Israel at War: What happened on Day 71?

Israel's war cabinet is set to convene on Saturday evening to discuss a reported deal to rescue more hostages from Gaza captivity, Israel media reported.

According to the report, the deal discussed in talks between Mossad chief David Barnea and Qatar includes the release of elderly men and civilians in exchange for 'senior' Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel.

Israeli and Qatari officials were set to meet in Norway on Saturday in an effort to revive talks about the release of hostages held in Gaza in return for a ceasefire and the freeing of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was due to meet David Barnea, director of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, in Oslo, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter. Barnea is also likely to meet with Egyptian officials, the Journal reported.

Significant obstacles impede a resumption of negotiations on a new hostage deal including disagreements over the possible terms within Hamas, the report added, citing people familiar with the talks.

The report of the talks comes a day after Israeli military said it mistakenly killed three hostages being held in Gaza by Hamas.

During a week-long truce in late November, Hamas released more than 100 women, children and foreigners it was holding in Gaza in exchange for the release of 240 women and teenagers.

Alarms sounded in Israel's north on Saturday morning indicating the intrusion of hostile aircraft into Israeli airspace.

This is a developing story.

In a joint operation, the IDF’s 401st Brigade and Shayetet 13 special forces eliminated terrorists operating in schools in Gaza, the IDF stated on Saturday. Other suspects were arrested by the Israeli forces.

The operations took place in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City.

Acting on intelligence indicating Hamas terrorists were hiding inside of schools, the 401st Brigade and Shayetet 13 forces, under the direction of the 162nd Brigade raided the "Mu'tasim Bi'llah" and "Farabi" schools in Rimal on Friday, the IDF said.

After eliminating the terrorists who subsequently engaged the IDF soldiers, the Israeli forces arrested additional suspects hiding in the schools who surrendered themselves.

Hamas has a history of fighting out of schools

The IDF has engaged Hamas fighters in schools, or in school areas, numerous times since the war began in October. This past Wednesday, the IDF released footage of the aftermath of a fight between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists in a Khan Yunis school.

The blurred images of several deceased Hamas fighters can be seen in the video.

The 401st Brigade also operated in Khan Yunis on Friday, the IDF reported. Over the course their activities in the southern Gaza city, the IDF troops raided a number of local apartment buildings, locating both weapons and subterranean infrastructure used for terror purposes.

One of the soldiers from the 401st Brigade, Sgt. First Class Shay Uriel Pizem, a tank commander, was killed during the brigade’s operations on Friday, the IDF announced later that day.

Additionally, the IDF stated that reservist troops from the combat team of the 551st Brigade observed terrorists operating on the roof of a building in the Jabalya area from which shots were fired at IDF soldiers.

In response, the combat team directed a targeted strike from an air force aircraft, destroying the building, the IDF said.

The head of the Mossad, David Barnea, is expected to meet with the Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed Bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, in Europe this weekend, to discuss the continued negotiations for a deal to release the abductees in Gaza, Israeli media reported.

This will be the first time that a meeting will take place between an Israeli senior official and a Qatari official since the collapse of the week-long ceasefire. 

The IDF's role in coming back to the discussion table comes as families of the hostages increase pressure for their loved ones' return from Gaza. The previous deal failed two weeks ago after Hamas refused to release the rest of the kidnapped women.

Hamas also continued to launch rockets into Israeli territory, and carried out a shooting in Jerusalem, killing three people including a pregnant woman.

Hamas blamed Israel for the collapse of the deal and said that the women Israel asked to release were IDF soldiers.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant seen with Mossad director David Barnea as part of the war cabinet on November 19, 2023 (credit: PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE)

Re-opening the conversation 

According to a report by Axios last week, Qatari mediators reached out to Israeli officials last week to see if there was any interest in re-opening indirect negotiations with the Hamas terror organization.

Mediators reportedly asked Israeli players in the negotiation if they would agree to a deal allowing for the release of captive women and others falling under "humanitarian elements", like the seriously injured, those with medical problems, and elderly men.

Following Qatar's initial proposal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other members of the War Cabinet opposed Barnea's planned trip to Qatar, Israeli media reported. However, following backlash, Netanyahu changed course and allowed the Mossad head to contact Qatari officials.

Hamas is still holding more than 130 hostages after many were released as part of a deal that paused the fighting in Gaza for multiple days. Several hostages have been killed in captivity in the last week.

Ambassador Gilad Erdan told the United Nations General Assembly that Israel had protected the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a holy site for Muslims in Jerusalem, from Hamas. 

Sharing his speech on X on Saturday evening, Erdan wrote, “Israel is defending Al-Aqsa Mosque from Hamas missiles‼️

"Just as ISIS destroyed mosques, Hamas-ISIS is willing to blow up Al-Aqsa. For Hamas, murdering Israelis is more important than Islamic holy sites. This is what I said today in the UN General Assembly as I showed the Iron Dome interception of a Hamas missile fired towards the Temple Mount. These are the terrorists that the UN has chosen to protect. Unbelievable‼️”

Israel is defending Al-Aqsa Mosque from Hamas missiles‼️
Just as ISIS destroyed mosques, Hamas-ISIS is willing to blow up Al-Aqsa. For Hamas, murdering Israelis is more important than Islamic holy sites. This is what I said today in the UN General Assembly as I showed the Iron… pic.twitter.com/QNuZ44i7UN

— Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) December 15, 2023

The comments were made after Hamas had indiscriminately launched rockets towards civilian populations in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel.

Palestinian Muslims attend Friday prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, on October 6, 2023. (credit: JAMAL AWAD/FLASH90)

The impassioned speech began with Erdan stating “Today, Hamas proved that murdering Israelis is even more important than preserving the Islamic holy sites they claim to protect.”

Erdan went on to play a video of sirens blaring in Jerusalem. He stated that the rockets had been fired towards the Temple Mount, a holy site for Abrahamic religions located under the Al-Aqsa Mosque. 

“Israel’s Iron Dome intercepted the missile,” Erdan informed the UN, “it defended Al-Aqsa Mosque from Hamas….Israel is defending Al-Aqsa Mosque from Hamas.”

He went on to address the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. He asked the groups, “This is who you have chosen to defend? A group of genocidal terrorists that prefer jihad at any cost over holy sites?

“Just as ISIS destroyed mosques, Hamas-ISIS is willing to blow up Al-Aqsa.

“So many of you are willing to defend them, unbelievable.”

Hamas’s crimes against Arabs

While Hamas has claimed to be an Islamic organization, their October 7 attack also involved the killing and kidnapping of Arabs, Palestinians and Bedouins.

Bedouin siblings Belal and AIsha Zaidna were taken hostage by Hamas and released two weeks ago. The location of their father and sibling remains unknown. 

Amir Tanabura, a Palestinian man from Gaza who was living in Israel, had also been killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7. The 20-year-old Arabic speaker had been buying cigarettes when terrorists shot him.