11/9/2023 7:48:03 AM
Hamas: Hamas stronghold in northern Gaza Strip captured
At least 19 people were killed yesterday in an Israeli airstrike on a house near a hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. This is what the Hamas-run Palestinian Interior Ministry claims.
Israeli infantry has taken control of the Hamas stronghold in the northern strip after ten hours of fighting. This was announced by the Israeli army, citing media, saying that Nahal Brigade forces now control the position – known as Outpost 17 – in the Jabalya refugee camp – in the north of the Palestinian enclave – after defeating Hamas and Islamic Jihad. both on the ground and in the tunnels. Dozens – he added – militiamen killed.
2023-11-09 00:56:26
Hamas, eight dead in Nasser Hospital bombing
A bomb attack on the Nasser medical complex in the Gaza Strip killed eight people yesterday, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health. According to the same source, some of the victims were hospitalized in a children’s ward. Images provided by the ministry and published by international media show holes in the walls of buildings and equipment destroyed or covered in dust.
⚡️Damage to the radiology department of the Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Yunis as a result of the Israeli bombing of a nearby mosque pic.twitter.com/DPwauar5Z9
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) November 8, 2023
by Mauro Evangelisti and Raffaele Genah
Twelve hostages.
Half-American. Their release is contingent on the agreement of a three-day “ceasefire” and would represent a turning point, albeit a very partial one, since 240 people – including children – were kidnapped by Hamas and other terrorist organizations on October 7th. This scenario has been revived by various Egyptian and Western media outlets, most notably the AFP news agency, which cites an anonymous source close to Hamas. However, a scenario with different numbers emerges on the Jewish State’s website: the number of hostages that need to be released is 15 and the break in the war will last “one or two days,” writes the Times of Israel, for example. However, Netanyahu continues to build a wall: “Without the release of the hostages there will be no ceasefire.” He seems to mean: all the hostages, not just a small number. Yesterday he was in the West Bank, met a group of settlers and declared: “There are a handful of extremist settlers who do not represent the group that is here and who are doing great damage to the state of Israel.” According to the New York Times, Israel and Hamas came close to an agreement two weeks ago to release 50 hostages, but the Gaza land invasion scuttled the deal. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warns: “Thousands of children have died in the bombings in the Gaza Strip, far more than in any war.”
INSIGHTS
MEDIATIONS
The extremely difficult negotiations are still ongoing and the Dutch Prime Minister Rutte is also involved in the mediation. The role of Egypt and Qatar is crucial. And of course the UN. When Biden recently asked Netanyahu for a three-day pause in the fighting in the Gaza Strip, he was thinking not only of a ceasefire for Palestinian civilians, but also of the ongoing mediation to release a small group of hostages. The news of this possible turning point was expected yesterday by an Egyptian television channel (Qahera News) and confirmed by the BBC, which states in an article signed by Gaza correspondent Rushdi Abu Alouf: “A source close to the talks The fate of the of Hamas hostages told the BBC that talks were underway to release 12 hostages, half of them Americans, in exchange for a three-day humanitarian pause. The pause would allow Hamas to release the hostages and Egypt to provide humanitarian aid to both the south and north of the Gaza Strip. The dispute concerns the duration of the pause and the situation in the north, where there is extensive fighting.” These figures – twelve hostages and a three-day halt in the war – were also confirmed by the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese broadcaster Al-Mayadeen.
However, Hamas’s response is not encouraging. Abu Obeida, spokesman for the al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas’ military wing in Gaza): “The only and obvious way to release the hostages is an agreement that provides for the total or partial exchange of the prisoners.” The hypothesis that Netanyahu after Accepting a prisoner exchange after the October 7 massacre, possibly including those who took part in or organized that attack, does not seem valid as it risks provoking a sharp reaction in Israeli public opinion. The other problem is the three-day break in fighting because the army has now entered Gaza City, also operating on foot, building one building after another, and stopping what was in the plans of the IDF (the Armed Forces of the Jews). State) is a relentless hunt for Hamas militants, weapons depots and rocket firing positions, this can be counterproductive (obviously from the Israeli military’s perspective).
THE BIBI WALL
And the greater the pressure, the more Netanyahu flexes his muscles. And he continues, even in the face of his most valuable ally, President Biden, who asked him on Monday evening for a three-day ceasefire to facilitate negotiations over the hostages. “No ceasefire without the release of the abductees.” There is at most the possibility of a short break to enable help and evacuation of the civilian population. And his adviser Mark Regev says the idea of establishing a special humanitarian zone with a large field hospital in Al Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, is taking shape. Although Netanyahu finds himself in a devastating war scenario in which the entire country is united against jihadist terrorism, he is also reflecting on his own personal struggle, hoping to save himself from the inevitable internal showdown that awaits him and in which he still thinks he has some cards to play. This time it will be very difficult for him to survive himself. A recent poll shows that between 70 and 80 percent of Israelis believe he should step down after the war ends. But there are also those who urge him – for example the head of the Russian-speaking party Lieberman or the Labor leader Michaeli to do so immediately. A position that is also shared by former right-wing representatives like Ehud Olmert and key analysts like Ygal Carmon: “He should have resigned yesterday, he can do it today.” But Netanyahu is fighting. And he also does this in a disorganized manner, for example when he accused the heads of military intelligence and the Shin Bet of not having adequately informed him and of forcing him to retreat hastily, or when he spoke of the protests by the reservists, or even more so less to connect them with Hamas’s decision to attack. Then the decision to suspend – not fire – the minister who had spoken about the use of nuclear weapons as an option. Decision made to avoid angering ultranationalist voices in the future. And the Walla website reveals that his wife has reportedly asked to review cabinet meeting notes and extract quotes from security officials ruling out escalation by Hamas.