DAY 78 OF THE GAZA WAR: Heavy Casualties Over the Weekend,Demonstrations, Ships Attacked,What's Next

Tel Aviv Diary, December 23, 2023

REMINDER: Tomorrow Morning a Zoom Briefing 11 AM EST

This weekend, the IDF engaged in fierce combat both in Gaza and along the Northern Border. As Shabbat ended, the Army announced the loss of five more soldiers in Gaza: four yesterday and one today. Additionally, several soldiers suffered serious injuries.

.L-R: Warrant Officer (res.) Alexander Shpits, Master Sgt. (res.) Shay Termin, Staff Sgt. Birhanu Kassie, Staff Sgt. Nir Rafael Kananian.

Today, Be’ersheva’s Soroka Hospital received 23 wounded soldiers.

On the Northern border, a rocket claimed the life of 19-year-old Sgt. Amit Hod Ziv from Rosh Ha’ayin; while another soldier sustained severe injuries. Israel targeted Hezbollah sites, in response. Today, Hezbollah confirmed the loss of its 124th member due to IDF strikes. On Friday, the President of Lebanon expressed willingness to enforce UN Resolution 1701, which would relocate Hezbollah across the Litani River — if Israel withdraws from the contested Lebanese territories, hinting at a possible political solution to the crisis in the North.

Today, the IDF's major efforts persisted in Khan Younis, with ongoing hopes of locating both Hamas leaders and hostages in the area. The fighting in Khan Younis is fierce, with the IDF engaging in combat both above and below ground. Although the IDF claims operational control over Northern Gaza, individual Hamas fighters have emerged from undiscovered tunnels to attack IDF troops. It may take weeks to fully locate every tunnel in the North. The IDF has reported their discovery of 30,000 explosive devices in Gaza, so far.

On Saturday morning, the IDF and Israel’s Security Services announced the capture of 200 Hamas prisoners in the past week. Some surrendered willingly, while others were forced. Those captured are currently providing valuable intelligence.

IRAN ATTACKS ISRAELI SHIP

A ship with ties to Israel was attacked by a suicide drone, off the coast of India. The vessel sustained damage, but there were no injuries suffered by the crew. It is believed the attack drone originated from Iran. There were initial reports tonight of two additional ships being attacked near Yeman

TWO CONCURRENT DEMONSTRATIONS

Tonight in Tel Aviv, two simultaneous demonstrations took place. The first was the regular weekly rally in support of the hostages, and the second was a large-scale protest calling for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s resignation— the first of its kind since the onset of the war. While I question the timing of the anti-Netanyahu demonstration, the organizers believe it is appropriate to begin demonstrating now.

THOMAS FRIEDMAN’S LATEST

Thomas Friedman's latest article, “It’s Time for the US to Give Israel Some Tough Love,” has stirred considerable controversy . While Friedman raises significant points, and aligns with the growing concern in Israel about the uncertain end to the current combat after 78 days, I find several of his points seriously flawed. Firstly, Friedman posits:

If I am reading the mood in Israel correctly these days, the overwhelming majority of the country today wants their 120-plus hostages returned — over and above any other war aims.

However, Israelis desire both. While Israelis may agree to delay the destruction of Hamas, in exchange for return of all the the hostages, they are not willing to forgo the goal of dismantling Hamas — especially after suffering over 150 war casualties since the ground assault began.

To understand the broad prevalence of this perspective, I reference a panel discussion on this evening’s news about the war objectives. One of the panelists was Uri Zaki, with whom I have appeared several times on i24 TV and have met personally. Zaki previously served as the Director General of Meretz. That being said, tonight, Zaki declared: “I am going to surprise you all and take the hawkish position.”

Zaki went on to state that although he is a generally a proponent of diplomatic negotiations, he believes this war must go on until Hamas is eliminated as a military force, or a government force, if there is ever to be any chance of peace. This statement was made by a vocal leader from the steadfast left-wing side of the Israeli political spectrum. Albeit for different reasons, this perspective is shared across the Israeli political spectrum. Israelis unanimously wish for the hostages' safe return, however, there is minimal support for ending the war without destroying Hamas.

Secondly, Friedman suggests that the people of Gaza will turn against Hamas, comparing the situation to Lebanon where people were angry with Hezbollah. Yet, Hezbollah still effectively controls Lebanon, and Hamas's goals are more ingrained in the Palestinians in Gaza than Hezbollah's are in Lebanon.

Thirdly, Friedman proposes an international force should enter and govern in Gaza. Given Israel's unfortunate history with international forces (e.g. in Lebanon), it is unlikely any Israeli government would agree to such an arrangement.

Israel needs a plan for the aftermath of this Gaza war, but Friedman’s proposed solution is really not feasible.

PEACE NOW

On Friday morning, a neighborhood friend messaged to invite me to attend a Peace Now Conference, taking place just a few blocks from where I live. Although I had other plans for the morning, I decided to spend an hour at the to conference, to gain insight into where the “peace camp” stands now, in light of events. The conference, which anticipated 400 attendees, saw a turnout of 1,000 people, suggesting a strong desire among many in Tel Aviv for a glimmer of hope towards peace. As I listened to the initial group of speakers, it became apparent that a sense of hope was overshadowing the actual reality.

The majority of the speakers acknowledged that the events of October 7th necessitated a reevaluation, admitting that some of their beliefs might not hold. Nevertheless, many continued to advocate for immediate peace, receiving enthusiastic applause for their viewpoint. Remarks centered on halting of West Bank settlements, which was fine, but despite events of October 7th, the underlying messages of the speakers I heard remained unchanged.

Presenters rightly pointed out that the two-state solution is the only viable option, focusing on strengthening the Palestinian Authority. Yet, they all overlooked two critical issues: how to encourage the Palestinians to desire peace and how to persuade the Israeli public they can trust Palestinians truly desire peace.

At the conference, it was evident that numerous attendees yearn for peace and recognize the need to find a solution. However, they seemed to lack practical ideas on how to achieve this goal. Regrettably, I have no better suggestions. One thing is certain, though: “Peace Now” might need to reconsider its name — as peace, sadly, is in no way imminent.

OPINIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA

In mid-November, the Washington Institute conducted a public opinion survey in Saudi Arabia, in which 1,000 Saudis participated. A staggering 91% of respondents concurred with the statement that, despite the destruction in Gaza, the war represented a clear Palestinian victory. An overwhelming 96% believed that Arab countries should immediately sever all diplomatic and economic ties with Israel. When queried about Hamas's agenda, only 16% suggested that Hamas should abandon its call for Israel's destruction and advocate for a two-state solution.