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Here’s What’s Happening on the Ground in Gaza as IDF Works to Dismantle Hamas
An Israeli military convoy moves inside the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from Israel, June 17, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
Israeli forces continue to gradually work their way through the Rafah district, where they are discovering and destroying Hamas infrastructure. IDF units are operating simultaneously both above ground and in the tunnels underneath. Maintaining coordination in such an operation is difficult because of communications difficulties (the deep tunnels prevent the use of wireless communications with units above ground).
According to the latest reports, approximately 1,000 Hamas personnel have been killed in the Rafah area since the beginning of the Israeli offensive there, about half that figure since the last update. Though there is quite a bit of fighting, the Hamas units are not so much defending territory as conducting “hit and run” actions. They are hunted by some IDF units while other units focus on destroying Hamas infrastructure.
The IDF has also continued to conduct raids into northern Gaza and Khan Yunis whenever concentrations of returning Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists are discovered, as well as into the Nusayrat area between Gaza City and Khan Yunis.
Over the past two weeks, the IDF conducted raids mostly into northern Gaza, while this past week it increased its efforts to cause the remaining population in that area to evacuate south. In response to the IDF’s original calls to evacuate in October-November 2023, about 80% of the population of northern Gaza evacuated the area. More have left since then, and videos on Palestinian social media show the movement of more people on the routes shown in IDF leaflets.
The Israeli raids are aimed at concentrations of Hamas and other militant personnel who are attempting to reassert control and rebuild capabilities in northern Gaza and Khan Yunis. Each raid ends within a few days to a couple of weeks, after the Hamas personnel have been killed or captured or have fled the area. Reports indicate that since the last update, a couple of hundred terrorists have been killed in these raids.
Sixteen Israeli soldiers have been killed in the fighting in Gaza since my last update, and a few hundred wounded (some severely, but mostly with light wounds).
The IDF has also conducted several focused air strikes on high-ranking Hamas personnel and concentrations of Hamas personnel in areas where its ground forces are not present. In each case, Hamas has claimed the deaths of dozens of civilians, whereas the IDF has claimed that most if not all the casualties were combatants.
In some instances, Hamas personnel were detected in or adjacent to UNRWA sites or similar sites (schools, hospitals, mosques). Two possible casualties in the Israeli strikes include the Hamas supreme military commander, Muhammad Deif, and the brigade commander for Khan Yunis. They were attacked based on intelligence information on their whereabouts. The death of the brigade commander has been confirmed, but that of Deif has not. Hamas insists that he survived but has provided no proof. The bodies of the people killed in that strike have been collected.
In a rare statement, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas criticized Hamas for using civilians as human shields in Gaza.
Occasionally, Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad manages to fire a few rockets at Israeli villages near the border and (more rarely) at towns further away. No casualties have been reported so far, as most of the villages are still empty following the October 7 Hamas massacre. Other rockets have either missed or were intercepted..
Below are a sampling of the weapons found in an UNRWA compound: Rocket sections, remote-controlled bombs, a drone being assembled, equipment for planting and controlling bombs, and an infantryman’s equipment vest:
After spending an estimated $320 million on building a floating pier to provide humanitarian supplies for Gaza (that was as of mid-June; the figure is probably higher by now given the need to repair sections and operate tugs and other equipment since then), it is reported that the US will permanently dismantle the pier, as it proved incapable of withstanding the buffeting of the waves. It broke apart once, and the pieces were towed to an Israeli port for repair and to await the calming of the sea. Once repaired, the pier was returned to the Gaza coast, but when the sea conditions worsened once again, the Americans pulled it out a second time. The pier was apparently returned to the Gaza shore but will be permanently dismantled and removed in the coming days or weeks.
As noted in the last update, the total amount of supplies that actually landed in Gaza via the American pier was minimal — about 9,000 tons in three months. Supplies brought in via the Israeli ground entrances, on the other hand, have grown to 5,000 to 6,000 tons each day.
The main problem with getting supplies to Gazans is not the Israelis. The problem is the distribution of the supplies once they are inside Gaza in areas that Israel does not control. Supplies are piling up and not being distributed. A report on the Palestinian Sawa Foundation website quotes UN sources as saying there are more than 1,300 trucks standing on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing that are loaded and waiting to be distributed.
Furthermore, trucks carrying supplies and occasionally storage areas are attacked and looted by Hamas personnel (for their own use or for sale in the marketplace), by criminal gangs (for sale), and in some cases by the general population itself. UNRWA and the other humanitarian organizations are simply not up to the task of policing this problem.
Over the past month, there have been reports of increased fighting among Palestinian factions inside Gaza, though this is still occurring on a small scale. It includes political rivalries as well as clan and personal rivalries as well as criminal enterprises fighting either each other or Hamas over sources of revenue. In one case, a social activist was kidnapped and had both legs and arms broken by Hamas personnel for publishing criticism on Facebook about Hamas’ management of the war and blaming Hamas for the suffering of the Palestinian population.
Dr. Eado Hecht, a senior research fellow at the BESA Center, is a military analyst focusing mainly on the relationship between military theory, military doctrine, and military practice. He teaches courses on military theory and military history at Bar-Ilan University, Haifa University, and Reichman University and in a variety of courses in the Israel Defense Forces. A version of this article was originally published by The BESA Center.
The post Here’s What’s Happening on the Ground in Gaza as IDF Works to Dismantle Hamas first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Obituary: Elexis Schloss, 78, an Edmonton entrepreneur and philanthropist who also performed quiet acts of kindness
Elexis (Conn) Schloss, a vibrant entrepreneur and philanthropist who supported a wide array of causes, both in and beyond Edmonton, died in Victoria on Oct. 31. She was 78. Her […]
The post Obituary: Elexis Schloss, 78, an Edmonton entrepreneur and philanthropist who also performed quiet acts of kindness appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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Saudi Arabia Ups Anti-Israel Rhetoric Amid Iran Rapprochement, Raising Questions About Abraham Accords Expansion
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a virtual cabinet meeting from his office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 28, 2024. Photo: Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS
Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler accused the Israeli military of committing “collective genocide” in Gaza while also pressing Israel to respect Iranian sovereignty, amid reports that Tehran has postponed its planned attack on the Jewish state.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s remarks, made in Riyadh on Monday during a summit of leaders of Islamic nations, underscored the evolving rapprochement between the erstwhile archenemies Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The crown prince, also known by his initials MBS, urged the international community to demand that Israel “respect the sovereignty of the sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran and not to violate its lands.”
The two regional heavyweights restored relations last year after decades of animosity.
MBS’s anti-Israel rhetoric came days after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election. For Israel, the statement from Riyadh may signal a setback to the normalization process with Saudi Arabia, a long-sought goal within the framework of the Abraham Accords, brokered by Trump during his first term in the White House, that has seen Israel establish formal ties with several Arab states in recent years.
According to a Sky News Arabia report published two days later and citing Iranian officials, Tehran has shelved a planned third direct strike on Israel, with the delay attributed to possible forthcoming diplomatic talks with Trump. Israel Hayom published a similar report the following day, citing officials in Jerusalem familiar with the matter.
Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref expressed his hope that the incoming Trump administration would put a stop to Israel’s campaigns against its terrorist proxies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“The American government is the main supporter of the actions of the Zionist regime [Israel], and the world is waiting for the promise of the new government of this country to immediately stop the war against the innocent people of Gaza and Lebanon,” Aref said at Monday’s gathering.
Observers noted that Saudi Arabia’s shift could stem from both domestic and regional considerations. For the kingdom, improving relations with Iran is a strategic move to de-escalate conflicts in Yemen, where both countries have backed opposing sides. By opening diplomatic channels with Iran, Saudi Arabia also aims to reduce its dependence on Western security guarantees amid growing regional autonomy. According to Dr. Eyal Pinko, a Middle East expert who served in Israeli intelligence for more than three decades, Saudi Arabia is also under pressure from France, a major arms supplier, to maintain a moderate stance and promote regional peace.
“Saudi Arabia understands [it] cannot rely on the Americans” for arms, Pinko told The Algemeiner.
For its part, Iran may be seeking closer ties with the Gulf kingdom as a result of recent Israeli operations that have decimated the senior leadership of Hezbollah, Iran’s most influential proxy in the Arab world that has long served as a strategic partner.
“Iran is spreading its bets all around, not to be on one side or another,” Pinko said.
Hezbollah, along with Hamas in Gaza, had in the past been blacklisted as terrorist groups by Riyadh.
The New York Times last month cited a Saudi tycoon with ties to the monarchy as saying that the war in Gaza has “set back any Israeli integration into the region.”
“Saudi Arabia sees that any association with Israel has become more toxic since Gaza,” Ali Shihabi told the newspaper.
In another blow for Saudi-Israel relations, Riyadh announced it would revoke the license of the Saudi news broadcaster, MBC, after it labeled the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar a terrorist.
But according to Pinko, the chance of Saudi-Israel normalization is not entirely lost, pending a ceasefire.
“If nothing extreme happens with Iran until Jan. 20 [when Trump takes office], I believe that the Abraham Accords will come back to the table,” he said.
The post Saudi Arabia Ups Anti-Israel Rhetoric Amid Iran Rapprochement, Raising Questions About Abraham Accords Expansion first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Germany Opposes EU Foreign Policy Chief’s Proposal to Suspend Dialogue With Israel
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks during a session of the lower house of parliament Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, Oct. 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Thursday publicly rejected a proposal by the European Union’s foreign policy chief to suspend regular political dialogue with Israel in response to the Jewish state’s ongoing military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza.
“We are always in favor of keeping channels of dialogue open. Of course, this also applies to Israel,” the German Foreign Office said of top EU official Josep Borrell’s plans, according to the German news agency dpa.
The Foreign Office added that, while the political conversations under the EU-Israel Association Council provide a regular opportunity to strengthen relations and, in recent months, discuss the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza, severing that mechanism would be counterproductive.
“Breaking off dialogue, however, will not help anyone, neither the suffering people in Gaza, nor the hostages who are still being held by Hamas, nor all those in Israel who are committed to dialogue,” the statement continued.
Borrell on Wednesday proposed the suspension of dialogue in a letter to EU foreign ministers ahead of their meeting this coming Monday in Brussels, citing “serious concerns about possible breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza.” He also wrote, “Thus far, these concerns have not been sufficiently addressed by Israel.”
The regular dialogues that Borrell is seeking to break off were enshrined in a broader agreement on relations between the EU and Israel, including extensive trade ties, that was implemented in 2000.
“In light of the above considerations, I will be tabling a proposal that the EU should invoke the human rights clause to suspend the political dialogue with Israel,” Borrell wrote.
A suspension would need the approval of all 27 EU countries, an unlikely outcome. According to Reuters, multiple countries objected when a senior EU official briefed ambassadors in Brussels on the proposal on Wednesday.
While some EU countries, such as Spain and Ireland, have been fiercely critical of Israel since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, others such as the Czech Republic and Hungary have been more supportive.
Hamas, which rules Gaza, launched the ongoing conflict with its invasion of southern Israel last Oct. 7. During the onslaught, Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people, wounded thousands more, and kidnapped over 250 hostages while perpetrating mass sexual violence and other atrocities.
Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
Israel says it has gone to unprecedented lengths to try and avoid civilian casualties, noting its efforts to evacuate areas before it targets them and to warn residents of impending military operations with leaflets, text messages, and other forms of communication. However, Hamas has in many cases prevented people from leaving, according to the Israeli military.
Another challenge for Israel is Hamas’s widely recognized military strategy of embedding its terrorists within Gaza’s civilian population and commandeering civilian facilities like hospitals, schools, and mosques to run operations, direct attacks, and store weapons.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said last month that Israel has delivered over 1 million tons of aid, including 700,000 tons of food, to Gaza since it launched its military operation a year ago. He also noted that Hamas terrorists often hijack and steal aid shipments while fellow Palestinians suffer.
The Israeli government has ramped up the supply of humanitarian aid into Gaza in recent weeks under pressure from the United States, which has expressed concern about the plight of civilians in the war-torn enclave.
Meanwhile, Borrell has been one of the EU’s most outspoken critics of Israel over the past year. Just six weeks after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks, he drew a moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas while speaking to the European Parliament, accusing both of having carried out “massacres” while insisting that it is possible to criticize Israeli actions “without being accused of not liking the Jews.”
Borrell’s speech followed a visit to the Middle East the prior week. While in Israel, he delivered what the Spanish daily El Pais described as the “most critical message heard so far from a representative of the European Union regarding Israel’s response to the Hamas attack of Oct. 7.”
“Not far from here is Gaza. One horror does not justify another,” Borrell said at a joint press conference alongside then-Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. “I understand your rage. But let me ask you not to let yourself be consumed by rage. I think that is what the best friends of Israel can tell you, because what makes the difference between a civilized society and a terrorist group is the respect for human life. All human lives have the same value.”
Months later, in March of this year, Borrell claimed that Israel was imposing a famine on Palestinian civilians in Gaza and using starvation as a weapon of war. His comments came a few months before the United Nations Famine Review Committee (FRC), a panel of experts in international food security and nutrition, rejected the assertion that northern Gaza was experiencing famine, citing a lack of evidence. Borrell’s comments prompted outrage from Israel.
In August, Borrell pushed EU member states to impose sanctions on some Israeli ministers.
Monday’s meeting in Brussels will be the last that Borrell will chair before ending his five-year term as the EU’s foreign policy chief.
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