GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 244

Neither Side Is Budging, Again

IDF Hits UN School

The international community like the lemmings they are, are condemning the Israel Defence Force (IDF) of putting civilians in danger as they take out 20-30 terrorists working out of a United Nations school as we read in a report from The Times Of Israel:

The Israel Defense Forces carried out an airstrike on what it said was a compound used by dozens of Hamas fighters inside a United Nations school in central Gaza before dawn on Thursday.

According to the IDF, they were careful about it:

The IDF said it took extensive precautions to reduce harm to civilians in the “precise strike” on the compound embedded within a UNRWA school in Nuseirat, where 20-30 terrorists, some of whom participated in the October 7 onslaught, were gathered.

Palestinian civilians displaced by the war were also sheltering at the school.

The terrorists were only in three classrooms and away from where the civilians were sheltering:

According to the military, the members of the terror groups were struck while gathered in three classrooms, separate from an area where civilians were sheltering.

As usual, Hamas is calling this offensive a mass execution:

The Hamas-run government media office claimed at least 27 people were killed in what it termed the Israeli “massacre.” UNRWA communications director Juliette Touma told Reuters that the number of those reported killed in the Israeli offensive on the Nuseirat school was between 35 and 45, but the number could not confirmed at this stage, she added.

While Touma was not clear on how many died nor did she make the distinction between terrorists and civilians if there was one, the IDF was more precise:

It was not immediately clear how many of those killed were members of terror groups. The IDF said that an unspecified number of terrorists were killed in the strike.

The IDF said the compound was used by members of Hamas’s elite Nukhba force who took part in the terror group’s October 7 massacre in Israel, in which some 1,200 were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

The army said the terrorists, along with members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group, “directed terror attacks from the area of the school, while exploiting it as a civilian location and as shelter.”

The IDF went on to add more details:

“The strike eliminated terrorists who had planned to carry out terror attacks and advance imminent terror schemes against our forces,” the IDF said, adding that “many steps were taken before the strike to minimize the risk of harm to uninvolved people” — including analyzing aerial footage and using precise intelligence.

As I alluded to earlier. the legacy media is already claiming that innocent children were killed, but their source is Hamas which we know is always lying about things. The IDF will release more information about who died when they can confirm it, but for now the pig piling on Israel will continue until any truthful journalists actually wait until the real facts come out.

Hamas: Take The Deal

In an article from The Jerusalem Post we see that close to 20 countries are telling Hamas to take the offer on the table, which is a first for all these hostage deals. Usually all the pressure is on Israel. Lost in all of these negotiations is that civilians from other countries are still captives:

Some 17 countries, including the US, issued a joint statement on Thursday backing the latest proposal for the release of the remaining 124 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

“There is no time to lose,” said the statement issued by countries whose citizens are among the captives. “We call on Hamas to close this agreement, that Israel is ready to move forward with, and begin the process of releasing our citizens,” the statement said.

The report outlines what we already know about the deal:

The deal allows for the release of humanitarian hostages in its first six weeks in exchange for a lull to the war. It also outlines a negotiating process that could bring about an end to the war and the release of all the hostages, as well as set the stage for day-after plans and the reconstruction of Gaza.

“We note that this agreement would lead to an immediate ceasefire and rehabilitation of Gaza together with security assurances for Israelis and Palestinians, and opportunities for a more enduring long-term peace and a two-state solution,” the statement read.

If you’re like me, you already know what’s going to happen with this, but let’s continue reading:

“At this decisive moment, we call on the leaders of Israel as well as Hamas to make whatever final compromises are necessary to close this deal and bring relief to the families of our hostages, as well as those on both sides of this terrible conflict, including the civilian populations.

“It is time for the war to end, and this deal is the necessary starting point,” they added.

The list of countries are seen next:

Those nations that signed the letter were Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The G7 and the European Union have also backed the deal. CIA Director William Burns and US special envoy Brett McGurk were in the region to work on Thursday with mediating countries — Egypt and Qatar— to help close the deal.

Some are hopeful Hamas and Israel will agree, but that’s not what is happening now:

Talks involving the Qatari, Egyptian, and US mediators have shown no sign of a breakthrough, two Egyptian security sources said.

The talks in Qatar were aimed at finding a formula that could reassure Hamas over its demand for guarantees that the deal would deliver a complete cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip and a full Israeli withdrawal from the territory, the Egyptian sources said.

Hamas expressed concerns about some provisions of the proposal, especially the second phase, the sources added.

As we will see next, Hamas isn’t about to take the deal.

Rejected

We learn in an article from The Jewish News Syndicate that Hamas has already said no to the current offer:

Hamas has rejected the Israeli hostage-ceasefire deal, claiming that it is fundamentally different than the one presented by U.S. President Joe Biden on May 31, the Saudi daily Asharq al-Awsat reported on Thursday.

The Gaza-based terror group sent a clarification memorandum to the Palestinian terror factions on Wednesday, the text of which was seen by the news outlet. It claims that the current proposal “does not promise a permanent ceasefire, the occupation’s forces will remain in Gaza, and when they receive the hostages, they will renew the destruction against our nation.”

It’s clear that Hamas wants to survive the war and will use the hostages to do it. They have said that the war must end before they talk about releasing those still held captive:

Hamas is demanding an end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Strip, two conditions Jerusalem rejects. The Israeli War Cabinet’s goals remain the same: returning the hostages, defeating Hamas as a military and political force in Gaza and ensuring that Gaza can never again threaten Israel. Hamas has pledged multiple repeats of its Oct. 7 atrocities.

Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha confirmed to the Qatari news outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed the terrorist group’s demands for a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive Israeli withdrawal.

Israel hasn’t officially received a reply from Hamas and isn’t even going to talk about it until then:

An Israeli official told Kan News on Thursday that Jerusalem has not received a formal reply from Hamas regarding the proposal.

The War Cabinet decided on Wednesday not to send a delegation to Qatar until Hamas provides a formal answer. The Cabinet was again scheduled to meet on Thursday night, but that meeting was canceled, along with a broader Security Cabinet meeting.

According to US officials, Hamas is on the clock now:

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday “the ball is in Hamas’s court.”

“We are waiting for a response from Hamas,” said Sullivan. He acknowledged that the terror group in Gaza might well choose to continue the conflict instead.

“That wouldn’t be terribly out of character for a vicious and brutal terror group, but what we hope they do in the end is see that the best pathway to an end to this war, the return of all the hostages, a surge of humanitarian assistance, is to accept this proposal,” he added.

“The onus is on Hamas and will remain on Hamas until we get a formal response from them,” said Sullivan.

I can save everyone a lot of time by saying neither side is changing. Hamas won’t give up the hostages until the war ends permanently. Israel won’t stop fighting until Hamas is gone. Don’t take it from me. Listen to what they have been saying for months now. It’s not difficult to decipher at all. Unless you’re playing political games and want to look like the hero riding in on a white horse or a politician angling for a Nobel Peace prize and winning the Jewish and Muslim vote in the November elections, even a caveman can figure it out.