GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 133

And About That Palestinian State

No Stopping

In an announcement by war cabinet member Benny Gantz the IDF isn’t stopping even during Ramadan as we read in an article from The Jerusalem Post:

Israel could continue its war on Hamas during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, war cabinet Minister Benny Gantz said on Friday afternoon.

In the announcement aimed at the families of the hostages and the citizens of Israel, Gantz tells them "We will not stop until they [the hostages] are returned."

"There will not be a ceasefire for even one day until our hostages are returned."

Gantz told Hamas there is nowhere they can run or hide:

"Hamas terrorists and leaders must know: Gaza will not have cities of refuge, above or underground," the minister said in an address. "The fire could continue into the month of Ramadan."

He added that an invasion into Rafah is imminent unless the terrorist organization changes its demands:

"If the hostages are not returned, we will expand the war into Rafah. We are preparing for this, working in collaboration with our partners including Egypt.

There will not be an issue for moving the civilians first:

Gantz further addressed the issue of displacing over a million fleeing Palestinians in Rafah, saying that Israel will "evacuate the population to safe areas - and start operating."

Paying In Blood

In an article from The Times Of Israel the head of Hezbollah vows that Israel will pay dearly for the death of 10 Lebanese civilians:

The Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group signaled on Friday it would escalate attacks on Israel in response to the deaths of 10 Lebanese civilians killed in Israeli strikes on terror targets this week, while Israel said it would remove Hezbollah from the border if diplomacy failed.

In a televised speech, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Israel would pay a price “in blood,” indicating the risk of an intensification of the conflict that has been rumbling across the Lebanese-Israeli border since the Gaza war erupted in October.

Nasrallah accused Israel of deliberately targeting civilians, saying Israel could have avoided killing them. The dead included five children.

The IDF said the attack wasn’t aimed at civilians at all:

The Israeli military said it carried out a “precise airstrike” on Lebanon on Wednesday that killed Hezbollah commanders and operatives. It has not commented on civilian deaths. It has previously said it does not target civilians.

The Hezbollah leader was firm on their response:

“The response to the massacre should be continuing resistance work at the front and escalating resistance work at the front,” Nasrallah said. “Our women and our children who were killed in these days, the enemy will pay the price of spilling their blood in blood,” he said.

Nasrallah said the deaths had increased Hezbollah’s determination. Hezbollah would increase its “presence, strength, fire, anger” and expand its operations, he said. Israel “must expect that and wait for that.”

Nasrallah added they have rockets that can reach deep inside Israel:

Nasrallah warned that if Israel expanded the war, Hezbollah has a “huge arsenal” of “precision-guided missiles that can reach everywhere in Israel “from Kiryat Shmona [on the northern border] to Eilat [Israel’s southernmost city].

The range of their missiles is already known as well as the precision of them. This is why a war with Hezbollah isn’t wanted, but the IDF is not going to shy away from an offensive if needed:

Foreign Minister Israel Katz told the Munich Security Conference that Hezbollah was just a proxy that Iran was maneuvering as it saw fit and that Israel would not let instability in the north continue endlessly.

“If a diplomatic solution is not found, Israel will be forced to act in order to remove Hezbollah from the border and return our residents to their homes,” he said, referring to some 70,000 displaced Israelis.

“In such a case, Lebanon will also pay a heavy price.”

Medications Not Received

The IDF let the relatives of hostages still being held by Hamas apparently didn’t get the medicines promised as we see in a report from The Jerusalem Post:

Israel has updated families of Gaza hostages on Friday that IDF found boxes with medicine, intended for their loved ones in Hamas captivity, at the Nasser Hospital in the southern Gazan city of Khan Yunis, the IDF confirmed following a Channel 13 report.

The names of hostages were written on the boxes with the medications, which appeared to have never reached the captives. The finding is being examined, the IDF said.

The IDF is also bringing in portable generators for the hospital while engineers get the main ones back online. It was also noted that bodies of hostages may be in the hospital:

In a Thursday briefing, IDF Spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari stated, “Sadly, we know that some hostages are no longer alive. We are committed to finding and returning the bodies of those hostages in Gaza.

“We have credible intelligence from a number of sources, including from released hostages, indicating that Hamas held hostages at the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis and that there may be bodies of our hostages in the Nasser hospital facility,” Hagari continued.

They also found weapons there, as well:

The IDF also announced that they had located weapons in the hospital and detained dozens of suspects for questioning, including more than 20 terrorists who participated in the October 7 massacre.

Maj.-Gen. Yaron Finkelman, commander of the Southern Commander, said "This was a precise, high-quality, and focused operation, which so far has helped us arrest dozens of terrorists, including murderous terrorists inside the hospital. We will continue, act, and fight everywhere, including here in the city of Khan Yunis, in the heart of the city, and everywhere in the Gaza Strip."

Palestinians Won’t Be Displaced

According to a minister from Israel, Palestinians will be allowed to come back to Gaza as we read in an article from i24news.tv:

Foreign Minister Israel Katz dismissed the speculations that Israel plans a mass deportation of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, speaking before the Munich Security Conference on Friday.

"We have no intention to deport any Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip," Katz said, adding that Israel did not want to rule Gaza after it ends its war against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas that has been governing the territory.

Israel will coordinate with Egypt on the issue of Palestinian refugees and will find a way to ensure Cairo's security interests aren't compromised, Katz added.

"The state of Israel will have to deal with Rafah because we can't just leave Hamas there. We will coordinate with Egypt," the official said.

But no Palestinian state is in the future according to another report, this time from The Times Of Israel:

Amid growing tensions between the two leaders, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden spoke by phone for 40 minutes Thursday evening, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

An official in the Prime Minister’s Office told The Times of Israel that the two discussed the hostages taken during the October 7 onslaught, Rafah and the next stage in the fight against Hamas, and touched on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

After the call the PM issued an announcement about the two-state solution:

After the call, Netanyahu released a statement in the middle of the night insisting that Israel will not be pressured into accepting a Palestinian state.

“My positions can be summarized in the following two sentences,” said Netanyahu, “Israel categorically rejects international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. Such an arrangement will be reached only through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions.”

In other words, Israel will determine what will happen in Gaza according to its needs. I could state the three things that will need to happen, but I’ve said it over and over again. The question is, will the remaining Palestinians agree to them? If there is to be any agreement and peace, it will be up to them and not some international coalition forcing things on Israel.