Operation Iron Swords - Day 144 - 27 February 2024
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NEW - War Termination NEW - Operations NEW - Operations Maps NEW - By-Standers NEW - Axis of Resistance NEW - Allied for Democracy UPDATED - Oasis of Martyrs UPDATED - Hostages |
Biden administration officials say they want to reach an agreement before the start of Ramadan, that is, more than two weeks from now. An Israeli official told the Hebrew Channel 12: Our goal is to reach a prisoner exchange deal before the month of Ramadan.
Following two reported cases of death among children due to Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) stemming from inadequate food supplies, there is an urgent need to access northern Gaza to deliver food and establish SAM stabilization centres along with outpatient therapeutic feeding programmes. • Medical Global, with WHO’s support, established a SAM stabilization centre in Tell As Sultan primary healthcare centre in Rafah with a capacity of five beds. Additionally, preparation for a training session for 32 healthcare workers on the management of SAM cases with medical complications is underway.
Rafah crossing is now working at a reduced rate and Karem Shalom is encountering closure due to Israeli demonstrators preventing trucks from entering. The humanitarian community is engaging with all relevant stakeholders to address this issue.
In Israel, a government spokeswoman said in a press conference that many trucks are still waiting from the Gaza side and that the Israeli government's mission is only to verify their content. She indicated that the government could inspect a larger number of humanitarian aid trucks before they enter the Gaza Strip.
Delivery of badly-needed humanitarian aid in Gaza is complicated by the disappearance of blue-uniformed local police, said The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Israel considers the local police force to work hand-in-hand with the Hamas terror group's rule in Gaza. In response to the report of the deadly strike on a local police vehicle, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman told the U.S. paper that the army is targeting Hamas terrorists who pose a threat. Subsequently, uniformed officers have reportedly disappeared from the streets of the enclave. This has undermined aid delivery in Gaza, as the convoys that police once guarded have become more vulnerable to looters, a United Nations (UN) official told WSJ.
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.
In Israel, a government spokeswoman said that Hamas put forward conditions that Netanyahu described as fictitious, accusing the movement of presenting unrealistic conditions.
Signs of reaching a preliminary agreement regarding a ceasefire in Gaza are looming on the horizon in light of reports of reaching understandings regarding the prisoner exchange process between the occupying entity and the Palestinian resistance. In this context, US President Joe Biden expressed his hope that a ceasefire would begin in Gaza by next Monday. Biden said, "The National Security Advisor told me that we are close to reaching an agreement between the two sides. We are close to that. It has not happened yet, but I hope that we will reach a ceasefire by next Monday."
Biden also announced that Tel Aviv agreed not to carry out activities during the month of Ramadan and pledged to evacuate large proportions of Rafah's population before starting a military operation. He also pointed out that the Israeli entity risks losing international support with the rise in the number of Palestinian casualties, stressing that a ceasefire may help towards a two-state solution.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced that representatives from Israel, the United States, Egypt and Qatar would meet in Paris and reach an understanding on the features of an agreement on the release of prisoners and a temporary ceasefire.
The discrepancy in news continued from America and Israel regarding the progress of talks between the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) and Israel and the imminence of reaching a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip and the exchange of prisoners and detainees. The American ABC News network quoted a senior Israeli political source as saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was surprised by US President Joe Biden's statements in which he expressed his hope for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas by next Monday.
For its part, the American newspaper "Washington Post" quoted an Israeli official as saying that there is no agreement at the present time regarding a truce or prisoner exchange deal, ruling out the imminence of reaching an agreement. On the other hand, NBC quoted an informed source that there was progress in the ongoing ceasefire negotiations in Qatar, but there were still obstacles to be resolved.
The source said that negotiators are racing to reach an agreement before the start of the month of Ramadan, and that crucial details still need to be agreed upon, including the duration of the ceasefire. NBC quoted American officials as saying that they hope that the temporary ceasefire will delay the attack on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Informed sources stated that the terms of the initial agreement were that the occupying entity stipulate the gradual return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip and accept the Hamas movement’s request to increase the entry of aid and vehicles, in addition to repositioning its forces outside crowded areas, and stopping aerial reconnaissance for eight hours a day. Tel Aviv also agreed to release four hundred Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of forty Israeli prisoners, including women, the elderly, and children.
For his part, the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, confirmed that the movement responded to the efforts of the mediators with the aim of ending the war, but he accused Tel Aviv of procrastinating in order not to reach a final agreement, because that would trigger an internal crisis, he said.
On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Tel Aviv wants this agreement, but he announced plans to attack Rafah, indicating that reaching an agreement would only lead to delaying the attack and not canceling it.
According to "Palestine Today", sources explained: The occupation entity agreed to release 400 Palestinian detainees, including a number of people with high sentences, in exchange for the release of 40 Israeli prisoners, women and the elderly. Tel Aviv estimates the number of detainees held by the Palestinian resistance in Gaza at about 134 Israelis, including Zionist soldiers, while the Israeli occupation detains no less than 8,800 Palestinians in its detention centers, according to official Palestinian and Israeli sources.
The source reported that the occupation entity agreed to release the Palestinian detainees who were arrested by the occupation forces after their release in the Gilad Shalit deal in 2011. The sources stated that the occupation entity stipulated the gradual return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip, with the exception of those of military service age.
It added that Tel Aviv accepted the request of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to increase the entry of aid and temporary homes into the Strip and the entry of heavy machinery and equipment, in addition to repositioning its military forces outside crowded areas, and stopping aerial reconnaissance for 8 hours a day.
Meanwhile, a senior official close to the negotiations told Reuters: “Hamas received a proposal from Paris that allows for an initial 40-day cessation of all military operations.” The proposal includes a commitment to allow the entry of 500 aid trucks daily and the provision of thousands of tents and caravans. It also allows for the repair of bakeries. And hospitals in the Gaza Strip.
For his part, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that the full return of civilians to the northern Gaza Strip will not take place until after the return of all Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip.
Despite a statement by US President Joe Biden expressing hope for a ceasefire and hostage agreement in the Gaza Strip by next week, both Israel and Hamas have signaled that significant hurdles remain before an agreement can be reached. Hamas, the terrorist group controlling Gaza, stated that "there are still big gaps that need to be bridged," according to a report by Maariv. "Biden's comments on the cessation of hostilities are premature and do not correspond to the situation on the ground," a Hamas source remarked.
An Israeli official, speaking to The Washington Post, tempered expectations, stating, "I don't believe we're as close" to a ceasefire as suggested. This sentiment was echoed by a senior Israeli political source cited by ABC News, indicating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's surprise at Biden's assertion of an imminent deal.
The cautious responses from both sides underscore the complex nature of negotiations amidst ongoing conflict. Despite international pressure and mediation efforts, significant gaps persist, raising uncertainty over the timeline for a potential ceasefire.
As the heat on the southern front escalated, the Lebanese government postponed a response to the paper “Security arrangements between Lebanon and the “Israeli” occupation entity, which French Foreign Minister Stephane Ségourney carried earlier this month to Beirut, and the government requested that it be turned into an official paper.
According to informed sources, the postponement of the response came because the paper “did not take into account diplomatic principles, as it did not bear the logo of the French Foreign Ministry or the French Embassy in Beirut,” while Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib announced yesterday, after his meeting with Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Grand Serail, “We discussed In responding to the French proposal, we are preparing the message that we agreed on, and the points that we will address, and the French will respond next week.”
He pointed out, "Our position is known: we want a complete and comprehensive implementation of Resolution 1701, including Shebaa and Kfar Shuba." Bouhabib stressed, “We welcome the French role, and the French care about Lebanon and its safety.”
However, the sources told Al-Akhbar newspaper that the Lebanese side understood that Paris was not in a position that qualified it to play a constructive role, because the French position from the first moment of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation was identical and compatible with the Israeli interest, to the extent that the French paper seemed to be “formulated.” In Tel Aviv."
In addition, all parties have become convinced that Paris is not capable of conducting negotiations and reaching agreements in isolation from Washington. Also, there is a belief among the majority of officials that it is necessary to wait for the results of the ongoing negotiations in Cairo and Doha regarding Gaza, and that if they lead to a temporary truce, this means that there is a great possibility for the American envoy Amos Hochstein to visit the region and Lebanon, carrying proposals to stop the escalation in the south.
It is noteworthy here that official Lebanese authorities have heard that the American envoy has “a proposal whose terms have not yet been revealed, pending what the negotiations will lead to. Therefore, it is better to wait for the developments of the next two weeks. If the American envoy comes, the talk will be directly with Al-Asil, given that Washington is the party that will conclude the agreement.” "There is no future agreement with him."
In addition, Hezbollah, the party most concerned with the paper, refuses to discuss any measures before stopping the aggression against Gaza, which means that the French proposal to end the escalation, which stipulates the party’s withdrawal at least 10 kilometers north of the border, a ceasefire, and the formation of a committee to follow up on the course of the operation. The army's entry into the south does not seem to have a place at the present time, and therefore there is no reason to commit to an official Lebanese response at the present time either.
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.”
Regarding the Gaza Strip, Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi explains that the battle of the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City, is the main battle and front number “1” currently, as the Israeli 162nd Division - which consists of two brigades supported by the air force and elite battalions - has been fighting for the fourth day and has not been able to enter the depth or consolidate. He added that the rest of the battles in the sector ranged between battles and bombings, although he pointed out that New Abasan, east of Khan Yunis in the south, returned to the forefront with selective operations and limited entry of the occupation, due to the nature of the region and the network of tunnels that help the resistance in luring and killing operations.
Fighters of the Magellan and Agoz unit formed by the commando are fighting in the west of Khan Yunis, raiding terrorist infrastructures and Hamas combat areas and eliminating dozens of terrorists a day. The fighters arrest terrorists and locate dozens of weapons a day. for further details. The fighters of the 932nd Battalion's combat team, who fight under the 401st Brigade's combat team, operate in the area of the Zaytun neighborhood in the northern Gaza Strip. After shooting at them by terrorists, the fighters raided the building from which the shooting was carried out, eliminated the terrorists and found many Hamas weapons. for further details.
The fighters of the 401st Brigade's combat team continue an extensive raid on the Zeyton neighborhood. In the last day, the forces carried out several attacks, and eliminated terrorists in cooperation with the Air Force and in face-to-face encounters with terrorists. During the operation, the fighters located weapons in the area, including a site for the production of weapons, rocket launchers and systems used by the terrorist organization Hamas against our forces. During searches by the force, the fighters located a number of terrorists in a tunnel shaft in the area. The fighters destroyed the shaft and eliminated the terrorists.
In the center of the Strip, the Nahal Brigade's combat team eliminated a number of terrorists in the last day and located many terrorist infrastructures and weapons. In one of the activities, the forces detected a terrorist squad approaching them and eliminated them by firing tanks. In addition, the brigade engineering forces destroyed dozens of military buildings of the Hamas terrorist organization. As part of the combat team's activity in the divisional operation in Zeytun, the forces located a munitions warehouse and a lathe with a lot of equipment.
Led by the fire center of the Gaza Division and the Southern Command, the Air Force attacked yesterday in the center of the Gaza Strip, a few hours after the shooting was carried out at the surrounding settlements. Among the targets that were attacked, an operational apartment from where some of the launches were carried out that morning and another operational apartment from where shots were detected at forces in the area. In addition, a launcher from which some of the launches were carried out was attacked.
As part of the efforts to evacuate residents from the combat zone, the forces of the combat teams of the paratroopers brigade and the 7th brigade arrested in the last day a number of terrorists who tried to escape under the cover of the population. The fighters eliminated a number of terrorists with short-range fire, among them terrorists you observed on the troops.
The fighters of the battle team of the Givati Brigade continue their brigade activities in East Khan Yunis and during the last day the forces raided areas of terror and cleared areas adjacent to the surrounding settlements.
In a divisional operation to counter terrorism under the intelligence guidance of the Shin Bet in the Tubas and Fara regions in the Bekaa and Emakim division, forces from the Dovdvan unit killed Ahmed Dragama, a senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in the Tubas region. In the past, Dragama carried out shooting and bomb attacks against the IDF forces and in addition to eliminating them, the forces eliminated two more armed terrorists and located an observation post. In addition, during the activity an IDF soldier was slightly injured, the soldier was taken to a hospital for medical treatment, his family was informed.
In the city of Nablus in the Samaria Division, the forces arrested three wanted persons and located and confiscated a Carlo type rifle and improvised explosive devices. In the city of Hebron in the Yehuda Division, the forces arrested five wanted men and in the village of Yetta in the division of the division, the forces arrested another wanted man and located incendiary materials and military equipment. The wanted persons who were arrested and the weapons confiscated were transferred to the security forces for further treatment.
Israeli forces stormed the headquarters of the Legal Unit of the Reconstruction Committee in the Old City of Hebron. The occupation forces stormed the headquarters of the legal unit of the Reconstruction Committee in the Laban Market adjacent to Bani Dar neighborhood in the Old City of Hebron, tampered with its contents, and photographed employees’ ID cards and offices.
On 27 February, Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinians, and another Palestinian was injured, in two separate military operations in Tubas city and the nearby El Far'a Refugee Camp (both in Tubas). The raid in the camp involved an exchange of fire between Palestinians and Israeli forces and the throwing of pipe bombs and stones by Palestinians. Two of the fatalities, including a bystander, were killed in this incident. Initial information indicates that Israeli forces bulldozed multiple sections of streets in the camp, causing damage to infrastructure, including water networks, resulting in continuous water cut-offs. The third fatality occurred when a unit of undercover Israeli forces entered Tubas city and shot him. Reportedly, there was no exchange of fire.
The occupation forces stormed the Tubas Governorate in the northern West Bank , followed by clashes with Palestinian youth in the city of Tubas and the Fara’a camp , which led to the death of a number of martyrs, including Ahmed Daraghmeh, commander of the Tubas Battalion affiliated with the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, in addition to several injuries. Palestinian sources said that the occupation forces fired live bullets at Palestinian citizens in Al-Faraa camp, which led to martyrs and wounded, as Red Crescent teams were prevented from reaching them.
The occupation forces also stormed the city of Tubas, reinforced with dozens of vehicles and three bulldozers, excavating and destroying infrastructure, roads and homes, amid violent armed clashes and explosions, before withdrawing from it. The raids also targeted the city of Yatta and the Singer area in the city of Hebron in the south of the West Bank, reinforced with a number of vehicles, as well as towns in Ramallah, Jenin and Nablus, including the village of Beit Furik, east of the city, where a freed prisoner who was wounded was arrested.
Since 7 October 2023, OCHA has recorded 590 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians that resulted in Palestinian casualties (52 incidents), damage to Palestinian-owned property (472 incidents), or both casualties and damage to property (66 incidents).
Large crowds in Tubas Governorate mourned the bodies of the three martyrs who died during the Israeli occupation forces’ storming of the city of Tubas and the Fara’a camp. The funeral procession for the martyrs started from the Turkish Tubas Governmental Hospital after performing funeral prayers for them in the hospital courtyard, then a massive march moved through the streets of the city. The martyr Ahmed Daraghmeh was taken to his family’s home in the city of Tubas to pay his respects and then be buried. The procession of the martyrs Muhammad Bayadsa and Osama Zalat also headed to their hometowns in Al-Fara’a camp to pay their respects and be buried. The participants in the funeral procession chanted phrases denouncing the ongoing crimes of the occupation in various governorates of the West Bank and the continuation of the war of extermination in the Gaza Strip.
This morning, about 35 launches were detected that crossed the territory of Lebanon towards the Mount Miron area in the north of the country, there were no casualties and no damage was caused to the air control unit in the area. In response to those launches, warplanes attacked and destroyed a military site and a number of military infrastructures of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the areas of Alhaniya, Jabeshit, Basriya and Al-Mansouri. In addition, IDF forces attacked with artillery to remove a threat in the Yaron region.
The IDF attacked terrorist targets of Hezbollah in Lebanese territory. About 20 launches were identified that crossed the territory of Lebanon into the northern part of the country, of which a number were successfully intercepted by the air defense fighters and the rest fell according to policy. In addition, an anti-tank missile was detected that crossed the territory of Lebanon towards the Miron area. A breach was detected in the space of the air control unit of the Air Force. There is no damage to the facility's competence.
The Chief of Staff conducted a tour and situation assessment on the northern border together with the commander of the Northern Command, Major General Uri Gordin, from the 146th Military Intelligence, Brigadier General Israel Shumer, and other commanders. In addition, Colonel Halevi met with the members of the standby squads in Moshav Shtula.
The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon confirmed that its fighters struck the headquarters of the 146th Division in “Ga'aton” at 4:45 pm (GMT+2) using dozens of Katyusha rockets. The Resistance's operations come in solidarity with the steadfast and resilient Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and support of the Palestinian Resistance. As reported by Israeli media, Hezbollah fired rockets at the headquarters of the 146th Division on Tuesday, in Western al-Jalil, where the Israeli Army Chief paid a visit earlier today. Israeli Ynet reported that an Israeli forces spokesman revealed an ATGM fired by the resistance did hit the Israeli "Meron" air control base earlier today causing damage.
Israeli media reported a direct hit on "Yarka" in Upper al-Jalil, resulting from a recent missile salvo launched from Lebanon. Additionally, this afternoon, the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon fighters targeted both the "al-Marj" and "Tallet al-Tihat" sites with missiles. Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that the Israeli occupation struck several locations in southern Lebanon. Israeli artillery has reportedly bombarded areas on the outskirts of Tair Harfa, al-Jubain, Shihin, and Wadi al-Saluki. Additionally, Israeli warplanes conducted a raid in the vicinity of the towns of Aita al-Shaab, Khirbet Selm, and al-Taybeh.
Hezbollah announced its targeting of the Israeli "Meron" surveillance airbase, located atop Mt. Jarmaq, with a salvo of rockets from several launchers. Hezbollah confirmed, in a brief statement, that the operation was in support of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, as well as a response to the Israeli aggression against the Lebanese city of Baalbeck and its vicinity. The attack came at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday and utilized 40 rockets and several launchers. Israeli media reported the attack and the sound of several explosions shortly after.
According to Former Israeli Intelligence Official and regional analyst Avi Melamed, while the IDF and Israeli leaders continue to beat the war drums on Israel’s Northern front, it seems Hezbollah is taking a more cautious approach, hoping to avoid surpassing the “red line” that would launch a full-scale war with Israel.
Melamed shared: “While the IDF and Israeli leaders continue to beat the war drums on Israel’s Northern front, it seems Hezbollah is taking a more cautious approach, even deviating from Nasrallah’s threat to retaliate for strikes deep into Lebanon, like Israel strike yesterday at Hezbollah’s proverbial front door in Baalbek with strikes deep into Israel. It is clear that Hezbollah, while seeking to continue its ongoing attacks on Israel’s northern front is being extremely deliberate so as not to incite a full-scale war with Israel, especially given the impact that the ongoing clashes have already had on the Iranian proxy group, having claimed the lives of more combatants and senior officers in the 5 months of a low-intensity campaign with Israel than the group lost in a full scale, full-year participation in the Syrian civil war. Ultimately the only way to restrain Hezbollah further will be a comprehensive solution to the threat the Iranian regime holds over the region, and the wider world through its proxies.”
The mutual escalation continues between the Israeli occupation army and the Lebanese Hezbollah , which targeted the Israeli Meron air control base in Mount Jarmaq in the Upper Galilee. In this context, military and strategic expert Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi says that Hezbollah's escalation is still controlled, and that it is sending messages that it is capable of doing more, as it is based on accurate calculations.
Al-Duwairi explained - during his talk to Al-Jazeera - that Hezbollah used “Katyusha 122” missiles in its recent bombing, with a range between 18 and 20 kilometers, revealing that the party has precise missiles of different types, ranges, and payloads, of which it used one missile out of 50, according to press reports. He pointed out that Hezbollah resorted to intensifying the fire with dozens of missiles, and not a specific escalation, indicating that it has between 100 and 150 thousand missiles of different types and ranges, some of which reach Eilat, the southern tip of Israel.
Regarding Israel’s bombing of a site near the Lebanese city of Baalbek, Al-Duwairi said that the nature of the event was not as the occupation reported. “The goal was normal and not ambitious, so Hezbollah’s escalation was controlled.” However, the strategic expert confirms that the political and military sides in Israel have an open appetite to expand the escalation in Lebanon and raise the ceiling on the rules of engagement, especially with the Tel Aviv leaders’ emphasis on the necessity of implementing UN Resolution “1701,” adding that the occupation will remain motivated to carry out selective strikes against Hezbollah’s military leaders.
Major General Khaled Ghorab, the Yemeni military expert, confirmed that if the aggression against the Gaza Strip is completely stopped and all food and medical aid is brought into it, it is certain that the situation will automatically return to what it was before the aggression. Ghorab pointed out that we are talking about the current situation in the Gaza Strip and not after the Israeli occupation invaded Rafah, noting that there is no doubt that the Yemeni decision is beyond doubt, and that the Yemeni leadership was clear that it would return things to their previous state.
Ghorab stressed that: The foreign forces that came to the Arabian and Red Seas and the Gulf of Aden must leave the region and leave our seas and territorial waters adjacent to the territorial waters, and this is inevitable, and we do not accept that there is anything that poses a threat to Yemen and that these forces must leave our seas and the Bab al-Mandab Strait. And the areas adjacent to our territorial waters, this is inevitable.
Ghorab noted that the Yemeni leadership does not accept any threat or the presence of those American ships and battleships in those areas, and this is an international decision. We do not deviate from international law and international norms , and we have proven to the world that we are strong and capable of protecting any ships and any global trade between the East and the West. We have now opened an announced center to provide assistance to any ships passing through the Arab seas.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian revealed that he talked with his British counterparts about the joint US-UK aggression on Yemen, calling it a "strategic mistake" and underlining that Yemen has "proven that they do not trifle with any party regarding the security of their lands. They have been able to sound this message and clearly relayed that ships carrying military cargo to Israel will be stopped,"
"Remarkably, they kept their vows to the fullest. If you take a satellite look at the Red Sea, you will find hundreds of ships on that route. We realize that shipping and insurance costs have soared, but trade ships that do not carry any supplies to the Israeli occupation cross the Red Sea safely," he clarified, commending the Yemeni leadership for its steadfastness and for adhering to its principles. "The National Salvation Government has addressed that maritime and the Red Sea security is of its highest interests. In Iran, we also sail this route for international trade, and the entire world would benefit if it were safe, but the root of the issue lies in Gaza, not the Red Sea.
"If the genocide in Gaza ended, then the situation in the Red Sea would return to normal. We appreciate Yemen's brave support of Palestine, and Yemenis continue taking that road to champion Gaza, without jeopardizing the safety of certain shipments and maritime security. In constant reminders, the general maritime security has not been jeopardized, but ships headed toward the occupation are," he said, once again stressing that Yemen is not targeting any ships that are not affiliated with the Israeli occupation.
US investment bank Goldman Sachs raised its forecast for Brent oil prices next summer by $2 to $87 per barrel. According to Bloomberg, there were signs of recent purchasing activity from refineries in the United States and China, which pushed raw materials prices higher. The agency considered that oil continues its second monthly rise, with continued tensions in the Middle East and supply restrictions from the OPEC Plus group , which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC ) and its allies. She added that the rise in production from outside the group, especially the United States, limited the gains.
Goldman Sachs believes that the $20 range revolves around $80 per barrel, with slight fluctuations, while Bank of America expects the price of oil to stabilize between $60 and $80. Han Zhongliang, investment strategist at Standard Chartered Bank, explained, “Although crude oil markets are trading at prices with a limited range, their performance has been relatively good since the beginning of the year until now.” He added that the better-than-expected adherence of OPEC+ members to supply restrictions was supportive.
Maps
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All maps are lies. “Not only is it easy to lie with maps, it is essential,” wrote cartographer Mark Monmoneir in his book How to Lie with Maps. He showed that condensing complex, three-dimensional spaces onto a two-dimensional sheet of paper [in old days] is bound to be reductive. But it is impossible to comprehend the war in Gaza without reference to maps, otherwise the entire conflict is reduced to an endless series of meaningless acts of random violence and the suffering of civilians. The first characteristic of guerrilla warfare is the loss of a front line. Evidently, different mappers have different ideas of how to depict the war in Gaza, notably those that seek to depict Israeli progress in the ground campaign. Part of the problem is latency. The news that forms the basis of the maps takes time to filter out to mappers, and the cartographers take time in crafting their maps, and it takes time to curate them. These processes are uneven among mappers, so their maps may differ in detail. Probably there is some ideological bias, or at least thematic apperception, which is understandable in wartime. It may come as no surprise that al-Jazeera maps depict rather less Israeli territorial progress than other sources. Finally, there remains the epistemological question of just exactly what are the colored in areas depicting. Naively, this might be understood as areas of Israeli control, that are no longer contested by the HAMAS. Or possibly these are areas of Israeli presence, in many of which the possibility of an RPG-wielding HAMAS militant popping out of a tunnel unexpectedly remains a live possibility. With the "zero-range" combat characterized by small unit tactics on both sides, maps may be prey to a fallacy of misplaced concreteness.
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Bystanders
The United Nations Human Rights Council continues its special sessions to discuss the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially in light of the continuing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip. At the session that took place at the Council’s headquarters in Geneva on Tuesday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip “are suffering because of double standards.” She called on the international community to support the residents of Gaza. The Minister stressed the need for the Council to open an investigation into the human rights violations committed in the Gaza Strip.
Secretary-General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Jagan Chapagain, said that the risk of hunger in Gaza is increasing day by day, in light of a sharp decline in food security, and a decrease in the volume of aid provided to the residents of the Strip by half in the current month of February, compared to the previous month, according to According to United Nations data. In a post on his account on the X platform, Chapagin warned that about 80% of Gaza’s population are already facing emergency or catastrophic conditions of food insecurity. He pointed out that more than a million children and elderly people in shelter centers face the risk of dehydration, digestive and respiratory diseases, skin diseases and anemia, according to reports from the Palestinian Red Crescent. He renewed his call for safe and unimpeded access to vital life-saving humanitarian aid.
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Professor Michael Fakhri, claimed Israel was deliberately starving Palestinian. As such, he accused the entire Jewish state of being guilty of genocide and war crimes. “There is no reason to intentionally block the passage of humanitarian aid or intentionally obliterate small-scale fishing vessels, greenhouses and orchards in Gaza – other than to deny people access to food,” Fakhri told the Guardian in an exclusive interview.
“Intentionally depriving people of food is clearly a war crime. Israel has announced its intention to destroy the Palestinian people, in whole or in part, simply for being Palestinian. In my view as a UN human rights expert, this is now a situation of genocide. This means the State of Israel in its entirety is culpable and should be held accountable – not just individuals or this government, or that person,” the special Rapporteur set out his wide-reaching accusations. The Guardian cited UN numbers that nutritional examinations carried out in January by health centers and shelters revealed that almost 16 percent of children under the age of two were suffering from acute malnutrition or wasting in the northern Gaza Strip.
“Ending funding almost instantaneously based on unsubstantiated claims against a small number of people has no other purpose other than collective punishment of all Palestinians in multiple countries. The countries that withdrew this lifeline are undoubtedly complicit in the starvation of Palestinians,” Fakhri expanded the accusations.
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees ( UNRWA ), said on the X platform, “Aid was supposed to increase, not decrease, to meet the huge needs of two million Palestinians in miserable living conditions. Among the obstacles are the lack of political will, and the closure Regular crossings, insecurity due to military operations, and the collapse of civil order.” He stressed that a ceasefire and lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip are necessary to allow the delivery of life-saving aid and the commercial movement of goods.
On 27 February, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) said that humanitarian partners have been unable to reach northern Gaza and increasingly parts of southern Gaza safely, as aid convoys have come under fire and are systematically denied access to people in need. Allegations of shooting by Israeli forces at Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid in Gaza city continue to be reported, raising concerns about the protection of civilians. HelpAge reports that the approximately 111,500 older people in Gaza are among those most at risk of hunger, dehydration, illness, injury, and death.
On 25 February, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and a United Nations team evacuated 24 patients from Al Amal hospital in Khan Younis. The hospital was subject to a prolonged siege and raids by the Israeli military until 22 February, which resulted in at least 25 fatalities, and rendered it ‘minimally functioning’ according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Despite prior coordination with the Israeli authorities for the staff members and vehicles, Israeli forces blocked the convoy, forced patients and staff from ambulances and stripped the paramedics of their clothes. Three of the PRCS paramedics were subsequently detained, delaying the convoy for over seven hours. Two of the paramedics remain in detention.
On 26 February, the PRCS announced the suspension of all humanitarian coordination procedures on medical missions in Gaza for 48 hours, due to “failure to ensure the safety and security of the Society’s Emergency Medical Services teams, the wounded and the sick in PRCS hospitals, centres and ambulances.”
Media Officer at the Palestinian Red Crescent, Nibal Farsakh, tells Al-Hurra website that the Society has stopped coordination procedures with international and international organizations to complete medical missions in areas where Israeli forces are present or deployed. Farsakh explains that the Palestinian Red Crescent is prohibited from reaching these areas in order to treat the sick and wounded or work inside hospitals, and therefore moving towards them requires coordination to ensure safe access, which was done through the mediation of international organizations and United Nations organizations.
However, it points out that even with coordination in notifying the Israeli forces of relief operations and obtaining the green light for the crews to move in ambulances, they were “targeted, either by shooting at them to kill them, injuring them, or arresting them.” The spokeswoman explains that the new decision means stopping relief and emergency missions towards areas that are under bombardment or where Israeli forces or vehicles are deployed. The association indicated, in a statement, that it "will evaluate this situation to reach a conclusion that will enable it to protect its crews and vehicles and ensure that they are not exposed to the risk of death or injury, by agreeing on the intervention of active states in the international community to ensure protection."
Farsakh says that the Israeli forces “deliberately” target the health system in Gaza and workers in the humanitarian sector, stressing that they are trying to find justifications to cover up their gross violation of international humanitarian law, through these accusations. The spokeswoman stated that the Israeli army “comes out every time with unfounded and baseless accusations,” and stresses that the Red Crescent “is a national institution and part of the international movement of Red Cross Societies. Our principles are humanitarian and neutral, and everything we do is humanitarian and emergency missions to save the lives of the wounded and injured.” In the sector.”
There are no fully functioning hospitals left in the Gaza Strip, according to what the United Nations announced, while about a third of them operate at limited capacity. The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, confirmed last week that the situation in the Gaza Strip is “inhumane,” more than four months after the outbreak of the war.
“In what world do we live when people cannot obtain food and water, or when people who cannot even walk cannot obtain care?” Ghebreyesus said at a press conference in Geneva. He added, "In what world do we live when medical teams are exposed to the danger of bombing while doing their work? In what world do we live when hospitals are forced to close their doors because there is no longer electricity or medicine to save patients and because they are targets for the army?" He considered that "the health and humanitarian situation in Gaza is inhumane and continues to deteriorate."
He stressed that "the Gaza Strip has become a death zone," an expression he had previously used, adding, "A large portion of the territory was destroyed, more than 29,000 people were killed, many others were missing, presumed dead, and a very large number were injured."
On 27 February, regarding the medical evacuation, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) in Palestine stated that this was not an isolated case, as aid convoys have come under fire and are systematically denied access to people in need. Furthermore, humanitarian workers have been harassed, intimidated or detained by Israeli forces, and humanitarian infrastructure has been hit, the statement said, indicating that the requirements for the meaningful facilitation of relief efforts have been consistently communicated to the Israeli authorities. As a result of inadequate facilitation of relief operations, humanitarian partners are unable to reach northern Gaza and increasingly parts of southern Gaza safely. The HCT pledged to continue to engage with Israeli forces so that the critically needed humanitarian response is enabled.
According to a report by HelpAge, the approximately 111,500 older people in Gaza are among those most at risk of hunger, dehydration, illness, injury, and death. Prior to the current hostilities, older people in Gaza were already living with the long-term impact of conflict and displacement, with reduced access to essential health and social services. Older people are also disproportionality affected by non-communicable diseases and are likely to be severely impacted due to damage to health infrastructure and shortages in medication, the report said. Older people who have had to evacuate are said to be mostly accommodated in overcrowded shelters that are inadequate to meet their needs, as many require support to manage chronic health issues and disabilities.
Older women often face violence, abuse and neglect because of their age, gender, or other factors such as disability or being a widow, according to the report. These risks are compounded in humanitarian crises for women of all ages on the move and living in emergency shelters. HelpAge is calling for safe, full, and unimpeded humanitarian access to ensure that all affected people, including older people and people with disabilities, can be reached and can access urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.
Restricted access to northern Gaza significantly contributes to insufficient humanitarian aid delivery, leading to concerns about food insecurity and the possibility of widespread starvation and fatalities due to hunger.
The food security situation continues to be extremely critical across Gaza, particularly in northern Gaza, with people reportedly feeding their children animal fodder. Vulnerable segments of the population, including children, the elderly and people with underlying health conditions, are particularly exposed to the risk of malnutrition and famine.
The food security situation in the Middle Area and southern governorates is also critical, with most of the population queuing for hours to receive food when trucks manage to enter. In Rafah, the situation is increasingly concerning, with growing reports of people stopping aid trucks to take food and eat it immediately.
There is an urgent need for independent communication platforms for responders in Gaza to coordinate emergency response and deliver aid, amid ongoing communication blackouts and unreliable/intermittent access to telecommunication services. There is a crucial need to import all essential satellite-based communications equipment (sat phones, data solutions), Security Communications Systems (VHF Radios and networks), and power solutions (solar power solutions, generators).
The State of Qatar renewed its condemnation of the Israeli threats to storm the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip , and called for urgent action to prevent the occupation army from committing genocide in the city, and to implement its plans to forcibly displace Palestinians from the Strip. In a speech before the UN Human Rights Council at its current session held in Geneva, Lulwah Al Khater , Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs , warned of a humanitarian catastrophe threatening Rafah, which has become the last refuge for one and a half million displaced residents of the besieged Strip.
The minister called for providing protection for civilians in Gaza in accordance with international law and international humanitarian law, and said, “Qatar calls on all countries to avoid duplicity and take all measures to oblige Israel to implement the temporary measures approved by the International Court of Justice , stop the ongoing crime of genocide in Gaza, and protect civilians.” "Palestinians." She stressed that stopping funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees ( UNRWA ) is a very dangerous matter, and warned that this step would be the beginning of a policy aimed at ending the issue of Palestinian refugees and their right to return.
Axis of Resistance
The American airman who died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC, in protest at the Zionist regime’s war on Gaza was the voice of awakened consciences opposing the US’ complicity in the genocide of Palestinians, an Iranian spokesman said. In a post on his X account on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said the death of US airman Aaron Bushnell, who had set himself on fire in protest at the Israeli atrocities in Gaza, revealed how ashamed the awakened consciences in the US are of their government’s backing for the genocide of Palestinians.
“Bushnell’s yells were the loud voice of awakened consciences in the US against their government’s complicity in the genocide of Palestinians,” Kanaani said. 25-year-old Bushnell of San Antonio, Texas, died from his injuries on Monday after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington in protest against Israel’s war on Gaza.
The member of the US air force had livestreamed himself on the social media platform Twitch wearing fatigues and declaring he would “not be complicit in genocide” before dousing himself in liquid on Sunday. He then lit himself on fire while yelling “Free Palestine!” until he fell to the ground. In December 2023, a protester set herself on fire outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta. A Palestinian flag was found at the scene, and the act was believed to be one of “extreme political protest”.
The foreign minister of Iran took a swipe at the self-proclaimed advocates of human rights for obstructing the establishment of a fact-finding committee to investigate the heinous Israeli atrocities in Gaza and politicizing the issue of human rights. In a meeting with his Finnish counterpart on the sidelines of the 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Hossein Amirabdollahian decried the killing of more than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza by the Zionist regime.
Deploring the politicization of the issue of human rights, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said a number of countries that claim to be defenders of human rights have not allowed a fact-finding committee to be formed to probe into the horrible atrocities in Gaza. He then pointed to plans to improve Iran’s relations with Finland, saying Tehran is ready to develop a joint road map for this purpose. He also welcomed any effort to expand parliamentary cooperation between the two countries and proposed the holding of political consultations at the level of political directors of the foreign ministries.
"We do not have any proxies in the region," the Iranian Foreign Minister underlined. "Hezbollah and the Resistance in Palestine work as they see fit, based on their own interests. Yemen follows the same framework as well. In Iraq and Syria, groups to fight ISIS were formed and still operate for their countries' interests and considerations."
"It would be best if the United States focused on finding a political solution instead of throwing accusations and fabricating false scenarios," he said of the Western accusations that Iran is using regional Resistance movements, whether in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, or elsewhere, as regional proxies and tools to further its interests. "Five months of war proved that warfare is not the solution, thereby emphasizing the need for political resolutions realistically and from a Palestinian-centric lens."
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said: What we are witnessing today from the UN Security Council’s inaction regarding the genocide in Gaza is the diplomatic disaster of the century, the continuation of Israeli war crimes and the expansion of the scope of the war, which constitutes a real threat to international peace and security.
Amir Abdullahian said during a meeting on Palestine held on the sidelines of the 55th meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva: More than 30,000 people were killed in Gaza , 70% of whom were women and children. Stressing that this constitutes the most horrific crimes against childhood in human history.
He added: The other catastrophe occurring in Gaza today is the start of the massive attack by the "Israeli" entity on Rafah. He described arming this entity to continue the genocide in Gaza as an unforgivable mistake, and that cutting off any cooperation, especially in the economic and commercial fields, with the Israeli apartheid entity is the most urgent measure that all governments must take.
He added: The Zionist entity does not recognize any rights for the Palestinian people, and is even trying to forcibly displace the residents of Gaza and the West Bank to areas in Egypt and Jordan. He continued by saying: It is unfortunate that the wrong policies and strategies of the United States and Britain make the scope of the war in the region expand day after day.
He explained: America and England, which repeatedly demand control of the extent of tension and crises in the region, have practically expanded the scope of the conflict by violating the sovereignty of Yemen and repeated military attacks on it. Amir Abdullahian stressed, according to IRNA, that the solution is to stop the genocide in Gaza immediately and put an end to the war crimes affecting the West Bank.
The Iranian Foreign Minister continued: We believe that the future of Palestine will be determined through the Palestinian-Palestinian dialogue, and that the plans and versions imposed are doomed to failure. Pointing out that the land of Palestine belongs to the Palestinian people, and therefore any decision regarding the future of this country must be taken by the Palestinians themselves.
Commenting on the Israeli attacks on Baalbek, northeastern Lebanon, which is a precedent since the 2006 July War, and whether it would make for an escalation that could ignite an all-out war that extends beyond the Lebanese front in the south, Amir-Abdollahian stressed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "thinks the solution to his extremist government's and his own salvation is war." "The Zionist entity itself is sustained by war and insecurity in the region. However, today, what is the situation we are experiencing? Israel was unable to achieve any of its goals from the war in Gaza," he said.
The Iranian Foreign Minister was asked about Iran's opinion on the increased Western presence in the region in light of the growing number of US and other Western naval entities and whether this could signify an escalation that could affect and reach Iran, Amir-Abdollahian simply answered: "No."
"Our evaluations indicate that Netanyahu wants to expand the war and wants to implicate the United States in conflicts and wars, now more than ever, at a rate that surpasses the holistic support the US and its allies have been supplying the Israeli entity with... But the main point is that the US and other Western nations are seemingly encountered with specific conditions," he said.
"There are several points to consider regarding the latest updates and lineups toward Palestine. The first is that the US backs "Israel's" war and genocide. Americans are facing special conditions in light of the upcoming elections which spike the need for the Israeli lobby's support. We realize that they do not possess the will to end the war, but they have simultaneously expressed, through letters and statements, their aversion to an expanded war.
"They are very well aware of the dangers that could follow if the war is expanded. On the other hand, they are part of the expansion operation through their joint aggression with Britain in Yemen. The Americans discuss the de-escalation of the war, not stopping it. In my opinion, that signifies their malicious behavior embodied by giving Netanyahu the green light. Today, in Europe, everyone is discussing the need to end the war. But Britain, in this case, is jumping a double rope. It seeks to proceed with its regional foreign policies alongside the US.
"Islamic and Arab nations also advocate for the end of the war. But in all cases, we must not forget "Israel's" forceful displacement policies of Gazans to the Sinai desert, and people of the West Bank to dispersed parts of the Jordanian lands.
"This is certainly what Netanyahu is striving for, and we vivaciously declare that if it weren't for the Palestinian Resistance and the resilience of the Palestinian masses, the reality of the regions aligned with the occupied Palestinian territories would have been completely different," he stressed.
The Hamas movement said regarding the incident of American pilot Aaron Bushnell setting himself on fire in front of the embassy of the Zionist entity: The hero Aaron Bushnell will remain immortal in the memory of our Palestinian people and the free people of the world, and a symbol of the spirit of global human solidarity with our people and their just cause. The movement said, in a statement, that it “expresses its condolences, and holds the Joe Biden administration responsible for the death of the pilot,” and added: “The hero Aaron Bushnell will remain immortal in the memory of our Palestinian people and the free people of the world, and a symbol of the spirit of global human solidarity with our people and their just cause.” It added, "The administration of US President Joe Biden bears full responsibility for Bushnell's killing."
Khaled Khaled, the official of the Syrian arena in the Islamic Jihad movement, confirmed the victory of the Palestinian narrative before the International Court of Justice. This narrative has always been absent from the international media, and the adopted narrative has always been the Zionist narrative for decades, and there has been a huge media infusion.
Khaled pointed out that when the Zionist today appears before the International Court of Justice, he stands as a criminal and as a minimum accused, and as an entity whose hands are stained with the blood of innocents, children and women in the Gaza Strip .
Khaled pointed out that the Zionist occupation entity today is trying to maneuver, meaning that it responds to South Africa’s allegations with responses that it claims are scientific and legal, as it claims. At the same time, it says that it is committed through these responses to the ceiling of international legitimacy as a basic determinant of its daily behavior, even though it is criminal behavior that is not At any stage of the conflict, it is based on international legitimacy resolutions, and no decision issued by any international institution has been implemented, including the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
Allied for Democracy
Israeli Radio said today that Tel Aviv sent its response to the International Court of Justice regarding the genocide lawsuit filed against it by South Africa, stressing that it did not violate the principles of international law in the Gaza Strip. Israel confirmed in its report that the Israeli army’s operations in Gaza do not constitute genocide, and that it does not consider these military operations to be within the court’s jurisdiction.
Netanyahu responded in a press release to what US President Joe Biden said earlier today. "Today the Howard-Harris survey was published in the US, which shows that 82% of the American public supports Israel. That is, four out of five citizens in the United States support Israel and not Hamas," Netanyahu said. This, after Biden warned that the Netanyahu government "could lose support in the world."
According to the Prime Minister, "We have significant successes in supporting Israel. Since the beginning of the war, I have been leading a political campaign whose purpose is to curb the pressures intended to end the war before its time, and on the other hand also to gain support for Israel. The great support for Israel gives us even more strength to continue the campaign until complete victory."
Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat confirmed on Tuesday that trade relations between Israel and Arab countries were not affected by the war in the Gaza Strip, which could cost his country up to 55 billion dollars. The “Abraham Accords,” negotiated and mediated by the United States and signed in 2020, allowed the establishment of official relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco, while two peace treaties linked Israel, Egypt, and Jordan.
“There is no change” in trade relations, Nir Barkat told reporters on the sidelines of the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization held in Abu Dhabi. He added, "Things are very stable. I think the leaders realize that we have the same goal, which is to cooperate peacefully."
In response to a question about the economic losses incurred by Israel due to the war on Gaza, Barkat estimated that they “may range between 150 and 200 billion shekels,” or between 42 and 55 billion dollars. He stressed that this "is not something that Israel cannot bear in the medium or long term." Barakat considered that the war in Gaza may help Israel increase its sales of military technology, noting that there is “strong interest” in it from many countries, without specifying whether Arab countries are among them.
In its response to the recent decision of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, the Israeli army repeated its accusations of Hamas using hospitals as a cover for military facilities and a tunnel network, and for medical and health personnel to participate in the movement’s activities. The Israeli Army Spokesmen's Unit said, "Hamas exploits civilian structures for terrorist purposes," which are accusations that the movement, which is classified as terrorist, has previously denied more than once.
The unit added in statements to Al-Hurra website, “It has been documented that Hamas used medical centers in its terrorist activities by building military networks inside and under hospitals, launching attacks and storing weapons inside them, and using civilian infrastructure and personnel in terrorist activities.”
Since the start of its ground attack in the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces have raided a number of hospitals in the Strip and arrested a group of their medical and administrative staff. The unit stated that it must be clear that it is strictly prohibited to exploit hospitals for military purposes, and to turn patients into human shields, noting that “if this exploitation is not stopped, under certain circumstances, the hospital could lose its protection from attack.”
It considered that the evidence of Hamas' exploitation of hospitals and medical services for "terrorist purposes is compelling and irrefutable." The Israeli army said that it "published more than one piece of evidence documenting Hamas' use of medical facilities, infrastructure, and personnel for terrorist purposes, including building tunnel networks surrounding and under hospitals, using ambulances to transport terrorists, and hiding weapons inside hospital buildings."
In response to the issue of the arrest of medical staff and paramedics, the same source says, “In the face of widespread exploitation of medical facilities, along with intelligence information indicating their knowledge and even participation in terrorist activities, individuals were arrested and interrogated in Gaza, including medical personnel.”
The unit confirmed that "individuals who are proven not to be involved in terrorist activity are released after interrogation." She added: “To put it plainly, the IDF is not interested in the medical staff carrying out their roles as medical professionals, but because of their potential involvement in Hamas terrorism.”
Biden was interviewed on comedian Seth Myers' program on the NBC channel, and warned that "Israel enjoyed extensive support from most countries, but if it continues to be controlled by the extreme Netanyahu government, which includes Ben Gabir and others, it will lose support from all over the world." Later on, the president once again confessed that he defines himself as a Zionist, and that the survival of the State of Israel is very important to him and that his actions are aimed at this goal: " I think that if we achieve the temporary ceasefire that is at stake - we can move in a direction where we can change the dynamics in the region." Regarding the issue of Israeli entry into Rafah, Biden said: "Pledge to me in Israel that they will clear significant parts of Rafah before they attack Hamas there."
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 29,878 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 70,215. 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 405 [399?] Palestinians, including 102 children, the injury of about 4,600, 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.
In the first two years of the Daesh insurgency in Iraq, the UN stated that some 18,800 civilians were killed by the terrorist organization, while the Israeli military has killed well over 30,000 Palestinians in around 5 months. In fact, the true death toll in the Gaza Strip, accounting for those reported missing and buried under the rubble, is most likely closer to 40,000.
More than 202 Hezbollah fighters were killed in Lebanon during exchanges of bombing operations with Israel.
In first two days, the IDF killed 1,609 terrorists. Israel initially 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 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 238 [243?] 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 2,962 since the beginning of the war, including 1,397 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 14,391 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
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 7,270. 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 3,200 wanted persons have been arrested throughout the Judea and Samaria Division and the Bekaa and Valleys Division, over 1,350 of whom are associated with the terrorist organization Hamas. On 08 January 2024 it was reported that more than 1,350 wanted persons had been arrested throughout the Judea and Samaria Division and the Bekaa and Valleys Division, more than 870 of whom are associated with the terrorist organization Hamas.
The institutions added in the statement that “the occupation arrested 210 women during the aforementioned period, and this statistic includes women who were arrested from the territories in 1948, and more than 355 children,” pointing out that “the outcome of the arrest campaigns includes all those who were arrested from homes, and through military checkpoints, Those who were forced to surrender themselves under pressure, and those who were detained.” It explained that "the number of arrests among journalists reached 50, of whom 35 remain in detention, and 20 of them were transferred to administrative detention."
The announced numbers of detainees do not include those who were detained from Gaza since the start of the operation in the Gaza Strip, as there is no accurate census of these numbers. As of 15 February 2024, the Director-General of the HAMAS Government Information Office in the Gaza Strip , Ismail Al-Thawabta, stated "the information available to us is that the occupation arrested approximately 2,600 people, including 99 medical personnel and 10 journalists."
Israel has rejected international legal adaptations since 1967, and has treated the Palestinians as criminals, and tried them before military courts and not as prisoners of war. Because the POW is not tried, but is released when the war stops, or as a result of a political agreement.
But international humanitarian law sets clear conditions relating to the Palestinians, whether as prisoners of war or organized groups with one leadership and carrying a unified slogan, and these conditions apply to Palestinian resistance fighters, specifically armed groups. International law, through the Third Geneva Conventions, which relate to prisoners of war and armed conflicts, and the Fourth Geneva Convention, which relates to civilians under occupation; Provide full protection to Palestinian prisoners and groups, including resistance factions.
The obstacles imposed by the Israeli occupation authorities became very different after the seventh of last October. They decided to cancel all trials in order to double the sentences issued against detainees, and now The scope of arguments before lawyers is very limited, due to military orders, and not according to legal data.
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