Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 170?

Rocket sirens sounded across the southern port city of Ashdod on Monday.

Hamas' priorities from ongoing negotiations are "stopping the aggression, bringing in aid, the return of the displaced, and a clear reconstruction plan," said Hamas spokesperson Hossam Badran, according to Hezbollah-owned news site Al-Ahed News.

Badran also said that the US cannot be considered a mediator in negotiations but is a "political and military partner supporting the occupation," and the American administration is a primary obstacle to any agreement, the news site reported.

Badran claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "does not want to reach an agreement and is deceiving his people and the families of the prisoners to cover up his political and security failure," Al-Ahed News reported.  

Israel accepted on Saturday an American compromise for the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released for Israeli hostages and is awaiting a response from Hamas, according to Israeli media reports.

The details of the reported deal

Israel agreed to release between 700-800 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 40 hostages, Israeli media reported on Sunday evening, citing Israeli officials. Prisoners to be released include hundreds who are currently serving life sentences for murdering Israelis in terror attacks, according to Walla's Barak Ravid.

Israeli Mossad Chief David Barnea flew to Qatar Friday to meet CIA director William Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani, and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamal to discuss a hostage deal that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he believes is possible to agree on, although there is "still difficult work to get there."

The issue of the number of prisoners exchanged for each hostage was a sticking point, prompting the need for the American compromise, according to reports.

Tovah Lazaroff and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report. 

IDF, Shin Bet, and Border Police conducted operations overnight on Sunday into Monday, during which seven wanted individuals were arrested, the IDF said on Monday afternoon.

During the activities of the security forces, two terrorists threw explosives at the Israeli personnel. The forces responded with fire and registered hits on the terrorists.

Since October 7, around 3,600 wanted individuals have been arrested throughout the West Bank. Of this number, approximately 1,600 are associated with Hamas.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during a visit to Jordan on Monday that there is growing international consensus to tell Israel that a ceasefire is needed and that an assault on Rafah would cause a humanitarian disaster.

"We see a growing consensus emerging in the international community to tell the Israelis that the ceasefire is needed, and I also see a growing consensus, I heard in the US, I heard from the European Union, not to mention, of course, the Muslim world, to tell clearly to Israelis that any ground invasion of Rafah could mean a humanitarian disaster," Guterres told a press conference.

During a tour of a center in Jordan's Wihdat camp where the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency UNRWA provides health and education services, the top UN official said the agency was a lifeline of hope and dignity for millions of refugees across the region.

"We must strive to keep the one-of-a-kind services that UNRWA provides flowing because that keeps hope flowing. In a darkening world, UNRWA is the one ray of light for millions of people," Guterres said.

Jordan, which lies at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict, hosts 2.4 million Palestinian refugees, the largest number of such refugees among Israel's neighbors. Many of its citizens are of Palestinian origin.

Palestinian employees of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) take part in a protest against job cuts by UNRWA, in Gaza City September 19, 2018. (credit: REUTERS/IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA)

UNRWA staff accused of involvement in October 7 attacks

UNRWA has been in crisis since Israel accused a dozen of its staff of involvement in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks against Israel.

The allegations prompted UNRWA's biggest donor, the United States, and others to pause funding, putting the agency's future in doubt. However, some other countries have since restored funding

"UNRWA is profoundly contributing in ways that can’t be measured on a graph -- advancing social cohesion, promoting stability, building peace. Imagine if all of this was taken away," Guterres said.

The results of an independent internal U.N. investigation that was launched would help strengthen and improve UNRWA, the top UN official said.

The IDF operation at Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza over the last week has been one of the “single largest” since Israel’s war against Hamas began in early October of last year, ABC reported on Monday, citing IDF sources.

The IDF launched a reinvasion of Shifa Hospital in the early morning of Monday last week. During the initial operation, Hamas Interior Ministry Operations Chief Faack Mabhouh was among those killed.

Since then, over 170 terrorists have been killed, and around 500 terrorists associated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) have been arrested, according to the IDF.

Gaza sources confirm IDF reports

According to the ABC report, anonymous sources in Gaza confirmed that it is thought that numerous Hamas and PIJ, including senior leadership, had returned to the hospital having believed the Israeli military had concluded its activities there.

On Sunday, KAN reported that another two senior Hamas officials, Hisham Tzarzur and Diab Tatarhad, had been detained at the hospital.

In addition to terrorists, the IDF has reported finding weaponry hidden at the hospital. On Monday, a Shayetet 13 special forces commander said Israeli forces had found weapons hidden among medical supplies, patients, and visitors during an overnight raid of the hospital.

Sheyetet 13 was involved in the initial raid of the hospital one week earlier.

Hamas is prioritizing a "clear reconstruction plan" for Gaza that is not limited to the release of all remaining hostages, official Husam Badran said Monday in a statement reported on by Palestinian and Arab media.

Accusing Israel and the United States of "obstructing any agreement," Badran issued several demands set by the Palestinian terror organization as part of the ceasefire and hostage deal negotiations.

"Our priorities are stopping the aggression, bringing in aid, the return of the displaced, and a clear reconstruction plan, and not limited to the release of prisoners as promoted by the occupation."

This is a developing story.

Lieutenant-Colonel A, a Shayetet 13 special forces commander, reported that Israeli troops had located weapons hidden among medical supplies, patients, and visitors during a targeted raid of the hospital overnight on Sunday into Monday.

"The operation was launched after receiving precise intelligence about the return of terrorists and the return of the hospital being used as a base for Hamas leadership," Lieutenant-Colonel A said. "During the raid, we found a large amount of military equipment hidden among medical supplies, patients, and visitors who were in the hospital.

"During the surgical operation, we distinguished between the patients and visitors and the terrorists. We eliminated the terrorists, and many of them were arrested."

Israel told four European countries on Monday that their plan to work toward recognition of a Palestinian state constituted a "prize for terrorism" that would reduce the chances of a negotiated resolution to the conflict between the neighbors.

Spain said on Friday that, in the name of Middle East peace, it had agreed with Ireland, Malta, and Slovenia to take the first steps toward recognizing statehood declared by the Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Israeli fighter jets struck a Hezbollah military compound in the area of Meiss El Jabal in southern Lebanon, the IDF reported on Monday.

Terrorists had reportedly been identified within the compound.

Also overnight, 15 rocket launches from Lebanon into northern Israel were detected. The launches fell in open areas and injuries were reported.

Maj.-Gen. (res.) Noam Tibon, former commander of the West Bank division, spoke Monday morning with Anat Davidov and Udi Segal on 103FM.

Tibon discussed the difficult security situation throughout the October 7 attacks in the various arenas and sharply criticized the government's performance.

Regarding the northern arena, he claimed that "[Israel] needs to do two things - on the civilian level, we need to establish a body similar to the Takuma administration to take care of the northern citizens. They have been out of their homes for six months, businesses have been destroyed, and farms and entire settlements have been damaged. 

We now need a director who is a civil servant, not a political figure, because, at this moment, there are no answers from anyone, and the personal cost is very high. Currently, no one is taking care of them."

Tibon, clearly furious, stated that the current "government is not functioning, [with the only consideration it holds] is that it has 64 mandates so that Netanyahu can stay in power- this is full neglect of the people affected by this war.

"These people need answers; all of those who hold ministerial positions are irresponsible, and [personally] I would start with that [issue] before talking about what is being done in Lebanon."

Noam Tibon criticizes the functionality of the current government amid war

Switching gears to the southern campaign against Hamas and the Rafah issue, Tibon continued by saying that "the problem in Rafah is not the Hamas battalions.

"These are not the first-tier battalions, but the issue is the Philadelphia axis. How can Israel reach a solution where it has effective control in the area but also by cutting off supply pipes Hamas holds in the Sinai Peninsula?