Israel At War Monday Feb 26

Israel at war day 143

-According to Al-Jazeera, these are the concessions Israel made in Paris: 

400 prisoners in exchange for the 40 hostages. They will include very "heavy" prisoners. 

 A gradual return of internal refugees to northern Gaza, not including males of "military age."

 An IDF withdrawal from the most heavily populated areas. 

A cessation of aerial surveillance for eight hours a day. 

- Biden hints at ceasefire: Asked about when he hopes to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, President Biden responded while eating ice cream in NYC, "Well I hope by the beginning of the weekend. I mean the end of the weekend. At least my national security advisor tells me that we're close. My hope is by next Monday, we'll have a ceasefire." 

- Bagatz The High Court of Justice orders the government to explain why it should not annul a government resolution passed in June 2023 which instructed the IDF not to draft ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students for nine months, and, by extension, why it should not begin drafting such men.

- The High Court al issues an interim order determining that a provision of the law for military service which provides those individual with service exemptions if they are not drafted within two years of turning 18 shall not apply to yeshiva students who have not been drafted because of the government’s resolution, a further indication that the court believes the petitions to have merit.(TOI)

- Only 22% of Israelis support the continued exemption of Charedim from the IDF draft, according to a new survey published on Monday by Hiddush, an NGO campaigning for religious freedom and equality.

- Hezbollah rocket attacks 60 rockets launched against the Golan Heights in the last hour.  

- Over 50 Hamas terrorists eliminated today in Gaza. Terrorists have returned to northern gaza areas that were cleared by IDF.

- The IDF says it bombed Hezbollah's air defense systems in the Lebanon Valley, after Hezbollah took out a sophisticated IDF UAV earlier today. 

 - US soldier who had set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington over the weekend in an apparent act of protest against the war in Gaza has died.

- Official downplays hostage deal  says main disagreement is ‘end of fighting, IDF leaving Gaza,’ as negotiating team joins Qatar talks for potential temporary truce, agreement to free captives

-  Intelligence noted the night before Hamas's October 7 invasion that hundreds of Hamas members were switching on Israeli SIM cards, the censor finally cleared for publication on Monday, more than four months later.

The fact that so many Hamas members were switching to Israeli SIM cards could have been strong evidence of a potential invasion. Senior IDF officials were notified about it at the time but brushed it off. 

- The prospect of an Israeli-Saudi normalization deal remains a possibility as diplomats move to leverage the deal amid ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. (Atlantic)