Operation Iron Swords - Day 128 - 11 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 |
Rafah has become the focus of anticipation regarding the next stage as the war enters its fifth month. It hosts the vast majority of displaced people, most of whom reside in random tents throughout the city, amid difficult humanitarian conditions and a scarcity of aid.
Hebrew Channel 13 said that Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir asked Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy to shoot women and children approaching the Gaza border with Israel. Hebrew media reported that Ben Gvir's statements to the Israeli army chief of staff came while discussing firing orders during a government meeting with Halevy. The media reported that an argument took place between Israeli Army Chief of Staff Halevy and Ben Gvir during the government meeting on Sunday, where the Minister of National Security demanded that the army shoot Palestinian women and children in the Gaza Strip, claiming fear for the Israeli forces.
Halevy stated that “the firing orders in the border area are modified according to the instructions of the officers in the field on a daily basis,” to which Ben Gvir responded by saying, “You know how our enemies work. They will test us and send women and children, and in the end it will turn out that they are saboteurs, and if we continue in this way, we will reach Until October 7 again. Halevy responded by saying, "This is the third time we have repeated this conversation, and I take your statements seriously. After the previous conversation, I devoted an entire round to this topic." He continued, saying, "The soldiers know the complexities, and if we do not coordinate orders, we will witness severe incidents with soldiers shooting at other soldiers."
Ben Gvir renewed his demands in a post on the “X” platform in which he said, “I will not apologize and I will not back down. Anyone who approaches the wall and exposes the citizens of Israel and our soldiers to danger must be shot.” He added, "This is what they do in every normal country. It is forbidden for us to return to the concepts of October 6."
War Termination
The American Wall Street Journal said that Egypt warned Hamas that it must reach an agreement with Israel within two weeks, otherwise Tel Aviv will continue its military operation in Rafah, south of Gaza. The American newspaper pointed out that disturbing Egypt would not bode well for the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas regarding a ceasefire plan that would free the hostages who are still being held in Gaza.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel's plan to advance to Rafah threatens to strain relations with Egypt, as officials in Cairo are concerned about the influx of Palestinians fleeing Gaza and entering the Sinai Peninsula. The newspaper reported that Egyptian officials repeatedly urged their Israeli counterparts to limit the scope of any potential operation in Rafah, warning that Cairo had the option of suspending the peace treaty it concluded with Israel in 1979.
The Hamas movement warned Israel that any military operation it might launch against the city of Rafah would lead to “torpedoing the exchange negotiations” between the movement and Israel. Al-Aqsa TV, affiliated with Hamas, quoted a senior leader in the movement as saying that any ground attack by the Israeli army on the border city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip would mean “torturing the exchange negotiations” regarding the hostages who were detained during the October 7 attack, after the Prime Minister’s announcement. The Hamas leader said, "Netanyahu is trying to evade the entitlements of the exchange deal by committing genocide and a new humanitarian disaster in Rafah."
Israeli media reported that Tel Aviv is considering sending Mossad chief David Barnea and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar to Cairo next week to take part in the prisoner deal talks. According to reports, the talks will include Israeli CIA chief William Burns, Egyptian General Intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman bin Jassim Al Thani. American media quoted sources in the American administration as confirming that CIA Director William Burns will visit Cairo in the coming days to participate in prisoner negotiations between Hamas and Israel.
A senior Biden administration official said that negotiators working on the framework of a multi-stage agreement to secure the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza have made real progress in recent weeks. He added that this agreement was the main focus of a 45-minute phone call between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier on Sunday.
The official indicated in a statement to Reuters that there are still some “large” gaps related to this agreement that must be filled. Biden stressed during the call that the United States does not support, under the current circumstances, carrying out Israeli military operations in Rafah, as about 1.3 million people are sheltering there and have nowhere to go. Earlier, the White House said that US President Joe Biden stressed to Netanyahu during a phone call “the necessity of taking advantage of progress in the negotiations to secure the release of the hostages. ”
Operational Update
Netanyahu called for the mobilization of reserve soldiers in preparation for launching a military ground operation in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, while Egypt threatened to suspend the peace treaty with Israel if the operation was carried out, according to Israeli media. Netanyahu asked the Chief of Staff of the occupation army, Herzi Halevy, to mobilize reserve soldiers to launch a military operation in Rafah.
The private Israeli Channel 13 said that Netanyahu asked Halevy to remobilize the reserve forces that had been demobilized, in preparation for the possible operation of the Israeli army in Rafah. The channel quoted sources as saying that the army has been waiting for about two weeks for the green light from the political level to launch the attack on Rafah. In turn, Halevy said that the army will be able to handle any mission, but there are political aspects that must be taken care of first, according to the same source. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant and other Israeli officials announced in recent days that "the Israeli army will expand its ground operation to Rafah to dismantle the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of the Hamas movement, in the city of Rafah."
The Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Herzi Halevy, warned against talking about military operations and the activities of the Israeli army in the media, threatening Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Muhammad Al-Deif to “eliminate them.” Herzi Halevy said during the government session, “Hamas leaders Muhammad al-Deif and Yahya Sinwar no longer influence the fighting at all,” stressing that, “despite this fact, we must eliminate them.”
Against the backdrop of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statements about an "imminent operation in Rafah," Halevy warned that "the public discourse about military operations is incorrect," and called for "avoiding providing details about the stages of the war." Halevy explained: “We inform Sinwar through the media where we will be in two minutes. We tell him about our every step and allow him to prepare for our arrival... It is difficult to manage a battle in this way.”
Netanyahu affirmed before the ministers after the end of the security review on the war in Gaza, which he received from Herzi Halevy, saying: “We actually want to achieve demilitarization in the Gaza Strip, and this requires our control and our highest security responsibility over the entire area west of Jordan, including Gaza, and we do not "There is an alternative for the foreseeable future."
The Israeli Prime Minister revealed some details related to the expected military operation in Rafah, where about half of the population of the Gaza Strip is concentrated after being displaced from their areas, while Israeli media reported that the veteran politician, nicknamed “Bibi,” told officials that “the Rafah operation must... It will be completed before the start of Ramadan. More than a million Palestinians are gathering in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip on the Egyptian border, after fleeing the northern regions as a result of the raging war.
Netanyahu said in an interview on the “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” program on the American ABC News channel, broadcast on Sunday, and excerpts of which were published on Saturday evening, that “Victory is within reach, and we will do it. We will control the last Hamas terrorist brigades, and And Rafah, which is the last stronghold.” He continued: "We will do this while ensuring safe passage for the civilian population so that they can leave. We are working on developing a detailed plan to achieve this, and we are not dealing with this matter casually."
The Israeli Prime Minister noted that “areas in northern Rafah have been cleared” and “can be used as safe areas for civilians,” he said. Netanyahu responded to critics concerned about the fate of civilians in the event of an attack on Rafah, saying: “Those who say that we should never enter Rafah are actually telling us that we should lose the war and leave Hamas there.”
Regarding the timing and duration that the Israeli military operation in Rafah may take, Israeli Channel 12 stated in a report reported by the Times of Israel newspaper , that Bibi informed the Mini Ministerial Council for Political and Security Affairs (Cabinet) that “Israel has only one month to... To complete its operation in Rafah. Ramadan - the ninth month in the Muslim Hijri calendar - is expected to begin March 11, a time when tensions always rise in Israel and the Palestinian territories, especially in Jerusalem, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, which is the third holiest site in Islam and the most sacred place for Jews.
Muslims call the site “The Holy Mosque,” and they believe that it is the place that witnessed the Prophet Muhammad’s ascension to heaven on the back of “Al-Buraq.” As for the Jews, they believe that it was built on the site of a Jewish temple (the Temple) that was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70 AD, and nothing remains of it except the Western Wall, known as the “Wailing” Wall for the Jews or the “Buraq Wall” for the Muslims. The Jews call the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque the “Temple Mount” and it is considered their most sacred site.
The upcoming month of Ramadan comes with the continuation of the war in Gaza, which entered its fifth month a few days ago with the aim of “eliminating Hamas,” the Palestinian movement classified on the US terrorist list and which has ruled the Palestinian Strip since 2007.
According to the Israeli Channel 12 report, the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Herzi Halevy, informed Netanyahu that “the Israeli army is ready to work (in Rafah), “but it needs the government to first decide what it wants to do with the displaced people from Gaza who have taken refuge there.” In a related context, Channel 12 also quoted the Israeli Army Chief of Staff as saying, “The army also needs to know the government’s plans for the Philadelphia Corridor, which is the 14-kilometre security road along the Gaza border with Egypt.”
The Philadelphia Axis, also called the “Salah al-Din Axis,” is located along the border between Gaza and Egypt, within a buffer zone under the “Camp David” peace agreement between Egypt and Israel in 1979. This agreement allows Israel and Egypt to deploy forces with limited numbers and equipment, and specific numbers, types of weapons, and mechanisms that can be deployed on that axis, with the aim of carrying out patrols on the side of the Egyptian axis, to prevent smuggling, infiltration, and other criminal activities.
For its part, Egypt sent about 40 tanks and armored personnel carriers to northeastern Sinai during the past two weeks, as part of its moves to enhance security on its border with the Gaza Strip, according to Reuters.
On Friday, Netanyahu announced that he had ordered the Israeli army to prepare a “plan to evacuate” civilians from Rafah, amid growing international fear of a “disaster” resulting from any possible attack on the city. On Saturday, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned of a possible attack by the Israeli army in Rafah, which he said would amount to an "unspeakable humanitarian catastrophe."
Clashes continued between the Palestinian resistance and the Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli army admitted that two officers and a soldier were injured in battles in the south of the Strip, while the Ministry of Health announced an increase in the number of martyrs as a result of the Israeli aggression and bombing.
On the 128th day of the Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported that fierce clashes were taking place between the resistance and the Israeli forces west of the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip. Also in Khan Yunis, the Israeli forces launched intensive raids targeting homes surrounding the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis.
Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that clashes between the Palestinian resistance and the Israeli forces continued in the vicinity of the complex, and the sounds of shelling were heard in the area, and the streets adjacent to the complex appeared empty of passers-by due to the deployment of Israeli army snipers on the rooftops of houses and targeting anyone who moved.
At the same time, the Israeli army announced that an officer from the 603rd Engineering Battalion and an officer and a soldier from a paratroopers unit were seriously injured in battles in the southern Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said that military operations in the Gaza Strip are continuing. Hagari added that army forces continue to destroy infrastructure west of Khan Yunis, and that raid operations in the center and north of the Strip continue. He pointed out that the forces, with the support of the air and naval forces, eliminated what he described as an armed cell in central Gaza.
Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that Israeli gunboats bombed the coast of Gaza City and areas west of the city, and pictures showed smoke rising as a result of new Israeli bombardment on areas east of Gaza City.
The Israeli army forced the displaced people in the city of Khan Yunis to leave the Sheikh Jabr, Qandila and Zahra schools affiliated with UNRWA and head west on foot through the destroyed Al-Bahr Street, reaching the Al-Mawasi area, west of the city. Al Jazeera's correspondent said that the displaced people, while walking along this road, are subjected to searches and their identities being checked at the Israeli army checkpoints. The Israeli forces arrested displaced people and take them to unknown places for interrogation. Upon their arrival in the Al-Mawasi area, the Israeli forces force the families to move north to Deir al-Balah, and south to the city of Rafah.
In the same context, the Palestinian Red Crescent said that the Israeli forces bombed the main gate of Al-Amal Hospital and the vicinity of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. The Red Crescent added that Al-Amal Hospital, which has been besieged for 21 days, is threatened with stopping work due to the Israeli preventing the entry of fuel necessary for the operation of electricity generators. It said that the Israeli forces have been preventing the introduction of oxygen into the hospital for more than a week despite continuous coordination attempts with international organizations, which led to the death of 3 patients.
The Red Crescent also denied the validity of the reports about the Israelis bringing in medical equipment, noting that the Israeli forces destroyed medical devices and equipment during their storming of the hospital yesterday, Saturday. The Israeli forces also attacked the staff, beating, abusing and insulting them, and arrested 9 members of the medical and administrative staff, 4 wounded people, and 5 patients’ companions.
Egypt warned of "serious consequences" of a possible Israeli military attack on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, near its border. A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it “completely rejects the statements issued by high-ranking officials in the Israeli government regarding the intention of the Israeli forces to launch a military operation in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, warning of the dire consequences of such an action, especially in light of what... "It is fraught with the risk of worsening the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip."
Egypt called for the necessity of uniting all international and regional efforts to prevent the targeting of the Palestinian city of Rafah. The statement considered that "the targeting of Rafah, and Israel's continued policy of obstructing the access of humanitarian aid, constitutes an actual contribution to the implementation of the policy of displacing the Palestinian people and liquidating their cause, in clear violation of the provisions of international law, international humanitarian law, and the relevant resolutions of the Security Council and the United Nations General Assembly."
Egypt affirmed that it "will continue its contacts and movements in order to reach an immediate ceasefire, enforce the truce, and exchange prisoners and detainees." It called on influential international powers to "intensify pressure on Israel to respond to these efforts, and to avoid taking measures that will further complicate the situation and cause harm to the interests of everyone without exception."
On Friday, Reuters quoted two Egyptian security sources as saying that Cairo sent about 40 tanks and armored personnel carriers to northeastern Sinai in the past two weeks as part of a series of measures to enhance security on its border with the Gaza Strip. The two security sources said that Egypt also set up sand barriers and enhanced surveillance at border posts. About 1.3 million Palestinians, more than half of the population of the besieged Strip, are gathered in Rafah, near the border with Egypt. The vast majority of them fled violence in the northern and central Gaza Strip following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas more than four months ago.
After ordering the army to prepare for an attack on the city, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with ABC News, “Victory is within reach. We will do it. We will control the last Hamas terrorist brigades, and Rafah, which is the movement’s last stronghold.” . He continued, "We will do this while ensuring safe passage for the civilian population so that they can leave. We are working on developing a detailed plan to achieve this," speaking of the presence of areas in northern Rafah that "have been cleared and can be used as safe areas for civilians."
Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy decided to move the 36th Armored Division from Gaza to the border with Lebanon, where the Israeli army and Hezbollah are exchanging bombing on a daily basis. Israeli Army Radio said that recent discussions took place in the General Staff during which the Commander of the Southern Command, Major General Yaron Finkelman, called for the maintenance of “Division 36,” the largest regular division in the Israeli army, in the central Gaza Strip with the aim of increasing military pressure on the Hamas movement, but the head of the Operations Division, Major General Oded Basiuk raised the need to remove the division from Gaza and move it to the north to replace the reserve forces and be ready for any scenario.
She added that the Chief of Staff ultimately decided to withdraw the “36th Division” from Gaza and transfer it to the Lebanese border. There was no information available regarding the timing of the transfer of the division, which consists of maneuver units (armor, infantry, and engineering corps) and includes the “188th Brigade,” the “7th Brigade,” the “Golani Brigade,” the “Etzioni Brigade,” and the “Engineering Corps Brigades.”
Since late December 2023, the Israeli army has withdrawn from Gaza the 4th and 55th Reserve Brigades, the 7107th Combat Engineer Battalion, and the 13th Battalion of the Golani Brigade. The border between Lebanon and Israel has witnessed intermittent clashes between Lebanese Hezbollah and Israeli forces since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, as Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah announced that the Lebanon front is a front “in support of Gaza.”
Israeli media reported that Hezbollah's military policy along the Lebanese-Palestinian border is "holding settlers in the occupied North as hostages". Moran Aluf, an Israeli researcher, told the Israeli Kan channel that "Israel" has captives in the South and "hostages in the North", where settlers cannot return to their houses or live normally as a result of Hezbollah's retaliation.
"We ['Israel'] cannot allow an organization like Hezbollah to take settlers as its hostages," she added, noting that "Hezbollah created an equation, dictating that as long as fighting in Gaza is ongoing, then I [Hezbollah] will continue firing." She also clarified that if any agreement is reached, it would only be temporary, adding that there is a possibility of war against the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon "because we cannot anticipate what it wants or what its intentions are. We must understand its capabilities to avoid what happened in the South." Aluf additionally described the threat Hezbollah poses on the northern settlements as a "security challenge" that would subside the political agreement if not handled.
Aluf's statement came one day after the "Metula" mayor revealed that 80,000 settlers have been forced out of the North as a result of Hezbollah's defensive operations, in support of Gaza and the Lebanese South. David Azoulay, the mayor of the "Metula" settlement in the occupied north, revealed on Saturday that around 80,000 settlers have been away from their houses for four months, with no regard as to when they would be able to return.
Azoulay told Israeli Channel 13 that "all we [settlers] are asking for is to live in our houses, but we are not a free people in "Israel", adding that "Hezbollah dictates the intensity at all times in the North." Azoulay also claimed that over the past four months, Hezbollah had been firing and attacking northern settlements, while the Israeli occupation forces fought inadequately and in a manner that would not allow settlers to return to their houses, amid the silence and neglect of the occupation government.
Yemeni News Agency (Saba), affiliated with the Houthis, quoted a security source as saying that 3 raids had occurred on the Al-Salif district near Hodeidah.
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
Amnesty International issued a severe warning stressing that Benjamin Netanyahu's orders to the IDF planning an attack on Rafah in the Gaza Strip constitute a "grave risk of genocide" for Palestinians. Amnesty International Secretary-General, Agnes Callamard, posted a statement on X, expressing concern about the feasibility and safety of evacuation measures, shedding light on the misery Palestinians are experiencing in Gaza as a result of the Israeli genocide against them.
Callmard emphasized, "The statement published by the office of PM Netanyahu, which instructs the Israeli military to produce a plan for the 'evacuation of the civilian population' of Rafah has spread panic in the southern governorate raising fears that a massive ground operation is imminent."
"Such an operation will have catastrophic consequences for more than a million people – the vast majority of them displaced - who are living in desperate conditions in Rafah, squeezed into overcrowded areas, makeshift tents, and schools or sleeping on the streets, who have nowhere to go," she added. She further urged the international community to support the Palestinian people who are facing "the real and imminent risk of genocide."
Adnan Abu Hasna, media advisor to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees ( UNRWA ), painted a bleak picture of the conditions in the northern Gaza Strip , the area that observers and analysts believe may be the destination of the Palestinians, who will be forced to leave Rafah Governorate (south of the Gaza Strip) in the event of an Israeli attack. militarily there.
Abu Hasna said - in his interview with the program “Gaza... What Next?” - that the northern Gaza Strip is an unlivable place, due to the destruction practiced by the Israeli army over the past months, and that the people there are starving from hunger. Because the Israeli prevented the entry of aid from food, fuel and water. He confirmed that UNRWA is ready to bring the aid accumulated in the port of Ashdod into the northern Gaza Strip, if Israel agrees to do so.
In light of the devastation witnessed in the north and the suffering of people due to the scarcity of food, water and medicines, the UNRWA media advisor confirms that the pressures on this region will increase if the Israeli invades Rafah.
In the opinion of the expert in international and European affairs, Hossam Shaker, what is happening in the Gaza Strip in general is a war of starvation and impoverishment of the Palestinian people, to which the American administration and European countries contributed. By imposing sanctions on UNRWA.
In Hossam’s assessment, the American administration is putting pressure on Israel with empty words, and it is still giving cover to the Israelis to annihilate the Palestinian people, warning that American discomfort with Tel Aviv will not lead to pressure to prevent the invasion of Rafah, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans .
Regarding the phone call - today, Sunday - between US President Joe Biden and Netanyahu, the expert in international and European affairs suggested that it dealt with the Israeli move in Rafah, and he said that Washington realizes that the issue of the invasion of Rafah is linked to the completion of the campaign of ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip and forced displacement, and he did not rule out that it was Egypt is a potential destination for Palestinians.
Israeli Channel 12 said that Biden expressed, in his call with Netanyahu, his concern about the impact of a military operation in Rafah on the humanitarian situation, and stressed his point of view that this operation should not continue without a reliable and implementable plan, and the necessity of having a plan to ensure the safety and support of more than a million people. They took refuge in Rafah.
According to the expert on Israeli affairs, Muhannad Mustafa, there is an agreement between the political and military leadership in Israel to invade Rafah, but the disagreement between them revolves around the implementation mechanism, as the army has reservations about the operation. Because "he wants there to be clear understandings with Egypt that are based on a common matter, which is that Israel does not want to remain in the Salah al-Din axis."
The Egyptians, for their part, fear - the expert adds - that Israel, through the military operation in Rafah, adjacent to the Egyptian border, will push the people of the Gaza Strip to flee to Egypt, which for it is a red line and part of its national security. He believes that the deep state and the military establishment in Israel realize the importance of the strategic relationship with Egypt, and that this relationship is more important than the Rafah operation in the long term. In the context of his speech, the expert described Egypt’s role as important and effective in the Rafah issue, stressing that “Egypt can play a role in Stop the Israeli military operation in Rafah.
Yesterday, Saturday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry warned of developments in the situation in Rafah, saying that they portend a deterioration in the Strip, with dire repercussions.
The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency ( UNRWA ), Philippe Lazzarini, said on Sunday that Israel seized an aid shipment equivalent to an entire month's supply at the port of Ashdod , while the Knesset Constitution and Judiciary Committee approved a draft law to stop UNRWA's work in occupied Jerusalem . Lazzarini said the agency faces increasing administrative obstacles from Israel, and operates in a hostile environment where decisions have begun to affect its ability to operate.
He reported that one of the contractors providing administrative services in the port of Ashdod informed UNRWA that he could no longer continue working with the agency under orders from the Israeli authorities. Lazzarini added that as a result, a shipment from Turkey containing 1,049 containers of supplies was stuck at the port. It includes: flour, chickpeas, sugar, and cooking oil, which is sufficient for the needs of more than a million people for a month. There has been no comment yet from the Turkish authorities regarding Israel’s detention of the aid shipment it sent. A spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Finance said that the matter was in the hands of the government's legal advisor, without offering any further comment.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced last week - via the X platform - that Israel would cancel the tax exemptions it had provided to UNRWA in the past. For his part, Al Jazeera's correspondent said that the Constitution and Judiciary Committee in the Knesset approved a draft law to stop UNRWA's work in occupied Jerusalem.
This comes as UNRWA faces Israeli accusations that 12 out of 30,000 employees in the Gaza Strip participated in the attack of last October 7, and several countries announced, following the accusations, cutting off funding for the agency, which is carrying out life-saving efforts in the besieged Gaza Strip, which does not receive sufficient amounts of aid.
Al-Mamlaka TV, the state-owned channel in Jordan, said on Sunday that King Abdullah bin Hussein participated in an airdrop to provide aid to the Gaza Strip. A video clip showed the Jordanian monarch in military uniform aboard a military plane in the latest airdrop of urgent medical supplies to field hospitals run by Jordan in the war-torn sector. It was not immediately clear whether the Jordanian king's participation in the landing operation was limited to the moral aspect, or if he was assuming other duties during it.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry warned in a statement on Saturday of “the extremely dangerous repercussions of storming and targeting the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, which is the last refuge for hundreds of thousands of civilians who were forced to flee by the brutal Israeli aggression.” It considered that "this continued violation of international law and international humanitarian law confirms the necessity of convening the UN Security Council urgently to prevent Israel from causing an imminent humanitarian catastrophe for which everyone who supports the aggression bears responsibility."
The Journalists Syndicate in Egypt called for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and the cancellation of the peace agreement, and affirmed its rejection of Tel Aviv’s threats to launch a military operation in Palestinian Rafah, considering this a threat to Egypt’s national security. The Egyptian Syndicate stressed in a statement that these threats “come to reveal the extent of international complicity in the face of Zionist crime and the genocidal war being practiced against the Palestinian people, and its attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause amid complete international silence.”
The union condemned with "full force the position of the American President in support of the Zionist threats, and considers it a green light to launch the attack, kill civilians, and ignite the region, adding a new crime to the record of American crimes, Biden's crimes against the Palestinian people, and declared participation in the war of extermination."
The union confirmed that at the beginning of the fifth month of the war of extermination, which the Zionist entity is waging against the Palestinian people in Gaza, and despite the clear and decisive Egyptian position of rejecting the forced displacement of the Palestinian people to Sinai, and considering that a red line, a position agreed upon by all groups and components. The Egyptian people, but the Zionist entity led by the criminal Netanyahu is still seeking to implement its plan, and has already begun declaring its readiness to carry out its ground attack and invade Rafah with all the dangers this threat represents to Egyptian national security.”
The union continued in its statement: “We stress that it is no longer possible to bear the massacres carried out by the Zionist entity around the clock throughout the past months, which claimed the lives of more than 28,000 Palestinians, most of them children and women, and tens of thousands of missing and wounded. It has also become impossible Every person of living conscience must continue to sit as spectators in the face of the war of genocide and starvation practiced by this racist, usurping entity against our Arab people in Palestine, and silence and the policy of deafening ears are no longer an option in the face of these cowardly operations against women and children.
The Journalists Syndicate appreciated all the moves that seek to stop this attack, as well as the measures it is taking in anticipation of any developments that the Egyptian-Palestinian border may witness in terms of the Israeli attack on Rafah.
The union affirmed that “it and the entire Egyptian people stand behind all measures aimed at confronting any potential Zionist aggression that threatens Egyptian national security and is tantamount to a declaration of war.” It continued: “The Egyptian Journalists Syndicate, which announced on all occasions its position on supporting the Palestinian cause and rejecting all forms of normalization with the Zionist entity, confirms the following:
- - Supporting all necessary and essential measures to support our people in Palestine, and considering the aggression against Rafah a direct threat to national security.” Egypt, and take the necessary decisive defensive measures.
- - Expel the Israeli ambassador, withdraw the Egyptian ambassador, cancel the agreement with the Zionist entity, and consider it as if it were not a response to any aggression that affects the borders or threatens Egyptian security.
- - Criminalizing all forms of normalization or cooperation. With the Zionist entity, stopping the entry of boycotted goods, and canceling the work permits of companies and factories included in the boycott.
- - Calling for a review of relations with Arab countries that are in favor of normalization with the Zionist entity at the expense of the interests of the Palestinian people, the interests of the Arab nation, and all requirements of Arab national security.
- - Calling for openness to all countries that support the Palestinian cause, and severing or suspending relations with countries that supported the Zionist entity in its war on Gaza and the West Bank, and its aggression against the Palestinian people, and were even a partner in this aggression, first and foremost the United States of America and some European countries.
- - Supporting the political and legal position in support of South Africa in the lawsuit filed by it before the International Court of Justice, in which Israel is accused of practicing genocide against the Palestinians.
Axis of Resistance
Expressing Iran’s fierce opposition to the spread of military conflicts in the region, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said the Zionist regime and its prime minister perceive war as a chance of survival. In a meeting with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib, held in Beirut, Amirabdollahian thanked Lebanon for condemning a recent terrorist attack in the Iranian city of Kerman. He also appreciated Lebanon’s robust support for the Palestinian cause and the resistance, the Foreign Ministry’s website reported.
Highlighting Iran’s opposition to any expansion of the war in the region, Amirabdollahian said the Zionist regime and its prime minister seek their survival in expanding the war. He added that the US government, despite claiming to be opposed to the expansion of war, fully supports the Israeli regime and has not stopped arms delivery to the Israeli regime for even a single day.
The Iranian foreign minister noted that all sides must respect Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity. He referred to Lebanon's internal issues, saying, “We are confident that Lebanon's political leaders have sufficient intelligence and wisdom to resolve their country's internal problems, and Iran supports any Lebanese decision in this regard.”
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad confirmed that the behavior of the United States regarding the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip threatens to expand the scope of the conflict by supplying Tel Aviv with lethal weapons. Al-Assad said during his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, "The behavior of the United States of America regarding the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip is what threatens to expand the scope of the conflict by continuing to supply the Zionist entity with lethal weapons and Washington carrying out aggressions and attacks in various regions of the Middle East."
He stressed that "the Zionist entity and the West are in an impasse today, and the West is now required to save this entity, and the Israeli escalation in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon is nothing but an attempt to get out of this impasse." The Syrian President added: "It is our duty to stand to the utmost of our ability alongside the Palestinian people, because what this people achieved during the recent Israeli aggression on Gaza has not been achieved since the Palestinian issue arose."
He considered that "the Zionist entity was not satisfied with this horrific amount of crimes that it committed against the Palestinian people in its ongoing aggression against Gaza, and before that, over decades of bloodshed and genocide. Therefore, it is preparing to complete its crimes in the city of Rafah , while the relevant international institutions stand, at the forefront of which are The Security Council is powerless to stop these massacres.”
The Syrian presidency stated that "President Al-Assad discussed with Abdullahian the bilateral political and economic relations between the two countries, the Israeli attacks on Syrian territory, and developments in the region."
Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Faisal Al-Miqdad, stated that Syria has fought wars against Israel and is ready to fight other wars, but Damascus is the one who decides when and how. Al-Miqdad said during a press conference with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir Abdollahian: “The views of our two countries are identical in the support that must be provided to our people in the Gaza Strip in the face of the genocide committed by the Israeli occupation.”
He stressed "the necessity of the American and Turkish occupation forces leaving Syrian territory." Pointing out that "the crimes committed by these forces are crimes against humanity and they must be held accountable for them." He stressed that "the Zionist entity's repeated attacks on Syrian lands are due to Syria's resistance to this entity and its plans since its establishment on the land of Palestine." He added: "Syria has fought wars against the Israeli occupation and we are ready to fight other wars, but we are the ones who decide when and how."
The Arab Affairs correspondent for the Israeli Channel KAN, Roi Kais, commented on the martyrdom of two Resistance fighters from the Lebanese Resistance Regiments - Amal on Sunday in southern Lebanon. Kais stated that the Lebanese movement is "increasingly involved" in the battles against "Israel", noting that 10 of its fighters were martyred since October 7, 2024. Earlier on Sunday, the Amal Movement mourned martyrs Mohammad al-Masri and Hassan Faroukh, who were killed in Israeli strikes while performing their duty in defense of Lebanon and the South.
On December 2, 2023, the Lebanese Resistance Regiments - Amal targeted Israeli military positions in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms, including the al-Ramtha, Roueissat al-Alam, and al-Sumaqa sites using appropriate weapons. On February 2, 2024, the Amal Movement mourned martyrs Mostafa Daher and Ali Mohammad who were killed in an Israeli strike on the town of Blida in southern Lebanon. On February 5, 2024, the Movement announced the martyrdom of three of its Resistance fighters; Hussein Azzam, Jaafar Iskandar, and Hassan Skaykeh.
Allied for Democracy
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a cabinet meeting in Ashkelon on Sunday, “We are on our way to victory and it will take longer, but it will not take years, contrary to what they say.” Netanyahu added: “Victory is within reach. It is a difficult battle, but it is a battle in which we won.” He continued, saying: "We actually want to achieve demilitarization in the Gaza Strip, and this requires us to have security control and supreme security responsibility over the entire region of western Jordan (all the territory of the West Bank), including the Gaza Strip."
The Israeli Prime Minister stressed that there is no alternative to disarmament in the foreseeable future. He added, "We say this to the international community, to the American president, and to all leaders. There is no alternative to that." Netanyahu stated, "The goal (disarmament) is nothing less than the victory we are talking about. It is within reach."
During the meeting, Netanyahu spoke about the increasing pressures on Israel in light of the continuation of the war, saying that this requires confronting the increasing pressures. He continued, saying: "I must tell you the truth. The pressures are increasing, and each of you who deals with foreign parties can tell us about it, each in your own way."
US President Joe Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure the security of residents and displaced people in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, before launching any ground operation. A White House statement said that Biden reiterated his view, during a phone call with Netanyahu, that “military operations should not be launched in Rafah without a reliable plan to ensure the safety of more than a million people sheltering in this area.” Biden called on Netanyahu to take urgent and specific steps to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to innocent Palestinian civilians.
The US President also stressed the importance of taking advantage of the progress made in the negotiations to ensure the release of the hostages as quickly as possible. According to the White House statement, “The President reaffirmed our shared goal of defeating Hamas and ensuring the long-term security of Israel and its people.” The two parties agreed to remain in close contact.
Leaders in the Arab American community in Michigan revealed that a meeting that was supposed to bring them together with Vice President Camilla Harris at the end of the week was postponed to a later time. The leaders explained that the postponement of the meeting comes in light of the difference of views between them as representatives of Arab and American Muslims and the administration of President Joe Biden regarding its positions on the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Hamas movement, which claimed the lives of more than 28 thousand, the majority of whom were women and children.
These leaders explained that they do not feel that there has been progress in their positions, compared to previous meetings with officials in the Biden administration. The postponement of the meeting with Harris comes in the wake of previous attempts by both parties to reach an agreement regarding the position on the war in Gaza, especially in light of the demand that Arab Americans adhere to, which is to call on the administration to announce a clear position in support of a ceasefire in Gaza.
Biden's visit to Michigan last week witnessed demonstrations by Arab and Muslim Americans in which they called on the president to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Before that, a delegation from the Biden administration visited the city of Dearborn, which includes the largest population concentration of Arabs and Muslims in the United States, in an attempt to communicate with Arab Americans, but the leaders of the Arab American community refused to meet with the delegation, reaffirming their adherence to their demands.
Among those who refused this meeting was Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud and several local officials, who said in a later statement that he “would like to speak with decision-makers,” before the administration arranged a closed meeting that took place last Thursday, according to the New York Times.
The American newspaper indicated that Biden's assistant, Deputy National Security Advisor, Jon Finer, met with leaders of Arab Americans in Michigan, and said that he did not have "any amount of confidence" that the current Israeli government was ready to take "meaningful steps" towards establishing a Palestinian state. The New York Times considered that Finer's statements during the meeting were "one of the (US) administration's clearest expressions of regret" for what it considered "mistakes" it had committed since the start of the war, following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th.
Butcher's Bill / Oasis of Martyrs
The Al-Qassam Brigades announced on Sunday that the continuous Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip during the past 96 hours led to the death of 2 prisoners and the serious injury of 8 others. Al-Qassam pointed out in a statement that “the conditions of the wounded prisoners are becoming more dangerous in light of the inability to provide them with appropriate treatment,” holding “the enemy fully responsible for the lives of these wounded in light of the continued bombing and aggression.”
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 "28,176 martyrs, including 12,300 dead children, 8,400 women, 340 medical personnel, 46 civil defense, and 124 journalists." He pointed out that "7,000 people are missing, 70% of whom are children and women, The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The number wounded was 67,784. 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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