Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 145?

Unable to keep up serious rocket fire from Gaza, Hamas forces in Lebanon fired between 10-40 rockets at Israel in multiple rounds on Wednesday.

Hamas claimed that it fired 40 Grad rockets, but the IDF said only 10 made it into Israeli airspace with none causing injuries, though one had a direct hit on an evacuated house in Kiryat Shmona.

26 rocket sirens had sounded by late afternoon on Wednesday.

Responding, the IDF struck targets in four different parts of southern Lebanon.

It also said that it targeted the sources of the launch.

IAF jets also attacked a Hezbollah munition warehouse and military buildings in the Ramyeh region of southern Lebanon and in the middle of the night, the IDF attacked a Hezbollah weapon production site in the Khirbet Selm area.

Clouds of smoke rise from Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, as sources in Lebanon reported Israeli airstrikes killed at least two Hezbollah members, February 26, 2024 (credit: REUTERS)

Earlier on Wednesday, Hamas said in a statement on its Telegram channel that it had bombed the headquarters of the 769th Eastern Brigade and the airport barracks in Beit Hillel, which the IDF denied.

In recent days, the IDF and Hezbollah exchanges of fire have intensified and reached deeper into each side’s territory, but this was the first Hamas rocket attack on Israel from Lebanon in several weeks.

The IDF has killed dozens of Hamas terrorists in Lebanon and well over 200 Hezbollah terrorists.

IDF to establish new PTSD center

Separately, the IDF announced on Wednesday that it is establishing a new center for emotional distress, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) near Tel Hashomer Medical Center.

This new facility will strengthen the IDF’s already increased commitments to assisting soldiers in coping with emotional distress generally, and PTSD in particular, in the shadow of the longest Israeli war since 1948.

Following October 7, the IDF Medical Corps brought on 800 additional therapists to cope with the massive trauma that occurred to an unprecedented number of soldiers at the same time.

This move was also made to anticipate the additional traumas that soldiers would go through on the Gaza, Hezbollah, and West Bank fronts as the war would and has continued.

A much larger number of therapists made it possible to have an assigned therapist for each brigade, including therapists who entered Gaza with their brigades so they could be on the front lines and assist soldiers in real time.

To date, the IDF has said that 85% of those soldiers who have sought basic level assistance with trauma from the war have returned to serve in their units within a short amount of time.

Among those who sought more significant emotional assistance, around 50-60% eventually returned to serve in the IDF.

Being that significant numbers of soldiers did not seek any assistance, the number of soldiers who have PTSD to date (some only realize they have PTSD at a later date) is much smaller than the 10-50% of all soldiers which the IDF originally expected due to the extreme circumstances of Hamas’s October 7 massacre.

According to the IDF, its multiple levels for addressing soldiers' needs at different levels has been successful.

Whereas the IDF Medical Corps received around 30,000 phone calls for assistance, a much smaller number of only a couple thousand soldiers needed much higher levels of assistance.

An ambulance is seen at the entrance to the emergency room of Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer in Ramat Gan, Israel, July 15, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/RAMI AMICHAY)

How is "success" measured in PTSD treatment?

Despite these positive-sounding statistics, there are always questions about how the IDF and other militaries measure “success” with PTSD.

Simply returning to serve in a war does not necessarily mean a soldier does not have PTSD and, in some cases, may even worsen the original PTSD symptoms.

In the face of this dilemma, IDF officials have said that the first and best way for most people to try to cope with trauma is to, after acknowledging the trauma, try to re-enter their normal lives and routines.

Whether this is true or not in the case of October 7 and the ongoing war may not be known for months or years, and may differ wildly based on specific individuals.

If the IDF was successful, senior officials would attribute part of that success to having gone through the traumatic coronavirus era.

During and following the coronavirus crisis, the IDF decided it would need far more resources and personnel to cope with emotional distress, especially for new recruits to the military who did not get to live routine lives as much in their later high school years.

Two years of work to try to shift in this direction were still moving slower, but gave the IDF a running start, such that when October 7 hit, there was no need to convince key decision-makers of the necessity for a major influx of therapists.

Controversially, the IDF has opposed working with larger groups of therapists who do not join the IDF, saying that the unique IDF experience and the different goals and manners of operation of civilian therapists do not match up for the military.

Israel, US and allies airdrop aid to Gaza

Meanwhile, as part of a joint-coordination effort, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, France, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States airdropped various supplies to Gazan residents, the IDF announced Wednesday.

The coordinated effort by these states saw supplies such as food and medical equipment airdropped to residents of southern Gaza and the Jordanian field hospital on Tuesday.

160 packages of food and medical equipment were transferred to Gazan residents in the southern Gaza Strip and the Jordanian field hospital in Khan Yunis. The effort was planned and coordinated by the International Brigade of the Strategic Planning and Cooperation Directorate (J5), the Coordination and Liaison Administration to Gaza (CLA), the IDF COGAT Unit, the 98th Division, and the IAF.

The food packages were airdropped over the span of the last two days to around 17 locations along the southern coastline of the Gaza Strip using French, American, Egyptian, Emirati, and Jordanian airplanes.

Further, IDF forces in the South, along with the air force, attacked eight targets in Gaza relating to the area from which rockets were launched towards Ashkelon on Tuesday, the military said on Wednesday.

Troops also targeted terror shafts and infrastructures from which terrorists exited to carry out terror activities in the Gaza Strip.

In western Khan Yunis, the 7th Brigade raided buildings where troops found weapons and military equipment.

In parallel, the troops killed five terrorists by firing a precise missile at a vehicle in which they were traveling. In addition, IAF jets attacked two military compounds, killing terrorists who were located in them, the military said.

Further north in Gaza, in In Zeitoun, the IDF 162nd Division identified a terrorist squad, which was subsequently eliminated by a combat helicopter.

IDF forces also attacked buildings used by Hamas in the al-Amal neighborhood and raided infrastructure in the Absan neighborhood, killing dozens of terrorists and finding weapons.

In a specific incident in the North, an IDF soldier sustained moderate injuries on Wednesday morning as a result of a military vehicle overturning in the Hermon area, the military said.

Two other soldiers were lightly injured in the incident as well.

The soldiers were rushed to hospital for further medical treatment.

Reuters contributed to this article.

The IDF, Shin Bet, and Border Police arrested ten wanted persons in the West Bank on Tuesday, during which an Israeli aircraft was also attacked by an armed terrorist.

In Jenin, Israeli forces arrested one of the wanted persons under the intelligence guidance of the Shin Bet. Forces also worked to uncover buried explosives aimed at harming IDF personnel.

Two were arrested in the city of Qalqilya, and one more was arrested in Abu Qash.

Video documentation of the Israeli operation can be seen below:

Other arrests made

IDF also arrested another six men, interrogated suspects, and confiscated weapons. All ten arrested, as well as weapons confiscated from IDF raids, were transferred over to security forces.

IDF operates in Jenin and other West Bank cities February 27, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

There were no Israeli casualties in the operation.

Since the start of Operation Swords of Iron on October 7, approximately 3,400 wanted persons have been arrested throughout the West Bank - with 1,500 of them being associated with the Hamas terror organization.

More than 50 broadcast journalists representing major news outlets in the US and the UK sent an open letter to the Israeli and Egyptian embassies in London, calling for "free and unfettered access to Gaza."

The 55 journalists who signed the letter, working in British outlets such as the BBC, Sky News, ITV, and UK's Channel 4, as well as American outlets CNN, ABC, NBC, and CBS, also demanded "better protection" for journalists in the area.

The journalists who signed the letter include CNN's Christiane Amanpour and chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward.

The journalists' letter sent to Israel, Egypt

"Almost five months into the war in Gaza, foreign reporters are still being denied access to the territory, outside of the rare and escorted trips with the Israeli military," the letter read. "We urge the governments of Israel and Egypt to allow free and unfettered access to Gaza for all foreign media.

The letter also called on Egypt to allow the passage of journalists into the Gaza Strip from the Rafah Crossing.

Journalists take part in a protest against the killing of Palestinian journalist Yasser Murtaja, at the Israel-Gaza border, in the southern Gaza Strip April 8, 2018. (credit: REUTERS/IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA)

"There is intense global interest in the events in Gaza, and for now, the only reporting has come from journalists who were already based there. It is vital that local journalists’ safety is respected and that their efforts are bolstered by the journalism of members of the international media. The need for comprehensive on-the-ground reporting of the conflict is imperative."

Sky News' Alex Crawford: 'Never been a fan of army embeds'

Sky News' Alex Crawford, also signed onto the letter, wrote in an op-ed published this morning that "there is still no access to foreign journalists," despite the IDF having embedded journalists from both Israeli and international news outlets along with its forces throughout the war.

Crawford further claims in her piece that "access has been excessively limited...I have never been a fan of embeds with any army.

"It is also the only absolute way of finding out most accurately what is the truth," Crawford wrote. "And in a world of misinformation, disinformation, false and malicious use of images and 'alternative truths,' it is the most effective way of nailing a lie."

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for the first time, called for drafting ultra-Orthodox (haredi) Jews into the IDF in a Wednesday evening press conference.

"Today, there is a real, national necessity to extend the service of soldiers and reservists," Gallant told reporters in Tel Aviv. "When the burden on servants continues to increase, I say one thing clearly: This war proved everyone must (be conscripted).

"If a wide consensus is not achieved, I will not be submitting the conscription law at the behest of the Defense Ministry."

War cabinet Minister Benny Gantz seconded Gallant's statement on X, writing that "all parts of Israeli society should take part in the right to serve. This is a national necessity.

"We will work together with Gallant, as well as with all Knesset factions and all parts of Israeli society, to advance an outline for national service with broad consensus."

High Court challenges gov't Haredi draft policy with conditional orders

Earlier this week, the High Court of Justice issued a series of conditional orders that threatened to upend the government’s policies on drafting haredi religious studies students to the IDF after hearing two petitions earlier in the day.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG), one of the main petitioners, called the conditional orders a dramatic and important step “on the way to full equality in conscription.

Earlier this month, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi stated that the laws surrounding conscription for the army in Israel should change such that all members of Israeli society are called up to defend the country.

"In these challenging times, one thing is very clear - everyone should do their part to protect our home,” Halevi said. “This is a different time, and prior realities should be reexamined. We are currently promoting immediate enlistment solutions in order to fill our ranks in light of the ongoing fighting. More of this will be required in the future.

Michael Starr and Sam Halpern contributed to this report.

Israel's plan to add thousands more homes to settlements in the West Bank announced last week was the final push the Biden administration needed to declare them "inconsistent" with international law, sources and US officials familiar with the move told Reuters.

Rather than the carefully choreographed policy rollout typical in Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the reversal in response to a question at a news conference in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires.

"It’s been longstanding US policy under Republican and Democratic administrations alike that new settlements are counter-productive to reaching an enduring peace,” Blinken told reporters.

"They’re also inconsistent with international law."

The policy shift was a long time in the making but the final decision came together within hours, catching many by surprise and raising questions about why this moment was chosen to return to what had been the US stance for four decades until it was changed by the previous administration of Donald Trump.

US SECRETARY of State Antony Blinken takes part in a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. One may legitimately ask whether these people really understand what they are talking about, the writer argues. (credit: THOMAS KIENZLE/REUTERS)

Just 24 hours before, there were no plans for Blinken to make such an announcement on Friday at the scheduled news conference, sources said.

But after far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel's government had agreed plans to approve some 3,300 new homes to be built in settlements, in response to a deadly Palestinian shooting attack in the West Bank, US officials concluded the time was right to unveil the shift in the language.

"This was something the administration had certainly been considering for a length of time and recent events made it clear that now was the time to articulate that," one US official familiar with the decision said.

Israel vows "to continue momentum"

The influential leader of one of the hard-right parties in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government, Smotrich himself lives in a West Bank settlement.

Late on Tuesday, he doubled down with a pledge to continue expanding the settlements, announcing the approval of a new settlement called Mishmar Yehuda in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, and saying work would continue to authorize more.

"We will continue the momentum of settlement throughout the country," Smotrich said in a statement.

The policy change brought the US back in line with most of the world, which considers the settlements built on territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war to be illegal. Israel itself disputes this view, citing the Jewish people's historical and Biblical ties to the land.

Since taking office in January 2021, the Biden administration has come close a few times to restoring the language to the pre-Trump era, but each time the move was set aside largely due to a failure to secure a green light from all of the senior members of the administration, sources said.

The October 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 Israelis, saw more than 250 others taken hostage and triggered a deadly Israeli military campaign had temporarily halted plans for such a change, even though internal discussions on the issue continued, according to officials.

"Barrier to peace"

The decision to make the change now underscores the Biden administration's growing frustration with Netanyahu. The Israeli leader is increasingly at odds with his biggest backer US President Joe Biden on a host of issues over the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Despite US pressure against reoccupying Gaza, Netanyahu has repeatedly said Israel will maintain security over the densely populated enclave once the war ends. He has also refused to embrace a peace deal that envisages Israeli and Palestinian states side by side.

Washington has repeatedly warned Israeli officials that settlement expansion is an obstacle to peace and that Israel must act to stop violence by settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank.

It recently imposed sanctions on four Israeli men accused of being involved in settler violence.

The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned last week's Israeli settlement announcement, saying it undermined the chances of a two-state solution.

The Israeli advocacy group Peace Now, which monitors settlement expansion, said last month that there had been an unprecedented surge in settlement activities since the start of the Gaza war in October.

"From a policy point of view, we have always been clear that we believe settlements are a barrier to peace and that they weaken, not strengthen, Israel’s security," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday, when asked why it took the administration three years to make the change.

"As a legal question, it is something that had been under review here at the department for some time," Miller said. He declined to say when the review began.

Iranian hackers reportedly created a fake site in support of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas to carry out cyber attacks against Israeli targets, the Google-owned cybersecurity firm Mandiant announced on Wednesday. 

According to Mandiant, the hacker group identified as UNC1546, or Tortoiseshell, is heavily linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

In a televised statement, senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called on residents of the West Bank and Jerusalem to barricade themselves at the al-Aqsa Mosque at the beginning of Ramadan. Haniyeh also called for "a broad and international movement to break the siege on al-Aqsa Mosque."

Hostage negotiations

Haniyeh asserted that when it came to hostage negotiations, Hamas was demonstrating "flexibility," though the terrorist group maintained that they would continue fighting. 

An IDF soldier sustained moderate injuries on Wednesday morning as a result of a military vehicle overturning in the Hermon area, the military said.

Two other soldiers were lightly injured in the incident as well.

The soldiers were rushed to hospital for further medical treatment.

As part of a joint-coordination effort, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, France, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States airdropped various supplies to Gazan residents.

The coordinated effort by these states saw supplies such as food and medical equipment airdropped to residents of southern Gaza and the Jordanian field hospital on Tuesday.

The IDF struck targets in southern Lebanon on Wednesday after Hamas took responsibility for launching missiles into northern Israel, one of which landed on a house in Kiryat Shmona. 

No injuries were reported in Kiryat Shmona, according to Israeli media. 

The IDF said it targeted the sources of the launch. 

IDF strikes Hezbollah weapons storage facility. February 19, 2024. (credit: SCREENSHOT/IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

IDF strikes Hezbollah targets

IAF jets also attacked a Hezbollah munition warehouse and military buildings in the Ramyeh region of southern Lebanon, the military said.

In addition, during the night, the IDF attacked a Hezbollah weapon production site in the Khirbet Selm area. 

Earlier on Wednesday, Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement on its Telegram channel that it had bombed the headquarters of the 769th Eastern Brigade and the airport barracks in Beit Hillel.

Reuters contributed to this article.