Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 65?

It seems unthinkable.

When Israel started its counteroffensive against Hamas in early October, the two goals were to “annihilate” Hamas and to return “all” of the hostages.

 Hamas' armed wing said on Sunday Israel will not be able to recover any of its hostages unless it engages in talks over conditional swap deals.

Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for the al-Qassam Brigades, said in an audio speech broadcast by Al Jazeera television that Israel will not be able to recover the captives by force, citing what he described a failed operation to free one of them.

He also claimed that Hamas terrorists had partially or fully destroyed 180 Israeli personnel carriers, tanks and bulldozers in 10 days since fighting resumed in Gaza.

The IDF currently is analyzing its control of different parts of Gaza at several levels from very significant to still non-existent.

On one end, there are parts of northern Gaza that are far along the way to being cleared of large Hamas forces.

Then, on the opposite end, there are parts of southern Gaza, like Rafah, and central Gaza, which have still essentially not even been touched by IDF ground forces.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Sunday it is "imperative" that Israeli military operations in Gaza protect Palestinian civilians, adding that the fighting should be followed by a durable peace leading to a Palestinian state.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday said it was not acceptable for Israel to use Hamas' terror attack on Oct. 7 as justification for the collective punishment of the Palestinian people, and called for international monitoring on the ground in Gaza.

Israeli tanks battled their way to the center of Khan Younis on Sunday in a major new push into the heart of the main city in the southern Gaza Strip.

President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly blamed the war between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas on the failure of years of US diplomacy in the Middle East, while aiming to position Russia as an important player with ties to all the major actors in the region.

IDF tanks, together with a fighter jet, attacked terror infrastructure and a military headquarters of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the IDF said in a statement on Sunday. In addition, a combat helicopter attacked a group of terrorists who attempted to launch anti-tank missiles toward Israeli territory in the Yiftah area.

Several launches from Lebanese territory toward Israel's North have also been detected, the statement went on, adding that the IDF attacks sources of fire in Lebanese territory. 

The IDF said its forces used mortar and artillery fire in the direction of Lebanese territory from the area of Kibbutz Menara, following the detection of something unusual.

An Israeli government spokesperson rejected as "outrageous and false" on Sunday an allegation by Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi that Israel was implementing a systematic policy of pushing Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip during the war there.

Lebanon's Hezbollah said it had launched explosive drones at an Israeli command position on Sunday and Israeli air strikes hit south Lebanon, as violence prompted by the war in Gaza rumbled on across the Israeli-Lebanese frontier.

The IDF said "suspicious aerial targets" had crossed from Lebanon and two were intercepted. Two Israeli soldiers were moderately wounded and a number of others were lightly injured from shrapnel and smoke inhalation, it said.

Israeli fighter jets carried out "an extensive series of strikes on Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanese territory," it said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in Lebanon.

The French navy’s multi-mission frigate, Languedoc, downed two Houthi drones off the coast of Yemen, according to a statement from the French military. The interception took place on December 9 at night in the Red Sea. The drones were launched by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

US Central Command highlighted the role of the French frigate. “The French Navy have announced that the Languedoc (D653), a FREMM Multi-Mission Frigate, shot down two Houthi drones in the Red Sea off the Coast of Yemen that were launched from Yemen,” US Central Command said.

This is important. The Languedoc is a new advanced multi-purpose frigate that specializes in anti-submarine warfare. It also carries air defenses. It is part of a relatively new program of frigate building that has seen eight similar frigates in the French navy put to sea as part of the same class. The Languedoc was launched in 2014 and commissioned in 2016 in the naval base of Toulon. It is 142 meters long and has a crew of around 120.

Visits by French ships are important for Israel-France ties

What is interesting about this particular warship is that it docked in Haifa in March 2019 during a routine visit by the French navy to Israel and the Eastern Mediterranean. The Alsace, another frigate in the same class of ships that specializes in air defenses, also came to Haifa in February 2023. These visits by French ships are important for Israel-France ties and also as part of France’s deployment of naval assets in the region.

The French role in the region is essential for security in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf; the interception of drones in the Red Sea illustrates this role. In addition France has dispatched the helicopter carrier Dixmude to serve as a hospital ship off the coast of Egypt in case it is needed due to the conflict in Gaza. 

Hamas must be part of the ‘day after’ plan for Gaza, West Bank, and east Jerusalem, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh told the Doha Forum in Qatar on Sunday.

“Hamas is an integral part of the Palestinian mosaic,” Shtayyeh said as he addressed the question of whether there was a role for a reformed Hamas within the Palestinian Authority once the Gaza war was over.

It was an idea he raised during an interview with Bloomberg published on Friday. “If they [Hamas] are ready to come to an agreement [with the Palestine Liberation Organization], then there will be room for talk,” Shtayyeh said as he discussed PA rule of Gaza after the war.

Shtayyeh spoke while the IDF was in the midst of a military campaign to oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army entered Gaza after Hamas infiltrated southern Israel on October 7, killing over 1,200 people and seizing 250 hostages.