🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 244, 2023 - June 6, 2024 🎗️

  

🎗️Day 244 that 124 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

##A personal note: I have the impression that the amount of people reading my updates has been greatly reduced and I am no longer sure that the updates are important or valuable as they had been earlier in the war. Perhaps it is due to the length of the war and tiring of reading the news/updates or other reasons. I am asking those who still wish for me to continue with the updates and see value in them, please post a short comment (in the Whatsapp group, Facebook, blog page) so I can gauge if I should continue posting. Thank you.##

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

*8:55pm last night- North - rockets/missiles Arab Al Aramsha

*1:00am-north- rockets/missiles Metulla

*11:30am- south - rockets Kibbutz Holit, Gaza Border communities

*12:05pm- south - rockets Avshalom, Yuval and Yated Gaza border communities

*6:35pm- north - An anti-tank missile was fired at Metulla : no casualties, a fire broke out on the spot

*7:40pm - north - Hezbollah fired anti-aircraft missiles at fighter jets in the skies of Lebanon. The terrorist organization launched anti-aircraft missiles at the Air Force planes. The missiles did not pose a real threat, but this affects the freedom of air operations in the skies of Lebanon.

*7:35pm- North - rockets/missiles and hostile aircraft Kiryat Shemona - Direct hit on a mall in Kiryat Shemona. It is unknown if it was from the UAV or from shrapnel from air defenses or from a rocket. It is being investigated

*8:05pm- north - Hostile aircraft - Golan and Upper Galilee

**The army announced that a reservist soldier was killed in yesterday’s Hezbollah drone attack on northern Israel. Staff Sergeant Refael Kauders, 39 from Tsur Hadassah (my town). 9 other soldiers were wounded in the attack.

As has become the tradition in this war in all towns, residents of Tsur Hadassah lined the main traffic circle where the Kauders family were being taken in an army vehicle to his funeral at a military cemetery 20 minutes away at Kibbutz Kfar Etsion in Gush Etzion. My wife, daughter and I joined hundreds to pay our respects as the funeral procession passed by. 

**The army announced the death of a army tracker who was killed in battle.

- Staff Sergeant Ziad Mazariv, 34 from Zarzir. He was killed this morning (Thursday) in an incident at the border of the Gaza Strip, in the Kerem Shalom area. Ziad served in the Border Protection Corps in the Southern Regional Division. In the incident, IDF forces killed three terrorists. The three were part of a squad of four terrorists. The IDF is investigating the case. 

The incident began at 04:00, between Kerem Shalom and Holit. Despite the heavy fog, female observers detected suspicious movement in the barrier area at the border and announced the "Tomahawk procedure" (fence crossing). Forces of the Bedouin Patrol Battalion were sent to conduct searches in the area. Like similar attempts in the past, the terrorists sought to take advantage of the heavy fog that prevailed at that time. 

May their memories be a blessing

Hostage Updates 

• Today is Idan Shtevi's 29th birthday - Idan Shtevi loved nature and also really loved photography, especially of nature. And so naturally he found himself in the early hours of October 7th arriving at the site of the Nova festival as a photographer coming to document the party. He arrived there not long before the surprise attack began. While two friends he came to the party with were among the first to flee the scene in their vehicle and survived, Idan chose to assist two others - a boy and a girl - whom he did not know and met for the first time exiting the site, a choice that ultimately led to his abduction. The two were unable to drive due to excessive drinking, and Idan volunteered to drive one of their vehicles and the three made their way northward, until they encountered a roadblock. They were therefore forced to return southward, where they encountered a Hamas force that opened fire on them. Bar Lior z"l and Yulia Didenko z"l who were with him in that vehicle were murdered, while Idan was injured and began fleeing on foot. Shortly after, he was captured by the militants and abducted to Gaza. Shaulian and Shtevi grew up together in Givatayim and together with another friend, Oz Baram, formed a trio that Idan managed to "infect" with his love of nature. They recount countless Shabbat hikes, hours Idan would spend doing gardening work or just wandering in the orchard that once thrived behind his childhood home. "He would go hiking a lot in the fields, with the dogs and the tractor and would go on trips. From the first moment I knew him he was a nature kid, it seems he just grew into it," says Baram. "He really showed me how to move in nature, how to sleep in it properly," says Shaulian. "He would just take us on hikes like his dogs, 'Come on, Shabbat, let's go out.' He was the one who knew all the locations we would go to and sleep in. You could see his connection to the land was very, very big."
  
  Eli Shtevi, the father of the abducted Idan, expressed opposition in the Ynet studio to the decision of some families of the hostages to intensify protest measures against the government. "All this nonsense against the government is exactly what buries the hostages, just like that," said Shtevi. "To strike the economy and say now that the government doesn't want to bring back the hostages- those who say that, I think they are against bringing back the hostages. I will not allow the government to fall and not let Bibi go until he brings back my son. I will not give him that privilege before the hostages return to the country."

  

  
  

• A Saudi outlet reports that Hamas officials rejected the proposal for a hostage-ceasefire deal, claiming it was fundamentally different from the deal presented by US President Joe Biden.  Hamas sources tell Asharq Al-Awsat that the terror group wants clear guarantees that the war will end.  “Israel is manipulating. They want a temporary truce, then the war will resume… They use ambiguous texts that are open to interpretation,” a source says.

  It should be noted that this did not appear to be a formal rejection of the proposal by the terror group.

  Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement yesterday that the terror group would deal “seriously and positively” with any ceasefire agreement that is based on a total halt of war and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted that he will not accept any hostage deal that prevents Israel from completing its war aim of eliminating Hamas, which orchestrated the October 7 onslaught that killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped 251.  His war cabinet has signed off on a hostage deal proposal that would bring about an end to the war if fully implemented, though the premier contends that it would allow Israel to fulfill its war aims before that.  link  Anyone who has seriously followed the hostage negotiations throughout knows that this was coming. Hamas has made it very clear that their demand of an end to the war with guarantees is their bottom line and they will not give any flexibility here. Netanyahu, obviously doesn't want there to be guarantees in order to find breeches that will start the war up again. Without this, there is no chance of making a deal to get all of our hostages home. This is also probably the reason that Netanyahu has people talking to the US administration about Hamas breeches after all the hostages are home to make sure the US will not have objections to restarting the war. I assume that they will be discussing exactly the kind of breeches that the US administration would find acceptable as material breeches in order to restart the war. There are some signs that Netanyahu is looking for a respite in the war in the South in order to deal with the north and that could mean a full scale war. He and the military establishment do not want to have full scale wars on both fronts.

Gaza 

• The Hamas-run Gaza government media office claims that at least 27 people have been killed and dozens injured in an UNRWA school housing displaced persons in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, casting it as an Israeli “massacre.”
  The Israel Defense Forces doesn’t immediately react.
  There is no immediate confirmation by the Hamas-run health ministry either, and the claim cannot immediately be verified. --This is the same UNRWA school that had a Hamas command center and rocket launchers under a structure that had UNICEF markings on it.

• IDF: Troops killed 3 terrorists trying to infiltrate into Israel from Rafah area in Gaza
  The military says troops killed three terrorists who attempted to cross into Israel from the Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip this morning.
  In a statement, the IDF says troops searching the area encountered the gunmen, who opened fire toward the troops.
  The IDF says the soldiers returned fire and an aircraft then carried out a strike, killing two of the gunmen.
  A third was killed by tank shelling a short time later, the IDF adds.
  A military source says the IDF is investigating if there was a fourth terrorist who may have fled the scene but remained in Gaza. The IDF says no suspects crossed the barrier into Israel amid the incident.
  The IDF does not immediately provide information on possible Israeli casualties in the incident.

• A shaft in a children's room, charges in UNRA bags: the combat team of the Bislah brigade completed its mission in the Rafah area

  
  

  The Bislah brigade's combat team (828) has been operating in the Rafah region under division 162 for the past few weeks. The fighters located weapons, eliminated terrorists and destroyed terrorist infrastructure. This week, during an activity of the 906th battalion in the region, the force located a shaft inside a children's room and a butcher's knife next to it.

  

  
  

• Hamas militants including operatives from the organization's rocket array were neutralized: Brigade 98 continues its offensive in the central Gaza Strip

  The IDF reported that forces from Brigade 98 are continuing their offensive in eastern al-Bureij and eastern Deir al-Balah. The fighters located underground rocket launchers and additional combat means in the area. In parallel, Hamas militants were neutralized by tank and air fire, including operatives from the organization's rocket array.

  Additionally, a militant cell fired several mortar shells yesterday towards Kibbutz Kisufim that landed in an open area without casualties. In cooperation with Brigade 98 and the Gaza Division, the Air Force struck the launcher in the al-Farouk neighborhood in the central Strip and simultaneously eliminated the cell that carried out the launches. Meanwhile, forces from Brigade 162 are continuing focused operations in the Rafah area. The forces located several tunnel shafts in the areas of activity and are continuing to work to destroy them. Fighters from the Egoz unit uncovered numerous combat means including weapons, grenades, explosives, and additional military equipment during a raid on a military compound in the area.

• Rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah are due to sit down in China for reconciliation talks in mid-June, according to five unnamed sources who spoke to Reuters this week. The meeting follows two recent rounds of talks, one in Russia in March and one in China in April. China’s foreign ministry declined to comment on reports that it will also host the next round. Hamas understands it cannot be part of any internationally recognized new government of the Palestinian territories when fighting in the enclave eventually ends, one of the sources said Wednesday.

  Nonetheless, it wants Fatah to agree to a new technocratic administration for the West Bank and Gaza as part of a wider political deal, the source added.

  Senior Hamas official Basim Naim, who attended the previous round of China talks, said in an interview quoted by Reuters that the goal of the talks is to achieve “political partnership and political unity to restructure the Palestinian entity,” but that Hamas does not expect to remain in the power seat. “Whether Hamas is in the government or outside it, that is not a prime demand of the movement and it doesn’t see it a condition for any reconciliation,” Naim said.  link  It has been suggested by news commentators who specialize in the Arab world, the West Bank and Gaza, that Hamas is fine with not retaining civilian management control in Gaza but will refuse to give up being a military force there. As a military force, they would still have tremendous power over the civilian governing body.

Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah

• Invading the North and rockets to Tel Aviv: What war with Hezbollah would look like: A policy expert examines the current escalations between Israel and the Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah, and what a war between the two could resemble.
  

  Despite recent escalations with Hezbollah, which is exacting a heavy toll on the residents of northern Israel, the current situation has become a matter of routine - which is not part of the overall war scenario against Hezbollah. 

  Researcher Tal Beeri, head of the research department at the Alma Institute, told Maariv on Tuesday what a full-scale war in the North could resemble - including reports by Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar that Israel would actively initiate war in the North. 

  "In the event that an all-out war breaks out, the Israeli front will absorb a volume of fire it has not ever been seen - including what was seen in 2006," Beeri predicts.

  "Hezbollah's main firepower is missiles and rockets. In fact, Hezbollah's firepower can target the entire territory of the State of Israel with accurate shooting capability. The area that will mainly be under the large volume of fire is the entire northern area up to Haifa. In this area, the bulk of the fire will be from rockets of various types that are considered short-range. Thus, in the first week or two of the war, it will be almost impossible to lead a normal life," he predicted.

  According to the research institute's estimates, Hezbollah has 150,000 mortars, 65,000 rockets with a range of up to 80 km, 5,000 rockets and missiles with a range of 80-200 km, 5,000 missiles with a range of 200 km or more, 2,500 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) - and hundreds of advanced missiles, such as anti-aircraft missiles or cruise missiles. Estimates indicate that should war break out, Hezbollah will send several thousand drones and missiles to Israel every day.

  "Additionally, the more southern line - Hadera, Netanya and Gush Dan - will be in their sights. For Hezbollah, the Gush Dan area is valuable and they will concentrate their efforts there. Firing into Gush Dan is an image of victory. Firing into this area will be carried out using missiles, some of which are accurate - mainly ballistic missiles, including "Fatah-110" missiles, which can be launched up to 300 km."

  "I estimate that they will be launched from the northern region of Lebanon, the Beirut region or the Bekaa region - where Hezbollah's outposts and strategic formations, launch arrays and infrastructure are located. Some of the 'Fatah-110' missiles are very accurate, and each missile carries 500 kg of explosive material - that's the power of a Burkan rocket that can explode in the dense space of Gush Dan."

  "Furthermore, in the overall war scenario, I predict that Hezbollah will try to carry out an invasion in the Galilee, although not on the scale of thousands of terrorists as it planned before October 7, but it will definitely try to infiltrate using dozens if not hundreds of operatives - in a targeted area. The Radwan's unit is capable of doing this - they just need to be given instructions and orders," he says. 

  "In addition to these threats, there is also the threat of suicide drones, which the terrorist organization operates even now - but in an all-out war, its volume and intensity will be more significant."

  Hezbollah originally wanted to invade Israel, similar to Hamas's Oct. 7 massacre 

"On the one hand, this is psychological warfare - and on the other hand, it is a sign of things to come. After all, it is known that before October 7, Hezbollah wanted war with Israel, and intended to invade the Galilee - but Hamas played its cards," Beeri noted.

"At the research institute, we analyzed the period before the war, and we realized that a different and massive preparation of Hezbollah is taking place. Ever since the summer of 2022, the terrorist organization has tried to draw Israel into a conflict, and this is reflected in various situations: riots by terrorist activists on the fence, rocket fire during Passover 2023, the attack in Megiddo. Beyond that, when we walked around the border area, we saw physical assessments of Hezbollah operatives. They held commanders' patrols, stood and watched - and prepared for something."

Beeri reveals that the research institute received "an internal proclamation of Hezbollah - which was sent to its members in which they were told to be ready for war," this, of course, before October 7.

Regarding the current security situation, Beeri said that "we are at a point where it is difficult to know what will develop from here, Hezbollah is increasing the pace and leading the IDF to enter a campaign, so the situation is very fluid."

Beeri also refered to a report published Wednesday in Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper Al Akhbar, which stated that diplomatic messages were sent and received in Beirut, that allege that Israel is about to launch a large-scale attack this month. 

However, the publication is controversial because Al Akhbar is closely affiliated with Hezbollah. Beeri warned, "It is known that the newspaper is a mouthpiece of Hezbollah and serves the terrorist organization from a media point of view, and no news is published there that does not serve Hezbollah. It is possible that this publication comes as a kind of background preparation for a significant initiative by Hezbollah to degenerate Israel into an all-out war, and to prepare the terrorist organization's alibi in the course of initiating the campaign. It's something to pay attention to."  Hezbollah originally wanted to invade Israel, similar to Hamas's Oct. 7 massacre   link   

• Hezbollah is claiming to have hit an Iron Dome air defense system launcher near the northern community of Ramot Naftali yesterday. The Lebanese terror group publishes a video apparently showing a guided missile striking the launcher. The video does not show the aftermath of the strike.
  The IDF says it is unaware of any damage to an Iron Dome launcher. video from Hizbollah This certainly shows drone footage of the base and the Iron Dome Launcher. However, this could have been from a surveillance drone and not an explosive drone as there is no video of any explosion or the aftermath

• In Lebanon, they are signaling: "Any Israeli adventure will not be easy, Hezbollah is prepared":   In the shadow of the escalation in the north, the Lebanese press is also closely following the developments - from the threats coming from Israel to the fires in the north. "Gantz threatens Lebanon with a decisive summer" • Christian MP: "Lebanon is a hostage of Hezbollah" 

  The escalation in Lebanon and the fires that raged in the north are being widely covered in the press in the Cedar Land as well. After IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said they are approaching "the point where a decision will have to be made" - it seems that on the other side they are listening to the rumblings coming from Israel. They are following the signals and threats, but no less - witnessing the prolonged fires in the north and the price paid by residents.

  On the front page of the Lebanese newspaper Nida' al-Watan, the statement made yesterday by Benny Gantz is mentioned: "We cannot lose another year in the north, it will happen either through settlement or escalation." Alongside this, they recalled the denial by the office of Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati regarding the leaks that they had received threatening messages about a massive Israeli attack.

  "Tensions on the Lebanon-Israel border increased yesterday, and the flames rose due to the fires that broke out on both sides of the border, due to rocket and mortar fire between Hezbollah and Israel. The escalation was accompanied by unprecedented levels of severity and intensity from both sides of the conflict, especially the Israeli side," it was written.

  In the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is close to Hezbollah, it was written that "after a hot day due to the fires caused by Hezbollah's attacks in the north, the Israelis conducted a campaign of verbal escalation. The JNF revealed that the damage caused by the fires in the north is twice as large as that caused by the fires during the Second Lebanon War (2006) and noted that so far 14,000 dunams have burned... before the all-out war with Hezbollah began."

  "The confrontations continued on the southern front, Israel escalated its ground and air strikes in cities, towns and villages in various sectors in southern Lebanon. There were casualties and injuries, homes and property were destroyed. The resistance responded with missiles and strikes on Israeli military sites," it was written in the newspaper Al-Jumhuriya. "The fire is raging on the southern front and they are operating at maximum capacity on the presidential front, in parallel with the intensification of the border conflict and the expansion of the circle of fire," they added. "According to information after the visit of the French presidential envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, it appears there is no prospect for a solution so far."

  On the front page of the newspaper Al-Diyar, Israeli threats of launching a massive attack against Lebanon are mentioned. "The Israeli enemy continues to pursue a scorched earth policy towards Lebanon, as its military machine burns thousands of square kilometers of Lebanese territory and attacks buildings and civilians in a way that shows its criminal ideology towards the Lebanese and Palestinians," they accused - despite the fact that due to rockets fired by Hezbollah, huge fires were ignited in the north. Alongside this, the article addressed the fact that Israel has so far refrained from entering an all-out campaign with Lebanon, and tried to speculate on the motives for this.

  "The first reason lies in Hezbollah's readiness. According to Nasrallah, the resistance has developed all possible scenarios and prepared appropriate responses for each scenario, and it is fully prepared. According to estimates, Hezbollah has multiplied its strength and equipment several times since the start of 'Operation Al-Aqsa Downpour', and therefore any Israeli adventure will not be easy, and the Israelis know this well."

  "The second reason lies in the nature of the Lebanese terrain, which is different from that of Gaza and includes mountains and valleys," they continued. "The third reason lies in the shift in the balance of power from the air, after Israel had control of Lebanon's airspace during the July 2006 war, its mortars are now falling one after another under Hezbollah fire. Even more so, the enemy has begun to fear Hezbollah's mortars reaching deep into the entity, bypassing its Iron Dome."

  "The fourth reason lies in the morale of Israeli soldiers - which has collapsed since the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Downpour," the article claimed. "All these reasons are pushing the enemy to adopt psychological warfare through verbal escalation and the use of incendiary bombs. The Israeli enemy knows that Hezbollah is ready for any of its moves, and will not dare embark on any adventure that will cost it dearly."

  "Lebanon is a hostage of Hezbollah"

  The head of the Christian Phalangist party in Lebanon, Sami Gemayel, said yesterday in an interview with the Saudi Al-Arabiya channel that "since October 8, we have been warning that this adventure could bring trouble to Lebanon - it could cost it a very high price."

  "Hezbollah continues with the adventure and is gambling that the war will not escalate. Every day they say they don't want this, and they are confident that the Israelis don't want it either," he continued. "Hezbollah is playing with fire and gambling on something that could have a negative impact on them and on all Lebanese."

  Gemayel stressed that "when both sides are playing with fire - then any miscalculation could drag them into open war, and we are warning against that. Playing with fire could burn Lebanon." He said, "If Iran wants war and wants to play a role in the region - let it pay the price, not Lebanon."  link  Lebanon, as a country is against all that Hizbollah is doing and the last thing that they want is another war with Israel.  Unfortunately, the country's government is weak and their military is even weaker. They don't have money to pay soldiers and there is no chance of building up the army unless they get international players to cover the costs to build up the official Lebanese army so that they can play a real role in Lebanon and be a counter to Hizbollah. If there will be a diplomatic solution, this is one of the parameters of the deal, that the Lebanese army be the only permitted armed force in Southern Lebanon other than international peacekeepers. I heard on the news last night, one of the commentators (a reserve IDF general) presented a question. If we do have a war in the north, will it be against Hizbollah or against Lebanon? He was of the opinion that it has to be against Lebanon, the country so it is a war of a country fighting another country which kind of has different rules, both in the warfare and in the ending of a war. If we have a war against a terror organization, we will be faced with a similar situation as in Gaza. They don't fight conventionally and are not bound by any international war rules and ramifications, but we are. The situation becomes very dicey as we well know when innocent civilians are killed and the world will blame us for everything. If we have a war with the country, the country (civilians, politicians, army) will all blame Hizbollah for all the inevitable destruction that we will rain down on Lebanon, and there will be a lot as our politicians and the IDF have threatened. In addition, if it is a sovereign country against another sovereign country, the international community has more power to intervene and actually affect changes that can and will have impact, as opposed to a war with an organization. The same commentator was also saying that Nasrallah, the head of Hizbollah, is a Lebanese patriot and cares what can happen to the country, such as us bombing and flattening parts of Beirut. He said that Nasrallah doesn't want to see that happen and that could be a deterrence. I think he is wrong. Nasrallah is financed and supplied by Iran and his agenda is the same as Iran, the destruction of Israel. Iran certainly doesn't care if Lebanon will pay the price in this war. That is one of the big reasons they have so many proxies, so that the damage is done to someone else and they claim that it is that country's honor to pay the price to reach their goals. I am growing more and more convinced that war in the north is not a question of if. It's more a question of when. 
• A report in Lebanon: a motorcycle was attacked by a UAV in Atoron in southern Lebanon, one person was killed and one was injured on the spot
• During the night, the IDF attacked Hizbullah military sites deep in and in southern Lebanon.  The IDF informed that fighter jets of the Air Force attacked Hezbollah military sites during the night, including a weapons depot in Wadi Jilo and two other sites near the Idashit area deep in Lebanon.  In addition, military structures of the organization were attacked in the areas of Beit Yehon and Tzadikin, and a terrorist infrastructure in the Al-Adaisa area in southern Lebanon.

West Bank

•     **Rise in terrorism in the Jordan Valley:** A car bomb exploded overnight (between Wednesday and Thursday) near the village of Tubas, adjacent to Jenin, with no casualties in the incident. This is not the first time a vehicle loaded with explosives has detonated in the area, and the security establishment has identified in recent months an attempt by elements to form terrorist squads in the Jenin and Tulkarem areas.
  
  The Jordan Valley sector spans 217 kilometers out of the entire 400 kilometer border. Security forces are identifying a major shift in the area, both in terms of readiness for terrorism and in terms of smuggling weaponry. One of the arenas developing these days is the West Bank ridge area, where the village of Tubas is located.
  
  While the battle against smuggling is ongoing, other efforts are being made to ignite fire in the sector - for example in the form of terrorist nests emerging in the Tubas, Tammun and Farah refugee camp areas: This area is becoming, under the guidance of terrorist elements, a "mirror image" of Jenin and Tulkarem - due to the formation of terrorist squads in these villages and an increase in attempted attacks from these areas. Security forces are making numerous arrests in these sectors, both in covert and overt operations. Last month, the Tubas brigade commander of the local terrorist organization was eliminated, as was his replacement. This is just one example of the major effort to deal with these elements, who are on the defensive. Security forces are encountering great resistance when entering these places - and just last week, like tonight, a bomb was detonated in a car to strike an IDF trailing force operating inside a village.
  
  This tension along the border has been evident and changing since October 7th, and the IDF is working on measures to prevent an "October 7th" from the east. Since that October, the Jordan Valley sector has been reinforced with an additional battalion to provide security. Two of the three battalions in this sector - the Lions of the Jordan and the Valley Lions - are mixed battalions, and there is a great deal of successful joint activity between male and female combatants.  link It seems to be that the conception mainly promoted by Netanyahu that our biggest risk is Iran and that all other fronts were deterred, specifically Gaza and Southern Lebanon, also caused our security and intelligence agencies to lose their focus on what was happening in the West Bank. It is true that, prior to October 7, the IDF had intermittent operations and incursions in various villages, refugee camps and cities in the West Bank, but it appears that the big picture was lost and operations, conception and intelligence gathering was more pinpointed to certain things happening in the West Bank and not to the huge amounts of money and weapons being invested in Hamas/Islamic Jihad strengthening throughout the occupied territories. This is precisely the reason that our operations now in the West Bank are against more heavily armed resistance, ammunition, bombs, tunnels, etc. than was anticipated or known about. I would have to assume that anyone in the intelligence units who were bringing their information to senior commanders, were silenced just like those who warned of what was happening in Gaza.
  
  

• Attack helicopter strikes in Jenin, exchanges of fire within the refugee camp

  Forces from the Dudvaban unit entered deep into the Jenin refugee camp in order to arrest a wanted suspect involved in terrorist activities. Upon arrival of the forces at the wanted person's home, a number of armed individuals were identified fleeing - and two of them were hit. Two others who threw explosives were also struck by our forces' fire. An attack helicopter struck a threatening area from the air, in order to assist the ground forces. The fighters are currently engaged in exchanges of fire with militants in the area. This activity is part of an ongoing effort to thwart terrorism in the refugee camps, and comes after a large-scale operation in the Jenin refugee camp less than two weeks ago.

Politics 

• Senior religious Zionist rabbis to elected officials: "Conscripting into the IDF - soul control." Do not support the proposed outline": Dozens of leading rabbis from the religious Zionist movement appealed to elected officials, stating that "enlistment to the IDF is a national matter of life and death. Do not support the proposed government enlistment outline."

  The rabbis added: "We wish to clarify that according to our holy Torah, there is a clear and absolute obligation on every person in Israel to participate in the war of assisting Israel against any enemy that comes against them, including Torah scholars and students of sages. We demand that elected officials, from all shades and factions, do not separate themselves from the public and not support the current proposed government outline, which does not even begin to provide a real answer to Israel's existential security and societal needs, in the short and long term."

  The rabbis further stated: "We call on elected officials from all shades and factions to fortify themselves, not to ignore this just moral and Torah-based demand, to rise above narrow political considerations and jointly advance a real outline that will lead to a significant increase in the participation of all segments of society - including the ultra-Orthodox community - in defending the nation and the land, and to take all necessary measures to do so."

  Among the signing rabbis: Rabbi Yitzchak Shilat, founder and head of the Har Etzion Hesder Yeshiva; Rabbi Yaakov Medan, head of the Har Etzion Hesder Yeshiva; Rabbi Benny Kalmanzon, president of the Har Etzion Yeshiva in Itamar; Rabbi David Shativi, rabbi of Shoham and chairman of the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization; Rabbi Daniel Shilo, rabbi of the "Mishkan Meir" synagogue in Kedumim and a founder of the Gush Emunim movement; Rabbi Yohanan Fried, chairman of Beit HaRav Kook.

• Breaching longstanding status quo, Ben Gvir says he allows Jewish prayer at Temple Mount: In an apparent breach of the longstanding status quo on the Temple Mount, ultranationalist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir tells Radio Galei Israel that his policy is to allow Jewish prayer at the contested Jerusalem holy site.

  “I am also happy that Jews went up to the Temple Mount and prayed there today,” said the minister, who took part in the annual Jerusalem Day flag march through the Arab Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City. “It is very important. My policy is very clear on this matter, Jews can be anywhere in Jerusalem, pray anywhere.”

  Asked if prayers are not conducted only informally, in a whisper, Ben Gvir said: “No, no, no, no one whispered. Jews prayed on the Temple Mount. That’s the ministerial position and Jews pray on the Temple Mount and that’s a good thing.” The Temple Mount — known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif or the Noble Sanctuary — in Jerusalem’s Old City is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam. It is also the holiest place in Judaism, as the site of the two Biblical temples.

  Muslims are allowed to pray and enter the compound with few restrictions, while the Israeli government enforces strict rules on non-Muslim visitors, including Jews who can visit only during limited time slots via a single gate and are not officially allowed to pray, although police frequently tolerate limited prayer.

  Addressing the media at the Damascus Gate following today’s march, Ben Gvir spoke in a similar vein, stating that he wanted to convey a message to Palestinians who keep pictures of the mount in their homes.

  They hang “pictures of the Temple Mount and there are pictures of Jerusalem, and we tell them our Jerusalem. Our Damascus gate. Our Temple Mount,” he said.

  “Today, according to my policy, Jews entered the Old City freely. And on the Temple Mount Jews prayed freely. We say in the simplest way, it’s ours.”  link Ben Gvir is known as the pyromaniac as he is the provocateur-in-chief in this extreme dysfunctional government. Before he was a politician and a minister, he was recognized by almost everyone as a dangerous provocateur who would try to get to the scene of terrorist attacks to inflame the public and provoke the Arabs.  

• Colombia’s trade ministry is recommending restrictions on coal sales to Israel, Bloomberg News says, citing an internal document and a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The ministry is seeking limits on shipments of coal from a committee on tariffs and foreign trade, the report adds. The outlet says Colombia is Israel’s biggest coal supplier, having sold it about $450 million of the fuel in 2023.
  Last month, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Bogota will cut diplomatic ties with Israel.

• Spain's foreign minister announced: We will join South Africa's lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague

The Region

• Saudi Arabia decries Jerusalem Day Flag March as ‘provocation’ 

Saudi Arabia tears into the Israeli government for allowing today’s Jerusalem Day Flag March to go forward through the flashpoint Old City of the capital, including through its Muslim Quarter.

“The kingdom affirms that these violations represent a provocation to the feelings of Muslims around the world, especially in light of the continuing war and acts of violence against Palestinian civilians,” Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry claims in a statement.

As in past years, the Flag March featured some far-right participants assaulting journalists, harassing Palestinians and chanting racist slogans against Arabs.

The condemnation comes amid increased frustration in Riyadh with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s continued refusal to accept a pathway to a future Palestinian state — a key condition for a series of bilateral agreements that Riyadh is seeking to sign with the United States.  link

• British security firm Ambrey says a Greek-owned bulk carrier was allegedly targeted by Yemen’s Houthis while traveling northbound in the Red Sea.
  

  The ship’s transmissions stopped 118 nautical miles east of Massawa, Eritrea when it was underway from Mormugao, India, with its destination as Suez, Egypt, the firm says in a statement that did not name the ship.

  “The alleged ‘targeting’ of the vessel was aligned to the stated Houthi intent,” Ambrey says. “The Houthi language did not indicate they were claiming to have damaged the vessel. At the time of writing, the event had not been verified.” 
  
  
  
• In the wake of the war: The European Union is increasing pressure and threatening to undermine the central agreement with Israel : 

Josep Borrell, the EU's Foreign Minister, announced that he has invited Israeli Foreign Minister Katz to discuss the future of the Association Agreement, which forms the basis of Israel's relations with the European Union. Israeli officials are attacking Borrell, claiming he is trying to gain personal political profit from the conflict. Israel is not rushing to attend the meeting and is working to rally the support of EU member states.
The European Union is working to increase pressure on Israel against the backdrop of the war in Gaza and criticism in many countries. Josep Borrell, the EU's Foreign Minister, who is largely considered one of the most critical figures towards Israel, announced yesterday that he has invited Israeli Foreign Minister Katz to discuss the Association Agreement, considered the most important agreement between Israel and the EU. 
In recent days, the possibility arose for the first time that due to suspected human rights violations by Israel in the Gaza war, the future of the Association Agreement could be raised. The issue was discussed at last week's meeting of EU foreign ministers, despite the fact that human rights issues are almost never discussed at Association Agreement meetings. Countries critical of Israel, such as Ireland, Belgium and Spain, have recently expressed interest in re-examining the agreement with Israel.
This agreement, or its official name, the "European Union-Israel Association Agreement", which entered into force in 2000, effectively forms the legal basis for all relations between the State of Israel and the European Union. Among other things, it regulates trade relations, economics, and cooperation in many fields.
The Foreign Ministry does not intend to attend the meeting on the issue anytime soon, although it appears that Borrell intends to hold it in the coming weeks. Israel prefers to wait at least until early July, when the EU presidency will pass from Belgium, a country critical of Israel, to Hungary, a country considered friendly and supportive of Israel and its policies.
Another consideration influencing Israel's decision to delay its response to events is the fact that the new European Parliament, which will begin its new term in mid-July, is expected to be much more pro-Israel. In the elections for the Parliament, taking place over the current weekend in 27 EU countries, a major victory is expected for right-wing parties, which according to estimates could occupy up to two-thirds of the 720 seats in Parliament. With the start of its work in mid-July, it is likely that the Parliament will promote more pro-Israel resolutions and fewer anti-Israel resolutions.
In about two weeks, Israeli Foreign Minister Katz is expected to visit Hungary and rally further support for Israel. Among other things, he is expected to meet with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, Hungarian President Tamas Solyom and perhaps also with Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Against the backdrop of Borrell's willingness to convene the discussion with Israel now, Israeli Foreign Minister Katz has launched a diplomatic move to Israeli missions in the European Union, with the aim of influencing their positions and rallying them to Israel's side. 
In a few months, Borrell is expected to complete his term as the EU's Foreign Policy Commissioner. Official sources in Israel are attacking him over the current move, claiming he is trying to gain personal political profit, perhaps ahead of the next position he may occupy in Brussels. Since the start of the war, the Spaniard Borrell has been known for his critical stance towards Israel.  
Official sources in Israel estimate that despite the criticism leveled at Israel in recent months, there is no concern about canceling the Association Agreement. Among other things, this agreement constitutes the legal ground allowing various countries in the Union to advance security purchases with Israel, precisely at a time when an arms race is evident across Europe, against the backdrop of the growing fear of a direct confrontation with Russia.
For example, last week Ville Tavio, Finland's Minister for Development and Foreign Trade, said his country opposes possible trade sanctions by the European Union against Israel. "We have reasons to oppose that, it is a technologically advanced country with an industry that should be available to the European Union, and we also have security trade with Israel," he said. Notably, in November the Defense Ministry announced the signing of an agreement to supply Finland with the Israeli air defense system "David's Sling" at a cost of about 1.3 billion shekels.
Alongside Hungary, which is expected to become the EU presidency starting July 1, Israel identifies several other countries that are expected to oppose changes to the Association Agreement or the imposition of sanctions on Israel. These include Greece, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Romania and Austria, which are expected to object. Germany is also expected to stand by Israel's side, although there they actually see the convening as an opportunity for Israel rather than a problem, as it could derail a move to impose sanctions or cancel the agreement.  link

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

MDA - Magen David Adom - Israel Ambulance Corp

PA - Palestinian Authority - President Mahmud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen

PMO- Prime Minister's Office

UAV - Unmanned Aerial vehicle, Drone. Could be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, or be weaponized with missiles or contain explosives for 'suicide' explosion mission

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