Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 229?

An IDF soldier was seriously wounded on Tuesday following an encounter with terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip, the military said on Wednesday morning. 

The soldier was rushed to the hospital for further medical treatment. 

Israelis won’t be able to rebuild settlements in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority won’t be able to control the enclave, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN on Tuesday night.

“Resettling Gaza,” Netanyahu said, “that was never in the cards.”

Just last week National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the construction of Israeli settlements in Gaza and the voluntary emigration of Palestinians from the enclave.

SOUTH HEBRON HILLS, West Bank (JTA) – When a group of right-wing activists gathered last week to trash an aid shipment bound for Gaza, they believed they were working toward a goal supported by most Israelis - to block supplies that, they believe, will end up in the hands of Hamas. 

The activists gathered again on Sunday. But their tactics - captured last week on video that showed them tearing open bags of flour, puncturing tires and throwing food to the ground - have sparked controversy and proven divisive even among their putative allies. 

Tzav 9, the main group organizing to block aid shipments, disavowed the riot. It said in a statement that it is “conducting a reassessment of our continued activity’ and that it would pause operations for a week. Spokesperson Rachel Touitou said she can “understand” the motivations of the rioters - but cannot condone their actions.

Medical workers at Israeli hospitals told BBC News that Palestinian detainees from Gaza were “shackled and blindfolded” while they received treatment, the BBC published on Tuesday.

One practitioner described the conditions as “torture,” as they detailed how some detainees were tied naked while others wore diapers. 

One source accused a military hospital was accused of allowing detainees to experience an “unacceptable amount of pain.”

The IDF launched a wave of attacks in and around the Rafah area using aircrafts and artillery on Wednesday overnight, according to multiple Palestinian reports.

Egypt altered ceasefire terms before handing agreements to Hamas, three anonymous sources told CNN News in a report published on Tuesday.

According to the report, Egypt changed the details of the deal submitted to the Hamas terrorist organization after it had been signed by Israel and before reaching Hamas. It was also reported that this move led to great anger among Israel, the US, and Qatar against the Egyptians.

One source even claimed that the Egyptians "deceived us all."

Activists who attacked a humanitarian aid truck heading to Gaza claimed that they had been receiving intelligence from individual IDF soldiers on the trucks’ whereabouts, the Guardian reported on Tuesday.

Rachel Touitou, a spokesperson for Tzav 9 was cited as having claimed that the group was receiving some information from individual soldiers. However, she said It was not Tzav 9 that burned the trucks … this was not our action.”

“When a policeman or soldier’s mission is supposed to protect Israelis and instead he is sent to protect humanitarian aid convoys – knowing it will end up in the hands of Hamas – we cannot blame them or civilians who notice the trucks passing by their towns for providing intel to groups trying to block that aid,” she told The Guardian. 

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Minister Benny Gantz, and Minister Gadi Eizenkot have agreed to hold a meeting with representatives of the families of the hostages before the war cabinet meeting that will take place on Wednesday, according to an announcement made by The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters.

"The families of the hostages are expecting an urgent meeting to be scheduled, and they invite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister Ron Dermer, and Shas party chairman Arye Deri to confirm their participation as well," the headquarters stated.