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.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Friday and said the situation in Gaza is "terrible".

"Deep indignation at the images coming from Gaza where civilians have been targeted by Israeli soldiers. I express my strongest condemnation of these shootings and call for truth, justice, and respect for international law," Macron said in a post on the social platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir expressed outrage after some Palestinian detainees being held in administrative detention were released on Thursday night, rejecting assessments by the Shin Bet and IDF that the move was necessary to make room in prisons and accusing the Shin Bet of giving Palestinians a "gesture for Ramadan."

On Thursday evening, the IDF and Shin Bet announced that - in light of a situation assessment by all the security agencies in Israel which found that prisons are running out of room - administrative detainees who only have a month left to their detention would be released to make room for detainees who pose a greater threat.

In response to the announcements, Ben-Gvir claimed that there was not an issue of space in Israeli prisons, saying that the order to release the detainees was made "under the direct guidance of the head of the Shin Bet as a 'gesture' for Ramadan."

"The prison service has no discretion in the matter," added Ben-Gvir.

Hamas terrorists who were caught during the October 7 massacre and during the IDF operation in the Gaza Strip, seen at a courtyard in a prison in southern Israel, February 14, 2024 (credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

"It is alarming that on the day when two Jews were murdered, the head of the Shin Bet chooses to pay tribute to the murderers, and this is a day after a request by the Shin Bet extended the administrative detention of a Jewish settler for the second time."

Tenuous relationship between Shin Bet, Ben-Gvir

Ben-Gvir has had a tenuous relationship with the Shin Bet throughout his candidacy.

On Thursday, Haaretz reported that the Shin Bet had stopped sending representatives to situation assessments conducted by Ben-Gvir due to the minister's degrading treatment of the agency. The agency has also expressed concerns that the classified content of such meetings would be leaked by Ben-Gvir or his staff who are not required to leave their phones outside, according to the report.

Last year, Ben-Gvir and the Shin Bet clashed over whether or not the security agency should be involved in combatting Arab-sector crime within Israel.

Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee called for UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini to testify publicly before the committee regarding allegations against agency members participating in the attacks on October 7, Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (R-TX) announced in a statement on Thursday. 

McCaul sent a letter to Lazzarini on Wednesday along with Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL), Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations Chairman Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA). 

McCaul previously issued this request in January, to which Lazzarini said UN privileges and immunities forbore him from being compelled to testify in an open session. 

UNRWA COMMISSIONER-GENERAL Philippe Lazzarini speaks during an interview in Amman, last November. (credit: Alaa Al Sukhni/Reuters)

UNRWA employee involvement on October 7 

"With regards to your letter, we must first point out that UN privileges and immunities do not forbear voluntary testimony. Second, many members of this Committee are gravely concerned, but sadly, unsurprised, by allegations that employees of UNRWA participated in the horrendous October 7th attack and that thousands of employees have familial or direct ties to Hamas and other terrorist organizations," McCaul wrote in the letter. 

"Furthermore, we are outraged by recent reporting that a Hamas military installation and server room is located directly beneath UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters. To make matters worse, Hamas operated this installation by siphoning electricity from UNRWA," the letter said. 

McCaul said Lazzarini must indicate his willingness to voluntarily appear for a public hearing no later than March 14. 

According to a UN spokesperson,  the United Nations investigators expect to receive materials from Israel related to its accusations that staff with the UN Palestinian refugee agency took part in the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas militants.

The allegations became public five weeks ago when the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) announced it had fired some staff after Israel verbally provided the agency with information. Israel had accused 12 staffers, of which nine were fired, the UN later said.

The independent, internal UN investigation by the Office for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) was immediately launched as the United States - the largest donor to UNRWA - and other countries paused funding following the allegations.

Guterres Briefed on UNRWA Investigation

OIOS briefed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday on its work over the past month, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Thursday. Dujarric did not say when the investigation might be complete.

"The investigation remains ongoing. OIOS will continue to seek and to corroborate additional information and to compare the information obtained with materials held by Israeli authorities, which OIOS expects to receive shortly," he said.

UNITED NATIONS Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at a news conference at UN headquarters in New York City. (credit: Mike Segar/Reuters)

"OIOS staff are planning to visit Israel soon to obtain information from Israeli authorities that may be relevant to the investigation. Cooperation with the OIOS investigation by Member States has thus far been adequate," Dujarric added.

Guterres has described UNRWA as "the backbone of all humanitarian response in Gaza" and pledged to act immediately on any new information from Israel related to "infiltration of Hamas" in the world body.

UNRWA work in Gaza

UNRWA employs 13,000 people in Gaza, running schools, its primary healthcare clinics, and other social services, and distributing humanitarian aid. Guterres has said some 3,000 are currently still working to deliver aid.

At least 576,000 people in the Gaza Strip - one-quarter of the population - are one step away from famine, a senior UN aid official told the Security Council on Tuesday, warning that widespread famine could be "almost inevitable" without action.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas fighters attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's air and ground campaign in Gaza has since killed around 30,000 Palestinians, health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave say.

IDF spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari announced that the IDF had killed over 450 Hamas terrorists in Gaza in the past few days and over 13,000 in total during a press conference on Thursday.

He also announced that security forces have neutralized over 3,400 terrorists in the West Bank, with 1,500 of them belonging to Hamas.

Regarding the aggression in the north, he announced that the IDF had killed over 220 Hezbollah terrorists, including Three Brigade commanders

The “tragic” Palestinian deaths during violent eruptions around the delivery of Gaza aid could complicate talks for a hostage deal, US President Joe Biden said on Thursday as he downplayed initial optimism about the possibility of an agreement by early next week.

He discussed what the White House called an “alarming incident” in Gaza on Thursday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken separately spoke with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani.

Both countries have been mediating a deal for the remaining 134 hostages, which would include a pause to the Gaza war and the release of Palestinian security prisoners and terrorists jailed by Israel.

An Israeli delegation was in Qatar this week for talks following a high-level meeting over the weekend in Paris.

Saudi Arabia Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman is received by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on the sidelines of the World Cup in Doha, Qatar, November 20, 2022 (credit: VIA REUTERS)

Biden had originally optimistically predicted that a deal could be in place as early as Monday. Before boarding Marine One on Thursday, he told reporters it “probably” would not happen by then, adding, “But I am hopeful.”

One reporter asked him if he thought the Gaza aid incident would complicate the talks. “I know it will,” Biden responded.

Leaders feel that the Gaza tragedy calls for a ceasefire

The two back-to-back aid delivery incidents that led to possibly over 100 Palestinian deaths in a situation that involved both Israeli fire and a stampede, highlighted for global leaders the urgent need to pause, if not end the war.

The White House said that the emir, Sisi, and Biden “grieved the loss of civilian lives and agreed that this incident underscored the urgency of bringing negotiations to a close as soon as possible and expanding the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.”

Biden in his separate calls with the two leaders also discussed the terms of a deal, which the White House said would last for at least six weeks and could “be built into something more enduring.”

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that the reason for the calls between the US, Egypt, and Qatar was that Biden wanted to “try and push past this situation to put in place a temporary cease-fire, Miller said.

The aid incident in Gaza may well “complicate” the deal, but our hope is that it will not and we are going to push very hard to try to get a deal over the line,” he said.

In Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he was doing everything possible to achieve the “sacred goal” of freeing all the hostages. He had demanded in advance, he said, the names of all the hostages that would be part of the deal.

His words appeared to acknowledge speculation that not all the hostages would be freed in the arrangement which is expected to involve only 40 or so of the captives. It’s speculated that one captive would be freed on every day of the pause in the war, in exchange for 10 jailed Palestinians.

Netanyahu said he had not yet received an answer to his request. It is “too early to tell” if there will be an arrangement for a deal in the coming days, Netanyahu said.

He pledged, however, not to cave to essential principled points and any “delusional” Hamas demands.

“We are determined to bring them all back. With a plan or without a plan - we will fight until complete victory,” Netanyahu stated.

He has insisted that Israel must be able to complete the war, even with a hostage deal, so that it can eliminate Hamas. The terror group has demanded a permanent ceasefire and a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza. It is believed that it has agreed not to insist on those demands for a deal that would involve only 40 hostages.

A deal, should it be reached, would delay any planned Israeli military operation in Rafah, near Gaza’s border with Egypt.

The international community has demanded that Israel not conduct that operation fearing that it would lead to a humanitarian disaster, given that over 1.3 million Palestinians are in that area, many of whom fled there to escape bombings in the southern part of the enclave. The US has said it must see a plan to protect those civilians before it would support such a plan.

Netanyahu said he was determined to push forward with a Rafah military operation to destroy the battalions there.

“We will do it while evacuating the civilian population from the combat zones, we will do it while taking care of the humanitarian needs and we will do it while maintaining international law - because that is how we operate.”

In Washington on Thursday, however, the focus was on the aid disaster as the US grappled to better understand the details of what had happened.

Miller said, “We are urgently seeking additional information on exactly what took place. We have been in touch with the Israeli government since early this morning and understand that an investigation is underway. We will be monitoring that investigation closely and pressing for answers.”