Operation Iron Swords - Day 138 - 21 February 2024

Contents

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

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.

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.

2/20/2024|Last updated: 2/20/202410:42 AM (Mecca time) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will maintain full security control over the West Bank and Gaza Strip , whether with or without a permanent settlement, and considered that the establishment of a Palestinian state poses an existential threat to Israel. Netanyahu said in a statement yesterday, Monday, “I submitted to the government a proposal stating that Israel will oppose the attempt to impose the establishment of a Palestinian state on it unilaterally. The proposal met with consensus despite the difference of opinions within the government, and this means that we are united in refusing to submit to international dictates.” He explained that he presented to the Knesset (Parliament) legislation consistent with the Council of Ministers’ decision to reject “international dictates” that seek to push the establishment of a Palestinian state. The Israeli Prime Minister expected that the proposed legislation would gain broad support, "and it will show the world that there is broad agreement in Israel against international efforts to impose a Palestinian state on us," he said. Everyone knows He continued, "Everyone knows that I am the one who obstructed, for decades, the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger our existence," and pointed out that his position was strengthened in the wake of the Al-Aqsa flood operation carried out by the Palestinian resistance on the seventh of last October. He added, "My position remains clear. In any situation, whether with or without a permanent settlement, Israel will maintain full security control over the entire area west of Jordan, and this of course includes the West Bank and Gaza Strip." advertisement In addition to the United States, European countries announced that they were considering recognizing an independent Palestinian state, in a proactive step that would pave the way for the implementation of the two-state solution , but this was met with rejection from the highest political levels in Israel. The United Nations granted Palestine observer status in 2012, and among the 193 member states of the United Nations, 139 countries have so far recognized Palestine as an independent state News | Palestine Wall Street Journal: The Israeli army is working to build a road that divides the Gaza Strip Massive destruction caused by the Israeli bombing of Gaza (French) 2/21/2024 The Wall Street Journal quoted military officials as saying that the Israeli army is working to expand the road in the central Gaza Strip to facilitate the military operation, which is the road that Israeli media reported a few days ago and said that it separates the north of the Strip from its south. The newspaper continued, citing the same sources, that the road on which Israel is working is part of its efforts to reshape the terrain of the Gaza Strip, and will allow the Israeli army freedom of movement and tightening control. The newspaper also explained that the construction and expansion of the road is taking place simultaneously with the establishment of a kilometer-deep buffer zone inside the Gaza Strip, noting that the road that Israel is building constitutes a military belt that prevents the return of about a million Palestinians. According to the military officials cited by the newspaper, Israeli military engineers are planning to destroy homes and buildings along the road in Gaza. The Israeli Channel 14 revealed that the army had begun constructing a paved road from the east of the Gaza Strip to its west, with the aim of separating the northern Gaza Strip from the rest of its parts. The private channel, which is close to supporters of the Israeli right, said on Saturday evening that Transverse Road 794 starts from the area of ??the Nahal Oz settlement in the Gaza Strip , and extends westward into the Strip almost to the Mediterranean Sea , and it cuts the Strip’s ties. advertisement The channel quoted the commander of the 601st Battalion, affiliated with the Combat Engineering Corps, Lieutenant Colonel Shimon Orkabi, as saying, “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 the areas where it is located.” "The enemy, preventing movement between north and south and controlling it precisely." Despite mounting regional and international warnings of possible catastrophic repercussions, the Israeli army is preparing to invade Rafah , the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt , where there are at least 1.4 million Palestinians, including 1.3 million displaced persons whom Israel pushed from the north and center of the Gaza Strip to its south, claiming that it is an area Safe.

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.”

The intensity of fierce clashes between Palestinian resistance factions and the occupation army escalated in the Al-Zaytoun and Al-Turkman neighborhoods, east of Gaza City, and while the latter expanded its operations in Khan Yunis to the south, things remain the same in the central region. Military and strategic expert Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi says that the Israeli occupation army is planning to completely remove the Turkmen neighborhood in eastern Gaza, just like what is happening in Juhr Al-Dik in the eastern Central Governorate. Al-Duwairi added - during his analysis for Al-Jazeera - that the Turkman neighborhood is nearby and supervises the Israeli field command of the 162nd Division, which is responsible for the northern sector, and that there are new roads being built inside the Gaza Strip . It appears that the occupation is working to build a road parallel to the border fence, and another road to be an alternative to Route 10, which it failed to control, north and south of the Gaza Valley. He is also building a new road from the south of Gaza Port to Al-Mawasi in the south of the Gaza Strip, parallel to Al-Rashid (Al-Bahr) Street, as well as a new road from Kissufim, east of Khan Yunis, to Al-Bureij in the Central Governorate. Play Video ??? ??????? 02 minutes 00 seconds 02:00 Regarding the operations in the Al-Zaytoun and Al-Turkman neighborhoods, Al-Duwairi said that a battalion was deployed for each neighborhood, revealing that the size of the force indicates that it is for forward fire reconnaissance, which is an operation likely to expand. advertisement Al-Duwairi points out that if the occupation army achieves success there, it will work to develop and expand its operations by increasing the size of the force, before adding that there is a firm Israeli intention to cut off the northern Gaza Strip from the south, and keep two military divisions in the northern Gaza Strip to remain for a long time inside Gaza. The military expert expects that the coming days will witness violent, intense and decisive battles as part of the occupation's drive to regroup forces, as there are 3 brigades in the northern Gaza Strip, and two brigades in the central region, so the task remains to secure the roads. On the other hand, Al-Duwairi said that the Al-Qassam Brigades - the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) - reorganized the Northern and Gaza Brigades into 8 brigades instead of 12, in the context of redefining responsibility and defense frameworks and rehabilitating the brigades that suffered strikes during the war. Regarding the occupation’s entry into several areas of Khan Yunis in recent days, such as the storming of Al-Qarara, Al-Zana, and Al-Mawasi, the strategic expert explains that the Israeli army wants to distract the Khan Yunis Brigade and its defensive capabilities, but it has not been able - so far - to enter the heart of Khan Yunis, which is described as a “black box.” . The Palestinian resistance is waging battles with the occupation forces in the Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City, and the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades , the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), announced the killing of 7 Israeli soldiers and targeting two Israeli groups barricaded in two houses west of Khan Yunis, killing and wounding their members. Al-Qassam announced that it had sniped an Israeli soldier in the Zaytoun neighborhood and wounded him directly. It also targeted an Israeli Merkava tank with an “Al-Yassin 105” shell south of the Zaytoun neighborhood. It also announced that its fighters confirmed that they had targeted an Israeli special force holed up inside a house with an RPG shell and clashed with it with machine guns, eliminating 4 soldiers from zero range and wounding the rest, in the Al-Hawuz area, west of the city of Khan Yunis. Al-Qassam said that its fighters confirmed that they had targeted two groups of occupation soldiers in the same area, who had barricaded themselves inside two houses, with TPG shells, killing and wounding their members. An Israeli Merkava tank was also targeted with a “Shawaz” device in the Al-Hawuz area as well. Al-Qassam said that its fighters targeted occupation soldiers barricaded in a house with a TPG shell north of the Al-Amal neighborhood, west of the city of Khan Yunis, and confirmed that 3 soldiers were killed and an Israeli helicopter landed to evacuate them. Also west of the Al-Amal neighborhood, Al-Qassam announced that it had targeted 3 Israeli troop carriers with an “Al-Yassin 105” shell, and an Israeli soldier had been sniped in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City, wounding him directly. It also announced that it had targeted an Israeli “Merkava 4” tank with a “Al-Yassin 105” shell, south of the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City. . advertisement Destroy two machines For its part, the Al-Quds Brigades , the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, said that it destroyed two Israeli vehicles today with piercing-type barrel bombs in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood. Israeli Army Radio reported that the occupation army forces faced three serious incidents in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City, resulting in losses. The radio said that the army forces faced great resistance and difficult battles during the operation in the Zaytoun neighborhood. Earlier today, Wednesday, the occupation army announced that a soldier was killed and 3 others were injured during battles with the Palestinian resistance in the northern Gaza Strip . The occupation army said that the injured soldiers were from the 932nd Battalion of the Nahal Brigade. advertisement Yesterday, Tuesday, the Israeli army admitted that 46 soldiers had been wounded within 24 hours, bringing the number of its wounded since the beginning of the war on October 7 to more than 3,000. Play Video |Last updated: 2/21/202402:31 PM (Mecca time) Official Palestinian sources reported that a new martyr had been killed in the Jenin camp in the West Bank - at dawn today, Wednesday - by bullets from the Israeli occupation army, bringing the number of martyrs in the camp since last night to 4 martyrs, while the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) warned that the situation in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem It is vulnerable to explosion if the occupation authorities restrict the entry of Muslims into Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement that the young man, Arif Marwan Arif Ali (26 years old), was killed by occupation bullets in the Jenin camp, while the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that its crews transported one martyr and 3 injured people from the camp to Jenin Governmental Hospital. Jenin camp witnessed violent clashes last night, Tuesday, and early Wednesday, between Palestinian resistance fighters and the occupation forces, which stormed the camp for several hours amid intense overflights by Apache helicopters and marches, before they withdrew from it at dawn today. The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that clashes broke out in the Jenin camp during a special Israeli force of "Mostaza'ribin" storming the camp "to arrest a wanted person, resulting in the killing of 3 Palestinians." Israeli Army Radio said that a drone attacked a cell in Jenin and that Israeli forces arrested 40 young Palestinians in the camp. Trap Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that the Israeli occupation forces assassinated Arif al-Qaddoumi in the Jenin camp last night, during a raid reinforced by a large number of military vehicles and bulldozers. He explained that the martyr was the perpetrator of the operation in the village of Imatin, north of Nablus in the West Bank, last September, and that the occupation forces have been pursuing him ever since. The operation he carried out resulted in the death of an Israeli soldier and the injury of another. advertisement The reporter said that ambulance crews found the body of the martyr Arif Al-Qaddoumi inside the camp after the occupation forces withdrew from the city of Jenin and its camp. The Al-Qassam Brigades , the military wing of the Hamas movement, announced that it had caught an Israeli force in a tight ambush during its storming of the Jenin camp, and the resistance fighters clashed with the occupation forces, which led to the death of 3 and the injury of others. Al-Qassam explained that its members are confronting the occupation forces in Jenin with appropriate weapons and high-explosive devices. Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that explosive devices were detonated in the occupation army's vehicles during its storming of the city of Jenin, and Israeli reconnaissance planes flew at a low altitude in the sky of the city of Jenin and its camp. The reporter spoke about clashes between the Israeli occupation forces and Palestinian resistance fighters in the Jenin camp, pointing out that the occupation is carrying out large-scale destruction operations inside the Jenin camp. advertisement Intrusions Meanwhile, yesterday evening, the Israeli occupation forces stormed, with a number of military vehicles, the town of Kafr Qaddum, east of the city of Qalqilya in the northern West Bank. Israeli forces besieged several neighborhoods in the city and launched a campaign of raids on homes and shops, searching them and tampering with their contents under the pretext of searching for wanted persons. Also in developments in the West Bank, Israeli media reported that the occupation forces opened fire on a Palestinian vehicle whose driver was suspected of trying to carry out a ramming attack at what is known as the Me’a Junction near the Gush Etzion settlement, north of Hebron. According to Israeli reports, no injuries were reported among the Israelis, while the fate of the vehicle driver is not yet known. Play Video ??? ??????? 01 minutes 29 seconds 01:29 Martyrdom of a crippled prisoner For its part, the Prisoners' Affairs Authority announced the martyrdom of crippled prisoner Khaled Al-Shawish in the Israeli Nafha prison. Al-Shawish has been detained since 2007 and sentenced to 11 life terms. advertisement The Hamas Martyrs and Prisoners' Office held the occupation responsible for the martyrdom of the prisoner in Israeli prisons. The office said in a statement that resistance is the only way to force the occupation to release Palestinian prisoners soon. Play Video ??? ??????? 01 minutes 26 seconds 01:26 Warnings For its part, Hamas warned yesterday, Tuesday, that any restrictions that the Israeli occupation authorities may impose on Muslims entering Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied city of Jerusalem during the upcoming month of Ramadan will lead to an explosion in the face of the Israeli occupation. This came in a statement issued by a member of the movement’s political bureau, Izzat Al-Rishq, in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s approval of a recommendation by the extremist Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, to restrict and limit the entry of Palestinians from occupied Jerusalem and Palestinians from inside Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan. Al-Rishq said, "The explosion is coming in the face of the occupation in response to any restrictions on Muslims entering Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan." advertisement Netanyahu's decision regarding Al-Aqsa Mosque comes about 5 months after the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip , which left tens of thousands martyred and injured, most of them women and children. The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said - last Sunday - that the Shin Bet warned political officials that preventing Palestinians inside the country from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan could lead to major unrest. The Shin Bet said that the explosion of the situation in the city of Jerusalem and Israel would be more dangerous than the explosion of the situation in the West Bank, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation. Since the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation police have imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers from all regions to Al-Aqsa Mosque, especially during Fridays. Source : Al Jazeera + agenc The Al-Qassam Brigades , the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), announced that it had caught an Israeli force in a tight ambush during its storming of the Jenin camp , and the resistance fighters clashed with the occupation forces, which led to the death of 3 and the injury of others. Al-Qassam explained that its members are confronting the occupation forces in Jenin with appropriate weapons and high-explosive devices. Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that explosive devices were detonated in the occupation army's vehicles during its storming of the city of Jenin, and Israeli reconnaissance planes flew at a low altitude in the sky of the city of Jenin and its camp. The reporter spoke about renewed clashes between the Israeli occupation forces and Palestinian resistance fighters in the Jenin camp, pointing out that the occupation is carrying out large-scale destruction operations inside the Jenin camp. The reporter pointed out an intense presence of occupation forces inside the Jenin camp as the storming operation continued, saying that more than 50 Israeli military vehicles were participating in the storming. Successive explosions were heard in areas besieged by the occupation forces in the Jenin camp, and the occupation forces also prevented ambulances from reaching injured people in the Jenin camp and city. According to the Hebrew Channel 12, the army killed 3 Palestinians earlier that night. Israeli Army Radio said that for the first time in weeks, a drone attacked a “terrorist cell” in Jenin, and special forces surrounded a house and were working to arrest a wanted man. Meanwhile, the private Israeli Channel 14 said that the wanted person is a leader in the Islamic Jihad movement in the northern West Bank, without mentioning his name. While the official Palestinian News Agency (Wafa) reported that Israeli army forces and an undercover force wounded 3 Palestinians, one of whom was seriously injured, during the storming of the city of Jenin and its camp. Eyewitnesses told Anadolu correspondent that a large number of military vehicles, accompanied by a bulldozer, stormed the Jenin camp, and armed clashes broke out and sounds of gunfire were heard in several areas. Israel says that the Jenin camp is a center of activity for Palestinian resistance factions and includes dozens of militants from the Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah movements, and from it operations against Israeli targets are launched. Al Jazeera's correspondent also reported that the Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Al-Samou', south of Hebron, and raided a number of homes. The Israeli occupation forces also stormed the town of Kafr Qaddum in the northern West Bank and surrounded a house.

Maps

All maps are lies. “Not only is it easy to lie with maps, it is essential,” wrote cartographer Mark Monmoneir in his book How to Lie with Maps. He showed that condensing complex, three-dimensional spaces onto a two-dimensional sheet of paper [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.

Bystanders

Axis of Resistance

Allied for Democracy

An opinion poll published on Wednesday showed that the majority of Israelis do not believe that their country can achieve “absolute victory” in the war on the Gaza Strip, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on this. Netanyahu repeatedly repeated that Israel will continue its war on the Gaza Strip until the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) is expelled from power and is unable to pose a military threat to Israel, and the prisoners who were detained during the attack of last October 7 are released. Netanyahu's insistence on continuing the war is facing international pressure to push him to refrain from launching a ground operation in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, where about 1.4 million Palestinians have been displaced. The Israeli Democracy Institute for Research said that 38.3% of respondents believe that there is a “very large” or “fairly large” possibility of achieving “absolute victory” at the end of the war. About 55.3% of the survey participants believe that there is a “somewhat small” or “very small” possibility of victory. The survey found that just over 6% of the 612 respondents had not yet made a decision. advertisement Today, Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told North American Jewish leaders visiting Israel, “Our goal is simple, which is victory.” He added, "Only victory over Hamas will allow us to achieve normalization and regional integration." As the war enters its fifth month and American, Qatari and Egyptian negotiators attempt to reach a truce agreement, regional and Western governments are discussing possible plans for Gaza after the war, which could include establishing an independent Palestinian state and normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia. Regarding whether they support Israel’s agreement “in principle to establish an independent, demilitarized Palestinian state,” 55.4% of respondents expressed their opposition to this to some extent or strongly, while 37.4% strongly or somewhat supported this. Source : French About this story The Israeli Knesset adopted, by a large majority, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state “unilaterally,” after increasing international calls to revive settlement efforts based on the two-state solution . In a statement, the Likud Party - led by Netanyahu - said that 99 out of 120 representatives in the Knesset voted in favor of the declaration approved by the government earlier. The declaration says that any permanent agreement with the Palestinians must be reached through direct negotiations between the two sides, and not through international dictates, as described by the Israeli government. The day before yesterday, Monday, Netanyahu said, “Everyone knows that I am the one who has obstructed for decades the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger our existence,” and indicated that his position was strengthened in the wake of the Al- Aqsa flood operation carried out by the Palestinian resistance on October 7. the past. Play Video ??? ??????? 05 minutes 10 seconds 05:10 He added, "My position remains clear. In any situation, whether with or without a permanent settlement, Israel will maintain full security control over the entire area west of Jordan, and this of course includes the West Bank and Gaza Strip." Since the start of the war on Gaza last October, the United States has refrained from calling on Israel to cease fire, and continues to supply it with thousands of tons of weapons via an air bridge, but at the same time it indicates, along with European countries, to consider recognizing an independent Palestinian state in order to Reviving the settlement path. advertisement The United Nations granted Palestine observer status in 2012, and among the 193 member states of the United Nations, 139 countries have so far recognized Palestine as an independent state. Source : Al Jazeera + agencies About this stor Today, Wednesday, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for giving priority to defeating the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) instead of negotiating a prisoner exchange deal, supporting statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on the same issue. Ben Gvir said in an interview with Israeli radio that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was wrong in sending the head of the Mossad to beg in all places and beg for the lives of Israelis, as he put it. He added that we must not negotiate with Hamas, but rather kill them and stop bringing any aid into Gaza as long as Israel is unable to achieve anything for the detainees. Israeli National Security defended the statements of the Finance Minister, who said that the recovery of Israeli prisoners in Gaza is not the most important thing, but rather the victory over Hamas. Ben Gvir said that Israel will be able to return the detainees when victory is achieved, as he put it. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Israel must defeat the Hamas movement and destroy it in order to be able to return the detainees to their families, as he put it. advertisement Play Video ??? ??????? 02 minutes 26 seconds 02:26 Smotrich added on the X platform (formerly Twitter) that the media and politicians continue to attack him and the Religious Zionist Party, saying that he "will not stop telling the truth that Israel must win and annihilate the Hamas movement because only in this way can the prisoners be restored." In response to Smotrich's statements, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said that there is no victory without the return of the prisoners, and described the Finance Minister's statements as a moral disgrace. The families of the prisoners demonstrate Yesterday evening, dozens of Israelis demonstrated in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv in protest against Smotrich’s statements. Representatives of the families of the prisoners said that there was a campaign led by the government against them, and they added that they would not accept the reality of the presence of 134 prisoners held by Hamas at a time when the Minister of Finance says that their recovery Not the most important thing. This comes as the families of Israeli prisoners continue their movement, blocking the street opposite the Ministry of Defense headquarters for the fifth time as an attempt to pressure the government and decision-makers in Israel to conclude an immediate prisoner exchange deal. Play Video ??? ??????? 05 minutes 10 seconds 05:10 Exchange negotiations Meanwhile, an Israeli political official said today that Tel Aviv has not made a decision to send a delegation to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to renegotiate a possible prisoner exchange deal and a ceasefire in Gaza. advertisement Israeli Channel 13 quoted the same official as saying that Israel expects great flexibility from Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier that he was not ready to submit to the current conditions set by Hamas in order to reach an exchange deal. Netanyahu described the movement's terms as imaginary and would lead to Israel's defeat in the war. During his visit to the Zikim military base located within the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Prime Minister also said his commitment to achieving the goals of the war on the Gaza Strip. Cairo recently witnessed multilateral talks on a possible ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement. advertisement The negotiations faltered after Tel Aviv withdrew its delegation from the Egyptian capital and rejected the demands of Hamas, which stresses that any agreement must lead to a complete cessation of the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip since the seventh of last October. Source : Al Jazeera + Anatolia As part of their analyzes and reports on the repercussions of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip , international newspapers and news websites highlighted the American veto in the UN Security Council , and calls to stop French arms sales to Israel, in addition to the role of activists on social media sites in showing the truth about what is happening in Gaza. On the subject of the American veto, an article in the Wall Street Journal opined that the use of the United States of America’s veto power against the Algerian proposal in the Security Council “confirms the increasing isolation of the administration of US President Joe Biden in its support of Israel’s right to defend itself.” The newspaper wrote, "Washington has always rejected all resolutions that include the phrase 'ceasefire' in Gaza, despite the criticism Biden faces due to the high number of civilian deaths." Yesterday, Tuesday, the United States once again used its veto power against an Algerian draft resolution in the Security Council regarding the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which obstructed the demand for an immediate ceasefire for humanitarian reasons. The decision was supported by 13 member states of the Council, with Britain abstaining from voting. On the other hand, the Financial Times revealed that the United States distributed another draft resolution opposing the Algerian project in the Security Council, “warning Israel of a ground attack on Rafah and calling for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza.” The continuation of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip also led to an international warning of famine in Gaza (Al Jazeera) The newspaper saw the move as “a rare American criticism of Israel that reflects Biden’s frustration with the behavior of the Israeli government in Gaza,” and added that “the United States addressing Israel through the Security Council is a prominent diplomatic event, as Washington usually defends Israel within the Security Council.” Regarding the French position on the war in the Gaza Strip, Media Part highlighted a letter addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron from Amnesty International, calling on him to stop French arms sales to Israel. The website says that the sharp diplomatic tone employed by President Macron towards Israel has not translated into sanctions against it that include arms sales, which is the subject of calls from many French parliamentarians and non-governmental organizations as well. The Guardian newspaper focused on the role of social media activists in revealing what is happening in the Gaza Strip. In her article, she described these activists as “an effective force in the face of racism.” The article praises figures who played a major role in revealing the truth about what is happening in Gaza through what they observed directly from the heart of the event, and mentions among them Al Jazeera correspondent Wael Al-Dahdouh. The article considers that a large part of the awareness around the world regarding the Gaza Strip was formed thanks to everyone who risked their lives and stood up to the Israeli propaganda machine and the Western media that supports it. Source : Al Jazeera About this sto At a time when the British government - led by the Conservative Party - identifies with Israeli policies and supports the continuation of the war on the Gaza Strip, the Green Party in Britain stands out as one of the most critical voices of the behavior of decision-makers in London. In a statement, the Green Party called on the British government to adopt a tougher approach with Israel, to push it to respond to the call for a ceasefire in Gaza, and demanded preventing the supply of arms exports to Tel Aviv, and prosecuting the perpetrators of war crimes among Israeli leaders who hold British citizenship, in addition to imposing A boycott on Israel prevents its delegations from participating in sporting and artistic events. The party warned of what it described as "the British government's collusion with an Israeli government that does not seem to heed international warnings about the catastrophic repercussions of any potential military operation in Rafah," calling on the international community to intervene to stop the ongoing killing operations against civilians in the Gaza Strip . Natalie Bennett (second from left), The Green Party of England and Wales' leader, attending the People's Assembly demonstration rally in Manchester, England, on Sunday 4th October 2015. (Photo by Jonathan Nicholson/NurPhoto) (Photo by NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images) The Green Party is considered the fourth political force in the United Kingdom (Getty) Rebellion against tradition The Green Party in Britain (also known as the Green Party in England and Wales) adopts a left-wing ideology that opposes the traditional policies of British political parties, and is biased towards issues of social justice, minority rights, and environmental protection policies. Its rise in the British political arena coincided with what was described as the "Green Wave" in Europe. . That period witnessed the emergence of Green parties and the transformation of their political work from “pressure groups” against capitalist policies to political parties competing with electoral programs for seats in European parliaments, as the Green Party in Britain is considered the fourth political force in the country, and is looking forward to achieving a large percentage of representation during the upcoming upcoming parliamentary elections. This year. While the Greens’ opponents have always described their political discourse as “utopian,” which is inconsistent with the immediate challenges facing the country, the calculations of whether to win or lose voters’ votes may not be absent from the party’s agenda this time, and its endeavor to enhance its chances in the upcoming elections, at a time when it is escalating. Fears in the immediate European neighborhood that the populist right will gain a comfortable majority in the European Parliament elections expected in the middle of this year. advertisement These elections are the first of their kind after Britain's exit from the European Union , which poses a new challenge for the center-left parties and the Green parties, which are trying to impose their agendas on the continent's leaders, and their existence appears to be threatened by the expected strong rise of the populist right. War paper Although internal challenges are the thread regulating the electoral programs of the various British political parties, most notably the country’s entry into a state of economic contraction and the health sector crisis, the repercussions of the war on Gaza, and the state of severe political polarization that the British position on the Israeli military operation has provoked on the people of the Gaza Strip, are expected to It occupies a high position on the list of British voters’ priorities. After the country witnessed massive demonstrations over the past four months demanding an end to the war on the Gaza Strip, amid a high percentage of Britons supporting their country’s adoption of a position calling for an immediate ceasefire, the Green Party had demanded an end to targeting civilians since the start of the military campaign, considering that the political vacuum and the absence of a solution that satisfies The legitimate rights of the Palestinian people have led to the growth of hate speech and the widening of the cycle of violence and conflict in the region. Over the past months, the party has continued to adopt a critical discourse of the role played by the British government in this conflict, and its unconditional support for Israeli military operations against what it describes as the “horrific massacre” against the people of the Gaza Strip. Criticism of the Labor Party However, the circle of sharp criticism directed by the Green Party towards the government extended to also include the Labor Party , one of the most prominent opposition parties, whose political literature intersects with the leftist orientation of the Green parties, as the Greens believe that Labor leader Keir Starmer’s reluctance to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza is equivalent to political behavior. Adopted by the British government that supports Israel. On the other hand, the leader of the Labor Party, whose positions in support of the continuation of the war against the Gaza Strip have deepened the rifts in the ranks of his party’s cadres and electoral base, is trying to remedy his party’s internal crisis, by formulating a position distinct from the orientation of his political opponent, the Conservative Party, but without provoking the anger of the right and Israel’s supporters. Starmer said - during a speech to his party’s supporters in Scotland - that “a permanent ceasefire in Gaza must happen now,” as the British House of Commons prepares on Wednesday to vote for the second time on a resolution for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza proposed by the party. Scottish National Party, it is feared that the party will subsequently enter another phase of divisions and sharp debates. In a stormy session, the British House of Commons approved , yesterday, Wednesday, a draft resolution submitted by the Labor Party calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip , without voting on the resolution after both Conservative Party and Scottish National Party MPs withdrew due to disagreements over a measure. Voting process by the Chairman of the Council. The Scottish National Party was the first to put the draft resolution to a vote, before - later - both the Labor and Conservative parties presented amendments to it, through which the workers demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire while acknowledging Israel’s right to resume fighting “in the event that the Islamic Resistance Movement commits... Hamas ) acts of violence against it,” according to the text of the resolution. As for the Conservative Party, it withdrew an amendment it had submitted that only called for an immediate humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip. British Labor Party leader Keir Starmer speaks on the day of a statement made by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Israel and Palestinians at the House of Commons in London, Britain September 16, 2023. UK Parliament/Maria Unger/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. IMAGE MUST NOT BE ALTERED. Starmer's positions in support of the occupation policies against the people of Gaza were the subject of sharp criticism (Reuters) Survival of rebellion Parliament witnessed a sharp division over the vote on the three projects presented by the British parties, reflecting the intensity of the disagreement within the ranks of the political class regarding the political management of the position on the Israeli war on Gaza. It appeared to be an early electoral campaign led by the competing parties from within Parliament to address a wide segment of their popular base, which considers dealing with the war on the Gaza Strip to be one of the basic determinants in deciding its electoral decision. With the House of Commons adopting this resolution, Labor Party leader Keir Starmer - who is dissatisfied with explicitly calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza - has been spared a new wave of rebellion among his party cadres. This comes after the Scottish National Council’s proposal last November of a similar resolution led to the resignation of 10 deputies within its ranks, and angered the Arab and Muslim communities, which are a traditional electoral reservoir for the party, after opinion polls showed a noticeable decline in their potential support for the Labor Party in the upcoming parliamentary elections. . advertisement Starmer's positions in support of Israeli policies against the people of Gaza were the subject of sharp criticism for the party, while the amendment he presented is considered a way to the Scottish National draft resolution, which is described as advanced compared to the text of the Labor Party draft resolution, and an attempt to prevent the deepening of divisions in its ranks at a time when it is preparing to run in the elections. He aspires to top it. Play Video ??? ??????? 01 minutes 23 seconds 01:23 Popular rejection During the past weeks, with the escalation of rejection among the British public of the continued killings committed by the occupation army against civilians in Gaza, the positions of the party leader began to waver in an attempt to bridge the gap with the popular bases. Starmer confirmed - in his speech to supporters of the Labor Party in Scotland last week - that he supports an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, after the party’s supporters in Scotland expressed their concern that his leadership’s position on the war would be reflected in the voters’ decision in the upcoming elections. This comes at a time when the Scottish Nationalist (his political opponent) seems to be in complete agreement with his previous positions rejecting the continuation of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. Despite this shift in positions, British representatives accused Starmer of exploiting a humanitarian crisis as large as the one the people of Gaza are experiencing, in a political electoral game. While others believed that supporting any decision to stop the fighting in Gaza would not lead to a quick turnaround in the crisis, but would place Parliament at the heart of international efforts to pressure an immediate end to this war. advertisement The approach adopted by British political parties regarding dealing with the crisis in Gaza differed. Play Video ??? ??????? 04 minutes 15 seconds 04:15 Sparring In the text of the resolution that it put to a vote, the Scottish National accused Israel of practicing a policy of “collective punishment” against the Palestinians in Gaza, which made the rest of the British parties hesitate to support a resolution that carries a sharp tone of criticism of Israeli policies that might anger a wide segment of right-wing supporters. As for the Conservative Party - which was strongly involved in the ongoing debate in Parliament - it decided at the last minute to withdraw an amendment that it had put to a vote earlier demanding only an immediate humanitarian truce in the Strip, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claimed that adopting an immediate ceasefire without a clear plan for a political solution Permanent is not in everyone's interest. In conjunction with the House of Commons discussing the ceasefire resolution, thousands demonstrated in front of Parliament in the capital, London , to demand that MPs take a serious and decisive stance to end support for the Israeli war on Gaza and put an end to the suffering of its residents. At the end of a stormy night in the House of Commons, Starmer emerged as the biggest victor after he succeeded in quelling a rebellion that would have deepened divisions within his party, a few months before decisive parliamentary elections. advertisement He also succeeded in blocking the Scottish National draft resolution, which had a higher ceiling, and explicitly called for an immediate ceasefire without playing with political language. Source : Al Jazeera The United States defended Israel during a hearing before the International Court of Justice on Wednesday, urging the court not to oblige the Israelis to carry out any immediate withdrawals. The US representative to the court, Richard Visek, said: “The Court of Justice should not conclude that Israel is legally obligated to withdraw immediately and unconditionally from the occupied territories.” He added, "Any move toward Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza requires consideration of Israel's actual security needs." The American official’s speech came within public hearings held by the International Court of Justice based on the resolution issued by the United Nations General Assembly at the end of 2022, which asked the court to issue a non-binding “advisory opinion” on “the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Including East Jerusalem.

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 29,195 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 402 Palestinians, the injury of about 4,500, and the arrest of 7,120, 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 575 since the start of the war on October 7, including 243 [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 14,377 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

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that the destruction of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) is more important than the return of those he called kidnapped from Gaza , to which opposition leader Yair Lapid responded by saying that his position regarding the detainees is a “moral disgrace.”

Smotrich explained, "The return of the kidnapped people at all costs is not the most important matter, but rather the destruction of Hamas," adding, "Whoever calls for a (prisoner) exchange deal at any price will bring loss to Israel and reduce the possibility of returning the kidnapped ones," he said. Smotrich - who heads the "Religious Zionism" party - usually raises controversy with his statements, and he previously acknowledged to the families of Israeli detainees held by the Palestinian resistance in Gaza that he cannot promise them to return all the prisoners alive. He added, "In my estimation, what is happening to manage this war is correct, and there is a clear policy that we will follow until the end, and we are prepared to pay prices for that."

The Israeli Finance Minister's statements quickly sparked a response from opposition leader Yair Lapid, who said that "Smotrich's position on the return of the kidnapped people is a moral disgrace." Lapid previously said that Israel "will neither be safe nor a moral state nor will it win the war unless the kidnappers return."

Lapid's statements coincided with previous statements by the Minister of Heritage in the Israeli government, Amichai Eliyahu, in which he said that "dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza is a possible solution." The Israeli opposition leader also previously called for the formation of a new government, and believed that the time had come for Benjamin Netanyahu 's government to step down , stressing that the person during whose term "the greatest disaster we have witnessed occurred must be removed from our lives."

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.