π️Lonny's War Update- October 250, 2023 - June 12, 2024 π️
π️Day 250 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
*9:05pm last night - north - rockets/missiles Zra'it, Arab al aramsha, Achziv, Mila'ot, Leeman, Batzet, Shlomi*9:00am- north - rockets/missiles Ramat Dalton, Biryia, Safed, Vered Hagalil, Tiberia, Beit Yareach, Elipelet, Amnon, Gush Halav, Kerem Ben Zimra, Rosh Pina, Kfar Manda, Dovev, Sasa, Ginosar, Mandal, Hatzor Haglilit, - massive 100 rocket barrage after Top Hizbollah Commander killed - many of the rockets intercepted*10:00am -north - Rockets/missiles Golan, Galilee - barrage of over 70 rockets -many of the rockets intercepted, several fires were sparked*10:30am- north - rockets/missiles Shtula, Netua*11:00am - north - rockets/missiles Zra'it*1150am - - north - rockets/missiles Western Galilee and Golan*11:55am - north -hostile aircraft Golan Galilee*12:00pm - north - hostile aircraft Birya*12:20pm- north - rockets/missiles Admit*12:20pm - north - hostile aircraft Neve Ziv, Avdon*12:55pm - north - rockets/missiles Dovev, Sasa, Sde Meiron School, Zvion*2:10pm - north - rockets/missiles Kibbutz Malkia*5:30pm - north - rockets/missiles Shlomi*6:30pm - north - rockets/missiles Lehavot HaBashanHezbollah has fired at least 215 rockets from Lebanon at northern Israel today, according to the IDF.
Hostage Updates
My brother's post:
It really annoys me to see all the news channels in Israel and to hear from all of the so-called experts (mostly ex-security people) what Hamas wants. None of those experts, of course, speak to Hamas, but they know for sure what Hamas wants. What is clear to me, both from conversations with Hamas people and from what they publish on their own behalf, is that there will be no deal to release all the Israeli hostages without the end of the war and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a huge release of Palestinian prisoners - including all the murderers of the Israelis in prison (the so-called prisoners with blood on their hands). This is the price for the return of all of the Israeli hostages. I have been saying this from the first month of the war because Hamas says has been saying it from the first month of the war. From my experience with Hamas (18 years of discussions and negotiations) they say what they mean and mean what they say. In my opinion (and I have been saying also this since the beginning of the war) Israel should conduct a secret direct channel with Hamas in order to reach a deal and minimize dangers and risks as much as possible. I know that about a month ago Hamas was ready for a secret direct channel but Israel was not ready. It is true that the main problem is not communication, the main problem is the huge gap between the parties: Hamas is not ready for a deal without ending the war and the Netanyahu government is not ready for a deal that ends the war. As I have also been saying since the beginning of the war – dealing with Hamas can wait, the hostages cannot wait. Gershon Baskin. 12-6-2024
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is once again calling upon Hamas to accept the ceasefire and hostage release proposal that was adopted by the UN Security Council on Monday. 14 of the 15 council members voted in favor with Russia abstaining. And today, reports indicate that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prepared to sign the proposal. Award-winning writer and former Middle East peace negotiator, Gershon Baskin, joins to share whether the rare agreement on the security council gives this resolution more gravity. Baskin tells us whether a signature from Netanyahu, along with mounting international pressure means anything to Hamas and what it will take to get them to the table and accept a deal. Baskin discusses how the hostage rescue at Nuseirat impacted negotiations and the psyche of both sides. He fills us in on how he sees the next days and weeks playing out and whether we will see a deal soon or whether the war will continue on. interview with my brother starts at minute 1:00
Hamas wants written guarantees from the United States for a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip in order to sign off on a US-backed Israeli truce and hostage deal proposal, two Egyptian security sources say.
Mediators Qatar and Egypt said Hamas had responded on Tuesday to the phased ceasefire plan for an end to the eight-month war between Israel and the terror group, without giving details.
The plan was made public at the end of May by US President Joe Biden. It includes the gradual release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and the pullback of Israeli forces over two phases, as well as the freeing of Palestinian prisoners, with the reconstruction of Gaza and the return of the remains of deceased hostages in a third phase.
The United States has said Israel accepted the proposal, but Israel has not publicly stated this.
The Egyptian sources and a third source with knowledge of the talks say Hamas had concerns that the current proposal does not provide explicit guarantees over the transition from the first phase of the plan, which includes a six-week truce and the release of some hostages, to the second phase, which includes a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal.
The Egyptian sources say Hamas would only accept the plan if the guarantees were in place, and Egypt was in contact with the US about the demand.
“Hamas wants reassurances of an automatic transition from one phase to another as per the agreement laid out by President Biden,” the third source says.
Hamas and Egyptian authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
When he announced the plan, Biden said that if negotiations to move to the second phase lasted longer than six weeks, the ceasefire would continue as those negotiations were extended.
Hamas said on Tuesday that its “positive” response to the proposal opened a “wide pathway” to reach an agreement.
But an Israeli official speaking on condition of anonymity said Hamas had “changed all of the main and most meaningful parameters,” characterizing the group’s response as a rejection of Biden’s proposal for a hostage release.
One non-Israeli official briefed on the matter, who also declined to be identified, said that in its response, Hamas had proposed a new timeline for a permanent ceasefire with Israel and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, including Rafah. link This demand was expected by all. Hamas has not made any secret of this. If this impasse can be bridged and agreed upon by Israel, of which I am entirely skeptical because Netanyahu doesn't want the war to end; the other major issue that has still not been at the focus will be the 'key'- the amount and type of Palestinian prisoners to be released from Israeli prisons per each hostage type (humanitarian of women, children, elderly, sick and injured who are not soldiers), women soldiers, men soldiers (who will have the highest price for their release).
Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner says she issued a fresh appeal to senior UN and other officials to take action to secure the release of Russian nationals still held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Tatyana Moskalkova, writing on the Telegram messaging app, says she had launched the appeal after meeting in Moscow with relatives of those still being held.
“In one conversation, one of the mothers told me details of the situation of those being held,” she writes.
News reports have put at eight the number of hostages holding Russian passports, including three who were released.
Moskalkova said she had appealed to the UN High Commissioner For Human Rights, Volker Turk, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric, and other officials “for the rapid return home of our compatriots.” link Earlier in the war, Hamas released a few hostages who held Russian passports and they stated that it was a gesture towards Putin. Nothing has happened since.
DOHA, Qatar — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken touches down in Doha for talks with key mediator Qatar after Hamas gave its response to a US-led proposal for a ceasefire-hostage deal in war-ravaged Gaza.
Blinken, on a four-country swing around the Middle East to push Hamas to accept the truce plan, will meet the top leadership in the gas-rich Gulf state, which has transmitted messages to the Palestinian militant group.
Hamas, responding to the plan laid out on May 31 by President Joe Biden, proposed amendments late Tuesday including a ceasefire timeline and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, according to a source familiar with the talks.
The Biden plan calls for an Israeli withdrawal from “major population centers” and a ceasefire for six weeks, which would then be extended as negotiators reach a permanent deal.
The White House said Tuesday that the United States was “evaluating” the reply.
US officials had privately expected Hamas to insist on at least some changes rather than accepting the entire deal immediately and wanted to see if there was enough common ground to hammer out differences with Israel.
Biden is eager to end a war that has taken a mounting toll on civilians and turned parts of his Democratic Party base against him months ahead of a razor-close election.
Blinken will meet in Doha with both the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who is also the emirate’s top diplomat, the State Department said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticizes Hamas’s response to Israel’s hostage deal proposal, saying it included some changes that are not workable.
“Hamas has proposed numerous changes to the proposal that was on the table… Some of the changes are workable, some are not,” Blinken says in a press conference with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha.
“A deal was on the table that was virtually identical to the proposal that Hamas made on May 6 — a deal that the entire world is behind, a deal Israel has accepted.”
“Hamas could have answered with a single word. ‘Yes.’ Instead, Hamas waited nearly two weeks and then proposed more changes, a number of which go beyond positions that had previously taken and accepted,” Blinken says.
“As a result, the war — [which] Hamas started on October 7 with its barbaric attack on Israel and on Israeli civilians — will go on. More people will suffer, more Palestinians will suffer, more Israelis will suffer.”
“But in the days ahead, we are going to continue to push on an urgent basis with our partners, with Qatar with Egypt, to try to close this deal. Because we know it’s in the interests of Israelis, Palestinians, the region, indeed, the entire world,” he adds.
“At some point in a negotiation — and this has gone back and forth for a long time — you get to a point where if one side continues to change its demands, including making demands and insisting on changes on things that they had already accepted, you have to question whether they’re proceeding in good faith or not,” Blinken says.
“We’re determined to try to bridge the gaps, and I believe those gaps are bridgeable. That doesn’t mean they will be bridged,” he adds.
“It’s time for the haggling to stop and a ceasefire to start.”
“It may be that Hamas continues to say ‘no.’ [Then] I think it will be clear to everyone around the world, that it’s on them and that they will have made a choice to continue a war that they started,” Blinken says.
Senior Israeli: Hamas Rejected the Deal Outline Presented by Biden
Hamas and Islamic Jihad conveyed their response to the mediators Egypt and Qatar on the outline approved by the UN Security Council • According to the report, the main differences are the ceasefire clause, the stages of IDF withdrawal - and also a demand for Russian and Chinese involvement in the agreement
The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar published today (Wednesday) the central reservations that Hamas and Islamic Jihad conveyed last night to the mediators, Qatar and Egypt, regarding the Israeli proposal for a prisoner exchange deal.
Ceasefire - and Demand for Withdrawal
1. Already on the first day of the first stage, a temporary ceasefire will begin between the two sides and a withdrawal from densely populated areas to the border.
2. On the third day, the withdrawal from Salah al-Din and al-Rashid streets will begin and all military facilities located in the Nazareth corridor will be dismantled, in parallel with the withdrawal from the entire Philadelphia route and the final evacuation of the Rafah crossing. Both of these withdrawals must be completed by the 7th day of the first stage.
3. In the first stage, Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages , alive or dead, and release 3 captives every 3 days. If the full withdrawal is not completed by the 7th day - the release of the captives will stop.
4. Hamas rejects any precondition related to the names of the Palestinian prisoners to be released, especially regarding their deportation. It also adheres to its lists based on the principle of seniority.
5. At the end of the first stage, there will be a complete withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip, with no Israeli soldier present inside the Strip.
6. The first stage will end with a declaration of a return to a "sustainable calm", meaning an absolute cessation of military operations, which will begin before the release of the captives and prisoners.
7. Hamas demands the inclusion of China, Russia and Turkey as guarantors of the agreement.
Last night, Hamas announced in a joint statement with Islamic Jihad that it had conveyed its response to the Israeli proposal to the mediators. An Israeli source said after receiving the response from the mediators that Hamas rejected the outline presented by Biden. In parallel, the Qatari Al-Jazeera channel reported that the response included amendments to the Israeli proposal, including withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip, including the Rafah crossing and the Philadelphia route. Reuters reported that the response includes a new timetable for a total ceasefire. According to an Israeli source, Hamas effectively rejected the outline in its response.
The Saudi Al-Hadath channel reported on the differences between the Israeli proposal and Hamas' response: Hamas demands a complete withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel wants to withdraw from populated areas. Hamas demands a permanent ceasefire, while Israel wants a temporary ceasefire. Hamas demands the unconditional return of displaced persons to their homes, while Israel wants to allow the return of children, women and men over 50.
In their statement, the terror organizations said, "The response prioritizes the interest of the Palestinian people and the need to completely stop the ongoing aggression in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian delegation expressed its willingness to act positively to reach an agreement that will end this war against our people based on a sense of national responsibility." According to an Israeli source on the negotiating team, Hamas rejected in its response the prisoner exchange deal outline presented by U.S. President Biden. "Hamas in effect presented new conditions that were not part of the outline," the source said.
In a joint statement to Egypt and Qatar, they said they had received a response from Hamas and the Palestinian factions to the Israeli proposal for a ceasefire and the release of prisoners and captives: "They emphasize that the joint mediation efforts with the U.S. continue until an agreement is reached, with the mediators studying the response and coordinating the next steps with the parties."
The U.S. also confirmed receiving the response. John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House, told reporters in a briefing that they are "studying it."
Mikhail Bogdanov, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister for Middle East Affairs, said Hamas promised to release the two Russian citizens remaining captive in Gaza, but this requires a ceasefire.
Earlier yesterday, an Israeli diplomatic source said the proposal that passed at the UN yesterday with zero objections allows Israel to achieve its stated war goals - the return of all the hostages and the destruction of Hamas. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, told Reuters that the terror group "accepts the ceasefire proposal approved yesterday by the Security Council and is ready to discuss the details." U.S. Secretary of State Blinken, who visited Israel, said of Hamas' statement that it was an "encouraging sign." Blinken later announced at a committee meeting in Jordan dealing with aid to Gaza that the U.S. will provide an additional $404 million in humanitarian aid to support Palestinian civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and the region.
This is a proposal that President Biden presented as an "Israeli proposal", whose full details were revealed yesterday on the "Main Edition" newscast. Our diplomatic correspondent Yaron Avraham revealed that Israel conveyed the Israeli outline to the mediators about a month ago. The document is 4 pages long, includes 3 stages - and was not revealed to the Cabinet. link There are obviously changes that Hamas made to the proposal that will be totally unacceptable to Netanyahu and his coalition partners. I am hoping, despite these changes, that Netanyahu will agree for the negotiating team to go and meet with the negotiation partners wherever it will be.
Hostage Updates
My brother's post: It really annoys me to see all the news channels in Israel and to hear from all of the so-called experts (mostly ex-security people) what Hamas wants. None of those experts, of course, speak to Hamas, but they know for sure what Hamas wants. What is clear to me, both from conversations with Hamas people and from what they publish on their own behalf, is that there will be no deal to release all the Israeli hostages without the end of the war and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a huge release of Palestinian prisoners - including all the murderers of the Israelis in prison (the so-called prisoners with blood on their hands). This is the price for the return of all of the Israeli hostages. I have been saying this from the first month of the war because Hamas says has been saying it from the first month of the war. From my experience with Hamas (18 years of discussions and negotiations) they say what they mean and mean what they say. In my opinion (and I have been saying also this since the beginning of the war) Israel should conduct a secret direct channel with Hamas in order to reach a deal and minimize dangers and risks as much as possible. I know that about a month ago Hamas was ready for a secret direct channel but Israel was not ready. It is true that the main problem is not communication, the main problem is the huge gap between the parties: Hamas is not ready for a deal without ending the war and the Netanyahu government is not ready for a deal that ends the war. As I have also been saying since the beginning of the war – dealing with Hamas can wait, the hostages cannot wait. Gershon Baskin. 12-6-2024
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is once again calling upon Hamas to accept the ceasefire and hostage release proposal that was adopted by the UN Security Council on Monday. 14 of the 15 council members voted in favor with Russia abstaining. And today, reports indicate that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prepared to sign the proposal. Award-winning writer and former Middle East peace negotiator, Gershon Baskin, joins to share whether the rare agreement on the security council gives this resolution more gravity. Baskin tells us whether a signature from Netanyahu, along with mounting international pressure means anything to Hamas and what it will take to get them to the table and accept a deal. Baskin discusses how the hostage rescue at Nuseirat impacted negotiations and the psyche of both sides. He fills us in on how he sees the next days and weeks playing out and whether we will see a deal soon or whether the war will continue on. interview with my brother starts at minute 1:00
Hamas wants written guarantees from the United States for a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip in order to sign off on a US-backed Israeli truce and hostage deal proposal, two Egyptian security sources say.
Mediators Qatar and Egypt said Hamas had responded on Tuesday to the phased ceasefire plan for an end to the eight-month war between Israel and the terror group, without giving details.
The plan was made public at the end of May by US President Joe Biden. It includes the gradual release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and the pullback of Israeli forces over two phases, as well as the freeing of Palestinian prisoners, with the reconstruction of Gaza and the return of the remains of deceased hostages in a third phase.
The United States has said Israel accepted the proposal, but Israel has not publicly stated this.
The Egyptian sources and a third source with knowledge of the talks say Hamas had concerns that the current proposal does not provide explicit guarantees over the transition from the first phase of the plan, which includes a six-week truce and the release of some hostages, to the second phase, which includes a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal.
The Egyptian sources say Hamas would only accept the plan if the guarantees were in place, and Egypt was in contact with the US about the demand.
“Hamas wants reassurances of an automatic transition from one phase to another as per the agreement laid out by President Biden,” the third source says.
Hamas and Egyptian authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
When he announced the plan, Biden said that if negotiations to move to the second phase lasted longer than six weeks, the ceasefire would continue as those negotiations were extended.
Hamas said on Tuesday that its “positive” response to the proposal opened a “wide pathway” to reach an agreement.
But an Israeli official speaking on condition of anonymity said Hamas had “changed all of the main and most meaningful parameters,” characterizing the group’s response as a rejection of Biden’s proposal for a hostage release.
One non-Israeli official briefed on the matter, who also declined to be identified, said that in its response, Hamas had proposed a new timeline for a permanent ceasefire with Israel and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, including Rafah. link This demand was expected by all. Hamas has not made any secret of this. If this impasse can be bridged and agreed upon by Israel, of which I am entirely skeptical because Netanyahu doesn't want the war to end; the other major issue that has still not been at the focus will be the 'key'- the amount and type of Palestinian prisoners to be released from Israeli prisons per each hostage type (humanitarian of women, children, elderly, sick and injured who are not soldiers), women soldiers, men soldiers (who will have the highest price for their release).
Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner says she issued a fresh appeal to senior UN and other officials to take action to secure the release of Russian nationals still held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Tatyana Moskalkova, writing on the Telegram messaging app, says she had launched the appeal after meeting in Moscow with relatives of those still being held.
“In one conversation, one of the mothers told me details of the situation of those being held,” she writes.
News reports have put at eight the number of hostages holding Russian passports, including three who were released.
Moskalkova said she had appealed to the UN High Commissioner For Human Rights, Volker Turk, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric, and other officials “for the rapid return home of our compatriots.” link Earlier in the war, Hamas released a few hostages who held Russian passports and they stated that it was a gesture towards Putin. Nothing has happened since.
DOHA, Qatar — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken touches down in Doha for talks with key mediator Qatar after Hamas gave its response to a US-led proposal for a ceasefire-hostage deal in war-ravaged Gaza.
Blinken, on a four-country swing around the Middle East to push Hamas to accept the truce plan, will meet the top leadership in the gas-rich Gulf state, which has transmitted messages to the Palestinian militant group.
Hamas, responding to the plan laid out on May 31 by President Joe Biden, proposed amendments late Tuesday including a ceasefire timeline and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, according to a source familiar with the talks.
The Biden plan calls for an Israeli withdrawal from “major population centers” and a ceasefire for six weeks, which would then be extended as negotiators reach a permanent deal.
The White House said Tuesday that the United States was “evaluating” the reply.
US officials had privately expected Hamas to insist on at least some changes rather than accepting the entire deal immediately and wanted to see if there was enough common ground to hammer out differences with Israel.
Biden is eager to end a war that has taken a mounting toll on civilians and turned parts of his Democratic Party base against him months ahead of a razor-close election.
Blinken will meet in Doha with both the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who is also the emirate’s top diplomat, the State Department said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticizes Hamas’s response to Israel’s hostage deal proposal, saying it included some changes that are not workable.
“Hamas has proposed numerous changes to the proposal that was on the table… Some of the changes are workable, some are not,” Blinken says in a press conference with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha.
“A deal was on the table that was virtually identical to the proposal that Hamas made on May 6 — a deal that the entire world is behind, a deal Israel has accepted.”
“Hamas could have answered with a single word. ‘Yes.’ Instead, Hamas waited nearly two weeks and then proposed more changes, a number of which go beyond positions that had previously taken and accepted,” Blinken says.
“As a result, the war — [which] Hamas started on October 7 with its barbaric attack on Israel and on Israeli civilians — will go on. More people will suffer, more Palestinians will suffer, more Israelis will suffer.”
“But in the days ahead, we are going to continue to push on an urgent basis with our partners, with Qatar with Egypt, to try to close this deal. Because we know it’s in the interests of Israelis, Palestinians, the region, indeed, the entire world,” he adds.
“At some point in a negotiation — and this has gone back and forth for a long time — you get to a point where if one side continues to change its demands, including making demands and insisting on changes on things that they had already accepted, you have to question whether they’re proceeding in good faith or not,” Blinken says.
“We’re determined to try to bridge the gaps, and I believe those gaps are bridgeable. That doesn’t mean they will be bridged,” he adds.
“It’s time for the haggling to stop and a ceasefire to start.”
“It may be that Hamas continues to say ‘no.’ [Then] I think it will be clear to everyone around the world, that it’s on them and that they will have made a choice to continue a war that they started,” Blinken says.
Senior Israeli: Hamas Rejected the Deal Outline Presented by Biden
Hamas and Islamic Jihad conveyed their response to the mediators Egypt and Qatar on the outline approved by the UN Security Council • According to the report, the main differences are the ceasefire clause, the stages of IDF withdrawal - and also a demand for Russian and Chinese involvement in the agreement
The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar published today (Wednesday) the central reservations that Hamas and Islamic Jihad conveyed last night to the mediators, Qatar and Egypt, regarding the Israeli proposal for a prisoner exchange deal.
Ceasefire - and Demand for Withdrawal
1. Already on the first day of the first stage, a temporary ceasefire will begin between the two sides and a withdrawal from densely populated areas to the border.2. On the third day, the withdrawal from Salah al-Din and al-Rashid streets will begin and all military facilities located in the Nazareth corridor will be dismantled, in parallel with the withdrawal from the entire Philadelphia route and the final evacuation of the Rafah crossing. Both of these withdrawals must be completed by the 7th day of the first stage.
3. In the first stage, Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages , alive or dead, and release 3 captives every 3 days. If the full withdrawal is not completed by the 7th day - the release of the captives will stop.
4. Hamas rejects any precondition related to the names of the Palestinian prisoners to be released, especially regarding their deportation. It also adheres to its lists based on the principle of seniority.
5. At the end of the first stage, there will be a complete withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip, with no Israeli soldier present inside the Strip.
6. The first stage will end with a declaration of a return to a "sustainable calm", meaning an absolute cessation of military operations, which will begin before the release of the captives and prisoners.
7. Hamas demands the inclusion of China, Russia and Turkey as guarantors of the agreement.
Last night, Hamas announced in a joint statement with Islamic Jihad that it had conveyed its response to the Israeli proposal to the mediators. An Israeli source said after receiving the response from the mediators that Hamas rejected the outline presented by Biden. In parallel, the Qatari Al-Jazeera channel reported that the response included amendments to the Israeli proposal, including withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip, including the Rafah crossing and the Philadelphia route. Reuters reported that the response includes a new timetable for a total ceasefire. According to an Israeli source, Hamas effectively rejected the outline in its response.
The Saudi Al-Hadath channel reported on the differences between the Israeli proposal and Hamas' response: Hamas demands a complete withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel wants to withdraw from populated areas. Hamas demands a permanent ceasefire, while Israel wants a temporary ceasefire. Hamas demands the unconditional return of displaced persons to their homes, while Israel wants to allow the return of children, women and men over 50.
In their statement, the terror organizations said, "The response prioritizes the interest of the Palestinian people and the need to completely stop the ongoing aggression in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian delegation expressed its willingness to act positively to reach an agreement that will end this war against our people based on a sense of national responsibility." According to an Israeli source on the negotiating team, Hamas rejected in its response the prisoner exchange deal outline presented by U.S. President Biden. "Hamas in effect presented new conditions that were not part of the outline," the source said.
In a joint statement to Egypt and Qatar, they said they had received a response from Hamas and the Palestinian factions to the Israeli proposal for a ceasefire and the release of prisoners and captives: "They emphasize that the joint mediation efforts with the U.S. continue until an agreement is reached, with the mediators studying the response and coordinating the next steps with the parties."
The U.S. also confirmed receiving the response. John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House, told reporters in a briefing that they are "studying it."
Mikhail Bogdanov, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister for Middle East Affairs, said Hamas promised to release the two Russian citizens remaining captive in Gaza, but this requires a ceasefire.
Earlier yesterday, an Israeli diplomatic source said the proposal that passed at the UN yesterday with zero objections allows Israel to achieve its stated war goals - the return of all the hostages and the destruction of Hamas. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, told Reuters that the terror group "accepts the ceasefire proposal approved yesterday by the Security Council and is ready to discuss the details." U.S. Secretary of State Blinken, who visited Israel, said of Hamas' statement that it was an "encouraging sign." Blinken later announced at a committee meeting in Jordan dealing with aid to Gaza that the U.S. will provide an additional $404 million in humanitarian aid to support Palestinian civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and the region.
This is a proposal that President Biden presented as an "Israeli proposal", whose full details were revealed yesterday on the "Main Edition" newscast. Our diplomatic correspondent Yaron Avraham revealed that Israel conveyed the Israeli outline to the mediators about a month ago. The document is 4 pages long, includes 3 stages - and was not revealed to the Cabinet. link There are obviously changes that Hamas made to the proposal that will be totally unacceptable to Netanyahu and his coalition partners. I am hoping, despite these changes, that Netanyahu will agree for the negotiating team to go and meet with the negotiation partners wherever it will be.
Gaza
Israeli fighter jets and other aircraft carried out strikes against some 30 targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day, the military says.
The targets included buildings used by terror groups, rocket launchers, tunnel shafts, other infrastructure, as well as cells of armed terror operatives, according to the IDF.
The strikes come as troops continue to operate in southern Gaza’s Rafah and in the Netzarim Corridor in the central part of the Strip.
In Rafah, the IDF says troops of the Givati Brigade killed several gunmen in close-quarters combat; the Nahal Brigade located and destroyed several booby-trapped buildings; and the 401st Armored Brigade killed several more terror operatives and located military equipment.
In the central Gaza Strip, the IDF says it carried out a strike on a cell of Hamas operatives and a weapons depot.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that the US and its partners will release its plans for the post-war management of Gaza in the coming weeks. He says that in order to have an enduring end to the war, there must be planning for the “day after” completed “as soon as possible.”
Blinken doesn’t specify that Israel is the party that must present those plans. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has chafed calls for “day after” planning for months, arguing that they are largely futile so long as Hamas is still in power. Meanwhile, the US has worked with the Arab world to advance a post-war vision.
“In the coming weeks, we will put forward proposals for key elements of the day-after — planning that includes concrete ideas for how to manage governance, security, reconstruction,” Blinken says in a press conference with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha. The top US diplomat acknowledges that Hamas will determine whether or not the war will continue, but later insists that “Hamas cannot and will not be allowed to decide the future for this region.” Link This is a very important and crucial step that the Israeli government should have led months ago but Netanyahu refused to even discuss it. It has been one of the most contentious aspects between Netanyahu and the US Administration. It has also been contentious between Netanyahu and the IDF General Staff and head of the Shin Bet. Due to all the friction and the absolute necessity of having a plan in place, the US Administration took it upon itself to build a plan, but it will still need buy in from many parties: The Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel, of course.
US
intelligence suggests Sinwar believes Hamas has upper hand in negotiations with
Israel, officials say
American intelligence officials believe that Yahya
Sinwar, the powerful leader of Hamas in Gaza who is thought to be the
group’s key decision-maker on any potential ceasefire deal, likely believes the
group can survive Israel’s attempt to destroy it and feels confident it is
well-positioned to approach negotiations from a place of strength, according to
US officials familiar with recent assessments.
The goal for Hamas is to survive, these sources say
— that would be victory for the group. Sinwar likely
believes Hamas can hold out while Israel’s global standing deteriorates
as the war
in Gaza, which has killed thousands of civilians, continues.
A senior Biden administration official put it
bluntly: “He believes he’s winning.
For US negotiators pursuing a ceasefire deal between
Hamas and Israel, it’s a discouraging assessment. Secretary of State Antony
Blinken told the families of American hostages being held in Gaza in a meeting
in Tel Aviv on Tuesday morning that the fate of the latest proposal rests with
Sinwar.
While the US is pressuring those who have sway over
Hamas to push the group to accept the deal, Blinken on Tuesday made it clear
that the US believes that Sinwar is the ultimate decision-maker.
“I think there are those who have influenced, but influence
is one thing, actually getting a decision made is the is another thing. I don’t
think anyone other than the Hamas leadership in Gaza are actually the ones who
can make decisions,” Blinken said, adding: “That is what we are waiting on.”
If Sinwar believes the group can hold out
against the Israeli invasion, it would mean he doesn’t yet feel sufficient
pressure to reach an agreement that would end the fighting
— even as Palestinian civilians continue to perish.
The Wall
Street Journal reported Tuesday that Sinwar called their deaths
“necessary sacrifices” in messages reviewed by the paper.
“We have the Israelis right where we want them,” Sinwar told
Hamas’ political leadership in the Gulf state of Qatar recently,
according to one of the messages. The date of the message isn’t clear but
suggests that Sinwar is pressing for the conflict to continue.
US officials have sought publicly to portray Sinwar
as callous to the deaths of Palestinian civilians and interested only in
preserving his own personal survival.
“It should come as a shock to no one that Mr. Sinwar
cares nothing at all about the lives of innocent Palestinians that have been
caught up in this war, a war he started.
And it should surprise and shock no one that a beast like Mr. Sinwar would actually
take glee in it and see advantage in it,” White House National Security Council
spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday.
Sinwar, who was one of the key planners of the
October 7 attack, has remained at large in the vast warren of tunnels trenched
beneath Gaza, moving frequently and possibly surrounded by hostages as human
shields, officials believe.
The US intelligence community has struggled to track
him, according to one source familiar with the intelligence.
But he has continued to drive Hamas’ negotiation
positions, and it can often take days for messages to reach him, slowing the
process.
Both Sinwar and Hamas’ top military official,
Mohammed Deif, are still alive. Even if Israel has killed 15,000 Hamas
militants, as it claims, it means that as much as half of the group’s
estimated fighting force is still on the battlefield.
A longtime figure in the Islamist Palestinian group,
Sinwar was responsible for building up Hamas’ military wing before forging
important new ties with regional Arab powers as the group’s civilian and
political leader.
He was elected to Hamas’
main decision-making body, the Politburo, in 2017 as the political
leader of Hamas in Gaza. However, he has since become the
Politburo’s de facto leader, according to research by the European Council
on Foreign Relations.
Regional polling — while flawed — has
indicated that Hamas had grown unpopular in Gaza before the October 7 attack,
and some analysts have suggested that the group may have launched the operation
in part to try to gin up some domestic support.
Blinken said Hamas’ answer to the proposal will
reveal the group’s priorities.
“We await the answer from Hamas and that will speak
volumes about what they want, what they’re looking for, who they’re looking
after,” Blinken said. “Are they looking after one guy who may be for now safe …
while the people that he purports to represent continue to suffer in a
crossfire of his own making? Or will he do what’s necessary to actually move
this to a better place, to help end the suffering of people to help bring real
security to Israelis and Palestinians alike?” link
Israeli fighter jets and other aircraft carried out strikes against some 30 targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day, the military says.
The targets included buildings used by terror groups, rocket launchers, tunnel shafts, other infrastructure, as well as cells of armed terror operatives, according to the IDF.
The strikes come as troops continue to operate in southern Gaza’s Rafah and in the Netzarim Corridor in the central part of the Strip.
In Rafah, the IDF says troops of the Givati Brigade killed several gunmen in close-quarters combat; the Nahal Brigade located and destroyed several booby-trapped buildings; and the 401st Armored Brigade killed several more terror operatives and located military equipment.
In the central Gaza Strip, the IDF says it carried out a strike on a cell of Hamas operatives and a weapons depot.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that the US and its partners will release its plans for the post-war management of Gaza in the coming weeks. He says that in order to have an enduring end to the war, there must be planning for the “day after” completed “as soon as possible.”
Blinken doesn’t specify that Israel is the party that must present those plans. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has chafed calls for “day after” planning for months, arguing that they are largely futile so long as Hamas is still in power. Meanwhile, the US has worked with the Arab world to advance a post-war vision.
“In the coming weeks, we will put forward proposals for key elements of the day-after — planning that includes concrete ideas for how to manage governance, security, reconstruction,” Blinken says in a press conference with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha. The top US diplomat acknowledges that Hamas will determine whether or not the war will continue, but later insists that “Hamas cannot and will not be allowed to decide the future for this region.” Link This is a very important and crucial step that the Israeli government should have led months ago but Netanyahu refused to even discuss it. It has been one of the most contentious aspects between Netanyahu and the US Administration. It has also been contentious between Netanyahu and the IDF General Staff and head of the Shin Bet. Due to all the friction and the absolute necessity of having a plan in place, the US Administration took it upon itself to build a plan, but it will still need buy in from many parties: The Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel, of course.
US
intelligence suggests Sinwar believes Hamas has upper hand in negotiations with
Israel, officials say
The goal for Hamas is to survive, these sources say — that would be victory for the group. Sinwar likely believes Hamas can hold out while Israel’s global standing deteriorates as the war in Gaza, which has killed thousands of civilians, continues.
A senior Biden administration official put it bluntly: “He believes he’s winning.
For US negotiators pursuing a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel, it’s a discouraging assessment. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the families of American hostages being held in Gaza in a meeting in Tel Aviv on Tuesday morning that the fate of the latest proposal rests with Sinwar.
While the US is pressuring those who have sway over Hamas to push the group to accept the deal, Blinken on Tuesday made it clear that the US believes that Sinwar is the ultimate decision-maker.
“I think there are those who have influenced, but influence is one thing, actually getting a decision made is the is another thing. I don’t think anyone other than the Hamas leadership in Gaza are actually the ones who can make decisions,” Blinken said, adding: “That is what we are waiting on.”
If Sinwar believes the group can hold out against the Israeli invasion, it would mean he doesn’t yet feel sufficient pressure to reach an agreement that would end the fighting — even as Palestinian civilians continue to perish.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Sinwar called their deaths “necessary sacrifices” in messages reviewed by the paper.
“We have the Israelis right where we want them,” Sinwar told Hamas’ political leadership in the Gulf state of Qatar recently, according to one of the messages. The date of the message isn’t clear but suggests that Sinwar is pressing for the conflict to continue.
US officials have sought publicly to portray Sinwar as callous to the deaths of Palestinian civilians and interested only in preserving his own personal survival.
“It should come as a shock to no one that Mr. Sinwar cares nothing at all about the lives of innocent Palestinians that have been caught up in this war, a war he started.
And it should surprise and shock no one that a beast like Mr. Sinwar would actually take glee in it and see advantage in it,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday.
Sinwar, who was one of the key planners of the October 7 attack, has remained at large in the vast warren of tunnels trenched beneath Gaza, moving frequently and possibly surrounded by hostages as human shields, officials believe.
The US intelligence community has struggled to track him, according to one source familiar with the intelligence.
But he has continued to drive Hamas’ negotiation positions, and it can often take days for messages to reach him, slowing the process.
Both Sinwar and Hamas’ top military official, Mohammed Deif, are still alive. Even if Israel has killed 15,000 Hamas militants, as it claims, it means that as much as half of the group’s estimated fighting force is still on the battlefield.
A longtime figure in the Islamist Palestinian group, Sinwar was responsible for building up Hamas’ military wing before forging important new ties with regional Arab powers as the group’s civilian and political leader.
He was elected to Hamas’ main decision-making body, the Politburo, in 2017 as the political leader of Hamas in Gaza. However, he has since become the Politburo’s de facto leader, according to research by the European Council on Foreign Relations.
Regional polling — while flawed — has indicated that Hamas had grown unpopular in Gaza before the October 7 attack, and some analysts have suggested that the group may have launched the operation in part to try to gin up some domestic support.
Blinken said Hamas’ answer to the proposal will reveal the group’s priorities.
“We await the answer from Hamas and that will speak volumes about what they want, what they’re looking for, who they’re looking after,” Blinken said. “Are they looking after one guy who may be for now safe … while the people that he purports to represent continue to suffer in a crossfire of his own making? Or will he do what’s necessary to actually move this to a better place, to help end the suffering of people to help bring real security to Israelis and Palestinians alike?” link
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah
- Kiryat Shemona – A Ghost Town | The Damage to Homes, Closed Businesses, and the Bus Without Passengers
Kiryat Shmona, the largest city in the Galilee Panhandle with over 20,000 residents, has been empty for 8 months already. Homes are accumulating damage from drying vegetation that can spark fires, and the only ones celebrating are the rats that keep multiplying. And all this is happening with no plan, date, or visits from government ministers to witness this disaster up close.
Egged bus line 12 in Kiryat Shemona stops at all the major stops in the area. But for months there have been no passengers, the businesses are closed, the schools were relocated southward, and a ride with driver Roni turns into a tour of the many fallen sites. Even the most creative screenwriter could not have imagined what the families in the north would go through during the unending months of fighting.
While Roni drives the empty bus, his wife works an essential job at the municipality, and their three children live alone at the Ein Gev resort where they were evacuated. "We go visit them two or three times a week. It's hard - but there's nothing to be done," Roni said. "What can you do with them - leave them here in the city? I don't know if I can come back with my kids - we're waiting for it to start." What everyone is waiting to start is a war. Not the daily dribs and drabs of rockets, mortars, and anti-tank missiles - but an event that will truly push Hezbollah away from the northern border. Dudu Stroll, one of the city's busiest movers, diagnoses that most residents are still waiting for a change that may come. "I know the residents of Kiryat Shemona - until Hezbollah moves 10 or 20 km back, no one will return," he said. "My kids are evacuated to Netanya. They treat us so well there and my fear is that my kids won't want to come back here - they have so many things there that we don't have in Kiryat Shemona, regardless of the war."
In the city center stands the Tayer family's technical supply shop - a veteran, well-known local institution. "This business has existed for over 40 years," said Avi, the owner. "There has been at least an 80 percent drop in sales, but we don't come here for the money. Our main part at this stage is just to provide service." Until the war began, Avi would open the store every day at 6 am and work until night. Now, between the sirens, the business is only open for a few hours. "It's very hard to survive this period," he shared painfully. "For long months the area hasn't functioned, this isn't Kiryat Shemona - there's no life. Quite a few are saying they won't come back - they got used to the center of the country, discovered another world. We've gone back 40 years."
In the meantime, Avi identifies high demand among the few customers who do come for one specific product - rat traps. A visit to one of the evacuated resident's homes showed that a place uninhabited for over eight months is unfit for human habitation. This situation represents many homes abandoned in the city since October, and there are residents who are still unaware of the mold damage and vital infrastructure that was damaged during this period. Above all, at the height of summer, the danger lies mainly in fires that could develop due to the neglected gardens. Doron Shenfer from the municipality shared with News 12: "The residents left their homes on 7/10. When they return, they won't be able to enter the house. Mold, rats, stench as a result of shelling - an unpleasant situation. We're now at the start of summer - I predict there will also be fires here and everything will ignite. That's what we're worried about - hundreds of homes in this condition."
We filmed this part of the report a few hours before the massive fire broke out on the Ramin Ridge last week, which affected, as could be expected, this very street as well. "It's a ticking time bomb," Doron added. "Just a few months ago, one of the homes took a direct hit. If God forbid the hit had been last month, and shrapnel had fallen in one of the bushes - all the homes in the area would have gone up in flames and we'd be in a whole different movie."
So what are they doing in the meantime? Maintaining the city's streets and roads, and hoping that in the end there will also be someone to return here. Boaz Ben Zion, head of the Public Works Department in Kiryat Shemona, said: "We can't neglect our city. The residents love this city and it's our job to hold onto it. There are people who have already signed a year-long lease elsewhere and there are those who found work and unfortunately they're saying now that they're not coming back. I believe that the day everything ends - the love for the city will prevail and people will return to the city they love so much." However, those still here have to adapt to the changes. Uri Blaustein, manager of the Rami Levi branch in the city, spoke about the economic situation between one siren and the next: "The dairy refrigerators are empty, we haven't brought bagged milk for a long time and we've cut down on chocolate milk - we don't have kids here. We're at around a 90 percent drop."
Only one register operates in the branch - under the command of Yaakov, a 70-year resident of the city. "I spent a week in a hotel - that was enough for me," he shared. "This is my city, our city. We'll never leave it." In the long hour we were with him, only one customer passed through: Eliyahu Ayalon, a farmer from the nearby Kfar Yuval moshav, whose home was hit by an anti-tank missile 5 months ago, killing his wife Mira and son Barak.
Yaakov further described the situation: "I'm not in my own home - I think that's the most important thing. My normal, regular life doesn't exist. My grandchildren aren't in school, they're studying in all kinds of places. People, in my opinion, aren't reading the situation correctly and don't understand it. We're in a period where we don't see the end of it - and that's the most serious thing." link
The Hezbollah terror group announces the death of a senior commander in an alleged Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon earlier tonight.
Hezbollah in a statement says Taleb Abdullah, from the south Lebanon town of Aadachit, was killed “on the road to Jerusalem,” the terror group’s term for Israeli strikes.
Abdullah was killed in a strike in the town of Jouaiyya. Hezbollah refers to Abdullah as a commander. The terror group rarely refers to its senior operatives slain in Israeli strikes as commanders. The only other operative referred to as a commander was Wissam al-Tawil, the deputy head of the terror group’s elite Radwan force, killed by Israel in January. According to reports, Abdullah commanded a Hezbollah regional division in southern Lebanon. link
The IDF says it struck a Hezbollah rocket launcher in southern Lebanon’s Yaroun, used in this morning’s barrage of 90 rockets on northern Israel.
In the second barrage of 70 rockets a short while ago, the IDF says most of the rockets impacted open areas, while some apparently caused damage at several locations. Several rockets were also intercepted by air defenses, the military adds. There are no injuries in the attacks.
Hezbollah takes responsibility for the rocket barrages on northern Israel this morning. The terror group claims to have targeted several Israeli military sites, including the Meron air traffic control base and the Amiad camp — located some 20 kilometers from the border — as well as the factory of the Plasan armored vehicle manufacturer in Kibbutz Sasa.
Hezbollah says the attacks are a response to last night’s Israeli strike in southern Lebanon’s Jouaiyya, which killed top commander Taleb Abdullah and three other operatives. Abdullah is considered to be the most senior Hezbollah commander killed by Israel amid the fighting.
Some 21 firefighting teams and eight planes are working to extinguish several fires in northern Israel, sparked by Hezbollah rocket attacks, the Fire and Rescue Service says.
The service says there are three main fire locations: near Amiad, in the Ein Zeitim forest, and near Beit Jann. Hezbollah fired more than 160 rockets at northern Israel this morning.
A top Hezbollah official vows that the terror group would step up its attacks on Israel after its arch-foe killed a senior commander in south Lebanon the day before.
“We will increase the intensity, strength, quantity, and quality of our attacks,” says Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, speaking at the funeral of commander Taleb Sami Abdallah, who was killed in the Israeli strike on Tuesday. -- As so far today, Hizbollah has launched over 170 rockets towards Israel's north today and the day is not over. Stepping up attacks by Hizbollah is certainly a direct way to cross the line from tit for tat to full scale war.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sticks to longheld administration talking points regarding Israel-Hezbollah tensions when asked whether he’s concerned about the significant escalation over the past day since the IDF killed a senior commander of the Iran-backed terror group.
He responds that “no one is looking to start a war, to have escalation,” and that most believe a diplomatic resolution is the best path to ending the conflict.
Such a resolution must allow the return of the 60,000 Israelis forced to evacuate their homes as well as those in Lebanon who were compelled to do the same, Blinken says during a press conference from Doha.
He stresses that securing a ceasefire in Gaza is the best way to wind down the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
“It will take away a justification that Hezbollah has claimed for the attacks it has been engaged in and open a pathway to actually resolve this diplomatically. That’s what we’re determined to do,” Blinken says. link This is definitely the desired diplomatic solution but there is lots of doubt whether a diplomatic solution will be enough for residents to move back to the north and have a renewed feeling of security. Currently, most residents sense of security is so shattered and they believe that, without a full war with Hizbollah, the threat of another October 7 happening in the north is a real point of worry. It's not enough to move the enemy a few kilometers to the north. As long as both their capability and their desire to infiltrate and cause an October 7 type event will prevent most northern residents to ever regain a feeling of security in their homes.
- Kiryat Shemona – A Ghost Town | The Damage to Homes, Closed Businesses, and the Bus Without PassengersKiryat Shmona, the largest city in the Galilee Panhandle with over 20,000 residents, has been empty for 8 months already. Homes are accumulating damage from drying vegetation that can spark fires, and the only ones celebrating are the rats that keep multiplying. And all this is happening with no plan, date, or visits from government ministers to witness this disaster up close.Egged bus line 12 in Kiryat Shemona stops at all the major stops in the area. But for months there have been no passengers, the businesses are closed, the schools were relocated southward, and a ride with driver Roni turns into a tour of the many fallen sites. Even the most creative screenwriter could not have imagined what the families in the north would go through during the unending months of fighting.While Roni drives the empty bus, his wife works an essential job at the municipality, and their three children live alone at the Ein Gev resort where they were evacuated. "We go visit them two or three times a week. It's hard - but there's nothing to be done," Roni said. "What can you do with them - leave them here in the city? I don't know if I can come back with my kids - we're waiting for it to start." What everyone is waiting to start is a war. Not the daily dribs and drabs of rockets, mortars, and anti-tank missiles - but an event that will truly push Hezbollah away from the northern border. Dudu Stroll, one of the city's busiest movers, diagnoses that most residents are still waiting for a change that may come. "I know the residents of Kiryat Shemona - until Hezbollah moves 10 or 20 km back, no one will return," he said. "My kids are evacuated to Netanya. They treat us so well there and my fear is that my kids won't want to come back here - they have so many things there that we don't have in Kiryat Shemona, regardless of the war."In the city center stands the Tayer family's technical supply shop - a veteran, well-known local institution. "This business has existed for over 40 years," said Avi, the owner. "There has been at least an 80 percent drop in sales, but we don't come here for the money. Our main part at this stage is just to provide service." Until the war began, Avi would open the store every day at 6 am and work until night. Now, between the sirens, the business is only open for a few hours. "It's very hard to survive this period," he shared painfully. "For long months the area hasn't functioned, this isn't Kiryat Shemona - there's no life. Quite a few are saying they won't come back - they got used to the center of the country, discovered another world. We've gone back 40 years."In the meantime, Avi identifies high demand among the few customers who do come for one specific product - rat traps. A visit to one of the evacuated resident's homes showed that a place uninhabited for over eight months is unfit for human habitation. This situation represents many homes abandoned in the city since October, and there are residents who are still unaware of the mold damage and vital infrastructure that was damaged during this period. Above all, at the height of summer, the danger lies mainly in fires that could develop due to the neglected gardens. Doron Shenfer from the municipality shared with News 12: "The residents left their homes on 7/10. When they return, they won't be able to enter the house. Mold, rats, stench as a result of shelling - an unpleasant situation. We're now at the start of summer - I predict there will also be fires here and everything will ignite. That's what we're worried about - hundreds of homes in this condition."We filmed this part of the report a few hours before the massive fire broke out on the Ramin Ridge last week, which affected, as could be expected, this very street as well. "It's a ticking time bomb," Doron added. "Just a few months ago, one of the homes took a direct hit. If God forbid the hit had been last month, and shrapnel had fallen in one of the bushes - all the homes in the area would have gone up in flames and we'd be in a whole different movie."So what are they doing in the meantime? Maintaining the city's streets and roads, and hoping that in the end there will also be someone to return here. Boaz Ben Zion, head of the Public Works Department in Kiryat Shemona, said: "We can't neglect our city. The residents love this city and it's our job to hold onto it. There are people who have already signed a year-long lease elsewhere and there are those who found work and unfortunately they're saying now that they're not coming back. I believe that the day everything ends - the love for the city will prevail and people will return to the city they love so much." However, those still here have to adapt to the changes. Uri Blaustein, manager of the Rami Levi branch in the city, spoke about the economic situation between one siren and the next: "The dairy refrigerators are empty, we haven't brought bagged milk for a long time and we've cut down on chocolate milk - we don't have kids here. We're at around a 90 percent drop."Only one register operates in the branch - under the command of Yaakov, a 70-year resident of the city. "I spent a week in a hotel - that was enough for me," he shared. "This is my city, our city. We'll never leave it." In the long hour we were with him, only one customer passed through: Eliyahu Ayalon, a farmer from the nearby Kfar Yuval moshav, whose home was hit by an anti-tank missile 5 months ago, killing his wife Mira and son Barak.Yaakov further described the situation: "I'm not in my own home - I think that's the most important thing. My normal, regular life doesn't exist. My grandchildren aren't in school, they're studying in all kinds of places. People, in my opinion, aren't reading the situation correctly and don't understand it. We're in a period where we don't see the end of it - and that's the most serious thing." link
The Hezbollah terror group announces the death of a senior commander in an alleged Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon earlier tonight.
Hezbollah in a statement says Taleb Abdullah, from the south Lebanon town of Aadachit, was killed “on the road to Jerusalem,” the terror group’s term for Israeli strikes.
Abdullah was killed in a strike in the town of Jouaiyya. Hezbollah refers to Abdullah as a commander. The terror group rarely refers to its senior operatives slain in Israeli strikes as commanders. The only other operative referred to as a commander was Wissam al-Tawil, the deputy head of the terror group’s elite Radwan force, killed by Israel in January. According to reports, Abdullah commanded a Hezbollah regional division in southern Lebanon. link
The IDF says it struck a Hezbollah rocket launcher in southern Lebanon’s Yaroun, used in this morning’s barrage of 90 rockets on northern Israel.
In the second barrage of 70 rockets a short while ago, the IDF says most of the rockets impacted open areas, while some apparently caused damage at several locations. Several rockets were also intercepted by air defenses, the military adds. There are no injuries in the attacks.
Hezbollah takes responsibility for the rocket barrages on northern Israel this morning. The terror group claims to have targeted several Israeli military sites, including the Meron air traffic control base and the Amiad camp — located some 20 kilometers from the border — as well as the factory of the Plasan armored vehicle manufacturer in Kibbutz Sasa.
Hezbollah says the attacks are a response to last night’s Israeli strike in southern Lebanon’s Jouaiyya, which killed top commander Taleb Abdullah and three other operatives. Abdullah is considered to be the most senior Hezbollah commander killed by Israel amid the fighting.
Some 21 firefighting teams and eight planes are working to extinguish several fires in northern Israel, sparked by Hezbollah rocket attacks, the Fire and Rescue Service says.
The service says there are three main fire locations: near Amiad, in the Ein Zeitim forest, and near Beit Jann. Hezbollah fired more than 160 rockets at northern Israel this morning.
A top Hezbollah official vows that the terror group would step up its attacks on Israel after its arch-foe killed a senior commander in south Lebanon the day before.
“We will increase the intensity, strength, quantity, and quality of our attacks,” says Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, speaking at the funeral of commander Taleb Sami Abdallah, who was killed in the Israeli strike on Tuesday. -- As so far today, Hizbollah has launched over 170 rockets towards Israel's north today and the day is not over. Stepping up attacks by Hizbollah is certainly a direct way to cross the line from tit for tat to full scale war.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sticks to longheld administration talking points regarding Israel-Hezbollah tensions when asked whether he’s concerned about the significant escalation over the past day since the IDF killed a senior commander of the Iran-backed terror group.
He responds that “no one is looking to start a war, to have escalation,” and that most believe a diplomatic resolution is the best path to ending the conflict.
Such a resolution must allow the return of the 60,000 Israelis forced to evacuate their homes as well as those in Lebanon who were compelled to do the same, Blinken says during a press conference from Doha.
He stresses that securing a ceasefire in Gaza is the best way to wind down the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
“It will take away a justification that Hezbollah has claimed for the attacks it has been engaged in and open a pathway to actually resolve this diplomatically. That’s what we’re determined to do,” Blinken says. link This is definitely the desired diplomatic solution but there is lots of doubt whether a diplomatic solution will be enough for residents to move back to the north and have a renewed feeling of security. Currently, most residents sense of security is so shattered and they believe that, without a full war with Hizbollah, the threat of another October 7 happening in the north is a real point of worry. It's not enough to move the enemy a few kilometers to the north. As long as both their capability and their desire to infiltrate and cause an October 7 type event will prevent most northern residents to ever regain a feeling of security in their homes.
West Bank
- Defense Ministry security guards foiled an attempt to smuggle an assault rifle into Israel from the West Bank earlier this evening.
The ministry in a statement says an Israeli vehicle with two suspects arrived at the Trans-Samaria Crossing from the West Bank side and aroused the suspicion of the guards stationed there. In the vehicle, the guards found a bag with a Kalashnikov rifle and ammunition, the ministry says. The two suspects were handed over to police for further interrogation.
The ministry in a statement says an Israeli vehicle with two suspects arrived at the Trans-Samaria Crossing from the West Bank side and aroused the suspicion of the guards stationed there. In the vehicle, the guards found a bag with a Kalashnikov rifle and ammunition, the ministry says. The two suspects were handed over to police for further interrogation.
Politics
The Region
The US military says that its forces destroyed two anti-ship cruise missile launchers in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen. US Central Command says on the social media site X that the missile launchers “presented an imminent threat to US and coalition forces and to merchant vessels transiting the region.”
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A merchant ship issued a distress call after being struck in the Red Sea off Yemen, a security firm says, in what appeared to be the latest attack by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The ship was hit about 68 nautical miles southwest of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, maritime security firm Ambrey says. The company “assessed the vessel aligned with the Houthi target profile at the time of the incident,” it says in a statement, without giving further details.
The US military says that its forces destroyed two anti-ship cruise missile launchers in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen. US Central Command says on the social media site X that the missile launchers “presented an imminent threat to US and coalition forces and to merchant vessels transiting the region.”
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A merchant ship issued a distress call after being struck in the Red Sea off Yemen, a security firm says, in what appeared to be the latest attack by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The ship was hit about 68 nautical miles southwest of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, maritime security firm Ambrey says. The company “assessed the vessel aligned with the Houthi target profile at the time of the incident,” it says in a statement, without giving further details.
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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