π️Lonny's War Update- October 231, 2023 - May 24, 2024 π️
π️Day 231 that 125 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!ΧΧΧ Χ Χ¦ΧΧΧ Χ’Χ Χ©ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧΧ€ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧͺ
Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
*5:45am- The IDF spokeswoman said that an Air Force fighter jet successfully intercepted a UAV that made its way to the northern region of the country from the east. The vessel did not cross into the country, but as part of the interception attempts fragments of an interceptor fell in the north of the country and caused a fire in the Safed area - there were no casualties and the incident is being investigated.*11:50am- north - Kibbutzim Margaliot, Kfar Giladi, Misgav Am, Tel Hai, Kiryat Shemona and areas around
Hostage Updates
The Israel Defense Forces has recovered the bodies of three more hostages from the northern Gaza Strip in an overnight operation, the military announces.
OriΓ³n HernΓ‘ndez Radoux, 30, Hanan Yablonka, 42, and Michel Nisenbaum, 59, were all killed on October 7, according to new “reliable intelligence” discovered amid the war, the military says. Until recently, there had been no information as to their status and they were believed to be alive.
The bodies of the three were kidnapped from the Mefalsim area, according to the IDF, at the same location where Hamas terrorists murdered and abducted four more hostages whose bodies were recovered last week from a tunnel in Jabaliya. HernΓ‘ndez Radoux, a Mexican-French national, was the boyfriend of Shani Louk, one of the four hostages whose bodies were found last week. HernΓ‘ndez Radoux and Yablonka — along with Louk and two more hostage bodies recovered last week — were at the Supernova music festival near the border community of Re’im when it was attacked by Hamas terrorists.
They had fled to the Mefalsim area where they were murdered and kidnapped.
Nisenbaum, from Sderot, was also killed next to Mefalsim with the other hostages. He had been driving to the Gaza Division’s base near Re’im to collect his granddaughter who had been staying with his non-commissioned officer son-in-law.
The IDF says the bodies of the three hostages were recovered in a joint operation carried out by the military and Shin Bet, following the analysis of “precise intelligence” that had been obtained in recent days.
After the bodies were identified at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute overnight, their families were notified by military representatives, the IDF adds. link All three of these hostages were thought to still be alive. Their families have been living with the thin line of hope that they would come home alive and now 3 more families lives have been destroyed due to the Hamas barbarians who should be wiped off the face of the earth.
Netanyahu: "We have a national duty to return the kidnapped:"Together with Israel, my wife Sarah and I bow our heads in deep sorrow, and embrace the grieving families in their difficult time. We have a national and moral duty to do everything we can to return our abducted - the lives and the dead- and that is what we are doing. I praise the IDF forces and the security forces who acted with great courage in the heart of enemy territory, in order to return them to their families and to the grave of Israel."
--From Netanyahu's mouth, it's all BS. Until he actually gives the ultimate words to the negotiating team "Bring them home!", it's all BS. Until he is actually prepared to put the hostages and the nation before himself and his political career, it's all BS!
- All Roads Lead There: Only Thus Can a Prisoner Exchange Deal Be Reached: This war has left no shortage of symbols and images etched into the collective memory, ones that will never leave the soul. The pickup truck in Sderot in the early morning hours of October 7; the voices of women trapped in shelters with their infants; the Al-Jazeera journalist broadcasting from Nir Oz after it was conquered by hundreds of Hamas militants; the mass exodus from the Nova party; the first videos of the hostages that Hamas released; the beats of liberation in which families were reunited, at least partially; the stories of release; the testimony of Amit Sosana. This is a partial and associative list.
This week, even before the video of the five female observers from Nahal Oz was approved for release by the families' headquarters, another video, only a few seconds long, was approved for release. This is the video of 8-year-old Ela Elyakim, standing with a Hamas symbol behind her, calling on the Prime Minister to release her from captivity. This video was discovered in recent weeks inside the Strip.
There were similar videos passed on to families, including of other boys and girls. Their families are asking - at least for now - to keep these records to themselves, not to provide Google with another shocking search result. One can understand them. As if it weren't enough that the video will forever remain in consciousness, there is also the internet search that will always remind what happened in the past, that past they wish could simply be erased as if it never existed.
The video of Ela Elyakim is heart-wrenching. A little girl stands in front of the camera, videoed by inhuman scum. Single moments that again flood everything, throwing us - as parents - toward our own children. What would happen if we were in the place of the families of the hostages? If our children were abducted from our home by the claws of a unbridled enemy? What would we do? How would we keep our composure? How could we bear to think about what is happening to them there? How could we be able to watch the moments of horror of five bleeding, bruised girls, whom the Nuchba terrorists treat as objects, or as they themselves called them in the video: "Sabaya", a word whose translation in the Quran and Islam is "sex slaves", i.e. infidels for whom there are explicit laws permitting trade, exchange, intercourse and treatment as booty for all intents and purposes. We wouldn't succeed. Neither do they. They want their loved ones at home. Now. As soon as possible.
Against the backdrop of developments this past week, it is interesting to shine a spotlight on the new and old in the realm of contacts for a deal. More accurately, on much old and no new. If there are developments, at least the tangible ones, they are mainly intended to "calm the field", as if it were a bothersome protest and not a huge cry of mourning and pain in the face of a government and military that failed in a spectacularly disastrous way.
Let's go back. About three weeks ago, in a dramatic meeting of the War Cabinet, to his shock, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu encountered a unified stance from all those present, including the Defense Minister and the IDF Chief of Staff. A kind of coalition intended to push him to move. Everyone in the room told Netanyahu: For this deal, we are prepared to approve the movement of Gaza residents to the northern Strip, ready to talk, discuss, float formulas on halting the war at the end of the second stage, i.e. after the return of the soldiers and members of the local emergency squads. However, after this discussion, another discussion was held, this time of the Political-Security Cabinet. This has already become a tradition. A kind of counterweight to the War Cabinet. This serves Netanyahu.
Thus, between the discussion in the narrow cabinet and the expanded cabinet, head of the Religious Zionist party Bezalel Smotrich went berserk and issued an ultimatum to Netanyahu not to go for a "reckless" deal (news from reality: the recklessness was on October 7). In the War Cabinet, they "suspect" that Smotrich did not have inside intelligence on what was unfolding within the smaller room: someone took care to pass him the information, and almost begged him to voice public opposition.
And this has not been published until today: That evening, the Israeli negotiating team met with the Egyptian team at the Hilton Hotel in Tel Aviv. Israel conveyed there its consent to the framework of the Egyptian and American proposal, which was later bluntly and crudely changed by the Egyptians themselves without the knowledge of the US. However, that night, after the opposition of Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu withdrew the mandate he had given to the negotiating team just a few hours earlier. Only at Gantz's insistence did the team regain relative flexibility.
Ten days later, a dramatic event occurs. Netanyahu suspects, whether truly or just as an excuse, that the US has given Hamas assurances about ending the war, and he issues two statements (on Saturday) that the IDF will enter - with or without a deal - into Rafah, and that Hamas is the one thwarting the deal because it is demanding an end to the war. To this day, it is unclear what made Netanyahu issue those two statements, since at that stage - no official response had yet been received to the framework. Days later, the deal had again reached a dead end, after Hamas sent back a response that was a non-starter. This murderous terror organization, to remove all doubt, is not particularly helping us reach a deal.
While Hamas' response was insolent and did not allow for real progress on its basis alone, one thing remained unchanged. Yahya Sinwar will not agree to a deal that does not include a component of ending the war - at some stage. This has not changed for several months and will not change in these days either, no matter what initiative Nitzan Alon brings to the table. But that is precisely the reason why contact must not be severed, a move - as many good people who have engaged in this craft in previous deals know - that could seal the fate of the hostages in the worst case, and in the less bad case - dramatically raise the price of the deal. Now is exactly the time to seek creative solutions, to engage in formulations, not to stop the dynamics for a moment.
The negotiating team - backed by Yoav Gallant, Gadi Eisenkot and Benny Gantz - has decided. It wants to go and bring a deal. A difficult deal, with inconceivable prices, a deal that will likely include a component of ending the war. Netanyahu refuses any such proposal. Senior members of the Security Cabinet are trying to pressure him to allow the team to fulfill its purpose and bring a deal, and then at the political level they will make a decision, vote on the agreed framework. It may be accepted - or it may not. Netanyahu refuses. "Any proposal that somehow leads to ending the war is unacceptable to me, you don't know how to negotiate," he lashed out at the team. Days later, under pressure from the observer videos and protests, his office issued a statement after a cabinet meeting that it was decided to "continue the negotiations." Lip service.
The issue of ending the war is tearing Israeli society apart, and rightly so. A society in which many of its members were murdered, massacred and killed during the war wants to see Hamas destroyed, and rightly so. But justice is not a work plan. Reality is often stronger than it. At this point, Israel needs to make tough decisions. Here they are, in descending order:
* Does it want to bring its hostages home and give the wounded society in Israel the breath it so desperately needs, and if so, is it doing everything to achieve that goal?
* Is it willing to take the American proposal for an arrangement - which is based on a deal, a temporary ceasefire, continued release of hostages and an end to the war - a sine qua non for normalization with Saudi Arabia?
* Does it want - as a direct result of ending the war - to decide what it will do with the northern sector and the poor residents who were evacuated from their homes?
These are fateful questions, and it is not certain that there is one axiomatic answer to them. One thing is clear: almost eight months after the war - our leaders are expected to succeed in doing what they hold power for: making tough decisions, standing courageously before the public - and admitting - what we thought we would achieve at the start of the war is not what we will achieve at its end, if and when that end arrives. This requires courage, it requires decisions detached from political considerations, it requires steadfastness and decision-making, a series of components that are difficult to detect today. link As I have been saying for so long and it broadly known, there is no way to get our hostages home without paying the very high price of ending the war and releasing Palestinian prisoners, which wasn't even brought up in this article. Both of these components individually will probably be the catalyst of the Smotrich and Ben Gvir to leave the government. Yair Lapid, the head of the opposition has promised Netanyahu a safety net of support to bring about a deal, even if it means ending the war. However, Netanyahu knows that any safety net will be limited in nature, limited to specific political decisions and votes as well as time limited, which means that after the promised time limitation, elections will follow. This is not the safety net that Netanyahu wants. In the early stages of the war, Netanyahu's people offered Lapid to come into the government and even take Ben Gvir's ministries but only if he promised to stay in the government for 2 years. Lapid knows Netanyahu all too well and has already served in his government. He knows that Netanyahu's word and guarantees are like toilet paper, usefull until flushed into the toilet, so he was not willing to agree to that. In addition, he doesn't want the country to suffer another 2 years with Netanyahu as Prime Minister.
CIA head to meet Mossad
chief and Qatari PM in Europe, aiming to revive hostage talks: High-level meeting will be
first since negotiations fell apart two weeks ago; unclear if Egyptian intel
chief will also attend, though Cairo will remain involved in mediation.
CIA director William Burns will travel to Europe in the coming days to meet with Mossad chief David Barnea and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in an effort to revive talks for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, two officials told The Times of Israel on Thursday.
The high-level meeting will be the first since negotiations fell apart two weeks ago after Hamas responded to a proposal crafted by American, Qatari and Egyptian mediators with amendments deemed unacceptable by both the United States and Israel.
That proposal envisioned the phased release of the 128 remaining Israeli hostages, starting with the release of 33 women, elderly and sick abductees over a six-week truce period. The second phase was supposed to see the release of the remaining hostages along with talks on a permanent ceasefire. Bodies of hostages being held by Hamas would then be released during the third phase. Hamas’s response to the mediators’ proposals green-lit by Israel included several far-reaching amendments, including a refusal to release 33 living hostages in the first phase.
It is unclear whether Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel will also attend the upcoming Europe meeting, as he has in the past, but Cairo will remain involved in the mediation process, a US official and an Israeli official said, confirming reporting on the Axios news site. Egypt has fumed over recent reporting in The Times of Israel and CNN that it provided separate proposals to Israel and Hamas in the last round of negotiations, contributing to their collapse two weeks ago. Cairo has threatened to cease its mediation efforts over attempts to doubt its role — a threat made by Qatar last month as well.
The Israeli official speculated that Cairo will not walk away from the talks, as it is too tied to the conflict, given its shared border with Gaza. As long as Qatar continues to host Hamas at the request of the US, Doha will also remain involved in mediation efforts, the Israeli official said, adding that the Gulf kingdom also has the trust of the Biden administration. The US and Israeli officials confirmed Burns’ trip hours after Israel’s war cabinet authorized Barnea’s negotiating team to resume indirect talks with Hamas. link
Hostage Updates
The Israel Defense Forces has recovered the bodies of three more hostages from the northern Gaza Strip in an overnight operation, the military announces.
OriΓ³n HernΓ‘ndez Radoux, 30, Hanan Yablonka, 42, and Michel Nisenbaum, 59, were all killed on October 7, according to new “reliable intelligence” discovered amid the war, the military says. Until recently, there had been no information as to their status and they were believed to be alive.
The bodies of the three were kidnapped from the Mefalsim area, according to the IDF, at the same location where Hamas terrorists murdered and abducted four more hostages whose bodies were recovered last week from a tunnel in Jabaliya. HernΓ‘ndez Radoux, a Mexican-French national, was the boyfriend of Shani Louk, one of the four hostages whose bodies were found last week. HernΓ‘ndez Radoux and Yablonka — along with Louk and two more hostage bodies recovered last week — were at the Supernova music festival near the border community of Re’im when it was attacked by Hamas terrorists.They had fled to the Mefalsim area where they were murdered and kidnapped.
Nisenbaum, from Sderot, was also killed next to Mefalsim with the other hostages. He had been driving to the Gaza Division’s base near Re’im to collect his granddaughter who had been staying with his non-commissioned officer son-in-law.
The IDF says the bodies of the three hostages were recovered in a joint operation carried out by the military and Shin Bet, following the analysis of “precise intelligence” that had been obtained in recent days.
After the bodies were identified at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute overnight, their families were notified by military representatives, the IDF adds. link All three of these hostages were thought to still be alive. Their families have been living with the thin line of hope that they would come home alive and now 3 more families lives have been destroyed due to the Hamas barbarians who should be wiped off the face of the earth.
Netanyahu: "We have a national duty to return the kidnapped:"Together with Israel, my wife Sarah and I bow our heads in deep sorrow, and embrace the grieving families in their difficult time. We have a national and moral duty to do everything we can to return our abducted - the lives and the dead- and that is what we are doing. I praise the IDF forces and the security forces who acted with great courage in the heart of enemy territory, in order to return them to their families and to the grave of Israel."
--From Netanyahu's mouth, it's all BS. Until he actually gives the ultimate words to the negotiating team "Bring them home!", it's all BS. Until he is actually prepared to put the hostages and the nation before himself and his political career, it's all BS!- All Roads Lead There: Only Thus Can a Prisoner Exchange Deal Be Reached:This war has left no shortage of symbols and images etched into the collective memory, ones that will never leave the soul. The pickup truck in Sderot in the early morning hours of October 7; the voices of women trapped in shelters with their infants; the Al-Jazeera journalist broadcasting from Nir Oz after it was conquered by hundreds of Hamas militants; the mass exodus from the Nova party; the first videos of the hostages that Hamas released; the beats of liberation in which families were reunited, at least partially; the stories of release; the testimony of Amit Sosana. This is a partial and associative list.This week, even before the video of the five female observers from Nahal Oz was approved for release by the families' headquarters, another video, only a few seconds long, was approved for release. This is the video of 8-year-old Ela Elyakim, standing with a Hamas symbol behind her, calling on the Prime Minister to release her from captivity. This video was discovered in recent weeks inside the Strip.There were similar videos passed on to families, including of other boys and girls. Their families are asking - at least for now - to keep these records to themselves, not to provide Google with another shocking search result. One can understand them. As if it weren't enough that the video will forever remain in consciousness, there is also the internet search that will always remind what happened in the past, that past they wish could simply be erased as if it never existed.The video of Ela Elyakim is heart-wrenching. A little girl stands in front of the camera, videoed by inhuman scum. Single moments that again flood everything, throwing us - as parents - toward our own children. What would happen if we were in the place of the families of the hostages? If our children were abducted from our home by the claws of a unbridled enemy? What would we do? How would we keep our composure? How could we bear to think about what is happening to them there? How could we be able to watch the moments of horror of five bleeding, bruised girls, whom the Nuchba terrorists treat as objects, or as they themselves called them in the video: "Sabaya", a word whose translation in the Quran and Islam is "sex slaves", i.e. infidels for whom there are explicit laws permitting trade, exchange, intercourse and treatment as booty for all intents and purposes. We wouldn't succeed. Neither do they. They want their loved ones at home. Now. As soon as possible.Against the backdrop of developments this past week, it is interesting to shine a spotlight on the new and old in the realm of contacts for a deal. More accurately, on much old and no new. If there are developments, at least the tangible ones, they are mainly intended to "calm the field", as if it were a bothersome protest and not a huge cry of mourning and pain in the face of a government and military that failed in a spectacularly disastrous way.Let's go back. About three weeks ago, in a dramatic meeting of the War Cabinet, to his shock, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu encountered a unified stance from all those present, including the Defense Minister and the IDF Chief of Staff. A kind of coalition intended to push him to move. Everyone in the room told Netanyahu: For this deal, we are prepared to approve the movement of Gaza residents to the northern Strip, ready to talk, discuss, float formulas on halting the war at the end of the second stage, i.e. after the return of the soldiers and members of the local emergency squads. However, after this discussion, another discussion was held, this time of the Political-Security Cabinet. This has already become a tradition. A kind of counterweight to the War Cabinet. This serves Netanyahu.Thus, between the discussion in the narrow cabinet and the expanded cabinet, head of the Religious Zionist party Bezalel Smotrich went berserk and issued an ultimatum to Netanyahu not to go for a "reckless" deal (news from reality: the recklessness was on October 7). In the War Cabinet, they "suspect" that Smotrich did not have inside intelligence on what was unfolding within the smaller room: someone took care to pass him the information, and almost begged him to voice public opposition.And this has not been published until today: That evening, the Israeli negotiating team met with the Egyptian team at the Hilton Hotel in Tel Aviv. Israel conveyed there its consent to the framework of the Egyptian and American proposal, which was later bluntly and crudely changed by the Egyptians themselves without the knowledge of the US. However, that night, after the opposition of Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu withdrew the mandate he had given to the negotiating team just a few hours earlier. Only at Gantz's insistence did the team regain relative flexibility.Ten days later, a dramatic event occurs. Netanyahu suspects, whether truly or just as an excuse, that the US has given Hamas assurances about ending the war, and he issues two statements (on Saturday) that the IDF will enter - with or without a deal - into Rafah, and that Hamas is the one thwarting the deal because it is demanding an end to the war. To this day, it is unclear what made Netanyahu issue those two statements, since at that stage - no official response had yet been received to the framework. Days later, the deal had again reached a dead end, after Hamas sent back a response that was a non-starter. This murderous terror organization, to remove all doubt, is not particularly helping us reach a deal.While Hamas' response was insolent and did not allow for real progress on its basis alone, one thing remained unchanged. Yahya Sinwar will not agree to a deal that does not include a component of ending the war - at some stage. This has not changed for several months and will not change in these days either, no matter what initiative Nitzan Alon brings to the table. But that is precisely the reason why contact must not be severed, a move - as many good people who have engaged in this craft in previous deals know - that could seal the fate of the hostages in the worst case, and in the less bad case - dramatically raise the price of the deal. Now is exactly the time to seek creative solutions, to engage in formulations, not to stop the dynamics for a moment.The negotiating team - backed by Yoav Gallant, Gadi Eisenkot and Benny Gantz - has decided. It wants to go and bring a deal. A difficult deal, with inconceivable prices, a deal that will likely include a component of ending the war. Netanyahu refuses any such proposal. Senior members of the Security Cabinet are trying to pressure him to allow the team to fulfill its purpose and bring a deal, and then at the political level they will make a decision, vote on the agreed framework. It may be accepted - or it may not. Netanyahu refuses. "Any proposal that somehow leads to ending the war is unacceptable to me, you don't know how to negotiate," he lashed out at the team. Days later, under pressure from the observer videos and protests, his office issued a statement after a cabinet meeting that it was decided to "continue the negotiations." Lip service.The issue of ending the war is tearing Israeli society apart, and rightly so. A society in which many of its members were murdered, massacred and killed during the war wants to see Hamas destroyed, and rightly so. But justice is not a work plan. Reality is often stronger than it. At this point, Israel needs to make tough decisions. Here they are, in descending order:* Does it want to bring its hostages home and give the wounded society in Israel the breath it so desperately needs, and if so, is it doing everything to achieve that goal?* Is it willing to take the American proposal for an arrangement - which is based on a deal, a temporary ceasefire, continued release of hostages and an end to the war - a sine qua non for normalization with Saudi Arabia?* Does it want - as a direct result of ending the war - to decide what it will do with the northern sector and the poor residents who were evacuated from their homes?These are fateful questions, and it is not certain that there is one axiomatic answer to them. One thing is clear: almost eight months after the war - our leaders are expected to succeed in doing what they hold power for: making tough decisions, standing courageously before the public - and admitting - what we thought we would achieve at the start of the war is not what we will achieve at its end, if and when that end arrives. This requires courage, it requires decisions detached from political considerations, it requires steadfastness and decision-making, a series of components that are difficult to detect today. link As I have been saying for so long and it broadly known, there is no way to get our hostages home without paying the very high price of ending the war and releasing Palestinian prisoners, which wasn't even brought up in this article. Both of these components individually will probably be the catalyst of the Smotrich and Ben Gvir to leave the government. Yair Lapid, the head of the opposition has promised Netanyahu a safety net of support to bring about a deal, even if it means ending the war. However, Netanyahu knows that any safety net will be limited in nature, limited to specific political decisions and votes as well as time limited, which means that after the promised time limitation, elections will follow. This is not the safety net that Netanyahu wants. In the early stages of the war, Netanyahu's people offered Lapid to come into the government and even take Ben Gvir's ministries but only if he promised to stay in the government for 2 years. Lapid knows Netanyahu all too well and has already served in his government. He knows that Netanyahu's word and guarantees are like toilet paper, usefull until flushed into the toilet, so he was not willing to agree to that. In addition, he doesn't want the country to suffer another 2 years with Netanyahu as Prime Minister.
CIA head to meet Mossad chief and Qatari PM in Europe, aiming to revive hostage talks: High-level meeting will be first since negotiations fell apart two weeks ago; unclear if Egyptian intel chief will also attend, though Cairo will remain involved in mediation.
CIA director William Burns will travel to Europe in the coming days to meet with Mossad chief David Barnea and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in an effort to revive talks for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, two officials told The Times of Israel on Thursday.
The high-level meeting will be the first since negotiations fell apart two weeks ago after Hamas responded to a proposal crafted by American, Qatari and Egyptian mediators with amendments deemed unacceptable by both the United States and Israel.
That proposal envisioned the phased release of the 128 remaining Israeli hostages, starting with the release of 33 women, elderly and sick abductees over a six-week truce period. The second phase was supposed to see the release of the remaining hostages along with talks on a permanent ceasefire. Bodies of hostages being held by Hamas would then be released during the third phase. Hamas’s response to the mediators’ proposals green-lit by Israel included several far-reaching amendments, including a refusal to release 33 living hostages in the first phase.
It is unclear whether Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel will also attend the upcoming Europe meeting, as he has in the past, but Cairo will remain involved in the mediation process, a US official and an Israeli official said, confirming reporting on the Axios news site. Egypt has fumed over recent reporting in The Times of Israel and CNN that it provided separate proposals to Israel and Hamas in the last round of negotiations, contributing to their collapse two weeks ago. Cairo has threatened to cease its mediation efforts over attempts to doubt its role — a threat made by Qatar last month as well.
The Israeli official speculated that Cairo will not walk away from the talks, as it is too tied to the conflict, given its shared border with Gaza. As long as Qatar continues to host Hamas at the request of the US, Doha will also remain involved in mediation efforts, the Israeli official said, adding that the Gulf kingdom also has the trust of the Biden administration. The US and Israeli officials confirmed Burns’ trip hours after Israel’s war cabinet authorized Barnea’s negotiating team to resume indirect talks with Hamas. link
Gaza
- Meet Nasser Kamal Issa Abu Musa. By day, a humanitarian worker at the Rafah crossing in Gaza, and by night, an operative in the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. Link
The Biden administration could endorse the formation of a Palestinian or Arab peacekeeping force in postwar Gaza, with a US official serving as its top civilian adviser, according to a report Thursday. Politico reported, citing four US officials with knowledge on the matter, that the US expects to play a prominent role in rebuilding and rehabilitating the Gaza Strip once Israel’s war against Hamas concludes, but the administration is still working to define what exactly this would look like.
One option being considered is to appoint a US official to serve as a civilian adviser to a Palestinian peacekeeping force. According to the report, the US is also working to persuade Egypt, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates to join the force, should it be formed. The US adviser would not be located in Gaza itself, the unnamed officials told Politico, as the Biden administration is not keen to be seen as responsible for the day-to-day running of the Palestinian enclave. Instead, the officials suggested that the adviser could be located in Egypt or Jordan.
The possibility of assembling a peacekeeping force was discussed in a classified State Department document obtained by Politico from March. The document suggested that the peacekeeping force should not be “a US-commanded mission” as it would likely “encounter fierce resistance by the Palestinian people given US support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.” Instead, the document suggested the force should be composed of some 2,000 Palestinian members and an additional 1,000 members from Arab countries, with an “appropriately senior officer” from either Israel, Egypt or a reformed Palestinian Authority at its helm.
The report added that the US currently favors Egypt as the contender to lead the force, and that the force should be branded as a “security mission.” The administration of post-war Gaza, often referred to as the “day after” issue, has been central in the strategic discourse surrounding the war. Israel, however, has not committed to a clear post-war plan, drawing criticism from its allies and creating internal political rifts.
In particular, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been non-committal regarding the issue, leading Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to publicly call on him last week to rule out the possibility of Israeli military or civilian administration of Gaza. Later, war cabinet minister Benny Gantz announced that if a post-war plan was not conceived by June 8, his party would leave the coalition.
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi also reportedly tore into Netanyahu during security consultations earlier this month for failing to develop and announce a day-after strategy.
Gallant and Gantz, both retired generals, fear a prolonged, costly reoccupation of Gaza, from which Israel withdrew all its soldiers and settlers in 2005. They are also opposed to a withdrawal that would leave Hamas in control or lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Far-right members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition, who hold the key to his remaining in power, have called for permanent occupation, “voluntary emigration” of large numbers of Palestinians to anywhere that will have them, and the rebuilding of Jewish settlements in Gaza.
Most Israelis are opposed, pointing to the immense costs of stationing thousands of troops in the territory that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians. As an occupying power, Israel would likely be held responsible for providing health, education and other services. It’s unclear to what extent international donors would step in to fund reconstruction amid ongoing hostilities. There’s also no guarantee such an occupation would eliminate Hamas.
Netanyahu has said Israel will retain security control over Gaza but delegate civilian administration to local Palestinians unaffiliated with Hamas or the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank. He has suggested that Arab and other countries assist with governance and rebuilding, but none have shown interest as long as Israel maintains military control of Gaza.
Another suggested plan would see a reformed Palestinian Authority govern Gaza with the assistance of Arab and Muslim nations, including Saudi Arabia, which would normalize relations with Israel in return for a US defense pact and help in building a civilian nuclear program. US and Saudi support hinges on Israel committing to a credible path to eventual Palestinian statehood, a highly unlikely prospect given the Israeli government’s current makeup. link
The IDF eliminated dozens of terrorists in Jabalia, Division 162 continues to operate in the Rafah area. The forces of the 98th Division continue to operate in the heart of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip. As part of targeted raids on terrorist infrastructures in the region, the forces eliminated dozens of terrorists and destroyed launching positions alongside underground shafts. At the same time, the forces located many weapons, including explosives, mortar bombs, Kalashnikovs, sniper rifles and more. At the same time, Division 162 continues to operate in the Rafah area. Throughout the last day, the forces located and destroyed IDF warehouses, shafts and other terrorist infrastructure in the area.
New study finds food supply to Gaza more than sufficient for population’s needs: Food delivered through crossings ‘provided for a mean of 3,163 calories per person per day’ for Gazans, 40% higher than the accepted humanitarian standard for daily calorie intake.
A group of highly respected academics and public health officials who authored a working paper on the amount of food entering the Gaza Strip during the war have concluded that the supply from January through April is sufficient for the population’s daily energy and protein needs.
Analyzing data from the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) agency of the Defense Ministry, which includes the weight of consignments of specific food commodities and standardized food parcels delivered to Gaza, the authors found that the mean energy availability across four months was 3,163 kcal per person, per day.
This significantly exceeds the widely accepted standard of 2,100 kcals per person, per day established by the Sphere humanitarian organization, for the minimum amount of food aid required in response to a crisis.
The new study comes following a bombshell announcement by International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan on Monday that he is seeking to charge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant with crimes against humanity and war crimes for allegedly using deliberate starvation as a method of war against Palestinians in Gaza. The authors also found that the amount of food entering Gaza was “significantly greater” in the January-April period under review than in the pre-October 7 period. full story
Hamas: "We took over IDF drones that were on a special mission in Gaza": Al-Quds Brigades "we took over IDF drones that were on intelligence missions over the city of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip" There is no IDF confirmation as this time.
The Biden administration could endorse the formation of a Palestinian or Arab peacekeeping force in postwar Gaza, with a US official serving as its top civilian adviser, according to a report Thursday. Politico reported, citing four US officials with knowledge on the matter, that the US expects to play a prominent role in rebuilding and rehabilitating the Gaza Strip once Israel’s war against Hamas concludes, but the administration is still working to define what exactly this would look like.
One option being considered is to appoint a US official to serve as a civilian adviser to a Palestinian peacekeeping force. According to the report, the US is also working to persuade Egypt, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates to join the force, should it be formed. The US adviser would not be located in Gaza itself, the unnamed officials told Politico, as the Biden administration is not keen to be seen as responsible for the day-to-day running of the Palestinian enclave. Instead, the officials suggested that the adviser could be located in Egypt or Jordan.
The possibility of assembling a peacekeeping force was discussed in a classified State Department document obtained by Politico from March. The document suggested that the peacekeeping force should not be “a US-commanded mission” as it would likely “encounter fierce resistance by the Palestinian people given US support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.” Instead, the document suggested the force should be composed of some 2,000 Palestinian members and an additional 1,000 members from Arab countries, with an “appropriately senior officer” from either Israel, Egypt or a reformed Palestinian Authority at its helm.
The report added that the US currently favors Egypt as the contender to lead the force, and that the force should be branded as a “security mission.” The administration of post-war Gaza, often referred to as the “day after” issue, has been central in the strategic discourse surrounding the war. Israel, however, has not committed to a clear post-war plan, drawing criticism from its allies and creating internal political rifts.
In particular, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been non-committal regarding the issue, leading Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to publicly call on him last week to rule out the possibility of Israeli military or civilian administration of Gaza. Later, war cabinet minister Benny Gantz announced that if a post-war plan was not conceived by June 8, his party would leave the coalition.
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi also reportedly tore into Netanyahu during security consultations earlier this month for failing to develop and announce a day-after strategy.
Gallant and Gantz, both retired generals, fear a prolonged, costly reoccupation of Gaza, from which Israel withdrew all its soldiers and settlers in 2005. They are also opposed to a withdrawal that would leave Hamas in control or lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Far-right members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition, who hold the key to his remaining in power, have called for permanent occupation, “voluntary emigration” of large numbers of Palestinians to anywhere that will have them, and the rebuilding of Jewish settlements in Gaza.
Most Israelis are opposed, pointing to the immense costs of stationing thousands of troops in the territory that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians. As an occupying power, Israel would likely be held responsible for providing health, education and other services. It’s unclear to what extent international donors would step in to fund reconstruction amid ongoing hostilities. There’s also no guarantee such an occupation would eliminate Hamas.
Netanyahu has said Israel will retain security control over Gaza but delegate civilian administration to local Palestinians unaffiliated with Hamas or the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank. He has suggested that Arab and other countries assist with governance and rebuilding, but none have shown interest as long as Israel maintains military control of Gaza.
Another suggested plan would see a reformed Palestinian Authority govern Gaza with the assistance of Arab and Muslim nations, including Saudi Arabia, which would normalize relations with Israel in return for a US defense pact and help in building a civilian nuclear program. US and Saudi support hinges on Israel committing to a credible path to eventual Palestinian statehood, a highly unlikely prospect given the Israeli government’s current makeup. link
The IDF eliminated dozens of terrorists in Jabalia, Division 162 continues to operate in the Rafah area. The forces of the 98th Division continue to operate in the heart of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip. As part of targeted raids on terrorist infrastructures in the region, the forces eliminated dozens of terrorists and destroyed launching positions alongside underground shafts. At the same time, the forces located many weapons, including explosives, mortar bombs, Kalashnikovs, sniper rifles and more. At the same time, Division 162 continues to operate in the Rafah area. Throughout the last day, the forces located and destroyed IDF warehouses, shafts and other terrorist infrastructure in the area.
New study finds food supply to Gaza more than sufficient for population’s needs: Food delivered through crossings ‘provided for a mean of 3,163 calories per person per day’ for Gazans, 40% higher than the accepted humanitarian standard for daily calorie intake.
A group of highly respected academics and public health officials who authored a working paper on the amount of food entering the Gaza Strip during the war have concluded that the supply from January through April is sufficient for the population’s daily energy and protein needs.
Analyzing data from the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) agency of the Defense Ministry, which includes the weight of consignments of specific food commodities and standardized food parcels delivered to Gaza, the authors found that the mean energy availability across four months was 3,163 kcal per person, per day.
This significantly exceeds the widely accepted standard of 2,100 kcals per person, per day established by the Sphere humanitarian organization, for the minimum amount of food aid required in response to a crisis.
The new study comes following a bombshell announcement by International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan on Monday that he is seeking to charge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant with crimes against humanity and war crimes for allegedly using deliberate starvation as a method of war against Palestinians in Gaza. The authors also found that the amount of food entering Gaza was “significantly greater” in the January-April period under review than in the pre-October 7 period. full story
Hamas: "We took over IDF drones that were on a special mission in Gaza": Al-Quds Brigades "we took over IDF drones that were on intelligence missions over the city of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip" There is no IDF confirmation as this time.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah
West Bank
- The Palestinians report that the IDF is currently operating throughout the West Bank, with the focus being on Ramallah, al-Bira and the Tulkarm area. There have also been reports of clashes and arrests in clashes with the forces.
Politics and the Region
- The pro-Iranian militias in Iraq accepted responsibility last night for launching two drones towards the city of Eilat. Tonight they claimed that they launched a drone towards the port of Haifa. video of the shooting down of a UAV near Eilat last night
- The pro-Iranian militias in Iraq accepted responsibility last night for launching two drones towards the city of Eilat. Tonight they claimed that they launched a drone towards the port of Haifa. video of the shooting down of a UAV near Eilat last night
Acronyms and Glossary
ICC - International Criminal Court in the Hague
IJC - International Court of Justice in the Hague
UAV - Unmanned Aerial vehicle, Drone. Could be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, or be weaponized with missiles or contain explosives for 'suicide' explosion mission
PA - Palestinian Authority - President Mahmud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen
PMO- Prime Minister's OfficeJoin my Whatsapp update group https://chat.whatsapp.com/IQ3OtwE6ydxBeBAxWNziB0
Twitter - @LonnyB58
Twitter - @LonnyB58
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