The Israeli forces, which were bombing and besieging the Indonesian Hospital, in the town of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip, stormed it amid intense gunfire, and brutally killed a wounded woman, wounded 3 others, and arrested at least three others.

Health sources said, in particular: What the occupation is carrying out in the Indonesian hospital is a war crime that is more horrific and more severe than what it did in the Shifa Medical Complex.

The Israeli forces had directly targeted the hospital with bombing, which led to the death of two workers, the injured, and displaced persons there, and the wounding of others, and the disruption of many of its important facilities, including the operating rooms and the oxygen station inside it.

Meanwhile, at dawn, Israeli occupation aircraft targeted an inhabited residential building opposite the Hajj bakery in Nuseirat “Camp 2” in the middle of the Gaza Strip, which led to a fire igniting in the place, killing a number of martyrs and wounding others, including children and women.

In addition, civil defense crews recovered 10 citizens from under the rubble as a result of the occupation aircraft’s bombing of a house for the Khader family in the city of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip.

Israeli occupation aircraft also continued to target various areas in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the death and injury of dozens of citizens.

The official Palestinian News Agency reported that 27 people were killed and at least 93 others were injured in an Israeli bombing of the Abu Hussein School affiliated with UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees), which houses hundreds of displaced people in the Jabalia camp.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported that Israeli aircraft were launching raids on the Jabalia camp and its surroundings in the northern Gaza Strip, hours before the start of a humanitarian truce in the Strip on Friday morning, which is scheduled to last 4 days according to an agreement between Israel and Hamas brokered by Qatar in coordination with Egypt and the United States. United.

The Israeli army is waging a devastating war on Gaza that has left 14,854 martyrs, including 6,150 children and more than 4,000 women, in addition to more than 36,000 injured, more than 75% of whom are children and women, according to the government media office in Gaza.

The number of missing people as a result of the occupation raids is estimated at about 7,000, more than 4,700 of whom are children and women, according to the same source.

Source: Al Jazeera + Anadolu Agency

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez assured his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Thursday, that Israel's work for peace requires the establishment of a viable Palestinian state, rejecting the blind killing of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as he put it.

This came during his meeting with Netanyahu during a visit to the Middle East with his Belgian counterpart, Alexander De Croo, to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to Israeli aggression for 48 days, resulting in the death of about 15,000 Palestinians.

Sanchez also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and tomorrow, Friday, he will head to Egypt with his Belgian counterpart.

Sanchez pledged last week that his new government would work in Europe in general and Spain in particular to recognize the Palestinian state, amid Spain's efforts to push for European positions that suit Palestinian aspirations.

"Impact on Europe"

For his part, Isaias Parrenada, a professor at the Complutense University of Madrid, believes that the Spanish Prime Minister hopes that his position will have a double impact on European countries that are being criticized by Arab countries as a result of their positions in support of Israel without conditions.

He continued that in light of the differences within the European Union regarding the position on Israel, it will be difficult for Spain to redirect the European position, adding that it can contribute by showing the different sensitivities within the Union on this issue.

A small diplomatic crisis broke out between Madrid and the Israeli embassy after statements by a Spanish minister in which she spoke about a planned genocide in Gaza.

It is noteworthy that in 2014, the Spanish Parliament almost unanimously adopted a non-binding resolution calling for the recognition of a Palestinian state.

European countries such as Sweden, Malta, Romania, and Hungary also recognized the Palestinian state, but the major countries in the European Union did not take this step.

Source: Agencies

Settlers demolished citizens’ homes in the “Al-Qanub” community, east of the town of Sa’ir, east of Hebron.

According to local sources, they did not know about the demolition that took place earlier this month, until a citizen was able to reach the “Al-Qanub” area to inspect their homes, which they had forcibly moved from at the beginning of this month, to find that the colonists had completely demolished those homes, regardless of what was in them of furniture and clothes.

Al-Shalalda explained: “When we were forced to leave, we were not allowed to take any of our property or needs.”

He added that the settlers demolished five homes, and seized tents that housed a number of families, in addition to stealing all of the people’s needs and possessions, including the solar energy cells they were using. The settlers also set up tents for themselves in the vicinity of the homes they demolished, and attacked everyone who tries to reach them.

At the beginning of this month, five families residing in the Al-Qanoub community, numbering more than 27 individuals, were forced to leave their homes and forcibly move away from them, due to attacks by armed settler gangs, which affected their property and included the destruction of their homes, the theft of large numbers of their sheep, and the targeting of their lives and the lives of... Their children and women, threatening them with either death or departure.

It is worth noting that a group of settlers had set fire, about two days ago, to the mixed basic school of the village of Zanuta, south of Hebron, less than a month after the forcible deportation of more than 250 citizens of the village, due to attacks by armed colonial gangs on them.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant confirmed on Thursday that the Israeli military operation against Hamas will continue after the short truce, and that the fighting is expected to continue for another two months.

He added: "This will be a short pause for organization, preparation, investigations, and arming. When it ends, the fighting will continue intensely, and will create pressure that will allow more hostages to return."

Hamas and Israel have reached an agreement on a temporary truce that begins on Friday and lasts for 4 days and includes a process of exchanging prisoners and detainees.

President Mahmoud Abbas received, this evening, Thursday, at the presidential headquarters in the city of Ramallah, both Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose country holds the presidency of the European Union, and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, whose country will assume the presidency of the European Union as of January 2024. .

The President briefed the Spanish and Belgian Prime Ministers on the latest developments in the occupied Palestinian territory, especially in the Gaza Strip, stressing the necessity of immediately stopping the occupation’s comprehensive aggression against our people in Gaza and the West Bank, and the crimes of genocide, and accelerating the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, as well as stopping the attacks of the forces of genocide of the Israeli and terrorist colonists in the West Bank, stressing the need to release Palestinian funds held by the occupation government.

The President renewed the State of Palestine’s categorical rejection of displacing Palestinians from the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, including Jerusalem, stressing that there is no security or military solution for the Gaza Strip, and that Gaza is an integral part of the Palestinian state, and it is not possible to accept or deal with the plans of the occupation authorities in Separating the Gaza Strip from the West Bank and Jerusalem, reoccupying it, or cutting off any part of it.

The President stressed that security and peace are achieved by moving toward a political solution in accordance with the two-state solution based on international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative to end the Israeli occupation of the land of the State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

President Abbas thanked the two friendly countries, Spain and Belgium, and the European Union, for their political positions in support of the two-state solution based on international legitimacy, and for the call announced by the Spanish Prime Minister to commit to working towards recognition of the Palestinian state, and the statements of the Belgian Prime Minister and members of his government calling for an end to the war and stop the killing of civilians, adhere to international law, support the work of the International Criminal Court in investigating war crimes committed during the war on the Gaza Strip, and study recognition of the Palestinian state within the framework of the internationally recognized two-state solution.

Human Rights Watch confirmed the escalation of violations by the Israeli occupation forces and settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, in parallel with the brutal aggression and devastating war being waged by the occupation against the Gaza Strip.

The organization explained that Israeli violence and oppression against Palestinians in West Bank cities had already reached its peak before the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle on October 7, but it has become much worse since then.

It quoted United Nations data that more than 201 Palestinians, including 52 children, were killed in the West Bank as a result of Israeli attacks and settler violence since the beginning of the aggression on Gaza, while UN figures indicated that more than 192 Palestinians, including 40 children, died during the first ten months of the current year, which is This number is considered the highest since 2005.

The organization pointed out that Israel killed more people in just six weeks than in the past ten months or in any other year since 2005.

Settlers killed 15 Palestinians as of November 17, according to the organization, which indicated that during the first eight months of 2023, settler violence rose to its highest levels since the United Nations began recording this data in 2006. Reaching an average of three incidents per day, an increase from two incidents in 2022 and one in 2021, which has multiplied many-fold since last October 7.

The organization stated that Israel was holding 1,264 Palestinians in administrative detention without trial or charge, the highest number in more than 30 years. However, the number jumped to 2,070 by November 1, due to the continued aggression against the Gaza Strip.

Human Rights Watch stressed that these violations are part of the Israeli occupation’s crimes against humanity represented by apartheid and persecution, noting that the roots of Israeli violence are multiple and deep. Ending it requires dismantling the systems of oppression that fuel it, especially in the West Bank.

On a related level, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club has documented the arrest of more than 3,130 Palestinians throughout the occupied West Bank since the start of the aggression on the Gaza Strip on the seventh of last October.

The Palestinian Club explained that the ongoing arrest campaigns against Palestinians are part of the aggression and systematic collective revenge operations against the Palestinian people.

The spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, announced that 335 Israeli vehicles had been targeted since the start of the aggression on the Gaza Strip, and 33 (Israeli) vehicles had been targeted in the last 72 hours.”

Abu Ubaida said in a video recording, broadcast on Al Jazeera satellite channel, this evening, Thursday, that “one of the Qassam mujahideen attacked 8 soldiers east of Al-Rantisi Hospital in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, killing and wounding them.”

He pointed out that “during the last three days, the Mujahideen (Al-Qassam) carried out several specific operations that caused deaths among Israeli occupation forces, and they targeted a group of infantry soldiers in Beit Hanoun with an anti-personnel device.”

He stressed that on the 48th day of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle, “the Mujahideen (Al-Qassam) continue to confront the Israeli aggression, and are taking hold of their positions and combat positions, while the enemy is still concealing its military losses.”

“

The British charity Oxfam said on Thursday that the number of premature births rose by about a third over the past month in the Gaza Strip, which is besieged by Israel, with mothers suffering from increasing pressure and trauma.

Dozens of premature babies made headlines this week when they were rescued from a hospital in northern Gaza and transported to Egypt after the site was bombed.

The densely populated northern part of the Strip has borne the brunt of the six-week-long Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, and none of its hospitals are operating normally.

Jazor, an Oxfam partner organization that supports hundreds of pregnant women in Gaza, said that the number of premature births rose by 25-30% in the past month, and attributed this increase to the difficulties faced by mothers who were forced to flee their homes due to bombing and are suffering from stress and trauma.

Premature babies are more vulnerable to disease, and Jazour said that at least one newborn died in each of its 13 shelters for displaced people in northern Gaza over the past month.

Even before the current conflict, infant mortality was high in Gaza, with newborn deaths accounting for 68% of the total, according to the World Health Organization.

Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam's Middle East regional director, said some displaced mothers had to give birth in crowded classrooms, without medical support or basic hygiene.

“I don’t think there is anyone anywhere in the world who disagrees with this inhumane thing,” she said.

The Israeli authorities are scheduled to release a number of minor prisoners in their prisons in the coming hours as part of a prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, which will take place during the truce scheduled to begin at exactly seven o’clock on Friday morning.

The number of children who will be released is estimated at approximately 100 out of 350 children under the age of 18, as the head of the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs Authority, Qaddoura Fares, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Fares pointed out that among the minor prisoners are those who have been sentenced to high sentences, such as the wounded Palestinian girl Aseel Shehadeh (17 years old) from the Qalandia camp, north of Jerusalem, who was shot by Israeli soldiers in front of the Qalandia checkpoint on the 7th of this month, and today she remains in (Ramla) prison under harsh conditions.

Source: Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Former US military intelligence officer, Scott Ritter, described the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel as a blessing for Palestinians and Israelis alike.

Pointing out that this truce will allow the exchange of prisoners, the entry of humanitarian aid, and the calm of the conflict.

He added: “The ceasefire, which was negotiated between Israel and Hamas and mediated by Qatar, was mutually agreed upon between the two parties, and no one should be deceived into thinking that this was anything less than a mere victory for Hamas. Israel has taken a very aggressive stance and, given its stated goal of destroying Hamas as an organization, it will not agree to a ceasefire under any circumstances.

Ritter continued, saying: “On the other hand, Hamas has made one of its primary goals the start of the current round of fighting with Israel, by releasing Palestinian prisoners, especially women and children, held by Israel. In light of this, the ceasefire represents an important victory for Hamas, and a humiliating defeat for Israel.”

He added: “Israel’s signing of the ceasefire constitutes the surest indication so far that things are not well with regard to its attack on Hamas.”

Ritter pointed out, “This result should not be a surprise to anyone. When Hamas launched its attack on Israel, on October 7, it began implementing a plan that had been in preparation for years. The meticulous attention to detail, which was evident in the Hamas operation, underscored the fact that the movement was studying the Israeli intelligence and military forces arrayed against it, and revealing weaknesses that were later exploited.”

Source: Sama News

Today (Thursday), the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center signed four cooperation agreements with a number of international organizations, to support the humanitarian response and alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The signing ceremony of the agreements took place at the headquarters of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Cairo, and the total value of the agreements amounted to 150 million Saudi riyals (one US dollar equals 3.75 Saudi riyals).

The agreements included an agreement to finance the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to provide food, water, and environmental restoration in the Gaza Strip, at a value of 56 million and 250 thousand Saudi riyals, and an agreement to support the efforts of the World Health Organization in the field of health and treatment of malnutrition in the Gaza Strip, at a value of 37 million. And 500 thousand Saudi riyals.

The agreements also included an agreement to urgently respond to the humanitarian appeal of the International Committee of the Red Cross and support its efforts to provide relief to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, with a value of 37 million and 500 thousand Saudi riyals, and an emergency response agreement to support the efforts of the World Food Program in providing food to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, with a value of 18 million and 750 thousand Saudi riyals.

Abdullah Al-Rabiah, supervisor of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, confirmed that the main goal of signing these agreements is to alleviate the catastrophic human suffering that the Palestinians are experiencing in the Gaza Strip, indicating that everyone knows the humanitarian challenges that the Palestinians are going through, the extent of the great humanitarian need, and the shortage of food, medicine, and water, as well as About displacement operations within the sector.

Al-Rabiah said, in his speech during the signing of the agreements, “Yesterday I visited the Rafah border crossing and witnessed for myself the humanitarian interaction and the great Egyptian efforts at the Rafah crossing to bring in aid, but Israeli obstinacy remains the biggest obstacle to getting that aid in,” calling on the international community and UN organizations to put pressure on Israel with all its means available to unconditionally allow the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

Al-Rabiah confirmed, in a statement to Xinhua News Agency, that the total aid provided by the Center to the Gaza Strip so far amounted to more than 45 million dollars, which included an air bridge that included 15 planes carrying about 330 tons of relief aid, and a ship carrying 43 large containers carrying Humanitarian aid, in addition to 10 ambulances and about 326 relief aid trucks.

For his part, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, stressed the seriousness of the situation that the Gaza Strip is currently going through, stressing that the time is very crucial and extremely critical, and he continued, saying, “The more we wait, the more deaths increase, not because of the bombing, but because of the lack of Food, water, medicine, etc.

Lazzarini added that there are hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians who left their homes more than 40 days ago and do not have the most basic humanitarian needs and do not have a mattress, blanket or clothes.

He pointed out that the severe fuel shortage that the Strip is suffering from means the cessation of life and the shortage of everything, there is no bread, no water, no cars, and no food, warning against the continuation of this catastrophic situation.

Hamas can be defeated militarily. Israel’s war effort has set the goal to dismantle Hamas’ ability to continue to govern Gaza and to threaten Israel. Israel has the military might to destroy Hamas’ infrastructure, capture their stockpile of weapons and rockets, destroy their ability to manufacture more weapons, and to eliminate the network of command centers and tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip. 

We are witnessing every day the ability of Israel’s bombs to flatten into rubble entire neighborhoods of Gaza. Israel is determined to kill the political and military leaders of Hamas and permanently break their chain of command. 

I cannot see a scenario where at the end of this war, Hamas continues to be able to rule Gaza and to threaten Israel. But Israel’s powerful army cannot destroy the idea of Hamas and its ideology. An entirely different toolbox is needed to confront the idea and the ideology of Hamas. 

Ideas and ideologies are defeated by providing better ideas and ideologies. 

The victory for Israel in this war is not solely the dismantlement of Hamas’ ability to rule Gaza and threaten Israel, it must also be the return of the hostages and a political victory. If Israel reoccupies Gaza and remains there for an extended period of time, victory will quickly turn into insurgency. When Israel entered south Lebanon in 1982 the Shiite villagers first threw candy and rice at the victorious Israeli soldiers and not long after that were placing road side bombs to kill them. That must be the lesson learned regarding a reoccupation of Gaza. The most important condition for achieving defeat of Hamas must be the transformation of Gaza into a place of hope by providing a genuine reason for Palestinians to have a better future. Specifically, Palestinians must be able to understand that they can live for Palestine and they do not have to die for Palestine. 

While Hamas will definitely lose this war that they launched against Israel, they have defeated Netanyahu’s 14-year strategy of removing the Palestinian issue from the Israeli and global agenda. Suddenly after years of being considered non-viable, the two-states solution back on the agenda. Even Israelis and Palestinians who before October 7 were “one-staters” are suddenly talking about the two-states solution. It is the materialization of the two-states agenda into reality that is precisely the idea and ideology that can replace Hamas’ ideology of sanctifying death and the destruction of Israel. 

No Palestinian in the world has the patience and the willingness to hear more empty words about the two-states solution. The open-ended Oslo peace process with no definitive end-game is dead and has been for years. There is no room anymore (not that there ever was) for Kissingerian “constructive ambiguity”. 

Now is the time for decisiveness and determination. Any renewed peace process must begin from the end-game: two states for two people. The foundation stone must be engraved with the words “every person living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea must enjoy the same right to the same rights”. Israelis and Palestinians alike must recognize that the 7 million Israeli Jews and the 7 million Palestinian Arabs living on this common homeland will all remain here and all have the right to be here. 

To make this real, President Biden must pave a new path for the United States and all OECD nations to declare that when the war is over, they will immediately recognize the State of Palestine and that the State of Palestine will be welcomed as a full member state of the United Nations. That is not only the first concrete step towards replacing the idea of Hamas with an idea of hope for a better future for the people of Palestine, it is also the way for President Biden to regain the support of the young generation and progressives in the Democratic Party that he has lost because of his absolute support for Israel even while thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are being killed. 

The international community which must recognize the State of Palestine to make the two-states solution real again, must also insist that the Palestinian Authority, or the Government of Palestine, engage in very deep reforms and to conduct elections that would create a Palestinian government that has legitimacy in the eyes of the Palestinian people. 

The right to participate in elections can be guarded by the Palestinians in their own election law eliminating those parties that support an armed struggle. The newly elected Government of the State of Palestine would govern over the West Bank and Gaza and eventually East Jerusalem as well. The international community, led by President Biden must make it one hundred percent clear to Israel that the occupation must come to an end and that a Palestinian state will be established on the basis of the June 4, 1967 borders with agreed on territorial swaps of 4-5% of the West Bank allowing about 75-80% of the settlers to remain where they are. 

Negotiations between the State of Israel and the State of Palestine will take place on the basis of state-to-state negotiations supported by regional agreements with Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and others.  We need to see a new regional architecture of security, stability, economic development, energy, water and more to which Israel and Palestine are central partners. The bi-lateral negotiation format of Oslo is not good enough anymore to ensure success in making the two-states solution real.

Furthermore, there must be an immediate international response and commitment for the reconstruction of Gaza and the boosting of the economy of Palestine. The best way to do this would be with a two-headed joint administration of the international effort led by the United States and China together. No country knows how to build infrastructure faster, more efficiently and more affordably than China and US-Chinese cooperation on this would be good for the entire global economy. 

Is all of this the narrative of a dreamer? Perhaps – but it is much more than that. This is a realistic approach that can help to defeat Hamas as an idea. There will be a need for robust security mechanisms because the enemies of possible peace are all too many. There will need to be international monitors and verifiers of obligations undertaken in agreements because of the complete lack of trust between the parties and because of their failure in implementing every agreement they ever signed.  

Agreements need to be based on the complete absence of trust in order to construct agreements with much better chances of being implemented. Trust must be earned by implementing commitments within agreements, which are benchmarked and measured and then authorized by the third party (probably US-led) monitors and verifiers. We have no room for naïve and hopeful agreements.  We have all paid too heavy a price for the failed peace process. 

Lastly, for all of this to happen, the leaders of today and yesterday in Israel and Palestine have to pay the price for their failures. We, the people in Israel and Palestine need to make sure that the leaders we have today are not the leaders of tomorrow.   It is time for a new generation of people in Israel and Palestine to stand up and present their vision, hopes, dreams and plans to create the future where we will stop killing each other over this land and instead help us all to learn to live together in peace in this land. There is no peace now. This will take many years.  We will never forget what the other side did to us nor should we forget it. But we all must move on from the victimization mentality and the competition of suffering that we do too often so that we can begin to look forward and not only backwards. History and historic collective memory are important, but the future which we must create together is much more important. 

The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation announced on Thursday that the Israeli occupation army had arrested the director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

The Broadcasting Authority quoted an unnamed Israeli source as saying that the Israeli army “arrested the director of Al-Shifa Hospital.”

The same source added: “The director of the Central and Important Hospital in the Gaza Strip was transferred for investigation by Unit 504 of Military Intelligence and the General Security Service (Shin Bet).”

The broadcasting authority did not clarify the charges that the army was bringing against the hospital director.

Earlier, the Israeli army said in a statement: “The director of Al-Shifa Hospital was arrested and transferred to investigation by the Shin Bet General Security Service after numerous testimonies were revealed about the use of the hospital he runs as a Hamas command headquarters.”

It claimed that Hamas “exploited significant resources in the hospital, including electricity, to strengthen the tunnel network, in addition to storing numerous combat means inside and around it.”

The Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman announced that the humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip will begin at seven in the morning tomorrow, Friday, local time.

The Qatari spokesman confirmed in a press conference from Doha that he had received lists of civilians who would be released from the Israeli occupation and the Palestinians.

He pointed out that the first batch of 13 prisoners in Gaza will be handed over tomorrow, Friday, at 4 p.m.

He stated that there will be a ceasefire during these days on the ground and in the air, and there will be a period during which aviation operations will be suspended in order to release the detainees.

He confirmed that 50 detainees in Gaza will be released, divided into 4 days, as the truce continues during these days and is subject to extension.

He said: We hope that this humanitarian truce will lead to achieving a permanent truce and lasting peace.

On Thursday, Qatar and the United States held discussions on steps to begin implementing the imminent truce agreement between Hamas and Israel, at a time when the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip for 48 days.

These discussions took place during a phone call received by Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani from his American counterpart, Anthony Blinken, according to the official Qatar News Agency.

The agency said that during the call, steps were discussed to start implementing the truce agreement reached by Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar and with the support of Egypt and the United States, proceeding with the procedures for releasing civilians, and the importance of increasing the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

On Thursday morning, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it would be announced “in the coming hours” that a truce between Hamas and Israel would take effect, lasting for several days and subject to extension, and including an exchange of prisoners and the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

During the call, Al Thani stressed "the necessity of continuing efforts to stop the war in Gaza," and that "the only guarantee for achieving sustainable peace in the Middle East region is reaching a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue."

He stressed that this solution should be "in accordance with the Arab Initiative and the two-state solution, which guarantees the establishment of an independent, viable State of Palestine on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the Palestinian people’s enjoyment of their inalienable rights."

Meanwhile, Blinken expressed “his country’s thanks to the State of Qatar for its decisive role in the mediation that led to the truce, stressing that his country remains committed to the two-state solution,” according to the agency.

Gideon Levy

Giora Eiland is considered one of the "thinking officers" who emerged from the ranks of the Israeli army. He is a man of mild manners and eloquent speech, which is an intense expression of moderation and sound mind. He has an impressive military career. He headed the Operations Department and the Planning Department, along with the Israeli National Security Council. He is always interviewed, and he is a son of the labor movement. He is neither lazy nor ignorant, as is the case of Lieutenant Colonel Amir Afifi, nor is he thirsty for blood like Ben Gvir. He is a centrist, belonging to the moderate right. Eiland, who is known to suffer from many diseases and wrote a book about his suffering, has an idea: the spread of epidemics in the Gaza Strip is in Israel's interest. The man says, “The dangerous epidemics in the southern Gaza Strip will bring us closer to victory, and will reduce the damage among Israeli army soldiers,” this strategic thinker wrote this week in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. All we have to do now is for the daughters of the leaders of the Hamas movement to become infected with the epidemic, and this will ensure our victory.

Eiland did not detail which epidemics he preferred. Did he mean boils, cholera, or perhaps a cocktail of black smallpox and AIDS? Perhaps also starving two million people. This is a guarantee of achieving victory for Israel at the lowest price. The man emphasized in his next article: “No, we do not practice cruelty for the sake of cruelty.” He inserted this phrase, as if someone had dared to put forward this idea in the first place. Naturally! This man exudes a rare kindness and humanity, which will only result in saving human lives. Here is Eiland in the person of Mother Teresa, he is an officer, he is a gentleman, and he comes from the most moral army in the world.

Eiland made a Nazi proposal, but without doing so a storm erupted. Because whoever accuses Israel of committing genocide is nothing but an anti-Semite. We only have to imagine a European general proposing to starve a people, or kill them through epidemics. Let us imagine that he is saying that about the Jews, for example. Spreading the epidemic would save the war effort. As is usual in war, proposing anything is now acceptable. Everything you dreamed of, but did not dare to propose in the past, is now legitimate. 

Political correctness has been reversed. Anyone can now turn into Meir Kahane, and it is no longer permissible for a person to remain human. It has become permissible for a person to suggest carrying out a genocide, but it is forbidden to feel compassion towards the children of the Gaza Strip. It has become acceptable to suggest that ethnic cleansing be carried out, but one must not be too shocked by the punishment of the Gaza Strip.

It is no longer limited to the right, but rather represents the opinion of the mainstream. Ram Ben Barak has become a supporter of voluntary mass deportation, and moderate Minister Gila Gamliel also supports it. The Foreign Ministry said that Gamliel does not represent the government in this position. But we have to admit that the minister’s position largely represents the government and others. Brutality has become a normal norm, and Satanism has become a middle trend, and its reach has reached the left of center as well. Let us have another war, or two, and everyone will become a priest.

We have barely woken up from the “brutality of the Hamas movement” so that more of these blessings will fall into our laps. Not only from the extreme right and the settlers, but from the heart of the Israeli center. It turns out that there is horrific brutality, and that there is acceptable and standard brutality. Hamas members are "human animals", but on the other hand, the proposal to spread an epidemic among people is legitimate. One of the most dangerous phenomena to emerge from this war is developing before our eyes: it is the phenomenon of turning evil into a norm, and also normalizing it.

This evil grows from the soil of unreasonable ignorance and pathological Israeli indifference to what is happening now in the Gaza Strip. Foreign journalists who come here can hardly believe their eyes: the suffering of the Gaza Strip does not exist in the first place. Israel does not kill thousands of children, nor does it expel a million people from their homes. There is no victim named Gaza at all, and it is absent, not only from Israeli public discourse, but also from the general newscast. Israeli television newscasts are the only ones in the world that do not know that we killed children. The Israeli media is the only one in the world that does not know that the Israeli army committed one small war crime in this war.

A society that ignores such a reality, and does not care about the suffering of those afflicted by the fire of war, produces moral mutations, like Mr. Eiland. One can be convinced that Eiland believes that his proposal is not tainted by any of the accusations mentioned above, as all the man did was present a logical proposal that serves the Israeli interest. Is there really anything in this world other than the Israeli interest? International law is for the weak, ethics is for the philosophizing, and humanity is for the proud and noble. And let's really ask: What's so bad about transmitting epidemics to the Gaza Strip? There is only one bad thing: the infection will spread to Israel as well. Let's admit it: they've been infecting us for a long time.

In an analysis published by the American magazine "Foreign Affairs" on Thursday, the magazine says that the military advantages enjoyed by Israel are diminishing, and that the "Hamas" movement has proven that it is difficult, if not impossible, to defeat it by military force, due to modern technology.

The magazine says, “Technology has narrowed the gap between states and terrorists, allowing non-state groups to act in ways that mimic the operations of states; Hamas can launch sophisticated attacks and spread propaganda as much as Israel can, and old tactics have also helped, such as building a set of tunnels under the Gaza to repel a more powerful opponent.

The magazine's commentary adds: "Hamas gained influence by capturing some 240 hostages. Countries have always struggled to defeat terrorist groups, but the war between Israel and Hamas shows why doing so is becoming more difficult."

The magazine stated in its analysis that the clear result of the current war on Gaza is that the Israeli armed forces may have played directly in favor of the Hamas movement when they struck Gaza with enormous force.

The magazine explained, “The attack launched by Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization, on October 7, which killed more than 1,200 people, was met with a very violent Israeli response, while the Israeli army called in more than 350,000 reserve soldiers and launched attacks on the Gaza Strip with the aim of eliminating the political and the military forces of Hamas. Since then, Israeli forces have killed more than 14,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children."

But the magazine believes that it is not surprising at all that Israel confronts Hamas's violence with violence, given the traditional military superiority enjoyed by the Israeli military establishment compared to the Hamas movement.

It pointed out that: “Naturally, Israel always responds to Palestinian movements with excessive force, and this is helped by the fact that the Israeli army is stronger, larger in size, and better resourced than Hamas and other groups classified as terrorists, and Israeli planners realize that their opponents cannot keep up with the Israeli Defense Forces, however, Israel's military advantages are dwarfed by Hamas."

States no longer monopolize the resources needed to project power and promote discourse, according to the magazine, which believes that “many technological developments have disproportionately benefited terrorist groups, beginning with the invention of dynamite, in 1867, to the Kalashnikov assault rifle, also known as the AK-47, which was invented in 1947 in the Soviet Union, and has become a symbol that non-state groups can boast about, citing as an example Hezbollah, whose flag contains a rifle that resembles it."

The magazine explained that in the October 7 attack, “It appeared as if Hamas fighters used old Chinese and Soviet AK-47 rifles to storm Israeli military sites, kill civilians, and take hostages,” but they also used some relatively new tactics and techniques, as the magazine stated, as the group began its attack by firing thousands of missiles to defeat Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.

According to the magazine, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movement smuggle missiles from Iran, and can manufacture some explosives and missiles themselves from commercial parts.

Their capabilities to produce missiles have witnessed a clear development, according to the magazine, explaining that in 2005, the range of the Qassam Brigades’ missiles manufactured by Hamas was about ten miles (16 km), but now the missiles that they used in the October 7 attack have been able to cut off 150 miles (241 km).

As with the Ukrainians, who have successfully used commercial drones to attack tanks and troops, the magazine points out in its analysis that Hamas and Islamic Jihad have created their own weapons systems.

To evade Israeli air defenses, the magazine reported that Hamas launched dozens of explosive Al-Zawari drones, which are fixed-wing weapons made by Hamas with materials available in Gaza.

Hamas has also used small commercial drones to drop grenades on Israeli watchtowers and remotely operated machine guns. These drones can be purchased online, and can avoid Israeli radar systems by flying slowly and close to the ground. The Hamas attack was successful because it overwhelmed Israeli defenses with cheap, easily accessible weapons, according to what the magazine described.

The magazine says that social media has had a similar impact on terrorism, “Hamas now stands on equal footing with Israel in its ability to present its own narrative about the war. Hamas uses the messaging application Telegram to recruit new members and disseminate information.”

According to the magazine, “Although Hamas was founded with the aim of eliminating Israel, the movement is unable to do so, so it practices terrorism to gain attention and allies, as the October 7 attack was intended to provoke the Israeli military establishment and push it to exaggerate the reaction that "It would undermine international sympathy for Israel, fuel an uprising in the West Bank and Jerusalem, and mobilize support for Hamas, especially from Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group."

Foreign Affairs believes that Hamas used the killing of both Israeli and Palestinian civilians to advance its political agenda.

The magazine claims, “The best way for Israel to defeat Hamas is to restore its high moral standing by reducing its use of force and providing more protection for Palestinian civilians. It will be difficult for Israeli leaders to exercise restraint, because their voters are angry, but doing so will be difficult.” "It is the only way Israel can cut off Hamas' ability to mobilize support and incite further violence."

A truce agreement was reached at dawn on Wednesday between Hamas and Israel, in which Qatar and Egypt helped mediate.

Israel imposes a siege on Gaza and did not stop bombing it in response to the Hamas attack, resulting in the death of more than 14,000 Gazans, about 40 percent of whom are children, according to officials from the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, which are figures approved by the United Nations.

US President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that he was "completely satisfied" with Israel and Hamas reaching a 4-day truce during which the movement would release 50 women and children in exchange for the release of Palestinian women and children imprisoned in Israel.

Biden said in a statement issued by the White House on Tuesday evening, “I am completely satisfied that some of these brave souls... will be reunited with their families once this agreement is fully implemented.”

A Palestinian medical official announced today (Thursday) that the Israeli army has warned the Indonesian hospital in the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate within four hours, at a time when Israeli air and artillery attacks continue in the vicinity of the hospital.

Director of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Munir Al-Bursh, told reporters that the Israeli army warned that the Indonesian hospital would be evacuated within four hours, while “the bombardment around the hospital continues from all sides.”

Al-Bersh pointed out that there are about 65 bodies in the hospital and it is still difficult to remove them for burial, pointing out that 450 patients were guaranteed to leave the hospital yesterday, while about 200 remain currently.

Violent raids were reported on the Indonesian Hospital and its surroundings in Beit Lahia, north of Gaza, yesterday, which led to the surgical department being hit.

According to the United Nations, the bed capacity throughout Gaza has decreased from 3,500 beds before the war to 1,400 beds at the present time, amid an increase in the number of people seeking treatment.

According to the World Health Organization, only one of the hospitals currently operating in the Gaza Strip has the capacity to treat critical trauma cases or perform complex surgical operations.

In this context, the spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Ashraf Al-Qudra, announced in press statements that the Israeli army arrested the director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, Muhammad Abu Salamiya, and a number of doctors, without further details.

On the ground, Palestinian medical sources reported that 5 people were killed in an Israeli bombing that targeted a house this morning in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.

The sources told Xinhua News Agency that 15 people were killed, and a number of others were reported missing, in Israeli raids that targeted five homes east of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

In the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, paramedics reported recovering at least three dead and a number of injuries in an Israeli bombing that targeted an inhabited house.

This comes as intense ground clashes continued between Israeli forces and armed Palestinian factions in and around Gaza City, as well as in several other areas in the north, especially Jabalia.

Air strikes and shelling by Israeli forces also continued in multiple areas across Gaza. Israeli ground forces maintained the effective separation between north and south along the Gaza Valley, except for the "corridor" leading to the south.

A number of writers in Israel accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of trying to thwart the crystallized prisoner exchange deal with Hamas, by issuing threats to liquidate the movement’s leaders, specifically abroad.

Writer Orly Bar-Lev pointed out that Netanyahu threatened the chances of reaching a deal after he announced in the press conference he held last night, along with Gallant and Minister Benny Gantz, that he had assigned the head of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, David Barnea, to work on liquidating the leaders of the Hamas movement everywhere. In the world.

In a post on the X platform, Bar-Lev wrote that Netanyahu’s boast about revealing the instructions he issued to Barnea “indicates one of two things: either the logic that guides him in making decisions is disturbed, or he took this step considering that it serves his personal interests.”

She stressed that regardless of the reasons behind this behavior, it indicates that Netanyahu "is not qualified to make decisions and must not be allowed to continue managing the battle."

Yossi Melman, an intelligence affairs commentator in Haaretz newspaper, wondered about the justifications that prompted Netanyahu and Gallant to issue threats to liquidate Hamas leaders abroad 12 hours before the date that was decided to implement the ceasefire and liberate the prisoners.

In a post on the X platform, Melman accused both Netanyahu and Gallant of trying to thwart the prisoner exchange deal.

Writer Rami Edlist particularly attacked Gallant, who said that the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, and the movement’s leader abroad, Khaled Meshal, “are living in a time out,” in reference to Israel’s intention to liquidate them.

In a post on “X”, IdList said that Gallant and Netanyahu are threatening the lives of Israeli prisoners held by Hamas through these threats.

For his part, the writer On Ozel deplored, in a post on the X platform, that Netanyahu revealed that he assigned the head of the Mossad to liquidate Hamas leaders while Barnea and Hamas leaders were in Qatar with the aim of making contacts to complete a prisoner exchange deal.

As for writer Dan Adin, he considered Netanyahu’s threats to liquidate Hamas leaders before completing the exchange deal as evidence that he “represents a danger to Israel... he is simply a clear and immediate danger to the security of the state,” as he stated in his post on “X.”

He added: "Israel needs a patient leadership driven by sound logic that thinks about the interests of the state, and whose members do not compete with each other to see who appears more manly in front of the crowd of supporters."

Source: Aljazeera.Net

A former actor and current Michigan politician has been offered $20 million to run a competitive primary campaign against Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib; Which highlights the violent reaction that the Palestinian-American representative faces because of her position on Israel, according to what was reported by the British website Middle East Eye.

“One of AIPAC’s largest donors offered $20 million if I dropped out of the US Senate race and ran against Rashida Tlaib,” Hale Harper, the Democratic US Senate candidate, wrote on the X platform. “But I refused; I will not accept anyone intimidating me or buying me.”

He added: “I will not run against the only Palestinian American in Congress just because some special interests don’t like her.”

Harper revealed that he received the offer to run against Tlaib after Politico reported that Michigan businessman Linden Nelson offered him $10 million in direct contributions to his potential campaign and another $10 million in independent expenses if he ran against her.

“Breaking the grip of the Israeli lobby”

Harper, who dropped out of his lead role in the TV series The Good Doctor to run for an open Senate seat in Michigan, said the show crystallized his decision to enter politics.

He continued: "I'm running because I want to break the stranglehold that wealthy special interests have on our politics, whether that's the Israel lobby, the National Rifle Association, or Big Pharma."

It has a long history of ties between businessman Linden Nelson and the powerful pro-Israel lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Nelson has contributed to previous failed campaigns to oust Tlaib from Congress.

The attack on Rashida Tlaib

Representative Tlaib is an outspoken critic of Israel and has long faced challenges from AIPAC, and since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, she has become one of the most prominent lawmakers calling for a ceasefire.

In a post on social networks, Tlaib also accused President Joe Biden, the leader of her Democratic Party, of supporting “genocide of the Palestinian people” by providing unconditional military support to Israel.

Earlier this month, a large number of Democratic members of Congress joined Republicans in criticizing Tlaib over her comments on the war, which her critics described as “anti-Semitic,” but Tlaib has fiercely defended her views.

“It is important to separate the people from the government,” Tlaib said. “The idea of calling criticism of the government of Israel anti-Semitism sets an extremely dangerous precedent. It has been used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation.”

It is noteworthy that the former actor and current politician, Harper, also opposed the Biden administration’s position on the war, and on November 10, he issued a statement in which he called for a ceasefire, while “Politico” magazine indicated that his statement came after Nelson called him by phone to make the offer.

Harper is in strong competition for the Senate seat in Michigan. He is competing with six Democrats and eight Republicans to replace Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow, who is retiring.

Source: Arabic Post

Israeli army is planning a ground attack in the southern Gaza Strip after the ceasefire. 

The Hebrew Walla website adds that, based on intelligence information received from the Shin Bet, the Israeli army, and the Southern Command, the army is preparing for a ground maneuver in the south of the Gaza Strip.

Israel forcefully pushed the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to the southern Gaza Strip through bombing, massacres, and demolition of homes. There are thousands of displaced residents in the southern Gaza Strip. The United States warned its ally, Israel, of the consequences of storming that area for fear of a large number of civilian deaths.

The Hebrew website stated that the army is preparing to continue operations in the southern Gaza Strip, after the ceasefire. Military officials claimed that Hamas leaders are hiding in underground bunkers in the southern Gaza Strip, requiring troops to reach there.

There is also incitement to attack the Philadelphia axis separating Gaza and Egypt. Cairo fears that the Israeli army will forcibly push residents and displaced people towards Egypt to implement the displacement plan.

Source: Sama News

The Israeli newspaper "Jerusalem Post" reported that more than 50 missiles were fired from Lebanon towards northern Israel this morning (Thursday), after a bombing launched by Israel on border areas in southern Lebanon, according to what was reported by the "Arab World News Agency." The newspaper reported that sirens sounded in several towns near the border with Lebanon. The newspaper described the bombing as the most intense since the outbreak of clashes on the border with Lebanon, but indicated that there were no reports of casualties as a result of the attack.

Today, the Lebanese Hezbollah announced that it targeted infantry concentrations of Israeli soldiers and caused direct casualties.

He said, in three separate statements, that this morning, his members targeted infantry gatherings of Israeli soldiers in the Israeli sites of Al-Dahaira and Jal Al-Alam, and they also targeted the Israeli site of Birkat Risha, causing direct hits.

This morning, Israeli artillery bombed the outskirts of the towns of Tair Harfa, Shihin, Al-Jebain, and the Wadi Hassan area in southern Lebanon.

The arrest operations were concentrated in the town of Azzun, Qalqilya District, which affected 36 Palestinians, and the Arroub Camp, Hebron District, while the rest of the arrests were distributed across the majority of the governorates of the West Bank, according to a joint statement issued by the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, today, Thursday.

From yesterday evening until Thursday morning, the Israeli occupation forces launched a massive arrest campaign targeting at least 90 Palestinians from the West Bank, including a woman from Tubas, and former prisoners.

In addition, Israeli army since dawn today, has continued to storm Balata camp in the Nablus district, and is carrying out arrest operations of Palestinians, and the bodies concerned with prisoners’ affairs have not been able to confirm the numbers of detainees and their identities until this moment, in addition to the ongoing raids into the homes of the camp’s residents, which are accompanied by sabotage and destruction operations. Wide.

During the arrest campaigns, Israeli forces continue to carry out widespread acts of abuse, severe beatings, and threats against detainees and their families, in addition to widespread acts of sabotage and destruction of Palestinian homes.

Thus, the total number of arrests since the “Al-Aqsa Flood” on October 7 last year has risen to more than 3,130, and this total includes those who were arrested from homes, through military checkpoints, those who were forced to surrender themselves under pressure, and those who were held hostage.

Today, Thursday, settlers uprooted 12 olive trees and stole their fruits, west of Salfit.

Local sources reported that settlers uprooted 12 olive trees in the Al-Ras area, west of Salfit, and stole the fruits of 20 others, owned by the citizen Ibrahim Al-Hamad.

The sources added that Israeli army and settlers prevent the people of Salfit from reaching their lands in that area and reaping the fruits of their olives.

In a related context, Israel tightened its military measures at the northern entrance to Salfit and the entrance to the village of Bruqin, west of the city, and set up checkpoints and impeded the movement of citizens.

15 citizens were killed, and a number of others were injured, in an Israeli warplane bombing that targeted citizens’ homes in the Gaza Strip.

The official Wafa Agency reported that military aircraft bombed the Al-Awaiti family’s house, in the Sheikh Nasser neighborhood, east of Khan Yunis, and the bombing led to the death of at least 5 people and the injury of others. Journalists Fadi Shana’a and Amr Tabsh were also injured in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

At least 10 citizens were killed and a large number were injured, as a result of an Israeli bombing on a house belonging to the Abu Ubaid family in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in northern Gaza.

Israeli warplanes also destroyed two homes belonging to the Matar and Yassin families, targeting them with several missiles in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Israeli warplanes bombed 3 mosques in the town of Khuza’a, east of Khan Yunis, from last night until dawn today, which led to their destruction: Salah al-Din, al-Radwan, and Abd al-Malik Abu Rujaila.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that one million displaced people from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip live in 156 centres.

UNRWA spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna said in a statement on Thursday that UNRWA is the only cohesive body in the Gaza Strip that distributes aid to the displaced.

He added that 108 employees of the agency were killed since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, which is the largest number in the history of the United Nations, as such a number had never been lost during this period.

According to what the agency announced, it is currently accommodating in its facilities a number of displaced people that exceeds its normal capacity by about 4-9 times.

The agency indicated that before the Israeli aggression, 500 trucks were entering the Gaza Strip daily, and they could barely meet the livelihood of citizens, but since the beginning of the aggression until today, the number of trucks that have entered the Gaza Strip daily is only sufficient for only 3 days, stressing that a return to the ceiling of 500 trucks will be sufficient. As it was before, it is no longer sufficient at the present time.

It explained that she normally needed 75 trucks per day, but now, due to the catastrophic situation in the sector, she needs 800 trucks per day for two to three months, to be able to provide the required resources.

A temporary case-fire paired with the releases of hostages held in Gaza and of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails is not likely to begin until tomorrow at the earliest, Israeli officials said, as negotiators continued to hammer out details of an agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The new timing appeared to rule out the possibility that hostages could be freed on Thursday, as many of their families had hoped, and it underscored the fluidity of the negotiations.

The two sides have not announced specific plans for an exchange of at least 150 Palestinian women and children jailed by Israel for at least 50 Israeli women and children held in Gaza, including details on exactly when people would begin to be released and whom would be included.

In Gaza: The Israeli military said that it “continued to fight,” highlighting that an agreement to pause the conflict was not yet in place. The U.S. has pushed Israel to take broad measures aimed at lessening the harm to Palestinian civilians, including such actions as setting up safe areas, allowing in more medical aid and permitting larger deliveries of fuel.

In Israel: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the agreement was a step toward Israel’s objective of freeing all of the captives held in Gaza. For weeks, Israeli leaders were divided about whether a temporary cease-fire might help Hamas regroup and endanger the remaining hostages.

Behind the scenes: The path to the deal has been a long and treacherous one, Peter Baker, our White House correspondent, writes.

More details:

Hamas and Israel still disagree on how many captives are being held in Gaza, making it hard to work out whom exactly will be released, according to Israeli officials.

The pause would allow for an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza, through both the Egyptian and Israeli borders. But there is not yet agreement on the amounts of supplies that would be allowed through, according to an Israeli official.

Source: New York times

The Israeli occupation forces have continued their aggression against the city of Nablus and Balata camp since midnight last night, resulting in the death of a boy and the wounding of other citizens with bullets.

Large forces from the occupation army stormed the city of Nablus, were stationed in the eastern region, and raided Balata camp, and violent confrontations broke out as a result.

The boy, Izz al-Din Mustafa Hafi (18 years old), was dead after being hit by live bullets in the head during confrontations in the camp and the city, and two other young men were injured, one in the back and the other in the foot.

Israeli forces raided a number of citizens’ homes in the camp and in the nearby suburb area, searched them, wreaked havoc, and arrested nine citizens, among whom were identified as: the two brothers Mahdi and Yahya Khuwairah, their cousin Louay Khuwairah from the suburb area, the citizen Samir al-Zubaidi and his son Hassan from Balata camp, and Subeih. Al-Houh, the father of the martyr Wadih Al-Houh, from the city, and three young men whose identities are not yet known, were arrested from inside a bakery living in Nablus.

The Israeli forces also bulldozed and destroyed the streets and the martyr’s monument inside Balata camp.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid Al-Ansari said that the announcement of the date for the entry into force of the truce agreement in Gaza will be in the coming hours, indicating that talks on the details of the executive plan for the humanitarian truce agreement between Hamas and Israel are continuing and progressing positively.

Al-Ansari added - in a statement - that "work continues with the two parties and our partners in the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States of America to ensure the rapid start of the truce and to provide what is necessary to ensure the parties' commitment to the agreement."

For his part, Taher Al-Nono, advisor to the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, said that Qatar, Egypt and the United States are guarantors of the ceasefire, explaining that lists of prisoners are now being exchanged and verified.

He also explained that there is a role for the Red Cross and the United Nations in the exchange deal, but he did not clarify what the role assigned to the two organizations was, and Hamas had handed over some of its prisoners for humanitarian reasons to the Red Cross, which transferred the released prisoners to the Israeli occupation army through the Rafah crossing.

Logistical details

For her part, US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson expressed her hope that the truce would begin tomorrow morning, Friday, saying that the parties to the agreement are working on setting the final logistical details for the truce agreement in Gaza, especially on its first day.

Watson described these preparations as "on the right track."

CNN also quoted an Israeli official as saying that Israel's failure to receive the names of those Hamas will release is one of the reasons for delaying the implementation of the temporary truce agreement in Gaza.

The Israeli official said that the delay in releasing detainees in Gaza is not serious, and is due to simple details related to the implementation of the agreement.

In the same context, Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi said that the release of detainees under the temporary truce agreement with Hamas will not take place before Friday.

He added - in a statement issued by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office - that "negotiations for the release of our prisoners are progressing and continuing all the time."

He continued to say that "the start of the release (of the prisoners) will take place in accordance with the original agreement between the two parties, and not before Friday."

For its part, the Kan channel, affiliated with the official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, quoted an official in the Prime Minister’s Office as saying, “No one said that there would be a release of the kidnapped people tomorrow (Thursday), except in the media.”

He added, "It was also reported in the media that Israel obtained a list of the names of those released, but this did not actually happen."

"Therefore, we have to make it clear that they are not scheduled to be released before Friday, because the families of the kidnapped are in a state of extreme uncertainty," he added.

According to the same source, “the war on Thursday will continue as usual,” as he put it.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies