Israel’s Foreign Minister rejects the UN General Assembly cease-fire resolution saying the organisation lacks relevance. 7,326 Gazans have been killed since October 7 as of this morning (Palestinian Ministry of Health figures)  including almost 3,000 children (and a further 108 Palestinians on the West Bank). October 7 Israel death toll 1405 (including 368 soldiers). 229 hostages taken (Israel government figures), since when 7 hostages released (NCF figures) and approximately fifty killed in bombings (probably more after last night’s bunker busting bombs – and no doubt the bodies that are retrievable will be returned in due course in return for concessions). Internet down in Gaza – Elon Musk has been asked to help. Meanwhile one of the leaders of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, controversially describes the increasingly intense war as a “new holocaust”.

What comes after?

There is some suggestion that Israel intends to conduct a series of micro sieges, enabling it to seize territory as it goes. There have been incredible conspiracy theories doing the rounds including suggestions as wild as the “gassing” of the tunnels (quite apart from the ethical issue, utterly impossible because the tunnels are the principal place of imprisonment for the hostages). Also surprising in a different way is the suggestion from ex MI6 boss Tom Sawers that there be a Gazan protectorate administered by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan or alternatively Qatar in conjunction with another power (the UK?). It seems unlikely in the extreme but then there are stranger things in heaven and earth.

Israel continues incursions

Israel’s armed forces – supported by fighter jets and drones –  have carried out a number of limited ground raids into Gaza. There are unconfirmed reports that an IDF soldier was taken captive by Hamas.

The military reported that ground forces struck dozens of Hamas targets during its raid in the Shujaiya area as aircraft and artillery bombed targets on the outskirts of Gaza City. The IDF claims to have killed Midhat Mabasher, the Hamas commander of the West Khan Yunis Battalion, during the nocturnal attack, adding that Mabasher had participated in sniping attacks and used large explosives against IDF forces and Israeli settlements.

In a separate operation, Israel also said it conducted a “targeted raid from the sea” in southern Gaza overnight, which saw the use of navy vessels and aircraft. Hamas military infrastructure was targeted, with Israel’s troops operating in a compound used by Hamas’ commando naval forces.

News of these attacks follow Israel’s overnight cross-border forays on Thursday and Friday nights into the northern part of the Gaza Strip: deploying tanks and bulldozers, it said its ground forces battled fighters and struck anti-tank missile firing positions in attacks that lasted several hours.

Whilst this latest suite of operations hardly represent Israel’s first incursions into Gazan territory since Hamas’ initial attack on 7 October, the IDF has characterised them in markedly different terms, saying that they form “part of the preparations for the next stage of combat.” In other words: they are to serve as an overture to a far more substantive, protracted ground operation.

Netanyahu’s portentous speech

On 25 October, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stopped just short of accepting responsibility for the intelligence failure that enabled Hamas’ attack during a primetime address to Israel’s people. Hinting at the political reckoning awaiting him in post-conflict Israel, he acknowledged he would have “answer for what happened” on 7 October.

In the meantime, however, he vowed to “rain hellfire” on Hamas forces without specifying when a ground invasion would begin. “All Hamas militants are doomed,” he said, adding people are working “around the clock” to “secure the best optimal conditions” the IDF’s forthcoming operations.

“My role is to lead the country and its people to all-out victory over our enemies,” he concluded. “Together we shall fight and together we will win.”

Gaza in the throes of a humanitarian crisis

Israel’s refusal to sanction the entry of fuel into Gaza has produced a fuel crisis in Gaza.

UNRWA, the UN agency that aids Palestinian refugees, and still has substantial numbers of international staff in Gaza, has announced its intention to scale back operations in the Gaza Strip after nearly exhausting its fuel reserves. “Food and water are running out. The streets of Gaza have started overflowing with sewage. Gaza is on the brink of a massive health hazard as the risks of diseases are looming,” said Philippe Lazzarini, the agency’s head. He added that the humanitarian aid that has arrived in Gaza over the past week is “nothing more than crumbs,” that hasn’t met the basic needs of the enclave’s population. “The last remaining public services are collapsing, our aid operation is crumbling and for the first time ever, [our staff] report that people are now hungry.”

With much of the available fuel being used to purify and filter water, little can be spared for other vital facilities: the UN estimates that over a third of hospitals in Gaza and nearly two-thirds of primary health clinics have had to shut due to damage or lack of fuel.

Meanwhile, Israel has vehemently rebutted these claims, asserting that reports of fuel shortages in the Strip have been exaggerated. IDF spokesman Lt Col Jonathan Conricus says, as far as he knows, there is still electricity and water in Gaza and warnings that humanitarian operations may have to stop in Gaza are frankly not “accurate” – instead, he accused Hamas of stockpiling resources for its own use: “Hamas prefers to have all of the fuel for its war-fighting capabilities, leaving civilians without it.”

Lazzarini has in turn criticised Israel’s stance, stressing that UNRWA has strict vetting mechanisms in place to ensure humanitarian aid was reaching its intended beneficiaries.

As Israel’s aerial bombardment intensifies, the Gazan Health Ministry confirms that 7,326 Gazans have been listed as people having been killed, with that figure likely to rise exponentially (i.e. at a more rapid rate given the dramatic nature of last night’s bombing) in the coming days.

What about the West Bank?

Though Gaza has taken centre-stage over the past two weeks, the West Bank remains in a state of ferment, dogged by confrontations and escalating settler violence.

Thus far, protests have been recorded in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron, as incensed young Palestinians marched on Israeli checkpoints, armed with stones and burning tyres. The Palestinian Health Ministry said many were met with live ammunition.

Meanwhile, Israel has confirmed it launched a drone strike on “terrorists” in the densely populated Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, where it alleged “armed terrorists fired and hurled explosive devices at Israeli security forces.”

In the West Bank, the death toll since 7 October has risen to 108.

Diana Buttu, a lawyer and former adviser to Arafat’s Palestinian Liberation Organisation, told NBC News, “This process of dehumanising people isn’t just affecting the population in Gaza but also in the West Bank. There, we’re seeing the army shooting randomly at people…going after anyone who has been expressing support with the idea of resistance or otherwise.”

“We have nobody who is able to support us,” she concluded.

Lebanon

On Friday, Hezbollah launched anti-tank guided missiles at an IDF post near Avivim and against the Misgav Am area on the northern border. The IDF responded with artillery shelling.

Hezbollah has so far named 46 members killed by Israel since the war began.

Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says that Israel is “not interested in widening the war, but will deal with it if necessary”.