On Sunday, the Palestinian militant group Hamas justified their October 7 attacks against Israel, admitting “flaws” and calling for an end to “Israeli aggression” in Gaza, where the dead toll has surpassed 25,000, according to the health ministry.
Southern Gaza is the latest target of Israel’s campaign to eradicate the Islamist group guilty for the country’s bloodiest attack in history.
In its first public assessment on the bombings that sparked the war, Hamas described them as a “necessary step” against Israeli occupation of Palestinian areas and a means of securing the release of Palestinian captives.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later declared “complete victory” and stated that his government would not accept Hamas’ terms for releasing hostages still detained in Gaza.
Hamas’s 16-page assessment conceded “some faults happened… due to the rapid collapse of the Israeli security and military system, and the chaos caused along the border areas”.
The conflict began when gunmen burst across Gaza’s heavily fortified border and attacked Israelis and foreigners in the streets, their houses, and at an outdoor rave party.
According to an AFP assessment based on official Israeli data, approximately 1,140 persons were killed, the most of them were civilians.
Accounts of sexual abuse arose, but the scarcity of survivor accounts and a lack of forensic evidence made it difficult to determine their severity.
Militants took over 250 captives during the attacks, and Israel reports that approximately 132 remain in Gaza.
Dead hostages
The army revealed the death of another soldier in the October 7 strikes, saying his body is still in Gaza.
According to an AFP assessment based on Israeli data, the number of deceased detainees in Palestinian territory now stands at 28.
Hamas, which is classified a “terrorist” group by the US and the European Union, stated in the report that its fighters were committed to “Islamic values” and that any civilians were attacked “accidentally and during the confrontation with the occupation forces.”
It called on Israel to be held “legally accountable” for Palestinian suffering and urged “popular pressure around the world until the occupation ends.”
In response to the strikes, Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza, killing at least 25,105 people, the majority of them were women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza.
Netanyahu is under great pressure to return the captives and answer for security failures surrounding the October 7 bombings.
On Sunday, relatives and friends of the hostages marched for their release near Netanyahu’s Jerusalem apartment.
In a video message made following the Hamas report, Netanyahu stated that “in exchange for the release of our hostages, Hamas demands an end to the war, the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza”, the release of Palestinian prisoners, and guarantees that Hamas will remain in power.
“If we accept this, our soldiers have fallen in vain,” and security would not be guaranteed, Netanyahu said.
United Nations organizations have warned of famine and disease as Gazans, 1.7 million of whom are displaced, face daily shortages of water, medical care, and other necessities due to shelling.
Donkey carts
With fuel scarce, they have increasingly turned to donkey carts for transport.
“Anyone who used to own a car now uses a donkey. Even businessmen or officials try to collect money just to buy a donkey,” said Badr al-Akhras, a trader of the beasts.
Diplomatic attempts have sought increased assistance delivery to Gaza and a truce, following a week-long cease-fire in November that saw Hamas release dozens of captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry organization in charge of Palestinian civilian affairs, reported that 260 humanitarian supply vehicles were sent to Gaza on Sunday.
On Friday, the UN stated that 288 trucks had arrived, but these figures are substantially below pre-war levels.
Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s Qatar-based leader, met with Turkey’s foreign minister on Sunday to discuss the crisis and humanitarian relief, diplomatic sources confirmed.
The US, Arab countries, and other governments are pursuing a settlement that includes Palestinian statehood, but Netanyahu has rejected it, stating that “Israel must maintain security control over Gaza.”
The Hamas report condemned any international or Israeli efforts to determine Gaza’s post-war future.
The war has raised concerns about a larger escalation, with Israel’s northern border with Lebanon seeing near-daily exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.
A Hezbollah member was killed in an Israeli raid on south Lebanon on Sunday, according to a source close to the group. A security officer described the target as a high-level leader who survived.
Israel said its warplanes again bombed Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.
The White House said it was taking “extremely seriously” a weekend attack by Iran-backed militants who used “multiple ballistic missiles and rockets” against a US military base in Iraq.
Since mid-October, there have been dozens of such assaults in Iraq and Syria. Most have been claimed by Iran-linked extremists opposing US support for Israel, but the deployment of ballistic missiles signified an escalation.