Israel at war: What happened on day 366?

The entire nation rejoiced when Doron Katz-Asher, along with her daughters, Raz and Aviv, were freed from Hamas captivity in Gaza. Now, even more heartwarming news has emerged.

Katz-Asher, who was taken hostage on October 7, 2023, while visiting family in Kibbutz Nir Oz, has announced that she is expecting her third child with her husband Yoni. This joyous revelation comes less than a year after her release, following 49 days of captivity under Hamas. Her daughters, Raz (4) and Aviv (2), were also held with her. Tragically, Doron's mother, Efrat Katz, was killed during the attacks, and several other family members remain missing.

In an emotional Instagram post, Doron shared, “Bringing life into the world, a year after I almost lost my own, is the greatest gift we could ask for in the new year. My ray of light in the darkness.” The news has resonated deeply with many, symbolizing a remarkable journey of survival and resilience after such a traumatic ordeal.

'Ray of light in the darkness'

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A post shared by Lea Schenirer | לאה שנירר (@leaschenirer)

On Friday, Doron and her family were seen at the home of socialite Lea Schenirer in Herzliya Pituach. Shnirer posted photos of the family, where Katz-Asher's pregnancy was clearly visible, sparking smiles and well-wishes across social media. Schenirer, who has been involved in advocating for the family in international media, particularly in Germany, also shared touching words about their reunion, noting how grateful she is to see the family united and thriving.

The IAF struck Hamas terrorists operating inside a command center in the area of Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip that was embedded in a compound that operated as a UNRWA center, the IDF reported Saturday night.

Later on, the IAF also carried out a precision strike on Hamas terrorists inside a compound that was previously a school named "Ibn Rushd" in Deir al Balah, Gaza.

The terrorists had turned the compound into a command center, the IDF added.

The IAF also struck Hamas operatives in a structure that previously served as the 'Shuhada al-Aqsa' Mosque in Deir al Balah, whoever which now functioned as a terror base.

View of an UNRWA health center that was destroyed during an Israeli military opration in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on July 15, 2024. (credit: Oren Cohen/Flash90)

Civilian casualties 

The Israeli forces acted on intelligence in order to reduce civilian harm, the IDF added. 

The statement also drew attention to the continued use of civilian infrastructure for terrorist purposes by Hamas, in violation of international law. 

Arab media reported significant casualties from the strikes, including at least five dead, however the IDF has not commented on this.

In a documentary released by Al Jazeera on Thursday, in which the Qatari-run news agency makes an effort to prove Israeli war crimes in Gaza, full names and units of IDF soldiers were revealed while showing videos published on the soldiers’ social media accounts.

The one-hour Al Jazeera film shows the videos published to the identified IDF soldiers’ social media accounts, accuses the IDF soldiers of war crimes, and claims that this footage can be used in the International Court of Justice to prove that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza. 

The documentary begins with Palestinian novelist Susan Abulhawa telling Al Jazeera, “We live in an era of technology, and this has been described as the first live-streamed genocide in history.”

Another speaker in the documentary, Youmna Elsayed, who is a reporter at Al Jazeera’s English bureau and a Gaza resident, said that they did not expect Israel’s retaliation to “be what it turned out to be.”

“The fact that there are Israeli captives in the Strip. Wouldn’t that be a red line for Israel? That it would be afraid for its captives,” she speculated. “Even if Israel wanted to cross these red lines, we were sure that the rest of the world would stand and say no,” pointing to the US, German, and British aid Israel has received throughout the conflict. 

IDF troops and a K-9 operate in the Gaza Strip. Photo published October 3, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Several of the speakers in the documentary claim that the IDF systematically attacks Palestinian civilians, journalists, and human rights workers. Human Rights Watch’s Bill Van Esveld claimed that after Human Rights Watch gave the IDF their coordinates so that the IDF could ensure that they would not strike the rights workers, the IDF purposefully struck those precise coordinates. 

Depiction of IDF soldiers

The videos displayed in the film depict IDF soldiers ransacking homes in Gaza gleefully and celebrating explosions. 

“These videos don’t show a professional army. They show an army that, at times, appears to show a lack of any self-discipline to the point where one thinks it's not just a personal lack of self-discipline, but rather thinks it's an institutional lack of self-discipline," British army Retired Major General Charlie Herbert stated. 

International law expert Rodney Dixon KC said that Israel could be charged in the International Court for destroying ordinary civilian property where there were no military objectives. 

Among additional instances discussed were instances of soldiers going through underwear drawers of Gazan women, photographing themselves with their underwear, and, in some cases, trying them on. 

They also discuss IDF torturing terrorists in Israeli prisons and the possibility of using obtained video footage to incriminate Israel in the International Court. 

Human shields

Towards the end of the film, US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer are shown discussing Hamas using civilians as human shields. Following these clips, Esveld claims that there is no evidence that “Palestinian armed groups are hiding next to civilians and not allowing the civilians to leave.” The film argues that since Gaza is such a small strip of land, it would be nearly impossible for Hamas not to be close to civilian residences. 

Then, the film claims that the IDF does use Gazans as human shields, claiming that they send Gazans first into booby-trapped buildings before the IDF enters. 

At the end of the documentary, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, Dr. Basem Naim, discusses Hamas’s terror tunnels, which he said enable Hamas to “move underground to plan and to attack the enemy." He asserts that the IDF has "lost the ability to control the field.”

One of the concluding voices of the film is Chatham House professor of International Relations Yossi Mekelberg. 

“At the beginning of the war, it was about destroying Hamas and bringing the hostages home. But right now, 120 hostages are still there, and Hamas is still fighting. So the problem from the beginning was setting an objective that was not achievable,” he said.  

No statement from the IDF was shared in the film, and no criticism was leveled at Hamas throughout. Although the documentary did mention the October 7 attacks, there was no mention of the perpetrators. 

Israel's cabinet voted unanimously to shut down Al Jazeera's operations in Israel in May, citing security concerns related to the Israel-Hamas war. Critics of the decision have argued that this move is undemocratic and limits the free press in Israel. The ban was extended in July to November 30.

Tens of thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched through London on Saturday, as worldwide anti-Israel rallies took place ahead of the upcoming one year anniversary of October 7.

Social media and British news outlets depict protesters holding banners expressing support for Hezbollah and Hamas, such as "Hezbollah are not terrorists” and “I love Hezbollah”.

Other signs showed slogans such as "Don't want no two state, we want 1948" or  "Zionism causes polio." Several featured the star in the Israeli flag replaced with a Nazi swastika.

According to the Met Police, Saturday's protest was organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, with a counter-protest called Stop the Hate.

The Telegraph reported that the pro-Palestine marchers chanted “Yemen, Yemen make us proud, turn another ship around" as they passed the British Library. The Telegraph also said that the anti-Israel crowd taunted the pro-Israel counter-protesters, saying to them “Freedom fighters, they will finish you all off!”

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators in London, 5 October 2024 (credit: SCREENSHOT/X)

Campaign Against Antisemitism posted an image a man with a sign saying “I just love October" as well "long live resistance” alongside an inverted red triangle.

At today’s anti-Israel march in London, a man was seen with a sign that appeared to declare his “love” for “October”.

Also on the sign are the words “long live resistance” alongside an inverted red triangle.

In recent months, the inverted red triangle and its emoji variant have… pic.twitter.com/ocIiv2ATva

— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) October 5, 2024

"The law is very clear – anyone displaying symbols, wording or otherwise indicating their support for a proscribed organisation risks arrest," the Metropolitan Police wrote.

According to the Met, officers made 17 arrests, including one person on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation. Seven were for public order offences, three of which were racially aggravated.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign said in a statement that they were marching "to demand that the British government finally ends its complicity in Israel’s genocide, and ends all arms trade with Israel and to demand freedom and justice for the Palestinian people.”

The Metropolitan Police announced that it was working to identify the individuals or groups responsible for the banners expressing support for proscribed terror organizations.

"We're aware of posts showing people holding placards with messages of support for Hezbollah. The images have been passed to officers, including those monitoring our cameras."

The statement added that, given the turnout at the rallies, it isn't always easy for officers to see the words on placards, and that they were now working to locate them individuals.

"Action will be taken when we do, whether that is today or in the coming days," they added. The police added that  "enforcement does not finish when a protest ends" and that work would be done to charge those responsible for offences.

The head of the Met's taskforce, Commander Lou Puddefoot, said on Friday: “Protests and related events have become a feature of the 12 months since the appalling terrorist attacks in Israel almost a year ago," adding that security would be heightened as a result.

Rise in antisemitism

Puddefoot added that there has been a significant increase in antisemitic hate crimes in the past year.

"While the majority have taken place in communities, we have continued to see behaviour at protests which crosses the line from political speech into hate speech."

This comes as, for the first time on record, the number of antisemitic hate crimes in London have overtaken that of Islamophobic incidents, according to Met Police date this week.

In the 11 months after October 7, 2,170 antisemitic crimes were recorded by the Met, compared to 1,568 Islamophobic hate crimes.

This marks over a 400% increase in antisemitic crime, three times that in 2020.

According to the study, most of these incidents took place in five London boroughs: Barnet, Hackney, Camden, Haringey, and Westminster.

The first four are where the country’s largest Jewish communities, such as Golders Green and Stamford Hill, can be found.