Israeli Military Rescues Four Hostages, Kills Hundreds Of Palestinians
Plus: Where do ceasefire talks stand now? // Palestinians describe torture in Israeli custody
We learned yesterday of an intense – and intensely bloody – Israeli military mission that resulted in the rescue of four hostages from Gaza, and the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians.
The key details: The rescue took place in Nuseirat (not Rafah, notably), and the Israeli mission to recover the captives appeared to involve both heavy ground fighting and a coordinated air raid. Palestinian officials said the mission resulted in more than 200 people killed (later they put the number at 274) and at least 400 wounded, while Israeli officials estimated there were fewer than 100 casualties. Reports from the ground appear to belie the Israeli claim. One hospital official told The New York Times they saw more than 100 bodies at their specific location alone. A doctor said, “The whole hospital became one giant emergency room, even as people came looking for their dead relatives.”
Note: The casualties from this Israeli mission were not necessarily militants, nor even members of the Hamas political organization, but rather Palestinians in general. The total death toll in Gaza is now around 37,000, according to Palestinian health officials.
The al-Nuseirat refugee camp was among several heavily hit locations, according to reports. And the U.S. military acknowledged, “An area south of the [U.S.-constructed humanitarian pier] was used by the Israelis to safely return the hostages to Israel.”
The unthinkable bloodshed in this mission should not be an afterthought. Palestinians as a population did not agree or contribute to militants’ plans to take hostages on Oct. 7 any more than the Israeli captives agreed to be taken as hostages.
The United States was involved in the mission. The Israelis acted on intelligence provided by American military personnel working in Israel, The Washington Post and other outlets reported.
Where Do Ceasefire Talks Stand Now?
I recently reported on President Joe Biden’s speech outlining a potential ceasefire deal that he said came from Israel. In essence, it would immediately end hostilities and slowly withdraw Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip in tandem with the gradual exchange of hostages, living and dead, for Palestinians held by Israel. Several commentators quickly pointed out that the deal was very similar to a Hamas-proposed deal from a few weeks ago.
I noted in my report that a key Israeli demand appeared to be missing from the deal – the complete destruction of Hamas’ military and governing capacity. As I wrote previously, Israel has been quite clear that the destruction of Hamas is their key goal in the war. This has been the source of some conflict within Israel, especially among the families of hostages, many of whom for months have pressed the government to reach a hostage exchange deal even without the destruction of Hamas.
So it was no surprise when Israel appeared to back away from the deal. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, after Biden’s speech detailing the proposed deal, insisted that Israel would destroy "Hamas's military and governing capabilities,” which Biden had not mentioned, and also that Israel would “continue the war” until its goals were met – contrary to the proposed deal, which outlined an immediate end to hostilities as the troop withdrawal and hostage exchange occurred.
The Biden administration has pressured Hamas to accept the deal Biden laid out, with State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller saying, “The world should know, the Palestinian people should know, that the only thing standing in the way of an immediate ceasefire today is Hamas.”
But judging by the gaps between Israel’s and America’s descriptions of the deal – Netanyahu told lawmakers, “the claim that we agreed to a ceasefire without our conditions being met is incorrect” – Israel is also standing in the way.
Palestinians Describe Torture In Israeli Custody
I don’t have much to say about this news, aside from pointing out that the descriptions below are not isolated incidents. I will let The New York Times’ reporting speak for itself.
Eight former detainees, all of whom the military has confirmed were held at the site and who spoke on the record, variously said they had been punched, kicked and beaten with batons, rifle butts and a hand-held metal detector while in custody. One said his ribs were broken after he was kneed in the chest and a second detainee said his ribs broke after he was kicked and beaten with a rifle, an assault that a third detainee said he had witnessed. Seven said they had been forced to wear only a diaper while being interrogated. Three said they had received electric shocks during their interrogations.
[...]All of the eight former detainees described their capture in similar ways: They were generally blindfolded, handcuffed with zip ties and stripped naked except for their underwear, so that Israeli soldiers could be sure they were unarmed. Most said they were interrogated, punched and kicked while still in Gaza, and some said they were beaten with rifle butts. Later, they said, they were crammed with other half-naked detainees into military trucks and driven to Sde Teiman.
[...]Exhausted after the journey to Sde Teiman, Mr. Bakr fell asleep soon after his arrival — prompting an officer to summon him to a nearby command room, he said. The officer began beating him, Mr. Bakr said. “This is the punishment for anyone who sleeps,” he recalled the officer saying.
[...]Three [former detainees] said they lost more than 40 pounds during their detention.
[...]Mr. al-Hamlawi, the senior nurse, said a female officer had ordered two soldiers to lift him up and press his rectum against a metal stick that was fixed to the ground. Mr. al-Hamlawi said the stick penetrated his rectum for roughly five seconds, causing it to bleed and leaving him with “unbearable pain.” A leaked draft of the UNRWA report detailed an interview that gave a similar account. It cited a 41-year-old detainee who said that interrogators “made me sit on something like a hot metal stick and it felt like fire,” and also said that another detainee “died after they put the electric stick up” his anus. Mr. al-Hamlawi recalled being forced to sit in a chair wired with electricity. He said he was shocked so often that, after initially urinating uncontrollably, he then stopped urinating for several days. Mr. al-Hamlawi said he, too, had been forced to wear nothing but a diaper, to stop him from soiling the floor. Ibrahim Shaheen, 38, a truck driver detained in early December for nearly three months, said he was shocked roughly half a dozen times while sitting in a chair. Officers accused him of concealing information about the location of dead hostages, Mr. Shaheen said. Mr. Bakr also said he was forced to sit in chair wired with electricity, sending a current pulsing through his body that made him pass out.
What I’ve written
HuffPost, “Epoch Times Executive Charged With Massive Money-Laundering Scheme” (June 4, 2024)
HuffPost, “Right-Wingers Are Already Promising Vengeance After The Trump Verdict” (May 31, 2024)
HuffPost, “Biden Pushes For New Cease-Fire Deal In Gaza, Criticizes Israeli Officials Who Want To ‘Keep Fighting For Years’” (May 31, 2024)
What I’m reading
Daily Beast,“RFK Jr. Axes Campaign Staffer Who Said Her ‘No. 1’ Priority Was Stopping Biden” (April 11, 2024)
HuffPost, “How A Luxury Trip For Trump Judges Doomed The Federal Mask Mandate” (June 3, 2024)
Associated Press, “After publishing an article critical of Israel, Columbia Law Review’s website is shut down by board” (June 4)
The New York Times, “Israel Secretly Targets U.S. Lawmakers With Influence Campaign on Gaza War” (June 5, 2024)
The Washington Post, “Retired judge David Tatel issues a stark warning about the Supreme Court” (June 7, 2024)
The 82-year-old judge, a leading candidate for the high court during the Clinton administration, writes that he stepped down from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in January in part because he was tired of having his work reviewed “by a Supreme Court that seemed to hold in such low regard the principles to which I’ve dedicated my life.”
CNN, “UN adds Israel to global list of offenders that harm children” (June 7, 2024)
The New York Times, “Where New Tent Cities Are Rising in Central Gaza” (June 8, 2024)
HuffPost, “How America’s Mental Health Crisis Became This Family’s Worst Nightmare” (June 8, 2024)
USA Today, “Wedged between politics and Texas muscle, migrants thread dangerous path across border” (June 8, 2024)
Related: Texas National Guard has acknowledged shooting pepper balls at asylum seekers near the border.
New York Daily News editorial board, “Congestion pricing countdown: Hochul has no authority to slow down the tolling program” (June 9, 2024)
What I’m watching
Carter McLean’s incredible drumming
The waves at Rockaway Beach
What I’m listening to
Jake Xerxes Fussell, “Leaving Here, Don’t Know Where I’m Going” (2024)
Ted Poor, “You Already Know” (2020)
Carter Vail, “Dirt Man” (2024)