Israel-Hamas War: What happened on Day 147?

Hamas's armed wing, the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, announced on their Telegram channel on Friday that seven hostages had been killed during Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

Hamas named three of the allegedly killed hostages as Chaim Gershon Peri, 79, Yoram Itak Metzger, 80 and Amiram Israel Cooper, 85. The terrorist group said a later announcement would contain the names of the remaining four.

All three men were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7.

The information provided by Hamas is unconfirmed, and Hamas has previously shared false information on the well-being of hostages as part of its use of psychological warfare.

Hamas's latest statement on the seven hostages

“We have previously announced that our contact has been cut off with our mujahideen who are guarding a number of enemy prisoners in our honest sector,” Hamas announced on their Telegram, “and that we believe that a number of the prisoners have been killed as a result of the Zionist bombing.

“After examination and scrutiny during recent weeks, we have confirmed the martyrdom of a number of our mujahideen and the killing of seven enemy prisoners in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Zionist bombing.”

Hamas released a video of three elderly male Israeli hostages pleading for their release. December 18, 2023. (credit: Screenshot/Hamas Telegram)

"We confirm that the number of enemy prisoners who were killed as a result of the military operations of the enemy army in the Gaza Strip may exceed seventy prisoners," the statement claimed. "We have been keen all along to preserve the lives of the prisoners, but it has become clear that the enemy leadership is deliberately killing its prisoners to get rid of this file.

"At the same time, we affirm that the price we will take in exchange for five or ten living prisoners is the same price we would have taken in exchange for all the prisoners if the enemy’s bombing operations had not killed them."

The last component of the statement is a reference to the current proposed ceasefire deal, which would begin on the Islamic holiday of Ramadan and see 10 security prisoners released per Israeli hostage.

Videos on the hostages

The three hostages announced dead by Hamas on Friday had all appeared in a video in December, where they pled for their release from captivity.

With his hair fashioned into an Islamic-style, Peri had said “You have to release us from here – it does not matter the cost."

“We don’t want to be casualties as a direct result of the IDF military airstrikes,” he said.

Hamas had released a video teasing their announcement about the fate of a few of their hostages held in Gaza earlier in the day.

The video, which opened with a question mark, showed the images of three hostages whos identities have not yet been confirmed by the Jerusalem Post. Underneath the images read the test, "What do you think?"

Members of the Al-Qassam Brigades take part in a military festival organized by Hamas to honor the dead Palestinians who were killed by the Israeli army in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in Gaza City, on October 4, 2021 (credit: ATIA MOHAMMED/FLASH90)

It then proposed three scenarios regarding the fates of the hostages. In the first, all had been killed, in the second some had been killed and others wounded, and in the third, all were still alive.

"Tonight we will inform you of their fate," the video concluded.

In January, Hamas released a nearly identical video announcing the fates of Yossi Sharabi, Itai Svirsky, and Noa Argamani. The IDF later confirmed the deaths of Sharabi and Svirsky.

The IDF’s 7th Brigade successfully captured and interrogated dozens of terrorists hiding in a school in the west of the  Gazan city of Khan Yunis, the IDF announced on Friday. The IDF also carried out a number of raids on the homes of senior Hamas operatives, venturing into new parts of Khan Yunis.

In one targeted raid on terrorist infrastructure, the 7th brigade successfully captured dozens of terrorists who had been hiding in a school. Through questioning the captured terrorists, the IDF acquired key intelligence that was transferred directly to the forces operating in Khan Yunis. 

The brigade reported encountering dozens of Hamas terrorists within residential neighborhoods, eliminating them by tank fire and close-quarters combat as well as guided aerial fire. 

During this mission, the Brigade eliminated five armed terrorists in a vehicle that posed a threat to IDF troops, the military added. 

Raids on Hamas operative homes

Over the past week, in addition to targeting Hamas resources in civilian buildings, the 7th brigade carried out a number of raids on the homes of senior Hamas operatives. These raids extended to areas that had been untouched by the IDF until now.

Located in the senior Hamas operatives’ homes, soldiers found ammunition magazines, RPG missiles, explosives, Kalashnikov rifles, uniforms, and Hamas military equipment. 

The Brazilian government said on Friday that the killing of over 100 people seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza shows that Israel's military action in Gaza has no "ethical or legal limits," once again calling for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict.

"Humanity is failing the civilians of Gaza. And it's time to prevent further massacres," Brazil's foreign ministry in a statement.

Palestinian factions meeting in Moscow agreed on Friday to continue talks to achieve comprehensive national unity, Russian state news agency RIA reported, citing a joint statement.

The European Commission will give the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) only part of a planned 82 million euro payment now due to concerns raised by Israeli accusations that 12 staff were involved in the October 7 attack, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

The Commission is expected to make an official announcement at around 11:30 GMT, the sources said. They said the Commission planned to make the payment in installments over time, rather than with a single lump sum.

Explosions heard in the Syrian city of Baniyas were attributed to an Israeli attack, according to reports in Arab media, citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

According to the reports, one person was killed in the attack, which was housing senior Iranian officials.

This is a developing story.  
 
 
 
 
 

Soldiers of the IDF's Bislamach Brigade carried out operational maneuvers in the heart of Khan Yunis in Gaza as Israeli forces struck at Hamas rocket launch sites, the military announced on Friday. 

The brigade entered the center of Khan Yunis, joining the IDF's 98th Division in the area to combat Hamas terrorists. Fighter jets also struck concealed rocket launch sites in the southern Gazan city.

The Bislamach Brigade was replacing the Paratroopers Brigade, pulled out after four months of intense combat in Gaza. In Khan Yunis, the paratroopers experienced intense combat and took part in an effort to locate and destroy strategic tunnels.

Following several rocket launches from Gaza into Israel on Thursday, Israeli Air Force fighter jets also struck the location from which the launches were carried out along with additional terror targets in the area, including a Hamas terror tunnel shaft and military compounds.

IDF soldiers mapped the home overnight of the terrorist who carried out the shooting attack at the Eli gas station in which two Israeli civilians were murdered on Thursday, the military announced Friday morning.

Engineering forces, soldiers of the elite Duvdevan unit and reserve forces operated through the night in Kalandiya in the Binyamin Brigade's jurisdictions to map the home of the terrorist Mohammed Manasreh, who was one of the terrorists to carry out Thursday's attack. 

During the mapping, the forces located a gun in the terrorist's house.

According to former Jerusalem Post correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh, Manasreh was a Palestinian Authority police officer.

Mohammed Manasreh, the Palestinian Authority police officer who carried out today's shooting attack. pic.twitter.com/nc8KClFPNp

— Khaled Abu Toameh (@KhaledAbuToameh) February 29, 2024

IDF troops map the house of the terrorist who carried out the deadly Eli gas station shooting, February 29, 2024 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

IDF troops also arrested a wanted person suspected of being involved in terror activity in the village of Deir Abu Daif in the jurisdiction of the Menashe Division.

Two Israelis were murdered during the shooting attack at the gas station near the settlement of Eli on Thursday.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday said the killing of over 100 people seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza was a situation that would require an effective independent investigation.

Speaking in St. Vincent and the Grenadines ahead of a regional summit, Guterres said he was "shocked" by the latest episode in the war with Israel, in which Palestinian authorities say over 30,000 civilians have been killed since Oct. 7.

Responding to questions on the failure of a recent Security Council resolution seeking a ceasefire, Guterres said worsening geopolitical divides have "transformed the veto power into an effective instrument of paralysis of the action of the Security Council."

"I am totally convinced that we need a humanitarian ceasefire and we need the unconditional and immediate release of hostages and that we should have a Security Council able to achieve these objectives," Guterres said.

A senior Hamas member responsible for the security of Hamas leaders was arrested by Israeli forces several months ago, KAN news reported on Thursday.

The Hamas official was tasked with organizing the security of the heads of Hamas' political bureau, including the head of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.

The arrested official gave Israeli forces valuable intelligence about Hamas leaders in Gaza, as well as information about the days leading to the October 7th massacre and the first days of the war.

Sinwar believed to still be under Khan Yunis

On Monday, The Washington Post reported that Israeli, US, and Western intelligence and security officials believe that Sinwar is still hiding in tunnels under Khan Yunis and has not moved to Rafah or escaped to Egypt.

IDF soldiers operating in the tunnel used by Yahya Sinwar's brother in the Gaza Strip (credit: BENJAMIN WEINTHAL)

According to the report, the central challenge in capturing or killing Sinwar will be trying to do so without killing or injuring nearby hostages.

“It’s not about locating him, it’s about doing something” without putting the hostages at risk, a senior Israeli official told the Washington Post.

Sinwar was born in Khan Yunis in 1962. He became infamous for murdering suspected Palestinian collaborators, gaining the nickname "the Butcher of Khan Yunis" and eventually landing in an Israeli prison until he was released in 2011 as part of the deal to release IDF soldier Gilad Schalit from Hamas captivity.

Earlier in the war, Israeli media reported that the defense establishment believed that Sinwar and the commander of Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades, Mohammad Deif, were hiding under Khan Yunis, although, in recent weeks, some reports alleged that the two had fled to Rafah or even into Egypt.

The Hamas leader intended to conduct fighting from an underground fortified base called "Room 6," which was equipped for extended stays with military personnel and communications lines, according to IDF intel.

"Sinwar plans and acts accordingly to each situation and doesn't necessarily trust those around him," a military source told Maariv. "He will make mistakes, and we need to be there or in proximity to recognize it."

Now, he moves from place to place and plans his actions accordingly. "The distance between us and him will be shortened by one mistake too many of his."

Amir Bohbot contributed to this report.