Operation Iron Swords - Day 83 - 28 December 2023
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NEW - Operations NEW - Operations Maps NEW - By-Standers NEW - Axis of Resistance NEW - Allied for Democracy UPDATED - Oasis of Martyrs UPDATED - Hostages |
The Israeli army said it "regrets the harm" caused by a raid that killed dozens of people in the Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip. An army spokesman told the Israeli newspaper Kan: “The type of ammunition was not proportionate to the nature of the attack, causing widespread damage that could have been avoided,” according to a report by The Guardian . A preliminary investigation reveals that several buildings located near Israeli targets were bombed during the raids, resulting in unintended harm to uninvolved civilians.
The army confirmed that it "regrets the harm" caused to non-combatants, noting that the raid targeted Hamas activists but caused unexpected damage to civilians. The military statement said warplanes bombed two targets “adjacent” to where Hamas activists were working, and a preliminary investigation showed that more nearby buildings were also hit, “likely causing unintended harm to more uninvolved civilians.” He added, "The IDF... is moving to draw conclusions and learn lessons from this incident."
Palestinian Ministry of Health spokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra said on Sunday that the number of deaths in an Israeli air strike on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip had risen to 70, adding that the number was likely to increase. He added, "What is happening in Al-Maghazi camp is a genocide of a crowded residential square."
An Israeli army spokesman said in a statement at the time, “Despite the challenges posed by Hamas terrorists operating in civilian areas in Gaza, the Israeli army is committed to international law, including taking meaningful steps to reduce harm to civilians.”
Israeli forces have been active in recent days in the Daraj and Tuffah districts of Gaza City, battling the Daraj Tuffah Battalion of Hamas’ Gaza City Brigade. In late October, Israeli fighter jets struck three of the battalion’s senior operatives: Battalion Commander Rifat Abbas; Battalion Deputy Commander Ibrahim Jadba; and Combat Support Commander Tarek Maarouf.
The 55th Reserve TDF fighters have been fighting in Khan Yunis for the past few weeks and are focusing on destroying the underground infrastructure and tunnels of the terrorist organization Hamas in the Bnei Suhila area. The fighters eliminated terrorists, located a number of tunnel shafts and terrorist infrastructures that were destroyed by the engineering forces.
During an activity of the 12th Battalion's combat team at the "Qutaiba" mosque in the Khan Yunis area belonging to Hamas, the fighters identified a wide underground infrastructure in the mosque. In one of the rooms, a bomb was set off and the troops were fired upon, the fighters returned fire while rescuing the wounded battalion fighters, and eliminated with air support additional terrorists who tried to escape from the mosque. Sergeant Maor Cohen Eisenkot and Sergeant Yonatan Din Chaim were killed in this activity.
IDF forces, including Air Force fighter jets, tanks and artillery fire, have been attacking terrorist infrastructures used by Hezbollah in the area of the villages of Ita al-Sha'ab, Ramiya and other areas in southern Lebanon since the morning hours. From these areas, many launches were carried out from several centers towards the territory of the State of Israel. In addition, fighter jets of the Air Force attacked a Hezbollah military compound a short time ago in response to launches carried out towards the territory of the State of Israel earlier today.
The IDF attacked a terrorist squad that tried to launch anti-tank missiles towards the territory of the State of Israel. Also, a squad that was staying inside a building from which launches were launched towards the territory of the State of Israel earlier today was attacked. "In the operation, we attacked targets, destroyed the enemy, and thwarted his intentions to attack our forces," said Maj. Gen. 7042, Lt. Col. (ret.) Yehondav, "this effort is part of the defensive battle that we have been conducting together with the other forces for several months, with the aim of protecting on the northern border of the country."
Missiles were detected from the territory of Lebanon towards several areas in the north of the country, there were no casualties. The IDF is attacking the sources of the shooting. Following the warning about the infiltration of hostile aircraft in the north, the incident has ended, there is no fear of a security incident. In addition, tonight and in the morning the IDF attacked several areas in the territory of Lebanon.
The Cyber Unit in Lahab 433 launched a joint investigation with the IDF and the Central Command, the Authority for the Prohibition of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, the Shin Bet, the Israel Defense Forces, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Tax Authority, against suspected residents of Iosh who are suspected of being involved in the financing of Hamas, in digital funds and cash as part of their activities as financial service providers.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that the missions carried out by the Israeli army in Khan Yunis are unprecedented. He added, during an assessment of the situation at the headquarters of the 98th Division operating in the Khan Yunis area, that the Israeli army reached areas it had never set foot in before, seized control rooms, and eliminated the militants. He stated that Israeli forces reached command centers, weapons depots and production facilities.
He stressed that the mission is to dismantle Hamas so that it no longer has military and governmental capabilities, noting that their military operations are necessary to achieve the goals of the war. The minister stated that they are seeing the results of the destruction of Hamas forces.
Gallant listened to a briefing on the forces' operations in the southern region of the Gaza Strip. He stated that the 98th Division, with its units and brigades, is carrying out a mission that it has never undertaken before. The briefing was attended by the division commander, Lieutenant Colonel Dan Goldfus, the intelligence commander for hostage affairs, Major General (res.) Nitzan Alon, and representatives of the Shin Bet and the IDF. After completing the assessment, the minister held an open discussion with the division soldiers.
Abu Ubaida's latest speech was considered different from his previous ones since the start of the Gaza war. The spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades , Abu Ubaida , spoke about many points, in which he did not focus much on recounting the outcome of the operations against the occupation forces, stressing at the same time the resistance’s refusal to reach any deal to exchange prisoners without a complete cessation of the aggression against the Gaza Strip.
Abu Ubaida’s speech, which he recited in a “calm” tone, highlighted the speech directed to the people of the Gaza Strip, thanking them for their patience in the face of the aggression, which left more than 21 thousand martyrs and displaced most of the Strip’s residents from their homes.
“Abu Ubaida” said: “Oh our nation, oh all the free people of the world. We have been fighting for decades until the Al-Aqsa flood for the sake of our people, our land, and our sanctities, and the utmost of us amid abhorrent official disappointment from regimes and an international community governed by the law of the jungle and controlled by the Zionists of the White House.”
He continued, "These dark, murderous magicians who want to tell the world that history began on the seventh of October, ignoring the slow and silent killing of our people for many years through Judaization, settlement, desecration of Al-Aqsa, the siege of Gaza, aggression against the prisoners, and the displacement of our people by all means. Then they cry over the Zionists when we direct them." Their army was dealt the blow of the century, and we paid it the price for its crimes, and we told the world that we are a people demanding truth, freedom, and life.”
He added, "We were never students of wars and destruction, and it would have been better for the Zionists, West and East, to recognize the rights of our people and end the occupation, but they chose to buy time for the criminal occupation to eliminate our people and liquidate our cause. But we, as a people, have a right, a cause, and a message, and as a loyal resistance faithful to these rights, we continued to prepare and fight because we We know that rights cannot be regained unless they are seized, and because all the peoples of the land that were occupied had their freedom seized by blood, body parts, and fighting.”
Abu Ubaida addressed the people of the Gaza Strip, saying: “Oh our generous people, the symbol of patience and victory, what this cowardly enemy is good at is destruction and killing, trying in vain what he has been repeating for decades to deliver a message and conviction to our people of the futility of resistance, but we say that we are with our people.” In the same trench, we will build what the Nazi occupation destroyed, and we will share with our people a morsel of bread and a drink of water.”
He added, "This aggression will soon be broken and failed by the power of God, and our people will emerge with their heads held high, crowned with dignity and glory, and every drop of pure blood shed by a martyr or wounded in this holy war will be a witness to the victory, the great conquest, and the coming liberation, God willing. And rest assured, O our great people, that you are with your resistance and steadfastness." Your steadfastness and the flood of Al-Aqsa have created the coffin of this fleeting criminal occupation.”
The Al-Qassam spokesman also addressed the people of Gaza, saying, “We feel the extent of the pain, suffering, injustice, and barbarism that our people face before the world, this official world divided between an unjust criminal and a helpless spectator as it watches a cowardly, oppressive force direct its anger and the accumulations of its failure on the innocent and the safe.”
He reassured the Palestinian people that the resistance is fine, and that the documented scenes broadcast on a daily basis through the media are only “the tip of the iceberg of the total operations on the ground.”
In Gaza City, the military wing of the Hamas movement targeted 7 military vehicles in the Al-Tuffah and Al-Daraj areas, and in Tal Al-Zaatar in the northern Gaza Strip, its fighters shot down an Israeli reconnaissance plane that was on an intelligence mission.
Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades - the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) - revealed that the Palestinian resistance has managed to destroy 825 Israeli vehicles since the start of the aggression on the Gaza Strip. Abu Ubaida added - in an audio recording obtained by Al Jazeera - that after 83 days of the Israeli aggression, the resistance is still in the field confronting the occupation soldiers, and he said that the Al-Qassam Brigades published many pictures documenting the targeting of its fighters against the Israeli occupation soldiers and its vehicles, saying, “This is the tip of the scale.” "From the iceberg."
The Al-Qassam Brigades announced that they had killed Israeli soldiers and targeted about 20 military vehicles in operations in the center and south of the Gaza Strip, while the occupation army announced the killing of 3 other of its members. Abu Ubaida stressed that the priority of the resistance in the Gaza Strip is “stopping the aggression against our people, and no priority comes before that,” but he stressed that “there is no deal in the war, and no exchange deals that we can accept before stopping the aggression against our people completely.”
He pointed to the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and the steadfastness of the resistance fighters in the field, stressing that they dealt the occupation “the blow of the century,” and “we told the world that we are a people demanding the right and freedom in life.” He also said that the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood “put the Zionist entity on the path to extinction,” and that the resistance had been fighting for decades until the Flood of Al-Aqsa for the sake of the Palestinian people, and that it continued to fight and prepare, because it knew that rights were being taken away.
Qassam Brigades’ operations were concentrated in Khan Yunis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, and in the vicinity of the Bureij and al-Maghazi camps in the centre. The Brigades said - via the Telegram application - that they targeted 6 Merkava tanks and a troop carrier east of Khan Yunis with " Al-Yassin 105 " anti-armor shells and "Shawaz" charges.
It added that its fighters detonated an anti-personnel device in an Israeli force penetrating Khuza'a, east of the city, confirming that it killed and wounded members of the force. In the same axis, its members bombed several gatherings of Israeli soldiers and vehicles. In the center of the Gaza Strip, the Al-Qassam Brigades targeted two tanks and a bulldozer east of the Bureij camp and a tank east of the Maghazi camp, causing explosions inside them.
For its part, the Al-Quds Brigades , the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement , said that it bombed a large gathering of Israeli forces and a command and control headquarters southeast of the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City with missiles and mortar shells. Al-Saraya had announced the targeting of two Israeli military vehicles in the Al-Tuffah axis, east of Gaza. The announcement of these operations comes while the resistance is waging fierce battles with the occupation forces in several areas in the south, center and north of the Gaza Strip.
Analysts said during discussions in the Israeli media that achieving a military victory in the Gaza Strip seems very difficult, pointing out that the resistance taught Israel a lesson on October 7th, and that the only possible victory currently is the departure of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Former police chief Dan Halutz said that this war will not have any victory, and will only bear loss, stressing that the only victory is for Netanyahu to leave his job, and “we must push the Israelis towards achieving this goal.”
In this context, Raz Matalon - a family member of some of the prisoners - said that the Israelis lost a lot because of what he called “the state of blindness in which we were living.” He added, "We have passed this stage and things have become transparent and clear. We do not trust the blind defenses that we trusted in the past." He continued, "I want to say something simple, which is that moving forward sometimes requires taking steps back. This could be the duty for reorganization," stressing, "We must think about returning the kidnapped (prisoners) before anything else."
As for Knesset member Almog Cohen, he said that Israel “forgot that the enemy (the resistance) follows, listens and studies,” adding, “What we do is not done by a conscript on his first day of conscription.” Cohen said, "We have become arrogant and have turned our nose up at hearing the sayings of the strongest army and the superpower," adding, "I do not believe in these words. I have learned a lesson in humility."
Cohen continued, "You are in the middle of this jungle, and if you believe that you are the strongest, others will prove to you otherwise. If you believe that you are the wisest, others will prove to you that you are stupid, and if you believe that you are the most developed, they will prove to you in primitive ways that you are not, as happened in The seventh of last October. The Knesset member confirmed that there are strategic problems that require treatment, adding, “But the only thing required now is achieving victory.”
Member of the Knesset from the Likud Party , Danny Danon, also said that Israel is ready to pay the price, and because it has proven this in the past when it said to stop the fighting (a temporary truce), stressing that he was “concerned by the statements of the Israeli Chief of Staff.” Danon confirmed that the Israeli forces “are working to a very limited extent in Khan Yunis, and we have not reached Salah al-Din Street in the city of Rafah at all, and the Rafah crossing is not under our control,” adding, “I think that talking about return (the return of settlers to the Gaza envelope ) is very premature.”
Aviv Bushiniski, a former media advisor to Netanyahu, said, “I thought we were very close to destroying the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), as they told us, but analysts are now saying that it will take time.” He added, "The Chief of Staff spoke last November about Israel being close to destroying or even annihilating Hamas in northern Gaza. Have we succeeded in this?" He wondered, "Do they know exactly or approximately even the whereabouts of Yahya Sinwar, as the Prime Minister said?"
Bushinski concluded by saying, "Two weeks ago, the Prime Minister said that the end of Hamas is near, but where are we now? What about the soldiers in the field?" He added, "We must know what the end is, and reassure the families who fear that their children will be killed, not to mention that after we... We finish Gaza and will head to the north (Lebanon).”
The Intelligence and Technical Booty Collection Unit in the Intelligence Division coordinates the collection and research of the booty of the terrorist organization Hamas since the beginning of the war and the ground maneuver - over 65 million files and 500,000 documents of Hamas. The unit consists mostly of reserve officers, and its job is to extract intelligence from the loot captured by all the fighting forces in the field. The unit analyzes and concludes operational implications, which improve the activity of the fighting forces in the Gaza Strip. In this way, the unit assists in the extraction of intelligence and its flow back to the operational end, and at the same time helps to maintain the security of friendly forces.
From the beginning of the fighting, thousands of documents and technical loot were collected by the manipulative forces, which were transferred to the extraction of the complex and contribute critical intelligence. The maneuvering of the IDF forces in the Hamas strongholds and the transfer of the Israel Defense Forces to an in-depth study adds a significant layer to the intelligence pictures from the tactical to the strategic level and enables intelligence insights that reach back to the operational end. The materials are investigated according to their type and in partnership with various collection and research bodies in the intelligence community.
Among the documents found is a map of tunnel shafts that was seized by Division 252 at the home of a military officer in the Beit Hanun Battalion of the Hamas terrorist organization. A Bible explaining the map was located and collected by the division at the home of another activist. Upon the arrival of the materials to the complex, the important link between the map and the Bible was created - And thus it is possible to close the circle on the shafts in the field, of which a large number of shafts were destroyed.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that the number of displaced people in the city of Rafah, in the far south of the Gaza Strip, exceeded 657 thousand, a large portion of whom live without shelter. The Acting Director of the Information and Communication Office at UNRWA in Gaza City, Enas Hamdan, stated that the evacuation orders issued by the Israeli army to the Palestinians in the center of the Strip “increase the pressure on UNRWA in providing services, especially in the city of Rafah." Regarding the numbers of displaced people in UNRWA centers in the Gaza Strip, “There are approximately 1.4 million displaced people who are now taking refuge in 156 facilities affiliated with the agency.” In general, about 90 percent of the Gaza Strip’s population are currently displaced.
Maps
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All maps are lies. 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. Thes 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
The Middle East Eye news website published an article that included a scathing attack on the West because of its support for the "genocide" committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip. The article, written by British-Israeli journalist Jonathan Cook, said that the “desperate” smear campaign to defend Israel’s crimes highlights a mixture of “harmful lies” that have been the foundation of the liberal democratic system for decades.
The writer mentioned a British comic scene that took place during World War II , in which a Nazi officer near the front lines turns to a colleague, and in a sudden and comic moment of self-doubt, he asks: “Are we the bad guys?” Cook said that we and many of us "felt as if we were living that same moment, which extended (for us) nearly 3 months, although there is nothing to laugh about." He added that Western leaders, in their statements and speeches, not only supported the genocidal war waged by Israel on the Gaza Strip, but also provided diplomatic cover, weapons and other military assistance.
The writer considered that the West is fully complicit in the " ethnic cleansing " of about two million Palestinians, in addition to killing more than 20,000 and wounding tens of thousands, the majority of whom are women and children. Western politicians insist on "Israel's right to defend itself" even though it destroyed the infrastructure in Gaza, including government buildings, which led to the collapse of the health sector, and famine and diseases began to destroy the rest of the population.
According to the article, there is nowhere for the Palestinians of Gaza to flee to, and no shelter to protect them from the bombs that the United States provides to Israel. If they are eventually allowed to flee, they will have no recourse other than neighboring Egypt, which will be their permanent “exile” after decades of displacement from their homeland.
While Western capitals try to justify what they call Israel's "despicable" actions by blaming the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), Israeli leaders allow their soldiers and state-backed settler militias to invade the West Bank - "where Hamas does not exist" - to attack and kill Palestinians.
Cook continues his frenetic attack, saying that Israel is waging an old-style "colonial war without shame" against the indigenous population, of the kind that preceded international humanitarian law, and Western leaders are applauding it. He wonders: Are we sure that we are not the bad guys? He says that the Israeli attack on Gaza disgusts many people, and reveals what is “primitive and ugly” in the behavior of the West, which has been obscured for more than 70 years by deceptive manifestations of progress, by talking about the primacy of human rights, about developing international institutions and rules of war, and about claims of humanity.
Yes - Cook continues - these allegations have always been “false”, and nothing is more evident than the lies that promoted the wars in Vietnam, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Ukraine. The real goal of the United States and its NATO partners was to “plunder” others’ resources, maintain Washington’s position as a world leader, and enrich Western elites, according to the British website’s article.
But more importantly - in the opinion of the British-Israeli journalist - the “deception” was a comprehensive narrative that dragged many Westerners behind it, claiming that the wars were aimed at confronting the threat of Soviet communism, Islamic “terrorism,” or renewed Russian colonialism. It also aimed - ultimately - to liberate oppressed women, preserve human rights, and strengthen democracy.
The writer believes that this narrative cover on the part of the West to justify its actions is of no use this time... “There is no humanity in bombing civilians trapped in Gaza, and turning their small prison into rubble, reminiscent of seismic disaster areas, but this time it is a man-made disaster alone.”
He denied that Hamas had the ability to send any type of warhead to Europe, adding that the Gaza Strip was never - even before its destruction - the heart of an Islamic empire preparing to attack the West and subject it to the provisions of Islamic Sharia. It is also almost impossible for Hamas, which consists of several thousand fighters stationed in Gaza, to pose a real threat to the way of life in the West.
According to the article, questioning Israel's right to exterminate the Palestinians in Gaza, chanting a slogan calling on the Palestinians to break free from the occupation and siege, and demanding equal rights for everyone in the region, are all things that the West and the Israelis view as anti-Semitism.
Cook pointed out that the British House of Representatives passed, by an overwhelming majority, a resolution equating anti-Zionism - which in this case applies to those who oppose the “genocidal war” launched by Israel on Gaza - with anti-Semitism. He described the collective smear campaign in the West as “so unleashed” that the Western elites began on their own to curb freedom of expression and thought in the institutions in which they are supposed to enjoy strong protection.
He concluded that the Gaza Strip is not only a front line in the genocidal war waged by Israel against the Palestinian people, but also a front line in the Western elites’ war on “our ability to think critically in order to develop sustainable ways of living, and to demand that others be treated with the dignity and humanity that we expect for ourselves.” . Kokak concluded by saying: “Yes, the battle lines are drawn, and anyone who refuses to stand with the evil ones is the enemy.”
Axis of Resistance
Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, confirmed that the correctness of the Islamic Republic’s position towards Palestine has become clear and that the Zionist entity that killed children has unveiled its hypocritical face, and everyone now knows to what extent this entity violates human rights.
Raisi indicated in a speech at the 13th meeting of the Qom Seminary Teachers Association today, Thursday, that the enemy, in order to test the pulse of the people regarding the extent of their adherence to the values ??and the regime of the Islamic Republic, deliberately created a disruption in the gas stations and failed again, and concluded with this result that this people stands with its regime. He failed to spread despair on the street, and even in isolating Iran he was not successful.
He added, “Today the world has realized Iran’s position on the Palestinian issue, and the soundness of the Islamic Republic’s position has become clear to the entire world, and that the Zionist entity that kills children has revealed its hypocritical face to what extent it violates human rights and claims to defend them ostensibly.”
Major General Hussein Salami, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards, confirmed that the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation launched by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) against the Israeli occupation on October 7 is entirely Palestinian. Major General Salami added in a speech at the funeral ceremony of the martyr “ Radi Mousavi ”, that the Al-Aqsa Flood operation was planned and implemented by the Palestinians, and no movement from outside Palestine interfered in creating this dazzling victory and creating this great flood, as the issue was Completely Palestinian.
"I note that yesterday the spokesman of the Revolutionary Guard said that the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation came in retaliation for the martyrdom of Hajj (Lieutenant General) Qassem Soleimani, and in turn I want to say that these two issues are separate from each other, meaning that the Al-Aqsa Flood is independent of our movement to avenge the assassination of the martyr Hajj Qassem Soleimani, which will be Revenge for him in a special circumstance, in which we will deal with those who instructed and committed the martyrdom of this great martyr, and the martyr Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis and his companions.
"I consider that Operation Al-Aqsa Flood is a reaction by the Palestinians to 75 years of occupation and the crimes committed against them, and that its roots go back to the massacres committed in “Deir Yassin” and “Kafr Qasim” and the assassinations and martyrdom of Palestinian youth through the assassination squads of the Zionist Haganah gangs during the British colonial era from 1945 until now.
He added that the Al-Aqsa flood is the result of the massacres against the Palestinians in Sabra and Shatila at the hands of the butcher Ariel Sharon, and the occupation and displacement of an entire people called the people of Palestine, and in response to the insults committed by the Zionist entity towards Al-Aqsa Mosque and the attacks it carries out on Muslim homes at night in the West Bank, and that the operation represents an explosion. A resentment that extends back 75 years.
Major General Salami pointed out that although the Resistance Front has an ideological connection with each other, has common principles, and at the strategic level has strong common denominators, any corner of the Resistance Front operates on the basis of its national identity as well. It has one common identity, which is Islam and the Islamic world, which links this geographically separate front in terms of principles and belief.
"I continue that the Ansar Allah movement has a Yemeni identity, and at the operational level it takes its own decisions and that the issue is not related to us. It is independent and possesses the will, strategy and strength. Major General Salami stressed that revenge for the blood of the martyr, Brigadier General Radhi Mousavi, would only be the destruction of the Zionist entity.
Mojtabi Ferdosipour, a diplomat of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in an interview with ISNA stated that the crimes committed by the Zionist regime in the Gaza Strip over the past 80 days are unprecedented and we have no history of such crimes and killings in a short period of time. We have not had it in the international arena, as Mr. Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations, has announced that the international community is currently facing an unprecedented amount of crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
He stated that during the recent developments, a small capacity of the logistic and military power of the resistance has been involved, and continued: The developments show that the Zionists have not been able to achieve a concrete and presentable achievement in the field of military confrontation with the resistance.
Ferdowsipour stated that the Zionists had several goals in mind during their field operations in the Gaza Strip: they were trying to completely turn Gaza into a scorched earth, destroy Hamas, and on the other hand, be able to return to the place to get access to their prisoners with Hamas and release them without any cost, but they have not been able to achieve any of these goals so far.
The former Iranian ambassador to Jordan said: "It should be noted that an army armed to the teeth with nuclear warheads, and while it is referred to as the fourth army in the world, after 80 days, it still could not achieve anything against 45,000 guerilla forces, so how can it Realize some of the ideas and goals that are presented in the media regarding the future of these regions."
Five Palestinian factions, including Hamas, rejected all solutions and scenarios for the so-called future of the Gaza Strip, stressing agreement on a national solution requiring the formation of a national unity government. The Hamas movement stated , in a statement posted on Telegram, that this came during a factional meeting held in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
The statement added that during the meeting, "all solutions and scenarios for the so-called future of the Gaza Strip were rejected , and a Palestinian national solution was presented, based on the formation of a national unity government emerging from a comprehensive Palestinian national consensus." The attendees stressed their condemnation and rejection of all Israeli and Western scenarios for the post-war period in Gaza.
The attendees pointed out that "these scenarios are just pipe dreams that will not come true, especially after the signs of the defeat of the Zionist enemy appeared to appear, after it was disgraced in the field at the hands of the heroes of the Palestinian resistance." The attendees also reaffirmed that the Palestinian issue is an issue of land, people and sanctities, and that the solution can only be achieved by the departure of the occupation and settlement in all its forms.
"In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The five Palestinian resistance factions emphasize stopping the aggression first before exchanging prisoners. The Palestinian resistance factions held a meeting in Beirut in the presence of the five factions: the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas / the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine / the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine / the Front Democracy for the Liberation of Palestine / Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command."
The attendees discussed the developments of the Al-Aqsa Flood Battle in light of the ongoing Zionist aggression against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Jerusalem, and the political moves to stop the aggression in a sustainable manner. They emphasized the following:
First: The attendees praised the heroic steadfastness of our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, which thwarted the displacement projects despite... From the genocidal war that targets humans, trees, stones, and all civil, health, educational, and worship institutions, in implementation of a Zionist plan to end the Palestinian issue and liquidate the legitimate national rights of our people.
Secondly: The attendees paid tribute to the valiant Palestinian resistance in occupied Palestine, especially in the Gaza Strip, where the enemy’s goals were thwarted, inflicted heavy losses in lives and equipment, and its image was destroyed in the field. This was demonstrated by unity, tactics, and courage that exceeded all expectations, and the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood turned into an earthquake. It struck the region and carried its repercussions to the international community, which reaffirmed the centrality of the Palestinian issue.
Third: The attendees emphasized the following direct and immediate struggle tasks:
1- Immediately stopping the war of genocide, scorched earth, and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip.
2- Breaking the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, and beginning to bring in relief and medical aid and fuel, supplying our people with all the necessities of life, and transporting seriously wounded cases abroad for treatment.
3- Arab, Islamic and international commitment to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, and the necessity of launching an international initiative for reconstruction and providing urgently prepared housing pending reconstruction to strengthen the steadfastness of our people in their land.
Fourth: The attendees stressed their condemnation and rejection of Western and Zionist circles’ scenarios for the so-called “day after” of Gaza. These scenarios are just pipe dreams that will not come true, especially after the signs of the defeat of the Zionist enemy appeared to be dawning on us after it was disgraced in the field at the hands of the heroes of the Palestinian resistance. The attendees affirm that the Palestinian issue is an issue of land, people and sanctities, and that the solution can only be achieved by the departure of the occupation and settlement in all its forms.
Fifth: The attendees agreed on the necessity of confronting the consequences of the barbaric war on our people, with a unified struggle strategy that re-presents our cause as an issue of national liberation. In this context, we present the following proposals to all parties of the Palestinian national movement:
1- Call for an inclusive and binding national meeting that includes all parties. Without exception, to implement what was agreed upon in previous national dialogues, and to confront the consequences of the barbaric war on our people in the Gaza Strip and the brutal attacks by settler gangs and occupation forces in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
2- Rejecting all solutions and scenarios for the so-called (future of the Gaza Strip), and presenting a Palestinian national solution based on the formation of a national unity government emerging from a comprehensive Palestinian national consensus.
3- Full emphasis on the necessity of a final ceasefire and all acts of Zionist aggression, and the withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip as a condition before carrying out a prisoner exchange and on the basis of all for all.
4- Developing and strengthening the Palestinian political system on democratic foundations through general elections (presidential, legislative council, and national council), according to the full proportional representation system in free, fair, and transparent elections in which everyone participates, in a way that rebuilds internal relations on the foundations and principles of the National Coalition and National Partnership.
A leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), Osama Hamdan, confirmed that the movement is “open to any ideas or proposals” to stop the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip completely and definitively, reiterating that the occupation will not see its prisoners held by the resistance alive until after a comprehensive cessation of the aggression.
He said - in a press conference in Beirut broadcast by Al Jazeera - that the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip do not want a temporary or partial halt to the aggression against Gaza, but rather want a comprehensive halt. He renewed the Hamas movement's position on the issue of Israeli detainees held by the resistance in Gaza, saying, "The occupation leaders will not see their prisoners held by the resistance alive, except after a comprehensive cessation of aggression and through negotiation in a manner consistent with the interests of the Palestinian people."
Osama warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against trying to free their prisoners through military pressure. He said, “Is there a single prisoner that Netanyahu freed without submitting to the conditions of resistance?” He stressed that under military pressure the detainees will return as lifeless bodies in coffins, and perhaps they will never return.
On the other hand, the leader of the Hamas movement spoke about the proposals being put forward regarding the post-war phase in Gaza, and stressed that managing the Palestinian issue is “an internal Palestinian national decision, and our people will not accept leadership that comes to them on the back of a Zionist or American tank, or under the protection of this tank.” He added, "The Palestinian people today want a national leadership that carries the liberation project, and is committed to resistance in all its forms to achieve its national goals, especially armed resistance."
In the same context, he criticized what he called the misinformation campaigns directed at Hamas, stressing that those leading them are “hostile parties using media that revolves around Zionist orbit,” but they will not succeed in distorting the truth of the movement’s positions.
Allied for Democracy
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided at the last minute not to discuss the next day of the war in the war cabinet, the state broadcaster said. Israeli media reported that Netanyahu's cancellation of the post-war discussion in the war cabinet came due to pressure from coalition partners. Israeli Channel 12 had reported that the Israeli war cabinet would discuss for the first time the issue of the next day in Gaza after the war. Extremist Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir criticized the move, stressing that the War Cabinet was authorized to manage the military operation and not to discuss the politics of the next day. Itamar Ben Gvir explained that "discussing the post-war period is the task of the mini-cabinet, not the war council with Benny Gantz."
Former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that the Philadelphia axis must be destroyed , adding that if there was freedom of movement between Sinai and Gaza , one and a half million Palestinians would head to Sinai. Lieberman added in his account on the X website that Israel will not expel any of the residents of Gaza, but it will not prevent anyone who wants to move to Sinai from doing so.
Under the title “The Day After,” Lieberman wrote, “What is strange is that Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and the head of the National Security Council are presenting the Next Day model to US government officials, before presenting it to the Israeli political and security cabinet.” He added, "The issue of the next day must include a clear message that no one should mess with us. This will only be done by collecting a heavy price from those who started the war against us, led by the Hamas and Hezbollah movements."
"Throughout history, all parties that started a war and suffered a loss have paid a heavy price, first and foremost in losing territory," he said. Lieberman said, “The next day against Hezbollah, IDF soldiers must be stationed in the Litani River and control the area between the Litani and the Israeli border, and the entire territory must be under Israeli control. All this until a government is established in Beirut that is able to exercise Its sovereignty is over all the lands of Lebanon, and it does not do so. No matter how long it takes, 5, 15, or 50 years, any other arrangement means giving up the Galilee.”
He added, "The next day, Israel must control the northern Gaza Strip from a security standpoint, establish a security strip at least one kilometer deep within the territory of the Strip, and destroy the Philadelphia axis. The axis must be destroyed. I can estimate that in a scenario in which there is freedom of passage between Gaza and Sinai." About one and a half million residents of Gaza will leave the Strip and move to Sinai. We will not expel the residents of Gaza, but if one of the Gazans wants to move to Sinai, he will not be prevented from doing so. The meaning of not collecting the price from Hamas and Hezbollah is that we will return to reality before the 7th October very soon."
The conclusions of the investigation into the circumstances of the death of the three abductees by our forces' fire were presented this week to the Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, by the commander of the Southern Command, Major General Yaron Finkelman. 1. On December 15, 2023, during days of intense fighting in Shejaiya, an IDF fighter shot at three figures, whom he recognized as a threat, and hit two of the abductees who were killed. The third figure escaped.
The commanders declared a "ceasefire" in order to identify the third figure. After about 15 minutes, the Maj-Gen heard calls in Hebrew, "Save him" and "They are shooting at me", and ordered another cease-fire command, and called in Hebrew "Go in my direction". The figure left a building in the direction of the force. Two fighters from the force, who did not hear the order due to noise from a nearby tank, they shot at and killed the third abductee.
During the battle of the Golani patrol, the commanders of the force heard cries for help in the Hebrew language, "save" and "kidnapped" from the building. The force's assessment was that it was an attempted deception by terrorists. The engineering squad that worked with the force pointed to the building as suspected of being trapped, so the force was prevented from entering the building. Part of the force heard the calls, but suspected that it was an attempt by the terrorists to draw the forces inside the building and harm them, something that had happened in the past.
The command level had information about the presence of abductees in the Shejaiya area, and actions were even taken to prevent the attack of searchers, who were suspected of being abductees. In this case, there was no intelligence about any of the buildings where the abductees were. Also, as part of the assessments on the subject, special forces have been prepared in each divisional combat space that are immediately available for intervention in the event that a force detects a structure containing hostages. However, there was insufficient awareness of the forces in the field in the event that abductees would reach the IDF forces, or that the forces would encounter abductees during the cleansing of buildings as part of the fighting and not as part of a special operation to release abductees.
The IDF soldiers involved in the incident experienced complex combat situations in the days leading up to it, and were in a state of alertness and high awareness of the threat. During the battles, they encountered deception from the enemy, and attempts to draw them into captured shafts and buildings.
The Chief of Staff stated that the injury to the abductees could have been prevented. Alongside this, the Chief of Staff clarified that there was no malice in the incident, and the fighters performed the correct action to the best of their understanding of the incident at that moment.
The Wall Street Journal quoted former Israeli National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat that the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) now feels confident enough to reject any deal that does not directly achieve victory in this war that has been ongoing since the seventh of last October. This came in an article by the newspaper’s editorial board - published under the title “This is why Hamas will not release the hostages” - in which it asked about the changes that have occurred since the truce of late last November, which made the movement reject two offers for calm and an exchange of prisoners, according to the newspaper, in reference to To the position of Hamas, which currently insists on not negotiating until after a complete ceasefire.
Ben Shabat - who was Israel's national security advisor from 2017 to 2021 - said that Hamas's confidence may be misguided, but it is not unfounded. He explained, "While the conditions in which our forces operate have become more difficult than before, things have improved for Hamas fighters."
The newspaper reported that, under pressure from the administration of US President Joe Biden, Israel has begun using “less firepower” to prepare for its ground incursions into Gaza, and this gives Hamas more opportunities to ensnare Israeli soldiers in ambushes.
On the other hand, pressure is increasing on Benjamin Netanyahu's government from the families of Israeli detainees held by the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, and it is being widely criticized after the Israeli army killed a number of them. Israeli Channel 12 reported this week that there is tension at the highest Israeli political and security levels regarding the issue of detainees, and that Netanyahu is preventing Defense Minister Yoav Galant from holding individual discussions on this issue with the head of the Mossad.
An article by a French human rights writer on the Media Part website discussed statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the war in Gaza will be long, and his call for a new intensification of the bombing of the Strip. He pointed out that after the war, Netanyahu must bear his responsibility for the choices that exposed Israel to a historical shock, and the Palestinian people to a barbaric massacre in which more than 21,000 people have been killed so far, which means the beginning of the end for his political career.
French writer and human rights activist Rene Bachman said, in a long article on the Media Part website, that Netanyahu realizes that the end of the fighting means a possible resumption of large-scale mobilization of civil society against his political projects, and also against his disastrous management of the “hostages” issue, especially if the rest of them do not leave the country. Gaza is alive, and it also means a possible return to court to answer the accusations of corruption, fraud and breach of trust that have burdened him for more than 5 years.
At this moment - the writer says - the Prime Minister must explain his position before the investigation committee that will undoubtedly be formed to examine the circumstances in which the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) was able to carry out the October 7 operation, under the eyes of the Israeli intelligence services, which led to The country is in one of the worst shocks in its history.
Given the lack of trust that has existed for years between Netanyahu and the judges, especially the judges of the Supreme Court, and the tradition of assigning the president of the court to head investigative committees, as was the case with Shimon Agranat in 1973 in the “ Yaktober War ,” and then with Yitzhak Kahane in 1982, in the Sabra massacre. And Shatila in Beirut, it is believed that Netanyahu is not enthusiastic about the idea of answering the questions of Esther Hayot or her successor as head of the court.
According to the French website, it is known that Netanyahu, in the face of these adversities and in the face of the terrible results for the Palestinians and the disappointing results for the Israeli army, during the first two months of the war on Gaza, turned a deaf ear to the demands of a ceasefire.
Netanyahu was not receptive to the Americans’ proposals. When National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan called on him to involve the Palestinian Authority to envision a “post-Hamas” scenario, he responded without any consideration by saying, “I will be clear. I do not want Israel to repeat the Oslo mistake. I will not allow the entry of people who teach terrorism and support terrorism.” Terrorism and they finance terrorism in Gaza. Gaza will neither be Hamastan nor Fatehistan.”
One of the signs of American discomfort - as the writer sees it - is the Biden administration’s decision to “delay the transfer” of 20,000 M-16 assault rifles to Israel, because it fears that the racist Minister of National Security, Ben Gvir, will distribute them to the settler militias that supports its attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Media Part continues that Netanyahu's relations with Barack Obama were disastrous from the beginning and for 8 years, as he stood against the 44th president's desire to relaunch negotiations with the Palestinians, and did everything in his power, to no avail, to prevent him from concluding the international agreement on Iranian nuclear energy, in violation of this. Advice from many military and intelligence officials.
Although the current Democratic president maintains somewhat friendly relations with the Likud leader, he says, "I like Bibi, but I don't like what he says at all." As a study conducted by sociologist Yagil Levy, a specialist in military issues at the Open University of Israel, shows, the Israeli army, in order to increase its destructive power against Hamas, decided to abandon the distinction between civilians and combatants during its strikes.
Former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas points out that “the goals of the war were reversed,” as the goal was originally to destroy Hamas militarily, while recognizing its ability to maintain what remained of political power, but today the movement is still active militarily. Ehud Barak, who succeeded him as prime minister in 1999, after his first term in power, agreed with Pinkas and others, writing in Haaretz that “Netanyahu is unable to lead this war and that he must leave office before the consequences of his weaknesses become irreparable.”
In this context, the Jewish racists Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich remain his last allies at the present time, but they also expressed some reservations last week, and denounced Netanyahu's decision to allow two fuel trucks to enter the Gaza Strip every day as a lenient concession.
An opinion poll released by Israeli Channel 13 indicated a significant decline for the Likud party, projecting it to win only 16 seats in the current Knesset, down from its current 32 seats out of 120. The survey suggested that the Blue and White party, led by Israeli war cabinet Minister Benny Gantz, would become the largest party in the Knesset with 38 seats, a notable increase from its current 12 seats. Yesh Atid, led by Yair Lapid, has also experienced a decrease in popularity, with its parliamentary strength projected to decline from 24 MPs to 15 MPs, making it the third-largest party in the Knesset if elections were held today.
Recent polls have consistently indicated a decrease in Likud's popularity in the past few months. “Likud's collapse has been ongoing since the outbreak of the war. If elections were held today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party would win only 16 seats, just one more than Yair Lapid's party", Israeli Channel 13 noted.
The Israeli channel also highlighted that in the event of immediate elections, the coalition, comprising Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism, Jewish Power, and Religious Zionism, would only garner 45 seats, a notable decline from the current 64. It is worth noting that forming a government in "Israel" necessitates the support of at least 61 members of the Knesset. Conversely, the poll suggested that opposition parties could secure 71 seats, with the Democratic Front for Peace and the Arab List for Change alliance obtaining four seats. Furthermore, the survey indicated that if former Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen were to replace Netanyahu as the Likud leader, the party would secure 23 seats, compared to 33 for the Blue and White party.
Writer Ermin Sinanovic said that most Western political elites gave a blank check to Israel during its attack on Gaza, which left thousands dead, and many wonder, “Why did these leaders not condemn the war crimes and violations of international law committed by Israel against the Palestinians?” According to the writer.
He continued that there are several explanations for this matter, and the usual reasons include the influence of the Israeli lobby in the United States and the West, as well as the strength of the Christian Zionist movement, but there is another explanation that gives a deeper insight into the Western categorical support for Israel.
The writer explains that Israel does to the Palestinians what many Western political elites want to do to the Arabs and Muslims, but it often cannot. The extent of the influence of the Israeli lobby in the corridors of American power is so strong and deep that it often results in almost complete support for Israel.
Sinanovic added that Christian Zionism has been a part of Western Christianity for a long time, especially Protestantism, as American Christian Zionists believe that the idea of reviving Israel is closely linked to the idea of ??inevitable destiny and American exceptionalism, just as the United States invaded a large part of the North American continent, expelled and exterminated the indigenous people, and settled the land. In the name of civilization, the Israelis are pursuing the same strategy in Palestine.
He said that British support for Zionism emerged on the other side of the Atlantic in the 19th century and reached its peak with the Balfour Declaration in 1917, and that the belief in the fulfillment of Bible prophecy regarding the return of Christ increases the strength of this support. According to the writer, support for the “violence” practiced by Israel against the Palestinians and ignoring international law is based on another argument, which is that Israel is the last European colonial outpost in the Middle East.
While the anti-colonial struggle ended the European colonial project after World War II, Israel emerged as a continuation of this dream of a European-majority state in the Arab world, intent on subjugating and eliminating the indigenous population.
From this standpoint, it is not Israel that “controls” the West in one way or another, but rather the Western countries that use Israel for their own political and strategic gains. It should be noted that international law did not apply to colonial powers at the time, and will not apply to Israel at the present time.
The writer pointed out that the relative leniency with which most Western governments accepted "violence" against the Palestinians is directly related to the period after the events of September 11, which was characterized by the normalization of violence against Arabs and Muslims.
Sinanovic added that European acceptance of Israeli war crimes is related to the idea of atonement for their guilt after the Holocaust. This is particularly evident in Germany, which has taken an extreme pro-Israel stance like never before.
The writer added that Germany has become an essential part of the pro-Israel axis in the West, alongside the United States and the United Kingdom. Even Jürgen Habermas, the famous German philosopher known for his defense of international law, signed a statement in which he affirmed support for Israel and denied committing genocide against the Palestinians.
By acting on its revanchist instinct, Israel disposes of Palestinians' accumulated trauma resulting from centuries of discrimination under European anti-Semitism, culminating in the Holocaust.
Butcher's Bill / Oasis of Martyrs
The spokesperson for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Adnan Abu Hasna disclosed harrowing statistics, revealing that 5% of Gaza's population is now categorized as either martyrs, wounded, or missing. The spokesperson further emphasized the dire humanitarian situation exacerbated by a surge in intestinal diseases (quadrupled), respiratory diseases (quintupled), and skin diseases (tripled).
Palestinian armed group Hamas launched thousands of missiles at Israel and deployed its militants to infiltrate Jewish settlements near the country’s border with Gaza on 07 October 2023. The 1,200 Israelis killed on the first day would be the equivalent of 36,000 Americans killed in an attack, as a proportion to Israel’s population of 9.3 million people (compared to 332 million in the USA). Israeli President Isaac Herzog stated: “Not since the Holocaust have so many Jews been killed in one day". PM Netanyahu stated "On October 7th, Hamas murdered 1,400 Israelis. Maybe more. This is in a country of fewer than 10 million people. This would be equivalent to over 50,000 Americans murdered in a single day. That’s twenty 9/11s. That is why October 7th is another day that will live in infamy."
It is the second largest loss inflicted on the Israeli forces after the 1973 war, as the Palestinian resistance killed more than 1,200, wounded more than 5,132 others, and captured more than 250, most of them military personnel, some of whom were high-ranking officers in the army.
Regarding what is happening in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) representative Osama Hamdan said that the Israeli aggression there left 313 martyrs and injured more than 3,000, which is a continuation of the plans of the Netanyahu government. The HAMAS Ministry of Health in the besieged sector announced that the number of victims of the Israeli operation its beginning had risen to about 21,320 martyrs, and the killing of more than 7,700 Palestinian children. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The number wounded was 55,603. The Palestinian Government Media Office in Gaza had said many days earlier that the number of missing people had risen to more than 7,500 [double the 3,750 previously reported], including including 4,700 children and women.
The Israeli bombing led to the killing of 126 Hezbollah members, a number of civilians, and 3 journalists. Lebanon’s Health Ministry released an official casualty numbers in fighting, saying 77 people were killed and 251 wounded since the start of the war on Gaza.
Israel revised down the death toll from the October Hamas attacks in southern Israel from 1,400 to 1,200. IDF had said previously it was holding 1,500 bodies of terrorists, a total that now would increas to about 1,700.
The IDF released for publication the names of three more soldiers killed in action in the Gaza Strip, This brings the officially announced number of deaths among the Israeli army since the start of the ground incursion on October 27th to 173, and 501 deaths since the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on the 7th of the same month. Among them are 56 with the rank of platoon commander, 43 with the rank of company commander, 8 with the rank of battalion commander, and 5 with the rank of brigade commander. These officers constitute 23% of the total deaths of the Israeli army in the war on Gaza. The Israeli army indicated that 468 officers and soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the war on October 7th. This number does not include the 60 policemen and 10 members of the General Security Service (Shin Bet) who were announced dead since the beginning of the war.
It was also announced that 49 others were injured in the battles in the Gaza Strip during the past hours. The Israeli army reported that 2,159 officers and soldiers had been injured since the beginning of the war, and that 329 of these wounded were seriously injured, 576 moderate, and 1,161 minor. Since the start of the ground incursion, the number of wounded rose to 921. The Israeli army reported that 198 of the wounded soldiers had serious injuries, 327 moderate injuries, and 349 minor injuries.
Israeli media reported that 27% of the Israeli military casualties in the war were officers. In detail, the media highlighted that three brigade commanders, four battalion commanders, and other senior officers have been killed in the war so far.
At least 12,227 Israelis were injured, according to i24 TV. The IDF updated the number of soldiers injured in the war and attacks on October 7 to 1,683.
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper had reported that 5,000 soldiers had been wounded since the beginning of the war on October 7, and that the Ministry of Defense had recognized 2,000 soldiers as disabled so far.
According to some reports statistics indicate that 20% of the Israeli losses were due to friendly fire. Because the nature of the battle has become completely different from what was expected, and it lacks a front line.
The chief of the Disabled Veterans Organization, Edan Kleiman, told Bloomberg the number of injuries would probably mount to around 20,000 if traumatized soldiers are counted. Kleiman also added that this marks the first time Israeli ranks witnessed such a high number of injuries that must be rehabilitated, as Israeli authorities do not recognize the severity of the matter or the situation. Bloomberg also noted the increased number of injured soldiers who are also diagnosed with trauma disorders, adding extra medical costs for rehab and compensation that are not accounted for.
In this context, Israeli political scientist and professor of public military policy, Yagil Levy, remarked that “There could be a long-term impact if we see a big rate of people with disabilities that Israel must rehabilitate, which can produce economic issues as well as social issues.” Bloomberg addressed how "wounded veterans would have to face a new reality, dealing with impairments, even after their survivor's guilt manifests," adding that the injuries sustained during the war in Gaza will serve as a reminder for the future.
Hostages
Israel had previously estimated there were 116 living hostages in Palestinian custody. Israel declared 19 out of 135 people in Gaza captivity dead in absentia, after announcing its forces had recovered the bodies of two hostages. Israel considers those still held by Hamas to be hostages regardless of whether they are dead or alive.
Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy earlier had told reporters that Hamas still held 137 captives. The resistance released 10 Israeli detainees, 4 Thais and 2 Russian women, who were released outside the agreement. Over the course of 6 days, Israel has received 102 detainees, women and children, including 78 Israelis, in exchange for the release of 234 Palestinian prisoners, women and children.
Eylon Levy, the Israeli government spokesperson, told reporters 01 December 2023:
- Hamas still held 137 hostages from the October attacks, in addition to four others who went missing before the war
- The hostages include two children aged four and 10 months, who, Hamas now claims, are dead
- 117 male hostages are still kept in Gaza, including the two children, as well as 20 females
- 126 hostages are Israelis, and 11 others are foreign nationals
- Foreign nationals are eight Thais, one Nepalese, one Tanzanian and one French Mexican citizen
- Ten of the remaining hostages are 75 and older.
- There are seven missing people since the October 7 attack
- Hamas had released 110 hostages so far – 86 Israelis and 24 foreign nationals.
Some of the rest are soldiers, seized when Hamas raided military bases in Israel. They may end up being held the longest. The Israeli military had not specified how many soldiers were captured, nor their ranks.
According to some estimates, Hamas was initially holding nearly 210 of the 240 hostages, while Palestinian Islamic Jihad was holding the remaining 30. About 40 Israelis remained missing. More than 40 hostages taken from Israel into Gaza on October 7th are not currently in the custody of Hamas, the group responsible for the attack, according to a CNN report based on a diplomatic source briefed on the negotiations, CNN's prior reports had indicated that an estimated 40 to 50 hostages were held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad or other unidentified groups or individuals.
Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said on Hamas’ telegram account that 23 bodies of the 60 missing Israel hostages were trapped under the rubble. “It seems that we will never be able to reach them due to the continued brutal aggression of the occupation against Gaza,” he said.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) and the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission released a new tally of Palestinians detained by "Israel", revealing that the number of Palestinian prisoners in the West Bank has risen to 4,795. Some 150 women have been arrested thus far, both from the West Bank and the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948. Additionally, more than 255 children had been arrested. Israel said that, since the beginning of the war, approximately 2,550 wanted persons have been arrested throughout the Judea and Samaria Division and the Bekaa and Valleys Division, approximately 1,300 of whom are affiliated with Hamas.
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