As the IDF fights its way deeper into the hostile Gaza Strip, where it faces the Hamas movement as well as an array of other Palestinian factions that have taken up arms, including the Iran-backed Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other. While these groups vary in ideology, influence, and power, they are united in their dedication to establishing a Palestinian state through armed resistance against Israel. They have also openly demonstrated their willingness to coordinate during the ongoing conflict.
While The war in Gaza serves as a smokescreen to the escalation of settler expansion and violence in the West Bank, In Washington, the story of Gaza’s “day after” war, is at the core of the growing divergence of interests between Israel and the United States.
The Americans are thinking about terraforming Gaza as a desirable outcome through several modalities, while Israel is not thinking about the issue at all. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s answer to both CNN and ABC’s question “Who will rule Gaza?” was an evasive and vague “Israel will have overall security responsibility.” Neither the interviewers, viewers, or the Biden administration know exactly what that means.
Casualties
Gaza: 10,569 Killed and nearly 26,000 Wounded
Occupied West Bank and Jerusalem: 163 Killed and 2,300 Wounded
Key Developments
- The G7 countries “support humanitarian pauses” to facilitate the entry of aid trucks, but stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire.
- More than 400 U.S. citizens trapped in Gaza left through Rafah Crossing with Egypt, most of them Palestinian dual nationals, the State Department announced.
- Since October 7, the Israeli attack on Gaza has destroyed 40,000 housing units, according to Gaza government figures.
- International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Israeli forces targeted a convoy of five trucks carrying life-saving medical supplies to health facilities in Gaza.
- Gaza’s doctors were forced to perform operations without anesthesia, such as amputations, said a World Health Organization spokesperson.
- Israeli forces announced the total death of 31 soldiers and the killing of a senior leader of Hamas. Fighting is still ongoing in Gaza as Hamas released videos of targeting Israeli tanks and armored vehicles with shells from close range.
- An Israeli political figure said settlements in the occupied West Bank are not colonies, “we live in our biblical land.”
- U.S. President Joe Biden believes that “a reoccupation by Israeli forces of Gaza is not the right thing to do.”
Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip killed a top Hamas weapons maker and several other fighters, the Israeli military said Wednesday. The airstrikes were part of the Israel Defense Forces’ air and ground offensive on Hamas’ tunnel network beneath the Palestinian enclave. The entire Gaza City, which is the main territory used by Hamas, is now encircled by Israeli forces, with the war entering its second month. Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Maytaal Angel report for Reuters.
A senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will have a “security presence” but not “any sort of ongoing occupation of the Gaza strip” after the war ends. He added that post-war, “there mustn’t be a resurgent terrorist element, a resurgent Hamas…there will have to be an Israeli security presence, but that doesn’t mean Israel is occupying Gaza…We are interested in establishing new frameworks, where the Gazans can rule themselves, where there can be international support for the reconstruction of a…demilitarized, post-Hamas Gaza.” CNN reports.
More Palestinians are fleeing northern Gaza on foot following intensifying violence, with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimating that 15,000 people fled yesterday compared to 5,000 on Monday. The northern area of Gaza specifically Gaza City has been the recent focus of Israel’s campaign, with reports that civilians flee during a four-hour daily window prescribed by the Israeli military. Most of those fleeing were children, people with disabilities, and the elderly, the U.N. agency said. AP News reports.
A total of 637 foreign nationals — the highest daily number since evacuations began last week — crossed the Rafah border into Egypt yesterday, according to an Egyptian border official. According to a CNN tally yesterday, the total number of wounded Palestinians who crossed was 116, with 15 having crossed yesterday. Asmaa Khalil and Zeena Saifi report for CNN.
A Red Cross convoy of five trucks and two other vehicles carrying supplies to Al-Quds hospital came under fire yesterday, wounding a driver and hampering aid delivery efforts. The shooting forced the convoy to deliver supplies to Al-Shifa Hospital and later accompany six ambulances to the Rafah border crossing. A spokesperson for the Red Cross said the organization could not “verify any additional information” about the incident, including who was responsible for the attack. Liam Stack reports for the New York Times.
Approximately 520 aid trucks have entered Gaza in the past month, according to the U.S. State Department — roughly the same number that the U.N. sent in daily before the war broke out. Aid organizations say at least 100 such trucks are needed daily and that the figures demonstrate the inadequacy of current resources. Lauren McCarthy reports for the New York Times.
Doctors in Gaza have been performing operations, including amputations, without anesthesia, a World Health Organization spokesperson said yesterday. Speaking at a press briefing, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said, “Nothing justifies the horror being endured by civilians in Gaza” and called for “unhindered, safe and secure access” for 500 aid trucks to get “through to the patients in the hospitals.” Lindmeier said that at least 16 healthcare workers have been killed while working in Gaza. Sharon Braithwaite, Hamdi Alkhshali, and Tamara Qiblawi report for CNN.
Israeli archaeologists are digging through the rubble in Be’eri, one of the communities hit hardest by the Hamas attack, to try to identify human remains and missing victims presumed dead. Those archaeologists have helped identify 10 victims, but 25 remain unaccounted for. Dedi Hayun and Maayan Lubell report for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – REGIONAL RESPONSE
Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah threatened to widen the Israel-Hamas war, and, about continuing attacks on Israel, a leader of the group said, “Hezbollah participates for the sake of lowering the pressure on Gaza.” The comments were made in an NBC interview with Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general, who said their growing attacks were “a clear message that if you expand there will be serious consequences.” On Monday, rockets launched from Lebanon reached deeper into Israel than any previous attacks since 2006. Qassem added, “How do America and the rest of the world have the right to stand on the side of Israel that kills civilians and children and destroys homes while we don’t have the right to support our people and our loved ones in Palestine and the region?” Matt Bradley and Natasha Lebedeva report for NBC News.
Saudi Arabia is hosting emergency summits of Arab and Islamic nations this week to discuss the war, the Kingdom’s investment minister Khalid Al-Falih confirmed Wednesday. “In the short term, the objective of bringing these three summits and other gatherings under the leadership of Saudi Arabia would be to drive towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict,” he said. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will travel to Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Tom Westbrook and Maha El Dahan report for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
The G7 foreign ministers issued a “unified message” in a joint statement calling for humanitarian pauses and a “peace process” following a two-day meeting in Tokyo, Japanese foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa said yesterday. The statement emphasized that a two-state solution “remains the only path to a just, lasting, and secure peace.” The joint statement comes after the divided vote on a resolution calling for a humanitarian pause on Oct. 26, with France voting in favor, the United States opposing, and all other members abstaining. John Geddie, Sakura Murakami, Satoshi Sugiyama, Kiyoshi Takenaka and Chang-Ran Kim report for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – U.S. RESPONSE
The White House cautioned Israel yesterday against reoccupying Gaza following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments about his country maintaining security in Gaza for “an indefinite period” once the war is over. “We’re having active discussions with our Israeli counterparts about what post-conflict Gaza looks like…the president maintains his position that reoccupation by Israeli forces is not the right thing to do,” John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson said. Lauren Irwin reports for The Hill.
The White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre condemned the tearing down of photos of Israeli hostages yesterday, after initially avoiding the question at a news briefing. Jean-Pierre initially said she was “not going to go into specifics on that particular thing” when asked by reporters, but later said on X, formerly Twitter, that “tearing down pictures of [those] who are being held hostage by Hamas…is wrong and hurtful.” Megan Lebowitz and Peter Alexander report for NBC News.
The U.S. State Department has helped more than 400 U.S. citizens and other eligible people leave Gaza, a spokesperson said yesterday. They added that work is continuing to ensure the safe passage of those eligible and that the situation is “ongoing and fluid.” Humeyra Pamuk, Daphne Psaledakis, and Paul Grant report for Reuters.
A Crossroads of Conflict and Courage:
In the wake of the October 7 incidents, the power dynamics in Gaza have been thrust into the global spotlight. Ghazi Hamad of Hamas has made it clear that the group will not relinquish its influential role in determining Gaza’s future, directly challenging efforts by the U.S. and Israel to minimize their sway. This defiant stance, Hamad insists, is underscored by recent events that have only solidified Hamas’s pivotal position.
Parallel to this, Islamic Jihad’s Muhammad al-Hindi has voiced a bold prediction Israel, under the weight of public demand and the consequences of the October clashes, will have to engage in a prisoner swap. Both leaders, in a united front, have decried the perceived absence of backing from Arab nations, affirming the steadfastness of Palestinian resistance amidst the region’s turmoil.
Meanwhile, Israel is not standing idly by. The government’s legal advisor, Gali Baharav Miara, in collaboration with state attorney Amit Isman, is gearing up to take legal action against those behind the harrowing October 7 attacks. Labeled as the largest assault in the nation’s history, with a toll of over 1,400 lives, Israel is moving swiftly, with many assailants already neutralized or in custody. A triad of Israeli defense bodies – the Police, Shin Bet, and the IDF – are investigating under the watchful eye of legal oversight.
Across the border, an American voice has emerged from the chaos. Nurse Emily Callahan, serving with Doctors Without Borders, has borne witness to the unyielding spirit of Palestinians during her tenure in Gaza’s embattled hospitals. In the face of bombings and crippling supply shortages, she has seen firsthand the indomitable courage of the medical staff who, against all odds, have remained to care for their community. Her testimony speaks to a heroism that stands in stark contrast to the devastation, a beacon of humanity within the siege that has left over 10,000 Palestinians wounded or worse.
As debates rage and rockets fly, the political theater unfolds further afield. In the halls of Congress, Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib has faced censure over her commentary on the conflict, a scenario revealing the charged atmosphere and the contentious discourse surrounding this enduring strife.
The international community, too, is not silent. The G7 foreign ministers, gathered in Tokyo, are seeking paths to peace, deliberating over Gaza’s future and the necessity of a ceasefire. Their unified stance is anticipated to culminate in a joint statement addressing the crisis, representing nations from across the globe united in concern.
Human Rights Watch has taken a firm stand, advocating for a global weapons embargo on both Israel and Palestinian factions, highlighting the potential complicity in war crimes for those supplying arms. The calls are clear and directed: the US, UK, Germany, and Canada should halt arms sales to Israel; Iran should stop arming Hamas and other groups. These demands underscore the urgency of the conflict’s resolution.
In a decisive strike, Israel’s military has announced the targeting of Mohsen Abu Zeina, a key figure in Hamas’ arsenal development. This operation, based on intelligence from Israel’s security agencies, underscores the ongoing and relentless efforts to undermine the military capabilities of their adversaries.
The three-minute video, at the link transmitted below, of Rashida Tlaib’s self-defense before the House vote to “censure” her is a MUST-VIEW.
Protesters block US military ship allegedly carrying weapons for Israel
The article transmitted below considers the third front in Israel’s current, intensified war against the Palestinian people — Palestinian citizens of Israel, who are well aware that, if the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are successfully rendered Palestinianrein, their expulsion from their homeland will be the next item of business for those determined to “finally get the job done.”