Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 90?

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday presented his plan to the War Cabinet and the State Security Cabinet for Israel's security status once the war in Gaza is over. 

The plan included the integration of existing Palestinian civilian leadership in Gaza into a more substantial local government. "Hamas will not rule Gaza," said Gallant in a press briefing before the meeting, "and Israel will not hold a civilian governorship over Gaza."

While The Jerusalem Post previously reported that top defense officials want local Gazan Palestinians to run Gaza once the IDF starts to withdraw, this was only part of the picture, with the remainder of the picture involving the US, the EU, and moderate Sunni allies, it can now be revealed.

Essentially, the concept of the defense establishment, which includes Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, is that eventually, more and more civil administration should be handled by local Gazans without Hamas loyalties themselves, but that this will not be possible all at once.

In some undefined transitional period, the IDF will retain broad security responsibility, including over the borders and with authority to conduct raids, but some hybrid mix of forces provided by the US, European allies, and Arab allies, such as the Saudis, Egypt, the UAE and others will assist with aspects of internal security and administration.

Israeli soldiers in a tank hold an Israeli flag near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip (credit: RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS)

Only once the local Palestinian Gazans get their bearings, have more stable residences and lives, and appear ready to stand on their own if facing minor challenges from remnants of Hamas and other terror groups would the international conglomerate of countries yield more management to the local groups.

Palestinian Authority's role to be minimized

The defense establishment and Gallant also do not completely disqualify the Palestinian Authority from playing some role, though the defense minister would prefer to minimize its role or only give it a role if aspects of its policies toward Israel improve.

To date, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has avoided public debates on these issues and has mostly talked about what he is against: Such as no involvement for the PA.

However, the US, the EU, and the moderate Arab states may not agree to participate and provide funding, which could leave Israel stuck if Jerusalem does not show flexibility.

Further, Israel may be going to elections, in which case officials like Benny Gantz, who appear more open to the PA and to global suggested solutions in general, may end up deciding the issue.

It is also unclear how Israel will select Gazans who are truly disconnected from Hamas after the terror group's 16-year rule, but Gallant is confident that groups can be found or formed.

For the past 90 days of the war, Hezbollah got used to playing fiddle. After Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, Hezbollah began to carry out attacks on Israel, and while there were initial concerns in the region and Washington that this could escalate, Hezbollah appeared to prefer daily small attacks to a larger war; a US aircraft carrier parked in the Mediterranean may have made it think twice.

This aircraft carrier is now heading away, allowing Hezbollah to feel more empowered in its decisions; it has to fish or cut bait. The problem with Hezbollah is that it has become too big in recent years. Not only does it occupy a swath of Lebanon and hold Lebanese politics hostage, but it is so powerful that Iran fears “losing” it in a war, like an advanced piece on a chess board, where you keep sending more pieces to protect it, lest that piece end up being lost in some complex sacrifice. Iran doesn’t want to sacrifice Hezbollah, yet it also wants Hezbollah to be a threat to Israel.

So far, Hezbollah has succeeded in driving some 80,000 Israelis from their homes on the northern border; this is unprecedented – never in history did Israel evacuate the whole border. Hezbollah can pretend it has won, but it has also lost around 140 or more of its fighters. Hezbollah terrorists are not a rabble. It’s not like the poor Iranian recruits from Afghanistan – the Fetimiyoun – whom Iran sent as cannon fodder to Syria. Hezbollah, rather, is used to being the senior partner among all of Iran’s proxies.

The 'small work' of firing rockets

Hamas upstaged it on October 7, so it has been doing the “small work” of firing rockets and ATGMs at Israel, small work that causes damage but doesn’t win the war. Hezbollah uses drones as well, but those don’t win wars either.

So what is at its disposal now? It now faces a serious problem. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant joined IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi this week, as well as other officials, to discuss the northern border, including the “defense establishment’s requirement  to facilitate the secure return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes in the region.”

Tzalash, an organization that supports Jewish religious practice among IDF soldiers, expressed on Thursday its pride in the "great thirst of IDF soldiers for spiritual nourishment" during the war. 

Most recently, a group of IDF reservists finished the Talmudic tractate of Berachot by splitting it up into sections and each learning a small part. 

Tzalash activity since the outbreak of the Gaza war

Since October 7, Tzalash has distributed more than 30,000 volumes of the Gemara, Mishna, and other Jewish holy books that come in special IDF pocket editions. 

10,000 copies of Be'ezrat Hashem Nenatzeach, a booklet by Rabbi Hagai Lundin published by Tzalash, and 6,000 volumes of biblical commentary by Rabbi Asher Weiss. 

What is more, Tzalash distributed over 3,000 sets of tzitzit, 300 pairs of tefillin, 150 kiddush-havdalah kits, and conducted 200 Torah-learning classes for soldiers and their wives. 

"The spiritual desire of the IDF soldiers is simply amazing," said Rabbi Peretz Einhorn, chairman and founder of Tzalash.

"We have been blessed with righteous fighters who go into battle with a spiritual force that...gives them indescribable strength. When the army looks like this, nobody will be able to defeat the people of Israel."4

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi on Thursday began the process of investigating the events leading up to the October 7 massacre and subsequent war with Gaza, according to Israeli media reports. 

The investigative team will be headed by former IDF chief of staff Shaul Mofaz.

Three Israelis who were previously considered missing are now considered to have been taken hostage in the Gaza Strip, bringing the total back up to 136, IDF spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari announced.

At the request of the families, the names of the hostages were not publicized. 

Hagari also stated that IDF soldiers recently uncovered an underground Hamas military compound on the coast in the central Gaza Strip. 

Aerial image of Gaza tunnel route. Released January 4, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

The discovery was made in late December during a raid in the center of the Strip spearheaded by reservists in the 179th Infantry Brigade, the Yahalom Unit, and Shayetet 13. 

Wide-reaching, branching tunnels containing explosives and more

Israeli forces located several tunnel shafts leading into a wide-reaching underground network dotted with explosives and traps. They also found a weapons production site that, among other things, contained material used to extend the range of Hamas rockets. 

Once the raid was complete, the underground complex was destroyed by the Yahalom Unit. 

This is a developing story.

Three Israelis who were previously considered missing are now considered to have been taken hostage in the Gaza Strip, brining the total back up to 136, IDF spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari announced.

Israelis must be able to return safely to their homes in the north, whether by military means or diplomacy, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's US special envoy Amos Hochstein said when they met on Thursday.

"Returning our citizens in the north and south to their homes is part of the goals of the war, and it will be achieved by political or military means," Netanyahu said.

He spoke with Hochstein, who is visiting as part of a US push for a diplomatic rather than a military solution.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Hochstein earlier in the day that there is only a short window for diplomacy to be effective.

Israeli security forces located and found and confiscated weapons and hundreds of explosive devices in the West Bank Nur Shams refugee camp inside a building that also housed a kindergarten run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), according to a Thursday IDF statement. 

In addition, many weapons and other pieces of military equipment were confiscated and destroyed, besides those found in the kindergarten. 

The operation was a joint effort between IDF reservist teams, the Shin Bet, and the Border Police and was the result of a 40-hour-long counter-terrorism operation in which hundreds of buildings were searched and hundreds of suspects were questioned, leading to 11 arrests.

Trapped building, car, and explosives surrounding

Forces searched a booby-trapped building, the lower floor of which housed a UNRWA-run kindergarten. The building also contained an operating system connected to explosives surrounding the building as well as on access roads leading to it. 

A booby-trapped vehicle was also found near the building. It was destroyed along with the infrastructure inside the building and the explosives in the surrounding area. 

IDF troops also located and destroyed two laboratories used to create explosives within Nur Shams. 

Two IDF reservists were wounded during the operation, sustaining light and moderate injuries from shrapnel. They were taken to a hospital for medical treatment. 

In a separate counter-terrorism operation in the village of Sir, a soldier was seriously wounded in an explosion and subsequently taken to the hospital for treatment. 

US top diplomat Antony Blinken will depart on Thursday for a week of diplomacy on Israel’s war in Gaza, visiting Israel and the West Bank, as well as Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt over the next week, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.

The visit comes amid heightened concerns the nearly three-month-old conflict is spreading beyond Gaza, drawing in the West Bank, Hezbollah forces on the Lebanon-Israel border, and Red Sea shipping lanes.

An anti-aircraft missile fell on a medical clinic in a kibbutz on the Gaza border on Thursday and caused extensive damage.

The missile, fired from inside Gaza, was aimed at an IDF rescue helicopter. Sappers were called to remove the remains of the missile.

 No injuries were reported.