Israel-Hamas War: What happened on Day 169?

The IDF confirmed it was operating in the area of Al-Amal Hospital on Sunday after initially denying that it was involved in an operation against two hospitals in Khan Yunis.

The IDF acknowledged that it was fighting terrorists near the hospitals and said it was not impossible that some indirect impact was affecting the hospitals.

Critically, the IDF said that there was also no plan to attack the hospitals later Sunday, the way it has gone after terrorists for more than a week at Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza. The IDF said that terrorists have begun to use civilian infrastructure for terror purposes at Al-Amal, causing forces to operate there.

Benny Gantz announced on Sunday that he would leave the government if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bill granting exemption from IDF conscription to ultra-Orthodox (haredi) Jews passes in Knesset.

This is a developing story.

IDF’s Southern Command defined the raid of the Hamad neighborhood in Khan Yunis as one of the most creative maneuvers of the war in Gaza.

The Israeli forces reached operational success quickly, surrounding the neighborhood within 15 minutes. Israeli forces led by the IDF's 98th Brigade also captured two prominent senior Hamas figures during the operation.

The story behind IDF's success in Hamad

Following Operation Protective Edge in 2014, during which the IDF began destroying Hamas terror tunnels and terror infrastructure, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani decided to donate hundreds of millions of dollars for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

A considerable amount of the Emir’s funds was invested in establishing “Hamad City,” a luxurious neighborhood within Khan Yunis. The upscale neighborhood consisted of 124 six-floor buildings with 1060 apartment units, a mosque, two schools, and parks. With the leftover funds, the Emir contributed to the construction of a hospital.

Hamas senior officials and their families moved into this new and opulent neighborhood, which then turned into ruins after the IDF entered as part of the ground operation to dismantle Hamas terror infrastructure in the area.

IDF soldiers operate in the Hamad neighborhood of Khan Yunis, in Gaza, March 13, 2024 (credit: SETH J. FRANTZMAN)

At the height of IDF operations in Khan Yunis earlier this year, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) revealed a concentration of senior operatives hidden within Hamad City. These included valuable assets for understanding the area, uncovering Hamas's military infrastructure, and information regarding the hostages.

Shin Bet officials made it clear to the commanders in the Southern Command that there were more than 10,000 Palestinians in the area who thought that the neighborhood was protected from attacks for a number of reasons, which include the fact that it was established with Qatari funding and that the IDF had not operated in it except for several airstrikes at the beginning of the ground invasion.

"It was clear to us that there was a high concentration of armed men there and that there were intelligence assets there that we wanted with us," said a military official involved in planning the operation on the neighborhood.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Phillipe Lazzarini claimed that Israeli authorities had informed the UN that they would no longer approve any UNRWA food convoys to the north of the Gaza Strip, according to a post on X on Sunday.

"Any major military operation in Gaza would be a huge mistake," US Vice President Kamala Harris told ABC News in an interview aired Sunday.

"I have studied the maps, there's nowhere for those folks to go, and we're looking at about a million and a half people in Rafah who are there because they were told to go there," Harris added

On the topic of Israeli elections, Harris told ABC that it is "on the Israeli people to make a decision about when they will have an election and who they elect."

Harris made the comment after being asked by ABC if US President Biden calling Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's speech, in which he called for an election in Israel to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a "good speech" meant there should be elections in Israel.

When then asked if Netanyahu was "an obstacle to peace," Harris avoided answering the question directly, responding that the administration must "continue to enforce what we know to be and should be the priorities‌ in terms of what is happening in Gaza."

She also added that "we have been very clear far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed."

In a phone conversation between the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement Ziyad al-Nakhaleh on Friday, the Iranian FM said the recent developments in Gaza displayed Israel’s anti-human nature and the White House’s support for “the genocide against the Palestinians,” Iranian state media reported. 

The Iranian FM continued to say that the young people of the world see the truth of this and that the Gazan people have the world's support. He said that the world understands that defending human rights and the rights of women and children is “a Western political game.” He has previously commented that Western concern for human rights is disingenuous.  

The secretary-general of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement said “the resistance” showed great strength and spirit after six months of “the Zionist regime’s invasion of Gaza.” He also discussed creating unity and field cohesion among “the Palestinian resistance groups,” viewing it as a key to the victory of the Palestinian nation against “the killing machine of the Zionist enemy.” 

He particularly emphasized uniting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza to strengthen the “movement.”

"The International Red Cross has not supplied us with anything in three months," said Director of Supply for Civil Defense in Gaza, Muhammad Al-Mughir, according to a report published by Qatari-based news outlet Al-Jazeera on Sunday.

According to the report, Al-Mughir stated, "Many of the needs were promised to us by the Red Cross, but nothing has arrived yet."

He also stated that his organization needs fuel and other materials to continue their work, the report stated.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is traveling to the Middle East on Sunday because not enough help is getting to Gaza and the Israeli government must open the border crossings to a lot more aid, she said in a statement.

Ahead of her trip to Egypt, Israel, and the West Bank, Baerbock said every aid crate sitting on trucks in front of Gaza's border fences is one too many.

In der Hölle von #Gaza sind mehr als eine Million Kinder, Frauen, Männer von Hunger bedroht. Das darf keinen Tag so weitergehen. Wir lassen mit unseren Partnern nichts unversucht. Die israelische Regierung muss endlich die Grenzübergänge für viel mehr Hilfe öffnen. 1/3

— Außenministerin Annalena Baerbock (@ABaerbock) March 24, 2024

Since the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas, Baerbock has visited the region six times and said she would go again to do everything possible to find a solution.

The United Nations is "once again" deceiving the world by blaming Israel for logistical issues that are impeding humanitarian aid distribution in the Gaza Strip, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said on Sunday in a post on X.

"Again, the UN is deceiving. These trucks are awaiting inspection in Egypt and haven't reached Israeli crossings. The UN must scale up logistics and stop blaming Israel for its own failures. Btw, 142 aid trucks are still waiting for pick up by the UN on the Gazan side of KS," COGAT wrote on X.

Again, the @UN is deceiving. These trucks are waiting for inspection in Egypt and haven't reached Israeli crossings. The UN must scale up logistics and stop blaming Israel for its own failures.
Btw, 142 aid trucks are still waiting for pick up by the UN on the Gazan side of KS. https://t.co/OFzRE6NbfP pic.twitter.com/RiABZh22LC

— COGAT (@cogatonline) March 24, 2024

Today I saw long lines of blocked relief trucks waiting to be let into Gaza.

It’s time to truly flood Gaza with life-saving aid.

The choice is clear: surge or starvation.

Let’s choose the side of help, the side of hope & the right side of history.

I will not give up. pic.twitter.com/TTTcnR01bU

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) March 23, 2024

The post was made as a response to another post on X made by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres following his visit to the Gaza border on Saturday.

In his post, Guterress said, "Today I saw long lines of blocked relief trucks waiting to be let into Gaza. It’s time to flood Gaza with life-saving aid. The choice is clear: surge or starvation. Let’s choose the side of help, the side of hope, and the right side of history. I will not give up."

Today I saw long lines of blocked relief trucks waiting to be let into Gaza.

It’s time to truly flood Gaza with life-saving aid.

The choice is clear: surge or starvation.

Let’s choose the side of help, the side of hope & the right side of history.

I will not give up. pic.twitter.com/TTTcnR01bU

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) March 23, 2024

In his post, Guterres doesn't specify what is causing the delays in humanitarian aid, and only calls for a speed-up of the process.

"I studied the maps. The people there have nowhere to go. Entering Rafah would be a mistake," Vice President Kamala Harris said during an interview on ABC News on Sunday.

In the interview, Harris also stated that the Biden administration has communicated to relevant Israeli officials 'in many conversations and every way possible' that it opposes a ground operation in Rafah.

She also stated that way too many Palestinians have been killed.