Israel Weekly News Roundup Dec 8, 2023
Entering week 10 of the Israel-Hamas Gaza War
Israel Intensifies Its Ground Operation
Following last weekend, after it was clear that the hostage deal had collapsed, Israeli military forces renewed the ground operation. This time the IDF (Israel Defense Force) are concentrating on the south Gaza Strip area, where they believe the headquarters and the main operators of Hamas are to be found, as well as focusing on areas in the north that haven’t been dealt with before.
This plan intensifies the pressure on the south, where more than a million people are concentrated in UN tented camps. When Israel initiated its ground operation, the IDF called on the people of Gaza to move south. Now the south is full of displaced people and the humanitarian crisis is growing every day.
US officials call on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, especially fuel, to help with the growing crisis.
US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, who often makes trips to Israel, already told Israeli officials that Israel’s time is running out and that Israel has no more than a few weeks to end the military operation. He, and Joe Biden, have warned that Israel may win the war, but lose the strategic aftermath.
The number of casualties in Gaza are estimates, and growing daily, as Israel intensifies its attacks. Many are still buried under the rubble. The Hamas Health Ministry claims that more than 17,000 have been killed. Israeli sources estimate that 15,000 have been killed of which one in three or about 5,000 are Hamas fighters.
Hostage Crisis is Growing
Israel insists on the original hostage deal, which was based on bringing back the women and children first. Hamas broke the deal before the last phase and suggested another deal to bring back elderly and sick men. Israel declined.
Meanwhile there is growing rage among families of the hostages. They insisted on meeting with all the members of the War Cabinet. The meeting took place on Tuesday evening and was vocal and tense. Most of the families claimed that there is no time to lose and it is extremely dangerous to wait, since the conditions in captivity are life threatening. Women hostages who were released joined the meeting and described tough conditions. Stories of released hostages revealed torture, psychological pressure, hunger, not enough food, no medicine, and fear of sexual harassment for women and men.
The families put a lot of pressure on the cabinet to do all they can to bring them back home as soon as possible and to take into consideration the location of the hostages while they attack ground targets in Gaza. Â
A recording from the meeting revealed shouting, crying and blaming the cabinet in general and PM Netanyahu in particular for attending to his own position and prioritizing his own political survival and interests before the well-being and release of hostages.
More Israelis Are Declared Dead
Israeli officials informed more Israeli families that their loved ones have been declared dead, even if they don’t have the body. These decisions are made by a medical team, who receive information from the army based on video clips of these people, survivor testimonies and other collected evidence.
The project of collecting all pieces of information is a very delicate process which they do with a lot of sensitivity and professionalism.
PM Netanyahu’s Trial Renewed
After a long break, during the Jewish holidays including most of September and the first weeks of the war in October, the trial was renewed. PM Netanyahu is charged with corruption and his trial has gone on for months.
There was a lot of criticism among PM Netanyahu’s supporters against the decision to reopen the trial while PM Netanyahu is so occupied with managing of the war in Gaza, but it was actually the decision of his own coalition partner, minister of Justice, Yariv Levin, to re-open all courts. An ameliorating factor is that PM Netanyahu received permission from the court to not attend the court sessions in person.
*Trigger Warning*: Sexual Crimes by Hamas Against Women, Girls, and Men Gain International Recognition
Shortly after the Hamas Attack on October 7th, the nature and scope of sexual violence crimes became known to feminist advocates in Israel, through eyewitness testimonies of first respondents and survivors of the Nova rave held near the Gaza border. Since then, feminist professionals have collected and documented cases of abhorrent sexual violence and advocated vis-à -vis international institutions, and specifically UN Women, the UN, and international women’s groups.
After several weeks of refraining from addressing the issues, the UN Women organization issued a statement condemning sexual violence against women and girls on October 7th.
International attention to this painful issue gained traction following a special session held on December 4th at the UN headquarters in New York City. The special session was organized by the Israeli mission to the UN, the World Zionist Organization, Shazur/Interwoven, the National Council of Jewish Women and the Schusterman Family Philanthropies. Keynote speakers included Hillary Clinton, Sheryl Sandberg, Israeli officials and Israeli first responders, who presented the evidence collected so far. The session was live streamed and received substantial coverage and attention from the media in the US and Europe. You can watch the session recording here
Following the special session, UN Secretary General Antonio Gueterres and Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk condemned the sexual violations allegedly carried out by Hamas militants and called for an indepth, independent investigation. Â
Further Reading:
Hostages: Here, here, here, here
Gaza: Here, here, here, here, here
Israeli Casualties: Here, here