The IDF has released some photos of hundreds of probable “unlawful combatants”. These are all men who either surrendered or were captured during IDF operations in the northern Gaza strip. Some of them may be innocent civilians who were unable to leave when Israel opened a safe route for them to move south. All of them will be interrogated and those who have no Hamas ties will be released. All of them have stripped to their underwear in order to be sure they are not wearing explosive ‘suicide’ vests. It’s interesting to me to note that CNN did mention why they appear as they do, but France 24, in their usual anti-Israel fashion, only hinted that there may be civilians among the “alleged militants” and claimed they were asking the iDF for clarification (which, in the version I saw, was provided at the same time together with the photos).
The term “unlawful combatants” is used by the IDF to differentiate between terrorists and prisoners of war. This is because a prisoner of war is entitled to certain rights that an unlawful combatant does not get. The IDF operates under the international rules of war. Hamas does not.
In looking at the pictures I was struck by the fact that most of them appear to be young men, and therefore, probably Hamas terrorists. That may be an indication that internal discipline in some surrounded Hamas units is beginning to break down. Taken along with the confrontations between civilians and Hamas guards over the distribution of humanitarian aid this might also show that Hamas rule is approaching collapse. One further indicator of this is a report of arguments in the Hamas high command about releasing hostages. There may be voices that favor the release of all the hostages as soon as possible, but in return for what? Another “pause”?
The UN secretary general is trying to get a Security Council resolution ordering a cease-fire in Gaza. He never tried to do such a thing for Ukraine (probably because Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council and with veto power). The UN ought to be thinking about disbanding UNRWA. UNRWA has reported that it is unable to function freely inside Gaza, and that some relief efforts have collapsed under the weight of so many new displaced Palestinians.
Egypt is also worried by the large number of “refugees”, and is erecting new barriers to contain them if they manage to break through the gates at the Rafah Crossing. Currently Egypt has only allowed some critically injured Palestinians in need of special medical treatment to go through, along with holders of other foreign passports.
Wetherhorn 