Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 134?

\President Isaac Herzog said on Saturday he met with the prime minister of Qatar, who has been trying to mediate a ceasefire in the Gaza war.

"I met with the prime minister of Qatar yesterday," Herzog said at the Munich Security Conference, according to a statement from his office. "It was a good discussion. And I think he's doing major efforts. He's taken major efforts and devoting an enormous focus on this issue."

South Africa serves as the legal arm of the terrorist group Hamas, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat wrote on X Saturday after The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday said that it does not see the need for additional emergency measures to protect Palestinians' rights following Israel's Rafah offensive.

The court said the "perilous situation" in the Gaza Strip and Rafah particularly "demands immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures" per its order on Jan. 26, and "does not demand the indication of additional provisional measures."

"South Africa's failed attempt to undermine Israel's right to defend itself and its citizens from the Hamas terrorist organization provides further proof that its claims are baseless and unsubstantiated," Haiat wrote.

"Through its actions, South Africa is serving as the legal arm of Hamas and is working to advance the interests of this terrorist organization."

Hamas’s “delusional" demands are the sticking point in arriving at any deal to secure the release of the hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday night as he explained that progress can occur only when the terror group softens its stance.

It was for this reason, he said, that he did not send a second delegation to Cairo for talks last week.

Hamas suspends ceasefire and hostage deal talks, demands aid to Gaza's north

Hamas has suspended all Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal negotiations until humanitarian aid is brought into the northern part of the Strip, Al Jazeera reported on Saturday citing a leading source in the terror organization.

"Negotiations cannot be held while hunger is eating away at the Palestinian people," the Hamas source told Al Jazeera.

An IDF military operation in Rafah is necessary to defeat Hamas irrespective of any hostage deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as he pushed back against massive international pressure to hold off from such a move.

“There is no substitute for total victory and there is no other way to do it than eliminating the [Hamas] battalions in Rafah,” he said, adding, “We will do it.”

“Everyone wants an additional deal for a [hostage] deal,” Netanyahu said, adding “I want one as well. It’s good if we achieve that, but even if we achieve it [a deal], we [the IDF] will enter Rafah.”

Humanitarian issues are the sticking point in the talks for a hostage deal which have not been promising in the last days, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Thani told the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

“We still see some difficulties on the humanitarian part of these negotiations,” Thani said.

He described how the talks which his country and Egypt have been mediating had been progressing but then hit a snag in the last days. 

“We made some good progress in the last few weeks in the negotiations,” Thani said, but in the last days, the situation has “not been promising.”.

He warned that “time is not in our favor” particularly in light of the upcoming Muslim holiday month of Ramadan which is “ahead of us,” combined with the potential of an Israeli army military operation in Gaza’s Rafah.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Saturday the only pathway towards security and stability in the Middle East, including Israel, was through a Palestinian state.

When asked in a panel at the Munich Security Conference about normalization of ties with Israel Prince Faisal said the kingdom was now concentrated on a truce in the Gaza war.

"We are focused on a ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and we are focused on humanitarian access for the people of Gaza," he said.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly stated it would not open diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is recognized.

Hamas’s “delusional" demands are the sticking point in arriving at any deal to secure the release of the hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday night as he explained that progress can occur only when the terror group softens its stance.

It was for this reason, he said, that he did not send a second delegation to Cairo for talks last week.

This is a developing story.

Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck several operational headquarters used by Hamas across the central Gaza Strip, the IDF confirmed on Saturday.

Several Hamas terrorists were inside the headquarters at the time of the attack, the IDF said.

Earlier, it was reported that the IDF carried out strikes across the central Gaza Strip on Saturday afternoon, Israeli and local Palestinian media said, with the military targeting terror operations near the Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah.

Several houses in the vicinity of the hospital were struck, as per Palestinian media, with casualties reported.

This is a developing story.

The two Israeli hostages rescued by the IDF in Rafah last week called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to send delegates to ceasefire talks in Cairo, saying that only a hostage deal will ensure the release of every captive.

"We cannot rescue all 134 hostages in heroic operations," Luis Har and Fernando Merman said in a statement with their family members who were freed in last year's hostage deal, Clara Merman and Gabriella and Mia Leimberg.

At least 30 Christians living in the Gaza Strip have died since October 7 and the start of the Israel-Hamas war, according to the Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) organization, citing the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

The 30 include 17 who were killed when an Israeli missile hit the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius on October 19, two women who were shot and killed by an Israeli sniper while walking inside the grounds of the Catholic Holy Family Church, and 11 who have died from illnesses that could not be adequately treated due to the war.

When the war started, only around 1,000 Christians lived in Gaza.

"Hygiene has become a serious issue, especially for the children, who are falling ill because of lack of water and basic supplies, such as flour and diapers," George Akroush, director of the Project Development Office of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, told ACN, adding that at least another 10 people are at risk of dying due to lack of treatment. 

Maria Lozana, a spokesperson for ACN, told The Jerusalem Post that the situation in Gaza is "horrible for everyone. Christians are always in the middle of two groups fighting for generations. Who is suffering more? I cannot say. Every individual is suffering a lot."

Archbishop Alexios and a volunteer stand within the storeroom of the Church of St. Porphyrius, where essential supplies are organized to support the vulnerable Christian community in Gaza. (credit: St. Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church)

The IDF responded to the situation by telling The Post that Israel “is fighting against the murderous terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which systematically places its operatives and military assets within civilian populations, conducting warfare from civilian areas and using civilians as human shields.”

It said that despite Hamas's tactics, since the beginning of the conflict, the IDF has employed various means to minimize harm to the civilian population and civilian structures as much as possible, including sending messages through leaflets, phone calls, audio recordings, and text messages to the residents of Gaza instructing them to evacuate specific areas that serve as centers of terrorist activity.

“The IDF will act to destroy the military capabilities of Hamas, in accordance with international law, while minimizing harm to non-combatants as much as possible,” the IDF said.

Faith leaders are helping Christians in Gaza

According to ACN, one priest and seven religious sisters from three different congregations have teamed up to help around 560 Christians who continue to seek refuge at the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, where they lack water and electricity. Lozana said ACN and other charities have been working with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem to provide medicine and food to these people. 

"We are trying to help as much as we can in this horrible time," Lozana, who spoke to The Post from Germany, said. However, she could not provide specific details because she stated, "The situation is very sensitive."

Last week, the international humanitarian aid foundations Orthodox Public Affairs Committee (OPAC) and Mosaic Middle East launched an appeal to raise funds for Palestinian Christians in Gaza in coordination with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the office of His Beatitude, Patriarch Theophilos III. Their money is also going to Holy Family and Saint Porphyrius to provide essential services such as water, food and washing facilities, as well as petrol to maintain the operation of generators.

George Gigicos, the co-founder and chairman of OPAC, told the Post that around 400 families seek refuge in the Saint Porphyrius compound or receive daily emergency assistance there – not all Christian. According to ACN, around 560 Christians – Catholic and Orthodox – from 180 families are living in the Holy Family church compound. This includes 140 children, some 60 with disabilities, and 84 people over the age of 65.

When the war first started, more than 700 people were in the Holy Family compound, but many have died or left Gaza. Lozana said that between 50 and 60 Christians with dual nationalities have fled the enclave to places like Egypt, Jordan, or even Canada. 

The Christian population in the Gaza Strip was around 5,000 in 2005 when Israel unilaterally withdrew from 21 Israeli communities. Since then, the Christian population has rapidly declined, while the Muslim population has grown. A report by the University of Notre Dame cited 3,000 Christians living in Gaza in 2007 and only 1,300 in 2021 – mostly Greek Orthodox. 

The university said the Christians were being "squeezed by the policies of Hamas" and its "insidious Islamization process." 

"Christians in Gaza today are targeted based on their religious faith," according to the university. They are "made to feel like second-class citizens, despite their Palestinian patriotism and historical affinity to the land."

Lozana said that the Christians in Gaza "live lives of faith" and receive "spiritual support" from the local priests and sisters. "This is very important at this time because there is so much fear and the violence is causing people to have traumatic reactions."

She said she repeatedly hears from Christians that peace is the most important thing for them.

"They always tell us: 'Peace, pray for peace,'" she said. "That is their wish: That peace will be restored and they can survive."