Day 133 of the Israel-Hamas Gaza War
1. Two Israeli Hostages Were Released From Hamas Captivity by a Heroic Military Operation
Special military units managed to release two of the 136 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza since October 7th.
The military operation was carefully planned and was based on detailed intelligence. The two hostages, brothers in law from one of the communities on the border with Gaza were held together with their wives since their kidnapping on October 7th. The wives were released more than fifty days ago and the condition of the two men was not clear. Intelligence revealed that they were held in an apartment somewhere in Rafah - a Palestinian town in the southern Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt. The special army unit managed to reach their location in the middle of the night without being detected. They opened the door with an explosive charge, managed to safely reach the Israeli hostages, hug them and carefully rescue them, while eliminating all their Hamas captors m. Shortly thereafter, a helicopter took them straight to Sheba hospital for check ups and treatment. They both have lost a lot of weigh and did not get the medication they needed. None of the Israeli soldiers was killed or wounded during the operation. Palestinian sources reported on one hundred casualties.
134 hostages are still held in captivity, at least 32 of them are known to be dead.
2. Escalation in Tension and Crossfire at Israel-Lebanon Border
Earlier this week, one Israeli soldier was killed and eight people were wounded in the city of Safed (Tsfat), following a rocket barrage from Lebanon. According to IDF sources, the missile barrage was aimed at a northern Israeli military base.
In retaliation, the IDF conducted extensive airstrikes in southern Lebanon, on military targets of the Hizbollah Radwan force, an elite Hizbollah fighting unit. According to IDF sources, a senior commander in the Radwan force was killed in the airstrikes. And, according to the Reuters news agency and other media sources, at least ten people were killed by the IDF airstrikes, including a woman and two children. Hezbollah retaliated in yet another barrage of rockets, targeting the city of Kiryat Shmona, near the northern border.
Hezbollah vowed retaliation and avenge, claiming responsibility for the missile attacks on Israeli northern cities. However, war cabinet Minister Benny Gantz (National Unity Camp) said "the Lebanese government is also responsible" for the attack on the city of Safed.
In a meeting with the heads of local authorities in the north, IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi reiterated the possibility of a full-blown Israeli attack in southern Lebanon, saying: "We have already made achievements in harming Hezbollah in Lebanon, but we continue to operate. This is not the time to stop […] The next battle will be offensive, and we will be using all our tools and capacities."
3. No Progress in Israel-Hamas Negotiations for Ceasefire/Hostage Deal
Concern for the life and wellbeing of the hostages held in Gaza continues to fester, with no progress to date in the Cairo talks, extended this week by another three days. However, PM Netanyahu ordered the Israeli delegation, headed by Israeli Mossad chief David Barnea not to return to Cairo on Thursday this week for continued talks. Netanyahu said that a progress in negotiations requires changes in Hamas’ stance.
In response to the delay in progress in negotiations towards a new hostage release deal, thousands rallied in Tel Aviv, near the IDF headquarters, decrying "the decision to sacrifice the lives of the hostages."
According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, called on Hamas to secure a hostage release deal with Israel “as soon as possible” to save the Palestinian people from further "catastrophe."
Meanwhile,The Washington Post reported that the Biden administration is drafting a plan with the support of Arab countries to establish a Palestinian State that will take responsibility for Gaza when the war is over. Most of the political parties in Israel rejected this plan, claiming that the Palestinians can’t be rewarded for the massacre on October 7th.
4. Family Members of Israeli Hostages File a Complaint Against Hamas in the International Criminal Court
A delegation of 100 family members of hostages held captive by Hamas in Gaza traveled to the Hague in Netherland to file a complaint at the International Criminal Court against Hamas. An extended legal team that helped draft the court submission also joined the delegation.
"It's time justice is done," said family members participating in the delegation. Ofri Bibas, Sister of Yarden Bibas, kidnapped from kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7th, whose wife and two young children are still held captive in Gaza, said at Ben Gurion airport, before boarding the plane, that Hamas was the successor to the Nazis and that the terror group must be brought to account for its crimes. “All of humanity must stand firm in the face of a global terrorist army in which Hamas is one battalion operating in its service.”
Yarden Bibas’s wife Shiri, 32 and their two boys, Ariel, 4 and Kfir, who turned only one year old while in captivity, became symbols of the horror and suffering of the hostages, as footage and images of the mother shielding her two sons while being abducted went viral on October 7th. Hamas have since claimed, without any proof, that the mother and two children died in an Israeli air strike.
The International Criminal Court (ICC), established by the Rome Statute, has the authority to prosecute individuals for serious violations of the Geneva Conventions that amount to war crimes, if they are citizens states and entities who ratified the Rome Statute. The Palestinian Authority is a signatory, while Israel is not.
5. After Credit Downgrade, Moody’s Downgraded Deposits Rating of Israeli Banks
The American credit rating company, Moodys, issued a financial report on the Israeli economy, downgraded Israel from A1 to A2 and said the outlook for the country’s economy was “negative”. This report came as a surprise to Israeli financial institutions. PM Netanyahu issued a statement shortly after the report was released claiming that the report and the new rating are not about the weakening of the Israeli economy, which continues to be strong, but is a result of the war in Gaza. Once the war is over, promised PM Netanyahu, the rating will rise again.
Minister of treasury, Bzalel Smotritch, issued a statement only when the Jewish Sabbath ended, and announced that it was not a financial report but rather a political criticism of Israel.
Another minister from an Ultra Orthodox party criticized PM Netanyahu for violating the sactity of the sabbath, by shooting a video with his response to Moody’s. He said that PM Netanyahu shouldn’t violate the sacred day unless it concerned life saving matters.
Other professional economists claim that Moody’s further downgrading raises a red flag as to how Israel manages its economy.
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