Lonny's War Update- October 221, 2023 - May 14, 2024 (cont)
Day 221(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
Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
*4:00pm - north - rockets Majdal Shams - A barrage of some 10 rockets were launched from Lebanon at the Mount Hermon area, the military says.
According to the IDF, the rockets struck open areas, causing no damage or injuries.
Hostage Updates
Hundreds gather outside the hostage families tent at Jerusalem’s Paris Square for a musical gathering, in the last hours of Independence Day. Local and well-known musicians sing tunes in Hebrew that resonate with the day and the mood amid the shadow of war, with one of the performers saying the songs feel like prayers.
Educator Chaya Gilboa, acting as MC, comments that “prayer is a kind of hope as we hope for a better future,” before reading a prayer by Rabbi Mishael Zion. She is followed by singer Ester Rada, who accompanied by a cellist and guitarist sings a selection from Psalms.
“For the sake of my brothers and sisters, I will say peace to you. For the sake of the house of the Lord our God I will pray for you,” sings Rada, followed by a rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” The crowd sits silently, more accustomed to standing with signs during the weekly Saturday evening rallies at Paris Square.As singers perform their own songs and other well-known ones, the crowd sometimes softly sings along. Libby Polin, sister of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, spoke at the end of the event and thanks everyone for coming to mark the holiday with the hostage families. Her father, Jon Polin, asks everyone to keep coming to the protests and gatherings, and thanks fans of the Hapoel Jerusalem basketball team brigade for their presence. link
Gaza Fighting
- IDF and Shin Bet eliminated more than 10 militants in an UNRWA school in the center of the Gaza Strip
The IDF and Shin Bet targeted a war room located in an UNRWA school in Nuseirat that had been used by commanders of Hamas' military wing for a long period to plan and carry out terror attacks. More than 10 Hamas militants were eliminated in the strike. Fighter jets of the Israeli Air Force attacked based on precise intelligence from the Shin Bet and Military Intelligence, in cooperation with the Fire Division of the 99th Brigade.
The strike was meticulously planned and executed using precise munitions while avoiding civilian casualties as much as possible. The targeted war room served as a central terror infrastructure, from which several terror attacks toward IDF forces in the center of the Gaza Strip were planned in recent weeks.
The targeted Nukhbah militants participated in the October 7 attack and are also responsible for ambushes and operations against our forces in the Strip. In the strike, around 15 militants from terror groups in the Strip were eliminated, including more than 10 affiliated with the Hamas terror organization. 
area within the white frame is an UNRWA school. The Red frame is the location of the Hamas fighting room and weapons storage
13 soldiers were injured today (Tuesday) in two incidents in the northern and southern Gaza Strip, four of whom were evacuated to hospitals in serious condition.
In the first incident, a clash in the northern Strip, three soldiers from Battalion 202 of the Paratroopers Brigade were seriously injured in an encounter with militants. Five additional soldiers were moderately wounded.
In another incident, a soldier from the Tzabar Battalion of the Givati Brigade was seriously injured by an explosive device detonation in the southern Strip. Four more soldiers were lightly and moderately injured in the same incident.
Meanwhile, the IDF issued an evacuation warning to residents of the Al-Karama, Salatin and Al-Zuhor neighborhoods in the Beit Lahiya area in the northern Strip. The evacuation notice stated: "Hamas and other terror organizations are using your lands for terror activities and rocket fire towards Israel, therefore the IDF will act against them shortly."
A senior Egyptian source for the Al-Cahra Al-Akhbariya channel: "Egypt has informed Israel of the danger of continuing to prevent humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza Strip. The closure of the Rafah crossing is due to Israel's unjustified escalation - Egypt is not responsible for this."
Statement by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in response to comments by Israeli Foreign Minister Katz: "We completely reject the distortion of facts and Israel's disavowal of its responsibility. It is solely responsible for the humanitarian disaster that the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are currently facing. The Israeli control over the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing and the Israeli military operations in its vicinity endanger the lives of aid workers and truck drivers."
The Egyptian Foreign Minister added: "We strongly condemn the desperate attempts by the Israeli side to place responsibility on Egypt for the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, which is a direct result of Israeli aggression against the Palestinians for more than seven months. Israel must fulfill its legal responsibility as an occupying power by allowing the entry of aid through the crossings under its control."
Earlier today, Foreign Minister Katz wrote that "the world is placing responsibility for the humanitarian issue on Israel, but the key to preventing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is now in the hands of our Egyptian friends."
The Israeli military is calling on Palestinians in additional neighborhoods of northern Gaza to evacuate the area, as it presses on with its operation against Hamas in Jabaliya.
Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, publishes a list of the new zones that need to be evacuated alongside the announcement.
Over the weekend, the IDF issued an evacuation warning for Jabaliya, before it pushed into the area. The latest warning covers the al-Atatra and Salatin areas.
Palestinian civilians are told to move to shelters west of Gaza City.
The IDF said earlier today that it had expanded its operation against Hamas in Jabaliya, which was launched after it identified terror operatives regrouping there. link
Members of the Hapoel Jerusalem basketball brigade at a hostage family gathering on May 14, 2024, near the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem
- Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani warns that even should the ongoing war in Gaza stop, with no clear rescue plan for the Strip, there is a risk of growing radicalization in the medium term.
“We are very much worried after all these images to see another wave of radicalization. So security is the key for us in the region. We need to preserve it as much as possible,” he says at an economic forum in Doha.
The IDF and Shin Bet targeted a war room located in an UNRWA school in Nuseirat that had been used by commanders of Hamas' military wing for a long period to plan and carry out terror attacks. More than 10 Hamas militants were eliminated in the strike. Fighter jets of the Israeli Air Force attacked based on precise intelligence from the Shin Bet and Military Intelligence, in cooperation with the Fire Division of the 99th Brigade.
The strike was meticulously planned and executed using precise munitions while avoiding civilian casualties as much as possible. The targeted war room served as a central terror infrastructure, from which several terror attacks toward IDF forces in the center of the Gaza Strip were planned in recent weeks.
The targeted Nukhbah militants participated in the October 7 attack and are also responsible for ambushes and operations against our forces in the Strip. In the strike, around 15 militants from terror groups in the Strip were eliminated, including more than 10 affiliated with the Hamas terror organization.
area within the white frame is an UNRWA school. The Red frame is the location of the Hamas fighting room and weapons storage
13 soldiers were injured today (Tuesday) in two incidents in the northern and southern Gaza Strip, four of whom were evacuated to hospitals in serious condition.
In the first incident, a clash in the northern Strip, three soldiers from Battalion 202 of the Paratroopers Brigade were seriously injured in an encounter with militants. Five additional soldiers were moderately wounded.
In another incident, a soldier from the Tzabar Battalion of the Givati Brigade was seriously injured by an explosive device detonation in the southern Strip. Four more soldiers were lightly and moderately injured in the same incident.
Meanwhile, the IDF issued an evacuation warning to residents of the Al-Karama, Salatin and Al-Zuhor neighborhoods in the Beit Lahiya area in the northern Strip. The evacuation notice stated: "Hamas and other terror organizations are using your lands for terror activities and rocket fire towards Israel, therefore the IDF will act against them shortly."
A senior Egyptian source for the Al-Cahra Al-Akhbariya channel: "Egypt has informed Israel of the danger of continuing to prevent humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza Strip. The closure of the Rafah crossing is due to Israel's unjustified escalation - Egypt is not responsible for this."
The Egyptian Foreign Minister added: "We strongly condemn the desperate attempts by the Israeli side to place responsibility on Egypt for the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, which is a direct result of Israeli aggression against the Palestinians for more than seven months. Israel must fulfill its legal responsibility as an occupying power by allowing the entry of aid through the crossings under its control."
Earlier today, Foreign Minister Katz wrote that "the world is placing responsibility for the humanitarian issue on Israel, but the key to preventing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is now in the hands of our Egyptian friends."
The Israeli military is calling on Palestinians in additional neighborhoods of northern Gaza to evacuate the area, as it presses on with its operation against Hamas in Jabaliya.
Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, publishes a list of the new zones that need to be evacuated alongside the announcement.
Over the weekend, the IDF issued an evacuation warning for Jabaliya, before it pushed into the area. The latest warning covers the al-Atatra and Salatin areas.
Palestinian civilians are told to move to shelters west of Gaza City.
The IDF said earlier today that it had expanded its operation against Hamas in Jabaliya, which was launched after it identified terror operatives regrouping there. link
Members of the Hapoel Jerusalem basketball brigade at a hostage family gathering on May 14, 2024, near the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem
“We are very much worried after all these images to see another wave of radicalization. So security is the key for us in the region. We need to preserve it as much as possible,” he says at an economic forum in Doha.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah
- IDF announces civilian killed, 5 troops wounded in Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack - An Israeli civilian was killed and five soldiers were wounded in a Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile attack against the northern community of Adamit earlier today.
The IDF says one soldier was moderately injured and four others were lightly hurt in the attack. Hezbollah claimed responsibility, saying it targeted military positions in the area. An Israeli civilian near the troops was also wounded, and his death was declared a short while later. He is not immediately named. He went to help the IDF troops and was killed by a second anti tank shell. The IDF says it struck buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon’s Ayta ash-Shab and Kafr Kila in response to the attack. link
An IDF observation balloon was shot down by Hezbollah over the Lebanon border, the military acknowledges. The IDF says the balloon crashed in Lebanon following Hezbollah missile fire. It says there is no fear of information being taken from the sensors and cameras on it. Hezbollah claims responsibility for launching missiles at the balloon and other military positions near the community of Adamit. video of the downing of the surveillance balloon
West Bank
- IDF announces civilian killed, 5 troops wounded in Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack - An Israeli civilian was killed and five soldiers were wounded in a Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile attack against the northern community of Adamit earlier today.
The IDF says one soldier was moderately injured and four others were lightly hurt in the attack. Hezbollah claimed responsibility, saying it targeted military positions in the area. An Israeli civilian near the troops was also wounded, and his death was declared a short while later. He is not immediately named. He went to help the IDF troops and was killed by a second anti tank shell. The IDF says it struck buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon’s Ayta ash-Shab and Kafr Kila in response to the attack. link
An IDF observation balloon was shot down by Hezbollah over the Lebanon border, the military acknowledges. The IDF says the balloon crashed in Lebanon following Hezbollah missile fire. It says there is no fear of information being taken from the sensors and cameras on it. Hezbollah claims responsibility for launching missiles at the balloon and other military positions near the community of Adamit. video of the downing of the surveillance balloon
Politics and the Region
- My brother's interview on London Broadcasting Company with Matt Frei. The interview is delving into the question "Why has the Israel-Gaza Conflict Ignited so Many Protests?" The first part of the interview is with my brother and is very enlightening as he also discusses the American Political situation with regard to the war. The second part of the interview is with the founder of Association of Student Activists for Palestine Yahya Abu Seido. Many of his statements are inciting and fall right into the Hamas propaganda but it is very important to listen to him to understand who is behind the university protests and the propaganda they are using in those protests. link
- My brother's interview on London Broadcasting Company with Matt Frei. The interview is delving into the question "Why has the Israel-Gaza Conflict Ignited so Many Protests?" The first part of the interview is with my brother and is very enlightening as he also discusses the American Political situation with regard to the war. The second part of the interview is with the founder of Association of Student Activists for Palestine Yahya Abu Seido. Many of his statements are inciting and fall right into the Hamas propaganda but it is very important to listen to him to understand who is behind the university protests and the propaganda they are using in those protests. link
- Hamas planned to establish a secret base in Turkey to attack Israelis
The Times of London reported today (Tuesday) that according to documents found in the home of a Hamas member in Gaza, prior to the October 7 attack, the terror organization planned to establish a secret base in Turkey - and use it to carry out attacks against Israeli targets in regional countries.
The Times of London reported today (Tuesday) that according to documents found in the home of a Hamas member in Gaza, prior to the October 7 attack, the terror organization planned to establish a secret base in Turkey - and use it to carry out attacks against Israeli targets in regional countries.
The Times stated that according to the document, Hamas planned to establish terror cells in Turkey and other NATO member countries. It is unclear if those cells were actually established in Turkey before October 7. The British newspaper's report stated that the IDF claims that a document titled "Establishing a Base in Turkey" was discovered in the Gaza home of Hamza Abu Shanab - described in the paper as the bureau chief of Yahya Sinwar.
According to the Hamas document, the terror group needs to "invest great effort in establishing military strongholds that will serve as a base for special operations. Therefore, we propose establishing a security arm abroad that will eventually be able to carry out military and intelligence activities."
The document found in Abu Shanab's home outlined a three-year plan involving "establishing military cells and hiding places in many countries." According to the document, potential assassination targets are "Mossad officers and commanders" as well as "influential" and well-known Israelis. Additionally, the document details plans to "sabotage Israeli vessels" and conduct kidnappings.
During the Gaza war, relations between Turkey and Israel dramatically deteriorated due to Ankara's alignment with Hamas and Recep Tayyip Erdogan's harsh condemnations of Benjamin Netanyahu. The Times stated that despite supporting Hamas, Erdogan opposes a scenario where Turkey becomes a stronghold for the terror group.
However, yesterday the Turkish president said that over 1,000 Hamas operatives are being treated in hospitals across his country, emphasizing his position that the Hamas terror group is a "resistance movement." In a speech at a press conference after talks in Ankara with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Erdogan said he was "saddened by the Greek view that sees Hamas as a terrorist organization." Mitsotakis responded: "We will agree to disagree." Link-- It is very clear that, under Erdogan, Turkey has become a state that sponsors terrorism. He has stated on numerous occasion, the last being this week, that he sees Hamas as a resistance movement and not a terror organization. As Turkey is a member in good standing of NATO, I wonder what would happen if there was a discussion within NATO for calling Hamas a terror group. I don't know that they even do that. It's very interesting to read a NATO report on Hamas, "Hamas’ use of human shields in Gaza" from 2014 with much of it pertinent to this period as well
- 2 charged in UK with planning IS-inspired gun attack to murder Jews ::LONDON — Two men appear today in a British court, charged with planning to attack and kill members of the Jewish community and others with automatic weapons in northwest England.
Walid Saadaoui, 36, and Amar Hussein, 50, are charged with the preparation of terrorist acts, Greater Manchester police says. A third man, Walid Saadaoui’s younger brother Bilel, 35, is charged with failing to disclose information about an act of terrorism.
Prosecutors say Saadaoui and Hussein planned to carry out an attack inspired by the Islamic State militant group using automatic weapons. Their targets included the Jewish community in northwest England and law enforcement and military personnel. Jewish security advisory body, the Community Security Trust (CST), says the allegations are very serious and part of a trend of rising antisemitic crime levels.
“This is one of a number of recent and ongoing cases that demonstrate why the Jewish community needs such extensive security measures and why our continuing partnership with police and government is so vital,” the CST says in a statement.
Police say they recognized the impact the details of the plot could have on the Jewish community, adding they did not believe there was a wider risk to the public.
“Today’s first court appearance has outlined some concerning and distressing details about a suspected terrorist plot that we allege was being planned by suspects from Greater Manchester,” says Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts.
“We know how significant the impact of this will be. Particularly for our Jewish community in Greater Manchester and across the country.” link
- International Court of Justice to meet this week on request for emergency Rafah measures
Walid Saadaoui, 36, and Amar Hussein, 50, are charged with the preparation of terrorist acts, Greater Manchester police says. A third man, Walid Saadaoui’s younger brother Bilel, 35, is charged with failing to disclose information about an act of terrorism.
Prosecutors say Saadaoui and Hussein planned to carry out an attack inspired by the Islamic State militant group using automatic weapons. Their targets included the Jewish community in northwest England and law enforcement and military personnel. Jewish security advisory body, the Community Security Trust (CST), says the allegations are very serious and part of a trend of rising antisemitic crime levels.
“This is one of a number of recent and ongoing cases that demonstrate why the Jewish community needs such extensive security measures and why our continuing partnership with police and government is so vital,” the CST says in a statement.
Police say they recognized the impact the details of the plot could have on the Jewish community, adding they did not believe there was a wider risk to the public.
“Today’s first court appearance has outlined some concerning and distressing details about a suspected terrorist plot that we allege was being planned by suspects from Greater Manchester,” says Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts.
“We know how significant the impact of this will be. Particularly for our Jewish community in Greater Manchester and across the country.” link
The UN’s International Court of Justice will hold hearings on Thursday and Friday to discuss new emergency measures sought by South Africa over Israel’s operations in Rafah, the tribunal says.
The hearings on May 16 and 17 will deal with South Africa’s request to the court to order more emergency measures against Israel over its attacks on Rafah, the tribunal adds, part of an ongoing case which accuses Israel of acts of genocide against Palestinians.
Israel has previously said it is acting in accordance with international law in Gaza, and has called South Africa’s genocide case baseless and accused Pretoria of acting as “the legal arm of Hamas.”
The tribunal in January declined to impose an interim injunction ordering a stop to the war.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says that Ankara has decided to submit its declaration of official intervention in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Earlier this month, Fidan announced the decision to join the case launched by South Africa as Ankara stepped up measures against Israel over its ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, following the terror group’s October 7 attack.
“We condemned civilians being killed on October 7,” he tells a press conference with his Austrian counterpart. “But Israel systematically killing thousands of innocent Palestinians and rendering a whole residential area uninhabitable is a crime against humanity, attempted genocide, and the manifestation of genocide.”
A foreign ministry official says Turkey had not yet submitted the formal application to the ICJ. link
A Paris memorial honoring people who distinguished themselves by helping to rescue Jews in France during the country’s Nazi occupation in World War II was defaced today with painted blood-red hands, vandalism decried as “unspeakable” by the Paris mayor.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo says the Wall of the Righteous was vandalized overnight between yesterday and today, and that she has filed a complaint with the Paris prosecutor.
“No cause can justify such degradations that dirty the memory of the victims of the Shoah and of the Righteous who saved Jews at risk to their lives,” Hidalgo says in a statement.
The wall bears the names of more than 3,900 people recognized as having risked their lives to help save Jews in France.
Ariel Weil, the mayor of Paris’ central districts, posts photos on the social media platform X of the damage. The photos showed more than two dozen blood-red hands painted on the memorial’s stonework and others on a wall in the Paris neighborhood. link
The hearings on May 16 and 17 will deal with South Africa’s request to the court to order more emergency measures against Israel over its attacks on Rafah, the tribunal adds, part of an ongoing case which accuses Israel of acts of genocide against Palestinians.
Israel has previously said it is acting in accordance with international law in Gaza, and has called South Africa’s genocide case baseless and accused Pretoria of acting as “the legal arm of Hamas.”
The tribunal in January declined to impose an interim injunction ordering a stop to the war.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says that Ankara has decided to submit its declaration of official intervention in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Earlier this month, Fidan announced the decision to join the case launched by South Africa as Ankara stepped up measures against Israel over its ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, following the terror group’s October 7 attack.
“We condemned civilians being killed on October 7,” he tells a press conference with his Austrian counterpart. “But Israel systematically killing thousands of innocent Palestinians and rendering a whole residential area uninhabitable is a crime against humanity, attempted genocide, and the manifestation of genocide.”
A foreign ministry official says Turkey had not yet submitted the formal application to the ICJ. link
A Paris memorial honoring people who distinguished themselves by helping to rescue Jews in France during the country’s Nazi occupation in World War II was defaced today with painted blood-red hands, vandalism decried as “unspeakable” by the Paris mayor.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo says the Wall of the Righteous was vandalized overnight between yesterday and today, and that she has filed a complaint with the Paris prosecutor.
“No cause can justify such degradations that dirty the memory of the victims of the Shoah and of the Righteous who saved Jews at risk to their lives,” Hidalgo says in a statement.
The wall bears the names of more than 3,900 people recognized as having risked their lives to help save Jews in France.
Ariel Weil, the mayor of Paris’ central districts, posts photos on the social media platform X of the damage. The photos showed more than two dozen blood-red hands painted on the memorial’s stonework and others on a wall in the Paris neighborhood. link
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