Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 132?

Senior Hezbollah official and member of parliament Hassan Fadlallah said on Thursday that Israel would face reprisal after two sets of strikes on southern Lebanon the previous day killed 10 civilians, half of them children.

"The enemy (Israel) will pay the price for these crimes," Fadlallah told Reuters when asked about the powerful Iran-backed armed group's reaction to the deadliest day for civilians in Lebanon since hostilities began along its southern border.

UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinians, faces a cash crunch next month and its financial problems will accelerate in April if funding suspended by a number of countries does not resume, the head of the agency said on Thursday.

"We will hit a negative cashflow as from March and then it will be accelerated in April unless this frozen contribution is unlocked," UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini told Irish national broadcaster RTE before a meeting in Dublin with the country's foreign minister.

Israeli ground and air force units targeted numerous Hamas terrorists as IDF operational activity in the Gaza Strip continues, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit announced on Wednesday. 

The Israeli Air Force carried out several strikes throughout the Gaza Strip as part of their coordination with ground forces. The operation destroyed several underground and military infrastructure targets, as well as Hamas-deployed rocket launchers.

Combat soldiers from the Nahal Brigade eliminated several terrorists in central Gaza, including a Hamas commander.

In a joint operation, IDF soldiers, the Shin Bet, and the Border Police arrested 12 wanted persons throughout the West Bank on Wednesday night, the military stated on Thursday morning. Six machines for the production of munitions were also confiscated.

In addition, security forces confiscated equipment from two printing houses in Ramallah that printed terrorist materials for Hamas.

French President Emmanuel Macron will host Jordan's King Abdullah in Paris on Friday to talk about helping resolve the Gaza conflict, the Elysee palace said.

"Following up on their meeting in Jordan in December, the two heads of state will discuss the urgent need for a ceasefire in Gaza, which would finally ensure the protection of civilians and the massive entry of humanitarian aid," it said in a statement.

They will also discuss ways to achieve durable peace in the Middle East.

Reports emerged from Al Jazeera on Tuesday confirming that one of their correspondents had sustained injuries during an IDF strike in the southern Gaza Strip. Identified as Ismail Abu Omar by Al-Jazeera, he holds the position of deputy company commander within Hamas’s Eastern Battalion of Khan Yunis, according to the IDF. 

Abu Omar, along with another photographer named Ahmad Matar, were reporting for Al-Jazeera north of Rafah when they were struck by a drone deployed by the IDF.

The Biden administration and several countries in the Middle East are rushing to formulate a detailed and comprehensive plan for a long-term peace between Israel and the Palestinians - including a clear timeline for the establishment of a Palestinian state - as reported by The Washington Post.

The plan may be announced in the coming weeks, but it is dependent on the start of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and an agreement for the release of captives, which is still far from being finalized. The plan's architects hope that the agreement can be initiated before Ramadan, which begins on March 10.

Canada, Australia, and New Zealand called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza last night. In a joint statement released by the countries, it was stated that the call comes in response to reports of Israel's planned military operation in Rafah.

Gaza-based journalist Jehad Saftawi said on Tuesday that the Hamas terrorist organization indeed uses civilians as human shields in the war against Israel.

"Hamas terrorists used my family and hundreds of our neighbors as human shields. Hamas continues to hold the people of Gaza captive," Saftawi posted on X. "There should be no reconstruction of my family's home while a stockpile of weapons lies underneath.

"Goals rather than causes are what is behind Hamas's masterminds' wars. The case for removing Hamas is not to fuel escalation but to prevent it, which is why they should never be allowed to retake control of Gaza," he continued to say. Saftawi then admitted that it was the first time in more than 10 years that he's "been able to speak about this publicly," stating that it's "a cry for realignment for our Palestinian society as well as an appeal to the international community."

In a piece he wrote for Time magazine, the Palestinian journalist began by saying that the terrorist organization "built tunnels beneath my family's home in Gaza. Now it lies in ruin." He also states that it's been seven years since he escaped Gaza, and later fled to the United States.

Saftawi added that Gaza has been "dominated by terrorist chaos" since Hamas's takeover of the Strip, stating that the terrorist organization "has continued to normalize violence and militarization in every aspect of public and private life in Gaza."

Residential buildings, destroyed in Israeli strikes during the conflict, lie in ruin, amid a temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in southern Gaza City November 26, 2023 (credit: REUTERS/BASSAM MASOUD)

How Hamas commandeers homes for terrorism

The journalist described how, while his family's home was under construction, masked men built an underground structure under the home, telling him that the structure would remain sealed unless there was an Israeli ground invasion. Then the room would be used to store weapons.

"In the years since my family or their neighbors heard sounds or movements from time to time," wrote Saftawi. "They wondered sometimes if there really were tunnels, if they were active. My family was too afraid to speak about this with anyone, so it was our secret. It felt shameful even though we knew we were deeply opposed to whatever Hamas had done on the other side of that cement slab."

Saftawi's family evacuated south shortly after October 7 and since then his house and neighborhood have been turned into ruins.

"I may never know if the house was destroyed by Israeli strikes or fighting between Hamas and Israel. But the result is the same. Our home, and far too many in our community, were flattened alongside priceless history and memories," wrote the journalist.

"This is the legacy of Hamas. They began destroying my family home in 2013 when they built tunnels beneath it. They continued to threaten our safety for a decade—we always knew we might have to vacate at a moment’s notice. We always feared violence. Gazans deserve a true Palestinian government, which supports its citizens’ interests, not terrorists carrying out their own plans. Hamas is not fighting Israel. They’re destroying Gaza," concluded Saftawi.

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Since Oct. 7, a growing number of Democrats have called for a ceasefire in Gaza, harshly criticized Israel or refused to send it more money. 

But increasingly over the past few weeks, when both chambers of Congress sit down to vote, it is a faction of Republicans, allied with Donald Trump, who have impeded additional foreign aid to Israel. In control of the House of Representatives and with sway in the Senate, this group is pivoting away from something pro-Israel activists have long taken for granted: unfettered US defense assistance for Israel.

That dynamic was on display on Tuesday, when the Senate passed a $95.3 billion bill to aid Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. A few Democrats voted no, protesting Israel’s conduct and the human toll of the war in Gaza. But the bulk of opposition came from Republicans, and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would almost certainly not bring the Senate’s bill up for a vote.

Many of the Republicans who oppose the additional aid to Israel say they object to it on fiscal grounds — it simply costs too much alongside the government’s “unjustified, even harmful spending,” one GOP lawmaker said. Others don’t want to deliver a victory to President Joe Biden. 

But Matt Brooks, the CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition, the most influential Jewish group in the party, says he is worried about a subset of Republicans he called “neo-isolationists” — although he believes the trend can be nipped.

US Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks to reporters during a vote regarding a bipartisan border security bill that would also provide aid to Ukraine and Israel, on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, February 7, 2024. (credit: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

“We are worried and we’re working on tamping down these folks who want to withdraw America from the rest of the world, this neo-isolationist wing,” he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “I think the balance of our friends who have been friends over the years are still strong friends that will continue to be so.”

Other Republicans are less sanguine. “This new Republican Party will soon throw Israel under the bus,” Nachama Soloveichik, the chief spokeswoman for Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, said Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter.

The idea of conditioning aid to Israel first gained popularity with Democrats, especially a progressive wing that sees aid as a tool to influence Israeli policy toward the Palestinians. By contrast, Republicans who have slowed down or opposed recent aid bills say they remain adamantly pro-Israel, but argue that a ballooning deficit means decades of no-strings-attached foreign aid must come to an end. 

“We’re heading for a fiscal reckoning in this country, and so we’ve got to begin to address that and some of us on the Republican side are willing to try to do so,” Virginia Rep. Bob Good, one of 14 Republicans who voted against another failed Israel aid bill last week, told JTA. Good emphasized that he has long been pro-Israel. 

“And so there is much available, unjustified, even harmful spending in our federal, bloated government to pay for not just the Israel supplemental but all future supplementals,” he said, referring to the budget bill. 

Caucus close to Trump opposed to Israel aid

Thirteen of the 14 Republicans who voted against that bill are members of the Freedom Caucus, which is closely aligned with Trump. That number was a sign of a growing phenomenon: Virtually the only GOP House lawmaker who consistently voted against Israel until now has been Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who is not a member of the Freedom Caucus. 

The Republicans who voted against the aid last week say the money must be offset somehow, whether it is through cuts to other budget items or through turning the foreign aid into a loan — a solution Trump and his allies support.

“The supplemental aid package should be a loan to the countries in question, as suggested by President Trump,” Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime staunch backer of Israel, said in a statement. Graham voted against Tuesday’s Senate bill, as did Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas, who are also historically pro-Israel.

“A loan on friendly terms allows America, who is deeply in debt, a chance to get our money back and changes the paradigm of how we help others,” Graham added. “”President Trump is right to insist that we think outside the box.”

Johnson has signaled that he is also on board with offsetting aid: Last November, he sponsored an unsuccessful bill that conditioned Israel aid on cuts to the Internal Revenue Service, the first time Congress conditioned aid to Israel on anything. 

And he agreed with the Freedom Caucus to introduce last week’s aid bill under a process that required a two-thirds majority — dooming its chances. 

Pro-Israel groups are urging a return to aid bills with no strings, and argue that the fraction of a percent of the budget that goes to aid for Israel is critical for fighting shared foes.

“As Israel battles Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Iranian proxies on its borders, we are urging both Democrats and Republicans to move beyond partisan differences and support emergency funding for the Jewish state,” AIPAC spokesman Marshall Wittmann said in an email.

Richard Goldberg, a longtime Senate Republican staffer who worked closely with Democrats to advance aid to Israel, echoed the message that polarization was undercutting efforts to protect Israel and American national security.

“I’m generally concerned with the ability of Republicans and Democrats to work together to support democratic allies in times of crisis, let alone their ability to invest in our own national security — whether it be securing the border or rapidly expanding our defense industrial base,” said Goldberg, now a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank.

Six of the 14 House Republicans who voted against Israel aid last week replied to JTA queries, and all but one of them — save Massie — emphasized their pro-Israel bona fides but said that America’s finances are in dire straits.

Rep. Aaron Bean of Florida said in an email that he had voted for pro-Israel measures but that “Our national debt just surpassed $34 trillion, and in order to be fiscally secure for future generations Congress needs to offset this spending.”

Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia sent a press release that said “Congress should not — and doesn’t need to — borrow money to support our greatest ally in the Middle East.”

Reps. Elijah Crane of Arizona and Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina made similar arguments. A spokesman for Massie, meanwhile, pointed to his posts on X, in which he argued that Israel was better equipped to handle spending than the United States. 

“Israel has a lower debt to GDP ratio than the United States,” Massie posted before the vote. “This spending package has no offsets, so it will increase our debt by $14.3 billion plus interest.”

Mark Mellman, who directs the Democratic Majority for Israel, which cultivates support for Israel among Democrats and works to oppose Democrats who vote against aid to Israel, said the new front of opposition to Israel aid was a cause for concern. He echoed Brooks’ fears of isolationism.

“Increasingly on the Republican side there is this revived strain of isolationism,” he told JTA. “There’s a lot of people on their side that simply don’t care what happens anywhere else but here and don’t realize that what happens elsewhere affects what happens here.”

Brooks, however, has not given up. He feels that he can persuade pro-Israel Freedom Caucus members to support aid, even without any offsets. As opposed to some Democrats who have voted against the aid, he said, these Republicans do say they back Israel.

“They’re not voting no because they’re unhappy with Israel. They’re not voting no because they don’t support Israel,” he said. “They’re voting no from a fiscal responsibility perspective. I disagree with it in a time of war. Israel needs our help and America needs to be there. But having said that, I don’t think this is a long term concern that these people are not going to continue to be friends and allies.”

The Health Ministry and Agriculture Ministry warned the general public on Wednesday not to bring into Israeli territory stray cats and dogs from the Palestinian Authority, Gaza, and from over the the northern border. 

The joint statement explained the reason for the prohibition: These animals may carry with them diseases such as rabies, scabies, echinococcus, and leishmania which may spread within Israeli territory. 

Those who come into contact with an animal suspected of carrying such diseases or are bitten or scratched should rinse the wound with soap and water and contact the health bureau in their closest vicinity in order to assess which treatment should be provided.

Instead of bringing in stray cats and dogs from Gaza or the Palestinian territories, the statement recommended the more traditional mode of adopting a pet - reaching out to urban kennels or regulated associations, where the animals have been vaccinated against diseases and checked medically. 

A dog stands in rubble in the Gaza Strip, February 8, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/DYLAN MARTINEZ)

Gaza's stray dogs seek refuge in border communities 

According to the statement, some 5,000 dogs have crossed into Israel from Gaza, in the absence of a fence, and are roaming the region of the western Negev. 

Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority estimates the number of stray dogs within the Gaza Strip to be in the hundreds or even thousands. Following the Israel-Hamas war, these dogs have fled the enclave and have sought refuge in the ruins of the Gaza border communities. 

Earlier this week, KAN news reported that packs of stray dogs had attempted to attack IDF soldiers in the Gaza Strip.

Approaching the soldiers by the hundreds, they exhibited violent behavior, growling at the troops and trying to bite them. 

According to the report, the troops had managed to fend off the packs. No soldier was injured by such encounters