Israel-Hamas war: What happened on day 141?

During the meeting in Paris between the representatives of the United States, Israel, Egypt, and Qatar, a new and updated outline for the deal for the release of hostages was agreed upon - this is what two sources familiar with the contents of the talks said on Saturday.

The Israeli delegation, which included the head of the Mossad, David Barnea, the head of the Shin Bet, Ronan Bar, and representatives of the IDF, Maj.-Gen. Nitzan Alon, and Maj.-Gen. Oren Seter, returned to Israel early Saturday morning.

Two sources familiar with the contents of the talks stated today that there has been progress in the negotiations to the extent that it might allow a transition to negotiations on the details of the agreement, such as the number and identity of the prisoners who will be released as part of a deal.

Now, the war cabinet is expected to receive an update from the negotiating team and decide on further steps, which may happen as early as tonight.

A source familiar with the negotiations emphasized that progress to more detailed negotiations depends on the ability of the mediators to get Hamas to agree to the new framework established at the meeting in Paris.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen in the Knesset plenum on February 21, 2024 (credit: NOAM MOSKOVICH/KNESSET)

An opportunity to negotiate

Yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the decision to send a delegation to the talks in Paris was intended to give an opportunity to negotiate a deal for the release of the abductees.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich added and said that he believed that dealing with hostages now would bring an end to the war and prevent the destruction of Hamas.

The war cabinet approved the departure of the negotiating team after President Biden's senior adviser, Brett McGurk, visited Israel yesterday.

During his talks in Israel, McGurk said that progress had been made in the negotiations between the Qatari and Egyptian mediators and Hamas regarding a possible hostage deal, and therefore, it is important that Israel send a delegation to the talks in Paris and conduct serious negotiations, according to three sources who commented on the details.

Family members of the hostages held in Gaza held a demonstration on Saturday in solidarity with the hostages, Army Radio reported.

Demonstrators took to Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, along with the families of the hostages, to mark another Shabbat without their loved ones.

כיכר החטופים בתל אביב: בני משפחות חטופים מציינים את סעודת שבת באכילת רבע פיתה וכף גבינה, לאות הזדהות עם יקיריהם שבשבי חמאס@eli_zil pic.twitter.com/ZRPbemAXJT

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) February 24, 2024

In a sign of solidarity, the demonstrators ate only a quarter of a pita and a spoonful of cheese.

The IDF, Shin Bet, and Border Police forces arrested five wanted persons throughout Judea and Samaria, the IDF stated on Saturday.

The Israeli troops arrested two wanted men in the village of Burka in Samaria, two more wanted men in Bazariya, also in Samaria, and another wanted man in Zubaydat in the Jordan Valley.

The wanted persons were arrested and transferred for further investigation by the security forces, there were no casualties to IDF personnel.

So far, since the beginning of the war, over 3,200 wanted persons have been arrested throughout Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley, over 1,350 of whom are associated with Hamas.

IDF troops demolishing the house of the terrorists involved in the Ma'ale Adumim shooting attack, February 24, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON UNIT)

House demolitions

Additionally, IDF troops mapped the houses belonging to the terrorists who carried the shooting attack on Highway 1 near Ma'ale Adumim earlier this week. The attack killed one and wounded eight others.

The terrorists arrived at the scene in two separate vehicles and were fully armed, carrying an M-16 rifle, a Carlo submachine gun, grenades, and cartridges. 

Two of the attackers were brothers Muhammed and Hathem Zuwrah. They and the third attacker, Ahmad al-Hush, were all from the city of Bethlehem.

The attack directly led to the approval of 3,000 new housing units in the West Bank, including over 2,000 in Ma'ale Adumim.

Israeli aircraft struck Hezbollah launch positions and infrastructure in the Jabal Blat area of southern Lebanon, the IDF stated on Saturday.

The strikes on the Hezbollah positions took place overnight on Friday.

In addition, an observation post of the organization was attacked in the Ayta as-Shab area.

Also, the IDF attacked the Hanine area and the Marwahin area with artillery to remove a threat.

Subsequently, rocket sirens were heard in northern Israel on Saturday morning.

IDF troops from the 162nd division engaged and eliminated Hamas terrorists in the Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City as well as across the south and central Gaza Strip over the past few days, the IDF stated on Saturday.

During the raid on Zeitun, the troops eliminated many terrorists with airstrikes as well as in-the-field encounters.

In addition, they located many weapons caches, including Kalashnikov rifles and cartridges, a ready-to-use explosive device, vests, and documents belonging to Hamas.

Fighters from the 401st Brigade's combat team, using a drone, identified a terrorist squad that was preparing to launch an anti-tank missile at Israeli troops. A short time later, an aircraft was directed at the squad, and they were eliminated.

Eliminating terror squads

The Nahal Brigade battle team, fighting in the center of the Gaza Strip, eliminated several terrorists throughout the day. In one operation, the brigade's fire team identified two terrorists who were walking around nearby with bags and an object suspected to be a military weapon. Within a few minutes, the terrorists were eliminated.

IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip. February 24, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

As part of an assault, fighters from the Givati Brigade's combat team eliminated many terrorists with precise sniper fire on Friday, the IDF added.

In Khan Yunis, fighters from the 7th Brigade's combat team identified three terrorists approaching their position before eliminating them with the aid of a combat helicopter.

After a few minutes, four more terrorists were identified and eliminated via an aircraft attack. In addition, the fighters eliminated several terrorist squads that moved toward our forces by firing tank shells.

The US military said on Friday that it had destroyed seven mobile anti-ship cruise missiles that the Houthi group in Yemen was preparing to launch at targets in the Red Sea.

Hamas has issued a statement in approval of the Chinese foreign ministry legal advisor’s comments at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague. 

In a nearly 30 minute speech, Foreign Ministry legal advisor Ma Xinmin began, “Dealing with the issue of the Palestinians serves as a litmus test for the collective conscience of humanity, the wisdom of the United Nations and the authority of international law.”

In his speech, he notably argued that Hamas’s violent attack on Israel was in the name of resistance to foreign oppression. “Palestinian people’s use of force to resist foreign oppression and complete the establishment and independent state is an inalienable right. This recognition is also reflected in the International Convention for example, the Arab convention for suppressing of terrorism of 1998 affirms I quote ‘the right of peoples to combat foreign occupation aggression by whatever means including armed struggle in order to liberate their territories and secure the right to self-determination and independence’ end of quote. Armed struggle in this context is distinguished from acts of terrorism,” stated Chinese Foreign Ministry legal advisor Ma Xinmin at the International Criminal Court on Thursday.

Hamas official Osama Hamdan released a statement on this speech, saying, “We also appreciate the position expressed by the People’s Republic of China, and its emphasis on the legality of the occupied peoples’ pursuit of self-determination, by various means, including armed resistance, and the necessity not to confuse terrorism with the armed struggle practiced by the Palestinian people against the Zionist occupation.”

China has become increasingly aligned with the Palestinian cause in the last couple of years. Previously, it had begun developing warmer relations with Israel before pivoting, after the United States warned Israel about the alliance. 

WHILE MANY view the ICJ as an independent judicial body, it is inherently political. Its judges are elected by the UN General Assembly and Security Council, bodies notorious for anti-Israel bias, the writer says. (credit: REUTERS)

In 2023, China worked to increase Saudi-Iran ties. Iran funds Hamas terrorism in the Strip. Israel had been in pursuit of normalization with Saudi Arabia prior to the October 7 massacre, when those diplomatic talks took a pause. 

Hamas official approves of ICJ hearing, protests around the world

The Hamas official continued in its approval of the other countries who showed support. “We value the positions of the countries participating in the public hearings held by the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the occupation policies in the Palestinian Territory, which confirmed the widespread violations of international law practiced by the terrorist occupation entity against the Palestinian people and their occupied land.”

In addition, Hamdan says Hamas “calls on the Arab and Islamic masses and free people in all the world to continue their mass movement to condemn the occupation, to put pressure to stop the Zionist aggression against the Gaza Strip, and to endorse and support the right of our people to liberation and self-determination.”

The Hamas official is referring to the demonstrations around the world in support of the Palestinian cause. 

“We also call on our nation’s leaders, peoples, and all free people in the world, to mobilize all energies and take serious action to support Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa, stop the aggression against the Gaza Strip, and provide relief to our people in the Gaza Strip,” Hamdan said. 

In the end of his statement he calls Hamas’s efforts jihad, while calling for total victory of the war. 

"The overwhelming majority of Palestinians are not Hamas" said US President Biden on a post on X (formerly twitter) on Friday.

"I won't mince words. The overwhelming majority of Palestinians are not Hamas. And Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people. In fact, they're also suffering as a result of Hamas' terrorism. We need to be clear-eyed about that reality," said the president in his full post.

I won't mince words.

The overwhelming majority of Palestinians are not Hamas. And Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people.

In fact, they're also suffering as a result of Hamas' terrorism. We need to be clear-eyed about that reality.

— President Biden (@POTUS) February 22, 2024

Over the course of the war there has been much discourse in Israel and around the world about how representative Hamas is of the Palestinians in Gaza, as well as how many Gazans support Hamas, or even how much of the death toll in Gaza is actually Hamas operatives.

Conversations on Gazan support and involvement with Hamas have also grown exponentially over the past few weeks, due to the imminent, but unclear ground operation that is expected to take place in Rafah.

Key figures respond to the president on social media

The presidents post warranted the response of some well-known figures, who didn't exactly agree with his message.

New Knesset member Amichai Chikli seen at the Knesset , ahead of the opening Knesset session of the new government, on April 05, 2021. (credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)

Notably, Diaspora Affairs and Combatting Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli responded, saying "Dear Mr. President, The overwhelming majority of Palestinians express strong support for Hamas. In fact, a survey conducted by the Palestinian research institute AWRAD  revealed that 84% of respondents in the West Bank strongly endorsed the massacre and atrocities of Oct. 7."

Dear Mr. President,
The overwhelming majority of Palestinians express strong support for Hamas. In fact, a survey conducted by the Palestinian research institute @_AWRAD_ revealed that 84% of respondents in the West Bank strongly endorsed the massacre and atrocities of Oct. 7. pic.twitter.com/HldRnuACvL

— עמיחי שיקלי - Amichai Chikli (@AmichaiChikli) February 23, 2024

Additionally, former Miss Iraq and current human rights advocate and ally to Israel, Sarah Idan, weighed in, saying, "Tell that to the Palestinians in my inbox telling me Hamas are heroes and are freedom fighters…"

Tell that to the Palestinians in my inbox telling me Hamas are heroes and are freedom fighters…

— Sarai (Sarah Idan) Miss Iraq (@RealSarahIdan) February 23, 2024

There were also pro-Palestinian commenters in the post who also had issue with the president's statement. One account commented, saying. "Why are you still arming Israel then?" and another saying, "Says the man that just vetoed another humanitarian ceasefire. How many is that now?"

An attack by Yemen's Houthis on the freighter Rubymar on Sunday caused significant damage to the ship and an 18-mile oil slick, the US military's Central Command said on Friday.

Yemen’s Houthis targeted the Rubymar in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, and it is now at risk of sinking, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement the following day.

"The ship is anchored but slowly taking on water," Central Command said in a statement regarding the Belize-flagged UK-owned cargo ship.

The Rubymar was transporting over 41,000 tons of fertilizer when it was attacked, the statement added.

The political-security cabinet decided Thursday night to increase the amount that Israel will deduct from the Palestinian Authority's tax funds in the coming year. The decision to increase the amount to NIS 21 million comes with the background of the payments that the authority transfers to the families of terrorists, according to three sources who participated in the cabinet meeting.

An Israeli senior official said that following the decision, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich will lift the freeze on all funds that Israel is supposed to transfer to the Palestinian Authority and that have not been offset or frozen - including the Palestinian tax funds collected during the month of January - and will also approve the transfer of some of the Palestinian tax funds that were offset to custody in Norway.

However, increasing the amount of the offset will further exacerbate the economic crisis in the Palestinian Authority, which is having great difficulty paying salaries and is in danger of bankruptcy and collapse. The security system warns that the economic crisis in the PA may lead to a security escalation in the West Bank as well.

Transferring funds to families of terrorists

During Thursday's cabinet meeting, the Defense Ministry presented the data regarding the funds that the Palestinian Authority transferred to the families of terrorists during the year 2023. According to Israeli law, the government is obligated to deduct the relative part of this amount from the amount of tax money that it transfers to the Palestinian Authority every month.

Betzalel Smotrich (credit: REUTERS)

Last week, when the issue was supposed to be discussed in the cabinet for the first time, Smotrich claimed that the Defense Ministry's figures are lower than the amount that the Authority actually transfers to the families of terrorists. Smotrich announced that he would not transfer to the Palestinian Authority the tax money that Israel collected for it throughout January.

Smotrich not only threatened but delayed the transfer of funds for more than three weeks - something that further exacerbated the economic crisis in the Palestinian Authority.

Smotrich's pressure worked. At the cabinet meeting yesterday, the Defense Ministry announced that following Smotrich's claims, the amount of the offset was updated from NIS 610 million to NIS 631 million. The amount will be offset in the coming year every month in 12 installments of approximately NIS 52 million.