What happened on Day 157?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may not be able to retain his hold on power and could be replaced by a more moderate government, the United States predicted as tensions have increased between the two governments over the Gaza war.

“Netanyahu’s viability as [a] leader as well as his governing collation of far-right and ultra-orthodox parties that pursue hardline policies on Palestinian and security issues may be in doubt,” the US said in its annual Threat Assessment report for 2024.

The 41-page document, which examined regional and global instability, was produced at the beginning of February but released only on Monday.

“Distrust of Netanyahu’s ability to rule has deepened and broadened across the public from its already high levels before the war,” it stated. 

“We expect large protests demanding his resignation and new elections. A different, more moderate government is a possibility,” the report stated.

A placard with an image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen as people take part in a protest against Netanyahu's government, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas from Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel March 2, 2024. (credit: CARLOS GARCIA RAWLINS/REUTERS)

It was published as polls continue to show that Minister-without-portfolio Benny Gantz would receive at least double the number of votes than Netanyahu if elections were held today.

Report questions Israel's ability to totally defeat Hamsa

The report also speculated that Israel could not achieve its goal of totally defeating Hamas.

“Israel probably will face lingering armed resistance from Hamas for years to come and the military will struggle to neutralize Hamas’s underground infrastructure, which allows insurgents to hide, regain strength, and surprise Israeli forces,” the report stated.

CIA Director William Burns elaborated on information contained in the report in a testimony he gave to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in Washington, DC.

He stressed in importance of global and domestic public opinion in combating a non-state actor such as Hamas in tunnel warfare in an urban setting.

 “Israel’s war against Hamas has shown the difficulty of using military force alone to eradicate a non-state actor imbedded in a civilian population especially one that has been so adept at using underground tunnels,” he said. 

“I worry that Netanyahu’s conduct in the war threatens to undermine support for Israel in the long term including in the US,” Burns stated. 

“This international support has been key to Israel’s security,” Burns said.

"Lying is a sign of desperation," the Coordinator of the Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) replied in a Tuesday post on X, formerly Twitter, to an earlier post by UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini.

COGAT is the official Israeli unit tasked with the coordination and facilitation of humanitarian initiatives in the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria, according to its website. 

"A truck loaded with aid has just been turned back because it had scissors used in children's medical kits," Lazzarini claimed in his post. "Medical scissors are now added to a long list of banned items the Israeli Authorities classify as 'for dual use.' The list includes basic lifesaving items." Philippe Lazzarini is the Commissioner-General of UNRWA. 

Lying is a sign of desperation, @UNLazzarini, this did not happen.

Over 16,000 trucks entered Gaza, with only 1.5% not permitted. Most were re-coordinated and entered later.
Your info sources are wrong. We are constantly in touch with @UN orgs and haven't heard a word about it. https://t.co/fYPrm6kqOz

— COGAT (@cogatonline) March 12, 2024

COGAT rebutted, "Over 16,000 trucks entered Gaza, with only 1.5% not permitted. Most were re-coordinated and entered later. Your info sources are wrong. We are constantly in touch with UN orgs and haven't heard a word about it."

Humanitarian aid in Gaza

As of Monday, since the beginning of the war, 16,405 trucks of humanitarian aid were inspected and transferred to the Gaza Strip, including 203,300 tons of food, 18,980 tons of medical supplies, and 26,160 tons of water, among other necessities, according to the COGAT website. 

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, attends a news conference during an informal EU Development Ministers Council, in Brussels, Belgium February 12, 2024. (credit: JOHANNA GERON/REUTERS)

The humanitarian effort is coordinated between Israel, Egypt, the United States, and the United Nations.

UNRWA provides humanitarian assistance to Gazans. However, the organization has recently come under fire in light of reports that showed a number of members of its staff also belonged to Hamas and participated in the October 7 attacks against Israel. 

A ship carrying almost 200 tons of food to Gaza left a port in Cyprus early on Tuesday, part of a pilot project to open a new sea route for aid to a population widely believed to be on the brink of famine.

The charity ship Open Arms was seen sailing out of Larnaca port in Cyprus, towing a barge containing flour, rice and protein.

The journey to Gaza takes about 15 hours, but a heavy tow barge could make the trip considerably longer, possibly up to 2 days. Cyprus is just over 200 miles (322 km) northwest of Gaza.

The mission, mostly funded by the United Arab Emirates, is being organized by US-based charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), while Spanish charity Proactiva Open Arms supplies the ship.

"Our goal is to establish a maritime highway of boats and barges stocked with millions of meals continuously headed towards Gaza," said WCK founder Jose Andres and chief executive officer Erin Gore in a statement.

The Open Arms, a rescue vessel owned by a Spanish NGO, departs with humanitarian aid for Gaza from the port of Larnaca, Cyprus, March 12, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/STAMOS PROUSALIS)

WCK says it has a further 500 tons of aid in Cyprus ready for dispatch.

Charity attempting to enter Gaza directly

The charities intend to take aid directly to Gaza, which has been sealed off from the outside world since Israel began its offensive in response to an October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.

With the lack of port infrastructure, WCK has said it was creating a landing jetty in Gaza with material from destroyed buildings and rubble. It is a separate initiative from that announced by the US last week, which plans to build a temporary pier in the enclave to facilitate aid deliveries by sea.

Construction of the jetty was "well underway," WCK's Andres said in a post on X. "We may fail, but the biggest failure will not be trying!" he wrote, posting a picture of work with bulldozers apparently leveling out ground close to sea.

Tuesday's mission, if successful, would effectively signal the first easing of an Israeli naval blockade imposed on Gaza in 2007 after Hamas took control of the Palestinian enclave.

With the humanitarian crisis in Gaza becoming increasingly desperate, international players are scrambling to find alternative routes to supply aid.

Cyprus said its maritime corridor offers a fast-track workaround to getting aid delivered where needed. Cargoes are to undergo security inspections in Cyprus by a team including personnel from Israel, eliminating the need for screenings at its final offloading point to remove potential hold-ups in aid deliveries.

Alarms sounded in the Galilee and the Golan Heights as a barrage of at least 100 rockets were launched in their direction Tuesday morning, Israeli media reported.

Crashes were sighted in open areas in the open areas of Ein Kuniya, Snir, Sha'ar Yashuv, and Kfar Szold.  

האזעקות בצפון: עשרות שיגורים לעבר אצבע הגליל ורמת הגולן, זוהו נפילות בשטחים פתוחים@hadasshtaif pic.twitter.com/B0s9DGjozb

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) March 12, 2024

Additionally, the IDF attacked launchers in Lebanon that had fired towards the north. IDF fighter jets additionally attacked three launchers that fired toward the Golan Heights, the IDF reported. 

Military aid to Israel could become conditional by US President Joe Biden should Israel decide to launch an incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a Monday Politico report cited four US officials as saying.

The four officials in question know internal US administration thinking, the report notes, with one of them saying "It’s something he’s definitely thought about.”

 Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis targeted what was described as the "US ship Pinocchio" in the Red Sea with missiles, according to a speech by the group's military spokesman televised early on Tuesday.

According to public databases operated by Equasis and the UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Pinocchio is a Liberian-flagged container ship that is owned by Singapore-registered company OM-MAR 5 INC.

Israeli Arab Ali Ziadna, who has family members held hostage in Gaza, confronted Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour on Monday after the UNSC debate on sexual violence committed by Hamas, and criticized him for allowing his family members and other fellow Muslims to wallow in Hamas captivity, according to a video posted on X.

עימות יוצא דופן אחרי הדיון במועצת הביטחון בין עלי א-זיאדנה, ששניים מבני משפחתו חטופים בעזה והתלווה לשר החוץ כ"ץ לבין שגריר הרשות הפלסטינית באו"ם, ריאד מנסור. א-זיאדנה הטיח בדיפלומט הפלסטיני אחרי נאומו: "...למה חטפו את אחיי? במה הם חטאו שחטפו אותם? הם מזה 5 חודשים במנהרות על מה?… pic.twitter.com/K3oORXdaxC

— roi kais • روعي كايس • רועי קייס (@kaisos1987) March 11, 2024

Ziadna was part of a delegation of family members of hostages in Gaza, that accompanied Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan to a UNSC debate over the recently submitted UN report on sexual violence committed by Hamas on October 7.

In Gaza, as armed men surround aid trucks, residents point fingers at both Israel and Hamas for exacerbating the humanitarian crisis, with vital supplies scarce amid ongoing conflict

The dire shortage of food and essential humanitarian supplies in the Gaza Strip has captured global attention, yet some of the Palestinians living in the enclave are debating the root of the crisis. While most attribute the hardships faced by Gaza’s residents to Israel, others point towards Hamas.

US President Joe Biden said on Monday he has not scheduled a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Biden also said he does not have any plans "at this moment" to address the Israeli parliament.

Designate Hamas as a terror organization and do more to pressure it to release the remaining 134 hostages, Foreign Minister Israel Katz told the 15-member body during its Monday debate on the sexual violence committed by Palestinians during the October 7 attack against the Jewish state.

“For too long the UN has been silent on Hamas actions,” Katz said.