Operation Iron Swords - Day 139 - 22 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.

Orit Sulitzeanu, CEO of the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, stated 22 February 2024, "The terrorist organization Hamas chose to harm Israel strategically in two clear ways – kidnapping citizens and committing sadistic sexual crimes." Hamas attack included brutal acts of violent rape, often involving threats with weapons, specifically directed towards injured women. Many rape incidents occurred collectively, with collaboration among the perpetrating terrorists. In some cases, rape was conducted in front of an audience, such as partners, family, or friends, to increase the pain and humiliation for all present. Some Hamas members pursued victims who escaped the massacre, dragging them by their hair with screams. The majority of victims were subsequently killed during or after the sexual assault.

The Israeli army announced on the interception of a long-range ballistic missile over Eilat using the "Haetz" [Arrow] long-range defense system. The army said that during the early morning hours, the "Haetz" air defense system detected a long-range ballistic target that was launched from the southeast towards Israeli airspace. It reported that the systems tracked the missile's path and it was intercepted by fighters of the "Hetz" unit of the air defense system outside Israel's borders. It noted in his statement that it was the seventh interception operation since the outbreak of war in Gaza in October 2023. The Israeli forces published a video clip of the commander of a battery belonging to the "Hetz" unit, Major "Sh," in which he spoke about the interception operation.

The United States of America and its European allies face serious challenges in the Middle East, due to the war on Gaza , which threatens to undermine the West’s influence in this region, British political science professor Toby Mathiesen warned. Mathiesen added, in an interview with the French magazine L'Express, that this war began between the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) and Israel, but its scope soon expanded to include Hezbollah in Lebanon, armed organizations in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthis in Yemen, who prevented the passage of ships heading towards Israel. Across the Red Sea, they launched several armed attacks against it, while the United States and Britain responded by bombing targets in Yemen.

He continued that despite the existence of ideological differences between most of these organizations and the Hamas movement, the goal is the same, which is to confront Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip, while Iran seeks to seize this opportunity politically to present itself as an influential regional power in the region, as the British expert put it.

Mathiesen explained that the liberation of Palestine is a common goal for Arab public opinion in its various sects, and now the Houthi group is very popular in the Arab world, due to its attacks on ships heading to Israel, and its entry into a conflict with the great powers over Gaza, as its leaders soon confirmed that their attacks would not It ends only with the end of Israel's war on the besieged Gaza Strip.

What makes the situation more dangerous for the West - Mathiesen continues - is that the matter is not about regular armies that can be besieged and influenced, but about armed organizations composed of individuals who are ready to sacrifice for the cause of Palestine. He stressed that the escalation that could spark a comprehensive regional war depends on the reactions of Israel and the United States, as all it takes is one strategic mistake for the catastrophe to erupt.

He continued that the strategy of Washington and London so far is limited to carrying out air strikes against Houthi targets, but this policy entails risks after Iran threatened a violent response if its forces were attacked. He stated that ending the conflict through diplomatic means is the only way that will end the cycle of violence, enhance stability, and perhaps revive the credibility of the United States in the Middle East, a credibility that has had many impurities attached to it after everyone saw how the United States embraces Israel and covers up everything it does in Gaza.

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.

Israel and the United States want an interim agreement that includes a temporary truce during which the Israeli prisoners will be released, Hamas stresses that any agreement must lead to a final ceasefire, the withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners.

CNN quoted a well-informed American diplomat as saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not appear ready to reach any agreement to stop the war on the Gaza Strip at the present time. The source, whose name or description was not mentioned by the American network, added that if Israel launches an attack on Rafah (the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip), then the possibility of concluding a deal regarding the Israeli detainees can be forgotten.

CNN also quoted informed sources as saying that senior American officials believe that there is no chance for Israel to agree to a permanent ceasefire without releasing the detainees. And that through a pause, even if temporary, discussions could continue that would eventually end the war.

On the other hand, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Israel must defeat the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) and destroy it so that it can return the kidnapped people to their families. Smotrich added in a post on the X platform that the media and politicians continue to attack him and religious Zionism, pointing out that he “will not stop telling the truth,” according to what he said.

In response to Smotrich's statements regarding the return of prisoners, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said that "there is no victory without the return of the kidnapped," describing the Finance Minister's words as a "moral disgrace." For his part, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant pledged , during his meeting with the families of Israeli detainees, to continue military pressure because it is “the only way to achieve the goals of the war,” he said. Gallant stressed that the recovery of detainees is "the main goal in any discussion or approval of plans," acknowledging that he faces difficulties in this area.

Meanwhile, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen told the Walla news site, “It is clear that heavy and painful prices must be paid for the return of the kidnapped people, but not at any price.” Cohen believed that one of Hamas' demands "is that we lose the war and we cannot agree to that." He also stated that there are those who want Israel to "lower the priorities of the war's goals, and it is not right for us to do that."

The Axios news website quoted informed sources as saying that Brett McGurk - the White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa - informed the Israelis of the necessity of reaching an agreement with the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) and sending a delegation to the Paris talks, while the Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that Benjamin Netanyahu ’s government would grant its negotiating delegation broader powers.

McGurk - who is currently visiting Tel Aviv - told the Israeli side that President Joe Biden's administration sees an urgent need to reach a prisoner exchange deal due to the conditions of Israeli detainees and the approaching month of Ramadan, according to what was reported by Axios. According to the same sources, the American official urged Israel to send a delegation to the Paris talks scheduled to be held tomorrow, Friday, with the participation of CIA Director William Burns and Qatari and Egyptian officials.

McGurk conveyed a message to the Israelis that there is progress in negotiations between Hamas and the Qatari and Egyptian mediators and that the movement is “ready to show flexibility,” according to the Axios report.

This is the second tour of its kind in Paris with the participation of the head of the CIA, to reach understandings regarding a ceasefire in Gaza and the exchange of prisoners. The previous talks were held in the French capital late last month and resulted in setting a framework for a possible agreement, followed by a meeting in Cairo on February 13.

Axios reported - from an informed source and an Israeli official - that CIA Director William Burns is expected to arrive in Paris tomorrow, Friday, to hold talks with Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli officials, while an Israeli minister spoke about the possibility of progress regarding... Exchanging prisoners with the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ). The American news site said that the new talks in which Burns will participate will revolve around efforts to reach an agreement to ensure the release of prisoners.

The CIA director participated late last month - alongside the head of the Mossad (Israeli foreign intelligence), David Barnea - in talks that took place in Paris, followed earlier this month by meetings in Cairo regarding a possible agreement leading to a ceasefire and the exchange of prisoners. The Paris talks resulted in a framework for a possible agreement, but the discussions that took place afterwards did not lead to progress.

Israeli War Council member Benny Gantz said that there are preliminary indicators that enhance the possibility of progress in the negotiations towards a new exchange deal. Gantz added that Israel will not hesitate to give up any opportunity to return its prisoners detained in Gaza. For his part, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that he met with the families of the prisoners and discussed with them the difficulties facing the army and the practical and political efforts to return them.

The meeting was held amid criticism and protests over statements by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in which he said that the recovery of prisoners from Gaza is not the most important thing, but rather the victory over Hamas. Last night, hundreds of Israeli demonstrators marched in Tel Aviv to demand that the government expedite the return of prisoners from the Gaza Strip.

On the other hand, Israeli Channel 12 quoted a senior French Foreign Ministry official as saying that Paris had obtained sufficient evidence proving the arrival of medicines to Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid Al-Ansari said on Tuesday that Doha had received assurances from Hamas regarding the receipt of a shipment of medicines based on a Qatari-brokered agreement, and that the movement had begun delivering them to detainees in the Gaza Strip. Al-Ansari added that Qatar received these assurances as a mediator in the agreement, which includes the introduction of medicines and a shipment of humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip, especially the most affected and affected areas, in exchange for delivering the medicines needed by detainees in the Strip.

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.”

Israeli army aircraft and artillery intensively bombed the residential neighborhoods of Rafah , crowded with displaced people in the southern Gaza Strip , while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed to Bloomberg that he had instructed the Israeli army to prepare a plan to evacuate the city’s residents before launching the ground attack. Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that Israeli fighters destroyed - at dawn on Thursday - the Al-Farouq Mosque in the middle of the Shaboura camp, and the bombing led to the complete destruction of the mosque and damage to the houses adjacent to it. Israeli aircraft also bombed 5 other mosques, causing the death of 6 Palestinians, the injury of others, and the loss of a number of others.

This comes as Netanyahu said in a short phone interview with Bloomberg that the Israeli army is currently preparing a plan to evacuate the residents of Rafah, and will present it soon, stressing that “Israel has one simple goal in the Gaza Strip, which is to eliminate the Hamas movement and release our hostages, and we will not despair.” Until we achieve complete victory."

A few days ago, Reuters - on Monday - quoted Israeli and regional officials as saying that 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.

Bloomberg reported, citing informed sources, that Israeli officials secretly acknowledge that they do not have a specific strategy for how to transfer 1,200,000 civilians from Rafah, or how long that will take, or where they will go. The agency explained that Western officials believe that Israel will carry out its military operation in Rafah at all costs, but they are concerned about the deadline for the attack that was set in the month of Ramadan , and about the broader humanitarian strategy followed. Bloomberg added that Israel's allies are concerned that the longer the war lasts, the more likely Israel will lose any support it enjoyed from Western countries.

Khan Yunis Governorate, south of the Gaza Strip, remains the center of gravity of operations in the ground war between the Israeli occupation army and the Palestinian resistance factions, most notably the Al- Qassam Brigades and the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wings of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) and Islamic Jihad. Commenting on the battle of Khan Yunis, the military and strategic expert, Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi, said that there was a different field reading that occurred during the past 24 hours, “indicating something is being planned.”

Al-Duwairi added - during his analysis for Al Jazeera - that the balance of power differed among the occupation army in Khan Yunis, as there were now two special forces brigades, two armored brigades, in addition to the Givati ??Brigade and the Marine Corps Special Unit. He points out that the occupation withdrew the reserve forces, and replaced them with special forces, noting that there is a difference in performance between them, because the regular forces are immersed in performing their work throughout the year, while the reserve forces are called for training, and they were not successful in previous operations.

Al-Duwairi links these changes on the ground to the statements made by the occupation leaders - referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his Defense Minister Yoav Galant , and member of the War Council, Benny Gantz - in which they spoke about the near elimination of the Khan Yunis Brigade by the Qassam Brigades. Accordingly, according to Al-Duwairi, the Israeli army is deploying all its remaining forces in the region to achieve what the political level said in order to resolve the battle, which is expected to be a decisive battle and a milestone in the history of this war.

The strategic expert presents two scenarios regarding these developments. The first relates to the success of the occupation army in achieving its goals, as it will then present it to the Israeli interior as a victory. If it fails, it can be said that Hamas is rooted and remaining, and is still able to shape its future.

While the residents of Deir al-Balah were fortunate that the leaflets did not contain orders to evacuate, their counterparts in the Al-Zaytoun and Turkmen neighborhoods east of Gaza City (north) were otherwise, as leaflets dropped by planes (on the morning of Tuesday, February 20) ordered them to leave their homes immediately and head to Al-Mawasi area, south of the Gaza Strip. According to eyewitnesses who spoke to Al Jazeera Net, residents wandered off carrying some luggage and headed to the western Gaza area, refusing to obey the army orders that asked them to head to the south.

Raneem Abdo, a researcher in “Brands and Advertising Strategies,” enumerates Israel’s goals for publishing leaflets, including:

1. Displacement of people from their areas.
2. Weaken their morale.
3. Inciting them against the Palestinian resistance.
4. Spreading terror.
5. Collecting intelligence information about resistance leaders and Israeli prisoners in Gaza.

Regarding the goal of turning the population against the Hamas movement, Abdo mentioned in her interview with Al Jazeera Net that she had seen publications bearing the name “Al-Waqi’ newspaper,” including several issues, which included direct incitement against the movement. One of the posts also included a popular proverb that says, “Hamas is like an owl that only looks for ruin.”

Regarding Israel's use of this method to collect intelligence information, Raneem Abdo indicated that many publications call on residents to provide information about the locations of Hamas leaders and Israeli prisoners held by the resistance, and attach them to phone numbers and applications. For example, planes dropped leaflets printed on counterfeit banknotes offering a “reward” for any information about Israeli detainees.

She also dropped leaflets bearing pictures of 69 Israelis detained in the Gaza Strip, calling on the Palestinians to inform the occupation army if they recognized any of them. Reports indicate that some of the leaflets dropped by Israeli occupation aircraft on the Gaza Strip aimed to incite terror among the population.

Raneem Abdo says that she saw leaflets containing direct threats, including that anyone who does not evacuate his home in the northern Gaza Strip will be classified as a “terrorist.” The planes also dropped a leaflet on the city of Khan Yunis containing a phrase taken from Surat Al-Ankabut in the Holy Qur’an, which is “So the flood took them while they were wrongdoers,” in imitation of the name of the attack launched by Hamas for its attack on the “ Gaza envelope ” settlements on October 7, which is “Flood.” Al-Aqsa. Many publications conclude with the phrase, “I may excuse those who warn.”

Abdo rules out Israel's success in achieving its goals through these publications, adding, "In general, it will not succeed, and what it will achieve is strengthening hatred."

For his part, Professor Muhammad Shaheen, Professor of Psychological and Educational Counseling at Al-Quds Open University, confirms that the policy of dropping leaflets makes residents feel anxious and stressed due to its association with threats and negative expectations. He pointed out, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that measuring the psychological effects of the brutal war waged by Israel on the population is a difficult process, given the severity of its ugliness.

He adds, "All the powerful international psychological references, such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the guide issued by the World Health Organization, did not take into account the reality in Gaza. What is happening did not even exist in previous world wars. I think we need a different theory and new studies and research." Due to the specificity of the situation.”

He continues, "Psychological trauma comes from a single event, but these are successive traumas, and therefore its symptoms are different from what is stated in psychology references," warning that its impact will continue until after the war.

In turn, Director of the Legal Department at the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Observatory, Lima Bastami, points out that the publications published by Israel contain content that violates international humanitarian law. Bustami confirms that international humanitarian law requires Israel to notify citizens of the necessity of temporarily evacuating the military zone, but the problem lies in the way the order is implemented, as displacement is in violation of international law, and Israel is obligated to provide safe areas in which they can resort.

Bustami added to Al Jazeera Net, "When publications say that whoever remains in the region is a terrorist and can be targeted, this violates international laws that differentiate between civilian and military." Bustami points out that inciting the population to resist is part of the policy of "terrorizing civilians and committing crimes with the aim of obtaining political gains."

An Israeli soldier was killed and 8 others were injured of varying severity - today, Thursday - in an operation carried out by Palestinians at a military checkpoint near the Maale Adumim settlement, east of occupied Jerusalem . While the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) and Islamic Jihad blessed the attack, Israeli ministers called for a response to it.

Israeli media reported that one of the seriously wounded soldiers died of his severe wounds. Earlier, the occupation army radio reported that 9 soldiers were injured, including 3 in critical condition, in shooting at a military checkpoint near the settlement. The Israeli police said that they killed two of the perpetrators of the attack on the spot and killed a third after pursuing him, noting that 3 of the injured Israelis were in serious condition.

For its part, the Israeli General Security Service ( Shin Bet ) stated that the perpetrators; They are: Muhammad and Kazem Zawahra from the village of Beit Ta’amr, east of Bethlehem (south of the West Bank ), and Ahmed Al-Wahsh from Zaatara, south of the governorate. Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that the occupation forces stormed this afternoon the homes of the perpetrators of the Al-Za'im checkpoint operation in Beit Ta'amr, east of Bethlehem.

Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a military checkpoint near the village of Al-Za'im, wounding 8 soldiers. Israeli occupation forces sent large reinforcements to the area where the attack occurred, and closed the roads there. Israeli Channel 13 said that one of the perpetrators of the attack deliberately crashed into a car to cause an accident, causing a severe traffic jam, and then three attackers got out and opened fire on the vehicles with two M-16 rifles and a pistol.

According to Israeli media, two who were accompanying the perpetrators of the shooting attack near the settlement were arrested. The Maale Adumim municipality called on the residents of the settlement to remain in their homes after suspecting the presence of a third gunman.

The shooting at the military checkpoint near Ma'ale Adumim came days after an operation that took place in the Kiryat Malachi settlement, east of Ashdod, which resulted in the killing of two Israelis.

In the Palestinian reactions, the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) said that it blesses what it described as the heroic operation, considering that this is a natural response to the occupation’s massacres and crimes in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The movement added that "the occupation's incursion into Jerusalem and its planning to prevent worshipers from reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan will not bring it security," calling on the Palestinians to escalate the confrontation with the occupation and settlers in all the occupied territories, including Jerusalem.

For its part, the Islamic Jihad movement said that this operation comes within the framework of the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to defend their sanctities and land. The movement called on the Palestinian people to continue on the path of resistance to confront the plans of the occupation, arming the settlers, targeting Al-Aqsa Mosque, and denouncing Palestinian blood.

Analysts and experts agreed that the commando operation near the “Maale Adumim” settlement, east of occupied Jerusalem, was not surprising, especially after a warning from Israeli security services. They agreed that Israel’s efforts to separate Gaza from the West Bank and Jerusalem had failed. Writer and political analyst Sari Orabi says that all the hard and soft tools that Israel used to neutralize the Palestinians failed despite the high security situation imposed for more than 4 months.

Orabi added - during his talk on the program “Gaza... What Next?” - that the state of resistance that was escalating before the flood of Al-Aqsa still exists, despite the arrest of 7,000 Palestinians and 400 martyrs since the seventh of last October, in addition to the escalating state of settlement exposure to Palestinian lives and the burning and destruction of their property.

He points out that these aggressive Israeli practices create a Palestinian challenge and constitute a revolutionary factor, expecting that the Jerusalem operation will spark a discussion within the Israeli security establishment about the entry of Palestinian workers into the occupied interior, and the arrival of worshipers to Al- Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan.

He points out that Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir believes that the arrival of the Palestinians to Al-Aqsa and the organization of demonstrations there means that the war in Gaza has failed, expecting that the Jerusalem operation will push the Israeli authorities to use more force.

In turn, the military and strategic expert, Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi, said that “lone wolves” may have carried out the operation despite the blessing of the resistance factions, stressing that Israel cannot achieve absolute security and it is foolish not to expect operations to be carried out. He added that Israeli security services warned of escalation, and it may be a prelude to what might happen during the month of Ramadan, especially with Ben Gvir’s denial of the Palestinians’ right to exist and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s demand for more settlements. There may be a third intifada - according to Al-Duwairi - after the first Palestinian intifada, which was known as the “Intifada of Stones” and the second intifada, which was known as the “Intifada of Bombings.”

For his part, Ihab Jabareen, a writer specializing in Israeli affairs, explains that Israel has been trying to restore its prestige since October 7, but every time its military institution and civil society fail to achieve this. Jabareen asserts that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants an image of victory on the political stage, referring to the continuation of the war because he feeds on it. “What happens inside the Gaza Strip stays there, while the Palestinians say that what happens inside the Gaza Strip will not stay inside it.”

He points out that Netanyahu is the only one who is regaining his prestige, even though he has plunged Israel into a leadership crisis for years, as Tel Aviv is moving towards the extreme ideological right and the strategic security right, both of which reinforce Israeli superiority. He concluded that the coming days will be more difficult, “as reality confirms that there is no security or safety,” after preferring the options of Ben Gvir and Smotrich regarding the security aspect.

The Palestinian factions say that the armed operations in the West Bank constitute a response to the genocidal crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip for more than 4 months.

From the site of the operation, Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir said that the authorities will continue to give the Israelis weapons to protect themselves. Ben Gvir called for restricting Palestinians' freedom of movement and placing barriers, saying that what he called the Israelis' right to life is more important. For his part, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described the attack near the Maale Adumim settlement as dangerous, and said that the response to it must be firm security and settlement-based as well. Smotrich called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to immediately approve plans to build thousands of housing units in Maale Adumim, and the entire region.

In this context, Culture Minister Miki Zohar said that operations such as those that took place near the Maale Adumim settlement will affect the decision on the entry of Palestinian workers into Israel.

A Palestinian boy was killed by Israeli army gunfire in the town of Azzun, in the Qalqiliya Governorate in the northern occupied West Bank , at a time when the occupation forces continued their raids into Palestinian cities and towns. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that the 14-year-old boy, Fadi Suleiman, was killed immediately after being hit by a gunshot to the chest. Eyewitnesses from Azzun said that the Israeli occupation army stormed the town under the pretext of throwing stones on the bypass road adjacent to the town, and opened fire during confrontations that broke out with young men, leading to the martyrdom of the boy Suleiman.

In a related context, Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that the occupation forces stormed the cities of Ramallah and Al-Bireh in the central West Bank at dawn on Thursday. The reporter said that the occupation forces fired heavy sound and gas bombs when they stormed the center of Ramallah. Al Jazeera's correspondent also reported that the occupation forces stormed Balata camp in the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank.

On the other hand, extremist settlers from the "Yitzhar" settlement, under the protection of the occupation army, stormed the town of Asira al-Qibliya, southwest of the city of Nablus. The settlers attacked the Palestinians and their property, setting fire to a house and attempting to burn a vehicle, before they withdrew. Eyewitnesses reported that citizens confronted the attacking settlers and were able to put out the fire.

Israeli occupation forces also stormed Al-Fawwar camp, south of Hebron in the West Bank, amid confrontations with camp residents. The raid came after young men threw stones at a settler's car on the bypass road next to the camp. The occupation army was on alert in the area, and closed a side entrance that citizens used to enter the camp, after closing its main entrance with an iron gate since the seventh of last October.

The Israeli occupation forces also stormed the town of Al-Issawiya, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, and raided several neighborhoods there and arrested a number of young Palestinians. The occupation forces also stormed the town of Al-Khader, south of Bethlehem in the West Bank, and arrested a number of young men. The occupation forces also raided and searched a number of shops, and confrontations broke out with a number of town residents.

The Israeli incursions come hours after 4 martyrs were shot dead by the occupation army at dawn on Wednesday and the night before yesterday, Tuesday, in the city of Jenin and its camp, and others were injured, while the Israeli forces arrested 40 young Palestinians after an incursion that lasted several hours.

The Houthis announced the implementation of three offensive operations, the first targeting the Eilat region, the second a British ship in the Gulf of Aden, which led to its burning, and the third targeting an American destroyer in the Red Sea. The official spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces affiliated with the Houthis, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said in a statement, “In victory for the oppression of the Palestinian people and within the response to the American-British aggression against our country, the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out 3 qualitative military operations.”

He added that the operations were as follows: “In the first, the missile force, as well as the Yemeni Armed Forces’ air force, launched a number of ballistic missiles and drones at various targets of the Zionist enemy in the Umm al- Rashrash area, south of occupied Palestine .” He continued, saying, "As for the second operation in the Gulf of Aden, where the naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a targeting operation against a British ship (ISLANDER), with a number of suitable naval missiles that directly hit it, causing a fire to break out in it."

The official spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces affiliated with the Houthis stated that the third operation, during which an American destroyer was targeted in the Red Sea with a number of drones. He stressed, "The Yemeni armed forces continue to carry out their religious, moral and humanitarian duties towards the Palestinian people and in defense of Yemen in the face of the American-British aggression." Saree stressed, "The military operations will not stop unless the aggression stops and the siege imposed on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted."

After more than a month of aerial bombardment, Washington argues that its operations will stop Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, while since November 19, the Houthis have been launching attacks on commercial ships they suspect of being linked to Israel or heading to its ports, and they say that This comes in support of the Gaza Strip , which has been witnessing a war waged by Israel since the seventh of last October.

Until last week, the Houthi group counted 403 raids, while remaining silent about the nature of the targets and losses, apart from limited data reporting the funeral of at least 23 people, most of them officers. The strikes did not result in civilian casualties, as this is due to the nature of the military targets. Eyewitnesses say that the raids target sites bombed by coalition forces, such as Al-Dailami Air Base, Jabal Attan, and the presidential complex, and in the coastal city of Hodeidah on the Red Sea , which witnessed an intensity of air strikes. An eyewitness says that the Houthi camps, their movements, and their vehicles in the city are known to everyone, but they are not Being targeted.

But a military source in the forces loyal to the internationally recognized Yemeni government says that the strikes mostly targeted missile launchers and drones, noting that they resulted in deaths from the group and from foreign experts. The Yemeni government, which has been waging confrontations since the end of 2014 with the Houthis who took control of the capital, Sanaa, has often accused Iran and Hezbollah of supporting them with weapons and experts. An analysis by the US Defense Intelligence Agency also said that the Houthis used various missiles and drones of Iranian origin.

Military expert Muhammad Al-Kumaim told Al Jazeera Net, "Air strikes have no military value that limits the capabilities of the Houthis, and the greatest thing they can do is weaken the capabilities of their attacks in the Red Sea."

The air strikes seemed ineffective, as the Houthis escalated their attacks on ships, using advanced weapons, including an underwater ship. They also shot down an American MQ9 aircraft, and recently sank a ship in the Arabian Sea, so that Washington included the group in its ranks. It calls it the “terrorist list,” in an effort to control the group’s behavior.

But the US classification raises fears of the collapse of efforts to achieve peace, which is believed to be imminent. The UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, warned the Security Council against slowing down the pace of these UN-sponsored efforts, as it would be difficult to negotiate with a "group classified as a terrorist."

Houthi spokesman Muhammad Abdel Salam told Al Jazeera Net that "the understandings with Saudi Arabia and the truce sponsored by the United Nations are still in place, and the Red Sea file is independent of political affairs, even if America and Britain try to link them." He added, "The delay in signing the agreement is not on our part, but on the Saudi side, and it is not in the interest of bilateral understandings." Abdul Salam says, “The United States and Britain may take advantage of this delay,” adding, “We welcome the Saudi response to the speed of signing the agreement and we hope that it will be soon.” Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said - in press statements - that his country is ready to sign the UN road map. As soon as possible.

Bankers spoke to Al Jazeera Net about their fears of stopping money flows to Yemenis from abroad, which represent a major source of income. While financial networks began to stop some of their services, the risks also doubled the cost of ship insurance, which was reflected in a huge increase in prices.

The US State Department said, "Washington worked with the shipping and financial sectors, in addition to humanitarian aid organizations, to reduce the impact on the Yemeni people and make them aware of the permitted transactions, despite the sanctions."

But Houthi spokesman Muhammad Abdel Salam downplays this step, saying that it "will not provide anything new, because America has targeted Yemen in economic matters, banking transactions, banks, and others since 2015 and 2016, and the goal is to dissuade and weaken Yemen because of its position in support of the Palestinian people." He added, "The American measures, whether through military operations or classification on the terrorist list, will not change our position at all. Rather, they will increase our steadfastness, adherence, and solidity in our position of support for the oppressed Palestinian people, and our adherence to and continuation of it."

The leader of the Ansar Allah Houthi group, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi , said that they are heading to escalate their attacks in exchange for the Israeli escalation in Gaza, while Reuters reported that the group informed maritime insurance companies of the details of a shipping ban, amid reports of the targeting of a British ship and new American strikes on Yemen. The Houthi leader said - in a televised speech today, Thursday - that "the operations in support of Gaza in the Red and Arabian Bahrain, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandab Strait are continuing, and we are heading towards escalation," noting that the number of ships targeted reached 48.

Al-Houthi confirmed that the group has introduced "submarine weapons" into its operations, which is disturbing to the enemy, as he put it. The US Army had indicated a few days ago that the Houthis had used undersea drones. The Houthi leader said that they had achieved an "information achievement" that surprised their enemies by obtaining information on the identity of the ship owners, their affiliation, and their destination. He challenged the United States to prove that the targeted ships were not of the declared classification and that they did not belong to the Americans, the British, or the Israelis.

Also in his speech, Al-Houthi said, "The maritime situation stopped 40% of the enemy's maritime commercial traffic and affected it by shrinking its economy and declining its exports and imports." He also pointed out that they had targeted sites in the occupied territories with 183 missiles and drones since the start of the war on Gaza last October.

Reuters reported today that the Houthis informed marine insurance companies that ships owned wholly or partly by Israeli individuals or entities and ships flying the Israeli flag are prohibited from passing through the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, as well as ships owned by American or British individuals or entities or those sailing under a flag. United States or Britain. The agency said that it had seen the data sent by the Houthi Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center.

Meanwhile, there were reports that a British ship had been hit in a new attack and caught fire. The British Maritime Trade Operations Authority and Ambrey Maritime Security Company reported that the British ship was attacked with two missiles southeast of the city of Aden on the southern coast of Yemen.

The British authority said that US-led forces responded to the attack, which occurred 70 nautical miles from Aden, without giving details. The authority stated that the attack led to a fire breaking out on the deck of the ship, which Embry reported was a cargo ship flying the Palau flag and owned by a British party and was heading from Thailand to the Red Sea.

Earlier today, the French General Staff announced that a multi-tasking frigate belonging to its forces destroyed two drones launched from Yemen on Wednesday night.

On the other hand, Houthi media sources said that American and British forces targeted the Al-Jabanah area, west of Hodeidah, on the western coast of Yemen, with four new raids. The same sources reported that warplanes and spy planes continued to fly over Hodeidah Governorate.

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

The Swiss government proposed a five-year ban on Hamas and associated groups following its attack on Israel on October 7. The federal government put forward a draft law in this regard for consultation on Wednesday, February 21. A government press statement said: The Swiss government hopes that banning the organization will have a preventive and deterrent effect, and its aim is to reduce the risks of Hamas and its associated organizations using Switzerland as a safe haven. This ban is also expected to reduce terrorist threats in Switzerland.

The proposed draft law also allows the authorities to easily enforce the law, such as issuing a ban on entry or expulsion from the country. The ban would also allow the authorities to take more targeted measures against Hamas supporters, as well as for intermediaries in the financial field, as the ban would strengthen legal tools to help combat terrorist financing.

On October 7, Hamas fighters attacked Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people and kidnapping 250 others. Among the victims were two Swiss citizens. In response to this attack, the federal government designated Hamas as a terrorist organization, meaning that acts in support of the organization are punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and those with “significant influence” in the organization are punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The Swiss Senate and House of Representatives previously called for a ban on Hamas during the winter session by adopting the proposals of their security policy committees.

The government indicated in its statement that, given the far-reaching consequences of the ban on the organizations, groups and individuals concerned, the law is limited to five years. However, Parliament can extend this period. The consultation period on this proposal continues until May 28.

Axis of Resistance

The leader of the Ansar Allah movement in Yemen, Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, considered that “the American inherited from the British the role of sponsoring Zionist crime, protecting Israel, and providing all forms of support to it.” The most prominent statement in Al-Houthi’s speech on Thursday about the latest developments in the region was his saying: “The American is a fundamental partner of the Israeli enemy in all its crimes against the Palestinian people in all the past stages.”

He added: "The Americans changed the role of the Security Council and hindered the role of the United Nations in any humanitarian direction for the benefit of vulnerable peoples." He continued: Most of what the Americans have used their veto power since the formation of the Security Council until today is to serve the Israeli enemy, stressing that “the Americans provide the greatest cover in order for the starvation of the Palestinian people in Gaza to reach that level scandalous to Western countries and institutions.”

He added: The American insists on continuing the genocide of the people of Gaza by all means of extermination, and for the third time the American uses its veto in the Security Council to prevent any decision to stop the genocide of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. He said: "Despite the huge military potential that the Israeli enemy possesses, America and the West have provided it with weapons, money, and experts."

He added: "On the first day of the aggression against Gaza, America, Britain, and most major European countries took the initiative to provide all forms of support to the Zionist enemy," noting that "the Israeli enemy against Gaza adopted criminal and genocidal behavior from its beginning and used all means of extermination." He considered: "The poor American and Israeli role appears in manipulation at the level of international organizations and programs that move under humanitarian titles." He noted: "The responsibility is increasing for everyone, and Muslims are at the forefront, with the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the scale of the tragedy."

He asked, "What are Muslims waiting for to take action? Do they want the complete genocide of the people of Gaza to be carried out?! Where is the support of Muslims for the oppressed Palestinian people, who are part of them and who have a clear and established right?" He stressed: "The Palestinian people are worthy of support and aid from humanitarian considerations and all considerations, and most countries, regim

es and governments stand by and watch, while some of them are complicit and secretly supportive of the Israeli enemy."

He considered: "The failure of most governments and regimes, and behind them the silence of the people, is one of the reasons for the Israeli enemy's audacity to continue its crimes and tighten its siege." He stressed: “The oppressed Palestinian people in Gaza are suffering for the 20th week the harshest and most difficult forms of suffering as a result of the Israeli aggression.” He added: "The number of martyrs, most of whom were children and women, is constantly increasing, and the number of massacres has reached 2,544 in a clear violation of human life."

He added: "The Israeli enemy continues its brutal behavior of denying food to the people and preventing the entry of trucks loaded with food to the people," adding: "The World Food Program's suspension of its activities with the very painful level of suffering and hunger in Gaza reveals the nature of its role." He said: Deaths from hunger are on the rise, and there are deaths among children and the elderly, and even animal feed has run out or is almost running out in many areas of the Gaza Strip and in the north of the Strip even more so. He pointed out that: "Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian people in Gaza are starving from hunger and are appealing to their nation's people with their hunger and suffering."

Al-Houthi asked: "Where are the wealthy Arab countries that waste hundreds of billions on absurd and trivial matters, fueling strife, and do not provide a little food to the Palestinian people?" He stressed: "The enemy failed miserably to recover its prisoners despite 20 weeks of war and within a limited geographical scope. The enemy was unable to eliminate the mujahideen in Gaza who are still in a state of cohesion and fighting valiantly and effectively." He revealed that: “The mujahideen in Gaza are being tortured by the enemy, even though they are experiencing the same suffering as their families in the Gaza Strip, and the enemy’s human losses are in the thousands, but he is trying to conceal them and is making an effort to do so.”

He said, "Some Zionist soldiers suffer from mental disorders from the terror of battles and clashes with the Mujahideen from zero distance."

Allied for Democracy

The Knesset’s approval of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s decision to oppose any possible international recognition of a Palestinian state reflects the state of consensus between Jews and the various movements and camps in the Israeli political scene, rejecting any political settlement with the Palestinian people.

The Knesset adopted the Israeli government’s decision against recognition of an independent Palestinian state, by a majority of 99 out of 120 members of the Knesset, and the voting results showed the trend of the various Israeli political parties and movements towards the extreme right-wing ideology , and the endeavor of the political and partisan spectrum from the various camps to exclude the Palestinian issue from the parties’ electoral agenda and programmes. For fear of losing the public’s votes if early parliamentary elections are held.

This consensus is consistent with an opinion poll conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute following US President Joe Biden’s announcement that he was moving a plan to recognize a Palestinian state, in conjunction with discussions between the government and the Knesset regarding any political settlement with the Palestinians. The results showed that 63% of Israeli Jews oppose the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. On the 1967 borders, while 71.5% believe that what they described as “terrorism” will remain as it is, and will even become stronger if a Palestinian state is established.

On this basis, Antoine Shalhat, a researcher on Israeli affairs, says, “The Knesset’s decision reflects the voices of the coalition, the national unity government, and the opposition against the international community’s mere recognition of a Palestinian state, and this reflects the general political atmosphere in Israel, which has worsened against the backdrop of the war on Gaza.”

Shalhat pointed out to Al Jazeera Net that the Knesset's approval of Netanyahu's decision against any recognition of a Palestinian state reflects the Israeli consensus in support of the war on Gaza, which enjoys the consensus of the Israeli parties and camps, but they differ among themselves regarding the order of priorities and goals.

Regarding the reasons for the unification of Israeli political forces behind Netanyahu’s decision, Shalhat says that he “supports what the army is doing based on a decision from the political level and the security establishment, while the voices of rejection remain very few, and are almost marginal in the Israeli political field.”

Shalhat suggested that “Netanyahu, who is trying to draw a new image for himself in Israeli society, to preserve his political legacy, after the Al-Aqsa flood battle shattered his title as master of security and economics, is seeking to attribute to himself the character of an opponent of the establishment of a Palestinian state, so that he can continue his career as prime minister in Post-war period.

The same spokesman pointed out that "the Israeli political consensus on the decision is not considered a drift behind the Netanyahu government, but rather reflects its trend towards the extreme right-wing ideology with everything related to the conflict with the Palestinian people and the consecration of a Jewish state between the sea and the river."

According to the researcher on Israeli affairs, these facts and transformations in the Israeli political scene must open the eyes of the Palestinians, the region, the Arab and Islamic worlds, and the international community, to the nature of Israel that they will face after the war on Gaza ends. Shalhat said, "We are facing a right-wing, racist, and more extremist religious and nationalist Israel, which sums up the position and consensus that rejects the international community's mere recognition of a Palestinian state, whether it is viable or just a monster state."

In an Israeli reading of the event, political analyst Akiva Eldar says, “Netanyahu, who during his political career deliberately pushed the issue of the conflict with the Palestinians, pushed various political parties from different camps to absent the Palestinian issue from their agenda and electoral programs.” He pointed out in his speech to Al Jazeera Net that "the competition between parties to ignore the Palestinian issue, and to exclude any negotiating path with the authority, contributed to shaping Israeli public opinion that rejects the establishment of an independent Palestinian state."

Eldar explained, “The war on Gaza shows the perpetuation of the conflict with the belief entrenched in the Israeli mentality, and that what happened on October 7 is considered a war of existence and a battle over the house, and therefore everyone from the party leaders who calls for any settlement with the Palestinians may find himself outside the political scene.”

The same analyst warned that the issue of opposition to recognition of the Palestinian state was agreed upon by various movements, camps and parties even before the war on Gaza, with the exception of the “Zionist Left” camp, which is not represented in the Knesset, and whose electoral strength does not exceed 4 seats if early parliamentary elections are held.

He pointed out that the parties of the center camp, represented by the Labor Party , whose strength has declined and is likely to disappear from the political map, as well as the “ There is a Future ” party headed by Yair Lapid , and the “National Camp” alliance headed by Benny Gantz , do not put the Palestinian issue on the list of their priorities, as they are opposed in principle. Establishing an independent Palestinian state, and therefore its support for the Netanyahu government’s decision reflects its political will.

In a review of the implications of the Israeli political consensus, Haaretz television critic Rogel Alpher believes that, “For Israel, the international community’s demands for everything related to a ceasefire or calls to renew the course of peace negotiations are tantamount to a national humiliation.” He explained that the Knesset’s approval of the Netanyahu government’s decision expresses the position of Israeli society “that rejects Israel to submit to international dictates regarding the permanent settlement with the Palestinians.”

The Israeli writer says, “The majority of the Israeli public believes that the establishment of a Palestinian state in the wake of October 7, the issue of those detained by Hamas, and the war on Gaza will be considered a reward and a gift to terrorism, and on this basis the Knesset voted in favor of the Netanyahu government’s decision.”

Alpher believes that “until October 6, 2023, the Palestinian state was not included at all on the international agenda, and the matter was not of interest to Biden, Blinken , or Europe, as the protest movement dealt with the Palestinian issue, including the occupation and apartheid, with disdain, as a marginal issue that could be tolerated.” Endless delay,” he said.

An Israeli newspaper quoted American officials as saying that Washington is ready to include National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir in the list of those included in a second sanctions package, against settlers involved in violence in the occupied West Bank. The Times of Israel quoted an American official as saying that the administration of President Joe Biden is preparing to issue a second package of sanctions against Israeli settlers in the coming weeks. She added that prominent Israeli extremists would likely be punished, but government officials would not be targeted.

American officials said that the Biden administration seriously considered including Ben Gvir to the sanctions list, and that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is not included in the sanctions. Ben Gvir facilitated the procedures for obtaining licenses to carry weapons for Israelis following the Al-Aqsa Flood operation , and the newspaper "Haaretz" reported that he and officials in his office had granted 14,000 weapon licenses without oversight since the operation. At the beginning of this month, the US President issued an executive order aimed at punishing Jewish settlers who attack Palestinians in the West Bank, “with the aim of addressing activities that undermine peace and stability in the West Bank.”

In addition to Britain, France announced that it had imposed sanctions on “28 extremist Israeli settlers” who committed “acts of violence against Palestinian civilians” in the West Bank. In turn, Spain threatened - last Monday - to impose unilateral sanctions on extremist settlers, if the member states of the European Union did not reach an agreement on this matter.

The officials said that the Biden administration is considering abolishing the so-called “Pompeo Doctrine,” which states that settlements do not in themselves conflict with international law. They also pointed out that unilateral US recognition of a Palestinian state is far from reality, and that it would be difficult from a legal and political standpoint. The officials said that the United States is not seriously considering changing its policy that any recognition must come through direct negotiations between the two parties.

The Times of Israel quoted officials as saying that the approach taken by the United States regarding Israeli policy in the West Bank does not detract from its continued support for the goals of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. The newspaper said that Washington continues to oppose a permanent ceasefire, but in recent days it has begun to express its support for a temporary halt to the war that has been ongoing since the attack on October 7, 2023.

With Israel approaching the date of submitting a report to the Court of Justice on February 26 explaining what it is doing to implement the measures to protect civilians ordered by the court following its deliberations on January 25 and 26 of last year, the administration of the US President leaves no opportunity to show its support for Israel.

Butcher's Bill / Oasis of Martyrs

The New York Times reported a study by epidemiologists that confirmed that escalation of the war on the Gaza Strip may lead to the death of about 85,000 Palestinians within 6 months due to injuries and diseases. The American newspaper pointed out that these victims are in addition to more than 29,000 Palestinians who were killed since the beginning of the Israeli war in Gaza.

She explained that the study - which was supervised by researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine - expects, in the absence of a change in the current level of fighting and the arrival of humanitarian aid, that about 58,000 additional deaths will be recorded during the next six months, and the number will rise to more than 66 thousand if there is an outbreak of infectious diseases such as cholera .

The study found that even in the best case scenario, with an immediate and sustained ceasefire and no infectious disease outbreaks, another 6,500 Gazans could die over the next six months as a direct result of the war. Professor of Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Dr. Francesco Chicchi, said that the study estimated the expected number of excess deaths from health data that was available in Gaza before the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, and from data collected during more than 4 months of war.

The study included deaths resulting from chronic injuries, infectious diseases, complications related to childbirth and diseases affecting newborns, and non-communicable diseases for which people can no longer receive medication or treatment, such as kidney failure. For his part, the director of the Hopkins Center for Human Health, Dr. Paul Spiegel, a participant in the study, explained that the expected deaths of 6,500 people even - with a ceasefire - are based on the assumption that there will be no epidemics of infectious diseases, because with the outbreak of cholera, measles or... Polio or meningitis , the number of victims would rise to more than 11 thousand.

Spiegel added that it is clear that military escalation will lead to additional casualties, but policymakers must be aware of the range of deaths indicated by the study. He said, "This means 85,000 additional deaths in a society in which 1.2% of the population has already been killed."

An expert in the quantitative analysis of deaths in conflicts, Patrick Bull, who was not involved in the study, stressed that it is unusual to see such a careful effort to calculate the potential humanitarian cost of an ongoing war, and added, “The study sheds light on this conflict in a way that we have not seen in any previous conflicts. It is "It highlights the potential costs in human lives and human suffering of future decisions that are within human control." He added, "People will make decisions that will lead to one of the mentioned scenarios, or to a complex combination of them, and this gives us an idea of the possible outcomes of those decisions."

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.