π️Lonny's War Update- October 249, 2023 - June 11, 2024 π️
π️Day 249 that 120 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
*9:50pm - north - Hostile aircraft Kela and Sha'al, Lower Galilee*12:30am - north - IDF says another “suspicious aerial target,” thought to be a drone, was intercepted by air defenses over the Golan Heights this evening, the military says. No injuries or damage were caused. These 'suspicious targets' are UAVs, mostly launched out of Lebanon*7:10am- south - rockets Ein Hashlosha, Gaza Border communities
*9:05am - north - rockets/missiles Netua, Alkosh, Even Menahem
*9:50am - north - Haifa - The military says sirens in the northern coastal city of Haifa a short while ago were activated due to an Iron Dome interceptor missile being launched at a target later determined to be a “false identification.” Sirens had sounded due to fears of falling shrapnel. The IDF says the incident is under investigation.
*10:00- north - Rockets/missiles Kfar Hanasi, Ramot Naftali, Yiftach, Katrin, Kedmat Zvi - A barrage of some 50 rockets were launched from Lebanon at the central Golan Heights a short while ago, the military says. Air defenses shot down several of the rockets, while the rest impacted open areas, the IDF adds. There were no injuries in the attack, claimed by Hezbollah. The terror group in a statement says it launched dozens of Katyusha rockets at an army base in the Golan Heights, in response to an IDF strike last night in northeastern Lebanon. Hezbollah also names a third member killed in the strike, which according to the IDF targeted a significant Hezbollah facility.*1:50pm - north - rockets/missiles Arab Al Aramsha
*1:55pm - north - hostile aircraft - Eilon, Goren, Gordot Haglail, hanita, Yaara*4:40pm - north - rockets/missiles Zra'it, Shomera*6:30pm - South - rockets Kibbutz Nachal Oz
*9:05am - north - rockets/missiles Netua, Alkosh, Even Menahem
*9:50am - north - Haifa - The military says sirens in the northern coastal city of Haifa a short while ago were activated due to an Iron Dome interceptor missile being launched at a target later determined to be a “false identification.” Sirens had sounded due to fears of falling shrapnel. The IDF says the incident is under investigation.
*10:00- north - Rockets/missiles Kfar Hanasi, Ramot Naftali, Yiftach, Katrin, Kedmat Zvi - A barrage of some 50 rockets were launched from Lebanon at the central Golan Heights a short while ago, the military says. Air defenses shot down several of the rockets, while the rest impacted open areas, the IDF adds. There were no injuries in the attack, claimed by Hezbollah. The terror group in a statement says it launched dozens of Katyusha rockets at an army base in the Golan Heights, in response to an IDF strike last night in northeastern Lebanon. Hezbollah also names a third member killed in the strike, which according to the IDF targeted a significant Hezbollah facility.
*1:55pm - north - hostile aircraft - Eilon, Goren, Gordot Haglail, hanita, Yaara
**The army announced four soldiers killed in booby trapped building in Rafah and seven others injured, 5 seriously.-Majo. Tal Pashebilski Shaulov, 24, from Gedera -Staff Sgt. Eitan Karlsbrun, 20, from Modiin-Sgt. Almog Shalom, 19, from Hamadia
-Sgt. Yair Levin, 19, from Givat Harel
May their memories be forever a blessing
According to an initial Israel Defense Forces probe, the troops had thrown an explosive device inside a suspicious home in Rafah’s Shaboura neighborhood, in an attempt to trigger any possible traps, and entered only after there was no immediate blast.
As the two soldiers entered the three-story building, it exploded, causing part of it to collapse on some of the troops. The IDF said that it later found a tunnel shaft inside the home, indicating that the building likely belonged to a Hamas operative.
-Sgt. Yair Levin, 19, from Givat Harel
As the two soldiers entered the three-story building, it exploded, causing part of it to collapse on some of the troops. The IDF said that it later found a tunnel shaft inside the home, indicating that the building likely belonged to a Hamas operative.
Hostage Updates
Hostage Updates
My brother's article in The Times of Israel. I am posting the entire article because it is too important not to read. The link will be at the bottom as well.
What Netanyahu has in store for us:
Secretary Blinken’s comment that the “ceasefire-hostage-Palestinian prisoners” deal is entirely in the hands of Hamas is not entirely correct. In his speech from two weeks ago, President Biden said that the deal would lead to the end of the war. He noted that the first six-week ceasefire would continue even if the negotiations on phase two were not completed. Hamas has stated categorically that there would be no deal if there is not a clear obligation to end the war. Netanyahu and members of his government have explicitly stated that there would not be an end to the war before Hamas is destroyed. This is an unbridgeable gap.
Ending the war without a political alternative to who will control Gaza after the war means that Hamas will remain in place. The only way to enable a Palestinian alternative to Hamas willing and able to take control of Gaza is for there to be a coherent political plan linked to a clear path to Palestinian statehood for the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. Netanyahu is far from that possibility. Alternative Palestinian governance in Gaza is possible and it would include Palestinian invitation to Arab states to send an Arab peacekeeping military force on the condition that Israel withdraws from Gaza. Transferring control over Gaza to a Palestinian alternative government perhaps supported by the Palestinian Authority, but not the Palestinian Authority, is the only way to stabilize Gaza and to have a non-corrupt Palestinian government committed to a peaceful two-states solution that is capable to gaining the support of the international community to fund the reconstruction of Gaza.
Netanyahu’s plan, on the other hand, is to remain in Gaza, at least militarily, for years. Netanyahu’s thinking is based on the hope/belief that eventually the Israeli army will find and kill the Hamas leaders – mainly the Sinwar brothers and Mohammed Deif. He believes that once those top leaders are killed, the hostages will be released. If the top Hamas leaders are killed by Israeli forces, there is a very good possibility that the remaining living hostages will be killed. At least, this possibility should not be thought to be unreasonable. In addition, the Israeli military pressure has already led to the killing of too many of the hostages.
Staying in Gaza with the current Israeli government still in place will inevitably lead to renewed Israeli settlement in Gaza. That would be totally disastrous for Israel in every way possible. Continued Israeli presence in Gaza will strengthen Hamas and new recruits will join from bereaved families and from people who have lost their homes and businesses – and that is basically every person in Gaza. Armed insurgency against Israeli troops in Gaza will continue and increase. Armed attacks against Israelis in the West Bank will increase and maybe even cross the green-line border to neighboring Israeli communities. The war in Lebanon will escalate and thousands of Hezbollah rockets, missiles and drones will be shot at Israel.
Hasn’t Netanyahu already done too much harm and damage to Israel? Since 2009 he convinced Israelis and the world that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be managed. He led Israelis and the world to believe that Israel could occupy and dominate the Palestinian people for 56 years and still have peace. He enabled Israelis to believe that 18 years of economic blockade and siege of 2.2 million people in Gaza with extreme poverty and a fanatic Islamic regime could enable quiet because of suitcases of cash being transported to Gaza and because of the false theory of too many Israeli generals that Hamas was deterred. Hamas has never been deterred and cannot be deterred – as I have said even on Israeli television repeated since 2008. Netanyahu has led Israelis and the world to believe that without even trying to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel could make peace with the entire Arab world while Palestine remains under occupation. Repeated rounds of elections in Israel confronted only one issue: Netanyahu yes or Netanyahu no. Not once did the elections focus on the primary existential issue facing Israel – the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
For years Israelis have been lying to themselves. Israel defines itself as a Jewish and democratic state. Yet with more than seven million Palestinians and seven million Israeli Jews between the River and the Sea, Israel is neither Jewish nor democratic. On October 7, 2023, all of the lies and manipulations blew up in our face. The Israel Defense Force had become an Israeli Occupation Police Force, not even deployed on Israel’s southern border with Gaza. It was a holiday weekend, but nonetheless, the army was in the West Bank protecting illegal Israeli settlers instead of defending Israel’s borders. If there had been 10-20 Israeli tanks deployed on the border and five assault helicopters in the air, October 7th would not have happened. And even after all of Netanyahu’s lies and manipulations, he absolutely refuses to take responsibility. Netanyahu should have resigned on the night of October 7. This is what would have happened in any other genuinely democratic country. But Netanyahu has no shame and like the Trump followers in the USA, Netanyahu has a crowd of hypnotized blind members of a personality cult with their own television and radio stations who spread fake news, lies, incitement and hatred.
Now that Gantz and his party have finally left the government and hopefully fully understand the lies and manipulations of Netanyahu, perhaps the millions of Israelis who are beginning to see our reality with open eyes will take to the streets. Perhaps the lead negotiators, if they have integrity – Dede Barnea, Ronen Bar, and Nitzan Alon – will resign from leading the negotiations because it is not possible to bring the hostages home without an obligation to end the war. When I spoke with members of the Israeli negotiating team more than a month ago, I made it clear – in my assessment – that without a political end game, there is next to zero possibility of reaching a deal with Hamas that will bring the hostages home. The negotiators know, not just because I told them, that they should be negotiating for all of the hostages now and not only 18 of them. They know that the war must end. But as they told me, “We cannot deal with the political issues.” Being that there is no military solution here, and there never has been, without dealing with the political issues, there is no end game.
Netanyahu not only failed to protect Israel on October 7 of last year. He continues to be the most dangerous person to Israel’s future. Now, we the people, must stand up and take to the streets and for the sake of our future and our country, we must bring down our government. link
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri tells Reuters that the terror group accepts a UN Security Council ceasefire resolution and is ready to negotiate over the details.
Yesterday, the UNSC adopted a US-led resolution that urges Hamas to accept Israel’s latest hostage-for-ceasefire proposal.
Israel came out against the resolution last week, taking issue with some of the amendments that were made to the text. The US addressed one of those concerns, dropping an explicit rejection to the establishment of Israeli security buffer zones in Gaza. The move appeared to be enough to satisfy Israel, whose representative at yesterday’s meeting avoided criticizing the resolution or directly commenting on it.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed that Israel will not accept a deal that ends fighting in Gaza without the achievement of its goals in the war. link Netanyahu's statements will bring about an end to new negotiations even before they start. Perhaps that is his tactic as he doesn't want to end the war. It does not serve his political needs. US Secretary of State Blinken is back in the region to push the plan and that will mean to push Netanyahu as well. It is truly unbelievable that the US administration is doing more to bring our hostages home than our own government.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “reaffirmed his commitment” to a Gaza ceasefire proposal during their meeting in Jerusalem yesterday.
“I met with Prime Minister Netanyahu last night and he reaffirmed his commitment to the proposal,” Blinken says, adding that Hamas’s welcoming of a UN vote on the US-drafted ceasefire resolution is a “hopeful” sign. link Netanyahu only agrees to a ceasefire, even an extended ceasefire but not to an end of the war.
My brother's article in The Times of Israel. I am posting the entire article because it is too important not to read. The link will be at the bottom as well.
What Netanyahu has in store for us:
Secretary Blinken’s comment that the “ceasefire-hostage-Palestinian prisoners” deal is entirely in the hands of Hamas is not entirely correct. In his speech from two weeks ago, President Biden said that the deal would lead to the end of the war. He noted that the first six-week ceasefire would continue even if the negotiations on phase two were not completed. Hamas has stated categorically that there would be no deal if there is not a clear obligation to end the war. Netanyahu and members of his government have explicitly stated that there would not be an end to the war before Hamas is destroyed. This is an unbridgeable gap.
Ending the war without a political alternative to who will control Gaza after the war means that Hamas will remain in place. The only way to enable a Palestinian alternative to Hamas willing and able to take control of Gaza is for there to be a coherent political plan linked to a clear path to Palestinian statehood for the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. Netanyahu is far from that possibility. Alternative Palestinian governance in Gaza is possible and it would include Palestinian invitation to Arab states to send an Arab peacekeeping military force on the condition that Israel withdraws from Gaza. Transferring control over Gaza to a Palestinian alternative government perhaps supported by the Palestinian Authority, but not the Palestinian Authority, is the only way to stabilize Gaza and to have a non-corrupt Palestinian government committed to a peaceful two-states solution that is capable to gaining the support of the international community to fund the reconstruction of Gaza.
Netanyahu’s plan, on the other hand, is to remain in Gaza, at least militarily, for years. Netanyahu’s thinking is based on the hope/belief that eventually the Israeli army will find and kill the Hamas leaders – mainly the Sinwar brothers and Mohammed Deif. He believes that once those top leaders are killed, the hostages will be released. If the top Hamas leaders are killed by Israeli forces, there is a very good possibility that the remaining living hostages will be killed. At least, this possibility should not be thought to be unreasonable. In addition, the Israeli military pressure has already led to the killing of too many of the hostages.
Staying in Gaza with the current Israeli government still in place will inevitably lead to renewed Israeli settlement in Gaza. That would be totally disastrous for Israel in every way possible. Continued Israeli presence in Gaza will strengthen Hamas and new recruits will join from bereaved families and from people who have lost their homes and businesses – and that is basically every person in Gaza. Armed insurgency against Israeli troops in Gaza will continue and increase. Armed attacks against Israelis in the West Bank will increase and maybe even cross the green-line border to neighboring Israeli communities. The war in Lebanon will escalate and thousands of Hezbollah rockets, missiles and drones will be shot at Israel.
Hasn’t Netanyahu already done too much harm and damage to Israel? Since 2009 he convinced Israelis and the world that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be managed. He led Israelis and the world to believe that Israel could occupy and dominate the Palestinian people for 56 years and still have peace. He enabled Israelis to believe that 18 years of economic blockade and siege of 2.2 million people in Gaza with extreme poverty and a fanatic Islamic regime could enable quiet because of suitcases of cash being transported to Gaza and because of the false theory of too many Israeli generals that Hamas was deterred. Hamas has never been deterred and cannot be deterred – as I have said even on Israeli television repeated since 2008. Netanyahu has led Israelis and the world to believe that without even trying to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel could make peace with the entire Arab world while Palestine remains under occupation. Repeated rounds of elections in Israel confronted only one issue: Netanyahu yes or Netanyahu no. Not once did the elections focus on the primary existential issue facing Israel – the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
For years Israelis have been lying to themselves. Israel defines itself as a Jewish and democratic state. Yet with more than seven million Palestinians and seven million Israeli Jews between the River and the Sea, Israel is neither Jewish nor democratic. On October 7, 2023, all of the lies and manipulations blew up in our face. The Israel Defense Force had become an Israeli Occupation Police Force, not even deployed on Israel’s southern border with Gaza. It was a holiday weekend, but nonetheless, the army was in the West Bank protecting illegal Israeli settlers instead of defending Israel’s borders. If there had been 10-20 Israeli tanks deployed on the border and five assault helicopters in the air, October 7th would not have happened. And even after all of Netanyahu’s lies and manipulations, he absolutely refuses to take responsibility. Netanyahu should have resigned on the night of October 7. This is what would have happened in any other genuinely democratic country. But Netanyahu has no shame and like the Trump followers in the USA, Netanyahu has a crowd of hypnotized blind members of a personality cult with their own television and radio stations who spread fake news, lies, incitement and hatred.
Now that Gantz and his party have finally left the government and hopefully fully understand the lies and manipulations of Netanyahu, perhaps the millions of Israelis who are beginning to see our reality with open eyes will take to the streets. Perhaps the lead negotiators, if they have integrity – Dede Barnea, Ronen Bar, and Nitzan Alon – will resign from leading the negotiations because it is not possible to bring the hostages home without an obligation to end the war. When I spoke with members of the Israeli negotiating team more than a month ago, I made it clear – in my assessment – that without a political end game, there is next to zero possibility of reaching a deal with Hamas that will bring the hostages home. The negotiators know, not just because I told them, that they should be negotiating for all of the hostages now and not only 18 of them. They know that the war must end. But as they told me, “We cannot deal with the political issues.” Being that there is no military solution here, and there never has been, without dealing with the political issues, there is no end game.
Netanyahu not only failed to protect Israel on October 7 of last year. He continues to be the most dangerous person to Israel’s future. Now, we the people, must stand up and take to the streets and for the sake of our future and our country, we must bring down our government. link
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri tells Reuters that the terror group accepts a UN Security Council ceasefire resolution and is ready to negotiate over the details.
Yesterday, the UNSC adopted a US-led resolution that urges Hamas to accept Israel’s latest hostage-for-ceasefire proposal.
Israel came out against the resolution last week, taking issue with some of the amendments that were made to the text. The US addressed one of those concerns, dropping an explicit rejection to the establishment of Israeli security buffer zones in Gaza. The move appeared to be enough to satisfy Israel, whose representative at yesterday’s meeting avoided criticizing the resolution or directly commenting on it.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed that Israel will not accept a deal that ends fighting in Gaza without the achievement of its goals in the war. link Netanyahu's statements will bring about an end to new negotiations even before they start. Perhaps that is his tactic as he doesn't want to end the war. It does not serve his political needs. US Secretary of State Blinken is back in the region to push the plan and that will mean to push Netanyahu as well. It is truly unbelievable that the US administration is doing more to bring our hostages home than our own government.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “reaffirmed his commitment” to a Gaza ceasefire proposal during their meeting in Jerusalem yesterday.
“I met with Prime Minister Netanyahu last night and he reaffirmed his commitment to the proposal,” Blinken says, adding that Hamas’s welcoming of a UN vote on the US-drafted ceasefire resolution is a “hopeful” sign. link Netanyahu only agrees to a ceasefire, even an extended ceasefire but not to an end of the war.
Gaza
the IDF said on Tuesday that troops of the Givati Brigade had killed a cell of gunmen in a “close-range encounter,” and had, amid several raids in the city, located intelligence documents and equipment which were then brought back to Israel for investigation.
Separately, the IDF said that a Hamas sniper in the Rafah area was killed in a drone strike after being identified by troops.
On Monday morning, residents of Rafah reported that tanks had reached the edge of Shaboura, a densely populated neighborhood in the heart of the city.
The military said that the Israeli Air Force had struck some 35 targets across the Gaza Strip over the last day. The targets included buildings used by terror groups, weapon depots, rocket launching sites, sniper positions, and other infrastructure, as well as cells of terror operatives.
In the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, the military said a cell of terror operatives had been taken out in an additional drone strike.
- Forces of Brigade 98 completed the combined brigade attack above and below ground in eastern Deir al-Balah and eastern Al-Burij in central Gaza Strip. This was reported today (Tuesday) by an IDF spokesperson, who added: "The forces are in combat protocol for the next mission in the Strip." During the maneuver, the forces located weapons, ammunition and explosives, eliminated about 100 militants and attacked over 100 terror infrastructures, including launch areas adjacent to communities surrounding Gaza. The IDF spokesperson further stated that the combat teams of Brigade 7, Kfir and Yahalom Unit fighters quickly located a number of tunnel shafts under intelligence guidance. "Yahalom fighters investigated and destroyed the two tunnels, each about a kilometer long, and destroyed over 2 kilometers of offensive underground infrastructure," they explained. "Living quarters and several means of fighting that were destroyed were found in the tunnels."
Brigade 98 commander to the fighters: "We continue forward and push with all our might" 
Brigade 98 forces, including the combat teams of the Paratroopers Brigade, Kfir, 7 and Yahalom fighters, carried out a variety of actions that contributed to the success of Operation "Arnon," the IDF explained. The Paratroopers Brigade's combat team carried out the abductee rescue operation and IDF and Shin Bet forces from the vehicles - after they were rescued from Hamas captivity in a daring operation.
Brigade 98 Commander, Brigadier General Dan Goldfus, said to the Givati reconnaissance and paratroopers after the operation: "An IDF force, together with the Shin Bet's operational unit and us in the envelope, rescued the four hostages. There are still 120 hostages in Gaza and we will not stop until we bring them home, we are also committed to destroying the enemy above and below ground. That's what we did for eight months and that's how we will continue, we continue forward and push with all our might. If I could hug each one of you I would do it, I'm proud of you." link
the IDF said on Tuesday that troops of the Givati Brigade had killed a cell of gunmen in a “close-range encounter,” and had, amid several raids in the city, located intelligence documents and equipment which were then brought back to Israel for investigation.
Separately, the IDF said that a Hamas sniper in the Rafah area was killed in a drone strike after being identified by troops.
On Monday morning, residents of Rafah reported that tanks had reached the edge of Shaboura, a densely populated neighborhood in the heart of the city.
The military said that the Israeli Air Force had struck some 35 targets across the Gaza Strip over the last day. The targets included buildings used by terror groups, weapon depots, rocket launching sites, sniper positions, and other infrastructure, as well as cells of terror operatives.
In the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, the military said a cell of terror operatives had been taken out in an additional drone strike.
Brigade 98 commander to the fighters: "We continue forward and push with all our might"
Brigade 98 Commander, Brigadier General Dan Goldfus, said to the Givati reconnaissance and paratroopers after the operation: "An IDF force, together with the Shin Bet's operational unit and us in the envelope, rescued the four hostages. There are still 120 hostages in Gaza and we will not stop until we bring them home, we are also committed to destroying the enemy above and below ground. That's what we did for eight months and that's how we will continue, we continue forward and push with all our might. If I could hug each one of you I would do it, I'm proud of you." link
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah
Lebanese media are reporting Israeli airstrikes in the Hermel District of northeastern Lebanon, in what appears to be a response to numerous Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel over the past day, and the terror group downing an IDF drone. It also potentially marks the deepest IDF strike in Lebanon amid the war, as Hermel is some 130 kilometers (80 miles) from the Israeli border. No further details are immediately available. video of the explosion
Firefighters are battling a number of blazes sparked by rockets fired at northern Israel from Lebanon earlier today.
A spokesperson for the Golan-Galilee division of the Fire and Rescue Services says flames erupted at a number of sites, including Had Ness in the Golan and Kibbutz Ayelet HaShahar in the Upper Galilee.
The IDF said a barrage of around 50 rockets was fired from Lebanon earlier today, with some intercepted and others falling in open areas. ---Due to the season, the post rainy season and the hot dry air, all open spaces in Israel are filled with dried flora (mostly weeds) and it merely takes a small spark to set off a massive fire. With the constant barrages of rockets and explosive UAVs from Lebanon, we are facing fires at just about every hit in open areas. Prior to the seasonal danger, the fact that the rockets and UAVs hitting open areas, was seen as a good thing. Now they present a major danger to our forests and all homes in the areas of these fires.
Fighter jets struck what Israel’s military described as a significant Hezbollah compound deep in Lebanon overnight Monday-Tuesday after the terror group downed an Israeli drone.
The Israel Defense Forces said airstrikes targeted a site in the Baalbek region belonging to Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, as well as sites in southern Lebanon. According to Israel, Unit 4400 is tasked with “logistical force build-up,” including delivering weaponry to Lebanon and within the country. Hezbollah is backed by Iran, which supplies it with much of its arms.
Lebanese media reported that strikes took place in the Hermel District, near Baalbek in northeastern Lebanon, and sources in the terror group told AFP that three Hezbollah members were killed. “Three Hezbollah members were killed by nine Israeli missile strikes that targeted a convoy of tankers and a building” in a village in Hermel District on the border with Syria, the Hezbollah source told AFP, adding that three people were also wounded.
On its Telegram channel, the terror group said three members had been killed “on the road to Jerusalem,” its term for operatives slain in Israeli strikes.
They were named as Bilal a-Din, of the south Lebanon village of Majdel Selm, Abbas Nasser, from Tayr Felsay, a town in the Tyre District, and Hadi Musaa, from Shebaa.
The attack potentially marked the deepest IDF strikes in Lebanon amid the ongoing war, as Hermel is some 130 kilometers (80 miles) from the Israeli border.
It came amid increasing hostilities between Israel and the terror group as the sides appear to march closer to all-out war. Tuesday morning also saw a barrage of 50 rockets launched at the Golan Heights, the military’s air defenses down a “suspicious aerial target” identified off the coast of Haifa in northern Israel, and a drone seemingly fired by an Iran-backed militia Iraq at the southern city of Eilat, the military said.
Hezbollah on Tuesday morning claimed to have launched anti-aircraft missiles at an Israeli fighter jet taking part in the midnight strike, “forcing it to retreat.”
The IDF did not report that its jets came under fire amid the attack.
Aside from the strike in Baalbek, the IDF said several more Hezbollah targets, including a military compound and two buildings, were struck in southern Lebanon’s Aitaroun. The IDF said the strikes were a response to Hezbollah downing a military unmanned aerial vehicle over south Lebanon on Monday.
Hezbollah, in a statement, said it had intercepted a Hermes 900, a large surveillance and attack UAV used by the Israeli military in Lebanon, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and other fronts.
The IDF said the drone was hit by a surface-to-air missile, and the incident was being investigated. It marked the fifth IDF drone to be shot down by Hezbollah over southern Lebanon amid the war. In all, two Hermes 450 drones and three Hermes 900 models have been downed by the terror group in recent months. Footage posted by Lebanese media outlets showed the drone crashing over southern Lebanon’s Rihan. video of the IDF drone shot down
Lebanese media are reporting Israeli airstrikes in the Hermel District of northeastern Lebanon, in what appears to be a response to numerous Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel over the past day, and the terror group downing an IDF drone. It also potentially marks the deepest IDF strike in Lebanon amid the war, as Hermel is some 130 kilometers (80 miles) from the Israeli border. No further details are immediately available. video of the explosion
Firefighters are battling a number of blazes sparked by rockets fired at northern Israel from Lebanon earlier today.
A spokesperson for the Golan-Galilee division of the Fire and Rescue Services says flames erupted at a number of sites, including Had Ness in the Golan and Kibbutz Ayelet HaShahar in the Upper Galilee.
The IDF said a barrage of around 50 rockets was fired from Lebanon earlier today, with some intercepted and others falling in open areas. ---Due to the season, the post rainy season and the hot dry air, all open spaces in Israel are filled with dried flora (mostly weeds) and it merely takes a small spark to set off a massive fire. With the constant barrages of rockets and explosive UAVs from Lebanon, we are facing fires at just about every hit in open areas. Prior to the seasonal danger, the fact that the rockets and UAVs hitting open areas, was seen as a good thing. Now they present a major danger to our forests and all homes in the areas of these fires.
Fighter jets struck what Israel’s military described as a significant Hezbollah compound deep in Lebanon overnight Monday-Tuesday after the terror group downed an Israeli drone.
The Israel Defense Forces said airstrikes targeted a site in the Baalbek region belonging to Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, as well as sites in southern Lebanon. According to Israel, Unit 4400 is tasked with “logistical force build-up,” including delivering weaponry to Lebanon and within the country. Hezbollah is backed by Iran, which supplies it with much of its arms.
Lebanese media reported that strikes took place in the Hermel District, near Baalbek in northeastern Lebanon, and sources in the terror group told AFP that three Hezbollah members were killed. “Three Hezbollah members were killed by nine Israeli missile strikes that targeted a convoy of tankers and a building” in a village in Hermel District on the border with Syria, the Hezbollah source told AFP, adding that three people were also wounded.
On its Telegram channel, the terror group said three members had been killed “on the road to Jerusalem,” its term for operatives slain in Israeli strikes.
They were named as Bilal a-Din, of the south Lebanon village of Majdel Selm, Abbas Nasser, from Tayr Felsay, a town in the Tyre District, and Hadi Musaa, from Shebaa.
The attack potentially marked the deepest IDF strikes in Lebanon amid the ongoing war, as Hermel is some 130 kilometers (80 miles) from the Israeli border.
It came amid increasing hostilities between Israel and the terror group as the sides appear to march closer to all-out war. Tuesday morning also saw a barrage of 50 rockets launched at the Golan Heights, the military’s air defenses down a “suspicious aerial target” identified off the coast of Haifa in northern Israel, and a drone seemingly fired by an Iran-backed militia Iraq at the southern city of Eilat, the military said.
Hezbollah on Tuesday morning claimed to have launched anti-aircraft missiles at an Israeli fighter jet taking part in the midnight strike, “forcing it to retreat.”
The IDF did not report that its jets came under fire amid the attack.
Aside from the strike in Baalbek, the IDF said several more Hezbollah targets, including a military compound and two buildings, were struck in southern Lebanon’s Aitaroun. The IDF said the strikes were a response to Hezbollah downing a military unmanned aerial vehicle over south Lebanon on Monday.
Hezbollah, in a statement, said it had intercepted a Hermes 900, a large surveillance and attack UAV used by the Israeli military in Lebanon, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and other fronts.
The IDF said the drone was hit by a surface-to-air missile, and the incident was being investigated. It marked the fifth IDF drone to be shot down by Hezbollah over southern Lebanon amid the war. In all, two Hermes 450 drones and three Hermes 900 models have been downed by the terror group in recent months. Footage posted by Lebanese media outlets showed the drone crashing over southern Lebanon’s Rihan. video of the IDF drone shot down
West Bank
- Police say undercover Border Police officers killed a Palestinian gunman a short while ago, accused of carrying out an arson attack at a settler outpost in the West Bank last night. Another three Palestinian terror suspects were killed in the operation.
Border Police officers and IDF troops operated in the West Bank town of Kafr Ni’ma this evening amid a manhunt for the terrorists behind last night’s attack in the Sde Ephraim outpost. As the troops arrived at a hideout in Kafr Ni’ma, where the cell that allegedly carried out the attack was gathered, the main suspect and three others attempted to flee in a car, police say.
Police say the suspects tried to ram into the officers, who in response opened fire, killing the four men. In their vehicle, troops found a makeshift sub-machine gun, a military vest, and explosive devices, police say. One officer was slightly hurt amid the operation, police add.
In the overnight attack in Sde Ephraim, surveillance camera video showed an armed suspect pouring flammable liquid on a trailer used by settlers as a living space, and then setting fire to it, before leaving the scene. There were no injuries in the attack, as the couple living there were not home at the time. Sde Ephraim was established illegally on a hilltop that had been part of the Palestinian village next door, Ras Karkar, also known as Risan. Settlers from the outpost have clashed with local Palestinians in the area in the past. link
The military says it has wrapped up an 18-hour counter-terrorism raid in the West Bank’s Far’a camp, during which troops killed a gunman and located a bomb-making lab.
At the bomb manufacturing site, the IDF says troops located more than 80 improvised explosive devices, along with barrels packed with explosive material. The bomb lab was later demolished.
Other weapons located inside a car were also seized, the IDF says. Troops clashed with gunmen amid the raid, killing at least one yesterday morning. A drone strike was also carried out against two armed Palestinians, the army says. Eight wanted Palestinians were detained amid the raid. The IDF says they were wanted over suspected involvement in terror activities. No soldiers were hurt in the operation.
Israeli special forces are carrying out a raid in the West Bank town of Kafr Dan, near Jenin, according to the military and Palestinian media. As troops entered the town they came under fire by Palestinian gunmen.
The troops returned fire, fired shoulder-launched missiles at a target, and an attack helicopter also carried out a strike in the area. Footage shared online shows a military chopper opening fire over the town. At least three Palestinians are reported killed in the raid, military sources say.
Border Police officers and IDF troops operated in the West Bank town of Kafr Ni’ma this evening amid a manhunt for the terrorists behind last night’s attack in the Sde Ephraim outpost. As the troops arrived at a hideout in Kafr Ni’ma, where the cell that allegedly carried out the attack was gathered, the main suspect and three others attempted to flee in a car, police say.
Police say the suspects tried to ram into the officers, who in response opened fire, killing the four men. In their vehicle, troops found a makeshift sub-machine gun, a military vest, and explosive devices, police say. One officer was slightly hurt amid the operation, police add.
In the overnight attack in Sde Ephraim, surveillance camera video showed an armed suspect pouring flammable liquid on a trailer used by settlers as a living space, and then setting fire to it, before leaving the scene. There were no injuries in the attack, as the couple living there were not home at the time. Sde Ephraim was established illegally on a hilltop that had been part of the Palestinian village next door, Ras Karkar, also known as Risan. Settlers from the outpost have clashed with local Palestinians in the area in the past. link
The military says it has wrapped up an 18-hour counter-terrorism raid in the West Bank’s Far’a camp, during which troops killed a gunman and located a bomb-making lab.
At the bomb manufacturing site, the IDF says troops located more than 80 improvised explosive devices, along with barrels packed with explosive material. The bomb lab was later demolished.
Other weapons located inside a car were also seized, the IDF says. Troops clashed with gunmen amid the raid, killing at least one yesterday morning. A drone strike was also carried out against two armed Palestinians, the army says. Eight wanted Palestinians were detained amid the raid. The IDF says they were wanted over suspected involvement in terror activities. No soldiers were hurt in the operation.
Israeli special forces are carrying out a raid in the West Bank town of Kafr Dan, near Jenin, according to the military and Palestinian media. As troops entered the town they came under fire by Palestinian gunmen.
The troops returned fire, fired shoulder-launched missiles at a target, and an attack helicopter also carried out a strike in the area. Footage shared online shows a military chopper opening fire over the town. At least three Palestinians are reported killed in the raid, military sources say.
Politics
The United Nations human rights office says that the civilian deaths in Gaza during the Israeli operation to secure the release of four hostages over the weekend, and their holding by terror groups in densely populated areas, could both amount to war crimes.
“Hundreds of Palestinians, many of them civilians, were reportedly killed and injured,” said Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN human rights office.
“Furthermore, by holding hostages in such densely populated areas, the armed groups doing so are putting the lives of Palestinian civilians, as well as the hostages themselves, at added risk from the hostilities. All these actions, by both parties, may amount to war crimes.” link While I don't condone the deaths of innocent civilians at any time, it is truly cynical of the UN to consider the deaths of those civilians as war crimes. It is the moral imperative of Israel, of any country, to do what they can to save and rescue their civilians and their citizens held in captivity by a vicious enemy. If Hamas wasn't holding our hostages and if they weren't using human shields, which in this case is an entire refugee camp, and if they didn't have willing partners who were holding the hostages in their very homes, no civilians wouldn't have been killed. We should look at the analogy of the law in most places in the US. If a few people rob a house or a store and one of the robbers kills a person in the house, all of the robbers are charged with murder. This is exactly the case here. Hamas committed the crimes on October 7 and the crime has continued since then. Anyone killed during this continuing crime is fully on Hamas.
An Israeli official continues the pushback against the Channel 12 report that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered an end to the war before all hostages were released. The official points out that “the outline explicitly states that no later than the sixteenth day, indirect negotiations will begin in which Israel will present its terms for ending the war.”
“These conditions have not changed,” says the official, “the elimination of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas, the return of all our abductees and making sure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.” Israel will insist on achieving these conditions, adds the official, calling the report “devoid of any basis.” link Channel 12 publicized the "Netanyahu Agreement" which gave details of the proposal given to Hamas for returning the hostages. He has refused to show the details to the extended cabinet due to political considerations that they would use it against him. I strongly believe that he has/had no intention of agreeing to ending the war and was banking on his extended cabinet to vote against the agreement, thereby giving him a 'reasonable' answer to the Americans why Israel can't go along with the agreement. He prepared the ground for refusing any agreement that would bring about the end of the war when he, unilaterally decided that the extended cabinet had to vote on any agreement. This was a 100% political decision as he knows he could depend on his extremist partners shooting down any agreement that he feels doesn't serve him politically. The decision to call it the "Netanyahu Agreement" or proposal was definitely not Netanyahu's idea. It was done by the Forum of Hostage Families to give it his name believing that it will help push him to push the agreement forward. Unfortunately, he has all his people pushing back on the agreement's clause of ending the war. Whenever a report states "an Israeli Official", it means that it is one of Netanyahu's people speaking for him but not in his name, giving him plausible deniability.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slams the Knesset’s vote to renew a 2022 bill lowering the ultra-Orthodox age of exemption for military service, calling it “one of the most despicable moments of humiliation of the Israeli Knesset ever.”
“In the midst of another day of hard fighting in the Gaza Strip, the reckless government passes a law of evasion and insubordination. It’s all politics. Zero values,” Lapid says in a statement. link Netanyahu and his coalition partners are pushing this worthless bill for political survival and not giving a damn that it hurts the country, especially every single person who serves in the army, regular service and reserves. At a time that the army needs more soldiers for our defensive survival, as well as our economic survival (the more people in reserves, the harder the country's economy is hurt), Netanyahu doesn't stop playing politics over the real deep needs of the country. This bill, in real terms, doesn't add a single Haredi to the army.
A State Without Boundaries
We all rejoiced when an American news anchor was fired for rolling her eyes at a family member of an abducted person. But in Israel? The abnormal has become normal, and elected officials who lash out at families of abductees even get public support. Something else broke in the State of Israel in recent weeks.
On Sunday, a video was published showing Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir telling Carmel Gat's cousin, who is being held hostage in Gaza hell - "Stop being a leftist." The cousin asked Ben-Gvir what he was doing to bring Carmel home. Ben-Gvir said he believes in stopping the entry of fuel. The cousin, for his part, challenged and responded that the returnees say that humanitarian aid also helped them. In response, Ben-Gvir yelled at him, "Stop being a leftist."
This video, which should ostensibly cause stomach pains for every citizen, regardless of whether they are on the left or right side of the map, received hateful and angry reactions from people who claimed Ben-Gvir was right. These are people for whom the word "leftist" is a derogatory term, worthy of being used as part of an outburst against a family member who is demanding answers. It was Minister Moshe Arbel of Shas who distilled the remarks when he referred to the video and said - "When a family member of a hostage addresses you, don't tell them 'stop being a leftist.' I want you to be right-wingers, leftists, be whatever you are." Arbel states the obvious, but it has long since ceased to be truly obvious.
It is no longer obvious that you cannot accuse a mother fighting for her son's life of playing politics. It is no longer obvious that you cannot tell the daughter of an hostage that she is creating drama. It is no longer obvious that you cannot say to families of hostages, "Let's assume Sinwar will demand 20 residents of the Gaza Envelope area in exchange for each hostage?", as if Minister Smotrich, the poser of the distorted question, does not know that he is addressing residents of the Envelope who have paid the heavy price of the lives of their families, friends, and neighbors in the Envelope area. It is no longer obvious that you cannot yell at a mother whose son is a hostage and is fighting with all her might to bring him back, that her protest is destroying the country. It is no longer obvious that you cannot say to a brother of an hostage, "You are exploiting your brother's situation." It is no longer obvious that you do not say dismissively and roll your eyes at a young woman whose cousin is being held hostage in Gaza, "Well, I know what you want to say... Well, speak up, I'm used to it..." as if one can get used to it.
We all rejoiced when an American news anchor was fired for rolling her eyes at Jordan, the sister of Romi Gonen, who is being held hostage in Gaza. Because that's how it is in other places where the "obvious" still works. Someone whose job is to respect people and give them a platform cannot belittle them. There is a price to pay for that. In a place where the "obvious" still functions, a TV anchor who rolls her eyes gets fired. But here, elected officials, who were responsible for our security and failed, are now the ones rolling their eyes, yelling, humiliating, scolding, and hurting the families of those they abandoned. Not only are they not fired, but they also receive public support. That's how it is when the obvious is no longer obvious. What was forbidden has become permissible. Our moral compass has been broken. The abnormal has become normal. What was obvious is no longer obvious at all.
Hostages who returned from captivity said that not a single minister called to hear them, not even the Prime Minister. Families of hostages who were murdered in captivity were not granted a condolence visit, not even a phone call. Veteran members of Kibbutz Nir Oz who were abducted alive and returned in coffins received condolence tweets from the Prime Minister only after 20 hours. Netanyahu hugged Noa Argamani within 4 hours of the IDF spokesman's announcement of her release. And yet, there will be those who read these lines and see no problem here. That's how it is when you live in a country where we have been accustomed to the abnormal being normal. Where what is forbidden is permitted. Where hatred is more important than morality.
Even when the war in Gaza ends, with a complete victory or just a step away from it, we will have an equally complex war to wage here. It will be a war over our essence, over who we are, over our values, over a state that must not exist without the obvious. link Unfortunately, what most of us feared has resurfaced. Prior to the war, Israel was possibly the most divided it has every been in its history and the divisions were deliberately manufactured by certain politicians, especially Netanyahu who has spent his career create division and hate. For him, it has always been us and them with the 'them' being anyone who doesn't support him fully, especially those on the left. For years, I have called him the 'Divider in Chief'. When the war broke out and for many months after, we were truly Am Yisrael Echad - One People of Israel. It didn't matter political or religious leaning, we all gave what we could for the good of the country. However, due to the absolute failures of the government and the Prime Minister and his absolute refusal to take or accept any responsibility for October 7, he needed to once again divide us and draw lines in the sand, those who are with him and those against, and to again divide the nation. Therefore, anyone complaining that he and his government were not functioning and not doing nearly enough to get the hostages home, they became the enemy. We see it each day now in the Knesset and at every demonstration for the hostages. The only remedy to put us back on the road of being Am Yisrael Echad is to get rid of the head who is the divider as well as the most extreme elements of the government who have no place in our country.
The United Nations human rights office says that the civilian deaths in Gaza during the Israeli operation to secure the release of four hostages over the weekend, and their holding by terror groups in densely populated areas, could both amount to war crimes.
“Hundreds of Palestinians, many of them civilians, were reportedly killed and injured,” said Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN human rights office.
“Furthermore, by holding hostages in such densely populated areas, the armed groups doing so are putting the lives of Palestinian civilians, as well as the hostages themselves, at added risk from the hostilities. All these actions, by both parties, may amount to war crimes.” link While I don't condone the deaths of innocent civilians at any time, it is truly cynical of the UN to consider the deaths of those civilians as war crimes. It is the moral imperative of Israel, of any country, to do what they can to save and rescue their civilians and their citizens held in captivity by a vicious enemy. If Hamas wasn't holding our hostages and if they weren't using human shields, which in this case is an entire refugee camp, and if they didn't have willing partners who were holding the hostages in their very homes, no civilians wouldn't have been killed. We should look at the analogy of the law in most places in the US. If a few people rob a house or a store and one of the robbers kills a person in the house, all of the robbers are charged with murder. This is exactly the case here. Hamas committed the crimes on October 7 and the crime has continued since then. Anyone killed during this continuing crime is fully on Hamas.
An Israeli official continues the pushback against the Channel 12 report that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered an end to the war before all hostages were released. The official points out that “the outline explicitly states that no later than the sixteenth day, indirect negotiations will begin in which Israel will present its terms for ending the war.”
“These conditions have not changed,” says the official, “the elimination of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas, the return of all our abductees and making sure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.” Israel will insist on achieving these conditions, adds the official, calling the report “devoid of any basis.” link Channel 12 publicized the "Netanyahu Agreement" which gave details of the proposal given to Hamas for returning the hostages. He has refused to show the details to the extended cabinet due to political considerations that they would use it against him. I strongly believe that he has/had no intention of agreeing to ending the war and was banking on his extended cabinet to vote against the agreement, thereby giving him a 'reasonable' answer to the Americans why Israel can't go along with the agreement. He prepared the ground for refusing any agreement that would bring about the end of the war when he, unilaterally decided that the extended cabinet had to vote on any agreement. This was a 100% political decision as he knows he could depend on his extremist partners shooting down any agreement that he feels doesn't serve him politically. The decision to call it the "Netanyahu Agreement" or proposal was definitely not Netanyahu's idea. It was done by the Forum of Hostage Families to give it his name believing that it will help push him to push the agreement forward. Unfortunately, he has all his people pushing back on the agreement's clause of ending the war. Whenever a report states "an Israeli Official", it means that it is one of Netanyahu's people speaking for him but not in his name, giving him plausible deniability.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slams the Knesset’s vote to renew a 2022 bill lowering the ultra-Orthodox age of exemption for military service, calling it “one of the most despicable moments of humiliation of the Israeli Knesset ever.”
“In the midst of another day of hard fighting in the Gaza Strip, the reckless government passes a law of evasion and insubordination. It’s all politics. Zero values,” Lapid says in a statement. link Netanyahu and his coalition partners are pushing this worthless bill for political survival and not giving a damn that it hurts the country, especially every single person who serves in the army, regular service and reserves. At a time that the army needs more soldiers for our defensive survival, as well as our economic survival (the more people in reserves, the harder the country's economy is hurt), Netanyahu doesn't stop playing politics over the real deep needs of the country. This bill, in real terms, doesn't add a single Haredi to the army.
A State Without Boundaries
We all rejoiced when an American news anchor was fired for rolling her eyes at a family member of an abducted person. But in Israel? The abnormal has become normal, and elected officials who lash out at families of abductees even get public support. Something else broke in the State of Israel in recent weeks.
On Sunday, a video was published showing Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir telling Carmel Gat's cousin, who is being held hostage in Gaza hell - "Stop being a leftist." The cousin asked Ben-Gvir what he was doing to bring Carmel home. Ben-Gvir said he believes in stopping the entry of fuel. The cousin, for his part, challenged and responded that the returnees say that humanitarian aid also helped them. In response, Ben-Gvir yelled at him, "Stop being a leftist."
This video, which should ostensibly cause stomach pains for every citizen, regardless of whether they are on the left or right side of the map, received hateful and angry reactions from people who claimed Ben-Gvir was right. These are people for whom the word "leftist" is a derogatory term, worthy of being used as part of an outburst against a family member who is demanding answers. It was Minister Moshe Arbel of Shas who distilled the remarks when he referred to the video and said - "When a family member of a hostage addresses you, don't tell them 'stop being a leftist.' I want you to be right-wingers, leftists, be whatever you are." Arbel states the obvious, but it has long since ceased to be truly obvious.
It is no longer obvious that you cannot accuse a mother fighting for her son's life of playing politics. It is no longer obvious that you cannot tell the daughter of an hostage that she is creating drama. It is no longer obvious that you cannot say to families of hostages, "Let's assume Sinwar will demand 20 residents of the Gaza Envelope area in exchange for each hostage?", as if Minister Smotrich, the poser of the distorted question, does not know that he is addressing residents of the Envelope who have paid the heavy price of the lives of their families, friends, and neighbors in the Envelope area. It is no longer obvious that you cannot yell at a mother whose son is a hostage and is fighting with all her might to bring him back, that her protest is destroying the country. It is no longer obvious that you cannot say to a brother of an hostage, "You are exploiting your brother's situation." It is no longer obvious that you do not say dismissively and roll your eyes at a young woman whose cousin is being held hostage in Gaza, "Well, I know what you want to say... Well, speak up, I'm used to it..." as if one can get used to it.
We all rejoiced when an American news anchor was fired for rolling her eyes at Jordan, the sister of Romi Gonen, who is being held hostage in Gaza. Because that's how it is in other places where the "obvious" still works. Someone whose job is to respect people and give them a platform cannot belittle them. There is a price to pay for that. In a place where the "obvious" still functions, a TV anchor who rolls her eyes gets fired. But here, elected officials, who were responsible for our security and failed, are now the ones rolling their eyes, yelling, humiliating, scolding, and hurting the families of those they abandoned. Not only are they not fired, but they also receive public support. That's how it is when the obvious is no longer obvious. What was forbidden has become permissible. Our moral compass has been broken. The abnormal has become normal. What was obvious is no longer obvious at all.
Hostages who returned from captivity said that not a single minister called to hear them, not even the Prime Minister. Families of hostages who were murdered in captivity were not granted a condolence visit, not even a phone call. Veteran members of Kibbutz Nir Oz who were abducted alive and returned in coffins received condolence tweets from the Prime Minister only after 20 hours. Netanyahu hugged Noa Argamani within 4 hours of the IDF spokesman's announcement of her release. And yet, there will be those who read these lines and see no problem here. That's how it is when you live in a country where we have been accustomed to the abnormal being normal. Where what is forbidden is permitted. Where hatred is more important than morality.
Even when the war in Gaza ends, with a complete victory or just a step away from it, we will have an equally complex war to wage here. It will be a war over our essence, over who we are, over our values, over a state that must not exist without the obvious. link Unfortunately, what most of us feared has resurfaced. Prior to the war, Israel was possibly the most divided it has every been in its history and the divisions were deliberately manufactured by certain politicians, especially Netanyahu who has spent his career create division and hate. For him, it has always been us and them with the 'them' being anyone who doesn't support him fully, especially those on the left. For years, I have called him the 'Divider in Chief'. When the war broke out and for many months after, we were truly Am Yisrael Echad - One People of Israel. It didn't matter political or religious leaning, we all gave what we could for the good of the country. However, due to the absolute failures of the government and the Prime Minister and his absolute refusal to take or accept any responsibility for October 7, he needed to once again divide us and draw lines in the sand, those who are with him and those against, and to again divide the nation. Therefore, anyone complaining that he and his government were not functioning and not doing nearly enough to get the hostages home, they became the enemy. We see it each day now in the Knesset and at every demonstration for the hostages. The only remedy to put us back on the road of being Am Yisrael Echad is to get rid of the head who is the divider as well as the most extreme elements of the government who have no place in our country.
The Region
Acronyms and Glossary
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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