Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 172?

The High Court of Justice on Wednesday discussed a petition filed by the family of Alon Shamriz, one of the Gaza hostages mistakenly killed by IDF soldiers in December, to recognize Alon as a fallen soldier.

Shamriz’s family argues that on October 7, the day Alon was kidnapped, the IDF sent him an order calling him up for reserve duty. The State Attorney’s office, however, maintains that though Alon was indeed part of the reserves, he was not serving as a soldier at the time of his abduction, and thus, the law prohibits recognizing him as a fallen soldier. 

After a closed-door hearing, the state announced Wednesday that it requested until Tuesday to notify the court whether it would offer the outline of a compromise on the matter.

Justice Uzi Vogelman, Deputy President of the High Court, said of the matter, “We are dealing here with an exceptional case.” The proposal, he said, “is not to ignore the law” but to find a resolution within its framework, adding that “there was a time when the Defense Ministry knew how to go beyond the letter of the law” in situations like this one. 

“In normal times, I understand the desire to wait,” he said, “but we ought to find a humane solution to this case,” pointing out that the petitioners’ purpose was not to claim any financial entitlements, but rather a matter of principle. 

Spanish military planes air-dropped 26 tons of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, and Madrid called on Israel to open land border crossings to prevent a famine, the Foreign Ministry said.

The operation, carried out in coordination with Jordan and co-financed by the European Union, dropped more than 11,000 food rations to alleviate the "catastrophic levels of food insecurity" faced by up to 1.1 million people in Gaza, the ministry said in a statement.

"Spain insists on the opening of the land crossings as an indispensable measure to avoid a famine situation," it added.

Other Western countries, including the United States, France and Germany, have also resorted to airdrops to deliver aid to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza after nearly six months of war between Israel and Hamas.

Aid agencies say deliveries into Gaza, much of which has been laid to waste by Israeli bombardments, have been held up by bureaucratic obstacles and insecurity since the start of the war on October 7, 2023.

Israel's war cabinet is set to convene at 19:30 on Wednesday to discuss, among others, the hostage deal negotiations in Qatar, N12 reported.  

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled the Israeli delegation that was meant to meet with senior US officials in DC this week as "a message to Hamas," said Netanyahu in a meeting with US Senator Rick Scott Wednesday.

 Netanyahu canceled the delegation following a US abstention in the UN Security Council Monday that led to the adoption of a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the immediate release of the hostages.

"I thought the US decision in the Security Council was very, very bad," Netanyahu said in the meeting.

Message to Hamas: pressure will not yield

"It encouraged Hamas to take a hardline and to believe that international pressure will prevent Israel from freeing the hostages and destroying Hamas.

"Therefore, my decision not to send the delegation to Washington in the wake of that resolution, was first and foremost a message to Hamas - don't bet on this pressure to work." 

This is a developing story.

The discussions held in Washington between Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and senior White House and Pentagon officials centered on how to protect Gaza's civilians in the event of an Israeli military operation in Rafah, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. 

According to the report, the tone of the discourse was pragmatic, with suggestions that military action in Rafah should be carried out in stages to avoid harming the civilian population. 

Gallant visits Washington amid US concerns over Rafah operation

On Tuesday, Gallant told reporters he had emphasized to US officials the importance of Israel's ties with the US. In addition, he highlighted during his visit the importance that Israel preserves its military capabilities in the region. 

Gallant's visit to Washington on Monday and Tuesday came amid concerns voiced by the US over a possible Israeli operation in Rafah. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stated Israel would operate in Rafah to dismantle Hamas's four remaining battalions.

Reuters contributed to this report.

There will be no resolution of the war in Gaza and Lebanon without one or more diplomatic agreements, IDF sources said on Wednesday.

The IDF believes it has significant military achievements on both fronts but that diplomatic moves by the political echelon will be necessary to translate those military wins into long-term progress and stability.

Absent a stable plan for managing Gaza post-war, the IDF believes that Hamas can easily still return to areas where the IDF previously achieved operations control, as occurred with Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza.

Israel faces another escalation in North

All of this comes as the IDF and Hezbollah have seen another round of escalations in the last 72 hours, with 12 Lebanese terrorists killed and multiple Lebanese drone bases destroyed deep in Lebanon, an Israeli killed, multiple Israelis wounded, and Hezbollah attacks which have come closer to harming IDF bases.

In these recent rounds, Hezbollah has fired over 110 rockets at Israel, signaling that despite its losses of over 300 of its forces to date, it is not close to bending to Israel's desired outcome regarding security for the northern border.

M. is a writer from Gaza. He spoke to The Jerusalem Post from his current location in the southern Gaza Strip, alongside hundreds of thousands of other displaced Gazans.

What is the current situation in Rafah?

“The current situation in Rafah is relatively calm, but people are also anticipating the start of the battle in Rafah, with civilians fearing yet another displacement mechanism from the Israeli army,” M. said. “The displaced suffer daily, mainly psychologically, due to the length of the war, but secondly, due to financial weakness, the lack of sources of income and the lack of purchasing power due to the exorbitant rise in prices.”

M. holds that the high prices are not due to a lack of goods. “The Rafah crossing is operating well, and aid enters in a very large amount, and there is never a shortage. However, the distribution of aid is in the hands of Hamas, which means it does not reach all the displaced people."

“There is certainly a general dissatisfaction on the part of the displaced people, and they are calling against Hamas and Sinwar in particular,” he added, referring to videos of sporadic demonstrations in Rafah featuring calls against Hamas leaders. “We are all eagerly awaiting relief soon with our return to the northern Gaza Strip,” M. concluded.

How do you see the prospects that brought us to this situation, and what would be a possible solution in your view?

“The people of Gaza were surprised by Hamas’s move on October 7, which was preceded by general economic and political paralysis due to the narrow political horizons in Gaza,” explained M.

“There is no immediate solution due to Hamas's intransigence in handing over the [Israeli] hostages, except under impossible conditions which they believe will help them to remain in power. There is no solution except by entering Rafah and pressing the fighting until there is great pressure on Hamas.

“Many Gazans hope that Israel will end the war and eliminate Hamas quickly. They reject the 'resistance' and will not accept Hamas again in power,” he added.

The IDF detected on Wednesday afternoon a Hezbollah aircraft in the area of Rosh Hanikra, the military said. 

Forces were rushed to the area to identify the aircraft, and the incident was being investigated, the IDF added.

Hezbollah escalated attacks on Israel this week, targeting Mount Meron on March 26 and then Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel on Wednesday. The Wednesday attack killed one person and injured another. Hezbollah’s dangerous escalation showcases the Iranian-backed terrorist group's attempt to keep Israelis from returning to northern Israel and its attempt to carve out a kind of zone of control in northern Israel.

Other writers have compared this to a “security zone,” basically comparing it to the area Israel used to control in southern Lebanon. Now Hezbollah “controls” this area in northern Israel because it was able to get people to evacuate and it rains down rockets with impunity on Israel.

For Hezbollah, each attack appears more calculated. For instance, the group claimed that there was an attack on Jamaa Islamiya, a Lebanese group “closely linked to the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement Hamas,” according to Iran’s Fars News. That group said that a number of its members were killed in Lebanon on March 26. It claimed that a strike overnight “targeted the Islamic Group’s emergency and relief center in Lebanon’s Southern village of Habbariyeh,” Iran’s government Presstv reported.

The IDF said that “overnight, IDF fighter jets struck a military compound in the area of al-Habbariyeh in Southern Lebanon. In the compound, a significant terrorist operative belonging to the Jamaa Islamiya organization who advanced attacks against Israeli territory was eliminated along with additional terrorists who were with him.” Oddly, the Jamaa Islamiya, speaking to the Iranian media, wanted anonymity. They “said a dozen medical staff were in the emergency center at the time of the strike, adding that bodies were being pulled from the rubble.” A Lebanese politician slammed the “Israeli aggression.”

Hezbollah claimed it retaliated for this attack by targeting an Israeli “brigade” office in Kiryat Shmona. “The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon announced, this Wednesday morning, that it had targeted the Kiryat Shmona settlement and the leadership of the 769th Brigade in the Israel,” Al-Mayadeen claimed. The 769th is the territorial “Hiram” brigade that is supposed to secure the eastern section of the Israel-Lebanon border under the 91st IDF Division. On March 26 Hezbollah also targeted the IDF base on Mount Meron. In the past Hezbollah has claimed to attack other IDF posts and bases. It has also targeted Northern Command in Safed. What’s interesting is that Hezbollah now claimed to retaliate after a Hamas-affiliated group was targeted in Lebanon.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled the Israeli delegation that was meant to meet with senior US officials in DC this week as "a message to Hamas," not to count on international pressure to lead to ceasefire, said Netanyahu in a meeting with US Senator Rick Scott Wednesday.

This is a developing story.