Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 105?

Deputy Head of Information for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization Wael Makin Abdallah Abu-Fanounah was targeted and killed by the IDF in an airstrike on Thursday, the military announced on Friday in a joint statement with the Israel Security Service (Shin Bet.)

Fanounah was originally arrested in Israel on December 12, 1989, and was sentenced to three life sentences for his terrorist activities, but was released in 2011 as part of the Gilad Schalit prisoner deal.

Fanounah then served as deputy to Khalil al-Hayya, the Northern Gaza Strip Commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Since 2017, before assuming his role as deputy head of the organization's Information Network, Fanounah was responsible for producing terror videos related to rocket attacks on Israeli territory and creating and disseminating documentation of Israeli captives as part of the psychological warfare conducted by terror groups in Gaza against Israeli residents.

IDF graphic showing Wael Abu-Fanounah, killed on January 18, 2024 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

IDF continues battling in Gaza 

IDF troops are continuing to operate within Gaza, coordinating with the Israeli Air Force to conduct precise strikes based on the information received from the ground. 

Soldiers from the 179th 179th Armored Brigade "Ram" came under fire from terrorists armed with RPGs in central Gaza on Thursday. Subsequently, the soldiers scanned the area and the structure where the terrorists were operating, discovering RPG launchers, Kalashnikov rifles, and military equipment.
 
In the northern sector of Gaza, the 5th "Sharon" (Reserve) Infantry Brigade neutralized several armed terrorists involved in recent attacks on IDF troops that occurred in northern Gaza. The soldiers attacked and killed the militants with the assistance of tank fire and aerial support from the Air Force.

The European Union on Friday adopted a dedicated sanctions regime targeting the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, a high-ranking EU official said, adding that the first measures would target six people involved in the financing of Hamas.

"What we are doing now - it has been done today and I think it will be announced in the coming hours - (is that) we have adopted a dedicated regime for Hamas. We have listed six people" the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said.

The official added the six people were all from Arab or African countries and were all involved in financing Hamas, which has become the subject of Western reprisal after its assault on Israel last October.

The Russian foreign ministry said on Friday it had received a delegation from the Hamas terrorist movement and had urged it to release hostages the group is holding in the Gaza strip, including three Russian nationals.

The ministry said in a statement that Mikhail Bogdanov, a deputy foreign minister, had received Hamas Politburo member Abu Marzouk.

"During the conversation, the focus was on the ongoing confrontation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, against the backdrop of which the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip has reached catastrophic proportions," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The Russian side stressed the need for the speedy release of civilians captured during the attacks of 7 October 2023 and held by Palestinian factions, including three Russian citizens - A. Kozlov, A. Lobanov and A. Trufanov."

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Friday said he had urged Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "drastically" reduce the level of violence against Palestinians and to immediately pause fighting to let more aid into the Gaza strip.

"Israel needs to let in much more relief goods much quicker," Rutte said after a telephone call with Netanyahu.

"We have talked about concrete measures to do so."

Yemen's Houthis have said they did not intend to expand their attacks on shipping in and around the Red Sea further, beyond their stated aims of blockading Israel and retaliating against the United States and Britain for air strikes.

In an interview with Reuters, spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam, who is also the chief Houthi negotiator in peace talks over the country's decade-old civil war, told Reuters the group had no plans to target longstanding foes Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

"We do not want the escalation to expand. This is not our demand. We imposed rules of engagement in which not a single drop of blood was shed or major material losses," said Abdulsalam. "It represented pressure on Israel only, it did not represent pressure on any country in the world."

The Iran-aligned Houthis, who control most of Yemen's populated areas, have attacked ships at the mouth of the Red Sea since October, in what they say is a show of solidarity with Palestinians by targeting vessels linked to Israel.

"What the Yemeni people did, in the beginning, was to target Israeli ships heading to Israel without causing any human or even significant material losses, just preventing ships from passing as a natural right," said Abdulsalam.

A tribal supporter of Yemen's Houthis hold his traditional dagger, or jambiya, during a protest against recent U.S.-led strikes on Houthi targets, near Sanaa, Yemen January 14, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

"Now, when America joined in and escalated the situation further, there is no doubt that Yemen will respond," he said.

International detours

The Houthi attacks have forced international shipping companies to route trade between Europe and Asia around Africa, adding time and costs. The United States and Britain bombed Houthi targets last week in what they called an intervention to keep one of the world's busiest shipping routes open.

"We do not want the conflict to expand in the region and we do not prefer that, and we are still working on non-escalation, but the decision is up to the Americans, as long as they continue to attack," said Abdulsalam.

"Yemen is concerned with responding, and is interested in verifying or maintaining its position by preventing Israeli ships from heading to the occupied Palestinian territories."

The Red Sea conflict is one of half a dozen involving armed groups backed by Iran across the Middle East that have escalated since October, when Hamas fighters attacked Israel provoking an Israeli assault that has since devastated the Gaza Strip.

Washington accuses Tehran - which leads an "Axis of Resistance" including Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah and groups in Syria and Iraq - of trying to spread conflict across the region.

Among other flashpoints, Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged fire across the border, while pro-Iranian militias have attacked bases hosting US troops in Iraq.

The Houthis, mountain fighters who captured Yemen's capital a decade ago, have retained their grip through years of war against regional powerhouses Saudi Arabia the UAE, now in a delicate phase of peace talks.

"We do not find justification for taking any action against them, and we call on them to reject the militarization of the Red Sea or the presence of military forces inside the region," Abdulsalam said of the Gulf Arab powers.

Abdulsalam said the Houthis have made their own decisions in the conflict and do not take orders from Tehran, though they maintain a close relationship.

"We have not received any comment from the Iranians until this moment. We do not know if they will inform us later," he said. "Yemen is concerned with responding, and is concerned with confirming or remaining firm on its position of preventing Israeli ships from heading to the occupied Palestinian territories."

Combat soldiers of the IDF's 7th Armored Brigade are targeting Hamas terrorist infrastructures and discovering underground tunnels in the Khan Yunis area in southern Gaza, the military announced Friday. 

As part of an ongoing operation, the soldiers targeted a Hamas military post, which served as a training camp for the Khan Yunis Brigade of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and was a meeting place for senior Hamas officials. 

Nearby, soldiers also discovered tunnel openings, dozens of rocket launchers, military combat equipment, and a training facility with life-size models of Israeli tanks and military vehicles.

The equipment was destroyed by the forces.

Hamas training camp, Khan Yunis, Gaza, January 18, 2024 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

IDF hits Islamic Jihad propaganda leader 

Earlier on Friday, the IDF announced that the Deputy Head of Propaganda for Palestinian Islamic Jihad Wael Makin Abdallah Abu-Fanounah was targeted and killed in an airstrike on Thursday.

Fanounah was originally arrested in Israel on December 12, 1989, and was sentenced to three life sentences for his terrorist activities, but was released in 2011 as part of the Gilad Schalit prisoner deal.

Fanounah then served as deputy to Khalil al-Hayya, the Northern Gaza Strip Commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Since 2017, before assuming his role as deputy head of the organization's Propaganda Unit, Fanounah was responsible for producing terror videos related to rocket attacks on Israeli territory and creating and disseminating documentation of Israeli captives as part of the psychological warfare conducted by terror groups in Gaza against Israeli residents.

Health Minister Uriel Busso instructed Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov to cancel the directive to Israeli hospitals for the hospitalization and treatment of residents from Gaza or Lebanon who are evacuated by the IDF and transferred to Israel, the Health Ministry announced on Friday morning.

Busso emphasized that there is no change in his unequivocal policy of not allowing terrorists, as well as residents from Gaza and Lebanon, to seek refuge in Israeli hospitals.

Friday's announcement came after a directive on Thursday to admit and treat residents from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon injured in the conflict in Israeli hospitals.

The directive stated that Israel's admission of people needing treatment was in line with the state's commitments to international law and conventions. 

A wounded person from the scene of the anti-tank missile in Kfar Yuval, is brought to the Ziv Medical center in Tzfat, northern Israel, January 14, 2024 (credit: FLASH90/CHAIM GOLDBERG)

The Health Ministry asserted that "the IDF carries out the humanitarian evacuation of the victims under the decision of the operational commander and a medical factor in the combat zone."

Health minister: Original plan carried out without my knowledege

Busso insisted Friday morning that the message sent on Friday was drafted without his knowledge or approval and clarified that any request for policy change would only be considered after severe discussions.

Concerning the evacuation of the wounded from the Gaza Strip, the ministry highlighted the complexity of the process, requiring a secure corridor, assistance from the Red Cross, available evacuation means, and an open passage between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Notably, the passage is not open on a day-to-day basis during the conflict, necessitating the full mobility capability of the injured to Israeli hospitals and back to the Gaza Strip.

Hospitals were notified that "the humanitarian evacuation of the victims between hospitals is based on the urgency of arrival for treatment, the distribution of the burden among hospitals, and the additional admission of victims in parallel." The coordination of the victims will be overseen by the entire hospitalization system of Clalit Health Services, "with a national perspective of prudent use of treatment resources."

This directive follows a report last week revealing that some 25 Hamas terrorists, captured alive since October 7, were treated in Israeli hospitals. Significant opposition within the hospitals exists against treating terrorists, both from other patients and their families and from the medical staff, who, in many cases, simply refuse to admit them.

The IDF identified an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the Acre area in northern Israel.

The UAV, which had crossed into Israel from Lebanon, was intercepted by Iron Dome
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The IDF is releasing more and more reservists to be with their families, with the knowledge they would be called up again soon, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told commanders of the Southern Command on Friday morning.

"We understand the tensions that exist for reservists stuck between the battlefield and home," Halevi told commanders inside the Gaza Strip. "We are working according to the plan, withdrawing some forces, knowing well we will call them again."

With the expected military scale down in the Israel-Hamas War, discussions intensify about "the day after," more and more pressure is being heaped on the Israeli government, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in particular, to provide clear answers regarding the political, civil, and security vision for the future of the Gaza Strip.

In response to US pressure to transfer control of Gaza to a third party and pressure to support a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians, some Likud have begun to exert counter-pressure.

The Dror Forum in Likud launched a petition on Thursday in which major Likud members demanded the government "insist on full Israeli control over the Gaza Strip as a fundamental condition for a cessation of hostilities."

Only in this way, according to the Likud members, will it be possible "to decidedly win the war and ensure peace in the south in the long run."

Smoke rises over Gaza, as seen from Israel, January 18, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/TYRONE SIU)

Likud members hope to force issue to committee

The initiative only began on Thursday, but about 150 major Likud members have already signed it. Forum members claim that the required threshold of 750 signatures to force a Likud central committee meeting on the issue will be reached soon.

It is worth noting that about four months ago, it was reported that the same group succeeded in forcing a committee meeting on the issue of judicial reform after collecting about 1000 signatures from Likud members. The date for the gathering was even set, but in the end, it did not take place due to the ongoing conflict. This time, when the issue concerns the war itself, there does not seem to be anything blocking a meeting taking place.

'We are pleased to see the great response," the Dror Forum stated. "This is a critical issue for the security of the residents of the south and the entire State of Israel."