Operation Iron Swords - Day 135 - 19 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 |
"More than a million people went to southern Gaza because the Israeli army told them to. They cannot just disappear," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.
The IDF conduct operation at Nasser Hospital in Gaza, apprehend terrorists, uncover weapons cache, and find France-sent medicine for hostages Boxes of medicine "intended for the abductees" were found in Nasser Hospital. Although the drugs were not used, they were intended for the abductees, some of whom have already been released and some of whom are still in the captivity of Hamas. In fact, the drugs did not reach those who needed them, and it is not clear how long the drugs were in the hospital or how they got there. The un-opened boxes of medicine bearing the names of Israeli hostages were found sealed and undistributed, raising concerns about the previous breached agreement in which Qatar would distribute medicine for the chronically ill hostages.
The biblical holidays for the Jews this year intersect with the second week of Ramadan and Tarawih prayers, which may open the door to a new battle in Al-Aqsa Mosque. Ramadan is celebrated Mar 10, 2024 – Apr 9, 2024. Tarawih, also known as Taraweeh, is a voluntary (nafl) night prayer performed by Muslims during the Islamic month of Ramadan. Tarawih prayers are a sunnah of the Prophet, which means that it was his practice to perform them. Purim is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the survival of the Jewish people from annihilation in the 5th century BCE. The story is told in the Book of Esther and is known as the Feast of Lots. Purim dates are March 23–24, 2024.
Jerusalem expects intense fighting to continue in Gaza for another six to eight weeks, including in Rafah city, before scaling back the war effort. “Military chiefs believe they can significantly damage Hamas’s remaining capabilities in that time, paving the way for a shift to a lower-intensity phase of targeted airstrikes and special forces operations,” Reuters reported 19 February 2024, citing two Israeli officials and two regional officials familiar with the strategy. Some believe the war will continue until all Hamas leaders, whether political or military, are eliminated.
A picture spread on social media, its publishers claiming, shows the Israeli army arresting the leader of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, but it was later confirmed that the picture is incorrect. The Israeli newspaper " Maariv" reported that the photo that was widely circulated documents the moment when Israeli army soldiers arrested a person who resembled the leader of Hamas, contrary to the comments that claimed it was the moment of Sinwar's arrest. The newspaper pointed out that the spread of the photo and the rumors accompanying it in the comments coincided with the statement of the Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Galant, on Sunday, that “Hamas is looking for an alternative to Sinwar.”
War Termination
There is no end to the war in sight, as both sides still see the other as an “existential threat,” and there is no clear path to any kind of “permanent peace” between them.
The U.S. put forward the text after Algeria on Saturday requested the council vote on Tuesday on its draft resolution, demanding an immediate ceasefire. The United States has proposed a rival draft of the United Nations Security Council resolution that would underscore the body’s “support for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practicable." The proposal marked a departure from previous diplomatic approaches, yet echos sentiments conveyed by President Joe Biden in recent discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Its introduction signals a significant shift in US policy towards the Israel-Hamas conflict. Primarily, it raises concerns about the potential humanitarian repercussions of a major ground offensive into Rafah, warning of further harm to civilians and their displacement. The resolution says such a move “would have serious implications for regional peace and security, and therefore underscores that such a major ground offensive should not proceed under current circumstances.”
Reuters viewed a draft resolution in the UN Security Council put forward by the United States affirming "support for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible." The American draft resolution said that we should not proceed with launching a major ground attack on Rafah under the current circumstances, because it will cause more harm to civilians and may lead to their displacement to neighboring countries. The draft considered that this step “will have serious implications for regional peace and security.” The draft condemns the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, which led to the death of about 1,200 people.
Member of the Hamas Political Bureau, Osama Hamdan, in a statement to Al-Alam TV, denounced as rumors reports about a delegation from the Hamas movement heading to Cairo in order to negotiate a ceasefire, explaining that this did not happen. Rather, the delegation went to deliver Hamas’ response to the Paris Paper initiative, and the Israelis did not provide any response at the time, and thus the movement’s delegation spent a day there and discussed with The mediators regarding the paper presented by the Hamas delegation. The mediators expressed their conviction that the response presented by Hamas establishes an understanding that leads to a ceasefire. However, the Israeli later submitted a paper in which he even retracted the Paris Agreement, which he participated in drafting, and this at least confirmed what the Hamas delegation said to the mediators that it is not possible without guarantees. The Israeli is in his nature to break agreements and betray covenants and covenants, and therefore without guarantees we cannot be confident in him.
He revealed that attempts had been made to bridge the gap between the two positions, noting that Hamas's position was to emphasize the impossibility of concluding an agreement that would not lead to a permanent and complete ceasefire and the return of the displaced to their homes from which they were expelled, as well as the commencement of reconstruction without any Israeli restrictions and the lifting of the siege. When we say a complete and comprehensive ceasefire, this includes the cessation of military operations, the cessation of reconnaissance flights over the Gaza Strip, the complete withdrawal of all occupation vehicles and soldiers from the Gaza Strip, and a return to the situation that existed before the start of the aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
Operational Update
“There were 24 regional battalions in Gaza — we have dismantled 18 of them,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told foreign reporters. “Now, Rafah is the next Hamas center of gravity.”
Israel expects to continue large-scale combat operations in the Gaza Strip for another 6 to 8 weeks, as part of its preparations to launch a ground attack in the city of Rafah , which is crowded with displaced people in the south of the Strip. This comes because Israel believes that it can cause significant damage to the capabilities of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) in Rafah, paving the way for a shift to a less intense phase of targeted air strikes and special forces operations.
Former Israeli intelligence official and negotiator in the first and second Palestinian intifadas, Avi Melamed, said that there is a small chance that the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will respond to international criticism to cancel the ground attack on Rafah, adding that achieving Israel’s goals in the war is linked to eliminating the Hamas brigades in Rafah, as he put it. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said last Friday that the Israeli Defense Forces are planning operations in Rafah targeting Hamas fighters, command centers and tunnels, without specifying a timetable for the operation.
There has been no significant change in the lines of combat and confrontation in the Gaza Strip between the Israeli occupation army and the Palestinian resistance factions, amid increasing talk about the border city of Rafah with Egypt, and Tel Aviv’s threat to invade it, despite its overcrowding with displaced people. Commenting on the belts of fire that Deir al-Balah witnessed in the middle of the Gaza Strip, military and strategic expert Major General Fayez al-Duwairi said that this city and Rafah have not witnessed ground battles since the Israeli ground war that began late last October.
Al-Duwairi explains during his analysis for Al-Jazeera that Deir al-Balah was the only exception in the Central Governorate in terms of ground battles, although the tanks had approached Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the city before retreating and retreating. He points out that this is the first time that Deir al-Balah - a destination for displaced people from the northern and central areas of the Gaza Strip - has been bombed with such intensity with artillery fire belts, expecting that it is a prelude to an upcoming ground battle and the expected entry of the occupation army into areas there.
Regarding the statements of Israeli War Council Minister Benny Gantz regarding Rafah, Al-Duwairi says that he entered the political bidding market, bypassing Defense Minister Yoav Galant , and now competing with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the context of preserving his political future. Gantz had said - during the annual conference of heads of Jewish organizations in America, in the occupied city of Jerusalem - that the fighting in the Gaza Strip will continue during the month of Ramadan, and will expand to Rafah “if the detainees are not returned.”
Al-Duwairi stressed that the statements of leaders and politicians at the Munich Security Conference showed a categorical rejection of an Israeli ground operation in Rafah and the necessity of putting a final end to the war, but the American position still gives the green light for its continuation. He pointed out the need for the Egyptian position to be firm on the issue of the displacement of Palestinians, especially since the agreements do not allow Israel to enter the Philadelphia Axis area - an average width of 450 meters - except with approval and coordination with Cairo.
The head of the tank and armored personnel carriers production department in the Israeli Ministry of Security, Oren Geber, said that the arsenal of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) in the Gaza Strip presented the occupation army with unprecedented challenges, and that the army was surprised by the volume of fire, weapons and ammunition in the possession of the resistance factions. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. During an interview with the Israeli economic newspaper Calcalist, Ghubir reviewed the losses incurred by the occupation army with military equipment and vehicles, stressing that the amounts of fire and rocket shells directed at the invading forces were unprecedented for the army in the past.
He pointed out that the resistance factions, led by the Al-Qassam Brigades , the military wing of Hamas, targeted the occupation forces with all combat means, missiles, and missiles that they had developed to be more lethal to the targeted military equipment, which put them before challenges that they had not encountered in any previous military operation. He pointed out that the Israeli army deliberately conducted experiments on defensive systems on tanks and personnel carriers, and sought to develop defenses and military mechanisms that were within the scope of targeting Hamas rockets.
The Israeli military official said that "the endless amounts of Hamas weapons" and the strength of the infrastructure were - certainly - a surprise to them, and that it is unimaginable the amount of anti-tank weapons that were fired at their forces "compared to any war we have witnessed in the past, and this indicates the extent of the preparedness of Hamas for this war.”
Regarding the main means through which Hamas is trying to target the invading occupation forces, Ghubair explained - in the interview - that a very large part of it is rockets and RPGs of different shapes and manufactures. They are rocket-propelled grenades controlled and controlled by one person who uses underground infrastructure and a network of tunnels . He pointed to the very important knowledge that the element gained from Hamas and the intelligence preparations it received, considering this a "dangerous totalitarian mechanism."
He added that a large part of these missiles have undergone developments and modifications for Hamas's goals, and they contain dual warheads, and the movement's members control their own operating mechanisms to launch rockets developed to target and strike the occupation's weapons from much shorter firing ranges. The security official refused to reveal the number of Israeli soldiers killed inside tanks or armored personnel carriers since the beginning of the ground maneuver, claiming that they were "still at war."
Regarding the repercussions of the aggression on Gaza and the ongoing tensions with Hezbollah along the northern border, which led to an increase in the Israeli security budget for 2024, to more than 125 billion shekels ($35 billion), and the extent of the readiness of the occupation’s infrastructure to support the production of upcoming tanks and armored personnel carriers, he stated. They are awaiting final decisions on this issue.
An Israeli channel revealed that the Israeli occupation army began constructing a paved road from the east of the Gaza Strip to its west, with the aim of separating the north of the Gaza Strip from the rest of its parts. The private Channel 14, which is close to supporters of the Israeli right, said that the Transverse Road 794 starts from the area of the Nahal Oz settlement in the Gaza Strip , and extends west into the Strip almost to the Mediterranean Sea , and it cuts the Strip’s ties.
Channel 14 reported that dozens of machines, trucks, and engineering equipment, belonging to the Army Engineering Corps, are currently building stone factories and crushing them to build this road. The commander of the 601st Battalion, affiliated with the Combat Engineering Corps, Lieutenant Colonel Shimon Orkabi, told the channel, “We are now within the scope of the Netzarim Road (a former Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip), which creates a barrier between the north of the Strip and the central and southern region to protect the area and penetrate into areas where the enemy is present.” Preventing movement between north and south and controlling it precisely.”
The occupation forces are destroying all the homes to the right and left of the new road, as shown in a video broadcast by the Israeli channel, whose correspondent said that this road “indicates that the army is undoubtedly preparing to remain in Gaza for a long time.”
Observers consider that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s acquiescence to the recommendation of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir , to impose restrictions on the entry of worshipers from inside Palestine and occupied Jerusalem to Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan, crossed all red lines and ignited the fuse of a religious confrontation.
Although the final official decision on this matter will be taken in the coming days, Netanyahu agreed to restrict the entry of worshipers to Al-Aqsa Mosque, contrary to the recommendation of the Israeli security services, as Ben Gvir’s request was not accepted by both the army and the Israeli Internal Security Service (Shin Bet) for fear of escalation in all matters. From the West Bank and Jerusalem and fueling clashes between Palestinians inside and the Israeli police.
Although the extremist Minister Ben Gvir also opposes the entry of worshipers from the West Bank into Jerusalem to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, his government has not taken a decision in this regard, and the discussion is still taking place about the age groups that will be allowed to enter.
In response to the Israeli restriction decision, the first Palestinian response came in a statement issued by the Supreme Follow-up Committee to the Arab public in which it warned against accepting Minister Ben Gvir’s requests. She added, "The month of Ramadan is a month of worship and piety, but the racist mentality that dominates the Israeli government has made it a month of provocations, threats, oppression, and deprivation of freedom of worship for the owners of the homeland, the holy sites, the first two qiblahs, and the third of the Two Holy Mosques."
The follow-up committee stressed that Ben Gvir’s conditions, which were approved by Benjamin Netanyahu, are “a declaration of all-out war against us and a prelude to emptying the Holy Mosque in order for the settlers to take control of Al-Aqsa Mosque in preparation for its demolition, according to what the settlers and extremists in general have sought over the years.”
The head of the committee, Mohamed Baraka, said in the same statement that this decision “will never pass,” adding that “attempts to empty Al-Aqsa will fail, and with them the plans of these people will fail.” He called on the international community and the Arab and Islamic countries to work to stop this dangerous escalation, in addition to stopping the war of genocide in Gaza.
In the opinion of the researcher specializing in Israeli affairs, Alif Sabbagh, the government’s decision is likely to be flexible according to the security conditions, as the security forces will conduct weekly assessments at several levels of what the Palestinian and Islamic reaction might be. “If there is grudging acceptance, or contentment with prayer, the decision will be implemented and Zionism will advance.” Religious matters are another step in the ongoing march to seize Al-Aqsa.”
Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Sabbagh added that if security assessments indicate that this step will spark a clash or an uprising, then it will be forced to decide whether it is interested in escalation or not, and then it will continue or retreat. He said, "The sensitive assessments will be on two levels: what the reaction will be inside the Palestinian territories and in Jordan. It is possible that they will retreat slightly in front of the Muslims inside, under the guidance of the Israeli government's judicial advisor, with the aim of separating the Islamic groups and preventing the unity of the fronts."
As for the expert on Israeli affairs, Muhammad Halsa, in his interview with Al Jazeera Net, he described Netanyahu’s decision as playing in fire, and that he and his extreme right are still investing in every available opportunity to break the red lines and taboos related to Al-Aqsa Mosque. Halsa said that despite all the warnings of the security services, Netanyahu is submitting to right-wing blackmail in the interest of the stability of his government coalition, and he knows that not keeping up with the right at this stage means clashes with it, and he does not want that.
He added, "Al-Aqsa has always been a propaganda material for Ben Gvir and the nationalist Zionist right, and they do not hide that one of their goals is to transform it from an Arab-Islamic sanctuary into a Talmudic Torah, and now this minister is exploiting the security situation to jump towards achieving his goals with this mosque, and this is evidence that Israel does not give consideration to considerations." Religious law, international law, and the feelings of millions of Muslims.
He continued, "The most dangerous thing about this decision is the government's adventure in opening new fronts against it, which is what Ben Gvir spoke about previously, with the presence of 4 fronts, one of which is the Palestinian interior, which he wants to ignite by taking this step." Regarding the repercussions of implementing this decision if it is finally approved in the coming days, Halasa said that it would ignite a religious confrontation, especially since this place is not sacred to the Palestinians alone. “But the question is, will the Arab world remain in the context of dull reactions? If the answer is yes, then the right will consider this step a victory for it and qualifies it to do in Al-Aqsa what it pleases in the coming days.”
Halsa says, “Unfortunately, Netanyahu experienced the reactions to the Gaza massacres in both the Arab, Islamic and international world, and found that they were lukewarm, and did not go beyond the limits of condemnation, denunciation, concern, and expression of fears. This cannot deter him from pursuing his political goals,” according to the Palestinian expert. Halsa concluded his speech to Al Jazeera Net by saying that Netanyahu believes that as long as no party in the world dares to stand against his will for what he did in Gaza, no one will challenge him and stand against him in a security issue such as the issue of entering Al-Aqsa Mosque, as he claims.
It is noteworthy that Al-Aqsa Mosque was a burning arena during the month of Ramadan during previous years, as the most violent confrontations took place in its courtyards, due to the Jewish Passover raids coinciding with it, at a time when worshipers were trying to seclude themselves throughout the month, while the occupation police insisted on limiting seclusion to the last ten days.
Before Ramadan, Israeli intelligence imposes the penalty of deportation from Al-Aqsa Mosque on dozens of Jerusalemites who are active in defending it, and also prevents many from reaching it by strengthening its presence at its doors and the alleys leading to it with overt and secret police forces.
In addition to this, obstructing the entry of iftar meals for fasting people, obstructing the arrival of buses coming from the cities and towns of the Palestinian interior and detaining them on the outskirts of the city, and escalating the occupation forces’ provocations against Jerusalemites in Damascus Gate, the most prominent gathering point for those heading to the mosque, and after Tarawih prayers, leading to the outbreak of daily confrontations aimed at the occupation used it to intimidate Jerusalemites and make them reluctant to take their children to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan.
The Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) denounced the Israeli occupation's intention to restrict Palestinian access to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan , while the Israeli security establishment warned that Al-Aqsa would unite Muslims against Israel on both sides of the Green Line. The Israeli Channel 13 quoted sources as saying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to restrict the entry of Palestinians under the age of 50 to Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, according to what had been requested by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir . The channel added that it is expected that an official final decision will be taken in this regard within the next few days.
Hamas said, in a statement, that Netanyahu’s adoption of extremist Minister Ben Gvir’s proposal to restrict the entry of Palestinians from inside and Jerusalem to Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan is “an extension of the Zionist crime and the religious war led by the group of extremist settlers in the terrorist occupation government against the Palestinian people .” Hamas added that the violation of freedom of worship in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque indicates the occupation’s intention to escalate its aggression against Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan. In its statement, the movement called on the Palestinian people in the occupied interior, Jerusalem, and the occupied West Bank to “reject this criminal decision, resist the brutality of the occupation, and mobilize and march to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
In turn, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said that the occupation government’s intention to prevent our people from reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan is “part of a comprehensive war waged by the enemy to end the existence of our people through extermination, displacement, siege of holy sites, expansion of settlement, and cramming our people into killing camps.” The Front stressed that there is no choice for our people but to defend their existence, and “to counteract this blind hatred and brutal crimes in the Gaza Strip , the West Bank, and our land occupied in 1948 by escalating all forms of resistance.”
On the other hand, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that the Israeli security establishment warned that Al-Aqsa Mosque would unite Muslims against Israel on both sides of the Green Line. Likewise, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that Ben Gvir’s proposal was not accepted by the Israeli army and the Israeli Internal Security Service ( Shin Bet ), for fear of escalation in Jerusalem and the West Bank and the occurrence of unrest between Palestinians inside and the Israeli police. The Shin Bet and the army proposed allowing Palestinians aged 45 and over to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque, while the police proposed allowing only those over 60 years of age to enter.
The broadcasting authority added that the police proposed deploying a permanent force in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan, with the aim of immediately dealing with what it described as “incitement campaigns” or raising Hamas flags.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "took a balanced decision that allows freedom of worship within the framework of security restrictions." While Minister in the War Council , Benny Gantz , denied that any decision had been taken yet regarding the form of restrictions on worshipers in Jerusalem during the month of Ramadan, and said that security consultations were continuing.
Ben Gvir's plan stipulates preventing Palestinian worshipers coming from the West Bank and from within the Green Line from entering occupied Jerusalem to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan. Since the beginning of the devastating Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, Israel has limited Palestinian access to Al-Aqsa Mosque - especially on Friday - in parallel with the escalation of incursions carried out by its forces in the West Bank.
Yesterday (Sunday) a launch was detected from the center of the Gaza Strip that crossed into Israeli territory and fell in an open area in the surrounding area. A few minutes later, the fire assembly of the Nahal Brigade identified the terrorist who carried out the launch moving in the area of Gaza City, Air Force aircraft directed by the fire assembly of the Nahal Brigade attacked and killed him. Armed squads that operated close to the forces in the area were also eliminated.
Soldiers of the 7th SDF continue to clear the West Khan Yunis area. In the last day, the forces raided terrorist targets where Kalashnikov weapons, drones, an RPG launcher, explosive charges and other military equipment were found. The air killed terrorists who were operating near the forces in the area.
In West Khan Yunis, the fighters of the paratrooper brigade's combat team identified, using a drone, a terrorist squad moving towards them and in response directed an aircraft that eliminated it. A short time later, four more terrorists were identified in the area and were also eliminated by air force aircraft.
The fighters of the commando formation continue to operate in the west of Khan Yunis, in the last day the fighters encountered armed terrorists and eliminated them. The fighters raided terrorist targets and found weapons in them. Also, following the alerts that were activated in the Gaza Envelope earlier this morning, no launches were detected that crossed into Israeli territory.
UN experts raised concern over "credible allegations" of grave human rights violations against Palestinian women and girls in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. According to the information, Palestinian women and girls were arbitrarily executed in Gaza along with their family members, even while fleeing, and, on at least one occasion, women detained were allegedly kept in a cage in the rain and cold, without food.
The experts expressed they were "particularly distressed" about reports of detained women and girls being subjected to numerous forms of sexual assault, like being stripped naked and searched by male Israeli army officers. At least two female Palestinian detainees were raped, while others were reportedly threatened with rape and sexual abuse.
The experts expressed concern that an unknown number of Palestinian women and children, including girls, have reportedly gone missing after contact with the Israeli occupation in Gaza. “There are disturbing reports of at least one female infant forcibly transferred by the Israeli army into 'Israel,' and of children being separated from their parents, whose whereabouts remain unknown,” the experts said.
“We remind the Government of Israel of its obligation to uphold the right to life, safety, health, and dignity of Palestinian women and girls and to ensure that no one is subjected to violence, torture, ill-treatment or degrading treatment, including sexual violence,” they added.
“Taken together, these alleged acts may constitute grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, and amount to serious crimes under international criminal law that could be prosecuted under the Rome Statute,” the experts said, stressing that those "responsible for these apparent crimes must be held accountable and victims and their families are entitled to full redress and justice." The experts voiced deep concern regarding the arbitrary incarceration of hundreds of Palestinian women and children, including human rights advocates, journalists, and humanitarian workers, in Gaza and the West Bank since October 7.
Measures that the Palestinians describe as retaliatory against everything that is Palestinian, and according to experts and analysts, it is one of the preemptive steps to prevent the West Bank from catching fire on the one hand, and to control the security situation on the other hand, amid fears for the lives of detainees against whom the occupation prison administration practiced punitive measures, especially Gaza detainees. In light of the occupation's refusal to disclose their numbers or whereabouts. Since the seventh of October, the Israeli occupation government has been taking proactive steps in the West Bank before the month of Ramadan so as not to cause explosions.
Israeli occupation forces continued their raids in the West Bank, including villages and areas in Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron, during which they demolished homes and arrested a number of Palestinians. The occupation forces arrested, from yesterday evening until Monday morning, at least 25 citizens from the West Bank, including former prisoners who had spent more than 13 years inside Israeli occupation prisons .
Israeli occupation bulldozers built a new settlement street in the town of Bethlehem. This settlement street is 500 meters long and 20 meters wide, as it annexes large parts of the lands of Palestinian citizens, and through it will tighten the noose around the town of Tucson . The Israeli occupation forces demolished three houses in the village of Al-Walaja , west of Bethlehem, and that an occupation army force, accompanied by bulldozers and military vehicles, stormed the village of Al-Walaja.
In Bethlehem, the occupation forces - accompanied by a military bulldozer - demolished 3 houses in the village of Al-Walaja, west of Bethlehem in the West Bank. Its owners went out in the open in light of the rain. This village is classified as Area C on the borders of the occupied city of Jerusalem. The occupation has been targeting it for many years to expand settlement and control its strategic location. The occupation army raided areas and homes in the city of Bethlehem, where one arrest case was recorded.
The IDF Shin Bet and MGB fighters arrested 22 wanted persons throughout Judea and Samaria and in the Bekaa and Emekim division. During the night, the forces operated in an operation to counter terrorism in the village of Kabatia in Menasha and arrested nine wanted persons. In the village of Ras Karkar in the Ephraim division, two more wanted men were arrested and two guns were confiscated. In El Bira, in the Binyamin Brigade, the fighters arrested a wanted man and confiscated terrorist funds, and in Kfar Kadum, in the Samaria Brigade, additional weapons were confiscated.
In addition, in the operation in the city of Hebron, two wanted persons were arrested and additional suspects will be interrogated. The wanted persons who were arrested and the means of warfare that were confiscated were transferred to the security forces for further treatment, there are no casualties to IDF forces.
The collection and intelligence forces of Division 146 detectedr terrorists in a Hizbollah military infrastructure in the area of the village of Marviin in southern Lebanon. In quick cooperation, fighter jets were launched to attack the infrastructure while the terrorists were in place.
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) conducted airstrikes targeting two munitions warehouses belonging to Hezbollah near the city of Sidon in Lebanon. The attack was carried out in response to the launch of the unmanned aerial vehicle towards the Lower Galilee. After an investigation, it appears that it is an unmanned aircraft launched by Hezbollah from Lebanese territory, apparently earlier today (Monday). The circumstances of the incident are being investigated.
The Israeli army said that the target of the bombing were warehouses containing weapons belonging to the Lebanese resistance, but it turned out that these warehouses were only warehouses of equipment belonging to a Lebanese family and had no connection to warehouses belonging to Hezbollah, according to Hezbollah.
Israeli raids resulted in eight people being injured, including minor injuries to those who were subjected to this raid. The raids were distributed on the town of Ramia and some other towns, Al- Bustan, Al-Adisa, and the area between the town of Mays Al-Jabal and the town of Blida, in addition to the artillery shelling that was targeting most of the outskirts of the Lebanese villages, especially the villages of the Arqoub area.
Islamic Resistance remained the same in responding and targeting the occupation sites and gatherings, and the most prominent thing that was targeted today was a gathering of Israeli occupation soldiers in Birkat Risha, in addition to the occupation sites that are stationed in the hills of Kafr Shuba and the occupied Shebaa Farms, noting that the Israeli warplanes until now It flies in the sky of the border area, in addition to the reconnaissance aircraft that did not leave the area throughout the afternoon, as it deepened its flight until Al-Zahrani and the outskirts of the city of Sidon.
A visual intelligence analyst in unit 869 identified through collection means, a terrorist operative entering a military structure of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the Eyta al-Sha'ab area. Immediately after the identification, a report was sent to the fire center in the Northern Command and fighter jets were launched which shortly attacked the building where the activist was staying.
In the last day, the organization's launch position in the Itatron area was attacked alongside a terrorist infrastructure in the Al Adisa area, and artillery fire was carried out at other areas in Lebanese territory. In addition, the remains of an aircraft were identified this morning in the Arbel region of the Lower Galilee in an open area. It is apparently not an IDF aircraft. The circumstances of the incident are under investigation, IDF forces and the Israel Police are on the scene.
One Iranian-backed group has given no sign of backing down, and Yemen's Houthi movement, which Washington classifies as a terrorist group, has disrupted global trade by harassing commercial ships across the Red Sea. Following Western strikes, the Houthis began targeting American and British ships in the region, considering that the interests of the two countries had become "legitimate targets".
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have attempted to use a submersible drone for the first time, but it was destroyed in yet another wave of US-led coalition attacks over the weekend, the US Central Command claimed. The US Navy conducted a series of five strikes, hitting three Houthi cruise missiles, an unmanned surface vessel (USV), and one unmanned underwater vessel (UUV) on Saturday, CENTCOM announced on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday. “This is the first observed Houthi employment of a UUV since attacks began in Oct. 23,” the US military wrote, claiming it presented an “imminent threat” to US Navy ships and commercial vessels in the area. Since the beginning of the Israeli military operation in Gaza, the Houthi militants, who are in control of a large portion of Yemen, have harassed multiple vessels sailing the Red Sea. In solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, the Houthis vowed to attack any ships they find to be linked to Israel until the siege of Gaza stops.
US CENTCOM stated On Feb 19, between 12:30 and 1:50 p.m., two anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM) were launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward M/V Sea Champion, a Greek-flagged, U.S.-owned grain carrier in the Gulf of Aden. Minor damage and no injuries were reported. The ship continued toward its scheduled destination to deliver grain to Aden, Yemen.
A surface to air missile launcher was located and destroyed by U.S. CENTCOM forces in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen at approximately 5 p.m. One additional anti-ship ballistic missile was launched at 6:40 p.m. but did not impact any commercial or coalition ships.
At 7:20 p.m., a one-way attack (OWA) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) struck the M/V Navis Fortuna, a Marshall Islands-flagged, U.S.-owned, bulk carrier causing minor damage and no injuries. The ship continued its voyage toward Italy. At 8:15 p.m., U.S. CENTCOM forces destroyed a OWA UAV in Western Yemen prepared to launch at ships in the Red Sea. Between 8 p.m. on Feb. 19 and 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 20, U.S. and coalition aircraft and warships shot down 10 OWA UAVs in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Additionally, at 12:30 a.m., Feb. 20, USS Laboon (DDG 58) identified one anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) headed in its direction. USS Laboon subsequently shot down the ASCM. The OWA UAVs, the SAM system, and ASCM destroyed were identified by CENTCOM and determined they presented imminent threats to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region. These actions will protect navigational rights and freedoms and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy and merchant vessels.
The Yemeni Armed Forces announced the downing of an American MQ9 reconnaissance drone in Hodeidah with a suitable missile.As for the Yemen Sea, it has become a desert of death for Israeli ships or those heading towards occupied ports. The Yemeni Armed Forces announced that they had targeted a British ship in the Gulf of Aden with missiles, seriously injuring it, leaving the ship vulnerable to sinking, after ensuring the safety of its crew.
British maritime security company Ambrey confirmed that a British-registered cargo ship was subjected to a missile attack in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, explaining that it had received a report about an incident thirty-five nautical miles south of Mokha, west of Yemen. A few hours separated the first attack from another revealed by the British company, which explained that a missile attack targeted an American-registered ship east of Aden, which was flying the Greek flag, without any casualties among its crew.
US Central Command revealed that Yemeni forces used a drone submarine for the first time in their attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The European Union officially launched a mission to assist in what it called protecting navigation in the Red Sea, and an EU official explained that the bloc seeks to activate the mission within a few weeks with at least four ships.
A mission that perhaps comes to save the American-British alliance more than maritime navigation after the strikes it received from the Yemeni forces, and to save the Israeli economy, which recorded a contraction of approximately twenty percent, according to a preliminary estimate by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics , a contraction in which the occupation does not deny the major role of Yemeni military operations. .
The Yemeni Armed Forces announced that they targeted two American ships in the Gulf of Aden with two qualitative military operations using a number of appropriate naval missiles. The spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said in a statement on Monday evening: The two American ships targeted in the Gulf of Aden are “ Sea Champion ” and “ Navis Fortuna .”
The statement indicated that 4 naval and air operations were carried out by the Yemeni armed forces during the past 24 hours. Saree pointed out that the targeted British ship was completely sunk, stressing: Our full right to take further military measures in the Red and Arab Bahrain in defense of our people, our country and our nation. A spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces said that our militias in the Red and Arab Bahrain will be on the rise and will not stop until the aggression stops and the siege on Gaza is lifted.
The official spokesman for the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement, Muhammad Abdul Salam, confirmed today, Monday, that Yemen’s naval operations will escalate until the aggression stops and the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip is lifted. Abdul Salam explained in his post on the “X” platform that the continuation of the American-British aggression by launching raids on Yemen shows the extent of the insistence on protecting “Israel” and giving it more time to continue its brutal aggression against the Gaza Strip for the fifth month in a row.
Abdul Salam said: The Americans and the British must realize that Yemen’s position will not change and will not be broken. Rather, Yemen is becoming more steadfast and adhering to its position, and escalating in its operations against Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine until the aggression stops and the siege of the Gaza Strip is lifted.
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 International Court of Justice (ICJ) kicked off a week of hearings devoted to the legal consequences of Israel’s 56-year rule over the West Bank. More than 50 states are due to address the judges. Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki will take the stage first. Israel has sent its written observations but will not be addressing the United Nations' top court. The week of hearings will conclude by issuing an advisory opinion on the Israeli occupation.
The sessions, which come in response to requests made by the General Assembly of the United Nations , will hear the pleadings of more than fifty countries, while legal sources say that it may take several months for the court’s judges to reach the advisory decision , adding that the advisory status that will be given to the decision means that it will not be Binding to the occupying entity. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki stressed in his plea at the opening session that the Palestinian people are deprived of the right to self-determination, and that the genocide in Gaza is the result of a lack of accountability, calling for an immediate end to the decades-long occupation.
The non-binding nature of the expected resolution does not allow for high expectations regarding holding the occupation accountable, as the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza continues. However, according to observers, it may contribute to increasing international pressure, even morally, on the occupation, especially since the entity’s government considered that the advisory opinion that would be issued by the court would be harmful.
However, what the Palestinians are demanding goes beyond condemnations or recommendations, especially since the recent experience with the court related to the lawsuit filed by South Africa did not live up to expectations. In addition to this, American support for the occupation and coverage of its crimes before the court. While many support the efforts to condemn the occupation before the international judiciary, the majority of the Palestinian street and the Arab and Islamic streets remain hesitant to build on these efforts, which have not succeeded to date in helping the Palestinians and granting them peace, which is struggling to survive under the occupation and its crimes.
All European Union countries except Hungary warned Israel against launching an attack on Rafah, which they said would exacerbate the catastrophic situation experienced by about 1.5 million refugees in the city located on the southern border of the Gaza Strip. Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin said before a meeting with the foreign ministers of the 27 European Union countries in Brussels, "The attack on Rafah would be completely disastrous... It would be unreasonable."
After the talks ended, all EU foreign ministers, except Hungary, called in a joint statement for “an immediate humanitarian truce that would lead to a sustainable ceasefire, the unconditional release of hostages and the provision of humanitarian assistance.” The statement was issued in the name of “the foreign ministers of 26 European Union member states,” and diplomats said that Hungary, a close ally of the Israeli government, was the only country that had not signed.
“We ask the Israeli government not to carry out military action in Rafah that would exacerbate the already catastrophic humanitarian situation and prevent the provision of basic services and much-needed humanitarian aid,” the ministers said in the statement. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also called on Israel to respect humanitarian law, but said that Israel had the "right to self-defense" and added that it was clear that Hamas militants were still active in Rafah. She continued, saying, "The most important thing is for Hamas to lay down its weapons."
Axis of Resistance
Nir Debori on N12 reported : "among the many materials and documents seized in the strategic locations of Hamas in Khan Yunis, documents were found that include summaries of the meetings of the most limited forums of Hamas. Senior Hamas officials who planned the massacre participated in the meetings held in strategic places where the top of Hamas stayed. The documents show that, along with the desire to prevent the normalization process of Israel and Saudi Arabia, one of the main reasons for taking action on October 7 was "the continuous damage by senior officials in Israel to the most sacred things for Islam. he documents contain direct references to the Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gabir's ascension to the Temple Mount as a minister in the government..."
Iran’s highest-ranking military commander denounced the US’ attempts to find a pretext for its regional presence, saying this time Washington has used the Israeli regime’s war on Gaza as an excuse. Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri said the regional situation is delicate and critical. The aggressive US army that had apparently withdrawn from the region to some extent is looking for excuses to immediately return to the region, the commander warned.
He said the Al-Aqsa Storm operation that Palestinian fighters launched outside Gaza on October 7 provided a pretext for the US to deploy forces to the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and the western parts of the Indian Ocean and justify its unwavering support for the child-murdering Zionist regime’s crimes. On the fate of the Gaza war, General Baqeri said the Zionist regime will definitely suffer an irreparable and unprecedented defeat, adding, “No power will be able to change the fate of this war.” He also hailed the Iranian armed forces’ deterrent power as a reliable shield protecting people and their security, giving an assurance that the military forces take every single threat seriously and are prepared to combat any threat.
The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry dismissed the attempts to draw a link between a highly-anticipated ceasefire in Gaza and the political future of the Palestinian enclave. Speaking to reporters at a press conference, Nasser Kanaani highlighted the international calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, where the Israeli regime has launched a brutal onslaught since October 7.
While the bulk of world nations are demanding an urgent ceasefire and cessation of Israeli crimes against the people of Gaza, the Zionist regime is reluctant to stop the war, since it has not achieved its purposes, he added. Highlighting Iran’s diplomatic efforts to end the Israeli regime’s atrocities in Gaza, Kanaani said Tehran would not agree to any attempt to link the ceasefire with the post-Gaza issue. He underlined that only the Palestinian nation has the right to decide the fate of Gaza.
Iranian-backed groups form the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” an alliance of armed militias that includes Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq and Syria. Tehran uses these militias to spread its influence throughout the region and serve as a front line of defense against the United States and Israel. Although Iran funds and trains these militias, these groups operate independently and outside the official security apparatus in Tehran. This arrangement allowed them to advance Iranian policy goals while insulating Tehran from direct responsibility.
Publicly, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian praised the groups during a recent visit to Lebanon and promised to continue supporting them. But in private, Iranian envoys adopted a more moderate tone. They praised Hezbollah's "sacrifices" but warned that war with Israel would lead to dire consequences in the region.
Hezbollah, which was founded by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in 1982, serves as a model for other groups supported by Tehran across the region, and also provides advice or training to some of these groups, according to Reuters. Hezbollah is widely viewed as more powerful than the Lebanese state, and is designated a terrorist organization by the United States.
Iran fears provoking a direct confrontation with the United States, and is urging the militias associated with it in the Middle East region to exercise restraint to avoid any escalation with the American army, according to what the Washington Post reported, citing officials. When US forces launched strikes on Iranian-backed groups in Yemen, Syria and Iraq, Tehran warned “publicly” that its army was ready to respond to any threat, but in private, senior Iranian commanders urged militias linked to them to “exercise caution,” according to Lebanese officials. Iraqis were briefed on the talks, but the Washington Post did not reveal their names.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Iran may have realized that its interests are not being served by allowing its proxies unrestricted ability to attack US and coalition forces.” The administration of US President Joe Biden took a similar cautious approach with Tehran. US forces targeted Iranian agents in Iraq and Syria, but did not strike inside Iran.
To underscore the new directive, Iran sent military commanders and diplomats across the region to meet with local officials and militia members. Speaking to the Washington Post, an Iraqi official with close ties to Iranian-backed forces there said: “Iran is doing its best to prevent the expansion of the war and escalation from reaching the point of no return.”
The Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) said that the statements of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant about the existence of disagreements within the movement’s leadership and the search for an alternative to its leader in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, are empty talk and open psychological warfare. In a press statement distributed by the movement, the source (whose name was not mentioned) stated, “The occupation’s attempts to fabricate information about the movement’s leadership and the Mujahid (Yahya) Sinwar are ridiculous and aim to raise the morale of their army and their collapsed entity.”
The source stressed that the occupation's failure to reach resistance leaders prompts it to claim fictitious achievements. The Israeli Defense Minister said in press statements that Hamas does not trust its leaders, and this is very clear, and the Hamas branch in Gaza is not responding, as there is no one to talk to on the ground. Galant added that the movement's leadership abroad is looking for leadership inside the Gaza Strip instead of Sinwar, as he claimed.
To date, the Israeli army has failed to reach the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Al-Sinwar, whom it considers primarily responsible for the Operation Flood Al-Aqsa attack launched by Hamas on settlements and military bases adjacent to the Gaza Strip on October 7 last.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly announced 3 goals for the war he launched on October 7, 2023, which are to overthrow Hamas’ rule in the Gaza Strip, eliminate its military capabilities, return Israeli prisoners, and ensure the presence of an administration in Gaza that does not pose a threat to Israel.
Member of the Hamas Political Bureau, Osama Hamdan, announced in a statement to Al-Alam TV that the continued clashes with the occupation in the field are the result of experience gained by the resistance factions during maneuvers they carried out in the past two years. Hamdan, who was a guest in the live broadcast studio of Al-Alam Channel, said that everything the occupation did during nearly 140 days of bombing and destroying the infrastructure and civilian infrastructure did not discourage the Palestinian resistance as it is still steadfast in the field and clashing with the enemy, which bears losses in lives and equipment every day.
Hamdan added that the resistance operations are proceeding according to planning and on the basis of unity of control and command, and the field work in partnership with the resistance factions is taking place well and in a satisfactory manner, and it is the result of experience gained by the resistance factions in maneuvers they carried out during the past two years.
He stressed the failure of the occupation to achieve all the goals it set for its military operation, explaining that it failed to destroy the resistance and destroy Hamas. Two days ago, resistance missiles were launched from several areas, including areas in the northern Gaza Strip , in addition to the continued clash of resistance factions with the Zionist enemy.
Hamdan continued that the occupation also failed to recover its prisoners from the hands of the resistance, and all those who were recovered were through the negotiation process or they were killed and their bodies were taken. He referred to the occupation's attempts to establish a civil administration as an alternative to the resistance in the Gaza Strip, stressing its failure to achieve this goal after all parties did not respond to it.
Regarding the occupation’s plan to invade the city of Rafah, Hamdan said that the occupation thought that an invasion of the Gaza Strip was possible, so it tried to invade it from the north, but found resistance and retreated. It repeated its invasion plan and stormed other places, and discovered as a result of the resistance’s action that the philosophy of completely invading the Gaza Strip, perhaps as happened in the wars of the sixties and seventies, was not As a possible matter, he repeated his plan to storm specific areas in which he would continue operations while moving to other areas. He began crossing from an empty area in the middle of Gaza, which is the Gaza Valley area, and after that he headed north because he estimated that most of the missiles were launched from the north, and he wanted to end the possibility of launching missiles, and he also estimated that they would be The resistance's basic operating bases and leaders are located in the north, and therefore they may be an easy target for it.
He stressed that the occupation did not succeed in achieving any of the goals, so he began talking about Khan Yunis, considering that a number of the leaders are from this region and Rafah remained. He explained that Rafah has been subjected to bombing since the beginning of the aggression and has had martyrs since that time, but what has not happened there so far is a widespread invasion by the occupation forces.
Regarding the reasons for the occupation’s delay in invading Rafah, a member of the Hamas political bureau said: The first reason is the attrition to which the occupation army has been subjected as a result of resistance operations over the past four and a half months. The second reason is that the occupation was seeking to conduct a bypass operation through Egyptian territory from the Philadelphia axis, which the Egyptian side did not agree to and rejected categorically, and this is what delayed the massive invasion of the city of Rafah.
He stressed that the occupation forces are not present in the Gaza areas. The occupation invaded the areas and then left them, and is standing on the borders of the Strip and in certain areas in the central Gaza Strip area. If it wants to move militarily, it carries out an operation and then turns back. He explained that the occupation does not exist inside Gaza City, but rather outside the city, and its mechanisms are stationed outside the city, and people can move inside the city, but the occupation can surprise people with an attack inside the city, and the resistance fighters confront its attacks. Sometimes it succeeds in surprising it, and many times it fails. He explained that the occupation’s ability to control and tighten its grip on the Gaza Strip is impossible as a result of the resistance’s actions.
Hamdan pointed out that the scope of the occupation’s success is limited to the destruction of the civilian infrastructure of the Gaza Strip, explaining that the occupation is betting that a prolonged aggression may push the resistance to retreat, as it only succeeded in destroying 70 percent of Gaza’s homes and causing severe damage to 50 percent of the infrastructure. And putting all hospitals in Gaza out of service. Then his next success was in killing tens of thousands of Palestinians and 120 victims among the dead, wounded and missing, but despite all that, he did not succeed in breaking the will of the Palestinian people, in defeating the resistance, in recovering the prisoners, and in imposing a civil administration affiliated with them. Now the occupation is betting on some time, perhaps it will succeed in something of this, and we say it cannot succeed in that, God willing.
Hamdan added that it must be made sure that the Israeli realizes that the image of his army as an invincible army, or that it is the strongest army in the region, or that it can bet on it to protect its allies in the region if they adhere to it through the normalization process. All of this has fallen, and therefore he is trying with this aggression and ferocity in the attack. To repaint the picture that this army is strong and capable, but in reality, the picture he painted is the real picture that he is a criminal and a murderer and nothing more than that.
The member of the Hamas political bureau considered that the party that can stop the occupation and aggression immediately is the United States, stressing that the American side was involved in the operation from the beginning, so what does it mean for the American president to chair the Zionist war council before the start of the ground operations and to announce his approval for the start of the ground operations? As for the equipment supplied to the occupation, there are more than 300 flights of air transport planes carrying weapons and ammunition to the Zionist entity from the United States, whether directly or from its bases spread around the world. There are more than 80 cargo ships carrying equipment for the occupation, and this is a complete partner in the crime. Therefore, if the Americans do not want to prevent supplying the occupation with weapons, they can issue a resolution in the Security Council, and the United States is the one that blocked all the resolutions that would have stopped the aggression. The United States can stop financial support, as everyone knows how the United States approved rapid financial support estimated at $14 billion, carrying cash to the Zionist entity. So the American administration can stop the aggression, but it is an accomplice in the crime.
Hamdan believed that there was no fundamental disagreement between the United States and the Netanyahu government in the field of aggression against Gaza, saying: By examining the American statements, you find that their content is precisely about the request to reduce losses and not to injure a large number of civilians and the necessity of having a plan to ensure that civilians are not injured. But in the origin of the operation against the resistance, the Americans do not differ with the Israelis, and this is the first disagreement between them.
Hamdan continued: The second disagreement is that the American administration realizes that the continuation of the battle means more losses for the Zionist entity and means a decline in the chances of the Zionist entity being considered a natural entity in the region or receiving it, because after everything the Zionist entity has committed, there is no logic in it becoming a natural entity in the region. The American position is one that is keen to achieve gains for the Zionist entity. While the position of the Zionist entity is that it wants revenge, regardless of the consequences or costs.
Days after the Hezbollah Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack that killed three American soldiers in Jordan on the border with Syria, an Iranian military commander arrived in Baghdad last month to meet with the leaders of the Iraqi armed faction. The commander pressured Kataib Hezbollah to issue a statement announcing “the suspension of attacks on American targets.”
The Iraqi official said that the leaders of the Iraqi armed faction were not satisfied with the comment, but they responded to the request of the country that trained and armed their forces, in reference to Iran. However, subsequent changes revealed "the limits of Tehran's influence." After the American strikes, the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades changed its position and pledged "painful strikes and large-scale attacks."
Iranian officials met with members of Hezbollah this month in Lebanon. Tehran's message to the group was: "We are not keen on giving the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, any reason to launch a broader war in Lebanon or anywhere else." Iranian officials told Hezbollah leaders that “the axis of resistance is winning,” but warned that these gains could be lost if Israel opens another front in Lebanon. The Hezbollah member who spoke to the Washington Post revealed the summary of the Iranian message to the group, which was: “Netanyahu is trapped in a corner now. Do not give him a way out. Let us not give him the benefit of waging a broader war, because that will make him victorious.” In Iraq, the message was somewhat different, and Iranian officials said that renewed conflict in the country threatened to weaken the momentum behind US military withdrawal talks from the country.
Disagreement is increasing among the political factions in Iraq regarding the future of the international coalition to combat ISIS, which has become controversial amid fears that it is taking a sectarian path. US forces are deployed with 2,500 soldiers in Iraq within the framework of an international coalition led by Washington to fight ISIS.
Iran has long sought to remove US forces from the region, and Tehran will view the withdrawal from Iraq as a "major victory." American officials have expressed openness to withdrawing some forces from Iraq, but privately added that "the Iraqi government appears concerned about a complete withdrawal and appears to want continued assistance in confronting the remnants of ISIS." It appears that Iranian messages “were effective,” and despite almost daily attacks across Israel’s border with Lebanon, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah stopped short of declaring war.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told Al Jazeera on Monday that "every point in the Israeli entity is within range of the resistance’s missiles." “The resistance has prepared all scenarios and is ready for the worst possibilities," he boasted, referring to the axis of "resistance" against Israel. Israel's "military objectives fell in Palestine and Lebanon because of the resistance’s solidity, and the enemy is not in a position to dictate conditions." Fadlallah depicted the war between Israel and Hamas as the "mother front," with four other fronts working in support of the Palestinian cause: Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and the Red Sea.
Allied for Democracy
"Ben Gvir may succeed in what Sinwar failed: to unite the arenas and burn them in the Temple Mount pyre. And Netanyahu? He is aware of the risks, but is trapped in Ben Gvir's tunnel... In the documents seized from the Hamas headquarters, it is written that his provocations were one of the reasons for the attack in October", according to commentator Amnon Abramovich. "Netanyahu is trapped in the depths of the branching tunnels of the coalition parties. He is closer in his views to Yair Golan, certainly to Yair Lapid and Livni Gantz than to Ben Gvir. But his political existence requires submissive and humiliating obedience. On the eve of the elections, he pledged, promised, that Ben Gvir would not be a minister. Now Ben Gvir is deciding whether he will continue to be prime minister."
Israelis gathered early in front of Benny Gantz’s house, telling him, “We are sorry that we woke you up early, but we are no longer living a normal life.” They told him that Benjamin Netanyahu considers the families of the Israeli prisoners to be his enemy because they began to raise the issue more and demand the return of their children alive. Gantz had promised the families of the Israeli prisoners who gathered in front of his house that he would work hard to return these prisoners alive, seeking for them to return to their homes before the blessed month of Ramadan, as he put it.
Israeli media revealed a strongly-worded letter sent by Israeli war cabinet member Gadi Eisenkot to the cabinet, warning that the war on Gaza is stalling and that "Israel" is falling short of reaching its objectives. Channel 12 said that the letter had remained secret for more than a week. According to an Israeli affairs commentator on Channel 12, Eisenkot penned a "detailed and rigorous" analysis of the war on Gaza, titled "Lack of Decisive Decisions in the War."
Yaron Avraham reported that the former Israeli chief of staff cautioned about the "increasing difficulty in achieving the objectives of the war" and noted that its strategic plan "has faltered". Eisenkot saw in his letter that this threatens "the strategic Israeli posture," confirming the failure to attain the two primary Israeli goals of ending the war while "ensuring no future threat from Gaza, and enhancing the sense security of Israeli settlers."
Avraham stated that Eisenkot mentioned that "no decisive decisions have been made for 3 months, as strategic decisions were [only] made at the beginning of the war," suggesting that "Israel has been stagnant since then." The cabinet member also criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his assertions of achieving "complete victory", suggesting that his statements are for "publicity purposes". Channel 12 described Eisenkot's letter as "a harsh indictment against Netanyahu, and, to a large extent, against the Cabinet," highlighting his discomfort within the Cabinet.
The Israeli channel emphasized that Eisenkot's remarks were "not made by television commentators but by a minister in the war Cabinet, which is the most important forum for decision-making in Israel." This disclosure comes amid escalating disputes within the Israeli war cabinet. Eisenkot and cabinet member Benny Gantz recently threatened to dissolve the cabinet over Netanyahu's unilateral decisions on "important matters", such as Israeli captives in Gaza "without consulting them."
It also coincides with Israel facing mounting challenges in the Strip, as it acknowledges the difficulty of "eradicating" Hamas and other Resistance groups. This has led to a growing recognition of the necessity for a political resolution to facilitate the release of Israelis held by the Resistance, as their continued captivity has intensified internal pressures on the government.
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.
A Hamas official based in Qatar told Reuters 19 February 2024 that the terrorist group estimates that 6,000 of its fighters have been killed by Israeli forces. That number is about half of the 12,000 terrorists that Israel said it has killed since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led massacre,
As of 15 February 2024, The Director-General of the HAMAS Government Information Office in the Gaza Strip , Ismail Al-Thawabta, stated "the toll of the aggression had risen to about 35,500 martyrs and missing persons, including 28,663 martyrs and 68,395 injuries. There are about 2,493 massacres committed by the occupation army. Among the martyrs were about 12,400 children, 8,450 women, 340 medical personnel, 46 civil defense personnel, and 126 journalists. There are approximately 11,000 wounded people who need to travel for treatment.... we received live testimonies stating that the occupation army committed field executions against more than 137 Palestinian civilian detainees in the Gaza and North governorates."
The HAMAS Ministry of Health in the besieged sector announced that the number of victims of the Israeli operation its beginning had risen to 28,985 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 68,883. 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 398 Palestinians, the injury of about 4,500, 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 202 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 573 since the start of the war on October 7, including 241 [235?] 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.
Haaretz newspaper quoted the Israeli Ministry of Defense as saying that the Medical Rehabilitation Department has treated more than 5,500 wounded since the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip on October 7. Israeli Army Radio reported that the Rehabilitation Department of the Ministry of Defense is preparing to receive 20,000 wounded this year, compared to 5,500 wounded received last year since the start of the war. It was announced that soldiers wounded in the Gaza Strip battles numbered to 2,918 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 Strip. 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 14,233 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
In the dramatic video released this evening (Monday) by an IDF spokesman, the members of the Biebs family are recorded in the first hour after they were kidnapped on October 7. In it, mother Shiri Biebs is seen shielding her two sons Kafir and Ariel in the Hamas outpost east of Khan Yunis, after which the three are forcibly taken to a car, Surrounded by many terrorists, and disappear. Since then it is not known what happened to the mother and her two small children. In Israel, many efforts were made to shed light on the fate of the abductees, including the Biebs family, but when the video was received, they debated whether to publish it, due to the expectations it creates in the public. Still, it was decided to publish the video in light of the family's request.
The documentation is the result of the intelligence effort to reach every camera and every computer in order to track down the members of the Biebs family and try in some way to make moves that will bring the abductees home. And although it is known that the video recorded from several security cameras was taken from server farms, getting to any documentation or relevant information is a difficult and complicated process.
Israel announced 12 February 2024 that the total number of prisoners that the army was able to recover in exchange deals and through military operations was 126 people, including 91 Israelis, 11 bodies, and 24 foreign workers.
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 Al-Qassam Brigades announced on 11 February 2024 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.
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 7,100. 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 19 February 2024 that, since the beginning of the war, approximately 3,150 wanted persons have been arrested throughout the Judea and Samaria Division and the Bekaa and Valleys Division, over 1,350 of whom are associated with the terrorist organization 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. As of 15 February 2024, the Director-General of the HAMAS Government Information Office in the Gaza Strip , Ismail Al-Thawabta, stated "the information available to us is that the occupation arrested approximately 2,600 people, including 99 medical personnel and 10 journalists."
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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