Lonny's War Update- October 214, 2023 - May 7, 2024 (cont)
Day 214 (cont) of 132 of our hostages in Hamas captivity- **There is nothing more important than getting them home! NOTHING!**
“I’ve never met them,But I miss them. I’ve never met them,but I think of them every second. I’ve never met them,but they are my family. BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!”
There is no victory until all of the hostages are home!אין נצחון עד שכל החטופים בבית
Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks
*6:15pm- south- rockets -Update from the Eshkol Regional Council: In the latest barrage towards the Eshkol communities, around 30 rockets were fired. About half of them were successfully intercepted by the Iron Dome system and the rest fell in open areas, outside of communities. As a result of the barrage, a fire broke out in Nahal Habesor and forces are on their way to the site. There are no known injuries. In an earlier firing today towards communities in the Hevel Shalom area, one rocket launch was identified and was successfully intercepted by the Iron Dome system.
* 4 anti tank shells hit in Shtula and Metulla in the north- 2 houses in Metulla were totally destroyed
* 4 anti tank shells hit in Shtula and Metulla in the north- 2 houses in Metulla were totally destroyed
*11:05pm-north- rockets Avivim, Yiron, Upper Galilee
*11:05pm- reports of explosions heard in Eilat and trails of Irin Dome shooting down an aerial object
*11:20pm- north - rockets Kiryat Shemona, Kibbutzim Misgav Am, Margaliot, Kfar Giladi, Golan Heights - Iron Doke shit down object over the Kinneret (Sea if Galilee)
Hostage Updates
- Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak announced this evening (Tuesday) that the captured Lior Rodayif, 61 was killed by Hamas on October 7 and his body is being held in the Gaza Strip. During the attack on the kibbutz, he went missing and it was believed that he was kidnapped. "Our home is pained and mourning upon receiving the bitter news of Lior's death," read the statement from the kibbutz. "We embrace and share in the grief of Yaffa, the children and the entire extended family." Lior's wife, Yahffe Rodayif, wrote on social media hours before being notified of his death: "I want Lior back home! A complex month, your father is about to celebrate his 89th birthday, Dagan is about to turn 5, and Shay is already 2 months old! We miss your energy, we miss the family gatherings, because nothing is the same without you." "The lack of information for so long, 214 days, 7 months, by all accounts it's way too long, and no one has answers to give. Strong State of Israel, the 'excellent' intelligence, where are you? How can this be????? My beloved, stay strong, we are not losing hope for a moment, and we will continue to fight until you return, we miss you." The Forum of Hostage Families headquarters stated: "The headquarters bows its head in sorrow and with a broken heart following the determination that Lior Rodayif was murdered, and will continue to accompany and support the family in its difficult time until his body is returned to Israel. The Government of Israel has the moral obligation to exhaust all the possibilities before it in the current deal, and to ensure that Lior receives a dignified burial in Israel, alongside the 38 other captured casualties, and with them the swift return and rehabilitation of all the living hosrages."
- Hamas claims previously confirmed deceased hostage dies from Israeli attack:: The Israeli negotiations delegation has landed in Cairo for further talks on a hostage deal with Hamas, the Prime Minister’s Office tells The Times of Israel. The team does not include Israel’s top negotiators, but is instead a lower-level delegation at this stage.Hamas spokesperson Abu Obaida claimed on Telegram that Israeli-US-Canadian citizen Judy Weinstein, 70, and another unnamed hostage held in Gaza succumbed to their wounds as a result of Israeli bombardment. Kibbutz Nir Oz already confirmed Judy Weinstein's death on October 7 in December. In a later video published to Telegram, the Hamas spokesperson stated in the caption, “Your army's destruction of hospitals and putting them out of service is what caused the suffering and death of your detainees, just as our people suffer,” in English, Arabic, and Hebrew. In the video, text appears again in all three languages saying, “Judith Weinstein was seriously injured on October 7 and was given intensive treatment in a hospital in the Gaza Strip. Immediately upon her recovery, she was returned to her place of detention.” The video continues to show a series of videos of buildings struck in Israeli airstrikes. Then, a second text appears discussing the unnamed hostage, saying, “A month ago she was seriously injured in a Zionist airforce attack along with another detainee, but she died due to the lack of intensive treatment in the Gaza Strip because the Zionist army destroyed the hospitals.” The video cuts to footage of Shifa hospital after the IDF operation, showing the building’s destruction. Kibbutz Nir Oz announced Weinstein's death on October 7 in late December. Hamas is still holding her body. Judy's husband, Gadi Haggai, 72, was also murdered on October 7, and his body is also still in the hands of Hamas. The two were attacked while they were on a walk that morning in the kibbutz. -- This is almost definitely part of Hamas Psychological terror. We have a committee of 3 top doctors who are the people who determine death of hostages without having the body. It is a very difficult process and they get data and evidence from multiple sources. Based on their many years of trauma experience, they only determine death if they reach 100% certainty. They determined Judy's death in December. Is this still a slight chance that they were wrong and she survived her serious injuries from October 7? Of course (my opinion only), but highly doubtful. It is also not the first time that Hamas has published lies about the life and death of hostages. In November, they published the death of a hostage who two weeks later was part of the hostage release deal. Hamas is not to be trusted. The only times that their publication of hostage deaths were true was when the published video showing them alive at some point in their captivity and then, in the same video clip that they released, showed the hostage's dead body. I have seen these videos. No video of Judy has been released. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-800313?utm_source=jpost.app.apple&utm_medium=share
- A senior Hamas official says a delegation from the Palestinian terror group is due to leave for Gaza truce talks in Cairo, warning it will be Israel’s “last chance” to release its hostages. The official, requesting anonymity to discuss the negotiations, warns that “this will be the last chance for [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and the families of the Zionist prisoners to return their children.”
- The White House was playing catchup yesterday, as the IDF began clearing civilians out of Rafah and Hamas submitted a new counteroffer for a hostage deal, The New York Times reported. The US conclusion by last night was that both sides were still working to gain leverage in negotiations, according to the report. After Israel made a new, far-reaching offer late last month, Hamas promised to come back with a new offer, which eventually emerged yesterday evening. The NYT quotes anonymous sources who indicate that in its late-April proposal, Israel “virtually cut and pasted” language from a March Hamas proposal, in order to call the terror group’s bluff. It worked. Hamas’s rejection of Israel’s offer over the weekend “frustrated the intermediaries because it rejected some of the very language that it had previously proposed.” The US negotiators publicly decried the Hamas position, and warned that talks would be seen as over if Hamas did not actually want a deal. NYT: Mediators 'frustrated' by Hamas's rejection of deal terms it proposed in March. https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/nyt-mediators-frustrated-by-hamass-now-rejecting-deal-terms-it-proposed-in-march/
- Netanyahu: "Hamas' Proposal is Very Far from Israel's Demands"** Netanyahu: The entry into Rafah serves two central war objectives: the return of our captives and the destruction of Hamas. I instructed the work teams that went to Cairo: Continue to firmly insist on the conditions required for the release of our captives, continue to firmly insist on the vital demands to ensure Israel's security. We have already proven in the previous prisoner release - military pressure on Hamas is a necessary condition for the return of our captives. Hamas' proposal yesterday was intended to sabotage our forces' entry into Rafah. That did not happen. As unanimously determined by the cabinet, Hamas' proposal is very far from Israel's necessary demands. Israel will not allow Hamas to restore its reign of terror in the Strip. Israel cannot accept a proposal that endangers the security of our citizens and the future of our state. https://hamal.co.il/main/%D7%92%D7%93%D7%94-104923
- The Forum of Hostage Families' Headquarters: "Netanyahu, End the War and Bring Them Back"** Families of captives in an emergency statement at Beit Hagan Gate: "We heard from official sources that what separates us from our loved ones was and remains a commitment to ending the war. We tell Netanyahu and the government - end the war, bring them back and save lives! We demand maximum mandate for the delegation to continue negotiations in order to reach a deal. Gantz and Eisenkot - do not let Netanyahu sabotage again. Bring a deal! Continuing the war endangers the captives. This is the last chance to bring captives back alive. Anyone who is a partner in sabotaging a deal - the blood will be on their hands!" On the other hand, a father of a captive: "My Idan is there, there is no one to talk to, they need to be destroyed."
- A majority of Israelis believe that reaching a hostage deal with Hamas should be the country’s top national priority — more important than launching a military operation against the terror group in Rafah, according to polling by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI). A survey of 750 people, conducted in Hebrew and Arabic over May 1-5, found that 56 percent of Jewish Israelis prioritize reaching a deal over invading Hamas’s final remaining stronghold in Gaza, while 37% believe military action should take precedence. Among those on the left and center, 92.5% and 78%, respectively, support prioritizing a deal, while 55% of those on the political right prefer launching an operation. Among Arab Israelis, 88.5% prefer a deal to a ground incursion in Rafah. A previous poll released by the IDI in February found 51% of Israelis prioritizing the hostages’ return over toppling Hamas as the country’s primary war aim in Gaza. -- A very disturbing thing has been happening lately. I belong to a whatsapp group that assists the Forum of Hostage Families in putting up posters and signs about the hostages and pushing for a hostage deal immediately. Everyday, there are multiple reports of the signs and posters being torn down, yes, here in Israel. There is a group that is supporting the Rafah operation and continuing the war without any hostage deal that would entail limiting IDF operations, withdrawal or allowing Hamas to remain. It is apparently supporters of this group who are doing this heinous act and then putting up their own signs and posters supporting continuation of the war.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/poll-majority-of-israelis-support-prioritizing-hostage-deal-over-rafah-operation/
Gaza Fighting
- The United States has made its views clear to Israel on a major ground offensive in Rafah, a State Department spokesperson says, in Washington’s first response since Israeli forces seized control of the Egypt-Gaza border crossing. The ongoing IDF operation into Rafah is a “limited operation,” an Israeli official has told The Times of Israel. “It is being implemented to pressure Hamas” to accept a deal. “We continue to believe that a hostage deal is in the best interest of the Israeli and the Palestinian people; it would bring an immediate ceasefire and allow increased humanitarian assistance into Gaza,” the spokesperson says in an email.
- During the first day of a Rafah Operation, the IDF already exposed and destroyed 3 smuggling tunnels leading to Egypt and killed tens of Hamas terrorists
- A fire broke out inside the Rafah municipality building as a result of artillery shelling by the IDF. The Gazans evacuated the Abu Yusuf Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah out of concern it would be attacked.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah
- In Six Areas: IDF Strikes Hezbollah Terror Targets in Southern Lebanon** Early this morning, fighter jets from the Israeli Air Force struck military buildings belonging to the Hezbollah terror organization in several areas in southern Lebanon, including Blieda, Maroun El-Ras, Yaroun, and Al-Hiyam. Additionally, a terror infrastructure of the Hezbollah terror organization was struck in the Kafr Hamd area, along with a mobile launch site of the organization in the Aita Al-Shaab area in southern Lebanon. During the day, two aerial targets were identified crossing from Lebanon towards northern Israel, one of which was intercepted by air defense fighters, causing minor damage and no casualties. Early this morning, fighter jets from the Israeli Air Force struck military buildings belonging to the Hezbollah terror organization in several areas in southern Lebanon, including Blieda, Maroun El-Ras, Yaroun, and Al-Hiyam. Additionally, a terror infrastructure of the Hezbollah terror organization was struck in the Kafr Hamd area, along with a mobile launch site of the organization in the Aita Al-Shaab area in southern Lebanon. During the day, two aerial targets were identified crossing from Lebanon towards northern Israel, one of which was intercepted by air defense fighters, causing minor damage and no casualties.
- The Qatari newspaper Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed reported that the incursion into Rafah came after a message was conveyed to Egypt and with full American coordination. According to the report, the American administration gave Netanyahu a green light for a limited operation that could last a few days in order to achieve a picture of victory that he could market to the far-right ministers. The U.S. will ban the transfer of ammunition and military equipment to Israel - if Netanyahu violates the agreement.
West Bank
- In the activity of security forces in Tulkarm: Explosives were exposed, 6 wanted suspects arrested. Forces from the Haruv reconnaissance unit, Duvedvan, the Shin Bet, and Border Police destroyed three explosives labs and exposed explosives that were buried under routes in an activity lasting over 20 hours in the Tulkarm area. The forces neutralized a militant in an exchange of fire and arrested six wanted suspects.
In the activity of security forces in Tulkarm: Explosives were exposed, 6 wanted suspects arrested. Forces from the Haruv reconnaissance unit, Duvedvan, the Shin Bet, and Border Police destroyed three explosives labs and exposed explosives that were buried under routes in an activity lasting over 20 hours in the Tulkarm area. The forces neutralized a militant in an exchange of fire and arrested six wanted suspects.
Politics
- Benny Gantz: "The Negotiating Team Has a Duty to Leave No Stone Unturned to Achieve a Deal"**Head of the National Unity Party, Minister Benny Gantz: "Yesterday we began a military operation in the Rafiah area – which will expand as needed. I ask to once again strengthen all IDF fighters. I am confident they will successfully carry out their mission and I pray for their safe return. At any stage where we can reach a deal for the return of our captives, we will do so. This mission has the highest priority. The negotiating team that went to Cairo not only has a mandate to listen – it has a duty to leave no stone unturned and act to achieve a deal. We are all working day by day for this to happen. Faced with Hamas' psychological warfare – we will persist and continue acting. We will never give up and never allow political considerations to enter this sacred issue. We are waging a war of revival, not a tactical battle against this or that battalion. Our achievements, even if they take a long time, must be strategic – the return of our captives is the first strategic goal, along with the need to remove the Hamas threat and ensure such a threat does not reemerge. I also want to address the residents of the north, after another day of difficult battles, and tell them – your safe return home before the start of the school year is on the table, and will remain there as long as I am part of the government. We cannot allow another lost year in the north."
- Israel plans to integrate Palestinian entities unaffiliated with Hamas in the coming days and weeks in operating the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing and managing the transfer and distribution of aid from Egypt into Gaza. This is according to two sources privy to the details. After the IDF announced this morning (Tuesday) that our forces have taken control of the Rafah crossing on the Palestinian side, the question arises of how Israel intends to now manage the movement at the crossing, which is of strategic importance for Hamas and one of the main points through which aid trucks enter Gaza. The sources noted that taking control of the Rafah crossing aims to eliminate one of Hamas' central governance capabilities in the Strip and its control over the entry of aid from Egypt into the Strip. According to them, the IDF's plan is to control the crossing area in order to allow better inspection and monitoring of aid entering the Strip. In the coming days and weeks, the intention is to integrate Palestinian entities unaffiliated with Hamas in operating the Palestinian side of the crossing, so they take part in transferring aid from Egypt to Gaza and distributing it inside the Strip. Taking control of the crossing and its surroundings is of great importance to Israel for several reasons: First, it provides control over one of the exit points from the Strip (the Palestinian side was under Hamas control); second, although it serves as a route for entry of goods, it has allegedly also been used in the past to smuggle in weapons, ammunition and raw materials for weapon production; and third - Hamas has been charging a tax on every truck entering from Egypt and passing through the crossing, thereby managing to amass huge sums to fund its military wing's militants as well as government institutions in the Strip. The Israeli takeover of the Palestinian side of the crossing could deal a heavy blow to these advantages Hamas has enjoyed until now. - There is no mention of who these Palestinian entities are that the IDF will be working with. The previous Palestinians that the government wanted the IDF to work with were Tribal leaders, who are basically warlords and involved in organized crime in Gaza. They refused to collaborate due to fear of Hamas retribution now and later if/when they return to rule. I don't see any other possibility besides a reformed Palestinian Authority (PA). There is a chance that it could be people connected to Mohammed Dahlan, who was the head of a PA Security Agency until he had a falling out with Abu Mazen and left for the Gulf.
- Al Jazeera Representative Accuses: "There is Also Disinformation on Channel 14"** Today (Tuesday) the first hearing was held on the state's request to block access to viewing Al Jazeera channels on television and browsing the network's website. The hearing took place at the District Court in Tel Aviv. During the hearing, the state made several claims, relying on state security. A state representative said there is an alignment of interests between Hamas and Al Jazeera and the involvement of its elements in terror attacks, and that it is a biased channel that airs content that incites violence and can influence Palestinians and East Jerusalem Arabs to encourage terror against Israelis. In contrast, Al Jazeera argued that "if there is one journalist who was involved in terror, it is not a reason to block access to the entire channel." An Al Jazeera representative also claimed that the network has journalistic ties with Hamas just as it does (for that matter) with Israel. Another claim raised by the representative addressed the state's claim that the network disseminates misinformation. "There is also disinformation on Channel 14," the representative responded. Al Jazeera was represented at the hearing by attorney Hussein Abu Hussein, and the Association for Civil Rights, which requested to join the proceedings, was represented by attorney Oded Feller. The state was represented by the Cyber Department of the State Prosecutor's Office. --- Arutz (Channel) 14 is the Israel equivalent to Fox "News". My brother has been interviewed by Al Jazeera many times, the last time was 2 days ago after the cabinet voted to close their Israel offices. My brother checked with a lawyer first to verify that it was legal for him to be interviewed by them by zoom and this was verified in the Knesset that it is legal as long as the interviewer is not in Israel.
- John Kirby, spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, said that Israel clarified to the Americans that the operation launched last night in Rafah is "limited, and aimed at disrupting Hamas' abilities to smuggle weapons and money." According to him, "Our position regarding Rafah remains the same and we expressed our concern about activity in a densely populated area that could greatly endanger civilians. President Biden made this clear in his call with Netanyahu and we will monitor the situation to see how it develops." Kirby added: "We are working to ensure the free flow of humanitarian aid and the opening of the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings. Israel committed to reopening Kerem Shalom at Biden's request." Regarding the talks in Cairo: "The top priority is to reach a ceasefire agreement that will lead to the release of captives and allow an increase in the entry of humanitarian aid. The talks will begin today in Cairo, and Bill Burns (head of the CIA) will represent us. An analysis of the positions of both sides suggests they can bridge the remaining gaps. We will support this process in order to achieve the desired outcome." Kirby addressed reports of arms delivery delays from the U.S., saying: "Our commitment to Israel's security remains steadfast. We will not discuss such shipments or others. Nothing has changed in our commitment to Israel's security." https://www.ynet.co.il/blogs/214dayswar#hkhekcvm0
- President of the United States Joe Biden warned against the rise of antisemitism, and in a speech marking Holocaust Remembrance Day said: "'Never again' means not to forget." Biden, who appeared angry during the speech, strongly condemned not only Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, but also the pro-Palestinian rhetoric and sentiment that has flooded universities in his country in recent weeks. Biden began his speech by delving into the history of antisemitism, but within a few minutes he also spoke about the current reality. "Too many people deny, trivialize, rationalize the horrors of the Holocaust," Biden said, adding that people are also forgetting the atrocities of October 7. "It's utterly despicable and it has to stop." He issued a call to the Jewish community: "I see your pain and fear." Biden sternly stated that antisemitism on college campuses echoes the "lies & vicious fiction" used by Nazis to justify violence against Jews. He urged Americans to "keep alive the truth and honor of the Holocaust" and reject efforts to "distort, obfuscate or discriminate." https://www.ynet.co.il/blogs/214dayswar#s1kgmrvg0
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