Israel-Hamas War: What happened on Day 118?

President Isaac Herzog met with returning reservists from the Yiftach Brigade on Wednesday as they transitioned into civilian life, they gave him their insights on Israeli unity and brotherhood, after a tumultuous year.

Before the outbreak of war on October 7, Israel was in the middle of a deep political crisis that had spread to the social sphere, with many questioning the nation's unity.

As a result, many soldiers have reported on the renewed spirit of unity amongst themselves and how discussions of politics between them have brought them together, rather than tearing them apart.

One of the brigade commanders, musing on the renewed unity told the President "One of my biggest insights from the war - this is a question that we must ask ourselves as a society- How much of our brotherhood is dependent on our beliefs?"

WE MUST strive for unity and peace. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

How much of our brotherhood is dependent on our beliefs?

"One day in Gaza, a political discussion developed between us. One of the soldiers told me his opinion, I held my head in my hands and understood the [political] gap between us - I hugged him and told him that in Gaza I don't waste unnecessary energy."

"I didn't return less ideological from the fighting, but one of the significant insights I had, is that when I define a person as my brother, it's irrelevant what he believes - there is something [special] in the families that we choose and [choose to] continue and in the end even when we leave home - we leave together."

Another soldier added "We sat and talked about all the most burning issues in Gaza, in the most pleasant and proper way. Can we agree or not, and then, go to battle together? How do we take this beautiful thing we created there and bring it to Israeli society?"

The President commended their renewed sense of unity and comradery saying "You are an example and a model for an amazing nation."

"There is a huge desire in the public not to return to the divisive discourse in the days leading up to October 7. The discourse is more restrained in all directions and in all channels."

"It is incumbent upon each of you to write, speak, and express in every way this unity."

During a meeting on Wednesday with reservists from the Yiftach Brigade President Isaac Herzog was presented with a picture found in Gaza showing the Eiffel Tower with a minaret replacing the top of the tower.

President Herzog and his wife Michal met with reservists from the Yiftah Brigade, returning from fighting in Gaza, as part of the process of preparation for returning to routine civilian life.

The brigade has been primarily operating in the Issa neighborhood in western Gaza and the Shejaia refugee camp, they have been targeting underground tunnels and other terror infrastructure in those neighborhoods.

The fighters expressed their feelings on returning home to the President as well as the concerns of their families.

One of the reservists presented Herzog with a poster that he found inside a residence in Shejaia showing the Eiffel Tower with the spire of a minaret and at the end, below it, a description explaining how Hamas will reach every home and every house. He also gave him another war document, which presents the broad intentions of Hamas.

A poster found in Shejaia by the Yiftach Brigade showing the Eiffel Tower as a mosque. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Herzog calls for compassion for returning soldiers

The President called on employers and educational staff to be understanding and compassionate with returning soldiers saying "This is a process, there is no one moment you are a soldier and another moment you are a citizen returning to normal, it is a process."

Herzog also expressed concern for the mental health of returning soldiers asking them "to talk, to express their feelings, express and tell about the pains, traumas, worries, and concerns." There has been a growing interest in helping the mental health of returning soldiers and providing them with an understanding and considerate environment to return to.

Herzog ended his discussion by thanking the reservists "I want to say thank you for the fighting, the heroism, and the defense of the homeland, and I also thank the daughters and the spouses, the parents and the whole family."

The United States struck up to 10 unmanned drones in Yemen that were preparing to launch, a US official said late on Wednesday, amid escalating tensions from the war in Gaza spreading through the region.

The Iran-aligned Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have launched a wave of exploding drones and missiles at commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in recent weeks, calling it a response to Israel's military operations in Gaza and a show of solidarity to Palestinians.

The Houthi campaign has disrupted international shipping.

The United States and Britain have launched strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen and returned the militia to a list of "terrorist groups."

The Galaxy Leader cargo ship is escorted by Houthi boats in the Red Sea in this photo released November 20, 2023. (credit: Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS)

Houthis target American merchant ship

The Houthis, earlier on Wednesday, said their naval forces carried out an operation targeting an "American merchant ship" in the Gulf of Aden hours after firing missiles at US Navy destroyer Gravely.

Houthi attacks on ships in and around the Red Sea have slowed trade between Asia and Europe, raised fears of supply bottlenecks, and alarmed major powers concerned that the Gaza war may become a regional conflict.

US President Joe Biden said earlier in January that strikes on Houthi targets would continue even as he acknowledged they may not be halting their attacks.

Israel's assault on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip followed a surprise attack by Hamas terrorists on southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200. The Gaza health ministry says nearly 27,000 people have been killed in the fighting since.

The United States is engaged in ongoing “planning processes” on how best to advance the establishment of a Palestinian state, US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller said, but stressed that this was not a policy change.

“Yes, we are actively pursuing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with real security guarantees for Israel,” Miller told reporters in Washington on Wednesday.

‘We support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, and we do a lot of work in the government to think about how to bring it about,” Miller said.

“The vast majority of options never usually get implemented,” he stated.

He spoke about those efforts when quizzed by journalists about a report on the Hebrew website Walla about such efforts.

Blinken to push through recognition of Palestinian state?

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken ordered the US State Department to prepare staff work that will examine the possibility of American and international recognition of the state of Palestine the day after the war in Gaza, Walla reported citing two senior US administration officials.

Blinken also asked the State Department to submit proposals for what a "demilitarized Palestinian state" might look like based on various models from around the world, an official said.

A senior US official said that the war in Gaza and the efforts to find a diplomatic solution opened the way for a re-examination within the administration of many old paradigms in the policy of the United States towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to him, there are elements within the Biden administration who recommend changing policy and moving towards recognizing a Palestinian state as a first step in a renewed peace process and not as a last step that would be the result of negotiations between the parties.

There are several options for American action in this direction, the Walla report noted, ranging from a decision on US recognition of a Palestinian state to deciding not to veto a decision in the UN Security Council to accept Palestine as a full member of the organization, to encourage other countries in the West to recognize a Palestinian state.

A senior American noted that the examination of the issue is currently being carried out to suggest ways in which the two-state solution can be implemented in a way that will guarantee Israel's security and not endanger it.

The official told Walla that the White House is aware of the State Department's planned proposals, but emphasized that Blinken has not yet approved a new policy. A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.

A spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House said: "US policy for many years is that recognition of a Palestinian state should be the result of direct negotiations between the parties and not through unilateral recognition or through UN institutions. This policy has not changed."

Blinken will meet with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in Washington on Wednesday and will discuss with him the situation in Gaza, the issue of the day after, and the efforts to promote a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia.

Dermer met today at the White House with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to discuss the same issues.

Reactions by political officials

National Unity MK Gideon Sa'ar said that "a Palestinian state would endanger Israel's security and its future. It will be a radical state, a base for Islamist terrorism and an alliance with the most extreme elements that will permanently destabilize the region. I am convinced that the United States, our greatest friend, will not allow such a dangerous move."

Jason D. Greenblatt, a former White House and Middle East Envoy under the Trump administration, said that it would be a "betrayal of Israel & make things much more complicated to achieve something real down the road that could benefit everyone.

"This effort should be stopped immediately. It will make an intransigent Palestinian leadership in Ramallah even more so, and embolden Hamas & other terrorists to continue their bloody rampage. Truly the definition of 'an absolutely terrible idea.'"

Why is this move by the State Department important?

The fact that the US State Department is considering this possibility indicates a change in thinking within the Biden administration on an issue that is considered highly sensitive both internationally and domestically in the United States.

For decades, the policy of the United States has been to oppose the recognition of Palestine as a state - both bilaterally and in the UN institutions - and to make it clear that a Palestinian state will only be achieved through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Israel has been strongly opposed for years to any recognition of a Palestinian state by individual countries and by UN institutions.

The US State Department conducted a similar review in the past, during US President Barack Obama's tenure, when the Palestinian Authority tried to obtain recognition of a Palestinian state through UN institutions. At that time, the Department prepared a document with policy proposals on the subject of recognizing a Palestinian state, but it was not seriously discussed within the administration.

In 2012, the UN General Assembly voted in favor of accepting Palestine as an "observer" state in the UN - similar to the Vatican - without accepting it as a full member of the organization.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on Monday that Britain is considering recognizing a Palestinian state as part of an attempt to provide the Palestinians with a political horizon in the day after the war in Gaza.
"We and our allies are examining the issue of recognizing a Palestinian state, including in the UN... This could be one of the things that will help make this process irreversible," he said.

Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.