War In Gaza Continues With a High Toll
Israel continues its ground operations in Gaza. The overall mission as defined by the war cabinet is to destroy Hamas, to knock down Hamas, to disable it from continuing to be a meaningful organization in Gaza. Israel aims to provide its citizens living on the border with Gaza the security to live peacefully, to be able to cultivate their fields, and to prosper. Meanwhile the human toll from the fighting in Gaza is high. Hundreds of Israeli soldiers, including senior officers, have already been killed and severely wounded during the ground operation.
More than 100,000 people were evacuated from the Kibbutzim and the towns on the border with Gaza. Many of the houses in those communities are uninhabitable and were destroyed on October 7th.
The IDF (Israel Defense Force) is now fighting house to house in northern Gaza, with the support of the air force and the navy.
Hamas has not surrendered yet.
Meanwhile the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is deteriorating. There is not enough food for all the evacuees who were pushed to tent camps in the south of the Gaza Strip. There is not enough fuel to operate the power stations for hospitals and for water pumps. Israel allows some aid, fuel, medicine, and food, to enter Gaza, but Hamas wants to control the supply for its’ people and not for the civilians in Gaza.
President Biden Is Placing Pressure on PM Netanyahu
American President Biden, is pushing PM Netanyahu to start drafting what is called “the day after”: how Israel sees the day when the war is over. Who will control Gaza, who will rebuild the place which has been completely destroyed by Israeli shelling and bombing. Who will be in charge, who will build and run all the civil authorities, and how they will be operated given the fact that Israel would like to have full security control.
PM Netanyahu has stated time and again that he will not endorse a Palestinian State, that he will not tolerate any Hamas power in Gaza, and he will not grant the Palestinian Authority any access to control the Gaza Strip. Biden, on the other hand, has stated he would like to see the Palestinian Authority have a meaningful role in governing the Gaza Strip.
President Biden said in a campaign speech that PM Netanyahu has to reshuffle his government to be able to draft a future plan for Gaza, since his current government is too hawkish.
Families of Hostages Still in Captivity, Rally in Jerusalem
Earlier this week, family members of hostages made their way from Tel Aviv in a convoy to Jerusalem, led by a tractor, symbolizing the Hamas October 7th attack on the Gaza envelope communities. The families held a public vigil near the prime minister’s office, under the slogan, “their time is running out” and erected an overnight tent vigil near the Knesset. During the vigil, held under pouring rain, the master of ceremonies shared in a broken voice that two of the hostages were found dead that day. All family members who spoke at the rally urged the government to take immediate action to release all hostages.
The following morning, family members and supporters rallied in front of the Knesset and later attended several Knesset committees. At a meeting with the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, members of the hostages’ families reiterated their call for the government to exhaust all diplomatic channels and reach a deal for the release of all hostages, rather than escalating the military offensive in Gaza, which may put the lives of their loved ones at risk.
In Washington DC, President Joe Biden met at the White House for two hours with the families of hostages holding American citizenship. One of the family members present at the meeting, whose son is still being held captive by Hamas, told the media that the meeting reinforced their notion that the US administration, the president and Secretary of State, are fully committed to achieve the release of all hostages.
Controversy Over Video of Naked Palestinians
Short videos depicting tens of Palestinian who were stripped to their underwear, were shown on Israeli media, and initiated a heated public debate. The claim was that they were Hamas militants who surrendered and handed over their weapons to Israeli soldiers. The idea was to show the act of surrender and humiliation in order to convince people in Gaza that Israel is winning the war and that Hamas is getting weaker.
Many argue that the majority of those people were not Hamas militants at all and that they were released soon after the photographs were taken. Another argument was that humiliating Palestinians will have the opposite effect and will generate motivation and sentiments of revenge that will be counter productive.
Israel and Hizbollah Continue Shooting
Northern Israel is still under random attacks from Hizbollah forces. Some houses in the area have been severely damaged. Tens of thousands of Israelis were evacuated from their homes on the border and found refuge in hotels all over the country. The evacuees don’t know when they will be able to return to their homes. Farmers are unable to harvest apples and kiwi fruit, the main tree crops in the area, due to severe threats from the other side of the border.
An American special envoy is in the region making an effort to close a deal according to which Hizbollah forces will withdraw north, behind the Litani river in Lebanon. The idea is that they will be far enough away from the border and so will not be a direct threat to the Israelis living on the border.
Leaders of Ivy League Universities Face Backlash Over Failure to Address Antisemitism on Campus
Presidents of Harvard, MIT and U Penn were widely criticized for their appearance at the congressional hearing, where they quibbled over repeated questioning whether student protests calling for the genocide of Jews, and rising antisemitism on campus, since October 7th amounted to harassment and constituted a violation of the university’s policies.
Following the hearing, DC lawmakers initiated a probe into antisemitism in elite universities. The president of U Penn and the chair of its board of trustees resigned shortly after the congressional hearing, following pressure from donors and prominent alumni. The board of trustees of Harvard University decided to side with its president, despite calls by lawmakers, donors, and alumni for her resignation. President of Harvard, Claudine Gay published a letter in the university’s paper, apologizing for her failure to unequivocally denounce antisemitic tropes and statements on campus and reiterated her commitment to assuring the safety of Jewish students. With the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology face a backlash over their testimony Tuesday, on increased antisemitism on campus, following the shock October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas-led terrorists who killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took some 240 hostages.
In Israel, David Harel, President of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, called upon the presidents of Harvard and MIT to resign. In his speech, welcoming new members to the Academy, Prof Harel said: “the blatant anti-Israel incitement, raising its ugly head in campuses around the world, endangering the wellbeing and even the life of Jewish faculty members and students, was evident in the congressional hearing. One must act relentlessly against such incitement and hate speech on campus grounds, and in the highest levels of universities’ leadership”.
For Further Reading:
War in Gaza: Here, here, here, here
President Biden: Here, here, here, here
Naked Palestinians: Here, here, here