CrossFireArabia
Palestinian children were injured on Wednesday in an Israeli assault targeting a house in Jabalia camp in northern Gaza which has been under relentless Israeli attacks and military siege since October 5. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed at least 17,400 children in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. That is one child killed every 30 minutes.
Thousands more are missing under the rubble, most of them presumed dead.
CrossFireArabia
The Israeli military has issued 1,126 arrest warrants for Israeli ultra-Orthodox settlers after they failed to show up at military service induction centers.
Due to the losses incurred in the Israeli multi-front wars on Gaza and Lebanon, the Israeli military attempted to draft ultra-Orthodox settlers to make up for the shortage.
Israeli occupation forces have been attempting to draft settlers from the ultra-Orthodox community for several months; however, the vast majority of those called up have evaded service, arguing that military service would clash with their religious beliefs and have consistently avoided call-ups, fearing ‘secularization.’
CrossFireArabia
Amid the severe Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip and relentless attacks targeting banks, markets, and public facilities for over 13 months, which led to rising prices, scarcity of goods, and a severe cash shortage, more than one million Palestinians have been forced to return to the barter system to meet their essential daily needs.
CrossFireArabia
Amputations in Gaza. 10 children lose their legs everyday in the Israeli onslaught on the Strip according to UNICEF.
CrossFireArabia
Different Israeli media establishments highlighted the difficult conditions facing Israeli occupation soldiers in Gaza, amidst increasing talk about the absence of clear goals for the war, and the future of the prisoners and possibility of a swap deal.
Israel Ziv, former head of the army’s operations division, expressed his deep concern about the situation of the soldiers in Gaza, and said in a statement on Channel 12 “the situation is very, very difficult for them, and I heard from reserve soldiers that they will not return again because of the harsh conditions they live in this place.”
He stressed the army seems to be preparing for a long-term occupation without clear goals, noting the soldiers are not only suffering from the military burden, but also from the repercussions of the war on their family lives, which prompted some to declare that they “will not be the fools of this country,” as he described it.
In turn, national security expert Kobi Marom believes that the war of attrition in Gaza is continuing at full force, especially in Jabalia, noting the army is preparing for the possibility of establishing military rule there by 2025.
In a Channel 13 interview Marom said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements about not stopping the fighting reflect a long-term vision for the war.
Seeking to conclude a deal
While Major General Yair Golan, former deputy chief of staff, spoke about the need to seek to reach a deal to release the prisoners as soon as possible, and said “a deal for the kidnapped soldiers could lead to a ceasefire in the south and perhaps also in the north.”
He stressed that the statements of some US officials about Hamas refusing to negotiate are “inaccurate,” noting the army’s representative in the negotiations, Nitzan Alon, previously stated that reaching a deal was possible, and he also criticized the Israeli leadership’s failure to provide any clarifications or meetings with the families of the detainees.
But MK Tsaga Malko believes that the issue is not partisan, but rather relates, according to her, to Hamas’s refusal to make a deal. The Kan 11 Channel presenter interrupted her, pointing to the influence of coalition partners, such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who are pushing for filling Gaza with Jewish settlements while disragarding a settlement to the conflict.
But Amnon Sofrin, ex-head of the Mossad intelligence division, added that negotiations are “the only option for freeing the kidnapped soldiers,” and said: “If there was a possibility of freeing them through a military operation, it would have been carried out, but the current guerrilla war could continue for 10 years without a result.”
Israeli media sources wondered why a settlement with the Lebanese Hezbollah in the north was sought while any settlement with Hamas was rejected but commentators concluded this was related to the agenda of the partners in the government, who see Gaza as an opportunity for settlements expansion, unlike Lebanon.
On Channel 13, political analyst Raviv Drucker confirmed The government is not facing real pressure from the security cabinet to complete the prisoner release deal. He added: “The leadership is pinning its hopes on the possibility of US President-elect Donald Trump intervening to exert new pressure, but most of the families of the kidnapped have lost hope,” according to Al Jazeera.
CrossFireArabia
Overview of the Israeli military attacks overnight on the Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza, resulting in further bloodshed of innocent civilians.
