Despite the IDF’s warnings to Israel and the United States, Trump continued to make statements against the Palestinian people and his designs on Gaza: “I am committed to acquiring and controlling the Gaza Strip,” adding that “Arab countries could take part in its reconstruction. There is no going back, these are ruins.”
On February 9, Trump said in a television interview: “We will rebuild Gaza through other rich countries in the Middle East. Gaza is in a unique real estate position that we cannot abandon. The Palestinians will not want to return to Gaza if we provide them with a better alternative. There is no right for the Palestinians to return to Gaza under the plan to control the Strip.”
French President Macron had a telephone conversation with Egyptian President al-Sisi. The presidents stressed that “any forced displacement of the Palestinian population, whether in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, will be unacceptable.”
The US State Department has approved the sale of Hellfire missiles to Israel worth $660 million.
Benjamin Netanyahu said: “I returned from the United States with a new vision without Hamas and without the Palestinian authorities. The Americans praised, above all, the elimination of the great murderers Haniyeh, Sinwar and, of course, Nasrallah, who broke the axis of evil. Most of you supported the end of the war at a very early stage, before all these results were achieved: think what would have happened if I had surrendered to you.”
“The Arab and Gulf countries must finance the reconstruction of Gaza, and this is their chance to show their interest in the Strip,” he added.
The corruption trial against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resumed in Tel Aviv on January 10.
In a message to the press in the afternoon, the spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Ubaida: “Over the past three weeks, the resistance leadership has monitored the enemy’s violations and failure to comply with the terms of the agreement. Delaying the return of displaced persons in the northern Gaza Strip, targeting them with bombings and shootings in various areas of the Strip, and not bringing relief materials in all their forms as agreed, while the resistance fulfilled all its obligations.” For this reason, on February 15, “the scheduled prisoner exchange will not take place due to Israel’s violations of the agreements until further notice and until the occupation commits and compensates the rights of the past weeks, with retroactive effect, and we affirm our commitment to the terms of the agreement as long as the occupation commits to respect them.” The Prime Minister of Israel will hold consultations on “security.”
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz: “Qatar is angry over Netanyahu’s failure to send a delegation to Doha on Monday to begin negotiations for the second phase. Qatar conveyed angry messages and reminded Israel that this agreement also includes it as a guarantor of its implementation. Qatar explained that Israel’s behavior threatens the continuation of the release of prisoners in the first phase.”
On February 8, Iranian leader Ali Khamenei meets with senior Hamas officials in Tehran, amid ovations at the celebrations for the Iranian revolution.
Arab affairs analyst at i24 Channel Amichai Stein says: “The threat from Hamas is real, but it is also surprising, and it has come at a time when Israel has lost all its pressure cards. Especially after the withdrawal from the Netzarim axis, Gazans have been able to move freely in the northern Gaza Strip.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree canceling the legal articles related to the system of payment of financial allocations to the families of prisoners, martyrs and the wounded from the Ministry of Development to the Palestinian National Foundation for Economic Empowerment.
Lebanon finally has a government on February 8. Two ministers ended up going to Hezbollah and three to the Amal party. Among the key ministers is the minister for the economy, BlackRock money manager Amer Bisat, who will try to pull the cash-strapped country out of one of the world’s worst financial crises, mainly due to US sanctions on Syrian investors.
Hezbollah held a women’s rally today to denounce comments made by US envoy Morgan Ortagus at the presidential palace in Baabda, where he thanked Israel for their military operation in Lebanon and his subsequent visit to the village of Ter Harfa, Lebanon
And now a look at the military scenarios updated at 18:00 on February 10.
Clash between the Lebanese and Syrian armies on the borders between Lebanon and Syria. The Syrian attack was coordinated with Israel although the IDF has not confirmed it, the areas of clash between Syria and Lebanon, are the same in the area of the Beeqa Valley attacked by Israeli jets.
The Lebanese president has asked the tribes to lay down their weapons and let the army fight against the Syrian forces. The order to respond to the Syrian attack comes after a phone call between Aoun and al Jawlani.
The Syrian security forces claimed to have foiled an attempt to smuggle missiles and weapons to Kurdish forces in northern Syria. Local Lebanese accounts say that Syrian forces are attacking several Lebanese border towns with rockets and mortars. They are also sending reinforcements to the border.
According to Hezbollah’s Al-Mayadeen, the new Syrian army has kidnapped 14 Lebanese civilians from the Syrian town of Al-Haweek, including women and children. They are Lebanese Shiite families living in this border town, some of them married to Syrians. They have been living there for many decades. The Syrians say they have taken over the entire mountainous area south of Haweek.
They entered Lebanese territory by reaching Qasr e Hermel. This area included much of Hezbollah’s infrastructure, including the largest known tunnel (length: 3,500 m) dug for this purpose, to transport weapons from Syria to Lebanon. It is located 3.7 km south of Haweek. Its entrance was destroyed by Israel during the war.
Three Lebanese were killed and at least 10 were injured. The Syrian army is trying to enter the areas of Qanafez and Al-Safwa always on the border of Hermel and casualties are reported on the Lebanese side. On February 8, intense clashes on the border between Lebanon and Syria, particularly in the area of Matraba. Residents of the city of Al-Shawagir closed the road leading to Matraba and illegal crossings to smuggle diesel to and from Syria. A family of 4 was injured in the Israeli attack in Beqaa on the evening of the 9th. Also on February 10, several explosions were heard in southern Lebanon.
In the last hours, the Lebanese army entered the city of Rab-a-Tlatin, located in front of the Ramim Misgav Am ridge, in the eastern sector. The IDF, which is still active in the nearby Lebanese villages (Adaissah), has set up checkpoints and earthworks in front of the new positions of the Lebanese Army in the area
On February 10, a new wave of raids was reported in Lebanon, sonic booms were heard in the Beirut area. Over the weekend, Janta was hit once again. Israeli drones continued to violate Lebanese airspace over the mountain of al-Rayhan and Iqlim al-Tuffah. New Israeli demolitions targeting civilian homes and villas in Yaroun
Aadaysit and Kfarkila are still fully occupied and are subject to daily demolitions, demolitions also reported in Kfarkila and Mays al-Jabal
An Israeli airstrike hits between Romeem and Azza, several kilometers north of the Litani River in Iqleem al-Tuffah. Israeli attacks have been reported north of the Litani for several days. At least 4 airstrikes targeted the deep Al-Zahrani River in southern Lebanon
A massive explosion was recorded in Kiryat Shmona on February 10.
The Netzarim area has been accessible since February 9 following the withdrawal of Israeli troops. The IDF is reducing its reserve forces in the Gaza Strip: the 99th Reserve Division and the Harel Reserve Brigade were relieved from operations in Gaza and left the Strip. The IDF maintains its smallest divisional force in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war. The 99th Division, which had occupied the Netzarim Corridor for the past three months, was withdrawn from the Gaza Strip. The “Harel” Reserve Brigade (10th Brigade) also completed its reserve phase in the Netzarim area and its fighters were sent home. There are currently only two IDF divisions operating in the Gaza Strip, the smallest number of divisions operating in the Strip since October 7, 2023. The 162nd Division occupies the northern part of the buffer zone and protects the northern settlements of the encirclement, from Mazikim to Bari. The Gaza Division occupies the southern part of the buffer zone and protects the southern settlements of the perimeter – from Bari to Kerem Shalom, as well as the Philadelphia Axis.
In the IDF version: “Throughout the weekend, the IDF acted to remove several suspects who approached and posed a threat to IDF troops operating in several locations of the Gaza Strip”.
War Minister Israel Katz instructs the army to increase its level of readiness and preparation after the resistance announces a halt to the release of Israeli prisoners
The West Bank is experiencing the forced displacement of approximately 40,000 Palestinian refugees from the northern West Bank, with the escalation of Israeli military operations. Clashes were also reported in Tulkarm on February 10. On February 9, the IDF shot and killed a pregnant woman after she managed to get out of her car following the killing of her husband by the IDF in Tulkarm. According to the IDF’s initial investigation, the victim looked “suspiciously at the ground” after getting out of the car, so the soldiers shot her.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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