Israel-Hamas War - What happened on day 70?

During operational activity in the Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaia, IDF troops killed three hostages taken by Hamas after mistaking them for terrorists, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Friday evening.

The three victims include Yotam Haim, who was abducted from Kfar Aza on October 7 and Samer Talalka who was abducted from Nir Am on the 7th.

During fighting in Shejaiya, Gaza, an IDF force mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat. They opened fired and killed them.

The bodies were returned to Israel and identified as:
🕯️ Yotam Haim, abducted from Kfar Gaza
🕯️ Samar Fouad Talalka, abducted from Nir Am… pic.twitter.com/Cx6KbGw7RH

— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) December 15, 2023

The family of the third victim asked that they not be identified.

Identifying the bodies

The IDF said that following the incident, acting on a suspicion of the identities of the deceased, their bodies were brought back to Israel for examination where it was determined they had, indeed, been among the hostages.

The IDF added that an investigation was immediately opened into the circumstances of the event. So far, the details regarding what happened have not yet been discussed with the public.

This is a developing story.

Sergeant Oz Shmuel Ardi, a fighter in the engineering battalion, was killed in the battles in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF announced Friday.

The IDF spokesman on Friday morning allowed the publication of the name of Sergeant Oz Shmuel Ardi, 19 years old from Kibbutz Hatzur, a fighter in the Golani 603rd Engineering Battalion, who fell in battle in the southern Gaza Strip. 

Hamas is not susceptible to public pressure about the hostages, International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Thursday.

“The more public pressure we would seemingly do, the more they would shut the door,” she said.

Spoljaric spoke out after Netanyahu told her that the ICRC could do much more than it has to help the 135 hostages remaining in captivity in Gaza.

My goal, as you know in our conversations, is to see how we can “help the remaining hostages. You have every avenue, every right, and every expectation to place public pressure on Hamas,” Netanyahu told her.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with president of the International Red Cross on December 14, 2023 (credit: AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO)

“It won’t work,” she said.

Red Cross neglecting hostages in Gaza

Israel has been frustrated that the ICRC has not been granted access to the hostages in Gaza, so it can ensure that they are kept in good conditions and that their medical needs are being met.

Netanyahu offered Spoljaric packages of medicine to bring to the hostages. He spoke with her about the atrocities Hamas committed on October 7 when it killed over 1,200 people and seized some 250 hostages. Around 110 of those captives have since been freed.

"They’re doing something quite incredible. They’ve taken children, babies, women, old people, Holocaust survivors, festival participants. And after they shot hundreds, and murdered over 1,200 people, they took these people and they took them as hostages. Where’s that heard of?” Netanyahu said.

He addressed ICRC’s criticism of the high casualty count in Israel’s military campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas. The terror group has asserted that close to 19,000 Palestinians have been killed in war-related violence. Israel has said that over 7,000 of those fatalities are combatants.

“There’s a difference between the deliberate and systematic murder, maiming and menacing of civilians, which is what terrorism is, and the unintended consequences, unintended casualties that accompany any warfare,” Netanyahu said.

 “I want to express my gratitude for your help in securing the release of the hostages, but at the same time, some of the statements that have come out from your organization seem to not make the distinction that I’ve just made,” he stressed.

A senior American official said Friday morning that Palestinian Authority security forces who are being trained by the United States acted "exceptionally" in preventing violence by Hamas in the West Bank after the October 7 terrorist attack, Israeli media reported.

The official announced some of the existing Palestinian Authority security mechanisms can serve as "a kind of nucleus" for a future force in the months that will follow Israel's military activity in Gaza.
 

Israel must do more to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians in Gaza as it proceeds with its military campaign to oust Hamas from the enclave, US President Joe Biden said on Thursday.

“I want them to be focused on how to save civilian lives, not stop going after Hamas, but to be more careful,” Biden said.

It’s his second sharp criticism about how Israel is conducting its military campaign. On Tuesday he accused Israel of “indiscriminately” bombing Gaza.

Biden spoke as US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is in Israel holding discussions with Israeli officials — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Minister Benny Gantz — about the future of the war.

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Tel Aviv, in October: Israeli officials know the diplomatic clock regarding the Gaza operation is running out, says the writer. (credit: Jacquelyn Martin/Reuters)

Biden asks Israel to turn down war intensity

He has asked Israel to start transitioning from a high-intensity to a low-intensity military campaign in Gaza.

Hamas has asserted that 18,608 Palestinians have been killed and about 50,594 injured in Gaza war-related violence.

Israel has said that some 7,000 of the fatalities are combatants.

Biden and his administration have been intensely supportive of Israel’s war against Hamas, sparked by the terror group’s killing of 1,200 people and its seizure of some 250 hostages during its infiltration of southern Israel on October 7.

His stance has put him at odds with members of his own party, many of whom oppose the war and several who hold that it is tantamount to genocide.

In an interview with Channel 12, Sullivan said that Israel would conduct its military efforts against Hamas for some time.

“The issue really is when does Israel shift from the high-intensity operations that are underway today, to one that is more precise, more targeted,” he said.

A ballistic missile attack launched from a Houthi-controlled Yemen area towards an international shipping lane in the Red Sea did not cause any damage or injuries, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Thursday.

Following the missile launch, north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait on Thursday midday, "the M/V Maersk Gibraltar was hailed by the Houthis, who threatened further missile attacks," CENTCOM said on social media platform X.

"While this incident did not involve US Forces, we continue to closely monitor the situation," it added.

US President Joe Biden's national security adviser will visit Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Friday, according to a US official.

The official said on Thursday that the adviser, Jake Sullivan, would discuss "ongoing efforts to revamp and revitalize" the Palestinian Authority and holding "extremist" settlers accountable for violence against Palestinians. The official declined to be named.

Sullivan said on Thursday that governance of the West Bank and Gaza Strip needs to be connected under a refurbished Palestinian Authority.

He also told Israel's Channel 12 television that he spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Israel shifting from high-intensity military operations in Gaza to a more precise and targeted phase.

Sullivan declined to give details or a timeline, but he called the conversation constructive and said there was a "wide degree of convergence" on strategic objectives and steps needed.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas shakes hands with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Ramallah, in the West Bank, December 22, 2021. (credit: PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT OFFICE (PPO)/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

Palestinians say there is rise in settler attacks

Palestinians, meanwhile, have complained of a rise in Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank.

The White House said Sullivan's talks in the region had also been focused on resuming a humanitarian pause in fighting to allow for the release of more hostages held in Gaza.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke to Israelis about transitioning its high-intensity military campaign in Gaza to a lower one during his visit to Tel Aviv on Thursday.

“We all want it [the Gaza war] to end as soon as possible,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Washington as he provided details of Sullivan’s visit, which included conversations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Minster Benny Gantz.

Kirby underscored that Hamas bore responsibility for the war and that it could end now if the terror group surrendered and released the hostages.

“We’re not dictating terms to the Israelis about how long it [the Gaza war] has to take,” Kirby said, explaining that, “it has to take as long as they feel it needs to take to eliminate this threat” from Hamas.

“One of the things that Jake did talk to them about was progress in the war and where the Israelis think it is going to go," he said.

“He did talk about possible transitioning from what we would call high-intensity operations — which is what we are seeing them do now — to what we call lower-intensity operations.”

IDF soldiers on the ground in Gaza, December 14, 2023 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Assassination attempts permitted

Kirby backed IDF's attempts to assassinate top Hamas leaders, explaining that “if you can go after the leadership of a terrorist network you can have a very significant effect on their ability to plan, train, and execute attacks.”

The US saw how effective such assassinations were with the leadership of Al-Qaeda and ISIS, he said, adding that the targeted killings did not eliminate the terror groups, but they did significantly weaken them.

“Both groups are radically diminished because we focused so much on their leadership,” Kirby said.

The Biden administration has been under intense pressure to force Israel to end the war in light of the high casualty count. Hamas has asserted that close to 19,000 Palestinians have been killed in war-related violence. Israel has said that at least 7,000 of those fatalities are Hamas combatants.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in Geneva on Wednesday that he foresees more displacement in the Middle East due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas that has internally displaced 85% of Gaza's population.

"Tragically, however, we foresee more civilian deaths and suffering and also further displacement that threatens the region."

In Tel Aviv on Thursday, Gallant stressed to Sullivan that it could take several months for Israel to complete its military campaign to oust Hamas from Gaza.

For over a decade Hamas has been building its "infrastructure under the ground and above the ground" and that to destroy the Islamist group "will require a long period of time - it will last more than several months, but we will win and we will destroy them.”

The IDF must be allowed to continue its military campaign in Gaza until Hamas is destroyed, Netanyahu told Sullivan.

“Our brave fighters have not died in vain. Out of the depth of the pain of their loss, we are more determined than ever to continue to fight until Hamas is destroyed, until total victory,” the prime minister said in a video statement he put out after the meeting.

Sullivan arrived in Israel from Saudi Arabia where he met with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. They discussed a normalization deal between Riyadh and Jerusalem, Kirby said.

“The indications we have gotten from the Saudis is that they are still interested in pushing forward with that,” the NSC spokesman said.

In Tel Aviv, Sullivan spoke with Israelis about the importance of reducing the civilian casualty count, the increased entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza and efforts underway to release the hostages.

Hamas seized some 250 hostages and killed over 1,200 people when it infiltrated southern Israel on October 27. Some 110 of those hostages have been freed. Most of them were released as part of a deal by which the war was paused for seven days. It’s estimated that 135 people are remaining in captivity in Gaza.

The US and Israel have continued to push for a resumption of the deal with the help of Qatar and Egypt, who mediated the first agreement.

Kirby told reporters in Washington that the US was “working by the hour to try to get a pause back in place to get the hostages released,” adding that this was one of the things that Sullivan was “doing in the region.”

Meanwhile, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric visited Israel on Thursday and met with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and families of the captives.

Israel has been highly critical of the ICRC for failing to secure access to the hostages. The committee has blamed Hamas for not granting it access.

A Hamas terrorist interacts with members of the International Committee of the Red Cross. (credit: Hamas Military Wing/Handout via REUTERS)

A senior Biden administration official said on Thursday that Hamas's leader Yahya Sinwar’s “days are numbered” in a press conference regarding US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s meetings in Israel.

“I also think it’s safe to say it doesn’t matter how long it takes…justice will be served,” the senior administration official said, adding that Sinwar has “American blood on his hands.”

Eight US citizens and permanent residents remain among the roughly 135 hostages currently being held captive in Gaza, while 38 Americans were killed during Hamas’s terror onslaught on October 7.

The comments come as Sullivan visits Israel during his latest trip to the Middle East. Sullivan told Israel's Channel 12 that he spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Israel shifting from high-intensity military operations in Gaza to a more precise and targeted phase as the Biden Administration comes under pressure for their support for Israel.

Yahya Sinwar, leader of the Palestinian Hamas terrorist movement, gestures on stage during a rally in Gaza City. May 24, 2021. (credit: ATIA MOHAMMED/FLASH90)

“I want them to be focused on how to save civilian lives, not stop going after Hamas, but to be more careful,” Biden said.

Sinwar's reign coming to an end?

IDF Spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari said that terrorists who surrendered in Shejaia and Jabalya told Israeli security forces on Saturday that Hamas leaders, including Sinwar, were "denying reality" despite being updated on the situation on the ground.

"The terrorists complain that the leadership of Hamas is disconnected from the serious situation they're in on the ground," Hagari said. "There is also a widespread feeling that the underground Hamas leadership does not care about the Gazan public above ground. This also greatly worries the military operatives of Hamas."

The IDF distributed flyers across Gaza on Thursday, promising huge rewards to anyone who would provide information on the locations of senior Hamas leaders hiding in the Strip.

The flyers state that $400,000 is being offered for information on Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, and $300,000 for his brother Muhammad Sinwar. 

Sinwar fled Gaza City in northern Gaza to Khan Yunis in southern Gaza in a humanitarian convoy soon after the war began, an Israeli source told KAN news on Saturday.

Reuters contributed to this report.

The United States told Israel it must wrap up its operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip by the end of 2023, the New York Times reported on Thursday evening.

The Biden administration further told Israeli officials to transition to a more targeted phase in its war, according to four senior US officials cited by NYT. 

This is a developing story.