Operation Iron Swords - Day 126 - 09 February 2024
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NEW - War Termination NEW - Operations NEW - Operations Maps NEW - By-Standers NEW - Axis of Resistance NEW - Allied for Democracy UPDATED - Oasis of Martyrs UPDATED - Hostages |
Kirby stressed that "any major military operation in Rafah at this time - and under these circumstances, and with the presence of more than a million and perhaps more than 1.5 million Palestinians seeking asylum and seeking shelter in Rafah without due regard for their safety - would be a disaster and we will not support it."
War Termination
The Israeli "Wala" website reported that Tel Aviv had delivered its response to Qatar and Egypt. The website indicated that Israel rejected many of the movement's demands and expressed its willingness to negotiate on the basis of Paris's original proposal. According to the website, Israel rejected a number of points in Hamas’ response to the proposals and indicated that it informed the mediators of its refusal to commit to ending the war after completing the implementation of the deal. Netanyahu's government made clear to the mediators that it was not prepared to discuss lifting the siege on Gaza, and also refused to agree to the return of residents to the northern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli response returns the negotiations to the starting point. The American website Axios reported that Israel is ready to enter into negotiations on the basis of the original proposal that was formulated two weeks ago in Paris. According to the American website, at the end of the war cabinet meeting last night, Israel sent messages to the mediators - Qatar, the United States and Egypt - rejecting most of Hamas's responses to the broad lines. In an attempt to relieve pressure on it, the Netanyahu government confirmed that it is working with Egypt and Qatar to reduce the gap so that serious negotiations can be held, according to what was reported by the Israeli Walla website.
As reported by Axios, which cited two Israeli officials, the Israeli occupation regime told the Qatari and Egyptian mediators that it rejected the ceasefire proposal but it was still open to talks based on the original proposal discussed in late January. The Israeli response, namely the fact that it is still open for talks, goes against what embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and numerous of his far-right government ministers have been saying about there being no ceasefire without the destruction of the Hamas Resistance movement. That itself is an indication that the Israel does not think the military option is viable.
The Israeli response to the Palestinian Resistance said it would not agree to the demand of fully withdrawing from Gaza, especially not when it comes to pulling out its forces from the "corridor" splitting Gaza by half and isolating its south from the north. This would prohibit displaced civilians from returning to northern Gaza during the first phase of the deal's implementation. One compromise the Israel was allegedly willing to offer though is the redeployment of the invading Israeli occupation forces outside big population centers in Gaza.
Another issue for Israel is committing to not resuming strikes on Gaza after the implementation of the deal, therefore it told mediators that it rejected the Resistance's demand to add the word "permanent" to the clause regarding the ceasefire.
The last issue, according to Axios and the Israeli officials, has to do with the blockade in place on Gaza since 2007. While the Resistance demanded that the siege be lifted, the Israeli occupation said that issue would not even be discussed, dismissing it in its entirety.
The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported on Friday that Israel fears American recognition of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip , amid increasing American criticism of Israel and the way its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is dealing with the detainees file and the possibility of achieving the goal of eliminating the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), in addition to Large numbers of civilian casualties continue.
The newspaper quoted Israeli political sources concerned about the intense activity of the US administration to promote the idea of establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip under a unified government based on what is known as a renewed Palestinian authority. The newspaper said that the US State Department is considering recognizing a Palestinian state as part of a comprehensive political initiative related to what it called “the day after Hamas rule” in the Gaza Strip, according to what it quoted from American sources.
The newspaper confirmed that the issue of recognizing the Palestinian state was raised during the talks held by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken with Israeli officials during his visit to Israel in the past two days. The newspaper described this step, if it takes place, as a "political tsunami" for the Israeli authority.
An Israeli official told the newspaper that the Americans continue to promote the idea of ??a renewed Palestinian Authority, noting that the current authority in Ramallah is in the process of working to introduce reforms, and this is consistent with the United States’ demand to prove that it has already become a body that meets the definition of a “renewable authority.” The official added that the Palestinian reforms include changes within the government, changing the nature of the management of the security services, and there is talk of a new professional technocratic government.
The newspaper also quoted Israeli sources as saying that the issue of a Palestinian state has recently occupied a place in the political agenda for the Middle East promoted by the Americans and Europeans, and they said that the idea is gaining momentum. They pointed out that it is not a coincidence that a series of Western leaders have recently announced their support for the establishment of a Palestinian state, and this includes leaders who were considered right-wing and most supportive of Israel, such as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The newspaper reported that Blinken recently ordered his office staff to prepare organized work for the possibility of American or international recognition of a Palestinian state unilaterally and not through negotiations with Israel or with Israeli approval. It is noteworthy that successive American administrations refused to recognize a Palestinian state, and linked this to the Palestinians and Israelis reaching an agreement regarding the state.
Washington also opposed Palestine obtaining full membership in the United Nations by thwarting Palestinian requests for membership through the UN Security Council, most recently in 2011. But US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at the end of last January that his country seeks to establish an independent Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel, stressing that US President Joe Biden believes this is the best way to ensure peace and security for Israel, the Palestinians, and the region as a whole.
In this regard, the British newspaper "Financial Times" indicated that the deep divisions between Washington and Tel Aviv appeared more evident during Blinken's recent visit. The newspaper added that the separate press conferences of Netanyahu and Blinken revealed their disagreement, explaining that the disagreements include issues of the next phase of the war and ways to secure the release of detainees held by the Hamas movement.
The Israeli newspaper Maariv said that the War Council (led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , Defense Minister Yoav Gallant , and Minister Benny Gantz ), by pinning hopes that it will be able to easily find a civilian alternative to the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) in the Gaza Strip , is like someone living in a fantasy world, but nevertheless it is not Alone in this illusion.
In an article entitled “A civilian alternative to Hamas? Netanyahu, Gallant, and Gantz live in a fantasy world,” Chaim Ramon wrote that the war council, despite the losses incurred by the Israeli army, is delaying the necessary task of giving orders to dismantle Hamas’ civilian rule in Gaza. The writer was surprised at how the General Staff had not yet announced a military rule that would immediately replace the civilian rule that Hamas was establishing.
According to writer Ramon, Hamas will remain the de facto ruler in Gaza unless another civilian rule is established, and therefore there is not “in the real year” a vacuum of governance at all yet. Ramon gave examples of the areas from which the Israeli army left and Hamas returned to install its governing bodies (as is the case with its police in Gaza City and in the northern Gaza Strip in general). However, the war council trio insists - according to his opinion - on living in a hypothetical world in which they imagine that establishing a rule A civilian replacement is very easy, and this is also the case at the top of the political and security levels.
The Israeli writer adds that all commentators and journalists oppose military rule in Gaza and "promote civil rule that only exists in their wild imagination." This is, for example - Ramon writes - the case of retired Air Force general and former head of military intelligence, Amos Yadlin - one of the most important political commentators - with his call to begin building an alternative to Hamas that would lead to a positive gradual change in the reality of the Gaza Strip.
Ramon quotes Yadlin in his opinion that the alternative governance system for Hamas will help technocrats and employees of municipal institutions, which are bodies - Ramon says - that worked under the authority of Hamas, that is, they were managed by Hamas men.
The Israeli writer concludes that Yadlin himself refutes his idea by acknowledging that these solutions cannot be implemented immediately and throughout Gaza “because no one will enter areas where Hamas’ military force has not been neutralized and dismantled.” He then notes that Yadlin at the same time supports military rule in the Gaza Strip, and wonders: : How does all of this fit? Ramon concludes his article by saying that the real strangeness for him is not the introduction of such a confusing position, but rather its complete adoption by the War Council.
Israeli Security Minister Yoav Galant drafted a plan to establish a “civilian committee” affiliated with the Israeli army that would supervise the Gaza Strip , and whose primary mission would be to remove the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) from the Palestinian civilian space and prevent it from controlling the aid that enters the Strip during the war. According to the Israeli narrative.
Gallant presented the plan - which was revealed by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper in its Friday issue - to government ministers and the war council , and it was considered a "preliminary experiment" to be implemented in the northern and central Gaza Strip, and to be implemented first in the Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City. The plan - which was presented this week - included a list of goals that were set before the start of the ground operation in Gaza. The goals marked in green were accomplished, while those marked in orange were partially accomplished, while the goals marked in red were for the goals that were not achieved.
Gallant's plan seeks to achieve goals that have not yet been achieved and revolves around the day after the war, and stipulates the establishment of what is known as the "Civilian Committee", that is, other forces that will take over the administration of central and northern Gaza in place of Hamas. Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper justified the plan by saying, "The continued arrival of humanitarian and relief equipment and aid, and their falling into the hands of Hamas, is unbearable from the point of view of the Israeli security establishment, and therefore the Minister of Defense presented this experimental plan."
According to this plan, humanitarian and relief aid will enter through the Beit Hanoun “Erez” and Al-Mantar “Karni” crossings , and not from the Rafah area , which is controlled by Hamas. The aid - which will be guarded by forces from the occupation army - will go directly to Palestinian merchants to prevent Hamas control. without the need for intermediary relief organizations. It is assumed, according to the details of the plan, that the initial experiment will be in the Zaytoun neighborhood besieged by the occupation army, and Palestinian merchants, unlike Hamas activists, will be the new centers of power who will be dealt with directly.
To ensure that Hamas does not seize humanitarian equipment and aid by force, according to the newspaper’s claims, Gallant’s plan stipulates that “Israel will allow the armed forces to protect these merchants, and if necessary, the Palestinians who will protect the aid will be armed with the approval of the Israeli army.”
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper asked whether the Palestinian groups, which will be armed with the approval of the occupation army to guard humanitarian aid, are Gazan employees from the security services affiliated with the former Palestinian Authority who ruled Gaza before Hamas, and the newspaper does not rule this out. It is inferred from the details of the plan that the General Security Agency ( Shin Bet ) will supervise its implementation through Palestinian merchants in the Gaza Strip. From the point of view of the Israeli security establishment, it is necessary to stop humanitarian aid from reaching the hands of Hamas at the present time.
The newspaper pointed out that despite the differences between Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , the latter and the Ministers of the War Council did not express any opposition or reservation to the plan and the experimental model proposed in the Zaytoun neighborhood, provided that its implementation will begin during the coming weeks, which means - according to the security establishment - The war on Gaza may continue for a long time.
The strange thing, according to the point of view of journalist Nadav Eyal, who revealed in a report on the Gallant plan, “is that this plan has not been implemented since the beginning of the war,” saying that “Israel is fighting Hamas fighters and making their lives miserable, but it is transporting equipment and supplies to Gaza even though it is... It falls into the hands of Hamas, which strengthens its rule in the Gaza Strip.”
Eyal believes that the delay in implementing this plan is mainly due to Netanyahu’s chronic procrastination and his reluctance to make a decision for fear of the reactions of the head of the “Religious Zionism” coalition, Minister Bezalel Smotrich , and the head of the “Jewish Greatness” party, Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. He pointed out that he recently asked an Israeli minister, “Why don’t they attack Hamas members who have begun to appear again while wearing civilian clothes in the northern Gaza Strip?” He replied, “They are not immune, and if necessary, they will be liquidated.” The next day, the Israeli journalist says, “A Hamas man responsible for guarding aid trucks in Rafah was liquidated.”
Despite not having reservations about Gallant's plan and not hearing voices opposing it, Eyal confirms that the tensions of war and politics came together in the recent war council meeting, where Netanyahu criticized the Israeli army and its slow progress - it seems - in achieving the goals of the war. He pointed out that Netanyahu protested the withdrawal of some brigades of reserve forces from the fighting in Gaza, and gave a speech about the concept of “absolute victory,” while the ministers of the “National Camp,” Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot , listened to him with “painful patience,” according to Eyal’s words. .
He explained that weeks ago, Gantz and Eisenkot became aware that "substantive discussions since the beginning of the war had been replaced by a full-fledged political campaign, and security considerations were soon replaced by the needs of opinion polls, and in light of Netanyahu's maneuvers, announcements, and leaks, they would find it difficult to remain silent."
The Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) embarrassed the Israeli government with its initial positive response to the framework agreement issued by the “ Paris Summit .” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bet on its rejection of the agreement to continue evasion in the negotiations for the exchange deal and ceasefire. Hamas' response confused the various Israeli security and military institutions and the political arena, represented by the ruling coalition, which relied on a negative response from the movement to evade responsibility to the international community, and to maneuver in front of the families of Israeli detainees.
The results of an opinion poll prepared by the "Israeli Democracy Institute" showed the validity of the claim that the two goals of the declared war, which are to eliminate Hamas and liberate the detainees, are contradictory. According to the poll, which included a sample of 619 people, a majority believes it is necessary to re-arrange the priorities and objectives of the war, as 51% of those surveyed believe that the return of detainees should be the main goal, while nearly a third, 36% of whom are from the extreme right, said that the priority is It must be the defeat of Hamas, while 13% responded that they did not know.
Amidst these changes in Israeli society, the far-right parties, represented by the “Religious Zionism” coalition headed by Minister Bezalel Smotrits , and the “Jewish Greatness” party headed by Minister Itamar Ben Gvir , a partner in the government coalition, are placing obstacles to the emergency government and the war council and in the face of any attempt to penetrate its position of rejecting any Exchange deal and cessation of aggression.
On the other hand, the opposition camp led by the head of the “ There is a Future ” party, Yair Lapid , reiterated that the priority must be to liberate the detainees, even if the price was painful and in exchange for a ceasefire, and called for the overthrow of the Netanyahu government due to its failure to manage the detainees’ file and liberate them.
The positive response of the Hamas movement to the “Framework Agreement,” as political analyst Akiva Eldar says, reveals the extent of the differences in the various Israeli systems regarding the release of detainees held by the resistance in Gaza. This brought back to the forefront the state of polarization and rift in Israeli society that prevailed before the “ Al-Aqsa Flood ” on October 7, 2023.
Eldar explained to Al Jazeera Net that the repercussions of the division and divergence of the positions of the Israeli political camps were reflected in the military establishment, which does not oppose the completion of a comprehensive exchange deal, and in the security and intelligence system, which is considered a main axis in the negotiations with the mediators in Egypt , Qatar , and America. He pointed out that the military and security leaders were criticized by ministers in Netanyahu's government and right-wing members of the Knesset , as they were asked to bear responsibility for the failure to prevent the sudden Hamas attack and to resign.
The political analyst believes that all opinion polls, which favor the votes demanding the return of detainees regardless of the price that Israel will pay, reflect the reality of the challenges facing Netanyahu even within the emergency government, and the dilemma he faces in the general political scene, as a comprehensive exchange deal means that there is no justification. To continue the war.
For his part, spokesman for the "Peace Now" bloc, Adam Clare, believes that Netanyahu, who had a consensus in Israeli society regarding the management of the war and the hostage issue, and relied on opinion polls that saw the continuation of the war as a priority over any deal, is now facing internal dilemmas and challenges. However, Clare says, “As the war enters its fifth month without achieving its goals of liberating the hostages and eliminating Hamas, popular pressure is mounting calling for concluding an exchange deal, even if the price is a ceasefire, as the issue of the kidnapped has become a basic demand of the Israeli public.”
Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, he pointed out that Netanyahu's government will face a lot of international pressure and may clash with the administration of US President Joe Biden , who is preoccupied with the presidential elections and is seeking an exchange and truce deal that will lead to a political path with the Palestinians.
The spokesman for the "Peace Now" bloc believes that Netanyahu's government, represented by far-right parties, will not abandon the ruling coalition and will seek to maintain it because it represents a struggle for survival for Netanyahu in the Israeli political scene, and it also constitutes a cornerstone of Smotrich and Ben Gvir's agenda and ideology of incursion and control of the reins of government in Israel. He believes that Netanyahu's government, which relies on the confidence of 64 members of the Knesset, and is floundering over options between war, the exchange deal, and responsibility for failure, will not fall or disintegrate through parliamentary opposition, but rather through external international pressure, internal movement, and Israeli public pressure.
Under the title “Netanyahu’s plan to sacrifice the kidnapped,” journalist Uri Misgav, an activist in the movement against the far-right government, wrote, saying, “Israel failed for 4 months in trying to liberate the kidnapped militarily, and it became clear that military operations killed some of them.” Misgav adds: “Hamas formulated a serious response and presented a reasonable plan in light of the current bleak circumstances as a basis for negotiations, of course. This is a deal that a rational and responsible government must accept, but Hamas’s response embarrassed the Netanyahu government, which will apparently continue to sacrifice the kidnapped.”
The Israeli writer explained that another deal to return the detainees, or some of them, is conditional on stopping the fighting in the Gaza Strip for a limited period or permanently. He said that stopping military operations for a limited period would lead to a rebellion in the priestly settlement base, a partner in Netanyahu’s coalition, on which his fate and the future of his political career depend.
He pointed out that the decision to sacrifice detainees led to changing the declared goals of the war and that Netanyahu stopped repeating the phrase “the defeat of Hamas and the return of the kidnapped,” and moved to “chatter about complete victory,” adding that this goal was formulated vaguely and is not achievable on the ground to prevent Reaching an agreement and prolonging the fighting is for Netanyahu's own interests.
Operational Update
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the army to develop a dual plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah and crush the remaining Hamas batallions. Netanyahu added that it is not possible to achieve the goals of the war in Gaza and maintain 4 Hamas batallions in Rafah. Israeli aircraft targeted - at dawn on Friday - two inhabited homes in the city of Rafah, resulting in the death of 8 Palestinians, including women and children.
International concern has increased over the fate of hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans who have taken refuge in Rafah since Israel threatened a ground invasion of the city located on the border with Egypt. Washington said that it would not support any Israeli military operation in Rafah without giving due consideration to the plight of civilians, and US President Joe Biden described Israel's response to Hamas attacks on October 7 as "exaggerated."
The city of Rafah, which includes more than 1.2 million Palestinians, most of whom have been displaced for about a week, has witnessed an escalation in Israeli air attacks, which targeted civilian homes and sites close to displacement centers and tents.
Cairo sent about 40 tanks and armored personnel carriers to northeastern Sinai in the past two weeks, while the Israeli press reported that the Israeli army approved a military operation in Rafah. Egyptian forces were deployed before Israel expanded its military operations to include the city of Rafah (south of Gaza), to which most of the Gaza Strip's residents were displaced in search of a safe haven, which exacerbated Egypt's fears of the possibility of forcing the Palestinians to leave the Gaza en masse.
The Egyptian military moves came within the framework of a series of measures to enhance security on its borders with the Gaza Strip. In developments, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that the Israeli army approved a military operation in Rafah. The newspaper said that preparations for the operation in Rafah began weeks ago, and the army has already approved a plan that includes the necessity of evacuating the displaced. For its part, the official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that the military operation in Rafah will begin after the completion of a "large-scale evacuation" of civilians from the city and its suburbs.
The international press highlighted Israel's growing threat of imminent military operation in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip , and the dangers it might cause due to the presence of large numbers of displaced people there, in addition to issues related to the Gaza war. In this context, the British newspaper "Financial Times" warned of the dangers of a large-scale military operation in Rafah, as it based its report on satellite images showing how the large numbers of displaced people changed the appearance of the city that Israel intends to attack. The report indicated that sites in Rafah had already been bombed and that there were few options for those trapped there.
An article in the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence on fighting the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) until complete victory is achieved is an illusion. The article concluded from Netanyahu's recent statements that he fell into many contradictions, including his talk about destroying the tunnels despite the fact that it was an elusive goal, and a military operation in Rafah even though it was extremely complex, in addition to his ambiguous answers to questions about the future of Gaza and the threat from the Lebanese Hezbollah .
In turn, the French newspaper Le Monde said that Hamas's tunnel network remains intact despite the intense Israeli bombing since the beginning of the war. The newspaper quoted a French military source as saying that destroying tunnels as they appear in Gaza is almost impossible, pointing out the failure of various types of bombs to reach them and the failure of plans to flood them with water.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), revealed that its fighters had destroyed more than 1,108 Israeli military vehicles with “Al-Yassin 105” missiles since the beginning of the current war on the Gaza Strip. Al-Qassam indicated in a statement that the destroyed Israeli vehicles included 962 tanks, 55 personnel carriers, 74 bulldozers, 3 excavators, and 14 military vehicles, "which resulted in the killing and wounding of a large number of occupation officers, soldiers, and mercenaries."
In this context, the military and strategic expert, Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi, said that for the first time the effectiveness of the “ Al-Yassin 105 ” missiles during the war was disclosed with accurate statistics, stressing that these numbers are part of the battle because not all resistance operations were documented and photographed. He explained that the complete or partial destruction of 1,108 Israeli vehicles is equivalent to 3 Israeli armored divisions, since each division includes 315 tanks, out of 5 divisions that Israel pushed into the Strip.
Al-Duwairi pointed out that the "Al-Yassin 105" missiles constituted the main weapon in the Gaza war, and they are the trump card of the resistance that inflicted on the occupation heavy and exorbitant losses that it was not accustomed to, whether in terms of personnel or equipment, after preparing human cadres to deal with them to reach this level of expertise. Fighting.
He pointed out that the "Al-Yassin 105" is equivalent to the "TBG" missiles, but the latter is designated for dealing with buildings and fortifications, noting that tanks - which contain a minimum of 4 people and a maximum of 10 - are the most targeted at the level of vehicles during the war, much more than tankers. Soldiers. He explained that the occupation had committed foolishness in the first phase when it pushed unprotected armored divisions from mechanized infantry units, before correcting them during the Battle of Khan Yunis.
Regarding human losses, Al-Duwairi believes that the numbers announced by the spokesman for the occupation army, Daniel Hagari, do not include mercenaries from various parts of the world, nor the Druze, nor dual nationalities, but rather are specific to single nationalities, referring to the numbers of mercenaries who fight within the ranks of the Israeli army, such as fighters coming from America and France. Britain, Germany, Ukraine and others. Despite the effectiveness of the resistance’s weapons in the ground battle, Al-Duwairi said that there is a clear weakness and gap in the resistance’s air defense weapons, and the lack of them gave the opportunity for the Israeli Air Force to do what it does through intensive and systematic bombing.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz used aerial photographs before and after the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip , to indicate the extent of the massive destruction caused by the Israeli army, describing the scenes as similar to what came after the atomic bomb. In a report entitled “Gaza residents have fled their homes...they have nowhere to return to,” it said, “Satellites reveal the extent of the massive destruction inflicted on the Gaza Strip. The new reality created by the Israeli army’s operations will affect the entire region for many years.”
The newspaper pointed out that hundreds of thousands of Gazans were displaced from their homes and large areas of the Strip were destroyed. It said that residents, military officials, and journalists described scenes of massive destruction, and one of them (whom she did not name) said after visiting northern Gaza, “It is like what came after the atomic bomb.” It added that accurately estimating the destruction is a difficult task due to the continuing war, and given that the Israeli army imposes restrictions on the entry of journalists, but it is possible to create a map of the destruction using satellite data, which shows that at least half of the buildings in the Strip are likely to have been damaged. Or destroyed, according to American researchers. Most of the destruction is in northern Gaza, but bitter fighting is also taking place in the south, as satellite data shows.
The United Nations says that about 1.7 million Gazans fled their homes during the war, most of them now in the south, and huge tent cities have been set up along the Egyptian border. The newspaper added, "A new humanitarian, security and diplomatic reality has emerged, and it will shape the region for years to come." It added that reports of the war widely confirm the destruction of homes, commercial buildings, water and sanitation infrastructure, medical facilities, schools, universities, mosques, churches, shopping malls, stores, food factories, and relief centres. Roads, archaeological sites, and cemeteries were also damaged.
It pointed out that one of the first steps taken by the Israeli army was to order the residents of northern Gaza to head south, stressing that thousands fled quickly, and the aggressive bombing campaign launched by the Israeli army continued without interruption, except for a short ceasefire last November when an exchange of Detained Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Haaretz continued, using satellite images, "The Israeli bombing from the air, land and sea quickly caused massive damage throughout the Strip."
The newspaper reported that at least half of the buildings in the Gaza Strip were likely to have been damaged or destroyed as of last January 29, according to American researchers Corey Shear and Jamon van den Hoek, who used satellite analysis to create their map. It added: The two American researchers pointed out that their map does not show the exact extent of the damage to each building. But it shows that the damage in northern Gaza is the greatest, and that the damage in the south is also great.
It continued: The map shows that massive destruction occurred in Gaza City, where the main concentration of civilian infrastructure in the Strip is located. Even if those civilian buildings were not bombed, they are located in the heart of areas that were subjected to heavy bombing, and it will take significant time and effort for life there to return to normal. It pointed out that the United Nations indicated that 60% of housing units were damaged or destroyed, according to data since the beginning of this February.
The United Nations says that 390 educational facilities, 20 water and sanitation facilities, 183 mosques and 3 churches were damaged. Government buildings, including the Palestinian Parliament in Gaza, were damaged or destroyed. The newspaper reported that satellite images indicate, for example, the destruction of the entire eastern part of the Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
It added that the Shujaiya neighborhood is not the only area suffering from such massive destruction, as entire buildings or neighboring buildings were leveled to the ground. There is also Beit Hanoun (north), the Bureij and Maghazi camps, and the towns of Juhr al-Dik (central), Bani Suhaila, and Khirbet Khuza’a (south). The pictures also show many craters resulting from bombs, "and even the huge Star of David that soldiers dug in the ground near Al-Azhar University in the Al-Rimal neighborhood, which was an upscale neighborhood in Gaza City."
It added that the destruction appears particularly in the areas through which the Israeli army passed, such as the southern entry road for the Israeli army into the Gaza Strip, which is parallel to the coast, and widespread destruction appears in the Al Awda neighborhood in Gaza City, near the coast and next to the Beach refugee camp. The newspaper pointed out that the Israeli bombing campaign sent hundreds of thousands of people to the south, and for many Palestinians, the flight and displacement from their homes was a shocking repetition of the 1948 Nakba.
Rafah, located on the border with Egypt, is home to 280,000 people, but its population has swelled to more than one and a half million, which is equivalent to 75 percent of the population of the Gaza Strip, after the Palestinians fled fighting, destruction and hunger in other areas of the Gaza Strip. Sprawling camps are now spread across the city. Planet Labs BBC satellite images analyzed by the Associated Press, monitored the massive population shift since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas. The imagery show an area near the Tal Sultan refugee camp on October 13, 2023, the sixth day of the war, and on January 14 of this year. More recent images reveal that the area, which was once scrubland near agricultural fields, has turned into a tent city.
Hundreds of temporary shelters surround a warehouse that serves as a distribution center for the limited aid currently entering the besieged Gaza Strip. The area surveyed in the two images is part of the broader Rafah refugee camp, which is one of eight urban camps in the Gaza Strip established for displaced families during the 1948 war.
Amnesty International's regional offices in the MENA reported satellite imagery of rural areas of Rafah show a mass of tents and other temporary structures that have risen since mid-October. In urban areas of Rafah, a mass of people and new temporary structures can be seen on the streets.s
The Israeli forces continued their raids on towns and cities in the occupied West Bank at dawn on Friday, as they stormed the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, the town of Hajjah, east of Qalqilya, the town of Beit Fajjar in Bethlehem, and the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus . The occupation police also stormed the courtyards of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque to prevent worshipers from secluding themselves and praying on the occasion of the night of Isra’ and Mi’raj, coinciding with a march of dozens of settlers in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem.
A Palestinian was injured after being run over by a settler's car at the eastern entrance to the city of Qalqilya, while the occupation forces also stormed the towns of Budrus, west of Ramallah, Azzun and Hajjah, east of Nablus.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 5 people were injured by occupation bullets in the town of Beit Furik, east of the city of Nablus in the West Bank, where the occupation forces stormed the town, leading to the outbreak of confrontations with Palestinian youths. The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed that the occupation forces assaulted one of the wounded inside the ambulance during the transfer process. To the hospital.
Al Jazeera's correspondent in Palestine reported that the occupation forces tightened their military measures around the city of Nablus, after a Palestinian was killed by Israeli army gunfire at the Deir Sharaf checkpoint west of the city yesterday, Thursday. Meanwhile, the family of the prisoner Muhammad Ahmad Al-Sabbar from the city of Al-Dhahiriya, south of Hebron, said that the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club informed them of the martyrdom of their son Muhammad (20 years old), who had been detained for two years.
The occupation forces shot a Palestinian young man under the pretext of carrying out a shooting attack on Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint at the entrance to the town of Deir Sharaf, then prevented the ambulance from crossing to rescue the young man. The occupation forces withdrew from the town of Deir Sharaf after storming them, raiding shops there, and confiscating surveillance cameras from the shops.
Israeli Army Radio reported that about 25 settlers threw stones at Palestinian cars near the village of Deir Sharaf, west of Nablus.
The family of the prisoner, Muhammad Ahmad Al-Sabbar, from the city of Al-Dhahiriya, south of Hebron, said that the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club informed them of the martyrdom of their son Muhammad, who had been detained for two years. The occupation had referred the prisoner, Muhammad al-Sabbar, to administrative detention after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7, and the prisoner’s family said that he was suffering from health problems before the arrest. The family of the martyred prisoner also held the occupation responsible.
Meanwhile, the occupation forces stormed the courtyards of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and Al-Qibli Mosque, in an attempt to prevent worshipers from secluding themselves in commemoration of the night of the Night of Isra and Mi’raj. Palestinian platforms broadcast scenes of the occupation abusing young men and searching them at Bab al-Silsilah inside the Old City of occupied Jerusalem. The occupation police also fired heavy tear gas bombs at young men in the Al-Shiyah area in the Ras Al-Amoud neighborhood, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
On the other hand, the Old City of occupied Jerusalem witnessed a massive provocative march by settlers, heavily guarded by the occupation forces. The occupation forces set up barriers and prevented the people of occupied Jerusalem from reaching the Old City or the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Lebanese Hezbollah announced that it had targeted the Israeli Kila barracks in the occupied Syrian Golan with dozens of Katyusha rockets. The party said in a statement: “The Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance targeted, at 5:50 pm on Friday, the Kila barracks of the Israeli army in the occupied Syrian Golan with dozens of Katyusha rockets.” Hezbollah confirmed that targeting the Kaila base was a response to the Israeli raids that targeted the Ali Al-Taher Heights and a house in the town of Yahmar in the Nabatieh district, deep in southern Lebanon. The Kela barracks of the Israeli army in the Syrian Golan is about 15 km from the Lebanese border.
Earlier, an RT correspondent said that a missile salvo was fired towards Kiryat Shmona on the border with Lebanon . It added that more than 30 rockets were fired from southern Lebanon towards Israeli military sites in the Upper Galilee. She indicated that the Israeli Iron Dome was activated, explaining that a number of missiles exploded in the airspace of the eastern sector of southern Lebanon. Video clips documented the Iron Dome's interception of a number of missiles.
Brigadier General (ret.) Efi Itam, former commander of the Galilee formation and a minister in the Israeli governments, spoke with Aryeh Eldad and Ron Koffman about the possibility of expanding the campaign to the northern border as well: "We need to end the fighting in Gaza first. "There is a reason not to go to war in Lebanon now, at the same time as the war in Gaza," he read with them. "The IDF, which was built in recent years, was not built for the ability to fight on two fronts in such an intensive manner. This issue will be fixed immediately after the war, but as it is currently constructed it should end the fighting in Gaza. This is a fight that must be at the end of a ground fight. Never, since the Second World War, at the end of the combination of the movement, the fire, the destruction of the enemy and the occupation of the ground - makes a decision. The IDF was largely built as part of this conception. Siege wars in modern times were very few and lasted for long years. There is no such modern war, no such total siege.
"The Prime Minister said the following things, in order for us to gain the time required to carry out the long campaign, we need to respond to the American demands in the humanitarian field, and I agree with that. I just think that this humanitarian was done in a careless and stupid way - it was clear that the hand that needed To feed, refuel, transport water, medicine, there should be an Israeli hand in the hand of a civilian refugee who begs and depends on the hand that gives. As usual with us, everything was mixed up and there was no one who was supposed to immediately provide a form of military government in the occupied territory, as we did after the Six Day War. We had to prepare immediately as part of the war effort for a military government to manage the occupied territory. The conscious fear of the army being involved in the management of an occupied territory, which has been the case throughout history, all over the world, screwed up the business in the sense that no one prepared, the army did not want to deal with it, the civilian level was conducted in a kind of Innocence/Opacity."
Regarding the escalation in the north, he said that "we have a Hezbollah security zone deep inside Israel, almost 100,000 citizens are not in their homes - this is the price of succumbing to internal pressures within a society that is a democratic society, but that being such it sometimes tends to make such stupid decisions, So reckless, that later it pays like now interest de interest in order to return to the opening situation that was prevented."
He added: "The mistakes don't start four months ago. But regarding the evacuation from the north, I remind you that the decision was made under the assumption that Radwan's forces were going to immediately join the attack on October 7 in the south. The decision was made, and it is still very difficult for me today to judge it, which I clearly need to return to understanding that settlement is not a burden that needs to be removed from which fighting begins. We need to return to a settlement that has not moved. I remind you of our shame today, who hasn't moved from their homes? The Druze villages."
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 [in old days] 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.
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Bystanders
The head of the International Crisis Group, Comfort Ayrault, considered that the risk of a “major miscalculation” is increasing day after day in the Middle East after four months of war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In an interview with Agence France-Presse, she pointed out that “there are ongoing talks about a truce of 40 days. This is the basis. Obtaining these 40 days and then building on this basis... reaching a kind of transitional government that allows the infrastructure to restart.” "Delivering water and food and then meeting long-term needs."
She pointed out, "From the Palestinian side, this is about their aspiration to establish a state. For Israel, it is about its security and obtaining security guarantees. That is why we have been very clear within the Crisis Group that the only way to achieve this is through an immediate ceasefire." She saw that, “The only thing that seems real is that none of the parties wants regional escalation or war. And when I say none of the parties, I mean the three big players: Israel, Iran, and the United States. But we also see that we are getting closer every day to a major miscalculation. Avoiding a disaster becomes "It's a very important thing."
Regarding a new confrontation between Joe Biden and Donald Trump in the United States, and its impact on American foreign policy, Ayrault said: “What is clear... is that those who follow the United States seem nervous. I believe that the United States is still considered at the international level to be an influential party, whether positively.” "Or negatively. But I think there is an increase in anxiety, uncertainty, polarization and division."
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim praised Qatar's negotiating role in the war launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip , and considered - in exclusive statements to Al Jazeera Net - that Qatar's maintenance of its relations with Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement " Hamas " in Gaza gave it a distinguished position and a better position for negotiation. He added, "I do not see that any country can do what the State of Qatar did."
The Malaysian leader was not surprised by the attacks on Doha by Israeli officials, despite the United States’ praise of the Qatari role. He said sarcastically, “We are dealing with Israelis who do not listen to anyone,” and called on Qatar to continue its constructive role, which, in his opinion, aims to reach some kind of peace or a ceasefire. Fire and allowing humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
On the other hand, the Malaysian Prime Minister called on Western powers supporting Israel to stop what he described as “complicity in the killing of children, infants, women and civilians.” He urged the United States to put pressure on Israel to stop its aggression and stop killing, and indicated that he had explicitly informed US President Joe Biden of this position.
Anwar Ibrahim repeated his criticism of Western powers, including the United States, for what he described as hypocrisy, when they condone the killing of civilians while at the same time preaching and promoting the values ??of democracy and human rights. He stressed his country's principled commitment to supporting the Palestinian cause, and enumerated the means it is taking in this regard, saying, "We have not left an international or regional forum without raising our voice loudly in support of the rights of the Palestinian people and the establishment of their independent state, and working to stop the tragedy of the Palestinian people."
Anwar Ibrahim added, "We will continue to send our humanitarian aid, help wounded women and children by bringing them for treatment in Malaysian hospitals, and cooperate with Arab countries, neighboring countries and Islamic countries to achieve any other goals." The Malaysian Prime Minister affirmed his government's continued efforts to hold Israel accountable for its crimes in all international courts and forums, and denied that Malaysia had hesitated to take the initiative to bring the case to the International Court of Justice . He said that what prevented the initiative is that Malaysia is not a signatory to the Rome Charter establishing the court, and its law does not authorize non-member states to file a lawsuit, but it can provide support in the case, which is what Malaysia is already doing. He revealed to Al Jazeera Net that Foreign Minister Mohamed Hassan will undertake the plea against Israel. In person on February 24th.
Although Anwar Ibrahim expressed his confidence in the strength of the case brought by South Africa and supported by his country, and his high confidence in reaching a conviction against Israel, he added that the court lacks an implementation tool, as is the case with UN resolutions that have not been implemented against Israel, and therefore he sees an urgent need to put pressure on Washington in particular to play a vital role in this context.
Axis of Resistance
The prominent leader of the Hamas movement, Osama Hamdan, confirmed that the US administration’s statements regarding the devastating Israeli war on the Gaza Strip are just “words hanging in the air,” stressing that there is no practical impact on US President Joe Biden’s recent statements regarding the aggression.
During a press conference held by US President Joe Biden described the “Israeli response behavior” in Gaza as excessive and exceeding the limit, in unprecedented statements criticizing “Israel,” stressing that he is working to reach a sustainable cessation of fighting. Hamdan explained: Joe Biden's last words can be interpreted under two main headings. The first is that the American president realizes the extent of the impact of what is happening in Gaza on the general mood of the American voter, and its impact on an influential segment of voters whose positions may lead to his failure in the upcoming elections.
The second title, according to Hamdan, is that “Biden may try to differ slightly in his position from the occupation government, given that this government is determined to continue the process of genocide. He added: “There may be advice given to the American president and his administration on the necessity of not appearing to be fully and directly involved in the aggression.”
In this context, the Hamas leader spoke about the existence of a serious opportunity for a ceasefire, an end to the siege, and the withdrawal of the occupation forces from Gaza, noting that “the ceasefire depends on the mentality of Benjamin Netanyahu and the level of American pressure.”
Allied for Democracy
Hamas's media official in Lebanon, Walid Kilani, stated that the movement is capable of continuing to confront Israel. Kilani said in a statement to the Russian Sputnik agency on Friday: “Hamas was able to deal with the strongest military arsenal in the region for four months, and it retained the ability to attack, defend, and achieve goals, and it can withstand a much longer period of time.” Kilani pointed out that Israel was unable to destroy the military capabilities of Hamas, despite attacking residential buildings, hospitals and civilian facilities.
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported, citing American officials, that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken believes that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking confrontation with the United States over the Palestinian issue, while US intelligence sources confirmed that Israel has been able to weaken the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas ), but it didn't destroy it.
The newspaper said that the US Secretary of State was shocked by the Israeli Prime Minister's involvement in the hostage issue, noting that Blinken is more committed to recovering Israeli detainees in the Gaza Strip than Netanyahu. Blinken met with Netanyahu and officials in the Israeli war government during a visit he made to Tel Aviv yesterday, Thursday, to discuss ways to secure the release of detainees in Gaza the day after Netanyahu’s statements rejecting some of Hamas’ demands.
Blinken said at the beginning of a meeting with Israeli war cabinet ministers that the talks will focus on “the hostages and the strong desire of each of us to see them returned to their families, and on the work that is being done to achieve this goal.”
Despite Netanyahu’s insistence on continuing the war until the elimination of Hamas, it does not seem that the Israeli peration that has been ongoing for 4 months on the Gaza Strip will enable it to achieve the goal that was announced since the outbreak of the first spark of the war. The American newspaper “The New York Times” quoted American officials as saying that American intelligence officials confirmed that Israel weakened Hamas, but did not come close to eliminating it. The newspaper said that officials refrained from providing specific estimates regarding the number of “Hamas militants killed,” under the pretext that these estimates are inaccurate and meaningless, as they put it.
It also quoted American officials as saying that the United States has learned through wars that counting the deaths of members of rebel movements or during counter-terrorism operations is stupid, and that there are doubts that the goal of destroying Hamas is realistic, and that weakening the movement’s fighting power may be a more achievable goal.
US President Joe Biden described the Israeli response behavior in Gaza as exceeding the limit, in unprecedented statements criticizing Israeli behavior, Biden revealed that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi did not initially want to open the Rafah crossing for aid to enter the Gaza Strip , but he spoke to him and convinced him to open it. "I’ve been pushing really hard — really hard to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza. There are a lot of innocent people who are starving, a lot of innocent people who are in trouble and dying, and it’s got to stop, number one.
"Number two, I was also in the position that I’m the guy that made the case that we have to do much more to increase the amount of material going in, including fuel, including other items. I’ve been on the phone with the Qataris, I’ve been on the phone with the Egyptians, I’ve been on the phone with the Saudis to get as much aid as we possibly can into Gaza.
"There are innocent people — innocent women and children — who are also in bad — badly in need of help. And so, that’s what we’re pushing right now. "And I’m pushing very hard now to deal with this hostage ceasefire. Because, as I — you know, I’ve been working tirelessly in this deal — how can I say this without revealing? — to lead to a sustained pause in the fighting in — the actions taking place in — in the Gaza Strip. "And — because I think if we can get the delay for that — the initial delay, I think that we would be able to extend that so that we can increase the prospect that this fighting in Gaza changes.
"There’s also negotiations — you may recall, in the very beginning, right after — right before Hamas attacked, I was in contact with the Saudis and others to work out a deal where they would recognize Israel’s right to exist, let them — make them part of the Middle East, recognize them fully, in return for certain things that the United States would commit to do.
"And the commitment to — that we were proposing to do related to two — to two items. I’m not going to go in detail. But one of them was to deal with the protection against their arch enemy to the northwest — northeast, I should say. The second one, by providing ammunition and materiel for them to defend themselves.
"Coincidentally, that’s the timeframe when this broke out. I have no proof for what I’m about to say, but it’s not unreasonable to suspect that the — Hamas understood what was about to take place and wanted to break it up before it happened."
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."
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant considered 05 February 2024 that half the number of Hamas militants were killed or seriously injured by Israeli army forces.
The HAMAS Ministry of Health in the besieged sector announced that the number of victims of the Israeli operation its beginning had risen to 27,840 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 67,317. 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 380 Palestinians, the injury of about 3,950, and the arrest of 5,780, according to official HAMAS sources. As of 17 January 2023, the Israeli escalation in the West Bank led to the death of 360 Palestinians, the injury of nearly 2,200, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and the arrest of about 6,000, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club.
More than 130 Hezbollah fighters were killed in Lebanon during exchanges of bombing operations with Israel.
Israel revised down the death toll from the October Hamas attacks in southern Israel from 1,400 to 1,200. IDF had said previously it was holding 1,500 bodies of terrorists, a total that now would increas to about 1,700.
The total announced number of Israeli officers and soldiers killed had risen to 564 since the start of the war on October 7, including 234 killed since the ground invasion as a result of the ongoing clashes with the Palestinian resistance. 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.
It was announced that soldiers wounded in the Gaza Strip battles numbered to 2,815 since the beginning of the war, including 1,296 who had been wounded since the start of the ground attack on October 27, 2023.
The Israeli army reported that 407 who are still receiving treatment for their injuries in the Gaza battles, and the condition of 48 of them is serious. The number of injured among the Israeli army since the start of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip on October 27 included 602 minor cases, 430 moderate cases, and 264 critical cases.
The Israeli army published new data about those wounded in the military operation in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army announces that 540 soldiers were injured in the Gaza StripThe Gaza government announces that the Israeli army committed a “horrific massacre” in an area it claimed was safe According to army data, 540 soldiers, including 27 seriously injured, were injured in operational incidents since the start of the bombing of the Gaza Strip. There were also 21 accidental shooting incidents in the Gaza Strip, 54 bilateral shooting incidents and 31 traffic accidents. In addition, 388 incidents occurred, including ramming anti-tank rifles, anti-aircraft guns, weapons and machine guns.
At least 13,794 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.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari announced on 07 February 2024 that 31 hostages detained in Gaza had died. He added in a press conference, "We informed 31 families that their detained relatives had died, and thus we announce their deaths."
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 6,870. The total number of prisoners in Israeli prisons exceeds 9,000 Palestinians. Palestinian prisoner institutions said 661 were classified as “unlawful combatants” from Gaza, and this is the number available only as a clear given.
The Palestinian Prisoners' Club said that there has been a significant increase in the number of Palestinian administrative detainees in Israeli prisons since October 7, with 3,484 detainees recorded, including children and women. The club added in a statement that "this number was not actually recorded even during the years of the 1987 uprising."
Israel said on 14 January 2024 that, since the beginning of the war, over 2,960 wanted persons have been arrested throughout the Judea and Samaria Division and the Bekaa and Valleys Division, over 1,350 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."
The announced numbers of detainees do not include those who were detained from Gaza since the start of the operation in the Gaza Strip, as there is no accurate census of these numbers.
Israel has rejected international legal adaptations since 1967, and has treated the Palestinians as criminals, and tried them before military courts and not as prisoners of war. Because the POW is not tried, but is released when the war stops, or as a result of a political agreement.
But international humanitarian law sets clear conditions relating to the Palestinians, whether as prisoners of war or organized groups with one leadership and carrying a unified slogan, and these conditions apply to Palestinian resistance fighters, specifically armed groups. International law, through the Third Geneva Conventions, which relate to prisoners of war and armed conflicts, and the Fourth Geneva Convention, which relates to civilians under occupation; Provide full protection to Palestinian prisoners and groups, including resistance factions.
The obstacles imposed by the Israeli occupation authorities became very different after the seventh of last October. They decided to cancel all trials in order to double the sentences issued against detainees, and now The scope of arguments before lawyers is very limited, due to military orders, and not according to legal data.
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