Overview[1]
- The southern arena: The integrated ground maneuver continued, focusing on Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip and concentrating on the area of the Shati refugee camp. As during the past days, IDF forces exposed a large quantity of terrorist facilities situated in the civilian infrastructure such as schools, universities, mosques and operatives’ homes. Aerial attacks on terrorist targets continued. Since the ground forces entered the Strip, there has been a significant decrease in the number of rocket launches. During the past day more rockets were launched from Lebanon than from the Gaza Strip.
- According to an unofficial estimate, since October 7 approximately 1,200 Israeli civilians and security personnel have been killed, 363 of them soldiers and officers; 239 civilian and military abductees are being held by the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip. Hamas continues accusing Israel of sabotaging every arrangement regarding the abductees, claiming there is a difference between civilians and the soldiers, whom Hamas wants to exchange for an estimated 9,000 terrorist operative prisoners in Israeli jails.
- The Gaza Strip: In the Gaza Strip alerts continue regarding the condition of the hospitals. The IDF opened a safe passage for civilians leaving the hospitals and is in direct contact with hospital administrators. The IDF’s attempt to deliver fuel to Shifa Hospital was rejected, apparently under pressure from Hamas. Meanwhile, Hamas keeps trying to prove that there are still many residents in the northern Gaza Strip, contrary to reports that most of them have left the area.
- Hamas: Senior Hamas officials continue to claim that Israel is deliberately attacking hospitals in the Gaza Strip and that a Hamas victory is imminent. Hamas was clearly disappointed by the results of the Arab-Islamic summit meeting, claiming it had produced no active and immediate decisions, steps or mechanisms to end the war. The decision about the transfer of immediate aid to the Strip was well-received.
- The northern arena: During the past day, Hezbollah intensified its attacks along the northern border with more anti-tank and mortar shell fire. Hamas’ military-terrorist wing claimed responsibility for firing 15 rockets at the Haifa Bay area. The attacks from Lebanon injured 22 people, one of whom later died. On November 13, 2023, the attacks resumed and at noon another rocket barrage was launched towards the north of the country.
- Judea and Samaria: Counterterrorism activities continued, and a facility in Hebron for the manufacture of weapons was exposed.
- Iran: The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) aerospace arm noted that the war had already spread, Lebanon was involved, the extent of the conflict might increase and Iran was prepared for any situation.
- Europe: Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign minister, called on Hamas for an unconditional, immediate release all of the abductees, and condemned Hamas’ use of hospitals and civilians as human shields. He also emphasized that Israel had the right to defend itself and called on it to cease fire and allow humanitarian corridors to be opened. Hamas condemned his statements.
The Combat Arena
IDF activity
- The integrated ground maneuver: The ground maneuver in the Gaza Strip continued, mainly in Gaza City and in the northern Gaza Strip, concentrating on the area of the Shati refugee camp. In a joint operation, about 20 terrorists were brought from the Gaza Strip to Israel for questioning, which will help provide up-to-date intelligence for the war effort and continuing the maneuver. Operating in the area between Beit Hanoun and Jabaliya, the forces destroyed terrorist facilities, including launchers of long-range rockets targeting Israel, anti-tank missile-launching positions, tunnel shafts and observation posts (IDF spokesman, November 12, 2023).

Activity of IDF forces in the Gaza Strip (IDF website, November 13, 2023)
- As during the past days, the IDF forces exposed a large number of terrorist facilities situated in civilian infrastructure such as schools, universities, mosques, and operatives’ homes. Terrorist facilities were exposed at al-Quds University and the Abu Bakr Mosque, one of the main mosques in Gaza City. A raid on the home of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist operative revealed a large quantity of weapons hidden in the children’s room (IDF spokesman, November 13, 2023).

Weapons found in the Shati refugee camp (IDF spokesman’s website, November 13, 2023)

A rocket launcher and a tunnel shaft found in the Shati refugee camp (IDF spokesman’s website, November 13, 2023)
- Aerial activity: While assisting the ground forces, Israeli Air Force aircraft continued attacking terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip.
- Since the beginning of the ground maneuver, the Israeli Air Force and ground forces have carried out 4,300 strikes. Among the targets were hundreds of anti-tank launching positions, about 300 tunnel shafts and about 3,000 terrorist facilities, including more than 100 booby-trapped buildings and hundreds of war rooms and Hamas command and control targets (IDF spokesman, November 13, 2023).

Right: Attack on fishing boats on the Nuseirat beach in the central Gaza Strip (Wafa YouTube channel, November 12, 2023). Left: Israeli Air Force attack on Khan Yunis (Wafa YouTube channel, November 12, 2023)
Reactions to the IDF’s activities
- Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said as the fighting increased, the IDF would “disintegrate even more.” He claimed Israel would never achieve victory and had faced only 10% of the Palestinians’ military strength. He said Israel’s basic fighting strategy was its old plan to evacuate the Gaza Strip, but because of the Hamas attack it had been “forced to postpone the plan three months ago [sic].” He called Operation al-Aqsa Flood an “eruption,” and claimed the West Bank had become a “ball of fire” in the face of “oppression.: He said they would not leave Gaza despite the [alleged] “Israeli massacres,” adding that “the terrible attempts” to force the population to emigrate were not effective (Türkiye Newspaper website, November 13, 2023).
Rocket fire
- Since the beginning of the ground maneuver ,the number of rocket launches has decreased significantly. During the past day, more rockets were launched from Lebanon than from the Gaza Strip. On the afternoon of November 13, 2023, another rocket barrage was launched in the north of the country, with rockets reaching as far as Haifa Bay.
- Since the beginning of the war, about 9,500 rockets and mortar shells have been launched from the Gaza Strip at Israel. On the first day of the war, more than 3,000 rockets were fired, about 12% of were failed launches that fell in the territory of the Gaza Strip and in the sea. The Iron Dome aerial defense system intercepted about 2,000 rockets and dozens of unmanned aircraft that tried to penetrate Israeli airspace (IDF spokesman, November 10 and 11, 2023).
Israeli casualties
- According to an unofficial estimate, since October 7 approximately 1,200 civilians and security personnel have been killed, 363 of them soldiers and officers; 239 civilian and military abductees are being held by the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, 35 children and adolescents under the age of 18, 32 over the age of 65. Five abductees were released.
The issue of the abductees
- Regarding the suspension of talks for the release of the abductees, Zaher Jabarin, responsible for the prisoner file in Hamas, claimed Hamas was open to reaching an agreement if there were suitable security conditions on the ground. He claimed the Israeli government had been responsible for preventing an agreement or a prisoner exchange deal from being reached on a number of occasions, despite the progress of the talks mediated by regional parties (Xinhua Agency, November 12, 2023).
- In an interview, senior Hamas terrorist Osama Hamdan said that Hamas’s position had been clear from the beginning: some of the abductees are IDF soldiers, and for their release, Israel had to release the Palestinian prisoners. He said that before Operation al-Aqsa Flood there were 5,700 prisoners, but their number had risen to about 9,000.
- Regarding the civilians and foreign nationals, he claimed efforts and contacts were being made to organize their situation and release, but so far the Israeli side [allegedly] sabotaged them every time a result was close. Hamdan claimed that the release of the abductees was a “humanitarian issue,” and should be carried out “in both directions,” that is, the introduction of medical aid, food[2] and fuel and the “cessation of aggression” so that the people directly concerned could move freely, collect the abductees and hand them over to the authorities. He added that the Israeli side was trying to exert psychological pressure and trying to gain time to appease the Israeli public, angry at Netanyahu and his government’s handling of the issue (al-Jazeera TV website, November 12, 2023).
- Speaking on the Sputnik website in Arabic on November 10, 2023, senior Hamas terrorist Musheir al-Masri claimed a prisoner exchange agreement with Israel had been close, but was sabotaged by Israel, which did not agree to Hamas’ demand that the movement’s leaders be able to leave the Gaza Strip without being harmed. The report was quoted by other sources but was deleted from the Sputnik website (X account @_G4Z4, November 11, 2023; Shafa al-Arab website, November 10, 2023).
The Gaza Strip
Palestinian casualties
- The Hamas-controlled government information bureau in Gaza reported that as of 7:30 p.m., November 12, 2023, the number of dead in the Strip stood at 11,180 and the number of wounded at 28,200 (government information bureau in Gaza, November 12, 2023). Apparently, the publication of the number of dead and wounded, which is updated daily, has recently been transferred from the ministry of health in Gaza to the government information office.
The situation in Gaza
- Given the lack of fuel at Shifa Hospital, the IDF forces coordinated the transfer of diesel fuel to the hospital. The IDF force arrived near the hospital and delivered 300 liters of diesel fuel, intended for urgent medical purposes. However, the hospital refused the offer and the fuel was not accepted. The IDF received information that Hamas had prevented the hospital from taking the fuel. The IDF has a recording of a conversation between an IDF officer and a senior figure in the Gaza public health system who said that Yusuf Abu Rish, director general of the Hamas-controlled ministry of health in Gaza, forbade them to take the fuel (IDF spokesman, November 12, 2023).

Delivering diesel fuel to the hospital (IDF website, November 12, 2023)
- In response, Hamas claimed they were not involved in the management of Shifa Hospital and did not participate in the management’s decision-making process. Hamas claimed Israel used the suffering of children and the wounded in hospitals “as false propaganda to beautify its ugly face and obscure its crimes against humanity” (Hamas Telegram channel, November 12, 2023).
- In the shadow of the claims made by Hamas and medical officials in Gaza about the complete shutdown of all medical services at Shifa Hospital due to a lack of fuel, an al-Quds al-Arabi correspondent in Gaza published an article about the difficult situation and the crowding at the hospital. A photo of the hospital was included in the article which clearly shows all the lights burning (al-Quds al-Arabi, November 12, 2023).

Lighting and electricity at Shifa Hospital in Gaza (al-Quds al-Arabi, November 12, 2023)
- Kamal Adwan, director of the hospital in Beit Hanoun, reported the hospital had stopped functioning because it had no electricity. He also claimed that 5,000 residents had taken shelter in the hospital and could not leave. A video showed the IDF forces at the entrance to the hospital and electricity on one of the hospital floors (al-Ghad TV , November 13, 2023).

Using cooking oil to run the generator in the Indonesian hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip (Shehab X account, November 13, 2023)
- According to reports in the Palestinian media, the Jordanian Hospital, located in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in the west of Gaza City, had closed its doors and was refusing to accept residents seeking shelter (QudsN X account, November 12, 2023).

The Jordanian Hospital (QudsN X account, November 12, 2023)
- In response to the IDF’s announcements, and as part of the battle for hearts and minds, Hamas websites published videos contradicting the IDF’s reports that the northern Gaza Strip had been emptied of residents. They published photos from the crowded central market in Jabalia (Palinfo, November 12, 2023) and claimed that civilians were still in the UNRWA schools. It is unclear when the photos were taken (Wafa, November 12, 2023).

Right: The crowded market in Jabaliya (Palinfo, November 12, 2023). Left: Residents at a UNRWA school in Jabalia (Wafa YouTube channel, November 12, 2023)
- Apparently, despite airstrikes, relative peace still prevails in Khan Yunis.

Right: Residents in Khan Yunis shop at the supermarket (Wafa YouTube channel, November 12, 2023). Left: Residents from the north of the Gaza Strip arrive at Khan Yunis (Wafa YouTube channel, November 12, 2023)
Support for Gaza
- The Hezbollah-affiliated al-Mayadeen network reported that according to “political sources,” following Israeli opposition, Egypt “politely refused” to transfer humanitarian aid from Iran to the Gaza Strip. It was noted that Ebrahim Raisi, the president of Iran, raised the issue once more during his meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, when they met on the sidelines of the Riyadh summit (al-Mayadeen, November 13, 2023).
- A ship with humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip arrived from Turkey at the port of El Arish in Egypt with a cargo of about 500 tons, including medicine, medical equipment and ambulances (al-Anadolu News, November 13, 2023).
Hamas
- Senior Hamas terrorist Osama Hamdan held a press conference in Beirut where he addressed the following issues (Palinfo, November 12, 2023):
- The hospitals: He claimed Israel attacked the hospitals in Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip without warning. If in the past Israel tried to hide and evade responsibility, today it directly targeted and attacked the hospitals. He saluted the doctors and medical staff at Shifa Hospital and all hospitals for refusing to leave their jobs despite the attacks, and assigned responsibility for the “massacre” of the hospitals to anyone who remained silent or refrained from acting to stop or prevent it. He assigned primary responsibility to the American administration, and in particular President Biden, for the “crime” which was being carried out with American-made weapons and received its full support.
- The situation of the IDF: He claimed the IDF received “painful blows” around the clock, and for every meter it advanced it paid a heavy price in terms of dead, wounded and the loss of armored vehicles. The more the IDF extended itself into the streets and alleys, the more it gave the “resistance” [terrorists] the opportunity to attack its soldiers, and those who were not killed in the field by Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades bullets, burned and suffocated inside Merkava 4 tanks.
- Hamas victory: He reiterated his claim that Gaza would be a “graveyard” for Israel and its soldiers. Israel’s leaders, he claimed, tried in vain to imagine a supposed victory, because as the campaign continued they would emerge from it defeated.
- The Arab Islamic summit meeting: He said he was disappointed with the meeting’s final statement because there were no active, immediate decisions, steps or mechanisms to end the war. Hamas had expected its Arab and Muslim brothers to play their political and economic power cards to pressure the United States to immediately stop the aggression. However, the summit’s decision to break the siege on the Gaza Strip, and to enforce the immediate delivery of aid, medical aid and fuel, was a step in the right direction. The Palestinians expected an urgent implementation of the decision through the opening of the humanitarian crossings and corridors regularly and continuously, and stood side by side with Egypt to reject any restrictions or mechanisms that hindered the flow of aid to the residents of Gaza.
- Details of the Hamas attack on October 7: As part of an article in The Washington Post, senior Hamas terrorist Bassem Na’im alleged Hamas had prepared in advance for a severe Israeli response. He cited recent events, such as attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and the “settler assault” on al-Aqsa Mosque as events that fueled Palestinian anger. He added that they knew there would be a violent response to the attack but “they had no other options.” He claimed Hamas’ unwavering position regarding the return of all Palestinian lands should have clarified its intentions. Hamas acted because it believed the Palestinians were being eliminated, that the Palestinian issue was being eliminated. He said they had given Israel warning and said ,“something was coming,” and Israel should not bet on Palestinian silence, but no one listened. The Palestinians, he claimed [with a straight face], saw the attack as an “act of defense.” He said, “I was imprisoned, and I tried to get out of prison” (The Washington Post, November 12, 2023).
The Northern Arena
Lebanon
- During the past day, there was an increase in Hezbollah activity on the northern border. Following are the main events (IDF spokesman, November 12 and 13, 2023):
- On the afternoon of November 13, 2023, a barrage of rockets was fired at northern Israel.
- On the morning of November 13, 2023, two mortar launches from Lebanon entered Israeli territory and fell in an open area. Later, an anti-tank missile was fired at the Netu’a area. IDF forces responded with artillery fire (IDF, November 13, 2023).
- On the afternoon of November 12, 2023, about 15 launches were identified from Lebanese territory. The rockets reached the Haifa Bay area. Four launches were successfully intercepted and the rest fell in open areas. Hamas’ military-terrorist wing in Lebanon claimed responsibility for firing rockets at northern Haifa, Shlomi and Nahariya in response to “the massacres and aggression of the occupation in Gaza” (Hamas’ military-terrorist wing’s Telegram channel, November 12, 2023). IDF forces fired artillery at the launching sources in Lebanese territory.
- On November 12, 2023, several mortar shells were fired at the Manara area. Seven soldiers sustained superficial injuries.
- In the afternoon, anti-tank missiles were fired at the Israeli moshav Dovev. Several civilians, Israel Electric Corporation employees, were wounded; one of them later died of his wounds. In response, IDF forces attacked the launching squad in Lebanese territory. They also attacked two squads that fired mortar shells in the Manara and Yaroun areas.

Attack on the anti-tank launching squad at Dovev (IDF website, November 12, 2023)
- Hezbollah claimed responsibility for all incidents except the rocket launches. In response, IDF aircraft attacked Hezbollah targets, including a military compound where there were a weapons storehouse and military infrastructure. They also attacked an armed terrorist squad in Lebanese territory (IDF spokesman, November 12, 2023).

IDF Attack on Hezbollah targets (IDF website, November 12, 2023)
Hezbollah fatalities
- Hezbollah announced the death of Jawad Hussam al-Bizal, aka Ali al-Hadi, from the town of Al-Bizaliyah in the Beqa’a Valley. It was noted that he was killed as a “shaheed (martyr) on the way to Jerusalem” without specifying the time or location of the incident (Hezbollah’s combat information Telegram channel, November 12, 2023).

Hezbollah fatality (Hezbollah’s combat information Telegram channel, November 12, 2023)
Hezbollah
- On November 11, 2023, the British Times website published an interview with a senior Hezbollah terrorist who said that if Hezbollah felt there was a 50% chance Hamas would be destroyed, it would go to war against Israel. Hezbollah’s media relations department denied the interview, claiming that it was unprofessional behavior and the moral deterioration of Western media in general and of that news website in particular (al-Mayadeen, November 12, 2023).
Palestinians
- Senior Hamas figure Ali Baraka called on the Palestinian organizations in Lebanon to establish military wings in the refugee camps to prepare for the “war of liberation and return.” Baraka said he was not telling the military wings to go out and fight now, but they had to prepare for a war to “liberate” and return to Palestine in a year or two (al-Nashra, November 12, 2023).
UNIFIL
- UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti reported that shortly after midnight, UNIFIL staff members encountered gunfire in the al-Quzah area (about 3 km northeast of Shtula) and a soldier was wounded. He said the source of the shooting was unknown and an investigation had been initiated. He stressed that any attack on areas near UNIFIL outposts and any use of its outposts to carry out attacks on Israeli territory were unacceptable. He reminded both sides of their duty to protect the force members and avoid harming civilians or UN personnel (UNIFIL Telegram channel, November 12, 2023).
Lebanese army
- According to reports, the economic assistance that the United States provides to the Lebanese army to pay salaries, following the financial crisis in the country, is expected to expire at the end of the current month, November 2023. According to a Western diplomatic source, the United States is not expected to transfer additional funds to pay the salaries of Lebanese army soldiers, but it will continue to provide aid to the army. It was noted that since 2006, the United States had transferred over $3 billion in aid to the Lebanese army. A total of $180 million of the sum was transferred in 2023, most of it for the maintenance of military vehicles and the purchase of equipment (al-Sharq al-Awsat, November 11, 2023).
Lebanese government
- Najib Mikati, prime minister of Lebanon’s interim government, said Lebanon was not interested in war and would not take any step that could spark further wars in the region. Mikati said Hezbollah was acting patriotically and he relied on its judgment. He also said they had prepared an emergency plan for three months in case a war broke out in Lebanon (al-Jazeera, November 12, 2023).
- A Lebanese opposition delegation met with Najib Mikati to discuss the danger facing the Lebanese army. Opposition representatives asked to postpone the dismissal of Lebanese army commander Joseph Aoun for a year. Sami al-Gemayel, chairman of the Phalange Party, who attended the meeting, said that although they disagreed, the army was a consensus and was outside of quarrels and political disagreements. He said there was no alternative but to postpone the dismissal of the army commander for one year until the election of a president. He noted that Prime Minister Mikati also thought so, but he did not act alone in the government (al-Nashra, November 12, 2023).
Syria
- According to reports, during October 2023, more than 700 fighters of the nukhba forces (elite fighting forces), including fighters trained by Hezbollah and the IRGC, arrived in areas around and near the Golan Heights, in the rural area of Quneitra, the rural area west of Damascus, and parts of the rural area west of Daraa. The forces include fighters of the Syrian Resistance for the Liberation of the Golan militia (al-Muqawama al-Suriya li-Tahrir al-Julan)[3] and Syrian, Iraqi, Palestinian and other fighters from additional countries. It was noted that they arrived in several phases and without coordination with the Syrian army command (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, November 12, 2023).
Judea, Samaria, and the Palestinian Authority
Preventive and counterterrorism activities
- During the past day, the Israeli security forces in Judea and Samaria detained 36 wanted Palestinians, 14 of them Hamas operatives. Since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip, more than 1,650 wanted Palestinians have been detained, about 950 of them Hamas terrorist operatives (IDF spokesman’s website, November 13, 2023). The following were the main events:
- On November 13, 2023, IDF forces operated in Hebron and Beita (south of Hebron) and sealed the offices of Hamas’ Islamic Charity Association and confiscated funds and computer equipment (IDF spokesman, November 13, 2023). During the activity in Hebron, the Palestinians reported that a Palestinian taxi driver had been killed by IDF gunfire (Ma’an, November 13, 2023). The incident is under investigation by the IDF (IDF spokesman, November 13, 2023).
- IDF forces in Nablus confiscated incitement materials from a printing press (IDF spokesman, November 13, 2023).

Right: Sealing the building of Hamas’ Islamic Charity Association in Hebron (Wafa YouTube channel, November 13, 2023). Left: Incitement materials confiscated from a printing press in Nablus (IDF spokesman, November 13, 2023)
- A lathe containing four machines for manufacturing weapons was found in the activity in Hebron (IDF website, November 12, 2023; IDF spokesman’s X account, November 12, 2023).

The lathe found (IDF spokesman’s X account, November 12, 2023)
Palestinian Authority
- Nabil Abu Rudeina, spokesman for Mahmoud Abbas’ office, said the Gaza Strip was an integral part of the Palestinian territories controlled by the PLO and Israel’s attempts to cut off the Gaza Strip would fail (Wafa, November 12, 2023).
- PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting that they were doing everything in their power to save the residents of the Gaza Strip, stop the war and allow aid to enter the Gaza Strip. Shtayyeh stressed that they were postponing the construction of temporary tent camps and were demanding that the residents return to their homes, because in their experience, everything temporary was permanent. In addition, Shtayyeh called on the UN and the European Union to transfer aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip and open other aid crossings besides the Rafah Crossing. Regarding Israel’s decision to deduct the PA’s annual funding for the Gaza Strip from the tax revenues, Shtayyeh noted that international efforts were being made and pressure exerted on Israel to release the funds. Shtayyeh also criticized the policy of the Israeli prime minister, who opposed the PA’s return to the Gaza Strip, stressing that the Gaza Strip was an integral part of the PA (Muhammad Shtayyeh’s Facebook page, November 13, 2023).
- Riyadh al-Maliki, Palestinian foreign minister, gave a speech at the UNESCO General Conference in Paris. He called for active steps to be taken to protect the Palestinians and their heritage and for a UNESCO monitoring mission to be sent to Gaza, Jerusalem and elsewhere. He called on the Executive Council to visit the Palestinian territories to see up close Israel’s actions against them (PA foreign ministry’s Facebook page, November 13, 2023).
Iran
- Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC’s aerospace arm, told a conference in Tehran that the issue of Gaza had now become global and all the peoples of the world understood the extent of the “crimes of the Zionist regime.” He said the victory of the Palestinian fighters was a “great strategic victory” that could not be destroyed by tactical means, crimes or the murder of children. Referring to Iran’s response to the possibility of extending the war to Lebanon and Hezbollah, Hajizadeh said the war had already spread and Lebanon was involved in it, and the scope of the clashes might increase even more. He said the future was uncertain, but Iran was prepared for any situation. He claimed that the United States did not threaten Iran and that all the American messages to Iran were sent as requests rather than threats (Tasnim, November 13, 2023).
- Nasser Kanani, spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry, said that Iran was continuing its diplomatic activity at the regional and international levels to bring an end to the Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip and for the delivery of humanitarian aid. Referring to the Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh, Kanani said the summit was a success and its decisions were strong, but the Palestinian people expected the Muslim countries to take practical steps. He added that Iran did not hide its support for the “resistance groups” in the region and would continue to provide them with moral and political support. According to Kanani, Operation al-Aqsa Storm proved that the “resistance” [terrorist organizations] had the ability and power to plan, decide and carry out actions and “defend itself” against the “Zionist regime.” He noted that the “resistance groups” did not receive instructions from Iran and that they acted according to their own interests and those of their people. Kanani added that Iran’s position was that the only solution to the problem of Palestine was the establishment of one Palestinian state from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea. Referring to the possibility of expanding the war, the spokesman for the Iranian ministry of foreign affairs said that continued American support for the “crimes of the Zionist regime” and its opposition to establishing a ceasefire could lead to the expansion of the campaign to additional fronts by the “resistance” (Fars, November 13, 2023).
Activity of pro-Iranian militias
Iraq and Syria
- The attacks against United States Army bases in Iraq and Syria continued, mainly using drones. During the past day, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for an attack on a base in the Green Village area of Syria (Islamic Resistance Telegram channel, November 13, 2023). It was also reported that four American soldiers were killed when Grad missiles hit the Koniko base in eastern Syria (al-Mayadeen, November 13, 2023).
- Lloyd Austin, the American secretary of defense, said that in response to the attacks against Americans in Syria and Iraq, the United States military attacked targets of the Revolutionary Guards and Iranian branches. Among the sites attacked were training facilities and a safe house (Reuters, November 12, 2023). The sites attacked were reportedly in the area between Albukamal and Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria. It was also reported that a Syrian soldier was killed and another was wounded (Saberin News Telegram channel, November 13, 2023).
The Arab Arena
Qatar
- Tamim bin Hamad, Emir of Qatar, spoke by phone with American President Joe Biden. He stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire, efforts to release the prisoners, stopping the bloodshed, protecting civilians, and fully opening the Rafah Crossing (al-Jazeera, November 12, 2023).
The International Arena
European Union
- Josep Borrell, EU foreign policy chief, called on Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release all the abductees. He also called on Israel to maintain restraint, cease fire and allow the opening of humanitarian corridors, including by sea. Borrell said Israel had the full right to defend itself in accordance with international law and condemned Hamas’ use of hospitals and civilians as human shields (EU website, November 12, 2023).
- Hamas issued a statement rejecting Borrell’s statement that Hamas was using hospitals and civilians as human shields, stressing that it was a distortion of the facts by capitulating to Israel’s false narrative, and that his statement supported Israel in carrying out more “massacres” against defenseless civilians. Hamas called on him to immediately retract his remarks (Hamas Telegram channel in Judea and Samaria, November 13, 2023).
Germany
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that in light of the calls around the world for stopping the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he opposed an immediate ceasefire, since it would allow Hamas to regroup and rearm itself (Agence France-Presse, November 12, 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] Food, water and medicine are delivered to the southern Gaza Strip. ↑
[3] A Hezbollah-supported militia. See an April 2023 report on the militia: On April 24, 2023, more than 20 shells were fired at a post manned by operatives of the Syrian Resistance for the Liberation of the Golan militia in the Quneitra area, near the Israeli border. The post was set up by Hezbollah and was subordinate to it (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, April 24, 2023). ↑