THE SET-UP: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said something rather notable on Monday. According to The Times Of Israel, he told foreign journalists that “Hamas as a military formation no longer exists” and it is now “engaged in guerrilla warfare.” In light of this apparent victory over Hamas’s institutional fighting force, Gallant advocated for a temporary ceasefire that would secure the release of some hostages during the “phase one” implementation of a long-promised deal Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly scuttled.
Yet, even as Gallant expressed his willingness to declare victory in the war on Hamas and enter “phase one” of the US-proposed ceasefire, it appears that Netanyahu was already starting the “next phase” of his war on Gaza. - jp
TITLE: Annexation, Expulsion and Israeli Settlements: Netanyahu Gears Up for Next Phase of Gaza War
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-09-09/ty-article/.premium/annexation-expulsion-and-settlements-netanyahu-gears-up-for-next-phase-of-gaza-war/00000191-d739-dba7-a1ff-dfff26830000
EXCERPT: In this right-wing Israeli government's vision, which it no longer really bothers to conceal, the Palestinians in northern Gaza will face the fate of the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh: They were expelled from the region a year ago, overnight, in a rapid move by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Israel's close ally.
"The world" saw this and moved on: 100,000 refugees are still stranded in Armenia, which is in no rush to integrate them. Similarly, the expelled residents of northern Gaza will huddle together with refugees from the first phase of the war in the "humanitarian enclave" in the south.
This entry into the new phase of the war did not begin with a multidivisional maneuver or some daring raid into the enemy's heartland. Instead, it came via a bureaucratic statement on August 28, announcing the appointment of Col. Elad Goren as head of the humanitarian-civil effort in Gaza with the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories unit.
This lengthy title, a burden Goren will bear until a proper military acronym is found, is equivalent to the Civil Administration chief in the West Bank – and should properly be referred to as "governor of Gaza." He is a contemporary reincarnation of Maj. Gen. Moshe Goren, who served in this capacity following the occupation of Gaza in 1967's Six-Day War.
The next step was Netanyahu's instruction to the army last week to prepare to distribute humanitarian aid in Gaza, replacing the international organizations. Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzl Halevi demurred, warning of danger to soldiers and of heavy costs. However, as far as is known, Netanyahu remained unconvinced and is standing his ground.
The motive is obvious: whoever distributes the food and medicine has their hand on the power switch. Along the way, Israel will have the opportunity to once and for all remove from Gaza the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees – seen by the right as an anti-Zionist project.
In the meantime, Hamas will go on ruling the area between the Netzarim corridor and the Philadelphi route in the south, surrounded and besieged by Israel, which will now take control of aid distribution.
This is the meaning of Netanyahu's statement that the border between Gaza and Egypt (the Philadelphi route) will remain under Israeli control. In such a situation, Netanyahu and his partners hope that after another winter in tents and without basic facilities, the 2 million Palestinians crowded in Rafah, Khan Yunis and Al-Mawasi will realize that they cannot go back to their ruined homes. Accordingly, despair is supposed to incite them against Yahya Sinwar's oppressive rule – and to encourage many of them to leave Gaza altogether.
TITLE: Israeli airstrikes hit UN school and homes in Gaza, killing at least 34 people, hospitals say
https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-school-hospital-displaced-44f93845d6b6cfc9dcc4d0ba37bdd263
EXCERPTS: Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight and Wednesday hit a U.N. school sheltering displaced Palestinian families as well as two homes, killing at least 34 people, including 19 women and children, hospital officials said.
The deadliest strike came Wednesday afternoon, targeting the U.N.’s Al-Jaouni Preparatory Boys School in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp. The Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas militants planning attacks from inside the school. The claim could not be independently confirmed.
At least 14 dead from the strike, including two children and a woman, were brought to Awda and al-Aqsa Martyrs hospitals nearby, officials from the facilities said. At least 18 people were wounded in the strike, they said.
One of the children killed was the daughter of Momin Selmi, a member of Gaza’s civil defense agency, which works rescuing wounded and bodies after strikes, the agency said in a statement. Selmi hadn’t seen his daughter for 10 months, since he remained in north Gaza to keep working while his family fled south, the agency said.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians driven from their homes by Israeli offensives and evacuation orders are living in Gaza’s schools. The al-Jaouni school, one of many in Gaza run by the U.N. agency for Palestinians UNWRA, has been hit by multiple strikes over the course of the war.
Israel frequently bombs schools, saying they are being used by Hamas militants. It blames Hamas for civilian casualties from its strikes, saying its fighters base themselves and operate within dense residential neighborhoods.
More than 90% of Gaza’s school buildings have been severely or partially damaged in strikes, and more than half the schools housing displaced people have been hit, according to a survey in July by the Education Cluster, a collection of aid groups led by UNICEF and Save the Children.
TITLE: Tents and Shelters Become Classrooms as Gaza Children Return to Learning
https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/tents-and-shelters-become-classrooms-as-gaza-children-return-to-learning-35360f5c
EXCERPTS: More than 11 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has ravaged much of the enclave and destroyed critical infrastructure, including education centers, which otherwise would be hosting many of the roughly one million Gazans under 18. Every school in Gaza remains closed, according to the United Nations. Many school compounds in Gaza are currently being used to shelter the nearly two million Palestinians displaced by the war.
Finding it difficult to acquire a safe space to teach children, Wafaa Ali, who used to run a preschool in Gaza City before the war, decided to open two classrooms in her own house. Now, dozens of children huddle in the small rooms of her Gaza City home to learn Arabic, English and math.
“Families wanted their children to learn how to read and write instead of wasting time at home, especially since war is not ending anytime soon,” Ali said. Individual educators like Ali can only reach a small percentage of the children who have been deprived of an education due to the war.
Alaa Junaina, who is sheltering in a tent in the central part of the Gaza Strip, said her 4-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter are taking classes in a nearby tent. The children are learning using materials one grade behind their age because of lost learning.
Junaina, 33, said she recently visited the tent school. “It made me sad. They don’t have clothes, bags or shoes,” she said. “But we are trying our best.”
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the largest humanitarian group operating in Gaza, which also runs dozens of schools there, says more than two- thirds of its schools have been destroyed or damaged since the war began. Hundreds of displaced Palestinians sheltering at Unrwa facilities—most of which were schools—have been killed, according to the agency.
“Too many schools are no place for learning. They have become places of despair, hunger, disease & death,” Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of Unrwa, said Wednesday on social media. “The longer children stay out of school in the rubble of a devastated land, the higher the risk for them to become a lost generation. This is a recipe for future resentment & extremism.”
Israel’s nearly yearlong military campaign in Gaza has also devastated transportation, health, aid and sanitation infrastructure.
SEE ALSO:
Gaza faces a massive reconstruction challenge. Here are key facts and figures
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gazas-huge-reconstruction-challenge-key-facts-figures-2024-09-11/