π️Lonny's War Update- October 235, 2023 - May 28, 2024 π️
π️Day 235 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
*11:30pm last night - Eilat- 2 UAVs launched by the Pro-Iran Iraqi Militia were shot down near Eilat Video of Iron*8:00am- Three anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon at the Shtula area in northern Israel a short while ago. The IDF says there are no injuries in the attack.*8:30am- north- Rockets Kibbutz Kfar Giladi- turns out to be a false alarm*11:00am- north - Hostile aircraft intrusion - The alerts can be heard in largely evacuated communities including Snir, She’ar Yeshuv, Dan, Ghajar, HaGoshrim, Dafna, Tel Hai, Kiryat Shmona, Misgav Am, Margaliot, Ma’ayan Baruch, Manara, Metula, Kfar Yuval , Kfar Giladi and Beit Hillel. - alert was a false alarm
Hostage Updates
- Seeking to end silence around sexual violence in war, an MK raises her voice abroad : Feeling she has to ‘shock the world to take notice of what’s happening,’ freshman Yesh Atid lawmaker Shelly Tal Meron is trying to build a global coalition to fight weaponized rape.
Speaking at a conference on combating weaponized sexual violence in the Knesset last week, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slammed “useful idiots” abroad who “believe everything they see on their phones, but do not believe the horrific testimonies of sexual abuse by Hamas terrorists.”
“Throughout history, there has been a conspiracy of silence surrounding sexual violence during war,” he said. This silence, he argued, was a prime culprit in allowing these rapes to continue occurring.
“We came here today to cry out against silence,” he declared. The May 20 meeting, which took place in a packed hall in Israel’s parliament, was convened by MK Shelly Tal Meron of Lapid’s Yesh Atid party, who is seeking to establish an international alliance to deal with issues of wartime sexual assault in the aftermath of the October 7 attack — the Global Women’s Coalition against Gender Based Violence as a Weapon of War.
“We are declaring today the establishment of an important historical coalition, of acknowledging sexual violence as a crime of war,” the freshman lawmaker declared. She argued that, while international law has already recognized this, work remains to ensure that “the cultural and political perception” of such violations changes as well.
According to Tal Meron’s office, delegates from France, Ireland, Denmark, the UK, and other countries took part in the discussions, which were co-sponsored by ELNET, an organization working to build ties between Israel and Europe. Hamas engaged in widespread sexual assault during its attack on October 7, when thousands of terrorists invaded Israel by land, sea, and air, killing 1,200 people — a majority of them civilians — and taking 252 others hostage into Gaza.
Israeli women held captive in the Gaza Strip are subjected to regular sexual abuse, with their guards treating them like “dolls,” according to testimony from freed hostages presented in January at a meeting of the Knesset caucus on victims of sexual and gender violence in the war against Hamas — which was co-chaired by Tal Meron. Addressing Tuesday’s gathering, Israel Prize-winning international law and human rights expert Cochav Elkayam-Levy argued that “current international conventions are simply not enough” to deal with a resurgence of gender-based violence in conflicts from the Middle East to Ukraine.
Elkayam-Levy, who served on the Civil Commission of Oct. 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children, told the conference that she was “working with scholars to recognize a new crime against humanity,” which she calls kinocide, “the deliberate weaponization or destruction of families.” In an opinion piece published in The Times of Israel last week, Elkayam-Levy and former Canadian justice minister Irwin Cotler asserted that “our legal systems are currently ill-equipped to address” the deliberate targeting of families.
“In assessing the legal ramifications of Hamas’s actions, it becomes apparent that international criminal law lacks the specific mechanisms to confront the extent of the brutality and systematicity employed on October 7th,” they wrote.
Hostage Updates
- Seeking to end silence around sexual violence in war, an MK raises her voice abroad : Feeling she has to ‘shock the world to take notice of what’s happening,’ freshman Yesh Atid lawmaker Shelly Tal Meron is trying to build a global coalition to fight weaponized rape.
Speaking at a conference on combating weaponized sexual violence in the Knesset last week, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slammed “useful idiots” abroad who “believe everything they see on their phones, but do not believe the horrific testimonies of sexual abuse by Hamas terrorists.”
“Throughout history, there has been a conspiracy of silence surrounding sexual violence during war,” he said. This silence, he argued, was a prime culprit in allowing these rapes to continue occurring.
“We came here today to cry out against silence,” he declared. The May 20 meeting, which took place in a packed hall in Israel’s parliament, was convened by MK Shelly Tal Meron of Lapid’s Yesh Atid party, who is seeking to establish an international alliance to deal with issues of wartime sexual assault in the aftermath of the October 7 attack — the Global Women’s Coalition against Gender Based Violence as a Weapon of War.
“We are declaring today the establishment of an important historical coalition, of acknowledging sexual violence as a crime of war,” the freshman lawmaker declared. She argued that, while international law has already recognized this, work remains to ensure that “the cultural and political perception” of such violations changes as well.
According to Tal Meron’s office, delegates from France, Ireland, Denmark, the UK, and other countries took part in the discussions, which were co-sponsored by ELNET, an organization working to build ties between Israel and Europe. Hamas engaged in widespread sexual assault during its attack on October 7, when thousands of terrorists invaded Israel by land, sea, and air, killing 1,200 people — a majority of them civilians — and taking 252 others hostage into Gaza.
Israeli women held captive in the Gaza Strip are subjected to regular sexual abuse, with their guards treating them like “dolls,” according to testimony from freed hostages presented in January at a meeting of the Knesset caucus on victims of sexual and gender violence in the war against Hamas — which was co-chaired by Tal Meron. Addressing Tuesday’s gathering, Israel Prize-winning international law and human rights expert Cochav Elkayam-Levy argued that “current international conventions are simply not enough” to deal with a resurgence of gender-based violence in conflicts from the Middle East to Ukraine.
Elkayam-Levy, who served on the Civil Commission of Oct. 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children, told the conference that she was “working with scholars to recognize a new crime against humanity,” which she calls kinocide, “the deliberate weaponization or destruction of families.” In an opinion piece published in The Times of Israel last week, Elkayam-Levy and former Canadian justice minister Irwin Cotler asserted that “our legal systems are currently ill-equipped to address” the deliberate targeting of families.
“In assessing the legal ramifications of Hamas’s actions, it becomes apparent that international criminal law lacks the specific mechanisms to confront the extent of the brutality and systematicity employed on October 7th,” they wrote.
Finding a cause
“When this war started, I found myself doing interviews for international press because there aren’t so many English-speaking members of the Knesset,” Tal Meron recalled during an interview in her Knesset office.
As a fluent English speaker (her mother is American) and a former spokesperson for the Israeli Air Force, Tal Meron said that she understood that within days of the October 7 massacre, the media would shift from speaking about atrocities against Israelis and instead report on developments in the Gaza Strip — making it necessary to expend significant effort to keep Hamas’s crimes in the public eye.
“Because I’m a member of the Knesset and I’m a member of the Women’s Rights Committee, I was exposed to a lot of materials, both videos and testimonies and other materials which were inexplicable. There are no words to describe the things that I saw,” she said. “And I knew that I have to be the voice of women who have no voice. And they’re either murdered, most of them, unfortunately, or are being kept in Gaza as hostages. And I started traveling around Europe to tell the Israeli story,” she said.
Unlike Israelis, who have had constant exposure to the atrocities of October 7, many who she spoke to did not seem to be aware of the extent of Hamas’s actions. “You would see people shifting their demeanor, shifting from one point to the other” as she presented evidence of what happened, she said.
Pregnant hostages
At the same time as her advocacy work abroad, Tal Meron started taking steps to deal with the issue at home, establishing the Knesset caucus on victims of sexual and gender violence in the war against Hamas, with Likud lawmaker Tsega Melaku.
It was during a gathering held by that body that Tal Meron and released hostages raised the possibility that some of the captives could come home pregnant with Hamas terrorists’ babies.
“We may find ourselves here in a few months in the Knesset holding discussions that I don’t want to think about,” Meron said at that hearing. “It could be discussions on terminating pregnancies in the coming months. It could be discussions with the rabbinate about the religion of the babies who may be born here or there. It could be about the legal standing of these babies who may be born,” she said.
Looking back at that meeting, Tal Meron told The Times of Israel that she felt she had to “shock the world so that they would take notice of what’s happening.”
Footage released by the Hostages Families Forum on Wednesday appeared to bolster Tal Meron’s case that the hostages are in danger of being impregnated.
The video, taken by body cameras worn by Hamas terrorists on October 7 as they attacked the Nahal Oz base near the Gaza border, shows the abduction of female soldiers Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, and Naama Levy.
During one part of the video, a Hamas terrorist can be seen pointing at the hostages, stating that “here are the women who can get pregnant.”
Building a coalition
That desire led Tal Meron to turn to French MP Aurore BergΓ©, minister for gender equality and the fight against discrimination, and suggest joining forces. “Let’s ask countries, free countries around the world, democratic, liberal, Western countries, to join this coalition and acknowledge the sexual assault as war weapons,” she recalled telling BergΓ©.
Asked what such a coalition could do on a practical level, given that rape is already considered a war crime, Tal Meron asserted that following October 7, legislators need to establish procedures for handling the aftermath of mass crimes against women.
“Because there was such a large scale of, unfortunately, dead bodies in the beginning, we didn’t even look for all the forensic evidence. We had people who saw a lot of women tied to trees at the Nova festival, and they untied them and moved the bodies because they wanted to cover them and to respect them. But that gets in the way of the forensic evidence. That’s just one example,” she explained.
While reticent to provide any details this early in the process, Tal Meron said she was drafting domestic legislation along these lines and working to organize another gathering in Paris sometime in the coming months. “By then, I hope we I have a lot of countries that will join the coalition. I’m going to [write] a declaration of principles that countries that want to join the coalition will sign,” she said.
“I hope each and every person there will go back to their country and say, we need to take part of this huge coalition. We need to make it happen. And we can form this very, very important global coalition, hopefully.”
French Minister for Gender Equality BergΓ© seemed to agree, telling the conference in a video message from Paris that Israel “can count on France’s determination… to combat this scourge [of weaponized sexual violence] we sadly see reemerging.”
“We will stand by your side to shed light on what happened,” she said. “These crimes too must not be unpunished.”
An insufficient local response
But while Tal Meron seems heartened by the response of BergΓ© and other foreign partners, she is less sanguine regarding her own country’s leaders.
Pointing to a photo released by the White House last month of US President Joe Biden holding 4-year old Israeli-American Avigail Idan, who was taken hostage and later freed, the lawmaker said that some of the families of the hostages “are being taken care of in a good manner,” while others “have not even received one phone call from anyone from the government, which is unthinkable.” And even as the Tekuma (Revival) Administration, a special body announced by the government days after the massacre to rehabilitate Israel’s southern Gaza border communities is “doing an amazing job,” “there are issues that we need to improve,” she continued.
“When it comes to finances, a lot of the families of the hostages, they stopped working. Their whole lives stopped. They’re devastated. They don’t sleep, they don’t eat. They need help. They need help from the country. They get some help. It’s not enough,” Tal Meron stated.
“When it comes to their rehabilitation, I think we’re trying to do the best we can as a country. The Ministry of Health is working with them. They’re giving them psychological help and physical help. In that regard, I think it’s okay. There’s always room for improvement.” link
Gaza
Gaza
Starting Over: The Tender for the Demolition of Homes in the Gaza Envelope Communities Has Been Completed
The government's plan to rehabilitate the Gaza envelope communities following the Black Saturday is beginning: The Talor Credi group, which specializes in building demolition among other things, won the tender from the Amigo company on behalf of the Ministry of Defense to demolish buildings in the Gaza envelope communities and will manage all the demolitions of buildings that were damaged on October 7th. "We are actually the opening shot of the Rebirth (ΧͺΧ§ΧΧΧ)Administration's five-year plan for the rehabilitation and development of the Gaza Envelope, which was formulated following the October 7th events. Being part of such a significant and emotionally charged rehabilitation project feels like a mission to me. The demolition of homes is, with all the sadness, part of the process of rehabilitating the kibbutz, and I hope that Beeri and all the Gaza envelope communities that were affected will return to flourishing and living in security. We will do everything to carry out the project in cooperation with the residents of the kibbutzim," says Lior. link I, of course do not know the details of all that went into this tender but I find it absurd that it took nearly 8 months for this to occur. Thousands of people who traumatically had to leave their homes and have been living in temporary quarters will not be able to return to their homes for years. It has been reported in the news that the Rebirth Administration was being set up shortly after Black Saturday but their actual functioning and staffing were very wanting for quite some time. The administration is an arm of the government and since most of the government was and is still dysfunctional, it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone but it is another national disgrace and this one even more so as it is 'penalizing' the people who suffered the most on October 7.
The UN Security Council has convened an emergency meeting for Tuesday, diplomats tell AFP, after an Israeli strike targeting two senior Hamas figures also reportedly killed dozens of Palestinians at a displaced persons camp in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The closed-door meeting was requested by Algeria, which is currently a non-permanent member of the council, diplomats say.
- ‘Nowhere safe to go’: UNRWA says a million Palestinians fled Rafah in past 3 weeks: Around one million Palestinians have fled the Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip in the past three weeks, according to UNRWA, after Israel began issuing evacuation orders early this month.
“This happened with nowhere safe to go & amidst bombardments, lack of food & water, piles of waste & unsuitable living conditions,” the UN agency for Palestinians charges in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The IDF has called on residents to move to an expanded humanitarian zone in the al-Mawasi and Khan Younis areas of southern Gaza, estimating last week that some 950,000 Palestinians had evacuated from Rafah.
Amid mounting international pressure, Israel insists that the military operation in Rafah is crucial to its goal of eliminating Hamas and freeing the hostages seized during the terror group’s October 7 massacre.
- Palestinian reports: IDF tanks roll into Rafah city center: Several Israel Defense Forces tanks have reached the center of Rafah, witnesses tell Reuters, three weeks into a ground operation in Gaza’s southernmost city that has drawn intense scrutiny from neighboring Egypt and from the United States, among other countries. The tanks were spotted near Al-Awda mosque, a central Rafah landmark, the witnesses say. Footage from Al Jazeera posted to social media purports to show the tanks advancing into Rafah. There is no immediate comment from the IDF on the witness accounts, with the military saying it will issue a statement on the Rafah operation later in the day.
British Foreign Minister David Cameron says an investigation by the Israel Defense Forces into this week’s deadly airstrikes on Rafah must be “swift, comprehensive and transparent,” again calling for a pause in fighting.
“Deeply distressing scenes following the air strikes in Rafah this weekend. The IDF’s investigation must be swift, comprehensive and transparent,” Cameron writes on X.
“We urgently need a deal to get hostages out and aid in, with a pause in fighting to allow work towards a long-term sustainable ceasefire.”
The IDF announced yesterday that the strike, which targeted two senior Hamas officials in the southern Gaza city but also reportedly killed dozens of Palestinian civilians, will be probed by the top-tier General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism. link From the news in Israel, it appears that we are not taking the tragic incident in Rafah seriously enough. Netanyahu made a single sentence comment in the Knesset yesterday saying that it was tragic and that in war, non combatants are sometimes accidentally killed and that the IDF was investigating. The uproar in the international community is certainly not taking this lightly and it is going to boomerang against us very soon, especially in light of the ICJ ruling last week of stopping any operation in Rafah that will endanger non combatants.
- South Africa says ‘deplorable’ Rafah strike ‘bears testimony’ to assertions of genocide: South Africa condemns as “deplorable” an IDF strike on Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, in which Israel targeted two senior Hamas officials.
The attack, which Palestinian officials say killed 45 people in a displaced persons camp, triggered global outrage and an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
“The South African Government joins the international community in condemning the deplorable and brutal attacks on innocent civilians after Israeli forces bombed a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians,” the foreign ministry says. It noted that the strike came two days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to cease military operations in Rafah that would risk the destruction of the civilian population sheltering there. The ICJ’s ruling was issued last week as part of a case brought by South Africa alleging that the Israeli operation in Gaza amounts to “genocide.” “What we are witnessing today bears testimony to South Africa’s assertions,” the foreign ministry adds.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday called the strike a “tragic mishap” but also vowed to push on with the military campaign to destroy Hamas and free the hostages seized by the terror group during its October 7 massacre. link The fact that South Africa is making these statements is no surprise but they are not the only ones and we need to be fully cognizant about it along with the statements and actions of the rest of the world, mostly by our friends and allies. Following the ruling by the ICJ, many countries supported our just fight against the Hamas barbarians and the battle to bring our hostages home. This was further emphasized by all of the negative statements about the ICC's prosecutor's request for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Galant. But that support is, once again wearing thin when those same friends are faced with the horrific tragedy in Rafah that occurred as a by-product of our just killing of senior Hamas terrorists in Rafah. No one, including us, sees the killing of the innocents in their tents from fire because of our missiles as being just or right. We need to be more vocal about it from our side, apologize profusely and complete the IDF investigation ASAP.
ABC News Report: After the delayed American response that "the images from Rafah are heart-breaking", Israel updated the Biden administration overnight (between Monday and Tuesday) on the findings of the initial investigation. The White House was informed of the assessment that shrapnel from the attack two days ago in Rafah or a similar component hit a fuel tank located about 100 meters from the center of the attack, and it appears to be what ignited the fire in the displaced persons' tents.
The U.S. received the information from Israel overnight and is examining the details - according to the same American source. The report emphasizes that for now the U.S. does not have information that allows it to confirm or contradict the information conveyed to it by Israel. It is also claimed that the White House tried to warn Israel against the consequences of a widespread ground attack in Rafah. The American source stressed in an interview with ABC that the U.S., like Israel, is in the process of analyzing and decoding the event. According to him, the Biden administration expects Israel to conduct a comprehensive investigation, and in the end decide what action to take. It should be recalled that last night the IDF clarified that the General Staff's investigation mechanism will investigate the attack in Rafah, under the guidance of the Military Advocate General, Aluf Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi.
According to preliminary findings, "prior to the attack, many steps were taken to minimize the risk of harm to uninvolved civilians, including visual reconnaissance from the air, the use of precision munitions and additional intelligence information, based on which it was assessed that no harm to uninvolved civilians was expected." "The attack was not carried out in the humanitarian space, to which the IDF called on the population to evacuate," the army emphasized. "The event is being investigated by an independent body responsible for examining exceptional incidents in combat. The mechanism is investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths of civilians in the attack area. The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians in the context of combat."
"Aircraft struck significant terrorist targets in Rafah, including senior members of Hamas' staff headquarters who directed attacks by Hamas operatives in Judea and Samaria and carried out deadly attacks against Israeli civilians. The attack was carried out based on prior intelligence information about the presence of the terrorists at the site." link
Starting Over: The Tender for the Demolition of Homes in the Gaza Envelope Communities Has Been Completed
The government's plan to rehabilitate the Gaza envelope communities following the Black Saturday is beginning: The Talor Credi group, which specializes in building demolition among other things, won the tender from the Amigo company on behalf of the Ministry of Defense to demolish buildings in the Gaza envelope communities and will manage all the demolitions of buildings that were damaged on October 7th. "We are actually the opening shot of the Rebirth (ΧͺΧ§ΧΧΧ)Administration's five-year plan for the rehabilitation and development of the Gaza Envelope, which was formulated following the October 7th events. Being part of such a significant and emotionally charged rehabilitation project feels like a mission to me. The demolition of homes is, with all the sadness, part of the process of rehabilitating the kibbutz, and I hope that Beeri and all the Gaza envelope communities that were affected will return to flourishing and living in security. We will do everything to carry out the project in cooperation with the residents of the kibbutzim," says Lior. link I, of course do not know the details of all that went into this tender but I find it absurd that it took nearly 8 months for this to occur. Thousands of people who traumatically had to leave their homes and have been living in temporary quarters will not be able to return to their homes for years. It has been reported in the news that the Rebirth Administration was being set up shortly after Black Saturday but their actual functioning and staffing were very wanting for quite some time. The administration is an arm of the government and since most of the government was and is still dysfunctional, it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone but it is another national disgrace and this one even more so as it is 'penalizing' the people who suffered the most on October 7.
The UN Security Council has convened an emergency meeting for Tuesday, diplomats tell AFP, after an Israeli strike targeting two senior Hamas figures also reportedly killed dozens of Palestinians at a displaced persons camp in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The closed-door meeting was requested by Algeria, which is currently a non-permanent member of the council, diplomats say.
“This happened with nowhere safe to go & amidst bombardments, lack of food & water, piles of waste & unsuitable living conditions,” the UN agency for Palestinians charges in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The IDF has called on residents to move to an expanded humanitarian zone in the al-Mawasi and Khan Younis areas of southern Gaza, estimating last week that some 950,000 Palestinians had evacuated from Rafah.
Amid mounting international pressure, Israel insists that the military operation in Rafah is crucial to its goal of eliminating Hamas and freeing the hostages seized during the terror group’s October 7 massacre.
British Foreign Minister David Cameron says an investigation by the Israel Defense Forces into this week’s deadly airstrikes on Rafah must be “swift, comprehensive and transparent,” again calling for a pause in fighting.
“Deeply distressing scenes following the air strikes in Rafah this weekend. The IDF’s investigation must be swift, comprehensive and transparent,” Cameron writes on X.
“We urgently need a deal to get hostages out and aid in, with a pause in fighting to allow work towards a long-term sustainable ceasefire.”
The IDF announced yesterday that the strike, which targeted two senior Hamas officials in the southern Gaza city but also reportedly killed dozens of Palestinian civilians, will be probed by the top-tier General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism. link From the news in Israel, it appears that we are not taking the tragic incident in Rafah seriously enough. Netanyahu made a single sentence comment in the Knesset yesterday saying that it was tragic and that in war, non combatants are sometimes accidentally killed and that the IDF was investigating. The uproar in the international community is certainly not taking this lightly and it is going to boomerang against us very soon, especially in light of the ICJ ruling last week of stopping any operation in Rafah that will endanger non combatants.
The attack, which Palestinian officials say killed 45 people in a displaced persons camp, triggered global outrage and an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
“The South African Government joins the international community in condemning the deplorable and brutal attacks on innocent civilians after Israeli forces bombed a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians,” the foreign ministry says. It noted that the strike came two days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to cease military operations in Rafah that would risk the destruction of the civilian population sheltering there. The ICJ’s ruling was issued last week as part of a case brought by South Africa alleging that the Israeli operation in Gaza amounts to “genocide.” “What we are witnessing today bears testimony to South Africa’s assertions,” the foreign ministry adds.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday called the strike a “tragic mishap” but also vowed to push on with the military campaign to destroy Hamas and free the hostages seized by the terror group during its October 7 massacre. link The fact that South Africa is making these statements is no surprise but they are not the only ones and we need to be fully cognizant about it along with the statements and actions of the rest of the world, mostly by our friends and allies. Following the ruling by the ICJ, many countries supported our just fight against the Hamas barbarians and the battle to bring our hostages home. This was further emphasized by all of the negative statements about the ICC's prosecutor's request for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Galant. But that support is, once again wearing thin when those same friends are faced with the horrific tragedy in Rafah that occurred as a by-product of our just killing of senior Hamas terrorists in Rafah. No one, including us, sees the killing of the innocents in their tents from fire because of our missiles as being just or right. We need to be more vocal about it from our side, apologize profusely and complete the IDF investigation ASAP.
ABC News Report: After the delayed American response that "the images from Rafah are heart-breaking", Israel updated the Biden administration overnight (between Monday and Tuesday) on the findings of the initial investigation. The White House was informed of the assessment that shrapnel from the attack two days ago in Rafah or a similar component hit a fuel tank located about 100 meters from the center of the attack, and it appears to be what ignited the fire in the displaced persons' tents.
The U.S. received the information from Israel overnight and is examining the details - according to the same American source. The report emphasizes that for now the U.S. does not have information that allows it to confirm or contradict the information conveyed to it by Israel. It is also claimed that the White House tried to warn Israel against the consequences of a widespread ground attack in Rafah. The American source stressed in an interview with ABC that the U.S., like Israel, is in the process of analyzing and decoding the event. According to him, the Biden administration expects Israel to conduct a comprehensive investigation, and in the end decide what action to take. It should be recalled that last night the IDF clarified that the General Staff's investigation mechanism will investigate the attack in Rafah, under the guidance of the Military Advocate General, Aluf Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi.
According to preliminary findings, "prior to the attack, many steps were taken to minimize the risk of harm to uninvolved civilians, including visual reconnaissance from the air, the use of precision munitions and additional intelligence information, based on which it was assessed that no harm to uninvolved civilians was expected." "The attack was not carried out in the humanitarian space, to which the IDF called on the population to evacuate," the army emphasized. "The event is being investigated by an independent body responsible for examining exceptional incidents in combat. The mechanism is investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths of civilians in the attack area. The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians in the context of combat."
"Aircraft struck significant terrorist targets in Rafah, including senior members of Hamas' staff headquarters who directed attacks by Hamas operatives in Judea and Samaria and carried out deadly attacks against Israeli civilians. The attack was carried out based on prior intelligence information about the presence of the terrorists at the site." link
- The IDF has deployed an additional brigade to southern Gaza’s Rafah, as the offensive against Hamas there continues. The Bislamach Brigade — the School for Infantry Corps Professions and Squad Commanders during war time — joins the 162nd Division’s other brigades that have been operating in Rafah since earlier this month.
The military says it operated along the Philadelphi Corridor overnight, following information on infrastructure belonging to terror groups in the area. The IDF says troops located tunnels, weapons, and killed numerous operatives in the Rafah area. Dozens of sites belonging to terror groups were also destroyed during operations in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya, according to the IDF.
It says the sites in Jabaliya include observation posts, weapon depots, and a building used by Hamas. Several operatives were killed by troops in Jabaliya in the past day, including a mortar-launching cell that was struck by a fighter jet, the military says.
And in central Gaza, the IDF says it has expanded operations in the Netzarim Corridor area, killing operatives and raiding Hamas sites. link
- Gaza health authorities claim that seven Palestinians are killed and dozens wounded in fresh Israeli strikes on an area of tents housing displaced people west of Rafah.
Medics and residents claim that the strikes targeted tents of displaced families in the designated humanitarian area in Mawasi in western Rafah.
Hamas media said the number of deaths stood at 20, while other reports claim that 16 people were killed. The IDF did not immediately comment on the reports. The Israeli military says its strikes only target terror operatives and infrastructure.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah
Israel Air Force fighter jets attacked a number of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight, the military announces. An IDF statement adds that the targets included an arms warehouse in Mays al-Jabal and buildings used for the terror group’s military operations in Aita al-Shaab and Khiam. video
Israel Air Force fighter jets attacked a number of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight, the military announces. An IDF statement adds that the targets included an arms warehouse in Mays al-Jabal and buildings used for the terror group’s military operations in Aita al-Shaab and Khiam. video
Lebanese health officials report 2nd death in Israeli strike near hospital entrance: An Israel Defense Forces strike targeting a motorcycle in southern Lebanon next to a hospital entrance yesterday also killed a security guard, according to Lebanese health officials.
The motorcycle driver, identified by the IDF as a Hezbollah operative who was identified at a rocket launching site in southern Lebanon’s Aynata, adjacent to Bint Jbeil, was previously reported killed in the strike. The site had recently been used to fire rockets at the Malkia area in northern Israel, according to the military.
The Merom HaGalil Regional Council head has received threatening messages on WhatsApp from the Hezbollah terror group, according to unconfirmed reports with screenshots of the texts.
“To the settlers of the north, we only target the houses where soldiers have settled,” one of the messages reads. “If the fighting in Gaza doesn’t stop, there will be no houses left.”
The text messages were received this morning and are all written in Hebrew and signed “Hezbollah.”
“You must understand that nothing will change here in the north after September 1 if the attacks on Gaza don’t stop,” reads another message sent to Amit Sofer, who heads the Merom HaGalil Regional Council. -- this is not the first time council heads of the northern border communities received whatsapp messages from Hizbollah threatening them and/or their communities. There are a number of the council heads who have been saying that if the army was not stationed in their communities, especially the kibbutzin and moshavim on the border, Hizbollah would not be attacking them. There may be validity in these remarks.
- Hezbollah prepared to continue war for up to a year, may carry out operations inside Israel – Lebanese media: Hezbollah is prepared to continue the war until the US elections and possibly until next spring, according to unnamed “sources” quoted by the Lebanese news agency El-Nashra.
On Friday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gave a televised speech to commemorate Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi who died last week, in which he addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and promised “more surprises.”
The surprises in question are weapons that Hezbollah has not yet deployed, El-Nashra reports, but the terror group “will not reveal what it has up his sleeve unless Netanyahu miscalculates and escalates the war.” Another Arab publication, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida, reports that Hezbollah is in possession of long-range precision missiles and Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles with Iranian modifications. In addition, the terror group is training to ambush Israeli patrols, surrounding them with fire, and to carry out operations on Israeli soil, such as capturing IDF soldiers.
As for its current strategy, Hezbollah is increasing military pressure on Israel in the hope that it will lead to domestic pressure on the government and force Netanyahu to enter negotiations for a truce, Al-Jarida reports.
It adds that all possible scenarios were discussed in Tehran last week on the sidelines of Raisi’s funeral by leaders of Iran-backed terror groups Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
Quoting “sources” close to Hamas and Hezbollah, Al-Jarida says that it was decided that Hamas will be strict in its negotiating position, will not make concessions to Israel and will not release the hostages until Jerusalem stops the war and withdraws its troops from the Gaza Strip.
The two terror groups reportedly believe that Washington will increase its pressure on Israel to end the war as the US presidential elections approach. link we have recently seen Hizbollah's use of anti aircraft defenses. Hizbollah's arsenal is mostly made up of weaponry from Iran but also from Russia. The combination of the 2 suppliers and instigators to this conflict is not new but some of the supplied weapons and defenses are.
The Merom HaGalil Regional Council head has received threatening messages on WhatsApp from the Hezbollah terror group, according to unconfirmed reports with screenshots of the texts.
“To the settlers of the north, we only target the houses where soldiers have settled,” one of the messages reads. “If the fighting in Gaza doesn’t stop, there will be no houses left.”
The text messages were received this morning and are all written in Hebrew and signed “Hezbollah.”
“You must understand that nothing will change here in the north after September 1 if the attacks on Gaza don’t stop,” reads another message sent to Amit Sofer, who heads the Merom HaGalil Regional Council. -- this is not the first time council heads of the northern border communities received whatsapp messages from Hizbollah threatening them and/or their communities. There are a number of the council heads who have been saying that if the army was not stationed in their communities, especially the kibbutzin and moshavim on the border, Hizbollah would not be attacking them. There may be validity in these remarks.On Friday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gave a televised speech to commemorate Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi who died last week, in which he addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and promised “more surprises.”
The surprises in question are weapons that Hezbollah has not yet deployed, El-Nashra reports, but the terror group “will not reveal what it has up his sleeve unless Netanyahu miscalculates and escalates the war.” Another Arab publication, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida, reports that Hezbollah is in possession of long-range precision missiles and Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles with Iranian modifications. In addition, the terror group is training to ambush Israeli patrols, surrounding them with fire, and to carry out operations on Israeli soil, such as capturing IDF soldiers.
As for its current strategy, Hezbollah is increasing military pressure on Israel in the hope that it will lead to domestic pressure on the government and force Netanyahu to enter negotiations for a truce, Al-Jarida reports.
It adds that all possible scenarios were discussed in Tehran last week on the sidelines of Raisi’s funeral by leaders of Iran-backed terror groups Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
Quoting “sources” close to Hamas and Hezbollah, Al-Jarida says that it was decided that Hamas will be strict in its negotiating position, will not make concessions to Israel and will not release the hostages until Jerusalem stops the war and withdraws its troops from the Gaza Strip.
The two terror groups reportedly believe that Washington will increase its pressure on Israel to end the war as the US presidential elections approach. link we have recently seen Hizbollah's use of anti aircraft defenses. Hizbollah's arsenal is mostly made up of weaponry from Iran but also from Russia. The combination of the 2 suppliers and instigators to this conflict is not new but some of the supplied weapons and defenses are.
West Bank
- Three Palestinians have reportedly been arrested by Israeli troops in the Jalazoun refugee camp near Ramallah.
Palestinian Authority official news agency WAFA names the detainees as Ola Ibrahim Dalaysha, her son Walid Maher Dalaysha and Muhammad Iyad Safi. According to report, the forces stormed the West Bank town at dawn this morning and raided a number of homes in the area. Unverified posts on social media show Israel Defense Forces armored vehicles rolling through Jalazoun. There is no comment as yet from Israeli authorities on the raid.
Palestinian Authority official news agency WAFA names the detainees as Ola Ibrahim Dalaysha, her son Walid Maher Dalaysha and Muhammad Iyad Safi. According to report, the forces stormed the West Bank town at dawn this morning and raided a number of homes in the area. Unverified posts on social media show Israel Defense Forces armored vehicles rolling through Jalazoun. There is no comment as yet from Israeli authorities on the raid.
Politics and the Region
EU foreign ministers held talks in Brussels with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar as part of a diplomatic push for a two-state solution after the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Speaking after Monday’s meeting, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says the two parties will look to see if they can combine their efforts to set up a joint conference on how to implement a two-state solution. The push in Europe for a Palestinian state gained momentum last week when Ireland, Spain and Norway said they would recognize one starting May 28. But the move underscored divisions within the 27-nation EU, which has struggled to reach a unified position on the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught.
Irish Foreign Minister MicheΓ‘l Martin is quoted as saying that he and his EU counterparts had a “significant” discussion about the possibility of levying sanctions on Israel if it fails to comply with international humanitarian law. The report does not give details on the types of sanctions discussed by the EU diplomats. Link to full article
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide says in a statement that “for more than 30 years, Norway has been one of the strongest advocates for a Palestinian state.”
“Today, when Norway officially recognizes Palestine as a state, is a milestone in the relationship between Norway and Palestine,” he says.
The Norwegian foreign minister adds that “it is regrettable that the Israeli government shows no signs of engaging constructively.”
Eide on Sunday handed diplomatic papers to the Palestinian Authority’s prime minister, in his country’s latest step toward recognizing a Palestinian state.
Norway, along with Ireland and Spain, is expected to officially recognize a Palestinian state today, after pledging to do so last week in a move that increases Israel’s isolation more than seven months into its war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza. link
Ireland joins Norway, Spain in officially recognizing Palestinian statehood link
I believe the Norwegian Foreign Minister to be correct. Israel has fought back against recognition of a Palestinian State for so long and for the wrong reasons. We never had the veto power, although our government still thinks that we do. More and more countries are recognizing the State of Palestine and instead of fighting it, Israel should be a major influencer of how that will affect us, the region and our future. This isn't a prize to Hamas or terrorism. Hamas' nightmare is acceptance of a State of Israel next to a State of Palestine. Recognition and negotiation about the future of that State is a prize for moderates against violence and who recognize the State of Israel's right to exist in peace. We need to embrace this and stop the non sensical losing battle of denying it. Israel will be the biggest loser on that path of denial.
Denmark’s parliament votes down a bill to recognize a Palestinian state, after the Danish foreign minister previously said the necessary preconditions for an independent country were lacking.
The Danish bill was first proposed in late February by four left-wing parties.
“We cannot recognize an independent Palestinian state, for the sole reason that the preconditions are not really there,” Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said when the bill was first debated in parliament in April.
“We cannot support this resolution, but we wish that there will come a day where we can,” Rasmussen, who was not present at the vote on Tuesday, added. -- he didn't state what the preconditions for recognition are.
British security firm Ambrey reports that a merchant vessel off the Yemeni coast has taken on water and tilted to one side after being targeted with three missiles. The vessel issued a distress call stating it had sustained damage to the cargo hold and was taking on water about 54 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah, Ambrey says. “According to the distress call, the vessel was listing,” the UK security firm adds. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) says separately that it had received a report of an incident 31 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah, without providing further details. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea region since November, later expanding to the Indian Ocean, in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid the ongoing war there.
Israel made up of the names of those brutally taken captive by Hamas on October 7th. A moving token of support from Christian friends of Israel from all over the world. Thank you to the @NRBAssociation, Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast, and all the Christian community leaders and members of parliament who joined me in Jerusalem this morning. Together we demand the immediate release of all the hostages. link
EU foreign ministers held talks in Brussels with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar as part of a diplomatic push for a two-state solution after the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Speaking after Monday’s meeting, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says the two parties will look to see if they can combine their efforts to set up a joint conference on how to implement a two-state solution. The push in Europe for a Palestinian state gained momentum last week when Ireland, Spain and Norway said they would recognize one starting May 28. But the move underscored divisions within the 27-nation EU, which has struggled to reach a unified position on the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught.
Irish Foreign Minister MicheΓ‘l Martin is quoted as saying that he and his EU counterparts had a “significant” discussion about the possibility of levying sanctions on Israel if it fails to comply with international humanitarian law. The report does not give details on the types of sanctions discussed by the EU diplomats. Link to full article
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide says in a statement that “for more than 30 years, Norway has been one of the strongest advocates for a Palestinian state.”
“Today, when Norway officially recognizes Palestine as a state, is a milestone in the relationship between Norway and Palestine,” he says.
The Norwegian foreign minister adds that “it is regrettable that the Israeli government shows no signs of engaging constructively.”
Eide on Sunday handed diplomatic papers to the Palestinian Authority’s prime minister, in his country’s latest step toward recognizing a Palestinian state.
Norway, along with Ireland and Spain, is expected to officially recognize a Palestinian state today, after pledging to do so last week in a move that increases Israel’s isolation more than seven months into its war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza. link
Ireland joins Norway, Spain in officially recognizing Palestinian statehood link
I believe the Norwegian Foreign Minister to be correct. Israel has fought back against recognition of a Palestinian State for so long and for the wrong reasons. We never had the veto power, although our government still thinks that we do. More and more countries are recognizing the State of Palestine and instead of fighting it, Israel should be a major influencer of how that will affect us, the region and our future. This isn't a prize to Hamas or terrorism. Hamas' nightmare is acceptance of a State of Israel next to a State of Palestine. Recognition and negotiation about the future of that State is a prize for moderates against violence and who recognize the State of Israel's right to exist in peace. We need to embrace this and stop the non sensical losing battle of denying it. Israel will be the biggest loser on that path of denial.Denmark’s parliament votes down a bill to recognize a Palestinian state, after the Danish foreign minister previously said the necessary preconditions for an independent country were lacking.
The Danish bill was first proposed in late February by four left-wing parties.
“We cannot recognize an independent Palestinian state, for the sole reason that the preconditions are not really there,” Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said when the bill was first debated in parliament in April.
“We cannot support this resolution, but we wish that there will come a day where we can,” Rasmussen, who was not present at the vote on Tuesday, added. -- he didn't state what the preconditions for recognition are.
British security firm Ambrey reports that a merchant vessel off the Yemeni coast has taken on water and tilted to one side after being targeted with three missiles. The vessel issued a distress call stating it had sustained damage to the cargo hold and was taking on water about 54 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah, Ambrey says. “According to the distress call, the vessel was listing,” the UK security firm adds. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) says separately that it had received a report of an incident 31 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah, without providing further details. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea region since November, later expanding to the Indian Ocean, in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid the ongoing war there.
Israel made up of the names of those brutally taken captive by Hamas on October 7th. A moving token of support from Christian friends of Israel from all over the world. Thank you to the @NRBAssociation, Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast, and all the Christian community leaders and members of parliament who joined me in Jerusalem this morning. Together we demand the immediate release of all the hostages. link
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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