Israel-Hamas War Day 220: What is happening in Gaza?

The High Court of Justice rejected a request by the IDF and the attorney general on Monday to block the investigation launched by the State Comptroller into the failures that took place on October 7.

The State Comptroller's Office welcomed the decision, stating that "the State Comptroller expects the Chief of Staff and all audited entities to order their subordinates to fulfill the duty imposed on them by virtue of the Basic Law: The State Comptroller and to fully cooperate with representatives of the State Comptroller's Office, similar to the other defense bodies."

Five IDF soldiers and a civilian contractor were seriously wounded in the Gaza Strip on Sunday night and Monday, according to the IDF.

Two IDF soldiers from the Yahalom Unit and a civilian contractor conducting work for the Defense Ministry were seriously wounded in battle in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday,

Another soldier from the Rotem Battalion was seriously wounded on Sunday night in northern Gaza, according to the IDF.

A UN worker was killed near the European Hospital in Gaza City on Monday afternoon, although how they were killed and who is responsible remained unclear as of Monday, according to Israeli media.

Additionally, several UN workers were injured at the Rafah crossing on Monday afternoon, with the Israeli defense establishment investigating if they were injured by IDF or Hamas fire, according to Israeli media.

The head of the Druze community, Sheikh Muwaffak Tarīf, called on the government to work to advance a "covenant of equality" with the Druze community during a Remembrance Day ceremony at the military cemetery in Usfiya on Monday.

"From here, I turn to the state leaders - enough with the idle promises. Advance and fulfill the covenant of equality, do a real deed for the Druze soldiers and youth. They deserve to have plots of land - and not just burial plots," said Tarif. "Let there be equality in the economy every day of the year - and not just on Remembrance Day."

Protesters from the Tzav 9 movement vandalized several humanitarian aid trucks that were headed to Gaza near the Tarqumiya Checkpoint near Hebron in the southern West Bank on Monday, according to Israeli media.

ישראלים משתלטים על משאית עם סיוע הומניטרי לרצועת עזה. pic.twitter.com/QAhpcDnDp9

— יוני בן מנחם yoni ben menachem (@yonibmen) May 13, 2024

Footage from the scene showed protesters blocking the trucks during the siren marking a moment of silence for Remembrance Day, after which they climbed onto the trucks and began ripping aid off and throwing it onto the road.

Hostile aircraft intrusion sirens sounded in northern Israel on Monday afternoon.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant briefed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken about Israel's military operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah and takeover of the nearby border crossing into Egypt, Gallant's office said on Monday.

In an overnight phone call, Gallant and Blinken "discussed developments in Gaza ... and the precise operation in the Rafah area against remaining Hamas battalions, while securing the crossing," the statement said.

Israel is in an existential war in which defeat is not an option, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during Monday's ceremony at the Mt. Herzl Military Ceremony to mark the annual Remembrance Day.

"It's either us - Israel, or them - the Hamas monsters of Hamas,” he said, as the country paid homage to fallen soldiers from all its wars, as a time when it was battling the terror group in Gaza.

What is at stake, Netanyahu said, is Israel’s “existence, liberty, security and prosperity.”

Should Israel fail, it could face another October 7th-like attack, in which there would be “torture, massacre, rape and slavery.” 

Three soldiers sustained light wounds, and an additional soldier was moderately wounded after anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel, the IDF reported on Monday, May 13. The soldiers were rushed to the hospital for treatment.

The IDF added that the incident occurred following alerts that had sounded in the North earlier on Monday. 

Rafah stands as the sole Hamas stronghold in the Gaza Strip, as it is the only one among the four cities in Gaza that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) hasn't entered. While the IDF took over the Rafah crossing on Thursday in what Washington described as a limited operation, the possibility of a full-scale operation is still on the table despite international discord. The Israeli authorities argue that this is crucial for the dismantling of Hamas' military and governmental infrastructure. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday evening in a video statement released by the Prime Minister's Office that "the entry into Rafah serves two of the main objectives of the war: Returning our hostages and eliminating Hamas." Netanyahu added that Hamas's ceasefire proposal is "very far from meeting Israel's necessary requirements."

In the context of hostage deal discussions in Cairo, Hamas announced on Monday its acceptance of a revised cease-fire agreement proposed by the organization. However, Israel claims that changes to the deal's terms don't align with Israeli needs. Still, Israel has sent a negotiation team to Cairo in a bid to reach a deal that does meet the Israeli conditions.