Israel-Hamas War: What happened on Day 169?

"The combination of the industry of lies and social media networks has long since become a strategic threat to Western democracies," said David Saranga, Director of the Digital Diplomacy Bureau of the Foreign Ministry, in a post on X on Sunday.

הרשתות החברתיות הפכו לאיום אסטרטגי על ישראל.

אדייק את דברי: השילוב בין תעשיית השקר והרשתות החברתיות הפך מזמן לאיום אסטרטגי על הדמוקרטיות המערביות. להלן דוגמא למעט מהרעל עימו אנו מתמודדים ברשתות החברתיות:

מעל חצי מליון צפיות לציוץ מאתמול בלילה המאשים את חיילי צהל באונס של אישה… pic.twitter.com/QAPOt1vTtq

— David Saranga (@DavidSaranga) March 24, 2024

Attached to his post was an example, which showed another post on X with over half a million views that claimed that IDF soldiers committed physical and sexual violence against a Palestinian woman who was evacuated from Al-Shfia hospital. Notably, the post did not include any sources of the claims and only included some text in quotation marks.

"Here's an example of the poison we are dealing with on social media," he said in the post, "the terminology used in this blood libel is an exact parallel to the crimes committed by Hamas on October 7. 

He also noted that the account was created in October and was likely made to spread anti-Israel propaganda.

"It is clear that this is a fake account. The account was created in October 2023. It is an anonymous account originating in Gaza, with no profile picture or information about the user, while the account details include a link for donations. No account can reach 122 thousand followers in less than six months."

"He also added that the account follows users such as Jackson Hinkle, Anastasia Maria Loupis, and other users who have "poisoned the conversation on X with fake news and blood libels. "

 Israel signaled openness on Sunday to allow the return of Palestinians displaced from the northern Gaza Strip as part of truce talks, an apparent accommodation of a core Hamas demand.

The warring sides have stepped up negotiations, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, on a six-week suspension of Israel's offensive in return for the proposed release of 40 of the 130 hostages still held by the Palestinian terrorist group in Gaza.

Hamas has sought to parlay any deal into an end to the fighting and withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israel has ruled this out, saying it would eventually resume efforts to dismantle the governance and military capabilities of Hamas.

Hamas also wants hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled Gaza City and surrounding areas southward during the first stage of the almost six-month-old war to be allowed back north.

Israel initially refused to do so. But that position has softened, an Israeli official briefed on the Doha talks said.

"We are now willing to discuss a return of some of the displaced," the official told Reuters without elaborating on numbers. Israeli media have speculated that the offer would be limited to women and children to bar gunmen trying to reinforce those the Israeli military is still battling in parts of Gaza City.

Palestinian terrorists shot at Israeli forces near Kibbutz Meirav on Mount Gilboa, near the West Bank, Army Radio reported on Sunday.

The terrorists shot from the adjacent Palestinian village of Gilabon.

At this time, there are no reported injuries, and the IDF has returned fire to the sources of the attack.

This is a developing story.

A heated confrontation, including yelling, took place between MK Danny Danon and the South African representative at the Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference in Geneva, the Israeli delegation said on Sunday.

During her speech, the South African representative accused Israel of crimes against humanity and creating a deliberate humanitarian crisis in Gaza while also calling for an immediate ceasefire.

I represented Israel tonight at the conference of the International Union of Parliaments in Geneva.
I listened to the speech of the representative of South Africa, filled with lies and slander against Israel, siding with the terror group Hamas. I couldn't remain silent in the… pic.twitter.com/3plpUASVFg

— Danny Danon דני דנון (@dannydanon) March 24, 2024

When MK Danon got to the stage, he said, "Israel reluctantly entered this war with Hamas. South Africa supports terrorism when it defends Hamas's crimes.

He then turned to the South African representative, amid interjections aimed at interrupting his speech, and said, "Do you know that when you call Hamas terrorists "political prisoners," you are defending Hamas murderers who massacred, murdered, and raped the citizens of Israel on October 7?"

If UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hopes to play any kind of constructive role in the current Mideast crisis, it is unclear how becoming irrelevant in Israel helps his cause.

And that is what he has become in Jerusalem: irrelevant.

Anyone ever involved in mediation understands that in order to be successful, the mediator needs to have a modicum of trust of both parties in the conflict. At the very least, mediator needs to be seen as fair.

Since Hamas’ barbaric attack on October 7, Guterres has proven himself in Israeli eyes to be anything but fair.  As such, he has lost the confidence of Jerusalem, and without any trust in Jerusalem he will not be able to accomplish much.

The world needs Israel's cooperation

This is something many in the world -- especially in the EU and at the UN -- fail to realize: if they want to play a role, they will need Israel’s cooperation, and they are not going to get that cooperation by making outlandish statements and coming across to Israeli officials and the Israeli public as completely one-sided.

EU Foreign policy czar Josep Borrell fell into that trap again last week, charging at the UN that Israel was intentionally starving Gazans.

"Starvation is used as a weapon of war,” Borrell said. “Israel is provoking famine.”

Israel has agreed to release between 700-800 Palestinian prisoners as part of a ceasefire and hostage release deal, Israeli media reported on Sunday evening, citing Israeli officials.

The terrorists agreed upon for release by Israel include hundreds who are serving life sentences for murdering Israelis in terror attacks, Walla's Barak Ravid further reported.

In return, 40 hostages will be released by Hamas, reports said.

Gaza hostage deal: Ball in Hamas's court

It was reported on Saturday night that the Israeli delegation in Qatar has agreed to an American compromise on the issue of the number of Palestinian prisoners who will be swapped for each Israeli hostage.

According to the reports, major disagreements about this number initially prompted the American compromise proposal.

The Israeli team in Qatar has also reportedly been authorized to discuss the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza.

According to Israeli media, Hamas's response will likely take a few days to receive due to the logistics of getting approval from Hamas leadership in Gaza.

This is a developing story.

Israel has agreed to release between 700-800 Palestinian prisoners as part of a ceasefire and hostage release deal, Israeli media reported on Sunday evening, citing Israeli officials.

The terrorists agreed upon for release by Israel include hundreds who are serving life sentences for murdering Israelis in terror attacks, Walla's Barak Ravid further reported.

In return, 40 hostages will be released by Hamas, reports said.

This is a developing story.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday evening to kill Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, just as the Jewish People brought the death of Haman in the tale of Purim.

"We will unite, fight and win just as we did in ancient times," Netanyahu said while visiting border guards from the Military Police Corps. "We will enter Rafah and achieve total victory.

"We took out Haman, we will also take out Sinwar," the prime minister vowed.

This is a developing story.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant departed for Washington Sunday for an official visit. He was invited to meet senior US officials, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and CIA head William Burns. 

"The trip's focus is maintaining Israel's qualitative advantage and her ability to acquire aerial platforms and armaments," said Gallant. "Not less important is the relationship with the US and the shared need to obtain our objectives in Gaza," added Gallant, listing returning the hostages and defeating Hamas as shared goals. 

"We will also deal with how we will return citizens of the north to their homes, through military action or an agreement," Gallant added.

Benny Gantz announced on Sunday that he would leave the government if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bill granting exemption from IDF conscription to ultra-Orthodox (haredi) Jews passes in Knesset.

"The people will not tolerate it, the Knesset will not be able to vote in favor of it, and my associates and I cannot be part of this emergency government if this law passes," he said in his announcement. 

"Passing such a law would be crossing a red line during normal times, and during the war, it's like flying a black flag over it," he added, "we will not be able to look in the eyes of fighters within our borders and beyond them, and ask them to extend their service."