Operation Iron Swords - Day 109 - 23 January 2024

Contents

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

A Palestinian resistance operation in Al-Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip resulted in the killing of 21 Israeli soldiers. The Israeli army described it as the most difficult since the beginning of the ground invasion of the Strip on October 27 last year. In the details of the operation, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari explained that Palestinian fighters fired an RPG missile at a tank that was securing the Israeli force, and at the same time an explosion occurred in two two-story buildings, while most of the force was present inside them, or near them.

For its part, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that the incident, which led to the death of 21 soldiers, occurred in the Maghazi camp. It explained that the incident occurred when soldiers booby-trapped two buildings in the camp, and then members of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) fired anti-tank missiles, which led to the explosion of explosive devices and the collapse of the two buildings on the Israeli soldiers. It added that the explosion that killed the soldiers occurred 600 meters from the border fence, stressing that rescue operations for those injured in the collapse of the two buildings from under the rubble continued for long hours last night. It pointed out that the tank crew, which was there to secure the soldiers at the scene of the accident, was directly hit by a Palestinian fighters’ shell.

Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said that the preliminary investigation into the circumstances of the incident that led to the killing of the soldiers in the Maghazi camp showed that the explosion occurred as a result of the firing of two RPG missiles that hit a tank and bombed buildings that collapsed on the soldiers.

the Israeli "Wala" website reported that the soldiers were booby-trapping the two buildings in the Maghazi camp with the aim of blowing up 10 houses in the area, so that they would be exposed to the army, under the pretext of preventing Hamas fighters from hiding there, according to what he put it. The site confirmed that the Palestinian resistance's bombing of the two adjacent buildings led to their collapse, making the area appear to be a hotbed of destruction, burying the soldiers under the rubble, describing the incident as an "earthquake."

The resistance operation in Al-Maghazi camp came after the Israeli army announced yesterday that it was continuing to fight the Palestinian factions in the northern and central Gaza Strip, while Israeli media had been talking for days about the army moving into the third phase of the war, and withdrawing a number of forces from the northern areas of the Strip.

Israeli officials expressed their pain following the announcement of the killing of 24 officers and soldiers in the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours, especially since 21 of them died in a resistance operation in the Maghazi camp in the center of the Strip, which was described as the harshest since the start of the ground invasion on October 27. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and War Council member Benny Gantz expressed their sadness in a joint statement, saying that they “bow their heads to those who fell in Gaza,” and that they will not stop striving to achieve victory.

Galant also said that Israel suffered a strong blow yesterday with the killing of 24 soldiers, 3 of them in battles in the southern Gaza Strip, adding that they are following Hezbollah, which continues to provoke Israel in the north, as he put it. More than one political and military official also spoke about the difficulty of the ongoing battles in the Gaza Strip.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu : "Yesterday we lived through one of the most difficult days since the outbreak of war, and the army began an investigation into the disaster. We are doing our best to preserve the lives of our soldiers, and we will not stop fighting until absolute victory is achieved.“

President Isaac Herzog : "It is a difficult morning to bear with the addition of the names of more of our soldiers to the list of the dead.“

War Council member Benny Gantz : "A difficult morning for the entire people of Israel with the catastrophic killing of 21 soldiers.“

We must unite and remember the heavy price we had to pay for this just war.“

Defense Minister Yoav Galant : "A difficult and painful morning, and our hearts are with the families of the victims in their most difficult times. This is a war that will determine Israel's future for decades to come, and our soldiers will die to achieve the goals of the war.“

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich : "Tragic news, and we pledge that the killing of our children in Gaza will not be in vain.“

Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir : "A difficult and painful morning, heart broken and shattered.“

Education Minister Yoav Kisch: "I feel tremendous pain and cannot find words to express the great sadness I feel with the announcement of the terrible disaster that occurred yesterday.“

Energy Minister Eli Cohen: "A very difficult morning, and the killing of 21 soldiers in the Gaza Strip is a very heavy price.“

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana: "A very difficult morning in which the people of Israel woke up to heartbreaking news. Every one of our dead in Gaza is a world full of families, hopes and dreams that were cut off prematurely.“

Opposition leader Yair Lapid : "An unbearable difficult morning with the bitter news of the killing of 21 soldiers in Gaza.“

“A disaster in Gaza,” “the most difficult incident,” “a difficult and unbearable morning.” These phrases are among the most widely circulated on official and unofficial Israeli communication platforms after the Israeli army announced the killing of 24 officers and soldiers in the Gaza battles within 24 hours. The accounts of the Israeli Ministry of Defense on social media platforms began publishing the names and pictures of its soldiers who were killed in the Gaza battles. Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari appeared with a look of sadness and grief on his face, announcing the killing of 21 officers and soldiers from the Israeli reserve forces who were killed in the bombing of two buildings in Al-Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that the killing of soldiers in the Maghazi camp occurred 600 meters from the border fence, and that operations to rescue victims from under the rubble continued for many hours. Al Jazeera broadcast a clip showing the moment of the explosion of a building in the Maghazi camp in which the occupation forces had barricaded themselves after it was targeted by Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza.

The killing of Israeli officers and soldiers sparked a state of shock on Israeli social media platforms, and accounts began publishing photos of the officers and soldiers whose names and photos were allowed to be published.

The Israeli Prime Minister offered his condolences to the families of the soldiers and officers who were killed, saying, “Yesterday we witnessed one of the most difficult days since the outbreak of the war. I ask to extend our sincere condolences to the dear families of our brave fighters who fell on the battlefield. I know that the lives of these families have changed forever. I am saddened.” For the fall of our brave soldiers, I embrace the families in their anguish as we all pray for the recovery of our wounded. The IDF has begun investigating the circumstances of the tragedy. We must draw the necessary lessons and do everything in our power to preserve the lives of our fighters, in the name of our heroes, and for our lives. We stop fighting until absolute victory is achieved."

But Netanyahu's condolences to the families of the dead aroused the anger of many followers, who described him as a failure and held him primarily responsible for the terrible situation in which Israel now finds itself, for the never-ending nightmare, and for the endless black hole. They demanded that he stop lying to Israeli citizens, as well as Others called on him to resign, and asked him how many Israeli army forces would be killed before he resigned.

But how did the audience on social media platforms in the Arab world react to the news of the killing of 24 Israeli officers and soldiers in 24 hours? Tweeters commented on the news as “a good morning” and described the operation as thoughtful and precise. They said that the Palestinian resistance had caught the Israeli forces in a trap. After they let them bomb houses, they targeted them. The resistance fired a missile that cost no more than $10, which blew up the place, killing 21 officers and soldiers at once.

Some observers commented by saying, "After the specific operation of the Palestinian resistance, it seems that the leaders of the occupation army will raise the ceiling of their feelings of disappointment, despair and frustration and read the scene from a field perspective indicating that a battalion or several companies were completely annihilated and fell into an elaborate trap."

Bloggers said that the Israeli army sent large numbers that were not experienced in urban combat into Gaza, which increased the chance that they would be targeted by Palestinian resistance factions. Tweeters also repeated Abu Ubaida’s famous saying, “Here are the sands of Gaza swallowing their soldiers.” While some observers pointed out that the Israeli army underestimates the number of its deaths, and does not announce the real numbers in order not to frustrate the rest of the fighting forces in the Gaza Strip, and they added that the operation came more than 100 days after the ground invasion of the Strip, which proves the failure of Israeli military intelligence in Its information gathering and inability to protect its forces from Palestinian resistance attacks.

Operational Update

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed his government ministers that the third phase of the war on Gaza will take 6 months. The authority added that Netanyahu explained that it would take 6 months for the army to end the third phase of the war, which had already begun in the northern Gaza Strip. It quoted Netanyahu as saying to the ministers at a meeting yesterday: "As we said previously, the air part will continue for 3 weeks and so it was, and as we said that the second part of the huge maneuver will last 3 months and so it was, and thus we say that the third part of stabilizing control and cleansing will continue for 6 months", according to his expressions.

Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy said that the battle in the Gaza Strip will be long; Stressing the need for reserve forces again, after 24 Israeli soldiers were killed in one day in a specific Palestinian resistance operation. Halevy added: "We will continue to fight" the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) "with great determination for our right to live in safety." Regarding the operation in which 21 of his forces were killed, Halevy said: “Our soldiers fell in battle during a defensive operation in the area separating the Israeli towns and Gaza.” He added that the operation was aimed at creating security conditions for the residents of the Gaza envelope area to return to their homes safely, noting that “an in-depth investigation will be opened and lessons will be drawn so that such an incident will not be repeated.”

In recent weeks, the Israeli army announced the withdrawal of many of its forces from the Gaza Strip as part of entering the third phase of the war, which focuses on targeted bombing, noting that it does not clarify the number of its forces currently present in the Gaza Strip, as part of its ground incursion.

The Al-Qassam Brigades , the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), stated that it destroyed an Israeli troop carrier with an “ Al-Yassin 105 ” shell in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, which has been witnessing, since dawn on Monday, Israeli incursion attempts and fierce fighting and bombing.

For its part, the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, reported that it blew up an Israeli tank with a piercing device in the Al-Taqadum axis, west of Khan Yunis, in the vicinity of the Japanese Quarter. It added that it bombed with a barrage of mortar shells a position of occupation soldiers and vehicles in the advance axis in the western camp in Khan Yunis.

Al Jazeera's correspondent said that the Israeli army also announced last night that about 18 wounded in battles in the southern Gaza Strip had been transferred to Israeli hospitals. The reporter added that the occupation forces are besieging the southern area of Khan Yunis and closing the western area with 7 military battalions, because they believe that the military leaders of the Hamas movement are concentrated in this area.

The Israeli army claimed to have “completed the encirclement” of the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. The army said, in a statement, “Over the last 24 hours, the 98th Division carried out a large-scale attack” in Khan Yunis. It claimed that within the division, "the paratroopers, the Givati and the 7th Brigade completed the operation during the attack to encircle Khan Yunis. The commandos also deepened the attack into the heart of the area that is used as a pivotal center of gravity for the Hamas-affiliated Khan Yunis Brigade." The IDF army claimed that it "eliminated dozens of militants in face-to-face battles in cooperation with air force raids."

The American newspaper The Washington Post quoted Israeli military and security leaders as saying that the Israeli army may lose gains in the Gaza Strip, due to the lack of a post-war strategy. The leaders explained that the army must maintain its areas of control, not control new territory. The Washington Post, citing an Israeli military source, said that the long-term security presence in Gaza is a nightmare rejected by many in the security establishment. The newspaper pointed out that the Hamas tunnel network is much more extensive than the occupation army estimates, and that it extends for a distance of more than 300 miles in the southern Gaza Strip alone. According to military commanders, it is unlikely that Hamas's tunnel network in Gaza will be completely dismantled.

Israeli media reported details of what they said were the broad outlines of a possible exchange deal with the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), which was drafted in cooperation with the Israeli security services, Mossad chief David Barnea, and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar.

Under the weight of protests in the Israeli street demanding the release of those detained by Hamas, the strengthening of convictions of the Israeli failure to achieve the goals of the war on Gaza , and the disagreements in the “ war cabinet , ” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that he had presented broad outlines for a possible exchange deal, refusing to go into details.

According to these lines, 136 Israeli detainees will be released in 3 stages:

1. Civilian detainees.
2. Then the female soldiers and the bodies of dead detainees.
3. Finally, the soldiers and men who serve in the Israeli army are regular and reserve, which is the condition that Hamas has insisted on from the beginning.

In return, Israel will release at every stage thousands of Palestinian prisoners, male and female, including veteran prisoners, the sick, the elderly, people with high sentences, and prisoners who the occupation says “have blood on their hands,” and the army will gradually withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu claimed that there was no serious offer by Hamas for an exchange deal, and he appeared contradictory during his meeting with a delegation of the families of Israeli detainees held by the Palestinian resistance, as he stated that he rejected the movement’s demands to end the war and reach an agreement that he says also includes the release of “elite forces” militants from Hamas. Who were arrested by Israel for allegedly participating in the “ Al-Aqsa Flood ” battle.

Israel recently handed over to the Qatari and Egyptian mediators a new framework for a possible exchange deal that includes preparing for a two-month truce in exchange for the return of all those detained by Hamas in Gaza, according to two senior Israeli officials.

According to Barak Ravid, a political analyst on the Walla website, this proposal is the most important that Tel Aviv has put forward since the beginning of the war, in an attempt to bring about a breakthrough in the negotiations to release the detainees. Although the proposal rejects Hamas's request to stop the war, it includes preparations for the longest ceasefire agreed to by Israel so far, according to Ravid. The analyst quoted two senior Israeli officials as saying that the “war cabinet” agreed about 10 days ago on a “framework” that includes the principles of what Israel wants and does not want to implement within the framework of the detainee release deal.

Ravid says that the deal includes the release of all living detainees and the return of all bodies held by Hamas in several stages.

1. The first phase will include the release of Israeli women who are still in captivity, men over the age of 60, and detainees who are in serious health condition.
2. In the next stages, men under the age of 60, female soldiers, male soldiers, and guard team members will be released, and the bodies will be returned.

According to the same proposal, Israel and Hamas would agree in advance on the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released for each Israeli detainee in each of the categories, and then the names of the Palestinian prisoners to be released would be negotiated separately at each stage.

Ravid explained that the Israeli proposal includes preparations to begin redeploying army forces in the Gaza Strip, so that they gradually withdraw from large population centers, as well as allowing a “gradual and controlled” return of the Palestinian population to Gaza City and the northern Strip during the implementation of the agreement.

According to Ravid, the framework of the potential deal approved by the “War Cabinet” indicates that Israel will not agree to end the war after releasing the detainees and releasing all 6,000 Palestinian prisoners in its prisons. He stressed that Israel is still waiting for Hamas’ response to the proposal, but the Israeli side expressed cautious optimism about the possibility of moving forward with negotiations on the basis of this proposal, and acknowledged that if the deal is implemented, the activity of the occupation army in the Gaza Strip two months after the truce will be significantly less in scope and intensity. .

In reading the implications of Israel's drafting of a proposal for a new exchange deal and what was reported about Hamas showing some kind of flexibility in negotiating the deal, Amos Harel, a military analyst for the Haaretz newspaper, believes that the gap in positions is still large, but there is a willingness on both sides to discuss the broad outlines of this deal.

Harel estimated that the United States , Qatar and Egypt are exerting pressure on both sides to enter into a process of negotiations that will lead to the conclusion of an exchange deal in stages, in the first stage of which some Israeli detainees will be released, and in the final stage the occupation army will withdraw from the Gaza Strip, and thus the end of the war will be declared.

Harel added that it seems that no breakthrough has been achieved yet in the talks, but “for the first time in a long time there is a willingness from Israel and Hamas to discuss - and seriously - the broad lines of the deal, and it is expected that one of the channels of talks will resume this week in Cairo .” The military analyst pointed out that Israel, in light of the widening circle of protests denouncing the government’s handling of the file of detainees held by Hamas, is seeking to move forward with another stage to release them in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners it holds in prisons, while agreeing to a two-week ceasefire. He pointed out that the Egyptian mediators are seeking to reach a ceasefire for a period of 90 days, and to eventually move to a final stage of the agreement to end the war.

In this context, Harel points out that the families of the detainees have escalated their protests against the backdrop of frustration “with what appears to be the laxity of the political level regarding the deal.”

A kilometer and a half long tunnel route and a factory for the production of rockets: the combat team of the 7th Brigade destroys the production capabilities of Hamas. As the forces advanced in the area, terrorist squads opened fire with small arms and many RPGs in order to prevent the entry of the forces. At the same time, the terrorists blew up the tunnel shafts in an attempt to prevent the force from penetrating the subsoil. Battles were held in the area against a large number of terrorists. The fighters returned fire and eliminated the terrorists at close range, with machine gun fire, tank shell fire and air support.

The fighters of the combat team together with the fighters of the Yalam unit located many shafts that led to a long tunnel route with a laboratory and a lathe for the production of underground rockets, this is the largest lathe that has been located so far in the southern Gaza Strip. The underground route was scanned, explored and destroyed after the end of the exploration. This activity is part of the effort to damage Hamas' weapons and rocket production capabilities in the Gaza Strip.

Air force fighter jets completed an attack on terrorist targets in Lebanon. As part of the attack, a military asset used by the terrorist organization Hezbollah and operated by Iranian forces was destroyed. Also, a military site where the organization's terrorists were operating was destroyed. During the day, IDF forces attacked several other areas in the territory of Lebanon.

Maps

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. Indeed, by late January 2024 mappers were rather less exuberant in their depictions of IDF advances. While by the end of 2023 maps suggested that it was "mission accomplished" in North Gaza which was depicted as entirely pacified, by late January 2024 enclaves of IDF elements were depicted at the margins of Gaza City, much of North Gaza was now depticted as either HAMAS-controlled, or "contested". Another noteworthy cartographic ambiguity is found to the south of Khan Yunis in the stretch of Salah Al-Deen avenue running north from Al-Nasr through al-Fukhari to the vicinity of Tawhid Mosque in the environs of Khan Yunis proper. By the end of 2023 some cartographers indicated that a large swath of territory centered on this avenue had been liberated by the IDF, while other cartographers professed no knowlege of an IDF presence in that part of the Strip. By late January 2024 there are suggestions that while the avenue itself is an IDF permissive corridor for nearly the full length of the Strip, much of adjacent territory is not.

Bystanders

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that Israel does not have a veto against the Palestinians' right to self-determination. Borrell pointed out that an agreement had been reached between the European Union and its allies in the Middle East on a “two-state solution,” which Israel announced that it opposes. He pointed out that the United Nations has repeatedly recognized the right of the Palestinians to self-determination, and no party can deny or oppose that.

Axis of Resistance

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei called on Islamic governments to join hands and cut off the lifeline of the Zionist regime in response to its onslaught against Gaza. The organizers of the National Congress for the Commemoration of the 24,000 Martyrs from Tehran met with Ayatollah Khamenei in Tehran.

In the gathering, the Leader criticized the officials of Islamic countries for their poor conduct regarding the highly crucial situation in Gaza, saying, "Sometimes the positions and statements of the officials of the Islamic countries are wrong because they talk about an issue such as the ceasefire in Gaza, which is beyond their control and is in the hands of the evil Zionist enemy. The officials of Islamic countries should focus on matters that are within their control."

The Leader stressed the importance for officials in the Islamic countries to sever all ties with the Zionist regime in order to cripple its power, Khamenei.ir reported. "That which is in the hands of the officials of the Islamic countries is to cut off the lifeline of the Zionist regime. Islamic countries should cut off their political and economic relations with the Zionist regime and they should also refrain from supporting this regime," the Leader stated.

“Despite the inadequate conduct of the officials of Islamic countries and despite all the difficulties, as stated in the Quran, ‘God is with the righteous people and wherever God is, there is victory',” Ayatollah Khamenei underlined. The Leader also noted that the victory of the people of Gaza is inevitable, adding, "the Almighty God will show this victory to the Islamic Ummah in the not-too-distant future, and it will bring joy to the hearts of Muslims, especially the people of Palestine and Gaza."

The commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy argued that the Yemeni military forces have decided, of their own volition, to bar vessels owned by or bound for Israel from sailing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait without taking orders from anybody. “Yemen is an independent state that has a powerful army and a strong leader, which acts independently and does not take orders from any party,” Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri said in reaction to the attacks that the Yemeni forces have been launching against Israeli vessels in the Red Sea. He noted that the “hero Yemenis” have expressed their practical support for the Palestinian people in Gaza.

Allied for Democracy

Haaretz newspaper said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lost control over his lying, as happens to him when he is under pressure, especially since he is cornered due to the pressure of calling for the detainees’ deal and the United States. The newspaper reported - in a report by Anshel Pfeiffer - that Netanyahu said in a meeting with relatives of detainees held by the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) in Gaza that “contrary to what is said, there is no real proposal on the part of Hamas,” and this is not true, according to Pfeiffer.

The writer added, "I will say that as clearly as I can, and then he will ask, 'Who said that there is a proposal from Hamas?' He responds that Netanyahu is the same one who said less than 24 hours ago, “I completely reject the terms of surrender proposed by the monsters of Hamas.” Thus - the writer points out - that there is not only a proposal, but rather that there are actual conditions that Netanyahu continued to detail, saying, “In exchange for the release of our hostages, Hamas demands an end to the war, the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza, the release of the killers and rapists from the elite, and leaving Hamas in its place.”

Although Netanyahu can avoid lying to the families of detainees and to the public, what worries him most is that the Egyptian government is about to present an official proposal regarding a deal to release detainees in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and a long-term ceasefire in Gaza, which is what his companions Benny Gantz and Gadi prefer. Eisenkot, and they will demand a clear answer from him and will not allow him to evade. Meanwhile, Netanyahu is still trying to lie to US President Joe Biden . He gave him the impression of being prepared to consider certain forms of a demilitarized Palestinian state. He then took to social media and wrote, “I will not give up full Israeli security control over western Jordan, and this contradicts With the Palestinian state.

After the two pressure factors - the Americans and the detainees deal - became unbearable, it is possible for Netanyahu to agree to discuss the possibility of the Egyptian proposal and the American framework, because it is likely that Hamas and the Palestinian Authority will reject it , and therefore he may be playing for time in the meantime.

But the biggest concern and what Netanyahu fears most is losing the majority in the Knesset , after it took him 4 years and 5 election campaigns - including 18 frustrating months out of office - for him to be able to secure it in November 2022. This majority of the parties that supported him in the last elections is all... Something is for him, and he will do anything to avoid wasting it.

Any indication from Netanyahu that he is willing to accept a ceasefire or agree to the Palestinian Authority’s control of Gaza after the war - as the writer says - will put 14 seats at risk, and not because the leaders of the two extreme right-wing parties, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, are in a hurry to leave the ruling coalition. But because they need to bolster their claims to be “true right-wingers” when the next election comes. Without these two full-backs, Netanyahu will be at the mercy of Gantz and Eisenkot, whose National Unity Party has the seats needed to keep the government afloat if the far-right parties leave, but they will want to replace him as soon as possible.

The writer concluded that Netanyahu cannot curb events forever despite his avoidance of a serious discussion in the cabinet regarding the “next day” strategy in Gaza, but whatever he does, he is likely to lose part of his emergency coalition within weeks, and Smotrich and Ben Gvir will not be able to protect him from The decisions he has to make, and soon his lies will run out, according to the writer.

Israeli historian Shlomo Sand, author of the controversial book “How Were the Jewish People Invented,” has published a new work entitled “Two Peoples for One State?” It supports the idea, which has been defended by many Zionist intellectuals since the end of the 19th century, which is the establishment of a bi-national state for Israelis and Palestinians. Sand said - in an interview with him, summarized by Julie Conan for the French newspaper La Croix - that what is happening in the Gaza Strip is dangerous because no one in the Israeli authority knows what to do, and because aimless wars are dangerous, and almost turn into genocide.

The Israeli historian explained that he never supported a bi-national state and was not against it, but after the 1967 war, he supported the two-state solution. But after all these years of settlement, the idea of a two-state solution has become more and more hollow, because we have been living for half a century in a bi-national state under a clear apartheid system, in which people live side by side but with different rights, as he put it

Sand believed that it was Europe that vomited the Jews onto the Arabs of Palestine, and for this reason “the behavior of the Europeans bothers me a lot.” Speaking to the Europeans, he added, “You are responsible for long-term tragedies. For all my life, I have been surprised that people who claim that they were taken from their land two thousand years ago do not recognize the rights of those who were taken from their land 75 years ago. Israel does not want to recognize this, despite the fact that all Hamas leaders , such as Yahya Al-Sanwar and Sheikh Ahmed Yassin come from the ancient land of Palestine, from Ashkelon and Ashdod, which is considered the land of Israel.”

The air and missile strikes launched by the administration of President Joe Biden against the Houthis in Yemen did not succeed in restoring American deterrence, or preventing them from attacking ships in the southern Red Sea . Instead of calming tension in one of the most important commercial sea lanes in the world, the military strikes exacerbated it further.

A number of experts Al Jazeera Net spoke to fear the involvement of the United States in a broader war in the region, at a time when the Houthis do not show any signs of retreating from their declared position regarding the continuation of attacks as long as the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip continues. Washington hopes that its almost daily attacks will deter the Houthi group from attacking shipping lines in the Red Sea, or destroy and eliminate its missile stockpiles.

For his part, John Finner, Deputy National Security Advisor to the White House, defended the Washington-led coalition strikes against the Houthis, saying, "The goals here go beyond deterrence. We seek to weaken their ability to continue launching these attacks." Despite the continuation of the strikes involving the British Navy, Biden admitted that they had not yet produced the desired effect. He responded to the question of one of the journalists accompanying him, “Will the Houthis stop?” He said, “No.” He answered the question, "Will they continue?" By saying: “Yes.”

In an interview with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, retired General Frank McKenzie, former head of the US Central Command, said that the US strikes are welcome, even if they are somewhat late, given the importance of the Bab al- Mandab Strait. “We may be able to deter the Houthis from continuing these actions,” McKenzie said. “There is still a lot of fighting ahead to achieve this goal, but I think we are doing the right thing.”

Days earlier, the US announced the killing of two Navy personnel after they disappeared 10 days ago during a naval operation to intercept weapons from Iran destined for Houthi fighters. They are among the first known American deaths in the US campaign against the Houthis. This coincided with the publication of successive reports about the possibility that taking action against the Houthis could fuel a broader war in the Middle East , and McKenzie believes that the threat is exaggerated.

In an interview with CNN last Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said , “Since the beginning of the Israeli genocidal war in Gaza, which followed the October operation, we have issued warnings that if the attacks and war crimes do not stop... And the genocide against Gaza and the West Bank , the war will spread widely, and will become larger.”

He added, "This does not mean that we wanted to play a role in this expansion. We care about maritime security and shipping safety. Our oil exports take place across the sea. Therefore, the security of the Red Sea, the Sea of Oman and the Persian Gulf is very important to us. We benefit from it. Otherwise, we will not be able to Export our oil.

On the other hand, McKenzie believes, “ Iran currently has no interest in entering a major war, because they understand in the end what will happen. They will be defeated. The regime will be under intense pressure and may collapse. I do not think that Tehran will escalate its attacks significantly in the region because we are striking the Houthis,” according to him. Appreciate it. He continues, "Currently, this is a cheap war for them. They have waged it very effectively by shipping missiles and other lethal components to Yemen."

For his part, security affairs expert Alexandre Langlois considered, in an article published by "The Nation" magazine, that while the Houthi strikes have continued since last November, the Biden team hopes that its step will deter them from continuing these attacks. But he believes that the reality is more ambiguous, and Biden will fail to stop the group’s aggression while it further obstructs international shipping, as both actors are climbing an escalatory ladder that risks a broader regional war.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, the director of the Gulf States Studies Foundation, Giorgio Cafiero, considered that the Houthis’ conflict with the United States gives them more sympathy and support throughout the Arab world at a time when anti-Washington sentiment is rising in the region due to the Biden administration providing strong support to Israel amid the genocidal war on Gaza. Cafiero added that the conflict with Washington enables the Houthis to better consolidate their position within the Iranian-led “axis of resistance,” and “demonstrates to Tehran the extent of the group’s connection to this anti-hegemonic alliance.” He also pointed out that the Houthis are accustomed to war and fighting while foreign powers bomb their targets in Yemen. Hence, the Houthis spread their weapons across the country, making it increasingly difficult for the US military or any other force to eliminate their fighting capacity through air strikes.

Langlois believes that instead of continuing with failed regional policies, the United States should consider the only clear measure that will end the Houthi strikes on international shipping with a permanent ceasefire between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), which will solve multiple problems facing American foreign policy if the administration shows... Biden is real leadership by pressuring Israel.

In a difficult election year, President Biden's aides are concerned about the possibility of escalation on the one hand, and the fear that he will appear as a weak president if he does not resort to military tools on the other hand. Jawdat Bahjat, a professor at the Near East and South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the Pentagon ’s National Defense University , told Al Jazeera Net, “Washington’s military and technological superiority does not give it the ability to deter the Houthis. It has previously failed in Afghanistan , and the Houthis have won, in one way or another, In the war in Yemen. He adds that the Houthis, like other militias, use asymmetric wars and tactics to confront the United States. In an election year, President Biden cannot appear weak, noting the possibility that Washington will continue to attack the Houthis, but these strikes are unlikely to stop their attacks or prevent them from taking action against Israel.

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 25,295 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 62,681. 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.

With the Israeli army announcing the killing of 24 soldiers, the total number of occupation deaths has risen to 559 since the start of the war on October 7, including 229 killed since the ground invasion as a result of the ongoing clashes with the Palestinian resistance [other sources report the total number of deaths of the occupation army has risen to 221 since the start of the ground invasion]. Among them were at least 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 In addition, 2,659 officers and soldiers were injured, including 407 who are still receiving treatment for their injuries in the Gaza battles, and the condition of 48 of them is serious, while 405 were seriously injured, 692 were moderately injured, and 1,562 were described as having minor injuries since the start of the war.

At least 13,599 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.

In an interview with RT, Military strategist retired Tunisian Brigadier General Tawfiq Didi said that the number of Israeli army deaths in the Gaza battles is much greater than what Israel announces. Didi explained in an interview with the “Best Saying” program on RT channel, “The number of people killed in battles can be easily known, as the equation in wars is that for every 3 wounded there is a dead person, and the numbers now in Israel hover around 12,500 wounded and disabled people, and when we divide by Three, we find that the death toll exceeds 4,000, especially after eliminating more than a thousand tanks and armored vehicles, and I know what happens when Kornet missiles hit a tank. Its ammunition explodes and no one is left alive.”

He added, "The Israelis announce their dead only of those of Jewish origin and of the first race, meaning all Arabs, Falash, and those who are among them. They are not counted because they are of the second category. So I am sure that the number exceeds 4 thousand dead, and this is a very easy military calculation." He pointed out, "The Palestinian resistance documented everything it did, unlike the Israelis. The resistance documented shooting at tanks and armored vehicles and destroying the houses in which the Israeli soldiers were holed up, and we saw them being killed... We saw the Kornet hitting the tanks, we saw Al-Yassin 105, so the difference is clear."

Hostages

An Israeli official said that negotiations with Hamas regarding a ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for a prisoner exchange are still ongoing. The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying that the negotiations “are still ongoing and we have not received a negative response.” It pointed out that the Israeli official's statements came after Western reports about Hamas rejecting the Israeli offer.

Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed have been held as hostages in Gaza since 2014 and 2015, respectively. Unlike the roughly 240 people kidnapped in the Hamas October 7 terrorist attacks, the campaign for the release of Mengistu and al-Sayed has received little publicity. Mengistu is known to suffer from what HRW deemed "serious" mental health issues. "Avera crossed one of the safest borders in the world, under the eyes of the security services," recalled Gil Elias, a relative. "We're talking about a mentally ill person who got lost." The calls for the release of Mengistu and al-Sayed have been barely audible during the many years they have been held captive in Gaza.

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 number of people arrested by the occupation in the West Bank since that date has exceeded 6,000. 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 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.