Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 117?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday night that he "has red lines" regarding the release of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas in Gaza.

"We will not end the war, we will not remove the IDF from the Gaza Strip, and we will not release thousands of terrorists," he said. 

"There is a lot of noise in the media surrounding the efforts for the release of more hostages, so I want to make it clear: We are working to obtain another outline for the release of our hostages, but I emphasize: Not at any cost.

"We are constantly working for the release of our hostages and the achievement of the other goals of the war: the elimination of Hamas and the promise that Gaza will no longer pose a threat," he continued. "We are working on all three together and will not give up on any of them."
 

The IDF's Unit 5515 and the 669 Search and Rescue Unit have been saving the lives of soldiers operating in the Gaza Strip, the former of which has dozens of teams that have fought alongside ground forces in Gaza and built an immediate chain of rescue that can provide medical attention to those wounded in the field.

The units have reportedly been coming under heavy fire by Hamas while performing such rescue operations. The two units have mounted teams and are on standby in various combat zones.

Within minutes upon request, the teams quickly evacuated those wounded while continuing medical treatment until the wounded were transferred onto the helicopter or mounted evacuation vehicles. They are continuing to be treated medically until their arrival at hospitals within Israel.

Any halt to operations by the UN Palestinian agency over Israeli accusations that some of its staff took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack could hamstring the entire humanitarian effort in devastated Gaza, aid agencies say.

Donors are demanding a swift investigation before resuming funding, though they have praised the work of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in Gaza and its response so far to the allegations.

UNRWA believes it has responded rapidly and transparently to Israel's allegations, which came as Israel faced a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over the Gaza war, and after years of it calling for the agency to be disbanded.

Israel's offensive in the Palestinian enclave has caused the world's most acute humanitarian crisis, with 85% of Gaza's 2.3 million inhabitants homeless, large numbers starving and others falling sick.

UNRWA is at the heart of all aid work in Gaza through its 13,000 employees in the enclave, its clinics and schools, many now acting as packed shelters, and its logistics hubs.

"The entire aid system in Gaza will be closer to the point of collapse," said Shaina Low, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council, calling UNRWA "vital in coordinating aid and providing shelter".

There is a “strong” proposal for a second hostage deal that would allow for a much longer pause to the Israel-Hamas war than occurred during the first agreement in November. US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Wednesday.

“Hamas now has a choice to make,” she told the UN Security Council in New York on Wednesday.

“It can continue to dig tunnels, to plan for its next attack, to use civilians and civilian infrastructure as human shields, or Hamas can lay down its weapons and accept the proposal on the table to release every hostage,” she said.

Thomas-Greenfield urged the UNSC to increase pressure on Hamas to “make the right decision.”

She spoke amid increased high-level diplomatic conversations about a deal to free 136 hostages held in Gaza, including a Wednesday meeting between US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer. Sullivan on Tuesday spoke with Qatari Prime Minster Mohammed Al-Thani who was visiting the US after attending an intelligence meeting in Paris with top officials from Israel, the US, and Egypt.

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu speaks last week in the plenum, marking the 75th anniversary of the Knesset’s first session. President Issac Herzog and House Speaker Amir Ohana sit alongside him. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

Cairo and Doha mediated a deal in November that saw a week-long pause in the war in exchange for the release of 105 of the 253 hostages seized by terrorists during the Hamas-led October 7 attack.

“The proposal on the table is strong and it is compelling. It envisions a much longer humanitarian pause than we saw in November and it would allow for us to get the hostages out and more life-saving food, water, and medicine into Gaza,” she said. 

“These are extremely sensitive negotiations so I would not go into all the details here, but we can all agree that this would change the situation on the ground, it would. Move the parties close to the cessation of hostilities that we all desire, Thomas-Greenfield said.

A senior Hamas official told Reuters the Gaza ceasefire proposal involved a three-stage truce, during which Hamas would release the remaining civilians among hostages captured on Oct. 7, then soldiers, and finally the bodies of dead hostages. Israel is also expected to release jailed Palestinian security prisoners, as it did in the first deal. This time, however, the numbers are expected to be larger and involve terrorists with blood on their hands. 

Israel has been cautious about the situation in contrast to optimistic messages out of Washington and New York. The US has worked alongside Qatar and Egypt on a deal. Six of the remaining captives have dual Israeli-American citizenship.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) must be shut down.

"It's time for the international community and the UN itself to understand that UNRWA's mission must be terminated," Netanyahu told visiting UN delegates, according to a statement from his office.

"It seeks to preserve the issue of Palestinian refugees. We must replace UNRWA with other UN agencies and other aid agencies, if we want to solve the Gaza problem as we plan to do."

White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan met on Wednesday with top Israeli official Ron Dermer in Washington to discuss the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the status of efforts to get hostages released, White House spokesman John Kirby said.

The United States has been working with Israel and Qatar to reach a deal for the release of hostages still held by Hamas since the Islamist militant group's deadly assault from Gaza into southern Israel on Oct. 7.

The United States is engaged in ongoing “planning processes” on how best to advance the establishment of a Palestinian state, US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller said, but stressed that this was not a policy change.

“Yes we are actively pursuing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with real security guarantees for Israel,” Miller told reporters in Washington on Wednesday.

‘We support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and we do a lot of work in the government to think about how to bring it about,” Miller said.

“The vast majority of options never usually get implemented,” he stated.

He spoke about those efforts when quizzed by journalists about a report on the Hebrew website Walla about such efforts.

Released Gaza hostages, siblings Itai and Mia Regev spoke with a delegation of UN ambassadors on Wednesday, which was led by Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan.

The Regev siblings told the ambassadors their personal story starting from the moment of the abduction to Gaza and the 50+ days they stayed in Gaza. The two were accompanied by their father, Ilan.

Mia Regev went into detail regarding the cruelty the Hamas terrorists were towards her. They abused her by hitting her injured leg, laughed, and mocked her, she said.

"They tore off my clothes. They took my identity and my name from me. The terrorist who was watching over me told me every day that if the army came to save me, then he would shoot me immediately and not die alone," she said. "It is your responsibility to bring all the hostages home now. Their time is running out."

Gilad Erdan's statements

Ambassador Erdan told the Regev siblings: "You are true heroes, your courage and your strength move us all. I salute you."

Itai and Mia Regev in conversation with UN ambassadors regarding their captivity in Gaza. (credit: Via Maariv)

"They tore off my clothes. They took my identity and my name from me. The terrorist who was watching over me told me every day that if the army came to save me then he would shoot me immediately and not die alone."

Mia Regev

During the conversation with other ambassadors, Erdan said, "Calling for a ceasefire means keeping Hamas in power, and as they already said - they will carry out this massacre again and again as soon as they can. Their goal is to use terror against us and make us leave the country out of fear. 

"A ceasefire is unacceptable, and this week, during your visit to the Gaza border and the northern border where the UN plays a significant role," he continued. "I hope you will understand why we cannot continue to live with these threats and why we are so determined to destroy them." 

Israel has told the Biden administration that it "does not plan to occupy Gaza" and it "does not plan to leave any forces there," US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington on Wednesday.

"We had made clear to them .. that we are opposed to any reduction in the size of the territory of Gaza," he said. He spoke as Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was in Washington to speak with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken ordered the US State Department to prepare staff work that will examine the possibility of American and international recognition of the state of Palestine the day after the war in Gaza, Walla reported citing two senior US administration officials.

Blinken also asked the State Department to submit proposals for what a "demilitarized Palestinian state" might look like based on various models from around the world, an official said.

A senior US official said that the war in Gaza and the efforts to find a diplomatic solution opened the way for a re-examination within the administration of many old paradigms in the policy of the United States towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to him, there are elements within the Biden administration who recommend changing policy and moving towards recognizing a Palestinian state as a first step in a renewed peace process and not as a last step that would be the result of negotiations between the parties.

There are several options for American action in this direction, the Walla report noted, ranging from a decision on US recognition of a Palestinian state to deciding not to veto a decision in the UN Security Council to accept Palestine as a full member of the organization, to encourage other countries in the West to recognize a Palestinian state.

A senior American noted that the examination of the issue is currently being carried out to suggest ways in which the two-state solution can be implemented in a way that will guarantee Israel's security and not endanger it.

The official told Walla that the White House is aware of the State Department's planned proposals, but emphasized that Blinken has not yet approved a new policy. A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference held by him and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, US, January 29, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/EVELYN HOCKSTEIN)

A spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House said: "US policy for many years is that recognition of a Palestinian state should be the result of direct negotiations between the parties and not through unilateral recognition or through UN institutions. This policy has not changed."

Blinken will meet with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in Washington on Wednesday and will discuss with him the situation in Gaza, the issue of the day after, and the efforts to promote a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia.

Dermer met today at the White House with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to discuss the same issues.

Why is this move by the State Department important?

The fact that the US State Department is considering this possibility indicates a change in thinking within the Biden administration on an issue that is considered highly sensitive both internationally and domestically in the United States.

For decades, the policy of the United States has been to oppose the recognition of Palestine as a state - both bilaterally and in the UN institutions - and to make it clear that a Palestinian state will only be achieved through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Israel has been strongly opposed for years to any recognition of a Palestinian state by individual countries and by UN institutions.

The US State Department conducted a similar review in the past, during US President Barack Obama's tenure, when the Palestinian Authority tried to obtain recognition of a Palestinian state through UN institutions. At that time, the Department prepared a document with policy proposals on the subject of recognizing a Palestinian state, but it was not seriously discussed within the administration.

In 2012, the UN General Assembly voted in favor of accepting Palestine as an "observer" state in the UN - similar to the Vatican - without accepting it as a full member of the organization.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on Monday that Britain is considering recognizing a Palestinian state as part of an attempt to provide the Palestinians with a political horizon in the day after the war in Gaza.
"We and our allies are examining the issue of recognizing a Palestinian state, including in the UN... This could be one of the things that will help make this process irreversible," he said.