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Tuesday, February 20, 2024

02/20 Links Pt1: Hamas Apologists Have Destroyed International Law; US resolution for Gaza ceasefire ‘as soon as practicable’; Hamas' Secret Financial Empire

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: Hamas Apologists Have Destroyed International Law
Buried in a long and detailed briefing by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were a couple of important descriptions of Hamas activity that, via repetition, have lost their ability to command headlines.

An IDF operation at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis uncovered the following:
Vehicles used by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 slaughter;
Vehicles of October 7 victims stolen by Hamas;
Hamas terrorists involved in October 7;
Hamas members dressed as medical staff;
Weapons and explosives;
Medicine intended and marked for hostages but withheld from them.

The military released a video of the medications, which clearly showed the names of the hostages they were intended for and, for some, a clear picture of the hostage next to the name. The medicine was sent through European intermediaries and then to Egypt, crossing into Gaza at Rafah. Some of the intended recipients are still being held by Hamas—in need of the medication that Hamas kept for itself.

Coincidentally, that’s what happens to humanitarian aid intended for Gazans, too. Actual civilians—not Hamasniks in scrubs—get shot at by their terrorist overlords for trying to claim some of the humanitarian aid that should be theirs entirely.

But for that to be considered newsworthy, the world would have to be capable of making such a distinction. Instead, everyone who reports the Gaza death toll fed to them by Hamas has made a clear choice to erase the line between soldier and civilian. So it’s no surprise that Hamas terrorists dressed up as hospital personnel raise no alarms among the same coterie of Western media and “human rights” groups.

To Hamas, there’s no such thing as a civilian. To the world, there’s no such thing as Hamas.
Amb. Alan Baker: Unilateral Recognition of a Palestinian State Will Undermine the Oslo Accords
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reportedly requested that the State Department present policy options for possible U.S. recognition of a Palestinian state. It is inconceivable that responsible international leaders are either overlooking or deliberately ignoring the basic principles of international law and practice requiring resolution of the Middle East dispute through negotiation, rather than by unilateral, third-party imposition.

The principle of a negotiated outcome for resolving the dispute figures in the still valid 1993-1995 Oslo Accords, in which Israel and the PLO Palestinian leadership, with the support and encouragement of the leaders of the international community, reciprocally obligated themselves to negotiate the permanent status of the disputed areas.

In the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza signed in Washington on September 28, 1995 (known as Oslo II), the parties agreed specifically that "Neither side shall initiate or take any step that will change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip pending the outcome of the permanent status negotiations."

Any unilaterally imposed recognition of a Palestinian state by the international community would be tantamount to undermining the Oslo Accords, to which the U.S., the EU, Russia, Norway, Jordan, and Egypt are signatories.

Not only would it contravene their solemn commitments as signatories, but it would, in effect, be unilaterally prejudging the outcome of the negotiations on the permanent status of the territory. As such, it would constitute an attempt to unilaterally change the status of the West Bank and Gaza in contravention of the Accords.

This would afford Israel the prerogative to consider the Accords as no longer valid, and to take whatever unilateral actions it may judge appropriate in order to protect its national and security interests.
Jonathan S. Tobin: What Americans Don't Get about Israelis Fighting for Their Lives
The war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas is between a democratic nation fighting for its existence against an Islamist movement whose goal is the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people. Yet many outside of Israel are increasingly speaking of ending the war as soon as possible. This means that Hamas survives - and gets away with mass murder. It means the Palestinians are rewarded with an independent state. Somehow, that makes sense in Washington. But not in Israel.

The overwhelming majority of Israelis see it very differently. The battle with Hamas isn't one about Israelis ruthlessly harming Palestinians. The hotels in Israel are full, but not with tourists. They're packed with hundreds of thousands of Israelis - families with small children and elderly people - who were forced to flee their homes near Gaza and near Lebanon due to rocket and missile fire from Hamas and Hizbullah. They have been omitted in the breathless coverage of Palestinian suffering.

The Israelis who were called back into the military and willingly risked their lives fighting in Gaza, though eager to resume their regular lives, are just as ready to return to the battlefield because they know the job of destroying a deadly threat to their country isn't finished. Few Israelis are prepared to halt the war until all of the perpetrators of the Oct. 7 massacres are stripped of the ability to repeat their crimes.

Morale among Israeli soldiers is high and stretches across all the cultural, political, and religious debates. They don't want to kill Palestinians and also grieve the loss of so many of their comrades - casualties made more likely because of the strict rules of engagement to lower the number of civilians killed, that prevent the Israel Defense Forces from fully utilizing the firepower at their disposal.

Israeli soldiers know that they are defending their homes and families. It's the civic faith in the justice of their cause that resonates throughout Israeli society and pervades the thinking of those who have sent their loved ones to battle. It is also felt by the grieving families of those who didn't come home. Israel is a nation united by both anguish and determination.

Israelis understand that their opponents are not in far-off lands like in America's wars in recent decades. The horrors of Oct. 7 were not a one-off act. Israel has suffered many terrorist attacks in which large numbers of civilians were killed by Islamist murderers, but Oct. 7 was the worst of them all. What made it resonate throughout Israeli society was the certain knowledge that it was intended as a trailer for what Hamas - and the majority of the Palestinian population that supported and still supports those actions - intends to do to the rest of Israel.


US floats UNSC resolution for Gaza ceasefire ‘as soon as practicable’
After threatening to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, the United States is floating a ceasefire draft of its own, albeit with watered-down terms.

Washington’s proposed text includes “support for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practicable,” in line with language that U.S. President Joe Biden has used in talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The United States has yielded its veto power, as one of five permanent U.N. Security Council members, to thwart any imposition of a ceasefire—humanitarian or otherwise—claiming that ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas via intermediaries ought to take precedence.

That stance has isolated Washington on the council, though the United Kingdom has joined it at times.

The new U.S. draft resolution calls for the “lifting of all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance at scale” and demands that “all parties to the conflict cooperate with the United Nations’s appointed humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator to facilitate the unimpeded flow of aid.”

The draft also rejects the creation of any security buffer zone in the Gaza Strip and condemns calls by Israeli government ministers to resettle Gaza or relocate the population there.

Additionally, the draft text “determines that under current circumstances a major ground offensive into Rafah would result in further harm to civilians and their further displacement including potentially into neighboring countries.”

The Israeli government and military have announced plans to launch a major operation in Rafah to root out Hamas’s last remaining stronghold in Gaza.
U.S. Seeks to Force Temporary Ceasefire on Israel, Halt Rafah Offensive
In response to U.S. moves at the UN to call for a temporary ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, former U.S. National Security Council official Richard Goldberg said: "The United States should be vetoing pro-Hamas resolutions, not proposing them. By putting forward a resolution calling for a ceasefire and opposing Israeli military action in Rafah, the White House is effectively pushing for Hamas to survive to massacre another day. This is a complete betrayal of U.S. interests and values."

When asked why Biden is imposing pressure on Israel, Goldberg, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said, "There are lines being pushed that it's all about Dearborn, or that it's all about securing Saudi-Israel peace, but the polling out of Michigan and the strategic priorities in Riyadh don't back up these arguments. It looks more like left-wing ideologues using the pretext of political necessity and the potential of a Saudi-Israel normalization deal to jam through all the bad ideas that never made it into policy for years."

Former Israeli military intelligence officer Yigal Carmon, founder and president of the Middle East Media Research Institute, said: "The Rafah crossing was the major area through which the worst smuggling operation went on for years when it was in the hands of the Egyptian government. If this is not stopped, there will be no end to the war, particularly heavy missiles on Tel Aviv and its surroundings. The seizure of Rafah will limit the war significantly."

"If the U.S. administration has a miraculous way to convince Egypt to fulfill its commitment, then there would be no need for an operation. Unfortunately, the United States does not pressure Egypt even though it has all the capabilities to do that. But what remains is to pressure Israel, but this will not work because what is at stake is missiles on Tel Aviv, and Netanyahu cannot afford to end the war with [a] continued flow of missiles on Tel Aviv."


Biden gambles with Israeli security
Rather than capitalizing on Israel’s military prowess, as evidenced daily in Gaza and Lebanon, and letting the IDF loose, the Biden administration is energetically trying to control and set limits to Israel’s power.

For a president who often cites history as the ultimate authority for guiding his actions—e.g. the U.S. military support for Ukraine—this antithetical position is plainly surprising. Moreover, despite Washington’s best efforts to dress this dichotomy in terms of long-range foreign policy acumen, the cardinal reason is simple—Biden and his colleagues are first and foremost politicians not strategists. Their primary objective right now is to get reelected. And for attaining this goal they are un-swayed if they need to pay in Israeli security currency.

To control Israel, the Biden administration has been working tirelessly to contain the Israel-Hamas war so it does not escalate to a regional conflict. Furthermore, it floated the “day after” phantasm which allows it to hint daily at severe repercussions if the “extremist “ Netanyahu government dares object to Washington’s plans to “bring peace and stability to the Middle East through a two-state solution.”

Accordingly, Jerusalem’s obstinance on the Palestinian issue prevents Israel from reaching the “promised land”— namely normalization of its relations with a host of Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia.

The hammering on the “day after” concept also allows Biden to placate America’s Arab regional friends, not to mention the “progressive” wing of the Democratic Party and the Arab fifth column well entrenched in key U.S. states whose votes would be crucial in the close election contest likely in November.

Undoubtedly, the American plan is also trumpeted so as to provide the left in Israel with new ammunition to argue the Netanyahu government must fall as it imperils relations with Israel’s most important strategic ally just to stay in power by appeasing its “messianic” coalition members.

If on the other hand, the Biden administration had thought strategically it would have recognized first that Israel post-October 7 is not the same country it was dealing with prior to this fateful date. The Israeli public now believes almost unanimously that its decades-old national security policy was based on “concepts” that proved directly responsible for the most acute crisis the country has experienced since its establishment.
US casts third veto of UN action since start of Israel-Hamas war
The United States on Tuesday again vetoed a draft United Nations Security Council resolution on the Israel-Hamas war, blocking a demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire as it instead pushes the 15-member body to call for a temporary ceasefire linked to the release of hostages held by Hamas.

Thirteen council members voted in favor of the Algerian-drafted text, while Britain abstained. It was the third such US veto since the start of the current fighting on Oct. 7.

"A vote in favor of this draft resolution is support to the Palestinians' right to life. Conversely, voting against it implies an endorsement of the brutal violence and collective punishment inflicted upon them," Algeria's UN Ambassador Amar Bendjama told the council before the vote.

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield signaled on Saturday that the US would veto the draft resolution over concerns it could jeopardize talks between the US, Egypt, Israel, and Qatar that seek to broker a pause in the war and the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"Demanding an immediate, unconditional ceasefire without an agreement requiring Hamas to release the hostages will not bring about a durable peace. Instead, it could extend the fighting between Hamas and Israel," Thomas-Greenfield told the council ahead of the vote.

A rival draft resolution
The Algerian-drafted resolution vetoed by the US did not link a ceasefire to the release of hostages. It separately demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

"Simply calling for a ceasefire - as this resolution does - will not make it happen," Britain's UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward told the council after the vote. "The way to stop the fighting, and potentially stop it from restarting, is to begin with a pause to get hostages out and aid in."


State Department Officials Privately Criticized Funding Effort To Delegitimize Israel, Contradicting Public Statements
Diplomats in the Biden State Department privately expressed alarm over a $1 million taxpayer-funded grant meant to bankroll investigations into alleged Israeli human rights violations, contradicting the agency's public defense of the funding initiative. Now, the State Department won't say whether it went through with the grant.

A State Department official criticized colleagues in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) for trying to paint the funding initiative, first reported by the Washington Free Beacon in March 2022, as a mundane oversight program, when in fact the grant was meant to undermine one of the United States’ closest allies. While the agency's funding notice said the grant would be awarded by the end of 2022, the State Department declined to disclose whether it went through with the initiative, citing "internal deliberations processes."

"The issue isn’t that DRL funds programs in European countries or other countries we are allied with—the issue is that DRL is funding a program to collect evidence of human rights abuses and atrocities in a country that is our ally," wrote the official, whose name was redacted, pushing back against claims by the DRL Bureau that similar types of grants are issued elsewhere. "And the [notice] specifically says it may include documentation of violation of land property rights! (I mean, come on!) Who wrote this thing??"

While the State Department said the grant would "strengthen accountability and human rights in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza," congressional critics accused the Biden administration of funding international efforts to delegitimize Israel and boost the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement. State Department officials, at the time, publicly defended the grant, but internal correspondence obtained by the Free Beacon shows that at least some diplomats viewed it as a thinly veiled attempt to erode Israel’s legitimacy on the international stage.

The grant proposal offered outside groups up to $987,654 to "collect, archive, and maintain human rights documentation to support justice and accountability and civil society-led advocacy efforts, which may include documentation of legal or security sector violations and housing, land, and property rights," according to the notice. The previously unreported emails reveal internal tensions over the Biden administration’s Israel policies at a time when the United States was pumping millions in aid dollars into the Palestinian territories.
Israel accused of ‘apartheid’ at ICJ over ‘ongoing occupation’
Pretoria on Tuesday accused Israel of practicing an apartheid system against Palestinians worse than South Africa’s former policy of racial segregation.

“We as South Africans sense, see, hear and feel to our core the inhumane discriminatory policies and practices of the Israeli regime as an even more extreme form of the apartheid that was institutionalized against black people in my country,” Vusimuzi Madonsela, South Africa’s ambassador to the Netherlands, said on day two of public hearings at the International Court of Justice in the Hague on the legal repercussions of Israel’s “ongoing occupation” of Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem.

“It is clear that Israel’s illegal occupation is also being administered in breach of the crime of apartheid. … It is indistinguishable from settler colonialism. Israel’s apartheid must end,” Madonsela said.

South Africa joined Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia in presenting oral arguments in the morning session. The court will hear from Belize, Bolivia, Brazil and Chile in the afternoon.

Fifty-two countries and three international organizations will take the stand by Feb. 26 at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the court.

The court is hearing arguments due to a request submitted by the U.N. General Assembly pursuant to a Dec. 30, 2022, resolution calling for an examination of the “Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.”

A nonbinding legal opinion is expected after months of deliberation by the judges.

Israel has chosen not to send a representative, saying the court lacks jurisdiction to consider the matter.
ICJ's New Chief Judge Has a History of Bias Against Israel
The International Court of Justice began hearings Monday on meritless claims that international law requires immediate and unconditional Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem, regardless of risk to Israel's security.

Presiding was the ICJ's newly promoted chief judge, Nawaf Salam. Salam, who has demonstrated personal bias against Israel, served as Lebanon's UN ambassador from 2007 to 2017, repeatedly denouncing and voting against Israel's military conduct and presence in the disputed territories.

U.S. officials have rightly criticized the ICJ proceeding as "one-sided" and warned it will undermine prospects for "a negotiated two-state solution."

Future Palestinian or other Arab leaders would find it hard to make concessions that the ICJ has ruled Israel doesn't deserve.

The U.S. should make clear that regardless of any politically driven ICJ ruling, it will continue supporting Israel's security and ensure that direct bilateral negotiations remain the only route for addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hamas Can't Hide behind Hospitals Anymore
Israeli forces are operating in Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis. The IDF notified the hospital in advance and has taken measures to minimize harm to civilians, hospital staff and medical equipment. Many Gazan hospitals have dual uses. They have tunnels under them into which terrorists can enter. Hamas has established command centers in or under hospitals, and has used them for hiding weapons and firing missiles into Israel or against military forces.

Vulnerable patients make effective human shields, and attacking them makes Israel look bad. Although hospitals are considered protected under international humanitarian law, if they are used by a party to a conflict for "acts harmful to an enemy," they are no longer protected by law. In other words, Hamas' cynical use of hospitals has turned them into valid military targets. Israel has to enter them in order to destroy Hamas infrastructure and communications abilities, confiscate weapons, and to look for hostages.

Hamas has been using hospitals in this way for many years, knowing that Israel prefers to refrain from attacking them - until the war made it a necessity. Al Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, for example, was found to be the hiding place of Hamas' internal security command center and was regularly manned by armed terrorists. The command center was used to direct rocket attacks and Hamas ground forces. The hospital also hid a large arsenal of weapons.

Similarly, the IDF has uncovered tunnels, weapons and evidence of hostages in Al-Rantisi hospital in Gaza City. The IDF also discovered Hamas tunnels under the Qatari hospital and apprehended terrorists operating from the Kamal Adwan hospital - with the hospital's director revealing to Israeli interrogators that Hamas had turned his hospital into a military facility.
Panorama Hamas Secret Financial Empire February 19th 2024 (not official, might get deleted)
Panorama Hamas’s Secret Financial Empire - Panorama. Following the attacks of 7 October, Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas. But can it? For decades, Hamas has been building and funding a global network in opposition to Israel and its existence. With access to some of Hamas’s most closely guarded financial secrets, reporting for Panorama, John Ware investigates Hamas’s network outside Gaza.




Hamas celebrates UN call for probe into alleged IDF abuses of Palestinian women
Hamas released a statement to their Telegram channel on Tuesday praising a Monday statement by UN experts calling for a probe into alleged violations by IDF troops against Palestinian women.

The UN statement reported that their experts had received information alleging that Palestinian women and girls had been arbitrarily executed in Gaza, frequently along with family members, including children.

“We are shocked by reports of the deliberate targeting and extrajudicial killing of Palestinian women and children in places where they sought refuge, or while fleeing,” the statement from UN experts read. “Some of them were reportedly holding white pieces of cloth when they were killed by the Israeli army or affiliated forces.”

According to the statement, the experts had also received reports that Palestinian women and girls were subjected to sexual assault, including rape, and being strip-searched by male army officers.

"Additional evidence of crimes"
Hamas claimed the UN experts’ statement was “confirmation and additional evidence of the crime of genocide and ethnic cleansing committed by the occupation led by the war criminal Netanyahu and his Nazi army against our people.”

Hamas added that while the terror organization appreciated the statement, they also called for it to be added as another document in the case filed to the International Court of Justice “to examine the crimes of genocide committed by the criminal Zionist entity against our Palestinian people.”

The UN went on to state, “We remind the Government of Israel of its obligation to uphold the right to life, safety, health, and dignity of Palestinian women and girls and to ensure that no one is subjected to violence, torture, ill-treatment or degrading treatment, including sexual violence.”
Germany cuts funding to NGOs labeled terror orgs by Israel in 2021
The German government will cease funding six Palestinian NGOs that were declared terrorist organizations in 2021 by then Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Germany’s Bild newspaper reported last week.

NGO Monitor, an Israeli watchdog group that spearheaded the effort to convince Germany to stop funding the groups, considers it a major development.

“It is huge because it is the first government in the world that is basically recognizing that Israel’s evidence was right concerning the designation of the six,” Olga Deutsch, vice president of NGO-Monitor, told JNS.

While Germany did freeze funding to the NGOs at the time pending review, for the last two years it had resisted calls to end funding altogether.

Indeed, in July 2022, Germany along with eight other European Union states said they would continue working with the six groups, claiming Israel had provided “no substantial evidence” justifying their assertion of the groups’ terror links.

The NGOs earned their terrorist designation from Israel for their close ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

“Part of the problem is that Germany is one of the least transparent countries when it comes to providing aid,” said Deutsch, describing 34 different funding mechanisms under two ministries. Government money is also funneled through development programs, political party foundations and church aid groups, among other means.

The myriad ways of providing funds make it difficult to determine which NGOs have received them. She described how NGO Monitor puts together the puzzle pieces by cross-referencing bits of information. “Sometimes we will see an NGO promoting an event or a brochure, and then we will see Germany’s logo on it. So we will understand that it is supported by Germany,” she said. “I cannot stress enough Germany’s lack of transparency.”


Seth Frantzman: 'The month of Rafah': Will Israel's talk lead to defeating Hamas in Gaza?
The month of February 2024 should be remembered as the month of “Rafah,” considering all the talk and focus on the southern Gaza City that has gone on so far.

This area along the Egyptian border that Hamas continues to control after four months of an intense Israeli ground offensive has been important to Hamas for decades. The terrorist group used it for smuggling and to control the border so that humanitarian aid and international groups would have to partner with Hamas to enter Gaza.

Rafah thus enjoys particular importance for Hamas. While Gaza City and Khan Yunis were also important – as was control over the various camps in Gaza, such as Shati, Jabalya, Nuseirat, and Shejaia – Rafah is the lifeline.

The control is so important that Hamas has been redirecting the attention of international organizations and media to the city so Hamas could use it as a human shield. There are at least four terrorist battalions in Rafah – that’s thousands of men. Yet much of the coverage of Rafah – like of Gaza in general – doesn’t pay enough attention to the armed Hamas men who control the city, overshadowed by the human tragedy and destruction.

The question that remains now is whether all the talk about a Rafah operation is helpful and whether it will lead to results.

The tone of discussion about Rafah is very different today than in other areas in Gaza. For instance, when Israel went into northern Gaza in late October, it surprised Hamas by sending an entire division across the enclave to cut off Gaza City from southern Gaza. The decision to go into Khan Yunis in early December was also rapid and surprising for Hamas.

Rafah is different.

Israeli officials and leaders have all discussed it over the last month. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on February 7 that Israeli forces will “soon go into Rafah, Hamas’s last bastion. They will do so, as they have done up to now, by providing the civilian population safe passage to safe zones, and they’ll do so despite Hamas’s evil attempts to stop the civilians from leaving at gunpoint.

“Total victory over Hamas will not take years. It will take months.”

Two days later, The New York Times noted that Netanyahu had ordered a military evacuation plan for Rafah.
Israeli Police Release New Oct. 7 Bodycam Footage

Police Special Forces recount heroic hostage rescue operation in Rafah
Four members of the SWAT team that helped rescue Fernando Merman and Luis Har from captivity in Gaza recount the complex operation they carried out in Rafah.


Fauda star posts photos of injuries sustained in Gaza
Israeli Fauda actor Idan Amedi on Tuesday posted to social media a photo taken soon after he was wounded while fighting against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Amedi, 35, best known for his role in the Netflix hit show “Fauda,” was released from hospital last month after an explosion left him unconscious for days, with shrapnel in his eye sockets, jaw and neck. At the time of the blast, he had been serving in a reserve combat engineering unit.

“Every now and then I have some understanding of the miracle that happened to me, but honestly I don’t think I will ever grasp it,” Amedi wrote on Instagram. “That’s how miracles are, you have to accept them and above all don’t forget what happened.”

Amedi revealed that the injuries to his face were so severe that he was admitted to Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan as “John Doe.”

Six soldiers were killed in the incident, reportedly accidentally caused by Israeli forces.

Amedi is best known for playing agent Sagi Tzur in “Fauda,” a Netflix drama about an elite Israeli undercover unit trying to track down a notorious Palestinian terrorist. Amedi first joined the series during its second season seven years ago.

Amedi is also a popular singer, and has recorded five albums. His song “A Warrior’s Pain,” about the post-traumatic experiences of a soldier returning from war, was one of Israel’s most popular songs in 2010.

Amedi, who is of Kurdish descent, lives in Jerusalem with his wife and two children.

Posting on Instagram, his co-star Lior Raz paid tribute to Amedi, who plays Sagi on the hit show.


Hamas's secret plan to take over Israeli prison on October 7 unveiled
As hundreds of Hamas terrorists crossed the border on the morning of October 7 to carry out massacres across the kibbutzim and communities of the South, one of the more shocking plans of ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ did not come to fruition.

The terror group that runs Gaza had an ambitious plan on October 7 to storm Ashkelon Central Prison (Shikma Prison) and release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, Arabic international newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat revealed on Monday.

However, the plan reportedly failed due to a technical mistake that led the group of terrorists to attack another settlement instead of the prison.

Sources close to Palestinian terror organizations that spoke with the newspaper reported that one of the first groups of terrorists who infiltrated Israeli territory had a mission to reach Ashkelon Prison and release the hundreds of detained Palestinians there. Sources close to the command of Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, claimed that one of Hamas’s elite Nukhba units, consisting of 23 terrorists, was supposed to arrive at the prison to release the prisoners, while another group’s mission was to infiltrate a military base in the Ashkelon area before moving on to assist those already at the prison.

According to the report, the designated group crossed the border, set out towards Ashkelon, and reached Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, where it clashed with Israeli security forces. Israeli defenders managed to repel the attack. The terrorists then deviated from the original plan, returning south to the moshav of Netiv HaAsara.

The Hamas terrorists successfully infiltrated Netiv HaAsara, killing 22 people.

According to the report, the mistake was the result of the designated guide in charge of GPS and maps, who made a directional error leading the group southwards.

The plan reportedly relied on attacking the main gate of the prison using explosives and anti-tank missiles. The Hamas infiltrators intended to blow up the gate along with the security positions along the prison fence. All of this was supposed to occur alongside rocket fire from Gaza towards the prison, with a signal from the group that it was there.

The plan also relied on the cooperation of the prisoners to rise and riot, which would assist the group.
IDF Khan Yunis push continues, J’lem denies report Sinwar fled
Israeli forces are continuing their offensive in the former Hamas stronghold of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, killing dozens of terrorists during “intensive operations” in the western part of the city over the past 24 hours.

A Hamas weapons storage site in the city was also destroyed, with secondary explosions suggesting the presence of a large amount of munitions in the facility.

IDF forces also continue to operate in central Gaza, where Nahal Brigade troops eliminated several terrorists, according to the IDF.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces have been reportedly undertaking an operation in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood since Monday night, with Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, tweeting an “urgent appeal” on Tuesday morning for residents of the district to evacuate.

“For your safety, we invite you to move immediately via Salah al-Din Street to the humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi,” Adraee wrote, in a message that also applied to residents of al-Turkuman, an area in the southern part of the Gaza City neighborhood of Shujaiya where IDF attacks were reported on Tuesday.

Israel denies report that Sinwar fled to Egypt

Jerusalem on Tuesday denied a Saudi report that the Israeli defense establishment believes Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar has fled to Egypt.

“We are unaware of the information that was published,” unnamed officials said in the denial sent to Channel 12.

The Arabic news site Elaph cited a security source as saying that Israel estimates that Sinwar escaped across the border to Egypt. The mastermind of the Hamas-led massacre of over a thousand people in the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7 has been Jerusalem’s top target.
Yahya Sinwar may have crossed from Rafah into Egypt, potentially with hostages



IDF soldier dies from wounds suffered in Khan Yunis
IDF Staff Sgt. Maoz Morell, member of a Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit, succumbed to wounds he sustained on Feb. 15 while fighting in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, on Monday night.

Morell, 22, from Talmon in the Binyamin region of Samaria, was the sixth combat soldier from the same high school yeshivah in Dimona to die in the Gaza war.

Before an official announcement was released of his death, Morell’s brother Dov posted to X: “My brother Maoz passed away tonight in the hospital. We had time to read vidui [a confession prayer] at his bedside, parents and siblings.

“Maoz is the first brother whose birth I remember. I hope and pray very much that he is also the last brother to go in my lifetime. Friends—it is very important to me that you come to comfort us. We will sit shivah in Talmon.”

Maoz’s funeral will be held at noon Tuesday on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. “We would be happy if you would come to pay him last respects,” his brother wrote.

Rabbi Yaakov Dudi, head of the high school, the Tzvia Dimona Yeshivah, paid tribute to Morrell.

“Maoz’s bravery and determination were manifested throughout his life’s journey, in his constant dealing with day-to-day challenges, in his diligence in the Torah and in his adherence to its teachings. The pleasantness of his ways, the charm of his face and his love for his family, his friends and everyone around him will remain engraved in our hearts and on the walls of our seminary,” the rabbi said.


UN food agency pauses deliveries to the north of Gaza
The World Food Programme said on Tuesday it was pausing deliveries of food aid to northern Gaza until conditions in the Palestinian enclave allow for safe distribution.

"The decision to pause deliveries to the north of the Gaza Strip has not been taken lightly, as we know it means the situation there will deteriorate further and more people risk dying of hunger," the Rome-based WFP, the United Nations' food agency, said in a statement.

Three UN agencies - the WFP, the World Health Organization, and the children's agency UNICEF - said on Monday food and safe water were "incredibly scarce and diseases are rife...resulting in a surge of acute malnutrition" in Gaza more than four months into the Israel-Hamas war.

The food crisis is particularly serious in the north, where in January one in six children under the age of two were reported as acutely malnourished, and where "the situation is likely to be even graver today", the agencies said.


Israeli fighter jets strike Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
Israeli fighter jets struck several Hezbollah terrorist targets in Southern Lebanon on Tuesday morning.

Two launch posts were hit in the areas of Yaroun and Marwahin, where the previous day several Hezbollah terrorists were eliminated in an airstrike on “military” infrastructure, the IDF said.

Terrorist infrastructure was also targeted on Tuesday in the areas of Dhayra, Yaroun, Houla and Blida.

Three anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel on Tuesday, hitting an open area near Moshav Margaliot in the Eastern Galilee.

There were no reports of casualties or damage, according to the Israel Defense Forces and local authorities.

Also on Tuesday, air-raid sirens sounded in Arab al-Aramshe on the Lebanese border, with no initial reports of casualties or damage.

The IDF has struck more than 3,400 Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon and eliminated more than 200 Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon and Syria since the Iranian terrorist proxy joined the war in support of Hamas.

Hezbollah fired more than 2,000 rockets at Israel between Oct. 8 and Jan. 9. Additionally, the group has launched dozens of anti-tank missiles and drones at Israeli territory.


'The children are drawing severed limbs' after October 7 trauma
Children who lived near the Gaza border on October 7 and witnessed the atrocities committed by Hamas while themselves in mortal danger have been expressing their trauma in drawings of mutilated bodies and severed limbs, the head of Israel's teachers' union said on Tuesday. "I have seen horrifying cases in bomb shelters and classrooms. It turned my stomach."

Yaffa Ben-David who was a guest of Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth at a conference dealing with national resilience after the massacre, expressed concern that not all these children were receiving the necessary treatment, despite communities mobilizing assistance and psychologists. "We have also provided support, along with counseling," she said. "In the last agreement signed with the previous government, we agreed that there would be a counselor's regulation. This is a significant and very important matter that does not exist. We were told that it would be done in the next budget. Unfortunately, the government fell, and, to my great regret, the counselor's regulation was not included in the new budget. It is important to say that it is not too late, especially now when Israeli children need it more than ever. We must address this, the earlier the better."

Ben-David said elementary school teachers and kindergarten teachers are not qualified to deal with the child's psyche. "They do not have the tools. They are still being mobilized, but professional treatment is needed," she said adding the teachers themselves were affected by the events. "Who takes care of them?"

She said teachers and educational staff were the first to be mobilized and to work after October 7. "They are the anchor and the fortress for the students. Trust is missing for children after the atrocities and from parents who were always told that schools are the safest place. Dozens of parents came to me and asked for help because their children were not studying and they felt that they were losing them. I made a phone call to the minister and told him that someone needs to take control and organize this."
NY billboard calls on Qatari Queen Mother for release of hostages
A billboard displayed in Times Square called on the mother of the Emir of Qatar, Moza bint Nasser, to partake in the release of hostages being held in Hamas captivity this week, The New York Post reported on Saturday.

The image on the billboard was of 1-year-old Israeli hostage Kfir Bibas, alongside a picture of bint Nasser with large text reading, "It's in your hands. Release the hostages."

Sheikha Moza bint Nasser of Qatar is the mother of the Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and is also considered to be an influential figure in the realm of global philanthropy, the Post noted.

However, the organization that put up the ad, named ItsInYourHands, was highly critical of the emir's mother. Taking accountability

The organization’s website has a page titled "Unveiling Sheikha Moza's Double Standards," which is an attempt to get her to take accountability for the hostages in Gaza.

“Sheikha Moza bint Nasser of Qatar presents herself as a champion of humanitarian causes, but beneath the surface lies a troubling reality,” the website stated.

ItsInYourHands is an “informal coalition of Christian leaders and organizations” that work to aid the families of the hostages held by Hamas, a spokesperson told the Post.

The organization then elaborates on Qatar's involvement with terrorist organizations.

"Qatar’s ties to extremist groups and its support for terrorist organizations like Hamas raise serious questions about Sheikha Moza’s true agenda. As the matriarch of modern Qatar, she bears a moral responsibility to address these issues and advocate for the freedom of the hostages."


Hamas committed to ‘annihilation’ of all Jewish people
Sky News host Chris Kenny warns Hamas is committed to the “annihilation” of all Jewish people as he expresses concern over civilian casualties on both sides of the war.

It follows a Media Watch segment claiming some outlets are showing pro-Israel bias in their coverage of the war in the Middle East.

Mr Kenny pointed out that Hamas has been “terrorising and killing Israelis” with rocket fire for years and deliberately triggered the war.

“Hamas could end this war tomorrow by handing over the remaining hostages and surrendering its terrorist cells,” he said.

“Then the tragic deaths and injuries to innocent Palestinians would come to an abrupt end.

“And then perhaps the world’s media could go and talk to innocent Palestinians about their trauma under Hamas and the war, and how they plan to rebuild from the ruins that Hamas has delivered.”




Prince William says ‘too many have been killed’ in rare statement on Israel-Hamas war
In a landmark statement, Prince William has said that “too many have been killed” in the Israel-Hamas war and called for the fighting to end “as soon as possible.”

The Prince of Wales said he remains “deeply concerned about the terrible human cost of the conflict in the Middle East since the Hamas terrorist attacks on 7 October.”

"I, like so many others, want to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible. There is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza. It's critical that aid gets in and the hostages are released."

"Sometimes it is only when faced with the sheer scale of human suffering that the importance of permanent peace is brought home."

The prince’s rare statement on the crisis comes off the back of news that he is set to “recognise the human suffering” caused by conflicts in Gaza, Israel and the Middle East by carrying out a series of engagements, his office said on Tuesday.

William and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, said they have been “profoundly concerned by events that unfolded in late 2023 and continue to hold all the victims, their family and friends in their hearts and minds.”

Aiming to address concerns over the recent rise in anti-Jewish sentiment, the prince will visit a synagogue to hear from a diverse group of young advocates “against hatred and antisemitism.”

He will also speak to those providing humanitarian support in the Middle East and is expected to hear first-hand accounts from aid workers in Gaza.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken's Family Targeted by Protesters over Gaza
Antony Blinken's children - aged 3 and 4 - were on their way home when Hazami Barmada and Fatima Showkatiann poured fake blood in front of their vehicle.

Protesters have been camped outside the Secretary of State's home for a couple of weeks over Israel's military operations in Gaza.

As the car carrying the kids rolled up, some in the group shouted: "Your father is a baby killer!"

Strangers yelling at preschoolers is a sign of something troubling in our political culture. It's also a commentary on the dubious efficacy of this very of-the-moment variety of direct action.

A cathartic thrill for the righteously indignant, showing up at the homes of Washington bigwigs also creates optics that turn demonstrators into bullies and their targets into victims, hardening the hearts of just about everyone in sight.


How China's Influence Shapes Israel's Future" Melissa Chen | Visegrad24 Podcast
Visegrad24 presents an in-depth series covering the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. This comprehensive series features on-the-ground interviews, bringing firsthand insights from a diverse range of voices, including politicians, professors, journalists, experts and influencers.

Our guest today: Melissa Chen is a Singaporean journalist and activist. She is a contributing editor for Spectator USA and co-founder of Ideas Beyond Borders.


WSJ Editorial: The Palestinian Authority, Qatar and Brazil's Lula Give Hamas a Pass
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called on Hamas to unite with the PA.

Asked about working with the perpetrators of Oct. 7, Shtayyeh replied, "One should not continue focusing on Oct. 7."

Also at Munich, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said that Hamas should get a ceasefire without having to give up anything, not even the women it took hostage.

Speaking at an African Union summit, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva called the Gaza war a "genocide" and "a war between a highly prepared army and women and children," comparing it to "when Hitler decided to kill the Jews."
Brazil recalls ambassador, summons Israeli envoy as scuffle over Gaza remarks deepens
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has recalled his ambassador to Israel for talks, Brazil’s foreign ministry confirmed on Monday, as a diplomatic scuffle played out over the president’s comparison of Israel’s war against Hamas to the Holocaust.

The Brazilian Foreign Ministry also said that Israeli Ambassador Daniel Zonshine was summoned for a reprimand, hours after Ambassador Frederico Meyer had been hauled in for a dressing down in Jerusalem over Lula’s comments.

According to a diplomatic source, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and Zonshine had a “harsh, but appropriate” conversation, as Vieira “demonstrated dissatisfaction” with the treatment of Meyer and Lula in Jerusalem over the situation.

That included Meyer being forced to listen to a statement in Hebrew “without an interpreter, without knowing what was being said,” the source added.

It was unclear how long Meyer will stay in Brazil, and how the move will impact diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Israel sinks effort to oust it from African Union
Israel has thwarted an effort by South Africa and Algeria to deprive it of observer status in the African Union, the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem said on Tuesday.

The two African countries had also planned to urge the Union’s 55 member states to cut off relations with Israel, and to introduce a proposal that would declare Israel guilty of genocide for its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The successful pushback, which was led by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, also included President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

All three men sent appeals and spoke with African leaders. Israeli embassies in Africa enlisted in the effort to scuttle the move as well, with Foreign Ministry officials sent to states in which Israel does not have a permanent diplomatic presence.

The initiative to oust Israel from the Union, as well as the effort to have the Union cut off relations with Israel and accuse it of genocide, all failed in a weekend vote at the organization’s annual conference in Ethiopia, as a coalition of African states formed to oppose the move.

Nevertheless, leaders at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa this weekend still condemned Israel’s offensive in Gaza and called for its immediate end.
South African politician accuses rivals of selling Cape Town to Jews
A politician in South Africa has accused rival politicians of trying to turn part of South Africa into a ‘Zionist’ state by supporting Israel in the face of Hamas aggression on October 7.

In a debate after the country’s State Of The Nation speech from President Cyril Ramphosa, South African Member of Parliament Ahmed Munzoor Shaik Emam accused the moderate opposition party the Democratic Alliance of handing Cape Town to “Zionists.”

He added that were the Jews handed Cape Town then it would “be a blood bath”. He said, “We will not allow you to make this a Jewish state.”

Addressing the South African parliament last Wednesday, Emam said: “We have political parties in this house that are trying to justify the massacre and the genocide that’s taking place in Palestine, particularly right now in Rafah.”

The MP, who was wearing a traditional keffiyeh showing the territory of Israel labelled Palestine, said he wanted to "give a loud and clear message to the Democratic Alliance”.

“If you think that the people of this country are going to allow you and take this beautiful country, city of Cape Town of ours, and hand it over to the Zionists, the city of Cape Town will be a blood bath, I can assure you that.

“We will not allow you to take this and sell it, and sell your principles, your ethics and values like you have just pawned the land in the Western Cape to the United States and others.

“We will not allow you to make this a Jewish state.”


Roger Waters attacks Bono over support for hostages

Silent demonstration for the hostages forced to cancel over safety concerns due to pro-Palestinian protest taking place in the same location
A public silent protest for the hostages still held by Hamas has been forced to cancel over safety concerns due to a pro-Palestinian demonstration taking place at the same time and location.

The vigil, which was to take place Wednesday in Parliament Square, was organised by the Board of Deputies of British Jews. The gathering occurs twice a week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and has been ongoing since the beginning of December.

A number of parliamentarians have joined the vigils, which take place while Parliament is in session.

Despite the number of volunteers attending the biweekly silent protest being kept to a minimum and being discouraged from bringing Israeli flags or singing chants, concern over participants’ safety has now forced the Board to cancel the event.

In a message sent out to volunteers on Tuesday, the Board said: “Due to the parliamentary vote about the situation in Israel and Gaza taking place on Wednesday, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) is organising a protest in Parliament Square calling for a ceasefire.

“Due to the sheer scale of the PSC’s last protest outside of Parliament when a similar vote occurred previously, we do not think it would be safe for us to hold our vigil this Wednesday.

“We are saddened that this is the outcome and are sorry for any inconvenience this may caused,”

The Board said in a statement they spoke to both the police and CST. A spokesperson said: "The police were extremely supportive and offered additional protection, while making clear that there would undoubtedly be risks. The presence of a dozen individuals in the midst of what are likely to be thousands of extreme anti-Israel protesters is not a safety concern we can ignore; which is why with regret, the Westminster Vigil will not take place. The vigils will resume next week.
New Haven reviews anti-Israel city staffer who protested at rabbi’s home
The nation’s third-oldest independent school, which traces its history to 1660, suspended a member of its advancement team, as the city—home to Yale University—investigates his wife for yelling anti-Israel chants through a bullhorn outside a local rabbi’s home.

Hopkins School, a private middle- and high school in New Haven, Conn., with some $225 million in net assets and an annual tuition north of $47,000, suspended Charles Rich, its associate director of annual and reunion giving, on Feb. 17, the New Haven Independent reported.

Rich’s wife, Thabisa Rich, community outreach coordinator in the city of New Haven’s Department of Arts, Culture and Tourism, is under investigation by the city, a spokesperson for New Haven mayor Justin Elicker told The Daily Wire.

Rich “chanted ethnic-cleansing slogans with a megaphone outside a Jewish family’s home and encouraged others to return with her,” according to the Daily Wire. She did so after spotting a “Stand with Israel” yard sign at the home of Rabbi Elchanan Poupko and his family in a residential neighborhood, the publication reported.

Poupko told the Daily Wire that on Feb. 11, his wife told him “that someone was outside our house with a megaphone screaming pro-Palestinian chants.” He went outside “and confronted her for protesting outside a private Jewish house when a car stopped and a masked man joined her,” Poupko added.

The city is “actively collecting information and reviewing the matter,” the spokesperson told the Daily Wire.

“While people have very different and strongly held views on the war between Israel and Hamas, the mayor believes there is an appropriate time, place and manner in which to express them,” the spokesperson said. “Mayor Elicker believes Ms. Rich exercised very poor judgment in this regard and finds several of her personal social media posts to be concerning and offensive.”




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