Nine tunnels have been found between Gaza and Egypt by the IDF with all of them being sealed before the October 7 attack, according to sources. This does not answer the doubts being raised if they had been used for the transport of weapons and ammunition or other banned and sanctioned goods into the Gaza Strip.
In any case, it seems that new statements released by the IDF confirm, at least officially, that the Rafah Brigade of Hamas has been all but destroyed. It is unclear at the moment if this can be confirmed in a true sense, or it might just be political and military communication aimed at fulfilling goals or to justify a potential retreat from the area.
In another unfortunate turn of events, an airstrike upon a school in Gaza was carried out by the Israeli army in which 18 casualties have been reported. According to the official statements, the site was being used by the terrorist as a safe place from where to spring actions against the IDF. UNRWA has claimed that 6 of those were staffers, while the IDF has named 9 Hamas terrorist and 3 staffers from the UN agency. The agency has recorded no less than 220 casualties since the beginning of the war.
WHO estimates that one quarter of the total injured in the Gaza Strip recorded by the 23rd of July are facing life-changing injuries which require lifelong rehabilitation. This is happening at the same time as the total destruction of health services and access to health services is taking place. The only hospital which was specialized in limb reconstruction that existed in the Gaza Strip, Nasser Medical Complex, has been shut down in December 2023, according to WHO.
In a rare case of “victory” which was recorded for the civilians in the central Gaza, a first phase of a three-round campaign for polio vaccination took place successfully between 1-3 September, with 187000 children under the age of ten being vaccinated against the deadly virus. A second phase took place between 5-8 September in southern Gaza and a third and final phase took place in norther Gaza. More than 550.000 children took the first shot of the vaccine in total, according to WHO which also estimates that more than 90% of the targeted age group children have been vaccinated.
During the second week of September, a massive attack by Israeli aircraft took place in the Masyaf area, near Hama, in Syria took place. Under that cover, there are reports that a parallel IDF Special Operations Forces operation also took place at a Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps weapons production facility in the same area. These reports describe that the facility has been supposedly destroyed and operatives from the IRGC have been extracted, while also attributing the operation to the famous Sayeret Matkal unit.
From a humanitarian point of view, Syria continues to be one of the “leaders” in internally displaced people, with over 7.2 million souls continuing to be registered under this status according to the latest UNHCR report from 31st of July. Over two million of these live in last resort sites across Syria. A raise in the numbers of people in need of assistance has also been recorded in 2024, which took the number from 15.4 million in 2023, to 16.7 million.
This year, as the past one, will most likely end with less hope that these conflicts that have decimated populations will find resolution and it is in our opinion that they will continue for some time more. Neither the political, nor the military solutions or conditions exist at this moment or in the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, these cases depend on much broader international shifts which might incapacitate hostile actors or provide gateways for actors which seek peaceful resolutions to act upon.