DAY 134 OF THE GAZA WAR: Terror Attack, Fear in Israel, Al-Nasr Hospital, Histadrut Chair Calls For Elections.

Tel Aviv Diary, February 17, 2024

ZOOM BRIEFING SUNDAY 6 PM ISRAEL TIME, 11 AM EST, 8AM PST Invitations Will Go Out Tomorrow Morning

A terrorist attack occurred around noon on Friday at a bustling intersection near Kiryat Malachi, a location I remember well from my time as a soldier, often standing there to hitch rides. [Today, soldiers are no longer permitted to hitchhike.] The terrorist emerged from a vehicle and opened fire with a pistol at a crowded bus stop, killing two people: a Yeshiva student from Modi’in Illit, and a reservist from Modi’in. Additionally, four others were injured, with one remaining in critical condition as of Saturday night.

A passing motorist, who had been a reserve officer and was armed with a gun, witnessed the incident. He rapidly approached the terrorist, then swiftly shot and killed him. The terrorist was a resident of East Jerusalem's Shu’afat Refugee Camp, with no prior affiliations with any terror groups. This was the first recent terror attack inside Israel proper, despite almost daily shooting or ramming attacks in the West Bank. Thankfully, none of these attempts succeeded, leading to minimal media coverage. Nonetheless, it seems that every day, there are Palestinians ready to carry out suicide missions with the intent to kill Israelis.

FEAR IN ISRAEL

One of my readers agreed with a Haaretz editorial, recommending that Israel capitalize on the opportunity presented by the American plan to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. I must admit that before October 7th, I might also have advocated seizing this opportunity. However, now, I would advise the government agree to enter into discussions about it. Yet, anyone who thinks that Israelis believe the conflict with the Palestinians can be resolved by granting them a state is out of touch with our reality.

Israelis are afraid. They certainly can't imagine trusting the international community could guarantee that a newly established Palestinian entity would be disarmed and not pose a threat to Israel — especially considering it’s the same international community which was tasked with enforcing UN Resolution 1701. This resolution called for a full cessation of hostilities with Hezbollah, the deployment of Lebanese Armed Forces and an expanded United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the south of Lebanon, accompanied by the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon.

Resolution 1701 further emphasized the importance of the Lebanese government extending its control over all Lebanese territories and specifically stipulated that no armed entities — other than the Lebanese government and UNIFIL forces — should be present south of the Litani River. Despite these provisions, neither the United Nations nor its forces, UNIFIL, intervened when Hezbollah violated the agreement and moved thousands of fighters to the areas south of the Litani.

GAZA

Fighting continues in Gaza, including further searches at Al-Nasr Hospital, where 100 Hamas members were discovered, many of whom had participated in the October 7th massacre. Additionally, rockets launched from Gaza towards Ashkelon were intercepted. Within less than 30 minutes, the individual responsible for launching the rocket was identified and eliminated through an aerial strike.

Here is what the IDF Spokesman released about these events:

IDF soldiers continue to operate in the Gaza Strip; forces from the 98th Division continue their activities in the Khan Younis area and have so far arrested about 100 suspects involved in terrorist activities at the Nasser Hospital. Simultaneously, combat teams from the Nahal Brigade are operating in the central part of the Strip.

In the southern portion of the Strip, IDF forces continue to target terrorist objectives in the Khan Younis area. The Commando Brigade, fighters from Shayetet 13 (Navy Seals), and Special Forces under the 98th Division are operating in Nasser Hospital, based on intelligence information indicating terrorist activity within the hospital. This operation has led to the arrest of about 100 suspects involved in terrorist activities, found inside the hospital. Concurrently, fighters from Maglan and Egoz units eliminated terrorists around the hospital area.

In the Khan Younis area, fighters from the 7th Armored Brigade raided many terrorist targets, where they found combat equipment including explosives, grenades, and Kalashnikov rifles. Additionally, in cooperation with the brigade's artillery corps, the forces identified and directed a drone to eliminate two terrorists moving toward them on a motorcycle.

The artillery corps of the 98th Division, in cooperation with forces on the ground, identified three terrorists moving to a suspected launch site and directed a drone to eliminate them.

Furthermore, during encounters with terrorists and intense fighting in Khan Younis, Paratrooper Combat Teams identified a group of terrorists a few meters away and neutralized them with close-range fire.

Meanwhile, in the central part of the Strip, the Nahal Brigade's Combat Team eliminated several terrorists over the course of the past day. In one operation, the Brigade's Artillery Corps identified two Hamas operatives, and shortly after, a fighter jet attacked and eliminated the terrorists.

The activity at Al-Nasr Hospital continues, as the search remains ongoing. As far as we know, the Army has not yet explored the tunnels located under the hospital. However, the IDF did find medication labeled with the names of hostages within the hospital premises. It is thought that these medicines are not from the recent deal to dispatch medication, but originate from an earlier initiative.

As of now, there is no evidence to suggest that the medicines sent a few weeks ago actually reached the hostages. We know for a fact that the two older hostages who were recently rescued did not receive the medicines sent as part of the agreement to supply medicines to Gaza, despite assurances that the hostages would specifically receive the allocated medicines intended for them.

For the first time, there finally seems to be significant resistance to Hamas, with repeated demonstrations in Rafah against their continued rule. In addition, there has been physical resistance to Hamas appropriation of all aid entering Gaza

PROTEST AND RALLY CONTINUE…

Tonight, as with every Saturday night, there was a demonstration and a rally held in Tel Aviv, as well as in other cities. Demonstrators demand that Netanyahu call for a new national election. The rally, once again calls for the return of the hostages, marking 134 hostages held captive by Hamas for 134 and counting…

At the moment, negotiations to secure the release of the hostages seem stalled. It is not clear if Hamas leadership outside Gaza is in contact with Hamas leader Sinwar inside Gaza. Meanwhile, Hamas has declared they will not proceed with negotiations until humanitarian aid reaches northern Gaza. This stance seems to serve purely an excuse to explain their lack of response from within Gaza.

POLITICS

Netanyahu delivered his weekly address to the nation tonight, which, once again, added very little new information. This speech sounded much more like a campaign pitch. Netanyahu began, as he does every week, with the story of a wounded soldier (he often quotes the family of a fallen soldier) urging that we must continue to fight until we achieve “total victory”. He then emphasized that “total victory” is the only acceptable end to the war. Netanyahu also made it clear he had no plans to call a new election, criticizing all those who do as “engaging in politics” while Israel is at war.

Chairman of the Histadrut (Israel’s Labor Union), Arnon Bar-David, who mostly stood on the sidelines during the controversy over judicial reform, came out strongly tonight against the current government. Bar-David called for elections this year, and announced that the Histadrut would actively participate in mass demonstrations demanding a new election be held.

Bar-David went on to say:

Almost every minister after Oct. 7th needs to think very carefully about whether to resign. And unfortunately, I’ve heard ministers thinking about it and deciding to stay put. Why? Because their seat too comfortable to relinquish. Their thirst for power overrides all else, surpassing the value of life, more important than the welfare of the hostages, and more important than everything that's happening in the State of Israel. What was your motivation for getting into politics, to do good or to lose your way and solely  focus on maintaining your seat?

ANTISEMITISM

While much of our focus has been on the antisemitism at the East Coast Universities, especially Columbia University, the situation has been very similar on the West Coast. In Stanford, the University held a forum on combating antisemitism, which featured Stanford President Richard Saller. That very night Jewish students were harassed on campus.

You can read the whole story here:

HOUTHIS

The Houthis continue to fire on commercial shipping vessels, and the United States, as well as the UK, continue to attack Houthi targets.

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A PIECE OF HISTORY

The Third Aliyah

From the onset of World War I until mid-1919, no Jewish immigrants arrived in Palestine. However, the outbreak of the Russian Revolution in February 1917 created a brief window during which Zionist activities could openly flourish in Russia. Thousands flocked to join Hechalutz in Russia, as well as in other Eastern European countries.

In 1919, Palestine welcomed 2,000 Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. With the establishment of the British mandate, the gates of Palestine were officially open for Jewish immigration. Between 1920 and 1923, approximately 8,000 Jews annually took advantage of this opportunity. During this era, known as “The Third Aliyah”, the Jewish population of Palestine grew from approximately 56,000 to over 90,000. Of those who were part of Third Aliyah, 45% were from Russia, 31% from Poland, 5% from Romania, and 3% from Lithuania.