Israel-Hamas War Day 233: What's happening in Gaza?

The Palestinian Authority is on the verge of fiscal collapse, the World Bank said last Thursday. The day before, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he will withhold taxes collected for the PA by Israel, adding that he has no intention to extend a waiver that enables Israeli banks to work with PA banks, which is set to expire soon.

In the latest update on its report, “The Impact of the Conflict in the Middle East on the Palestinian Economy,” the World Bank said the fiscal situation of the PA has “dramatically worsened in the last three months, significantly raising the risk of a fiscal collapse.”

The PA's revenue streams dry up 

Due to “the drastic reduction in clearance revenue transfers payable to the Palestinian Authority and a massive drop in economic activity,” the PA’s revenue streams have largely dried up, leading to a widening gap between revenue and “the amount needed to finance essential public expenditure,” it said.

Hamas speaker Abu Obeida issued a statement on Saturday night alleging that radical Hamas terrorists managed to kidnap more Israeli soldiers from the northern Gaza Strip.

This announcement was accompanied by a video allegedly portraying bodies of soldiers being dragged inside Hamas’s underground tunnels. While some Israeli analysts had already begun to cast doubt regarding the authenticity of the video in the first minutes after its release, based on the attire and weapon present in the video, the IDF spokesperson issued a message relatively quickly that denied any such incident had happened.

These speedy denouncements by the IDF also took “Israel affairs experts” in Gaza by surprise, who admitted that the immediate response right after Abu Obeida’s speech, which was late last night, was almost as if Israel had been expecting these claims.

IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) Itzhak Brik criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the heads of the defense establishment on Sunday, telling 104.5FM that "if Bibi [a nickname for Netanyahu], [Defense Minister Yoav] Gallant, [IDF Chief of Staff] Herzi Halevi, and their outgrowths remain in power - the State of Israel will deteriorate to its end. They will take us down to Sheol (the underworld) in grief.”

"There has been a collapse of the economy, global boycotts that are now beginning at an accelerated pace, a collapse of society, a collapse of the army, and a collapse of all international relations. We are in a war that has no purpose; we cannot defeat Hamas, and they are running to prepare themselves for the great war," added Brik.

The retired major general referred to the IDF's progress in Gaza, saying, "We entered Gaza and occupied 80% of the territory, now we are inside Rafah, but today we have no forces, and they don't always have replacements when they go out for a break. At this time, the 'Hamasniks' are returning from the tunnels to the places the IDF left. Our soldiers are being killed for no purpose. This whole process blows us up in front of the world."

Former presidential candidate and UN envoy Nikki Haley landed in Israel on Sunday to visit affected communities in the north and south of the country and to meet with senior Israeli officials.

Haley was welcomed by Israel's former UN envoy Danny Danon, who will accompany her on the trip.

A massive barrage of rockets has targeted Tel Aviv and central Israel for the first time in months. The rockets were fired from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. 

The IDF confirmed that eight projectiles were identified crossing the area of Rafah into Israeli territory. A number of the projectiles were intercepted by the IDF Aerial Defense Array, the IDF announced.

Minister-without-portfolio and chairman of the National Unity party Benny Gantz, submitted a proposal for a resolution to establish a commission of inquiry into the events of October 7, Israeli media reported Sunday. 

The commission will investigate all the events that preceded the war and conduct during the war itself at both the political and military levels.

This is a developing story.

An Israeli drone attacked a motorcycle, resulting in casualties in Naqoura in southern Lebanon, Israeli media reported on Sunday, citing Lebanese outlets. 

Earlier on Sunday, alarms were activated in the Western Galilee, though no injuries or damages were reported. 

This is a developing story. 

A total of 35,984 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, the Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said on Sunday.

According to the health ministry, 81 Palestinians have been killed in the last day.

The ministry does not differentiate between terrorists and civilians in their death toll.

Rocket sirens sounded in the northern Israeli communities of Yiron and Avivim.

There are new discussions on the management of the Gaza Strip border crossings, such as the Palestinian Authority or another third party taking control, Ynet reported, citing the Arab World Press (AWP). 

The senior official told AWP, "A careful and detailed discussion is taking place between the US, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, and Israel regarding official Palestinian management of border crossings in the Gaza Strip, with the possibility of a third-party or with an Egyptian-Palestinian agreement." 

The official noted that such discussions mainly applied to the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossing, as well as other crossings in northern Gaza, that seek to "Facilitate the entry of goods and humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, and the movement of people."