The War
IDF soldiers in Gaza
Gaza
According to Nir Dvori, military correspondent for Channel 12TV, Israel is now finishing up the fighting in the north part of Gaza. Clearing out the Zeitun area. According to Dvori, this may be used as a pilot area for some sort of “day after” government that replaces Hamas with a reconfigured Palestinian Authority mixed in with some sort of international contingent.
It was also reported in Ynetnews that Israel is building a new east-west road inside the Gaza strip in anticipation of a ‘day after’ when someone other than Hamas will govern the area.
According to Channel 12, there have been mounting cries against Hamas rule in Gaza. And against Hamas leader Sinwar, who is assumed to be hiding in a tunnel under Gaza. Many of those complaining, however, hide both their faces and names fearing retribution.
Ohad Hemo, Arab affairs correspondent for Channel 12TV, said that the Hamas leadership is afraid of the IDF’s entry into Rafiah City and thus are more interested in negotiating some sort of settlement on the hostages and a ceasefire.
As of now 134 Jewish hostages are still held captive somewhere in Gaza. Some are infants, some children, some healthy adults and some elderly who require medicines. A French report said that finally, after 45-days from shipment, some of the medicines had finally reached some of the hostages.
So far, 237 Israeli soldiers have died in the fighting in Gaza. Thousands have been injured. Israel TV shows nightly footage of the brave wounded undergoing painful physical therapy, some learning to walk on artificial limbs.
On Tuesday.Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi sent a missive to troops on telling them that the army is “not on a killing spree,” acting out of revenge nor carrying out genocide in the Gaza Strip, with the war against Hamas in its fifth month.
“We still have a long way to go,” Halevi wrote, adding that Israel was fighting “a long and just war. Every move is very important, every local achievement is part of realizing the goals of the war. Do it with determination and professionalism.”
“We are not on a killing spree, revenge, or genocide. We have come to win and defeat a cruel enemy, who deserves a bitter loss,” Halevi wrote in his Tuesday missive.
And, will the war go on? According to the Wall Street Journal, Israeli war-cabinet member Gen. (ret.) Benny Gantz said Sunday.“The world must know and Hamas leaders must know if our hostages are not home by Ramadan the fighting will continue and expand to Rafah,”
Refugees in Gaza’s Rafiah City
The Moslem holiday of Ramadan, begins at sundown on Sunday, March 10, and end at sundown on Tuesday, April 9. The clock is ticking, said one observer. And Hamas knows it.
The North
A limited war is still on-going in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah.
Missiles from southern Lebanon continue to fall in northern Israel causing damage to housing and infrastructure but causing no recent injuries.
Hezbollah has also sent in armed drones that are difficult for Israeli defenses to spot. And there are media reports of hundreds of miles of tunnels Hezbollah built beneath Lebanon with North Korean help.
On Wednesday, Moshe Bar Simon-Tov, director general of Israel’s Department of Health, created a stir when he predicted that should a real war break out in the north 60% of Israel’s electricity would shut down within 48-hours.
He said that within three weeks 35,000 intubators, breathing machines, would stop working. He said that 60 municipalities required these machines. His statement about the crash of Israel’s electricity caused a run on external generators in hardware stores around the country.
Hezbollah reportedly has over 250,000 missiles that could be fired at Israel, some short-range others capable of hitting central Israel and beyond.
However, experts say that Hezbollah is in no hurry to enter into a war with Israel. And that Hezbollah and the present Lebanese government knows they could not be able to survive Israeli attacks on Beirut and other cities neither physically nor economically.
Hostages
Hostage families protest in Tel Aviv
According to Ynetnews, Israel’s Foreign Minister said on Thursday, speaking before a group of Americans in Israel for a Conference of Presidents meeting, that “The most effective way to promote a deal for the release of the abductees is to continue the military pressure on Hamas. Only if they feel a personal danger, will they be willing to negotiate. That is why we will continue the war - until we release the abductees and dismantle Hamas."
However, Israel has been involved in tense negotiations over the last several weeks. A glimmer of hope was reached last week in Cairo when representatives from the USA, Qatar, representing Hamas, and Israel met.
On Wednesday, Israel’s Channel 12TV reported that Gen. (ret.) Benny Gantz, a member of the war cabinet, said during a press conference at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv that there were “initial signs that indicate the possibility of moving forward” on a new framework. Gantz pledged to “leave no stone unturned” in the effort to free those kidnapped on October 7th.
And on Thursday, Ynetnews reported that “The Saudi newspaper "A-Sharq" reported from Egyptian sources that "positive progress in the positions of the Hamas delegation was recorded in the negotiations with them. Cairo will convey to the Israeli side the results of the negotiations with Hamas." The sources said that the negotiation process in Cairo is expected to end today.
Channel 12TV also reported that Israel was to attend another high-level summit in Paris on Friday aimed at securing a long-elusive hostage deal. There was speculation that an announcement may be forthcoming as early as Monday, Feb 26th.
The expectation is that there will be another prisoner exchange with Hamas releasing a few hostages and Israel releasing a disproportionate number of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
Speaking on Israel radio’s Reshet Bet, Yaron Bloom, an Israeli negotiator, said that if the hostages weren’t released by Ramadan, that begins in a few weeks, there would be more battles. “Now would be a good time to release them,” he said.
Terrorism
Terror attack on road near Ma’ale Adumim
Israel’s Reshet Bet radio reported that one Israeli was killed and five injured when three terrorists exited their car and opened fire with automatic rifles at the usual traffic jam at a checkpoint near the West Bank town of Ma’ale Adumim. Two terrorists were neutralized and the third detained.
Weapons terrorists used in attack
According to Ynetnews, the deceased terror victim was identified as 26-year-old Matan Elimiach from Ma’ale Adumim. The three terrorists were found to be from the village of Za'atara, located near Bethlehem. The IDF and security forces raided the village to question residents and the terrorists’ family members.
Hananel Ben Shalom (left). Car he was in on the right.
One terrorist was killed by Hananel Ben-Shalom, who was riding in his car with his mother when the terrorists opened fire.
According to Hananel’s father Eric, “When the terrorist stopped the vehicle on his left side, and started shooting, he fired the first bullet at him through the window - then he got out, raced into combat, killed the terrorist and was wounded as well."
Eric Ben-Shalom said that "Hananel was only released a week and a half ago from Khan Yunis, after serving in the Gaza Strip in the reserves for four months.
According to his father, Hananel’s mother was not injured. "She got out of the car and ran back," he said.
He said, ”My son is in moderate condition, he took several bullets in the stomach and pelvis. He has no serious internal injuries, but he suffers from fractures. He is conscious and talked to me."
One of the other injured was a pregnant woman shot in the chest. She was taken to Shaare Tzedek hospital and underwent surgery. Reportedly, the fetus was unharmed and the mother in serious but stable condition. Four other injured were also undergoing surgery.
Also, in Jenin, three terrorists were killed and 14 arrested Tuesday.
According to Ynetnews, “Since the start of the conflict, an additional 3,400 security prisoners, including Hamas operatives from Gaza and hundreds of Nukhba terrorists, (who raided the Israeli settlements along the border) as well as many from the West Bank, have been added to the prison population. As a result, Israel declared a "state of emergency in the prison system." Thousands of prisoners are sleeping on mattresses placed on the floor in overcrowded cells in prisons across the country, according to the report.
Anti Semitism
Jewish actress Tracy-Ann Oberman
According to the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper, police deployed outside a theater in London where Jewish actress Tracy-Ann Oberman was performing in a new interpretation of Shakespeare’ play Merchant of Venice 1936.” Reportedly Oberman received online antisemitic threats
Representatives for Oberman asked the Metropolitan Police to step in when the play opened last week at the Criterion Theatre in the West End.
And, the American Jewish Congress on Tuesday released a new poll that showed that a quarter of American Jews questioned said they have been the target of anti-Semitism in the last year. 2/3rds said they felt less secure than a year ago.
Also, Israeli swimmer Anastasia Gorbenko set a historic achievement on Sunday when she won the silver medal in the 400 meter medley at the World Championships in Qatar, becoming the first ever Israeli medalist in the history of Israeli swimming at the championships.
Anastasia Gorbenko, Israeli swimming champion
Gorbenko was booed by the audience in Qatar when she went up to the podium with her medal.
However, support came from a surprising source, according to Ynetnews.
Yazen Al Bawwab, who also participated in the championship and represented the Palestinian national team, was asked about the contempt for Gorbenko and claimed that "he has no problem with the presence of swimmers from Israel in the competition. When we compete, we are all the same.”
Beyond the amazing achievement, Gorbenko also broke an Israeli record when she stopped the clock at 4:37.36 minutes, after leading throughout most of the race and coming close to a gold medal. Gorbenko finished 24 hundredths of a second away from the 4:37.14 minutes of Britain's Freya Colbert, who came first place.
Gaza tunnel opening with Israeli soldiers on ground nearby
In what one observer thought should be a controversial article, Mark Landler, London bureau chief of the New York Times published an article on Thursday, Feb 22,2024, entitled “As Gaza Death Toll Mounts, Israel’s Isolation Grows.”
This is not to say that he’s wrong, wrote one pundit. Ynetnews printed a piece by respected Israeli journalist Ronen Bergman, who is a staff writer for the New York Times magazine, with the same premise:. Israel is becoming isolated in the world.
Bergman wrote the article while at the recent Munich conference attended by world leaders and security experts. He wrote he’s been coming to the Munich conference since 2009 “Never, despite crises and wars, have I seen such attitude towards Israel.”
In the article Bergman quotes a senior security official of a foreign nation, an admitted friend of Israel who justifies Israel’s entry into the war because of the Hamas invasion of the Gaza border’s Jewish settlements. However the supporter complained about ultra-nationalist Israelis who want to destroy all of Gaza and its citizens. “If you don't change direction, you will soon find yourself alone and at least in some areas, in a situation that will be very difficult for you to come back from and become a normal country.”
Even with these criticisms of Israel Bergman didn’t question Israel’s discovery of tunnels or impugn Israel’s honesty.
Yet, in the New York Times article, Lander described the photograph above as “An escorted tour this month took journalists through an access point made by the Israeli military into a tunnel said to have been built by Hamas in Gaza.”
One observer wondered who did Mr. Landler think built the tunnels if not Hamas? Why did he write, “Said to have been built?” Yet, later in his article he states the number of dead killed in Gaza without any qualifying adverb. Nor any attribution. Where did he get his figures? What didn’t he use the word “said” in that description? Why, asks one observer, is the reputedly unbiased and fair reporting by the New York Times apparently, at least sometimes, blatantly neither unbiased nor fair?
Red Sea
Houthi rebels with drone and Palestinian Flag.
According to the Times of Israel, the French navy has shot down two drones over the Red Sea where Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been attacking ships, the defense ministry in Paris said Tuesday.
The navy, which has two frigates deployed in the area, detected “multiple drone attacks originating in Yemen” overnight Monday to Tuesday, before destroying two of the unmanned aircraft, the ministry said.
The attack came a day after the European Union formally launched a naval mission to protect Res Sea shipping from the Iran-backed Houthis, who control much of war-torn Yemen.
The Houthis say the strikes are in solidarity with the people of Gaza
France has deployed the Alsace, a frigate with air defense capabilities, and the Languedoc, an anti-submarine frigate, in the area.
Israeli Arrow defense system downs Houthi missile near Eilat
The Times of Israel also reported that Israel’s long-range Arrow air defense system shot down a ballistic missile over the Red Sea early Thursday morning, apparently fired by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
Thursday’s Arrow interception was its sixth interception of a ballistic missile, all of which occurred amid the war in Gaza. Cruise missiles and drones launched by the Houthis in recent months have been taken out by Israeli fighter jets.
Also, the US military said it destroyed seven anti-ship missiles, one missile launcher and a drone originating from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
The US military’s Central Command said the missiles, the launcher and the drone “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and to the US Navy ships in the region.”
EDITORIAL
An article in the web news site Vox harshly criticized Israel for the war in Gaza.
But if one looks into that article one wonders at the truth. First of all, besides anything written in the article, and there was a lot, the one thing that was most important and that is hardly mentioned is this: the missiles have stopped flying into Israel. The sirens have stopped wailing. The thuds of bombs landing have ceased. Forget about anything else, and that's a very hard thing to do, but the truth is this: Israel is safer now.
The war and the events leading up to the war have been badly mismanaged, according to this article in VOX and others. Granted, said one observer. But what options were there once Hamas launched their murderous attacks?
Now according to Ynetnews, on Oct 7th, 23 Hamas terrorists tried to get to the Shikma prison near Ashkelon in order to release prisoners held for security offenses, arm them, and have them join the invasion. This group apparently got lost and wound up in Sderot where they were stopped by a "kitat konanut" local security patrol, some who paid with their lives.
This was not a war Israel initiated nor wanted. This was a war thrust upon Israel. The newest facts coming out illustrate how despicable Hamas' terrorist were once they found themselves in the Jewish settlements along the border. Binding women, raping them, torturing them, decapitating them. Barbaric actions that, once revealed, only further enrage the Israeli public.
Every morning there is news in the Israeli and international media of the battles in Gaza and the rockets from the North, from Hezbollah.
Every morning there is dread that another soldier's name will appear, another soldier who gave his life in the war. And dread that perhaps the name will be familiar. Will be the son or daughter of a relative or a friend.
Rage is what is still driving this war. Rage at Hamas. Rage at the Palestinians in Gaza who elected and supported Hamas.
Rage at the leaders on both sides of the war who allowed this travesty to happen. This rage is what excuses Israel’s actions during the war. Rage that the hostages that are still held in Gaza's tunnels. Rage that infants and children are still held captive. Rage at the cold-hearted treatment of those hostages. These facts are part of Israel's daily life. And the families of the hostages rightly keep the flame blazing.
These hostages’ families hold nightly demonstrations, block traffic on busy Tel Aviv highways, protest outside the Knesset or where a war cabinet meeting is taking place. These families make news by demanding an audience with world leaders who they hope will make a difference. Hope will help get their loved ones home.
And their actions only further exacerbate the situation. Only further enrage the Israeli population who feel deeply for the hostages. Only further allow the Israeli public to themselves become cold-hearted to the death and destruction in Gaza. "They're getting what they deserve" is not an uncommon feeling among the Israeli public.
Of course, Israelis are human beings. Beneath the rage there is sympathy for those in Gaza who are killed and wounded, who are homeless and starving.
Israelis long for some sort of a solution to the problem. Israelis want to stop seeing the names of Israeli soldiers listed among the dead in the morning news. Israelis want to stop hearing about the negotiations to free the hostages and rather want to see a resolution to the hostages' plight. Israelis want to see an end to the world's criticism of Israel for seeking to destroy the enemy who brought upon this catastrophe.
As Israel prepares for the final stage of the war in Gaza, pushing into Rafiah City that is teeming with over a million displaced Palestinians, Israelis, too, are on edge. There is trepidation over possible Israeli losses. Trepidation over the death and destruction that will befall the Palestinians in Gaza. Trepidation over the world's condemnation once Israel starts this final push.
Ramadan is fast approaching. The month-long Muslim holiday that brings religious fervor to a fevered pitch.
The security services have warned not to curtail the Palestinians when they try to go up to the Temple Mount, to worship at the Al Aqsa Mosque.
The security services have warned that curtailing the thousands and thousands who attend Ramadan prayers on the Temple Mount will ignite the West Bank Palestinians.
However, Israel has trouble-makers like National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir who would, according to pundits, like nothing better than to incite a new Palestinian Intifada so that the government would go into the West Bank with guns blazing and hopefully drive the Palestinians out of the West Bank. Drive them out of the Holy Land entirely. Send them fleeing to neighboring countries. Or anywhere.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has voiced support for some of the restrictions Ben Gvir wants to impose on Palestinians. Pundits say Ben-Gvir is holding Netanyahu hostage.
Netanyahu, according to analysts, needs Ben-Gvir's votes in the cabinet and the Knesset. Should Ben-Gvir leave the coalition and vote against Netanyahu’s government would fall. And Netanyahu with it.
Should elections be held today Ben-Gvir's ultra-nationalist Otzmah Yehudit (Jewish Power) movement would receive 10 seats in the 120 seat Knesset. Netanyahu's ruling Likud party would only receive 18. And Netanyahu would not be able to form a ruling coalition again. And he knows it. So, analysts say, he is letting Ben-Gvir loose, keeping him on a long leash, in order to stay in power.
But that does not impact the war. Israel is on the path to at least neutralize Hamas. The national conscience would not be at ease should Hamas be allowed to get away with the massacre they committed, the war crimes, the bestiality.
Hamas leader Sinwar is only a symbol. With or without him Hamas will still be around, according to observers. But by muzzling Hamas' strength, by putting some Palestinian Authority version, backed by world support, in power, Hamas can be effectively 'neutralized.'
They'd have to be disarmed. When the last elections were held in Gaza Hamas threatened Palestinian Authority backers at gunpoint, shot some of their candidates, terrorized others. In order for the PA to take over Gaza on the "day after" someone would have to police Gaza and keep whatever forces Hamas still had there in check.
Meanwhile, Israeli fighter jets still roar overhead flying from their base in Israel to their missions in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the fighting goes on.
Meanwhile, men and women and children are dying. Some in Gaza, some in the tunnels. Some in the north where Hezbollah is firing almost daily on Jewish villages and cities.
The end will come when Hamas cries uncle. Or is forced to by outside forces. Until then, the rage is still strong and the fighting goes on.