Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 72?

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi held a situational assessment on the ground in Gaza on Sunday during a visit to troops of the 99th Division.

Addressing the soldiers, Halevi referred to the accidental shooting on Friday of three Israeli hostages taken by Hamas, saying, "This was a very difficult and painful incident, but one that could very easily have not happened.

"We have set three goals: to dismantle Hamas, to restore security to the residents of the Gaza border area, and the third mission is to recover the hostages."

Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz, and Samer Talalka were all killed by IDF soldiers who opened fire as the hostages approached them as they exited the building where they were kept hostages.

The three were stripped to the waist, with raised hands and waving a white flag. The hostages also shouted out "help" in Hebrew but were misidentified as a threat and shot. 

Signs with 'SOS,' and 'help,' seen in the Gaza building where three Israeli hostages were killed on December 15, 2023 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

After the incident, IDF troops discovered the hostages had written "help" and "SOS" in Hebrew and English inside the building in case they were found.

"Three people walked out during this incident," Halevi said. "They took into account that they were taking a risk approaching IDF troops and, to reduce the risk, they really thought about [what to do.] They took off their shirts so that no one would think they had explosives, and they held a white cloth on a pole to identify themselves. They spoke in Hebrew. They called for help."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “lied" to world leaders in the past when he spoke of supporting a two-state resolution to the Palestinian conflict, charged former US ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk.

“So all those promises to world leaders about his commitment to a two-state solution were a bunch of lies. And all those enablers who swore Bibi was serious about peace have some explaining to do,” Indyk wrote in a post on X on Sunday.

He spoke one day after Netanyahu boasted that he had thwarted the creation of a Palestinian state during his more than 16 years in office.

“I am proud that I prevented the creation of a Palestinian state because today everyone understands what this Palestinian state could have been now that we saw the small Palestinian state in Gaza,” Netanyahu said on Saturday night during a press conference.

He referenced the Hamas-run Gaza as an example of the type of a terror-run state that could have been created in the West Bank as well if a Palestinian state had been created there.

“We understand what would have been if we had caved to international pressure and allowed that kind of a state in Judea and Samaria,” he said.

In one of his most clear statements against a Palestinian state he has made, Netanyahu backed the vision of two states for two peoples in his historic Bar Ilan declaration. He has clarified that he meant a demilitarized state.

Two Egyptian security sources said on Sunday that Israel and Hamas are both open to a renewed ceasefire and hostage release, although disagreements remain on how it would be implemented.

Egypt and Qatar, which had previously negotiated a week-long ceasefire and hostage release, insisted on expediting aid and the opening of the Kerem Shalom crossing before any negotiations could begin, the sources said.

While the crossing was open, they said that aid was being delayed by inspections and had still not entered Egypt.

Hopes for peace were raised on Saturday when a source said Israel's spy chief had spoken on Friday with Qatar's prime minister.

Hamas's demands on Israel

Hamas is insisting on setting the list of hostages to be released unilaterally, and demanding that Israeli forces withdraw behind pre-determined lines, the sources told Reuters.

While Israel agreed on Hamas setting the list, the sources said it demanded a timeline and to see the list before setting the time and duration of the ceasefire.

Israel refuses to withdraw, the sources added.

There were at least three rounds of exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel on Sunday.

As has occurred throughout the conflict, Hezbollah fired rockets and anti-tank missiles, while the IDF responded with a mix of artillery fire and airstrikes.

As in recent days, there was a more detailed description by the IDF of more comprehensively attacking certain Hezbollah command and terror infrastructure areas along with killing some of the terror group attack crews before they had the opportunity to fire.

Both sides have appeared to flex their military muscle more in the last week, seemingly in anticipation of seeking to stake out as aggressive positions as possible about what terms the conflict will end on in the North when the Israel-Hamas war concludes in the South. 

 Two Egyptian security sources said on Sunday that Israel and Hamas are both open to a renewed ceasefire and hostage release, although disagreements remain on how it would be implemented.

Hamas is insisting on setting the list of hostages to be released unilaterally, and demanding that Israeli forces withdraw behind pre-determined lines, the sources told Reuters.

While Israel agreed on Hamas setting the list, the sources said it had asked for a timeline and to see the list in order to set the time and duration of the ceasefire.

Israel refuses to withdraw, the sources added.

The IDF on Sunday issued a video of Muhammad Sinwar, the right-hand man and brother of Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar, being driven in a car through the massive four-kilometer long and 50-meter deep “strategic” level tunnel it revealed earlier Sunday.

In a silent video, Sinwar can be seen giving instructions to the driver as they travel through the tunnel at a significant speed in a fairly modern-looking vehicle.

The video is one of multiple pieces of intelligence evidence that Israel has that Muhammad was personally involved in developing the tunnel.

The tunnel is the largest and longest in Gaza that the IDF has ever found, directly linking the tip of northern Gaza to Jabalia toward the southern end of northern Gaza while running almost exclusively through civilian areas.

Sinwar has not been hiding in the tunnel since the war started.

The United States discussed with the Palestinian Authority (PA) a possible security arrangement that would see PA policemen and security officials based in Gaza before the Hamas takeover in 2007, reinstated after the Israel-Hamas War, Walla! reported on Sunday. 

According to the report, the Biden administration has already held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the issue, with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Ramallah last Frida to meet with Abbas. The PA has already declared that it should hold responsibility for Gaza after Israel has ousted Hamas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that after the war, Israel will be responsible for security in Gaza without directly controlling the coastal territory and that the PA can not be in charge.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan asked his US counterpart Antony Blinken in a call on Sunday for Washington to use its influence over Israel to halt Israeli attacks on Gaza and the West Bank, a Turkish diplomatic source said.

Turkey, which supports a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict, has harshly criticized Israel, calling for a full ceasefire and for Israeli leaders to be tried in international courts for war crimes, and slammed Western support for Israel.

Washington, Israel's closest ally, has repeatedly said it supports Israel's right to defend itself after the cross-border rampage by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, but has stepped up calls on Israel to act with restraint in its campaign, which has killed nearly 19,000 people, according to Hamas health officials, and laid much of the Gaza Strip to waste.

Fidan told Blinken that the situation in Gaza and the West Bank was worsening due to the Israeli attacks, the source said. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told US President Joe Biden on Thursday that the United States had a historic responsibility to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.

Deputy Chairman of Hamas in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, told Al Jazeera in an interview that the release of any further hostages is dependent on Israel ceasing its "aggression."

"We want an end to the aggression, then we will go to reconstruction and construction, and then we will talk about the prisoners.

"We want a complete cessation of aggression, then Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, and then we talk about the prisoners," Al-Hayya told Al Jazeera.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev said she "understands" IDF fighters who claim they will refuse call-ups following the suspension of soldiers who recited the 'Shema Yisrael' prayer at a Jenin mosque, quotes from Sunday's cabinet meeting reported by KAN News revealed.

After footage circulated on social media of soldiers reciting the prayer and playing it through the microphone used for the Muslim call to prayer, the IDF suspended the forces involved from all operational activities. 

"The soldiers' conduct in the video is unacceptable and contradicts the IDF's core values," the IDF said, adding that they will also be disciplined accordingly."

On Sunday, Regev claimed that she had heard about calls by troops in Jenin to refuse service in support of the suspended soldiers. 

"The military must learn to contain these incidents," Regev was quoted as saying at the cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. "Even if they made a mistake."