Operation Iron Swords - Day 150 - 04 March 2024
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NEW - War Termination NEW - Operations NEW - Operations - Gaza NEW - Operations - Judea-Samaria NEW - Operations - Lebanon NEW - Operations - Syria / Iraq NEW - Operations - Yemen NEW - Operations Maps NEW - By-Standers NEW - Axis of Resistance NEW - Allied for Democracy UPDATED - By the Numbers |
The momentum of the operations and the strength of the strikes directed by the resistance and its factions to the Israeli forces, prompted the Israeli army and its leaders recently to adopt the first policy in which its operation began, and to return the battle to square one, along the geography of the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army returned to targeting residential homes, and dropping bombs on residents, causing the death and injury of dozens of civilians, most of them women and children. By the end of 2023 there was less "air softening" than there was in the first weeks of the ground campaign, There were voices in Israel that call for the obliteration of all buildings in the Strip, not as revenge but as a tactical solution - after all, there is no need to endanger soldiers by searching houses if they are destroyed by fire from fighter jets .
A senior Hamas official said, “It is unlikely that an agreement will be reached before the expected start of Ramadan on March 10, and instead it may come to fruition by the end of the first weekend of the month.” An Israeli official expressed concern about whether Hamas was sincere in reaching an agreement after the delegation in Cairo failed to provide a list of the names of the living hostages and their conditions, a request that mediators say Israel submitted last week. The official said that Israel believes it is negotiating the fate of about 40 sick, elderly and female hostages, but it does not know who among them is still alive.
The head of the Mossad, Dedi Barnea, received a phone call from the Prime Minister of Qatar Al-Thani, who informed him that the answer received from Hamas was a "hollow answer", and that the terrorist organization insists on not giving answers to two acute issues for the progress of the negotiations: the transfer of the names of the abductees who are alive (as part of the talks on the humanitarian deal for the release of 40 abductees) and the keys to the deal - how many prisoners will be released in exchange for each abductee in the category.
Officials in the War Cabinet made it clear to Israeli N12 TV that the condition for transferring the list of live hostages was not passed as an official decision of the Cabinet - but through Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the head of the Mossad in Barna . The new condition may harm contacts for a deal and was not agreed upon at an early stage in the previous abductee deal that was launched.
A senior official privy to the details of the negotiations told News 12: "Without these two parameters (the list of living hostages and the "keys" to the deal) other things have no meaning. It is impossible to negotiate. There is a clear picture here: Sinwar made a decision that in Ramadan he wants chaos and bloodshed over humanitarian aid, peace and a ceasefire for his population."
In an interview with the BBC, a Hamas political official revealed that the organization lacks the knowledge to provide Israel with a list of living hostages, as it remains uncertain about the status and whereabouts of all captives. Basim Naim, a member of Hamas's politburo, explained to the BBC from Istanbul that Hamas has refrained from submitting a list of hostages to Israel due to the complexities of the situation. "Technically and practically, it is now impossible to know exactly who is still alive and who has been killed," Naim stated, citing the impact of Israeli bombardments and the blockade on Gaza.
According to Israeli media, the fears of the Israeli security authorities regarding the upcoming Ramadan season in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem are rising, amid warnings from the Israelis that Hamas may exploit the most important time for Muslims as an opportunity to ignite the scene. 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.
Hamas called on 28 February 2024 for Palestinians to march to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque at the start of Ramadan, raising the stakes. “This is a call on our people in Jerusalem and the West Bank to march to Al-Aqsa since the first day of Ramadan,” said Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. “It is the duty of the Arab and Islamic nations to take the initiative to break the starvation conspiracy in Gaza,” Haniyeh said.
The Chief of Staff of the army, Herzi Halevy, the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, and the Inspector General of Police, Yaakov Shabtai, conducted joint assessments of the situation as the month of Ramadan approaches, according to a report on Israeli Army Radio. The report indicated that the goal of the joint situation assessment is to enhance coordination between the three security services, “and operational readiness to confront any scenario, in addition to the desire to allow freedom of worship” in Al- Aqsa Mosque for Arab citizens in occupied Palestine and for a limited number of Palestinians in the West Bank and under security restrictions.
The report added that the Israeli army and the Shin Bet insist on their position regarding the free entry of Arab citizens into Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan, and demand that deliberations be held on this issue with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and an attempt to make the latter change his position, after he approved determining the number of worshipers from Arab citizens at Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, after pressure exerted by the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir.
Netanyahu canceled the deliberations with the leaders of the security services, which were scheduled to be held this evening. During these deliberations, the security services were going to present reports stating that “the possibility of a security deterioration in the West Bank is high, and if that happens, there is doubt as to whether we will be able to stop it in parallel with the fighting.” And the deployment of forces on all fronts,” that is, in the Gaza Strip and opposite the Lebanese border.
According to the report, the security reports that will be presented to Netanyahu will include data about the increase in the number of armed operations in the West Bank and Jerusalem by 80% during the past year.
Israeli Army Radio quoted a senior security official as saying that the eruption of the situation in the West Bank and Jerusalem during Ramadan will affect the situation in Gaza and the northern borders of occupied Palestine, opposite Hezbollah, and that “fighting will be stopped in them, and forces will be transferred from Gaza and the north to the West Bank.”
The same security official added that “Ben Gvir does not realize the risks,” and that during deliberations with Netanyahu this evening, the army and Shin Bet will demand that “the decision regarding forces storming Al-Aqsa Mosque be confiscated from the hands of the police,” which means neutralizing Ben Gvir from making such a decision or influencing him.
War Termination
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth indicated that the Israeli government estimates the number of living prisoners held by Hamas at only 40 people, and for this reason it insists on obtaining a list of the names of the living. The newspaper said: “Estimates in Israel indicate that the number of alive kidnapped persons held by Hamas is about 40, but the number remains inaccurate, so Israel is determined to obtain this information from Hamas.”
Last Friday, the Israeli Walla website reported that Tel Aviv informed Cairo and Doha of its refusal to start another round of ceasefire talks until Hamas provided a list of names of living prisoners. The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation unveiled an audio recording of Israeli prisoners whom the army said it had mistakenly killed in Gaza last December.
In a related context, Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Ubaida announced last Friday that 7 Israeli prisoners were killed, along with the groups assigned to protect them , as a result of the ongoing Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip. Abu Ubaida stressed that "the number of enemy prisoners who were killed as a result of the military operations of the enemy army in the Gaza Strip may exceed seventy prisoners. We have been keen all along to preserve the lives of the prisoners, but it has become clear that the enemy leadership is deliberately killing its prisoners to get rid of this file."
On February 6, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari announced that 31 people out of the remaining 136 Israeli prisoners in Gaza had died , without explaining the reason for their death.
Israeli Channel 12 reported, citing Israeli officials, that the occupying entity asked Hamas for the number of detainees alive in Gaza as part of a possible truce deal, not a list of their names. The Israeli officials who spoke to the channel, which it did not name, claimed that “Hamas made a decision not to advance the deal.” They explained that "Israel did not request a list of the names of living Israeli detainees , but rather the number of those alive, in order to build a mechanism related to their release and the number of (Palestinian) prisoners who will be released."
The new claim that Israel did not request the list of detainees may indicate Israeli evasion, in an attempt to hold Hamas responsible for the lack of progress in the truce negotiations in Gaza, as the Hebrew channel “Kan 11” reported, yesterday evening, Sunday, that the Israeli War Council (Cabinet) War) refused to agree to the condition of the occupation Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to obtain a list of living detainees held by the Hamas movement , at the beginning of the talks, in order to advance the prisoner exchange deal negotiations.
The channel pointed out that unnamed parties in the “cabinet” criticized Netanyahu, and considered that he should not have placed this request at the beginning of the talks, noting that the agreement on the list in the previous deal was made shortly before the end of the negotiations. The channel quoted an unnamed source familiar with the negotiations as saying, “Talk about an unnecessary step makes it difficult to move the negotiations forward.”
The same source claimed that “the main obstacles to the deal are related to Hamas’ refusal to provide a response to the Paris proposal,” the issue of the return of residents of the northern Gaza Strip to their areas, and the volume of humanitarian aid entering the Strip.
Despite Cairo's optimism that a ceasefire agreement will soon be reached before Ramadan, the talks are widely described as faltering, with wide gaps. Egyptian official Cairo News TV reported on Monday that “remarkable progress” had been recorded during the ongoing talks in the Egyptian capital to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The television said, quoting a high-level source, saying, “Egypt is making unremitting efforts to reach a truce agreement before the month of Ramadan,” and the source confirmed that there is “noticeable progress in the truce negotiations in an effort to reach a fair agreement.”
The source denied to the Arab World News Agency that the discussions touched on specific names among the prisoners required to be released so far, but it presented criteria for these prisoners in exchange for the Israeli detainees held by the movement in Gaza.
In a related context, the source revealed a serious and detailed discussion about the return of the displaced from the south to the north, where their homes are. Despite Hamas’ request for the return of all the displaced, this entails the risk of crowding and crowding, which forced everyone to research the technical details of the return of the displaced from the south to the north. Discussing a new path that leads to the return of entire families to their homes within a timetable throughout the expected period of calm, so that there will be a return of more than 500 families daily to the northern Gaza Strip, provided that their return is regular with the participation of international institutions such as the Red Cross and UNRWA, to whose headquarters they were displaced. More than 60 percent of citizens.
He continued that there has been a large agreement on the standards required for the release of detainees in Gaza and the Palestinian prisoners in exchange for them, and there are no obstacles in this file, noting that the United States pledged to persuade Israel to agree to the standards that are very close to the Paris II framework, so that the final ratio becomes 1 to 15 at most, with different details according to the names and cases of detainees in Gaza among the mentioned numbers. He pointed out that at least 20 people will be sentenced to life imprisonment and high sentences, including sick and elderly Palestinian prisoners.
Egyptian media reported that ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip resumed in Cairo on Monday after the end of the first day with the participation of Egypt, the United States, Qatar and the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ). The Cairo News Channel quoted an unnamed high-level source as saying that the negotiations of the first day of the talks in Cairo, with the participation of the mediators and the Hamas movement, “have ended, and are expected to resume on Monday,” without mentioning further details.
Israel did not send its negotiating team yesterday, Sunday, to participate in the Cairo negotiations. In the last moments, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would not send a negotiating delegation to Cairo unless Hamas presented a list of the names of its living Israeli prisoners. While Hamas believes that providing any details or information regarding its prisoners will not be without a price that Israel must pay in terms of alleviating the suffering of the people of the Gaza Strip and establishing a ceasefire.
Netanyahu, who 53% of Israelis believe that political survival is pushing him to prolong the war, last evening again called on Hamas to make concessions before further negotiations. He said in a speech in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening, “We are making great efforts to achieve success, but one thing is clear to you: we will not yield to the imaginary demands of Hamas,” indicating that it is too early to say whether there will be a strong framework for reaching an agreement in the future in the next few days.
Israeli Channel 12, citing sources in the War Council, revealed that Israel’s request for the names of living detainees is not official and was not approved by the Council. While Kan reported that the Council did not agree to submit this request to move forward with the negotiations. Kan TV also quoted an official involved in the negotiations as saying, “This is an unnecessary step that makes it difficult to move the negotiations forward.”
Netanyahu's position on the negotiations was strengthened by the position of his partner in the ruling coalition, the extremist Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, when he revealed that he had halted a framework agreement to release thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli prisoners in Gaza. Ben Gvir considered that continuing to pressure Hamas through war and preventing the entry of aid would push it to release the Israelis detained in the Gaza Strip.
Regarding the Israeli dispute over the negotiations and the attempt to obstruct them by Netanyahu and members of his government, former Prisoners and Missing Persons Coordinator Yaron Blum expressed it in his statements to the Israeli website Reshet Beit, as he considered that Hamas’ refusal to “provide the names of the living kidnapped persons” is expected and cannot be obtained. Blum pointed out that Israel's demands are an attempt to "shift attention from Gaza to Al-Aqsa ," calling on the government and its ministers to "reduce unnecessary statements about Al-Aqsa," because this affects the negotiations.
The American CNN channel quoted a senior diplomatic official as saying that Hamas wants Israel to agree to a permanent ceasefire. The source indicated that it is very unlikely to reach an agreement, as the Israeli Kan channel explained that Israel, after dialogue with the mediators, estimates that the Hamas leadership in Gaza is involved in negotiations on the deal, meaning that the answers given by senior Hamas officials in their meetings are also based on Hamas’ position in Gaza.
In the same context, a leading Hamas source told Al Jazeera yesterday, Sunday, that the movement is working “for the return of our people to the areas from which they were displaced, especially in the north, and for a complete withdrawal of the occupation.” The source confirmed that the movement’s delegation in Cairo does not care about “the arrival or non-arrival of the occupation delegation,” noting that Israel is managing the field and negotiating battles with confusion and randomness.
The French website Media Part opened an article by writer René Bachmann in which he tried to determine the reasons for the continued negotiations between Israel and Hamas, through Qatar, Egypt and the United States, so far without tangible results, indicating that the diplomatic climate has deteriorated to the point that the chances of rapid success of the discussions before... The beginning of the month of Ramadan remains humble. Hamas said, “The negotiations are not an open process at the expense of the blood of our people, and if they fail to achieve a ceasefire and release the detainees, Israel will bear the responsibility alone.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his aides also said that the conditions put forward by Hamas were “unacceptable.”
But there are also other, more decisive explanations for the deterioration of the diplomatic climate - as Bachman sees it - related to the political positions or the projects, problems and personal calculations of the Israeli Prime Minister, to the complex and extremist character, the volatility of his parliamentary coalition as well, and to his inability to envision and prepare an acceptable and credible post-war phase.
These matters are not easy for Netanyahu and his spokesmen to invoke, and he knows better than others that what is at stake now, beyond the fate of the detainees and the outcome of the war, and the transition to the post-war period and the search for a new regional balance, is his political and personal future.
The problem is that “no one can expect such an arrogant, spiteful, manipulative politician to behave properly as a statesman when leaving the stage of power,” because the fate of his people, not to mention the fate of his enemies, is obscured from him during his final choices by his ideological inclinations and his stubborn desire to protect his interests. Personality, according to a former deputy who knows him well.
It appeared during the meetings that took place in Paris that Hamas requested a cessation of fighting for 135 days in 3 phases of 45 days, and the release of 100 living detainees and about 30 bodies, in exchange for Israel releasing part of the 8,000 prisoners in its prisons and the withdrawal of the Israeli army from populated areas in the first phase of the truce, then complete withdrawal from the entire sector in the third phase.
It seemed possible to reach an agreement on these proposals - as the writer says - but Netanyahu rejected them in general, and said that he was determined to continue military operations until what he calls “final victory,” which his generals do not know what it means. Is it the elimination of Hamas? Or the destruction of the political and administrative infrastructure? Or the expulsion of the Palestinian population and the return of the occupation, as some partners in the government coalition dream of?
Netanyahu explained that “any ceasefire agreement will not force Israeli forces to withdraw from Gaza before victory,” despite protests from the families of the detainees, and said that military pressure would give him better exchange terms, but he could not hide that he is not in a rush to conclude a deal. an agreement.
The following negotiations in Cairo, in mid-February, seemed promising and more tense, especially in the presence of Jordanian, Saudi and Emirati delegations, in addition to Palestinian representation, which gave optimism that the discussions would go beyond humanitarian-military bargaining about consolidating the cessation of fighting and releasing detainees, until after a regional peace plan was put forward. Long-term, they want to announce it symbolically before the beginning of Ramadan.
However, “this peaceful intention seemed somewhat unrealistic, and even clearly imaginary,” because Netanyahu, despite the requests of several friendly capitals, continues to reiterate what he constantly repeats, that “neither negotiations nor external pressure will prevent him from launching a ground attack, on Rafah,” according to the writer.
As expected, the negotiations focused on stopping the fighting, releasing detainees, and developing a long-term Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, including the establishment of a Palestinian state.
It is known that Netanyahu has always opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state, is radically hostile to the peace process and firmly supports settlement development and simply annexing Palestinian lands. Today, he acts as if the “Abraham Accords” concluded in September 2020 meant normalization between Israel and the Arab world without having to... Offering the slightest concession to the Palestinians.
So why, under these circumstances, should Netanyahu - as the writer wonders - enter into a deal to exchange detainees for prisoners, and give the Arab countries a means to blackmail concessions that he rejects, and for which his religious allies will make him pay the end of the alliance that allows him to retain power.
Indeed, the post-war plan, which Netanyahu revealed two weeks ago after obtaining the approval of the War Cabinet, confirms that he is still adhering to his principles, and that he does not take into account the suggestions of Washington, the Arab partners, and the recommendations of the international community. Former diplomat Alon Pinkas, who became a political analyst, said “This plan is not workable, and it is not a plan.”
In complete contradiction to the terms of reference accepted since the Oslo Accords, the position of the Israeli Prime Minister de facto prevents a negotiated outcome based on the establishment of the State of Palestine, but his erratic behavior in the war makes his political situation worse, and his popularity has reached an unprecedented level of decline. His Defense Minister threatens to blow up the coalition in protest against his prioritization of his personal political interests rather than the interests of the country.
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.”
HAMAS medical sources announced on Monday that the number of children who died in the Gaza Strip due to malnutrition and lack of treatment had risen to 16 children, after the death of a child in Abu Youssef Al-Najjar Hospital in the city of Rafah.
“The IDF has concluded an initial review of the unfortunate incident where Gazan civilians were trampled to death and injured as they charged to the aid convoy,” IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement to international press. “Our initial review has confirmed that no strike was carried out by the IDF towards the aid convoy.”
“The majority of Palestinians were killed or injured as a result of the stampede,” he explained. Nevertheless, there was an incident involving IDF soldiers. Hagari described it as “following the warning shots fired to disperse the stampede, and after our forces had started retreating, several looters approached our forces and posed an immediate threat to them. According to the initial review, the soldiers responded towards several individuals.”
“As a professional military committed to international law, we are committed to examining our operations thoroughly,” he added, saying the probe will be undertaken by an independent body.
Operational Update - Gaza
Intense Israeli bombardment and ground operations as well as heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups continue to be reported across much of the Gaza Strip, particularly in Az Zaitoun area of Gaza city and in northwest Khan Younis, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure. Palestinian armed groups continued to fire rockets into Israel.
The end of the fifth month of the Israeli aggression on Gaza was no better than the rest of its days, in light of the competition between the south and north of the Gaza Strip for the forefront of the field scene, through resistance operations that witnessed an increase in their intensity and quality, operations that forced the Israeli army to acknowledge the difficulty of operating in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City in the north, and Khan Yunis in the south of the Strip.
In just forty-eight hours, the squares in Gaza witnessed about twenty-five combat operations, including ambushes, bomb explosions, and tank explosions, in addition to sniping operations, mortar shells, and rocket attacks, and the downing of Israeli marches. After the Israeli army announced weeks ago that its operation in Khan Yunis was nearing the end, the Israeli leadership was forced to expand the ground operation in Khan Yunis again, due to the ferocity of the battles there.
The Israeli's escalation comes as an attempt to deter the escalation of resistance operations and restrict the resistance's flexibility and vitality in rebuilding its cells. This is what the entity's leaders consider the worst scenario they can accept at the beginning of the sixth month of operations, and to preserve the image of the Israeli military achievement. Israel is also betting that increasing popular pressure and the incubating environment turning against the resistance will play a role in forcing it to make more concessions at the negotiating table.
In Gaza City, there is still the “ Al-Zaytoun Neighborhood ,” which is considered a “cornerstone” in the resistance to the Israeli forces. The IDFhas not been able to control it, as it withdraws and advances repeatedly, engaging in fierce fighting in the Al-Zaytoun Neighborhood. The major operations taking place currently and the raging fighting are represented in Gaza City, Bureij Camp, and the Al-Qarara area north of Khan Yunis, because Al-Qarara is considered resistant to the Israeli enemy, as commandos landed there in the north of Khan Yunis in an attempt to control it, believing that there are tunnels in this area.
Israeli aircraft bombed a temporary mass grave in the Block 2 area of the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, which led to the scattering of bodies in the vicinity of the cemetery after they emerged from the ground. One of the paramedics said that the Israeli bombing created a large hole in the cemetery, and that they reburied the bodies.
A raid on terrorist infrastructures, the arrest of dozens of terrorists and airstrikes: this is what the 98th Division's 'Crown of the West' operation looks like in Khan Yunis. The forces of Division 98 embarked on the 'Crown of the West' operation, this operation joins the sequence of operations led by the division in Khan Yunis. The forces arrived secretly during the night and surrounded the 'Hamad' neighborhood in the west of Khan Yunis. There are many terrorist infrastructures in the neighborhood and, according to an intelligence assessment, terrorists who escaped from the battle scenes in Khan Yunis are hiding there.
The combat teams of Givati and the 7th Armored Brigade surrounded the neighborhood, and the commando fighters raided on foot during the night Hamas terrorist infrastructures in the neighborhood. Among them: weapons warehouses, hiding apartments and infrastructure used by senior Hamas officials. The divisional attack began with attack aircraft during which dozens of targets were attacked from the air and from the ground with ongoing air support.
A humanitarian evacuation axis was established in the area through which it is possible for citizens to go to shelters. The forces prevent terrorists from leaving the neighborhood and so far dozens of terrorists who tried to escape have been arrested, the terrorists are interrogated by the forces and provide important information for the continuation of the fighting.
Yesterday (Saturday), GAP terrorists launched rockets towards Hatzeri and Bari. Within less than 30 minutes of the launch, the divisional fire complex of the Nahal Brigade identified the terrorist squad and directed an aircraft that attacked and eliminated them. Combat team fighters of the Nahal Brigade eliminated 15 terrorists during the last day, with sniper fire, aircraft, and with the help of tanks. In one of the encounters, the fighters identified a squad of terrorists entering a Hamas military compound. An aircraft attacked and eliminated the terrorists.
In the last day, the forces of Division 98 began an attack in the west of Khan Yunis, during which they surrounded the "Hamad" neighborhood and carried out raids in the area of the neighborhood. The combat teams of the Givati Brigade, the 7th Brigade and the commando formation attack terrorist targets and eliminate terrorists who operate from within the civilian space.
Haaretz newspaper said that the Israeli army does not want to bring humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip itself, but rather proposes transferring responsibility to Palestinian businessmen. However, sources told the New York Times that the flour massacre was carried out by the Israeli forces despite coordination with Palestinian merchants, claiming to provide security.
This comes after repeated Israeli targeting of aid trucks and the crowds waiting around them, coinciding with the continuation of complex negotiations in Cairo, where Israel refused to send its delegation unless the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) submitted to its conditions, in what appears to be an attempt by the Israeli to turn humanitarian aid into a pressure card.
According to Haaretz newspaper, senior Israeli army officials believe that if the Israeli political level does not decide who is responsible for providing humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip, incidents similar to those that occurred in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday will be repeated, in reference to the flour massacre at a roundabout. Nabulsi, north of the Gaza Strip.
According to the officials quoted by the newspaper, the Israeli army proposes to bring in aid by sea, with Palestinian merchants in the Gaza Strip assuming responsibility, after imposing severe measures that prevent and hinder the entry of aid through the Rafah crossing, in addition to curtailing the role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees ( UNRWA ), which was Responsible for the aid distribution file in Gaza.
Senior Israeli army officials warned that the failure of the political level to determine who would bear responsibility for distributing aid could lead to damage to what they called “international legitimacy” for the continued fighting in the Gaza Strip by the United States and the international community as a whole, amid increasing international condemnation of the Israeli army’s deliberate targeting of aid trucks.
The Israeli army refuses to distribute humanitarian aid, saying that this “will expose its soldiers to danger,” demanding a civilian body to be responsible - among other things - for distributing aid. This is consistent with the vision of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed in the post-war document , which includes closing UNRWA, and having “local elements with administrative experience” responsible for civil administration and public order in Gaza.
In this regard, the tribes in the Gaza Strip categorically refused to cooperate with Israel to govern the territories and manage the distribution of aid. For his part, the Prime Minister of the Palestinian caretaker government, Muhammad Shtayyeh, praised the refusal of the tribes in the Gaza Strip to cooperate with Israel to govern the territories and manage the distribution of aid. He stressed that Israel should allow international institutions to work throughout the Gaza Strip, especially in the north, and allow aid to be delivered through United Nations institutions and other relevant institutions.
In the context of the Israeli demand that Palestinian businessmen bear responsibility for distributing aid in Gaza to avoid incidents similar to what happened at the Nabulsi Roundabout, the New York Times revealed that the Israeli army itself organized the aid convoys it targeted at the Nabulsi Roundabout, after it claimed - in communication with Palestinian merchants - that it would protect them. The newspaper quoted two Palestinian merchants as saying that Israeli officials contacted several businessmen in Gaza and asked them to help organize aid convoys to the north, while Israel would provide “security.”
One Palestinian trader said he helped coordinate trucks in a convoy on Thursday, after an Israeli officer asked him about 10 days ago to organize aid trucks to northern Gaza. Meanwhile, eyewitnesses and doctors confirmed that the Israeli army deliberately opened fire on the Palestinians who were trying to obtain food supplies at the Nabulsi roundabout, killing them and wounding a number of them, in a massacre that resulted in hundreds of martyrs and wounded.
Israeli officials believe that preventing the entry of aid and imposing famine on the residents of the Gaza Strip will push Hamas to release the Israeli detainees , despite the US administration’s demands for aid to enter Gaza and protect it, especially in the northern Gaza Strip.
In this context, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted media reports that US President Joe Biden refused to speak with Netanyahu after targeting civilians waiting for aid at the Nabulsi roundabout. The newspaper considered that this indicates Biden's anger at Netanyahu, who is "not committed to protecting" the transit of aid. However, Netanyahu's office denied media reports that Biden refused to speak with the Israeli Prime Minister.
While negotiations continue to reach a deal in which Hamas demands the entry of 500 aid trucks daily into the Gaza Strip, Israel allowed some countries to airdrop aid - some of which fell at sea and some of which was transported by the wind to settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip - in what appears to be an attempt by Israel to reduce the volume of international criticism of Tel Aviv by adopting a starvation policy.
Operational Update - Judea-Samaria
The Israeli occupation authorities tightened their siege on the West Bank since the start of the war on Gaza, as the Israeli army increased its military checkpoints and closed the roads linking villages and cities inside and around the West Bank. The Israeli siege has made the daily lives of Palestinians more difficult and complex.
On 2 March, Israeli forces shot and killed a 13-year-old boy, and injured another, at the entrance of the Al Jalazoun Refugee Camp in Ramallah, where they were from. According to Israeli media, the two children were attempting to throw Molotov cocktails. On 2 March, Israeli forces shot and killed a 15-year-old Palestinian boy during a search-and-arrest operation in Kafr Ni’ma village in Ramallah. According to local sources, the boy was shot while watching the forces withdraw.
On 2 March, an Israeli civilian was injured after being stabbed by a Palestinian man in Adh Dhahiriya community, Hebron. The man was transported to Israeli hospital and the suspected assailant later arrested.
On the morning of 4 March, Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy and injured two others when the forces raided Al Amari refugee camp in Ramallah; there were no clashes at the time of the killing. Subsequently, an exchange of fire took place between Palestinians and Israeli forces, in which a member of Israeli forces was injured.
The Israeli forces carried out at dawn today and during the past hours a number of raids into cities and towns in the West Bank, and carried out a massive campaign of raids and arrests. The Israeli forces stormed Nablus from several fronts and with a large number of military vehicles, and besieged the Al-Makhfiyah neighborhood in the north of the city, before raiding the house of the martyr Moaz Al-Masry and blowing up his house, amidst firing by resistance fighters towards the Israeli army. It is noteworthy that Moaz Al-Masry was martyred with two of his companions in an Israeli military operation inside the Old City last May.
Israeli forces stormed the western axis in the city of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank with a number of military vehicles, and also blew up a house. The Israeli forces, accompanied by a number of military bulldozers, headed towards Nour Shams camp, east of the city, amid the sound of sirens in the camp. In another development, Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that Israeli forces stormed the town of Ya'bad, southwest of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, from its eastern entrance. Palestinian platforms also published scenes of the Israeli forces firing light bombs in the town of Arbouna in the Jenin district.
A young Palestinian man was killed by Israeli forces’ bullets during their raid this Monday morning on Al-Amari camp, south of Ramallah , while the campaign of raids continued in the city of Qalqilya and Nour Shams camp, east of Tulkarm, in addition to the bombing of the house of the martyr Moaz Al-Masry, south of Nablus. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that the 16-year-old boy, Mustafa Abu Shalbak, was hit by occupation bullets in the neck and chest, leading to his death, while there were injuries among Palestinians.
The Israeli forces stormed Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate from its northern and southern axes and besieged Al-Amari camp, south of Ramallah, where it carried out a raid on a number of homes with the aim of arresting those it described as its wanted persons.
Violent clashes took place between Palestinian resistance fighters and the occupation forces, which also led to the injury of a female soldier. Pictures published on social media showed the soldier’s injury, the attempt to evacuate her from the camp, and traces of blood at the site of her injury at the outskirts of the camp.
The Israeli occupation forces continue their military operation inside Al-Amari camp after storming it since the dawn hours, where they deployed their military vehicles and soldiers from the infantry units in its neighborhoods, closed its entrances, raided a number of homes, arrested a number of citizens, and transferred them to detention centers for investigation.
In a policy of escalation, the occupation forces also stormed the town of Habla, south of the city, and began a search operation in a number of homes, in addition to obstructing the work of medical teams on Street 22 in Qalqilya. Palestinian platforms also published scenes documenting the occupation forces storming the Nour Shams camp, east of Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank, while sounds of gunfire were heard.
Scenes show the sounds of clashes being heard and smoke rising as a result of the occupation forces throwing smoke bombs into the camp. Israeli Army Radio reported that an exchange of fire was taking place between Palestinian resistance fighters and Israeli forces in the same camp.
Settlers stormed what they believe is the tomb of the Prophet Joseph in Nablus, and attacked a number of citizens' homes. Because of this, armed clashes broke out with Palestinian resistance fighters, prompting the occupation forces to bring vehicles to the area to besiege the area of Joseph’s Tomb, to secure the entry of extremist settlers to perform Talmudic rituals. Palestinian platforms broadcast images of settlers storming the Joseph Tomb area in the eastern region of Nablus and attacking a number of Palestinian homes.
This comes as former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich support violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Olmert added in statements to CNN that the Palestinians must have their own state and exercise their right to self-determination.
The security forces operated tonight in the city of Nablus in Samaria to demolish the apartment of the terrorist Ehad Masri who took part in the shooting attack on April 7, 2023 at the Hamra intersection in which the daughters of the late Di family were murdered. During the night throughout Judea and Samaria and in the Bekaa and Emekim Division, 13 wanted persons were arrested. In an operation that lasted about six hours in Al-Amri in the Binyamin Brigade, the fighters acted under the direction of the Shin Bet and arrested two wanted persons. In addition, the forces interrogated many suspects and confiscated incendiary materials of Hamas.
During the operation, a violent disorder developed in which suspects threw stones and threw Molotov cocktails at the fighters who responded by shooting, an injury was detected. As part of the exchange of fire in the area, an MP fighter was injured in her leg and was lightly evacuated for medical treatment at a hospital, her family was informed.
During an engineering activity in Nor a Shams in the Menashe Brigade, the forces uncovered charges that had been buried under axles with the aim of damaging Israeli forces. In Hebron in Judea, two wanted men were arrested and many suspects will be interrogated. Four wanted persons were arrested in Deir Amar in Ephraim and two more wanted persons were arrested in Tubas in the Bekaa and Emekim division.
The arrested wanted persons and the confiscated inciting materials were handed over to the security forces for further investigation.
In the last day, the 7th Brigade Combat Team led the evacuation of the civilian population and arrested about 80 suspects of involvement in terrorist activity, including Hamas and GAP terrorists who tried to escape under the protection of the population. The battle team of the Bislah Brigade (828) continues its attacks on the Carrara area.
According to data from the Wall and Settlement Resistance Authority (governmental) in an annual report, settlers carried out 2,410 attacks against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank during 2023, at a time when 25 Bedouin communities were displaced, including 22 communities after last October 7. Since the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, settlers have escalated their attacks in the West Bank, and the army has escalated its operations, leaving - in addition to the martyrs - about 4,650 wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and approximately 7,335 detainees, according to institutions specialized in prisoner affairs.
Operational Update - Lebanon
For the first time since the beginning of the escalation, Lebanese Hezbollah announced that it had targeted an Israeli force while it was trying to infiltrate Lebanese territory, while the occupation announced that one person was killed and 10 others injured as a result of rocket shells falling on Margaliot in northern Israel.
Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters detonated an explosive device with an Israeli force from the Golani Brigade at dawn on Monday, before targeting it with artillery shells while it was trying to infiltrate Lebanese territory from the direction of Khirbet Zarit, opposite the town of Ramia. The party also announced that it targeted the Israeli Zarit barracks and its surroundings with artillery.
Yesterday, Sunday, Hezbollah announced that it had carried out 7 attacks against Israeli sites, off the southern border of Lebanon, and in the occupied Kfar Shuba hills.
For its part, the Israeli Ambulance Authority said that one person was killed and 10 others were injured as a result of rocket shells falling on Margaliot in the Upper Galilee, near the border with Lebanon The authority indicated that the person who was killed as a result of rocket shells falling on Margaliot in northern Israel was a foreign worker.
The Israeli army launched air and artillery bombardment on several villages and towns in southern Lebanon . The army said that it carried out raids on a Hezbollah military complex and infrastructure in Aita al-Shaab and Kafr Kila in southern Lebanon.
Fighter jets attacked a Hizbullah military site in the Shekhin area, where the organization's terrorists were. Also, warplanes attacked a military structure of Hezbollah in the area of Eyta al-Sha'ab. In addition, a launch was detected that crossed from Lebanese territory towards the Margaliot area. As a result of the launch, several civilians were injured who were evacuated to receive medical treatment at a hospital by air force attack helicopters and an MDA helicopter. IDF forces attacked the source of the shooting.
US envoy Amos Hockstein arrived in Beirut today, Monday, “to continue diplomatic efforts aimed at stopping the escalation of the conflict across the Lebanese-Israeli border and achieving stability.” Elias Bou Saab, Deputy Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, said he believes the timing of Hockstein's visit indicates the progress made in efforts to reach a truce in Gaza "in the next few hours or days." He added, "If this happens, I think that Hochstein's visit this time will be of great importance to keep up with the truce on our southern borders, and to discuss what is required for stability and to end the possibility of expanding the war with Lebanon."
The American officials involved in the negotiations agree that even the Israeli public and even more so the Lebanese public do not understand that Security Council Resolution 1701, which sealed the war in 2006, was simply never respected as a language by both sides. For example: the IDF paved roads and set up positions in various places even beyond the "blue line", to which the IDF withdrew and which was adopted by the UN. The Lebanese are now demanding that these violations be corrected, but in some places this means topographical inferiority to the IDF. to and to the settlements of the Upper Galilee. On the other hand, the sections of Resolution 1701, which imposed a total arms embargo on supplies to Hezbollah and the like, without the approval of the Beirut government, were never respected.
Israeli Channel 12 reported that in Washington there was surprising optimism regarding the chance of reaching an understanding based on the assessment that Hezbollah and Nasrallah's patrons in Iran do not want a wide war under any circumstances. Therefore, Hochstein should make it clear both in Beirut and in Jerusalem that he has no intention of engaging in the old dispute over the "Sheba Farms" (Mount Dov), the same area 14 kilometers long and two kilometers wide that Syria claims ownership
In Washington's, if Israel is encouraged to go for creative solutions, this will allow Nasrallah to boast of improving Lebanon's position along the border in order to justify withdrawing from the campaign. The bait that Hochstein will present will include the convening of a conference of donor countries to increase aid to the regular Lebanese army as well as the convening of an international conference for the reconstruction of southern Lebanon. This after in 2006 it was Iran alone that worked to restore damaged villages.
One of the problems raised by Hassan Nasrallah is that a large part of the members of the Radwan force and the soldiers of his regional divisions south of Litani - Nasr and Aziz - are from the surrounding villages and cannot be displaced from their homes.
Operational Update - Syria / Iraq
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq announced that it had targeted the chemicals station in the occupied port of Haifa with drones on Friday evening, coinciding with the emergence of questions about the negotiations held in Baghdad regarding the possibility of the complete withdrawal of American forces from Iraq. Once again, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq "proved with fire" that it is still part of the fronts supporting the Gaza Strip in the face of the Israeli aggression and that the truce with the Americans during the withdrawal negotiations does not include the occupying entity.
The Iraqi resistance announced in a statement that its mujahideen attacked, last Friday evening, by drone, the chemical materials station in the port of Haifa in the occupied territories. The resistance stressed in its statement that the targeting comes as part of its continuation of the approach of resisting the occupation and supporting the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and in response to the massacres that the occupying entity continues to commit against Palestinian civilians.
It seems that the new resistance operation came to end a controversy over what is said about Iraq’s exit from the battle to support Gaza after the truce with the Americans, which the resistance committed to while waiting for the outcome of the negotiations that the government has been conducting with Washington since last January.
But what is noteworthy is that the resistance process coincided with the emergence of questions raised by the three rounds of negotiations held so far in Baghdad, which do not seem to include talk of a complete withdrawal of American forces, or even the possibility that the negotiations will end soon.
The Baghdad government did not officially comment on the results of the discussions, except through the confirmation by the Chief of Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Rashid Yarallah, in his capacity as head of the Iraqi side in the Joint Military Committee, that the committee’s meetings would continue. Government sources in Al-Sudani's office say that the discussions are proceeding towards arranging the relationship only, and that the United States has asked the Iraqi government for guarantees that the resistance factions will remain calm and not launch attacks on its forces.
For its part, the coordination framework believes that the current dialogues, according to the messages sent by the government, have reached advanced stages regarding the withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq, pointing out that the Islamic resistance is committed to agreeing with the government regarding its military operations, and therefore any delay or ambiguity regarding the discussions may repeat the scenario of military escalation.
Operational Update - Yemen
In solidarity with the Gaza Strip, the Ansar Allah group (Houthis) is targeting cargo ships in the Red Sea owned and operated by Israeli companies that transport goods to and from Israel, according to the group’s statements. In response, the United States and its allies formed a military force to deal with the Houthi strikes, as American and British aircraft had previously launched numerous strikes on various areas in Yemen. The United States launches almost daily strikes to eliminate Houthi targets, while the Ansar Allah group (Houthis) targets cargo ships in the Red Sea owned and operated by Israeli companies that transport goods to and from Israel, in solidarity with the Gaza Strip.
The Yemeni Ansar Allah group (Houthis) announced that it had targeted an Israeli ship in the Arabian Sea, hours after targeting American warships in the Red Sea. The military spokesman for Ansar Allah, 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 naval forces of the Yemeni armed forces, with the help of God Almighty, carried out a targeting operation against an Israeli ship “MSC SKY” in the Arabian Sea. With a number of suitable naval missiles, the hit was accurate and direct, thanks to God.”
The statement added: "The targeting operation came only hours after carrying out a qualitative operation during which the missile force and the unmanned air force launched a number of ballistic missiles and drones at a number of enemy American warships in the Red Sea."
The Houthi spokesman added: “The Yemeni armed forces confirm that they will continue to prevent Israeli navigation or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine until the aggression is stopped and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted, and that they will not hesitate, with the help of God Almighty, to carry out more military operations in the Red and Arab Bahrain against All hostile targets in defense of dear Yemen and in confirmation of support for the oppressed Palestinian people,” he continued: “The Yemeni armed forces, through these two operations, confirm their ability to target warships and non-warships at the same time, and that their operations are escalating and continuing in the Red and Arab Bahrain, the Gulf of Aden, and Bab Al-Mandab, until the aggression stopped and the siege imposed on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip was lifted.”
Embrey Maritime Security Company announced that a fire broke out on board the Israeli ship that was targeted southeast of Aden, after it was exposed to two explosions, one of them remotely. The company said in a statement: “A fire broke out on board the targeted Israeli ship flying the Liberian flag after it was exposed to two explosions, and no casualties were reported.”
The company announced earlier today that Houthis had targeted an Israeli container ship flying the Liberian flag 91 nautical miles southeast of Aden, Yemen, and issued a distress signal. The company, "Embry", said in a statement, "The ship was flying the flag of Liberia and affiliated with Israel, and that it was heading from Singapore to Djibouti. The ship was listed as being managed by the Israeli company ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, and this may have been an old affiliation, as no affiliation was listed." Ship to other public entities.
According to the company, the ship issued a distress signal after it was reported to have been “targeted,” and continued to send an AIS (Automatic Identification System) signal after the incident. The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency also reported that authorities were investigating an “incident” 91 nautical miles southeast of Aden.
The Yemeni armed forces announced that they had targeted an Israeli ship in the Arabian Sea with a number of suitable naval missiles. The Armed Forces explained in a statement that the Naval Forces carried out the targeting operation against the Israeli ship (MSC SKY) in the Arabian Sea with a number of suitable naval missiles, and the hit was accurate and direct. This was a victory for the oppression of the Palestinian people and included a response to the American-British aggression against our country.
It indicated that this operation came only hours after carrying out a qualitative operation during which the missile force and the unmanned air force launched a number of ballistic missiles and drones at a number of enemy American warships in the Red Sea.
The Yemeni Armed Forces confirmed that they will continue to prevent Israeli navigation or navigation heading to the ports of occupied Palestine until the aggression is stopped and the siege is lifted on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and that they will not hesitate to carry out more military operations in the Red and Arab Bahrain against all hostile targets in defense of dear Yemen and in confirmation of their support. The oppressed Palestinian people.
The statement indicated that the Yemeni armed forces, through these two operations, confirm their ability to target warships and non-warships simultaneously, and that their operations are escalating and continuing in the Red and Arab Bahrain, the Gulf of Aden, and Bab al-Mandab, until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted.
The following is the text of the statement:
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the
Most Merciful. The Almighty said: {And they killed you in the way of God, and made known to them that God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.} God Almighty has spoken the truth about a victory for the oppression of the Palestinian people and guaranteed a response to the aggression. The British-American attack our country.
The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces, with the help of God Almighty, carried out a targeting operation against an Israeli ship “MSC SKY” in the Arabian Sea with a number of suitable naval missiles, and the hit was accurate and direct, thanks to God.
The targeting operation came only hours after carrying out a qualitative operation during which the missile force and the unmanned air force launched a number of ballistic missiles and drones at a number of enemy American warships in the Red Sea.
The Yemeni armed forces confirm that they will continue to prevent Israeli navigation or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine until the aggression is stopped and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted, and that they will not hesitate, with the help of God Almighty, to carry out more military operations in the Red and Arab Seas against all hostile targets in defense of Yemen. Dear, and in confirmation of support for the oppressed Palestinian people.
Through these two operations, the Yemeni Armed Forces confirm their ability to target warships and non-warships simultaneously, and that their operations are escalating and continuing in the Red and Arab Bahrain, the Gulf of Aden, and Bab al-Mandab, until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted.
God is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs, the best protector, and the best helper
Long live free, proud and independent Yemen.
Victory belongs to Yemen and to all the free people of the nation.
The British newspaper "The Independent" revealed that the UAE's transitional militia had submitted a request to the American and British administrations to provide it with support in exchange for providing protection for Israeli ships in the Red Sea. The newspaper explained that officials in the so-called “ Transitional Council ” in occupied Aden asked Britain and America to include them in the coalition to protect Zionist ships , and to arm their militias while providing air cover, in order to fight the Yemeni armed forces on the ground, and to stop their attacks on Israeli ships or those related to a statelet. Entity, in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab.
The newspaper pointed out that the mercenary leader loyal to the UAE occupation, Omar Al-Baidh, confirmed that the United States and Britain do not have to carry out ground operations in Yemen themselves in order to stop the Red Sea attacks, but rather they only have to provide weapons to the transitional militia in Aden while providing air cover, and they will carry out any operation required. who are they.
According to the British "Independent", the mercenary Omar Al-Beidh explained that the effective way for the United States and the United Kingdom to confront attacks by Sana'a forces in the Red Sea is to arm the "transitional" to participate in ground operations while providing air cover. The events in Gaza and the Red Sea shamed the Yemeni parties, and revealed the disdain of the mercenary forces and their involvement with the American-British-Zionist projects at the expense of the homeland and its territorial integrity, the most prominent of which are the mercenary forces affiliated with the UAE occupation in the occupied southern governorates.
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
According to IDF intelligence, approximately 450 militants, predominantly affiliated with Hamas, hold positions within UNRWA. An investigation in the Financial Times shed light on the crisis that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees ( UNRWA ) is going through, and described this crisis as the worst in the agency’s history, and that it threatens not only the residents of Gaza but also Palestinian refugees in the entire Middle East. According to the newspaper, the refugee camps in Lebanon appear to be the most fragile, and it quotes the official of the Lebanon branch as saying: For the Palestinians there, the agency is a lifeline with all its branches and complexities.
The nutrition crisis in northern Gaza is rapidly deteriorating. As of 3 March, MoH in Gaza reported that 15 children had died of malnutrition and dehydration at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, and expressed fear for the lives of six other infants who are suffering from acute malnutrition. On 3 March, the UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Adele Khodr, stated that the “tragic and horrific” child deaths in Gaza are unfolding despite being “man-made, predictable and entirely preventable.” According to Ms. Khodr, “the lives of thousands more babies and children depend on urgent action being taken now” to prevent famine, and “for this we need multiple reliable entry points that would allow us to bring aid in from all possible crossings, including to northern Gaza; and security assurances and unimpeded passage to distribute aid, at scale, across Gaza, with no denials, delays and access impediments.”
Israeli airstrikes on Rafah continue to be reported. On 2 March, MoH in Gaza reported that 11 people were killed, and some 50 others were injured, when tents housing IDPs and people gathered in front of Al Emirati field hospital in Tall as Sultan area of Rafah were hit. Among the fatalities was a nurse and a member of the field hospital’s ambulance crew. According to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), this MSF-supported field hospital is the primary maternal health facility in southern Gaza, and in recent weeks patients “have voiced their fear of entering the hospital due to systematic attacks in and around healthcare facilities across Gaza.” On 2 March, the Israeli army stated that it had carried out a “precision strike” in the area of the hospital, targeting militants from the Islamic Jihad group.” The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Ghebreyesus, described the incident as “outrageous and unspeakable,” and reiterated that health workers and civilians must be protected at all times.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, warned that the war in the Gaza Strip is a "powder keg" whose explosion could lead to a broader war in the Middle East. Türk said before the Human Rights Council in Geneva: "I am completely concerned that any spark from this 'powder keg' could lead to a broader conflagration. This will have repercussions on every country in the Middle East, and many other countries outside it." Ashraf Al-Qudra, spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, said that about one million cases of infectious diseases have been detected in the Gaza Strip as a result of deteriorating living conditions, and the necessary medical capabilities are not available for them.
Axis of Resistance
The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Ebrahim Raisi, expressed his confidence in the decisive victory of the Palestinian people and the inevitable defeat of the Zionist entity and its protectors, and said: The International Court, by issuing a categorical condemnation ruling, must achieve a cessation of aggression, end the occupation, and punish and prosecute the Zionists and their protectors as quickly as possible.
The President of the Republic referred to the common political positions between Iran and Algeria, especially defending the rights of the oppressed Palestinian people and rejecting crime and the Zionist occupation. He said: What is happening today in Gaza is genocide and a war crime, whose roots go back to 75 years of the history of the Zionist occupation.
Raisi praised the valiant resistance of the Palestinian people, their men and women, and saw that American political, financial, armed and media support for the Zionists’ crimes represents a disgrace in the history of humanity. He criticized the inaction of international organizations that rant about human rights, and said: The hands of America and some Western countries that support the Zionist entity are stained today with the blood of innocent, oppressed people in Gaza.
Raisi expressed his deep regret over the continuation of relations between some Islamic countries and the Zionist entity despite the continuation of criminal practices against the people of Gaza, and said: Cutting political and economic relations with this entity is one of the factors that will create a state of deterrence against the criminality of this entity.
Raisi stated: “We are confident of the decisive victory of the Palestinian people and the inevitable defeat of the Zionist entity and its protectors,” and he praised the positions of the Algerian president in seeking to condemn the Zionist entity in the international court, adding: The international court, by issuing a decisive condemnation ruling, must achieve a cessation of the aggression, end the occupation, punish and prosecute. The Zionists and their entity's protectors as quickly as possible.
He stressed: Defending the oppressed Palestinian people is one of the established principles of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. We have never hesitated to support the rights of the Palestinian people, and we see that the way to guarantee the true rights of the Palestinians is to return to the voices of the Palestinian people, Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
Leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), Osama Hamdan, stressed the Palestinian resistance’s adherence to its positions and principles, and warned Israel and the United States that they would not yield to what he described as forms of deception and pressure.
In his speech during the conference of the “International Union of Resistance Scholars” in Beirut, the Hamas leader said, “With the continued steadfastness and resistance in the field, we assure the Zionists and their American partner that what is not done in the field will not be taken into account by the machinations of politics,” adding that “no matter what forms of deception and pressure are employed, The resistance will remain faithful to its sacrifices and adhere to the principles of its people and nation.”
Hamdan stressed, "Any flexibility shown by the Palestinian resistance in negotiations out of concern for the blood of the Palestinian people and to put an end to their great pain and sacrifices is matched by a complete readiness to defend our people."
He believed that the Palestinian resistance succeeded in reimposing the Palestinian issue as a liberation issue as it always was, and that it “exposed the flaw of the settlement with the Zionist entity and confirmed that it is not possible to coexist with this entity,” and that the resistance “thwarted the American administration’s plans to liquidate the Palestinian issue in full partnership with the occupation.” ". In the same context, Hamdan pointed out that the resistance forces are moving from the stage of cooperation and exchange of experiences to full participation in confronting the occupation, saying, “The resistance, through its actions and sacrifices in the battlefields of support in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Iran, has formed a solid structure in confronting the Zionist entity.”
Regarding the war of starvation to which the people of the Gaza Strip are being exposed, the leader of the Hamas movement called on the Arab and Islamic nation and “the brothers in the ring countries” to take the initiative in breaking what he called the starvation conspiracy against the Gaza Strip and its north in particular, stressing that this is their duty. He stressed the need to provide sustainable and successful support to end the suffering of the people of Gaza, calling on the nation to "impose a siege on Israel and cut off the roads it is trying to use to transport goods to the Palestinians, especially those that pass through the nation's ports and lands."
On the occasion of the month of Ramadan, Hamdan called on the Palestinians in Jerusalem , the West Bank and the occupied interior to “travel to Al-Aqsa Mosque from the first day of Ramadan and to turn every moment of Ramadan into a clash, confrontation and clash with the enemy.” He said that it is also the nation's duty to contribute to the battle of Al-Aqsa Flood and to side with the Palestinian people and the resistance, which he said is still the choice of the nation and the people.
Deputy Secretary-General of the Palestine Islamic Jihad Movement, Muhammad al-Hindi, confirmed that American policy in the Middle East aimed to liquidate the Palestinian cause, which is what Gaza rebelled against. In a press statement, Al-Hindi said that America is the first sponsor of terrorism in the world, considering that the Arab regime is wasting the nation’s components.
He added, "Whoever avoids confronting Israel in the region will live as a slave to it and the United States," but everyone who confronts Israel today creates glory, history, pride, and victory for himself and the nation, and it is an enemy even to the normalizers. Pointing out that "at the end of this round, Israel's weight in the region and the world will diminish, and we will bury racism forever, along with the Arab impotence."
The Deputy Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement indicated that Israel failed to crush the resistance, and did not succeed in recovering any prisoner, adding: “It is ironic that America gives weapons to Israel, and throws crumbs of food to the Palestinians.” Al-Hindi stated that Washington fears the expansion of the conflict in the region, and is seeking a truce to extract the prisoners, not to stop the battles, adding: This confrontation will increase the Palestinian people’s resilience, strength, and ability to face future challenges.
Al-Hindi called on the occupation entity to look at its situation and its soldiers who are in crisis and fleeing, and whoever brags about the attack on Rafah should know that the resistance is surrounding you, stressing: Whether the truce deal passes or not, the political battle continues and parties in the region and abroad will intervene in it to try to subjugate the resistance. He added: The Arab regime has proven that it is worthless and is either helpless and silent, or complicit and sees resistance as a threat to its interests. The masks have fallen and the Arab regime has exposed its image by wasting the region’s resources.
Al-Hindi pointed out that what protects the people and the nation is the resistance that still dominates and controls the field after 150 days of massacres and bulldozing above and below the ground.
Allied for Democracy
Member of the Israeli war cabinet, Benny Gantz , began a visit to Washington to meet with American officials and discuss a “temporary ceasefire” and “the need for a significant increase” in humanitarian aid to Gaza , according to a White House official. The visit comes at a time when the United States, Israel's main military and diplomatic backer , is seeking to reach a truce in the war that has been ongoing for about 5 months.
Gantz is a minister without portfolio and a former defense minister, and a former rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his National Union party (centre) leads by a large margin of voting intentions, at a time when the Israeli coalition government appears rather fragile. The Wall Street Journal quoted an informed official as saying that Gantz informed Netanyahu of his visit to Washington after setting the agenda, and that Netanyahu was surprised by Gantz’s visit and was extremely angry. She stressed that Gantz's visit to Washington reflects a sharp division in the Israeli political leadership.
Tensions raged between the two sides following previous accusations by Netanyahu of Gantz of circumventing the Prime Minister, communicating with the Americans behind him, and coordinating positions with the administration regarding the war and prisoner exchange deals.
Netanyahu had directed the Israeli embassy in Washington not to provide services to the minister in the War Council, leader of the State Camp party, Benny Gantz, or to accompany him on his visit to the United States. Israeli Army Radio, which reported the news, said that people close to Gantz arranged the visit independently and without seeking help from the embassy in Washington. Netanyahu and those close to him had previously accused Gantz of arranging travel to the United States to meet with senior officials without coordinating with the Prime Minister in accordance with the internal regulations and without obtaining prior permission from him.
Maariv newspaper quoted Minister in the Mini-Ministerial Council Gideon Sa'ar as saying that Israel is still far from achieving the goals of the war in the Gaza Strip. Sa'ar pointed out that the army should have entered the city of Rafah a long time ago, explaining that this would have contributed to changing the balance of power in the war.
Sa'ar's statements coincided with what the Israeli Channel 14 revealed about a number of officials in the department of Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari submitting their resignations, despite the continuation of the war in Gaza , as the channel indicated that the number of those who went into retirement during the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip is not natural.
In recent months, Israeli reports have touched on the existence of deep differences between the political level (government) in Israel and the Israeli army, due to the government’s management of the war and its post-war plan in the Gaza Strip. Sa'ar had previously stated that the battle in the Gaza Strip must be expanded to achieve its goals, as he considered that the matter would not be easy in the future. He is also an opponent of stopping the war on Gaza, as he believes that "stopping the war is surrender to Hamas, and this is the greatest strategic harm."
He pointed out the need to put pressure on Hamas, considering that reducing army operations in Gaza and reducing the number of forces is "wrong." Researcher and political analyst Azzam Abu Adas points out that Israeli society is “frustrated by this war, in which the army was unable to achieve any of its goals,” as he put it.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid considered that extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir poses a "danger to Israeli national security and cannot be trusted on extremely sensitive issues." Lapid said in a blog post on his official page on the “X” platform, formerly known as “Twitter,”: “Any normal prime minister would have expelled him (Ben Gvir) from the cabinet,” adding: “Ben Gvir leaked confidential and sensitive information from the cabinet sessions.”
He added: "The Americans have lost confidence in the Israeli government and in Netanyahu's ability to manage the war in Gaza." He continued: "The dream of Israel's enemies is for Netanyahu to continue to rule and lead this disastrous government," noting that this government is "a disaster for Israel's security and its economy." The Israeli opposition leader said: “The Americans threw aid without us being able to pass it through the security check because they lost confidence in Netanyahu.” He explained: “The government is leading a confrontation against the security services, and the head of the Shin Bet service refrains from sharing information in the sessions, and he is right because irresponsible people are sitting in the cabinet.”
The White House official, who requested to remain anonymous, said that Gantz is scheduled to meet with US Vice President Kamala Harris and White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. He added, "This meeting is part of our ongoing efforts to speak with a wide range of Israeli officials about the war in Gaza and preparations for the next day." During his visit to the United States, Gantz is also scheduled to meet US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
The official explained that Harris “will stress Israel’s right to defend itself in the face of continuing terrorist threats from Hamas,” but she will also stress “the urgent need to reach a hostage agreement that would allow for a temporary ceasefire, and the need for a significant increase in security.” In aid to Gaza.
The Vice President will also remind that "the United States is prepared to make further efforts to increase aid, especially through airdrops that began Saturday," in addition to "a possible sea corridor for transporting aid by sea."
Hours before her meeting with Benny Gantz, a member of the Israeli war council involved in planning the aggression on the Gaza Strip, Kamala Harris, Vice President Biden, said, “People are starving in Gaza, the conditions are inhumane, and our common humanity obligates us to act.” She added, "The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. We will not accept any excuses."
US Vice President Kamala Harris said that what we see daily in the Gaza Strip is devastating, and that a ceasefire must be declared immediately. She urged the Israeli government to make more efforts to increase the flow of aid to Gaza, saying that there were “no excuses” and that the residents of the Strip were suffering from a humanitarian catastrophe.
In a speech during a visit to the state of Alabama, Harris said that there must be an immediate ceasefire in Gaza that would ensure the release of detainees in Gaza while allowing more aid to enter the Strip. She said that many innocent Palestinians were killed, and that those who were searching for aid in Gaza were met with gunfire and chaos.
She spoke about the presence of an agreement on the table, saying that the Hamas movement needs to approve it, and that a 6-week ceasefire will allow the release of hostages and the entry of a large amount of aid into Gaza, noting that what she described as the threat posed by Hamas must be ended, according to her. She stressed that the Israeli government must work to restore basic services and restore order in Gaza.
Many American commentators expressed their anger at the administration of President Joe Biden's use of the airdrop mechanism for humanitarian and relief aid to hundreds of thousands of residents of the Gaza Strip , in light of the continuing tragic conditions that have reached the point of famine in the northern besieged Strip.
Since Israel began its aggression against Gaza following Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, Israel has controlled the process of bringing humanitarian aid into the Strip after a tripartite agreement with Egypt and the United States. Under the agreement, Israel only allows small quantities of food, water, medicine and other supplies to enter through the Rafah crossing on the southern Egyptian border, after undergoing procedures that include inspection of trucks. Much blame is placed on the Biden administration for its endless support for the Israeli position, militarily, politically, diplomatically, intelligence-wise, and financially.
The United States dropped humanitarian aid into Gaza on Saturday, and the Israeli occupation army welcomed the airdrop of aid, while international relief organizations criticized this tactic, describing it as “incomprehensible and completely insufficient” to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.2 million residents, many of whom are facing famine.
Robert Ford, a veteran American diplomat, expressed his frustration with the way President Biden's administration dealt with Israel regarding its ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip. On the “X” platform, Ford, who previously served as ambassador to Syria and before that to Algeria, tweeted and said, “I have seen Israel insult previous American administrations, but with the exception of the deadly Israeli attack in 1967 against the US Navy destroyer Liberty, now forcing Washington to carry out an air drop is considered a threat.” For aid to Gaza - as if America is not better than Egypt and Jordan - is the worst Israeli humiliation of the United States that I have ever seen in my life.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby pointed to the administration's plans to expand airdrop operations. "I can tell you that this is the first step, and it will not be the last, and this will be part of a larger, longer and sustainable effort to increase the flow of humanitarian aid," he said.
On the other hand, international relief agencies criticized the Biden administration's move to drop food aid to Gaza, describing it as ineffective. Commenting on the American move, Richard Gowan, Director of the International Crisis Group at the United Nations, said, “Humanitarian workers always complain that airdrops are good opportunities to take pictures and publicity, but they are a poor way to provide aid.”
Scott Ball of Oxfam also wrote on the "X" website, attacking the Biden administration, saying, "The drop in aid serves mostly to ease the guilty consciences of senior American officials whose policies contribute to the ongoing atrocities and the threat of famine in Gaza." He added, "While the Palestinians in Gaza have been pushed to the absolute brink of the abyss, dropping a trivial, symbolic amount of aid without a plan for its safe distribution will not help the Palestinians, but is deeply insulting to them. Instead of indiscriminate airdrops in Gaza, the United States should cut off the flow of weapons to Israel." Which are used in indiscriminate attacks, pressing for an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages, and insisting that Israel fulfill its duty to provide humanitarian aid and other basic services.”
Likewise, Brian Finucane, a senior adviser at the International Crisis Group, tweeted that “if the US government shirks any meaningful influence to properly end the conflict in Gaza, it is merely fringe, desperate and insufficient measures to attempt to address the humanitarian catastrophe that is already occurring.”
For his part, Justin Amash, a former congressman and candidate for a Senate seat in Michigan, described Biden's position as hypocritical and duplicity. He said, "President Biden is asking Congress to fund dropping bombs on civilians in Gaza. At the same time, he insists on dropping aid on civilians in Gaza as well! This is absolute madness in his foreign policy."
American activist Talia Jean expressed her frustration with the Biden administration’s behavior and its choice not to confront Israel, and said, “Instead of intervening against those who opened fire on those gathered in front of aid trucks to prevent them from reaching the trucks, you just allow them to continue doing so and continue sending money and weapons.” "For them to do so."
Meanwhile, Daylon Williams, Vice President of the Center for Global Policy in Washington, sent an angry message, in response to Biden’s announcement of the start of the aid airdrop operation, and his pledge to do more to bring aid into Gaza. Williamser said in a tweet on the “X” platform, addressing the president, “Relief agencies told you that Israel is limiting US-supported aid to Gaza, and the mainstream media presented this. American lawmakers visiting the region confirmed this, and Netanyahu himself bragged about it. Apply American law.” He suspended the provision of military aid to Israel.
In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Ambassador David Mack, former Assistant Secretary of State for Middle Eastern Affairs and currently an expert at the Atlantic Council, indicated that “Biden’s position of allowing Israel to dictate its conditions and control the entry of aid into Gaza will cost him a heavy price, whether toward the foreign policy of the United States, or towards his internal political support.
Ambassador Mack expressed his disappointment that the Biden administration resorted to the option of air drops for aid. He said, "Air drops are a wasteful and insufficient way to provide humanitarian aid. In the short term, they are an opportunity for propaganda only, and reflect a failure to address the real and growing problems inside the Gaza Strip."
In his participation in the “Face the Nation” program yesterday, Sunday, Democratic Representative in the House of Representatives, Ro Khanna, launched an attack on Biden’s position. He said, "There must be consequences for Israel standing in the way of American humanitarian aid reaching Gaza. We must make it clear that we will not continue transferring weapons. The policy of hugging bears and pampering Netanyahu has not succeeded."
American businessman of Palestinian origin, Mohammed Hadid, criticized President Joe Biden for his relations with Israel during the war, saying that Biden will be pursued like a Nazi war criminal. In response to a clip broadcast by TRT World by the director of the United Nations Sustainable Development Network, Jeffrey Sachs, in which he called on the United States to stop supplying Israel with ammunition, the father of models Gigi and Bella Hadid said : “This is Biden’s war on the Palestinian people... He will appear in court with "The rest of the Zionist criminals. We will pursue them as they did the Nazis."
"WE DON'T NEED TO ask for a CEASEFIRE - WE DEMAND A CEASEFIRE. We are indigenous to the land. We demand an end to the occupation and an end to colonialism. In short Get the hell out of Palestine". Weeks earlier, he said "they created their Yiddish language with accent from Russia, eastern Europe, and God knows where they were thrown out of. Palestine was not in Germany or Eastern Europe. I don’t know why they’re trying to take their frustrations and anger when we had nothing to do with Hitler or the holocaust or them being thrown out of America when they send 100,000 Jews to Palestine and their mass from around the world cannot be more than 75,000 Jews but they kept on dumping people on our backyards and robbing us of our home and land and culture."
Operation Iron Swords - By the Numbers
- 71,920 Gazans injured
- 40,000 Gazans killed, including buried under rubble
- 33,000 Gaza targets attacked
- 30,534 Gazans martyred
- 15,000 rocket launched from Gaza
- 14,492 Israelis were injured [i24 TV]
- 13,430 Gazan children martyred
- 13,000 HAMAS combatants killed [N12]
- 12,000 HAMAS combatants killed [IDF]
- 11,000 arrested by Israelis in the West Bank in 2023
- 9,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons
- 9,000 IDF psychological assistance
- 8,900 Gazan women martyred
- 8,000 Gazans missing
- 7,335 arrested by Israelis in the West Bank since Oct.7th
- 6,000 HAMAS combatants killed [HAMAS]
- 5,500 IDF wounded [reports]
- 4,650 West Bank Palestinians wounded
- 3,484 administrative detainees
- 3,400 wanted persons arrested throughout Judea and Samaria
- 2,976 IDF wounded [IDF]
- 1,609 terrorists killed on the first day
- 1,500 wanted persons arrested throughout Judea and Samaria affiliated with Hamas
- 1,200 Israelis killed on the first day
- 575 Israeli officers and soldiers killed
- 431 West Bank Palestinians martyred
- 246 Israeli officers and soldiers killed in Gaza
- 202 Hezbollah fighters were killed in Lebanon
- 126 people recovered, including 91 Israelis, 11 bodies, and 24 foreign workers
- 116 living hostages in Palestinian custody
- 50 civilians killed in Lebanon
- 29 IDF deaths were caused by "friendly fire"
- 15 Israelis killed in the West Bank and Israel
The Palestinian resistance says that the losses of the Israeli forces are much greater than what is announced. 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."
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.
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