Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 103?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unilaterally delayed and backtracked on agreed-upon outlines for the release of hostages without consulting the cabinet, according to Israeli media sources on Wednesday.

In recent days, the political leadership in Israel discussed potential conditions for a new and proactive negotiation that could eventually lead to a hostage deal. The negotiations were expected to be pushed forward by a mediator.

However, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu delayed the talks and increased the demands that had been agreed upon, according to reports.

Discussions over the conditions were held with political echelon leaders, namely Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot. These discussions eventually brought about agreed-upon conditions that would guide the advancement of negotiations, which would later lead to a deal with Hamas when the political leadership had already reached conclusions about what Israel could give as part of that deal.

Without any warning

However, a few days after the conclusion of discussions in the war cabinet, and after the conditions that would guide Israel in the current course of action were agreed upon, Netanyahu delayed the outline and increased the demands without coordinating with the ministers of the war cabinet.

According to reports, the ministers involved in the discussions found out about this later, and some of them even confronted the prime minister to express their anger.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and MKo Benny Gantz, holds a news conference in Tel Aviv on Saturday night. (credit: Abir Sultan/Reuters)

Sources within the government said that Netanyahu is "missing out on an opportunity to advance a hostage release deal."

On the other hand, political sources said that "they are still working on an Israeli outline; It has not been stopped."

A senior member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud faction made an offer for Yesh Atid to join the government for a year in exchange for senior positions, including those belonging to Otzma Yehudit, N12 reported on Wednesday.

Two weeks ago, there was a meeting between a Likud senior official and a Yesh Atid senior official in which a proposal was made to establish a joint government for a year, but it was not stated what would happen at the end of the period, according to the report

Yesh Atid was offered to enter the government in exchange for senior positions of Otzma Yehudit, including the Interior Security Minister. However, it was made clear that Ben-Gvir will remain in the government.

Likud has responded to these claims by saying, "The publications about different proposals for Lapid and [Avigdor] Liberman are completely false and pointless in an attempt to disintegrate the unity government during wartime."

The US designation of Yemen's Houthis as a terrorist group will not affect their operations to prevent Israeli ships or ships heading to Israel from crossing the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters on Wednesday.

The Biden administration on Wednesday returned the Iran-aligned Houthi militia to a list of terrorist groups, US officials said, in the latest attempt by Washington to stem attacks by Houthi forces on international shipping in protest over Israel's bombardment of Gaza.

The IDF announces the death of St.-Sgt. Oriya Ayimalk Goshen and St.-Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Anwar Serhan on Wednesday.

Oriya Ayinalk Goshen, 21, was a Sayeret Givati soldier from Jerusalem. He fell in combat in the southern Gaza Strip.

Anwar Serhan was 26 years old from Hurfeish and a soldier in the 910th Battalion. He was killed in a car crash during operations in Gush Etzion, the IDF said.

Two more soldiers killed in northern Gaza, IDF says

Earlier on Wednesday, it was announced that two IDF soldiers were killed in action in the northern Gaza Strip.

Maj. (res) Zachariah Pesach Haber, 32 years old, from Jerusalem, an armored fighter, and Sergeant Maj. (res) Yair Katz, 34 years old, from Holon, a fighter, both in the 87th Battalion, 14th Strike Brigade, fell in a battle in the northern Gaza Strip.

In addition, a reserve fighter in the 52nd Battalion, Iron Footprint Formation (401), was seriously injured in a battle in the northern Gaza Strip, and a reserve combat medic in the 6261st Brigade, Brigade 261, was seriously injured near the Gaza border.

IDF reservist wounded during overnight IDF operation in Tulkarm

An IDF reservist was wounded during an overnight operation in Tulkarm when terrorists threw explosives and began shooting at IDF forces, according to an IDF statement.

The reservist was seriously wounded after being hit by gunfire. The soldier was taken to hospital for medical treatment, and his family has been notified.

During the operation, the IDF, Shin Bet, and Border Police arrested 26 wanted terrorists in the West Bank.

The IDF searched buildings and interrogated dozens of suspects. They were also able to uncover dozens of explosives that were buried under the roads that were intended to harm the soldiers.

The IDF announces the death of First Sergeant Oriya Ayimalk Goshen and First Sergeant in Reserves Anwar Serhan on Wednesday.

Oriya Ayinalk Goshen was 21 years old from Jerusalem, and a soldier in Sayeret Givati. He fell in combat in the southern Gaza Strip.

Anwar Serhan was 26 years old from Hurfeish, and a soldier in the 910 battalion. He was killed in a car crash during operations within the borders of Israel, the IDF said.

Colonel Hossein Ali Javadan Far of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps was shot and killed in Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan Province, reported Iranian state media on Wednesday, in what the outlet called a "terrorist incident."

This is a developing story.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a series of statements that according to recent assessments of the ongoing Hamas war, the conflict could continue for months and possibly into 2025, N12 reported on Wednesday.

Netanyahu announced the possibility of continuing into 2025 while speaking with heads of the authorities of the Gaza border communities.

He made further statements about the continuation of the war while visiting the Navatim Air Force base in the south of the country.

At the beginning of the visit, the Prime Minister arrived at Squadron 116, which operates the F-35 aircraft.

The Prime Minister received an operational report from the base commander, Brigadier General Yotam Sigler, and the commander of the 116 squadron, Lt. Col. D, on their activities so far in combat in all the arenas and on the various missions they perform, including assisting forces that are operating in Gaza, conducting strikes in the northern arena, and detection and interception of hostile air targets.

After the initial briefing, Netanyahu addressed the state of the war to them. "The war continues, and it will continue until the end until we complete all our goals: the return of the hostages, the elimination of Hamas, and the promise that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel."

"To make clear so that no one will be mistaken, We will continue to fight on land, at sea, and in the air, until complete victory," he concluded.

Trucks carrying medicine and other humanitarian equipment for the remaining 136 Israeli hostages in Gaza have entered the Kerem Shalom crossing, where they are undergoing an inspection by Israeli security forces, KAN News reported Wednesday afternoon.

The first shipment of medication from Qatar landed at the Al Arish airport in Egypt on Wednesday morning, according to Israeli media, citing Qatari news. The medication was bought from France and will reportedly be sent to Egypt in two shipments to Egypt before being transferred to Gaza. The agreement states that proof must be provided to Israel that the medication did reach the hostages.

Following initial confirmation by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the IDF would not be allowed to inspect the medicine, he later retracted his statement minutes before reports of said IDF inspection taking place at Kerem Shalom.

KAN News reported on Wednesday afternoon that some 60 tons of aid were on board two planes, but only half of that was medical aid.

PARIS – Hundreds of people arrived Tuesday evening at the Majestic Passy cinema in the 16th Paris neighborhood to see the exceptional #NOVA documentary on the October 7 events, directed by Dan Pe’er. The film is composed of video clips filmed by partygoers from the moment they arrived at the festival and through the horrendous attack. Fifty-two minutes where young people talk to their phones while Hamas terrorists are attacking, leaving a documented trace of what these young people saw and what they felt during these terrifying hours. 

But more than watching the film, the Parisians who arrived at the Majestic Passy to listen to Michal, Yuval, and Itay, all survivors of October 7, who told them in their voices and in their own words what happened to them that terrible day. 

The survivors' stories in their own words 

These three brave young people have each a different Nova story. They are part of the film. Together, they shared after the screening what took place outside kibbutz Re’im. They shared their own stories, but also those of their friends, who did not survive.

Michal Ohana lives in Portugal. She arrived in Israel just a few days before October 7, after her sister gave birth. The party, she tells The Jerusalem Post, was the perfect opportunity to meet with many friends she has not seen for a while. And indeed, the festival was a fantastic experience, for the first few hours.

‘’The atmosphere was amazing. Really. Until 6:30 in the morning, when the missile fire started. The music stopped. We were told to lay on the ground and protect our heads. We didn’t understand exactly what was happening. With my friends, we decided to stay in the parking lot, because we thought that this close to Gaza the missiles will just fly over us. But at 8:00, people started running in our direction, shouting that terrorists are coming.’’

Michel says that at that point they decided to flee. After driving for just a few hundred meters, the bullets of the terrorists reached the car, so they decided to ditch the vehicle, with the engine still running. They spotted the small police shack set up for the party. It was only inside, when she saw people wounded, that she began realizing what was going on.

The IDF could not confirm the cause of death of killed Gaza hostages Ron Sherman and Nick Beiser, the military confirmed in a Wednesday statement.

IDF representatives arrived at the families of the kidnapped soldiers, Sergeant Ron Sherman and Corporal Nick Beiser, in order to inform them of the findings regarding the circumstances of their deaths in Hamas captivity late Tuesday night.

IDF representatives presented the families with the key findings of the pathological report and findings uncovered from the moment of recovery of the bodies

Their bodies were retrieved from a Hamas tunnel by the IDF in Jabaliya on December 14, 2023, together with the body of Elia Toledano. Also, on December 12, 2023, the IDF recovered the bodies of Aden Zakaria and Ziv Dado from the same area.

Close to where the bodies were found, the IDF attacked a tunnel in which the commander of the northern division of Gaza, Ahmad Al Ghandour, was killed. The investigation shows that at the time of the attack, the IDF did not know about the presence of hostages in the area. Also, the forces who found their bodies during searches in the tunnel did not have prior intelligence about their presence.

Findings of the reports

According to a statement released by the IDF, the pathology report shows that no signs of injury or gunshots were found on their bodies, so they were not killed as a result of a direct hit from the attack.

The entrance of a Hamas tunnel shaft found by IDF soldiers in Gaza. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

The statement continues, "Due to the condition of the bodies, it is not possible to determine the cause of death. At this stage, it cannot be ruled out or confirmed that they were killed as a result of suffocation, poisoning, or residual aspects of an IDF attack or a Hamas operation. Samples were taken to carry out further toxicological testing, which may reveal more details later. As mentioned, at this stage, it is not possible to determine the cause of death."

The IDF and its commanders have promised to continue to update them with any verified information and new findings.

The bodies of three Hamas hostages - Nick Beiser (28), Ron Sherman (19), and Elia Toledano (19) - were recovered in Gaza by the IDF in mid-December. Soldiers from the 551st Brigade and Unit 504 in the Intelligence Division, under the command of Division 162, helped rescue the bodies from Hamas captivity. 

Corp. Nick Beiser, from Beer Sheva, was kidnapped while serving as a driver at the Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration on October 7. 

Sgt. Ron Sherman, from Levahim, was kidnapped while serving as a coordination and liaison officer at the Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration on October 7. 

When Sherman was kidnapped, he was not on duty. Sherman woke up to explosions outside his base and went to a bomb shelter in shorts and a t-shirt, without a weapon.  

Elia Toledano was kidnapped from the Re’im music festival on October 7 alongside his girlfriend Mia Schem, who was released from captivity last month as a part of the hostage-prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas. Schem had appeared in a propaganda video released by Hamas where her right arm appeared to be injured. After she was released, she appeared in a number of interviews with major Israeli news networks, detailing her captivity.  

An identification procedure was carried out by medical officials, military rabbis, and forensic experts.