Israeli forces storm Al-Khair Hospital, bomb Palestinians sheltering in tents in Khan Younis

As Israel continues to attack the Palestinian health infrastructure in the southern Gaza Strip, the Israeli military announced 21 soldiers were killed in fighting when resistance forces struck a building being wired for detonation by Israeli forces

Casualties

25,490+ killed* and at least 63,354 wounded in the Gaza Strip.
387+ Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
Israel revises its estimated October 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,147.
552 Israeli soldiers killed since October 7, and at least 3,221 injured.**

*This figure was confirmed by Gaza’s Ministry of Health. Some rights groups put the death toll number at more than 32,000 when accounting for those presumed dead.

** This figure is released by the Israeli military.

Key Developments

BREAKING: 21 IDF soldiers killed in Gaza in single attack

The Israeli military has said that 21 soldiers were killed in an incident in the Gaza Strip yesterday, in what is thought to be the single deadliest attack for the country’s forces since the ground offensive began.Israeli military says 21 soldiers killed in Gaza in one of the deadliest single attacks on its forces in the war.Israel’s army says a total of 21 soldiers were killed in an attack in central Gaza, making it the largest single loss of life for the military since the war began. The soldiers were preparing explosives to demolish two buildings, when a militant fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a tank nearby, setting off the explosion prematurely, the military said.

Israeli forces storm Al-Khair Hospital in Khan Younis, arresting medical staff.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health says, “Israeli occupation is preventing ambulance vehicles from moving to recover bodies of martyrs and the wounded from western Khan Younis.”
Doctors without Borders says due to heavy Israeli bombardment near Nasser Hospital, MSF staff felt ground shaking underneath them.
In the last 24 hours, Israeli forces kill 195 Palestinian martyrs and wound 354 people in 22 massacres across the Gaza Strip, according to the Ministry of Health.
Israeli forces bomb tents for displaced Palestinians in Al-Mawasi neighborhood, west of Khan Younis, killing at least 40 people and injuring dozens.
Israeli military announces 21 soldiers killed in Gaza in single day during armed battles with Palestinian resistance fighters.
Axios reports Israel submitted proposal through Qatar and Egypt to pause war for two months in return for the release of all 130 Israeli captives in Gaza.
Hamas releases two videos of attacking Israeli soldiers barricading inside building in Gaza and in Jabalia. Islamic Jihad releases video of sniping two Israeli soldiers stationed in Al-Bureij refugee camp.
Israel’s Foreign Minister shares plans with EU officials to build artificial island off coast of Gaza and railway to India. EU representative dismiss plans as, “irrelevant.”
Israeli settlers burn vehicles in showroom in Beitin village, while Israeli soldiers shoot and kill Palestinian teen in Arraba village.

Israeli forces damage and cover up with dirt water well in Ras Atiya village, south of Qalqilya, serving 400 Palestinian farmers. BREAKING: 21 IDF soldiers killed in Gaza in single attack

21 Israeli soldiers killed by Hamas fighters in central Gaza Israeli troops suffer worst Gaza losses, encircle Khan YounisIDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says a total of 21 soldiers were killed in the incident yesterday in central Gaza, close to the border community of Kissufim.He says that troops were operating in an area around 600 meters from the border, destroying structures and Hamas sites, as part of the army’s efforts to establish a buffer zone to allow residents of Israeli border communities to return to their homes.“As far as we know, at around 4 p.m., an RPG was fired by terrorists at a tank securing the forces, and simultaneously, an explosion occurred at two two-story buildings. The buildings collapsed due to this explosion, while most of the forces were inside and near them,” he saysPoll: Most Israelis would back US plan tying Palestinian state to freeing hostages, Saudi normalizationPoll: Most Israelis would back US plan tying Palestinian state to freeing hostages, Saudi normalizationA slight majority of Israelis would back a US plan for ending the war that would see the release of all remaining hostages, Saudi Arabia agree to normalize relations with Israel, and Israel agrees to the eventual establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state, a new poll indicates. In the survey conducted by the Midgam Institute on behalf of the dovish Geneva Initiative, 51.3% of respondents say they would back such an agreement, while 28.9% said they would oppose it, and 19.8% said they didn’t know. Support was predictably higher among centrist and left-wing voters, with 73% of them backing such a deal, but 39% of right-wing voters also said they would support it. The results fly in the face of arguments senior Israeli officials have been making since the war, insisting that the public is in no place to discuss a two-state solution following Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught.

Why this matters:This is the deadliest attack on Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the 3-month-old war, which has also left over 25,000 Palestinians dead, according to health officials in the Hamas-run territory.

Families of the hostages and many of their supporters have called for Israel to reach a cease-fire deal, saying that time is running out to bring them home alive. On Monday, hostages’ family members disrupted a committee meeting in Israel’s parliament, yelling, “You won’t sit here while they are dying there!”

Israel at War: Israel has said that its forces have suffered the deadliest attack since the start of the war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas after 21 soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip.

As the world recoils at the rising toll of deaths, injuries and homelessness in Gaza caused by Israel’s war, and responds with summits and cease-fire calls, Israelis are living a different reality in which defeating Hamas feels like an existential necessity.Despite the loss of more than 200 Israeli soldiers in nearly four months — the biggest single toll was 24 yesterday — there is a sense of unity and solidarity in Israel over the need for warfare both in Gaza and on the border with Lebanon.For a country that had been increasingly focused on startup culture, new regional relationships and some of the elements of the good life (fine wine and cuisine, clever content for Netflix), this represents a profound and sudden shift.“It’s become a kind of awakening from several delusions, especially one which says economic relations can win out over religious hatred,” observed Gad Yair, a sociologist who specializes in Israeli culture at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University. “Money won’t buy us peace. We are going to be a more militarized society.”Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s popularity has cratered due to the security failure of Oct. 7 — when Hamas operatives broke through a border fence, killing 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping 240. But opponents and supporters are so far standing behind his plan to defeat Hamas and push back Hezbollah in Lebanon.The 25,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, have done little to dent that support because of the sense in Israel that other militias on its borders might try the same thing.The economy has taken a severe hit with hundreds of thousands of workers in the army reserves and tens of thousands of Palestinian staff barred from entry.But with the fighting expected to last for many months even if another break for a release of hostages can be agreed, Israeli public support for the war shows little sign of waning. — Ethan Bronner

ISRAEL Genocide in Gaza Continues

Israel has made a proposal to Hamas through Qatari and Egyptian mediators that includes up to a two-month pause in the fighting as part of a multi-phase deal that would include the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza, according to two Israeli officials. Israeli officials said the proposal includes redeploying Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) so some would leave main population centers to allow for a gradual return of Palestinian civilians to Gaza city and the northern Gaza Strip. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.

Israel has proposed that Hamas senior leaders could leave Gaza as part of a broader ceasefire agreement, two officials familiar with the discussions told CNN. Senior Hamas officials are known to live in Qatar, Doha, and Beirut, among other places outside the Palestinian territories. Israel has yet to capture or kill any of Hamas’s most senior leaders in Gaza during the war, although an Israeli airstrike killed a top commander in Beirut.

Twenty one Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Gaza yesterday, the IDF said, marking the biggest single loss of life for Israeli troops since the Oct. 7 attacks. IDF spokesperson rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said a tank protecting Israeli troops was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. Simultaneously, two two-story buildings collapsed on Israeli soldiers following an explosion. “The buildings probably exploded because of the mines that our forces laid there, in preparation to demolish them and the infrastructure around,” Hagari said. Amir Tal and Richard Allen Greene report for CNN.

The IDF said today it has encircled the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, a major step in its effort to defeat Hamas. Matthew Mpoke Bigg reports for the New York Times.

Fighting intensified in southern Gaza yesterday, with reports of heavy gunfire and a surge of Israeli tanks and troops into areas around hospitals. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society and the Hamas-run health ministry said many people had been killed and wounded in the city of Khan Younis, without providing specific numbers. In a statement, the Red Crescent said ambulances are unable to reach the injured, as anyone attempting to move around the area was coming under fire, adding that “the whole district of Khan Younis is essentially besieged.” Israeli officials have described the city as a Hamas stronghold and said the campaign was targeting Hamas leadership.e Hiba Yazbek and Adam Rasgon report for the New York Times.

U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael Fakhri, said yesterday Israel is destroying Gaza’s food system. “Israel is intentionally imposing a high rate of disease, prolonged malnutrition, dehydration + starvation by destroying civilian infrastructure,” Fakhri said in a post on X. More than 1.9 million Palestinians have been forcibly displaced since the start of the war, according to the U.N.’s agency for Palestinian refugees. Meanwhile, Gaza is facing its 10th near-total internet blackout, according to Paltel, the territory’s main telecommunications provider. Ruba Alhenawi reports for CNN.

REGIONAL RESPONSE

Egypt has rejected accusations that it has not maintained security of its border with the Gaza Strip, leading to arms smuggling in the enclave. The head of Egypt’s State Information Service, the government’s media outlet, blamed “extremist Israeli leaders who seek to drag the region into a state of conflict and instability.” Mitchell McCluskey, Housam Ahmed, and Sarah El Sirgany report for CNN.

A war in all but name simmers at the Israel-Lebanon border.

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanese armed group, is inching closer to an all-out conflict, WSJ’s Marcus Walker reports from northern Israel. So far the battle is largely static—using missiles, artillery, bombing raids and stealthy infiltration—but the fighting has intensified this month. Nobody knows how long the border dispute can continue before the gloves come off.

INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

Arab countries are working on a proposal for postwar Gaza that would create a pathway for Palestinian statehood in exchange for Saudi Arabia’s recognition and normalized relations with Israel, according to Arab officials. The proposal has been submitted to Israel via the U.S. and is still being finalized but has so far been rejected by Israel’s government, with the establishment of a Palestinian state appearing to be the main sticking point. Summer Said, Margherita Stancati, and Laurence Norman report for the Wall Street Journal.

European Union foreign ministers pressured Israel’s foreign minister Yisrael Katz to reduce civilian suffering in Gaza and move toward establishing an independent Palestinian state in a closed-door meeting in Brussels yesterday. Appearing to sidestep the discussions, Katz showed ministers a video of a non-official project that would create an artificial island off Gaza as a logistics base and to screen passengers and cargo entering the territory by sea, E.U. chief Josep Borrell said. The proposal did not include explicit plans to relocate Palestinians to the island, but an Israeli official traveling with Katz said the plan could include housing for Palestinians. Matina Stevis-Gridneff, Monika Pronczuk, and Adam Rasgon report for the New York Times.

EU Foreign Policy Chief Calls for Palestinian State in Response to Gaza War

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell criticized Israel’s approach to the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza, stating that the current strategy is ineffective and fuels generational hatred. Speaking at a meeting attended by foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and the Arab League secretary-general, Borrell emphasized the need to pursue a two-state solution, despite Israeli opposition. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, reaffirming his stance against a Palestinian state, argued that it posed an existential threat to Israel and insisted on maintaining full security control over territories west of the Jordan River. This includes both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The meeting, which also addressed the war in Ukraine, saw separate appearances by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki. Katz reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to dismantle Hamas and restore national security while discussing the issue of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. The EU is considering hosting a “preparatory peace conference” with various Middle Eastern countries and international organizations, aiming to establish an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. Despite Israel’s current disinterest in a two-state solution and internal divisions within the Palestinian side, the EU maintains this is the only viable path to long-term peace.

IRAN-BACKED MILITANTS

The U.S. Treasury said yesterday it would sanction an Iraqi budget airline, Fly Baghdad, for transporting weapons, fighters, and cash on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and allied armed groups. “Iran and its proxies have sought to abuse regional economies and use seemingly legitimate businesses as cover for funding and facilitating their attacks,” said Brian Nelson, the Treasury Department’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. Fly Baghdad denied the allegations and said the company “operated for years under the direct supervision of the Iraqi government represented by the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Transportation.” The U.S. Treasury said the illegal transport of Iranian-made weapons to regional proxies was also a factor in the recent deaths of two Navy SEAL team members who were declared dead yesterday after a 10-day search. Alissa J. Rubin reports for the New York Times.

MILITARY CONFLICT WITH HOUTHIS

The U.S.-led coalition launched “proportionate and necessary strikes” against eight Houthi targets in Yemen last night, the Pentagon said in a joint statement with Australia, Bahrain, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. “These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of innocent mariners … Today’s strike specifically targeted a Houthi underground storage site and locations associated with the Houthis’ missile and air surveillance capabilities.”

The Houthis’ military spokesperson Yahya Sarea has issued a statement saying the United States and the United Kingdom carried out 18 strikes in Yemen in total, warning “these attacks will not go unanswered.” He did not say whether the strikes caused any damage or casualties. BBC News reports.

Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said his country has given a “serious message and warning” to the United States that their strikes in Yemen are a “strategic mistake.” Amir-Abdollahian said the actions threaten “peace and security in the region and it is the intensification of the scope of the war.” BBC News reports.

U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps described the new wave of strikes in Yemen against the Houthis as “self-defense,” while British foreign secretary David Cameron said he is confident the strikes are degrading the Houthis’ ability to launch attacks. Cameron added “we should not accept” Houthi claims that the attacks are linked to their support for Palestinians.

The U.S. military denied claims made by the Houthis yesterday that it had successfully attacked an American cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden. “The Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists’ report of an alleged successful attack on M/V Ocean Jazz is patently false,” the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said. Earlier in the day, the Houthis said they launched a missile attack on the ship, but it did not say when or where the attack took place. Reutersreports.

New Zealand will deploy a six-member defense team to the Middle East as part of the U.S.-led coalition to uphold maritime security in the Red Sea, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday. “Houthi attacks against commercial and naval shipping are illegal, unacceptable and profoundly destabilizing,” Luxon said during a media briefing. “This deployment … is a continuation of New Zealand’s long history of defending freedom of navigation both in the Middle East and closer to home.” New Zealand’s foreign minister added that its actions should not be conflated with its view on the Israel-Hamas conflict. Reuters reports.

EU Officials Call for Palestinian State at Meeting With Israeli Foreign MinisterAt a meeting in Brussels yesterday, European Union (EU) officials called for (NYT) Palestinian statehood to be part of any arrangement that follows the current war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz shied away from addressing future governance of the Gaza Strip during the meeting, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed back against the prospect of Palestinian statehood in recent days.
While the Brussels meeting highlighted divisions over sustained security agreements in the Middle East, inside Israel, relatives of Israeli hostages in Gaza stormed (The Guardian) a parliamentary session yesterday, calling for the government to do more to secure the captives’ release. Israel also experienced the deadliest single day (NYT) of its ground campaign yesterday, with twenty-four soldiers killed in Gaza. In the broader region, U.S. and United Kingdom (UK) forces carried out a new round of strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen in an effort to reduce Houthi militant attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

Analysis“For years, negotiators, including Palestinians, have discussed a demilitarized Palestinian state as a component of a two-state solution. It is time to take demilitarization more seriously, even as all sides work seriously to revive the prospect of Palestinian independence,” the Brookings Institution’s Natan Sachs writes for Foreign Affairs. “America does not want to be dragged into another long Middle Eastern conflict. The Houthis have no such qualms. They outlasted [former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah] Saleh, who fought a series of brutal counterinsurgency campaigns against them,” the Economistwrites.
Read the full suite of Foreign Affairsand CFR.org resources on Israel and the current conflict.

Israel’s war cabinet begins to fracture. With the Israeli military campaign in Gaza lasting longer than Israelis had hoped, and with the costs of the war economy and of large-scale military mobilization mounting, the fractures within the country’s war cabinet are beginning to publicly show. Pressure is mounting in particular on opposition leader Benny Gantz and his Knesset bloc to break from PM Netanyahu’s war cabinet–of which Gantz is a member–and push for near-term elections. According to polling of Israelis, new elections would result in a resounding defeat for Netanyahu and his governing coalition. Netanyahu could also face an internal leadership challenge within his coalition from defense minister Yoav Gallant.

Netanyahu is therefore trying to lead a war effort while fighting for his political life. Against that backdrop, he announced on Sunday that Israel rejected Hamas’ conditions for the release of detainees in Gaza. The Israelis said in exchange for the hostages’ release, Hamas demanded a withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the Gaza strip and cessation of war. Some observers outside Israel claimed that Netanyahu is purposely trying to extend the military campaign so as to hold onto power, but this ascribes to Netanyahu more control over events that he actually has. In reality, a large majority of Israelis do not want Netanyahu to remain in office but support continuing the war as the best means of bringing Israeli hostages home and ending the threat Hamas poses. The IDF offensive in Gaza is therefore not a Netanyahu-driven campaign, and likely to continue regardless of the prime minister’s political fortunes.

Hamas Narrative Explains their Motives of October 7^th “Al Aqsa Flood” Attack on Israel

The Palestinian group Hamas has released a report explaining the motives of the October 7th attack, called “Our narrative…the Al Aqsa Flood?” It is from the Hamas Communications Office, addressed to “our steadfast Palestinian people, the Arab and Islamic nations, the free people worldwide, and those who advocate for freedom, justice, and human dignity.”

The report has five sections: 1) Why Operation Al-Aqsa Flood?; 2) The events of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, and responses to the Israeli allegations; 3) Toward a transparent international investigation; 4) A reminder to the world: who is Hamas?; and 5) What is needed?cover of Hamas report

Here are some of the key points the report raised, according to Al Jazeera:

The report stresses the historical context of the conflict and the injustices that Palestinians have endured for decades, saying that Israel has been intensifying its abuses under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government. It adds that the October 7 attack was a “natural response” to the Israeli push to liquidate the Palestinian cause.
Hamas rejects accusations that it deliberately targeted civilians during the attack – in which almost 1,140 people were killed, including 700 civilians – pointing to media reports about Israeli troops targeting cars and homes with Israelis inside. But the report acknowledges that disorder had ensued during the attack as the Israeli security apparatus collapsed swiftly around Gaza.
The report urges an investigation into “all crimes in occupied Palestine” by the International Criminal Court, calling on its prosecutor to “immediately” start a probe on the ground.
The Palestinian group reiterates that it is in a conflict against Israel, not against Jews because of their religion.
Hamas calls for ending Israel’s offensive on Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory, saying that Palestinians should be able to decide their own future.

A week on the war against the Gaza Strip: What is fueling the gloomy atmosphere in Israel?

By: Antoine shalt, a Palestinian a researcher, Writer, journalist and translator.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, the atmosphere in Israel more than 15 weeks after the war against the Gaza Strip, which was launched by Israel in the wake of the surprise attack by Hamas on military positions in the area of the border with the Gaza Strip and on what is known as the “Gaza envelope towns”, on October 7, 2023, as it is deprecary by the public and characterised by a general feeling that despite the achievements of the army, Hamas has not been undermined, and the return of the kidnapped Israelis detained in the Gaza Strip is moving away more and more (“Haaretz”, 19/1/2024).

And Barack is a point in the sea of Israeli comments that are consistent with the general conclusion he uttered and dives into the reasons that led to it, both political and military. These are comments by current and former political and military officials, analysts and opinion writers.

It is currently clear that the “story of the Israeli war on Gaza” falls under two Israeli narrative styles, one full of fabrication, blackout and fraud, and the other involving details and orientations that convey reality and refute lies.

When reviewing many of the statements issued by the current political and military officials, in order to help the method of the second narrative, we find them with a great deal of criticisms of the first fabricational style, the most prominent of which are the following:

1)The conduct of the battles within the scope of the ongoing war does not achieve the goals set for it, foremost of which is the goal of achieving a complete victory over Hamas, which even the minister described in the “war cabinet” and the former Chairman of the General Staff of the Israeli Army Gadi Eisenkot as an unrealistic goal, stressing that anyone who talks about inflicting an absolute defeat on this movement does not tell the truth and tells fairy stories;

2) That the war has no military future, as quoted by Haaretz (18/1/2024) by one of the ministers of the Israeli mini-ministerial council for political-security affairs (the cabinet), who added that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is working to prolong it in order to escape forward from the question of responsibility (mainly about the failure of October 7, 2023);

3) That Israel’s two stated goals behind the war, which are to destroy Hamas and release the Israeli abductees held in it, are completely incompatible. At the moment of this writing, four senior Israeli army commanders spoke to the American newspaper “The New York Times”, which published their statements last Saturday (20/1/2024). According to the four leaders told the American newspaper, unexpected challenges in the context of dealing with Hamas, and the reluctance of Israeli leaders to make decisions, made it unlikely that the 130 Israeli kidnapped held by this movement in the Strip would be returned only through diplomatic means;

4) That the war did not progress according to the pace that was expected by the Israeli military institution at its beginning. According to what was published in foreign media, quoting high-level Israeli military sources, based on a review of the army’s assessments and plans from last October, there was an expectation that the army would have operational control over the cities of Gaza, Khan Yunis and Rafah by the end of last December, but while this goal was achieved in Gaza City, the battles in Khan Younis are still ongoing, and the Israeli forces did not begin any serious operations in Rafah, located in the far south of the Strip. Moreover, Israel was surprised by the size of the Hamas tunnel network, which completely contradicted the assessments in this regard, which is prevalent in the corridors of the security establishment.

Turning to what Israeli political, military and opinion writers write more than 15 weeks after the war against the Gaza Strip, we must stop quickly at the following:

First, the intelligence shortcomings:

Since the early days of the October 7 attack, there has been a ruling in Israel that has enjoyed a near-unanimity that the surprise involved is a strategy the size of the surprise of the 1973 October War (the “Yom Kippur War” in its Israeli designation) but more humiliating and prestige to Israel. At the same time, Israel’s failure to deal with it far exceeds the failure of that war, not just at the level of intelligence foresight. Taking into account that the Israeli intelligence side has developed a lot since the half-century of the 1973 war, and Israel has become one of the most advanced countries in this field, along with other areas related to technology, as well as deterrence and pre-frustrations, the failure is unprecedented even when comparing the two events. In this particular regard, more than one follower, including the former Israeli ambassador to the United States, Zalman Shuval, wrote that there are those who compare the surprise attack launched by Hamas to the “surprise” of the Yom Kippur War. But we should reiterate that in that war that broke out fifty years ago, there was never a surprise, but there was a sinful and irresponsible blackout, from the Prime Minister of Government, the Minister of Defence and the Chief of the General Staff of the Israeli Army, on an intelligence that clearly indicated and cannot be interpreted to Egypt’s intention to start the war. The default or failure at the time was also from one branch of the Israeli intelligence organisation, but now the failure is for this whole institution, which did not have any information about Hamas’ intention.

The talk about the intelligence shortcomings is still manifested in many manifestations, the most prominent of which is currently related to the almost applied ignorance of the tunnel network, as mentioned above, and the military capabilities of Hamas, as pointed out, for example, the former spokesman of the Israeli army, Avi Benjaminy (“Maariv”, 19/1/2024). The military analyst at the Israeli television channel 13 Alon Ben-David may have been unique in publishing the news of the surprise of the Israeli army and the General Security Service (“the Shin Bet”) of what he described as “the enormous size of the military industries in the Gaza Strip,” stressing that this surprise and surprise multiplied with the discovery of the unimaginable scope of Hamas’ capabilities to produce weapons and infrastructure underground (“Maariv”, 19/1/2024). Bin David claimed that a very small part of the weapons reach the Gaza Strip through smuggling through Egypt, so the challenge for the Israeli army in the coming years, in his opinion, is to destroy the huge quantities of Hamas weapons, and dismantle its ability for military industries, pointing out that the movement has an infinite ability to support its ranks with new people.

Second, about the atmosphere in the circles of Israeli public opinion:

The “Index” website of public opinion polls in Israel, supervised by political analyst Shmuel Rosner, stated that the percentage of Israeli Jews who were sure that Israel would achieve a victory in the war against the Gaza Strip was 75 percent last October and rose to 78 percent the following month (November), but fell to 61 percent in January (“Maariv”, 19/1/2024).

In his opinion, the reason for this decline is due to the disappointment prevailing among public opinion in Israel with the progress of the war according to the pace promoted by the Israeli military establishment at its inception.

But other aspects include the formation of consciousness, destabilising certainties that may have been established by many factors, including indoctrination, according to Rosner. Every additional day in which victory is not achieved involves more things that anger the general public, most notably the following: new numbers of dead and wounded, the expansion of protests, especially with regard to the file of prisoners and kidnapped, the continued evacuation of tens of thousands of Israeli residents from their homes in the southern border areas (with the Gaza Strip) and the northern (with Lebanon) against the background of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, and the continued exertion of international pressure on Israel that reached one of its culminations at the convening of the International Court of Justice in The Hague to discuss the case of South Africa, which accuses Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip. He also stresses that the mere drop in confidence among the broad public that Israel will achieve victory compromises the latter’s ability to achieve such a victory. Perhaps the mere fact that this explains the insistence of the Chief of the General Staff on asking the public to be patient, and the tendency of the Prime Minister to refute analyses that focus on the difficulties of the war. Rosner points out at the same time that while the Israeli public expresses their relative confidence in the Chief of the General Staff, their confidence in the Prime Minister ranges from 30-34 percent since the war began!

This Research was originally published y Madar Center and translated from Arabic by Apple

You cannot be a feminist and support Zionism

Sarah Shabbat is a Jordanian Journalist, a poet and a Public Relations specialist.

The Western fetishization of the ‘free’ women in the Israeli occupation: A blatant blindness to the plight of Palestinian women

After more than 100 days of Israel’s war on Gaza, there have been many instances where my heart felt like it sank to the bottom of my stomach. The images, videos, and testimonies that we have seen in more than 100 days are sometimes unfathomable to watch or even witness; I fear that sometimes our brains become so desensitized. It was never normal to see a father holding the parts of his child in a bag, or women weeping at the loss of their loved ones, or the one that still keeps me wondering about how so much feminism has failed the Palestinian cause.

I remember a particular moment where I even questioned my feminism and what it means to be an Arab-Muslim woman when I heard of a Gazan woman who went through IVF only to say farewell to her son, highlighting that life in Gaza can be taken away at any moment.

And this is where the West has continuously gone on to fail women worldwide. It seems as if it is a woman’s issue until it comes to Palestinian women, and god forbid, a Muslim woman’s issue.

Palestine is a feminist issue, and feminism cannot be equated with Zionism. It is incompatible.

So, what is colonial feminism?
According to the Palestinian Feminist Collective, colonial feminism refers to Western and colonial discourse and politics that deploy the language of liberating women to justify invasions, genocides, military occupations, resource extractions, and labor exploitations.

And here is where it gets even more interesting: colonial feminism thrives on depicting Palestinian women as helpless victims in need of saving from their own culture, society, and religion. Since October 7, the graveyard that Gaza has become is justified in this context because the occupation is arguing that Hamas is putting its civilians at risk. Therefore, killing over 30,000 civilians, 70 percent of whom are women and children, is deemed acceptable.

The West has a fetishization of othering itself from other women. In 2023, ‘Hijabophobia’ was at an all-time high. Muslim women all over the West are subjected to much scrutiny for practicing their faith, and automatically, a piece of cloth becomes their barrier to feminism. The West fetishizes the secular Muslim woman, the one who removes her headscarf and denounces her religion, which, therefore, makes it easier for a woman to be killed in Gaza.

World Hijab Day takes place annually on February 1 to take a stance against raising awareness of Islam and women and, of course, educate about women’s rights.

In her article, “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference,” American writer and professor Audre Lorde explained, “White women ignore their built-in privilege and define women in terms of their own experiences alone; then women of color become ‘other’… which prevents the literary work produced by women of color from being represented in mainstream feminism.”

This cannot be even more true now. After 100 days, we are seeing women bear the brunt of Israel’s war on Gaza. According to UN Women, out of every ten people killed in Gaza since October 7, seven have been women or children. It added that two mothers are being killed every hour, and nearly one million women and girls have been displaced.

The Israeli occupation is taking away everything from Gazans and violating every sort of international law. Under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government, it is being shown. The far-right female Knesset members are not forward-thinking, nor are they feminists, as they serve the patriarchy through their own selfish demands, or in this case, to serve the colonial patriarchal system that values death over life, all for the sake of taking land that was not theirs to begin with.

However, as Lorde mentioned in her essay, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) women who are serving in this genocidal war are being celebrated for being women who are ‘fighting,’ and mainstream media, such as the New York Times, are failing to address its liberal agenda by focusing on these war-mongering ‘feminists.’

In an article released on January 19, in the New York Times ‘Israeli Women Fight on Front Line in Gaza, a First,’ the story revolves around one of its ‘Captains’, Amit Busi. At 23, she is one of Israel’s star token propagandists who is fighting not only innocent civilians but society, the ‘traditionally macho culture,’ who told her she could never make it.

The Israeli occupation is once again doing all it can to uphold its image of being the only free and democratic state in the Middle East. It has done this by pink washing and purplewashing, highlighting that it supports same-sex marriages, and now, that it supports women in combat roles.

The article stated that one of its occupation forces has ‘no time for feelings,’ and that fighting feminism in its ranks is part of a shared mission.

And while one of the infamous female captains of its ranks says she does everything to avoid civilian casualties, it is just so hard because of ‘Hamas.’

https://www.instagram.com/p/C2Wh1jrodp8/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=14&wp=540&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jordannews.jo&rp=%2FSection-36%2FOpinion%2FYou-cannot-be-a-feminist-and-support-Zionism-33809#%7B%22ci%22%3A1%2C%22os%22%3A4212%2C%22ls%22%3A2458%2C%22le%22%3A4197%7DExpressing her ‘hope’ to have children someday and praying they will not have to experience conflict in Gaza, this statement seems to contradict her earlier remarks. Does it imply she envisions a future where Gaza is eliminated to safeguard her children? The question arises: How does this war-mongering feminist combat soldier genuinely protect civilian casualties? It appears to be part of a propaganda effort to evoke sympathy for women in the occupation while simultaneously disregarding the plight of women in Gaza.

She added that the occupation needs her there, and of course, they do because, in the public opinion battle, Israel has lost, and Israel continues to lose. It will do anything it can to keep up its public image and justify the number of civilians killed.

Women at the forefront of Gaza are not something to be celebrated; these women are simply serving the patriarchy, a far-right cabinet that includes all men, but no women.

It is time to start looking at Palestinian women with the same lens through which we look at all other women in the Western world. Palestinian women are not oppressed; Palestinian women are occupied, and any woman who supports the occupation cannot be considered a feminist, point-blank.
Buying into a version of feminism that does not exist, which is liberating Palestinian women from the clutches of Hamas, ignores the very real and grave harm they have been subjected to.

According to a recent report by UN women, the grave numbers highlight just a glimpse of what is happening in Gaza currently.
The only functional maternity hospital in northern Gaza is expected to run out of fuel.

Over 24,620 Palestinian civilians have been killed, 70 percent of whom are women and children.
Two mothers have been killed every hour.
At least 3,000 may have become new widows and women heads of households.
At least 10,000 children have lost their fathers.
There are no safe spaces in Gaza because the Israeli occupation bombs so-called safe spaces.
Gaza’s pregnant women endure C-sections without anesthesia.

If you identify as a feminist, the time has come to recognize that the issue of Palestine is intrinsically tied to feminism. We can no longer turn a blind eye to the 75-plus-year ongoing occupation.

Palestinian women, like women anywhere else in the world, deserve equal opportunities and rights. Resistance against the occupation is an integral aspect of the broader struggle for gender equity.
Courtney by Jordan Times

Israel’s War Against Palestine, Day 109: