Operation Iron Swords - Day 114 - 28 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 |
"“Joe Biden emboldened Iran for years by tolerating attacks on our troops, bribing the ayatollahs with billions of dollars, and appeasing them to no end. He left our troops as sitting ducks and now three are dead and dozens wounded, sadly as I’ve predicted would happen for months. The only answer to these attacks must be devastating military retaliation against Iran’s terrorist forces, both in Iran and across the Middle East. Anything less will confirm Joe Biden as a coward unworthy of being commander-in-chief."
US officials have claimed the attack hit Tower 22 in Jordan, which US media describes as a “small US outpost” in the northeast of the country. Meanwhile Jordanian government spokesman Muhannad al Mubaidin told a local television channel the strike was actually against the Al-Tanf base, which hosts a substantial US military presence in Syria.
US Vice President Kamala Harris said that the attack on US forces on the Jordanian-Syrian border, which resulted in the killing of 3 American soldiers, was carried out by armed groups supported by Iran. Harris added that Washington will continue to fight terrorism and will hold all those responsible for the attack that killed 3 soldiers accountable. The US Vice President stated that the soldiers who were killed were fully committed to their American citizens and the security of America and its allies and partners.
This is is the first known instance US troops have been killed in attacks targeting the country’s presence in the Middle East since US backing of Israel provoked retaliatory strikes starting in October. US strikes are thought to have produced casualties as recently as four days ago, when the White House reported that an attack on Kataib Hezbollah likely killed several members of the militia.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he was outraged by the deadly attack on American troops in Jordan. "Iran-backed militias are responsible for these continued attacks on U.S. forces, and we will respond at a time and place of our choosing. The President and I will not tolerate attacks on American forces, and we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our troops, and our interests," he added.
Reuters reported, citing an unnamed American official, that the attack on the American base on the Jordanian border caused 34 American soldiers to sustain varying degrees of head injuries, including brain injuries. The same source added to the agency, "At least 34 soldiers were examined to ensure their safety and that they did not receive any possible brain injuries or concussions, and they were evacuated from the base to receive treatment."
Tower 22 is a strategically important location, at the most northeastern point where Jordan’s borders meet Syria and Iraq. Tower 22 overlooks a Syrian refugee camp called Rukban, where 15,000 people have been living for years. It is also near the Al-Tanf Garrison, where a few hundred US troops are stationed. The Al-Tanf base is also known as Area 55. Their primary mission is to train the Syrian Free Army, a small military organization comprising around 500 fighters displaced from the governorates of Deir Ezzor, Damascus, Homs, and Daraa. Colonel Muhannad al-Talaa established the organization in 2014.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack on an American base on the Jordanian border, which resulted in the death of 3 American soldiers and the wounding of 25 others. The Iraqi Islamic Resistance confirmed in its statement that it "will continue to launch its attacks against American bases in support of the Gaza Strip and in response to the Israeli massacres against the Strip for 114 days." The resistance added in its statement that today it targeted 4 American bases, which are the bases of Al-Shaddadi, Al-Rukban, and Al-Tanf, while the fourth, according to the statement, is inside the Palestinian territories, which is the Zevulun naval facility.
Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri said that the killing of American soldiers is a message to the American administration that it will have to confront the entire Islamic nation unless the killing of innocents in Gaza stops. Abu Zuhri stressed that "the continuation of the American-Zionist aggression against Gaza is capable of detonating all the situation in the region," adding that the movement warned the American administration of the expansion of the conflict in the Middle East as a result of the aggression against Gaza.v The Institute for the Study of War noted "The Axis of Resistance is demonstrating its readiness to sustain and even further escalate its attack campaign, despite the United States and Iraqi federal government announcing that they will negotiate over the status of US forces in Iraq.... Iranian-led efforts to expel the United States from Iraq would complicate sustaining a US force presence in Syria. The United States leaving Iraq and Syria risks allowing ISIS to resurge there.""
New York Times newspaper quoted American officials yesterday evening, Saturday, that negotiators are close to reaching an agreement in which Israel suspends its war on the Gaza Strip for two months in exchange for the release of more than 100 prisoners held by the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), an agreement that could be concluded within the next two weeks.
The officials told the newspaper that the negotiators have developed a draft of the agreement that combines the proposals of Hamas and Israel that were presented in the last ten days, and talks are taking place in Paris on Sunday between the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, with officials from Qatar, Egypt and Israel. While there are still important differences to be resolved, negotiators are cautiously optimistic that a final agreement is within reach, according to US officials who insisted on remaining anonymous.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed his commitment to ensuring the release of detainees who were not released as part of a limited agreement last November. He said, "As of today, we have returned 110 of our hostages and we are committed to returning them all... We are dealing with this, and we are doing so around the clock."
The Israeli Channel 12 previously reported Hamas’ conditions for a new prisoner exchange deal, which are: 100 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli prisoner, a complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip, a truce of between 10-14 days before the release of any Israeli prisoner, and a truce for two months. Between each stage of the deal.
Operational Update
The Wall Street Journal, citing American and Israeli officials, said that about 80% of the tunnels of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) in the Gaza Strip remain intact after weeks of attempts to destroy them by Israel. The American newspaper pointed out that officials in Washington and Tel Aviv are facing difficulty in accurately assessing the level of destruction of the tunnel network , partly due to their inability to accurately determine the area and extent of these underground tunnels.
Officials from the United States and Israel estimate that between 20% and 40% of Hamas' tunnels have been damaged or rendered inoperable, most of them in northern Gaza. The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel sought to "disinfect" the tunnels through various methods, including installing massive pumps to flood them with seawater, destroying them with airstrikes and liquid explosives, searching them with dogs and robots, destroying their entrances and raiding them by trained soldiers.
According to American and Israeli officials, seawater eroded some of these tunnels, but the overall effort was not as effective as hoped, as walls, barriers, and other unexpected defenses slowed or stopped the flow of water. The newspaper pointed out that Israel has specialized engineering units that include engineers trained to destroy tunnels, and not to search for what it called “hostages” and “senior leaders” of Hamas, noting that Israel needs more forces to destroy these tunnels.
A Haaretz newspaper report had indicated - earlier - that an assessment concluded that the Israeli army would not be able to destroy all the tunnels of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements in Gaza, and perhaps it would not be able to destroy most of them. According to this Israeli newspaper, the security establishment will one day be forced to admit that destroying tunnel networks was never a realistic goal.
Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth also said that the army was surprised by the size of the tunnel network built by the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, which exceeded Israeli estimates before the war. This newspaper reported that the army was surprised that the size of the tunnel network in the Gaza Strip exceeded the estimates of military commanders by about 600%.
A report by the Israeli newspaper "Maariv" revealed that elements linked to the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) were able to impose civilian control on areas in the northern Gaza Strip , which raises Israeli concern, noting that the Israeli army had previously announced control over these areas.
The Israeli newspaper reported that over the weekend there was a relative increase in the number of rocket launches from areas that the Israeli army had previously entered and reduced the size of its forces in the northern Gaza Strip. In this regard, the newspaper quoted Israeli military sources as saying, “There are fears among the leadership in the Israeli army that Hamas’s military capacity will grow little by little in the areas from which the Israeli army is withdrawing.”
In light of the return of civilian control to Hamas, the Israeli military establishment expresses its fears of the consequences of eroding what it described as the “achievements” achieved by the Israeli army in the northern Gaza Strip, according to Tal Lev Ram, a military analyst in the Maariv newspaper. The military analyst stated that while the Israeli army is making “tangible progress” in the southern Gaza Strip, but specifically in the northern Gaza Strip, in the area where the phase of violent fighting has ended, the security establishment has revealed signs of renewed concern in the area that the Israeli army previously controlled.
Israeli concerns revolve around the possibility that the Hamas movement will rehabilitate and restore its military capacity, and what indicates this, according to the military analyst, is that at the end of the week there was a relative increase in the number of rocket launches from areas where the Israeli army had achieved operational control and reduced the size of its forces in the north Gaza strip.
This is also due, according to Israeli military estimates, to the fact that militants from Hamas and Palestinian factions who remain in the area are less afraid of military operational activity under the cover of inclement weather. But in any case, Lev Ram says, “the Israeli security establishment is disturbed and concerned about the negative dynamics that may develop in these areas, something that may soon lead to an increase in Israeli military activity there.”
Amid these developments and changes on the ground, the Israeli security establishment points out that despite the fact that the Israeli army has completed the maneuvering phase in and around Gaza City, and has moved to focus on raids, incursions, and specific operations, in these areas over which the army announced the imposition of control, no mechanism has been established. Currently, there is an alternative civilian facility to serve and manage the affairs of approximately 200,000 Palestinians who remain in the region.
As a result, the newspaper estimated in its report that elements linked to Hamas specifically are able to control some civilian elements in these areas, which over time may lead to “the erosion of the achievements recorded by Israel in this field,” which means renewing Hamas has its influence in the area from which the Israeli army withdrew after it announced control of the area and claimed to eliminate Hamas’ presence there.
Israeli security officials claim that in addition to continuing to divide the Strip into areas, which does not allow Palestinian citizens to return to the north, the Israeli government must make decisions about the Palestinian civilian elements that will take care of the remaining civilian population in the northern Strip, according to what the military analyst quoted them as saying.
According to Israeli security officials, the current situation favors Hamas and leads to "eroding the IDF's achievements in combat." In the southern Gaza Strip, Lev Ram says, "Israeli army fighters continue to advance in the fighting in the Khan Yunis refugee camp. The forces have already reached a very advanced stage in the fight to control the central city in the southern Gaza Strip."
The New York Times quoted Israeli military and intelligence officials as saying that a large number of the weapons used by the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) in the attacks of last October 7 came from an unexpected source, which is the Israeli army itself. For years, analysts had pointed to underground smuggling routes to explain how Hamas remained so heavily armed despite Israel's military blockade of the Gaza Strip.
But recent intelligence information has shown the extent to which Hamas is able to build many of its missiles and anti-tank weapons from thousands of munitions that did not explode when Israel fired them into Gaza, according to Israeli and Western weapons and intelligence experts. The movement also arms its fighters with weapons taken from Israeli military bases. Intelligence surveyed by The New York Times during months of fighting revealed that just as the Israeli authorities misjudged Hamas' intentions before October 7, they also underestimated its ability to obtain weapons.
The newspaper points out that what is clear now is that the same weapons that Israeli forces used to impose the siege on Gaza over the past 17 years are now being used against them. It quoted Michael Kardash, former deputy head of the bomb disposal department in the Israeli National Police and an advisor to the Israeli police, saying, “Unexploded ordnance is the main source of explosives for Hamas.”
Weapons experts say that approximately 10% of munitions usually do not explode, but in the case of Israel the number may be higher. An Israeli intelligence officer - who spoke to the newspaper on the condition of anonymity - said that the failure rate of some of these missiles could reach 15 percent. Israel's arsenal includes Vietnam-era missiles, which the United States and other military powers have long since discontinued.
Either way, years of intermittent bombardment and the recent shelling of Gaza have left thousands of tons of unexploded ordnance scattered in the area awaiting reuse, and a single 750-pound bomb that fails to explode can turn into hundreds of rockets. Israeli officials knew before last October's attacks that Hamas was capable of making use of some Israeli-made weapons, but the scope astonished weapons experts and diplomats alike.
The Israeli authorities also knew that their weapons depots were vulnerable to theft. A military report issued early last year indicated that thousands of bullets and hundreds of weapons and grenades had been seized by Hamas from poorly guarded bases. The newspaper reported that after Hamas breached the border in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 4 Israeli soldiers discovered the body of a Hamas gunman who was killed outside the Ra’im military base. One of the soldiers said that Hebrew writing was visible on a hand grenade on his belt, and he identified it as a modern Israeli bulletproof device. Other Hamas fighters also seized some weapons from the base and carried them to Gaza, Israeli military officials say.
The newspaper's report indicated that members of an Israeli forensic team collected one of the 5,000 rockets fired by Hamas that day, and by examining the rocket, they discovered that its military explosives most likely came from an unexploded Israeli rocket fired at Gaza during a previous war, according to an Israeli intelligence officer.
If the attacks of last October 7 showed the combined arsenal that Hamas had gathered together, as the newspaper says - which included Iranian-made attack drones and North Korean-made missile launchers, the types of weapons that Hamas is known to smuggle into Gaza through tunnels - Other weapons, such as anti-tank explosives, RPG warheads, thermobaric bombs, and explosive devices, have been repurposed as Israeli weapons, according to videos published by Hamas and remnants uncovered by Israel.
Rockets and missiles require huge amounts of explosive material, which officials say is the most difficult material to smuggle into Gaza.
Military expert Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi said that Israel is currently launching 3 operations in the northern, central and southern Gaza Strip , noting that the intensity of fighting has declined in the north due to the failure of the Israeli forces to achieve their goals. In the northern part of the Strip, the past few days witnessed operations in Al-Tuffah, Al-Daraj, Jabalia, and Jabal Al-Rayes, according to Al-Duwairi, who said that levels of fighting had decreased in these areas. Satellite images indicate that there are only 20 Israeli vehicles on Al-Rashid Street.
The south currently represents the main fighting area; The 98th Division was provided with 5 brigades, making it composed of brigades of armored vehicles and paratroopers, according to Al-Duwairi, who indicated that one of these brigades was withdrawn due to the decline in its combat performance. A large part of this force tried to enter the depths of Bani Suhaila and Abasan, east of Khan Yunis. But he failed in that, so he resorted to another attack from the south and north, so that a large part of Gaza City is now surrounded, according to Al-Duwairi.
In the centre, the Israeli forces succeeded in separating the camps, but they did not succeed in penetrating them, and they are currently conducting intermittent clashes, with each Israeli brigade working with one of the camps, according to the military expert.
Regarding the resistance shooting down more drones , Al-Duwairi said that Israel has begun to increase its reliance on these drones instead of the snipers who were being killed on the battlefield. Al-Duwairi pointed out that shooting down these planes helps the resistance learn a lot of information about the locations of the Israeli forces because they broadcast live three-dimensional images of the locations where they are stationed.
He added: "A portion of the Israeli forces were targeted after their whereabouts were obtained from inside a plane that was controlled and taken down by the resistance." In addition, the resistance will benefit in the future from these aircraft in developing its combat capabilities by taking advantage of its software because it is more advanced than the “ Al-Zouari ” and “ Ababil-1 ” drones.
Battles continued between the Palestinian resistance and the Israeli army in the city of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, in light of the occupation forces’ attempts to encircle the city, while the IDF withdrew two brigades from the Strip. The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, said that it was engaged in fierce clashes with Israeli soldiers on the front lines in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip. Al Jazeera's correspondent also reported that clashes occurred coinciding with Israeli artillery shelling west of Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, since dawn on Sunday.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), said that its fighters targeted 4 "Merkava" tanks with two "Al-Yassin 105" shells in the Al-Amal neighborhood and the Jourat Al-Aqqad area, west of the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip. Al Jazeera's correspondent said that a huge explosion rocked the southern areas of Gaza City, north of the Strip.
On the other hand, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported the withdrawal of the 4th and 55th Brigades from the Gaza Strip after the end of their mission there. Israeli Army Radio said that the 4th Reserve Brigade, known as “Kiryati,” completed its mission in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, and left it last night. According to Army Radio, the Kiryati Reserve Brigade includes thousands of soldiers and was fighting in the areas north and east of Khan Yunis.
The Israeli army said that soldiers from the commando unit, the paratroopers brigade, and other army units continue their fierce fighting in the Khan Yunis area. The army added in its morning report that its units eliminated “armed cells” using RPG missiles and destroyed the path of a tunnel found in the northern Gaza Strip.
Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that two Palestinians were killed and injured in an Israeli bombing on a house west of the city of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. The reporter pointed out that one martyr and 4 injured people arrived at Nasser Hospital following an Israeli bombing that targeted the Jourat Al-Aqqad area in Khan Yunis. He also reported that 8 Palestinians were martyred and others were injured in an Israeli bombing on a house for the Salmi family in the Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City. On the other hand, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported continued Israeli bombing and gunfire around its Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis.
Israeli forces stormed the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin, in the north of the West Bank , amid confrontations with the resistance. They also stormed the city of Qalqilya, north of the West Bank, and the town of Shuyoukh, northeast of Hebron. They also stormed the town of Beita, south of Nablus, while the Prisoner’s Club documented the arrest of 20 Palestinians in the West Bank on Friday and Saturday.
Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that strong clashes broke out between resistance fighters and the Israeli forces, including the throwing of homemade explosive devices after the Israeli soldiers and vehicles stormed the town of Qabatiya in large numbers. The Israeli forces had raided several neighborhoods, imposed a siege on them, and fired live bullets at citizens. Two people were injured, and the Israeli forces arrested a number of others before withdrawing from the town. He pointed out that the Israeli forces also stormed the town of Ya'bad, southwest of Jenin, amid gunfire and confrontations with the town's youth.
The people of the city of Jenin and its camp mourned the body of the martyr Qassam Ahmed Yassin, who was martyred by bullets of the Israeli forces in the village of Deir Abu Daif in the city of Jenin, in the northern West Bank, at dawn on Saturday. The mourners chanted angry slogans denouncing the ongoing crimes and massacres of the Israeli against the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They called for escalating resistance against the occupation. In the town of Beita, south of Nablus, the Israeli forces set up military checkpoints in the middle of the town. They also stopped and searched Palestinian vehicles and checked citizens’ identities.
Al Jazeera's correspondent said that the Israeli forces arrested young Palestinians as they stormed the town and besieged a number of buildings. Earlier, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades - the military wing of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement ( Fatah ) - announced that it targeted the Beit Furik checkpoint east of Nablus with a heavy barrage of bullets at dawn on Saturday. Northwest of Ramallah, Israeli forces stormed the town of Beit Rima from several directions. The storming forces conducted patrols in the town, and also deployed foot forces in its streets.
For its part, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club said the arrest campaign included the cities of Jenin, Hebron, Nablus, Jericho, Ramallah, and Jerusalem, and was accompanied by widespread abuse of detainees. The West Bank is witnessing a wave of tension and ongoing confrontations between the Palestinians and the Israeli army.
The Israeli website Calcalist, which specializes in economics, said that the intensification of the US-British strikes on the Houthi group did not prevent the continued fluctuation in the supplies and storage market, and its impact on a wide spectrum of economic sectors, from the automobile industry to the world of fashion.
In a lengthy report entitled “From Tesla to Primark... Houthi attacks disrupt production and stocks,” the site said that the crisis does not indicate an end in sight, and that the intensification of the American-British strikes on the group’s sites this week did not prevent shipping companies from avoiding dangerous shipping routes in the Red Sea. During normal days, it controlled 12% of global maritime trade.
According to the website, at least 2,400 ships changed their navigation route by choosing an alternative route via the Cape of Good Hope, which increases the duration of the journey between Europe and Asia from 35 to 49 days, thus increasing shipping costs, including fuel and insurance. The damage was not limited to the shipbuilding industry - according to the Israeli website - but the delay in shipping operations and high costs even affected other industries. Last month, a group of companies that depend on maritime shipping warned of a wide range of damages that would be caused by a shortage of production components, high costs, and the erosion of profit margins.
The website quotes Simon Haynie, from the container studies department at British maritime transport consultancy Drewery, as saying that there is complete chaos at this stage, and that customers of maritime shipping companies will inevitably feel the damage, summarizing the crisis in the ignorance of these customers about the arrival times of the goods. Calcalist notes that the most affected sectors so far are the automobile industry and retail trade, which are seen as more vulnerable due to delays in manufacturing and supply.
According to Thomas Barnier, of Lazar Wealth Management, the automobile industry was the first sector to be affected, given the complex supply chain on which it depends, which made his company reduce the margin of its exposure to risk (in its operations related to the sector). The website quotes Bloomberg as estimating that the incomes of car producers will decline by 5%. According to Carlos Tavares, CEO of the automotive giant Stellantis, logistics and shipping companies will review shipping rates due to the increased duration of trips.
The website says that Tesla was the first company to warn of the expected effects of the Houthi attacks, and announced early this month its intention to suspend production at its factory in Gruenheide, near the German capital, Berlin, for two weeks due to the delayed arrival of shipments. The company also decided to close the production unit in Berlin for two weeks, starting on the twenty-ninth of this month.
According to the Israeli website, the fashion world has not been spared from the crisis, especially with its reliance on products coming from Asia, as the British giant “Next” expressed its concern about the damage that will befall its sales, whose growth this year is expected to be almost non-existent if the difficulties of navigation through the Suez Canal continue. Central bank governors also warned - according to the site - of a renewed cycle of inflation that may force them to postpone programmed interest reduction plans for the rest of the year.
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. 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.
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Bystanders
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres , appealed to donor countries to “ensure the continuity” of the operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The agency’s employees number 30,000, 13,000 of whom work in the Gaza Strip, distributed among more than 300 facilities. Several donor countries suspended funding for the agency against the backdrop of Israel’s accusations that employees of the agency may be involved in the Al-Aqsa Flood operation. "While I understand her concern - and I too am appalled by these accusations - I appeal to the governments that have suspended their contributions to at least ensure the continuity of UNRWA operations," Guterres said in a statement.
The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees ( UNRWA ), Philippe Lazzarini, on Saturday considered the suspension of funding by several countries to the agency “shocking” against the backdrop of the Israeli government accusing some UNRWA employees of involvement in the “ Al-Aqsa Flood ” attack, which was launched by the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) on the 7th of Last October, he called on these countries to reverse their decisions.
“It is shocking to see the agency’s funding suspended in response to allegations against a small group of employees,” Lazzarini said in a statement, especially in light of the measures taken by the UN agency, on which “more than two million people depend for their survival.” He stressed that "these decisions threaten the humanitarian work currently underway in the region, especially in Gaza," and stressed that the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip did not need this additional collective punishment. Lazzarini had previously pledged to hold accountable any employee of the agency, including through criminal prosecution, found to be involved in “terrorist acts.”
This comes at a time when Scotland and Germany joined 8 other countries that decided to suspend their funding in the wake of Israel accusing employees of the UN agency of involvement in the attack last October 7: Australia, Canada, Finland, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Britain and the United States. The Scottish Government announced that it has no plans to provide further support to UNRWA at this stage.
For its part, the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement that as long as the accusation is not clarified, “Germany, in agreement with other donor countries, will refrain at this time from agreeing to provide more resources.”
Commenting on this, the United Nations rapporteur on the right to housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, told Al Jazeera that some countries’ suspension of funding for UNRWA is collective punishment for the residents of the Gaza Strip, stressing that a people cannot be punished because of the alleged mistakes of individuals in the agency. For his part, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths said that the people of Gaza are suffering from unimaginable horrors and deprivation, and the time is not right to let them down.
In turn, former British Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn considered Britain's joining with other countries in suspending funding for UNRWA a collective punishment, and stressed that the British government should be ashamed of its moral decadence towards the Palestinians.
Hamas denounced the Israeli "threats" against UNRWA and other UN organizations, and called on "the United Nations and international institutions not to give in to the threats and blackmails" of Israel.
Axis of Resistance
Allied for Democracy
It has become clear that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not the man of this critical moment, according to an opinion piece in the New York Times. Serge Schmemann, a member of the American newspaper's editorial board, said that the destruction inflicted on the Gaza Strip has reached unbearable levels, and is even getting worse, and the Israeli government is under intense pressure from the families of the prisoners, who are demanding that it make every effort to release them before they die.
He added in his article in the newspaper that the United States and the Arab countries, “keen” to avoid a regional war, are trying to mediate an end to the conflict, but Netanyahu is obstructing these efforts. He added that Netanyahu's insistence on achieving a "complete victory" over the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) without any consideration for the consequences or losses made him part of the problem. The writer warned that the Israeli Prime Minister is playing a "malicious" game by exploiting the war to serve his political goals, and the Israelis, most of whom support attempts to eradicate Hamas, are fed up with this game.
Rather, he was able to alienate Israel's most important ally, the United States, says Schmemann, adding that Netanyahu deliberately and openly defied American advice because it conflicted with "Israel's vital interests," despite the fact that US President Joe Biden showed his full support for Israel and Netanyahu after the Hamas attack. Hamas on October 7, 2023.
However, the newspaper's editorial board member believes in his article that the problem does not necessarily lie in Netanyahu's hardline position, which is shared by many Israelis who were angry about the Hamas attack on southern Israel that day. He said that Netanyahu's confusion between leadership and political survival, with the widespread perception that he opposes any negotiated settlement, and any American advice or mediation, is not because he truly believes that this conflicts with the interests of the Israelis, as he claims, but because he defies American pressure. Also, his portrayal of the Gaza war as much broader than a mere dispute over the establishment of an Israeli state and a conflict with Iran serves his political goals.
That, at least, appears to be what the majority of Israelis believe, even those who might line up behind the prime minister's insistence on trying to eliminate Hamas. According to Schmemann, how the war will end, and what will happen after Gaza, depends strongly on who will assume responsibility in light of the raging dispute within the mini-war government between former chiefs of staff Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot on the one hand and Netanyahu on the other hand, especially regarding the issue of Israeli prisoners held by Hamas.
The writer concluded that Netanyahu had lost the trust of his people and allies, and that his latest maneuver was to include extreme right-wing nationalists in his government and begin to challenge judicial oversight of the government, which led to weeks of mass protests.
Chairman of the National Security Committee, Member of the Knesset, Brigadier General (res.) Zvika Vogel, on Sunday, did not rule out the presence of “traitors from within” behind the attack of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) last October 7 on the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip. Fogel, who is from the "Otzma Yehudit" party (Jewish Force), said in statements to the Israeli newspaper Maariv, "Does it occur to you that for the past twenty years we did not know what was happening in the Gaza Strip? Someone here knew what would happen."
He added, "I am saying that there is something that, if we do not discover it in the future, we may deepen the gap we are in between the possibility of a conspiracy and the possibility that we are all stupid. I prefer to think that we are not stupid." Vogel wondered, "We cannot know anything? Nothing? We got into the car of the nuclear scientist (..) in Iran and killed him, and we do not know what is happening in the sector? It is something much worse, and someone must investigate it."
He continued, “When the head of the Shin Bet (Israeli Internal Security Service) Ronen Bar says that an investigation committee must be formed, I understand that there are many parties that have begun to worry about themselves instead of the future of the country.”
"There is something stinking here. I want someone to discover it. It can't be just a perception," he added. He said that if this is not true, "we will have to replace entire units in the army, and generations of leaders who were not wrong in their perception. They are - quite clearly - irresponsible and unprofessional, and they have sinned against the State of Israel."
He stated, "I prefer not to think that, and I prefer to believe that someone betrayed us from within." He said, "Maybe we will have to discover this truth in the future. I don't know which is better, to discover that there are traitors here, or that there is a group of unprofessional people." Vogel concluded his statements by saying, "I cannot rule out that there is a conspiracy here. We cannot be so irresponsible. I hope I am wrong."
US Senator Bernie Sanders called on the US administration to make clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it “will not provide a single dollar to support his inhumane and illegal war,” and he considered that it is time for the United States to say “no” to Netanyahu. In an article published in the British newspaper The Guardian, Sanders reviewed the tragic conditions in the Gaza Strip, and said, “Everyone is watching with horror the serious humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, and it is unfortunate that many of my colleagues in the House of Representatives and the US Senate are choosing to ignore this fact and evade their responsibilities before Congress.”
He considered that “what is happening in Gaza is not just an unfortunate tragedy occurring thousands of miles from our shores,” because the United States provides Israel with military aid worth $3.8 billion every year, and “the bombs and military equipment that are destroying Gaza are made in America. In other words, We are partners in what is happening."
He explained that the United Nations and humanitarian organizations confirm that “the coming weeks may mean the difference between life and death for tens of thousands of people. If we do not see a radical improvement in the accessibility of humanitarian aid very soon, countless innocent people - including thousands of children - will die.” “They may die from dehydration, diarrhea, starvation and preventable diseases.” He pointed out that the World Health Organization warns that the number of deaths resulting from disease and hunger could exceed the number of war victims so far.
Sanders considered the current situation a direct result of the choices made by political leaders, most notably Netanyahu, "the leader of the extreme right-wing government in Israel." He pointed out that Israel had the right to respond to the attacks launched by the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) on October 7, but “it did not have, and does not have, the right to wage war against the entire Palestinian people, and this is exactly what It is happening".
He explained that the Israeli aggression resulted in “the killing of more than 25,000 Palestinians and the wounding of 62,000, 70% of whom are women and children. It is believed that thousands more are trapped under the rubble. It is unbelievable that 1.7 million people have been displaced from their homes, meaning approximately 80 million people.” % of the total population of Gaza. They are now living in overcrowded UN shelters or outdoors in winter conditions, lacking sufficient food, water, fuel and medical supplies, and have no idea what the future holds for them.”
The US Senator said that Israel's indiscriminate bombing and restrictions on basic humanitarian aid have created one of the most dangerous humanitarian disasters in recent times. He explained that the United States appealed to Israel to take urgent steps to avoid more civilian deaths, but Netanyahu did nothing. "This must change now. Tens of thousands of lives are at risk, and every day matters," he added.
He pointed out, "More and more Americans realize that we cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the suffering in Gaza. Given the scale of the disaster unfolding with American bombs and military equipment, Congress must act."
Sanders concluded his article by saying, “It is time for the United States to say no to Netanyahu. The United States must make clear to Netanyahu that we will not provide another dollar to support his inhumane and illegal war. We must use our influence to demand an end to the indiscriminate bombing, and a humanitarian ceasefire to allow... "By flowing aid to those suffering, and securing the release of more than 130 hostages still being held in Gaza. We must demand that the Israeli government take the necessary steps to pave the way for the realization of the two-state solution."
Butcher's Bill / Oasis of Martyrs
On 7 October 2023, Hamas and other armed groups present in the Gaza Strip carried out an attack in Israel, killing more than 1,200 persons, injuring thousands and abducting some 240 people, many of whom continue to be held hostage. It was the second largest loss inflicted on the Israeli forces after the 1973 war. Palestinian armed groups launched thousands of missiles at Israel Following this attack, Israel launched a large-scale military operation in Gaza, by land, air and sea.
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."
The HAMAS Ministry of Health in the besieged sector announced that the number of victims of the Israeli operation its beginning had risen to 26,083 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 64,487. 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 Israeli 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 army had risen to 222 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 had 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 2,710 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. The Israeli army also said 26 January 2024 that since the beginning of the ground attack on Gaza, 258 soldiers have been seriously injured. There are 423 moderate injuries, compared to 577 minor injuries.
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
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 Israelis in the West Bank since that date has exceeded 6,305. The total number of prisoners in Israeli prisons is 8,800, as documented by the club until the end of December 2023. Palestinian prisoner institutions said more than 3,290 administrative detainees, which is the highest percentage since the years of the 1987 Intifada, and 661 who were classified as “unlawful combatants” from Gaza, and this is the number available only as a clear given. 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.
Israel said on 14 January 2024 that, since the beginning of the war, approximately 2,700 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.
The institutions added in the statement that “the occupation arrested 210 women during the aforementioned period, and this statistic includes women who were arrested from the territories in 1948, and more than 355 children,” pointing out that “the outcome of the arrest campaigns includes all those who were arrested from homes, and through military checkpoints, Those who were forced to surrender themselves under pressure, and those who were detained.” It explained that "the number of arrests among journalists reached 50, of whom 35 remain in detention, and 20 of them were transferred to administrative detention."
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