What happened on Day 126 of the war?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed the IDF and the defense establishment to bring to the war cabinet a plan for both the evacuation of civilians in the south Gaza city of Rafah and the neutralization of the four Hamas battalions therein, the Prime Minister’s Office stated on Friday.

Hamas cannot be defeated with four battalions remaining in Rafah

It is impossible to achieve the goal of the war without eliminating Hamas, and by leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah," the statement noted. "On the contrary, it is clear that intense activity in Rafah requires that civilians evacuate the areas of combat."

The Prime Minister's Office:

It is impossible to achieve the goal of the war without eliminating Hamas, and by leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah.

On the contrary, it is clear that intense activity in Rafah requires that civilians evacuate the areas of combat.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) February 9, 2024

"Therefore," the statement continued, "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the IDF and the security establishment to submit to the Cabinet a combined plan for evacuating the population and destroying the battalions."

Therefore, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the IDF and the security establishment to submit to the Cabinet a combined plan for evacuating the population and destroying the battalions.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) February 9, 2024

New York -  Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana cancelled his meeting Friday with the UN Secretary General following his morning of meetings with Interparliamentary Union members from Uruguay, Belgium, Tanzania, and Germany. 

"The cancellation of the meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres did not come in a vacuum," Ohana said on X. 

"I intended to try and convince, as well as hand him a book we prepared in the Knesset, documenting the 7.10 with still images," the post said. "But yesterday he again called on the State of Israel to stop fighting, criticizing it 'even if Hamas uses human shields'. There are also lost cases and red lines. I will not white wash Guterres."

If Guterres controlled Israel

Earlier Friday, Guterres was asked by members of the Hostage and Missing Families Forum who were protesting outside his private residence what he would do if he were prime minister of Israel. 

According to a release from the Forum, Guterres said if he were prime minister of Israel he would place the release of the hostages as his highest priority. 

He also said that though he was optimistic after meeting with the Prime Minister of Qatar, with whom Guterres has a close relationship, he felt the responses received from both Hamas leaders and from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were not constructive. 

According to the release, a spokesperson for Guterres said the notification of the cancellation was received through the media and that the Secretary General's door is always open to any delegation. 

Ohana addressed the Interparliamentary Union session Friday morning.

"We took an oath that never again should anyone take the lives of our brothers and sisters and not expect a response," Ohana said. "The world must know that our days of being the homeless people are over and we miss any state and the obligation to defend our civilians. Israel Defense Forces will defend and protect them. 

"When we said never again. We meant never again," Ohana said. "How about the world?"

Omer Lubaton-Granot, head of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in New York, said in the release that it's unfortunate that Ohana canceled his meeting with Guterres because in order to save the hostages, it's necessary to speak with everyone. 

"The families of the hostages and the hostages themselves have no time for boycotts," Lubaton-Granot said. "And the official visits abroad are meant to advance the needs of Israel and its citizens, not to advance your political agenda and attempt to improve your place in the primaries.” 

Egypt has sent about 40 tanks and armored personnel carriers to northeastern Sinai within the past two weeks as part of a series of measures to bolster security on its border with Gaza, two Egyptian security sources said.

The deployment took place ahead of the expansion of Israeli military operations around Gaza's southern city of Rafah, where much of its population has sought safety, sharpening Egyptian fears that Palestinians could be forced en masse out of the enclave.

Israeli warplanes struck Rafah, which adjoins the border, on Friday and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to prepare to evacuate the displaced people.

Since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted on Oct. 7, Egypt constructed a concrete border wall that reaches six meters into the ground and is topped with barbed wire. It has also built berms and enhanced surveillance at border posts, the security sources said.

Last month Egypt's state information service detailed some of the measures it had taken on its border in response to Israeli suggestions that Hamas had obtained weapons smuggled from Egypt. Three lines of barriers made any overground or underground smuggling impossible, it said.

Images shared with Reuters by the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, an independent group, appear to show the installation of the wall in December, with several berms running behind it.

Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, take shelter in a tent camp, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at the border with Egypt, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, February 8, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA)

Later pictures, which the group said were taken in early February, appear to show three vertical layers of coiled barbed wire being installed on top of the wall. Reuters was not able to independently verify the images.

Satellite images from January and December also show some new constructions along the 13 km (8 mile) border close to Rafah and the extension of a wall to the sea's edge at its northern end.

Egyptian and Israeli authorities did not respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come after an expansion of security in northern Sinai as Egypt's military consolidated its grip against an Islamist insurgency that escalated a decade ago.

Well before the current war in Gaza broke out, Egypt said it had destroyed tunnels through which smuggling to Gaza had previously flourished, and had cleared a buffer zone close to the border.

On the approach to the Rafah Crossing with Gaza, the remains of razed houses can been seen along with miles of concrete walls that have been built parallel to the sea and near roads close to the border.

Ties under strain

Egypt and Israel have been at peace for more than four decades and in recent years have extended ties through Israeli exports of natural gas and security coordination around their shared border and the Gaza Strip.

The two countries have maintained a blockade on Gaza, strictly limiting the movement of people and goods across its borders, after Hamas took control there in 2007.

But the relationship has come under strain because of Israel's current military operation in Gaza, unleashed in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.

Egypt has repeatedly raised the alarm over the possibility that Israel's offensive could displace desperate Gazans into Sinai, while bristling over suggestions from Israel that it would retake full control of the Gaza-Egypt border corridor in order to ensure the Palestinian territory's demilitarization.

In January, Egypt announced two operations to tackle drug smuggling in northeastern Sinai in an apparent effort to demonstrate its control of the area.

An Israeli official told Reuters that restructuring of security on the border, where he said a small number of tunnels remained, was under regular discussion by the two countries.

Israel would try to organize for the movement of displaced Palestinians northwards within Gaza ahead of any military operation there, the official said.

Egyptian security sources have played down any discussions and said they are prioritizing efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza. The state information service called accusations of smuggling "lies" intended to give cover to Israel's objective of occupying the border buffer zone, known as the Philadelphi Corridor.

Egypt has also blamed Israel for limiting deliveries of aid into Gaza, where the risk of famine is growing and aid workers have warned of disease spreading.

Israel has denied holding up or rejecting humanitarian supplies.

Egypt has framed its opposition to the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza as part of wider Arab rejection of any repeat of what Palestinians mourn as the "Nakba," or "catastrophe," when some 700,000 fled or were forced from their homes in the war surrounding Israel's creation in 1948.

Diplomats and analysts say Egypt is also concerned about infiltration by Hamas and hosting a large refugee population. In October, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned that displacement could turn Sinai into a base for attacks against Israel.

President Joe Biden issued a memorandum on Thursday night asking countries receiving US military funding to prove they’re following international humanitarian and human rights laws.

The timing of the memorandum coincides with President Biden’s unscheduled press conference where he took reporters' questions on the Israel-Hamas war, saying Israel’s response is “over the top.”

For weeks now, reporters have pressed both the White House and State Department on their ability to assess if Israel is following international law as there have been no formal assessment procedures in place. 

Administration officials have repeated that one innocent life killed is too many, but have stopped short of implying that Israel is in violation of international law. 

Members of Congress raised concern over Israel’s human rights violations, The Post previously reported. 

REP. RASHIDA TLAIB attends a pro-Palestinian rally in Dearborn, Michigan, in 2021. (credit: REBECCA COOK/REUTERS)

Led by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), several progressive Democratic members issued a letter to Biden and the Government Accountability Office requesting an assessment of the State Department’s compliance with Leahy Laws and Conventional Arms Transfer policies regarding security assistance to the Israeli government

“We write today regarding your administration’s ongoing weapons transfers to the Israeli government despite considerable evidence that these transfers are flagrantly violating American and international law and being used in the commission of war crimes,” the letter to Biden said.

The letter cites a January 5 comment from White House National Security spokesman John Kirby in which he said he wasn’t aware of any assessments being done by the US government to analyze Israel’s compliance with international law.

Regular updates

Biden’s memorandum requires states receiving military aid to provide the State Department and Congress with thorough reports every fiscal year with details of any alleged law violations, explanations for military actions in question, and the process taken to asses legality in making those decisions. 

For countries actively involved in armed conflict, the memorandum requires the first assessment to be submitted within 45 days of Feb. 8. If not received within that time frame, then the transfer of defense articles and services will be paused until “required assurances are obtained.”

“In order to effectively implement certain obligations under United States law, the United States must maintain an appropriate understanding of foreign partners' adherence to international law, including, as applicable, international human rights law and international humanitarian law,” the memorandum says. 

If reports of violations are found credible, defense articles or services could be suspended. 

According to the memorandum, “As a matter of international law, the United States looks to the law of state responsibility and United States partners' compliance with international humanitarian law in assessing the lawfulness of United States military assistance to, and joint operations with, military partners.”

At a news briefing Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the memorandum emerged after meetings with Congress. 

"I want to be clear: there are no new standards in this memo, we are not imposing new standards for military aid, that is not what is in this memo," Jean-Pierre said. "Instead we are spelling out publicly the existing standards by international law including the law of armed conflict."

What is new, Jean-Pierre said, is the annual report that will be given to Congress. 

Jean-Pierre said this is in line with conversations the White House had with congressional members as they try to work together in a way that makes sense and moves the ball forward. 

These are things that already exist that are now put in writing, Jean-Pierre said. 

The White House briefed Israel on this memo and they reiterated their willingness to provide these types of assurances, Jean-Pierre says. 

Several rocket launches toward northern Israel were identified on Friday, the IDF stated. The Israeli military responded with fire toward the sources of the launches.

IDF fighter jets struck a military site in which Hezbollah terrorists were operating in Maroun El Ras as well as three military compounds in the towns of Yohmor and Naqoura in southern Lebanon. 

The IDF also struck several locations in southern Lebanon with artillery and mortar shells.

More rocket launches

Later on Friday, more rocket launches were detected from Lebanon toward the Golan Heights.

IDF air defenses intercepted numerous launches, with the rest landing in open areas.

Sirens sounded in Kiryat Shmona as a result of the launches, leading the IDF to strike launchers used to fire on Israel in the area of Al-Daba in southern Lebanon.

The IDF also struck a Hezbollah military compound in the area of Khiam.

No injuries were reported in either rocket attack.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday pledged to act immediately on any new information from Israel related to "infiltration of Hamas" in the world body after nine UN staff in the Gaza Strip were fired last month.

Israel last month accused 12 staff with the UN Palestinian refugee agency of taking part in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants. Of the remaining three staff, one is dead, while the UN was clarifying the identity of the other two.

An internal UN investigation has been launched as the United States - the largest donor to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) - and other countries paused funding following the allegations.

"One thing that you can be absolutely sure, any allegation that is presented to us by the government of Israel in relation to any other infiltration of Hamas in the UN, at whatever level, we will act immediately upon it," Guterres told reporters on Thursday.

A six-page Israeli intelligence dossier, seen by Reuters, further alleges that some 190 UNRWA employees, including teachers, have doubled as Hamas or Islamic Jihad militants.

Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the UNRWA, looks on during his visit to the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah June 2, 2021. (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)

Israel not providing further information

However, Guterres and UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini have not received any further information from Israel since the initial accusations against the 12 staff. It was not clear whether Israel had provided information to the internal UN inquiry.

Guterres defended the decision to fire the staff before an inquiry was complete, citing credible information from Israel, adding: "We couldn't run the risk of not acting immediately as the accusations were related to criminal activities."

The Palestinians have accused Israel of falsifying information to tarnish UNRWA. UNRWA employs 13,000 people in Gaza, running schools, its primary healthcare clinics, and other social services, and distributing humanitarian aid.

Guterres last month described UNRWA as "the backbone of all humanitarian response in Gaza" and appealed to all countries to "guarantee the continuity of UNRWA's lifesaving work."

The killing of three Palestinian men in a hospital in the occupied West Bank last month by Israeli commandos disguised as medical workers and Muslim women may amount to war crimes, a group of UN experts said on Friday.

The three militants were killed on Jan. 29 in a joint undercover operation by the army, Shin Bet security service, and border police in the Ibn Sina hospital in Jenin, one of the most volatile cities in the West Bank, Israel's military said.

"Under international humanitarian law, killing a defenseless injured patient who is being treated in a hospital amounts to a war crime," the UN experts said in a statement, referring to Basel Al-Ghazzawi, a patient being treated for injuries it said were caused by an Israeli air strike.

"By disguising themselves as seemingly harmless, protected medical personnel and civilians, the Israeli forces also prima facie committed the war crime of perfidy, which is prohibited in all circumstances," they added, calling for Israel to conduct an investigation.

A blood-stained pillow lies on a bed at the site where three Palestinians were killed during an Israeli raid, at a hospital in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, January 30, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/RANEEN SAWAFTA)

The experts concerned are special rapporteurs engaged by the United Nations to examine a specific human rights issue.

No immediate comment

Israel’s military was not immediately available for comment on their statement.

CCTV footage from the hospital showed a group of about 10 people, dressed variously in civilian clothes and medical garb including three in headscarves and women's clothing, pacing through a corridor, armed with assault rifles.

Israel's military has said that one of the men killed in the hospital was a member of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, which governs Gaza, and the others worked for Jenin Brigade and the armed wing of Islamic Jihad.

The West Bank has seen an explosion of violence since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and the subsequent invasion of Gaza by Israel.

The commander of the IDF's Northern Command, Maj.-Gen. Ori Gordin stated that the IDF is determined to allow evacuated residents to return home safely during a meeting with the heads of local authorities in the North on Friday.

He also told them the IDF is preparing to go on the offensive against Hezbollah, saying, "Our goal is to change the security situation in the north in a manner that will allow us to safely return the residents home to a sense of security."

The meeting was held at command headquarters and as part of a dialogue with the heads of the local authorities.

Additionally, he relayed to them the key points of the situational intelligence and operational assessments, as well as accelerating processes of heightened readiness for the continuation of fighting in the North.

Breakdown of damage caused by Hezbollah rockets in Israel's North, February 1, 2024 (credit: The Jerusalem Post)

Integral part of combat procedures

Goldin emphasized to the local authority heads that these meetings are an integral part of combat procedures and that the relationship between the IDF and local leadership is of the utmost importance.

"We are determined to change the security reality that is already shifting these days and continue to prepare for an expansion of the war and to go on the offensive - this is our mission. We will continue to fight the defensive battle, to harm Hezbollah and negate its capabilities."

"Our mission is to protect the residents and communities of the north. The way we operate, and the way I intend to continue [operating], is in partnership, in full partnership with you and the residents. The residents of the north are what give us strength to continue, they are the tailwind that allows us to achieve the accomplishments we have reached so far in the north."

The IDF on Friday announced the results of a comprehensive probe, concluding that an attack by the air force on Hamas in central Gaza likely accidentally also killed Israeli hostage Yossi Sharabi.

Sharabi was being held by Hamas in a structure adjacent to the structure that the air force attacked, but IDF intelligence did not know that at the time.

The IDF attack on the adjacent structure led to the collapse of the structure in which Sharabi was being held.

Though the IDF had some information about hostages in the general area, the information did not indicate a danger to hostages in the immediate vicinity.

Possible Sharabi was killed by Hamas

It is still possible that Sharabi was shot and killed by Hamas, and without access to Sharabi's body in a way that would allow separately analyzing the potential causes of death, the IDF cannot yet determine to a 100% certainty how he died.

Noa Argamani (credit: Courtesy)

However, given the facts compiled by the probe, the IDF believed it was required to provide this analysis to Sharabi's family and the general public.

On January 15, Hamas announced that hostages Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38, had been killed in captivity. Noa Argamani, 26, is reportedly still alive.

The update from the Gaza-based Islamist terror organization came in a video featuring Argamani, where the 26-year-old reported the death of her fellow hostages.

The video followed Hamas's sequence of teased announcements, where they claimed that they would announce the fate of the three Israelis.

"I was located in a building," Argamani said in the Hamas video. "It was bombed by an IDF airstrike, an F16 fighter jet. Three rockets were fired. Two of the rockets exploded, and the other didn't. We were in the building with Al Qassam soldiers and three hostages: Myself, Noa Argamani, Itai Svirsky, and Yossef Sharabi.

"After the building we were in was hit, we were all buried under rubble. Al Qassam soldiers saved my life, and Itai's, unfortunately, we were not able to save Yossi's.

"After many days...two nights, Itai and I were relocated to another place. While we were being transported, Itai was hit by an IDF airstrike. He did not survive."

The IDF's position is that Svirsky was shot and murdered by Hamas.

Hamas has a track record of engaging in psychological warfare.

"Itai Svirsky and Yossi Sharabi," Argamani added in the video. "They died because of our own IDF airstrikes. Stop this madness and bring us home to our families. While we are still alive, bring us home."

Svirsky was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7 during Hamas's rampage through the southern Israeli community. The 38-year-old had been staying with his mother, Orit, 70, at the time.

He and his mother had been hiding under blankets in the safe room when the terrorists stormed in and sprayed the room with bullets, killing Orit.

Itai’s father, Rafi, 71, was also murdered, along with his three golden retrievers.

Sharabi and his son, Oren, 13, had also been kidnapped from the Kibbutz. Oren was returned during a round of hostage/prisoner exchanges.

Sam Halpern and Noa Feigenbaum contributed to this report. 

Israel Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat praised the establishment of an independent review group to assess UNRWA’s neutrality, calling it a positive step, in a post to X on Friday.

Haiat added, however, that Israel maintained certain expectations from the review group, such as that it "should include research institutes with relevant professional experience that includes counter-terrorism, security and vetting procedures, [and that] the group will include major donors to the agency as well as Israeli experts."

The establishment of an independent review group to assess UNRWA’s neutrality following the publication of information indicating the participation of agency employees in terror activities is a positive step, although it is long overdue.

However, the review group should include… pic.twitter.com/5YkKUQvxaj

— Lior Haiat 🇮🇱🎗️ (@LiorHaiat) February 9, 2024

It was recently revealed that several UNRWA employees had participated in the October 7 massacre.