Operation Iron Swords (Updated to 1 p.m., January 1, 2024)

Overview^[1]

• The combat arena: The IDF forces continued their integrated ground maneuver in the Gaza Strip, focusing on the Khan Yunis area in the south. Collaborating with the armored and engineering forces and the Israeli Air Force, the fighters eliminated terrorists in face-to-face clashes. They also located and destroyed terrorist facilities, finding large quantities of weapons (IDF spokesperson, December 31, 2023). At midnight, as 2023 became 2024, a barrage of more than 20 rockets attacked central Israel and the area between Ashdod and Jerusalem. Hamas’ military-terrorist wing claimed responsibility for the attack.
• According to an unofficial estimate, since October 7 approximately 1,300 Israeli civilians and security personnel have been killed, 506 of them soldiers and officers; 129 civilian and military hostages are still being held by the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, 16 of them women and children; 121 hostages have been returned to Israel.
• The situation in the Gaza Strip: A delegation from the World Health Organization visited a hospital in Khan Yunis where information was provided about the dire public health situation in the Gaza Strip. Egypt summoned delegations of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and other terrorist organizations to a meeting in Cairo to discuss the ceasefire and “the day after.” According to a single report, a Hamas delegation left for Cairo.
• The northern arena: Hezbollah claimed responsibility for attacks on Israel.
• Judea and Samaria: A Palestinian terrorist carried out a stabbing attack in the industrial zone of Ma’ale Adumim, wounding two security guards. The Palestinians in Judea and Samaria marked the anniversary of the founding of Fatah; Mahmoud Abbas gave a speech.
• The pro-Iranian militias: The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for attacking the Golan Heights and Eilat. The IDF spokesperson reported that missiles had been intercepted. The Houthis in Yemen reported ten operatives dead in an American attack and claimed the United States was responsible for their deaths and the consequences.

The Combat Arena

• The IDF forces continued the integrated ground maneuver in the Gaza Strip, focusing on the Khan Yunis area in the south. Collaborating with the armored and engineering forces and the Israeli Air Force, the fighters eliminated terrorists in face-to-face clashes. They also located and destroyed terrorist facilities, finding large quantities of weapons (IDF spokesperson, December 31, 2023)

    
IDF forces in the Gaza Strip (IDF spokesperson, January 1, 2024)

• The Palestinian media reported that IDF forces continued attacking several areas throughout the Strip, including Jabalia, east of Gaza City, the central Gaza Strip, where intense attacks were carried out, and the Khan Yunis region. (Wafa, January 1, 2024). During the past day, approximately 150 Palestinians were reported dead and 286 wounded in IDF attacks throughout the Gaza Strip (Ma’an, January 1, 2024).

  
Right: IDF attacks on the al-Bureij refugee camp (Shehab X account, January 1, 2024). Left: IDF attacks on the al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip (Wafa YouTube channel, December 31, 2023)

• The northern Gaza Strip: IDF fighters attacked Shejaiya, a Hamas-PIJ combat complex. They raided a command and control center of the terrorist organizations, and located a mosque where large quantities of weapons were found (IDF spokesperson, January 1, 2024).

   
Destruction in Gaza City (al-Ghad TV , January 1, 2024)

• Aerial activity: Guided by intelligence, a fighter jet strike killed Adel Msammah, the commander of the nukhba force in Deir al-Balah. He commanded the nukhba terrorists that attacked Kissufim during October 7, and sent Hamas forces to other kibbutzim near the Gaza Strip border, including Be’eri and Nirim. After the initial attack and massacre, he directed combat against IDF forces inside the Gaza Strip (IDF spokesperson, January 1, 2024).
• On December 31, 2023, the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military-terrorist wing, claimed joint responsibility with the Mujahedin Brigades for firing a SAM-7 missile at an IDF Apache helicopter in the south Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City (Shehab Telegram channel, December 31, 2023).

   

   
Attacks on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip (IDF spokesperson, January 1, 2024)

• Naval activity: IDF Navy forces attacked Hamas targets from the sea to support the ground force maneuver in the Gaza Strip (IDF spokesperson, January 1, 2024).

Palestinian reactions to the fighting

• PIJ spokesman Musab al-Bari claimed the Palestinian “resistance” [terrorist operatives] in the Gaza Strip was causing the IDF forces casualties and called on Israel to reveal what was really happening on the ground in Khan Yunis, Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, Shejaiya and the east-central district of the Gaza Strip. He claimed the attacks throughout the Strip were an IDF attempt to compensate for its failure on the ground. On the political level, he claimed that on behalf of all the “resistance” forces [terrorist organizations], the PIJ and Hamas were leading a political move for a comprehensive, immediate cessation of “aggression,” and claimed that the political campaign was no less aggressive than the campaign on the ground. He added that they were determined the campaign would succeed in a manner consistent with the sacrifices of the Palestinian people, who demanded that there be no more temporary ceasefires, but a total ceasefire, the return of the Palestinians to their homes and the withdrawal of the IDF forces (al-Mayadeen TV website, December 31 2023).

Rocket fire from the Gaza Strip

• After several days of quiet, on December 31, 2023, at midnight a heavy barrage of more than 20 rockets attacked central Israel and the region between Ashdod and Jerusalem. A total of 27 rockets were launched, about 18 of which were intercepted and about nine fell in open areas. No casualties or damage were reported.
• The Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military-terrorist wing, claimed responsibility for launching a barrage of M90 rockets at Tel Aviv and its suburbs a few minutes into 2024, “in response to the massacres of Palestinians” (Palinfo, January 1, 2024). On December 8, 2023, the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades announced they would begin using multi-barrel M90 rockets launchers. The “M” is for Ibrahim al-Makadma, one of the founders of the military-terrorist wing, who was killed in a targeted attack in 2003 (al-Jazeera TV website, December 8, 2023; arabi21 website, December 8, 2023). According to reports, Gazans throughout the Strip reacted with joy to the rocket launches.

     
Launching the rocket barrage (Palinfo, January 1, 2024)

Israeli casualties

• According to an unofficial estimate, since October 7, approximately 1,300 Israeli people have been killed. According to the IDF spokesperson, 506 of them soldiers and officers (of whom 172 have been killed since the start of the ground maneuver on 27 October, 2023); 129 civilian and military hostages are still being held by the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, 16 of them women and children; 121 hostages have been returned.

The Gaza Strip

Palestinian casualties

• Dr. Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesman for the Hamas-controlled the ministry of health in the Gaza Strip reported that as of 11:30, December 31, 2023, the number of dead since the beginning of the war stood at more than 21,822 and the number of wounded at 56,451 (ministry of health in Gaza Facebook page, December 31, 2023).

The situation in the Gaza Strip

• James McGoldrick, the UN ad interim humanitarian affairs coordinator at OCHA (UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), and a delegation from the World Health Organization visited Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. They were accompanied by Dr. Yusuf Abu al-Rish, the deputy minister of health in the Gaza Strip, and others from the ministry. Abu al-Rish elaborated on the hardships of the public health system and the overcrowding in the hospitals, and discussed the international actions necessary to save and reinforce the health care system, especially in the northern Gaza Strip. He also related to the need to create an effective mechanism for sending the sick and wounded abroad for medical treatment and for exerting pressure [on Israel] to release detained medical and humanitarian personnel (ministry of health in Gaza Facebook page, December 31, 2023).

• Al-Ghad TV interviewed displaced persons currently staying in the Rafah area in preparation for beginning the new year. They expressed hope that the war in Gaza would end as soon as possible, 2024 would be a better year than 2023, and to return to their homes and meet with their families (al-Ghad TV, January 1, 2024).

   
A panoramic view of the tent camps erected for displaced persons in west Rafah
(Shehab X account, January 1, 2024)

The ceasefire and “the day after”

• A Palestinian source, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that Egypt had sent invitations to Fatah, Hamas, the PIJ, and the Popular and Democratic Fronts for the Liberation of Palestine. He said delegations from the organizations were scheduled to visit Cairo next week to hold separate discussions with senior Egyptian officials regarding measures to end the war in the Gaza Strip, the situation “the day after” and the possibility of establishing a Palestinian consensus government to manage Gaza (Xinhua Agency, December 31, 2023).
• A “Hamas source” said that a delegation from the movement was in Cairo to discuss the [Egyptian] ceasefire proposal. According to the source, their position remained the same, there would be no hostage exchange deal before a comprehensive ceasefire went into effect (al-Arabiya, January 1, 2024).

Hamas’ response to the article in The New York Times

• Hamas published a response to an article published in The New York Times about the acts of rape and other sexual violence committed by Hamas terrorist operatives during the October 7 attack and massacre. The response claimed the facts in the report were a “surrender” to Israeli propaganda which attempted to discredit the Palestinians and present them as inhuman to justify Israel’s “war crimes” against them. The response further claimed, [falsely], that the facts in the report were based only on testimonies and not on evidence, and contradicted the testimonies of Israeli women and freed hostages who [allegedly] testified to having received positive treatment both on October 7 and while they were held captive by Hamas (Hamas Telegram channel, December 31, 2023).

The Northern Arena

Hezbollah attacks

• During the past day the number of Hezbollah attacks on Israel declined. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for two anti-tank missile and rocket attacks, both around 3 p.m. (Hezbollah combat information Telegram channel, December 31, 2023).
• Israeli Air Force fighter jets attacked Hezbollah military-terrorist buildings and other sites in the village of Ramyeh in south Lebanon where Hezbollah carried out surveillance and terrorist operations, including shooting at Israel (IDF spokesperson, December 31, 2023). On the evening of December 31, 2023, IDF tanks and helicopter gunships attacked three terrorist squads operating in Lebanese territory (IDF spokesperson, December 31, 2023).

• Ali Shoeib, a correspondent for al-Manar TV, reported that an Israeli UAV attacked an empty house in the town of Maroun al-Ras, about three kilometers north of Yaroun. He also reported that artillery was fired at the town of Majdal Zoun, about eight kilometers northeast of Hanita (Ali Shoeib’s X account, January 1, 2024). It was also reported that artillery was fired at Tayr Harfa, about five kilometers northeast of Hanita (Abir Klait’s X account, January 1, 2024).

     
Artillery fire at Tayr Harfa (Abir Klait’s X account, January 1, 2024)

   
Airstrikes in the Ramyeh area (Fouad Khreiss’s X account, December 31, 2023)

• Senior terrorist Na’im Qassem, Hezbollah deputy secretary general, said they had decided to remain in a state belligerence and confrontation with Israel, but in a “proportional manner consistent with the demands of the war.” However, he said, if Israel continued [the war in the Gaza Strip], [Hezbollah’s] reaction would be stronger. He claimed Israel was trying to prove it was able to help the residents return to their homes in the north and keep “Hezbollah and the resistance” [Palestinian terrorist organizations operating from south Lebanon] away from south Lebanon, but Israel was not in a position to impose its choices, all it could do was respond to the “resistance” and confront it. According to Qassem, Israel cannot return the residents to the north in the middle of the war, and it will not be able to achieve anything during the war or at its end, since for the war in Lebanon to stop, Israel must first stop the war in the Gaza Strip (al-‘Ahed, December 31, 2023).

UNIFIL

• The Janoubia website quoted “sources” warning of Hezbollah’s intention to expel the UNIFIL force from south Lebanon in response to Israel’s demands to evacuate Hezbollah from the region. According to the sources, the recent recurring friction between the residents of south Lebanon and the UNIFIL force revealed Hezbollah’s intention to take UNIFIL out of the equation and thereby tear up Resolution 1701. The “sources” further stated that the bullying of UNIFIL and the accusations against the force of spying for Israel were a direct response to the demands of Israel and France to remove Hezbollah from the south and implement Resolution 1701, something Hezbollah would never accept (Janoubia, December 29, 2023).

Syria

• On December 31, 2023, sirens were activated in the Golan Heights in response to the infiltration of a hostile aircraft. The aerial monitoring unit identified a suspicious aerial target crossing Syrian territory, and Israeli Air Force fighter jets successfully intercepted it (IDF spokesperson, December 31, 2023). The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for a UAV attack on “the occupied Golan Heights,” claiming it would continue to attack Israel (Islamic Resistance in Iraq Telegram channel, December 31, 2023).

Judea and Samaria

Terrorist attacks

• On December 31, 2023, a Palestinian armed with a knife went to the industrial zone in Mishor Adumim and stabbed two security guards at the entrance post, wounding them superficially. He was shot and killed by security guards at the scene. Police forces have begun investigating the incident (Israel Police spokesperson’s unit, December 31, 2023).

    
Right: The scene of the attack in Mishor Adumim (MDA, December 31, 2023). Left: The knife used in the stabbing attack (Israel Police Force, December 31, 2023)

Counterterrorism activities

• The Israeli security forces continued their counterterrorism activities throughout Judea and Samaria. They operated in several areas, including the village of Qatanna (northwest of Jerusalem); Beit Iba (northwest of Nablus); Bani Na’im (east of Hebron); and Hebron. Ten wanted Palestinians were detained, two of them Hamas operatives. Since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip, more than 2,550 wanted Palestinians have been detained, of whom about 1,300 are Hamas operatives (IDF spokesperson’s Telegram channel, January 1, 2024).
• On the night of December 31, 2023, it was reported that Ahmad Hashem A’beidi from the village of Burqin died on the bypass road northeast of Jenin after his vehicle overturned. According to some reports, the vehicle of A’beidi, a Jenin Battalion operative, overturned after the Palestinian Authority’s security service operatives shot at him because he did not stop at their checkpoint (al-Shahed website, January 1, 2024; @GanaMMoham47353 X account, December 31, 2023).

Solidarity with the Gaza Strip

• On the night of December 31-January 1, 2024, marches were held in Ramallah and Jenin in support of the Gaza Strip (al-Araby al-Jadeed, January 1, 2024; Wafa, January 1, 2024).

Palestinian Authority (PA)

• In a speech marking the 59^th anniversary of Fatah’s founding, Mahmoud Abbas, PA chairman, stressed his opposition to uprooting the Palestinian people from their lands and stated that the PLO was the only legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. He also said the Palestinian people would remain steadfast and continue their “struggle” until victory and independence were achieved, stressing that the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip were one integral geographical unit (Wafa, December 31, 2023).
• In Ramallah and Jenin, rallies were held to mark the 59^th anniversary of Fatah’s founding, with the participation of senior Fatah members. The participants waved Fatah flags and pictures of Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas. The speakers at the events also took the opportunity to condemn Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip (Wafa, December 31, 2023).

Iran

• Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran, meeting with the family of former Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani on the four-year anniversary of his assassination, said that the “resistance,” which had been going on for nearly three months in the Gaza Strip, stemmed from the “resistance front”^[2] and that Soleimani had made great efforts to revive the front in the region. He praised the efforts of the current Qods Force commander, Esmail Qaani, and said the front had to continue to be strengthened (Tasnim, December 31, 2023). 
• Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Iranian foreign minister, spoke with his British counterpart, David Cameron, to discuss regional developments. Cameron told Abdollahian that Iran bore responsibility for preventing Houthi attacks in the Red Sea because of Iran’s support for them over the years. Abdollahian said Iran would respond forcefully to any aggression by the “Zionist entity” and that stopping a “Zionist ship in the Red Sea” could not be seen as a threat to the security of the shipping routes while Israel was allowed to carry out “massacres of women and children” and ignite the region (ISNA, December 31, 2023).
• Ali-Akbar Ahmadian, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, met with the spokesman of Ansar Allah (Yemen’s Houthis) and the movement’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Abdeslam, to discuss joint issues and developments related to regional security. Ahmadian praised the Houthis’ actions to support the Palestinians (IRNA, December 31, 2023).

Pro-Iranian militias

Iraq

• The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for attacking the city of Eilat. The organization stressed that it would continue to attack Israel (Islamic Resistance Telegram channel, December 31, 2023). The IDF spokesperson reported that an Israeli Air Force fighter jet had intercepted a suspicious aerial target on its way to Israeli territory from the east. The target, which was monitored by IDF forces, did not cross into Israeli territory (IDF spokesperson, December 31, 2023).
• The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for attacking an American base at Erbil Airport in northern Iraq (Islamic Resistance Telegram channel, December 31, 2023). The aerial defense systems shot down a drone in the Erbil Airport area in northern Iraq (the Kurdish region’s counterterrorism organization Facebook page, December 31, 2023). “Security sources” indicated that there had been no casualties or damage to infrastructure (Reuters, December 31, 2023).
• According to Iraqi military sources, the aerial defense systems intercepted a drone over the American base of Ain al-Assad (Reuters, January 1, 2024).
• Falih al-Fayyad, chairman of the Popular Mobilization, and Nuri al-Maliki, former Iraqi prime minister, attended a ceremony in Iraq marking four years since the deaths of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Qods Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, former chairman of the Popular Mobilization. Al-Fayyad praised Soleimani’s activities and his political and security influence (Popular Mobilization website, December 31, 2023). Al-Maliki praised Soleimani, saying that the conflict in the region was bigger than it had been, as evidenced by what was happening in “Palestine.” He noted that the American forces were killing children and that they had gone from advisory forces to killing forces. He stressed that the Iraqi people would not accept the presence of foreign forces on their soil and that there was no solution to end the issue other than the withdrawal of the forces from Iraqi territory (al-Alam, December 31, 2023).

Yemen

• According to two sources in the port of Hudaydah, at least ten Houthis were killed and two wounded in an attack carried out by American forces on four Houthi boats trying to take control of a Danish ship in the Red Sea (Reuters, Dec. 31, 2023).

• In response to the attack on the three Houthi boats by the Americans, Yahya Saria, spokesman for the Houthi armed forces, confirmed that ten Houthis had been killed and stressed that the United States was responsible for “the crime” and its consequences. He said the American military operations in the Red Sea designed to protect Israeli ships would not prevent Yemen from fulfilling its duty to support the Palestinians. He also warned other countries not to join the American actions, as that would have negative effects. He reiterated that the Houthi forces would continue to prevent the passage of Israeli ships or ships sailing towards Israeli ports (Yahya Saria’s X account, December 31, 2023). Abdeslam Hajaf, a member of the Shura Council and the Houthi Defense and Security Committee, said that Yemeni blood was precious and claimed that the American attack was a “declaration of war” (Abdeslam Hajaf’s Telegram channel, December 31, 2023).
• Britain and the United States are reportedly preparing to carry out a series of attacks against the Houthis following their activity in the Red Sea, and may even be joined by another European country. The attacks will reportedly be directed against predetermined targets, whether in the Red Sea or Yemen (British daily Times, December 31, 2023). Grant Shapps, Britain’s defense secretary, said the government would not hesitate to act directly to prevent further attacks in the Red Sea (The Telegraph, January 1, 2024).
• The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) issued an announcement condemning the American aggression against the Yemeni forces, stressing that the American administration, which was waging the war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, had become militarily involved in the war alongside Israel. The announcement called on the Arab and Islamic nation to confront the American aggression against Yemen by all possible means (PIJ’s information office Telegram channel, December 31, 2023).

^[1] Click https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en to subscribe and receive the ITIC's daily updates as well as its other publications. ↑
^[2] Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, the Palestinian terrorist organizations, the Shi'ite Houthis in Yemen and the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. ↑

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