Operation Iron Swords - Day 186 - 09 April 2024

“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)

Contents

NEW - War Termination NEW - Operations NEW - Operations - Gaza NEW - Operations - Judea-Samaria NEW - Operations - Lebanon NEW - Operations - Syria / Iraq NEW - Operations - Yemen UPDATED - Operations Maps NEW - By-Standers NEW - Axis of Resistance NEW - Allied for Democracy UPDATED - By the Numbers

Israel's Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) says that 468 trucks of humanitarian aid were inspected and transferred to the Gaza Strip today. The hybrid civil-military unit says that this is the highest number of trucks that have entered in any one day since the start of the war, following yesterday's high of 419 trucks. Over the past three days, more than 1,200 aid trucks were inspected by Israeli authorities and entered Gaza, it says. Another 47 trucks carrying food were coordinated to northern Gaza overnight, COGAT adds. In addition, it says that 303 packages carrying "hundreds of thousands of meals" were airdropped over the Palestinian enclave.

The Hebrew Channel 12 published a lengthy report in which it touched on the war in Gaza, the Israeli army’s withdrawal from Khan Yunis, the truce, and the dispute with the administration of President Joe Biden in the next stage. The report's author said, "The withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the increase in humanitarian aid aim to help advance the hostage release deal, but the real dispute with the Biden administration is in the next stage." He stated that the damage Israel has inflicted on Hamas is painful so far, but not fatal, noting that without an intensive ground operation in Rafah, the fundamental change that Tel Aviv sought to bring about in the Gaza Strip will not be achieved.

He adds: “It seems that the Biden administration wants to reach a ceasefire and a hostage release agreement, which would gradually pave the way for ending the war... In my estimation, from Washington’s point of view, the release of the kidnapped people is in addition to the price that Israel imposed on Hamas.” For now, transferring the civil administration in the Gaza Strip to other hands, and making arrangements to prevent the smuggling of weapons into the Strip, should constitute a sufficient answer to Israel’s needs after October 7.”

The writer points out that the administration in Washington would like to end the issue of the war in the Gaza Strip in this way, and this will result in ending the fighting in the north as well and moving on to the next file, which is normalization with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the political process with the Palestinians. He stated in his report that it is possible that the recent developments in the Gaza Strip (the withdrawal of Israeli army forces, the significant increase in humanitarian aid, and the resumption of negotiations in Cairo) are aimed at helping advance the ceasefire agreement and the limited release agreement, explaining that if an agreement is reached, The Israeli political leadership will face a dilemma about what to do after this stage.

Has Hamas backed away from its original demands? The writer says: “I do not know what is going on in the negotiating rooms.. According to Hamas spokesmen, the answer is no.. In my estimation, even if Hamas agrees to a limited deal, it will keep some of the kidnapped people with it until all of its demands are met, which is the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from all throughout the Gaza Strip, guarantees to stop Israeli counter-terrorism operations, return residents to their homes, and agree to start a mechanism to rehabilitate the Gaza Strip.”

Can war goals be achieved without work in Rafah? The damage that Israel has inflicted on Hamas so far is painful, but not fatal. The Hamas Brigade in the Rafah area, with its four battalions, constitutes a fifth of the movement’s military strength, and its specific weight is greater because, in addition to the tasks it performs like the other battalions, it is also responsible for the border strip between Gaza and the outside world. The extent of the capabilities that Hamas has left in this region and in the rest of the Gaza Strip, in addition to its deep control over the population and government systems, and the support it receives from the leadership abroad and the countries in which it is present will help the movement recover quickly and will not allow achieving the radical change that Israel sought to bring about in Gaza Strip, and such a situation will also have a negative impact on Tel Aviv’s efforts to restore deterrence power after October 7.

Does dismantling Hamas’ capabilities in Rafah require an intensive ground operation? Targeted and limited raids and operations cannot be an alternative to a ground operation of the type we saw in Khan Yunis or in Gaza and the northern Gaza Strip. This method of action can be used to maintain the achievement after the dismantling of Hamas’ frameworks.

How can progress be made in releasing the abductees? Here the report says: “First, if there is a possibility of reaching an agreement for a limited ceasefire, it must be exhausted. As for the subsequent steps, the operation must take place in Rafah and security control must be created to prevent smuggling in the border strip. Without that, Hamas will recover and strike again.” He explains that the pressure on Hamas today is minimal, and in contrast, the pressure on Israel to stop the fighting and improve the humanitarian situation is heavy.

Conflict with the Biden administration over Gaza, Israel should do what is right for its security, and this is a basic principle that the United States also accepts. - Washington must understand that for Israel after October 7, the defeat of Hamas in Gaza has become of existential importance. It is not like the wars that the United States launched in Iraq and Afghanistan, thousands of miles away from its lands, which can sometimes be compared to the war in Gaza.

According to the report, “The players in the region and in the international system, including enemies, friends, and critics, are following what is happening in Gaza, and their position and behavior towards Israel will be affected by the results. If all the goals that Tel Aviv has set for this war are not achieved, it will face an existential threat because the temptation to attack it will increase.” Its political position will also be severely damaged. The room for maneuver that Israel can afford under these circumstances is limited.”

In this regard, the report indicates, “The decisive moments regarding Hezbollah are approaching, and Israel will not be able to continue to give up its sovereignty in the north of the country, and the residents of this region will not remain hostage to Hezbollah. Removing the party from the danger zone is a goal that must be achieved by force as well, and Lebanon.” “As a country, it has to pay the price for being a base for terrorism, and perhaps it is right that we accuse it first.”

War Termination

The Arab and Palestinian affairs correspondent for the Israeli Channel 12, Sapir Lipkin, reported that the mediators are exerting pressure for a possible ceasefire to enter into force during Eid al-Fitr this week. But Israel has made clear that it will not be ready for a complete withdrawal, while Hamas insists on a complete withdrawal and a complete cessation of the war as part of the deal, even if at a more advanced stage. Iit was announced in Israel that the military operation in Rafah would not be abandoned, but in the event of a ceasefire - according to the Israeli channel’s assessment - the military attack may be postponed and not implemented in the near future.

Israeli TV N12 News reported the American proposal for a deal for the release of abductees also contains significant compromises on an issue that will be at the center of discussions in the cabinet - the number of terrorists who will be released in exchange for the abductees who will return to Israel, as we published this evening (Tuesday) in "The Central Edition". While in the Paris proposal there was talk of the release of 400 prisoners, later in the talks the number was doubled and in the American proposal the number of prisoners stands at 900, including one hundred serious prisoners.

The statements of the Israeli leaders regarding the round of negotiations in Cairo for a ceasefire in Gaza, the talk that Tel Aviv is ready to pay high prices in order to return the detainees, and reports that the negotiations are witnessing a shift towards reducing the gaps in positions reflect the possibility that this will lead to a ceasefire and a possible exchange deal. In light of the talk about the noticeable progress in the negotiations, Israeli circles expressed cautious optimism about the possibility of reaching an exchange deal, as this optimism was reflected in the participation of the Israeli delegation headed by Mossad chief David Barnea in the Cairo negotiations with expanded powers, as well as flexibility in positions, whether for the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas). ) Or to Israel, according to what Israeli Channel 12 reported.

According to the Israeli channel, delegations from all parties left Cairo and will return within 48 hours to Egypt to discuss the exchange deal and the terms of the final agreement, noting that there is progress in the discussions and agreement on the basic points between all parties. Yesterday evening, Monday, Haaretz newspaper quoted a senior foreign diplomatic source as saying, “Within the next 24 hours, we will know whether progress can be achieved in the deal. There is cautious optimism.” This is a position expressed by many Israeli leaders who did not rule out the possibility of breaking through the impasse with a file. Negotiations and reaching a possible exchange deal, according to the newspaper.

Israeli Security Minister Yoav Galant said that military pressure on Hamas allows Israel to make "difficult decisions to return the kidnapped people." The minister believes that "Israel is at the right point, but there is another aspect that needs to be agreed upon in order to reach a deal." The same position was expressed by the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Herzi Halevy , who said, “The army is strong enough for Israel to know how to pay the price for the return of its sons and daughters. The army will know how to bear even the heavy price, and it will also know how to return and fight strongly.”

The reason for the deal being closer than ever before - as Dana Weiss, the political affairs correspondent for Israeli Channel 12, says - is due to intense American pressure, after the administration of US President Joe Biden decided to fully engage in the file of ceasefire negotiations. According to the Israeli newspaper, the White House has put pressure on Israel to increase humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip, reduce combat forces on the ground, and redeploy maneuvering forces, and on the other hand, it is pressuring Qatar in order to exercise its influence on Hamas to accept the terms of the deal. She indicated that the mediators are already awaiting the parties’ response regarding Hamas’s demand for the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip without restrictions, and for an increase in humanitarian aid trucks, provided that the Israeli occupation army continues to withdraw from city centers.

According to Israeli channel 12, the crystallized agreement includes increasing the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering Gaza from various land crossings, referring to Egypt’s announcement of increasing the number of trucks to 300 trucks per day, but there is a controversial point regarding how the aid will be distributed and who will supervise it. The terms of the agreement also include ensuring temporary shelter for the residents of Gaza by introducing about 60,000 caravans for living and 200,000 tents as part of the first phase of reconstruction.

In the deal that is now being forged there is also an achievement for Israel, when as part of the proposal the Americans made it clear that Israel will be given the right to veto some of the names of the prisoners, and at the same time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demand to exile some of the prisoners who will be released from the area where they previously lived will be approved.

The most significant condition that Israel sets is the release of at least 40 abductees as part of the deal. Hamas does say that they are looking into the matter, but a senior political official told News 12 this evening that "even though there is still no negative answer, it is worth lowering expectations", since "Sinvar consistently drags his feet and opposes the deal".

Ehud Yaari published that senior sources in Hamas said that the organization's leadership demands that changes and clarifications be applied to the draft deal. In its response, the terrorist organization clarified that it does not have 40 kidnapped civilians who are among the category that will be released in the indicated deal - over 50 or under 19 years old, sick, soldiers and wounded.

According to Hamas, in order to complete the quota set by Israel - 40 live abductees, they will have to add abducted soldiers, who are not included in the original category, to the number of forty released and therefore in exchange for this they demand an increase in the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released. According to sources in the terrorist organization, Hamas terrorists are holding less than seventy hostages alive, out of 133 of the abductees and abductees included in the list.

Hamas leader Muhammad Nazzal said that the movement did not receive any American proposal during the ongoing negotiations in Cairo regarding a ceasefire in Gaza and the exchange of prisoners, but rather it received an Israeli proposal. The Hamas leader added in press statements that the movement is studying the Israeli proposal that it received through mediators during the negotiations, pointing out that the Israeli proposal does not meet the movement’s demands.

Nazzal explained that the Israeli occupation is only talking about a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, and refuses to leave the Strip, pointing out that the Israeli forces are only repositioning. He pointed out that the Israeli occupation is evasive regarding the issue of the return of the displaced to northern Gaza during the negotiations. Earlier, Sami Abu Zuhri, a leader in Hamas , said that the proposal presented to the movement does not include stopping the aggression or withdrawing the Israeli occupation forces from the Gaza Strip.

Abu Zuhri added in press statements that Hamas will not accept any agreement that does not include an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The Hamas leader pointed out that the American proposals presented in the negotiations focused on restoring prisoners of the Israeli occupation held by the resistance and ignored the demands of the Palestinian people.

A senior source within the Palestinian factions told Al Mayadeen that the Resistance's delegation went to the negotiations in Cairo armed with the nationally agreed-upon Palestinian stance. The source stressed that Palestinian demands are clear, and there will be no agreement or exchange deal without achieving them. These include an immediate cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from Gaza, the return of displaced persons, accommodation for the people of Gaza, and the reconstruction of the Strip. The demands also include the opening of crossings for the entry of aid into Gaza, the lifting of the Israeli siege imposed on the Strip, and the completion of a genuine prisoner exchange deal.

According to the source, all attempts and efforts made by mediators to achieve an agreement and a prisoner exchange deal have been met with intransigence and obstruction by the Israeli occupation. The source warned that Israeli media are resorting to lies and deception to deceive their society through disseminating fabricated news, adding that the official media sources of the Palestinian people will announce any new developments in the negotiations.

Hamas leader Ali Baraka said on Monday that the Palestinian movement rejected the latest proposal presented by Israel during talks in Cairo for a ceasefire, according to Reuters. A Hamas source told Agence France-Presse earlier, Monday, that the Palestinian movement is considering proposing a three-stage truce lasting six weeks, the first stage of which includes the release of Israeli women and children detained by it in exchange for the release of up to 900 Palestinian detainees. On Monday, the Axios website revealed, citing three Israeli officials, that CIA Director Bill Burns presented in Cairo, on Sunday, a new proposal to advance the agreement between Israel and Hamas, “which would ensure the release of about 40 hostages.” Detainees in Gaza in exchange for a six-week ceasefire.

The deal includes the release of at least 700 Palestinian prisoners, including more than 100 serving life sentences for killing Israelis, according to Axios. It is not clear whether this is related to the same proposal that a Hamas source spoke to Agence France-Presse about. It is noteworthy that Burns met in Cairo, on Sunday, with the head of the Israeli Mossad, the Prime Minister of Qatar, and the head of Egyptian Intelligence in an attempt to break the deadlock in the negotiations.

A large Hamas delegation was in Cairo at the same time and held separate meetings with Egyptian and Qatari mediators. A spokesman for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the meetings in Cairo as "encouraging." Israeli officials told Axios that Burns' proposal is based on the terms discussed during previous negotiations in March . A third Israeli official said that he (Burns) asked for more concessions from both parties.

Under the American proposal, Hamas - according to Axios - must give up the number and identity of the prisoners it wants released from Israeli prisons, and submit a list of the names of forty living Israeli hostages that it can release in return. According to the same proposal, Israel must make concessions regarding the return of displaced Palestinian civilians to the northern Gaza Strip.

The proposal that Agence France-Presse spoke about stipulates, in the first stage, the release of 42 Israeli hostages (including soldiers, children, and elderly women) in exchange for 800 to 900 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons, including about 100 who are serving long sentences, including life imprisonment. As explained by a source close to the negotiations, who requested that his name not be revealed.

The source pointed out that the first phase of the proposal envisages the return of displaced Palestinian civilians to the northern Gaza Strip, while allowing the entry of between 400 and 500 aid trucks daily. In a second stage, all other hostages are released. The third and final stage stipulates the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip and the lifting of the siege that Israel has imposed on the Strip since Hamas took control of it in 2007.

The White House considered that the position issued by "Hamas" regarding a proposal that includes a calm in Gaza and an exchange of hostages and detainees, "less than encouraging" so far. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday: “We have seen the public statements coming out of Hamas, and they are arguably less than encouraging.” Sullivan indicated that he held talks this morning with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman bin Jassim Al Thani, who in turn indicated that he had not yet "received a response from Hamas." Sullivan added: “I encouraged him to try to get a response from them as quickly as possible, and when we get more information in this regard, we will inform you immediately.” He stressed that "the time has come to conclude this ceasefire (agreement)," saying: "We are ready... I think Israel is ready, and I think Hamas must be ready for that in turn."

Operational Update

Deputy Head of the Rehabilitation Department at the Ministry of War of the Occupation, Tzipi Feldman, said in a statement to Hebrew websites that 20,000 new wounded occupation soldiers are expected to enter until the end of this year. Hebrew reports revealed that more than six thousand eight hundred wounded had entered the rehabilitation department of the Ministry of War since October 7, explaining that this number was double the number announced by the occupation army, which was three thousand two hundred and two wounded.

The Israeli official indicated that workers in the rehabilitation department come to the wounded in hospitals; To help them exercise their rights, she said, adding that any person who enters the emergency room or is treated in the hospital is visited and assisted by the Ministry of War. The Rehabilitation Department, in cooperation with the Disabled Organization of the Israeli Occupation Army, organized a campaign calling on the injured and injured to obtain this rehabilitation assistance and examine their rights, if they had not already done so.

In recent weeks, the Rehabilitation Department has employed more than four hundred emotional therapists within the system. Reports indicated that seventy-one percent of the soldiers who entered rehabilitation centers were reserve soldiers. Fifty-one percent of them are less than thirty years old. It revealed that since the outbreak of war, more than 1,200 new wounded have been admitted every month, and that forty-two percent suffer from injuries related to the limbs.

Arab newspapers revealed in reports and statements from the head of the mental health department in the occupation army, Lucien Lior, that the army is facing the largest mental health problem among its soldiers since the 1970s. She explained that more than a thousand soldiers needed intensive treatment due to symptoms of shock, amid expectations that after the war a larger number of soldiers would arrive to seek psychological treatment.

The Israeli army announced that the 146th Division, in cooperation with the Navy and Air Force, along with the Israeli Police and Rescue Forces, completed a large-scale defensive maneuver, as part of enhancing readiness in the north. The Israeli army said in a statement, “The 146th Division is the largest reserve division in the army, which has been operating in the Western Galilee region since the beginning of the fighting.” The statement pointed out that "the division headquarters and the naval control system trained together on a large number of scenarios, including protecting the area, transporting the wounded under fire, and various joining and attack scenarios in order to raise readiness and enhance existing cooperation between the forces."

The IDF added, "As part of the exercise, routine security forces in the Haifa area trained to deal with various threats and different scenarios that they may face in the northern maritime space." “The maneuver was carried out in cooperation with the unit responsible for the Haifa Square in the Navy, the combat helicopter system, the cooperation unit of the Air Force and various forces in the region, including routine security officials and members of the civil emergency units in the various towns, police and relief forces, armored forces, engineering and division brigades. ", according to the statement.

With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moving forward with his pledge to ban Al Jazeera, after a new law was recently passed in the Israeli Knesset with the approval of an overwhelming majority of 71 votes to 10, a number of American media experts expressed their concern about this step, at a time when they doubted the success of the strategy. Israeli.

The White House , the State Department, and a number of members of Congress expressed their concern about this Israeli decision, while US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller considered that his country does not agree with everything in Al Jazeera’s coverage, but he acknowledged that “much of what we know about what is happening In Gaza, it comes from Al Jazeera’s correspondents on the ground,” at a time when Israel has prevented the presence of foreign correspondents inside the Gaza Strip since the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023.

American experts warned that closing Al Jazeera in Israel may set a dangerous precedent that threatens freedom of the press and the circulation of information regarding one of the most brutal wars in recent years.

Rashida Tlaib , a representative of Palestinian origins in the House of Representatives, tweeted on the “X” platform, saying, “First they killed journalists who revealed the truth like Sherine Abu Aqla , and now they want to close Al Jazeera completely, to prevent the world from seeing the war crimes they committed.”

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Stephen Livingston, professor and founding director of the Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics at George Washington University in the US capital, pointed out that “the decision to ban Al Jazeera is just another aspect of multifaceted efforts by the Israeli government to control the narrative about the war in Gaza, but Failure awaits these efforts.

He added, "Israel is now diplomatically isolated and subject to global condemnation for creating the conditions leading to famine in Gaza, and now it appears to be targeting aid workers, including the seven who were working in the World Central Kitchen." He explained in his speech, “This was not an isolated incident, as at least 196 people working in the humanitarian field had previously been killed in the Gaza Strip and the cities of the occupied West Bank since last October, according to figures issued on April 2, 2024 by the Committee Protecting journalists: At least 95 journalists and media professionals have been killed since the beginning of the war.

Livingstone considered that Israel wants to control what is coming from inside the Gaza Strip, from journalists “who work as eyes and ears on the ground in Gaza, which threatens the Israeli narrative about what is happening,” which prompted the Israeli government to issue a decision to ban Al Jazeera.

Professor Mark Lajoie, Assistant Professor of Media and Public Relations at George Washington University, also spoke to Al Jazeera Net, and said, “I, as a journalist, am deeply concerned about the potential Israeli ban on Al Jazeera. A free and effective press is a pillar of democracy, and this pillar is weakened when it is undermined.” Banning media in the absence of concrete evidence of widespread wrongdoing, especially including media outlets with views that governments disagree with.” “I know many hardworking and honest journalists who work at Al Jazeera, and their stories contribute positively to the world’s understanding of the Middle East,” Professor Lajoie said.

Professor Sahar Khamis, professor of media at the University of Maryland, said, "It is not uncommon for the Al Jazeera office to be closed, or at least to be threatened with closure whenever there is any conflict situation." She noted in her interview with Al Jazeera Net that "Al Jazeera was distinguished by its bold and courageous coverage of many current events, and we have seen how it presents an alternative point of view and narrative about the conflict in Gaza, and in many cases reveals different types of human suffering of civilians."

Regarding her opinion of the channel’s coverage, she said, “Al Jazeera’s focus on showing the destruction of homes, the killing of civilians, especially children, women, the elderly, and pregnant women, and the destruction of hospitals and many refugee centers and facilities, and all these images that are transmitted across the island, are not captured by the mainstream media, including This includes the popular Western media, and therefore Al Jazeera as well as social media, offering an alternative view of what is actually going on inside Gaza.”

The professor stressed, "Based on the above, we can naturally expect why the Israeli government will have a negative view of Al Jazeera, and a feeling of discomfort about it carrying out this type of work and this role." She adds, "Even if the Israeli government decides to close Al Jazeera's office, this does not mean silencing it, because there are still many other alternative methods and platforms, such as Al Jazeera Plus "AJ+", and other types of platforms, through which the image can be conveyed to the public around the world. ".

Operational Update - Gaza

The New York Times indicated that it is not clear what the relationship of reducing the number of forces in the Gaza Strip is to the military operation that Israel intends to carry out in Rafah, despite the mounting international pressure against it in light of the presence of more than a million displaced people in the border city with Egypt. For his part, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby expressed his belief on Sunday that the Israeli army’s announcement of withdrawal from the southern Gaza Strip is likely a “break” for its forces. Kirby told ABC in response to a question about the significance of this withdrawal: “It is difficult to know what it means now, and according to what we understand, and based on what they announced, it is actually a period of rest and regaining fitness for its forces (the Israeli army) that have been on the ground for four months". Israel will purchase 40,000 tents for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian citizens from the southern Gaza Strip city. The move is seen in anticipation of a possible IDF action to dismantle the remaining Hamas strongholds in the city of Rafah.

Just one day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the date of the Rafah invasion had been set, Israeli Security Minister Yoav Gallant informed the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that the occupation entity had not yet set a date for the attack on the city bordering Egypt, Axios reported. For the past weeks, Washington has been demanding from Israel a feasible plan for an attack on Rafah, which puts a priority on civilian lives, as public and international on the United States has been constantly growing over the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza and the US' constant supply of weapons to the entity.

"This victory requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen. There is a date," the prime minister said on Monday. Netanyahu's announcement was criticized by the White House, claiming that it remains against a ground offensive on Rafah without a clear plan to protect civilians. France, the UK, and other world countries have shared the US' point of view.

Israel and the United States held a closed video call last week to discuss the possible attack. However, the Israeli plan was deemed by Washington as insufficient, primarily since it did not specify the duration it would take to evacuate the people from Rafah, Axios said. Israeli officials told Axios that, despite Netanyahu's claims that a date has been decided on, they haven't been given any orders to proceed with the plan.

Gallant informed Austin that Israel must complete several crucial tasks before starting the invasion, such as safely evacuating the population and increasing humanitarian aid, Axios added citing its source. Secretary of State Tony Blinken said on Tuesday that the entity hasn't informed Washington about a date for the Rafah attack. Blinken added that the United States is rather discussing with Israelis "alternative and more effective" to move forward with the offensive.

Additionally, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed that Netanyahu did not notify the White House of any date. "If he has a date he hasn't shared it with us," he said in a Tuesday press briefing. The advisor also told reporters that the US and Israelis "went into specifics regarding" the attack during their recent video call. "The Israelis understand our concerns and our concerns continue. We haven't seen and executable humanitarian plan regarding Rafah", he said. An Israeli delegation is expected to visit Washington next week to discuss the invasion of Rafah with US officials, Blinken said.

The forces of the Israel Defense Forces continue to operate in the central area of the Gaza Strip, in the last day the fighters eliminated a number of terrorists in short-range battles. During the operation, the forces eliminated a number of terrorists who posed a threat to the forces through aircraft and sniper fire. During the last day, the Air Force forces attacked and destroyed many military buildings, launching positions and terrorist infrastructures in the Gaza Strip. As part of the attacks, warplanes attacked a launch site, a military building and underground shafts in the area from which launches were detected that crossed towards the Ra'im area yesterday (Monday). In addition, an Air Force aircraft eliminated a terrorist who participated in the Shevah massacre in October in the Khan Yunis area.

The Al-Quds Brigades launched operations against the occupation forces, in Khan Yunis, using explosive devices and rocket-propelled grenades. The Saraya resistance fighters broadcast footage of the operation, during which an anti-tank explosive device was prepared and planted to target the vehicle, which accompanied a force holed up in a house. One of the resistance fighters suddenly emerged from inside a house and fired a rocket towards another house in which an occupation force was barricaded, hitting it directly despite the presence of a tank in front of it. On the other hand, after a short time, the resistance fighters detonated the anti-tank device they had planted in the occupation tank, confirming its complete destruction. In other scenes, one of the resistance fighters attacked a carrier of occupation soldiers, from a very close range, with a Yassin 105 missile, before he immediately withdrew.

Al Jazeera showed scenes it obtained of a complex ambush carried out by the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades - the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) - against an Israeli force east of Khan Yunis. The ambush occurred on the 27th of Ramadan in the Al-Zana area, east of Khan Yunis, and Al-Qassam called it the “Ambush of the Righteous,” as Al-Qassam fighters targeted Israeli soldiers and vehicles from point zero.

With Al Jazeera broadcasting the video clip, the audience on social media platforms began to interact with the clip. Activists said that the scenes shown by Al Jazeera of the Zinna ambush are exceptional, pointing out that this is not an ambush, but rather an epic the likes of which they have not seen since October 7, and this operation confirms Resistance is “a million good things,” as someone said.

Bloggers described the ambush as heroic and the strongest since the beginning of the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood, and that the resistance still has many, many more in its arsenal, pointing out that the Israeli occupation’s claims that it eliminated the resistance in Khan Yunis are incorrect, and that Al-Qassam’s video demolishes all of its lies. Bloggers pointed out that the most prestigious military institutes and academies must later learn from the Qassam Brigades the arts of combat, offensive and defensive military operations, and the art of setting ambushes.

The military and strategic expert, Colonel Hatem Karim Al-Falahi, said that the ambush carried out by the Al-Qassam Brigades - the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) - against an Israeli occupation force east of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip , was a “qualitative operation par excellence,” and this was demonstrated through planning and implementation. He added that the operation - which was carried out last Saturday, corresponding to the 27th of Ramadan - took place in an area that was almost completely destroyed, as it was one of the first areas that the occupation forces entered during their attack on Khan Yunis.

The ambush took place in the Al-Zana area (east of Khan Yunis), and Al-Qassam called it the “Ambush of the Righteous,” during which Israeli soldiers and tanks were targeted from zero distance. Documented scenes showed dead and injured soldiers and the bombing of Israeli vehicles. Colonel Hatem Al-Falahi spoke - in his speech during the military analysis pause on Al Jazeera - about the importance of planning and preparing for the operation, which took - according to the Al-Qassam Brigades - 50 days, which means, according to the expert’s confirmation, 50 days of monitoring, collecting intelligence information, and knowing the methods of the occupation forces in This area, where it passes through, and where it withdraws from, meaning imposing close monitoring on the Israeli force in that area.

He pointed out that those planning the operation took into account planting explosive devices in different areas. Knowing that the scenes published by the Al-Qassam Brigades showed its fighters preparing ambush devices and planting them in the area where the attack was carried out, then the occupation soldiers began arriving at the ambush area, noting that they were a commando infantry faction consisting of 30 soldiers. Regarding how the Qassam Brigades fighters succeeded in moving inside an area where the occupation forces were located, the military expert pointed to multiple options. Either a latent force had a hideout in that area throughout this period and was waiting for the appropriate opportunity to carry out its operation, or there are tunnels still operating in that area.

He pointed out that the elements that carried out the ambush operate in a friendly environment, and therefore know the entrances and exits of the area and monitor the movements of the occupation forces, stressing that there is a possibility for the resistance fighters to combine regular warfare with guerrilla warfare.

The “Ambush of the Righteous” operation comes to belie the claims of the Israeli occupation - the military expert adds - that it eliminated more than 19 battalions from the Al-Qassam Brigades and other resistance factions, and the evidence is that the military operation took place in a devastated area into which the occupation forces penetrated more than 4 months ago, and he said that the work The military is not determined by the occupation forces, but by the resistance factions.

It is noteworthy that the Al-Qassam Brigades had announced - in a statement - that its fighters had killed 9 Israeli soldiers, and wounded others, in the Zinna area, explaining that it had targeted 4 Merkava tanks with “Al-Yassin 105” shells, noting that immediately after the rescue forces advanced to the place and reached the middle of a field Pre-prepared mines were targeted by detonating 3 anti-personnel devices.

According to Al-Quds Al-Arabi, during the past 24 hours, IAF air raids witnessed a dangerous escalation, and local sources said that these raids were the most violent in several weeks, despite the withdrawal of the occupation army from the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, and its concentration in the border areas, and in the area that separates the north of the Gaza Strip from its south. According to Hebrew reports, the Air Force intensified the frequency of its raids throughout the Gaza Strip, and the sounds of these raids were heard in the settlements near the borders of the Strip, while the skies of the western Negev region were filled with warplanes.

Israeli warplanes launched raids on areas located in Gaza City and the northern regions, as well as on areas in central Gaza, and on the city of Rafah, against which the occupation continues to threaten to carry out a major military attack. Some air strikes targeted the town of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip, and the occupation artillery bombed the neighborhoods of Al-Shuja'iya and Al-Tuffah, east of Gaza City, and Al-Sabra, Tal Al-Hawa, and Sheikh Ajlin, south of the city. A citizen was also martyred and others were injured in a bombing carried out by Israeli aircraft, targeting committees working to secure aid southeast of Gaza City. Doctor Shadi Abu Hassanein was also martyred in a bombing that targeted the Saraya Junction in Gaza City.

Warplanes bombed two houses in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, killing two citizens and wounding dozens. A citizen was martyred and others were injured in a bombing by an occupation drone that targeted a group of citizens on Salah al-Din Road, southeast of Gaza City. They were transported to Baptist Hospital. In addition, there were sounds of explosions and heavy gunfire from the occupation forces stationed near the eastern border areas of the central Gaza Strip, and on the road that the occupation established, separating the north of the Gaza Strip from its south.

Five citizens, including the mayor of Al-Maghazi camp in the middle of the Gaza Strip, were martyred in an Israeli bombing that targeted the building of the Joint Services Council, which oversees the administration of some municipalities in the Gaza Strip. The Ministry of Local Government in the Gaza Strip mourned the mayor, Hatem Al-Ghamri, and said in a statement it issued, “A service official died after carrying out his duty towards the citizens of Al-Maghazi and the Central Governorate, and serving them until his last moments. He was an example of sincerity and dedication to work and serving our people.”

A citizen was also martyred and 20 others were injured in an Israeli air strike on a house in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Local sources from the city reported that another raid targeted the vicinity of “Al Madras Street” in the city, which had been turned into “shelter centers,” which led to the death of two citizens and the injury of others. The IAF warplanes also bombed a residential tower in the city of Al-Zahraa, northwest of Al-Nuseirat, in the middle of the Gaza Strip. Three martyrs were also recovered as a result of a previous bombing carried out by the occupation army that targeted the Al-Zana area, east of the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

The IDF forces also launched raids on the “Al-Tanour neighborhood” east of the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, which houses the largest number of people displaced by the war, numbering 1.5 million citizens. The raid resulted in the martyrdom of a citizen.

In addition, search operations continued to recover the bodies of martyrs from the city of Khan Yunis, who fell during the ground operation of the occupation army, which ended a few days ago, after four months, as medical authorities indicate that the number of martyrs is likely to rise significantly, as search operations continue. In the city of Khan Yunis, about 100 decomposed bodies have been recovered so far, while rescue crews and medical teams continue their search missions for victims under the rubble and on the roads, where they were left to bleed until they died, and their bodies have decomposed due to the long period.

At these times, some of the city's residents continue to return to inspect their homes, which were either completely destroyed or severely and partially damaged. This came at a time when other United Nations teams, in cooperation with Civil Defense crews and the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, continued on Monday the process of exhuming the bodies of the victims who died as a result of military operations carried out by the Israeli army inside Al-Shifa Hospital during the last two-week period.

Operational Update - Judea-Samaria

The IDF, the Shin Bet and the Security Forces operated tonight to arrest nine wanted persons throughout Judea and Samaria. Tonight the forces mapped the house of the terrorist Kazem Issa Ali Zuhara in Zaatra in the Etzion Brigade, one of the terrorists who carried out the shooting attack near the A-Zaim checkpoint on February 22, in which the late Matan Elmaleh was murdered and other civilians were injured. In Tulkarm, in the Menashe division, the forces arrested a wanted man, searched buildings and interrogated additional suspects. In Hebron, in the Yehuda Division, two wanted men were arrested and in Beta, in the Division of the Division, a Carlo type rifle was confiscated.

In an operation in the city of Nablus in the Samaria Brigade and in Arou in the Etzion Brigade, the fighters arrested two wanted persons and confiscated incendiary materials. A wanted man associated with the terrorist organization Hamas was arrested in Al Amri in the Binyamin Brigade. Last night in the evening, shooting was carried out at the settlement of Merav from deep within the village of Jilbon, hits were detected in two houses in the settlement and bullets were found in them. There are no casualties. The wanted persons who were arrested and the means of warfare that were confiscated were transferred to the security forces for further treatment, there are no casualties to our forces.

Violent armed confrontations broke out between the Israeli occupation army and Palestinian resistance fighters in the Balata camp in the northern occupied West Bank. The resistance trapped an occupation army force in a tight ambush, which resulted in one of the soldiers being injured. The Palestinian resistance responded to the occupation forces’ storming of Balata Camp and the eastern area of Nablus. Armed confrontations and clashes broke out, including shooting and the detonation of explosive devices. Following this incident, the Israeli occupation army sent military reinforcements that stormed the city of Nablus towards Balata camp. Experts and observers reveal that the armed clashes in the West Bank reveal a serious and real strategy to escalate the confrontation, and that this appears clear from the specific operations and the expansion of the confrontation with the occupation forces.

Al-Alam's correspondent [Alalam News Network, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting] reported that the Israeli occupation did not stop its raids on the camps in the West Bank, whether in Jenin or the camps in the north and center of the West Bank. The correspondent explained that the occupation stormed the Al-Amari camp in the city of Ramallah at dawn today, raided citizens’ homes, carried out a search campaign, and arrested a number of citizens. They also attacked shops and major landmarks there.

She added that this morning, the western and southern axis of the city of Tulkarm was stormed, and the occupation vehicles stormed the city within 24 hours. The second storming stormed several neighborhoods in the city of Tulkarm, and the occupation soldiers stormed a number of citizens’ homes, and 7 Palestinians were arrested in addition to field investigations, and then they were released. In the city of Nablus, she said that this morning the occupation army carried out an incursion into the city from the eastern axis towards the eastern region, and a young Palestinian man was injured in Mikhim Balata .

The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Authority reported in a report it prepared about a week ago about the forced displacement operations caused by the occupation’s expulsive measures with the support of settlers, that after October 7, 2023, the attacks and threats of armed colonists escalated, taking advantage of the media focus on the Gaza Strip and the absence of media coverage. About the West Bank and Jerusalem.

The authority’s spokesman, Amir Daoud, says, “Despite all international laws and legislation that prohibit displacement, including the Geneva Convention, which prohibits the occupying state from destroying any immovable or movable property related to individuals, groups, the state, or public authorities, unless military operations absolutely require With this destruction, the Commission monitored the displacement of 25 Palestinian Bedouin communities, including 220 families and 1,277 individuals, from their places of residence to other places.”

He added, "The most prominent displacement operations were in Wadi al-Siq, east of Ramallah, where a series of armed attacks on its residents began in October of last year, and despite the presence of members of the Wall and Settlement Authority in the place and their connection with the people for more than 45 days, a number of Of the residents were forced to leave on October 10, 2023 due to settler threats,” and the number of families leaving the Wadi Al-Siq region reached 30 families, including 40 minors.

According to the Wall and Settlement Commission, one of the most prominent Bedouin communities that were temporarily displaced after the start of the war on the Gaza Strip was Khirbet Zanuta in the southern Jordan Valley, specifically in the Al-Dhaheriya area in the Hebron Governorate, where 36 families comprising 400 people, half of whom were children, were displaced. After dismantling 50 tents and “barracks” for sheep, and evacuating approximately 4,700 sheep that they owned.

The two villages of Ain al-Rashrash, east of Ramallah, and Jabait, north of Ramallah, were also emptied, with a total of 23 families. Photos recently published on the newsgroups of Palestinian journalists show individual settlers wandering near the tents of Palestinian residents in various Bedouin communities in the north and south of the West Bank, some of them He takes care of sheep, which the residents of these communities considered provocative actions towards them.

The annual report of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Palestine (OCHA) stated that 1,257 people were displaced from their areas of residence due to increasing settler violence after the seventh of last October. The report stated that by the end of 2022, 4 Bedouin communities had been completely emptied of their residents, Meanwhile, the increasing settler attacks after the war on the Gaza Strip affected approximately 15 other Bedouin communities.

According to OCHA, cases of assault by settlers increased to 7 daily cases, while there were 3 daily assault cases during the year 2022. The report confirmed that settlers directly supervise the forced displacement operations that occur to residents of Palestinian Bedouin communities, and OCHA confirmed that Between October 7 and the end of last December, at least 198 Palestinian families were displaced, including 586 children.

In the northern Jordan Valley, attempts to displace the Palestinian population from Bedouin communities and ruins did not subside even before the war on the Gaza Strip, and the occupation uses all methods and harassment against the residents of these areas, which represent 30% of the area of ??the West Bank, as the occupation prevents them from building or extending water and electricity lines, or Grazing in areas where water springs are available.

However, after the war on the Gaza Strip, the pace of Israeli harassment of the residents of the northern Jordan Valley increased, and Israel gave settlers a large area of ??control over the lands in the villages of Kardala, Bardala, and Ain al-Bayda, and allowed them to control and prevent the Palestinians from farming or grazing in them, or even moving around in them.

Operational Update - Lebanon

In addition to about 15 thousand people who evacuated independently, fifty-five thousand residents of the northern settlements were evacuated from their homes about six months ago and still have not returned. While the temporary solutions offered to them have become permanent homes for many, and the return to family, educational and occupational routines are not in sight - it turns out that the cabinet does not set this as part of the goals for ending the fighting either.

Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi implored the Cabinet to include the return of the residents of the north to their homes in the goals of the war. A source familiar with the details of the discussions even stated that the Chief of Staff repeated his request, but each time "rolled" further. While some of the political parties proposed to hold a discussion on this, it has not yet come to fruition - and the issue has been dropped from the agenda for now. A demand similar to that of the Chief of Staff was also voiced by the heads of the authorities in the north, which were also rejected.

Also, during the night, two launches were detected from Lebanese territory towards the Mashgav area with them falling in open areas. There are no casualties. At the same time, several observation posts and terrorist infrastructure of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in southern Lebanon were attacked in the last few hours. During the day, IDF forces carried out artillery fire to remove a threat in the areas of A-Dahira and Tir Harfa in southern Lebanon. Following the report of an IDF remote manned aircraft that fell this week in the area of southern Lebanon, the Air Force attacked the vehicle earlier today and destroyed it.

Operational Update - Syria / Iraq

The IDF attacked a military infrastructure placed on the front of Syrian territory, which intelligence information indicates was used by the terrorist organization Hezbollah. The IDF considers the Syrian regime responsible for everything that happens on its territory and will not allow attempts that will lead to the establishment of the terrorist organization Hezbollah on its front.

During the night, warplanes attacked military infrastructures of the Syrian army in the Mahaja region. In addition, last night (Monday) the IDF attacked with artillery fire a position of the Syrian army in the south of the country. Last night (Monday) one launch was detected from Syrian territory towards the Yonatan area in the Golan Heights, there were no casualties. The IDF attacked the sources of the fire with artillery fire.

Fighters affiliated with Iraq’s Islamic Resistance umbrella anti-terror group launched attacks on five Israeli targets in a show of support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, who are facing a devastating Israeli war. The strikes, announced in two statements early Tuesday, were carried out by the resistance group as a continuation of their stance against the Israeli occupation and in solidarity with Palestinians suffering from the violence inflicted by the occupying entity.

In their statements, the resistance condemned the atrocities committed by Israel, particularly emphasizing the targeting of Palestinian civilians, including vulnerable groups such as children, women, and the elderly. The targets of the attacks included significant locations such as the "Asqalan oil port" in central occupied territories and the "Hatzerim Airbase" in Beersheba, located in the south-central part of the territories. The group utilized what they termed as "appropriate weapons" for these operations. Emphasizing their commitment to ongoing resistance, the group pledged to continue such strikes as long as the Israeli regime persists in its aggressive actions against Gaza.

8 members of the “Syrian Revolutionary Guard” working under the command of the Iranian “Revolutionary Guard” militia were killed, following an attack by unknown gunmen on their headquarters in the vicinity of the city of Al-Mayadeen, east of Deir ez-Zor, “the capital of the Iranian militias in Syria,” where they were killed inside the headquarters by slaughtering them with knives. The military and security forces in the region were mobilized, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, amid tightening security restrictions on citizens’ identities at crossroads.

The attack is the second of its kind in less than 48 hours, in the same area. A fifty-year-old citizen was killed by gunfire, as a result of members of the “National Defense” militia randomly firing bullets, during the funeral of 3 dead Syrians working in the Iranian “Revolutionary Guard” militia, in the cemetery of the town of Hatla in the northern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, who were killed on Monday. Yesterday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the three members were killed by gunfire at the hands of gunmen after they stormed a military point on the outskirts of the city of Al-Mayadeen, “the capital of the Iranian militias in eastern Syria,” in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor from the Badia side, where the bodies of the dead were transferred to Hospital, without revealing who was behind their killing.

Operational Update - Yemen

Following the alert of the infiltration of a hostile aircraft in the city of Eilat and in the Eilot region, the Navy forces identified a suspicious aerial target that had crossed into the territory of the State of Israel and successfully intercepted the target using the "Naval Dome" system. The target was under surveillance by IDF forces. There were no casualties and no damage was caused.

Maps

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

Bystanders

Axis of Resistance

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said the country will certainly punish the Israeli regime for its strike on the Iranian diplomatic mission in Damascus. Amirabdollahian, who is visiting Damascus at the head of a political and parliamentary delegation, met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday. While thanking the Syrian side for their warm welcome to the Iranian delegation, Amirabdollahian extended Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s greetings to Assad.

He further appreciated Assad's phone call with Raisi and the presence of the Syrian foreign minister and other ministers and senior officials of the country at the Iranian Embassy and their solidarity with Iran after the recent insane attack by the Zionist regime on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital.

Amirabdollahian referred to various political, legal and international measures by the Islamic Republic of Iran at the United Nations and the Security Council and its consultations with governments immediately after the incident. He also added Iran has conveyed its message to the US as a staunch supporter of the Zionist regime which is directly responsible for the crimes and atrocities of Israel. Amirabdollahian said that Iran will definitely respond to the Zionist regime and will punish it, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s website.

Since the start of the Al-Aqsa flood, the Yemenis have devised many ways to express support for the Palestinian cause and the right to resistance in the face of the Israeli occupation and to spread awareness among the Yemeni people of all categories, considering that Palestine is everyone’s compass as a just cause that requires them to make precious and precious efforts in order to repel the Israeli aggression and save the Palestinians.

In the Houthi-controlled areas, thousands of Yemenis who wish to wage jihad have been recruited alongside the Palestinian resistance, in preparation for what they call the battle of “the promised conquest and holy jihad,” where they train in camps on all types of weapons and carry out weapons maneuvers to attack Israeli occupation sites and engage in clashes inside Israeli settlements. The occupation soldiers were killed and captured. The popular action in Yemen appears clear in expressing the adoption and support of the resistance in Gaza by writing banners with the name “Al-Aqsa Flood,” Palestine, Gaza, and Jerusalem on the facades of shops, restaurants, and various facilities, in addition to marking streets, intersections, sites, and hospitals with the name of Palestine.

Millions of Yemenis gather in dozens of squares in cities, governorates, and residential areas on a weekly basis on Friday in million-man marches to express their absolute support for the resistance and the Palestinian people in the face of the Israeli aggression on Gaza. The squares of Sanaa, Hodeidah, and Saada, which are under the control of the Ansar Allah Houthi group, united with Marib, Taiz, Al-Mukha, Hadramaut, and Al-Mahra - which are subject to the internationally recognized Yemeni government - in embracing the weekly demonstrations in support of the Palestinian resistance.

Allied for Democracy

The extremist elements in the government are "furious" about the withdrawal from Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, and the reports about a looming ceasefire. The far-right factions in the government may withdraw their support from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, due to the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from the southern Gaza Strip. While some diplomats have expressed "cautious optimism" that the negotiations in Cairo will succeed in reaching a prisoner exchange agreement and a ceasefire in Gaza, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called on his party, Religious Zionism, to hold "urgent consultations" on the war, according to the Times of Israel.

In addition, Smotrich wrote a strongly-worded letter to Netanyahu, in which he accused the prime minister of caving into international pressure and bypassing the cabinet on key issues, such as the withdrawal from Khan Younis, the Israeli website claimed. Smotrich called on Netanyahu to hold a meeting of the "expanded cabinet" to discuss the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from Khan Younis, noting that "the only body authorized to make key decisions in wartime is the expanded cabinet, but things are not going that way." The Israeli finance minister added that decisions were "being made in the [war] cabinet without the approval or notification of the wider cabinet and under international pressure, which has harmed the momentum of the war and our security interests."

As for Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right ally of Smotrich's, he was more explicit in his position, as he threatened that Netanyahu "will not have a mandate to continue in his position if he decides to end the war without launching a major attack on Rafah."

For his part, the leader of the Israeli opposition and chairman of the Yesh Atid party, Yair Lapid, said that he "will support Netanyahu if his far-right allies decide to threaten them." Lapid added that his party was "ready to provide support for the prisoner exchange deal at any time," noting that the seats held by Yesh Atid in the "Knesset" (24 seats) were more than the seats shared by Ben Gvir and Smotrich (14 seats) out of the 72 seats in Netanyahu's current coalition.

It is worth noting that the Prime Minister needs 61 seats, which is slightly more than half of the 120-member Knesset, in order to take office. This is not the first time that Smotrich and Ben Gvir have threatened to dismantle Netanyahu's government and undermine his rule, as they support continuing the war and oppose reaching an agreement leading to a truce, despite the failure of the Israeli military operation to achieve any of the declared Israeli goals."

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said there is "sufficient evidence" that Israel is committing "genocide" in the Gaza Strip. During an event at the Islamic Center in Boston, after being asked if she believed Israel was committing genocide, Warren said: "It is wrong to starve children and civilian populations in order to try to bend them to your will. It is wrong to drop 2,000-pound bombs on densely populated civilian areas." “I think I can make a more effective argument by describing the behavior that is occurring and whether I think it is right or wrong,” she added, noting that for her, “it is much more important to say that what Israel is doing is wrong” than to make a legal case. On “what constitutes genocide.”

But after the questioner pressed her on whether “the answer was yes or no,” and when some in the crowd accused her of “avoiding the answer,” Warren said it was likely that the International Court of Justice would find Israel guilty of genocide in Gaza, “and they have sufficient evidence on that. Warren explained the reason for her reluctance to describe the Israeli military campaign against Hamas as genocide, because "I am trying to get people to move beyond the classifications debate, and I am trying to get them to look at the behavior on the ground."

Operation Iron Swords - By the Numbers

• 1,900,000 IDPs in Gaza
• 75,993 Gazans injured, 28% adult male
• 70,000 tons of explosives dropped on Gaza
• 70,000 housing units completely destroyed
• 70,000 Israeli IDPs from Lebanon border
• 45,000 bombs dropped in Gaza
• 43,000 Gazans killed, including buried under rubble
• 33,000 Gaza targets attacked
• 33,360 Gazans martyred
• 20,528 Palestinians in Israeli prisons [Haaretz, 20 Mar 2024]
• 15,000 rocket launched from Gaza
• 14,793 Israelis injured [i24 TV]
• 14,520 Gazan children martyred
• 13,000 HAMAS combatants killed [N12]
• 13,000 HAMAS combatants killed [IDF]
• 11,000 arrested by Israelis in the West Bank in 2023
• 10,000 Gazans missing under the rubble
• 9,920 Gazan women martyred
• 9,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons
• 9,000 IDF needing psychological assistance
• 8,365 arrested by Israelis in the West Bank since Oct.7th
• 6,800 IDF officers and soldiers injured [Channel 12]
• 6,000 HAMAS combatants killed [HAMAS]
• 5,500 IDF wounded [reports]
• 4,750 West Bank Palestinians wounded
• 4,700 sites targetted in Lebanon
• 3,484 administrative detainees
• 3,700 wanted persons arrested throughout Judea and Samaria
• 3,188 IDF wounded [IDF]
• 2,100 Gazan women are missing
• 1,609 terrorists killed on the first day
• 1,600 wanted persons arrested throughout Judea and Samaria affiliated with Hamas
• 1,160 Israelis killed on the first day
• 604 Israeli officers and soldiers killed since the start of the war
• 456 West Bank Palestinians martyred
• 343 people [including fighters] killed in Lebanon
• 260 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

Not every number is reported every day, so sudden jumps generally reflect reporting artifacts rather than actual upticks. 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.