Israel-Hamas War: What happened on Day 115?

Following reports of an upcoming hostage deal, Hamas has rejected the proposal, Israeli media reported on Monday. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to confirm on Monday that Israel had circulated an intelligence dossier alleging some UNRWA staffers participated in the Oct 7 attack from Gaza, and described the the relief agency as "perforated with Hamas".

"We discovered that there were 13 UNRWA workers who actually participated, either directly or indirectly, in the October 7 massacre," he told Britain's TalkTV. "In UNRWA schools they've been teaching the doctrines of extermination for Israel - the doctrines of terrorism, glorifying terrorism, lauding terrorism."

The current wave of videos started with a low-quality clip filmed at nighttime sometime last week, presumably from an area of evacuees in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, where crowds could be heard chanting “The people want the fall of Hamas!”

 However, the low quality, bad visibility, and exceptionally rare message conveyed by the masses led some to discard it as “fabricated Zionist propaganda”.

Nevertheless, more and more similar videos began to appear, and these were far more difficult to refute. The next piece of footage published five days ago in Gazan groups, further propagated by IDF Spokesman in Arabic Avichai Adraee, showed a spontaneous demonstration of mainly children in one of the evacuee centers in the southern Gaza Strip, where demonstrators chanted “We want to go back to back Beit Lahya, we want to go back to Shati, we want to go back to Jabalia!,” all of which are neighborhoods located in the largely evacuated northern part of the Gaza Strip.

قادة #دواعش_حماس وفي مقدمتهم السنوار، استمعوا إلى صرخات شعبكم أطفالكم ونسائكم الذين خرجوا في هذه التظاهرة العفوية داخل مستشفى شهداء الأقصى بدير البلح ويعبرون عن سخطهم من الوضع الذي دفعتم غزة اليه ويطالبونكم بإعادة المختطفين الإسرائيليين إلى ديارهم لتتوقف الحرب. هل ستصل هذه… pic.twitter.com/u7Ewugab18

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) January 24, 2024

One sign held during this spontaneous demonstration drew special attention, as it read “yes to handing over the prisoners,” clearly referring to the 136 Israeli hostages held by Hamas and other terrorist factions in the Gaza Strip. The sign stirred up a virtual storm, with many showing their disdain towards the message, and leading some to suggest that it referred in fact to the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails – ignoring the clear formulation of “handing over” prisoners, rather than “releasing” them. Several commenters tried to discard the message not as carrying any meaning, claiming that the event was led by children who can barely read and write; while others remarked that they should not be judged by outsiders who do not go through what they had to endure so far.

However, this was not the only video of a grassroots demonstration. A second video soon sprung up, portraying another spontaneous rally of evacuees marching with white flags and empty water jugs calling “We want peace, we want peace!” In a Palestinian group, one member answered a comment which asked, “Who exactly do they want to make peace with?” by replying that “these people suffer so much that they would make peace with Satan to stop their suffering”.

״بدنا سلام بدنا سلام"

سكان غزة يطالبون حماس التي وزعت عليهم الحلويات في السابع من أكتوبر بوقف الحرب التي فرضوها عليهم…

مواصلة الحرب من قبل حماس تضر أولا وأخيرا بالغزيين أنفسهم. لو اكترثت حماس بالغزيين لكانت توقف الحرب وتعيد المختطفين الإسرائيليين

قادة #دواعش_حماس وفي… pic.twitter.com/8K4ehnAy9e

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) January 25, 2024

Then came a third video which was also promoted by Adraee showing a gathering of hundreds of citizens of Khan Younis on their way to the southern humanitarian area, presumably shouting here as well “The people want the fall of Hamas!”

#عاجل "الشعب يريد اسقاط حماس" - جماهير غفيرة من سكان غزة ينتقلون من خانيونس عبر الممر الإنساني الآمن ويهتفون - "الشعب يريد إسقاط حماس

الممر الإنساني الآمن الذي تم افتتاحه في الأيام الأخيرة غرب خان يونس لسكان غزة يتيح التحرك غربًا إلى المنطقة الإنسانية في المواصي. وفتح جيش… pic.twitter.com/2vwIV9tTC0

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) January 27, 2024

And then a fourth one appeared, showing Gazan citizens, including children and women, marching with white flags and calling “The people want a ceasefire”, as well as “O Netanyahu and Sinwar – enough with destruction and war!” Such direct appeals to Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, which may be perceived as overt criticism, as well as the subtle comparison between him and the prime minister, are rare and possibly even dangerous under the totalitarian Hamas regime.

أهل غزة:
"نتنياهو يا سنوار.. الشعب يريد إيقاف الحرب. يكفي حرب ودمار"! pic.twitter.com/fmaAaiwmun

— عبد العزيز الخميس (@alkhames) January 26, 2024

Indeed, Demonstrations such as these a rare sight – with messages criticizing the Hamas government being even rarer, due to both social taboos and legal measures, in addition to harsh restraints on media coverage. For example, in 2019, a series of grassroots demonstrations took place in Gaza under the slogan Bidna N’eesh (“we want to live”) regarding the harsh economic situation under Hamas administration, but these were quickly and brutally quashed by Hamas, who also expectedly alleged that Israel incited them and accused participants of collaborating with the enemy.

In this context, several videos of citizens critical of Hamas or its armed military wing, the Izz Eddin Al-Qassam Brigades, also appeared sporadically on social media since the start of the war, as Palestinians exploited live, unedited broadcasts to make their real views heard across the Arab world.

An old lady reprimanding a shocked anchor and accusing Hamas for stealing aid and bringing it underground for their benefit; a young man shouting “we want a ceasefire” behind a live press conference near one of the hospitals; evacuees marching southbound from their homes in the northern Gaza Strip cursing at Hamas and its leaders and wishing for Godly revenge for the perceived catastrophe they brought upon their people; an old injured man surprising his interviewer by accusing Al-Qassam of hiding between civilians; a mother crying over her son cursing at Hamas – all of these moments caught on camera can be deemed genuine, especially as they were broadcast on Hamas supporting outlets such as Al-Jazeera.

Not the full picture

Nevertheless, these bits and pieces are certainly not the entire picture. According to a poll conducted by renowned Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki in December 2023, 57% of respondents from the Gaza Strip thought Hamas was right in launching the October 7 massacre; though it should be noted that this data was collected during the temporary ceasefire of that month, and that much has changed since then, especially in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Likewise, it is very uncommon to come across discourse criticizing Hamas on Gazan social media.

It should be noted, however, that the Hamas rule in Gaza is a totalitarian one, where freedom of expression is heavily restricted and the very act of criticizing the movement and its armed wing can lead to serious and dangerous repercussions, including arrest and torture. For this reason, Gazan citizens’ views towards the Hamas leadership and its military wing will remain a conundrum, at least as long as Hamas continues to rule the Gaza Strip with an iron fist.

The European Commission said on Monday it would review whether it could continue to fund the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) in light of the allegations that staff members were involved in the October 7 attacks by Hamas in southern Israel.

Several countries, including EU members Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Finland, paused funding for UNRWA after allegations by Israel that 12 of its 13,000 staff in Gaza were involved.

UN officials urged them to reconsider a pause in funding, pledging that any staff found involved in the Hamas attack would be punished and warning that aid for some two million people in Gaza was at stake.

"The European Commission will determine upcoming funding decisions for UNRWA in light of the very serious allegations," the commission said in a statement.

"The Commission will review the matter in light of the outcome of the investigation announced by the UN and the actions it will take."

A UNRWA funded school in eastern Jerusalem. January 29, 2024 (credit: NATI SHOHAT/FLASH90)

No additional funding for the organization is currently foreseen until the end of February, the commission said.

European Commission to 'balance seriousness of allegations with humanitarian needs'

The commission will try to balance both the seriousness of the allegations and the dire need for humanitarian aid among Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, a spokesman said.

"On the one hand we have these extremely serious allegations, and it's obvious that these need to be investigated seriously and without delay," spokesman Eric Mamer told reporters.

"Secondly, UNRWA is a partner for humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. We recognize fully that aid to Palestinians needs to continue."

Romania has suspended its voluntary payments to the United Nations' Palestinian aid agency (UNRWA), the foreign ministry said on Monday, joining a series of countries to do so pending a full investigation into accusations that its employees were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

"We express our full confidence that the U.N. investigation will clarify the situation as soon as possible," the ministry said. "Until the investigation is concluded, the ministry will ... not make any new voluntary contributions to UNRWA."

The United Nations' UNRWA is not the only source of humanitarian aid for Palestinians, a German foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, after Berlin joined other countries in pausing its funding for the agency.

"We continue to advocate for more humanitarian aid to be provided," the spokesperson told a government press conference in Berlin.

Germany is one of a number of countries that have suspended payments to UNRWA in response to accusations from Israel that some of its workers were involved in the October 7 attack by Hamas.

Syrian air defenses were activated on Monday morning amid an alleged Israeli attack in the vicinity of Damascus, Arab media reported.

Explosions were detected near the Sayyeda Zeinab shrine complex on the outskirts of the Syrian capital.

Arab media reported that farming areas south of Damascus were targeted due to the proximity of an IRGC stronghold.

The strikes allegedly attacked an operational headquarters for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a source in Iran's regional alliance told Reuters.

The airstrikes completely destroyed the Quds Force branch of the IRGC's Shiite stronghold, Arab media reported.

There was no immediate comment from Syrian authorities and no statement on state media.

An IRGC Ground Forces commando. (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Two Iranian Revolutionary Guards members who served as military advisers in Syria were killed in an Israeli attack, Iranian state media reported in November, in the first reported Iranian casualties during the ongoing war in Gaza.

Britain calls for de-escalation in Middle East

Following strikes in Syria and Sunday's attacks in Jordan that killed three US soldiers, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called on Iran to diffuse tension, Israeli media reported.

Sunak said he was disturbed by what was happening in the Middle East, and called on the Iran to "continue to reduce" tensions in the region.

The United States has also engaged Iranian forces in Syria since the beginning of the war, with November airstrikes targeting IRGC sites, including a training facility and a safe house near the cities of al-Bukamal and al-Mayadeen. 

The United States also killed five Iran-backed fighters in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk on a pre-emptive airstrike last week, after several attacks against US forces. 

 
Tal Spungin, Jerusalem Post Staff, and Reuters contributed to this report. This is a developing story.

The United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) said on Monday that it would not be able to continue operations in Gaza and across the region beyond the end of February if funding were not resumed.

A string of countries including the United States, Germany, and Britain have paused their funding to the aid agency in the wake of allegations that 12 UNRWA staff were involved in the October 7 attacks by Hamas in southern Israel.

"If the funding is not resumed, UNRWA will not be able to continue its services and operations across the region, including in Gaza, beyond the end of February," a spokesperson for the agency said.

Syrian air defenses were activated on Monday morning amid an alleged Israeli attack in the vicinity of Damascus, Arab media reported.

This is a developing story.

The IDF is expected to ramp up its military presence in the northern Gaza Strip over the upcoming weeks to counter attempts by Hamas to re-establish itself in the area as Israel's focus moves to the south, Army Radio reported on Monday morning.

The Israeli military plans to carry out several divisional raids in the area, some considered extensive, in areas Hamas has targeted in its efforts to reinstate itself in Gaza's northern towns.

Amid the reports, the IDF on Monday called on Gazans west of Gaza City, in the north, to evacuate southward.

#عاجل ‼️ نداء إلى السكان المتواجدين غرب مدينة غزة في أحياء النصر والشيخ رضوان ومخيم الشاطئ والرمال الشمالي والجنوبي والصبرة والشيخ عجلين وتل الهوى - من أجل سلامتكم نحثكم على اخلاء مناطق تواجدكم بشكل فوري والانتقال من خلال شارع الرشيد (البحر) نحو المآوي المعروفة في دير البلح 🔴 pic.twitter.com/ABGOawNxzM

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) January 29, 2024