Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 100?

The United States urged Israel to tone down its military campaign in Gaza as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that the IDF would continue its war until Hamas was defeated.

“We are not saying let your foot up off the gas completely and don’t keep going after Hamas,” US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday when pressed on tensions between the two allies about Gaza.

Hamas “is still a viable threat,” and Israel has "every right and responsibility to go after that,” Kirby said, adding, “We believe the time is coming here very soon for a transition to a low-intensity phase.”

100 days 

He spoke as Israel marked its 100th day since the Hamas-led October 7 infiltration into southern Israel in which over 1,200 people were killed and some 250 were seized as hostages.

The Biden administration has strongly supported Israel’s military campaign to destroy Hamas sparked by the war, but it's a backing that has been fraught with tensions over the high Palestinian casualty count, the delivery of humanitarian aid, and plans for Gaza once the war is completed.

John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, answers questions during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, US, February 17, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/EVELYN HOCKSTEIN)

IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that the army is “not going to withdraw from Khan Yunis or anywhere else” in Gaza, adding that “military action takes time.”

No clear timeline

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that “one of the things that has become clear beyond all doubt is that we must conduct this war and it will yet take many months.”

It’s a stance that has concerned the US, given the absence of an end date and concern that it might not be possible to totally defeat Hamas. The tensions with the US have been accompanied by public outrage over the absence of a second hostage deal for the release of some 136 captives. One hundred and five captives were freed in an initial deal in November. Another four were released separately and one was freed by the IDF.

Hamas has insisted that any deal must include an end to the war, while Israel has said that only military pressure will secure their release, a strategy that seemed to lead to the first release but which has failed to secure a second one.

The US has sworn to do everything in its power to return the captives but has preferred to seek their freedom through diplomacy, as it urges Israel to transition faster from a high to a low-intensity campaign.

The Biden administration has been particularly concerned by Hamas assertions that close to 24,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza war-related violence. Israel has claimed that over 8,000 of those fatalities are Hamas combatants.

“We are certainly not walking away from the need to reduce civilian casualties,” Kirby said.

He stressed that the Biden administration has been speaking with Israel “intensely about a transition to low-intensity operations. We believe it is the right time for that transition, and we are talking to them about doing that.”

Israel has taken “some precursory steps to try to get to that point. They are pulling some troops out, they are relying a little less on airstrike.”

What needs to happen next, Kirby said, is “more targeted more precise raids” and “less airstrikes.”

During a visit to the IDF’s Judea and Samaria Division, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the the army “will not stop until we dismantle the capabilities of this organization, all over Gaza. 

“We have declared war on Hamas in Judea and Samaria, in Lebanon - wherever it may be necessary.” He stressed that when it comes to the West Bank, “I would like to emphasize: a strong Palestinian Authority is an Israeli security interest.”

Hamas on Sunday night published videos of Gaza hostages Noa Argamani, 26, Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38, showing the first signs of life of all three hostages.

Hamas said the fate of the three would be revealed on Monday.

This is a developing story.

A wounded IDF soldier received encouraging letters from his former orphanage in Odessa, on Sunday.

Igor, an Israel Defense Forces soldier who lost his leg in the Gaza conflict, has received an outpouring of love and encouragement from an unexpected source - orphaned children from a children's home in Odessa, where he once lived. These children, whom he considers siblings, sent emotional letters to Igor, showcasing the strong familial bonds and sense of community nurtured within the "Mishpacha" children's home. 

Israel handed over to the Red Cross a list of medicines to transfer to the remaining hostages in Gaza, KAN News reported Sunday night.

Among other items, anti-depressants and anxiety medications, sleeping pills - and food compounds for toddlers Kfir and Ariel Bibas, were on the list.

The Red Cross has been unable, and some say unwilling, to deliver medical aid to the hostages still in Hamas captivity.

Yuval Or, whose son Dror was abducted to Gaza, shouted and chased away Religious Zionist MK Zvi Sukkot, who came to the 24-hour rally at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to support the return of the 136 hostages still in the captivity of Hamas.

After encountering the MK, Or said, whose son was kidnapped along with his grandchildren Noam and Alma, alongside his daughter-in-law Yonat being murdered on October 7, yelled at Sukkot, "My son is kidnapped because of him, he murdered my daughter-in-law. Get out of here. He is the murderer.

"They are the murderers. Savages, dancing on our blood, he should go away."

אב לחטוף מגרש בצעקות את צבי סוכות מהכניסה לחדר המשפחות בכיכר החטופים. ״הבן שלי חטוף בגללו, הוא רצח את כלתי. שיעוף מפה״ pic.twitter.com/GvAYJset1M

— אורי סלע Uri Sela (@uri_sela) January 14, 2024

British police on Sunday arrested six people who are members of the Palestine Action protest group as part of an investigation into an alleged plot to disrupt the London Stock Exchange.

The police alleged the activists had planned to target the LSE on Monday morning in an attempt to prevent the building opening for trading.

In a statement, London's Metropolitan Police said three people were arrested in the northern English city of Liverpool, two in London, and one in the south coast city of Brighton.

"These are significant arrests. We believe this group was ready to carry out a disruptive and damaging stunt which could have had serious implications had it been carried out successfully," said Detective Superintendent Sian Thomas.

The police said all six activists remained in custody.

Iran's President Ibrahim Raisi condemned the US air strikes on Yemen, saying the attacks revealed what he called the true aggressive nature of the United States, Iran's IRNA news agency reported on Sunday.

Supporting defenseless Palestinians is the principled stance of Iran, Raisi added in a phone call with the head of Yemen's Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Masha, it reported.

A new global study revealed that the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated in the initial 60 days of the Israel-Hamas conflict surpassed the annual emissions of 20 countries identified as highly vulnerable to climate change.

The report, published last week on the Social Science Research Network, tried to analyze the war’s effects on carbon emissions. The researchers found that from October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, to December 4, 281,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide were released. This is equivalent to burning 150,000 tons of coal annually in 75 coal-fired power plants.

Some 99% of these emissions were attributed to Israel’s aerial and ground operations against Hamas in Gaza.

The analysis, which has still not been peer-reviewed, includes CO2 emissions from Israeli bombing raids, primarily carried out by F-16 fighter jets, tanks, and other military vehicles, cargo and patrol flights, and the emissions of the estimated munitions used by Israel against Hamas.

The study found that the emissions of US cargo planes delivering military supplies to Israel accounted for almost half of the total emissions. Up to December 4, the US sent around 200 cargo flights carrying 10,000 tons of supplies to Israel. These planes emitted 133,000 tons of CO2, the report showed.

The research does not include other greenhouse gas emissions, such as methane. It does include CO2 emissions from Hamas rockets targeting Israel. The researchers found that the 9,500 Qassam rockets Hamas fired on October 7 generated 713 tons of CO2 over several weeks, about the equivalent of burning 300 tons of coal.

“There is very clearly an emissions asymmetry here, in the same way, that there are a lot of asymmetries in this conflict,” said Patrick Bigger, research director of the Climate and Community Project US-based think tank, who co-authored the study.

Hamas armed wing spokesman Abu Obaida said on Sunday that the fate of many Israeli hostages has become unknown.

In his first televised appearance for several weeks, Abu Obaida said many of the hostages "may have been killed," blaming their fate on Israel.

He added, "Any talks before stopping the Israeli aggression are worthless."

Israel's government is considering a pilot program for the entry of Palestinian workers aged 45 and older.

Alongside the disappointment regarding the pace of arrival of foreign workers, the government is examining a plan to admit Palestinian workers who have undergone investigation and possess entry permits to Israel. Additionally, there is consideration of a personal file proposal for each worker intending to come to Israel, aiming to enable the entry of older Palestinian workers without any security history.

Due to concerns about a potential third intifada and under pressure from the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), the government is examining a plan to admit Palestinian workers aged 45 and older who have undergone investigation and hold entry permits to Israel as part of the pilot program. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Saturday night that the pilot is under consideration.

The head of the Population and Immigration Authority is currently examining a proposal from the head of the Contractors Association, Eran Siv, which was revealed by Walla, for a personal file for each worker intending to come to Israel. The intention is to facilitate the entry of older Palestinian workers with a clean security record in Israel who have been working in Israel for years.