment, fuel and food. Pictures published by the army showed the process of transferring equipment to warplanes.
Al-Duwairi compared airdrops throughout history to the operation carried out by the occupation in Khan Yunis, and said that airdrops were carried out in certain circumstances. For example, when Leningrad was besieged during World War II, it was only able to withstand an American airdrop that lasted for many months.
Al-Duwairi believes that the implementation of an airdrop operation in the Gaza Strip is ridiculous, and he said that there are field data that clarify its implications. What happened in the past two weeks in the Al-Qarara area (east of Khan Yunis) and its environs is that the combat operation failed and the Israeli forces retreated towards the Gaza Valley, and to The outskirts of Juhr al-Dik (central Gaza Strip) and the fence. He added that the occupation forces can enter certain areas, but they are unable to establish and impose control. Al-Duwairi confirmed that the Israeli airdrop in Khan Yunis was to avoid losses, but it also indicated its lack of control over that area.
According to Al Jazeera's correspondent in the Gaza Strip , Elias Karam, this is the fifth time that the occupation army has carried out an airdrop in the Gaza areas. The correspondent raised questions about the occupation’s need to carry out an airdrop in a small area, suggesting that the Israeli army may face a logistical problem in transporting military equipment and the necessary needs of weapons, water and fuel due to the ferocity of the battles, and perhaps the routes taken by the Israeli supply convoys will be targeted by the resistance. Palestinians in Gaza.
The town of “Idhna” was known as one of the most prominent flashpoints in the West Bank during the “ Stone Intifada ,” which began in late 1987 and continued for several years, but its participation was less severe in the “ Al-Aqsa Intifada ” in 2000, and in the subsequent outbreaks, leading to the Battle of Flood . Al-Aqsa . The town is located west of the city of Hebron, in the south of the West Bank, in a sensitive geographical location, which reduced the chances of it participating in popular anti-occupation activities, like other hot areas. To the west is the Israeli separation wall , and to its north is the Tarqumiya crossing, which is considered a lifeline linking the West Bank with the territories. Occupied in 1948.
This reality made many of the town's residents turn to work in Israel, or in the scrap (metal) trade, recycling and separating them from each other, which is a very popular sector in the town. The situation changed in the town of 30,000 people on Friday, January 12, when the occupation army announced that it had managed to kill 3 young men who had managed to infiltrate the “Adora” settlement and injure a soldier. Then the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that the young men were: Muhammad Arafat Abu Jahisha. (15 years old), Uday Ismail Abu Jahisha (17 years old), and Ismail Ahmed Abu Jahisha (19 years old), all from the town of Idhna.
Immediately, the occupation - as part of a series of collective punishments against the town’s residents - began “a strict and suffocating siege of the town from various sides, widespread arrests, and raids on the homes of the martyrs’ families, vandalizing their contents and threatening to demolish them, with the demolition of 5 industrial facilities, and confiscation of trucks and vehicles,” according to what he stated. For Al Jazeera Net, Mayor Jaber Al-Tamizi.
Not far from the town of Idhna and to the east of it, the town of Dura was on the verge of a violent Israeli incursion, which resulted in the martyrdom of the young woman Ahed Mahmoud Awlad Muhammad (24 years old), a mother of a little girl, while she was standing on the roof of her house, and the young man Muhammad Hassan Ibrahim Abu Sebaa (22 years old). years), 10 others were injured, and thousands of mourners came out to their funeral, raising the flags of the factions, in a scene that the town had not been accustomed to for years.
As for the east of the city of Hebron, the town of Bani Naim caught the attention, as the perpetrators of the stabbing and stomping attack in the city of “Raanana” inside the Green Line emerged from it on Monday, namely Ahmed Muhammad Ali Ziadat (25 years old) and his uncle Mahmoud Ali Salem Ziadat (44 years old). They were arrested on the same day. The lives of the residents were upended by collective punishments, the entrances to the town were closed, the homes of the perpetrators were raided, their families were assaulted, and the measurements of the two homes were taken in preparation for their demolition.
What happened in the three towns in the southern West Bank over the past few days represented a new acceleration and expansion of the confrontation with the Israeli occupation, while the “Raanana” operation and the storming of the “Adora” settlement represented a diversity of confrontation tools. In his reading of the course of the confrontation in the West Bank, political analyst Samer Anabtawi says, “It is true that the popular resistance was confined before last October 7 to some clash points in the West Bank, and the armed resistance was confined to some camps in the north, but the Israeli side sought to escalate the situation on the ground.”
Anabtawi added - in speaking to Al Jazeera Net - that "the policy of the Israeli government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu , and the membership of the two extremist ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich , is escalation, and this was clear regarding the prisoners, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the settlements." Regarding the difference after last October 7, the analyst added, “The field situation began to escalate further, with hundreds of martyrs and thousands of wounded in 100 days in the West Bank, as a result of the Israeli army’s incursions, while manifestations of resistance began to extend to new areas such as Jericho, Qalqilya, Hebron, and Tulkarm, after the It was confined to Jenin camp, old Nablus, and some villages and camps.”
The non-governmental Palestinian Information Center "Ma'ta" also documented 567 Palestinian acts of resistance in various parts of the West Bank, between last December 15 and January 11 of this year, including 140 shooting operations, which affected almost all of the West Bank governorates.
Political analyst Anabtawi considers that “dealing with the West Bank depends on a conflict between two trends in Israel, one of which is a ruling trend that is waging an aggressive war against the entire Palestinian people, and the other is an opposition trend that warns of the explosion of the situation.” He added, "It is true that the focus of the war is killing and destruction in the Gaza Strip, but there is an undeclared war on the West Bank, represented by the suppression and eradication of resistance before it develops, to achieve deterrence on the one hand, and impose sanctions on the Palestinian people on the other hand, and we see this in the systematic destruction of buildings and cars." Targeting with aircraft, abusing prisoners, and dismembering areas.”
The political analyst added, "The second trend in Israel warns of an explosion in the situation, as a result of seizing the authority's funds, increasing repression, and preventing workers from reaching their workplaces, thus opening a new front." Anabtawi believes that “the extremist trend that seeks to escalate in the West Bank prevails,” as it has not achieved the deterrence it seeks. He explains, “What we are witnessing today are continuous confrontations that are increasing in number and even extending to wider areas.”
The Palestinian analyst points out that "there is a cohesion that the occupation is trying to destroy without success. What happened in the Gaza Strip was a response to what was happening in the West Bank. Therefore, the West Bank is completely cohesive and compatible with the Gaza Strip, without this affecting the resolve of the Palestinian people."
Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy announced that the chances of war on the northern border front with Lebanon are higher than in the past. During his visit to reserve forces in the north, accompanied by Northern Command Commander Uri Gordin and other leaders, Halevy said, "The possibility of war in the north has increased compared to the past. When we need to, we will move forward with all force."
He added: " Army training has now become much more important, and we are increasing our readiness to fight in Lebanon. We have many lessons from the fighting in Gaza. We want to reach a very clear goal in Lebanon, which is to return the population to all the settlements in the north." He continued "We realize that this has to go through a very big change".
Halevy added, "I do not know the timing of the war in the north, but I can say that the possibility of its outbreak in the coming months is greater than it was in the past." He stated "We will begin the war with many advantages, victory, self-confidence, low self-confidence, increased experience with capabilities, surprises, and progress. What remains is serious training, along with the fighting spirit of the individuals, and when we need that, we will move forward with all force."
Israeli media outlets, once again underlined that the unfolding events at the Lebanese border area with occupied Palestine are "extremely difficult", stressing that it would grow tougher with time. Hezbollah, Israeli media reports reveal, has "established a security belt several kilometers inside "Israel" using its military capabilities and through its operations against the Israeli occupation."
Haaretz military affairs analyst, Amos Harel, pointed out that two weeks after the assassination of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut, Hezbollah has shown strategic restraint when it came to its response, which included a rocket and missile attack on the Israeli Mount "Meron" Air Traffic Control Base, as well as detonating a suicide drone at the Northern Command headquarters in Safad, in a bid to avoid war. "What is happening is enough to create an unbearable situation," Harel added, explaining that Hezbollah was effectively imposing a security belt with a range that extends several kilometers into occupied territories. In contrast, the Israeli government has responded to Hezbollah's attacks with "empty words".
The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon had launched a series of daily operations against Israeli military targets in northern occupied territories, the deepest of which targeted the Israeli occupation's northern command headquarters in occupied Safad.
Israeli artillery shelling targeted the Kafr Shuba Heights and the towns of Kafr Kila, Taybeh, Markaba, and Wadi Saluki in the eastern sector, Ayta al-Shaab in the central sector, and the outskirts of Naqoura in the western sector of southern Lebanon. The Israeli artillery shelling also targeted the Khiam Plain and the Marjayoun Plain in the eastern sector. For its part, the Israeli army announced that it had attacked several targets on Lebanese territory since Wednesday morning.
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said, "Air Force fighter jets recently attacked infrastructure and military buildings belonging to Hezbollah in the Lebanese Houla region." Meanwhile, "an Israeli army tank fired to remove a threat that was detected in the Aita al-Shaab area. In addition, artillery forces fired to remove the threat in the afternoon area." Adraee added, "Israeli army fighters attacked a military building in the Marwahin area after spotting a cell." Also, "an anti-tank missile was detected being launched from Lebanese territory towards the Gladiola area, and IDF forces attacked the sources of the fire."
The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah targeted several Israeli military targets in occupied territories, according to multiple statements released by the Resistance's Military Media. Initially, the group launched an attack on a grouping of Israeli occupation soldiers, positioned in the vicinity of al-Raheb military site, located in the western district of operations, at 1:00 pm (local time).
In the easternmost area of operations, the group fired its high caliber rockets, which carry payloads of 100-500 kg individually, at the vicinity of the Israeli Roueisat al-Alam site, built on usurped Lebanese territories in the occupied Shebaa Farms. In this attack, Hezbollah fighters intended to target Israeli occupation forces positioned in the area. Hezbollah confirmed in a statement that rockets directly hit their intended targets, at 2:50 pm.
Just a few minutes later, Resistance fighters targeted another grouping of soldiers in the Tel Shaar military site, located between the "Netu'a" and "Shtula" settlements near the Palestinian-Lebanese border. Concurrently the group targeted enemy soldiers in the vicinity of al-Aabad military site in al-Jalil Panhandle, near the Israeli-occupied Lebanese town of Honin.
Following the announcements, sirens went off in the "Metula" settlement, opposite the border Lebanese town of Kfar Kila, at around 4:15 pm. A few moments later, a rocket attack was launched at Israeli settlements located near the northern coast of occupied Palestine, to the south of the Lebanese town of al-Naqoura.
Sirens went off in several settlements, as Israeli media outlets said that 20 rockets were spotted traveling toward the settlements. Later, Hamas' military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, announced its responsibility for the rocket attack, saying that it targeted the "Liman" military base. The Resistance faction said that the operation came in response to Israeli massacres against Palestinian civilians and is the context of a wider response to the "Israel's" assassination of leader and martyr Saleh al-Aorouri and his comrades, in the Southern Suburb of Beirut.
The Israeli newspaper "Jerusalem Post" said that serious tactical errors contributed to the success of two attacks carried out by Lebanese Hezbollah with drones on the Air Force traffic control base in Mount Meron, and on the headquarters of the Israeli army's Northern Command in the city of Safed on January 6 and 9. respectively.
In his report, the chief military correspondent for the newspaper UNA, Jeremy Pope, asked about the importance of these attacks from a tactical and strategic perspective? Did you help Hezbollah turn the equation against Israel by changing its approach? Has it led the Israeli army to where it claims that its efforts to persuade the party to withdraw its forces from the border are making progress? Is the level of damage caused by the attacks qualitatively different and new?
Tactically, Pope says that the Air Force facility had previously been attacked by Hezbollah, and was close to the border where it should have been prepared to face the threat of an anti-tank missile attack, but was prepared to respond to missile attacks. He adds that in that region, the Iron Dome system and other air defense capabilities provide the necessary cover, but they only shoot down missiles that are launched at higher altitudes and on a curved path.
Anti-tank shells fly low and in a straight line towards the target, which are usually heavy armored vehicles, but they can easily destroy a house. Bob goes on to say that the Israeli army has a Trophy defense system to intercept such threats. This system is an active defense system designed to protect personnel carriers and tanks from direct anti-armor weapons directed in the form of hemispherical protection. However, the army did not deploy defensive systems in larger areas, such as a military base.
All of these factors have a negative impact on the capabilities of the Israeli army and its intelligence monitoring capabilities, as stated in the Jerusalem Post article. However, the newspaper has learned that the Israeli army has a surplus of surveillance operators, mobile surveillance resources, and fighters who conduct information gathering operations. According to the newspaper, the F-35 stealth fighter can be used when needed on any front, whether from a long or close distance.
Jeremy Pope says in his report that the Israeli army did not reveal statistics related to the military drones it used in the current war, which has extended for more than 100 days so far. During the period from May 9 to May 13, these aircraft recorded 4,000 hours of flight over the Strip . Gaza in operations against the " Islamic Jihad Movement ".
He goes on to say that despite the Israeli army's ability to organize tactically, strategic matters remain significant. The army does not have the ability to respond except to launch a pre-emptive attack to prevent anti-tank missiles from hitting military or civilian facilities that are within the 8-kilometre range of Hezbollah's anti-tank missiles. The speed of the missile is about 500 feet per second, which prevents it from being detected and responded to.
According to Pope's claim, there is no doubt that Hezbollah has withdrawn many of its forces from the border, and that about 180 fighters from the party and the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) have been killed in Lebanon compared to about 20 soldiers from the Israeli army so far. But until the Israeli army figures out how to deal with the matter ideally, without waging a general war, it will be difficult for Israel to translate its military superiority into sustainable security gains in the long term, as the military analyst told the newspaper.
Bloomberg agency said that commercial ship traffic through the Suez Canal has fallen to its lowest levels since the Ever Given ship closed the waterway almost 3 years ago. The agency indicated that this decrease reflects the significant impact of the existing tension in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait , which has caused global trade to shift to a longer and more expensive route via the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa. The agency quoted data revealed by a platform run by the International Monetary Fund and Oxford University that the 7-day moving average for the daily crossing of Suez for cargo ships, container carriers and oil tankers had diminished to 49 as of last Sunday.
This represents a sharp decline from the daily peak of 83 crossings in late June 2023, and is even lower than the 7-day average compared to the previous year, which reached 70 daily crossings. The current traffic flow is the lightest through the Suez Canal since early April 2021, after the huge container carrier “Ever Given” settled between the two banks of the canal for about a week in late March 2021, causing supply chains to be disrupted for several months with queuing ships.
The escalation of attacks by the Yemeni Houthi group on Israeli or Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea region, and the American and British military responses to them, have exacerbated the challenges facing the shipping industry. The Houthis are targeting Israeli ships to put pressure on stopping the ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip for more than 100 days, which has caused the death of 24,000 Palestinians and the injury of more than 60,000 others, most of them children and women, in addition to great destruction.
The data, reported by Bloomberg, also highlights a corresponding increase in the number of ships choosing to pass through the Cape of Good Hope. Bloomberg says that this historic decline in traffic in the Suez Canal raises concerns about the resilience of global supply chains and the vulnerability of major maritime routes. Adding that redirecting ships to longer routes not only leads to higher costs, but also adds complexity to the logistical planning of companies around the world.
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.
The Japanese shipping company "Nippon Yusen" (NYK Line) announced the complete suspension of the passage of its ships in the Red Sea. A Nippon Yusen spokesman said the company made this decision to "ensure the safety of the crew." On November 19, the Houthis seized the cargo ship "Galaxy Leader" and detained its 25 crew members. The "Nippon Yusen" was managing this ship on behalf of a British company owned by an Israeli businessman. According to the Nikkei newspaper, the other two major Japanese shipping companies, Mitsui OSK Lines and Kawasaki Kisen, also decided to avoid crossing the Red Sea completely.
Maps
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All maps are lies. “Not only is it easy to lie with maps, it is essential,” wrote cartographer Mark Monmoneir in his book How to Lie with Maps. He showed that condensing complex, three-dimensional spaces onto a two-dimensional sheet of paper is bound to be reductive. 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
Speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos, United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said the war on Gaza indicates violations of international law and urged the implementation of an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. He further described it as "ignoring international law, trampling on the Geneva Conventions, and even violating the United Nations Charter."
The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the arrival of two Qatari Armed Forces planes to the Egyptian city of Al-Arish, carrying aid from Qatar and France to the Gaza Strip. The two planes carry 61 tons of aid, including medicines and foodstuffs, bringing the total number of planes carrying aid to Gaza since October 7 to 63 planes, with a total of 1,958 tons of aid.
This aid comes after the success of the mediation of the State of Qatar, in cooperation with France, in reaching an agreement between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), which includes the entry of medicines and a shipment of humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip, especially to the most affected and affected areas, in exchange for delivering the medicines that the detainees need. Israelis in the Strip.
The population of Gaza is facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, as they constitute 80% of those suffering from famine worldwide, in light of the continued Israeli attacks and siege on the Strip, according to United Nations human rights experts. Experts point out that the people of the Gaza Strip today face serious challenges in meeting their basic needs for food and clean water, which increases the risk of famine, and pregnant women face a lack of nutrition and health care, which puts their lives at risk.
Axis of Resistance
The head of the Hamas movement abroad, Khaled Meshaal, stressed the movement’s and the Palestinian people’s rejection of the term two-state solution, stressing that “our people demand liberation, getting rid of the occupation, independence, and the establishment of a Palestinian state.” Mishal: We reject the term two-state solution and the solution is to get rid of the occupationHerzog: Now is not the time to discuss the two-state solution.
Meshaal pointed out in a statement that “the West says that the October 7 battle opened a horizon for the issue of political vision, and from here they return to their old commodity, which is the two-state solution ,” explaining that “Hamas does not accept the term two-state solution, which is rejected, because it means that we have a promised state at the required time.” To recognize the legitimacy of the other state, which is the Zionist entity, and this is categorically rejected.”
He pointed out that "the position of Hamas and the position of the Palestinian people in their vast majority, especially after October 7, renewed the dream and hope for Palestine from the sea to the river and from the north to the south," asking: "Why does the Palestinian have to accept a fifth of Palestine and this becomes the final solution?"
Mishal explained that “the 1967 borders practically represent 21% of one-fifth of Palestine, so this cannot be accepted,” stressing that “our Palestinian project, upon which there is almost a Palestinian national consensus, says that our right to Palestine is irreversible, from the sea to the river and from Ras al-Naqoura to Umm al-Rashrash. ” Or the Gulf of Aqaba. This is our Palestinian right and our presence in this land, both recent and ancient, and the Zionist entity has been upon us since the year 1948.
The United States officially designated the Ansar Allah Movement in Yemen, as a global terrorist group, citing attacks on naval vessels in the Red Sea, as a driver of the decision. The decision will take effect on February 16 this year, in which Ansar Allah will become a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, Jake Sullivan, the Biden Administration's national security Advisor announced. "The people of Yemen should not pay the price for the actions of the Houthis," Sullivan said in the press release.
White House officials held a special teleconference to address questions regarding the decision. According to one official the US Department of the Treasury will issue five additional broad general licenses that authorize certain transactions related to the provision of food, medical devices, and medicines, fuel, personal remittances, operations of airports and ports. The official alleged that this would be done to ensure that the Yemeni people would not harmed in any way.
It is worth noting that the Biden administration had previously removed the Ansar Allah Movement from a list of designated terrorists. The designation was revoked when Joe Biden took office in 2021, after Donald Trump's, Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, had said that the group would be considered a terrorist group on January 10, 2021. The previous decision only lasted for 28 days before being revoked by, the Biden administration, which said that the decision came in response to "the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen."
In a statement, released on February 12, Antony Blinken recognized the possible "devastating impact" of the designation "on Yemenis’ access to basic commodities like food and fuel." On the other hand, the new statement has essentially retracted previous recognitions of the detrimental effects of the designation. "If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, the United States will immediately reevaluate this designation," Sullivan said, clearly showcasing the US's use of its "terror lists" to blackmail entities that harm its interests around the world.
The US State Department promised to reverse the decision if the movement stopped its attacks against Israeli ships in the Red Sea. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the goal is to force the movement to distance itself from Iran. The Ansar Allah movement confirmed that the American decision is politicized, and it is a badge of honor that it wears for its position in support of the Palestinian people. Washington had previously threatened to return the movement to the terrorist list and obstruct the signing of the Saudi-Yemeni agreement.
Earlier, The New York Times reported US officials feared that designating Ansar Allah as a "foreign terrorist organization" could cause aid groups to stop sending supplies into the areas under Sanaa's control, which entails most of Yemen's population, for fear of criminal liability or other US penalties. It is worth noting that the decision will also target the Ansar Allah-led Sanaa government, which manages civilian affairs in several areas extending Yemen's eastern coast.
In response to the decision to designate Ansar Allah as a Global Terrorist, the head of the movement's Negotiating Envoy and top official, Mohammad Abdul-Salam said that the US has used the designation for "political purposes." He slammed the decision, emphasizing that it "will not deter [Yemen] from our steadfast support for the Palestinian people." The official underlined that the decision will have minimal to "no effectiveness on the ground," adding that it will only "strengthen [Ansar Allah's] commitment to supporting" Palestine.
Ansar Allah's Politburo released a statement responding to the decision saying that the classification "is ironically amusing, coming from the global state of terrorism." The committee said that its decision is "an honorary badge," highlighting the group's "supportive stance toward the Palestinian people." The party also shed light on the severe economic and humanitarian crises faced by the Yemeni people which have been inflicted upon them due to US-led policy, which has disabled major governmental institutions, and hindered prospects of growth in the country. "Yemen has fundamentally been under economic siege by America, with the targeting of the Yemeni banking system disabled by Americans for years," Ansar Allah's Politburo stressed.
Allied for Democracy
""The war has become the objective," former Shin Bet security agency director Ami Ayalon told me in a recent Haaretz interview.... Many of the country's decision-makers appear enamored of a situation in which the war continues with no end in sight and consider it an unavoidable necessity. At Sunday's cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that the war will continue for many more months. That's no surprise. ...many Israelis have sensed that the war's declared aims have been largely unrealistic and that Netanyahu's hidden objectives are personal and political – evading testifying at his criminal corruption trial, preventing a resumption of the protests against his government and disrupting any attempt to hold early elections." Yossi Melman wrote.Netanyahu confirmed during a visit to the Nevatim air base in southern Israel on Wednesday that the war will continue until all its goals are achieved. Netanyahu said: “The war will continue until the end, liberating the hostages, eliminating Hamas, and ensuring that Gaza does not pose a future threat to Israel’s security.” The Prime Minister added: "Do not miscalculate. We will continue fighting on land, in the air and at sea until complete victory." Netanyahu's office followed this by saying, "The principle demanded by Hamas, which Prime Minister Netanyahu categorically rejected, is Hamas's demand to end the war."
Hebrew media reported that Netanyahu's statements came during a meeting of members of the military cabinet with the heads of local councils, which was held at the headquarters of the Israeli army's Southern Command in Beersheba. According to the Channel 12 report, Netanyahu revealed the assessment in the context of a discussion in which he reportedly also agreed to review the current Defense Ministry framework that provides financial assistance to Israelis willing to return to areas from which they were evacuated 4/7 kilometers from the Gaza border.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid commented on what was reported by Hebrew media on Wednesday regarding the exclusion of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant from participating in security decision-making. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said, "Reports that the Defense Minister was excluded from security decisions related to the war and the lives of the kidnapped, confirm once again that Israel has an incompetent prime minister and an incompetent government." Lapid stressed that Israel needs to change the government now.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's lack of political decision, as he said in press statements that "political thought is what drives military action and the lack of a political decision would harm the progress of the military operation." He stated that he had presented the members of the Council of Ministers with a plan and it was the government's duty to discuss it and determine the goal of the war.
The Hebrew Channel 12 reported that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy had been excluded from making decisions regarding procedures for transporting medicines to the Gaza Strip. It indicated that they were not informed of this until last Friday evening, after the official announcement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In the context of the Prime Minister's exclusions, the Hebrew Channel 13 reported that the political elite in Israel decided in recent days to promote new negotiating principles that could ultimately lead to a hostage deal, but Netanyahu obstructed it.
The Hebrew channel said that it was expected that the negotiations would be advanced through a mediator, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed that and tightened the principles that were agreed upon in the negotiations without coordination with the “war cabinet” (Minister Benny Gantz and cabinet member Gadi Eisenkot). The report indicated that the “war cabinet” later learned about this matter, “and some ministers even confronted Netanyahu about this issue and expressed their anger.”
During his meeting with heads of local authorities in the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu said that according to estimates of the current situation, the war on Gaza will continue in 2025 as well, according to what Channel 12 reported.
Hebrew Channel 13 reported that the political elite in Israel decided in recent days to promote new negotiating principles that could eventually lead to a hostage deal, but Prime Minister Netanyahu obstructed it. The Hebrew channel said that it was expected that the negotiations would be advanced through a mediator, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed that and tightened the principles that were agreed upon in the negotiations without coordination with the “war cabinet” (Minister Benny Gantz and cabinet member Gadi Eisenkot).
The report indicated that the “war cabinet” later learned about this matter, “and some ministers even confronted Netanyahu about this issue and expressed their anger.” The channel quoted unnamed officials as saying that they are “still working on an Israeli plan” and that movement in this regard has not stopped.
Israeli writer Michael Brizon, who writes under the pen name of B. Michael, spoke about the massive level of lying by the Israeli defense team before the International Court of Justice, in an article he wrote in the Israeli newspaper “Haaretz.” Israeli writer: If we had connected a lie detector to our lawyer in The Hague, the electricity grid would have collapsed because of their “complicity in crimes.”
Michael said: “South Africa may have chosen to file a case against Israel for “Gaza genocide”, despite the difficulty of proving this, because that is the only way to force it to appear urgently before the International Court of Justice, in the hope that it will issue some temporary orders with effect. against it,” noting that “Israel saw in that charge its opportunity to focus on an attempt to refute it, and thus divert the discussion from all the other atrocities it is committing in the Gaza Strip.”
He pointed out, "This is exactly what happened, when the Israeli lawyers broke all possible records regarding the plea of ??alleged innocence. We only shot the terrorists. We warned the residents with leaflets. We indicated for them exactly where they should go. We destroyed the neighborhoods so that they could Cleansing and rebuilding it, as if terrorists were dwarfs hiding behind children, or effeminate people hiding behind women, or people suffering from osteoporosis hiding behind the elderly, the sick, doctors, journalists, and people with disabilities.”
He added: “If a lie detector had been connected to one of the Israeli lawyers during his speeches, the electricity network in The Hague would have collapsed, and the city would have remained in darkness to this day.” He continued sarcastically: “And Israel has also chosen, for an unclear reason, South Africa to focus almost entirely on what is happening in Gaza instead of talking about what is happening in all the occupied territories, Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem, because it is about one nation whose members are being trampled under the shoes of the same occupier.”
He believed that "one of the signs of malice and evil is that Israel has denied for years the existence of the Palestinian people, and has made persistent efforts to deny their existence in public consciousness and discourse, and has issued laws to legitimize the theft of all their property, until it has made the theft of their lands a sacred act. In fact, their lives have become a fair game, to the point that it has become... Any child carrying a gun can shoot a Palestinian whenever he wants, and it is enough for him to say, “I felt threatened,” for him to enjoy immunity.
He stated that "the freedom of the Palestinians and their freedom of movement and expression, like their right to self-determination and self-defense, all of this has been trampled upon, and is still trampled upon every day. Almost half of the people are in a cage, and the other half is rotting under a military dictatorship and living conditions that seem as if they were specifically designed to burden their lives." "And push him out of sight."
He considered that, “If South Africa had argued in this manner, its speech would have gained additional weight, and it would have made clear an important fact that no one here will enjoy peace unless each of us gets our own land,” noting that “the offer is not over yet, as on February 19 The court will meet again to debate Israel, as the UN General Assembly has asked it for advice regarding “the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.”
Tel Aviv pollster and political analyst Dalia Sheindlin said that there are difficult questions related to how to end the war in Gaza , the meaning behind it, and what will the post-war phase look like for the Gaza Strip? She went on to ask in an article in the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" whether the world is serious about resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, noting that many world leaders have repeatedly reiterated their commitment to an eventual political solution to the conflict based on the formula of the two-state solution.
She added that US President Joe Biden , British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak , French President Emmanuel Macron , German Chancellor Olaf Schulz , the European Union and Arab leaders all expressed their support for the two-state solution. Sheindlin stated that after years in which the phrases “peace process” and “two-state solution” were nothing more than empty words, they now carry urgent connotations. But what the governments of these international leaders intend to do to advance their declared policy does not seem entirely clear.
Official statements provide a clear picture of the policy vision and, at best, contain hints about specific steps aimed at enhancing the connotations of those statements.The political analyst brought to mind the five no's - or the so-called "Tokyo Principles" - that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken set out in early November:
- No to the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza
- No to using Gaza as a platform for “terrorism”
- No to the re-occupation or siege of Gaza
- No to cutting off part of Gaza's territory
- No "terrorist" threat from the West Bank.
According to the Haaretz article, the US Secretary of State “in his intelligence” realized that the long-term vision of a peace settlement must guide immediate policies when the dust of the battles settles. Blinken had expressed his belief that the time had come to begin talks about the future, “today, not tomorrow, and not after the war, because defining long-term goals, and setting a path to achieve them, will help us formulate an approach to meet immediate needs.”
Scheindlin quoted German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, during her visit to the region last week, as confirming that the Gaza Strip belongs to the Palestinians, its people cannot be expelled, and Israel should not reoccupy the Strip or settle in it. It also raised concerns about "illegal" settlements in the West Bank. According to the political analyst, it is still unclear what international leaders will do to implement this vision. She believes that the signals issued by the United States may be confusing. Media reports revealed that Israel is putting pressure on the American administration not to mention the two-state solution.
Meanwhile, the United States “secretly” took a step, but it may be historic, to ban the issuance of visas to “violent” West Bank settlers to prevent them from entering its territory. It seems that Europe will follow America's example. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell explicitly announced in December that the bloc would “work to impose sanctions on extremist settlers in the West Bank.”
Scheindlin said that diplomats seem convinced of the necessity of a serious political transformation in the region, and they also realize that the issue is controversial globally, and not just within Europe. To this end, Western policymakers seem to agree that the Arab world must be involved in any future political process.
She explained that she was not sure that talk about making a real political decision about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict might be more serious this time. But she added, perhaps all the leaders of those countries are working feverishly behind the scenes to come up with a “well-formed” strategy that leads towards peace. She added that the region seemed so helpless that it was begging strangers to extend a helping hand to it, before asking: Are the Israelis and Palestinians really unable to do anything to save themselves? Her response was positive.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the Israeli war on Gaza as "gutwrenching" and stated that he believes that what is needed is "a Palestinian state that gives people what they want and works with Israel to be effective." Speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Blinken said, "The suffering breaks my heart," adding that a solution should be found, obviously not considering a ceasefire a "solution" having vetoed any such attempt repeatedly at the UNSC.
Despite all that is said about growing differences between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu , the two men have agreed on a single approach since the first day of the aggression against Gaza. An approach that began to take them on the path of expanding the scope of the war in a way that heralds a major explosion. The bad option here is to designate Yemen as a point to ignite war. If Biden wanted to show off his attack on Yemen, he chose an opponent who would not accept non-response. If he is serious, he has chosen a path that he may not be able to reach the end of.
If Washington's options are narrow in the context of targeting Yemen and expanding the war in the region, the strength of the Yemeni response is enough to turn the tables on the Biden administration , which has become almost devoid of effective solutions in the region. What then if things get out of control and Washington finds itself mired in and around Yemen? Does Washington have the cards to control the course of matters in a war over the area of the region?
This was discussed in an article by the Georgetown University Center for Security Studies entitled... The Houthis, 'Israel', and the limits of American military power. In this article... The United States has so far chosen a 'stop the bleeding' approach towards the Houthis, as it announced a naval alliance in the Red Sea. (But) the way out of this conflict is diplomatic, not military. The Houthis are striking because of the Israeli war (in Gaza). Biden must use his influence on 'Israel', and be prepared for this option before the situation in the Red Sea deteriorates.
The article adds: There is a danger at this stage that the Biden administration will become involved in another large-scale conflict in the Middle East. In a situation like this, calls for ground intervention can be expected from US government hawks . Perhaps they realize how unpopular such a war is, and the possibility of it spiraling out of control very quickly.
Thus, the escalatory strikes launched by the United States will not make our naval assets any more protected than they already are. Washington can work to stabilize the situation by pressuring Israel to end its war in Gaza. It is time for the United States to tread carefully, put its house in order, and not sow chaos in the Middle East.
An article published by The American Conservative website entitled: America will lose any global war in the Middle East. In light of the possibility of an escalation of the war between “Israel” and Hamas, the United States must distance itself from the current conflict. Washington's confrontation with Iran's allies in the region may end in potential quagmires, and American interests may be harmed by these failed adventures. Yemen is a potential flashpoint. As the administration considers more strike options there, it must resist the urge to push beyond this preventive role. Further American intervention in Yemen will not lead to a different outcome, and will likely encourage the Houthis to intensify their attacks as a means of retaliation.
So... the United States must open back channels to reduce the escalation. It risks getting bogged down in war by escalating with Iran's allies. But the current hotbeds of tension can be removed without sacrificing America's interest. The balance between risk and reward is important. The rewards of survival are intangible, questionable, and largely imaginary. The risks of this survival are bloody, costly, and disastrous.
Dr. Zakaria Hamoudan, Director of the National Institute for Studies and Statistics from Beirut, stated : There have been many comments on this subject. We have monitored some of them.. We have here a comment from the American journalist and writer, “Glenn Greenwald,” who wrote.. It is true that Biden is violating... Constitution by bombing Yemen without the approval of Congress, but it is also true that it is up to Congress to impose its powers, which it never does. Congress just wants to register a position, but it does not want to bear this responsibility.
American program presenter Tucker Carlson criticized his country's administration's policy in the region. Blinken claims that we are bombing Yemen to protect the oppressed poor. Are you serious? This is the next step toward a full-scale war with Iran, which the foreign policy ogres in Washington have been imagining for decades. Keep this in mind as we move toward war.
The final comment from journalist and writer Anya Parmbell who wrote here: I think we now know what our chief “diplomat” Blinken has been working on intensively in the Middle East. When Anthony acts, blood is shed. So... about the United States’ contradiction in positions related to the region, and its adherence to its policies that push towards a major regional war, and the results of these policies and their consequences on Washington and the occupying entity before any other party.
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 24,448 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 61,504. The Palestinian Government Media Office in Gaza had said much earlier that the number of missing people had risen to more than 8,000, including including 4,700 children and women, amid expectations that the toll will be double thi figures.
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. As of 17 January 2023, the Israeli escalation in the West Bank led to the death of 360 Palestinians, the injury of nearly 2,200, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and the arrest of about 6,000, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club.
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 195, and 529 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 1,152 since the start of its ground attack on Gaza on October 27, including 228 seriously wounded, while the total number has reached 2,602 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
Al-Qassam Brigades publishes a video clip of Israeli prisoners and hostages: “Tomorrow we will inform you of their fate.” In the clip, the prisoners called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the war in order to return them to their families. An Israeli prisoner said in the clip: “Stop this madness and return us to our families.”
Earlier, Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, said in an audio recording, “The fate of many of the enemy’s prisoners and detainees has become unknown in recent weeks, but the rest have all entered the tunnel of the unknown due to the Zionist aggression.” He added, "Most likely, many of them will have been killed recently, while the rest are still in imminent and great danger every hour, and the enemy's leadership and army bear full responsibility."
Abu Ubaida continued, "We were informed from several parties on the resistance fronts that they are seeking to expand their strikes against the enemy in the coming days in light of the continued aggression against Gaza." He declared, "After a hundred days of battle, confrontation, and confrontation of aggression, this is the enemy's leadership swallowing pain and wading through the mire of failure and failure."
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 total number of prisoners in Israeli prisons is 8,800, as documented by the club until the end of December 2023. The Prisoners' Club explained that arrests after the 7th of October amounted to more than 5,975, 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. The arrest campaigns affected all groups, including women and children, as the number of women who were arrested reached about 200, while the number of arrests among children until the end of last December exceeded 355 children. The number of administrative detainees in Israeli prisons reached more than 3,290, which is the highest percentage since the years of the 1987 Intifada.
Israel said on 14 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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