Israel Weekly News Roundup Nov. 17, 2023
Israeli Military Forces Occupied Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City
Al-Shifa hospital became one of the symbols of the war in Gaza. The biggest general hospital in the Gaza Strip, has a few hundred patient beds, but it also functions as a shelter for thousands of refugees from the northern Gaza Strip.
Israeli forces are advancing slowly from the north towards the south, and late Tuesday evening they arrived to the gates of Shifa hospital. On Wednesday they entered the compound. There are very few independent reliable sources as to what is happening inside the hospital, but according to the medical staff, Israeli soldiers are inside the hospital wards, checking every room in their search for Hamas militants. According to the sources inside the hospital they soldiers have not fired inside, but there were shots heard outside the building. There are other reports saying that the IDF was screening all the refugees who seek shelter inside the compound, mainly in the yards and open areas of the hospital. On Wednesday evening, the IDF spokesperson published in his daily live update, some evidence that Hamas militants used the hospital for their purposes. And showed photos of some ammunition and communication devices that were found there.
Israeli military forces reported finding some data and documents regarding the hostages. They also reported finding the body of one of the hostages, in a different location in Gaza. Yehudit Weiss, 64, was a member of Kibbutz Be’eri. Her husband was murdered in the attack on October 7th.
Israeli military forces brought medical supplies, incubators for babies and other equipment. It is still unclear and unlikely that if there were Hamas operators inside the hospital compound, they stayed there to meet IDF soldiers.
Meanwhile there is a growing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. More than one million people have fled from northern and central Gaza to the south. A long long convoy of people, carrying cases, suitcases, packages, handbags and backpacks are heading south, acting according to recommendations from the IDF, and fear of missiles and bombs. They are staying in temporary tents, provided by UNRWA. Rain has started to fall, and the weather is getting colder. There is an urgent need for fuel, medical supplies and food. Israel has conditioned any aid to the area on getting information on the condition of the hostages. There are 239 Israeli hostages held by Hamas militants. Hamas has not provided names, who is alive, who is dead, and their physical condition.
Israeli Defense Force (IDF) Entered Another Hospital
Israeli forces are focusing in the last few days on two important locations, both are hospitals. The main general hospital in all the Gaza Strip, Al-Shifa, and another, smaller hospital in Shati refugee camp, Rantisi.
Israel has argued for years that Hamas operators, their senior leaders and heads of the military forces use hospitals as shields, and that they hide in a sophisticated grid of tunnels underneath hospitals. They are sure that Israel will not dare target any hospital and by hiding there, they are safe.
Since Israeli forces started the ground operation, the target was to knock down Hamas military and operational abilities. It was clear that the IDF will eventually have to bring hard evidence to substantiate the argument that Hamas hide beneath hospitals..
Earlier this week, the spokesperson for the IDF, brigadier general, Daniel Hagari, himself, joined the special unit that entered Rantisi hospital. Hagari was accompanied by a military documentary crew. Videos of him explaining to the world in English of the findings in the tunnels underneath the hospital were broadcast all over the world.
According to the IDF report, there were remains of baby food and objects in the tunnel that looked like they were keeping Israeli hostages there. He also showed in the video how the Hamas military tunnel was directly wired to the hospital for communications, electricity and other supplies.
Later, unidentified American officials strengthened Israel’s claim and said that they also have indications that Hamas is using hospitals as shields.
It is obvious that the IDF is making advanced use of sophisticated means to construct the public conscious to influence public opinion.
Israel’s Border With Lebanon is Still Under Threat
Hizbollah, the militant Lebanese based organization, continues to harass Israeli targets by shooting rockets and missiles toward Israeli villages. All the communities along the northern border with Lebanon were evacuated days after the war with Gaza started on October 7th. As a result the area is almost deserted, except for military units who occupy positions on the border, and workers who come to fix things. Defense minister, Galant, said earlier this week that the residents will be able to return home when all threats are lifted.
It is important to say in this context that back in 2006, after the second Lebanon war with Israel, there was an agreement between Israel and Lebanon, which was supported by the international community. In the agreement, Lebanon agreed to make sure that Hizbollah militia forces will not cross the Litani river in southern Lebanon, will not be able to get close to the border with Israel and will not have an the ability to threaten Israeli communities on the border. That has not been the case for the last few years and no-one is holding the government of Lebanon responsible.
Israel is trying to avoid opening another war front in the north, and right now is implementing a policy of defense and not offense while trying to contain the situation.
Two Arab Members of Knesset Sanctioned by Knesset Ethics Committee for Public Statements and Posts
Iman Hatib-Yasin (Ta’al) and Aida Touma-Sliman (Hadash) were sanctioned by the Knesset ethics committee for social media posts and statements related to the Hamas attack on October 7th.
Iman Hatib Yasin was suspended for a month from the Knesset, including two weeks without pay for stating that there was no evidence for acts of beheading and rape by Hamas on October 7th. Following the public outrage, the party chair, Mansour Abbas, pressured her to resign her seat. Hatib-Yasin later apologized and asked to attend a second screening of the IDF spokesperson video, documenting the horrors of October 7th.
Aida Touma-Sliman was suspended for two months, including two weeks without pay for a post on social media alleging attacks on Gaza hospitals and the shooting of uninvolved civilians. IDF spokesperson denied these claims. Touma-Sliman was summoned by the ethics committee after a far-right legal advocate urged his followers to file complaints against her to the ethics committee. More than 2,500 were filed in the days that ensued. She also received death threats and hate text messages.
A civics and history teacher from central Israel was detained and questioned for grave accusations of betrayal and support of terror organization, following posts on social media and in a WhatsApp group, claiming that IDF soldiers have raped Palestinian women since 1948 and that occupied nations should do whatever they can to achieve freedom. He was fired from his position immediately.
Human and civil rights advocates voiced their concerns over the persecution of Arab citizens and left-wing activists and the shrinking space for free speech and open conversations, as difficult as they may be.
Hostages Families March from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem:
100 family members of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza embarked on a march from Tel Aviv Museum Square to Jerusalem, demanding the release of their loved ones. They are joined daily by people who support their plea.
Yuval Haran who has seven members of his family captive in Gaza told the press, in agony, that time is running out, and added: “We will go to Jerusalem where the people who have the power to decide sit, where the prime minister and the war cabinet sit, where all Knesset members are, and we will demand to meet with them. We will demand to hear why our families aren’t home yet.”
Some of the hostages suffer from chronic diseases and some were injured before or during their abduction, including women who were severely abused. The families, as well as physicians who treated some of the hostages, expressed grave concern for their health. The media has reported that one of the hostages gave birth to a baby in captivity. Sara Netanyahu, wife of PM Netanyahu, wrote in a letter to First Lady Jill Biden stressing the need to call for the immediate release of the hostages. In the letter, Sara Netanyahu emphasized the plight of the children, some of whom were orphaned and watched their parents murdered.
Earlier this week the forum of hostages’ families held a vigil near the UN headquarters in Jerusalem, where they delivered a letter addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, urging him to act immediately and do everything humanly possible to bring the hostages home. Children’s rights advocates who also spoke at the rally criticized the UN for failing to act thus far on behalf of the hostages, and especially the children.
Almost 300,000 In a Rally to Support Israel in Washington DC
Tens of thousands of people, from all over the US, participated in the larges march and gathering of Jews in the US. The rally was organized by all Jewish organizations in the US. The rally expressed strong support for Israel in its’ right to defend itself. This rally comes after weeks of demonstrations against Israel, organized by pro-Palestinian organizations. The main slogan of those demonstrations is: From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free. The meaning of this chant is that Israel will no longer exist. There is a strong anti-Israel wave in the US and in other western countries in Europe. Some mix criticism of the Israeli government and policies and anti-occupation with anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiment. Some of those trends overlap with antisemitism.
An Israeli Soldier Was Killed and Five Were Wounded in a Shooting Near Jerusalem
Three Palestinian militants started shooting on a highway near Jerusalem at Israeli forces. An Israeli soldier was seriously wounded and later died. Five others were hospitalized. The three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces. Hamas announced that the terrorist attack was executed by its’ people. The situation in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is fast deteriorating. Over one hundred Palestinians were killed, mainly by IDF forces, since the war began on October 7th. The tension between Israeli settlers and Palestinians grows.
Vivian Silver, Slain on October 7th, Laid to Rest
Hundreds of family members, friends and colleagues attended a memorial service at Kibbutz Gezer, mourning the loss of Vivian Silver who was murdered during the Hamas attack at Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7th. Among them were Jewish and Arab members of Knesset as well as leaders of peace and human rights organizations.
For over a month Vivian was believed to have been abducted by Hamas, but earlier this week her family received the bitter news that her body was identified.
Vivian Silver was born in Winnipeg, Canada in 1949, and immigrated to Israel in 1974. For dozens of years, she was a social activist involved in projects promoting women’s rights and advocating for peace. As the co-director of the Arab-Jewish Center for Empowerment, Equality, and Cooperation – Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Economic Development (AJEEC-NISPED), she worked to improve the lives of the Bedouin community in the Naqab/Negev, helping to advance a shared society. She was active in the organization Women Wage Peace, a board member of the human rights group B’Tselem, and a volunteer with The Road to Recovery, which helps transport cancer patients from Gaza to and fromIsraeli hospitals.
Vivian was loved and admired by thousands of people in Israel and around the world for her relentless commitment to gender equality, peace, shared society, and justice. We, the authors of this news update, were blessed to be among her many friends. Vivian was a visionary, one of the pioneers of Israel’s burgeoning feminist movement in the 1970’s, and a leader whose wisdom and passion inspired generations of activists.
May her memory be of a blessing and of an inspiration to all those working for peace.
Further Reading:
Shifa Hospital: Here, here, here
Rantisi Hospital: Here, here, here
Washington DC: Here, here, here , here
Hostages: Here, here, here, here