🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 233, 2023 - May 26, 2024 (cont)🎗️

   

🎗️Day 233 (cont) 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!

‎אין נצחון עד שכל החטופים בבית

Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements

*6:25pm- north- rockets- Kibbutzim Kfar Giladi, Misgav Am, Margaliot, Kiryat Shemona, Tel Hai

*6:30pm- north- rockets - kibbutzim Margaliot, Misgav, Kfar Giladi, Kiryat Shemona , Upper Galilee 

*6:35pm-north rockets Kiryat Shemona, Tel Hai, Kibbutz Misgav  vcAm

*7:05pm- north - rockets Kibbutzim Margaliot, Misgav, Kfar Giladi, Manara, Kiryat Shemona, Dishon - 2 people lightly injured from the blast. A large fire broke out in the Upper Galilee area

7:20pm- south- A ground to air missile meant for aircraft hit a playground of a school in Sdot Negev council. It was launched from Beit Hanoun in Gaza aimed at a helicopter

7:50pm - Hebron - a terror stabbing attack attempt in Kiryat Arba (settlement next to Hebron).The terrorist was killed with no one injured.

**the army announced the death of a soldier injured 4 days ago in Northern Gaza. Today he died of his wounds. First Sergeant Betzalel Zvi Kovatch, 20 from Jerusalem.

**The army announced the death of a soldier killed in battle in north Gaza: First Sergeant Sahar Sudai, 20 from Tel Aviv. May their memories be a blessing

Betzalel Zvi Kovatch                       Sahar Sudai

Hostage Updates 

• The official in charge of the prisoner issue on behalf of the IDF: "We are desperate, with this government's composition there will be no deal"

  
  

  The contacts for a prisoner exchange deal continue, and tonight (Sunday) the Security Cabinet will convene to discuss the negotiations in light of the new proposal that the Mossad head transferred to the mediators. However, tonight it was reported on the "Main Edition" harsh and even worrying statements made by the official in charge of the prisoner issue on behalf of the IDF, Reserve Brigadier General Nitzan Alon. In a closed conversation last week that the official in charge of the negotiations for the return of the hostages held with the contact officers of the hostages' families, Brig. Gen. (res.) Alon said: "We are desperate, with this government's composition there will be no deal. The deal I am pushing for will include the gradual return of all the hostages, and Hamas insists that it includes ending the fighting. I told the Prime Minister that it will be possible to return to fighting at any given moment."

  
  

  **IDF Spokesperson's response:** "Brig. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon operates under the guidance of the political leadership to return the hostages. The remarks were taken out of context."

  
  

  **The Prime Minister's Office issued a statement after the publication on Channel 12 News:** "While Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly given the negotiating team a broad mandate to release our captives, Sinwar continues to demand an end to the war, the withdrawal of the IDF from the Gaza Strip and leaving Hamas intact, so that it can carry out the horrors of October 7 again and again. Prime Minister Netanyahu strongly opposes this. Briefings from within the negotiating team only harden Hamas' position, harm the families and distance the release of our hostages."  link  Nitzan Alon's remarks were not taking out of context at all. He has known for a long time that there is no chance to make a deal as long as his arms are tied regarding ending the fighting. He is a brigadier general, not a Joe Schmo off the street. He has told Netanyahu that "it will be possible to return to fighting at any given moment." In addition, the General Staff, the Head of the Shin Bet and Mossad have all said the same thing. Even with international guarantees, it will still be easy enough to restart the war. Hamas will initially do a lot not to provoke a restart but that wouldn't last long. However, Netanyahu knows that he can't sell that to his extremist coalition partners, Smotrich and Ben Gvir. Any deal that includes the end of the war means Netanyahu's government will fall. That is more important to him than the lives of the hostages.
  
  
• Hanan Yeblonka z"l (42) from Petah Tikva was murdered at the Novah party on 7.10 and was considered missing for 90 days, until he was declared a hostage. His body was retrieved in an operation by the IDF and Shin Bet last Friday, and today (Sunday) he was laid to rest - accompanied by thousands who came to pay their last respects. Hanan, a father of two children, did not manage to contact his family on the morning he was murdered. The last footage of him shows him walking between vehicles at the party compound in Re'im, after which his trace was lost. His parents said in an interview that they received no information about him, except for the fact that he went to the party with four friends - and that they were all murdered. Reuven Yeblonka, Hanan's father, told "Morning News" that the family received difficult footage of the moments when terrorists attacked Hanan on Route 232 - as well as the moments he arrived in Gaza, lifeless, inside a Toyota. "Today I can tell it already - I pressed the army, I told them: Don't deal with me. I want to know things," said Reuven. He called on the public to attend his son's funeral, explaining that it is a demonstration of support for the hostages and efforts for their release. As a result, thousands came to pay Hanan a last respect, in the funeral procession that left his parents' home in Tel Aviv to the Kiryat Shaul cemetery. Avivit, Hanan's sister, told News 12 about the information the family received about his fate. "We only knew that they found his DNA on Route 232, a small blood stain that they couldn't say what level of injury he was in, beyond that there was nothing," she explained. "We all talked, the more time passed that he wasn't among the living, but that was a quick conversation. We kept saying that we hope and hope, the more time passes the more you hope he's alive."

  
  

  She explained that Hanan's grandmother is completely unaware of the situation and does not know what happened to her grandson. "She doesn't know he was at the party," Avivit shared. "She lost her daughter to illness, so why should we do this to her? There's no need to burden her, she loves him so much. She asks about him - where is Hanan, when will he come, and I can't bring myself to hurt my grandmother in the days she has left." link Hanan's father, Reuven spoke on the news after they officially received the news of Hanan's death. He said that no Minister, no Knesset member has called him, not after Hanan's body was brought back to Israel and at no time since October 7. After the news, Herzog the president called to offer his condolences and same Ministers who said they will attend the funeral but want to speak. Reuven couldn't believe what he was hearing. They abandoned Hanan and all the hostages for almost 8 months and now they want to make political announcements at Hanan's funeral. He refused them all

Gaza 

• Givati Fighters Raided an Underground Munitions Cache, Encountered Militants - and Eliminated Them: The Givati Brigade's combat team has been operating in recent weeks under the 162nd Division in Rafah. The forces have been fighting to destroy terror infrastructure, eliminate militants, and demolish rocket launchers in the area. In the last day, over 30 militants have been eliminated by these forces. Last week, soldiers from the Tzabar Battalion raided a house suspected of being a meeting point for militants in the Rafah Brigade area. During the raid, the soldiers encountered militants and eliminated them. Afterward, the force searched the building from which the militants came out and uncovered an underground munitions cache containing large amounts of weapons and munitions. 

  

• The Paratroopers Brigade's combat team led a brigade attack in the area of the Old and New Markets in the heart of Jabaliya, and eliminated militants in face-to-face battles in crowded alleyways. The battles were carried out as part of raids on the General Security Headquarters of the Hamas terrorist organization. The forces neutralized and destroyed the booby-trapped houses and explosive devices, and eliminated around a hundred militants in dozens of battles where the fighters sought contact.

  At the Hamas General Security Headquarters, documents and infrastructure of Hamas were found and destroyed. In a raid on the northern Regional Brigade Commander's house, large amounts of weaponry were found including sniper weapons, Kalashnikov rifles, ammunition, and numerous intelligence documents.

• "Refugee Tents Went Up in Flames": Palestinians Claim 28 Killed in Rafah; IDF Investigating: According to reports, the strike ignited refugee tents in the camp, and in addition to the dead, there are also wounded and missing. The IDF confirmed there was a strike in the area, and the details are being examined. In the background: concern over global reactions to such an explosive incident, and the order from The Hague against the operation in Rafah.

  The Palestinians are reporting tonight (Monday) at least 28 dead and many more wounded in a displaced persons camp in the Tel al-Sultan area of Rafah. According to Palestinian reports, an Israeli bombing of the camp caused the refugee tents to go up in flames - but the circumstances of the incident are still unclear. According to the IDF, there was indeed a strike in the Tel al-Sultan area, and the details are under investigation. This is an incident that could turn out to be particularly explosive, against the backdrop of widespread opposition in the world to the IDF's operation in the city in the southern Gaza Strip, and the order issued just last weekend by the International Court of Justice - in which it effectively demanded a halt to any military action in Rafah that could harm civilians.

  The Gaza Health Ministry, run by Hamas, claimed there is a "large number of dead and wounded as a result of the brutal bombing of occupation aircraft on a displaced persons camp northwest of the city of Rafah, and searches are underway for missing persons at the site." The Palestinian Red Crescent claimed the attacked camp was designated by Israel itself as a humanitarian area. The Red Crescent also noted that the organization evacuated a "large number" of dead and wounded from the scene.  Reports of the high death toll in the incident were quickly circulated by international news agencies as well, with the AP quoting Palestinian medical officials as saying at least 22 people were killed. The mayor of Rafah called on Egypt to bring in ambulances and transfer the wounded to hospitals in El-Arish. 

  The Palestinian news agency Wafa quoted sources as saying that at least 40 civilians were killed, and others were wounded, as a result of an air strike on the camp - which according to the report was recently established near warehouses of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). Wafa claimed that an Israeli plane fired around eight missiles towards the tents, in an area where it was claimed there were thousands of displaced persons: "Those inside the tents were burned." 

  Earlier today, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited Rafah, and a statement on his behalf said that during the situation assessment, he was presented with "combat efforts above and below ground and the deepening of the operation into additional areas, for dismantling Hamas battalions in the area." Against the backdrop of the rocket barrage from the Rafah area toward the Gaza Envelope and Sharon regions, Gallant told fighters: "Our goal in the Gaza Strip is becoming very clear here in Rafah - to defeat Hamas, bring back the captives and maintain freedom of action - this is central. Regarding the captives, we are making tremendous efforts, we have done so until now, we are doing so at this moment, and we will continue to do so in the future by any possible means - both physically and by reaching deals."  

  The IDF itself announced today that it destroyed the launcher from which eight rockets were fired from the Rafah area toward central Israel. According to the IDF, the launcher was set up adjacent to two mosques. "As IDF forces approached, Hamas emptied the ammunition they had and fired the rockets from within the population. We see this pattern of operation in many places where we operate," said IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari. "Hamas is concerned about ammunition and those rockets, and carries out launches in places where it sees IDF forces approaching it."  link
  The IDF has confirmed that an aircraft attacked a Hamas compound with many senior terrorists. The IDF is investigating. No other information is currently known.  This tragedy is likely to have long reaching ramifications and may be the turning point in the war after the ruling of the ICJ in the Hague. The ruling specified that Israel must refrain from any actions that can and will endanger non combatant Palestinians in Rafah. This action fits the ICJ declaration exactly. By tomorrow morning, I anticipate calls from around the world demanding a complete cease fire by Israel without any mention of the hostages and this will set our negotiating position to the worst possible place giving Hamas exactly what they want without paying any price. Hamas sees their people suffering and getting killed only as collateral which can be marketed for them to achieve their goals. And we are helping them achieve it. 
  

  
  
  

Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah

• Hezbollah shells northern communities after deadly IDF drone strike in south Lebanon: 15 rockets launched at Western Galilee after Israeli airstrike kills terror operative in Naqoura; separate barrage on Kiryat Shmona lightly injures man.  A Hezbollah operative was killed in an Israeli drone strike on a motorcycle in southern Lebanon on Sunday morning, Lebanese media and the Israel Defense Forces said.

  According to the IDF, the target of the strike in the coastal town of Naqoura was a member of the terror group. The IDF said the operative was identified leaving a building previously known to be used by Hezbollah. A short while later he was targeted and killed. A separate strike targeted two more Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon’s Ayta ash-Shab, the military added. In response to the strike, Hezbollah launched two barrages of rockets at the Western Galilee in northern Israel, just across from the Naqoura area. According to the IDF, a total of 15 rockets crossed the border in the attack. No injuries were reported. Sirens had sounded in the border communities of Betzet, Hanita, Rosh Hanikra, and Shlomi.  Hezbollah claimed the attack, saying it had shelled an Israeli military base and soldiers stationed in the area, “in response to the assassination carried out by the Zionist enemy in the town of Naqoura and the injury of civilians.”  Hours later, an anti-tank guided missile launched from Lebanon struck a home in the northern community of Avivim, local authorities said. The Marom Hagalil Regional Council said a man was rescued from the damaged house by Avivim’s local security team. In another attack on Sunday, more than 10 rockets were launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon at the northern city of Kiryat Shmona. One rocket strike lightly wounded a man in his 40s, medics said.  link

• IDF Eliminates Militants from Hezbollah Terror Organization

  Aircraft from the Israeli Air Force and the fire control center of the 146th Division identified a Hezbollah militant leaving a military compound of the organization in the Al-Naqoura area. Shortly after, the aircraft struck and eliminated the militant. In addition, two more Hezbollah militants were struck after being identified operating in the Ayta ash-Shab area.

  During the day, around 15 launches were identified from Lebanese territory towards the Shlomi area, and several more launches towards different areas in northern Israel. There are no casualties reported. IDF forces struck the sources of the launches.  video

West Bank

•     The IDF confirms that troops of the Kfir Brigade’s Shimshon Battalion killed a Palestinian suspect who allegedly attempted to stab troops near the Beit Einun junction in the West Bank.

  The troops were carrying out routine operations at the junction, when they identified a suspect who “tried to carry out a stabbing attack.” The troops then opened fire, killing the suspect. No soldiers were hurt.  link

Politics and the Region

• Israel is sinking in Rafah, and losing a historic opportunity  -- Excellent Opinion piece by Reserve General Yisrael Ziv - (On October 7, Yisrael put on his uniform, took his weapon and went south to fight the Hamas terrorist for the next 3 days. He continued to serve after that. He is a regular military commentator about the war on one of the news channels and is very highly respected. )
  The window of opportunity for an agreement with Saudi Arabia is closing, Israel may be left out • The failure in the political management of the war multiplies the failure of the October 7 disaster • Chief of Staff Halevi and Defense Minister Gallant must immediately demand Netanyahu make a political decision - in its absence, the responsibility for the consequences falls on them • Reserve Maj. Gen. Israel Ziv, analysis 
  
  While Israel continues to sink in Rafah, it is losing a historic and unique opportunity that could have upgraded its regional status and secured its future - a joint agreement with Saudi Arabia and the United States. But the agreement has meanwhile become a bilateral one, leaving Israel out.
  
  The failure in the political management of the war multiplies the failure of the October 7 disaster - and only for this should a second state commission of inquiry be established. In October we fell due to conceptual blindness, but this time it is due to blatant irresponsibility, conscious negligence by Benjamin Netanyahu - who not only fails to manage Israel's security, but is also gambling our future for additional days as prime minister. 
  
  U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan arrived in the country this week with very little hope of succeeding, mainly to mark a "V" (a check mark) on the attempt to persuade Israel to join the agreement with Saudi Arabia that is about to be signed. Sullivan's goal is primarily to show senators that the administration tried its best - but there is no one to talk to, it is impossible to work with Netanyahu. In the eyes of the American administration, Netanyahu is a lost cause, unable to make a decision that goes beyond the lines drawn by Ben-Gvir and Smotrich. Biden has already despaired and given up on working seriously with Netanyahu - and thus, unfortunately, the hope for a new regional agreement is dissipating, leaving Israel isolated and outside the coalition against Iran.
  
  The proponents of "decisive victory" continue to push the military deeper into the least important target of the war - Rafah. With it, the last leverage for the release of the captives is also dissipating, and Israel's political collapse and isolation are increasing. Netanyahu and Smotrich's government is serving the Palestinians a state on a silver platter and advancing its international standing as a state. More and more countries are recognizing Palestine, and the childish conduct of Smotrich and Netanyahu to punish Ramallah will greatly accelerate its establishment.
  
  In parallel with supporting a Palestinian state, many countries are severing ties with Israel or at least cooling them towards disconnection. Anti-Semitism around the world is skyrocketing and endangering Jews and Israelis worldwide, educational institutions and companies are starting to distance themselves from Israel - we have become complete pariahs. 
  
  The court in The Hague, in contempt of the law and principles of international justice itself, instead of accusing Hamas of genocide - accuses Israel of it, sadly expressing the global sentiment against Israel. The order issued by the court to cease fighting in Rafah, which it will submit to the Security Council to enforce the cessation, could provide another opportunity for Biden not to veto due to his revulsion at the operation in Rafah. If the UN decision passes, it will lead to a global arms embargo on Israel, the imposition of economic and other sanctions - with disastrous consequences for our economy and national security. 
  
  On October 7, Israel was the most beloved country in the world, and within half a year it became the most ostracized in the entire world, thanks to a completely failed strategic and political management of the campaign. This is due to neglect of humanitarian issues, zero diplomatic efforts, lack of public diplomacy, lack of a decision on the "day after", and the culmination - the stubborn insistence on Rafah. 
  
  The recurring Gaza operations in an attempt to recreate the achievements that have been eroded due to the governing vacuum on the ground - as a result of Netanyahu's inability to address it for over seven months. We continue to pay the price and lose our best sons, twenty-three more soldiers killed since the beginning of the month in the same places we have already conquered and left, returned and left, and will probably return again. According to a report released by the CIA this week, only 30% of Hamas' force was hit and it is recovering rapidly, having already managed to recruit thousands of new fighters. Our rate of attrition does not keep up with Hamas' rate of recovery, and the balance over time will only worsen.
  
  A major problem is emerging in public morale, which is becoming increasingly difficult and hopeless. Concern over the situation and lack of a prospect for holding on to it, the empty slogans of "decisive victory" only arouse anger and mistrust. It seems that this is also not sparing the military - among reservists and regular troops, many concerned mothers are organizing to make their voices heard and stop what appears to be a creeping conquest of the Strip. Everyone well remembers the long stay in the Lebanese quagmire. 
  
  The current situation is problematic: there is no leader in Israel who knows how to instill hope - the prime minister is preoccupied with convincing the people through the slogans of an opposition member about "what not" instead of saying "what yes". The poor functioning of the government is also noticeable - there is a lack of leadership that knows how to inspire trust and that after eight months will be able to provide a response to the displaced. These are piling up into a moral problem, turning into a difficult national anguish and dangerously undermining our national resilience. 
  
  This week, Amit Segal voiced the deep strategic insight that the history of withdrawals is what brought all the troubles - there is nothing better than continuing the occupation and endless wars. Smotrich also expressed a desire to re-establish the security strip in southern Lebanon, including, of course, the conquest and annexation of Gaza. What the two of them forgot is that the IDF did not actually withdraw from Lebanon, but stayed there for 18 years - and in that stay we lost over 1,200 soldiers at an increasing and worsening rate every year. 
  
  When the IDF entered Lebanon, there were the relatively minor PLO and Amal organizations, but the IDF's security strip in Lebanon created the Hezbollah terrorist organization - the worst enemy - just as Hamas was founded while we were in Gaza. And not after the disengagement, as is commonly mistaken. Lovers of occupation and haters of withdrawal have not experienced the difficult day-to-day fighting that was there, and did not bear its heavy costs. As one of the generals who commanded on the ground, I will never forget the desperate defense of the handful of Gush Katif settlements - which were closed off behind fences, obstacles and thousands of soldiers - a contracted settlement bunker behind concrete in the heart of millions of Arabs, suffering thousands of continuous attacks. The harsh sights revealed to my eyes on Black Saturday immediately brought to mind the image of the five children who were shot and burned in Rabbi Rafi Peretz's Atzmonah pre-military academy. Despite rushing there with all my might, the feeling of failure at not being able to protect the children never leaves me. 
  
  The truth is that the State of Israel remained in Lebanon because it really had no policy, each time we were a step away from the receding victory as we sank and became entangled. It is very important that Minister Dermer (American born and made aliyah in 1997) learn from the terrible American failure in Vietnam - where over the course of 19 years they sent back some sixty thousand dead soldiers - without any victory. 
  
  It also took us many long years and enormous costs until we acknowledged our mistake and fled Lebanon, which did not really contribute to Israel's deterrence. The lesson is not to return to being entangled and fleeing, but to be careful to enter and truly mow the lawn, not hesitantly, as long as the weed grows, and long before the monster becomes too big.
  
  Now, Israel has a closing diplomatic window - a last chance to jump on the departing train of the agreement with Saudi Arabia. Israel can demand conditions for a deal that would include the return of hostages, the replacement of the Hamas regime in Gaza, a ceasefire in Lebanon, and international political rehabilitation. In this way, the country will be able to restore its economic health, stability, and the return of residents of the north and south. Israel will be able to deal with the really big problems - from within and without. 
  
  If Netanyahu chooses in these circumstances to cling to a long and protracted war - while sliding into the conquest of Gaza, which means continuing the war of attrition against Hezbollah, Iranian empowerment and economic and positional collapse in the world - then this government is very dangerous for Israel, and will lead to the collapse of the state. This is the last moment: Chief of Staff Halevi and Defense Minister Gallant must set an immediate and uncompromising condition for the Prime Minister - that he must make a political decision immediately. The meaning of delaying the decision is to allow Netanyahu to continue dragging us into the abyss. And therefore the responsibility for the consequences falls on them.
  
  
• The US Central Command (CENTCOM) says that US forces destroyed one unmanned aerial system (UAS) that was launched over the Red Sea from an Iranian-backed Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.

Acronyms and Glossary

COGAT - Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories

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 Office

Join my Whatsapp update group https://chat.whatsapp.com/IQ3OtwE6ydxBeBAxWNziB0 
Twitter - @LonnyB58