DAY 218 OF THE WAR: Five Soldiers Killed as Israel Returns to Combat in Areas Previously Secured, US Report Largely Clears Israel of IHR Violations
Tel Aviv Diary, May 11, 2024
Friday was an exceptionally challenging day in Israel. It began in the morning when young Nachal brigade soldiers, fresh from basic training, were in Zeitoun in Northern Gaza, heading toward a school which Hamas had made an operational center. As they approached the school at 8:30 AM, two bombs exploded, killing four young soldiers and wounding four others
Shortly after, in a clash with terrorists, another soldier, Ariel Zinn, was killed. This incident marked the beginning of the third operation in the Zeitoun area since the start of the ground invasion
The day also saw a relatively high number of rocket attacks from both Gaza and Lebanon. Early Friday, rockets targeted the communities near the Gaza border—Sufa, Holit, and Kerem Shalom. Late in the afternoon, five rockets were fired at Be’ersheva; one bypassed the Iron Dome battery and landed in a playground. Thankfully, the children playing there heard the sirens and sought shelter. One woman was moderately injured by shrapnel. Two hours later, another rocket barrage was fired on Be’ersheva; fortunately, this second attack resulted in no injuries. All rockets were either intercepted or landed in open fields. This marked the first time in five months that Be’ersheva faced a rocket attack.
On Saturday, another rocket attack targeted the Be’ersheva area. Late tonight a rocket was fired as Ashqelon.
THE NORTH
In the North, Hezbollah fired over 60 missiles and rockets. Kiryat Shmonah experienced a particularly heavy barrage, damaging homes and igniting a major fire in the underbrush surrounding the city. This created an almost apocalyptic scene until the fires were extinguished many hours later.
WAR CABINET
On Friday, the war cabinet approved an expansion of the attack into additional areas of Rafah. Today, the Army distributed pamphlets in two further areas within Rafah. Meanwhile, fighting has continued in the Zeitoun area of Gaza City. The Army has also warned residents of the Jabalia camp in Northern Gaza to evacuate, a location that was captured early in the war.
Rafah is becoming an increasingly complicated problem. Egypt has refused to allow trucks that have arrived on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border to proceed to Kerem Shalom and deliver aid into Gaza. Consequently, aid to Rafah has now been cut off, leaving Israel unsure of how to proceed.
The Army has been complaining for at least four months that its hard-won gains are being squandered in the absence of diplomatic intervention. At a recent war cabinet meeting, harsh words were exchanged between Chief of Staff Halevi and Prime Minister Netanyahu. Halevi stated:
Now, we are operating once again in Jabalya. As long as there is no political process that will bring about a governing entity that is not Hamas into the Strip, we will need to operate there and in other places repeatedly in order to dismantle Hamas’s infrastructure. It will be a Sisyphean task (i.e., relating to, or suggestive of the labors of Sisyphus, requiring continual and often ineffective effort)
STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT
Another significant development that started last night in Israel was the long-awaited State Department report on whether arms sold to a number of nations were being used in compliance with international law. Last night, my phone lit up with a notification that said that the United States had found it was plausible that Israel may have violated International Law in Gaza. The report confirms this claim and provides further detail (more on that in a minute). The report begins as follows:
On October 7, 2023, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other Palestinian terrorists launched an unprovoked, large-scale attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing an estimated 1,200 individuals, injuring more than 5,400, intentionally targeting civilians without any military justification, and abducting 253 hostages, including American citizens.
The report goes on to state:
Israel has had to confront an extraordinary military challenge: Hamas has embedded itself deliberately within and underneath the civilian population to use civilians as human shields. Hamas intentionally uses schools, hospitals, residential buildings, and international organization facilities for military purposes. It has constructed a vast tunnel network beneath this civilian infrastructure not to protect civilians, but to hide its leaders and fighters and from which it stages and launches attacks. Hamas has not expressed regret for the intentional targeting of Israeli civilians, and its charter and statements by its leadership continue to call for the destruction of Israel. Hamas continues to hold more than 100 hostages, continues to fire rockets into Israel indiscriminately, and has pledged to conduct attacks on the scale of October 7th again. Military experts describe Gaza as being as difficult a battle space as any military has faced in modern warfare.
The report further elaborates:
Israel has institutions and processes charged with upholding the implementation of IHL. Israeli military lawyers can and do give binding legal advice during military operations, and the Israeli Supreme Court may provide judicial review of past targeting and/or operational decisions made during armed conflict. Prior to the conflict in Gaza, the IDF sent an average of approximately 500 personnel to the United States annually for relevant DoD-sponsored training. In many of these courses, IDF personnel are trained to U.S. standards on civilian harm mitigation.
Nevertheless, the report was clearly also critical of Israel, asserting:
However, there have been sufficient reported incidents to raise serious concerns. As described more fully below, the State Department has received reporting from multiple credible UN and non-governmental sources on alleged human rights violations by Israeli forces during the reporting period.
Many of the reports cited above refer to events that occurred on the West Bank.
The report states:
Israeli officials have stated that Israel complies with IHL and continues to strengthen efforts to minimize civilian harm. Given the nature of the conflict in Gaza, with Hamas seeking to hide behind civilian populations and infrastructure and expose them to Israeli military action, as well as the lack of USG personnel on the ground in Gaza, it is difficult to assess or reach conclusive findings on individual incidents.
However, here is the key finding that the headlines rely on.
Nevertheless, given Israel’s significant reliance on U.S.-made defense articles, it is reasonable to assess that defense articles covered under NSM-20 have been used by Israeli security forces since October 7 in instances inconsistent with its IHL obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm.
The report continues:
Israel’s own concern about such incidents is reflected in the fact it has a number of internal investigations underway. At the same time, it is also important to emphasize that a country’s overall commitment to IHL is not necessarily disproven by individual IHL violations, so long as that country is taking appropriate steps to investigate and where appropriate, determine accountability for IHL violations. As this report notes, Israel does have a number of ongoing, active criminal investigations pending and there are hundreds of cases under administrative review.
To clarify what the report claims:” Nevertheless, given Israel’s significant reliance on U.S.-made
defense articles, it is reasonable to assess that defense articles covered under
NSM-20 have been used by Israeli security forces since October 7 in instances
inconsistent with its IHL obligations or with established best practices for
mitigating civilian harm.”. However, the report also acknowledges that Israel is conducting investigations into these incidents, a process required under the reporting law NSM-20 to ensure compliance with US regulations regarding use of these weapons. Additionally, the report reflects on the humanitarian aid to Gaza, and although it highlights many of the challenges in distributing aid and some issues with Israel’s ministers, it ultimately concludes that Israel is, overall, not obstructing or hindering the delivery of aid. Here is the full report.
DEATHS IN GAZA
The UN published a new chart detailing death in Gaza. It records a total of 34,353 fatalities but then also states that only 24,468 have been identified. In looking at the chart, it’s important to keep in mind that the total fatality count includes children aged 16-18 years old— an age group which often includes fighters for Hamas
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UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY ACCEPTS PALESTINE AS FULL MEMBER
On Friday, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of recommending Palestine for full membership in the UN. This vote is largely symbolic since only the UN Security Council can admit nations to the UN, and the US has used its veto there to block the admission. Nevertheless, the vote will enable Palestinians to participate in additional committees. Of course, the outcome of this vote is not a surprise.
The Palestinians have had support from the majority of the General Assembly since 1974, a consensus that began when Yasser Arafat was invited to speak. This reflects a global consensus view that dates back to the 1947 Partition Plan, which suggests that a two-state solution is the only viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Regrettably, the reality that the Palestinians have never actually accepted this stance seems to be widely overlooked.
Israelis need to be more realistic. This evening, I heard the former leader of the left-wing Meretz party, Zahava Galon, talk about a Palestinian state in the future, but not in the immediate future. We all want a solution, but unfortunately, it remains, at best, a distant prospect.
A WORTHWHILE READ
Bret Stephens wrote an excellent article in the New York Times titled: President Biden Just Made His Biggest Blunder.
Stephens begins the article by saying:
In announcing that the United States will pause the delivery of 3,500 bombs to Israel, President Biden has the laudable motive of wanting to spare innocent Palestinians from the military consequences of Hamas using Rafah as its last stronghold in Gaza. Less laudably, but no less understandably, he also needs to shore up support among progressive voters who think that Israel’s use of American weapons implicates us in war crimes.
But motives are not results. And the consequences of Biden’s decision, if not soon reversed, will be the opposite of what he intends. How so? Let me count the ways.
There are already reports tonight in Israel indicating that the initial arms shipment will proceed, provided Israel agrees not to deploy the bombs in Rafah, but rather reserves the weapons for potential conflicts with Hezbollah or Iran. It's important to highlight that the major issue centers around the 2,000 lb bombs, which Israel heavily utilized early in the war to demolish buildings and, it was hoped, the tunnels beneath them. However, already during the Khan Younis operation, the use of these bombs was drastically reduced. As it became apparent that the aerial attacks were ineffective against the tunnels, which could only be destroyed by ground troops placing explosives directly in them. Notably, the decision to limit the use of these large bombs in parts of Khan Younis led to protests from soldiers’ parents, who argued that the Army was jeopardizing their children by not providing sufficient air support.
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A PIECE OF HISTORY
The Six Day • Day 3
In the early hours of the morning on June 7th, the Israeli government faced a critical decision regarding the capture of the Old City. On one hand, the government received advice from the Americans against moving forward, as it would result in the collapse of Hashemite rule in Jordan. On the other hand, the historic opportunity was too great to ignore. The Army was given the order to capture the holy places as swiftly as possible. General Narkiss, Commander of the Central Command, ordered the Commander of the Paratroopers, Motta Gur, to move from the Rockefeller Museum to take the Augusta Victoria Ridge opposite the Temple Mount and also to move the men he had near the Herod Gate to near the Lions Gate, the closest point to the Western Wall.
The paratroopers then went on to conquer the Augusta Victoria Hospital, followed by the InterContinental Hotel located on the Mount of Olives. The Old City was surrounded. Gur then sent a message to his troops:
We are occupying the heights overlooking the Old City. In a little while, we will enter it. The ancient city of Jerusalem, for which we have dreamt of and striven for generations, will be the first to enter it. The Jewish nation is awaiting our victory. Israel awaits this historic hour. Be proud. Good luck.
At 9:45, Israeli tanks fired at the Lions Gate, opening the way for troops to move in. They quickly fanned out, capturing the Temple Mount. Commander of the Israeli Paratroopers, Motta Gur, radioed the Commander of the Central Front, General Uzi Narkiss: “Har Habayit Beydaeni—The Temple Mount is in our hands.”
Shortly after, the first Israeli troops led by Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren reached the Western Wall, Judaism's most sacred site. This marked the first time in 19 years that Jews had been able to access this holy place. Defense Minister Dayan, IDF Chief of Staff Rabin, and Commander of the Central Front Uzi Narkiss proceeded to the Kotel, the Western Wall. Dayan placed a slip of paper on the Kotel and stated, “We have returned to the city, the capital of Israel, never to part again. To our Arab neighbors, we offer even now our hand in peace.”
At the Kotel, Rabin stated:
The sacrifices of our comrades have not been in vain. The countless generations of Jews, murdered, mourned, and massacred for the sake of Jerusalem, say to you, comfort our people, and console the mothers and the fathers who sacrificed abroad for redemption.
Meanwhile, Israeli troops continued to advance in the Sinai. In the North, they came close to the Suez Canal, and in the South, they reached the Mitla Pass. Another force captured Sharm el Sheik and thus opened up the Straits of Tiran.
"In many of these courses, IDF personnel are trained to U.S. standards on civilian harm mitigation."
The US has won no wars under these standards: but for now, it appears that the US as a whole can survive that situation (largely protected by 2 oceans) no matter how many troops die because of them--it's less clear whether Israel can survive while not winning wars.