Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 108?

Hamas forces on Monday fired a rocket propelled grenade on multiple adjacent structures which, along with landmines which the IDF forces had collected and brought into the buildings, caused a total collapse, which in turn killed 21 soldiers and injured several others.

The incident occurred around 4:00 p.m. in al-Muasi in central Gaza.

In addition, a separate rocket propelled grenade was fired on an IDF tank which killed two IDF soldiers and injured two others.

It was unclear if the soldiers had violated procedures by bringing the landmines into the structures with them and also unclear how much the collapse of the building was caused by the RPG versus the secondary landmines explosions.

The IDF forces who were harmed were mostly reservists assigned to clear certain areas of dangerous items, such as mines.

Rescue activities went on for hours with the brigade commander having been on site from the start of the incident.

It was unclear what happened to the Hamas attackers.

The IDF released the names of 10 soldiers of the 21 that were killed.

Maj.-Gen. (res.) Matan Lazar, 32, from Haifa, a soldier from the IDF's 6261 Battalion, 261's Brigade.

Maj.-Gen. (res.) Hadar Kapeluk, 23, from Moshav Mevo Beitar, and was a Class Commander in the IDF's 8208 Battalion, 261st Brigade.

Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Sergey Gontmaher, 37, from Ramat Gan, who was a soldier in the IDF's 8208 Battalion, 261st Brigade.

Maj. (res.) Elkana Yehuda Sfez, 25, from Kiryat Arba, was a soldier in the 8208 Battalion, 261st Brigade.

St.-Sgt. (res.) Yoval Lopez, 27, from the settlement Alon Shvut in the West Bank, a soldier in the 9206 Battalion, 205th Brigade.

Maj. (res.) Yoav Levi, 29, from the city Yehud-Monoson in central Israel, who was a soldier in Battalion 8208, 261st Brigade.

Maj. (res.) Nicholas Berger, 22, from Jerusalem, who was a soldier in the 8208 Battalion, 261st Brigade.

Maj. (res.) Cydrick Garin, 23, from Tel Aviv-Yafo, who was a soldier in the 8208 Battalion, 261st Brigade.

St.-Sgt. (res.) Rafael Elias Mosheyoff, 33, from the town Pardes Hanna-Karkur near Haifa, who was a soldier in the 6261 Battalion, 261st Brigade.

St.-Sgt. (res.) Barak Haim Ben Valid, 33, from Rishon Lezion, class commander in Battalion 6261, Brigade 261.

A current plan for an exchange between Israel and Hamas to return Israeli hostages has been outlined, according to Channel 13 reports on Monday.

As talks about the development of another hostage deal during the Israel-Hamas war continue to unfold, this plan has been drawn for negotiation over the course of the past two weeks. 

The initial report of the outline is a plan that would take place in three to four stages.  

Details of the outlined plan

As a condition to progress in each of these stages, one of Israel's main requirements would be to agree to the release of captured terrorists, including those considered under the category of "heavy terrorists."

The stages of hostage release plan are outlined as follows:

In the first stage,  women who remain alive and in captivity and all elderly men would be released. It is currently unclear if their release would occur simultaneously. However, the intention behind the first step is to act as humanely as possible in the removal of the hostages from Hamas captivity.

A person holds a sign during a protest held by families of hostages and supporters to call for the immediate release of hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7 attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence, in Jerusalem January 22 (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)

The second stage would be the release of young men. And lastly, the final stage would include the release of soldiers along with the return of bodies being held by Hamas. 

This plan is still an outline and is not concrete. No further proposal has come from Hamas in recent days. 

According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there is no real proposal from the initiative of Hamas.

"There is an initiative of ours, and I will not go into details," Netanyahu stated in his meeting with representatives of the families of the hostages in his office in Jerusalem.

Hamas has published a 16-page document presenting a justification for its actions on October 7. The document denies that the terror group committed atrocities against civilians, and calls for an international investigation into the events of the day, branding Hamas a “national liberation” group, battling “colonialism.” 

On its front and back covers, the document features pictures of Gazans on an Israeli tank, as well as images of paragliders reminiscent of the early phases of the assault. 

The document, titled “Our Narrative: Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” is addressed to “Arab and Islamic nations” and “free peoples worldwide.” It is divided into five parts: a narrative of the Arab-Israeli conflict; an account of October 7; a call for an “international investigation” of what happened; a presentation of the terror group itself; and a set of demands and calls to action.

The first section of the document presents the conflict as a 105-year battle by Palestinians against “colonialism.” It makes reference to the Balfour Declaration and the British Mandate, and recounts the formation of Israel by “Zionist gangs” while “the Palestinians were denied from [sic] the right to self-determination.” 

The document levies accusations against Israel related to the Six Day War, West Bank settlements, and the supposed “Judaization” of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem; it also makes reference to the issues of Palestinian prisoners, the blockade of Gaza, and the denial of a Palestinian right of return— maintaining, all the while, that the United States is complicit in Israel’s actions.

Taken from the cover of Hamas's 16-page document released Monday, presenting a justification for its actions on October 7. (credit: N/A)

Denying atrocities on October 7, blaming Israel for civilian deaths

Hamas’s account of the October 7 attacks alleges that the “operation…targeted the Israeli military sites… and sought to arrest the enemy’s soldiers.” It avoids any mention of the bloody raids on Israeli towns and Kibbutzim.

It also avoids any mention of the approximately 240 people that Hamas took captive on October 7 as hostages, only implying their captivity in a claim that Israeli operations in Gaza were responsible for their deaths.  

The document boasts of the Hamas terrorists’ “religious and moral commitment,” claiming that the “Al-Qassam Brigades fighters…avoid[ed] harm to civilians, especially children, women, and elderly people.” It adds that “if there was any case of targeting civilians; [sic] it happened accidentally and in the course of this confrontation,” and “maybe some faults happened during… implementation due to the rapid collapse of the Israeli security and military system.”

The terrorist group claims that “testimonies by Israelis” show that Hamas “did not target civilians,” invoking the “lie of the 40 beheaded babies”— a ‘debunked’ claim that was never in fact made by any Israeli press or spokespeople— and a report by the anti-Israel outlet Mondoweiss that reported a “lack of any evidence of mass rape.” The group blames Israeli helicopters for killing “many” of the 364 civilians massacred at the Nova music festival, saying that Hamas “had no prior knowledge of it.”

Additionally, the document says, “it must be known that conscription applies to all Israelis above the age of 18,” and that “all can carry and use arms.” The document calls Israel “an army with a country attached,” insinuating that all Israelis can be considered legitimate targets. Finally, the document alleges hypocrisy on the part of those who would accept civilian casualties as collateral damage in Gaza while condemning Hamas’s actions during its massacres on October 7.

Calls for an investigation in The Hague

The document calls for an “independent investigation,” insisting that such a probe would prove “the truth of our narrative and… the scale of lies and misleading information in [sic] the Israeli side.” This leads into the document’s  third chapter, calling for an investigation by the International Criminal Court to look at “the broader context” of the October 7 attack as part of the “struggle against colonialism.” 

The fourth section of the document, titled “A reminder to the world, who is Hamas,” seeks to rebrand the organization, designated as a terrorist group by the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and the EU— as a “national liberation and resistance movement.” The document refers to several clauses in Hamas’s updated charter from 2017, alleging that the conflict is not with the Jews, but rather with Zionism. The section condemns “what the Jews were exposed to by Nazi Germany,” despite Hamas officials’ repeated denials of the Holocaust and their use of antisemitic rhetoric, and praises Muslim nations for having provided Jews a “safe haven” for centuries.

The document says that Hamas receives their legitimacy from the “Palestinian right to self-defense, liberation and self-determination,” claiming that according to “all norms, divine religions and international laws,” as well as the Geneva convention, parties are granted the right to resist by any means necessary, including armed resistance— especially, the group says, when facing “the longest and brutalist [sic] colonial occupation,” as well as “massacres” and “oppression.” 

Finally, Hamas says that “Occupation is occupation no matter how it describes or names itself” and calls on all countries around the world to back “Palestinian resistance” and support the Palestinians’ “struggle for liberation.” The terrorist group calls on its allies to “support… the Palestinian resistance,” to charge Israel with crimes, to mobilize against “Israeli aggression” on Gaza, and to stop governments from providing further aid or arms to Israel.

Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.

Cairo issued a public warning to Israel on Monday that the ties between the two countries were at risk over IDF control of the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow 14-kilometer buffer zone that runs along Egypt’s border with Gaza.

“It must be strictly emphasized that any Israeli move in this direction will lead to a serious threat to Egyptian-Israeli relations,” the head of the State Information Services (SIS) Diaa Rashwan said in a statement he issued.

“Egypt,” Rashwan said, “is capable of defending its interests and sovereignty over its land and borders, and will not mortgage it in the hands of a group of extremist Israeli leaders who seek to drag the region into a state of conflict and instability.”

Israel seeks to halt weapons smuggling

This latest message from Cairo warning against IDF control of the Philadelphi Corridor comes as Israel looks to halt a weapons smuggling route from Egypt into Gaza through that buffer zone.

The IDF had controlled that zone under terms set out by its 1979 peace treaty with Egypt until it withdrew from Gaza in 2005.

IDF patrol in South after 2011 cross border attack 370 (R) (credit: Ronen Zvulun / Reuters)

After conquering a Hamas tunnel in the northern Gaza Strip, a group of Israeli soldiers went down it with some unusual kit in hand - not explosives, robot probes or pistols for close combat, but rather: old-style, dial-operated transistor radios.

Their mission was to descend until the devices could no longer receive AM transmissions from Israel. That point, they found, was at about 10 to 12 meters depth, generally the upper "stories" of Palestinian militants' subterranean network.

The Jan 4 experiment was ordered by their commander at the behest of Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, who had just expanded the country's most popular broadcaster, Army Radio, from industry-standard FM into complementary AM channels.

AM's greater range meant emergency updates would have a better chance of being heard by civilians in bomb shelters. Troops in Gaza would also benefit, as they were being allowed transistor radios to keep themselves informed while being asked to surrender their cellphones lest those be geolocated by Hamas.

The tunnel experiment dangled another possibility for a country tormented with worry for 132 people held hostage by Hamas-led gunmen in the enclave: reaching out to them with custom-composed, morale-raising Army Radio broadcasts.

IDF soldiers operating in the tunnel used by Yahya Sinwar's brother in the Gaza Strip (credit: BENJAMIN WEINTHAL)

"It suddenly occurred to me that maybe some of those hostages also had access to transistor radios," Karhi told Reuters. "If they had the means to hear their families' voices it would have a huge value in terms of morale - and for their relatives, too."

The gambit would likely need Hamas' cooperation, a prospect its initiators hope is within the bounds of possibility.

Hamas officials in Gaza were not immediately available for comment on the idea - a testament to Palestinians' shattered infrastructure under an Israeli offensive, as well as their reluctance to release information on the hostages' conditions.

Access to TVs, radios

Of scores of hostages freed in a November truce, several said captors had allowed them limited access to TVs or radios.

One of them learned from the radio that her husband and daughter, from whom she had been separated during the Oct. 7 cross-border Hamas killing and kidnapping spree that sparked the war, had survived. For another, an Israeli broadcast was the first notification that two relatives were among the dead.

But the accounts often left unclear whether the hostages were kept just under the surface, or in tunnels well out of range, or in above-ground safe houses with regular reception. Tunnels shown to journalists by advancing Israeli forces have sometimes included upper levels of about 10 meters depth.

Asked to respond to the Army Radio initiative, ex-hostage Nili Margalit said part of her captivity was spent 40 meters underground. "It is too deep," she told Reuters, declining to discuss the matter further for fear "that the terrorists will use my words to hurt the captives that are still there."

Dan O'Shea, a former Navy SEAL and hostage coordinator for US forces in Iraq, said that while he "completely agrees" with the AM-radio initiative he saw scant chance of Hamas cooperating while Israel pursues search-and-rescue operations in Gaza.

"If Hamas knew that these radios could be picked up by Israeli forces, it's the last thing they would want," he said. "They're paranoid about anything that's going to track an IDF bomb to their position."

Peter Duffett-Smith, emeritus reader in astrophysics at the University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory, said AM transistor radios, which are designed to passively receive broadcasts, cannot easily be traced. But he did not rule it out.

Most such radios use oscillators which emit faint signals, he said, "and it is possible that (these) could be detected at a distance using specialized equipment. These signals decrease rapidly with distance, especially through ground."

Asked whether Israel could mount such location operations, Army Radio director Danny Zaken said: "We cannot. It (a broadcast received by the radio) is not coming back. I mean, it's not like sonar ... It's only one-way, unfortunately."

Staving off despair

Karhi said he knew of neither Israel nor Hamas being able to track passive AM reception - hence the permission for troops in Gaza to use transistor radios.

Staving off despair or rebelliousness among the hostages might prompt captors to consider taking a risk on the radios.

But Ruth Pat-Horenczyk, a clinical psychology professor with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said if Hamas felt it would weaken its control of captives it would prevent them listening.

Army Radio's shift into AM is backed by the Defence Ministry's National Emergency Management Authority and Israel's largest telecom group, Bezeq. The station has been pre-recording messages by hostage families for airing several times a day.

"They're telling them: 'Stay strong. We are fighting for you. Don't worry. We'll get to you. Stay strong," Zaken said.

At a Tel Aviv rally to mark the first birthday of Kfir Bibas, the youngest of the hostages, an Army Radio reporter approached one of the baby's relatives, Yosi Shnaider, to explain the station's new reach and ask to record an interview.

He agreed: "If they are hearing us ... We want to tell you that the families love you, that no one has forgotten you."

Five Arab countries are pushing for a new proposal in the Gaza Strip, which would create a path towards a Palestinian state in exchange for Saudi Arabia's recognition of Israel and normalization between the two countries, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.   

The proposal was submitted to Israel via the US. 

According to Saudi and Egyptian sources, the proposal has so far been dismissed by the Israeli government, with the main point of contention being the creation of a Palestinian state.

The United States supports a humanitarian pause in Gaza of some length to allow hostages to be freed and for additional humanitarian assistance to get in, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

“We want to see all the hostages home and we want to see Israel not have to face a threat next door like the one they faced on October 7,” Kirby said.

He refused to confirm the Wall Street Journal report about a proposal for a 90-day pause in the war and a three-phased release of some 132 hostages.

“The President supports Israel being able to defend itself. He supports getting all those hostages out. To do that, he supports an additional humanitarian pause of some length that will allow those hostages to go to freedom safely and more aid to get in.

“Again you need a pause in the fighting to to do that.

“We don’t support, still today, a general ceasefire,” Kirby stated.

BRUSSELS – European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell is pushing for an international conference that would discuss the two-state solution. Addressing journalists at the end of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, Borrell said that all EU members agree this is the only viable solution that could guarantee peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.  

‘’If Israel won’t agree to participate, that would be difficult, but it should not prevent the other countries from discussing it,’’ stated the European leader. He added that the European Union will now start preparation for the international conference, noting that Europe has a ‘’moral obligation’’ to di so, but refused to say if he envisages for a solution will be imposed on Israel by the international community.  

Borrell also said that several peace initiatives are in the works, including one by Arab states, pledging to share with them the European plan, once its elaborated.  

He also said that all EU member states agree that the priority now is to expand humanitarian assistance, stop all Israeli military activity, and address the issue of the hostages held in Gaza. ‘’Less than 100, maybe 80 trucks are entering the Strip per day, compared with more than 500 before the war,’’ said Borrell, warning that Gazans are now facing famine. 

Borrell criticized Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz for his presentation to the Council earlier in the day of a video showing two possible projects – one for a regional train infrastructure linking Israel with the Gulf states and the other of an artificial island off Gaza shores. ‘’The minister could have made better use of his time at the Council, talking about the security of his country,’’ said Borrell. 

Demonstrators for the return of the hostages briefly blocked the entrance to the Kirya in Tel Aviv, Israeli media reported on Monday. 

At the same time, some 200 protestors, joined by relatives of the hostages, are demonstrating in front of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Jerusalem home, according to reports. 

The IDF on Monday announced that three IDF soldiers were killed in an ambush in Khan Yunis.

The three were IDF Maj. David Nati Alfasi, 27 from Beersheba, IDF Maj. Ilay Levy, 24 from Tel Aviv, and IDF Capt. Eyal Mevorach Twito, 22 from Beit Gamliel.

All three were in Battalion 202 of the paratroopers. The total number of fallen soldiers since October 7 is now 535.

IDF troops of the Yiftah Brigade on operations in Gaza, January 22, 2024 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

 IDF's Khan Yunis push

Additionally, the IDF has launched a major division-level new push in western Khan Yunis, ushering in likely the most intense fighting since early December when the military first entered other parts of Hamas’s southern capital.

Division 98 has unleashed serious forces from its seven brigades, artillery, tanks, and air support, and surrounded western Khan Yunis which until now the IDF had mostly steered clear of.

The IDF’s message earlier in the morning about large amounts of airstrikes was in preparation to give the ground forces an easier time moving into the new areas.