 the I-24 News headquarters in Tel Aviv. Welcome to our viewers around the world. It's Friday, February the 2nd, 2024, day 119. Some conflicting reports about whether there's been a deal that's been struck in the hostage situation. Cutter's foreign minister in Washington says Hamas had given initial positive confirmation, his words, to a deal. But then Hamas quickly denied it, saying, cut or jump the gun. There are several sticking points who will break it all down in just a moment. The Pentagon says Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant had a call yesterday discussing three things. Number one, Israel shifting gears to a low-intensity battle in Gaza. Number two, a diplomatic solution to Israel's fight with Hezbollah. And number three, stability in the West Bank. This morning, two explosions in Syria, at least three are dead. There are reports. At least one of them was an Iranian Revolutionary Guard advisor. This happened at three in the morning on the road between Akraba and Sayyid al-Zanab near Syria's headquarters of electronic warfare in southern Damascus. Meanwhile, on the ground in Gaza, the IDF says it has almost finished operations at Chayunis and is ready to move towards the border with Egypt. Here's Defense Minister Yoav Galant. We must persevere until we complete our missions. And it is much more difficult for Hamas, believe me. They don't have weapons. They don't have ammunition. They don't have the ability to treat their wounded. They have 10,000 eliminated terrorists and another 10,000 terrorists who are wounded and not functioning. This is a serious blow that erodes Hamas's abilities. The Hamas-Chayunis Brigade boasted that it would stand strong against the IDF. Today, it is dismantled. And I'm telling you that we are completing the mission in Chayunis and we will also reach Rafa and we will eliminate anyone there who is a terrorist who is trying to attack us. Joining me now in studio is Professor Uzair Abbey. He's the director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle East Studies at Tel Aviv University. He's also the senior researcher for the Center for Iranian Studies at the University. Thanks for coming in this morning again, Uzair. Let's talk about this idea of pressure, exerting pressure on Israel by the foreign powers, by the UK, by the US. In some ways, even with this idea yesterday that they may have been a deal, it feels as though that Sinuars got some sort of additional bargaining power because he can go back to Israel and say, well, you know... Exactly. And I would also say that all these conflicting reports, actually, that you just talked about, it is part of parcel of this modus operandi. Qatar says some things in war actually says the other thing. Basically, as you said, a kind of a pressure belt is, you know, kind of suffocating Israel in order to make sure that when it comes to the punchline, Israel would be much more moderate in terms of concessions, actually, to be given to Hamas in order to just, you know, make this deal actually doable. No, no. I mean, that's definitely kind of a mistake, which is being done by mainly the United States. I include in that also the talks about the day after. Too hasty kind of procedure, which brings Sinuars actually, you know, to think that he might go back to status quo. He talks in terms of the 6th of October, when it comes to the package deal he thinks of. And this is exactly what Israel cannot afford itself. So you think Sinuars sort of has a lifeline by virtue of all of this? Yes, this is he intends himself still until this moment to not only have something that, you know, deals with the exchange of hostages and prisoners, Palestinian prisoners, not only the stuff that is related to how many for how many. We talk here about he speaks about recovery of Gaza. He speaks about him stays on on Gaza with Hamas. This is the 6th of October. And I wonder why Israel actually, I hope that Israel would make sure that if that comes to the fore, it should be nipped on the bug. And even if you have actually to argue against the UK against the US, this is something that we cannot afford ourselves, not to mention let alone the bottom line by which actually he together with Qatar are striving for an immediate and total hold of the war. This is again something that Israel cannot understand. You just heard actually what said the defense minister saying that Israel must persevere actually in order to just complete its mission. I hope that Israel would put teeth into these sayings because if not, the meaning is that Israel is going to be defeated in this whole thing. And this is absurd. And this is why I think that we have to take it into account at least when it comes to that way. We'll talk more about that in just a moment. First, let me get our viewers some news that we're getting word into the demonstrations have once again blocked one of the border crossings between Israel and Gaza. I 24 news correspondent Zach Anders is live at the Israel Gaza border with the latest on this developing story. Zach, what's the latest? Well, last Sunday, the IDF designated this a closed military zone, but you can see I'm standing here and hundreds of protesters were as well. They once again stood in front of the gate. The IDF soldiers that were there milled about among the crowd did not order them to disperse or encourage them to leave the crowd far outnumbered the number of IDF soldiers that were guarding this station. The crowd we did just get here, but they say that they were successful in stopping the trucks going through. Now the aid that is flowing through some of these crossings have has been moved around and it's coming from also multiple different areas. We've seen protests at the port of Ashtad as well. So the aid is flowing into the Gaza strip from many different areas, but these groups like the one that we saw today and spoke very briefly with a few of the protesters, demonstrators that were here. They just want to continue to apply that pressure, they say, to stop any aid flowing in that gets to Hamas. Now the aid that is flowing in the bigger factor here is not so much the pressure withholding or providing that aid is not so much the pressure that it's placing on Hamas, but rather the international community. The United States President Joe Biden has pushed for these gates to be open for this aid to flow through and has used it as leverage in these conversations with Netanyahu that this aid must keep going for the US to provide its support. So this is a very international issue, a very intense geopolitical problem facing this area, but we'll have to follow up here and see what localized event like this today. This demonstration has an effect on the amount of aid that goes in or will make its way in to the Gaza strip eventually. Zach, thanks. Our viewers should know that it's 50 degrees, 11 degrees centigrade, 50 degrees Fahrenheit, there's been thunderstorms all morning. So these protesters braved the thunderstorms just to get to that spot? Yeah, this is as far as you can go too. We're looking out over Egyptian flags, Egyptian soil as well with high tall barbed wire fence blocking the border and a very small gate for these trucks to flow through. A good sized crowd, they brought coffee and food and they've been out here for quite some time. They've also been playing a game of cat and mouse with police. This is not where they started this morning. They've been moving around the police in this area have kind of from what we're hearing, not so much allowed it, but just they don't have the force or the size to anticipate a caravan of dozens, hundreds of vehicles that are moving together to try and get to a point, access and block this location, which is what we saw this morning. Great Zach Anders giving us the latest from the southern border with Israel and Gaza. Thanks so much again for that report. We'll get to Uzur Rabi back to Uzur Rabi for one second, but it's being called the Biden Doctrine. It's an American plan for Israel to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia. Deal with Iran and American recognition, unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. I-24 News senior diplomatic correspondent Owen Ultraman breaks down the plan that will radically change the Middle East. Take a look. More talk of a change in approach in Western capitals with new reporting that the Biden administration is looking into recognizing a Palestinian state now, not after a final status deal on the conflict from both Axios and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. Behind the scenes, the administration thinking what British Foreign Secretary David Cameron is saying. What we've always said is we believe in a two-state solution, a secure Israel within its borders and a secure and stable Palestine within its borders. That's long been our position. And of course, as part of that, Britain, along with other countries, would recognize Palestine as a country and recognize Palestine at the United Nations. The Biden administration reportedly wants to attach big caveats to recognition. According to Tom Friedman, that the state only come into being once it has a set of defined credible institutions and that the Palestinian state be demilitarized. Recognition would also reportedly be part of a package to include normalization with Saudi Arabia, a priority for Israel and a huge incentive for Jerusalem, despite the reservations. With an accord or without an accord, the state of Israel must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River. That's a necessary condition. It clashes with the principle of sovereignty. What can you do? Meaning that Israel would both get a Saudi deal in hand and also could argue that Palestinians don't meet the criteria set for statehood, not demilitarized and not with the institutions needed. Still a heavy lift for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his right wing allies, but a package that could be worth a flexing of muscles. There's a bit of a post script here because there's a little wiggle room around here. There are reports that Saudi Arabia would be willing to accept what they call a political commitment from Israel to create a Palestinian state rather than anything that's actually more binding. And the reports go on to say that it's just a bid to try to get a defense pact with Washington before the American presidential election that occurs later this year. I'm rejoined in studio here by Uzi Ravi, the director of the Moshe Diane Center. It sounds as though perhaps it's a little lip service maybe for the Saudis because where does it fit in terms of like what the Saudi interests are versus what the Palestinian interests are? Well, Saudis actually, I mean, they do not refer to the Palestinian issue as their first priority. They would like to have just peace of mind, you know, in and out and in the region, but basically they would like actually to the United States being brought back to the region when we talk about security and to act against Iran in kind of a way by which Iran would be checked. This is what the Saudis have in mind. Israel is not the Saudis enemy. We know that. Normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia is just a broadening up of the Abraham Accords, which is, in my opinion, the most successful, you know, agreement both Arab states in Israel had ever had and had ever had. And this is something that if just to pass a judgment about the performance of the Abraham Accords in the recent three or four years, it is a successful it is a success. It is a success. Now let's just put it that way. You have to pay kind of a lip service, as you said, actually to Saudi Arabia in order to just start moving the whole thing. We are dealing here with a grand game. What the Americans are coming up with because they are anxious about their elections is to have sort of an March, April kind of an agreement saying that way. We don't have a war anymore in the Middle East. We stopped it. Actually, there is a normalization. Two things must be reckoned with. What about Iran? Iran is the main troublemaker in this region. And if the United States would like to create sort of a new Middle East, we'll have to deal with that mainly via actually American involvement. Second, Palestinian state, those two words. This is something that has to do with the 6th of October. Once again, I can't even bear the notion or the thinking that Palestinians are going to be given a state in the aftermath of the 7th of October. This is, you know, even unthinkable. I think that we have to just come up with something which is out of the box thinking. There are other states there. There is Egypt when it comes to Gaza. There is Jordan when it comes to the West Bank as they depict it. Let's just talk together. I think that Israel should be there, not actually to let everybody deal with the day after as they call it and basically create something that in the end of the day would provide sort of a transitory phase of five to 10 years by which to measure things. Everybody who talks about a revised or revitalized Palestinian Authority. Okay, let's go for it. But let's talk in five, 10 years just to see if we have a revised Palestinian Authority or not to just bring it, you know, as if the day after is kind of an envelope, which is sitting there just waiting for implementation. This is something Israel actually cannot afford itself. Let me have you hold on one second because one thing, you know, we are now 119 days. There's 136 hostages that are still in still being held captive by Hamas. I'm joined now by Al Angolichi. She's the aunt of a released hostage of fear angle. She's hosting a Shabbat gathering with other hostage families in Netanyahu's house in Jerusalem. Good morning to you. Good morning. Thank you for having us. No, no problem. If I can ask you just for one second, Al, why are you holding this in front of the Prime Minister's house in the event that, you know, there is word that they're talking about a deal. There's something in the works. Why still hold this? Because there is something in the air for 119 days and spirit hostages are there. So we want to give support to Prime Minister and all the, all the governments that they have. We want to tell them that they have to close the deal as soon as possible because people are dying there and starving there and rape there. And we want them home now, today, tomorrow. You cannot wait anymore. So we hear all the time in a half an hour, we'll have a Kabbalah Shabbat, like having the Shabbat with hundreds of people from Jerusalem. And we, the one, the one thing we asked them is to bring the hostages back home now. Right, Al, there's a concern by some people saying is that, yes, if we have a deal to bring the hostages home now, it's not going to make Israel so secure because it's just a speedy deal to get something done. As we saw at October 7, Israel is not secured. And people were taken from their beds and homes and their homes were burnt. And also my nephew of Phil was taken, only 17 years old when taken. And he's back home now, but we hear from him and from the other hostages that came back, the horrible things they have there. And we want to say that we have to bring everyone back now and then make Israel more secured. But Israel is not secured. We saw it to all of us in October 7. So. Yeah, what do you say to those people who are in the United States and Europe who watch what's going on with the hostages? And they say, we're sorry for the loss, we're sorry for that they're in hostage. But there needs to be more dealt with what's going on in Gaza itself. They basically have put you and the folks in Gaza on the same level. I know, I know what they say, but I wanted people in the United States to know that we are people of peace. We don't want to see innocent people dead, not here and not in Gaza. But the people in Gaza are in Hamas responsibility. They showed them to be their government for the last 16 years. Israel left Gaza on 2005. We're not rolling there. But Israel now is not secured. And the first responsibility of our government is to make our citizens secure. So first bring them home and then make Israel secured. So that's what we're saying. If the Prime Minister were to come out to you today from his house, what would you want to tell him? We're waiting for him 119 days, you know, we are. We have that citizenship and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands came to Israel one time for six hours and he found time to meet us. Our Prime Minister didn't find time to meet us all the days that the fear was captured. And we invite him to get the Shabbat with us here in the tent and tell us what is the where it is standing because like the media, we don't know anything. We don't know anything about the deal. We just want it to come to reality and we want the hostages back home. That's what we want. I want to say to the Prime Minister and also his friends in the cabinet that they have to close the deal now, bring them all back home and then do whatever they have to do to make Israel a secure country. Yeah, Al-Angoliki, and of the released hostage of fear angle hosting a Shabbat dinner tonight in front of Prime Minister Netanyahu's home. Thanks so much for joining us this afternoon, Shabbat Shalom to you. Thank you very much, Shabbat Shalom. Luzi Rabi, there are those within an Arab media, especially in Palestinian media who see these families and they see the squeeze that Israel is in because they see what's happening domestically. Is this for them when they see families like this? Do they see this as sort of like, hey, we're going to get our deal what we want? You know, it goes without saying, first of all, actually, families of hostages are doing what they should do. It's their own right, maybe obligation, and I myself actually do not know if I, in their place, actually, I wouldn't do the same. So I mean, I leave it, I leave them aside. Actually, they are right, actually, doing so. And, you know, I recommend, if I would be asked, actually, to direct some of the, you know, the some of the energy toward the world. I mean, this is something that should be heard back and forth when it comes to Europe and the States. But as you said, actually, you know, we know it, Yahya Sinwar, who is so well familiar with the Israeli fabric, is carefully listening to what actually comes up from Israel. And definitely, his calibrating is almost... That's what I'm getting at. That's what I'm getting at. That's Sinwar is he or his folks are watching Israeli media. They're watching, for all we know, they're watching this. They see where the flavor is and seeing how they can push a little... Exactly. And they do that in kind of a very meticulated way. And basically, his own career is being built up on that. And this is why he still thinks that he can, you know, not only manage, but, you know, talk in terms as if we haven't had the 7th of October. This is what I just mentioned before. The more actually are stormy. The relations here in Israel between rules and rulers, ruled and rulers, I think that this is something that Hamas and especially Sinwar thinks he should capitalize on. But, you know, this is the asymmetric actually way of things here. We know that it's not new for us. This is why I think that Israel, in spite of the fact that this is a sacred mission, you know, people were neglected here by the state. Maybe actually this is time for Israel actually to foster a kind of a partial deal by which, because Sinwar is not going actually to, you know, bring them all. I mean, this is out of the question. But it is time for Israel actually to have a partial maybe exchange here. You know, everybody, as we say in our culture and tradition is, I mean, everybody, every human being is the whole world. Basically, we are committed to that. But we have to swear, first of all, take a note to ourselves and just make a message to the Middle East. We're going to go back. Once the ceasefire is ended up, Israel with full power is there. Until then, you have actually to increase the pressure to gain some bargaining chips. It might help you out with this actually negotiation table that we have here. And, you know, Rafa, you cannot actually end up the job while leaving Rafa actually open. So I, you know, I hope that Egypt, which is part and parcel of this whole deal is, you know, coming to terms with Israel as to how Israel is going to close down the Palestinian side of Rafa in order to be, to prevent ourselves from the saga that we had since 2005 until today. You know, one of the things I wanted to bring up, and you may mention of it too, is that if you go on to Arab telegram channels right now, they see a reduction of IDF activity, the switching gears has been discussed as sort of pulled back by the IDF and therefore victory in that respect. In my opinion, there was a mistake. For example, listen, Hamas is trying actually to recuperate in the north part of Gaza. Why? Because he thinks that Israel is out of the region. What Israel did is just got back there. And this is why we have to just take into account this enemy is of a different kind. The only thing by which we can actually beat him is just to eradicate his military as well as political, you know, abilities in Gaza. I dare say even in the West Bank or Judea and Samaria, this is something that most Arab states would love actually to have Hamas less Middle East. This is kind of a message. And if we are going to be determined while doing that and assertive, I'm pretty sure that this is the only way by which to deal with that problem. The one question I do have is, do you feel as though Palestinians are saying Hamas got us this far? Therefore, why do we need the Palestinian Authority? Hamas got us to the point where Israel is now getting a deal. And here comes the absurd of this whole thing. When you send humanitarian aid into Gaza and you let Hamas control it, Hamas is becoming stronger because of this fact. So it goes against the whole notion of fighting against Hamas, let alone Palestinians in the West Bank, looking at things, saying, this is actually a leader I would like to have, not Abu Mazen or Palestinian Authority. And definitely Yahya Sinwar takes it into the account. He, Mohammad Addaif and the Marwan Isa, all these trio actually, what they have in mind is to bring them home in Palestinian prisoners and to have a feast, you know, I mean, they're in Judea and Samaria in order to make sure that they are over, they are basically the, take the upper hand and they are going to be the would be, you know, unquestionable leaders of Palestine. This is why we have to be there, not let it go. And basically, if Israel is wiser, as I hope it is a wise state, I mean, we would definitely prevent ourselves from getting to those corners, so to speak. Uzair Abbey, the director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle East Studies at Tel Aviv University, also the Center for Iranian Studies. Always a pleasure to have you for your instance. Pleasure. Thank you so much for coming in. You can stay on top of the news here on I-24 News on TV, online and on your iPhone with the I-24 News app. I'm Albert Lewitson reporting from Tel Aviv. The news continues right after this break. You're watching I-24 News live from Tel Aviv. Is in a state of war, families completely done down in their beds. We have no idea where is she as our soldiers are fighting on the front lines, but the general perception is something that certainly needs to be fought as well. 24 News Headquarters in Tel Aviv. Welcome to our viewers around the world. It's Friday, February the 2nd, 2024, Day 119. Some conflicting reports about whether there's been a deal that's been struck in the hostage situation. Qatar's foreign minister in Washington says Hamas had given initial positive confirmation, his words to a deal, but then Hamas quickly denied it, saying Qatar jumped the gun. There are several sticking points who will break it all down in just a moment. The Pentagon says Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant had a call yesterday discussing three things. Number one, Israel shifting gears to a low intensity battle in Gaza. Number two, a diplomatic solution to Israel's fight with Hezbollah. And number three, stability in the West Bank. This morning, two explosions in Syria, at least three are dead. There are reports. At least one of them was an Iranian Revolutionary Guard advisor. This happened at three in the morning on the road between Akraba and Sayyid al-Zanab near Syria's headquarters of electronic warfare in southern Damascus. Meanwhile, on the ground in Gaza, the IDF says it has almost finished operations in Qayyuna and is ready to move towards the border with Egypt. Here's Defense Minister Yoav Galant. We must persevere until we complete our missions. And it is much more difficult for Hamas, believe me. They don't have weapons. They don't have ammunition. They don't have the ability to treat their wounded. They have 10,000 eliminated terrorists and another 10,000 terrorists who are wounded and not functioning. This is a serious blow that erodes Hamas's abilities. The Hamas Khan Yunus Brigade boasted that it would stand strong against the IDF. Today it is dismantled, and I'm telling you that we are completing the mission in Han Yunus, and we will also reach Rafa, and we will eliminate anyone there who is a terrorist, who is trying to attack us. Jeremy, now in studios, Professor Uzair Abbey, he's the director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle East Studies at Tel Aviv University. He's also the senior researcher for the Center for Iranian Studies at the University. Thanks for coming in this morning again, Uzair. Let's talk about this idea of pressure, exerting pressure on Israel by the foreign powers, by the UK, by the US. In some ways, even with this idea yesterday that they may have been a deal, it feels as though that Sinowar's got some sort of additional bargaining power, because he can go back to Israel and say, well, you know, exactly. And I would also say that all these conflicting reports, actually, that you just talked about, it is part of parcel of this modus operandi. Qatar says some things, Sinowar actually says the other thing. Basically, as you said, kind of a pressure belt is, you know, kind of suffocating Israel in order to make sure that when it comes to the punchline, Israel would be much more moderate in terms of concessions, actually, to be given to Hamas in order to just, you know, make this deal actually doable. No, I mean, I mean, that's definitely kind of a mistake, which is being done by mainly the United States. I include in that also the talks about the day after, too hasty kind of procedure, which brings Sinowar actually, you know, to think that he might go back to status quo. He talks in terms of the 6th of October, when it comes to the package deal he thinks of. And this is exactly what Israel cannot afford itself. So you think Sinowar sort of has a lifeline by virtue of all of this? Yes, this is he intends himself still until this moment to not only have something that you know, deals with the exchange of hostages and prisoners, Palestinian prisoners, not only stuff that is related to how many for how many. We talk here about he speaks about recovery of Gaza. He speaks about him stays on on Gaza with Hamas. This is the 6th of October. And I wonder why Israel actually, I hope that Israel would make sure that if that comes to the floor, it should be nipped on the bug. And even if you have actually to argue against the UK against the US, this is something that we cannot afford ourselves not to mention let alone the bottom line by which actually he together with Qatar are striving for an immediate and total halt of the war. This is again something that Israel cannot understand. You just heard actually what said the defense minister saying that Israel must persevere actually in order to just complete its mission. I hope that Israel would put teeth into these sayings because if not, the meaning is that Israel is going to be defeated in this whole thing. And this is absurd. And this is why I think that we have to take it into account at least when it comes to that way. We'll talk more about that in just a moment. First, let me get our viewers some news that we're getting word into the demonstrations have once again blocked one of the border crossings between Israel and Gaza. I 24 news correspondent Zach Anders is live at the Israel Gaza border with the latest on this developing story. Zach, what's the latest? Well, last Sunday, the IDF designated this a closed military zone, but you can see I'm standing here and hundreds of protesters were as well. They once again stood in front of the gate. The IDF soldiers that were there milled about among the crowd did not order them to disperse or encourage them to leave the crowd far outnumbered the number of IDF soldiers that were guarding this station. The crowd, we did just get here, but they say that they were successful in stopping the trucks going through. Now the aid that is flowing through some of these crossings have has been moved around and it's coming from also multiple different areas. We've seen protests at the port of Ashtad as well. So the aid is flowing into the Gaza Strip from many different areas, but these groups like the one that we saw today and spoke very briefly with a few of the protesters, demonstrators that were here, they just want to continue to apply that pressure, they say, to stop any aid flowing in that gets to Hamas. Now the aid that is flowing in, the bigger factor here is not so much the pressure withholding or providing that aid is not so much the pressure that it's placing on Hamas, but rather the international community. The United States President Joe Biden has pushed for these gates to be open for this aid to flow through and has used it as leverage in these conversations with Netanyahu that this aid must keep going for the U.S. to provide its support. So this is a very international issue, a very tense geopolitical problem facing this area, but we'll have to follow up here and see what localized event like this today. This demonstration has an effect on the amount of aid that goes in or will make its way in to the Gaza Strip eventually. Zach, thanks. Our viewers should know that it's 50 degrees, 11 degrees centigrade, 50 degrees Fahrenheit, there's been thunderstorms all morning. So these protesters brave the thunderstorms just to get to that spot? Yeah, this is as far as you can go too. We're looking out over Egyptian flags, Egyptian soil as well with high tall barbed wire fence blocking the border and a very small gate for these trucks to flow through. Good sized crowd, they brought coffee and food and they've been out here for quite some time. They've also been playing a game of cat and mouse with police. This is not where they started this morning. They've been moving around. The police in this area have kind of from what we're hearing, not so much allowed, but just they don't have the force or the size to anticipate a caravan of dozens, hundreds of vehicles that are moving together to try and get to a point, access and block this location, which is what we saw this morning. Great. Zach Anders giving us the latest from the southern border with Israel Angaza. Thanks so much again for that report. We'll get to Uzur Rabi back to Uzur Rabi for one second, but it's being called the Biden Doctrine. It's an American plan for Israel to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia. Deal with Iran and American recognition, unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. I-24 News senior diplomatic correspondent Owen Ultriman breaks down the plan that will radically change the Middle East. Take a look. More talk of a change in approach in Western capitals with new reporting that the Biden administration is looking into recognizing a Palestinian state now, not after a final status deal on the conflict, from both Axios and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. Behind the scenes, the administration thinking what British foreign secretary David Cameron is saying. What we've always said is we believe in a two-state solution, a secure Israel within its borders and a secure and stable Palestine within its borders. That's long been our position. And of course, as part of that, Britain along with other countries would recognize Palestine as a country and recognize Palestine at the United Nations. The Biden administration reportedly wants to attach big caveats to recognition. According to Tom Friedman, that the state only come into being once it has a set of defined credible institutions. And that the Palestinian state be demilitarized. It's a two-state solution. There's a number of countries that are members of the UN that are still don't have their own military. Recognition would also reportedly be part of a package to include normalization with Saudi Arabia, a priority for Israel and a huge incentive for Jerusalem, despite the reservations. With an accord or without an accord, the state of Israel must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan river. That's a necessary condition. It clashes with the principle of sovereignty. What can you do? Meaning that Israel would both get a Saudi deal in hand and also could argue that Palestinians don't meet the criteria set for statehood, not demilitarized and not with the institutions needed. Still a heavy lift for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his right-wing allies, but a package that could be worth a flexing of muscles. There's a bit of a postscript here because there's a little wiggle room around here. There are reports that Saudi Arabia would be willing to accept what they call a political commitment from Israel to create a Palestinian state rather than anything that's actually more binding. And the reports go on to say that it's just a bid to try to get a defense pact with Washington before the American presidential election that occurs later this year. I'm rejoined in studio here by Uzi Ravi, the director of the Moshe Dayan Center. Uzi, it sounds as though perhaps it's a little lip service maybe for the Saudis because where does it fit in terms of what the Saudi interests are versus what the Palestinian interests are? Well, Saudis actually, I mean, they do not refer to the Palestinian issue as their first priority. They would like to have just peace of mind in and out and in the region, but basically they would like actually to the United States being brought back to the region when we talk about security and to act against Iran in kind of a way by which Iran would be checked. This is what the Saudis have in mind. Israel is not the Saudis enemy. We know that. Normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia is just a brooding up of the Abraham Accords, which is, in my opinion, the most successful agreement both Arab states in Israel have ever had. This is something that if just to pass a judgment about the performance of the Abraham Accords in the recent three or four years, it is a successful. It is a success. It's a success. Now, let's just put it that way. You have to pay kind of a lip service, as you said actually to Saudi Arabia in order to just start moving the whole thing. We are dealing here with a grand game. What the Americans are coming up with because they are anxious about their elections is to have sort of an March, April kind of an agreement saying that way. We don't have a war anymore in the Middle East. We stopped it. Actually, there is a normalization. Two things are must be reckoned with. What about Iran? Iran is the main troublemaker in this region. And if the United States would like to create sort of a new Middle East, we'll have to deal with that mainly via actually American involvement. Second, Palestinian state. Those two words. This is something that has to do with the 6th of October. Once again, I can't even bear the notion or the thinking that Palestinians are going to be given a state in the aftermath of the 7th of October. This is even unthinkable. I think that we have to just come up with something which is out of the box thinking. There are other states there. There is Egypt when it comes to Gaza. There is Jordan when it comes to the West Bank as they depict it. Let's just talk together. I think that Israel should be there, not actually to let everybody deal with the day after as they call it and basically create something that in the end of the day would provide sort of a transitory phase of five to 10 years by which to measure things. Everybody who talks about a revised or revitalized Palestinian Authority. Okay, let's go for it. But let's talk in five, 10 years just to see if we have a revised Palestinian Authority or not to just bring it as if the day after is kind of an envelope which is sitting there just waiting for implementation. This is something Israel actually cannot afford itself. I'm going to have you hold on one second because one thing, we are now 119 days. There's 136 hostages that are still being held captive by Hamas. I'm joined now by Al Angel Lichy. She's the aunt of a released hostage of fear angle. She's hosting a Shabbat gathering with other hostage families in Netanyahu's house in Jerusalem. Good morning to you. Good morning. Thank you for having us. No, no problem. If I can ask you just for one second, Al, why are you holding this in front of the Prime Minister's house in the event that there is word that they're talking about a deal? There's something in the works. Why still hold this? Because there is something in the air for 119 days and still hostages are there. So we want to give support to Prime Minister and all the governments that they have. We want to tell them that they have to close the deal as soon as possible because people are dying there and starving there and rapes there. And we want them home now, today, tomorrow. They cannot wait anymore. So we hear all the time in a half an hour, we'll have a Kabbalah Shabbat like having the Shabbat with hundreds of people from Jerusalem. And the one thing we ask them is to bring the hostages back home now. Right, Al. There's a concern by some people saying, is that yes, if we have a deal to bring the hostages home now, it's not going to make Israel so secure because it's just a speedy deal to get something done. As we saw at October 7, Israel is not secured. And people were taken from their beds and homes and their homes were burned. And also my nephew of Phil was taken, only 17 years old when taken. And he's back home now. But we hear from him and from the other hostages that came back, the horrible things they have there. And we want to say that we have to bring everyone back now and then make Israel more secure. But Israel is not secured. We saw it all of us in October 7. Yeah, what do you say to those people who are in the United States, in Europe, who watched what's going on with the hostages? And they say, we're sorry for the loss, we're sorry for that they're in hostage. But there needs to be more dealt with what's going on in Gaza itself. They basically have put you and the folks in Gaza on the same level. I know, I know what they say. But I wanted people in the United States to know that we are people of peace. We don't want to see innocent people dead, not here and not in Gaza. But the people in Gaza are in Hamas responsibility. They showed them to be their government for the last 16 years. Israel left Gaza on 2005. We're not rolling there. But Israel now is not secured. And the first responsibility of our government is to make our citizens secure. So first bring them home and then make Israel secured. So that's what we're saying to them. If the prime minister were to come out to you today from his house, what would you want to tell him? We're waiting for him 119 days. We have Dutch citizenship and the prime minister of the Netherlands came to Israel one time for six hours and he found time to meet us. Our prime minister didn't find time to meet us all the days that the fear was captured. And we invite him to get to the Shabbat with us here in the tent and tell us what is the where it is standing because like the media, we don't know anything. We don't know anything about the deal. We just want it to come to reality. And we want the hostages back home. That's what we want. Let's hope that I want to say the prime minister also. I want to say the prime minister and also his friends in the cabinet that they have to close the deal now, bring them all back home and then do whatever they have to do to make Israel a secure country. Yeah, I'll angle it. The release talks to Joe fear angle hosting a Shabbat dinner tonight in front of Prime Minister Netanyahu's home. Thanks so much for joining us this afternoon. Shabbat Shalom to you. Thank you very much. Shabbat Shalom. Wuzi, Robby, there are those within an Arab media, especially in Palestinian media who see these families and they see the squeeze that Israel is in because they see what's happening domestically. Is this for them when they see families like this? Do they see this as sort of like, hey, we're going to get our deal what we want? You know, it goes without saying, first of all, actually, families of hostages are doing what they should do. It's their own right, maybe obligation. And I myself actually do not know if I in that place actually, I wouldn't do the same. So I mean, I leave it, I leave them aside. Actually, they are right actually doing so. And, you know, I recommend if I would be asked actually to direct some of the, you know, the some of the energy toward the world. I mean, this is something that should be heard back and forth when it comes to Europe and the States. But as you said, actually, you know, we know it, Yahya Sinwar, who is so well familiar with the Israeli fabric is carefully listening to what actually comes up from Israel. And definitely his calibrating is almost That's what I'm getting at. That's what I'm getting at that Sinwar is is he or his folks are watching Israeli media. They're watching for all we know they're watching this there. They see where the flavor is and seeing how they can push a little exactly. And they do that in kind of a very meticulated way. And basically, his own career is being built up on that. And this is why he still thinks that he can, you know, not only manage, but, you know, talk in terms as if we haven't had the 7th of October. This is what I just mentioned before. The more actually stormy the relations here in Israel between rules and ruler ruled and rulers. I think that this is something that Hamas and especially Sinwar thinks he should capitalize on. But, you know, this is the asymmetric actually way of things here. We know that it's not new for us. This is why I think that Israel, in spite of the fact that this is a sacred mission, you know, people were neglected here by the state. Maybe actually, this is time for Israel actually to to to foster a kind of a partial deal by which because Sinwar is not going actually to, you know, bring them all. I mean, this is out of the question. But it is time for Israel actually to have a partial maybe exchange here. You know, everybody as we say in our culture and tradition is, I mean, everybody, every human being is the whole world. Basically, we are committed to that. But we have to swear. First of all, take a note to ourselves and just make a message to the Middle East. We're going to go back once the ceasefire is ended up. Israel with full power is there. Until then, you have actually to increase the pressure to gain some bargaining chips. It might help you out with with this actually negotiation table that we have here. And, you know, Rafa, Rafa, you cannot actually end up the job while leaving the Rafa actually open. So I, you know, I hope that Egypt, which is part and parcel of this whole deal is, you know, coming to terms with Israel as to how Israel is going to close down the Palestinian side of Rafa in order to prevent ourselves from the saga that we had since 2005 until today. You know, one of the things I wanted to bring up, and you may mention of it too, is that if you go on to Arab telegram channels right now, they see a reduction of IDF activity. The switching gears has been discussed as sort of a pullback by the IDF and therefore victory in that respect. In my opinion, there was a mistake. For example, listen, Hamas is trying actually to recuperate in the north part of Gaza. Why? Because he thinks that Israel is out of the region. What Israel did is just got back there. And this is why we have to just take into account this enemy is of a different kind. The only thing by which we can actually beat him is just to eradicate his military as well as political, you know, abilities in Gaza. I dare say even in the West Bank or Judea and Samaria, this is something that most Arab states would love actually to have Hamas less Middle East. This is kind of a message. And if we are going to be determined while doing that and assertive, I'm pretty sure that this is the only way by which to deal with that problem. The one question I do have is, do you feel as though Palestinians are saying Hamas got us this far? Therefore, why do we need the Palestinian authority? Hamas got us to the point where Israel is now getting a deal. And here comes the absurd of this whole thing. When you send humanitarian aid into Gaza and you let Hamas control it, Hamas is becoming stronger because of this fact. So it goes against the whole notion of fighting against Hamas, let alone Palestinians in the West Bank looking at things saying this is actually a leader I would like to have not Abu Mazen or Palestinian authority. And definitely Yahya Sinwar takes it into the account. He, Muhammad Addaif and the Marwan Isa, all these three are actually what they have in mind is to bring them home in Palestinian prisoners and to have a feast, you know, I mean, they're in Judea and Samaria in order to make sure that they are overcome and they are basically the take the upper hand and they are going to be the would be, you know, unquestionable leaders of Palestine. This is why we have to be there, not let it go. And basically, if Israel is wiser as I hope it is a wise state, I mean, we would definitely prevent ourselves from getting to those corners, so to speak. Uzair Abid, the director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle East Studies at Tel Aviv University, also the Center for Iranian Studies. Always a pleasure to have you for your insight. Pleasure. Thank you so much. Coming in. You can stay on top of the news here on I-24 News on TV, online and on your iPhone with the I-24 News app. I'm Albert Lewitson reporting from Tel Aviv. The news continues right after this break. You're watching I-24 News live from Tel Aviv. Dozens of correspondents throughout the world brings the truth from Israel to hundreds of millions of people in scores of countries. Bringing Israel's story to the world. Israel is in a state of war. Families completely done down in their beds. We have no idea where she is. Our soldiers are fighting on the front line, but the general perception is something that certainly needs to be fought as well. Lewitson at the I-24 News headquarters in Tel Aviv welcomed to our viewers around the world. It's Friday, February the 2nd, 2024, Day 119 of the war. There's some conflicting reports about whether there's been a hostage deal struck. Qatar's foreign minister in Washington said Hamas had been given initial positive confirmation his words to a deal, but then Hamas quickly denied it, saying, Cutter, jump the gun. Hamas just this morning told Lebanese media they'll have an answer pretty soon. There are several sticking points. We'll break it down for you later on today. Moving to Syria, two explosions overnight. At least three are dead. There are reports at least one of them was an Iranian Revolutionary Guard advisor. This happened at three in the morning on the road between Al-Quraba and Zayed-as-Zainab, that's near Syria's electronic warfare headquarters, that's near southern Damascus. Meanwhile, on the ground in Gaza, there are intense battles. They continue in Qanunis. The Israeli Navy has also been responding to shelling from the Gaza coastline. Twenty Hamas fighters have been killed. The IDF says it has almost finished operations in Qanunis and is ready to move towards the border with Egypt. Let's go now to that fighting, the intense fighting that's continuing in Qanunis. Zak Anders is live. The Israel Gaza border with the very latest. Zak, what's the very latest from there? Well, we continue to see this fighting in and around Qanunis and it does appear to be the MO right now for the IDF to try and preempt any ceasefire deal that could come down the line. Any political decision, essentially, to try and make sure that the IDF has control over the areas these Hamas once Hamas strongholds. Qanunis, especially given the amount of force, effort and energy that has gone in to the fighting around that city, the western half of the city, we've been told has been one of the basically the last stands of the above ground network of Hamas coordination and collaboration where there still, their forces have still been operating above ground. This is all excluding the subterranean network. So whatever happens next, we still are going to see in a ceasefire or even with continued fighting. The IDF controlling this area of Qanunis that they've been fighting over but still right underneath their feet is going to be another challenge and the second phase of the the engagement will have to take place below ground. Zak, there's also word that a lot of the IDF is still waiting to move further south towards Rafa. What do we know about any of their movements going further south? That's one of those things that the IDF has not been very clear about either as to the timeline of when they plan to move into this area. We have seen on social media inside Gaza, the residents, the refugees, the civilians that have been in such an awful humanitarian situation. Today they've been posting that there were flyers dropped again. This was for an area that is towards the Gaza city with more calls to evacuate and head further south. So the the landscape here has been changing quite a bit and is still quite complex. But one of the key indicators would be if the area, the people that are in the area of Rafa are given some notice or warning that they need to flee. That's what the IDF has been doing for these other areas. And so far what we've seen from the pamphlets dropped in the air today, Rafa is not in that list or not being a call to move. So as soon as that is communicated to the people there, that's I'm sure we can then anticipate that that is the IDF plans to move next into that area. Great, Zak Anders joining us live now from the southern part of Israel on the border with Gaza. Thanks again for joining us. I'm now in studio with Dan Perry, International Affairs Analyst in the former Europe and the least editor for the Associated Press. Dan, thanks again for coming in. The idea now that there's possibly a deal that each side is now putting out these feelers that the Qatari farm minister put something out from Washington. It seems as though they're just trying to see what child balloons they're putting up in the air. It kind of looks that way. You can speak of the fog of war. This is more like the fog of peace. I've yet to see any indication that Hamas has dropped its demand for complete end to the war. And without that, I do not see how this government, really almost any government, can possibly agree to a deal. So it looks like a lot of wishful thinking by people wanting to prod the sides towards some elegant solution, but it remains a square pegging around holes far as I can tell. It seems as though what they're also doing is that they're getting a lot of, the Israelis are getting a lot of pressure from the British and from the Americans by having this idea of a unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. Well, this attaches to the notion that maybe part of what can prod the sides to abandoning one or more of their bedrock demands. In Israel's case, a removal of Hamas would be a mega deal in which the benefits to Israel would be so overwhelming that they would agree to something elegant in Gaza that fundamentally returns the hostages, but does not truly crush Hamas. That will be difficult for Netanyahu to pass in his coalition for sure. Indeed, any hostage deal, even one that involves a prolonged truce, but not an end to the war, is already the focus of a lot of opposition within his own coalition. And it sort of looks like he would lose the hard right if he agrees to even a basic element of this reported deal, which would be at least a six-week pause in the early phase. Dan, I'm going to talk about a mega deal. I'm going to talk about that mega deal right now because I want a lot of viewers to know it's something called the Biden Doctrine. It's an American plan for Israel that would normalize relations with Saudi Arabia. It deals with Iran. It has that also that unilateral recognition of the Palestinian state. I-24 News Senior Diplomatic Correspondent, Owen Ultraman, is about to break down what the plan is and how it's going to radically change the Middle East. Take a look. More talk of a change in approach in Western capitals, with new reporting that the Biden administration is looking into recognizing a Palestinian state now, not after a final status deal on the conflict, from both Axios and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. Behind the scenes, the administration thinking what British Foreign Secretary David Cameron is saying. What we've always said is we believe in a two-state solution, a secure Israel within its borders and a secure and stable Palestine within its borders. That's long been our position. And of course, as part of that, Britain, along with other countries, would recognize Palestine as a country and recognize Palestine at the United Nations. The Biden administration reportedly wants to attach big caveats to recognition, according to Tom Friedman, that the state only come into being once it has a set of defined credible institutions, and that the Palestinian state be demilitarized. Recognition would also reportedly be part of a package to include normalization with Saudi Arabia, a priority for Israel and a huge incentive for Jerusalem, despite the reservations. With an accord or without an accord, the state of Israel must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River. That's a necessary condition. It clashes with the principle of sovereignty. What can you do? Meaning that Israel would both get a Saudi deal in hand and also could argue that Palestinians don't meet the criteria set for statehood, not demilitarized and not with the institutions needed. Still a heavy lift for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his right-wing allies, but a package that could be worth a flexing of muscles. So we should add that there's a little bit of wiggle room here. There are reports that Saudi Arabia would be willing to accept what they're calling a political commitment from Israel. That's their words to create a Palestinian state. Instead of something that's a little bit more binding than that report, goes on to say that it's a bid to get a defense pact with Washington, some sort of a pact, some sort of a deal with Washington that's approved before the American presidential election. And Dan Perry is joining us here. Dan, it seems as though the US administration at first, after October 7th, was very much pro-Israel, pro-Israel, pro-Israel, and as now, 119 days later, we're pulling back just a little bit. Well, October 7th was a shocking event, and Biden speaks of himself as a Zionist, and there was an emotional reaction to stand by Israel. But I said even then, Israel has a lot of rope, but it's not without limit. Everyone supports, everyone reasonable, supports the goals of returning the hostages and crushing Hamas, which is almost literally the embodiment of evil in the global landscape. But not at all cost. I think Israel's rope is ending, and the war for Biden is a tremendous inconvenience in an election year, where he needs both the Jews and the far left, the progressives, and the minorities. And the war is divided, these two constituencies. If he sticks with Israel, he loses the latter. If he abandons Israel, the Jews may flip Jews who have historically supported the Republicans, they'll lose a lot of their votes. So he needs the war to end. But more than this, October 7th changed a lot, but it didn't change everything. We still breathe oxygen. America's fundamental strategic imperative is for a partition of the Holy Land and the creation of a Palestinian state. And many in Israel would argue that that is indeed in Israel's interest as well, because absent the partition, Israel plus West Bank plus Gaza is more than half not Jewish. That cannot possibly prosper. So the question is, how to create a security landscape that makes Israel be able to essentially, in phases, give up the West Bank without fearing that it will turn into another Gaza. And the next attack will be on Kfar Saba and the outskirts of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Right. Dan, there's so much happening. You mentioned the United States and something U.S., we are an election year in the United States. Dan, I'm going to play for you. This is the scene in Palo Alto, California. It's a forum with nine candidates that are running for Congress. Take a listen. In case you didn't hear that properly, there were a lot of people there who were denying that October 7th actually happened. They said, in addition to that, and this is Palo Alto, California, that Israel attacked its own citizens, that October 7th never happened, the 1,400 people, the 1,200 people who were killed in a 200 who were held hostage with some sort of false flag incident. Dan Perry worked, I mean, this is 119 days into it. We're in a political season right now. These are people running for Congress and they're being heckled. They're being heckled by October 7th deniers. And look, we can be shocked every time IDC confronts us. But the fact is, X percent of the people in any country are always going to be ready to believe nonsense. And that is what's happening with October 7th denial. It has to be fought. It's part of a PR campaign. And that also slots into the fact that Israel has become a political issue in the US. And it's not just because of anti-Semitism. It's not just because of progressive lunacies. It also relates to Israel's own actions in certain ways, whether or not people here like to admit that or not. So that goes into the story about that President Biden announced sanctions against four settlers in the West Bank who were somehow involved in a violent incident that occurred in the West Bank. Happens to happen hours before he goes to Michigan, but Michigan has a large Arab candidate. One might suspect it was political. One might suspect. I wanted to ask you thoughts about that. I think the distaste for the violence of extreme settlers is genuine. The timing is everything in politics. And of course, Biden, who won Michigan by whisper three and a half years ago, cannot afford to have the Muslims in Michigan, the Democratic Muslim constituencies in Michigan, which is the largest Muslim constituency in the swing state, abandoned him. So, sure. Let's talk about UNRF for a second, because there's a story today that there is a Norwegian politician who has submitted papers. This is a socialist Norwegian politician who submitted papers for UNRF to get a Nobel Peace Prize. Now, granted, anybody can do this. Donald Trump was submitted for a Nobel Peace Prize. There are other people who have done that. You could submit a mask for a Nobel Peace Prize. Nothing prevents it. Well, what does it say about what the European philosophy is towards all of this? It says that one guy is a nut job. But beyond that, it shows that this kind of inanity has some political support. That's why he was able to do it without fearing ridicule. There has been a monumental PR failure by Israel to present the truth about Hamas. There is a sense in the world that Hamas represents the Palestinian national cause. I would argue Hamas is the biggest enemies the Palestinians have, more than Israel. Hamas's entire raison d'etre is to prevent a two-state solution, which the Palestinians need no less than Israel, and no less than the U.S. might prefer it. As for UNRF, UNRF's sin is one of omission. They fail to stand up to Hamas. They fail to correct the textbooks in the schools that they run. Now, they don't do the textbooks, but they can demand corrections. They don't have to teach Mein Kampf in their schools. They fail to do that. And those textbooks, by the way, are PA textbooks, not Hamas textbooks. But the fact that Hamas and Gaza is happy with them shows you something about the PA curriculum. They also clearly were at least passively complicit with Hamas and Gaza. Now, it's in some ways, actively. It's difficult to stand up to a violent terrorist mafia. I get that. It's not shocking that they acquiesced in certain ways, but there's a limit. And UNRF probably went past the limit. But there's a PR, but you mentioned about a PR issue. And let me show our viewers just moments ago the Shin Bet released photos of, if you remember, there was an incident earlier in the week where there were three Hamas fighters who were killed in a hospital and it was done by Yamam Secret Service agents who went into the hospital and they shot and killed a three. These are pictures that were just released now by the Shin Bet of those agents getting ready for that operation. Dan Perry, there's a reason why Shin Bet had to release these pictures. Well, it's a little bit unseemly when an extrajudicial killing passes for good PR, but it kind of does because the world loves fowda and this was a classic fowda operation. And unlike the messy and hitherto, not that successful seeming operation in Gaza, this was extremely surgical, pun intended, and the goal was achieved and there was no collateral damage, no harm to civilians. And it reflected something that Israel needs to have the world understand, which is hospitals are abused by radical Palestinian rejectionists. But only that, the idea that they had to show this in a way that in terms of Israel's PR, there is a PR problem and any way that they can get some PR points somewhere is what they're looking for. Like I said, this was a successful operation and it kind of looks like fowda and the goal was hard to argue with. And again, it shows that what happens in Palestinian hospitals sort of lifts the veil of inviability from these hospitals. It is not a war crime to attack a hospital if a terrorist militia is holding meetings in it. The PR problem that Israel has is multifaceted. For one thing, Israel has lost the far left around the world with its mostly fallacious narratives of oppressed and oppressor. And the more white you are, the more evil you are, decolonization, nonsense. How do you fix this? And it's gonna get worse, Albert, because whereas this is only one in six Americans, it's one in two youths. So unless the youths grow up when they grow up, which might happen, but it also might not, this will soon become one third of the country and then a majority. You fix it with, well, with better PR. As much as you could show Hamas what they did on October the 7th, the issues that they deal with the Palestinian people. I said before, and this sometimes is less popular to speak of openly in Israel, but one must. It attaches also to Israel's own actions. If Israel went into Gaza with guns blazing and collateral damage all over the place but said, we're doing you a favor, we have to get rid of Hamas, the day after will be a very good day after. We're gonna help you create a Palestinian state, demilitarized, but free. And we're gonna organize global aid that will be part of regional peace. Any kind of vision that shows a movement towards something the world can line up behind, it would be better publicity for Israel. If it refuses to discuss the day after, because a far right in the Taniyau's cabinet won't let him. And we're talking about a prime minister who just tried to basically Putinize the country and is seen as part and parcel of the global authoritarian movement. That's not popular among democratic countries. Yeah, there was a reprieve on October 7th, because of the global historic barbarism of that day. But that reprieve is not forever. I think if Israel had a peace government and not this government, it would have better PR. Israel takes a PR hit more for what it's doing in the West Bank than Gaza. The Gaza situation, one can defend. The regime in West Bank is difficult to defend. You will not find many friends in America for that, not even Biden. Biden will support the war on Gaza. He will not support the settlements in West Bank. Dan Perry, always good to have you in our studio for analysis. Thanks again. Unlike almost every country in the world, women in Israel, not only in the military, they're on the front lines. But it's not every day that a young American woman would postpone college to join the IDF and serve as a lone soldier in a combat unit. Our Emily Francis introduces us to a 21-year-old NYU freshman from Manhattan. It's my second time here in Bay Area. And again, the stories that you hear, it's endless. This group of women from New York City came to Kibbutz, Barrie, to witness firsthand the horrors of October 7th. Mireille and Natalie Manicharian are a dynamic mother-daughter duo with a strong sense of purpose. I am the co-president of Vito USA, the Women International Zionist Organization. Vito is president in 38 countries around the world. And all the money raised is to help maintain the projects here. I couldn't be more proud to represent Vito, obviously. I think I'm a mini-miray. But I will continue to raise for Vito and support Israel in any way that I can while I'm abroad until I make aliyah. Natalie grew up in the comfort of Manhattan, but her strong sense of Jewish identity is in her DNA. Wearing your Jewish star is not only, ah, I'm a proud Jew. I stand with Israel. And for me, there's not a lot of that going on right now. And I know a lot of my friends were Jewish who took off their Jewish stars, who took down their menorahs. And to me, that's folding in the face of the enemy. And I am not prepared to do that. At the age of 17, Natalie felt a soul calling to postpone university and come to Israel to serve in the IDF as a lone soldier. And this was the first gut feeling I had in my life where I was so certain. I had never been more certain about something amidst so much uncertainty. How did that go down for you when she told you that? Honestly, I had a dream when I was 16 that I came here and I wanted to serve. And my father said, no way. You go back to Brazil with me. When my daughter said she wanted to serve, she didn't know she was going to be in combat, but she wanted to serve. I was so proud and I kind of lived vicariously through my daughter. But I also felt a responsibility as a Jewish mom to give her the freedom to be who she wanted to be and never clip my daughter's wings. Not only did Natalie enlist, but she also wanted to be drafted into an intense combat unit, even though mom did have sleepless nights at first. And you're getting your hands dirty in a combat unit. Let me tell you. What was the name of your unit? The unit is men and women and it mostly focuses on combat training and also incorporating it into search and rescue training. I was in Egypt for a period like right on the border, and then we went to the West Bank near Ramallah. We were actually the only men and women combat unit to enter Gaza in this war. Natalie finished her IDF service only a few months before the October 7th massacre. My basic training was in a base called Zikim, which unfortunately was attacked on October 7th, right on the border of Gaza. Guilt is a good word. It was just, I was mourning my whole country and I couldn't do anything about it, right? I couldn't go to Israel to mourn people that died, right? Whether it was going to a funeral, I couldn't do that. And then I had to be in New York and seeing these protests. It was the most powerless feeling of all time, right? Because right the day after October 7th, as much as we were all mourning, we were all so sad, we were all geared. We wanted to go and fight. We wanted to go. We were ready for it. I was. I couldn't leave my apartment. Now she's a 21-year-old college freshman at NYU. Yet no military training could have prepared her and other Jewish students for the hate crimes and physical violence against Jews that ensued on university campuses. I have an acquaintance who was assaulted physically in the library. I have a friend who is actually a journalist. He's not even Jewish, but he supports our community at NYU and he got punched in the face. I even, I was there. I saw everything happen and folded them and the guy was practically just released and nothing happened to him. He was going around campus the next day and that was scary. That was a scary moment when you see someone physically assault someone and they can roam around college campus freely. Mom and daughter could never have imagined feeling more unsafe in New York City than in Israel during a war. Listen, Emily, I am not going to lie. It's not the most friendly place to be right now, but I think as a Zionist organization, right, as women's movement, I mean, the horror that happened, right, and the silence that has been, you know, louder than noise. Exactly. From the women's organization, I think that our role right now is never been more important. In the shadow of the trauma, the Israeli people have suffered as a result of October 7th. The next wave of the over 100-year-old women's international Zionist organization is already going into motion. We're talking about every single citizen in this country has been affected. So, Vico's role will be taken care of and is already taken care of the families, mothers who are left with our husband, children who are left with our parents. We are going to be focused on creating the emotional trauma and that's our main goal. Emily Francis, I-24 News. Day 119. Stay on top of the news here on I-24 News on TV, online and on your iPhone with the I-24 News app. I'm Albert Lewerton reporting from Tel Aviv. The news continues right after this break. News 24, El Unico Medio en Español, que te mantiene informado y conectado con la comunidad Latina en Israel. News 24, únicamente en I-24 News. Lewerton at the I-24 News headquarters in Tel Aviv. Welcome to our viewers around the world. It's Friday, February the 2nd, 2024, day 119 of the war. There's some conflicting reports and by whether there's been a hostage deal struck, Qatar's foreign minister in Washington said Hamas had been given initial positive confirmation, his words to a deal, but then Hamas quickly denied it saying, cut or jump the gun. Hamas just this morning told Lebanese media they'll have an answer pretty soon. There are several sticking points. We'll break it down for you later on today. Moving to Syria, two explosions overnight, at least three are dead. There are reports at least one of them was an Iranian Revolutionary Guard advisor. This happened at three in the morning on the road between Al-Quraba and Zaid-e-Senad that's near Syria's electronic headquarters, the electronic warfare quarters that's near southern Damascus. Meanwhile, on the ground in Gaza, there are intense battles. They continue in Qanunis. The Israeli Navy has also been responding to shelling from the Gaza coastline. 20 Hamas fighters have been killed. The IDF says it has almost finished operations in Qanunis and is ready to move towards the border with Egypt. Let's go now to that fighting and the intense fighting that's continuing in Qanunis. Zach Anders is live. The Israel Gaza border with the very latest. Zach, what's the very latest from there? Well, we continue to see this fighting in and around Qanunis and it does appear to be the MO right now for the IDF to try and preempt any ceasefire deal that could come down the line. Any political decision, essentially, to try and make sure that the IDF has control over the areas these Hamas once Hamas strongholds. Qanunis, especially given the amount of force, effort and energy that has gone in to the fighting around that city, the western half of the city, we've been told has been one of the basically the last stands of the above ground network of Hamas coordination and collaboration where there still their forces have still been operating above ground. This is all excluding the subterranean network. So whatever happens next, we still are going to see in a ceasefire or even with continued fighting. The IDF controlling this area of Qanunis that they've been fighting over but still right underneath their feet is going to be another challenge and the second phase of the the engagement will have to take place below ground. Zach, there's also word that a lot of the IDF is still waiting to move further south towards Rafa. What do we know about any of their movements going further south? That's one of those things that the IDF has not been very clear about either as to the timeline of when they plan to move into this area. We have seen on social media inside Gaza, the residents, the refugees, the civilians that have been in such an awful humanitarian situation. Today they've been posting that there were flyers dropped again. This was for an area that is towards the Gaza city with more calls to evacuate and head further south. So the the landscape here has been changing quite a bit and is still quite complex. But one of the key indicators would be if the area the people that are in the area of Rafa are given some notice or warning that they need to flee that's what the IDF has been doing for these other areas. And so far what we've seen from the pamphlets dropped in the air today Rafa is not in that list or not being a call to move. So as soon as that is communicated to the people there that's I'm sure we can then anticipate that that is the IDF plans to move next into that area. Great Zach Anders joining us live now from the southern part of Israel on the border with Gaza. Thanks again for joining us. I'm now in studio with Dan Perry international affairs analyst in the former Europe and the least editor for the for the Associated Press. Dan thanks again for coming in. The idea now that that there's possibly a deal that each side is now putting out these feelers that the the Qatari farm minister put something out from Washington. It seems as though they're just trying to see what child balloons they're putting up in the air. It kind of looks that way. You can speak of the fog of war. This is more like the fog of peace. I've yet to see any indication that Hamas has dropped its demand for complete end to the war. And without that, I do not see how this government really almost any government can possibly agree to a deal. So it looks like a lot of wishful thinking by people wanting to prod the sides towards some elegant solution but it remains a square pegging around holes far as I can tell. It seems as though what they're also doing is that there's they're getting a lot of the Israelis are getting a lot of pressures from the from the British and from the Americans by having this idea of a unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. Well, this attaches to the notion that maybe part of what can prod decides to abandoning one or more their bedrock demands in Israel's case or removal of Hamas would be a mega deal in which the benefits to Israel would be so overwhelming that they would agree to some something elegant in Gaza that fundamentally returns the hostages but does not truly crush Hamas. That will be difficult for Netanyahu to pass in his coalition for sure. Indeed, any hostage deal even one that involves a prolonged a truce but not not an end to the war is already the focus of a lot of opposition within his own coalition and sort of looks like he would lose the hard right if he agrees to even a basic element of this reported deal, which would be at least a six week pause in the early phase. Dan, I'm gonna have you talk about a mega deal. I'm going to talk about that mega deal right now because I want a lot of viewers to know it's something called the Biden doctrine. It's an American plan for Israel that would normalize relations with Saudi Arabia. It deals with Iran. It has that also that unilateral recognition of the Palestinian state. I-24 news senior diplomatic correspondent on ultimate is about to break down what the plan is and how it's going to radically change the Middle East. Take a look. More talk of a change in approach in Western capitals with new reporting that the Biden administration is looking into recognizing a Palestinian state now, not after a final status deal on the conflict from both Axios and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. Behind the scenes, the administration thinking what British foreign secretary David Cameron is saying. What we've always said is we believe in a two state solution, a secure Israel within its borders and a secure and stable Palestine within its borders. That's a long bit our position. And of course, as part of that, Britain along with other countries would recognize Palestine as a country and recognize Palestine at the United Nations. The Biden administration reportedly wants to attach big caveats to recognition. According to Tom Friedman that the state only come into being once it has a set of defined credible institutions and that the Palestinian state be demilitarized. Recognition would also reportedly be part of a package to include normalization with Saudi Arabia, a priority for Israel and a huge incentive for Jerusalem, despite the reservations. With an accord or without an accord, the state of Israel must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River. That's a necessary condition. It clashes with the principle of sovereignty. What can you do? Meaning that Israel would both get a Saudi deal in hand and also could argue that Palestinians don't meet the criteria set for statehood, not demilitarized and not with the institutions needed. Still a heavy lift for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his right wing allies, but a package that could be worth a flexing of muscles. So we should add that there's a little bit of wiggle room here. There are reports that Saudi Arabia would be willing to accept what they're calling a political commitment from Israel. That's their words to create a Palestinian state. Instead of something that's a little bit more binding. That report goes on to say that it's a bid to get a defense pact with Washington, some sort of a pact, some sort of a deal with Washington that's approved before the American presidential election. And Dan Perry is joining us here. Dan, it seems as though the US administration at first, after October 7th, was very much pro-Israel, pro-Israel, pro-Israel. And as now 119 days later, we're pulling back just a little bit. Well, October 7th was a shocking event, and Biden speaks of himself as a Zionist, and there was an emotional reaction to stand by Israel. But I said even then, Israel has a lot of rope, but it's not without limit. Everyone supports, everyone reasonable, supports the goals for turning the hostages and crushing Hamas, which is almost literally the embodiment of evil in the global landscape. But not at all cost. I think Israel's rope is ending, and the war for Biden is a tremendous inconvenience in an election year, where he needs both the Jews and the far left, the progressives and the minorities. And the war is divided, these two constituencies. If he sticks with Israel, he loses the latter. If he abandons Israel, the Jews may flip. Jews who have historically supported the Republicans, they'll lose a lot of their votes. So he needs the war to end. But more than this, October 7th changed a lot, but it didn't change everything. We still breathe oxygen. America's fundamental strategic imperative is for a partition of the Holy Land and a creation of a Palestinian state. And many in Israel would argue that that is indeed in Israel's interest as well, because absent the partition, Israel plus West Bank plus Gaza is more than half not Jewish. That cannot possibly prosper. So the question is, how to create a security landscape that makes Israel be able to essentially, in phases, give up the West Bank without fearing that it will turn into another Gaza. And the next attack will be on Kfar Saba and the outskirts of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Right. Dan, I'm gonna, there's so much happening. You mentioned the United States, and something that the US, we are an election year in the United States. Dan, I'm gonna play for you. This is the scene in Palo Alto, California. It's a forum with nine candidates that are running for Congress. Take a listen. Murdered people, raped people. In case you didn't hear that properly, there were a lot of people there who were denying that October 7th actually happened. They said in addition to that, and this is Palo Alto, California, that Israel attacked its own citizens. That October 7th never happened. The 1400 people, the 1200 people who were killed in the 200 who were held hostage was some sort of false flag incident. Dan Perry worked, I mean, this is 119 days into it. We're in a political season right now. These are people running for Congress, and they're being heckled. They're being heckled by October 7th deniers. And look, we can be shocked every time ADC confronts us. But the fact is, X% of the people in any country are always gonna be ready to believe nonsense. And that is what's happening with October 7th denial. It has to be fought. It's part of the PR campaign. And that also slots into the fact that Israel has become a political issue in the US. And it's not just because of anti-Semitism. It's not just because of progressive lunacies. It also relates to Israel's own actions in certain ways, whether or not people here like to admit that or not. So then also that goes into the story about the President Biden announced sanctions against four settlers in the West Bank who were somehow involved in a violent incident that occurred in the West Bank. Happens to happen hours before he goes to Michigan, but Michigan has a large Arab. One might suspect it was political. One might suspect. I do want to ask you thoughts about that. I think the distaste for the violence of extreme settlers is genuine. The timing is everything in politics. And of course, Biden, who won Michigan by a whisper three and a half years ago, cannot afford to have the Muslims in Michigan, the Democratic Muslim constituencies in Michigan, which is the largest Muslim constituency in the swing state, abandoned him. So sure. Let's talk about UNRF for a second because there's a story today that there is a Norwegian politician who has submitted papers. This is a socialist Norwegian politician who submitted papers for UNRF to get a Nobel Peace Prize. Now granted, anybody can do this. Donald Trump was submitted for a Nobel Peace Prize. There are other people who have done the best. You could submit a mask for a Nobel Peace Prize. Nothing prevents it. Well, what does it say about what the European philosophy is towards all of this? It says that one guy is a nut job. But beyond that, it shows that this kind of inanity has some political support. That's why he was able to do it without fearing ridicule. There has been a monumental PR failure by Israel to present the truth about Hamas. There is a sense in the world that Hamas represents a Palestinian national cause. I would argue Hamas is the biggest enemies the Palestinians have more than Israel. Hamas' entire raison d'etre is to prevent a two-state solution, which the Palestinians need no less than Israel and no less than the US might prefer it. As for UNRF, UNRF's sin is one of omission. They fail to stand up to Hamas. They fail to correct the textbooks in the schools that they run. Now, they don't do the textbooks, but they can demand corrections. They don't have to teach Mein Kampf in their schools. They fail to do that. Those textbooks, by the way, are PA textbooks, not Hamas textbooks. But the fact that Hamas and Gaza is happy with them shows you something about the PA curriculum. They also clearly were at least passively complicit with Hamas and Gaza. Now, it's in some ways actively. It's difficult to stand up to a violent terrorist mafia. I get that. It's not shocking that the acquiesced in certain ways. But there's a limit. And UNRF probably went past the limit. But there's a PR, but you mentioned about a PR issue. And let me show our viewers just moments ago, the Shin Bet released photos of, if you remember, there was an incident earlier in the week where there were three Hamas fighters who were killed in a hospital and it was done by Yamam Secret Service agents who went into the hospital and they shot and killed the three. These are pictures that were just released now by the Shin Bet of those agents getting ready for that operation. Dan Perry, there's a reason why Shin Bet had to release these pictures. Well, it's a little bit unseemly when an extrajudicial killing passes for good PR, but it kind of does because the world loves fowda and this was a classic fowda operation. And unlike the messy and hitherto not that successful seeming operation in Gaza, this was extremely surgical, pun intended, and the goal was achieved and there was no collateral damage, no harm to civilians. And it reflected something that Israel needs to have the world understand, which is, hospitals are abused by radical Palestinian rejectionists. But only that, the idea that they had to show this in a way that in terms of Israel's PR, there is a PR problem and any way that they can get some PR points somewhere is what they're looking at. Like I said, this was a successful operation and it kind of looks like fowda and the goal was hard to argue with. And again, it shows that what happens in Palestinian hospitals sort of lifts the veil of inviability from these hospitals. It is not a war crime to attack a hospital if a terrorist militia is holding meetings in it. The PR problem that Israel has is multifaceted. For one thing, Israel has lost the far left around the world with its mostly fallacious narratives of oppressed and oppressor. And the more white you are, the more evil you are, decolonization, nonsense. How do you fix this? And it's going to get worse, Albert, because whereas this is only one in six Americans, it's one in two youths. So unless the youth grow up when they grow up, which might happen, but it also might not, this will soon become one third of the country and then a majority. You fix it with, well, with better PR. As much as you could show Hamas what they did on October the 7th, the issues that they deal with the Palestinian people. I said before, and this sometimes is less popular to speak of openly in Israel, but one must. It attaches also to Israel's own actions. If Israel went into Gaza with guns blazing and collateral damage all over the place, but said, we're doing you a favor, we have to get rid of Hamas, the day after will be a very good day after. We're going to help you create a Palestinian state, demilitarized, but free. And we're going to organize global aid that will be part of regional peace. Any kind of vision that shows a movement towards something the world can line up behind, it would be better publicity for Israel. If it refuses to discuss the day after, because a far right in Netanyahu's cabinet won't let him. And we're talking about a prime minister who just tried to basically Putinize the country and is seen as part and parcel of the global authoritarian movement that's not popular among democratic countries. Yeah, there was a reprieve on October 7th because of the global historic barbarism of that day, but that reprieve is not forever. I think if Israel had a peace government and not this government, it would have better PR. Israel takes a PR hit more for what it's doing in the West Bank than Gaza. The Gaza situation, one can defend. The regime in West Bank is difficult to defend. You will not find many friends in America for that, not even Biden. Biden will support the war on Gaza. He will not support the settlements in West Bank. Dan Perry, always good to have you in our studio for analysis. Thanks again. Unlike almost every country in the world, women in Israel, not only in the military, they're on the front lines. But it's not every day that a young American woman would postpone college to join the IDF and serve as a lone soldier in a combat unit. Our Emily Francis introduces us to a 21-year-old NYU freshman from Manhattan. It's my second time here in Bay Area. And again, the stories that you hear, it's endless. This group of women from New York City came to Kibbutz Bay Area to witness firsthand the horrors of October 7th. Mire and Natalie Manicharian are a dynamic mother-daughter duo with a strong sense of purpose. I am the co-president of VITO USA, the Women International Zionist Organization. VITO is president in 38 countries around the world. And all the money raised is to help maintain the projects here. I couldn't be more proud to represent VITO, obviously. I think I'm a mini-miray. But I will continue to raise for VITO and support Israel in any way that I can while I'm abroad until I make aliyah. Natalie grew up in the comfort of Manhattan, but her strong sense of Jewish identity is in her DNA. Wearing your Jewish star is not only I'm a proud Jew. I stand with Israel. And for me, there's not a lot of that going on right now. And I know a lot of my friends were Jewish who took off their Jewish stars, who took down their menorahs. And to me, that's folding in the face of the enemy. And I am not prepared to do that. At the age of 17, Natalie felt a soul calling to postpone university and come to Israel to serve in the IDF as a lone soldier. This was the first gut feeling I had in my life where I was so certain. I had never been more certain about something amidst so much uncertainty. How did that go down for you when she told you that? Honestly, I had a dream when I was 16 that I came here and I wanted to serve. And my father said, no way. You go back to Brazil with me. When my daughter said she wanted to serve, she didn't know she was going to be in combat, but she wanted to serve. I was so proud. And I kind of lived vicariously through my daughter. But I also felt a responsibility as a Jewish mom to give her the freedom to be who she wanted to be and never clip my daughter's wings. Not only did Natalie enlist, but she also wanted to be drafted into an intense combat unit, even though mom did have sleepless nights at first. And you're getting your hands dirty in a combat unit. Let me tell you. What was the name of your unit? The unit is men and women, and it mostly focuses on combat training and also incorporating it into search and rescue training. I was in Egypt for a period, like right on the border, al-Kharif was called. And then we went to the West Bank near Ramallah. They were actually the only men and women combat unit to enter Gaza, like to enter Gaza in this war. Natalie finished her IDF service only a few months before the October 7th massacre. My basic training was in a base called Zikim, which unfortunately was attacked on October 7th, right on the border of Gaza. Guilt is a good word. It was just, I was mourning my whole country and I couldn't do anything about it, right? I couldn't go to Israel to mourn people that died. Right, whether it was going to a funeral, I couldn't do that. And then I had to be in New York and seeing these protests. It was the most powerless feeling of all time, right? Because right the day after October 7th, as much as we were all mourning, we were all so sad, we were all geared. We wanted to go and fight. We wanted to go. We were ready for it. I was. I couldn't leave my apartment. Now she's a 21-year-old college freshman at NYU. Yet no military training could have prepared her and other Jewish students for the hate crimes and physical violence against Jews that ensued on university campuses. I have an acquaintance who was assaulted physically in the library. I have a friend who is actually a journalist. He's not even Jewish, but he supports our community at NYU and he got punched in the face. I even, I was there. I saw everything happen and folded them. And the guy was practically just released and nothing happened to him. He was going around campus the next day and that was scary. That was a scary moment when you see someone physically assault someone and they can roam around college campus freely. Mom and daughter could never have imagined feeling more unsafe in New York City than in Israel during a war. Listen, Emily, I am not going to lie. It's not the most friendly place to be right now, but I think as a Zionist organization, as women's movement, the horror that happened and the silence that has been, you know, louder than noise. Exactly. From the women's organization, I think that our role right now is never been more important. In the shadow of the trauma, the Israeli people have suffered as a result of October 7th. The next wave of the over 100-year-old women's international Zionist organization is already going into motion. We're talking about every single citizen in this country has been affected. So Vico's role will be taken care of and he's already taken care of the families, mothers who are left without husband, children who are left without parents. We are going to be focused on creating the emotional trauma and that's our main goal. Emily Francis, I-24 News. Day 119. Stay on top of the news here on I-24 News on TV, online and on your iPhone with the I-24 News app. I'm Albert Lewerton reporting from Tel Aviv. The news continues right after this break. Entrevistas exclusivas reportes desde la zona de guerra. La reacción de los países hispano parlantes. We're live at the I-24 News headquarters in Tel Aviv. Welcome to our viewers around the world. It's Friday, February the 2nd, 2024. It's day 119 of Israel at war. There's some conflicting reports about whether there's been a hostage deal struck. Qatar's foreign minister in Washington said that Hamas had given initial positive confirmation. Those are his words to a deal. But then Hamas quickly denied it saying Qatar jumped the gun. Hamas just this morning told Lebanese media they'll have an answer pretty soon. There are some sticking points that we'll get to that in just a moment. Moving now on to Syria. Two explosions overnight. At least three are dead. There are reports at least one of them was an Iranian revolutionary guard advisor. This happened at three in the morning on the road between Al-Qaaba and Sayyed Zainab near Syria's headquarters of electronic warfare in southern Damascus. Meanwhile, going back to Gaza, on the ground in Gaza, intense battles continue in Qanunis. The Israeli Navy has now also been responding to shelling from the Gaza coastline. Twenty Hamas fighters have been killed. The IDF has almost finished operations in Qanunis and it's ready to move towards the border with Egypt. Let's go on to that intense fighting that continues in Qanunis. Zach Anders is live at the Israel-Gaza border with the very latest. Zach, you know the expression of follow the money. The IDF says it found some. So what's the latest on that? Yeah, as part of these operations inside the strip, they've been entering into different areas and to banks as they have tried to, as the IDF says, interpret some of the financial records and try and understand where some of Hamas' funding is in its current state, trying to understand the organization's network on the ground. Some of these things can be understood from afar, but to be able to get paper records and things like that, the IDF says they've been going into banks and institutions trying to follow the money and one of the IDF soldiers that was a part of one of those operations has spoken. Here's what he had to say. We entered the bank and discovered an underground infrastructure where we found three safes. We broke into the safes where hundreds of thousands of shekels were found, along with hundreds of checks, as well as many, many documents that reveal Hamas' method of money trading and the people in charge of that system. We have also found bonds worth millions of dollars in documentation proving that the large part of this trade took place between the 2nd and 5th of October, just before the 7th. And part of all of this that's taking place inside the strip is in conjunction, of course, with the heavy military operations. We still see heavy fighting in western Khan Unis. The IDF says in the last 24 hours, 20 Hamas have been killed inside the strip. They have not indicated exactly where this is, locating generally in Khan Unis. We don't know exactly where the heaviest of fighting has been per IDF reports, but what we can put together via social media accounts and speaking to some sources that are familiar with this, it does appear that western Khan Unis continues to be an area where Hamas operates above ground with some strength. Again, we can't say with certainty what the four sizes are. And a lot of the footage that we can collaborate with is of small cells of Hamas firing on Israeli positions and essentially disappearing, alluding again to this extensive underground tunnel network that they're still able to utilize. Great, Zach Gators, thanks so much for joining us on the southern part of Israel. Thanks again. I'm going to join in studio by Nairi Zilber. He's a journalist and an adjunct fellow at the Washington Institute for Nairi's policy. Thanks so much, Nairi, for coming in today. I know that Lloyd Austin, the Defense Secretary, and Yohav Galant, the Defense Minister of Israel, were on the phone. They had a phone call the other day, what they talked about is something how they wanted to avoid a wider conflict. I want to play a sound bite of the Lloyd Austin. Go ahead. Our teammates were killed by radical militias back by Iran and operating inside Syria and Iraq. In the aftermath of the vile Hamas terrorist assault on Israel on October 7th, terrorist groups back by Iran and funded by Iran have tried to create even more turmoil, including the Houthis, attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea. So this is a dangerous moment in the Middle East. We will continue to work to avoid a wider conflict in the region. But we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our interests, and our people. And we will respond when we choose, where we choose, and how we choose. So, Nairi, this sounds while the U.S. says they don't really want to get involved, it sounds like they're in a corner where they have to get involved. They're already involved. We have to remember that very shortly after October 7th, the U.S. sent various aircraft strike carrier groups to the region. It was helping Israel with air defense, shooting down cruise missiles and drones, being fired from the Houthis in Yemen at the southern port of Elat. And now it's come under fire from Iranian-backed militias and proxies, whether coming out of Iraq or Syria, three fatalities just a few days ago. So the U.S. will respond. My expectation is it'll be likely today and tomorrow, over the weekend. It remains to be seen how fierce the response will be. The sense is that it will be an ongoing response over the course of several weeks. It's not just one big night of airstrikes and the like. But it remains to be seen how far Lloyd Austin and President Joe Biden really want to take it to send a message not only to the proxy groups between Iran that this can't stand. Right, but how far will they take it before it looks as though all we're going to do is take away your lunch money, but we're never going to go past that. So hopefully it won't just be lunch money. Hopefully it'll be assets and maybe people that really hurt not only the proxies, like I said, but Iran itself. So that's really the dividing line, whether you go just after the proxies, whether in Iraq or Syria, whether you go after Iranian personnel deployed across the region. I don't expect airstrikes to be launched at Iranian territory. I think that's a bridge too far for the administration right now. They've said Iran has said that we don't want a war, but if you come and you attack on our land, we will go. Right, and you expect Iran to say that. And by the way, Iran fired right after the assassination of Qasem Sulaimani, the big Iranian general just a few years ago under the previous U.S. administration. Iran did fire on an American military base, very nearly killed U.S. military personnel. And so now we're not quite there yet. Again, the Biden administration is signaling that it will respond, but that it doesn't want this to get out of hand. Let's talk about the Biden administration. I'm going to get our viewers a little bit at the speed on this. There is something called the Biden Doctrine. It's an American plan for Israel to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia. Now, it's a deal with a number of deals. One is a deal with Iran, and it's also an American recognition of Palestinian state. I-24's senior defense diplomatic correspondent, Owen Alderman, is about to break down the plan and how that's going to radically change him to least. Take a look. More talk of a change in approach in Western capitals, with new reporting that the Biden administration is looking into recognizing a Palestinian state now, not after a final status deal on the conflict from both Axios and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. Behind the scenes, the administration thinking what British Foreign Secretary David Cameron is saying. What we've always said is we believe in a two-state solution, a secure Israel within its borders and a secure and stable Palestine within its borders. That's long been our position. And of course, as part of that, Britain, along with other countries, would recognize Palestine as a country and recognize Palestine at the United Nations. The Biden administration reportedly wants to attach big caveats to recognition. According to Tom Friedman, that the state only come into being once it has a set of defined credible institutions and that the Palestinian state be demilitarized. Recognition would also reportedly be part of a package to include normalization with Saudi Arabia, a priority for Israel and a huge incentive for Jerusalem, despite the reservations. With an accord or without an accord, the state of Israel must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River. That's a necessary condition. It clashes with the principle of sovereignty. What can you do? Meaning that Israel would both get a Saudi deal in hand and also could argue that Palestinians don't meet the criteria set for statehood, not demilitarized and not with the institutions needed. Still a heavy lift for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his right wing allies, but a package that could be worth a flexing of muscles. But there is a little bit of wiggle room here. There are reports that Saudi Arabia would be willing to accept a political commitment from Israel. Those are their words, political commitment from Israel to create a Palestinian state rather than anything that's actually more binding. Those reports also go on to say that there's a bid to get a defense pact with Washington approved before the American presidential election this November. Neri Zilber, let's talk about that for a second because it seems as though there's a group that says October the 7th is the reason why we needed a two state solution and there's a group that says October the 7th is the reason why we should never have a two state solution. So where do we fit in all of this? How does this all work? They're both correct, to my mind. Number one, on the one side of the ledger, people who say October 7th and even before October 7th, let's be honest, a Palestinian state should never come into being. Don't have a very good answer for ensuring Israel remains both a Jewish and democratic state. That's been true now for many decades. It will be true going forward even more so in the decades to come despite the horrors and travesty and loss of life on October 7th. That's just structural. We have to understand that and be very clear about that. This conflict requires a solution not just for Palestinian rights but also for Israeli self-determination and Jewish self-determination in this land. Flip side of it, territorial withdrawals as we saw from Gaza in 2005 brought Hamas rule and then several years later brought October 7th. So really the issue is security. How do you ensure security? Who do you hand that territory over? And that's why the Biden administration and others are saying now and have been saying for quite some time. It really depends what type of Palestinian state, what type of Palestinian entity is able to arise and take control of this territory. Is it going to be a dictatorship? Is it going to be a democracy? Will it have armed forces like we saw, the Hamas military wing? Or will it have more forces like the Palestinian Authority Security Forces that we see in the West Bank coordinating on a daily basis even now with the IDF, with the Israeli Intelligence Services? Will the Palestinian people themselves have self-representation? Will they hold elections? Who will be allowed to run? And finally, and arguably firstly, the issues of militarization and also institutions is one thing. The real crux of the matter is where the border is going to lie for this Palestinian state. Where will it physically and geographically be? And that will entail, I imagine, severe concessions by Israel on the territorial dimension. Right, that's where it comes down to with Netanyahu. This isn't an anathema, the idea of a two-state solution is an anathema to Netanyahu. There's no way. It just goes against everything he's been for for about 30 years. Well, it depends which Netanyahu you talk to. There have been moments in the past where under severe American diplomatic pressure, he has acknowledged and given his consent for a Palestinian state with various caveats that we know of. But again, that has shifted over time. Right now, he's taking the very hard line position, primarily due to domestic Israeli politics. He has to make sure that his right-wing allies, the pro-settler allies in his coalition and also within his own Likud party, don't abandon him and use it against him in any future political moment. So right now, he's standing up and saying, I will never allow a Palestinian state. That's fine. But with the incentive, perhaps, of Saudi normalization, and combining that with severe US and European international diplomatic pressure, will that position remain constant in the coming weeks and months? That's a question. Now, in terms of the Saudis, the Saudis get something out of all of this. They get, they get, not only they are the regional player as well, but they also get investment in a potential Gaza from when everything is done. Right. So we also have to mention and be very clear this is all coming in the midst of an ongoing war in Gaza. So the idea behind the American initiative is that not only would the Palestinians get at least nominal recognition of a state and would Israel gets normalized ties with Saudi, but also you bring the Gaza war to an end and you get buy-in from the Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, for whatever comes after the war and after ideally Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip. So that's also a big part of this package. Look, Saudi has a lot to gain. It also has a lot to give. And it also wants not only American investment, but an American security guarantee, advanced weaponry, perhaps a nuclear program. So it stands normalization with Israel, which is a huge give in Saudi mines. And it's something, by the way, we should be clear. The Biden administration was working on this throughout most of last year, before October 7th. And so it's, it's being put back on the table as part of the overall package in the context of the Gaza war. But the idea we're tapping in Israel is that there's a belief that you, let's discuss the two-state solution. There's no way to trust that it's not going to turn into something that, go ahead, I'm sorry. There's no way to trust to determine the mixture that the Palestinian authority or whatever the country of Palestine doesn't end up becoming militarized and then attacking Israel. It's a huge concern. It's a legitimate concern. The wager always with regard to the Israeli Palestinian conflict and the peace process was, in the Israeli point of view, how much security risk are you willing to take for the political upside? Now the political upside will remain constant. You want to ensure a Jewish and democratic state that the number of Palestinians between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea doesn't that number Jews? And then you can't quite call yourself a Jewish state or you can't quite call yourself a democratic state. So that problem is constant, but how much security risk are you willing to take on? And that is where the international guarantees come in. That's where the IDF presence on the border areas come in. That is where the type of Palestinian entity on the other side of the border comes in. Nehri Zelber, always a pleasure to have you in studio. Nehri Zelber, Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Thanks again for coming in this afternoon. The Israel Hamas War has presented many challenges for Israeli society from survivors to hostages, soldiers to affected families. Everyone has a story to tell. In this next report that's adapted from Israel Channel 12, we're going to explore the lives of the spouses of injured soldiers and civilians. Take a look. This is the house. This is my bed. I open it every morning. I close it like this again so that there will be some space here. My blanket, the closet, the shampoo, conditioner, and all in all, you live very near in Ramadan. We live 10 minutes drive from here. So why are you here all the time? Because there is no option. I didn't think at the age of 24 that I would face these things, that I would learn to take the first steps with my friends. We would be changing diapers. He would be sedated and ventilated and me next to him, holding his hand. And I don't know how we will wake up and what he remembers and what he doesn't remember and what he saw. During the day, Shir is head of the lone soldier section at the Tel Hashimer base. At four in the afternoon, she arrives here at the Tel Hashimer hospital. She and Evitar are 24 years old, only together for a year, but exceptionally committed. He is a paratroop company commander who was critically wounded, while defending Kibbutz Kisufim on October the 7th. We wanted to be free and travel. And we said, come on, let's take a trip off to the army. And suddenly you say, how will we be able to do all these things that we dreamed of? A wedding? Will he manage to dance all evening the way I want? Which apartment will we move to? Because we need to move to one with accessibility. What was the hardest thing you went through during this period? Evitar was sedated and ventilated for 10 days. When he started to wake up, we realized that we had to monitor what happened to him. His grandfather passed away. In the days when he was sedated and ventilated, on October 7, six fighters from your company fell and we were called here and there. And it was a very, very difficult day. One day I said to him, Evitar, I want to be normal. I want to cry to you now about how annoying work was. And I feel like I constantly have to become and strong and optimistic and happy and smiling and everything is fine. And I just want to tell you now about this annoying day I had. What a magnificent wall. This wall is a piece of genius because in the first week, then I was on a high because I didn't die. But then you realize it's going to be long and you get depressed. Then Barr caught the depression and then she brought all these pictures and it just made a change. And do you know that picture that attracts the most attention is this one? Yes. This is a picture. I have not seen him like this. Started with a uniform after I got here. From the moment he realized dad was injured, he was alone in uniform and went with it for two consecutive weeks. He slept with it. He went to kindergarten with it. He went to classes with it. You know, he walks through the kibbutz. People salute him. Saul is five years old. He has been living with his grandmother in kibbutz maor for a month. Mom only comes on weekends. The rest of the time, she's in the hospital. Michael has between hundreds and thousands of shrapnel pieces in his body. There's almost no organ that was not damaged. A few days ago, he came out of intensive care and got stronger. Now Barr is making up for what he went through. Even stronger? Yes. I'm afraid. Let's lower the shoulder. Let's lower the hand completely. I will release the shoulder. Yes. Hold it. Don't move. When he started waking you up, then your eyes rolled back like this. And I remember that I really started shaking. And she said to me, yes, he's waking up. Talk to him. Then I started telling you, Michael, I'm here. You're in Tel Aviv. Saved. Michael, I worry about you. Michael, you're out of it. And that's how I talk to you for many hours. I was constantly waking up. Every two days, I had anesthesia. They do some kind of test. They changed my bandages. And every time I woke up, I was still inside Gaza. I had to fill sacks, load in the mines. He would send me on missions, Gaza missions. We need to clean the weapons. And then it took a while for it to pass. It's you every hour, right? Wow. Somewhere Barr became a partner. Absolutely. And also maybe a psychologist or a social worker. So I can also deal with the mental things that are super complex, just like the body injuries. The couple's daughters quite quickly and reluctantly became nannies as well. This has difficult consequences for them and also for married life. You have two children that you haven't finished breakfast with. I found myself in the first few days shell shocked. I had panic attacks every time I took it one step too far. Then I realized that in order to hold on and to be there for Michael, I had to look after myself as well. After two and a half weeks in intensive care, I realized that I had to move. I had to move my body. I didn't sleep for two weeks. I walked. I found a treadmill here inside the hospital. I just walked, ran, cried. Every day I go to shower, although it is very difficult for me to leave the ward. Very difficult for me. Going to shower, dressing in clothes I like, putting on perfume, putting on hair cream, putting on face cream. I don't give up on myself. Michael has a song that he particularly likes. For many years, a song by Idan Ahmedi. When Saul missed dad, he would ask to sing it with his mom on the piano. When I was evacuated in the helicopter, they gave me pain killers. They gave me ketamine. The doctor said it could either be very good for you or very bad for you. So to keep my morale up, he said, maybe I should sing a song or something. And that was the song I was singing or singing out of tune. I was really out of tune, but it kept my spirits high. And then I came here and I found out that they have been singing it together. And then the first time Saul came to visit me, of course, we sang it together. What do you miss the most? Normality, routine. I often catch myself saying, I wish I had just gone to work today. In the simplest way, I just wanted to end. Avital, Amichai and their six children live in Kibbutz, Karem Shalom in the western most house, closest to the fence. The terrace attached an explosive device to the door of the safe room. Amichai lost one hand. Does it scare you that he will be different when he returns? He's your love. He is my love and he remains my love. I married Amichai because he was a very caring person. That's what was important to me. That he would really be a person who sees me, who knows what I need and who also knows how to give me these things. And they didn't take that away from him. It still remains. I always had someone to help me. And now I'm alone. There's nothing that helps me. And it's very insufficient. We did everything together. And now this togetherness remains only on me. Is there anything you need? So just yesterday, I told someone that this is the hardest question they ask. Because right now, when I sit and talk to you, I don't need anything. But if someone knocked on my door and said, I came to do the dishes for you, I would happily let them in. And if someone came and told me, I'm with the kids now, go to the mall for two hours, don't worry, I would let them in. Saying what you need is very difficult. Do you feel invisible? Sometimes, yes. When they come and ask how he is and forget to ask how I am. And it's no less a struggle in the end. Both of them are crazy struggle that I don't wish on anyone. There really isn't any association or group that takes care of the shells of the families. Michael, Evitar and Amihai are currently not expected to be released from the hospital. Barr, Scher and Avital want them so much at home but are also afraid of what the homecoming will bring. And meanwhile, love conquers all, even severe injuries. Hello. How are you? How was it? Is everything good? So I caught you on the way. On the stairs, I went. We walked. Beautiful. Beautiful. We progressed to one. That's it. I gave her a heart attack on October 7th. And from there, she's only with me all the time. Even when I was sedated and ventilated, she held my hand every time to make sure I was the right position, that everything was fine. Where do you find yourself telling her the most? I tell her. Thank you. Thank her. You haven't asked her to marry you yet? No, that's later. Because right now I can't kneel. There are nearly 14,000 injured in the war, day 119. Stay on top of the news here on I-24 News on TV online and on your phone with the I-24 News app. I'm Amber Lewitson reporting from Tel Aviv. The news continues after this break. Israel is in a state of war. Families completely gunned down in their beds. We have no idea where you see us. Our soldiers are fighting on the front line, but the general perception is something that certainly needs to be fought as well.