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On the 117th day of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, the Hamas movement called on human rights organizations to document the crime of Israel’s execution of 30 handcuffed Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip, while Israeli incursions into areas in the West Bank continued.

Gaza strip

The Israeli occupation forces continued to bomb residential areas and displaced persons’ gatherings, while the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced that the occupation had committed 16 massacres in the Strip, claiming 150 martyrs and 313 injured during the past 24 hours, bringing the number of victims of the aggression to 26,900 martyrs and 65,949 injured. Since last October 7.

Al Jazeera's correspondent said that the occupation blew up a residential square in the center of Khan Yunis Governorate on Wednesday morning, and bombed with artillery the center and west of the governorate, while the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that the Israeli occupation forces stormed the courtyard of Al Amal Hospital, west of Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip.

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), published a video clip showing its fighters clashing with the occupation forces in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, west of Gaza City.

On the other hand, Hamas called on human rights organizations to document the crime of Israel’s execution of 30 handcuffed Palestinians in a school that the occupation was besieging in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, while the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said that finding the bodies of 30 martyrs - handcuffed - is clear evidence of “the crime of execution.” Zionism” against them, and that there is increasing data indicating that detainees from Gaza have been subjected to executions as the genocide in the Strip continues.

UNRWA Agency

Wednesday witnessed the continuation of the Israeli campaign against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claiming that it had been infiltrated by the Hamas movement, adding that its mission must be ended immediately.

In turn, European Union foreign policy official Josep Borrell said that he agrees with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that what is happening in Gaza is “a wound to our common conscience,” adding that UNRWA’s life-saving work is the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza, calling for a rapid response. Due to the problem of the involvement of some of its employees in the Hamas attack on October 7.

Since January 26, 18 countries and the European Union have decided to suspend their funding to UNRWA, based on Israel’s allegations that 12 of the agency’s employees participated in the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023 against military bases and settlements. Israeli in the Gaza Strip.

West Bank

The Palestinian Prisoners' and Ex-Prisoners' Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners' Club said on Wednesday that the Israeli occupation forces launched a new arrest campaign in the West Bank, targeting about 28 Palestinians, including two women, raising the total number of detainees in the West Bank since October 7 to 6,240 Palestinians.

The Commission and the Club explained that the arrest campaign was concentrated in the governorates of Nablus, Ramallah, and Qalqilya, while the rest of the arrests were distributed among the governorates of Bethlehem, Jenin, and Jerusalem.

On Wednesday evening, Al Jazeera's correspondent said that the Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Qabalan, south of the city of Nablus in the West Bank, and launched raids and arrests of citizens.

Lebanon

Israeli media outlets, including Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper and Ynet website, said that the Israeli army decided - on Wednesday - to reduce the number of soldiers stationed in the Israeli areas near the Lebanese border and to reduce the number of military forces deployed in the region.

On the ground, Lebanese Hezbollah said that it targeted with missiles a gathering of Israeli occupation soldiers in Al-Tihat Hill in southern Lebanon, achieving a direct hit. Its fighters also targeted the Israeli Al-Manara colony with appropriate weapons, which led to a direct hit on one of the buildings.

Israeli Army Radio said that sirens were activated in Shlomi in the Upper Galilee after detecting the fall of two shells fired from southern Lebanon. On the other hand, reports spoke of 3 Israeli raids targeting areas between the towns of Hanin and Al-Tiri in southern Lebanon.

The Red Sea

The military spokesman for the Ansar Allah group (Houthis), Yahya Saree, announced that the group fired missiles at the American destroyer USS Greeley in the Red Sea, hours after the US army announced that it shot down a Houthi missile in the region.

The spokesman said - in a statement broadcast on the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV - that the group plans to continue targeting American and British warships in the Red Sea in self-defense.

On the other hand, American forces said that they destroyed a Houthi missile that represented an "imminent threat" to American aircraft. The Houthis also spoke in the evening that American and British forces had launched a number of air strikes on Saada Governorate, northwest of the country.

Political developments

The Wall Street Journal quoted American officials as saying that Washington is pressing for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip long enough to stop Israel's military momentum. The newspaper added that American negotiators believe that it is difficult for Israel to resume the war at its current strength after a long pause.

Meanwhile, Israeli Channel 12 said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed the families of Israeli detainees in the Gaza Strip that he would approve a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas that would not harm Israel’s security, even if it led to the collapse of his government.

The same channel quoted Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich as saying that halting the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip for a month for the sake of the exchange deal may jeopardize the entire war and result in very high prices in the Gaza Strip and on other fronts. The extremist minister added: "We are prepared to bear high prices for the hostage deal, but why does the Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, not pay it and not us?"

In turn, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani stressed that his country's goal is to end the talks and mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel as soon as possible, put an end to the war on Gaza, and return the detainees.

In a statement to the American National Radio "NPR" (NPR), the Qatari Prime Minister said that he hopes "that nothing will happen that would undermine our efforts, or jeopardize the process," adding that the Qatari mediation had achieved results that the fighting had not achieved, including the release of... More than 100 detainees, explaining that "the operation proved successful. The military operation did not do that, it was the opposite. In fact, some of them were killed."

In turn, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid Al-Ansari told the American “PBS” network today that the negotiations between Hamas and Israel “are at a good moment now,” and the parties have reached many matters that have eluded the mediators for two months.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman added that Hamas announced that it had received a draft and was discussing it, noting that this matter was two weeks ago.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies