Operation Iron Swords - Day 168 - 22 March 2024

Contents

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

“At any point, Hamas could have ended this burgeoning tragedy to

surrender and release every hostage. …

Hamas instigated and owns this humanitarian catastrophe.”

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA)

Algeria, on behalf of the Arab group, Russia and China voted in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) against the American draft resolution on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. This was stated on Friday, March 22, by the First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the world organization, Dmitry Polyansky. He noted that Guyana abstained from voting.

“Accordingly, the veto was imposed by Russia and China, and the entire Arab world also opposed the American project, which is fundamentally important for us. The Americans did not particularly hide that the main thing in their project was not vague formulations about a ceasefire, but a one-sided condemnation of Hamas,” the diplomat wrote in his Telegram channel.

Polyansky noted that the document does not contain a word about Israel’s violations of international humanitarian law and the 32 thousand dead Palestinians. In addition, according to him, it is not surprising that the eight permanent members supported the project, since they initially knew that “the document would not pass and they would not have to publicly go against Washington.”

“Guyana’s independent position commands respect. They generally show themselves to be consistent and principled players in the Security Council. Which once again confirms: the sovereign line is not a question of the size of the country, but of political choice,” said the First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the world organization.

He added that the US draft does not call for an immediate ceasefire. The Americans used the wording that “the Council determines the imperative of an immediate ceasefire.” “Russia will not allow the UN Security Council to be drawn into these dirty games!” - the diplomat summed up.

The US delegate to the Security Council, Linda Thomas-Greenfield , expressed her regret at the use of veto by Russia and China, and said that the first goal of the United States is to reach an immediate and sustainable ceasefire in Gaza “within the framework of a deal to release the hostages.” British delegate Barbara Woodward also expressed her disappointment at Russia and China's failure to support the American draft resolution.

As for the Russian delegate, Vasily Nebenzia, he said in his speech before the Council that the American draft resolution is an attempt to enable Israel to escape punishment. He added that if this resolution were adopted, it would close the discussion on the status of Gaza and would give Israel a free hand there, as it "effectively includes giving the green light to Israel to carry out a military operation in Rafah (south of the Gaza Strip)." At the same time, he denounced the US ambassador's recognition only now of the necessity of a ceasefire after Gaza had been destroyed over a period of 6 months, as he put it. Nebenzia said that the negotiations in which the Americans participated regarding Gaza were aimed only at "procrastination." The Russian delegate pointed out that the non-permanent members of the Security Council had prepared another “non-politicized” resolution regarding Gaza.

For his part, Chinese delegate Zhang Jun said that the Security Council is "fidgeting" but is not taking any measures to stop the fire in Gaza. He added that the American draft resolution is "vague" and evades the most central issue, which is the ceasefire, noting that there is another draft resolution that is clear in its demand for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

In the same context, Algerian delegate Ammar Ben Jama said that the text of the American draft resolution “implicitly allows the continued killing of civilians, and lacks clear guarantees.” On the other hand, French President Emmanuel Macron stated today that his country will work on a new ceasefire resolution in Gaza after Russia and China used their veto power. The United States was opposed to even the term ceasefire, and used its veto power several times to thwart resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire since the beginning of the Israeli war on Gaza.

War Termination

A researcher and economic expert presented a vision for establishing the State of Palestine, which included proposals for how to manage the state and the role of the Palestinian factions in building it. Palestinian economic development expert Raja Khalidi wrote an article in the American magazine Foreign Affairs, which he began by saying that the United States and its Arab and European allies do not want Israel or the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) to take over the administration of the Gaza Strip once the war ends.

Although he indicated that the supposed candidate to assume the task of managing the Strip is the Palestinian Authority, it was also not exempt from his criticism, considering its ability as a means to bring about profound change to be questionable. In this regard, he stressed that most Palestinians do not trust it.

The difficult problem of the Palestinian Authority - in Al-Khalidi’s opinion - does not lie in the performance of tasks or in individuals only, but rather in the fact that it has far exceeded its intended lifespan, and its days are numbered due to its lack of legitimacy and its deep-rooted weakness, as it is nothing more than “a government without a sovereign state to administer it.”

The Palestinian people, instead of relying on unrealistic assumptions about the suitability of the Palestinian Authority as a governing entity, should take advantage of this rare moment of solidarity and unite as individuals and groups to adopt the “State of Palestine” as the political manifestation of their identity, strength, and common destiny, as the article put it.

He continued that for decades the PLO has been the representative of the Palestinian people, but today the state is the only entity that can be a national homeland for all 14 million Palestinians inside and outside occupied Palestine. The economic researcher said that the problems of Palestinian governance require more than “piecemeal” reforms, serious laws, or even new ministers, because the issue is not related to individuals but rather to structures.

He added that the Palestinian Authority suffers from weakness in performing its civil duties, despite having a strong security force in maintaining law and order, but it does not interfere in the face of Israeli army operations and settler attacks, which undermines its popularity, and that it is nothing but a cog in the gears of the wheel of the Israeli occupation.

He continued, saying that this is the appropriate moment that Palestinian politicians in the Fatah movement , the Liberation Organization, and the various resistance factions should seize it, reject the Palestinian Authority, and support the formation of an interim government that represents all Palestinians and supervises their administration under occupation today, and within a free state tomorrow.

In the context of presenting a detailed vision of his vision, Al-Khalidi believes that any technical measures for good governance in the West Bank and Gaza Strip will not succeed unless the page of division is turned and a new page is opened that focuses on building the state, through a presidential council consisting of the factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestine Liberation Movement. "agitation". This is in addition to a legislative council to discuss the broad outlines of an agreed-upon democratic future, while leaving the question of who is best suited to lead the country to the Palestinian people to decide through the ballot boxes.

Al-Khalidi added that senior Palestinian legal experts from all over the world must meet to draft a constitution for the emerging state, with issues of security and foreign relations remaining within the jurisdiction of the president, while financial and reconstruction affairs fall within the powers of the prime minister.

In what appears to be a strike against the right of return, the economic expert stressed the need for the new state to eventually grant its citizenship, without enjoying residency rights, to the 5 million Palestinians of the diaspora, who now hold identity cards and passports issued by the Palestinian Authority. He said that the time has come for Palestine to become a real state and not just ink on paper, explaining that forming a government in the name of this state is the next step in the long process of national liberation.

Amin Hhablan, a Journalist at Al Jazeera Network, wrote that during the past months, in parallel with the fierce battles taking place across the Gaza Strip between the resistance and the occupation, many capitals witnessed other battles between negotiating delegations to draw maps of victory and defeat in the period after the silence of the bullets.

While the Israeli flames paint the colors of death on the starving bodies, the negotiations between Hamas and Israel continue, and not a step forward is taken except that the retreat returns further, and new obstacles arise in front of the horizon that opened from time to time in the dark windows behind which lay dozens of Israeli detainees who fell all at once. In the hands of Al-Qassam and other Palestinian brigades on the morning of October 7th .

There were many mediators, and many stages of talks, discussion and negotiation, and from time to time information appeared on the media platforms about the imminence of the agreement, and the pressure of the families of the prisoners in continuous marches, but the ceiling of hope collapses every time, and Israel breaks its flirtation and breaks its pledge to rescue the sheikhs, boys and women who fell into the hands of the Qassams. The tunnels led them to unseen consciences that are not easy to access.

Many negotiation sessions and discussions have been held so far, some of which were indirect discussions between Hamas and Israel, and some of which were conducted by mediators without the participation of Hamas or Israel. On the morning of February 23, Paris was scheduled for a meeting with the participation of delegations and representatives from Egypt, Qatar, the United States, and Israel. The host country was certainly not absent.

That meeting ended with an agreement on a general framework for establishing a prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel, in addition to a path to stop the deadly fire in the Gaza Strip, even if only temporarily.

The Paris meeting, in late February, was not the first for international and regional mediating parties to negotiate. It was preceded by another meeting in Paris at the end of January of this year, and its participants also developed a framework for negotiation, before the two parties concerned with its outcomes rejected the other’s offer. Hamas presented its response to the proposals of that meeting, but Netanyahu responded to the Hamas offer by saying that it was imaginary and could not be implemented in any way, he said.

As for Hamas, it saw Netanyahu's positions as an attempt to prolong the war, and stated its conditions that guarantee it will keep the detainees unless Israel stops its crazy war, and does not release thousands of Palestinian prisoners, some of whom have grown old and young behind the deaf cells.

The months of February and March included many talks and negotiations in Cairo, some between mediators, and some with the participation of representatives of Hamas or Israel (indirect negotiations). In its first week, Cairo was scheduled for a lengthy round of negotiations, in which representatives of Hamas participated. It lasted 3 days, and Cairo subsequently received negotiators from the Israeli side to discuss the exchange deal.

On the 13th of the same month, a meeting was also held in Cairo to discuss the truce in the Gaza Strip and the exchange of prisoners, with the participation of CIA Director William Burns, Mossad Chief David Barnea, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, and Egyptian officials.

The American website Axios reported at the time from an Israeli source that the Cairo talks between Israel, the United States, Qatar and Egypt regarding an exchange deal between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) ended without achieving tangible progress, adding that the gap that prevents the transition to more serious negotiations is the number of prisoners who Hamas demands their release for every Israeli detainee, especially for captured soldiers.

In parallel with the Cairo and Doha negotiations, an Arab meeting began in Cairo today, Thursday, in which the Palestinian Authority participates, and it also discusses ways to establish a humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip, saving the remaining lives and the remains of the scorched earth.

Doha is also hosting a new meeting after previously hosting many rounds of indirect meetings and negotiations, most notably those held on March 19 between my delegation, the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) and Israel in Doha.

Israel sent to these negotiations a delegation consisting of officials from the Mossad, military intelligence, and the General Security Service, after obtaining authorization from the Israeli War Council to discuss the details of the issues at the negotiating table.

This round came to discuss a new proposal presented by Hamas, and it said that it showed flexibility, and that its proposal included concessions made by the movement in response to the demands of the Qatari and Egyptian mediators, in order to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) confirms that the basic principles underlying its vision of the negotiation file, which it presented to the mediators in Egypt and Qatar, are based on five main points: a ceasefire, an unconditional return of the displaced, the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation army from Gaza, and the entry of aid and relief materials. And reconstruction. She stressed that these principles and foundations that she presented are considered necessary for the agreement and the prisoner exchange file, and stressed that they will remain biased towards the rights and concerns of the Palestinian people.

Sources spoke to Al Jazeera about the most important provisions of Hamas’ proposal, which according to those sources includes:

• A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in 3 stages, each lasting 42 days. Hamas stipulated that the occupation forces withdraw from Al-Rashid and Salah Al-Din Streets to allow the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip and the passage of aid. In exchange for the release of every living female prisoner, she offered to release 50 Palestinian prisoners whom she would specify, with 30 of them being life sentencers.
• At the start of the second phase, Hamas stipulated that a permanent ceasefire be declared before any exchange of its captured soldiers.
• Beginning the comprehensive reconstruction process for the Gaza Strip and ending the siege with the start of the third phase of the deal.

A source told Al Jazeera that the movement, as usual, presented a complete paper within 3 stages leading to what was called “ sustainable calm ,” in which it provided full details for the first stage, while providing basic headings for the second and third stages.

Despite the long weeks of negotiations that have passed so far, Israel has not yet revealed a clear proposal, and is mostly content with rejecting or making reservations about what the mediators offer, or what Hamas proposes, and Netanyahu still insists in his public statements that Gaza must It should be demilitarized and subject to complete security control. It also insists on rejecting any political settlement that leads to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, in line with the vision of its allies on the Israeli extreme right.

Tel Aviv does not hesitate to provide comprehensive bombardment and deadly destruction in the hands of any survivors of the negotiations, thus confirming that the negotiations are impassable, as the essence of the Israeli right’s position is limited to complete certainty that any agreement with Hamas is nothing but an official Israeli declaration of Tel Aviv’s defeat and victory. Sinwar soldiers and Muhammad Al-Deif.

The leaks regarding Israeli concessions in the negotiations that have been ongoing for weeks reveal nothing more than Tel Aviv’s willingness for a temporary truce to release Israeli detainees in the Gaza Strip, in exchange for the release of a limited number of Palestinian prisoners. Israel also publicly rejects the demands of Hamas and the resistance factions for a complete withdrawal from Gaza.

It is clear - according to what analysts say - that Netanyahu wants a deal and wants a truce in Gaza, but on his own conditions, the most important of which is “that no Israeli or international commitment to a ceasefire be made in the first phase of the truce, such that Israel will continue its military operations in Gaza, and that no Palestinian prisoners are released."

Hamas leaders have always stressed that Israel wants to achieve peace and negotiation unless it can obtain it through war and conquest, and that it is difficult for it to get down from the tree because the current political and security officials are fully aware that their fates are linked to the continuation of the war. With the firing of the last bullet in the war, files will be opened at home. Investigations, accountability, and perhaps imprisonment begin.

Although the mediators do not usually reveal the merits and procedures of the negotiations, and the points that obstruct reaching an agreement, Hamas leaders constantly confirm that it is Israel that is obstructing reaching an agreement.

Commenting on the results of the last round of negotiations hosted by Doha, Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said that the Israeli occupation’s response to the movement’s proposal regarding ceasefire negotiations and prisoner exchange “was negative and does not respond to the demands of our people,” holding Netanyahu, his government and those who support him responsible for obstructing... Efforts to rescue the swap deal.

Hamdan said that Hamas presented its vision regarding the prisoner exchange file, and showed positivity and high flexibility, noting that the movement is following the course of negotiations through the mediator brothers in Egypt and Qatar. He revealed that the occupation had withdrawn from the approvals it had previously provided to the mediators, "in an attempt to procrastinate, which may lead the negotiations to a dead end."

A source in the Hamas movement revealed to Al Jazeera Net the reasons for the faltering negotiations with the Israeli occupation, in order to reach a prisoner exchange deal within a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. The source attributed the faltering negotiations to three reasons, the first of which lies in the occupation’s refusal to withdraw from the Al-Rashid and Salah al-Din axes, to allow the return of the displaced without conditions and the passage of aid. As for the second reason - according to the source - the Israeli occupation refused to pledge a comprehensive and complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip within the second phase.

The Israeli negotiating delegation also showed a lack of seriousness regarding the prisoner issue, and tampered with the exchange equation, as Hamas presented a specific equation and refused to delve into the numbers, because it is not sure of the number of civilians remaining alive.

Because there is no logical horizon between two parties, one of which wants to release the largest number of its captive citizens, and the other does not announce what it wants or has not yet determined what it wants, Israel’s traditional cards did not include peace or achieving what would stop bloodshed.

In the tunnels or private bunkers where Hamas and other Palestinian brigades hold Israeli detainees, the dawn of freedom does not seem imminent, but rather the release of progress in the recent negotiations taking place in Doha and Cairo is expected to come. In Israel's bags of bullets and exploding flames are what it sees as the most capable of achieving its goal, which becomes more difficult with each new day, so the question continues to come back to more than one party, especially to the families of the prisoners: Does Israel really want to rescue its detainees held by Hamas? The most hesitant answer is yes no... yes no.

Palestinian institutions and figures accused the occupation of deliberately assassinating reform man Ismail Al-Nono on the grounds of his refusal to cooperate with the occupation’s plan aimed at creating a “tribal framework” entrusted with the task of distributing humanitarian aid, and to be the nucleus of an alternative leadership to the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ).

Israeli aircraft bombed Al-Nono’s house on March 20, leading to his martyrdom along with his wife, two of his children, and two of his grandchildren. The assassination of Al-Nono was accompanied by the targeting of activists from the “Popular Committees,” which were formed to secure and distribute humanitarian aid in cooperation with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. ( UNRWA ).

Within the framework of the policy practiced by Israel to starve the residents of the Gaza Strip, as it prevents the distribution of humanitarian aid in an organized manner to reach all residents, and shoots citizens who come to receive what they need from it, Israel tried to form a framework for distributing aid that depends on some Palestinian tribes, but it failed after the refusal of its representatives of families to cooperate with the occupation.

Later, an agreement was reached between UNRWA and Israel to distribute aid, and to protect the trucks carrying it by “popular committees” that rely on volunteers and heads of families, but the Israeli occupation did not adhere to the agreement, and targeted many of those in charge of the popular committees, which led to the death and injury of many. who are they.

UNRWA media advisor Adnan Abu Hasna said in press statements commenting on the targeting of activists in securing and distributing aid that Israel “did not provide an explanation for its withdrawal from the arrangements for providing aid to northern Gaza.”

Ismail Al-Nono was 58 years old, and he was a businessman who owned the company "Alfa Electronics", which specialized in telecommunications services, surveillance systems, and control devices. In addition to his commercial work, Al-Nono played a prominent role in social, charitable and reform work, as he headed the reform committee for the “Salah al-Din” area, east of Gaza City, in addition to being the mukhtar of the “Nono” family.

During the past years, Al-Nono has been sponsoring many reform ceremonies among Palestinian families in Gaza City. He has also been participating in seminars organized by governmental and private institutions on the importance of “strengthening the societal fabric and promoting civil peace.” During the war, Al-Nono’s property was destroyed by the occupation forces, as he had previously published on his Facebook account on February 6th a post in which he said that the occupation forces burned his house and then destroyed it several days later, and also destroyed his company’s headquarters.

The Director General of the Government Media Office in Gaza, Ismail Al-Thawabta, confirms that the assassination of Al-Nono is related to his position on cooperation with the occupation. He explained, in a statement to Al Jazeera Net, “Mukhtar Ismail Al-Nono and his family were assassinated against the backdrop of his refusal to cooperate with the occupation on the issue of aid as an alternative to the administrative reality in the Gaza Strip. ”

Al-Thawabta expressed “the strongest expressions of condemnation and denunciation of Israeli terrorism for the assassination of Mukhtar Al-Nono,” and stated that he worked under the umbrella of the popular committees that were active in providing aid to the hungry displaced people in the governorates of the Gaza Strip.

He stressed that the popular committees do not work under the framework of the Hamas movement or its government in Gaza, but rather according to an agreement concluded between international organizations and the occupation, “and yet they were targeted.” He continued, “The occupation does not want any successes in penetrating the policy of starvation and ending famine, so it commits these massacres and crimes against The chiefs of the families and clans responsible for providing aid because he is trying to kill all the elements of steadfastness for our Palestinian people.”

Head of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Observatory, Rami Abdo, reveals that Al-Nono “categorically rejected” offers from the Israeli occupation authorities to cooperate with them, along with other notables, in distributing aid and “managing the affairs of the Gaza Strip” as an alternative to the Hamas movement. Abdo told Al Jazeera Net, "According to the information I received, Al-Nono was during the last stage part of the communication operations carried out by international institutions in coordination with the Israeli army, with the aim of arranging and securing the entry of aid, in preparation for the families to play a fundamental role in governing Gaza."

He added, "Several meetings were held in which Al-Nono participated. He, along with other mukhtars, rejected the Israeli proposals and rejected any violation of the authority of the law in the Gaza Strip." Later, Al-Nono and other family notables received calls from the Israeli army’s coordinator of affairs for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, asking them to cooperate and trying to persuade them to cooperate with the Israeli occupation, according to Abdo, but Al-Nono categorically rejected this matter and said, “This will not happen, and there will be no cooperation.” With Israel as the occupying power,” which prompted the Israeli coordinator to use threatening phrases that Al-Nono “will lose,” and that Palestinian society “will lose if they do not cooperate.”

Abdo believes that the success of passing aid last week with the cooperation of the popular committees and notables “did not please the Israeli occupation, which realized that the mukhtars play a national role, which contradicts the occupation’s plans.” Abdo concluded his speech by saying, "I believe that the above prompted Israel to kill Al-Nono in the context of an operation to perpetuate a state of chaos. Israel, after failing to provide alternatives to the rule of the Hamas movement in Gaza, wants to create a permanent state of chaos with the aim of emptying the northern Gaza Strip of its population."

Operational Update

Operational Update - Gaza

A security official in the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) denied what the Israeli army claimed about arresting a number of the movement’s leaders inside the Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City after storming it a few days ago. The security official told Al Jazeera that the list of photos of detainees in Al-Shifa Hospital issued by the Israeli army spokesman is inaccurate.

The official added that a number of the pictures on the list belong to people who are currently outside Gaza, and other pictures are of martyrs, stressing that 3 of the pictures on the list belong to doctors previously released by the occupation. He also stressed that there is no truth to what the Israeli media is publishing about the arrest of dozens of resistance leaders in Al-Shifa Hospital. The Hamas security official told Al Jazeera that what is published in the Israeli media is inaccurate and falls within the psychological and moral war against the resistance in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army published a list of what it said belonged to senior Hamas leaders who were arrested during the ongoing operation in the Shifa complex, and that it cannot reveal their identity now. The military spokesman for the Israeli army, Daniel Hagari, claimed that a number of what he described as saboteurs are currently holed up in the emergency department of the Shifa Medical Complex, and that if they do not surrender, they will be killed.

Since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7, the Israeli army has claimed that the Hamas movement used the Shifa complex as a military headquarters, and that weapons and tunnels were found under the facility, but the resistance denied its allegations, and Western reports also refuted its accounts.

Commenting on the photos published by the Israeli army of a number of those arrested at Al-Shifa Medical Complex, who were claimed to be members of the resistance, Rami Abdo, founder and president of the Euro-Mediterranean Observatory, confirmed that a number of those whose photos were published were not under arrest. Abdo said in his account on the “X” platform that after examining the photos, it became clear that the detainees included a large number of civilians and government employees.

He pointed out that among them were doctors, including Anwar Sheikh Khalil, and a number of residents of the area surrounding the Al-Shifa Complex, and others who were in shelter centers nearby. The head of the Euro-Mediterranean Observatory explained that after the Israeli army destroyed parts of Al-Shifa Hospital more than 3 months ago, several buildings inside the complex were turned into places to shelter the displaced, as a number of those whose photos appeared were displaced with their families due to the widespread destruction of their homes.

Hours after it published a list of pictures of people it claimed were Palestinian resistance leaders who were arrested in Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the Israeli occupation army retracted and said that it had mistakenly published pictures of people who it claimed were arrested in the hospital when they were not detainees.

The list of photos published by the occupation army yesterday evening, Thursday, caused a great resonance, as it included prominent leaders from the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades , the military arm of the Islamic Resistance Movement “ Hamas ,” including the leader Raed Saad. He claimed that he had arrested them during the ongoing military operation in the Shifa Complex, and that he did not He can reveal their identity now.

While Hamas immediately and categorically denied the arrest of leaders from Al-Shifa Hospital, Gazan activists interacted extensively with this list, refuted the photos it contained, identified many of them, and found that they belonged to people not associated with the resistance, or to martyrs, or to people residing abroad from varying periods.

It was not long before the falsity of the Israeli claim was confirmed, through an announcement by the army spokesman, saying, “Due to human error, we published pictures of people claiming that they were arrested in Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, while they were not detained.” Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper also said, “The army’s announcement that the leader of the Al-Qassam Brigades Raed Saad was arrested in Al-Shifa Hospital. It turned out to be wrong.”

The Israeli retreat came hours after Hamas denied, through a security official, to Al Jazeera that it had arrested dozens of members of the resistance leadership in Al-Shifa Hospital. He described the list of photos as “inaccurate,” and said that a number of the photos on the list belong to people who are currently outside Gaza, and other photos. For martyrs, and 3 photos of doctors previously released by the occupation.

The Hamas security official said, “What is published in the Israeli media is inaccurate and falls within the psychological and moral war against the resistance in the Gaza Strip.” The specialist on Israeli affairs, Mustafa Ibrahim, does not believe that publishing this list was just a mistake, but rather it was in the context of psychological warfare, with what it contains of lies, incitement and misleading against the resistance, and it is part of a propaganda campaign with objectives at the international level, to say that it returned to Al-Shifa Hospital, and it achieved Goals and achievements.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Ibrahim believes that “the army’s failure to pass on this false narrative will have a negative impact on it, and on the Internal Security Agency - the Shin Bet, and they have been criticized internally, but it will not develop into more than mere criticism and accusations of failure. As for the international level, Accusations of Israel of lying and deception in its ongoing war on Gaza will increase.”

Ibrahim considers that the occupation army’s resort more than once during this war to false narratives about the conduct of operations on the ground in Gaza, falls within the framework of its relentless pursuit and dire need to convince the Israeli public that it is achieving achievements, “but repeated mistakes will have negative, adverse repercussions on various levels in The Israeli interior.

The writer and political analyst Ibrahim Al-Madhoun agrees with the above, as he believes that “publishing this list was not a mistake, but rather it was an intentional act through which the occupation wanted to create confusion and collect information,” and therefore “it will not have a significant impact within the army, and it can be interpreted as an act.” "Intelligence."

Al-Madhoun told Al-Jazeera Net, “The greatest impact on the occupation army is the erosion of its credibility. There has been a fall in the Israeli narrative since the Al-Aqsa Flood operation , and this is not the first time that information has been published, confirmed and proven false.” This is also the second time that the occupation army has stormed Al-Shifa Hospital. Since the start of the ground operation in November of last year, after widespread incitement campaigns against the resistance and Hamas specifically, claiming that it is using it for military purposes.

Mustafa Ibrahim, a specialist in Israeli affairs, said, “Israel wants behind the second storming of Al-Shifa Hospital, and publishing such a large list that includes senior leaders of the resistance, to tell the world: The war is achieving its goals, do not pressure us, and give the army cover and the opportunity to work, in order to complete the war.” His goals are to eliminate Hamas, but the speedy revelation of the false list of detainees will indicate a state of confusion and shake Israel’s image.”

Operational Update - Judea-Samaria

The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Authority announced today, Friday, that Israel carried out the largest seizure of West Bank lands in 30 years in 2024, claiming that they are state lands. The head of the government body, Moayed Shaaban, said - in a statement - that the areas seized by the occupation under the name of state lands amounted to a total of 10,640 dunums (a dunum equals a thousand square metres), in two separate announcements.

He explained that the first announcement was about a month ago, when the occupation seized 2,640 dunums of land from the towns of Al-Eizariya and Abu Dis, east of the occupied city of Jerusalem . As for the second announcement - according to the Palestinian official - it was today, when the occupation seized 8 thousand dunums of Jordan Valley lands - in the northern West Bank - in favor of expanding the Yafit settlement established on Palestinian land.

Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that 8,000 dunams had been allocated in the Jordan Valley as Israeli land for the construction of hundreds of housing units, in addition to an area designated for industry, trade, and employment. The Commission quoted Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich - who signed the confiscation decision - as saying, “This announcement will allow the continued construction and strengthening of the Jordan Valley, at a time when there are those in Israel and the world seeking to undermine our right to Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and the country in general.”

Shaaban commented on this decision, saying that the occupation government is continuing its plan to seize control of Palestinian lands under various names, including declarations of state lands that turn them into favor of settlement. He added that all recent state land declarations aim to create a link between existing colonies, which leads to the isolation and suffocation of Palestinian villages in the West Bank and the complete loss of their ability to communicate.

He pointed out that this targeting is considered a continuation of the plan to control the Jordan Valley, the strategic food reservoir for the Palestinians, which is the area targeted by many forced displacement plans, colonial expansion, and access denial. Shaaban pointed out that more than 72% of colonial agricultural and pastoral outposts have become “a starting point for gangs of colonialists who call themselves (Hill Youth) to carry out many terrorist attacks against the Palestinians.”

According to publications by the Land Research Center (a Palestinian non-governmental institution), a special team in the Civil Administration of the Israeli Army is preparing to declare Palestinian lands as state lands, as the occupation army seizes them under the pretext of using them as camps or military training areas, and then they are later leaked. To the colonies. Recently, Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations indicated a noticeable increase in settlement activity in the West Bank since the formation of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government at the end of 2022.

According to Palestinian estimates, more than 720,000 Israelis reside in illegal settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Operational Update - Lebanon

Operational Update - Syria / Iraq

Operational Update - Yemen

Maps

All maps are lies. “Not only is it easy to lie with maps, it is essential,” wrote cartographer Mark Monmoneir in his book How to Lie with Maps. He showed that condensing complex, three-dimensional spaces onto a two-dimensional sheet of paper [in old days] is bound to be reductive. But it is impossible to comprehend the war in Gaza without reference to maps, otherwise the entire conflict is reduced to an endless series of meaningless acts of random violence and the suffering of civilians. The first characteristic of guerrilla warfare is the loss of a front line. Evidently, different mappers have different ideas of how to depict the war in Gaza, notably those that seek to depict Israeli progress in the ground campaign. Part of the problem is latency. The news that forms the basis of the maps takes time to filter out to mappers, and the cartographers take time in crafting their maps, and it takes time to curate them. These processes are uneven among mappers, so their maps may differ in detail. Probably there is some ideological bias, or at least thematic apperception, which is understandable in wartime. It may come as no surprise that al-Jazeera maps depict rather less Israeli territorial progress than other sources. Finally, there remains the epistemological question of just exactly what are the colored in areas depicting. Naively, this might be understood as areas of Israeli control, that are no longer contested by the HAMAS. Or possibly these are areas of Israeli presence, in many of which the possibility of an RPG-wielding HAMAS militant popping out of a tunnel unexpectedly remains a live possibility. With the "zero-range" combat characterized by small unit tactics on both sides, maps may be prey to a fallacy of misplaced concreteness.

Bystanders

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the international community against “double standards” when dealing with the Ukraine and Gaza files. This came in a press conference held by Guterres with European Union Council President Charles Michel, following the Council meeting in Brussels. Guterres denounced the "chaotic situation in the world, and the state of impunity, where any state or armed group believes that it can do whatever it wants due to the absence of accountability."

He stressed the importance of adhering to "the Charter of the United Nations, international law, the territorial integrity of states, and international humanitarian law." He also expressed his regret at the "unprecedented number of civilian casualties in Gaza" during his tenure as Secretary-General. Guterres noted that "the fundamental principle of international humanitarian law is the protection of civilians." He stressed that "we must adhere to the principles in Ukraine as is the case in Gaza, without double standards."

Axis of Resistance

Allied for Democracy

The Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" said in its editorial that "Netanyahu's government must fall in order for Israel to survive ." It added, "Israeli democracy is being emptied of its content, the government is losing touch with reality, and the world is losing patience. The only way to correct the course is to intensify the protests in Israel on a large scale, demand the return of the hostages (prisoners), end the war in Gaza, and hold early elections."

But its counterpart, The Jerusalem Post, published a statement by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, ahead of his visit to Washington next week, in which he said that the army would carry out the attack on Rafah even if the whole world opposed it and an international isolation was imposed on Israel.

Israeli media reported on the increasing number of Western countries turning their backs on Israel, the partisan polarization in Washington’s policies towards Tel Aviv, as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s infliction of severe damage to the four pillars on which Israeli national security is based.

Analysts hosted by the Israeli Channel 13 stated that “Western criticism of Israel is becoming more intense even from some of its strongest supporters, such as Germany, and not only from countries that are considered permanent critics of Israel, such as Belgium, Spain, and Ireland.” They pointed out that "the longer the war in Gaza continues, the more Western countries will turn their backs on Israel, which is rapidly losing the legitimacy of continuing its war due to the imminent Gaza famine ."

Israeli media revealed that Democratic Majority Leader in the US Senate , Chuck Schumer, who delivered a speech against Netanyahu, rejected a request from the latter to deliver a speech to members of the Democratic Party in the Senate, at a time when Netanyahu rushed to speak with members of the Republican Party in the Senate via the “Zoom” application".

According to Danny Ayalon, the former Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister, when Washington begins to criticize Israel , "it is certain that other countries will follow suit, and other European countries may go further than the United States in imposing more severe sanctions." In turn, the former commander of the Northern Corps, Reserve Major General Noam Tibon, blamed Netanyahu, and said that he had caused severe damage to what he called the four pillars on which Israeli national security is based, which are strategic relations with Washington, a strong army, a strong economy, and a strong democracy.

He added, "Netanyahu - systematically - caused great harm to the army, and for the first time in our history the credit rating was lowered because of the government and the failed Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich , while our democracy suffered great damage, and now he is causing harm to relations with America." He explained, "When Israel is weak, our enemies see this because what happened last October 7 is the most dangerous thing that has befallen us, and Israel's deterrence capabilities have been shattered into fragments."

Regarding the details of the ceasefire and prisoner exchange between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), the former head of the Political Security Department at the Ministry of Defense, Zohar Balti, stressed the need for the government to take decisions that he described as very difficult and pay a heavy price. He added to Israeli Channel 12, "There are people rotting and their number is decreasing every day (they die), and we must recover them immediately and as quickly as possible, and pay the price. We have no other choice."

The American news website Axios said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may face a widespread boycott from "progressive lawmakers" if he accepts an invitation to speak before the US Congress. The website quoted Democratic Representatives Chuy Garcia, Maxwell Frost, and Jamal Bowman that they will not attend Netanyahu's speech in Congress.

Frost justified his position by saying that Netanyahu is a "bad person," while Democratic Representative Annie Koster said that people are disappointed in the way Israel's war on the Gaza Strip is being conducted . Bowman said in a statement to Axios that nothing Netanyahu will say can help his constituency at all, explaining that his voters are angry about the war that Israel is waging in the Gaza Strip.

The same website also quoted Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib as saying that Netanyahu should not come to Congress, but should be sent to The Hague, in reference to the International Court of Justice.

The Punchball News website reported on Wednesday that US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer rejected Netanyahu's request to speak before the Democratic bloc in the Senate. The website reported that Schumer said that these talks should not be conducted in a “partisan manner.” Schumer also told reporters, "I care very much about Israel and its long-term future. Making the issue partisan hurts the cause of helping Israel."

Progressives asked Democratic President Joe Biden to put greater pressure on Israel to alleviate the burden of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Netanyahu spoke to Republicans via video link nearly a week after Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer delivered a speech in the Senate in which he strongly criticized Netanyahu, calling him an obstacle to peace, and urging new elections in Israel.

The Israeli Prime Minister said that he will continue the war on the Gaza Strip, stressing that the entry of the Israeli army into the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip to eliminate the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) will take place, but it will take time. Netanyahu added that it is no secret that there are differences with President Biden's administration in this regard, stressing that Israel will do what suits its security despite these differences.

The United States confirmed on Friday that it will discuss with Israeli officials "next week" alternative options to eliminate the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) in the Gaza Strip without launching a ground attack on Rafah that might cause a "disaster." US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said - during a press conference - “There are one and a half million people there... We believe that launching a major ground attack is a mistake and would be a disaster.”

He added that the Israeli government will send a delegation to Washington within days to talk about alternatives to a ground operation, indicating that American officials will discuss possible options with Israeli officials, and that more details about the visit will be announced in the coming days. He added, "There is still time to talk to Israel about Rafah. We want to provide the Israelis with some alternatives and options to pursue Hamas without sacrificing the safety of civilians."

In turn, Kamla Harris , US Vice President, stressed today the importance of protecting civilians in the city, noting that the residents of Rafah have no way to escape. "There is nowhere for these people to go to be safe," she told reporters as she departed on a trip to Puerto Rico.

The American newspaper Politico quoted officials in Washington as saying, “The problem regarding Rafah goes beyond (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu because the entire (Israeli) war council is united in this regard.”

On the other hand, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met in Tel Aviv today with Netanyahu before his participation in the War Council meeting, where he warned Israeli leaders of the dangers of the attack on Rafah and the lack of a plan for the day after the Gaza war. Blinken stressed - at the conclusion of his sixth visit to Israel since the start of the war - that the attack on Rafah will not achieve the goal that Israel seeks, and threatens to isolate it from the world. He added, "We made clear that the military operation in Rafah will not achieve Israel's goal, as it threatens to kill more civilians on the one hand, and isolate Tel Aviv from the world on the other hand," noting that "he will discuss the Rafah issue with Israeli officials in Washington next week."

On the other hand, Netanyahu said that Israel is still determined to send forces to Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are seeking refuge, and “will do so without American support if necessary.” He added - in a statement - that he informed the US Secretary of State that there is no way to defeat Hamas without entering Rafah. He continued, "I told him that I hope we will do this with the support of the United States, but if we have to, we will do it alone."

In turn, War Council Minister Benny Gantz said that he thanked the US Secretary of State during his meeting for his support for Israel, stressing at the same time “Israel’s commitment to continuing the mission and dismantling Hamas’ military infrastructure, including Rafah.”

Months into the Israel-Hamas war, roughly six-in-ten Americans (58%) say Israel’s reasons for fighting Hamas are valid. But how Israel is carrying out its response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack receives a more mixed evaluation. About four-in-ten U.S. adults (38%) say Israel’s conduct of the war has been acceptable, and 34% say it has been unacceptable. The remaining 26% are unsure. Many Americans are also disengaged: Relatively few (22%) say they are closely following news about the war, and half can correctly report that more Palestinians than Israelis have died since the war’s start. On many questions about the war, sizable numbers express no opinion. These and other results come from a new Pew Research Center survey, conducted Feb. 13-25.

Only around one-in-five Americans (22%) think the way the Israeli government is carrying out the war against Hamas will make the Israeli people more secure than they were before the war. The rest think the war will make Israelis less secure (27%), not have much effect (15%) or say they are unsure (35%). When asked about Hamas’ reasons for fighting Israel, far fewer Americans (22%) describe them as valid. And just 5% of U.S. adults say the way Hamas carried out its Oct. 7 attack on Israel was acceptable, while 66% describe it as completely unacceptable.

In the U.S., 62% of Jews and 53% of Muslims report that hearing or reading news about the Israel-Hamas war makes them afraid. In other religious and nonreligious groups, the share expressing fear is lower. Jews are also more likely than other U.S. religious groups to say news about the conflict makes them feel angry. American Jews and Muslims are also paying more attention to the war than other groups analyzed, with 61% of Jews and 41% of Muslims saying they’re following it extremely or very closely.

Roughly equal shares of adults under 30 say Hamas’ reasons for fighting Israel are valid (34%) and not valid (30%); 35% are unsure. By comparison, most of those ages 65 and older say Hamas’ reasons are not valid (64%). Younger adults are significantly more critical of how Israel is fighting in the war than are older people: 21% of Americans ages 18 to 29 say the way Israel is carrying out its response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack is acceptable; 46% describe it as unacceptable.

Operation Iron Swords - By the Numbers

• 74,298 Gazans injured, 28% adult male
• 40,000 Gazans killed, including buried under rubble
• 33,000 Gaza targets attacked
• 32,700 Gazans martyred
• 20,528 Palestinians in Israeli prisons [Haaretz, 20 Mar 2024]
• 15,000 rocket launched from Gaza
• 14,793 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
• 9,000 Gazan women martyred
• 8,000 Gazans missing under the rubble
• 7,500 arrested by Israelis in the West Bank since Oct.7th
• 6,000 HAMAS combatants killed [HAMAS]
• 5,500 IDF wounded [reports]
• 4,700 West Bank Palestinians wounded
• 3,484 administrative detainees
• 3,400 wanted persons arrested throughout Judea and Samaria
• 3,079 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
• 591 Israeli officers and soldiers killed
• 433 West Bank Palestinians martyred
• 249 Israeli officers and soldiers killed in Gaza
• 222 Hezbollah fighters 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

Many of these numbers fluctate, up and down, with no apparent explanation. This list records the highest number reliably reported for each matter, under the theory that reality with catch up with reports, as is relentlessly the case.