Operation Iron Swords

Israeli Channel 12 said that the war council will meet tonight to discuss the possibility of extending the truce in the Gaza Strip, amid anticipation of the release of the third batch of prisoners. Yesterday, Saturday, US President Joe Biden revealed that there is a possibility of extending the temporary humanitarian truce that was reached between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

The Hamas movement confirmed that it seeks to extend the truce after the end of the four-day period, through serious research to increase the number of released detainees, as stated in the humanitarian truce agreement. A source close to Hamas confirmed to Agence France-Presse that the latter had agreed to extend the truce. The source said, “Hamas informed the mediators that the resistance factions agreed to extend the current truce for between two to four days.” He added, “We expect that the resistance will be able to secure the release of between 20 and 40 Israeli prisoners,” under the extension.

The US Deputy National Security Advisor John Finer told MSNBC: “The deal will be extended if Hamas is prepared to continue releasing the hostages.”

“If Hamas is prepared to release additional hostages, Israel has indicated as part of this agreement that it is prepared for additional days in a pause to the fighting,” United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The ball really is in Hamas’ court.” Sullivan announces that US President Joe Biden has already set a meeting with the Israeli occupation’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss extending the truce.

The Wall Street Journal reported that negotiators are hopeful that the temporary four-day truce in Gaza could be extended by up to four more days to ensure the release of at least 20 additional women and children captives, in addition to the initial batch of 50, said people familiar with the talks. On its part, Reuters reported earlier, citing an informed Qatari official, that a Qatari delegation visited “Israel” on Saturday to discuss the possible extension of the four-day truce, which began on Friday. According to the official, “The Qatari operations team also coordinated with Israeli officials to ensure the continuation of the truce and the smooth release of prisoners,” mainly after several Israeli violations.

Three students of Palestinian origin, who were wearing keffiyehs and speaking Arabic, were seriously injured in a shooting in Burlington, Vermont. Two students are in the intensive care unit, while one of them is being treated for serious injuries. The students are all 20 years old, and they are Hisham Awartani from Brown University, Kenan Abdel Hamid from Harvard University, and Tahseen Ahmed from Trinity University.

According to the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s statement, “The students gathered together to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday. The three victims were wearing Palestinian keffiyehs and speaking Arabic. A man shouted at and harassed the victims, then shot them.” The Arab American Committee called on law enforcement authorities in Vermont to investigate the shooting incident as a hate crime, and the committee also contacted the US Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to also call for an immediate investigation into hate crimes.

Operational Update

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apparently pledged not to liquidate Hamas leaders present in Doha. This was confirmed by an informed source to the noted French journalist and writer Georges Malbrunot. reporter for Le Figaro and Middle East specialist, who published the information in two tweets on his account on the “X” platform. “Qatar received assurances from Israel that Mossad would not come to kill leaders of Hamas’ political wing in the emirate, says a generally well-informed source. This assurance was apparently given by the Jewish state when Doha began its mediation on the hostages. Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered Mossad to prepare such a liquidation. “There are enough other places (than Qatar) to do it,” adds our source, familiar with Qatar.” The movement’s leaders are often distributed between Doha, Lebanon, and Turkey, while Yahya Al-Sinwar, the leader of the movement, is stationed in Gaza, and Muhammad Al-Deif, who is responsible for the military wing inside the Strip.

Netanyahu said that he told US President Joe Biden that Israel will return with all its might to achieve the goal of eliminating Hamas, as soon as the current hostage exchange agreement ends. Netanyahu added, in an interview with the media, that Israel’s goal is to ensure that Gaza does not return to what it was, and to release all the kidnapped people.

Netanyahu said earlier, during an inspection of Israeli forces in Gaza: “Nothing will stop us, and we are convinced that we have the strength, ability, will and determination to achieve all the goals of the war, and this is what we will do.” He explained that Israel has three goals in this war: eliminating Hamas, returning all hostages, and ensuring that Gaza does not become a threat to Israel again.

The Almaza military base in western Damascus was targeted in suspected Israeli airstrike, according to Syrian media. Multiple explosions have been reported in the Syrian capitol of Damascus, according to Arab media reports. Another report stated that Damascus International Airport was targeted in the air assault as well.

Hezbollah media reported that “the southern front is not in a declared truce,” adding: “We are in a state of cautious calm, and approaching the border is risky, because the Israeli is hiding, and from time to time he fires machine-gun bursts from his positions along the border.” The border, and some incidents occurred, including the firing of a shell into the forests of Aita al-Shaab (central sector), and a car was hit in al-Wazzani (eastern sector)… Caution and alertness are necessary.”

A US defense official confirmed to the Associated Press that unidentified gunmen seized the M/V Central Park oil tanker, owned by Zodiac Maritime, linked to Israel, in the Gulf of Aden. Private security company Embry said the attackers seized the Central Park ship, operated by Zodiac Maritime, in the Gulf of Aden. Zodiac described the attack as a “suspected hacking incident.”

The company said in a statement: “Our priority is the safety of our crew, which consists of 22 people on board the ship, which is led by a Turkish captain and has a multinational crew consisting of Russian, Vietnamese, Bulgarian, Indian, Georgian, and Filipino citizens. The ship is carrying a full load of phosphoric acid.”

According to the Associated Press, Yemeni authorities said that attackers seized an Israeli-linked ship off the coast of Aden on Sunday. The agency added: “No party immediately claimed responsibility, but it comes at a time when at least two other naval attacks carried out by the Ansar Allah group (Houthis) in recent days have been linked to the Israeli war on Gaza.”

The American official told Agence France-Presse: “There are indications that an unknown number of unidentified gunmen took control of the tanker – MV Central Park – in the Gulf of Aden on November 26,” noting that “American forces and coalition forces are present in the vicinity of the region and we… “We are closely monitoring the situation,” he said, after a series of similar accidents on the same shipping route.

The “Embry” maritime security company reported earlier that the tanker owned by a United Kingdom-based company linked to Israel had been intercepted, noting that “the US Navy is monitoring the situation.” It indicated that the “Houthis” had previously threatened to attack the ship if it did not divert its course towards the port of Hodeidah. The company added that communications had been intercepted from a US coalition warship warning “Central Park” not to ignore the messages.

The White House proposed all limits on weapons and ammunition permissible to “Israel” from US stockpiles be lifted, a report by The Intercept revealed. The lifting of limits was part of the White House’s supplemental budget proposal, which was given to the Senate on October 20. “This request would allow for the transfer of all categories of defense articles,” according to the suggested budget. In October 2023, the House enacted legislation mirroring the White House’s request, and it is currently before the Senate.

The lifting of limits was part of the White House’s supplemental budget proposal, which was given to the Senate on October 20. The billions of dollars the US has been providing the Israeli occupation with are clearly not enough, since the request is for US weapons depots in Israel that the Pentagon developed for use in regional crises.

John Ramming Chappell, a legal fellow with the Center for Civilians in Conflict, expressed that the amendments “would create a two-step around restrictions on U.S. weapons transfers to Israel.” Back in January 2022, US-based Breaking Defense military news outlet reported that Israeli military sources disclosed it has a list of weapons it plans to urge the US to add to its American emergency stockpile in Israel as a safeguard for possible future wars in the region.

The War Reserves Stock Allies stockpile, established in the 1980s, allows the US to stockpile arms and equipment at Israeli bases for American use in wartime and has included missiles, armored vehicles, and artillery ammunition. Later, the US changed the conditions for the stockpile, granting Israel immediate access “in emergency scenarios” and allowing weapons to be transferred through considerably expedited Foreign Military Sales procedures.

In a 2020 CRS report, an Israeli commander was cited as saying, “Officially, all this equipment belongs to the US military,” unless there is a conflict, then the Israeli occupation forces “can ask permission to use some of the equipment,” which occurred during the Israel’s massive military operation in Lebanon in 2006 (2006 July War), and again during the war on the Gaza Strip in 2014.

With the WRSA-I, Biden seeks to remove all restrictions, including plans to eliminate restrictions on obsolete or surplus weapons, waive an annual spending cap on replenishing the stockpile, remove weapon-specific restrictions, and reduce congressional oversight. According to Josh Paul, a former official in the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs who quit his post due to US arms deals with Israel, lifting constraints on transfers to “Israel” could harm US objectives by reducing American preparedness in the region.

Paul remarked that since eliminating the cap of $200 million, restocking the WRSA-I would mean a “free-flowing pipeline to provide any defense articles to ‘Israel’ by the simple act of placing them in the WRSA-I stockpile, or other stockpiles intended for Israel.” The US currently required Israel to make specific concessions in exchange for some types of Pentagon weaponry support, but the White House plan would remove this requirement as well. The changes also restrict congressional supervision of US arms transfers by shortening the amount of advance notice provided to Congress before a weapons transfer.

Current law required 30 days’ notice, but the changes according to Chappell, would make it “much harder for Congress or the public to monitor U.S. arms transfers to Israel,” in a move that would “further undermine oversight and accountability even as U.S. support enables an Israeli campaign that has killed thousands of children.”

William Hartung, an arms expert at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, explained that the package makes Congress’ monitoring of US arms to Israel particularly difficult, “even as the Israeli government has engaged in massive attacks on civilians, some of which constitute war crimes.”

Two months prior to the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, the Pentagon granted a multi-million dollar contract for the construction of facilities for US troops at a confidential base located in al-Naqab Desert, known by the codename Site 512, The Intercept reported in October 2023. Site 512, previously termed a “cooperative security location,” a label meant for low-cost, minimal presence bases, has been applied to facilities capable of housing up to 1,000 troops, the report indicated on Friday. According to The Intercept, Site 512 was not created to address the threat posed by the Palestinian Resistance, but rather to counter the danger presented by Iranian mid-range missiles.

However, when thousands of the Palestinian Resistance rockets were launched on October 7 toward Israeli settlements and cities, Site 512 remained inactive because its primary focus was monitoring Iran, which is over 700 miles away, the report pointed out. Despite President Joe Biden’s denial of plans to deploy US troops as part of the ongoing confrontation between the Palestinian Resistance and the Israeli occupation, a covert US military presence is in place and expanding, as indicated by government documents, the report revealed.

According to David Ignatius in The Washington Post, after Israel paused its war on Gaza, the Israeli forces are faced with a “controversial dilemma” of considering how exactly they will resume their bombardment of the strip in their alleged effort to “eradicate” Hamas. One senior Israeli official expressed that the release of 13 captives by Hamas was “bittersweet”, explaining that the near future has some “high-intensity conflict” in store. The official did not back down from the IOF’s intention to destroy Hamas, in turn destroying Gaza and yet killing thousands more Palestinians, despite the mounting international pressure for a permanent ceasefire. The official explained that the IDF are “determined to go to the next stage of the war. We’re not at the stabilization phase yet.”

According to Ignatius, the main issue is that Israel will continue its offensive while global pressure increases for a permanent ceasefire, like how Qatar’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told reporters that Qatar hoped the 4-day truce would last more permanently. He recalls how “Israel” saw similar diplomatic pressure in the past like in the 1973 war, the 1982 invasion of Beirut, and most recently when “Israel” invaded Gaza in 2014 in a failed mission to destroy Hamas tunnels before a lasting truce was agreed upon on August 26.

Israel’s army will return to fighting Hamas “with determination” once the humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip ends, said Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi. “The [Israeli army] and its soldiers fight fiercely to protect the lives of our people while upholding the values of the [Israeli army]. We have created conditions for the framework for the release of the first group of children and mothers held hostage during this pause,” Halevi said in a statement.

He added: “When the framework is completed, we will return to our operations with determination, for the continued release of the hostages and the complete dismantlement of Hamas.” Halevi addressed Israeli military soldiers and commanders saying: “I met many of you at the end of long hours of fighting both above and underground, facing complex challenges. In every encounter, I saw reflected in your eyes the magnitude of the moment, the fighting spirit and determination to achieve all the objectives of the war. I heard you tell me: ‘We want to fight until we return the hostages.’ And so we are doing just that!”

Halevi had reiterated on Saturday that the Israeli military will immediately return to striking in the Gaza Strip once the humanitarian pause with Hamas ends. “We do not intend, do not want, and are not ready to stop this effort before we return all the hostages… it is our moral duty to bring them back,” Halevi spoke of the hostages held by Hamas as cited by the Times of Israel. The Israeli commander said the army was using this pause in fighting to “study, to better prepare our abilities and also to rest a little.”

“And we will return immediately at the end of the ceasefire to attacking Gaza, to maneuver in Gaza. We will do it to dismantle Hamas and also to create great pressure to return as quickly as possible and as many hostages as possible, down to the last one of them,” he said.

Israel has lost control of the war in the Gaza Strip, and the longer the ceasefire lasts, the greater the pressure on the mini-war government in Tel Aviv to continue the prisoner exchange process with the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ). Michael Clarke, visiting professor of defense studies at King’s College London, and distinguished researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, also said that the temporary ceasefire and the release of prisoners and detainees will provide relief to people on the parties to the conflict in the Gaza Strip, and will be welcomed 50 days after the outbreak of war.

Despite this positive news, Clark added that Israel’s handling of the prisoner crisis indicates that it is at risk of losing its war. He pointed out in his article in the Sunday Times newspaper that Israel had mobilized 550,000 soldiers, making it 20 times stronger than the force it attributes to Hamas, which is 25,000 fighters, considering this a great advantage to wage war with. However, Israel lost control of events.

Clark believes that the prisoner issue gives Hamas the ability to control the course of the conflict, and “it is adept at exploiting” the opportunity. The military expert pointed out in his article that the mini-Israeli war government puts the issue of recovering prisoners before its direct military goals, expecting that “Hamas will manipulate everyone’s feelings, raise meaningless objections, scrutinize the most marginal details, and drag its feet and deliberately obfuscate in order to exert pressure in order to achieve the maximum political benefit.”

He stated that Hamas leaders can clearly see, like the rest of the world, that the Israeli war government is bowing to the pressure exerted by the United States. He added that the US envoy to the region, Brett McGurk, ran a special cell in Washington that coordinated extensively with the Qatari Prime Minister’s office in Doha to develop a framework for the “complex” prisoner exchange deal package before pushing it last Friday.

He said that the Israeli government was not the most important party in completing that deal, noting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried – under increasing internal pressure from the families of Israeli prisoners – to regain some influence by offering to extend the ceasefire for another 5 days, on the condition that the prisoners be released. 50 other prisoners during that period.

Clark expected that the Israeli army would take advantage of the temporary pause to reposition its forces in preparation for the next phase, “in an attempt to improve its intelligence image and restock weapons in preparation for a new attack.” There is no doubt – says the academic and researcher in the field of defense studies – that Israel will keep its most dangerous Hamas prisoners, in order to exchange members of the Israeli army who are detained among the prisoners, and who may be the last to be exchanged.

It may be very difficult for Israel to move to the next stage of its military operation, as the author of the article believes, claiming that the Israeli army achieved most of its goals in the northern half of the Gaza Strip “at a lower cost than expected, amounting to about 70 soldiers,” as he put it. Clark believes that any resumption of the Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza will likely spark more international anger, especially after the brief ceasefire.

The harsh reality for Tel Aviv, as Clark asserts, is that its officially declared war is going wrong in many ways. There is no doubt that the Israeli army has “weakened” Hamas’ operational capacity, but it is still far from destroying it. He concluded that Israel’s attempt to push the residents of Gaza towards the south of the Strip, while destroying its north, is “essentially a strategic mistake,” adding that Netanyahu is quickly approaching the end of a dead end, where he will not be able to achieve any of his military goals.

An Israeli military analyst expected that the remaining days of the temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip , which will likely be extended for more than 4 days, will be unnerving and in the interest of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ). Ron Ben Yishai, a veteran war correspondent and military analyst, claimed that Hamas’s goal is to harm Israelis and incite division among them, but he added that this is not its main goal.

He explained in an article published by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on its website that Hamas seeks – in the first place – to extend the ceasefire for as long as possible until it becomes a permanent ceasefire. Ben Yishai added that Hamas hopes to extend the ceasefire in order to achieve two important strategic advantages, the first of which is its continued rule of the Gaza Strip if Israel does not continue the war and fails to control all hotbeds of “terrorism,” as it calls them.

If that happens – the writer adds – Israel will not achieve its most important goal of the war, which is to undermine Hamas’ military and civilian control over the Gaza Strip. As for the second advantage that Hamas is working to achieve with its “Iranian sponsors and Lebanese Hezbollah ,” it is “declaring victory” in the war against the Israeli army, which “began on October 7 and ended without Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movement experiencing defeat.” . If the ceasefire that began on Friday becomes permanent, this claim will be permissible, Yishai says.

The writer goes on to say that Israel’s ability to deterrence will receive a severe blow that could be considered a threat to its existence, if Hamas wins the war. Ben Yishai stresses that the Hamas leadership has no interest in violating the ceasefire agreement, but it does not control all of its activities in the northern Gaza Strip.

However, he expects ceasefire violations to occur from time to time, and it is very possible that they will not be initiated by Hamas, but may be caused by “local agents currently hiding in the tunnels who are not aware of the agreement,” or who “accidentally” find themselves in a confrontation with the Israeli army.

The military analyst does not see in his article a reason to rush to resume fighting due to local violations, as “the fate of the (Israeli) prisoners is the most important,” except in the event of major violations, such as launching missiles at Israel. Then there will be a need to reconsider resuming fighting, he said. As for what will happen if Hamas announces its readiness to negotiate the fate of the 120 young men and women it is holding, and demands that the ceasefire be extended for a longer period, this will be a major dilemma for the State of Israel, according to a Yedioth Ahronoth article.

The official in charge of the prisoner file in the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), Zaher Jabarin, said that we are looking into how to fortify the process of releasing Palestinian prisoners from Israeli occupation prisons legally and with international obligations, and that no Israeli will be released except with the will of the resistance and with a ceasefire.

In exclusive statements to Al Jazeera Net, Jabareen said that Qatari diplomacy has proven its success and its ability to deal with all conflicts in the region, and that with the Egyptian and American efforts, it has the will and absolute seriousness in order to make the armistice agreement a success and to continue it. He also indicated that Hamas is ready to start negotiations from tomorrow to launch … He released all the prisoners, but he stipulated that this be on clear grounds.

“In general, we have established a principle and announced it since the beginning of this battle. Our most important goals are to defend the mission of the Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace), and the second goal is to liberate our brothers who are imprisoned in Israeli prisons. There are more than 8,500 Palestinian prisoners, some of whom have been serving more than 44 years, and there are more than a thousand prisoners of whom are sentenced to life imprisonment, and there are more than 3 thousand prisoners under administrative sentences, and there are 400 Palestinian children, and there are Palestinian women inside the occupation prisons….

“There is no doubt that what is happening in the Gaza Strip is a miracle, and the Palestinian people, with their steadfastness and steadfastness, is unparalleled. There is no model like it, thanks to God Almighty. Our resistance is steadfast, patient, and calculated, and because the number of prisoners is also large, the achievement will be great. Our resistance, as it has proven in all stages, is up to the responsibility and the challenge. It will not fail – God willing – in preserving these people. Just as it destroyed the promise of the “Zionists” that they would take these prisoners from us, the resistance imposed the equation in the first deal, despite the will of “these Zionists.” “None of the prisoners will be released except in exchange for the will of the resistance and a ceasefire, and we will not accept to be subjected to negotiations under bombs and gunfire.

The Syrian army said that its defenses intercepted Israeli missiles coming from the occupied Golan after putting Damascus International Airport out of service. Damascus International Airport returned to work less than 30 hours ago, after being out of service as a result of a previous Israeli targeting. The occupation launches strikes on what it considers targets linked to Iran in Syria, including Aleppo and Damascus airports.

Bystanders

Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, told the American CBS channel that he hopes to extend the truce in the Gaza Strip if the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) is able to submit a list of more detainees that will be released. He added that Gaza and the West Bank must be one state under a leadership chosen by the Palestinian people, and that their focus now is on how to end the war and ensure that it does not happen again.

He stressed that the only way not to repeat the war is to reach a political solution and provide the Palestinians with a horizon for establishing a state, and that the decision of who rules the Palestinians is the choice of the Palestinians alone. He continued that Qatar’s support for the Palestinian people has been ongoing for decades, and that the relationship between Qatar and the United States is built on trust and common interests, adding that the establishment of the Hamas movement’s office in Doha was carried out in coordination with Washington for the purpose of establishing communications.

An Egyptian official said that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s proposal regarding international recognition of the State of Palestine is being studied in important capitals around the world. Diaa Rashwan, head of the State Information Service, confirmed in an interview with “ Sada El Balad ” that it is “a new proposal that does not cancel the two-state solution.”

The Egyptian official denied holding a conference to declare the establishment of a Palestinian state. Rather, “the Palestinian state will be recognized and then an international conference will be held for consultation on the outstanding issues and issues of the final solution in Oslo.” He continued: “The matter is being studied in depth in many decision-making circles around the world, and the coming days will witness important developments from Egypt in developing the idea, responding to it, and entering into implementation globally.”

On Friday, the Egyptian President suggested the possibility of the future Palestinian state being “ demilitarized with the presence of temporary international security forces to ensure security for it and for Israel,” stressing that “reviving the two-state solution path is an exhausted idea.”

Sisi’s statements came in a joint press conference in Cairo with the Spanish Prime Minister and the Belgian Prime Minister. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that the future Palestinian state could be demilitarized with the presence of temporary international security forces to ensure security for it and for Israel, noting at the same time that the “two-state solution” has been “exhausted.”

Al-Sisi said during a joint press conference in Cairo with the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, and the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo: “We said that we are ready for this country to be demilitarized, and there are also guarantees of forces, whether these forces are from NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) or forces from… The United Nations, or Arab or American forces, as they deem appropriate, until we achieve security for both states, the nascent Palestinian state and the Israeli state.” Al-Sisi added that the political solution that requires the establishment of a Palestinian state on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, is still far-fetched.

With the announcement of the details of the humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip and its entry into force as a result of Qatari-Egyptian-American efforts, some wondered about the nature and details of the Turkish role in making the truce. While officials in the Turkish government and the ruling party stress the importance of the Turkish role, opponents say that there are many reasons that did not allow Ankara to work effectively in the current war, while analysts say that Western powers reject increasing Turkish influence in Palestine.

In this context, the representative of the Turkish Justice and Development Party, Hassan Turan, warned against ignoring “the leading Turkish position on the Palestinian issue, which his country maintained regarding the first Qibla of Muslims and the inheritance of the ancestors, and for which it paid the price.”

Turan – who is also the head of the Turkish-Palestinian parliamentary friendship group – said, “Turkish diplomacy, through the President of the Republic, Recep Tayyip Erdogan , took an advanced position contrary to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), from the heart of Germany, and in other international platforms in defense of Palestine, and our Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.” I declare that Israel is a terrorist organization and that there are thieves in Palestine, not Israeli settlers.”

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Turan confirmed, “With this, Turkey has developed new terminology that has contributed to its support for the Palestinian cause on the international scene.” Regarding the negotiation and truce efforts, he said, “There is no table in the region without Turkey, and a table in which there is no Turkey with weight and a reliable position is an incomplete and worn-out table,” adding, “If Turkey does not exist directly, it is present indirectly with its positions and ideas.”

Turan revealed that days before the armistice, many countries approached his country regarding the exchange of prisoners, and letters were sent to the Turkish president. He continued, “After that, our distinguished president mobilized and directed the competent authorities in our country and discussed what could be done regarding the exchange of prisoners through Qatar and Egypt.” Later, during the meetings of the American, Israeli and Egyptian delegations in Qatar, an agreement was reached on a prisoner exchange and a 4-day ceasefire.

Representative Turan warned, saying, “It is useless to ignore Turkey’s international efforts for the Palestinian issue, and move to a stage in which Turkey has no role in the Palestinian issue,” considering that “such allegations come to divert the attention of world public opinion from Turkey’s active and leadership role in the Palestinian issue.” And distorting the role that Turkey is currently playing.”

In this context, Sima Selkin On – a member of the Turkish Parliament for the opposition Future Party – said that Turkey “has made a great effort to achieve a ceasefire since the seventh of last October, while formulating positions that remind everyone that the origin of the problem goes back to the deep past and its interactions.” She stressed that “in our country, standing by Palestine in its just cause is considered a national reaction and a state policy, independent of parties and practical and temporal details.”

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, the Turkish parliamentarian pointed out that recently, “Israeli efforts to achieve gains and popular acceptance in the region through diplomacy have ended in failure and disappointment,” adding that “Turkish media institutions focus on following Israel and exposing its lies, and this contributes to the feeling of the Israeli side.” Negativity towards Turkey and its expected roles.

She explained that one of the reasons for what she described as “ the failure of Turkey’s attempts” to become an active party at the table in the ceasefire process is that “Turkey’s position on the American presence in the region was the strongest, but Turkey’s intervention – as a member of NATO, while holding a position completely contrary to the direction and members of NATO – would overturn equations that are barely present and existing.”

In addition to the previous reasons – according to the parliamentarian – the fragility of the Turkish economy is one of the most important reasons – and perhaps the most important reason – that led to this, anticipating that “Turkey’s active and main role will be in the reconstruction of Gaza after reaching a permanent ceasefire.”

For his part, Turkish writer and political analyst Ramadan Bursa confirmed that the answer to the question of the Turkish role in the humanitarian truce in Gaza accurately describes the Battle of Al- Aqsa Flood , explaining that “the battle is not a war between Gaza and the Israeli occupation regime, as the occupation regime believes that controlling Gaza is the first step to controlling On Greater Israel/The New Middle East.

Bursa explained, “America, Israel and other Western countries reject increasing Turkish influence in the Palestinian territories, and Israel and the United States do not want Turkey – which has Ottoman historical roots – to play an effective role in the Palestinian issue by acting as a mediator or guarantor.”

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Bursa believes that the presentation of the guarantor project or plan as a new project and system for dealing with the Palestinian issue, by the Turkish Foreign Minister on the first days of the Al-Aqsa Flood, caused concern for many parties who concluded that Turkey’s project was something he had worked on and was seeking to implement as an alternative. About other international projects.

He continued, “The Turkish guarantor proposal was discussed in the Western press and diplomatic rooms, and diplomatic sources reported that there are some reservations about Turkey’s proposal, especially from Western countries.”

The political analyst explained that the Turkish idea of a guarantor shows that Turkey has a plan and well-thought-out paths regarding the Palestinian issue, which disturbed the West, especially with Turkey’s defense of Hamas and its refusal to describe it as terrorism, concluding by saying, “The real problem is that Turkey is not asked or allowed to do so.” To be active in the Palestinian issue.”

More than a dozen former French ambassadors have called for a political solution to the war in Gaza and dismissed Israel’s stated goal of eliminating the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in Gaza as “illusionary.” In an op-ed published in Le Monde on Saturday, the 18 former ambassadors said Israel had embarked on a strategy of total war in Gaza that is “as brutal as it is futile, and increasingly contested.”

“‘Eradicating Hamas’ is more of a slogan than a realistic objective,” the former ambassadors wrote. “In 2006, Israel had already proclaimed its desire to ‘eradicate Hezbollah’, with the known results. Such a strategy is illusory. Hamas, which has already been targeted by five deadly military campaigns, will inevitably be reborn. The (Israeli) army will not be able to defeat a movement supported by a large part of the Palestinian population, in Gaza as well as in the West Bank, in the face of a disqualified Palestinian Authority.” The ex-diplomats added that “everything must be done” to extend the four-day truce between Israel and Hamas in order to forge a lasting ceasefire.

Axis of Resistance

Abdolrahim Mousavi, Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, stressed that the occupation was unable to achieve military success in the face of the Palestinian resistance during Operation al-Aqsa Flood. Mousavi, confirmed that the signs of the demise and collapse of the Israeli occupation entity are fully visible.

Despite the aggression against the Gaza Strip and its ground operations, Mousavi said the Israeli occupation and its backers were helpless in the face of the Resistance and failed to make any progress. In the context of the Israeli entity’s collapse, he pointed out that the occupation was forced to negotiate with the Hamas movement and accept all its conditions in the truce mediated by Arab countries.

In his speech at a ceremony honoring the students of the School of Nursing, Mousavi stressed that Operation Al-Aqsa Flood brought attention back to the Palestinian issue, making it once again a prominent global issue. He went on to say that the “perfect picture” of human rights claimed by the West and the United States had been shattered despite all their investment in said image. He went on to accuse the leaders in the US and other Western countries of racism.

Former Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said that the Islamic resistance in the Gaza Strip was victorious through its steadfastness and popular support over the Israeli war machine, which committed the most horrific massacres over a period of 48 days against defenseless civilians.

In an interview with Al Jazeera , Salehi said, “The steadfastness and resistance of the Palestinian people forced the Israeli occupation to accept the conditions of the resistance to exchange a number of its prisoners in exchange for the release of 3 times its number of Palestinian prisoners.” He continued that the Israeli leadership’s retreat from its statements and the promises it made to itself that it will not negotiate a ceasefire or a humanitarian truce until the Islamic resistance movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad are uprooted and eliminated are the best evidence of the defeat of the Zionist entity in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

Salehi believed that in the support of the Islamic and free peoples for the Palestinian cause, and in considering them the owners of the right and the land, and in the support of Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement alongside the Palestinian resistance, important achievements had been achieved that contributed to the clear victory over the Israeli entity.

When referring to the developments in the battle during the hours preceding the humanitarian truce that entered into force on Friday morning, the former Iranian Foreign Minister explained that Hamas’ military capabilities had not declined, but rather showed that it was prepared to continue the war for a longer period, challenging the occupation government, which stipulated the elimination of the Palestinian resistance in order to stop its operation. Wild.

He said that the United States and some European countries harnessed all their technology, especially their satellites and military industries, to support Israel, but they failed to destroy the tunnel network, free the prisoners, and eliminate the resistance movements. Salehi continued that the Iranian Islamic Revolution has cheered for the Palestinian cause since the first day of its victory in 1979, and constituted a turning point in the course of the confrontation with Israel, adding that the victories of the Islamic resistance against Israel began years ago, and destroyed “the myth of the invincible army,” while Israel’s defeats are increasing in all the battles it has fought in recent decades.

He added that the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood brought the Palestinian issue back to the top of the priorities of the world, which began to think about putting an end to this injustice practiced against the Palestinian people. It also exposed the double standards of Western countries that have long paid lip service to human rights and international laws and conventions.

The former Iranian Foreign Minister confirmed that the Israeli side violated the Geneva Convention dealing with human rights in situations of war, which was ratified in 1949, pointing out the necessity of pursuing the genocide file in international courts, adding that some Western powers do not see the need to implement international conventions unless It was in favor of her policies.

He criticized the silence of some international circles or their belief in the Israeli story about targeting hospitals, describing the targeting of patients, children and women as the greatest evidence of Israel’s failure to achieve the goals it announced before the start of the ground operation. Salehi considered the massacres committed by Israel over a period of 48 days in the Gaza Strip, which world public opinion witnessed live on television, as unparalleled in history. He expected that the Al-Aqsa Flood operation would constitute the beginning of the end of the Western policy supporting the aggressor on the one hand and the awakening of the global conscience.

When he pointed out that some Arab countries signed agreements to normalize relations with Israel, he expected the “Abraham Accords” to be obstructed after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation. He believed that: The secret of victory against the Israeli entity lies in steadfastness and prolonging the duration of the battle, because the internal front in the occupying entity could not bear a long-term war, and then the American side will be harmed as a result of prolonging the extent of the war and its expansion in the region, because the Middle East is no longer its priority. The first is in light of China’s challenge and the Ukrainian war.

Salehi pointed out the necessity of working, after the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, to build houses and construct collective shelters in the Gaza Strip, produce energy through solar panels and air fans, and store strategic needs of food, drinking water, and fuel for long periods. The former Iranian Foreign Minister concluded that the Israeli arrogance in the Al-Aqsa Flood Battle once again proves the necessity of training all young people in the Gaza Strip after they reach the age of 15 to defend themselves and their families, calling for coordination, precise and confidential programming for any future operation, and prior training to ensure the desired results.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman described the Al-Aqsa Flood operation as a sign of strategic changes in the region and the international system, and said that this operation returned the Palestinian issue to the forefront of world issues and that the Palestinian people proved that they are a living people.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani , commented on Sunday in a meeting to discuss the current situation in the occupied territories, which was held by the Committee for Supporting the Islamic Revolution for the Palestinian People with his participation. The Foreign Ministry spokesman said, on the Al-Aqsa flood , saying that the Al-Aqsa flood, which was a flood in its own way, constituted developments. A strategy not only at the level of the Palestinian issue , but also at the level of the region and the international system.

He added: The Al-Aqsa flood showed that the Palestine issue is still the world’s foremost issue and that it has enough energy and capacity to turn the world towards itself and change the balance of power in the region and beyond. This process and subsequent developments showed that Iran’s understanding of the importance of this issue was completely correct.

The official spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs added: The issue of Palestine is the issue of the Islamic world and humanity, and this issue cannot be discussed behind closed doors and in the meetings of some powers that consider themselves international powers without realizing the importance, nature and nature of Palestine and without acknowledging the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, and some countries in the region are closing this issue . The issue is at the expense of the Palestinian people and in the interest of the Zionist entity, and it is considered closed.

He pointed out that: The Al-Aqsa flood brought the issue of Palestine back to the forefront of the world’s issues, and he said that the Palestinian people have proven that they are a living people and that they do not wait in defending their rights for a look and perhaps the favor of the powers, and that the hegemonic powers have proven that they are not committed, and have shown that they are in dealing with humanitarian and moral issues. They do not stand by humanity or human rights, but rather adhere to their illegitimate interests and their unjust and usurping partners, especially the Zionist entity.

The head of the Executive Council of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hashem Safi al-Din, confirmed that “what the resistance did on the border is great, great, and very important for Lebanon and Gaza.” Hashem Safi al-Din said in his speech during a memorial service for one of the Hezbollah members who was killed in the recent skirmishes on Lebanon’s southern border: “Whoever understands the background of the resistance in Lebanon should have realized from the first moments that it is impossible for this resistance to leave the resistance in Palestine.” And the resistance fighters in Gaza.”

He pointed out that “if the American project had succeeded in Gaza, resettlement in the diaspora countries, namely Syria, Lebanon and others, would have become a natural and self-evident matter.” He warned that “the resettlement project has not ended as long as there is an Israeli thinking about the project of a state of his own,” noting that “what we saw in the Gaza Strip proves the importance of the resistance weapon in Lebanon.”

Safi al-Din stressed the need to “know the value, greatness, and importance of this resistance in our lives, our society, and the education of our youth,” adding: “Be confident that God has guided us with this resistance. It is a blessing from God to us as individuals, as it builds in us proud and pure souls, strength, and ability to form a strong nation.”

The head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council added: “When we fight this battle on the border, we are carrying out our legitimate, national and religious responsibility in defense of Lebanon, not just in support of Gaza, and everyone will realize in the future the importance of participating in this battle.”

He continued: “Our presence on this front teaches the enemy harsh lessons, and the enemy’s media is still talking about the accuracy of the Mujahideen’s hits and Hezbollah’s weapons in this battle. Whenever the resistance’s weapons are able to accurately hit the Israeli, this means that this weapon protects Lebanon from attacks.”

Hashem Safi al-Din saw that “what the resistance did on the border is great, great, and very important for Lebanon and Gaza,” pointing out that “despite the heavy costs paid by the peoples of our region and Gaza, the choice of the people of Gaza and the peoples of our region is to resist until the end of the road.”

He stressed that “when the resistance fighter in Gaza sees the support of the people of Gaza for him, this gives him strength and also holds him with a great responsibility,” adding: “The responsibility of the resistance in Palestine today increases in the face of the sight of nearly 20,000 martyrs and the great destruction in the Gaza Strip, and that will make it stronger.”

He stressed that “what is happening today in Palestine will make our resistance in all of our region grow, grow, intensify and become more capable and solid in confronting this enemy,” continuing: “After the events in Palestine, it has become known that what deters the enemy is to be strong and present in the field with your missiles and weapons.” And capable of terrorizing the enemy…what we saw in the Gaza Strip proves the importance of resistance weapons in Lebanon.”

Allied for Democracy

Former Israeli Security Minister Moshe Ya’alon criticized the Israeli government for its stated intention to assert control over the Gaza Strip after the war. Ya’alon expressed dissatisfaction, describing the government as reliant on figures like Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, and he argued that it lacks the capacity to make decisive decisions.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he acknowledged that despite “the positive influence of Israeli figures like Israeli war cabinet Minister Benny Gantz and Former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot in bringing some rationality to the cabinet”, their presence is not sufficient to lead the Israeli entity out of the current crisis.

It is worth noting that Ya’alon stated in an interview for Israeli Channel 13 on October 25, that he perceived a “vacuum” in the government’s actions from the very first day of the war. He added that the Israeli Chief of General Staff and the head of Military Intelligence failed in their roles during the recent events in Gaza. He also pointed out that Gal Hirsch, the person in charge of the Israeli captives’ file in Gaza, lacks the necessary experience to handle this issue. Ya’alon affirmed that if he were to receive an invitation from the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to take part in the aggression on the Gaza Strip, he would say, “I will come, and you go home.”

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed that there are questions facing Netanyahu that he must confront immediately after the end of the war with Hamas, indicating that the latter was working to postpone those questions. Sullivan declined to comment on the claim that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is interested in continuing the conflict in the Gaza Strip in order to remain in office.

“I will not speculate on the course of Israeli politics,” he said in a statement to CNN when asked whether the White House believes it is in Netanyahu’s interest to end the conflict when he is in a “difficult internal political situation.” He added: “He (Netanyahu) knows that once the war with Hamas ends , he will face questions that he has been putting off.” Sullivan added: “What we will do is just work with whoever is the prime minister, which is Netanyahu, and deal with him directly on the problems that we face today.”

It is noteworthy that Politico newspaper reported earlier, citing sources, that US President Joe Biden believes that Netanyahu’s political career is “near its end.” According to the newspaper, the White House believes that Netanyahu’s days as prime minister are numbered, and he will continue for several months or until the initial phase of the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip is completed.

Politico indicated that Biden discussed in a personal conversation with Netanyahu his future prospects as prime minister and invited him to think about the scenario he would present to his successor. Also according to the newspaper, representatives of the American administration are talking with former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, one of the opposition leaders, former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, and the leader of the parliamentary opposition, Yair Lapid.

While Americans were busy shopping on the evening of what is called “Black Friday” (the Friday after Thanksgiving), President Joe Biden appeared from the city of Nantucket in the state of Massachusetts, where he is spending a family vacation, to speak to the American people about the start of the release of hostages and detainees in implementation of the armistice agreement in Gaza, which was reached a few days ago.

Biden spoke about his personal role in reaching a temporary truce, and spoke about the suffering of the Israeli hostages and the joy of reuniting them with their families. He ignored any mention of Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, and did not address the thousands of civilian victims in the Gaza Strip .

In justifying his continued support for the Israeli aggression, Biden echoes the claim of the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that its attacks forced the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) to negotiate the release of prisoners and the start of a temporary truce.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, a former American diplomat (who preferred to remain anonymous) pointed out that “Biden’s calculations regarding the Gaza crisis were simple from the beginning. He realizes that Israel has the support of both parties. Hence, his choice to support Israel came as an alternative that would not cause him any trouble.”

But the continuation of the Israeli aggression for 50 days and the unprecedented killing, destruction and brutality that Gaza witnessed caused great embarrassment for Biden, and many Democrats directed their anger at the American president for what they considered complete complicity in the aggression against the Gaza Strip. Hence, many observers considered that Biden’s speech to the American people is nothing but an attempt to reformulate his damaged image among a large segment of Democratic voters, and show him from a supporter of war to a peacemaker.

In his speech to the American people, Biden said, “We can express our gratitude today for the meeting of families with their loved ones who have been held hostage for nearly 50 days, as the fighting in Gaza will stop for 4 days, according to a deal that was reached thanks to intense American diplomacy, including through communications.” “Several sessions I conducted from the Oval Office with leaders from across the region.”

Biden added several phrases that highlight his personal role in reaching this truce, as he said, “Today is the result of a lot of hard work and weeks of work on the personal level. My team and I have worked around the clock to release the hostages from the moment Hamas kidnapped them.” He said, “I have consistently pushed for a truce in the fighting for two reasons: the first is to accelerate and expand humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza, and the other is to facilitate the hostage release process.” He added, “Over recent weeks, I have spoken repeatedly with the Emir of Qatar, Egyptian President Sisi, and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to help reach this deal.”

Biden also sought to add a humane formula to his speech, and said, “All of these hostages have suffered greatly, and this is the beginning of a long journey toward recovery for them (..). My wife, Jill, and I mention them in our prayers today.” Biden then touched on the suffering of the people of Gaza, and said, “This prolonged truce provides a crucial opportunity to deliver the food, medicine, water, and fuel aid that civilians in Gaza need, and we will not waste a minute,” adding, “I have focused on this since my visit to Israel.”
One of the journalists asked Biden, saying, “Mr. President, how long do you expect this war to take? And did you encourage Prime Minister Netanyahu to set a time period at the end of this year, for example, to stop the fighting?” But Biden ignored the timing point for stopping the fighting, as millions of Americans are demanding, only replying, “I encouraged the Prime Minister to focus on trying to reduce the number of casualties as he tries to get rid of Hamas, and this is a legitimate goal for him. This is a difficult task, and I do not know how long it will take”.
An opinion poll conducted by Reuters/Ipsos in mid-November indicates that 77% of Democrats believe that “Israel should call for a ceasefire and try to negotiate.” The latest NBC national poll also found that President Biden lags behind former President Donald Trump among young voters between the ages of 18 and 34, with Trump receiving 46% support from this group and Biden receiving only 42%.

It is noteworthy that during the 2020 elections, according to the results of the voter analysis conducted by the Pew Research Center, Biden won the votes of voters under the age of 30 by 59%, compared to 35% in favor of Trump. Many commentators attribute this significant decline in support for young people to several reasons, most notably Biden’s position on the ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip.

Many commentators believe that Biden’s principled position, which is entirely supportive of the Israeli side, did not take into account the strength of youth voices and their interest in the issue of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. The retired American diplomat told Al Jazeera Net, “Biden represents the last symbol of the generation of elders in American politics, and his age does not allow him to realize the importance of young people’s votes, their preferences, and their political inclinations. This is a generation that Biden does not know. These are voters who do not derive their information and vision of the world from traditional media like their fathers and their grandparents, they don’t watch news networks, and they don’t read traditional newspapers. Their main source is Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.”

It does not seem that Biden’s color will succeed in convincing young people to change his position, given his full support for Israel and his demand for the elimination of the Hamas movement immediately after the Israeli aggression resumes with the end of the days of the truce.

The Washington Post quoted American officials as saying that 20 White House employees requested a meeting with senior advisors to US President Joe Biden to discuss the Gaza Strip. According to the newspaper, the employees had three main issues they wanted to discuss with White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, Senior Advisor Anita Dunn, and Deputy National Security Advisor John Finer.

The 20 employees wanted to know the US administration’s strategy for reducing the number of civilian deaths in Gaza, the message that Washington plans to send regarding the conflict, and its post-war vision in the region. A White House official familiar with the meeting – who spoke on condition of anonymity – said that Zients, Dunn and Viner all listened respectfully and said that the White House administration should be careful not to criticize Israel publicly so that it can influence its leaders privately.

The advisors also explained that American officials are pressuring Israel to reduce civilian casualties, and stressed that President Biden and his senior aides will call for a two-state solution once the conflict ends. The sources added that the impact of Israel’s war on Gaza on the White House is greater than any other issue during Biden’s presidency, and that the US administration bears many burdens because of Israel.
US administration believes that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir have a worrying influence on Netanyahu’s government. Biden had taken a tougher approach towards Israel, secretly and publicly, in recent weeks as a result of his strong criticism of Netanyahu regarding civilian casualties in Gaza and settler violence in the West Bank.

American sources expressed their fear that Israel would not show restraint when it moved its operation to the southern Gaza Strip, and their concern that the prolonged conflict in Gaza would increase political and diplomatic pressure on Biden.

Butcher’s Bill / Oasis of Martyrs

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.

About 15,000 Palestinians, including about 6,150 children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since October 7, the Gaza Press Office said. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Observatory reports that it had “counted up to this moment about 17,500 dead Palestinians”. The Hamas-run government said more than 4,000 women were among the dead, with more than 33,000 more people wounded. The Palestinian Government Media Office in Gaza said the number of missing people had risen to more than 6,800 [nearly double the 3,750 previously reported], including 1,800 children still under the rubble. The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that the number of wounded as 31,000 [previously announced as about 32,000 wounded],

Israeli forces killed eight Palestinians, including a child, in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, taking the total number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank to 239 since October 7. Israeli forces shot dead five Palestinians in the city of Jenin late on Saturday and early Sunday, and killed three others elsewhere in the West Bank, the ministry said on Sunday. Six other Palestinians were injured in the Israeli raid in Jenin.

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 number of Israeli soldiers that the IDF admitted were killed in ground battles with the Palestinian resistance reached 72, while the death toll for the Israel forces had risen to 392 soldiers since the beginning of Operation al-Aqsa Flood. At least 7,771 Israelis were injured. The IDF previously announced that more than 260 soldiers had been injured since the start of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip, including 100 in serious condition.

Israeli army (IDF) reported the total number of casualties since October 7th to 392 and the number of troop deaths there to 72 since the ground war began.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry released its first official casualty numbers in fighting, saying 77 people were killed and 251 wounded since the start of the war on Gaza.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor expressed its concerns about the “theft of organs” of missing Palestinians and the bodies of martyrs, in the recent aggression on Gaza . This comes while government figures estimate that there are about 7,000 missing persons, dozens of whom are detained by Israel. The Observatory called for the formation of an independent international investigation committee into the Israeli army’s detention of the bodies of those killed from the Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza and the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip. He also pointed out other cases of detaining bodies from the vicinity of the displacement corridor to the center and south of the Strip, which he designated on the main Salah al-Din road.

Euro-Med reported that the Israeli army also exhumed a mass grave that had been established more than 10 days ago in one of the courtyards of the Shifa Medical Complex, and extracted the bodies of the dead from it and detained them. He pointed out that while dozens of bodies were released by handing them over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which in turn transported them to the southern Gaza Strip to complete the burial process, the Israeli army is still detaining the bodies of dozens of martyrs.

The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory raised suspicions of the theft of organs from the bodies of dead people, including observations made by doctors in Gaza who conducted a quick examination of some of the bodies after their release and noticed the theft of organs such as the cornea of ??the eye and the cochlea, and other vital organs such as the liver, kidneys and heart. Doctors working in several hospitals told the Euro-Mediterranean team that the forensic medical examination is not sufficient to prove or deny the theft of organs, especially in light of the presence of previous surgical interventions on several bodies.

Hostages

On Friday 24 November 2023, a 4-day humanitarian truce began between the Israeli army and Hamas, during which prisoners and hostages will be exchanged, after 49 days of war on the Gaza Strip. Hamas handed over 13 women and children hostages, 10 Thai citizens and one Filipino to the Israeli authorities. Israel, in turn, released 39 women and children in Israeli prisons, and is scheduled to release 150 Palestinian prisoners over the four days of the truce agreement.

According to some estimates, Hamas is holding nearly 210 of the 240 hostages, while Palestinian Islamic Jihad is holding the remaining 30. About 40 Israelis remained missing.

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 Israeli army arrested 20 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, bringing the total number of detainees since October 7 to 3,200, the Palestinian Prisoners Club said.

The main points known about the hostage deal so far:

• there will be a ceasefire from both sides in the Gaza Strip,
• There is no ceasefire on the northern front with Lebanon, and the truce will be limited to the southern front with Gaza. But the ceasefire deal would also apply as a truce on the northern border with Lebanon, according to a Lebanese report in Nidaa al-Watan. “Hezbollah will adhere to the ceasefire on the condition that Israel does too,” the first report announced, following a meeting between the leaders of the Lebanese and Palestinian organizations. An official source from Hezbollah later told Al-Jazeera that the group will respect the ceasefire also in Lebanon, reiterating the condition that Israel does too, adding that the Lebanese group was not consulted on the deal.
• there will be a halt to the movement of Israeli military vehicles penetrating into the Gaza Strip,
• During the days of the truce, the Israeli forces remain as they are and in their positions, provided that Hamas and the rest of the resistance forces adhere to a complete ceasefire.
• Israeli military overflights in the southern Gaza Strip will be halted for four consecutive days. Israeli military overflights in the northern Gaza Strip will be limited to six hours daily, in order to allow Hamas to locate the other hostages who are being held by Hamas terrorists and Islamic Jihad.
• Israel agreed to refrain from targeting or arresting any individuals throughout the truce’s timeframe.
• freedom of movement will be ensured for all Palestinians along Salah al-Din Street, which connects the districts of the Gaza Strip.
• “The movement of residents from the south of the Gaza Strip to the north will not be allowed in any way, but only from the north to the south. Uncoordinated movement of trucks from the south to the north of the Gaza Strip will also not be allowed” the Israeli army spokesman, Avichay Adraee, said via “ X ”.
• The prisoners in Israeli custody will be handed over to the Red Cross, which will transport them to the Rafah area, and there, under the auspices of Egyptian, Qatari and American mediators, they will be transferred to the Israeli side.
• Upon their receipt by the Isreeli army, the occupation authorities begin releasing Palestinian female prisoners and children according to the agreed upon number
• 10 hostages will be released every day
• Minimum of 53 hostages will be released, mostly minors (under 19) and their mothers, [the 50 prisoners, who appear to be 30 children, eight mothers, and 12 elderly women]. Hamas has 80 captive children, mothers, and elderly women, but at least in the first stage, if Hamas does not find more, at least seven children and five mothers will remain in captivity. The number of foreign workers is 41 prisoners, meaning that Hamas has 195 Israelis, more than 100 of whom will remain in Gaza even after this deal.
• Israel will release approximately 150 Palestinian prisoners, women and minors (under 19), held in its prisons, and who do not have Jewish blood on their hands.
• potential of the total number released reaching 80 prisoners, out of about 300 minors (under 19), and 33 female prisoners, detained in its prisons. The mechanism of the process is for Hamas to send through mediators a list of Israeli prisoners who will be released the next day, and the Israeli government approves it, so that the implementation process begins the next day. The number of those released will be increased in later stages of implementing the agreement.
• hostages to be released do not include foreigners who do not have Israeli citizenship or foreign workers who were around the Gaza Strip.
• it is also possible that foreigners such as Thai citizens will be released, but this has nothing to do with the truce agreement.
• The deal does not include Israeli soldiers.
• on the fourth day of the truce, new names will be given to the Israeli detainees. Hamas will announce its desire to release them in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners, according to the agreed-upon equation, which is one Israeli for 3 Palestinians.
• Israel would extend the pause in fighting for one further day for each additional 10 captives released.
• Hamas expressed its approval for the Red Cross to visit the remaining kidnapped persons in Gaza, and that it had committed to searching for the remaining kidnapped persons not in its custody, with the aim of seeking their release at later stages. But Hamas refused to allow the workers of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit the hostages and evaluate their health condition. Hamas believes that “any information related to the hostages must come at a price paid by Israel.”
• The agreement would also include the entry into the Gaza Strip, including in the north, of 4 trucks of fuel daily and two trucks of gas, in addition to at least 200 to 300 trucks of food, medicine and humanitarian aid
• HAMAS said the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip will continue beyond the days of the agreement, and that the aid that will enter the Strip includes basic materials and clothing.

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) reported that it had released a detainee holding Russian citizenship, in response to the efforts of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since the beginning of the Israeli war on Gaza, Putin announced his rejection of the siege imposed on the Strip, the cutting of relief supplies, and the targeting of civilians.

Monday, is the fourth and final day of the truce in the Gaza Strip, amid continuing discussions on the possibility of extending the truce. Israel and the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades , the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), have handed over the implementation of the third phase of the exchange of prisoners and detainees, at a time when the occupation is expected to release the prisoners it has agreed to hand over.

The Al-Qassam Brigades confirmed the handover of 13 Israeli detainees, 3 Thai detainees, and a Russian detainee to the Red Cross as part of the third phase of the exchange. The Israeli army also confirmed that the Red Cross had received the third batch of prisoners. The temporary humanitarian truce entered its third day, and on the second day of it, yesterday, Saturday, the Red Cross received the second batch of detainees, namely 13 Israelis and 7 foreigners outside the framework of the agreement, while Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners, after stumbling for hours in implementing the exchange agreement, which was overcome through Qatari and Egyptian efforts.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said that all Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli prisons as part of the third batch of the prisoner exchange agreement are minors. Al-Ansari added, in a tweet on the X website, that the Israelis released from Gaza are 9 children and 4 women, and they include two people who hold American citizenship and two people from Hungary.

US President Joe Biden at a press conference in Massachusetts: “Hamas released a 4-year-old American girl. I spoke with the Emir of Qatar yesterday (Saturday), and I owe him a special thank you. We expect Hamas to release more Americans. The exchange process is ongoing, successful, and must continue. I will continue to work with the Emir of Qatar and the Egyptian President to ensure the release of all hostages. Our goal is to continue the truce in order for aid to enter and the hostages to be released. Continues to engage personally to ensure implementation and expansion of the deal. The two-state solution is the only way to guarantee the security of Israelis and Palestinians.”

Al-Alam News Channel correspondent in Jerusalem said: The options have become limited for Netanyahu and the ministers in light of the escalating Israeli street protests, and in light of the form in which the exchange deal was concluded , as there is a lot of criticism of Netanyahu and all the political and security levels, while the trend has become more towards calm.

He added: There will be a meeting in the coming hours of the political level, headed by Netanyahu, with the military leaders and the Mossad to discuss extending the truce and further releasing detainees, with Qatari mediation and American supervision. The correspondent explained that things seem to be heading towards that, especially in light of the statements issued by the Qatari Foreign Ministry that all parties have a desire and positive indicators to extend the truce for two to ten days.

He pointed out that the options before the occupation government have become limited in light of the long duration of the war and the targeting of everything in the Gaza Strip , as well as preserving the achievements of the ground incursion into the northern areas of the Gaza Strip and the control and positioning that took place there. The Al-Alam correspondent continued that the talk now is about releasing Israeli and foreign detainees, as the Israeli side is demanding the release of 50 detainees in exchange for 150 detainees, Palestinian boys and women in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

He considered that it is too early now to talk about the exchange of soldiers, but the truce is linked to the humanitarian aspect, as a preliminary stage leading to the exchange of soldiers, the whitening of Israeli prisons, and the withdrawal of the occupation army from the Gaza Strip, according to what the resistance demands .

The correspondent explained that there are many things that indicate an extension of the truce, and the first thing is the issue of the prisoners, as they are entering into a crisis with the families of the remaining Israeli prisoners who were not included in the four deals, which will be the fourth deal tomorrow, and thus 50 prisoners will have been released by the end of tomorrow. Israel in exchange for about 300 Palestinians, and these releases caused a crisis for them, because everyone, because everyone who has a prisoner inside the Gaza Strip, began demanding the return of his prisoner, and this matter forces the Netanyahu government to think a lot before heading into battle.

The correspondent continued: The other matter is the absence of real goals after the ground operation, which lasted for nearly two weeks without achieving real results. It was completely clear that whenever the Netanyahu government tried to bring it out to the Israeli media, the issue of Al-Shifa Hospital and the ability to end resistance in the central and northern Gaza Strip became clear. That this talk was all propaganda, and at the last minute to announce a truce, the Palestinian resistance was on the ground, fighting and fighting back, and this matter was imposed on them, and therefore thinking began within the Netanyahu government, and specifically among those who believe that they will inherit Benjamin Netanyahu, they began to think about a mechanism to get out of this battle. At the lowest costs, but as long as there is an Israeli prisoner, things will not pass except through a big deal through which the Israeli prisons will be cleansed of Palestinian prisoners.

 

This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.