Lonny's War Update- October 220, 2023 - May 13, 2024 (cont)
Day 220 (cont) that 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
***I just returned from the Alternative Independence Day Ceremony by the Families of the Hostages. It was the most incredible, most difficult and most emotionally draining event I have ever been to in my life. It wiped us all out and I will write about it tomorrow.***
Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
*12:15pm-north-A soldier was moderately injured and 3 others were slightly injured by an anti-tank missile hit near Kibbutz Yiftah. They were evacuated to the Ziv Medical Center for medical treatment. The moderately injured soldier is being treated in a trauma room. His condition is stable and he is fully conscious. Their families have been informed.*5:00pm- north- hostile aircraft intrusion Galilee region *7:00pm-south- rockets Yad Mordechai, Netiv Haasara, Carmia-Gaza border communities
Hostage Updates
Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, confronts Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich outside a ceremony at a military cemetery in the southern city of Ofakim, pressing him to end his opposition to a deal with Hamas to return those held in Gaza. “At least make a monumental effort for those who are still alive, for those who can still be saved,” she tells him calmly as he looks past her.
Smotrich tells her that the government is working to bring back her son. “I’m giving you a big hug. We are obligated to bring him back and we are working toward that end,” he says. link - Smotrich is a hypocrite and a liar. He has stated at every chance that he will never agree to any deal that gives up too much. Any deal to get the hostages home will be a deal that gives up too much. We all know that and don't have a choice.
Without return of hostages Israel can never be whole — Herzog
Israel will only be able to heal from October 7 once the hostages kidnapped that day are freed from captivity, President Isaac Herzog says after laying a wreath at the annual state memorial ceremony for terror victims at Mount Herzl.
“This recovery, necessary for all of us — as a nation and as a country — is not only about looking to the future and our building, but also about fixing the present,” he says. “And our present will not be whole, and our wound will not heal, until all the hostages return — our beloved brothers and sisters, who are in distress and captivity.”
October 7 was the “most heinous terrorist attack” in the history of the State of Israel, in which “entire families were cruelly taken from us,” he says. “The attack of 7 October was an assault on our rights and sovereignty in our homeland, in our one and only state — Israel.” Addressing the families of victims, Herzog says that “no one one can truly understand the magnitude of the void that has opened in your lives.”
“Our role, the role of the entire people of Israel, is to support you,” Herzog says. “This of course also applies to the deep moral obligation toward the survivors of acts of hostility and terror, and to all those affected by them physically and mentally, in need of support, assistance, accompaniment, resources, knowledge, and care from all of us in order to try to recover and return to life.” link -- I don't garner a lot of respect for Herzog. He is a weakling and a coward and has had the opportunity to use his voice many times during this war to say the right things about the total dysfunctionality of this government and the responsibility they bear, especially the Prime Minister. Instead, he chose wishy washy words that wouldn't provoke anyone. The President of Israel has no power, but his voice can mean something as others before him. Unfortunately, he chooses to be the same weakling he was as a politician. Despite all of this, his speech for Memorial Day was proper and correct. Above is the abridged version.
Gaza Fighting
Hostage Updates
Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, confronts Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich outside a ceremony at a military cemetery in the southern city of Ofakim, pressing him to end his opposition to a deal with Hamas to return those held in Gaza. “At least make a monumental effort for those who are still alive, for those who can still be saved,” she tells him calmly as he looks past her.
Smotrich tells her that the government is working to bring back her son. “I’m giving you a big hug. We are obligated to bring him back and we are working toward that end,” he says. link - Smotrich is a hypocrite and a liar. He has stated at every chance that he will never agree to any deal that gives up too much. Any deal to get the hostages home will be a deal that gives up too much. We all know that and don't have a choice.Without return of hostages Israel can never be whole — Herzog
Israel will only be able to heal from October 7 once the hostages kidnapped that day are freed from captivity, President Isaac Herzog says after laying a wreath at the annual state memorial ceremony for terror victims at Mount Herzl.
“This recovery, necessary for all of us — as a nation and as a country — is not only about looking to the future and our building, but also about fixing the present,” he says. “And our present will not be whole, and our wound will not heal, until all the hostages return — our beloved brothers and sisters, who are in distress and captivity.”
October 7 was the “most heinous terrorist attack” in the history of the State of Israel, in which “entire families were cruelly taken from us,” he says. “The attack of 7 October was an assault on our rights and sovereignty in our homeland, in our one and only state — Israel.” Addressing the families of victims, Herzog says that “no one one can truly understand the magnitude of the void that has opened in your lives.”
“Our role, the role of the entire people of Israel, is to support you,” Herzog says. “This of course also applies to the deep moral obligation toward the survivors of acts of hostility and terror, and to all those affected by them physically and mentally, in need of support, assistance, accompaniment, resources, knowledge, and care from all of us in order to try to recover and return to life.” link -- I don't garner a lot of respect for Herzog. He is a weakling and a coward and has had the opportunity to use his voice many times during this war to say the right things about the total dysfunctionality of this government and the responsibility they bear, especially the Prime Minister. Instead, he chose wishy washy words that wouldn't provoke anyone. The President of Israel has no power, but his voice can mean something as others before him. Unfortunately, he chooses to be the same weakling he was as a politician. Despite all of this, his speech for Memorial Day was proper and correct. Above is the abridged version.
Gaza Fighting
Some 360,000 Gazans have fled the southern city of Rafah since Israel began ordering evacuations from a section of the city last week, reports UNRWA, the main United Nations aid agency in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says the Palestinian territory’s health system is “hours away” from collapse, after fighting has blocked fuel shipments through key crossings.
“We are just hours away from the collapse of the health system in the Gaza Strip due to the lack of the necessary fuel to operate generators in hospitals, ambulances, and (for vehicles to) transport staff,” the ministry says in a statement.
Israel’s Defense Ministry said Sunday night that it had transferred 266,000 liters (70,000 gallons) of fuel for use in hospitals or other humanitarian needs. link
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel was undertaking a pinpoint operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, while indicating that Jerusalem would not be dissuaded from completing its war goals of returning the hostages and eliminating Hamas “as military and governing authority,” Gallant’s office says in a statement on the Sunday night call.
The readout says Gallant discussed “developments in Gaza, including IDF operations across the Strip in the face of terror hotspots, and the precise operation in the Rafah area against remaining Hamas battalions, while securing the crossing,” referring to the Rafah Crossing with Egypt, which Israeli troops have taken control of on the Gaza side.
In the call, Blinken had again warned Gallant against a major Israeli offensive in southern Gaza’s Rafah, according to an earlier statement issued by State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
“The minister expressed his appreciation to Secretary Blinken for the ongoing support provided by the US administration for Israel’s security,” Gallant’s office adds. link
In Gaza, it is reported that two UN workers were wounded by gunfire in the Rafah area. It is not clear if the two were hit by IDF or Hamas fire. A UN worker with a foreign nationality arrived at the European Hospital in Khan Yunis injured from the shooting. The hospital stated that there were no known additional casualties or fatalities, contrary to previous reports.
**IDF Update: Air Force Struck Over 120 Terror Targets in the Last 24 Hours**The IDF Spokesperson released a statement that IDF forces are operating in three sectors in the Gaza Strip: Forces from the 162nd Armored Division launched a focused attack on Hamas targets in the eastern Rafah area, where they eliminated several terrorists in face-to-face engagements and located, seized and destroyed ammunition and rocket launchers. In the Jabaliya area, forces from the 98th Armored Division eliminated several terrorists following close-range battles. In cooperation with Air Force units, underground infrastructure and many combat zones in the area were destroyed, and in one strike, a military building where a Hamas terrorist cell had gathered was eliminated. In the Zeitoun neighborhood where the 99th Armored Division is operating, troops located various ammunition and terror infrastructure in the area. In a raid by the multi-dimensional unit, an ammunition cache was found in the home of a Hamas operative, and in one strike, forces in cooperation with the Air Force eliminated a sniper lying in ambush for troops in the area.
- The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs updated the figures it had previously presented regarding the number of civilians killed in Gaza, claiming that about 50% fewer women and children were killed than previously reported. According to a report published by the Office on May 6, the number of women killed in the fighting was supposed to be 9,500. The organization admits that it relied on data from the Palestinian Health Ministry run by Hamas in Gaza, and even claimed that 14,500 children had been killed since the start of the war on October 7. In a report published two days later, the UN cut the figures by nearly half. According to the UN report published on May 8, about 4,959 women and 7,797 children have been killed so far in the war. Nevertheless, Hamas claims that the total number of fatalities in Gaza stands at around 35,000, figures that Israel refuses to accept but that the rest of the world continues to quote. Mike Wagenheim from I24News in the US asked the UN spokesperson to explain the sudden change in the data, and he responded that the dramatic reduction in numbers stems from previously relying on data from the Health Ministry in Gaza, which as mentioned, Hamas runs. It was further claimed: "These figures can change in accordance with the verification process being carried out. UN teams on the ground in Gaza are unable to independently verify the figures due to the situation on the ground and the huge number of casualties," a UN spokesperson said, in remarks also quoted on Fox News. "Therefore, in all the figures used by the UN, the Gaza Health Ministry is clearly cited as the source." An Israeli source who spoke to Fox said: "Israel has said again and again that the numbers coming out of Gaza and being echoed by UN agencies are being manipulated by Hamas. The figures are inaccurate and do not reflect the reality on the ground, there is no verification. It's a broadcasting of Hamas propaganda messages." The source also said that Israel is still waiting for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to acknowledge that the incident in which about 100 civilians were killed in a hospital in the Strip was caused by a rocket fired at the hospital by a terror organization. link
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Some 360,000 Gazans have fled the southern city of Rafah since Israel began ordering evacuations from a section of the city last week, reports UNRWA, the main United Nations aid agency in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says the Palestinian territory’s health system is “hours away” from collapse, after fighting has blocked fuel shipments through key crossings.
“We are just hours away from the collapse of the health system in the Gaza Strip due to the lack of the necessary fuel to operate generators in hospitals, ambulances, and (for vehicles to) transport staff,” the ministry says in a statement.
Israel’s Defense Ministry said Sunday night that it had transferred 266,000 liters (70,000 gallons) of fuel for use in hospitals or other humanitarian needs. link
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel was undertaking a pinpoint operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, while indicating that Jerusalem would not be dissuaded from completing its war goals of returning the hostages and eliminating Hamas “as military and governing authority,” Gallant’s office says in a statement on the Sunday night call.
The readout says Gallant discussed “developments in Gaza, including IDF operations across the Strip in the face of terror hotspots, and the precise operation in the Rafah area against remaining Hamas battalions, while securing the crossing,” referring to the Rafah Crossing with Egypt, which Israeli troops have taken control of on the Gaza side.
In the call, Blinken had again warned Gallant against a major Israeli offensive in southern Gaza’s Rafah, according to an earlier statement issued by State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
“The minister expressed his appreciation to Secretary Blinken for the ongoing support provided by the US administration for Israel’s security,” Gallant’s office adds. link
In Gaza, it is reported that two UN workers were wounded by gunfire in the Rafah area. It is not clear if the two were hit by IDF or Hamas fire. A UN worker with a foreign nationality arrived at the European Hospital in Khan Yunis injured from the shooting. The hospital stated that there were no known additional casualties or fatalities, contrary to previous reports.
**IDF Update: Air Force Struck Over 120 Terror Targets in the Last 24 Hours**The IDF Spokesperson released a statement that IDF forces are operating in three sectors in the Gaza Strip: Forces from the 162nd Armored Division launched a focused attack on Hamas targets in the eastern Rafah area, where they eliminated several terrorists in face-to-face engagements and located, seized and destroyed ammunition and rocket launchers. In the Jabaliya area, forces from the 98th Armored Division eliminated several terrorists following close-range battles. In cooperation with Air Force units, underground infrastructure and many combat zones in the area were destroyed, and in one strike, a military building where a Hamas terrorist cell had gathered was eliminated. In the Zeitoun neighborhood where the 99th Armored Division is operating, troops located various ammunition and terror infrastructure in the area. In a raid by the multi-dimensional unit, an ammunition cache was found in the home of a Hamas operative, and in one strike, forces in cooperation with the Air Force eliminated a sniper lying in ambush for troops in the area.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah
West Bank
Memorial Day and Independence Day
- ‘You took my children’: Netanyahu heckled as Memorial Day marked at national cemetery
At military cemeteries across the country, somber ceremonies focus on the heavy losses of October 7; Gallant says war against Hamas will shape Israel’s future ‘for decades to come’
During Netanyahu’s speech, a man was photographed standing in the aisle holding an Israeli flag with “7.10” emblazoned on it in red, an apparent reference to Netanyahu’s refusal to take responsibility for his role in the failures surrounding October 7. The premier was also interrupted toward the end of his speech with chants of “You took my children,” from several attendees, reportedly bereaved families. Doris Liber, who spoke at the ceremony on behalf of families of the fallen and whose son Guy Illouz‘s body is held by Hamas in Gaza, addressed Netanyahu, saying that she does not even have a grave at which to mourn her son, and, relating to all the hostages, tearfully implored him to “bring them home.”
Videos circulating on social media also purported to show a large crowd leaving Mount Herzl as Netanyahu began to speak, in a silent protest against him. Video if families leaving during Netanyahu’s speech
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