As few as 20 hostages held by Hamas, the rest by other terror groups in Gaza
Only around 20 hostages are still being held by Hamas, with the rest held by smaller terror groups in Gaza, according to a new report by the Jewish Chronicle. The majority of hostages held by Hamas are reportedly being kept “in handcuffs as human shields” around Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
The newspaper reports that the remaining hostages are being held by other terror groups in the Strip including Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). It is also believed that smaller terror groups including the Mujahideen Brigades, the al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades and the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades are also holding Israeli abductees.
Israel has reportedly had a number of opportunities to target Sinwar but authorisation has not been given for his elimination due to the threat to hostages and Palestinian civilians.
103 hostages kidnapped on 7th October remain captive in Gaza after 329 days, including the bodies of 33 hostages, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers killed in 2014 and two Israeli civilians who entered Gaza in 2014 and 2015.
Since the November ceasefire-hostage deal which saw 105 hostages released, the IDF has rescued eight living hostages and the bodies of 31 hostages.
The body of an Israeli soldier who was killed on 7th October was recovered by the IDF from southern Gaza this week. At the request of the family, the name of the soldier was not released for publication.
Recently rescued hostage Farhan al-Qadi has said that fellow hostage Aryeh Zalmanovich (86) was murdered next to him in captivity in December 2023. They were first held in a hospital when kidnapped into Gaza, before being moved and Zalmanovich dying five weeks later. Al-Qadi was then transferred alone into a tunnel where he was kept until his rescue this week. He has recalled how he was shot in the leg and underwent surgery “with almost no anaesthesia, and it was extremely painful”. Al-Qadi said that he was kept in total darkness in the tunnels for most of his time in captivity.
A protest event near the Gaza border was held by the families of hostages this week, with some symbolically breaching the fence of a nearby kibbutz in an attempt to run towards their relatives.
Israel has reportedly approved temporary truces in parts of Gaza to facilitate a polio vaccination campaign, after coordinating the entry of over 25,000 vials of the vaccine, enough to immunise 1,255,000 people – over half the population of Gaza. A Hamas official has stated that the terror group will cooperate with the campaign.
IDF: Hamas terror group’s Rafah Brigade has “collapsed”
Military officials have stated that the Hamas terror group’s brigade in Rafah has “collapsed”, with over 1,000 terrorists in the city killed by the IDF in the ongoing offensive. Many Hamas operatives have attempted to flee the area via tunnels to the Israeli-designated humanitarian area in the north, but have been ambushed by Israeli troops.
The IDF also said that around 80% of Hamas’s terror tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor, the border area between Egypt and Gaza, have been destroyed. These tunnels were strategically important to Hamas as they enabled the terror group to smuggle in weapons via Egypt.
The IDF also confirmed that a three-kilometre-long Hamas tunnel was recently demolished by combat engineers in the central Gaza Strip.
Terrorists attempted to divert a humanitarian aid convoy in the southern Rafah region yesterday, taking over a jeep that was leading the convoy. The IDF targeted the vehicle and “neutralised the threat, allowing the humanitarian convoy to reach its destination safely”.
On Wednesday, the IDF announced the deaths of two soldiers during ongoing fighting in Gaza: 32-year-old Master Sgt. (res.) Yohay Hay Glam, 32, and 19-year-old Staff Sgt. Amit Friedman.
Palestinian diplomats celebrated 7th October attacks
Many Palestinian diplomats around the world celebrated Hamas’s 7th October attacks against Israel, according to new findings.
The Jewish Chronicle shared evidence compiled by the GnasherJew group which analysed social media posts by senior diplomats, with scores praising Hamas’s actions, depicting Israeli soldiers as Nazis, and supporting the eradication of Israel.
Rana Abuayyash, consul at the Palestinian mission in London, reportedly shared a post showing the Israeli flag morphing into Hitler. She also reposted a TikTok video with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underneath Hitler.
Dozens of examples have been compiled in the dossier, including a statement by Hassan Albalawi, the deputy head of the Palestinian mission to the EU, who celebrated Hamas as “heroic”. The Palestinian Ambassador to the EU, Adel Atieh, said the terrorists were “the people of the mighty”, and Khuloussi Bsaiso, a Palestinian diplomat at the UN, posted a map of the Middle East without Israel, stating: “Palestine as it should be”.
Ambassador Dennis Ross, a former Middle East advisor to US administrations, commented on the findings: “The PA cannot have it both ways; they cannot claim they are for peace and then support what Hamas has done”.
He added: “If you are saying you want to see a two-state outcome, then these tweets give you a reason to have pause over what kind of a state you are talking about. If it is a state that is committed to coexistence that’s one thing. If it’s a state based on the principle of resistance to Israel, it is something entirely different. That’s the prescription for an enduring conflict”.
Israeli forces conduct major counter-terrorism operation in West Bank
Five militants were killed in Tulkarem in the West Bank on Wednesday during a firefight with Israeli counter-terrorism officers.
Mohammed Jaber, a commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group in the area, was among the militants killed while hiding in a mosque and shooting at Israeli troops. Jaber was involved in planning and carrying out terror attacks, including the killing of Israeli civilian Amnon Muchtar, 67, in June, according to the Shin Bet.
A major counter-terrorism operation was launched by Israel after multiple attempts by terrorists to launch attacks from the West Bank. The Israeli military believes that an attempted suicide bombing in Tel Aviv last week was planned by a terror network in the Tulkarem area.
The military says it has found dozens of bombs hidden underneath roads in the West Bank and neutralised them.
Tensions have risen dramatically in the West Bank since the Hamas attacks on 7th October. Militants and rioters have clashed with Israeli forces and Palestinian terrorists have targeted Israeli civilians in a number of attacks, and extremist Israeli settlers have carried out attacks on Palestinians.
Hezbollah rockets target northern Israel
Several Hezbollah rockets were fired from Lebanon this week as the terror group continues to target northern Israeli communities. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that returning residents of the north evacuated due to the terror threat is a “national goal” and a “top priority”.
Around 70,000 residents of northern communities have been displaced since the escalation of hostilities with Hezbollah.
Early Sunday morning, 100 Israeli fighter jets simultaneously destroyed thousands of rocket launchers across 270 locations in an anticipatory strike against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Shortly after, the terror group launched an estimated 230 rockets and approximately 20 drones and had reportedly planned to fire hundreds more.
