Operation Iron Swords

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.

Butcher’s Bill / Oasis of Martyrs

ither a martyr or a projected martyr.. This is the condition of the people of the Gaza Strip.

At least 14,532 Palestinians, including about 6,000 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 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 doubl 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],

According to a UN official, there have been “likely much more” casualties in “Israel’s” war on Gaza than the previously reported total of over 11,000, because there have been insufficient updates since the area’s communication networks collapsed. Martin Griffiths, under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator expressed during a General Assembly meeting that as casualty numbers continue to climb, “The actual total, however, is likely much higher as figures have not been updated for five days due to a collapse of communication networks in 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 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 Israeli occupation 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) announced 19 November 2023 the death of five of its soldiers during ground battles in the Gaza Strip, bringing the total number of casualties since October 7th to 378 and raising the number of troop deaths there to 64 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.

Hostages

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.

Hamas previously announced that the number of prisoners it held was between 200 and 250 Israelis, and others of other nationalities, during the “ Al-Aqsa Flood ” battle launched by the Al-Qassam Brigades on the 7th of last October. Hamas indicated that among the detainees were “high-ranking military personnel” and that it wanted to exchange them for more than 6,000 Palestinian prisoners, including children and women, in Israeli prisons, but Tel Aviv did not show seriousness in concluding such a deal. The movement released 4 female prisoners “for humanitarian reasons”, two women holding American citizenship, in response to Qatari mediation efforts, and two Israelis, with Egyptian-Qatari mediation.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club announced that the Israeli army arrested 35 Palestinians, which brings the total number of detainees in the occupied West Bank to 3,035 since last October 7.

Qatar announced the success of the joint mediation efforts with Egypt and the United States between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), which resulted in reaching an agreement on a humanitarian truce in Gaza that will last 4 days and can be extended, the timing of which will be announced. The agreement includes the exchange of 50 civilian women and children prisoners in the Gaza Strip in the first phase, in exchange for the release of a number of Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli prisons. The truce will also allow the entry of a larger number of humanitarian convoys and relief aid, including fuel designated for humanitarian needs.

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 first hostages may be released on Thursday.
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.
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 Israelis have fears that Hamas will prolong this process until the temporary truce turns into a permanent ceasefire, which is what Israel does not want, as Netanyahu confirmed within the Cabinet that the Israeli army will continue the war with all ferocity after the end of the truce.

The Israeli government released the names of about 300 Palestinian detainees who could possibly be released in the upcoming exchange deal, allowing the public to file an appeal in the event of any objection. The Israeli Ministry of Justice published a list of the names of 300 Palestinian prisoners who could “possibly be released” as part of a prisoner exchange deal that has been agreed on between the occupation and the Palestinian Resistance. The list published by the Israeli Ministry of Justice included the names of prisoners from all Palestinian factions, including Hamas, Fatah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other factions.

The Israeli Ministry of Justice published the list in order to allow the Israeli public to submit objections to the Supreme Court within twenty-four hours. For its part, the Times of Israel newspaper explained that “publishing the details of these Palestinian prisoners [in advance] provides the opportunity to file a judicial appeal against the release of specific prisoners.”

Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement confirmed that it would be party to the partial prisoner swap deal. The enemy thought they could unconditionally restore their captives, the PIJ said in a statement. These delusions were crushed, they added, after their failure to break the will of our people and our resistance. Affirming their steadfastness in regards to their prior stance, the PIJ noted that all non-civilian captives (Israeli soldiers) will only be released if all Palestenian prisoners are liberated.

Political researcher Moin Manna said that reaching an agreement on a humanitarian truce in Gaza – which was announced today, Wednesday – represents the result of a victory for the Palestinian resistance, which was able to besiege the Israeli occupation forces in a specific spot and exhaust them, which represents an insult to the “Zionist entity.” And a threat to American influence in the region, and putting the British and French efforts that lasted 200 years in vain.

Manna added – in exclusive statements to Al Jazeera Net – that “the last week of the Israeli aggression was a week of pure attrition, and even the pace of bombing and massacres committed by the enemy was indicative of the state of impasse in which it was experiencing, and the state of heavy bleeding in which the occupation forces occurred at the level of military vehicles, whether Tanks, vehicles or personnel carriers, as well as elite soldiers and elite officers.”

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron welcomed the agreement reached between Israel and Hamas, describing it as an important step, and the minister urged both parties to commit to achieving the agreement in full.

US President Joe Biden welcomed the prisoner release agreement between Israel and Hamas, which was announced after arduous and complex negotiations. He added that the agreement should also return more Americans detained by Hamas, and Biden thanked the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi for their “decisive leadership and partnership in reaching this agreement.”

Biden appreciated the humanitarian truce agreement in Gaza , and thanked both the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi for their “decisive leadership and partnership in reaching this agreement.” Biden said, “This agreement is supposed to bring more American hostages home,” stressing that he will not stop until all of them are released. The US President continued, “I appreciate Netanyahu’s pledge to support the truce to ensure the implementation of the agreement and provide additional aid to alleviate the suffering of families in Gaza.”

America is trying to take the truce as an opportunity to find a basis for reaching successive truces, according to American sources who spoke about the fact that Washington will continue to work on the next stages of the agreement, which could help extend the duration of the truce to release more prisoners, after it had been boasting.

Abu Ubaida, said: As the resistance promised, it took 46 days for Israel to come to its knees in order to release the Israeli hostages, women and children. The most important deal is the exchange of Israeli military prisoners, the price of which will be lifting the siege on Gaza, whitewashing the occupation prisons, and rebuilding Gaza.

Arab social media user Khaled Safi said: Why is the truce a victory for the resistance and a victory for the people stationed in Gaza? – Because Netanyahu said: “We will not liberate the prisoners through an exchange deal, but rather we will liberate them by force.” ? Because Netanyahu resisted completing the deal and refused the truce for 46 days until he acquiesced against his will. – Because the enemy army’s ground operation achieved nothing. – Because the truce occurred without any concession from the resistance.

While Hammoud congratulated Al-Nofali, saying: We congratulate the resistance in Gaza for signing the truce and stopping the war temporarily. Why is it a victory? Because the stinker came down from the top of the tree and had to negotiate to release the children and women, not his soldiers, because the resistance announced to the world from day one that it wanted to release the women and children who were not arrested by the resistance, but by the citizens of Gaza when they saw that the resistance opened the fence with the entity.

Dr.Mamoun Fandi said. … What led to the truce: 1- A strategic victory for Hamas on 10/7 that moved the Palestinian issue to the forefront, 2- Israel fell into the trap of a ground war with fierce and trained resistance, 3- A change in the global strategic environment and a loss in the battle of public opinion in the West.”

Al-Mayadeen TV correspondent Farah Omar and the photographer who accompanied her, Rabih al-Maamari, were martyred in an Israeli raid that targeted them in the town of Tair Harfa, southern Lebanon. The martyr Farah Omar appeared in her last message in live coverage about an hour before her martyrdom, speaking about the latest developments in southern Lebanon. Ghada said, “A martyr in the field of journalism… Many comrades preceded you, and the international community is silent and mute, not deterring the Israeli enemy. While Mufid Al-Taweel confirmed…they added to their crimes the killing of joy and spring in the media fields.

The Israeli media also discussed the sharp dispute that dominated a session in the Knesset to discuss a proposed draft law to execute Palestinian prisoners detained in Israeli occupation prisons, as relatives of Israelis imprisoned by the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip directed harsh criticism at the extremist Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, for adopting the project.

Haitham Al-Sayyid said: Netanyahu rejected every previous deal and was stressing that the liberation of Israeli prisoners would be by force, not by an exchange deal. After 46 days of bloody barbaric revenge and failure to achieve any military objective, Netanyahu yielded to the resistance. The truce will reorganize the ranks and open the door to a series of truces, larger exchanges, and conditions in favor of the besieged sector.

Jamal said: So what did you do after 47 days of war on Gaza?! You did not eliminate Hamas, nor were you able to return the hostages or the Israeli prisoners. All you did was kill the innocent civilian population and demolish their homes, and this is evidence of their defeat and your failure. They are the original owners of the land, and God is with them.

“Israel is building a scenario of fabrications”… An American professor attacks Israel and its claims about “Al-Shifa Hospital”… After the falsity and lies of the Israeli propaganda about the presence of tunnels and a Hamas headquarters in Al-Shifa Hospital were exposed, criticism of this entity increased because of its continuous and successive lies from the beginning of the aggression on Gaza until present day …

While Alaa Dahi confirmed: Lying is a Zionist industry, just as America lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Israel now lies and America believes it. Muhammad Abu Rakan pointed out that the terrorist state “Israel” is the factory of terrorism and hatred, and it is the one that spreads evil and hatred and wants the world to treat it well.

Ghafouri said: “They are liars and deceivers. They are deceiving their soldiers that going to Gaza is a pleasure and they will return to their homes safe, but the truth is that they may return in coffins or their bodies will be burned in the Merkava and other military vehicles, leaving them with no traces. It seems that the Israeli government is lying to its citizens.” And its soldiers.

Iranian al-Alam concluded “It is clear that the acceptance of the truce by the Israeli entity and its American and Western supporters is in itself conclusive evidence of the failure of the war option. If the truce period is extended, then it can be said with absolute certainty that the resistance, with its epic steadfastness and the legendary patience of the people of Gaza, has triumphed over the American-Western death machine. The Israeli regime, just as the truce or truces, will explode the Israeli interior and overthrow Netanyahu and his government, and will reveal more of the brutality of the Israeli entity and the lack of human conscience among its supporters, when the images of destruction become clearer to the entire world, and then the Israeli entity and its supporters will fall morally and humanely before world public opinion, after Their might fell in the field under the feet of the resistance men.”

Operational Update

Netanyahu ordered Mossad to take action against Hamas leaders, wherever they are. Defense Minister, Gallant said Hamas chiefs living on borrowed time.

Pro-Iranian militia targets in the Saida Zaynab area of Syria’s capital region Damascus were hit by an Israeli airstrike, according to a Syrian media report. “At approximately 14:10 this afternoon, Israel carried out an airstrike with two missiles from the direction of the Golan Heights, targeting some points in the vicinity of the city of Damascus,” Syrian state media quoted a military source. “Our air defense forces responded to the aggression and shot down one of the missiles, causing material damage,” the military source added.

Israel estimates about 10 percent of the Palestinian terrorist organizations’ fighting forces were killed, and 30 percent of underground tunnels destroyed. After gaining control of the northern Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) estimated about 4,000 terrorists were killed, so far, which amounts to ten percent of the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) fighting force. Alongside the casualties, about 30 percent of Hamas’s underground infrastructure in the north of Gaza has been demolished. Furthermore, scores of battalion commanders have been killed in these efforts, which has shattered the terrorist organization’s chain of command. The ceasefire gives the terrorist factions an opportunity to regroup, reestablish chains of command and reposition its war machines with 90 percent of its fighting force remaining.

IDF soldiers continue to fight in the Gaza Strip. Until now, IDF soldiers have exposed and destroyed approximately 400 terror tunnel shafts. The Yahalom special forces unit of the Combat Engineering Corps has played a significant role in uncovering and destroying these shafts using various methods. Hamas had embedded its network of terrorist tunnels below population centers across the Gaza Strip. Many of the shafts leading to its tunnel network are located within civilian hospitals, schools and homes.

The soldiers of the Givati Brigade conducted operational activity at the headquarters of Hamas’ Northern Brigade, which is located in the Sheikh Zayed area in the northern Gaza Strip. Sheikh Zayed is a neighborhood in which many senior operatives of the Hamas terrorist organization live. In this area there are many Hamas outposts that are used, among other things, by Hamas’ Nukhba forces and are located in the heart of the civilian population.

The soldiers carried out operational activity at the outpost, where they located several tunnel shafts, including a strategic tunnel shaft 50 meters deep and 7 meters wide. A scaled-down model simulating an IDF armored fighting vehicle and a wall simulating the security fence of Gaza were also located in the area. In addition, launch complexes were located that include a lathe for the production of rockets, underground pits intended for launching rockets as well as many additional weapons.

As part of the activity, the soldiers eliminated dozens of terrorists in the area. At the end of the operation, the soldiers destroyed the outpost. Furthermore, in another activity in the same area, soldiers of the Givati Brigade identified many weapons in a vehicle that was apparently used by Hamas terrorists during the brutal massacre on October 7th inside a mosque.

With joy mixed with anticipation and anxiety, the residents of the Gaza Strip received a temporary truce agreement between the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) and Israel, announced by the State of Qatar in the early hours of the morning for 4 days, subject to extension. The time had come for the Gazans to capture their breathe and heal their wounds. In the city of Rafah, in the far south of the Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt , and like other cities in the Gaza Strip in its south and north, this agreement had an impact on the residents of the city and the displaced people there, whose number is estimated at more than 300 thousand.

The harsh winter weather doubled the suffering of hundreds of thousands of displaced people in schools and public facilities, which lack the most basic components to confront the cold and rain. What UNRWA provided to the displaced in terms of food and blankets is insufficient, people sleep on the tiles, and the children are shivering from the cold. The truce agreement allows the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to move south while ensuring that the occupation does not attack them.

Following the reports regarding sirens sounded in northern Israel over the last hour, a number of launches from Lebanon toward the areas of Netu’a, Zar’it and Yiftah were identified. The launches fell in an open area and no injuries were reported. In response, the IDF is striking the sources of the launches. In addition, an IDF tank struck a military post belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization.
Following the alerts concerning hostile aerial infiltration into Israel near the community of Hanita, the “Iron Dome” Defense Array successfully intercepted the object. The incident is over; sirens sounded in northern Israel were triggered by the interception. An alert regarding a hostile aerial infiltration in the area of Rosh HaNikra in northern Israel was a false identification. Separately, several launches from Lebanese territory toward the area of Shushan in northern Israel were identified.

HAMAS Medical sources reported that more than 40 martyrs were killed in Israeli raids on inhabited homes in the central Gaza Strip last night. Dozens of missing persons were also announced after the raids, especially with the disruption of communications and the continuing bombing of the Gaza Strip. In addition, the Israeli forces launched intense artillery shelling on Kamal Adwan Hospital Street in the northern Gaza Strip, resulting in martyrs and wounded in an Israeli bombing that targeted two homes north of Gaza City.

In the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, the Israeli bombing of a residential apartment led to the death of nine martyrs, including children.
The bombing also affected the south, where three martyrs were killed and a number of others were wounded in a bombing that targeted a house west of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip. A journalist was martyred in an Israeli bombing on the Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza, while another journalist was martyred in the attacks on the Al-Saftawi area, north of the Gaza Strip, last night, raising the death toll of journalist martyrs to 64.

On the other hand, the Martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades announced that it bombed Tel Aviv with a large missile barrage, adding that this bombing comes in response to the Zionist massacres against civilians. The Al-Quds Brigades, affiliated with the Islamic Jihad Movement, also distributed scenes of the Mujahideen targeting the Zionist vehicles penetrating Gaza City and forcing them to retreat. Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya confirmed that the enemy did not achieve any field achievement on the ground other than committing war crimes and horrific massacres. Al-Hayya called on the peoples of the world to continue demonstrations and marches and besiege the Zionist entity until the aggression against Gaza stops.

The American newspapers “Washington Post” and “Financial Times” reported maps of the situation in the Gaza Strip until November 18, showing the effects of severe damage in the north of the Strip, Gaza City, and south in Khan Yunis and Rafah. The maps show that about 51% of the buildings in northern Gaza were destroyed or were likely damaged, and this percentage in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip reaches 18%.

The destruction affected more than 45,000 housing units in the northern Gaza Strip, including homes, residential towers, places of worship, health and educational centres, and about 244 schools were destroyed, the last of which was Al-Fakhoura School. The destruction also affected workshops, small establishments, and agricultural lands, which are estimated at about 18% of the entire area of the densely populated sector, which has the largest population density in the world, along with Hong Kong, as more than 2.2 million Palestinians live on an area not exceeding 365 square kilometers. The Indonesian, Al-Ayoun International, Beit Hanoun, Al-Ahly Al-Arabi, Jordanian, Al-Maidani, Al-Shifa, and Turkish Al-Sadaqa hospitals have all gone out of work, and the remaining health centers are threatened with shutting down after preventing the arrival of medicines and fuel.

The Israeli occupation forces stormed the emergency department of the Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital in Tulkarm, arrested one of the injured, and surrounded Al-Isra Specialized Hospital. The Palestinian News Agency reported that the occupation forces stormed the village of Anin, west of Jenin, this afternoon, and set up military checkpoints at its main entrances. The Palestinian News Agency also said that Israeli forces arrested citizens from the town of Tarqumiya, west of Hebron , and confrontations broke out as a result, during which the occupation soldiers fired live bullets and tear gas bombs towards the citizens.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent said that the occupation forces stormed the city of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank, and Israeli forces also blew up a house in the Balouneh neighborhood during the ongoing storming of the Tulkarm camp. In the Dheisheh camp near Bethlehem, the Israeli army carried out a military operation during which it arrested a number of Palestinians, as a result of which confrontations broke out with dozens of Palestinians.

On the other hand, the Tulkarm Brigade, affiliated with the Al-Quds Brigades , announced that its fighters detonated explosive devices in bulldozers and occupation vehicles during their storming of the camp, which led to their damage. They also placed an Israeli force in a tight ambush in the Balawneh axis, and caused casualties.

The Israeli army announced that one of its fighters intercepted a cruise missile , which was launched towards the city of Eilat. Earlier on Wednesday evening, sirens sounded in Eilat, on the Red Sea coast, after a suspected drone infiltration. The army said in a statement, “Following the report regarding the infiltration of an enemy aircraft in the area of the city of Eilat on the Red Sea in the south of the country, an Israeli Air Force fighter aircraft succeeded in intercepting a cruise missile that was launched towards Israel.” The statement explained that “the threat did not penetrate the territory of Israel.”

The Israeli army did not specify from where the missile was launched, but the Ansar Allah group (Houthis) in Yemen had previously announced during the past few weeks the launch of ballistic missiles and drones towards Eilat, in response to the Israeli massacres in the Gaza Strip . The Eilat Municipality stated, in a statement, that after the alert that was activated in the city, security officials in the region reported that a successful interception operation had been carried out, and that there was no air threat.

The Politico website revealed that the administration of US President Joe Biden had provided the occupation entity with sites of humanitarian organizations in Gaza weeks ago to prevent strikes against their facilities, but the entity continued to strike such sites. According to what was reported in the newspaper, the information included GPS coordinates for a number of medical facilities and information about the movements of aid groups in Gaza for the Netanyahu government for at least a month, according to three people familiar with the communications.

However, the occupation launched alleged operations against Palestinians in or near aid sites, including hospitals, destroying buildings and preventing fuel and other vital supplies. It is unclear whether the United States had prepared an official “no-strike” list or is providing one-time guidance. But several officials helped relay the coordinates of groups that provide food and medical care in Gaza, operate out of hospitals and small offices and live in guest houses. Among the sites provided to the Netanyahu government were medical facilities, including Al-Shifa Hospital, parts of which the occupation forces took control of on November 15.

But the ongoing Israeli bombing of these humanitarian facilities raises more questions about whether Washington has the political influence that many in the administration want with Tel Aviv. The gap is particularly stark given that the aim is to protect aid workers – a fundamental principle of international humanitarian law.

“The Biden administration may be trying behind the scenes… but it may not get anywhere, when the Israelis feel they are in a threatening position,” said Robert Ford, a former US diplomat who served extensively in the Middle East, including under President Barack Obama. With my presence, the amount of American influence decreases.” The National Security Council pointed to earlier comments by spokesman John Kirby during Monday’s press conference, in which he told reporters that the administration “does not want to see hospitals as battlefields.”

The United States was not the only group providing such data to the entity. The main information exchange for so-called humanitarian conflict resolution is the United Nations. Humanitarian organizations in Gaza say they rely primarily on the United Nations system and send their coordinates to the United States – and directly to the occupying entity.

Bystanders

Several countries around the world praised the temporary truce agreement between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) to stop the war in the Gaza Strip and exchange prisoners from both sides. The countries hope that the truce will help alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the Strip and bring aid into it.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the truce agreement in the Gaza Strip, praising the Qatari and Egyptian efforts made to reach it. Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hussein Al-Sheikh, said in a statement that President Mahmoud Abbas and the leadership welcome the humanitarian truce agreement, and Al-Sheikh renewed the call for a comprehensive cessation of Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, the introduction of humanitarian aid, and the implementation of a political solution based on international legitimacy, leading to an end to the occupation and the Palestinian people gaining their freedom. Its independence and sovereignty.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres also welcomed the agreement and said it was an important step in the right direction.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry welcomed the temporary truce, and Beijing hopes it will help ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia welcomes the humanitarian truce agreement announced between Israel and Hamas. Russian news agencies quoted Zakharova as saying, “Moscow welcomes the agreement between Israel and Hamas on a 4-day humanitarian truce,” stressing that “this is what Russia has called for since the beginning of the escalation in the conflict.” The Kremlin welcomed the ceasefire agreement in the war between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and said that periods of humanitarian truce are the only way to achieve progress towards reaching a sustainable settlement.

European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the Commission will make efforts to use the expected truce to increase humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. The Head of the Commission added, “I am very grateful to those who worked tirelessly through diplomatic channels to mediate the armistice agreement.”

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the agreement and said in a post on the X platform, “We are working non-stop until all hostages are released.” French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna praised Qatar’s efforts to release prisoners in Gaza, and indicated that Paris hopes to release 8 of its citizens in the truce agreement, believed to be detained in Gaza.

Belgium welcomed the temporary humanitarian truce and prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas. The Belgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “We welcome the agreement that will liberate women and children, and it must be followed by other steps in compliance with international law.” She added that the truce must ensure that humanitarian aid reaches citizens in the Gaza Strip.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announced that he welcomed the success of the Egyptian-Qatari-American mediation in reaching an agreement to implement a humanitarian truce in Gaza. The Egyptian President affirmed his country’s continued efforts to reach final solutions that achieve justice and guarantee the legitimate rights of the Palestinians.

The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the efforts that led to reaching a humanitarian truce agreement in the Gaza Strip, praising the efforts made by the sisterly State of Qatar in partnership with the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States of America. The Ministry’s official spokesman, Ambassador Sufyan Al-Qudah, stressed the importance of this truce being a step that leads to a complete cessation of the war raging in the Gaza Strip, and that it contributes to stopping the escalation and targeting and forced displacement of Palestinians. He stressed the importance of ensuring that the agreement contributes to ensuring the arrival of adequate humanitarian aid to all areas of the Gaza Strip, in a way that meets all needs, achieves stability, and ensures that the people of Gaza remain in their places of residence. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi said that Gaza needs 800 aid trucks daily, so there is still a large gap in aid despite the agreement.

The Omani Foreign Ministry welcomed the State of Qatar’s announcement of reaching a humanitarian truce agreement in Gaza, exchanging a number of civilian prisoners, and allowing the entry of larger numbers of aid.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that the ceasefire is a step in the right direction and there is a need for a complete cessation of hostilities in Gaza, adding that humanitarian aid to Gaza should not be used as a means of collective punishment.

The UAE Foreign Ministry welcomed the announcement of the truce agreement in Gaza, and praised the efforts of Qatar, Egypt and the United States in achieving the agreement.

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry welcomed the efforts of Qatar, the United States, and those who supported them to reach a truce agreement in Gaza. Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bouhabib said that the international community must deter Israel from committing massacres, and find a solution that gives the Palestinians their rights.

Axis of Resistance

On the thirty-seventh day of the Zionist aggression against Gaza and its steadfastness in the face of the Zionist entity and its military arsenal, which is trying to achieve a military achievement that it failed to achieve in the face of the Islamic resistance Hamas, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, confirmed that the usurping Zionist entity, which is heavily armed and equipped, has received a blow, knocked out by Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also praised the Hamas movement and its role in defeating the Zionist entity and dealing a fatal blow to it. When receiving an elite group of athletes, Ayatollah Khamenei said that the occupation entity, despite all its capabilities, suffered defeat and has not been able to this day to get rid of the burden of its defeat and will not be able to compensate for the heavy loss it suffered despite all the bombing operations it carries out in the Gaza Strip, stressing that it will shorten its life. He stressed that this injustice will not go unanswered.

On the other hand, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that six weeks of heroic resistance by the Palestinians demonstrated that time is not on the side of the occupying Israeli entity. He added: “After six weeks of resistance in Gaza, time has proven that it is not in favor of the artificial Zionist entity and America, and that they are the losers in this war, and that the Palestinian people are the ones who decide their own fate, and they are the ones who will decide the future of Gaza and the future of Palestine. The resistance leaders in the region are on alert.” “The hand will remain on the trigger until the rights of the Palestinian people are fulfilled.”

Abdullahian indicated that his visit to Beirut came to consult with the Lebanese authorities regarding achieving security in the region and fulfilling rights, stressing that the Palestinian people alone are the ones who decide the future of Gaza and Palestine.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdollahian stressed the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and considered that the complete solution to the Palestinian crisis is to hold a referendum in the presence of all the real residents, that is, the Palestinian people. Abdullahian held a meeting with foreign ambassadors, heads and representatives of international organizations residing in Tehran in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building, with the aim of explaining the views, approaches and procedures of the Islamic Republic of Iran to help end the Zionist entity’s aggression against Gaza and maintain the security of the region .

He stressed that the Al-Aqsa operation was entirely Palestinian in design, decision, and implementation. He said that the Zionist entity, in light of its inability to confront the resistance forces, took revenge on the defenseless people in Gaza and the West Bank,

Amir Abdullahian said that the United States sending numerous messages to the Islamic Republic of Iran calling on the resistance factions to exercise restraint is completely inconsistent with America’s full support for the Zionist entity. He added, first, the Islamic Republic of Iran does not have any proxy group in the region, and second, during the past 46 days, the delivery and sending of American military weapons to Tel Aviv has not been interrupted even for one hour.

He added: Preventing the expansion of the war, establishing a ceasefire, and sending humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza were the main focus and interest in all the diplomatic meetings, messages and conversations we held with our foreign counterparts and international officials.

Dr. Muhammad al-Hindi, Deputy Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement, confirmed that the Israeli occupation army invaded Gaza and entered with its tanks and armored vehicles, but it could not dare to go down in the street, and if its forces did go down, the street war would become an easy prey for the mujahideen.

In an interview with Al-Alam Channel during the “Guest and Dialogue” program, regarding the military position of the resistance in Gaza in light of the occupation’s ground invasion, Muhammad al-Hindi confirmed that the battle ended on the 17th day of the battle, and all that followed that day were massacres committed by “Israel” against civilians. It bombs civilian homes, bombs hospitals, bombs mosques, and bombs churches. This is “Israel”, and it appears in its true image, so that we or some people are deluded that “Israel” is an ally, and it is the oasis of democracy in the region, and shines light on the region and the world. And its army is strong, has principles, and has morals. If “Israel” is completely naked, all these masks fall off it, and it appears as a gang of murderers and criminals that pursues children and women in their homes, and the sick in their hospitals, and prevents medicine, food, and water. This is “Israel.”

Al-Hindi said: As for the real battle, it ended on the 17th when this Zionist army evaporated within three hours, as they were repelling the heads of all the region by claiming that they were the invincible army, and lo and behold, within only three hours it evaporated and ended, and this is the extreme confusion and those who are now talking about The Israeli planes that bombed the Israeli celebrations are considered confusion and great confusion. This is the Israeli army. It is true that they invaded Gaza and entered with their tanks and armored vehicles, but they could not dare to go down in the street, and if they did go down, the street war would become an easy prey for the mujahideen.

Al-Hindi continued: Now they are talking about the 45-day period and have set a goal to end the resistance and recover the detainees, and here the resistance is, after 45 days, bombing Tel Aviv with missiles, and therefore the Zionist occupation is killing and not fighting.

Al-Hindi pointed out that Netanyahu is the person in “Israel” who is considered the most liar and is in trouble. He constantly contradicts himself, as he was talking two days ago about the absence of a hostage deal and the exchange of prisoners, so he was talking in this way, and on the second day he postponed the date of the war council. In order to research and discuss the issue of prisoner exchange, and today a meeting is being held on this topic, and therefore he is contradicting himself, because he does not want to go to this option, and he does not want to end the war because he, Gantz, and Gallant have failed in the military confrontation with the resistance. They want to achieve An achievement, and he says that the return of the hostages in Gaza is achieved by force and with more force, and he kills them by bombing himself. Therefore, Netanyahu, despite this force and this violence, “Israel” is involved in Gaza because the achievement is achieved through the two major goals that he spoke about: the resistance, is it a government and is it collapsing? Or is it an army that will be defeated?

Al-Hindi explained that the Israeli enemy entity has aircraft that bomb and tanks that penetrate, but what are the targets that it bombs? It only bombs hospitals. It is a “hospital war.” What is this army that gathers civilians, kills children and women, and targets doctors? If the incubating environment for resistance is children, then these are premature babies. Therefore, the Palestinian people cannot be measured, as the occupation punished premature babies in incubators. This nurturing environment contains children who do not know what war is. The Zionist entity has goals through its ground incursion and through the hospital war it carries out.

Al-Hindi stressed that the Zionist entity aims to displace the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to its south, and then put pressure on the residents of the south militarily to displace them to Sinai. This displacement is the magic solution, as the occupation considers it, and the Palestinian people have said their word: “No displacement, no matter the circumstances and no matter what they are.” The results are, “We die in our homes and are not displaced.” And now, for 45 days, the Zionist entity has been displacing the residents of the north, even though the people are without food, water, or shelter, and their homes have been destroyed, and many people are still present, as last night the occupation bombed two schools with the flag of the nations on them. United States, including thousands of Palestinians.

Al-Hindi said: The morale of the resistance fighters is high, and it appears in all the pictures and videos. There is data on the targets, and the high morale of the resistance and the morale of the Palestinian people is despite this Israeli barbarism, which has not been committed since World War II. No one talks about Nazism after today, as Nazism exists 24 hours a day. This occupation, with a live broadcast, which is killing children, women, and hospitals, starving people, and cutting off water and electricity from them, is the real Nazism. These crimes were not committed even in the first edition of Nazism.

Al-Hindi stressed: This new Israeli edition has surpassed the entire history of Nazism in violence, and they are then talking about the Holocausts. Therefore, I say that the morale among the Palestinian people, even among the families of the martyrs, we see them on the live broadcast saying: “Praise be to God,” for this magic word is “Praise be to God.” “It means surrendering the matter to God Almighty. We are steadfast in our homes. This is the Palestinian people, and if they are talking about their incubator, the sirens throughout the city will direct them to the shelters.

The battle of resistance is a battle of will and morale. Al-Hindi said: At the end of the analysis, the battle is a battle of wills. If we have strong faith and want to fight, we will fight even if we do not have the capabilities, and if we do not have the morale and faith, then the bombing is done from a distance, and the occupation did not dare to descend with tanks, and the Israelis They live in a state of confusion and do not know where the goal is, as they teach their children to annihilate Gaza, and in return they cannot annihilate or kill the spirit of Palestinian resistance, and the Palestinians are coming at them from everywhere.

Regarding the booby-trapped tunnels, Al-Hindi confirmed that, based on the live broadcast only, a video of the booby-trapped tunnels in which they were killed was watched twice, and the last scene was when an Israeli soldier put his hand on the camera and “Israel” acknowledged the killing of five Israeli soldiers and officers, as the “spirit of resistance” is what moves people. The capabilities come in second place, and the spirit of resistance among the Palestinian people and the fighters in the field is a high spirit that cannot be broken. They are martyred, and in the end when they are martyred, people say: “Either victory or martyrdom,” and Abu Hamza says in the end: “Either victory or martyrdom”.

Allied for Democracy

The Israeli government ratified, at dawn on Wednesday, a deal to exchange prisoners and detainees in Gaza with the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) and establish a temporary truce in the Strip, according to an official statement. This came at the end of a cabinet session that extended until dawn today, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , where all ministers supported the deal except for 3 extremist ministers belonging to the Religious Zionism Party. The Israeli Prime Minister said in a statement that “the government approved the broad outlines of the first phase of an agreement” according to which at least 50 detainees, women and minors (under 19) , will be released over a period of 4 days, “during which a cessation of fighting will take effect.”

What is striking is what the Israeli “Walah” website reported, that approval of the prisoner deal was approved by a large majority, at the end of a government session that lasted five and a half hours. Only the extremist Itamar Ben Gvir, Minister of the so-called National Security, voted against it, while his companion, Bezalel Smotrich, Minister of Finance, voted against it. In favor of the deal after he threatened more than once that he would not vote for it. Which reveals the extent of the humiliation felt by the war criminals in the Israeli entity, after they evaded and procrastinated a lot regarding the negotiations during the past 45 days, to buy time, with American encouragement, thinking that they could free their prisoners by killing children and women and destroying more than half of Gaza’s homes . They demolished hospitals, killed patients, and did not even spare premature infants.

Netanyahu, before the enlarged government meeting to vote on the agreement, said, “We have before us tonight a difficult decision, but it is the right decision. And all security officials fully support it.” These are statements that reflect his failure and inability, and the failure and inability of his army and its American and Western supporters, in dealing with the resistance and the Palestinian people , who They humiliated Netanyahu and made him beg for a deal, after he had threatened that he would not stop the fire until his prisoners were liberated and Hamas was eliminated. However, after 46 days of crime, he descended, with the help of the Americans, from the top of the tree to which he had initially climbed.

Signs of defeat did not appear in Netanyahu’s statements alone. The Minister of War in the Israeli entity, Yoav Galant, and during the expanded government session, he declared: “We must make important decisions in the coming hours and days,” while Minister in the Defense Ministerial Council, Benny Gantz, considered that “the agreement “It’s difficult and humanly painful, but it’s true because it achieves the maximum that can be achieved, and I believe it will form the basis for the sequel.”

Perhaps the former Prime Minister of the occupation government, Ehud Barak, best expressed doubts, as he stated in an interview that Hamas cannot be completely eliminated because it is “an ideological movement, and it exists in people’s dreams, in their hearts, and in their minds.” The problem is not Hamas, but rather the Gaza Strip and its people, numbering more than two million and 200 thousand citizens, which opened the debate about the “next day” after the elimination of Hamas.

Michael Milstein wrote an article on October 17 in Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper entitled “Who will rule Gaza… These are the options, and they are all bad.” Perhaps he was one of the first to address this issue with the occupation leaders and experts, taking advantage of his Orientalist knowledge experience that he gained about Palestinian society. Milstein began his article by questioning the possibility of eliminating Hamas. However, if the occupation succeeds in eliminating it, which is not certain, it has four options for the future of Gaza, two of which are bad, and two of which are worse.

The worst ones and the ones that should be avoided are:

1- Occupying the Gaza Strip again and continuing Israeli rule. This option will have a heavy security, economic and political price, and it is similar to what happened with the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan.

2- Eliminate Hamas rule and quickly exit Gaza. This will leave behind a vacuum that will quickly turn into a dangerous security chaos.
And the least bad:

1- Restoring the Palestinian Authority to ruling Gaza, but achieving this option requires that the government of Israel get rid of the perception that the Palestinian Authority is a worse enemy than Hamas. It also does not seem that the Palestinian Authority, which administers the West Bank with difficulty, will be interested in undertaking this complex mission, and if it accepts this mission “on the back of an Israeli tank,” it is not known how long it will last.

2- Crystallizing an alternative political system that runs Gaza based on local leaders (mayors, notables, tribes) with the participation of the Palestinian Authority and external support from Egypt.

Although Milstein shows his inclination towards the latter option as the least bad option, he nevertheless also doubts its possibility. What this means is that it was clear from the beginning that the options before the occupying state for the future of Gaza are few and difficult, if not impossible, to achieve.

None of the Israeli or Western officials, especially the Americans, have explicitly announced the idea of ??displacing the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Sinai, but there are many unofficial statements and calls, or from extremist officials, calling for the displacement of the residents of Gaza. This includes the call of Israeli Minister Avi Dichter, who described the displacement of Palestinians from the north of the Gaza Strip to its south as the Nakba of 2023. However, since the beginning of the war, and with the escalation of talk about a ground invasion of the Strip, some Israeli and American circles began calling for the provision of what they call “safe humanitarian corridors” to Sinai. To spare Palestinian civilians from the effects of war.

Several plans have been put forward since then for the future of Gaza, and it is clear that all of them failed and did not receive any Arab acceptance or consensus. Among those plans is to restore the Palestinian Authority to administer the Gaza Strip, hand it over to the Egyptian administration, hand it over to a joint Arab international administration, or hand it over to NATO forces and the United Nations. United States, or the Israeli re-occupation of the Strip.

All American and Israeli projects regarding the future of the Gaza Strip were rejected at the Arab and regional levels, specifically by Egypt and Jordan, because they will be most affected by the consequences of any scenarios that the occupation tries to impose in the Gaza Strip, as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stated to CIA Director William Burns during his visit. On November 7, Cairo presented what could be called the four Egyptian no’s, which are: refusal to displace the population of the Gaza Strip, refusal to re-occupy and administer the Gaza Strip by Israel, rejection of the Egyptian administration’s proposal for the Gaza Strip, and refusal to enter NATO forces or any other foreign forces into it.

With this Arab and regional rejection, the United States began to retreat little by little from its various proposals to try to find a way out for the occupying state from the Gaza impasse, as Blinken presented, during his presence in Tokyo to attend the G7 summit, what is described as the five no’s, which are “no to the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, No to using Gaza as a platform for terrorism, no to reoccupying Gaza after the end of the conflict, no to blockading Gaza, and no to reducing the territory of Gaza.”

However, it does not seem that the occupying state has complied with these American warnings. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his rejection of the idea of the Palestinian Authority returning to rule the Gaza Strip, as he declared that he would not accept the return of a regime that teaches its children to kill and hate Jews, and funds terrorists, and did not condemn “atrocities” on October 7th.

On the other hand, he stressed his insistence on maintaining security control over the Gaza Strip, which includes “the ability for the Israeli army to enter the Strip whenever it wants to eliminate terrorists who might arise in the Strip,” and at the same time he opposed the idea of ??handing over the Strip to international forces.

Netanyahu reaffirmed his position regarding the Palestinian Authority and the occupation of Gaza in the conference he held with Ministers Benny Gantz and Yoav Galant on November 18, concluding it by saying: “I will not agree to any party entering Gaza that pays money to terrorism and saboteurs and their families and raises children to kill Jews.” And eliminating the State of Israel, and without such a change in the character of the civil administration that will exist in Gaza, it is only a matter of time until Gaza returns to terrorism, and I will not accept that.”

Blinken indicated the need for “some transitional period” in The end of the war, and that the occupying state will assume comprehensive security responsibility in Gaza for an indefinite period. These phrases carry a great degree of ambiguity and maneuvering, as they contain within them many possibilities, the most important of which is the continuation of the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip, especially since it says “for an unlimited period.” Also, the idea of the transitional phase means the phase of preparing a system for managing Gaza that does not exclude any of the proposed options. In any case, there does not appear to be a significant difference in views between the occupying state and the United States regarding the future of the Gaza Strip.

Many discussions in the American capital regarding the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip conclude that Israel will prevail in the end, and experts compete to confirm and reiterate the fact of its overwhelming superiority over the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) materially and militarily, whether in terms of numbers of forces or armed capabilities of aircraft and missiles. Armored vehicles, tanks and cannons.

They do not imagine any other result except Israel’s victory, and the question remains for them about the time frame for victory and its cost. In contrast, a growing number of commentators point to the possibility of Hamas’s victory or Israel’s defeat, and some even assert that Hamas has already won.

In a previous interview with Al Jazeera Net, former US military intelligence officer Scott Ritter confirmed that the Hamas movement has become more than an organization or group in its traditional physical form. Reiter said, “Hamas has become a broader concept of the meaning of resistance, and we must remember that it carried out an act that had only been done before by the Egyptian army, which was able to defeat the Israeli side on the battlefield. Hamas already won on October 7, and that cannot be changed.”

He pointed out, “When the Egyptian forces crossed the Suez Canal on October 6, 1973, Egypt won . After that, Israel launched strong counterattacks, but that did not change that Cairo was victorious, and the same is true with Hamas today. It was victorious on October 7.” Even if Israel works to destroy the movement.”

In turn, Professor Avraham Shama from Northwestern University believes that regardless of how the Gaza war unfolds and what happened and is happening now, Israel has already lost and Hamas has won. Shama cited the hundreds of thousands of Israelis leaving their homes in the north and south, moving to relatively safe shelters or centers in the center of the country, the closing of many schools and universities, and the deterioration of the economic situation in general.

Shama said, “The Israelis suffered another kind of loss, which is a feeling of deep and long-term loss. This loss fundamentally touched their psyche and their sense of collective self and well-being. You can hear it in their voices, their posts, and their choice of words, and you can see it on their faces.” He also pointed out that before the Hamas attack, the Israelis were confident, and they believed that a sudden war like the October 1973 war could not happen again, and that if that happened, their army would eliminate it in its infancy. Then the Hamas attack came after almost 50 years, This was a deep shock to them.

The academic considered that despite “the loss of more than 13,000 Palestinians, the Hamas movement was able to invade a country with a population of more than 9 million people and a strong army, which succeeded in destroying the Israeli psyche and pushing the renewal of the Palestinian struggle to establish an independent state to the global forefront.”

For his part, Professor Stephen Walt of Harvard University said, “And as expected with each side blaming the other, Israel and its supporters portray Hamas as nothing more than a brutal gang of Iranian-backed terrorists who deliberately attacked civilians.” He adds, “While the Palestinians and their supporters acknowledge that attacking civilians is wrong, they blame Israel for imposing an apartheid regime on Palestinians and subjecting them to systematic and disproportionate violence over many decades. They also point out that international law allows oppressed peoples to resist illegal occupation even if the methods they choose… Hamas is irregular.”

Walt considered that the new feature of this latest round of fighting is that Hamas achieved almost complete surprise, just as Egypt and Syria did 50 years ago during the October 1973 war, and demonstrated unexpected combat capabilities. The attack caused more damage to Israel than any of its previous wars.

He added that it is clear that the attack shocked Israeli society, and that the ongoing war may also reveal the limits of power. “War is a continuation of politics by other means, and strong countries sometimes win on the battlefield and still lose politically. The United States won all the major battles in Vietnam and Afghanistan . ” But in the end, it lost both wars.

In his opinion, Hamas will never be able to defeat Israel in a direct test of strength, but its attack is a tragic reminder that Israel is not immune and the Palestinian desire for self-determination cannot be ignored. He continues, “It also shows that the Abraham Accords and recent efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia are not a guarantee of peace. In fact, they may have made this latest conflict more likely.”

For his part, John Alterman, head of the Middle East Unit at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, considered that the Israeli army’s avoidance of American mistakes had ended. Alterman said in a report published by the center, “The Israeli army has largely avoided the volatile history that has afflicted the United States militarily since the start of the Vietnam War. The US army ended the clashes in Lebanon, Somalia, and Haiti without clear victories.”

He added, “The post – September 11 attacks wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Syrian-Iraqi border region, despite huge resources, years of fighting, billions of dollars, and thousands of American deaths, ended in failure to secure victory.” Alterman noted that Hamas’ concept of military victory revolves around “achieving long-term political results. Hamas does not see victory in one year or 5, but by engaging in decades of struggle that increases Palestinian solidarity and increases Israel’s isolation.”

He adds, “In this scenario, Hamas angrily rallies the besieged population of Gaza around it and helps the collapse of the Palestinian Authority government by ensuring that the Palestinians view it more as a helpless assistant to the Israeli military authority.” Alterman continues, “At the same time, the Arab countries are strongly moving away from normalization, the Global South is strongly siding with the Palestinian issue, Europe is retreating from ignoring the violations of the Israeli army, and an American debate is erupting regarding Israel, destroying the bipartisan support that Israel has enjoyed in Washington since the early 1970s.”

He said that Hamas, “instead of relying on sufficient power to defeat Tel Aviv, is instead seeking to use Israel’s much greater power to defeat it. Israel’s power allows the country to kill Palestinian civilians, destroy Palestinian infrastructure, and defy global calls for restraint. All of these things advance Hamas’ goals.” He considered that “the unexpected successes achieved by the Hamas movement on October 7 will inspire future generations of Palestinians who cherish even small victories despite impossible difficulties.”

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