π️Lonny's War Update- October 264, 2023 - June 25, 2024 π️
π️Day ___ 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
*2:20am - south - Eilat - UAV launched by the pro Iranian Iraqi militia was shot down before it reached Eilat - video shooting down the UAV another video of the UAV shot down*3:40pm - south - rockets Ein Hashlosha, Nirim, Gaza Border communities*5:30pm - north - rockets/missiles Even Menahem, Fassuta, Western Galilee
Hostage Updates
Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian Islamist terror group Hamas, issues a statement following the recent death of his sister, saying any hostage deal that does not guarantee a ceasefire and an end to Israel’s offensive in Gaza is “not an agreement.”
“If [Israel] thinks targeting my family will change our position or that of the resistance, they are delusional,” the statement says.
A wound that will
never heal’: PM holds tense meeting with slain hostages’ families
Relatives of hostages killed in captivity met with Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and admonished him for the faltering efforts to
release the captives in a deal with Hamas and for failing to reach out to their
families, Hebrew media reported on Monday.
The Sunday meeting came three
days after a similar meeting, said to have also been attended by Netanyahu, his
wife Sara and several other officials. It was unclear which hostages’ relatives
participated in the first meeting, or if there was any overlap among the two
sessions’ participants.
Netanyahu has been repeatedly
criticized for his failure to meet with hostages’ families and visit the
hardest-hit sites of Hamas’s shock October 7 assault, when thousands of
terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill nearly 1,200 people and take 251
hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
Negotiations mediated by
the United States, Egypt and Qatar to secure a truce and the return of the
hostages have faltered since a weeklong ceasefire in November during which 105 hostages
were released. The parties are currently holding talks based on an Israeli
proposal presented by US President Joe Biden in May, which both Hamas and Netanyahu have been accused of derailing.
Sharon Sharabi,
whose brother Yossi was declared dead in Gaza in January after being
abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, and whose other brother Eli is still hostage after his wife and daughters were killed, was quoted by Channel 12 as
telling Netanyahu on Sunday: “We lost four family members. We don’t intend to
bring back a fifth coffin.”
Paraphrasing the premier’s
long-touted aim of “total victory” over Hamas, Sharabi said: “Every time you
talk about ‘total victory’ — it’s neither a victory nor total,” Channel 12
reported.
Yossi (left) and Eli Sharabi, brothers who were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)“Now is the timing [sic] for a deal — Israel will have plenty of
opportunities to continue the fighting,” Sharabi reportedly added, apparently
criticizing Netanyahu’s insistence that Israel will not commit to a full
ceasefire with Hamas, which has emerged as a sticking point in the
truce-hostage talks.
“The hostages’ remaining in
Hamas captivity is an existential hazard for the State of Israel — a wound that
will never heal in Israeli society,” the outlet quoted Sharabi as telling the
premier.
According to Channel 12, Netanyahu told Sharabi that the Israel
Defense Forces would not leave the Gaza Strip until all the hostages were
released, “but first we have to cut off Hamas’s governing and military
capabilities.”
Later on Sunday,
the premier said in an interview with a right-wing television channel
that he would agree to a “partial deal” to temporarily pause the fighting in
return for some of the captives.
The comment was slammed
by hostages’ families, who accused the premier of walking back his own proposal.
“Why not start the deal with
the slain [hostages]?” Sharabi was said to have asked Netanyahu.
“Even right-wing parties
won’t oppose it, and it might create a mechanism for the next steps of a
comprehensive deal,” Sharabi reportedly added, referring to Netanyahu’s
far-right coalition partners, who are loath to end the war.
“That’s an interesting idea,”
Netanyahu was quoted as saying, adding that “it too depends on [Yahya] Sinwar,”
Hamas’s military chief in Gaza.
“My
prime minister is neither Sinwar nor Biden,” Sharabi reportedly retorted, “It’s
you.” According to
Channel 12, a relative of Tamir Adar, whose body was taken to Gaza after he was killed
defending Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, also pressed Netanyahu on the deal.
“Hamas’s demand [for a
ceasefire] has been known since day one,” the unnamed family member was quoted
as saying to Netanyahu.
“Are you prepared to declare
an end to the war on the condition that all the hostages get out?” asked the
family member, to which the premier reportedly answered, again, that Israel
would not leave the Gaza Strip until Hamas is vanquished.
“How does that match up with
releasing all the hostages?” Adar’s relative was quoted as asking.
“You’d be surprised, there are ways,” Netanyahu answered,
according to Channel 12.
The families also castigated
Netanyahu for failing to console them for their loss, juxtaposing his apparent
coldheartedness with Biden’s empathy.
“After we got
the enemy’s notice that Itay was murdered on October 7, President Biden called
and spoke to us for 15 minutes,” Channel 12 quoted a relative of Itay Chen, a dual Israeli-American citizen and IDF soldier who
was killed in battle during the onslaught.
“There are families that you call and families that you don’t
call,” they accused Netanyahu.
The premier was said to reply
that the media did not always report his condolence calls with bereaved
families. Others present in the meeting were reportedly not satisfied.
Itay Chen, 19, from Netanya, declared killed in action and his body seized by Hamas on October 7, 2023, while on duty near Gaza border (Courtesy)“Elad Katzir, may his memory be a blessing, was a good friend
of mine,” Channel 12 quoted one of the hostage’s relatives as saying, referring
to a hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz whose body was retrieved from Gaza by IDF commandos in April.
“They returned his body and
there was total silence. A week later Benjamin Achimeir was murdered and you
desecrated the Sabbath for him,” the unnamed relative reportedly said.
Achimeier was a 14-year-old
boy whose body was discovered in the West Bank in April six days after he had
gone missing. At the time, Netanyahu issued a rare statement on the Jewish
Sabbath condemning the murder and expressing his condolences.
“Why don’t you keep on coming to us?” the unnamed relative
asked, according to Channel 12, to which Netanyahu was said to reply that he
didn’t have time to visit all the families.
“That isn’t
true,” interjected one of Adar’s relatives. “You went to see Noa Argamani and didn’t visit my grandmother,” referring
to Yafa Adar, who was released in the November ceasefire, 50 days
after she was abducted from Nir Oz.
Netanyahu visited Argamani at Sheba Medical
Center, also on the Sabbath, after she was rescued along with three other hostages in a joint
operation of Israeli security forces on June 8. According to Channel 12, Netanyahu
didn’t respond to the accusation, and the family member was said to continue:
“It’s been eight months, and I’m shocked that until now you haven’t come to Nir
Oz, and that the IDF chief of staff came last week for the first time.”
A relative of
Maya Goren, whose body was snatched from Nir Oz on October 7 after she and her husband Avner were murdered, also reportedly
told Netanyahu that he needed to come to Nir Oz and the other Gaza border
communities. “You’ll see, and you won’t be able to ignore [it].”
Netanyahu was said to answer:
“I’ll come. I’m delighted by the Nir Oz community’s invitation.” link Netanyahu's hypocrisy was very much on display in this meeting. He talks about getting all the hostages out but will not commit to end the war in order to do so. He knows very well that no deal can be made with Hamas to get all the hostages home without an end to the war. He refuses to acknowledge that publicly because it would make bad press for him. His peak of hypocrisy is in his statements and actions regarding which families he visits. He only visits that families that support him and those that won't make him look bad. It's as simple as that and anything else that he says is just lies.
Hostage family members call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fulfill the ‘Netanyahu deal’ currently on the table and approved by the Biden administration, in a press conference held at the Hostages and Missing Families Forum headquarters in Tel Aviv on Wednesday afternoon.
“We need Hamas to say yes and we need our prime minister to keep his eye on the ball and get this deal done,” says Ruby Chen, father of Itay Chen, a soldier who was killed on October 7 and his body taken hostage to Gaza.
Chen says it’s crucial to “get this to the finish line” given the current geopolitical considerations, including the possibility of war with Hezbollah.
His words are echoed by Orly Gilboa, mother of Daniela Gilboa, one of 16 women still held in captivity and one of the female surveillance soldiers taken hostage, who asks Netanyahu for a meeting with the hostage families.
Gilboa notes that as the hostages reach the nine-month mark of captivity, nine months is usually a time associated with birth and new beginnings.
“I can’t stop the terrible thought that I might be a grandmother soon or might already be,” says Gilboa, referring to the sexual abuse experienced by the women in Hamas captivity. “I just want a bright future for my daughter,” says Gilboa.
Chen adds that while it’s known that hostages who are dead will be the last to be returned home in any deal, it is crucial to bring those bodies home for a proper burial.
He refers to a thought he shared previously with the other hostage families, referring to the loss of the prime minister’s brother, Yoni Netanyahu, in the raid on Entebbe, which took place on July 4, 1976.
“They had an official funeral and shiva, and after 30 days, a grave and somewhere to go on Memorial Day,” says Chen. “Look me in the eyes and ask me where I was on Memorial Day. I don’t want another Memorial Day like that. Itay was a hero and there is nothing more Jewish or traditional than that his soul will rest in the soil of Israel, so we can cry on it.”
Mor Korngold, the brother of Tal Shoham, still held hostage in Gaza after his wife and children, as well as three other family members, were taken hostage from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, were released at the end of November, said he doesn’t know if he can remain living in Israel, voting in elections, raising a family and building a home if he can’t trust the government to provide security and to bring the hostages home.
“The prime minister says he only wants a partial deal, what, am I only a partial citizen, do I only pay half of my taxes?” asks Korngold. “I can’t live here if we don’t bring our hostages home. Stop dealing with minor details and stand behind this deal.” link
Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, parents of Hamas hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, tell Channel 12 they do not feel alone in their struggle but abandoned by global leadership.
“We have tremendous support from regular people all over the world and here in Israel, and we see in the polls recently week after week the rising support for a deal to get done, no matter what it takes, to get the hostages home, so I don’t feel forgotten, I don’t feel alone,” Rachel said, adding she still feels pain over her son’s absence.
Rachel also says she watched last night for the first time a video of her son’s gruesome abduction, which was released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Monday.
“I knew that it would be hard for me,” she says, adding that her daughter told her not to watch it, due to the graphic content. “It in a way took us back to October 7, in some sort of psychological way,” she says, adding it “dug deeper into that trauma.” “It’s obvious that all of our leaders are not doing enough” to get the hostages released, she states. link Rachel and Jon's feelings are echoed by the families of almost all of the hostages. The government is certainly not doing all it could. Although it is only Netanyahu who can really make the big and hard decision to get the hostages home, it is the government's role to be leading the fight, by using their power to persuade the prime minister, by having every Knesset session and every committee meeting first focus on the hostages and the families
Hostage Updates
Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian Islamist terror group Hamas, issues a statement following the recent death of his sister, saying any hostage deal that does not guarantee a ceasefire and an end to Israel’s offensive in Gaza is “not an agreement.”
“If [Israel] thinks targeting my family will change our position or that of the resistance, they are delusional,” the statement says.
A wound that will never heal’: PM holds tense meeting with slain hostages’ families
Relatives of hostages killed in captivity met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and admonished him for the faltering efforts to release the captives in a deal with Hamas and for failing to reach out to their families, Hebrew media reported on Monday.
The Sunday meeting came three days after a similar meeting, said to have also been attended by Netanyahu, his wife Sara and several other officials. It was unclear which hostages’ relatives participated in the first meeting, or if there was any overlap among the two sessions’ participants.
Netanyahu has been repeatedly criticized for his failure to meet with hostages’ families and visit the hardest-hit sites of Hamas’s shock October 7 assault, when thousands of terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill nearly 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
Negotiations mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar to secure a truce and the return of the hostages have faltered since a weeklong ceasefire in November during which 105 hostages were released. The parties are currently holding talks based on an Israeli proposal presented by US President Joe Biden in May, which both Hamas and Netanyahu have been accused of derailing.
Sharon Sharabi, whose brother Yossi was declared dead in Gaza in January after being abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, and whose other brother Eli is still hostage after his wife and daughters were killed, was quoted by Channel 12 as telling Netanyahu on Sunday: “We lost four family members. We don’t intend to bring back a fifth coffin.”
Paraphrasing the premier’s long-touted aim of “total victory” over Hamas, Sharabi said: “Every time you talk about ‘total victory’ — it’s neither a victory nor total,” Channel 12 reported.
Yossi (left) and Eli Sharabi, brothers who were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)“Now is the timing [sic] for a deal — Israel will have plenty of opportunities to continue the fighting,” Sharabi reportedly added, apparently criticizing Netanyahu’s insistence that Israel will not commit to a full ceasefire with Hamas, which has emerged as a sticking point in the truce-hostage talks.
“The hostages’ remaining in Hamas captivity is an existential hazard for the State of Israel — a wound that will never heal in Israeli society,” the outlet quoted Sharabi as telling the premier.
According to Channel 12, Netanyahu told Sharabi that the Israel Defense Forces would not leave the Gaza Strip until all the hostages were released, “but first we have to cut off Hamas’s governing and military capabilities.”
Later on Sunday, the premier said in an interview with a right-wing television channel that he would agree to a “partial deal” to temporarily pause the fighting in return for some of the captives.
The comment was slammed by hostages’ families, who accused the premier of walking back his own proposal.
“Why not start the deal with the slain [hostages]?” Sharabi was said to have asked Netanyahu.
“Even right-wing parties won’t oppose it, and it might create a mechanism for the next steps of a comprehensive deal,” Sharabi reportedly added, referring to Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners, who are loath to end the war.
“That’s an interesting idea,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying, adding that “it too depends on [Yahya] Sinwar,” Hamas’s military chief in Gaza.
“My prime minister is neither Sinwar nor Biden,” Sharabi reportedly retorted, “It’s you.” According to Channel 12, a relative of Tamir Adar, whose body was taken to Gaza after he was killed defending Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, also pressed Netanyahu on the deal.
“Hamas’s demand [for a ceasefire] has been known since day one,” the unnamed family member was quoted as saying to Netanyahu.
“Are you prepared to declare an end to the war on the condition that all the hostages get out?” asked the family member, to which the premier reportedly answered, again, that Israel would not leave the Gaza Strip until Hamas is vanquished.
“How does that match up with releasing all the hostages?” Adar’s relative was quoted as asking.
“You’d be surprised, there are ways,” Netanyahu answered, according to Channel 12.
The families also castigated Netanyahu for failing to console them for their loss, juxtaposing his apparent coldheartedness with Biden’s empathy.
“After we got the enemy’s notice that Itay was murdered on October 7, President Biden called and spoke to us for 15 minutes,” Channel 12 quoted a relative of Itay Chen, a dual Israeli-American citizen and IDF soldier who was killed in battle during the onslaught.
“There are families that you call and families that you don’t call,” they accused Netanyahu.
The premier was said to reply that the media did not always report his condolence calls with bereaved families. Others present in the meeting were reportedly not satisfied.
Itay Chen, 19, from Netanya, declared killed in action and his body seized by Hamas on October 7, 2023, while on duty near Gaza border (Courtesy)“Elad Katzir, may his memory be a blessing, was a good friend of mine,” Channel 12 quoted one of the hostage’s relatives as saying, referring to a hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz whose body was retrieved from Gaza by IDF commandos in April.
“They returned his body and there was total silence. A week later Benjamin Achimeir was murdered and you desecrated the Sabbath for him,” the unnamed relative reportedly said.
Achimeier was a 14-year-old boy whose body was discovered in the West Bank in April six days after he had gone missing. At the time, Netanyahu issued a rare statement on the Jewish Sabbath condemning the murder and expressing his condolences.
“Why don’t you keep on coming to us?” the unnamed relative asked, according to Channel 12, to which Netanyahu was said to reply that he didn’t have time to visit all the families.
“That isn’t true,” interjected one of Adar’s relatives. “You went to see Noa Argamani and didn’t visit my grandmother,” referring to Yafa Adar, who was released in the November ceasefire, 50 days after she was abducted from Nir Oz.
Netanyahu visited Argamani at Sheba Medical Center, also on the Sabbath, after she was rescued along with three other hostages in a joint operation of Israeli security forces on June 8. According to Channel 12, Netanyahu didn’t respond to the accusation, and the family member was said to continue: “It’s been eight months, and I’m shocked that until now you haven’t come to Nir Oz, and that the IDF chief of staff came last week for the first time.”
A relative of Maya Goren, whose body was snatched from Nir Oz on October 7 after she and her husband Avner were murdered, also reportedly told Netanyahu that he needed to come to Nir Oz and the other Gaza border communities. “You’ll see, and you won’t be able to ignore [it].”
Netanyahu was said to answer: “I’ll come. I’m delighted by the Nir Oz community’s invitation.” link Netanyahu's hypocrisy was very much on display in this meeting. He talks about getting all the hostages out but will not commit to end the war in order to do so. He knows very well that no deal can be made with Hamas to get all the hostages home without an end to the war. He refuses to acknowledge that publicly because it would make bad press for him. His peak of hypocrisy is in his statements and actions regarding which families he visits. He only visits that families that support him and those that won't make him look bad. It's as simple as that and anything else that he says is just lies.
Hostage family members call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fulfill the ‘Netanyahu deal’ currently on the table and approved by the Biden administration, in a press conference held at the Hostages and Missing Families Forum headquarters in Tel Aviv on Wednesday afternoon.
“We need Hamas to say yes and we need our prime minister to keep his eye on the ball and get this deal done,” says Ruby Chen, father of Itay Chen, a soldier who was killed on October 7 and his body taken hostage to Gaza.
Chen says it’s crucial to “get this to the finish line” given the current geopolitical considerations, including the possibility of war with Hezbollah.
His words are echoed by Orly Gilboa, mother of Daniela Gilboa, one of 16 women still held in captivity and one of the female surveillance soldiers taken hostage, who asks Netanyahu for a meeting with the hostage families.
Gilboa notes that as the hostages reach the nine-month mark of captivity, nine months is usually a time associated with birth and new beginnings.
“I can’t stop the terrible thought that I might be a grandmother soon or might already be,” says Gilboa, referring to the sexual abuse experienced by the women in Hamas captivity. “I just want a bright future for my daughter,” says Gilboa.
Chen adds that while it’s known that hostages who are dead will be the last to be returned home in any deal, it is crucial to bring those bodies home for a proper burial.
He refers to a thought he shared previously with the other hostage families, referring to the loss of the prime minister’s brother, Yoni Netanyahu, in the raid on Entebbe, which took place on July 4, 1976.
“They had an official funeral and shiva, and after 30 days, a grave and somewhere to go on Memorial Day,” says Chen. “Look me in the eyes and ask me where I was on Memorial Day. I don’t want another Memorial Day like that. Itay was a hero and there is nothing more Jewish or traditional than that his soul will rest in the soil of Israel, so we can cry on it.”
Mor Korngold, the brother of Tal Shoham, still held hostage in Gaza after his wife and children, as well as three other family members, were taken hostage from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, were released at the end of November, said he doesn’t know if he can remain living in Israel, voting in elections, raising a family and building a home if he can’t trust the government to provide security and to bring the hostages home.
“The prime minister says he only wants a partial deal, what, am I only a partial citizen, do I only pay half of my taxes?” asks Korngold. “I can’t live here if we don’t bring our hostages home. Stop dealing with minor details and stand behind this deal.” linkRachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, parents of Hamas hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, tell Channel 12 they do not feel alone in their struggle but abandoned by global leadership.
“We have tremendous support from regular people all over the world and here in Israel, and we see in the polls recently week after week the rising support for a deal to get done, no matter what it takes, to get the hostages home, so I don’t feel forgotten, I don’t feel alone,” Rachel said, adding she still feels pain over her son’s absence.
Rachel also says she watched last night for the first time a video of her son’s gruesome abduction, which was released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Monday.
“I knew that it would be hard for me,” she says, adding that her daughter told her not to watch it, due to the graphic content. “It in a way took us back to October 7, in some sort of psychological way,” she says, adding it “dug deeper into that trauma.” “It’s obvious that all of our leaders are not doing enough” to get the hostages released, she states. link Rachel and Jon's feelings are echoed by the families of almost all of the hostages. The government is certainly not doing all it could. Although it is only Netanyahu who can really make the big and hard decision to get the hostages home, it is the government's role to be leading the fight, by using their power to persuade the prime minister, by having every Knesset session and every committee meeting first focus on the hostages and the families
Gaza
Hamas responds to statements made yesterday by National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi that Israel’s plan for the “day after” the war in Gaza will be rolled out in the coming days.
“We affirm that the fate of our Palestinian people, and the future of the Gaza Strip after defeating this criminal aggression will be decided by the Palestinian people themselves and no one else… Their brave resistance will cut off the hand of the occupation that tries to interfere in the fate and future of our people,” the terror group replies in a statement.
Speaking at the Reichman University Herzliya Conference, Hanegbi said that the Israel Defense Forces plan has “been sharpened” in recent weeks, and that “we will see a practical expression of this plan” shortly.
“We don’t have to wait for Hamas to disappear, because it is a long process,” said Hanegbi. “We can’t get rid of Hamas as an idea, there we need an alternative idea.”
The alternative put forth by Hanegbi is a government based on locals who are willing to live alongside Israel, backed up by moderate Arab states. link Hamas should not have had any word on what will happen with the governing of Gaza post war, but Netanyahu's inaction and refusal to allow any planning has kept Hamas in power and in the position to return to power through the Gaza Strip. Had an strong alternative governing body been brought in and built up months ago, there would be no question at this time.
A Hamas operative involved in smuggling arms to the terror group through the Rafah border crossing and via tunnels crossing into Egypt was killed in an airstrike, the military announces.
According to the IDF, Wissam Abu Ishaq was targeted in a drone strike in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday. It says that he was involved in running weapons to Hamas, and in recent years, smuggled arms through the Rafah Crossing and cross-border underground routes.
Since Israel’s takeover of the Egypt-Gaza border area, military officials say Hamas is no longer able to smuggle weapons into the Strip.
A separate airstrike overnight targeted a rocket launching site in southern Gaza’s Rafah, the military says. The IDF says fighter jets and other aircraft struck dozens more targets across Gaza in the past day, including booby-trapped buildings, buildings used by terror groups, tunnels, and cells of gunmen.
Hamas responds to statements made yesterday by National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi that Israel’s plan for the “day after” the war in Gaza will be rolled out in the coming days.
“We affirm that the fate of our Palestinian people, and the future of the Gaza Strip after defeating this criminal aggression will be decided by the Palestinian people themselves and no one else… Their brave resistance will cut off the hand of the occupation that tries to interfere in the fate and future of our people,” the terror group replies in a statement.
Speaking at the Reichman University Herzliya Conference, Hanegbi said that the Israel Defense Forces plan has “been sharpened” in recent weeks, and that “we will see a practical expression of this plan” shortly.
“We don’t have to wait for Hamas to disappear, because it is a long process,” said Hanegbi. “We can’t get rid of Hamas as an idea, there we need an alternative idea.”
The alternative put forth by Hanegbi is a government based on locals who are willing to live alongside Israel, backed up by moderate Arab states. link Hamas should not have had any word on what will happen with the governing of Gaza post war, but Netanyahu's inaction and refusal to allow any planning has kept Hamas in power and in the position to return to power through the Gaza Strip. Had an strong alternative governing body been brought in and built up months ago, there would be no question at this time.
A Hamas operative involved in smuggling arms to the terror group through the Rafah border crossing and via tunnels crossing into Egypt was killed in an airstrike, the military announces.
According to the IDF, Wissam Abu Ishaq was targeted in a drone strike in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday. It says that he was involved in running weapons to Hamas, and in recent years, smuggled arms through the Rafah Crossing and cross-border underground routes.
Since Israel’s takeover of the Egypt-Gaza border area, military officials say Hamas is no longer able to smuggle weapons into the Strip.
A separate airstrike overnight targeted a rocket launching site in southern Gaza’s Rafah, the military says. The IDF says fighter jets and other aircraft struck dozens more targets across Gaza in the past day, including booby-trapped buildings, buildings used by terror groups, tunnels, and cells of gunmen.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah
Canada urges its citizens in Lebanon to leave “while they can,” warning of the risk of escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah in the region.
Foreign Minister Melanie Joly in a statement calls for Canadians to depart while commercial flights remain in operation.
“The security situation in Lebanon is becoming increasingly volatile and unpredictable due to sustained and escalating violence between Hezbollah and Israel and could deteriorate further without warning,” she says.
“If the armed conflict intensifies,” she says, it could make it harder to leave the country and for Canada to provide consular services to tens of thousands of Canadians believed to be living in the country.
Ottawa is not offering to evacuate Canadians, and an advisory warns against travel to Lebanon.
Iran has expressed reservations over plans by Iraqi militias to support Hezbollah if war were to erupt with Israel in Lebanon, the Saudi-owned Asharq al-Aqsat reports.
Four informed sources tell the outlet that a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps officer met with leaders of the militias in Baghdad to discuss and consider the plans but have yet to approve them.
According to the sources, Iran was interested in proposals to supply Hezbollah, which included redeploying Iraqi militias in Syria and transferring weapons by a single truck, instead of a convoy, so as to not attract Israeli strikes.
According to the report, the militias were also prepared to travel to Lebanon to back Hezbollah, but the Iranian officer thought their proposal was “too enthusiastic at the moment.”
According to the report, Hezbollah has rejected the groups’ offer to take part in a possible war.
The officials say the IRGC “agreed to attend the meeting at the pressing demand of Hezbollah in Lebanon because it was necessary to observe the reaction of Iraqi factions, which don’t always have the most accurate assessments.”
Two sources who were at the meeting tell the outlet that it was up to Iran to decide if the groups would join a potential war against Israel.
Israeli fighter jets struck a series of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon’s Shebaa and Matmoura overnight, the military says. The IDF publishes footage of the strikes. video
Canada urges its citizens in Lebanon to leave “while they can,” warning of the risk of escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah in the region.
Foreign Minister Melanie Joly in a statement calls for Canadians to depart while commercial flights remain in operation.
“The security situation in Lebanon is becoming increasingly volatile and unpredictable due to sustained and escalating violence between Hezbollah and Israel and could deteriorate further without warning,” she says.
“If the armed conflict intensifies,” she says, it could make it harder to leave the country and for Canada to provide consular services to tens of thousands of Canadians believed to be living in the country.
Ottawa is not offering to evacuate Canadians, and an advisory warns against travel to Lebanon.
Iran has expressed reservations over plans by Iraqi militias to support Hezbollah if war were to erupt with Israel in Lebanon, the Saudi-owned Asharq al-Aqsat reports.
Four informed sources tell the outlet that a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps officer met with leaders of the militias in Baghdad to discuss and consider the plans but have yet to approve them.
According to the sources, Iran was interested in proposals to supply Hezbollah, which included redeploying Iraqi militias in Syria and transferring weapons by a single truck, instead of a convoy, so as to not attract Israeli strikes.
According to the report, the militias were also prepared to travel to Lebanon to back Hezbollah, but the Iranian officer thought their proposal was “too enthusiastic at the moment.”
According to the report, Hezbollah has rejected the groups’ offer to take part in a possible war.
The officials say the IRGC “agreed to attend the meeting at the pressing demand of Hezbollah in Lebanon because it was necessary to observe the reaction of Iraqi factions, which don’t always have the most accurate assessments.”
Two sources who were at the meeting tell the outlet that it was up to Iran to decide if the groups would join a potential war against Israel.
Israeli fighter jets struck a series of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon’s Shebaa and Matmoura overnight, the military says. The IDF publishes footage of the strikes. video
West Bank
- A Palestinian gunman behind shooting attacks from the West Bank against the Israeli town of Bat Hefer in May, was detained earlier this month, police announce.
A joint IDF, Shin Bet and police statement says Amar Nasrallah was arrested on June 5 in the Tulkarem camp.
During his interrogation, “Amar admitted that he was a member of a terror cell that carried out shooting attacks on towns near the [border] fence, and in addition incriminated other suspects belonging to the cell,” the statement says.
Footage published by police shows officers shooting Nasrallah as he allegedly attempted to flee. He was wounded and captured. video of the shooting of the terrorist
A joint IDF, Shin Bet and police statement says Amar Nasrallah was arrested on June 5 in the Tulkarem camp.
During his interrogation, “Amar admitted that he was a member of a terror cell that carried out shooting attacks on towns near the [border] fence, and in addition incriminated other suspects belonging to the cell,” the statement says.
Footage published by police shows officers shooting Nasrallah as he allegedly attempted to flee. He was wounded and captured. video of the shooting of the terrorist
Politics
- Sarah Netanyahu told hostage families: "I don't trust IDF leaders - they want to carry out a military coup against my husband"
According to a report in "Haaretz" newspaper, during a meeting the Prime Minister's wife held with families of hostages, she told them she has no trust in senior military officials - Netanyahu repeated this statement several times. Family members retorted that she cannot say this because their children's fate depends on the IDF. "The barrage of false, tendentious and incessant leaks about Mrs. Netanyahu is a terrible injustice," was stated on her behalf.
According to the "Haaretz" report, the Prime Minister's wife Sarah Netanyahu accused senior IDF officials during a meeting with hostage families of wanting to carry out a military coup to overthrow her husband, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Additionally, in another meeting Netanyahu held last week with several hostage families, she reiterated that she has no trust in military leaders.
In response to these harsh statements, the hostage family members present at the meeting interrupted Netanyahu's words and confronted her, saying she cannot say she doesn't trust the IDF because their children's fate depends on it. Netanyahu explained her words in response and emphasized that her lack of trust is not in the entire military, but only in its senior commanders - and again claimed they want to carry out a military coup. Netanyahu repeated this statement several times during the conversation with the families.
Apart from family representatives, several IDF officers were present at the meeting, including a bereaved mother and former head of the Casualties Department, Col. (Res.) Varda Pomerantz. Given the exceptional statements made by Sarah Netanyahu at the meeting, her remarks were brought to the attention of senior IDF officers.
This comes in the shadow of a video shared by the Prime Minister's son, Yair Netanyahu, a few days ago attacking senior defense officials. In a story uploaded to his personal Instagram account, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, and Military Intelligence chief Aharon Haliva are seen. The video attacks the chairman of the National Unity Party, Benny Gantz, who is called the "King of Conception" in it. One after another, pictures of the three appear, under the question: "Who appointed them?". Finally, the three are seen together with the caption: "Three fatal failures - they are the appointment of one man".
A statement on behalf of Sarah Netanyahu said: "Since the beginning of the war, Mrs. Netanyahu has been working on her own initiative for the families of the hostages, the bereaved families, the families of the murdered, and in all circles of pain associated with this difficult war, and is assisting to the best of her ability. Therefore, the barrage of false, tendentious and incessant leaks about Mrs. Netanyahu is a terrible injustice. Despite voices trying to harm her and discourage her, Mrs. Netanyahu will continue her activities for those affected by the war and prays for the swift return home of all 120 hostages." link It is well known that both Sarah and their lowlife, parasite son (who lives in Miami on the Israeli taxpayers' wallet) promote conspiracy theories which attempt to put all the blame for October 7 and the war on the military and intelligence agencies and for the PM not to be responsible for anything. This has been their theme since the war started but their methods have been going on for years, publicly attacking and abusing anyone who they see as the enemy of the Netanyahu dynasty.
A group of prominent Israeli figures, including former prime minister Ehud Barak call on Washington to withdraw an invitation to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress on July 24, in a New York Times opinion piece.
The article casts the invitation as a “terrible mistake,” warning the speech “will not represent the State of Israel and its citizens, and it will reward his scandalous and destructive conduct toward our country.”
While such an invitation would usually be welcomed as a sign of close ties with the United States, the group says such an invitation should have been dependent on a plan to end the war in Gaza, rescue the hostages, and fresh elections in Israel, tasks Netanyahu has failed to accomplish.
“Inviting Mr. Netanyahu will reward his contempt for US efforts to establish a peace plan, allow more aid to the beleaguered people of Gaza and do a better job of sparing civilians,” the article reads.
“Time and again, he has rejected [US] President Biden’s plan to remove Hamas from power in Gaza through the establishment of a peacekeeping force. Such a move would very likely bring in its wake a far broader regional alliance, including a vision to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is not only in Israel’s interest but also in the interest of both political parties in the United States. Mr. Netanyahu constitutes the main obstacle to these outcomes.”
The article slams Netanyahu for his “authoritarian remaking of Israel” and says the speech to Congress will allow the prime minister “to boast to his constituents about America’s so-called support for his failed policies.”
“His supporters in Israel will be emboldened by his appearance in Congress to insist that the war continue, which will further distance any deal to secure the release of the hostages, including several US citizens,” it adds.
“Giving Mr. Netanyahu the stage in Washington will all but dismiss the rage and pain of his people, as expressed in the demonstrations throughout the country. American lawmakers should not let that happen. They should ask Mr. Netanyahu to stay home.”
The piece is submitted by David Harel, the president of Israel’s Academy of Sciences and Humanities; Tamir Pardo, a former Mossad spy agency director; Talia Sasson, a former prosecutor in the State Attorney’s Office; Ehud Barak, a former prime minister; Aaron Ciechanover, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2004; and writer David Grossman.
- Sarah Netanyahu told hostage families: "I don't trust IDF leaders - they want to carry out a military coup against my husband"
According to a report in "Haaretz" newspaper, during a meeting the Prime Minister's wife held with families of hostages, she told them she has no trust in senior military officials - Netanyahu repeated this statement several times. Family members retorted that she cannot say this because their children's fate depends on the IDF. "The barrage of false, tendentious and incessant leaks about Mrs. Netanyahu is a terrible injustice," was stated on her behalf.
According to the "Haaretz" report, the Prime Minister's wife Sarah Netanyahu accused senior IDF officials during a meeting with hostage families of wanting to carry out a military coup to overthrow her husband, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Additionally, in another meeting Netanyahu held last week with several hostage families, she reiterated that she has no trust in military leaders.
In response to these harsh statements, the hostage family members present at the meeting interrupted Netanyahu's words and confronted her, saying she cannot say she doesn't trust the IDF because their children's fate depends on it. Netanyahu explained her words in response and emphasized that her lack of trust is not in the entire military, but only in its senior commanders - and again claimed they want to carry out a military coup. Netanyahu repeated this statement several times during the conversation with the families.
Apart from family representatives, several IDF officers were present at the meeting, including a bereaved mother and former head of the Casualties Department, Col. (Res.) Varda Pomerantz. Given the exceptional statements made by Sarah Netanyahu at the meeting, her remarks were brought to the attention of senior IDF officers.
This comes in the shadow of a video shared by the Prime Minister's son, Yair Netanyahu, a few days ago attacking senior defense officials. In a story uploaded to his personal Instagram account, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, and Military Intelligence chief Aharon Haliva are seen. The video attacks the chairman of the National Unity Party, Benny Gantz, who is called the "King of Conception" in it. One after another, pictures of the three appear, under the question: "Who appointed them?". Finally, the three are seen together with the caption: "Three fatal failures - they are the appointment of one man".
A statement on behalf of Sarah Netanyahu said: "Since the beginning of the war, Mrs. Netanyahu has been working on her own initiative for the families of the hostages, the bereaved families, the families of the murdered, and in all circles of pain associated with this difficult war, and is assisting to the best of her ability. Therefore, the barrage of false, tendentious and incessant leaks about Mrs. Netanyahu is a terrible injustice. Despite voices trying to harm her and discourage her, Mrs. Netanyahu will continue her activities for those affected by the war and prays for the swift return home of all 120 hostages." link It is well known that both Sarah and their lowlife, parasite son (who lives in Miami on the Israeli taxpayers' wallet) promote conspiracy theories which attempt to put all the blame for October 7 and the war on the military and intelligence agencies and for the PM not to be responsible for anything. This has been their theme since the war started but their methods have been going on for years, publicly attacking and abusing anyone who they see as the enemy of the Netanyahu dynasty. A group of prominent Israeli figures, including former prime minister Ehud Barak call on Washington to withdraw an invitation to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress on July 24, in a New York Times opinion piece.
The article casts the invitation as a “terrible mistake,” warning the speech “will not represent the State of Israel and its citizens, and it will reward his scandalous and destructive conduct toward our country.”
While such an invitation would usually be welcomed as a sign of close ties with the United States, the group says such an invitation should have been dependent on a plan to end the war in Gaza, rescue the hostages, and fresh elections in Israel, tasks Netanyahu has failed to accomplish.
“Inviting Mr. Netanyahu will reward his contempt for US efforts to establish a peace plan, allow more aid to the beleaguered people of Gaza and do a better job of sparing civilians,” the article reads.
“Time and again, he has rejected [US] President Biden’s plan to remove Hamas from power in Gaza through the establishment of a peacekeeping force. Such a move would very likely bring in its wake a far broader regional alliance, including a vision to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is not only in Israel’s interest but also in the interest of both political parties in the United States. Mr. Netanyahu constitutes the main obstacle to these outcomes.”
The article slams Netanyahu for his “authoritarian remaking of Israel” and says the speech to Congress will allow the prime minister “to boast to his constituents about America’s so-called support for his failed policies.”
“His supporters in Israel will be emboldened by his appearance in Congress to insist that the war continue, which will further distance any deal to secure the release of the hostages, including several US citizens,” it adds.
“Giving Mr. Netanyahu the stage in Washington will all but dismiss the rage and pain of his people, as expressed in the demonstrations throughout the country. American lawmakers should not let that happen. They should ask Mr. Netanyahu to stay home.”
The piece is submitted by David Harel, the president of Israel’s Academy of Sciences and Humanities; Tamir Pardo, a former Mossad spy agency director; Talia Sasson, a former prosecutor in the State Attorney’s Office; Ehud Barak, a former prime minister; Aaron Ciechanover, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2004; and writer David Grossman.
The Region and the World
October 7 victims
sue UNRWA for $1 billion, claiming it aided and abetted Hamas
Lawsuit, filed in
New York, alleges UN Palestinian aid agency’s compliance in letting terror
group use its facilities, says payment of its workers in US dollars helped fund
Hamas
A screenshot of drone footage released by the IDF on May 14, 2024, shows Palestinian gunmen next to UN vehicles at a UNRWA logistics center in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah. (Israel Defense Forces)More than 100 victims of the devastating October 7 Hamas assault
on Israel and their families filed a lawsuit Monday claiming $1 billion in
damages from UNRWA, the UN aid agency for Palestinians, accusing that it aided
and abetted the terror group’s assault.
The 167-page lawsuit named as
defendants the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees,
as well as seven of its past and current leaders, including head Philippe
Lazzarini.
It said UNRWA, which
coordinates nearly all aid to Gaza, let Hamas use its facilities for weapons
storage, allowed tunnels and command centers to be built under its sites, and
funneled cash into the terror group’s coffers by insisting on paying employees
in US dollars.
“Hamas did not carry out these atrocities without assistance,”
the lawsuit said. “Defendants were warned repeatedly that their policies were directly
providing assistance to Hamas,” it asserted. “In the face of those warnings,
Defendants continued those very policies.”
On October 7, Hamas led 3,000
terrorists in a massive cross-border attack on Israel that killed over 1,200
people in southern Israel, mostly civilians, amid numerous atrocities.
Terrorists also abducted 251 people of all ages as hostages to Gaza.
Chicago-based law firm MM-Law
LLC and New York firm Amini LLC filed the suit in the Southern District of New
York on behalf of 101 victims or their families.
Aside from Lazzarini, the other defendants are former or current
UNRWA top officials Pierre KrΓ€henbΓΌhl, Filippo Grandi, Leni Stenseth, Sandra
Mitchell, Margot Ellis, GrΓ©ta GunnarsdΓ³ttir.
KrΓ€henbΓΌhl is currently
director-general of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Grandi is
the current United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The lawsuit highlights that UNRWA insisted on paying its
employees in US dollars, amounting to $1 billion in the period covered by the
claim. Employees were unable to spend the dollars directly in the Gaza Strip,
which uses the Israeli shekel, needing instead to convert the cash at
Hamas-controlled money changers who took a commission.
UNRWA, the plaintiffs said,
“knowingly providing Hamas with the US dollars in cash that it needed to pay
smugglers for weapons, explosives, and other terror materiel.”
Hamas money changers took a
10%-25% spread on transactions, “ensuring that a predictable percentage of
UNRWA’s payroll went to Hamas.”
Video showing an UNRWA worker driving a white UN jeep, and abducting the body of Jonathan Samerano, who was killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7. (Screenshot)In addition, the lawsuit said UNRWA “knowingly provided material
support to Hamas in Gaza” by allowing the terror group safe harbor in its
faculties, including schools and other buildings used for weapons storage or
command centers, based on the assumption that its premises “were inviolate” and
thus immune to attack by Israel.
“The resulting atrocities
were foreseeable, and the defendants are liable for aiding and abetting Hamas’
genocide, crimes against humanity, and torture,” the lawsuit said.
It also accused UNRWA of
using Hamas-approved textbooks in its schools that “indoctrinate children from
a young age into a death-cult ideology of hatred and genocide” and produce new
recruits for the terror group.
The lawsuit included firsthand accounts of abuse that some
hostages suffered during their abduction and imprisonment in Gaza,
The plaintiffs stressed that
they are not seeking in court “a forum to air political grievances,” but rather
“seeking monetary compensation for their injuries from parties who are liable
for those injuries on traditional tort principles.”
UNRWA did not respond to
requests for comment from UK’s Jewish Chronicle or Fox News, which first
reported on the lawsuit.
One of the plaintiffs is Ditza Heiman, who was abducted by terrorists on October 7 and
then released in an exchange deal 53 days later. She has reported that the man
who kept her captive was a teacher in an UNRWA school and that she was fed food
rations that were issued by the UN agency, and marked not for sale.
“The fact that Hamas ruled
Gaza was not an excuse for UNRWA to hire and finance terrorists, but it should
have ensured that UNRWA took additional precautions,” Heiman told Ynet.
Other plaintiffs
are Gadi and Reuma Kedem, whose daughter Tamar, son-in-law Yonatan, and three
grandchildren Shahar, Arbel, and Omer were all murdered by Hamas in their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Yonatan’s mother, Carol, was also slain that day.
“There is no pain in the
world that compares to burying your children and grandchildren who were
murdered and strangled in their own home,” Gadi Kedem told Ynet.
“All that remains is to fight
so that those responsible for strengthening Hamas are held accountable. UNRWA
strengthened Hamas and transferred funds and financed the murders, while being
a full partner in the growth of Hamas terrorists. UNRWA and its managers are
completely complicit in the murder of my children and my family.”
Separately Monday, UNRWA Director Lazzarini called to push back
against efforts by Israel to have the organization disbanded.
“Israel has long been
critical of the agency’s mandate. But it now seeks to end UNRWA’s operations,
dismissing the agency’s status as a United Nations entity supported by an
overwhelming majority of member states,” Lazzarini said at a meeting of the
agency’s advisory commission.
“If we do not push back,
other UN entities and international organizations will be next, further
undermining our multilateral system.”
Israel has also accused
UNRWA, the largest employer in the Palestinian territories, of turning a blind
eye to Hamas activities and employees of actively aiding terror groups.
In February,
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed that of the 13,000 UNRWA employees in Gaza, at
least 12 percent were affiliated with the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad
(PIJ) terror groups, including 1,468 employees active in Hamas and PIJ. Of
those, 185 UNRWA workers were active in the military branches of Hamas, and 51
in the PIJ military branch, he said.
Gallant also alleged that at
least 12 UNRWA employees took an active part in the October 7 massacre and that
at least 30 more assisted by facilitating the taking of hostages and looting
from Israeli communities overrun by Hamas terrorists.
The IDF, which launched
an offensive against Hamas following October 7, has also uncovered several
tunnels running under UNRWA compounds in Gaza and documented terror operatives
in UN facilities. It also uncovered a Hamas data center under the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City.
Numerous reports have found that UNRWA schools
and teachers continue to teach hatred of Jews and glorify terrorism. Israel’s accusations prompted many
governments, including top donor the United States, to suspend funding to the
agency, threatening its efforts to deliver aid in Gaza.
An independent review of
UNRWA, led by French former foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found some
“neutrality-related issues,” but said Israel had yet to provide evidence for
its main allegations. Some governments, including
Italy, Germany, and Austria have resumed their funding. link
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says that Moscow is working on what she called a big treaty with Iran. Her comment appears to be a reference to a comprehensive bilateral cooperation agreement that is being negotiated between Tehran and Moscow. In January, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that a new interstate treaty reflecting the “unprecedented upswing” in Russia-Iran ties was in the final stages of being agreed. --Russia (Putim) is working very hard to entrench itself deeply within the axis of evil which comprises Iran, Iran's proxies, North Korea, Russia, and China, although China has many issues with the direction that Russia and North Korea are taking. These are all countries that want to bring down the western way of life, destroy any remnants of democracy that exist anywhere and promote authoritarian regimes throughout. China's issues is that besides its massive military complex, its main direction in strength is economic power over the west. When these powers come together and build new alliances and treaties, the whole world needs to wake up.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations says it has received a report of an incident 52 nautical miles south of Yemen’s Aden, as a merchant vessel’s captain reports a missile impacting the water in close proximity to a ship.
UKMTO adds that the crew are reported safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been carrying out regular attacks against ships traversing the vital waterway for months as part of a campaign meant to support Hamas in Gaza.
Personal StoriesChildren of a hostage, who were themselves held captive: "When will Dad return? Will he be old?"
Adi Shoham, Naveh Shoham and Yahel Shoham were released from Hamas captivity in November with the only hostage deal since the war began
Adi Shoham, who was held captive by Hamas for 50 days, shared in a post the questions of her children who experienced the horror • On the October 7 massacre: "Are there bad people outside the house? How did they kill grandpa, was he surprised?" • On their father, Tal, who is still in captivity: "Why did they do this?" • Orly, mother of hostage Daniela Gilboa: "My daughter could return with a Hamas grandchild after 9 months"
Adi Shoham, who was held hostage along with her two children for 50 days, and whose husband Tal Shoham has been held captive in Gaza for 264 days, shared today (Wednesday) on her Facebook page a list of questions from her children who were released from captivity. The questions refer to the harsh reality they experienced and are still experiencing since October 7, and present the heavy longing for their captive father.
Tal Shoham who is still a hostage in Gaza
"How will we know when Dad returns?"; "When will Dad return?"; "When Dad returns, can we make him a big surprise for his birthday?" - These are some of the questions from the children Nave and Yahel that Adi revealed.
On the massacre in the Gaza envelope on October 7: "Why did they even enter Be'eri and do all this? How did they decide who to kill and who to kidnap?"; "Where are the Mohammads now?"; "Whose bodies did we see outside the safe room?"
About their grandfather who was murdered, the children asked: "How did they kill grandpa? Did he see before or was he surprised? How did he feel right before he was killed?" They also asked their mother: "How did you know when Grandpa Abraham was about to die and said goodbye?"
Nave was kidnapped along with his parents, Tal and Adi, and his 3-year-old sister from his grandmother's house in Be'eri. His grandmother, Shoshan Haran, his mother's aunt Sharon Avigdori and her daughter Noam were also kidnapped with them. His grandfather, Avshalom Haran, his mother's aunt Lilach Kipnis, and her husband Evyatar Kipnis were murdered.
**"My daughter could return with a Hamas grandchild after 9 months"**
Meanwhile, Orly, mother of Daniela Gilboa who is held in the Strip, called for her daughter's return: "9 months can be a sign of other difficult things. My daughter could return with a Hamas grandchild after 9 months, now is the time to bring her back to me. This is the time to bring her back. A deal needs to happen. Hamas is also a party, but we need to want and promote everything necessary for this to happen."
The father of Itai Chen z"l, whose body is held in the Gaza Strip, also said: "I want to share something personal that I said to the Prime Minister. I asked him to think for a moment about his parents, Tzila and Benzion z"l, because they had a state funeral and shiva. And they had a grave after 30 days, on Memorial Day they had somewhere to go." He added, "I asked him to look me straight in the eyes and ask me where I was on the last Memorial Day. I ask him, I don't want to go through another Memorial Day like this. What's left of Itai, a hero of Israel who saved many lives, is the moral and Jewish imperative. That his soul should rest in an Israeli grave, in the place where he should be."
October 7 victims
sue UNRWA for $1 billion, claiming it aided and abetted Hamas
Lawsuit, filed in New York, alleges UN Palestinian aid agency’s compliance in letting terror group use its facilities, says payment of its workers in US dollars helped fund Hamas
More than 100 victims of the devastating October 7 Hamas assault
on Israel and their families filed a lawsuit Monday claiming $1 billion in
damages from UNRWA, the UN aid agency for Palestinians, accusing that it aided
and abetted the terror group’s assault.
The 167-page lawsuit named as
defendants the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees,
as well as seven of its past and current leaders, including head Philippe
Lazzarini.
It said UNRWA, which
coordinates nearly all aid to Gaza, let Hamas use its facilities for weapons
storage, allowed tunnels and command centers to be built under its sites, and
funneled cash into the terror group’s coffers by insisting on paying employees
in US dollars.
“Hamas did not carry out these atrocities without assistance,”
the lawsuit said. “Defendants were warned repeatedly that their policies were directly
providing assistance to Hamas,” it asserted. “In the face of those warnings,
Defendants continued those very policies.”
On October 7, Hamas led 3,000
terrorists in a massive cross-border attack on Israel that killed over 1,200
people in southern Israel, mostly civilians, amid numerous atrocities.
Terrorists also abducted 251 people of all ages as hostages to Gaza.
Chicago-based law firm MM-Law
LLC and New York firm Amini LLC filed the suit in the Southern District of New
York on behalf of 101 victims or their families.
Aside from Lazzarini, the other defendants are former or current
UNRWA top officials Pierre KrΓ€henbΓΌhl, Filippo Grandi, Leni Stenseth, Sandra
Mitchell, Margot Ellis, GrΓ©ta GunnarsdΓ³ttir.
KrΓ€henbΓΌhl is currently
director-general of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Grandi is
the current United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The lawsuit highlights that UNRWA insisted on paying its
employees in US dollars, amounting to $1 billion in the period covered by the
claim. Employees were unable to spend the dollars directly in the Gaza Strip,
which uses the Israeli shekel, needing instead to convert the cash at
Hamas-controlled money changers who took a commission.
UNRWA, the plaintiffs said,
“knowingly providing Hamas with the US dollars in cash that it needed to pay
smugglers for weapons, explosives, and other terror materiel.”
Hamas money changers took a 10%-25% spread on transactions, “ensuring that a predictable percentage of UNRWA’s payroll went to Hamas.”
In addition, the lawsuit said UNRWA “knowingly provided material
support to Hamas in Gaza” by allowing the terror group safe harbor in its
faculties, including schools and other buildings used for weapons storage or
command centers, based on the assumption that its premises “were inviolate” and
thus immune to attack by Israel.
“The resulting atrocities
were foreseeable, and the defendants are liable for aiding and abetting Hamas’
genocide, crimes against humanity, and torture,” the lawsuit said.
It also accused UNRWA of
using Hamas-approved textbooks in its schools that “indoctrinate children from
a young age into a death-cult ideology of hatred and genocide” and produce new
recruits for the terror group.
The lawsuit included firsthand accounts of abuse that some
hostages suffered during their abduction and imprisonment in Gaza,
The plaintiffs stressed that
they are not seeking in court “a forum to air political grievances,” but rather
“seeking monetary compensation for their injuries from parties who are liable
for those injuries on traditional tort principles.”
UNRWA did not respond to
requests for comment from UK’s Jewish Chronicle or Fox News, which first
reported on the lawsuit.
One of the plaintiffs is Ditza Heiman, who was abducted by terrorists on October 7 and
then released in an exchange deal 53 days later. She has reported that the man
who kept her captive was a teacher in an UNRWA school and that she was fed food
rations that were issued by the UN agency, and marked not for sale.
“The fact that Hamas ruled
Gaza was not an excuse for UNRWA to hire and finance terrorists, but it should
have ensured that UNRWA took additional precautions,” Heiman told Ynet.
Other plaintiffs
are Gadi and Reuma Kedem, whose daughter Tamar, son-in-law Yonatan, and three
grandchildren Shahar, Arbel, and Omer were all murdered by Hamas in their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Yonatan’s mother, Carol, was also slain that day.
“There is no pain in the
world that compares to burying your children and grandchildren who were
murdered and strangled in their own home,” Gadi Kedem told Ynet.
“All that remains is to fight
so that those responsible for strengthening Hamas are held accountable. UNRWA
strengthened Hamas and transferred funds and financed the murders, while being
a full partner in the growth of Hamas terrorists. UNRWA and its managers are
completely complicit in the murder of my children and my family.”
Separately Monday, UNRWA Director Lazzarini called to push back
against efforts by Israel to have the organization disbanded.
“Israel has long been
critical of the agency’s mandate. But it now seeks to end UNRWA’s operations,
dismissing the agency’s status as a United Nations entity supported by an
overwhelming majority of member states,” Lazzarini said at a meeting of the
agency’s advisory commission.
“If we do not push back,
other UN entities and international organizations will be next, further
undermining our multilateral system.”
Israel has also accused
UNRWA, the largest employer in the Palestinian territories, of turning a blind
eye to Hamas activities and employees of actively aiding terror groups.
In February,
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed that of the 13,000 UNRWA employees in Gaza, at
least 12 percent were affiliated with the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad
(PIJ) terror groups, including 1,468 employees active in Hamas and PIJ. Of
those, 185 UNRWA workers were active in the military branches of Hamas, and 51
in the PIJ military branch, he said.
Gallant also alleged that at
least 12 UNRWA employees took an active part in the October 7 massacre and that
at least 30 more assisted by facilitating the taking of hostages and looting
from Israeli communities overrun by Hamas terrorists.
The IDF, which launched
an offensive against Hamas following October 7, has also uncovered several
tunnels running under UNRWA compounds in Gaza and documented terror operatives
in UN facilities. It also uncovered a Hamas data center under the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City.
Numerous reports have found that UNRWA schools
and teachers continue to teach hatred of Jews and glorify terrorism. Israel’s accusations prompted many
governments, including top donor the United States, to suspend funding to the
agency, threatening its efforts to deliver aid in Gaza.
An independent review of UNRWA, led by French former foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found some “neutrality-related issues,” but said Israel had yet to provide evidence for its main allegations. Some governments, including Italy, Germany, and Austria have resumed their funding. link
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says that Moscow is working on what she called a big treaty with Iran. Her comment appears to be a reference to a comprehensive bilateral cooperation agreement that is being negotiated between Tehran and Moscow. In January, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that a new interstate treaty reflecting the “unprecedented upswing” in Russia-Iran ties was in the final stages of being agreed. --Russia (Putim) is working very hard to entrench itself deeply within the axis of evil which comprises Iran, Iran's proxies, North Korea, Russia, and China, although China has many issues with the direction that Russia and North Korea are taking. These are all countries that want to bring down the western way of life, destroy any remnants of democracy that exist anywhere and promote authoritarian regimes throughout. China's issues is that besides its massive military complex, its main direction in strength is economic power over the west. When these powers come together and build new alliances and treaties, the whole world needs to wake up.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations says it has received a report of an incident 52 nautical miles south of Yemen’s Aden, as a merchant vessel’s captain reports a missile impacting the water in close proximity to a ship.
UKMTO adds that the crew are reported safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been carrying out regular attacks against ships traversing the vital waterway for months as part of a campaign meant to support Hamas in Gaza.
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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