Operation Iron Swords - Day 233 - 26 May 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

The IDF clarified that there is no truth in the rumors about the return of abductees in recent hours. The IDF clarified that there is no incident of kidnapping a soldier. Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X : “We clarify that there is no incident of kidnapping a soldier.”

For the first time since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, Abu Ubaida, the military spokesman for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), issued a speech that was unusual in its timing and the information it contained. After midnight, Abu Ubaida appeared in an audio speech in which he announced the capture and killing of a number of occupation soldiers in Jabalia. The occupation army spokesman, unusually, quickly issued a statement about two minutes later in which he said, “There is no incident of kidnapping of any soldier.”

The spokesman for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, said that the movement’s militants captured Israeli soldiers during the fighting in Jabalia in the Gaza Strip. This is the first time that the Al-Qassam Brigades have announced the capture of Israeli soldiers in Gaza since the Al-Aqsa Flood Battle launched by the Palestinian resistance on October 7. Israeli forces had been massing on the outskirts of Rafah for weeks ahead of a long-announced operation to destroy what the army says are four remaining Hamas battalions lurking there.

Abu Ubaida, the military spokesman for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, announced the capture, killing and wounding of Israeli soldiers during a complex operation on Saturday afternoon in the northern Gaza Strip, where they lured an Israeli force into a tunnel in the Jabalia camp . Abu Ubaida said, in a video speech obtained by Al Jazeera and broadcast after midnight, that fighters from the “Al-Qassam Brigades,” the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), ambushed members of the Israeli force inside the tunnel in Jabalia and at its entrance, and they were able to clash with this force from zero distance.

Abu Ubaida had announced after midnight that Al-Qassam fighters in the Jabalia camp had managed to lure a special occupation force into one of the tunnels, detonate explosive devices in it, clash with them, and cause its members to be killed or captured. He contented himself with publishing a short video clip of the body of one of the soldiers killed as a result of the ambush while being dragged into one of the tunnels.

He explained that Al-Qassam fighters attacked the support force that rushed to the place with explosive devices, hit them directly, and then withdrew after blowing up the tunnel used in the operation. Abu Ubaida confirmed that Al-Qassam fighters killed, wounded and captured all members of the Israeli force and seized military equipment. He pointed out that Al-Qassam fighters carried out dozens of operations against the occupation forces over the course of more than two weeks in Rafah and Beit Hanoun. Abu Ubaida pointed out that the occupation army "markets the exhumation as a military and moral achievement," and added that it "is digging up the remains of its captives for the sake of Netanyahu's personal machinations."

The spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades said that the occupation government is moving from failure to failure, and the latest chapter of failure is what the occupation forces did in Jabalia and Rafah. Abu Ubaida pointed out that the occupation government continues what he described as its blind and absurd policy of revenge and destruction, stressing that Al-Qassam fighters continue to teach the occupation lessons on the battlefields. After Abu Ubaida’s speech, the Al-Qassam Brigades showed a video clip showing what appeared to be an Israeli soldier lying on the ground, with traces of blood on him, and one of the Al-Qassam fighters pulling him into a tunnel, as well as machine guns and helmets belonging to the occupation soldiers. The video concluded with the phrase, “This is what was allowed to be published and the rest of the discussion” which indicates that the Al-Qassam Brigades are waiting for the occupation to announce the operation, so that the Al-Qassam Brigades reveal that the information they have may cause embarrassment to the occupation army and show its lack of credibility.

Abu Ubaida's brief announcement and the subsequent Israeli denial and secrecy sparked a wave of speculation about the nature of the military force that took place in the Al-Qassam ambush. Many analysts indicated that the unit might be a special unit, as the clothing of the soldier who appeared in the Al-Qassam video was not military clothing, and that The shoes he is wearing are not the shoes of the Paratroopers Brigade (brown with long boots), and they are not the shoes of fighters from another brigade. Others resorted to analyzing the weapon that appeared in the Al-Qassam video as a Czech weapon of the “CZ Scubaruin” type, pointing out that this weapon is only used by elite special units and the navy in particular, and suggesting that it is from the Shayetet Commando Unit 13.

Various Lebanese regions witnessed marches and celebrations after Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, announced the capture of Israeli soldiers in a boat ambush and the killing of others, in the Jabalia camp, north of Gaza. A march was launched in the Beddawi Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon to celebrate the capture of Israeli soldiers announced by Abu Ubaida. The Nahr al-Bared camp in northern Lebanon also witnessed the launch of a march to celebrate this news. Meanwhile, loud fireworks and firecrackers were launched in the Al-Bass camp in the city of Tyre, southern Lebanon, in celebration of this operation.

Social media platforms were filled with comments celebrating the 27th speech by Abu Ubaida, the military spokesman for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, in which he announced the capture, wounding and killing of a group of Israeli soldiers in a complex operation that took place yesterday, Saturday, in the Jabalia camp , located east of Gaza . But this announcement was not all that Al-Qassam had in mind. After the “Abu Ubaida” announcement, the Brigades published another video showing what appeared to be an Israeli soldier being dragged into a tunnel. Al-Qassam concluded the clip with the phrase, “This is what was allowed to be published, and the rest of the discussion.”

The hashtag #capture_of_soldiers trended on social media platforms in several Arab countries, rejoicing over the “Abu Ubaida” announcement, as well as the video of dragging the Israeli soldier. Tweeters expressed their admiration for the integrated system that Al-Qassam possesses from a military and media standpoint, commenting by saying, “We find that the resistance possesses great systems that are almost superior to great armies. The most prominent of which is the media system, as well as the sniper units, and the monitoring and intelligence system. These files of the resistance are very superior in them and they surprise everyone day after day.”

Tweeters said that Gaza's surprise of capturing soldiers and neutralizing others means that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not only lost the war, but is on his way to losing the negotiations, after months of deception and deception, according to what they said, and that there are two options before Netanyahu: a war that ends with more losses, Or negotiations that end with an exchange deal and save a little face for the entity and its exhausted army.

One of the bloggers commented on the clip, saying, “Although Al-Qassam has been documenting its operations since the beginning of the war, for Al-Qassam to announce the capture of soldiers (and any special forces soldiers) is something that is difficult to believe for many as well.” It is true that Al-Qassam may have documentation of the capture process, and that the Israeli government She knows the truth well, “but I am eagerly awaiting how Netanyahu and Gallant will respond.”

Followers drew attention to some observations that appeared in the video related to the Israeli soldier, saying, “The drawn soldier’s pants are not military pants, but rather semi-civilian pants, and the shoes are not the shoes of the Paratroopers Brigade (brown with long necks), and they are not shoes belonging to fighters from another brigade.” One of them added that no military unit places silencers on the weapons of its fighters in the heart of the battlefield, and while the enemy army spokesman denied that any of their soldiers were kidnapped, it is likely that the unit is not affiliated with the army, but rather a unit affiliated with the Shin Bet or another special unit.

Activists mocked the Israeli army's denial of kidnapping any Israeli soldier in Gaza, and re-published the denial of the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations after the masked man announced the news of soldier Shaul Aaron in 2014. Two days later, Tel Aviv acknowledged Aaron's capture, and pointed out that history was repeating itself, and that Israel would She announces the new capture operation of the resistance, and she will not be able to hide it.

War Termination

Israel submitted to the mediating countries two different proposals designed to start the negotiations for a hostage deal - this was announced this evening (Sunday) in the Ka'an 11 news. The proposals are not dramatically different from each other, and each of them presents the borders of the Israeli sector. Sources involved in the negotiations gave news here that, as in previous rounds of talks, the implementation of a temporary ceasefire will also be examined now. As part of this, they said that the more Hamas offers to release more hostages alive, the more the number of days of the ceasefire and the number of Palestinian terrorists who will be released as part of the deal will increase.

Israel officially announced yesterday that negotiations for the hostage deal will open next week. However, foreign officials were surprised by the wording of the Israeli announcement to return to negotiations for the abductees deal, since according to them a date for the resumption of talks has not yet been set. The Israeli announcement reads: "The head of the Mossad returned to Israel this morning after a meeting with the head of the CIA and the Prime Minister of Qatar. At the meeting, the three discussed building an infrastructure designed to allow progress to start renewed negotiations for the release of the abductees. At the end of the meeting, it was decided that within the next week negotiations will be opened based on new proposals led by the mediators - Egypt and Qatar and with the active involvement of the United States."

Senior officials in the political system made it clear that Israel would not agree to an end to the war in exchange for reaching a hostage deal. This was reported today (Sunday) in the program "This Morning" on Network B. This position is contrary to the opinion of senior officials in the security establishment, who, as we reported yesterday, are ready to take such a step due to the necessity of releasing hostages.

A source familiar with the details of the negotiations for the abductee deal told news here that the talks are at a very preliminary stage , and later it will become clear if there is a basis for continuing the talks. According to Israeli sources, the negotiations for the hostage deal are expected to resume next week in Doha, the capital of Qatar , when a delegation from the terrorist organization Hamas and an Israeli delegation will arrive one after the other to present their positions.

Also, the head of the Mossad, Dedi Barnea, presented to the mediating countries the guidelines for the deal approved by the Cabinet, and agreed with the head of the CIA, William Burns, and the Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abd al-Rahman Al Thani, that they would meet again. All of the top security officials - the Chief of Staff, the head of the Mossad, the head of the Shin Bet, the Minister of Defense and Ministers Gantz and Eisenkot expressed their support for promoting the deal, and claim that it is necessary at this time. Senior officials in the defense system believe that even if an outline is agreed upon to stop the war, Israel will be able to renew the fire when necessary, a few months later.

Agence France-Presse quoted an Israeli official as confirming that the government has an “intention” to resume talks with the aim of reaching an agreement to release the hostages in Gaza in the coming days, after a meeting with mediators in Paris. A source familiar with the talks revealed to Reuters, “It was decided that the negotiations would begin this week based on “new proposals” led by mediators Egypt and Qatar and with active American participation.

Middle East affairs researcher Fadi Eid mentioned several reasons for the resumption of negotiations between Israel and Hamas. During the past few days, intensive contacts took place between the head of the Mossad and the Prime Minister of Qatar, in order to work on completing a deal through the Qatari mediator, in light of the “military pressure” on Rafah on the one hand, and “Western political pressure” on Qatar on the one hand, according to his talk to the “Al-Hurra” website. ". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under "increasing internal pressure" regarding the hostages, and is forced to deal with the negotiations file "responsibly and humanely and not as a card during war," according to the researcher in Middle East affairs.

In a related context, Hani Al-Jamal, a researcher specializing in the Arab-Israeli conflict, points out that “it was Israel that demanded the resumption of negotiations” during the Paris talks. The mediators are trying to "search for a gray area" in which Israel and Hamas can meet, after each party set a "red line" and insisted on implementing its demands in full, according to his interview with the "Al-Hurra" website. In Israel, there are indications of "civil and military disobedience," as the street is currently "on fire," and indications have emerged of the possibility of a "rebellion within the army" after the spread of a video of an Israeli soldier "waving this," according to Al-Jamal.

Israel seeks to release hostages held by Hamas, while the movement seeks to release Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and end the war. Israel and Hamas exchange accusations of responsibility for the "stalemate" and failure to reach an "agreement" during previous rounds of negotiations.

Speaking to Al-Hurra website, the strategic expert and former Israeli intelligence officer, Avi Melamed, confirms that Israel has returned to negotiations for the release of male and female detainees held by Hamas. The first goal from the beginning of the crisis was to release the kidnapped people, but the current negotiations are “difficult” in light of each party’s desire to achieve “only” its interests and the presence of “vast differences” in the positions of the two sides, according to the Israeli strategic expert.

For his part, Palestinian political analyst and director of the Brussels Research Center, Ramadan Abu Jazar, confirms that it is in the interest of both Israel and Hamas to return to negotiations under “American, Egyptian and Qatari pressure.” There is "internal pressure" on the Israeli government and demonstrations in several cities to "return to negotiations" and recover the kidnapped people, according to his talk to the "Al-Hurra" website. On the other hand, Hamas has “no other option” but to respond to the mediators’ demands regarding returning to the talks, amid the escalating suffering of the Palestinian people and a large sector of Gaza’s population holding the movement “responsible for the catastrophic conditions” in the Strip, according to Abu Jazar.

However, Qatari political analyst, Abdullah Al Khater, believes that Hamas will be involved in the new round of negotiations with Israel. But "there are no Israeli guarantees" until Hamas returns to negotiations, and the "resistance factions" have no confidence that Netanyahu will not use the negotiations to "legitimize the attack on Rafah," according to what he told the Al-Hurra website. The Qatari political analyst believes that it is “almost impossible” for Hamas to accept negotiations because it will be a kind of “legitimate cover” for Israel’s continuation of its military operation in the Gaza Strip. It is not in Hamas' interest "to enter into any negotiations during this period," and Israel does not have "anything to give the resistance," according to the Qatari political analyst.

So far, efforts to release more than 120 hostages kidnapped by Hamas during its attack on southern Israel on October 7 have not been successful. Al-Jamal links the success or otherwise of the negotiations to the "consensus of the Israeli government." If there is a “real Israeli desire and agreement within the government” for the success of the negotiations, we will see a “truce soon,” but if there are “internal disagreements,” the round of negotiations will be “like the previous one and will not lead to anything,” according to the researcher specializing in the affairs of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

As for Eid, he expects that the new round of negotiations will be similar to “its previous counterpart, and will not lead to a comprehensive agreement.” The two sides will go to negotiate again, but the new round of negotiations “will not mean the end of the war in the Gaza Strip,” according to the researcher in Middle East affairs.

For his part, Melamed believes that “the current negotiating conditions are very difficult” in light of the conflicting interests and priorities of the two sides. The former Israeli intelligence officer expresses "cautious optimism" about the outcome of the new round of negotiations, and says: "There may be a quasi-agreement." But at the same time, he stresses the existence of “contradictory interests and different priorities” between Israel and Hamas, which has caused “the failure of all previous rounds of negotiations” to “reach an agreement.” Therefore, Melamed does not expect a “comprehensive agreement” to be reached between the two sides.

In a related context, Abu Jazar points to several “negative” indicators that confirm “the difficulty of reaching an agreement.” Israeli forces are attacking Rafah and Jabalia with full force, and the intensification of the fighting indicates that "reaching a restriction agreement will be difficult," according to the Palestinian political analyst. He points out that "the Israeli government will not stop the war in the Gaza Strip," because this would mean the fall of Netanyahu's government. Therefore, the two sides will engage in “a new round of negotiations, but it will not lead to any result in the end,” in light of “the Israeli government’s unwillingness to reach results,” according to Abu Jazar’s expectations.

A senior Israeli official told reporters on Saturday that Mossad Director David Barnea discussed “developing a framework for resuming negotiations on the release of the hostages” with Burns and the Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Barnea presented the main points of the updated Israeli position, but the Qatari prime minister was not given a formal, written Israeli proposal to send to Hamas, according to a source familiar with the meeting. “At the end of the meeting, it was agreed that during the next week negotiations will resume on the basis of new proposals, led by Egyptian and Qatari mediators and with the active participation of the United States,” the Israeli official said.

According to Axios, American officials were more reserved about the results of the Paris meeting. While they acknowledged that progress had been made, they said that the possible resumption of negotiations had been discussed, but they stressed that no date had been set for a new round of negotiations yet. An American official said: “There is progress. Contacts are ongoing and we are working closely with the Egyptian and Qatari mediators. These contacts will continue during the next week, as we seek to move the negotiation process forward.”

On the other hand, a Hamas official told Axios that the movement will not resume hostage deal negotiations as long as Israel continues the war in Gaza.

Former head of the Israeli Mossad, Danny Yatom, said that "time was running out" for Israeli captives being held in Gaza. Yatom stressed that he was prepared to do everything he could to return the captives, including "agreeing to Hamas' demands", indicating the limited choices Israel has as the Resistance continues scoring achievements by the day. Speaking to Channel 13, he clarified that returning Israeli captives was of "utmost importance", noting that the matter could force Israel to halt all operations at a certain point.

Israel will fail to achieve any of its war objectives, the former Mossad chief affirmed, saying that Gaza will remain the way it is. He further stated that even if the Israeli occupation forces "remained in Gaza for several more months, fighting over and under its lands, they would still not be able to kill every Hamas fighter or even the majority of them." Moreover, he said that the IOF would also fail to destroy the Resistance's infrastructure in Gaza or even its majority.

Danny Yotam specifically mentioned how the Al-Qassam Brigades launched rockets toward the Gush Dan settlement in Tel Aviv, saying he was "not surprised because as everyone knows, Hamas still has the capability to launch rockets", after 233 days since Al-Aqsa Flood was launched. In this context, Matan Vilai, a former major general in the IOF, said that Hamas succeeded in targeting the middle area, affirming that the Resistance is still active, and denied that there was something called "destroying Hamas".

Operational Update

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reduced the number of troops deployed in eastern Rafah, with the Givati Brigade withdrawing from the Gaza Strip overnight after a three-week operation. This redeployment, reported by Ynet, is part of a strategic plan to allow the troops to return later, refreshed and ready for further action after weeks of intense combat. Four combat teams from the 162nd Division remained in the area.

The withdrawal of the Givati Brigade coincides with reports indicating that Israel will permit the reopening of the Rafah Crossing by the Egyptian army. This decision aims to facilitate the entry of additional humanitarian aid into Gaza. As a result, Israeli forces are being removed from the vicinity of the crossing to support this humanitarian effort.

This military adjustment followed a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, which on Friday ordered Israel to "immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part."

Despite the International Court's order to halt its attack on Rafah, Israel says it will continue its operations, and is trying to walk a dividing line between not angering its allies in the United States and trying to achieve strategic goals that it considers too important to abandon, according to a report by the New York Times . After several weeks of warnings from the White House, both the Israelis and Americans are describing the military operation in Rafah as “limited,” allowing the Israeli army to proceed, albeit more slowly and cautiously than in other parts of Gaza.

On Sunday, the Minister in the Israeli War Cabinet, Benny Gantz, submitted a proposal to the Cabinet Secretariat to form a government investigation committee into the October 7 attacks and the subsequent war in the Gaza Strip, according to what the Times of Israel newspaper reported . According to the Israeli newspaper, the responsibility of this committee, if its formation is approved, will be to examine the process of making political, military and intelligence decisions before, during and after the attacks launched by the Hamas movement.

However, The Times of Israel reported that given the sharp political tensions between Gantz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the former's threat to withdraw from the government by June 8 if the latter does not detail who should rule Gaza after the end of the current war, it seems unlikely. That the proposal be adopted by the government.” Government investigation committees may be established by government decision or by the State Control Committee of the Knesset (Parliament), which are independent committees whose members are chosen by the President of the Supreme Court from among current or retired Supreme Court judges or district court judges.

Against the backdrop of intense scrutiny by the ICC and the International Court of Justice into the war, it would be up to any similar committee set up in Israel to examine whether the country fulfilled its obligations under international law to continue the war, which could prevent the ICC from evaluating the arrest warrants. Against Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, according to the newspaper.

The military and strategic expert, Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi, said that the decision regarding the possibility of the Israeli army withdrawing from the Rafah crossing may have been taken after the Israeli leaders understood the seriousness of the International Court of Justice’s decision , and became certain of the possibility of being subjected to sanctions. He said that the news broadcast by the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation regarding the possibility of withdrawal from the crossing came after Israel had become a country that everyone avoided as if it were infected with scabies.

Among the political pressures that led to the decision to withdraw, the military expert did not rule out that the Egyptian side would have a position, because Israel exceeded the limits of the Camp David Accords and its annexes in 1979, explaining that there are displacement operations now taking place in the Philadelphia axis of about 800 thousand people, and Al-Duwairi did not rule out the possibility There will be harsh field reactions, as is happening around the airport, in Al-Shoka, and in Jabalia.

According to Al-Duwairi, Netanyahu has begun to use the policy of "escape forward" and exploit opportunities and gain time. He said that he will enter the negotiations into a new, vicious circle, while he continues his attempts to maneuver, laugh at others, and continue killing for at least the next week. Regarding the progress of the steps of the Court of Justice’s decision, he pointed out that everyone is waiting for the case to be referred to the UN Security Council , and is anticipating America’s reaction if it will use its veto power to disrupt the implementation of the Court of Justice’s decision, even though it agreed to the points contained in it.

Regarding the impact of what is happening in the field on the course of the upcoming negotiations, Al-Duwairi said that “the field is the master of the situation,” explaining that what is happening in Rafah and Jabalia, which are still fighting staunchly - as he described it - and what happened in the Court of Justice in The Hague are all matters that have been in favor of Resistance. He noted that the resistance was able, with its locally manufactured missiles, to destroy between 1,400 and 1,500 armored fighting vehicles of the occupation army, and explained that this number exceeds the number of combat vehicles in 5 armored divisions, each of which usually contains 315 armored vehicles.

Israeli writer Gideon Levy said that Tel Aviv has one way out - and it will not choose it - even though it is the only way to avoid falling into the abyss on which it stands now, which is to say yes to the ruling issued by the International Court of Justice last Friday. This is how a state governed by laws should behave - as the writer sees it - and this is how a state that aspires to become a legitimate member of the United Nations family should behave, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to promise this, so that the gates of hell that are about to open remain In Israel, it is closed, albeit briefly.

Saying yes to the court, according to Levy in his comment in Haaretz newspaper, will not only save Israel from further bloodshed in vain, but will also stop the international snowball that is rolling towards it, and ending the fighting in Rafah and the entire war will be Israel’s last chance to regain its international standing. prewar. If Israel decides to ignore the matter - which is almost certain, according to the author - it will thereby declare itself a pariah state. However, it will look for ways to ignore the matter and enlist Washington to undermine international law.

But now that we are one step away from the abyss - as Gideon Levy sees it - there are two urgent measures that Israel must take: ending the war and changing its government, and this is exactly what the two largest courts in the world ordered, when the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court requested the issuance of international arrest warrants against Netanyahu. His Defense Minister Yoav Galant , and the International Court of Justice ordered the fighting in Rafah to stop.

However, since the “hasty” withdrawal from Sinai in 1956, Israel has never submitted to the will of the international community, as if the world and its decisions have nothing to do with it. Because it is invulnerable and protected by America, the Bible, and a nuclear research center in Dimona , Tel Aviv always acts as if it has A license to mock the whole world, but that ended the day Gaza was invaded in this brutal and unchecked manner, as the writer sees it. To confirm this - Levy says - the President of the International Court of Justice, Judge Nawaf Salam, had barely finished reading the ruling when Israel intensified its attacks on Rafah, from which nearly a million people fled to the beaches, and in which only one hospital with 8 beds remained.

Operational Update - Gaza

The military and strategic expert, Colonel Hatem Karim Al-Falahi, said that the current intensity of fighting in the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip means returning to square one of the Israeli ground invasion. Al-Falahi explained - during his analysis of the developments of the military situation in Gaza - that these battles confirm that the Palestinian resistance has largely regained its strength in the northern regions after the withdrawal of the occupation forces. He pointed out that the occupation's withdrawal gave the resistance factions great comfort in returning to those areas and building an integrated theater of operations, citing the qualitative attrition operations that took place over the past two weeks.

Colonel Al-Falahi pointed out that confrontations are raging on all fronts of Jabalia, despite the occupation’s attempt to disperse the resistance factions by opening new fronts of incursion. He warned that the current battle confirms that the resistance factions possess something that the Israeli army does not possess, which withdrew the Givati Brigade from Rafah to the south, and may push it to Jabalia in the coming days.

According to the military expert, the battles are still raging and the occupation army may send additional reinforcements, pointing to the human losses suffered by Israeli forces in the Jabalia camp after the Qassam Brigades lured them into a tunnel and left them dead and captured. He explained that the occupation army has always promoted "military pressure" to regain its prisoners and end the rule of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), and previously claimed that 18 battalions belonging to the military wing of Hamas had been destroyed out of 24.

Al-Falahi concluded that the battles confirm the failure of the occupation, not only at the strategic and operational levels, but also tactically, when an Israeli force was captured, wounded and killed - yesterday, Saturday - in one of Jabalia's tunnels. He added, "When you come to liberate prisoners and find lifeless bodies and cause losses exponentially, this confirms that the occupation has failed to deal with this issue." The strategic expert continued, saying, "The Israeli narrative that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to pass is false, and absolute victory is baseless."

Is the military operation still “limited” or has it become “comprehensive”? Questions accompany the “new evacuation” demands directed by the Israeli army to residents of several neighborhoods in different areas of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. On Saturday, the Israeli army bombed the Gaza Strip, especially Rafah, the day after the International Court of Justice issued an order for Israel to stop its military operations in the southern governorate “immediately.” On the night of Saturday and Sunday, the Israeli army intensified its artillery and aircraft bombardment of the city of Rafah, located in the far south, as well as areas in the center and north of the Gaza Strip, according to what eyewitnesses reported to Agence France-Presse.

In early May, the Israeli army began a ground attack in the city of Rafah, located near the Egyptian border. Despite international concerns about the fate of civilians in the city, which is crowded with displaced people, Israel stresses that this attack is necessary to achieve its declared goal of “eliminating” the Hamas movement, which is classified as a terrorist organization in the United States and other countries.

For Israel, seizing Rafah and the border would effectively complete the process of “reoccupying” the Gaza Strip, and could mean moving to a different phase of less intense raids. The Israelis say Rafah is home to the last four relatively organized Hamas battalions, and major infrastructure for tunnels and rocket launchers. More importantly, Israel wants to try to close the border with Egypt to limit future arms smuggling, according to the New York Times.

Muhammad al-Masri, 31, an accountant who has been living in a tent in Rafah for months, said: “The air strikes are continuous and intense, and the smell of smoke does not leave the air. At night, they advance a few meters each time, and people flee immediately.” He was speaking to the New York Times from western Rafah, where the Israeli army had not ordered residents to leave. However, many of the tents that had been housing families for months around him have disappeared as people have fled elsewhere. Al-Masry said: “They are constantly shooting at us and bombing us, but what scares us most are the drones.”

Israeli military objectives remain unchanged. It wants to secure the entire border with Egypt, destroy smuggling tunnels, dismantle the last Hamas brigades, return the movement’s remaining hostages to Israel, and completely break Hamas’ administrative control over the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces initially focused on securing the sparsely populated border, which revolves around the city of Rafah and pressuring nearly a million people displaced from other parts of Gaza to move to areas that are supposed to be safer but conditions remain dire.

On Thursday, the Israeli army said that its forces were fighting in the Brazilian neighborhoods near the border and in the Shaboura refugee camp, its deepest penetration into Rafah. But the Israeli army insists that it has not yet attempted to enter the central city, which in normal times has a population of one million.

Analysts told the New York Times that anger and warnings from the administration of US President Joe Biden and other close allies of Israel had the effect of easing Israeli tactics, even if the attack remained devastating. Officers who have just left the fighting in Rafah say Israel is "using less air power and artillery, and fewer and smaller bombs," forcing Israeli soldiers to engage in urban guerrilla warfare with Hamas fighters. With the Americans insisting that Israel evacuate civilians as much as possible from the areas of planned operations, in the past two weeks, up to a million civilians have moved west towards the sea and safer areas, and even if shelter facilities are available, food and care for them are “insufficient.”

The Israeli army continues to ask residents and displaced people to evacuate specific areas of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip and move towards the “humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi,” amid Palestinian accusations of pushing residents toward “death” and warnings of a “new humanitarian disaster.” Israel insists it has responded to US criticism and is trying to warn civilians to stay out of the way of fighting. But even if civilians are not in the line of fire, the threats to them remain serious with little or no aid crossing from Egypt.

Tamir Hayman, executive director of the Institute for National Security Studies and reserve general and former head of military intelligence from 2018 to 2021, said Israeli negotiators misread their Egyptian counterparts and thought Cairo would not strongly object to Israel's takeover of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing. Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, believes that some Hamas fighters are evacuating with civilians, hoping to fight again in areas that Israel occupied and then withdrew from, such as in Jabalia, where renewed fighting has intensified. Michael agrees with Israeli officials that the four Hamas brigades still in Rafah “are not as well trained as those in the north and do not represent a pressing problem.”

Hayman said that strategically, it is very important for Israel to close the border with Egypt. Despite Egyptian denials of any tolerance for smuggling into Gaza, Hayman said, “Israeli intelligence believes that most of Hamas’ weapons and components came from Egypt, either through smuggling tunnels or through the crossing itself, and were often carefully hidden over the years in ordinary commercial trucks.” Israel said publicly in mid-May that it had discovered about 700 tunnel openings in and around Rafah leading to 50 larger tunnels for smuggling to Egypt. Michael said that the army has chosen not to blow up the tunnels yet because it would cause damage inside Egypt.

He added that for the same reason, the army does not reveal photos of the tunnels to try to avoid embarrassing the Egyptian government, which in the past has acted aggressively to find and destroy such tunnels. Last January, the head of the Egyptian State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, said in response to statements by Israeli officials, in which they indicated the existence of weapons smuggling operations into the Gaza Strip from Egyptian territory, considering them to be “false allegations and claims.” For its part, Israel says that unless smuggling into Gaza from Egypt can be controlled, Hamas or another armed group will be able to bring back supplies over time.

The Philadelphia axis is considered a “buffer zone” and is subject to the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, but two weeks after the Israeli military operation in the city of Rafah on the Egyptian border, the Israeli army took control of “half of the axis,” according to its assurances to the “Al-Hurra” website, which raised questions about the reasons and repercussions of that step.

How can the Rafah crossing be reopened? This question remains one of the deep political questions that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to answer, according to the New York Times. Netanyahu insists that Israel must dismantle Hamas' military and administrative control over Gaza, while refusing to engage with his allies and the Palestinian Authority, the current main alternative to Hamas, over who will rule Gaza in the future and care for its citizens. For many, that means a long-term Israeli military occupation that senior army officers said they "want to avoid."

For his part, Gabi Siboney, a reserve colonel and fellow at the conservative-leaning Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, said that the main problem “is that the army is only dealing with dismantling the Hamas military regime and not the civilian regime.” He pointed out that "Hamas' control of the civilian sphere will be its starting point for rebuilding its army." In his view, there is no alternative to a transitional period of Israeli military rule in Gaza that could last several years.

Israel has repeatedly emphasized its primary goal in the war in the Gaza Strip, which is to “destroy the Hamas movement,” which is classified as a terrorist organization in the United States and other countries, while specialists spoken to by the “Al-Hurra” website debate about ways to achieve this in light of the movement’s reliance on “an ideology that is difficult to eradicate.” For his part, Hayman stressed that "the process of dismantling Hamas' structures there may take a much longer time." He said: "The choice is to withdraw or deepen your control and try to keep Hamas underground." He indicated that Israel could negotiate with Egypt, the United States and regional partners to reach an agreement under which the Palestinian Authority would obtain at least symbolic sovereignty over the Gaza side of the crossing.

Between talk about a “private company,” a “previous” situation with Palestinian management in coordination with the Egyptian authorities, and “existing” Israeli military control, questions about who is responsible “in the future” for operating the Rafah crossing. Who will have the “future” control over the strategic border gate?

The Israeli army announced, at dawn on Monday, that it had bombed a Hamas compound in the city of Rafah in the far south of the Gaza Strip, and that it was aware of reports that civilians had been harmed, and was conducting an investigation. It was emphasized that the operation was carried out against attack targets, in accordance with international law, using precise weaponry and on the basis of preliminary intelligence according to which the terrorists were using the area. Also, in the IDF spokesman's announcement, it is stated that the claim that as a result of the attack, and a fire that broke out at the scene, a number of non-involved people were injured - and that the incident is under investigation.

Later, the IDF confirmed that in the attack, which was carried out in cooperation with the Shin Bet, the terrorist Yassin Rabia, the head of the West Bank headquarters of the terrorist organization Hamas, and the terrorist Khaled Nagar, another senior officer in the West Bank headquarters, were killed. The attack was carried out in the Tel Alsaltan area in the northwest of Rafah and based on accurate intelligence. The Hagada headquarters in Hamas is responsible for the direction, financing and support of carrying out terrorist attacks in the territories of Judea and Samaria and in the interior of the country.

The terrorist Yassin Rabia managed all the military formations of the West Bank headquarters of Hamas, was involved in the transfer of funds for terrorist purposes and directed attacks by Hamas operatives in Judea and Samaria. Yassin has carried out a number of murderous attacks in the past, including attacks in 2001 and 2002 in which IDF soldiers were killed. The terrorist Khaled Nagar, a senior officer at the West Bank headquarters, directed shooting attacks and other terrorist plots in Judea and Samaria, and was involved in the transfer of funds destined for terrorism for Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In the past, Nagar carried out several attacks in which Israeli civilians were murdered and additional soldiers were killed and wounded.

The Government Information Office in Gaza said on Sunday that at least 30 Palestinians were killed and dozens of others were injured after several Israeli air strikes targeted a camp for displaced people in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, causing their tents to catch fire. A medic said that the final death toll in Tal Sultan camp has not yet been determined, adding that dozens were injured as a result of the fire that followed the raids and that residents are still trying to extinguish it. The Red Crescent said in a post on the “X” platform that its crews “transported a large number of martyrs and injuries following the occupation’s targeting of the tents of the displaced near the United Nations headquarters northwest of Rafah.” He added, "The site has been classified by the Israeli occupation as a humanitarian zone."

Meanwhile, government sources in Gaza announced that dozens of civilians had been killed. The Palestinian presidency considered that "Israel's targeting of displaced persons' tents in Rafah is a heinous massacre." The army said in a statement, "A short while ago, an (Israeli army) plane bombed a Hamas compound in Rafah, where prominent terrorists affiliated with the organization were present." He added that he was "aware of reports indicating that a number of civilians were harmed in the area as a result of the raid and the fire that broke out in the area."

The Government Information Office in Gaza announced that at least 30 Palestinians were killed and dozens of others were injured after several Israeli air strikes targeted a camp for displaced people in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, causing their tents to catch fire. Al-Hurra's correspondent stated that most of the injured who arrived at hospitals had severe burns due to the burning of their tents.

The Palestinian presidency accused Israel of deliberately targeting a center for displaced people in the city of Rafah in the far south of the Gaza Strip, while officials in the Palestinian Strip said that the bombing led to the death of at least 35 people. The presidency said in a statement that "the Israeli occupation forces committing this heinous massacre is a challenge to all resolutions of international legitimacy," accusing the Israeli forces of "deliberately targeting... the tents of the displaced in Rafah."

The Israeli army spokesman, Avichay Adraee, said in a post on the “X” platform that the raid “targeted terrorists who constitute a legitimate target under the provisions of international law.” He revealed that the raid was carried out with "precision types of ammunition, and based on prior intelligence information indicating that Hamas members were using this area." He continued, "We know the claim that as a result of the raid and fire that broke out in the area, a number of uninvolved people were injured. The circumstances of the incident are being investigated."

The IDF spokesman referred tonight (between Sunday and Monday) to the Palestinian reports of a widespread wave of attacks in the Rafah area, during which it was claimed that 27 people were killed and dozens were injured. In a statement, it was stated that aircraft attacked a Hamas compound in Rafah where senior terrorists of terrorist organization. Later, the IDF confirmed that in the attack, which was carried out in cooperation with the Shin Bet, the terrorist Yassin Rabia, the head of the West Bank headquarters of the terrorist organization Hamas, and the terrorist Khaled Nagar, another senior officer in the West Bank headquarters, were killed. The attack was carried out in the Tel Alsaltan area in the northwest of Rafah and based on accurate intelligence. The Hagada headquarters in Hamas is responsible for the direction, financing and support of carrying out terrorist attacks in the territories of Judea and Samaria and in the interior of the country.

The terrorist Yassin Rabia managed all the military formations of the West Bank headquarters of Hamas, was involved in the transfer of funds for terrorist purposes and directed attacks by Hamas operatives in Judea and Samaria. Yassin has carried out a number of murderous attacks in the past, including attacks in 2001 and 2002 in which IDF soldiers were killed. The terrorist Khaled Nagar, a senior officer at the West Bank headquarters, directed shooting attacks and other terrorist plots in Judea and Samaria, and was involved in the transfer of funds destined for terrorism for Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In the past, Nagar carried out several attacks in which Israeli civilians were murdered and additional soldiers were killed and wounded.

Military and strategic expert Hatem Karim Al-Falahi said that the resistance outperformed the occupation army in Rafah by using guerrilla warfare tactics, and succeeded in confronting its forces equipped with the latest military technologies with elements armed with light weapons, but characterized by boldness and agility. He explained - in the section on the military analysis of the Gaza war - that the resistance elements are withdrawing immediately to a safe area after carrying out the operation using a number of methods, including tunnels, which he said are still 65% effective according to American reports, in addition to built-up areas that provide monitoring and surveillance.

Commenting on pictures broadcast by Al Jazeera of Al-Qassam Brigades targeting the occupation forces south of Rafah, the expert said that the pictures confirm that the battles taking place in the Rafah axis are fierce, and from very close distances of about 50 to 100 meters, and reveal fierce resistance to the Israeli incursion, which is still at the beginning of the areas. Residential. He considered the pictures broadcast by the resistance to be evidence of the occupation forces faltering during their attempt to penetrate the city of Rafah, despite their attempt to test the pulse of the resistance by incursion through the “Tabba Zare” area, which is about 500 meters from Salah al-Din Street. Regarding the occupation’s use of aerial bombardment to target civilian sites, Al-Falahi believes that these raids causing civilian casualties fall within the framework of genocide and killing of civilians.

Eight launches were carried out from the Rafah area towards the territory of the country. After identifying the source of the shooting, Air Force fighter jets in cooperation with the forces of Division 162 attacked and destroyed the launcher which is located near two mosques. This is further proof that Hamas places its assets near civilian facilities and infrastructure while using the population of the Strip as a human shield. AFP correspondents confirmed that sirens were heard in Tel Aviv, central Israel, for the first time in months, and explosions were heard.

The rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into central Israel, including Herzliya, Raanana, and Hod Hasharon, east of Tel Aviv. A clip circulated on social media showed a crater caused by a missile fired near the town of Kfar Saba in the center of the country. The Israeli army spokesman, Avichay Adraee, said on his account on the “X” platform that the air defenses were able to intercept several shells. The Times of Israel said it was the first time rockets had been fired at central Israel in four months.

IDF paratroopers led a divisional attack in the area of the old and new market in the heart of Jabalia, and eliminated terrorists in face-to-face battles in crowded alleys and fought with high intensity. The forces neutralized and destroyed the trapped houses and explosives, and eliminated about a hundred terrorists in dozens of battles in which the fighters strove for contact and fought with high intensity. The fighters raided the headquarters for general security of Hamas in the heart of Jabaliya, the house of the Northern Brigade of the GAP and fought in all the neighborhoods of the market in Jabaliya.

The Givati Military Police has been operating in recent weeks under the 162nd Division in Rafah. The forces fought to destroy terrorist infrastructure, eliminate terrorists and destroy shafts in the area. In the last few days, more than 30 terrorists were eliminated by the forces. Last week soldiers of the Sabar Battalion raided the suspect's home as a meeting point for terrorists in the Rafah Brigade. During the raid the fighters encountered the terrorists and eliminated them. Immediately after that, the force searched the building from which the terrorists came out and located an underground weapons warehouse with many weapons.

The forces of the 98th Division continue fighting in the heart of Jabalia. The 460th Israel Defense Forces raided a military warehouse located inside a school in Jablia and found dozens of rocket components and weapons, this is further proof of the cynical use of civilian infrastructure by the terrorist organization Hamas for terrorist purposes, while using the civilian population as a human shield. During the operation of the 162nd Division in the Rafah area, the fighters of the combat teams of the Givati, Nahal and 401 brigades eliminated terrorists who tried to attack our forces and located in scans of the area several shafts along with many weapons, including Kalashnikovs, RPGs, grenades and explosives.

Soldiers of the 679th TDF in the 99th Division continue their operation in the center of the Gaza Strip, during which they eliminated a number of terrorists. During the last day, aircraft and fighter jets of the Air Force attacked and destroyed over 50 terrorist targets throughout the Gaza Strip. Among the targets that were attacked were military buildings, IDF sites and warehouses, rocket launchers, observation posts, terrorist squads and other military infrastructure. During the night, two rocket launchers were attacked in the Rafah area, aimed at the Kerem Shalom area.

In recent weeks, dozens of protesters have blocked aid trucks on their way to the Strip. On Route 1, 6 protesters were arrested for blocking trucks and causing damage to them, and in the Mitzpe Ramon area, 20 more were arrested for blocking the road and calling not to "deliver aid to murderers". Among other things, in an unusual incident near Givat Assaf, young people blocked a truck they suspected was on its way to Gaza. They attacked the driver, damaged the goods and blocked the road - which led to the arrest of two of them.

Prime Minister Netanyahu appealed to the police through the National Security Council, demanding increased enforcement of the protesters who are blocking the aid trucks to Gaza. The message was conveyed to the police over the head of National Security Minister Ben Gabir. "The Prime Minister emphasized the political challenges facing us, including accusations by American officials, that we are not doing enough on the humanitarian issue," the letter reads. "Therefore, we must continue the flooding effort, including making sure that truck traffic continues as a series."

Officials in the police, who are trusted by the minister and who are supposed to enforce the measure, realized that the transfer of aid was not a priority - which led Netanyahu to send the letter. In the confrontation between Ben Gvir and Netanyahu in the cabinet about two weeks ago, the Minister of National Security was outraged by the increased police presence in regards to securing the passage of the trucks. The Prime Minister praised the police for the arrests made, while the minister claimed that there should be a reduction in the allocation of police officers to enforce the issue.

Operational Update - Judea-Samaria

Soldiers of the IDF, the Shin Bet and the Security Guard arrested seven wanted men throughout Judea and Samaria tonight. In Jenin, in the Menashe Brigade, the forces worked to uncover charges buried in the area. During the operation, terrorists fired at the fighters, who responded by firing. In the area of Madama and Tel in Samaria, the forces arrested three wanted persons who had incited terrorism and in Hosan in Zion, the fighters arrested two more wanted persons. In Al-Amari, in the Binyamin Brigade, the forces arrested a wanted person suspected of terrorist activity, and in Bitonia, in the division of the brigade, a wanted person was arrested who was engaged in dumping explosives. The wanted persons who were arrested were transferred to the security forces for further treatment, there are no casualties to Israeli forces.

Two children were injured by Israeli army gunfire north of Hebron . While the occupation forces withdrew from the city of Jenin and its camp after destroying infrastructure and shops, they arrested 20 Palestinians throughout the West Bank , including children and former prisoners. Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that two children were injured by rubber-coated metal bullets, after occupation soldiers opened fire on them at the entrance to the Arroub camp, north of Hebron.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces withdrew from the city of Jenin and its camp, after storming them at dawn today, reinforced with more than 30 military vehicles. Subsequently, clashes broke out between resistance fighters and the invading forces, during which the resistance detonated homemade explosive devices on the outskirts of Jenin camp. While the occupation forces bulldozed the camp's infrastructure and streets, the rehabilitation of which was recently completed. The " Jerusalem Brigades - Jenin Brigade " said that its fighters targeted occupation vehicles in the city of Jenin and its camp with explosive devices. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades also reported that they were engaged in fierce clashes with the occupation forces in various areas of the storming of Jenin.

Palestine State TV published video clips showing the bulldozer destroying the streets of the Jenin camp and private property, including a bakery. The Israeli army withdrew - at dawn on Thursday - from the city of Jenin and its camp after a military operation that lasted about 48 hours, resulting in 12 Palestinian martyrs, including 4 children, 12 wounded, and the destruction of infrastructure.

At the same time, the occupation forces arrested - last night and this morning - 20 Palestinians, including children and former prisoners, in various parts of the West Bank, including the occupied Holy City.

The Prisoners' Club and the Palestinian Prisoners' Affairs Authority reported - in a statement - that the arrests were distributed among the governorates of Bethlehem, Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron, Jenin, and occupied Jerusalem. Thus, the number of detainees after October 7 increased to 8,875 Palestinians. In conjunction with the war on Gaza , settlers escalated their attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, and the Israeli army expanded its operations, which led in total to the death of 518 Palestinians, the injury of about 5,000 others, and the arrest of about 8,855 citizens, according to official Palestinian data.

Operational Update - Lebanon

Aircraft and the fire center of Division 146 detected a Hezbollah terrorist coming out of a military structure of the organization in the al-Nakura region. A short time later, a rapid closing of the circle was carried out, in which the aircraft attacked and eliminated the terrorist. In addition, two additional Hizbollah terrorists were attacked who were identified as working in the area of Aita al-Sha'ab. During the day, about 15 launches from the territory of Lebanon to the peaceful area were detected, and a number of additional launches to different areas in the north of the country, there were no casualties. IDF forces attacked the sources of the shooting. During the night, warplanes attacked a terrorist infrastructure and a number of military buildings of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the areas of al-Khyam and Aita al-Sha'ab in southern Lebanon. In addition, the IDF attacked with artillery fire in the areas of Al-Khyam, Khula, Merkaba, and Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon.

The Lebanese Hezbollah published a summary of its operations carried out against the occupation army on Sunday, “in support of the steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in support of their brave and honorable resistance.” Hezbollah 's military media indicated that "the Islamic Resistance carried out a number of operations against the positions and deployment of the Israeli enemy army on the Lebanese-Palestinian border on Sunday, May 26, 2024, according to the following ":

Eastern sector (southern Lebanon):
1. - 08:30: Targeting the technical systems at the Al-Abad site with appropriate weapons, directly hitting and destroying them. ?
2. - At 15:20: A building used by Israeli enemy soldiers in the Senir settlement was targeted with appropriate weapons, and it was directly hit, as a response to the enemy’s attacks on the steadfast southern villages and civilian homes, especially Aitaroun .
3. - At 15:30: The Zibdin site in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms was targeted with missile weapons, and it was directly hit.
4. - At 15:30: The Ramtha site in the occupied Lebanese hills of Kafr Shuba was targeted with missile weapons, and it was directly hit.
5. - 18:00: The headquarters of the Habushit Barracks Battalion was targeted with a missile launcher.
6. - At 18:20: The settlement of Kiryat Shmona Basaliya was targeted by Falaq and Katyusha rockets, in response to the Israeli enemy’s attacks on the steadfast southern villages, the last of which was the Hula town square and the people in it .
7. - At 18:25: Yiftah Barracks was targeted with dozens of Katyusha rockets .
8. - 18:30: Ramim barracks were targeted with rocket weapons and artillery shells.
9. - 22:00: After monitoring, anticipating, and following up on the Israeli enemy forces in the Shebaa Farms and their movements in the dead of the night, the Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance ambushed the Merkava tank between the site of Zabdin and the site of Qafwa and targeted it while it was moving with a guided missile that hit it directly, as it was destroyed and set on fire. And its crew was killed or wounded.

   Western sector (southern Lebanon)

10. - At 13:50: Al-Malikiyah site was targeted and Israeli enemy soldiers deployed in its vicinity with appropriate weapons, achieving direct hits.
11. - At 15:00: An intense fire attack was launched with rocket weapons and artillery shells, targeting the Jal al-Alam site and a deployment of Israeli enemy soldiers in its vicinity. It achieved direct casualties and inflicted confirmed losses on them, as part of a response to the assassination carried out by the Israeli enemy in the town of Naqoura and civilian casualties .
12. - Targeting a building used by Israeli enemy soldiers in the Avivim settlement, and also targeting buildings used by soldiers in the Margaliot colony (in the eastern sector) with appropriate weapons and causing direct casualties, as part of a response to the Israeli enemy’s assault on the town of Aita al-Shaab and the martyrdom of Civilians.
13. - At 15:20: The battalion headquarters in the Liman barracks was targeted with a rocket launcher, in response to the assassination carried out by the Israeli enemy in the town of Naqoura and the wounding of civilians .
14. - Targeting the Khirbet Maar base, its artillery positions, and the positions of Israeli enemy soldiers in its vicinity with dozens of Katyusha rockets and causing confirmed casualties, as a response to the Israeli enemy’s attacks on the steadfast southern villages, especially in the town of Yaron .
15. - Targeting the spy equipment developed at the monk’s site with appropriate weapons and directly hitting it, which led to its destruction .”

Hezbollah added in a later statement: “In support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in support of their valiant and honorable resistance, and after monitoring and anticipating the Israeli enemy forces at the Al-Malikiyah site and during the entry of vehicles into it, the Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance targeted them at around 1:00 p.m. 23:30 on Sunday night with artillery shells, and they hit it directly.”

Operational Update - Syria / Iraq

Operational Update - Yemen

The Yemeni Armed Forces announced the downing of an American MQ_9 drone in the airspace of Al-Bayda Governorate, just days after a plane of the same type was shot down in the airspace of Ma’rib Governorate, bringing the total number of aircraft of this type that were shot down during operations in support of Gaza to five aircraft.

The Yemeni forces have intensified their operations against Israeli interests and the countries supporting them, as they announced earlier the implementation of three qualitative operations on three ships in the Red and Arab Seas and the Mediterranean Sea, within the framework of the fourth phase of escalation in support of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Mr. Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi announced the escalation of naval operations, and said that one of the operations was carried out towards the Mediterranean Sea, pointing out that the number of ships targeted so far has reached more than one hundred and nineteen ships linked to the Israeli entity, Britain, and the United States.

This raises many questions, most notably about the implications of the Yemeni army shooting down all these advanced American marches? How is the increase in the level of Yemeni air defenses explained? What are the repercussions of these operations that led to the downing of all these marches? Will the American presence in the skies over Yemen be reduced? Have there been fewer American attacks on Yemeni territory recently? What does this mean for the military and strategic situation?

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

While relief organizations are sounding the alarm about what is happening in Gaza due to the siege imposed on its residents and the lack of supplies of food and medicine, extremist Israelis attack the few trucks trying to reach the Strip. Several weeks ago, extremist Israelis expanded their attacks on aid trucks passing through the West Bank. Groups of young settlers track relief convoys, set up “checkpoints,” and question drivers. Far-right attackers looted and burned trucks and beat Palestinian drivers, leading to at least two being taken to the hospital, according to the Washington Post.

The newspaper said that these acts of violence and vandalism, which are committed with almost complete impunity, raise questions about the extent of the willingness of the Israeli security forces to restrain extremist settlers and protect the Palestinians. These actions also “challenge the Israeli government’s claim that it is doing everything in its power to ensure the flow of aid to Gaza,” according to the newspaper, which notes that the humanitarian situation has rapidly deteriorated since the Israeli army forces’ incursion into the southern city of Rafah.

Young Israelis formed “troops” that determined who could and could not pass on the main roads in the West Bank, while trucks carrying food to the Strip became vulnerable to attacks. The attackers use a network of publicly accessible WhatsApp groups to track trucks and coordinate attacks. Taking advantage of what they say are "tips" from Israeli soldiers and police, as well as the public, members sift through photos to identify vehicles that might be carrying aid to Gaza and mobilize local supporters to stop them.

An attack that occurred last Thursday on one of the shipments showed the “system at work,” according to a Washington Post report, as users in a WhatsApp group that includes more than 800 members began posting about a truck loaded with sugar, and sharing photos from the road as they followed it. One of the group's participants, De Presser, wrote: "The truck supplying Hamas stopped in front of Eviatar!" In reference to an Israeli settlement site south of the Palestinian city of Nablus. De Presser is one of the leaders of the “We Will Not Forget” movement, which set up protest camps at the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza earlier this year, and runs several WhatsApp groups targeting aid trucks. De Presser concluded his letter by saying, “Come and join the siege!”

Indeed, the truck was attacked, and its cargo was scattered along the road, according to the photos published by the group later. It was one of the two sugar trucks that the settlers vandalized that day. De Presser said the bill of lading - which did not show the destination - proved that the truck was headed to Gaza. Fahd Arar, the owner of the shipment, said that the 30 tons of sugar was actually headed to the Palestinian city of Salfit in the West Bank. He added that the driver escaped unharmed, but the Israeli army did not allow him to reload the goods.

Instead, the soldiers removed the bags with a bulldozer, said Arar, who estimated his losses at about $30,000. “The attack happened in front of the army,” he said, adding that the driver said the soldiers did nothing to stop it.

Under pressure from the United States, Israel opened the Tarqumiya crossing in the West Bank earlier this month to aid trucks heading to Gaza from Jordan and Palestinian companies that export food. The roads leading to the crossing pass through Israeli settlement outposts on hilltops, where settler violence against Palestinians has escalated dramatically in recent months. The administration of US President Joe Biden is considering imposing sanctions on those involved in the attacks, according to a senior US official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Humanitarian groups say Gaza is experiencing its darkest hours after nearly eight months of war. The United Nations says that more than a million Palestinians were displaced this month after Israel began its attack on Rafah and closed the most important land crossings in the Strip to aid. The World Food Program recently said the northern part of the region was already suffering from "massive famine," and relief officials warned it was spreading south.

The opening of the Tarqumiya crossing on May 13 was part of efforts to increase the flow of aid into Gaza, but one of the first convoys coming from Jordan was immediately assaulted by Israeli demonstrators, who threw food boxes on the ground and trampled on them. Several trucks were burned. “We have never called on people to take the law into their own hands,” said Rachel Tuito, spokeswoman for Tzav 9, which has hundreds of members, including settlers and demobilized reservists, and has been actively blocking aid trucks since January. The group halted its activities after the May 13 incident, but Tweto said efforts will continue because it is in the "DNA of Tzav 9."

For his part, De Presser denied that his group was responsible for burning the trucks but said he could not condemn the violence. Instead, he said, "I am happy for every truck that does not enter Gaza, and I am also happy to see it catch fire."

The Guardian newspaper revealed in a previous issue that some members of the Israeli security forces are informing far-right activists and settlers of the location of aid trucks transporting vital supplies to Gaza, enabling the groups to prevent and sabotage the convoys, according to multiple sources. A spokesman for the main Israeli activist group behind the blockade told the British newspaper that settlers intercepting vital humanitarian supplies to the Strip receive information about the location of aid trucks from Israeli police and military personnel.

The allegation of collusion by members of the security forces is supported by messages from internal online chat groups reviewed by The Guardian as well as accounts from a number of witnesses and human rights activists. Those who intercept the vehicles say the aid they carry is being diverted by Hamas rather than delivered to civilians in need, a claim that aid agencies have denied on several occasions.

US officials also said that Israel has provided no evidence to support allegations that Hamas is diverting aid. The newspaper also quoted Tuito as saying, “Yes, some of our information comes from members of the Israeli forces.” Yazid Al-Zoubi (26 years old), a Palestinian truck driver who was attacked at the Tarqumiya checkpoint, said that there is full cooperation between the settlers and the army. “We are shocked that the army did not provide us with any kind of protection, even though they were present and watching what was happening...the army was at the service of the settlers.”

Two soldiers from the Israeli Home Front Command refused an order to evacuate the demonstrators who intercepted aid trucks in the Makhach area, according to the Israeli army. The Israeli national broadcaster Kan reported that one of them was sentenced to 20 days in prison. An IDF spokesman said: “A reserve fighter refused to carry out a law enforcement mission in an area that was defined as a closed military zone, and as a result was subjected to disciplinary measures accordingly. This is an incident that does not correspond to what is expected of IDF soldiers while carrying out their mission.”

Axis of Resistance

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reaffirmed his country’s commitment to the promotion of relations with Iran after the passing away of Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian. In a telephone conversation with Iran’s caretaker foreign minister, Lavrov underlined Russia’s determination to pursue and bolster relations with Iran. For his part, Ali Baqeri noted that multilateralism and strengthening international relations is a strategic choice of Iran and Russia to shape a just world, the ministry’s website reported. The two diplomats further discussed the ways to promote multilateral cooperation and stressed the need to strengthen bilateral relations.

Acting President of Iran Mohammad Mokhber gave an assurance that Tehran’s backing for Palestinian resistance groups would by no means falter after the loss of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. In a telephone conversation with Secretary General of the Islamic Jihad movement Ziad al-Nakhala on Saturday, Mokhber highlighted the late Iranian president and foreign minister’s concerns about the Palestinian people’s rights and resistance. “The Islamic Republic of Iran’s fundamental strategy of supporting the resistance current, particularly the Palestinian resistance groups, would not change with a change of individuals,” the acting president said. Mokhber described resistance as the most effective strategy for countering the Zionist regime’s crimes and acts of aggression. The acting president also hailed Iran’s retaliatory ‘True Promise’ operation against the Israeli military targets as an outcome of the resistance current that humiliated the US and the Zionist regime.

Allied for Democracy

Netanyahu's son, Yair, published the clip of a soldier threatening not to listen to the orders of military commanders in the Israeli army and to follow the instructions of the Prime Minister alone. The video clip included what he said was an Israeli reserve soldier threatening to reject orders and disobey if the war ended with the Gaza Strip being handed over to Hamas or the Palestinian Authority. The soldier , who appeared masked in the clip and wearing the Israeli army uniform, threatened collective disobedience to the reserve soldiers, according to what was reported by the newspaper "Haaretz." “We will show you how the real Jews win,” says the masked man, threatening the Israeli Defense Minister and the Israeli Army Commander. If the Gaza war ends under the rule of Hamas or the Palestinian Authority, 100,000 Israeli reserve soldiers will refuse to obey orders. The soldier, who appears in the video armed, says, "We will listen to one commander. He is not the Minister of Defense or the Chief of Staff, he is the Prime Minister."

The man said: “I tell you, Mr. Yoav Gallant, if we do not continue until victory, 100,000 reserve soldiers will remain on the fence and we will invite the residents of the State of Israel to come to Gaza under our protection.” The soldier threatened the army leadership with a "military coup" and said, "Either you change your tone and realize that we want victory, or we will only follow the Prime Minister." He added, "Do you want a military coup? We are reservists who cannot return to our homes. We will show you what surrender and victory are, and we will show you how real Jews win."

The video has been viewed tens of thousands of times since Netanyahu's son, Yair, shared it, according to Haaretz. The video was filmed in what appears to be an abandoned building, with Hebrew writings on the wall behind it. In the video, the speaker addresses Prime Minister Netanyahu and says: “We reservists do not intend to hand over the keys of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Fatah, or another Arab entity.”

The Israeli army did not confirm whether the man in the video was a soldier, but said that the military police had opened an investigation into the incident. Due to the seriousness of the incident, the Chief of Staff held an urgent command meeting in conjunction with the investigation opened by the military police, according to an Israeli army spokesman.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced any form of military disobedience after his son, Yair, published the clip of a soldier threatening not to listen to the orders of military commanders in the Israeli army and to follow the instructions of the Prime Minister alone. Netanyahu's office denounced in a statement "any idea of disobeying the soldiers," according to what was reported by the " Israel Hayom " newspaper. The office's statement confirmed that Netanyahu "repeatedly warned of the dangers of disobedience and any leniency towards it." He added, "The Prime Minister is firm on this position. He categorically rejects any manifestation of disobedience by anyone, and expects all systems to deal with him on an equal footing."

The Israeli Minister and member of the War Council, Benny Gantz, had asked Netanyahu to denounce the video. “In the IDF, as an army of the people, soldiers serve from all parts of Israeli society, with a variety of viewpoints and beliefs,” Gantz said. He added, "But there is only one senior leadership level: the chief of staff. Expressing support for the call to rebellion in wartime and in general, as in the video published yesterday, harms Israel's security." He called on "the Prime Minister to clearly and strictly condemn the insurrection video, and not hide behind the laundering of words. This is what the entire leadership in Israel must do."

The man's statements in the video, along with its publication by Yair Netanyahu, may constitute criminal offenses for spreading sedition, which is punishable by up to five years in prison. The IDF Spokesperson's Office said, "The behavior recorded in the video is a serious violation of the IDF's orders and values, and may constitute a criminal offense."

The Israeli army said it was able to identify the soldier who appeared in a video clip, masked and armed, and called for a mutiny against Defense Minister Yoav Galant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy. Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper explained that the suspect will be investigated later, and verified if he is the alleged soldier who appeared in the video.

The Israeli army terminated the service of the soldier who appeared in a video and called for rebellion against the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff. Israeli Army Radio reported on Sunday that the suspect appearing in the "rebellion video" was released at the end of his police investigation "under restricted conditions." The newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" indicated that "the reservist who appeared in the video of the mutiny this morning (Sunday) was interrogated in the Israeli Defense Forces under a warning, and according to the initial suspicion that emerged from his investigation, he did not film the video in Gaza, but in... A deserted place in the middle of the country. It indicated that the Israeli army decided, at the end of its investigation, to terminate his reserve service.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation "Kan" reported that "the suspect who appeared in the video of the insurrection investigated by the Ministry of Defense is an activist in the Likud Party and owns a company in Herzliya," noting that "the suspect was investigated by the Ministry of Defense." It quoted a military official as saying, "The suspect was apparently in reserve." The leader of the opposition in the Israeli occupation government, Yair Lapid, said that the video of the masked soldier that called for an uprise against Security Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff HJerzi Halevi was not a coincidence, affirming that Benjamin Netanyahu's son, Yair Netanyahu, and his close associate, journalist Yinon Magal, were the ones who published it. According to Lapid, this indicates that the Prime Minister's office deliberately published the video, which signifies an open call for chaos.

Israel is witnessing increasing polarization between right-wing politicians and military and security leaders, against the backdrop of political competition over the leadership of the state and determining its paths, and the two sides’ differing views on local and global politics. This polarization contributes to a decline in the Israeli public’s confidence in the military institution (the army), as some opinion polls show, and the ongoing war in Gaza has contributed to increasing the intensity of this polarization and reaching an unprecedented level of public bickering between the two parties.

This appeared in the press conference of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant on May 15, 2024, in which he openly opposed Benjamin Netanyahu’s post-war trends regarding Gaza, saying that he would oppose any Israeli military rule of the Strip, because it would be bloody, costly, and would last for years, which was met with angry responses. From both the Prime Minister and right-wing ministers such as Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich . The historical internal rift constitutes an essential part of this crisis, while the Israeli-American disagreement over dealing with the war contributes to encouraging Netanyahu’s opponents to escalate to this level.

In this regard, a research paper by American political science professor Guy Ziff, published in the Spring 2024 issue of Political Science Quarterly, dealt with the state of civil-military relations in the occupying state, and the roots of intellectual and political disparity dating back to an early period of the state’s emergence. The research was based on content analysis of a variety of media outlets, such as Israeli newspapers, news agencies, and wired and wireless services, in addition to conducting personal interviews with experts in Israeli democracy, as well as opinion poll data. The research paper points out the central role of the army in Israeli politics, “and its tight grip on Israel’s strategic thinking and diplomatic activity,” due to its victories in the wars ( 1948 , 1956 , 1967 ), and that civilian oversight of the Israeli army was not strong at all.

Although the Israeli National Security Council was established in 1999 as a coordinating body, similar to its counterpart in the United States, attached to the Prime Minister and the government and charged with issuing assessments and recommendations regarding national security policy, it had little influence, while the army’s Planning Directorate continued to dominate planning. Strategic. On the opposite and slow path, the setbacks that the army was exposed to, such as the 1973 war, contributed to the shaking of confidence in it and the distortion of its reputation, which continued in subsequent wars in which it was unable to achieve a decisive result, such as the invasion of Lebanon and the occupation of its south, which turned into “Israeli Vietnam” leading to withdrawal from the year 2000.

It was also unable to achieve a decisive result in the Lebanon War in 2006, its withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, then Hamas’s control of it and firing rockets from it, and the army’s inability to achieve a resolution in the wars of 2008-2009, 2012, 2014, and 2021. The army’s adoption of the draft peace settlement agreement, leading to the signing of the Oslo Accords, and then the failure of this path also played a role in directing popular and elite blame towards it.

In another motive for civil-military polarization, there is a tradition in which army leaders enter politics after their retirement, and compete to reach the prime ministership in the occupying state, in what researcher Guy describes as “senior officers parachuting into politics after retirement.” In this we find that 19 of the 23 chiefs of staff of the army entered politics, and 3 of the 13 prime ministers of the occupying state, namely Yitzhak Rabin , Ehud Barak , and Ariel Sharon , were retired generals, and “Rabin and Barak” were chiefs of staff of the army.

This tradition makes current and retired leaders potential opponents to other non-military politicians, especially populist nationalists, which prompts the exchange of criticism and early mobilization for future political competition, which contributes to delegitimizing army leaders and portraying them as a leftist elite isolated from society and its interests, as the right is accustomed to describing them.

Indeed, army generals show a tendency to form centrist or center-left parties, according to the researcher, which makes them traditional competitors to the right and the extreme right. Perhaps this is due to the army’s historical tendency toward secularism, and the dominance of a practical, pragmatic approach to its work. While this was stable in the army, religious people worked to change it following the defeat of 1973, which they saw as resulting from the unwillingness of non-religious officers and soldiers to sacrifice.

To change the composition of the army, the religious path was opened for entry through the “Yeshivot Hesder,” which are theological institutes that combined the study of the Torah in a religious school with military service, and the “Mishinot,” which are pre-military academies that aim to prepare religious conscripts before their service. Currently, about half of National Religious men of military age join one of the dozens of "Hesvot Hesder" or "Mishinot," while the current Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevy , is the first religious Chief of Staff of the army since its founding.

Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy expresses his concern about the possibility of the army disintegrating if the judiciary reform plan is approved. While populist leaders around the world resort to politicizing the army to impose their control over society, the situation in the occupying state is the opposite, as they resort to limiting the influence of the army to be able to impose their political agenda. Gay outlines the basic features that characterize the populist radical right: a combination of nationalism and xenophobia with the belief that states should be inhabited exclusively by members of the nation, in which foreign elements are seen as a threat to the homogeneous nation, and a belief in a strictly regulated society, where any violation is punished. The rulings of authority are severe.

Thus, Israeli populist nationalism excludes individuals who are not of Jewish ethnicity, such as Palestinians, and grants the Jewish people the exclusive right to the occupying state, including the territories occupied after 1967, while seeking to expand the scope of Jewish law “Halakha”, which would transform The state became a "Jewish theocracy." Populism in the Israeli context “views the media, civil society, universities, and especially the judiciary, as institutions controlled by powerful left-wing elite groups that manipulate the rest of society according to their narrow interests.”

After Netanyahu's election as prime minister in May 1996, the generals' influence on government policy was sharply reduced. He viewed them with suspicion and considered them leftists pushing Israel to make sweeping concessions as part of the peace process, which he did not embrace throughout his period as prime minister. Also, Netanyahu often marginalized the security establishment in the decision-making process, preferring instead to rely on those loyal to his party. Gay dates the start of the most severe wave of this polarization with the humiliating loss suffered by Netanyahu in the 1999 elections, influenced by the harsh criticism from the Center Party, which was co-led by former Israeli army chief of staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, in addition to the attacks launched by the leader of the Labor Party, Ehud. Barak, himself a former head of the Israeli army.

The conclusion that Netanyahu reached, after his turbulent first term and his re-election defeat, was clear and unequivocal: “The generals represent the greatest obstacle to his political career.” This strengthened his conviction of the necessity of curtailing the political role of the army, and even all non-elected institutions, such as the judiciary and the media, a path that has been contributing to shaping Israeli internal policy for at least two decades. In this context, Netanyahu coordinated the submission of the so-called “Halutz” draft law, which was named after the then Israeli army chief of staff, Dan Halutz, as it was expected that he would run for prime minister upon retirement in 2007, as the law increased the interval between the retirement of senior citizens. Defense officials and their entry into politics become 3 years instead of 6 months.

Supporters of the law claimed that a longer lag period was needed to prevent a conflict of interest between an individual's military activity and his or her political activity. On the surface, this could be seen as a measure that depoliticizes the military, and even promotes democracy by strengthening civilian control over the military, but the real goal was to discourage the tendency of retired generals to run for office, and if they did, they would have lost their luster, due to having been outside the military for 3 years.

The Netanyahu era has also witnessed an exclusionary form of populism, with an “us” versus “them” approach, which distinguishes the average Israeli from the “Arab, elite, and left” groups that are seen as threatening the common “us.” Netanyahu has resorted to a strategy of manipulating fears. People, their anxieties and prejudices, for political purposes. During the years of President Donald Trump and beyond, Netanyahu’s war with the media adopted the rhetoric used by his friend in the White House. For example, he adopted terms like “fake news” and “witch hunt” to describe the media’s hostility toward him and his family. Social media has also emerged as the primary battleground in Netanyahu's war against his critics, and here, too, he has adopted Trump's tactics. Netanyahu's eldest son, Yair, has been a key unofficial advisor to his father and particularly influential in his father's online strategy.

In 2019, an unprecedented political development occurred when 3 former Israeli army leaders (Gantz, Ya’alon and Gabi Ashkenazi) joined one political party in 3 attempts to oust Netanyahu. After an inconclusive fourth election, held on March 23, 2021, the “Change Government,” which included Benny Gantz as Defense Minister, replaced the government of Netanyahu, who became head of the opposition before returning to the premiership after the November 2022 elections. During this short period, a total of 5 former heads of the Israeli army (Gantz, Ashkenazi, Ya’alon, and Barak) in the September 2019 elections, and Gadi Eisenkot in the November 2022 elections - entered the political arena with the aim of sending Netanyahu into retirement.

This long political confrontation, with its continuous attacks by nationalist populist politicians, contributed to the accelerated erosion of public confidence in state institutions, including the Israeli army. The Israel Democracy Institute found that over a decade, trust in all eight state institutions it surveys annually among the Israeli public (the army, the presidency, the Supreme Court, the police, the government, the media, the Knesset, the government and political parties) has declined. It decreased from 61% in 2012 to 33% in 2022.

An institute poll in October 2021 showed that about 78% of the public trusts the Israeli army, the lowest number since 2008. Although the army remains the most trusted state institution, ongoing populist attacks on all state institutions threaten to further erode His position in Israeli society. The attack of October 7, 2023, and the army’s failure to predict and confront it, came as an unprecedented blow that exacerbated the crisis of the Israeli public’s confidence in its army, and this matter was reinforced by the level of criticism and accusations directed at its leaders by right-wing ministers in Netanyahu’s government.

This unprecedented level of polarization indicates a strategic and tactical difference regarding the war in the Gaza Strip, in terms of deciding the direction on the day after the war. What fuels this polarization is the American position critical of Netanyahu and his government’s failure to present a vision for resolving the war that is appropriate for American policy in the region. In addition, there are opinion polls that give former generals Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot , and Israeli Defense Minister Gallant hope for a better political future if Netanyahu is ousted and early elections are held, which the latter is resisting in various ways, including prolonging the war and preparing to expand it regionally.

Operation Iron Swords - By the Numbers

• 1,900,000 IDPs in Gaza
• 80,420 Gazans injured, 28% adult male
• 70,000 tons of explosives dropped on Gaza
• 70,000 Gaza housing units completely destroyed
• 70,000 Israeli IDPs from Lebanon border
• 45,000 bombs dropped in Gaza
• 45,000 Gazans killed, including buried under rubble
• 35,984 Gazans martyred
• 33,000 Gaza targets attacked
• 20,528 Palestinians in Israeli prisons [Haaretz, 20 Mar 2024]
• 15,140 Israelis injured [i24 TV]
• 15,000 terror operatives killed in Gaza [Israeli officials]
• 15,000 rockets launched from Gaza
• 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
• 9,400 Palestinians in Israeli prisons
• 9,000 IDF needing psychological assistance
• 8,875 arrested by Israelis in the West Bank since Oct.7th
• 7,209 IDF injured admitted to rehabilitation [IDF]
• 6,800 IDF officers and soldiers injured [Channel 12]
• 6,000 HAMAS combatants killed [HAMAS]
• 5,500 IDF wounded [reports]
• 5,000 West Bank Palestinians wounded
• 4,700 sites targetted in Lebanon
• 3,850 wanted persons arrested throughout Judea and Samaria
• 3,600 administrative detainees
• 3,188 IDF wounded [IDF]
• 2,100 Gazan women are missing
• 1,609 terrorists killed on the first day
• 1,650 wanted persons arrested throughout Judea and Samaria affiliated with Hamas
• 1,160 Israelis killed on the first day
• 635 Israeli officers and soldiers killed since the start of the war
• 518 West Bank Palestinians martyred
• 364 people [including fighters] killed in Lebanon
• 283 Israeli officers and soldiers killed in Gaza
• 240 Hezbollah fighters killed in Lebanon
• 126 people recovered, including 91 Israelis, 11 bodies, and 24 foreign workers
• 86 living hostages in Palestinian custody
• 70 civilians killed in Lebanon
• 39 dead hostages in Palestinian custody
• 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.

Some reports claimed that the UN cut in half its earlier estimates of women and children killed in Gaza. Initially, they reported 9,500 women and 14,500 children killed, but later revised it to 4,959 women and 7,797 children on 08 May 2024. The UN acknowledged its inability to independently verify casualty figures. The seeming discrepancy is that HAMAS had about 10K KIA bodies on hand for which they do not have positive ID. It is possible to report the gender and approximate age [ie, juvenile] without knowing the name of the deceased.