π️Lonny's War Update- October 267, 2023 - June 29, 2024 π️
π️Day267 that 120 of our hostages in Hamas captivity
**There is nothing more important than getting them home! NOTHING!**iiiiii
“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
*8:20pm last night- north-Rocket sirens sound in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona and nearby communities in the Galilee Panhandle, close to Lebanon. The sirens come after a series of drone infiltration sirens in the Western Galilee.There are no immediate reports of injuries in the incidents.*9:00pm- north- Three explosive-laden drones launched from Lebanon struck areas in the Western Galilee earlier this evening, the military says.
The IDF says it launched interceptor missiles at the drones, but failed to down the devices.
*5:40- north- rockets Kiryat Shemona
*5:45- north- rockets Kiryat Shemona
Hostage Updates
The United States has proposed new language for parts of the proposed hostage and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in an effort to reach an agreement, a report said Saturday, as relatives of those still held captive in Gaza were set to protest on Saturday night to urge the government to secure a deal.
The Axios news site reported on Saturday, citing three sources with direct knowledge of the talks, that the US, with fellow mediators Qatar and Egypt, was focused on amending Clause 8 of the hostage-truce deal, concerning negotiations to be held during the six-week ceasefire stipulated by the agreement’s first phase.
“The US is working very hard to find a formula that will allow reaching a deal,” one of the sources was quoted as saying, while another predicted that the agreement could be sealed if Hamas okays the changes. Under the proposal’s current provisions, the deal’s first phase would see the fighting in Gaza cease for six weeks, during which Hamas would release the remaining living female, elderly and sick hostages.
In tandem, the sides would hold talks to secure a second six-week truce during which Hamas would release the remaining living hostages, including young men and male soldiers. However, if Hamas were found to violate its commitments under the deal, Israel could resume fighting.
Hamas reportedly wants talks during the agreement’s first phase to address only how many and which Palestinian prisoners will be released in return for the living male hostages; Israel, on the other hand, also wants to discuss the demilitarization of Gaza, among other matters.
According to partial leaks of the Israeli proposal earlier this month, Clause 8 reads: “No later than day 16 [of phase one], the commencement of indirect negotiations between the two sides to agree on the conditions for implementing stage two of this agreement, including those relating to the keys for the exchange of hostages and prisoners (soldiers and remaining men), and this should be concluded and agreed upon before the end of week five of this [first] stage.” The fate of the proposal was unclear earlier this week after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with the right-wing Channel 14 on Sunday that he was willing to temporarily withdraw the army from the Gaza Strip in return for a “partial deal” that would see some of the hostages returned, but would then “continue the fighting” until Hamas is destroyed.
But the prime minister appeared to walk back the statement the following day, insisting that he was still “committed to the Israeli [ceasefire] proposal welcomed by [US] President Biden. Our position has not changed.”
A senior Arab official from one of the mediating countries told The Times of Israel on Monday that Netanyahu’s comments had vindicated Hamas’s concerns Israel will only carry out phase one of the deal before finding a way to resume fighting.
For its part, the US State Department for the first time on Tuesday characterized Hamas’s response to the Israeli proposal as a rejection. The terror group “came back several weeks ago and rejected the proposal that was on the table,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a press briefing. “They gave us a written response that rejected the proposal put forward by Israel, that President Biden had outlined, that the United Nations Security Council and countries all around the world had endorsed,” he added, calling it a “written rejection and counter-proposal that came from Hamas.”
Meanwhile, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which will hold its weekly rally at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square on Saturday night, pledged to keep calling on the government to realize the deal, first presented by US Biden in a May 31 speech. The rally will be complemented by a nearby protest of anti-government groups, which have often joined the main rally at past demonstrations.
The hostages’ families forum, as well as some opposition figures, eviscerated the premier earlier this week for appearing to renege on the deal presented by Biden, which had been approved by Israel’s since-disbanded war cabinet. Announcing its weekly Saturday rally, the Hostages Forum said: “We must approve the deal — we cannot miss this opportunity for an agreement that will bring all the hostages home, the living for rehabilitation, the murdered for proper burial.”
The rally will highlight the plight of kidnapped siblings, the group said in a statement, adding that among the 120 remaining hostages are five pairs of siblings.
This week’s demonstration will feature a video message from Noa Argamani, who was rescuedfrom Hamas captivity in early June along with three other hostages. Other speakers will include the parents of hostage Liri Albag and siblings of hostages Itzik Elgarat, Tsachi Idan, Ohad Yahalomi and Tamir Adar, the statement said.
Near the Hostages Square rally, anti-government groups will protest on Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street to demand the government’s resignation and new elections. The anti-government groups have also said they are organizing a shutdown of businesses and commerce on June 7, marking nine months to the day of Hamas’s shock assault, which protest groups accuse the government of failing to prevent.
Over the past week, protest leaders had campaigned for a shutdown of commerce on Thursday, but the call went largely unheeded.
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, mostly civilians, many amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.
It is believed that 116 hostages abducted on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released prior to that. Seven hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 19 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military.
The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 42 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza. One more person has been listed as missing since October 7, and their fate is still unknown.
Hamas has also been holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014. Link
Gaza
- Gazans are forced to live in bombed-out buildings or camp next to giant piles of trash, a United Nations spokeswoman says, denouncing the “unbearable” conditions in the besieged territory.
Louise Wateridge from UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, describes the “extremely dire” living conditions in the Gaza Strip.
“It’s really unbearable,” she tells reporters in Geneva, via video-link from central Gaza.
Wateridge, who returned Wednesday after four weeks outside the territory, says that even in that time the situation had “significantly deteriorated.”
“Today, it has to be the worst it’s ever been. I don’t doubt that tomorrow again will be the worst it’s ever been,” she says.
Nearly nine months into the war between the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, Wateridge says the Gaza Strip had been “destroyed.”
She says she had been “shocked” on returning to Khan Yunis in central Gaza.
“The buildings are skeletons, if at all. Everything is rubble,” she says.
“And yet people are living there again.”
“There’s no water there, there’s no sanitation, there’s no food. And now, people are living back in these buildings that are empty shells,” with sheets covering the gaps left by blown-out walls.
With no bathrooms, “people are relieving themselves anywhere they can.”
Louise Wateridge from UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, describes the “extremely dire” living conditions in the Gaza Strip.
“It’s really unbearable,” she tells reporters in Geneva, via video-link from central Gaza.
Wateridge, who returned Wednesday after four weeks outside the territory, says that even in that time the situation had “significantly deteriorated.”
“Today, it has to be the worst it’s ever been. I don’t doubt that tomorrow again will be the worst it’s ever been,” she says.
Nearly nine months into the war between the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, Wateridge says the Gaza Strip had been “destroyed.”
She says she had been “shocked” on returning to Khan Yunis in central Gaza.
“The buildings are skeletons, if at all. Everything is rubble,” she says.
“And yet people are living there again.”
“There’s no water there, there’s no sanitation, there’s no food. And now, people are living back in these buildings that are empty shells,” with sheets covering the gaps left by blown-out walls.
With no bathrooms, “people are relieving themselves anywhere they can.”
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
After Hezbollah’s rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel this evening, the IDF says it struck several sites belonging to the terror group in southern Lebanon.
The targets include a military site in Zibqin, infrastructure in Khiam and Houla, and a building used by Hezbollah in Odaisseh, according to the military.
The IDF publishes footage of the strikes targeted in what it describes as the “wave of attacks” against Hezbollah.The United States on Thursday joined a growing list of countries that have advised their citizens to leave Lebanon due to the risk of war as tensions between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group continue to spiral.
After Hezbollah’s rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel this evening, the IDF says it struck several sites belonging to the terror group in southern Lebanon.
The targets include a military site in Zibqin, infrastructure in Khiam and Houla, and a building used by Hezbollah in Odaisseh, according to the military.
The IDF publishes footage of the strikes targeted in what it describes as the “wave of attacks” against Hezbollah.The United States on Thursday joined a growing list of countries that have advised their citizens to leave Lebanon due to the risk of war as tensions between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group continue to spiral.
*A rocket fired in a Hezbollah barrage last night struck a barn inside the Western Galilee of Betzet, killing two horses, after Israeli forces failed to down the projectile.
Idan Ishach Erez says the two horses belonged to her 14-year-old daughter Shahar, whose bedroom window looked out onto their pen.
“Who will look out for and care mentally for our children, who together with us were forced to hear the horses crying out in pain and asking we help them, but we couldn’t do more than put them to sleep to prevent their continued suffering,” she tells the Ynet news site.
- US joins countries telling citizens not to visit Lebanon, amid push to avert war. The US call came as Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned during a visit to Washington that Israel was capable of sending Lebanon “back to the Stone Age” in any war with Hezbollah, though he stressed that a diplomatic solution is preferred. “We do not want war, but we are preparing for every scenario,” Gallant told reporters Wednesday at the end of a four-day visit during which he held talks with top officials. “Hezbollah understands very well that we can inflict massive damage in Lebanon if a war is launched.”
- A facility belonging to Hezbollah’s air defense unit in the Jabal Safi mountain region in Lebanon was struck earlier today, the military says. According to the IDF, Hezbollah had launched anti-aircraft missiles at Israeli aircraft from the site in recent months. Jabal Safi is located some 21 kilometers from the Israeli border, just north of the Lebanese city of Nabatieh.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel is not looking for a war with Hezbollah but is preparing for one and “will know what to do” if the terror group decides to escalate.
Speaking to troops at an Iron Dome air defense system battery in northern Israel, Gallant says the country is developing two “significant” alternatives for Lebanon.
“[We are] preparing the military force… and this can happen quickly. On the other hand, the political alternative is being prepared, it is always better,” he says.
“We are not looking for war but we are ready for it. And we will reach a junction, it will be a T junction both for the enemy and for us. If [Hezbollah] chooses to go to war, we will know what to do. If it chooses to go to an agreement, we will respond to this matter,” Gallant says.
“I know it’s not easy, not easy for you and not easy for the residents of the north. There is one thing I can tell you and that is that it is much more difficult for Hezbollah and Lebanon. It is easy to speak from the bunker and make statements,” he says, referring to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
“At the end of the day, there are over 450 terrorists killed [in Lebanon]. The area is hit on a very severe level. Therefore, this burden is placed on the enemy in a much greater way than on us,” Gallant adds. Link this is a party made up of the worst of Israeli society, every single one a racist and a war monger. They don’t have any capacity of sympathy, empathy, and a total lack of moral compasses. They are the direct children of the outlawed Kach Party of the despicable Meir Kahana and if we had a Prime Minister and leading coalition party with a conscience, this party wouod have been deemed illegal as well. Instead, because Netanyahu has always done whatever he could, no matter how terrible to become Prime Minister, he encouraged this party and normalized that which should never have been normal.
*A rocket fired in a Hezbollah barrage last night struck a barn inside the Western Galilee of Betzet, killing two horses, after Israeli forces failed to down the projectile.
Idan Ishach Erez says the two horses belonged to her 14-year-old daughter Shahar, whose bedroom window looked out onto their pen.
“Who will look out for and care mentally for our children, who together with us were forced to hear the horses crying out in pain and asking we help them, but we couldn’t do more than put them to sleep to prevent their continued suffering,” she tells the Ynet news site.
- US joins countries telling citizens not to visit Lebanon, amid push to avert war. The US call came as Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned during a visit to Washington that Israel was capable of sending Lebanon “back to the Stone Age” in any war with Hezbollah, though he stressed that a diplomatic solution is preferred. “We do not want war, but we are preparing for every scenario,” Gallant told reporters Wednesday at the end of a four-day visit during which he held talks with top officials. “Hezbollah understands very well that we can inflict massive damage in Lebanon if a war is launched.”
- A facility belonging to Hezbollah’s air defense unit in the Jabal Safi mountain region in Lebanon was struck earlier today, the military says. According to the IDF, Hezbollah had launched anti-aircraft missiles at Israeli aircraft from the site in recent months. Jabal Safi is located some 21 kilometers from the Israeli border, just north of the Lebanese city of Nabatieh.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel is not looking for a war with Hezbollah but is preparing for one and “will know what to do” if the terror group decides to escalate.
Speaking to troops at an Iron Dome air defense system battery in northern Israel, Gallant says the country is developing two “significant” alternatives for Lebanon.
“[We are] preparing the military force… and this can happen quickly. On the other hand, the political alternative is being prepared, it is always better,” he says.
“We are not looking for war but we are ready for it. And we will reach a junction, it will be a T junction both for the enemy and for us. If [Hezbollah] chooses to go to war, we will know what to do. If it chooses to go to an agreement, we will respond to this matter,” Gallant says.
“I know it’s not easy, not easy for you and not easy for the residents of the north. There is one thing I can tell you and that is that it is much more difficult for Hezbollah and Lebanon. It is easy to speak from the bunker and make statements,” he says, referring to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
“At the end of the day, there are over 450 terrorists killed [in Lebanon]. The area is hit on a very severe level. Therefore, this burden is placed on the enemy in a much greater way than on us,” Gallant adds. Link this is a party made up of the worst of Israeli society, every single one a racist and a war monger. They don’t have any capacity of sympathy, empathy, and a total lack of moral compasses. They are the direct children of the outlawed Kach Party of the despicable Meir Kahana and if we had a Prime Minister and leading coalition party with a conscience, this party wouod have been deemed illegal as well. Instead, because Netanyahu has always done whatever he could, no matter how terrible to become Prime Minister, he encouraged this party and normalized that which should never have been normal.
West Bank and Jerusalem
Politics
- Germany’s foreign ministry slams the Israeli security cabinet’s decision last night to sanction the Palestinian Authority in response to Ramallah’s support for steps against Jerusalem in international tribunals and for countries unilaterally recognizing a Palestinian state.
“We condemn approval of new settlements and legalization of outposts,” says a spokesperson for the German foreign ministry.
“Justifying this with the recognition of Palestine by some states is disturbing and cynical.”
John“The conflict can only be solved with, not against a reformed PA; reject measures to weaken it,” the spokesperson adds. Link. This is the first in what will be a long line of condemnations against the government actions both against the PA and legitimizing illegal settlements As we are very well aware, Smotrich doesnt care about any of the condemnations or the ramifications of these actions. It is a question if Netanyahu, in his weakness may or may not do anything to curb or minimize these actions knowing that they will create additional problems with our western allies, especially the US and the Arab countries friendly to us
“We condemn approval of new settlements and legalization of outposts,” says a spokesperson for the German foreign ministry.
“Justifying this with the recognition of Palestine by some states is disturbing and cynical.”
John“The conflict can only be solved with, not against a reformed PA; reject measures to weaken it,” the spokesperson adds. Link. This is the first in what will be a long line of condemnations against the government actions both against the PA and legitimizing illegal settlements As we are very well aware, Smotrich doesnt care about any of the condemnations or the ramifications of these actions. It is a question if Netanyahu, in his weakness may or may not do anything to curb or minimize these actions knowing that they will create additional problems with our western allies, especially the US and the Arab countries friendly to us
The Region and the World
- Yemen’s Houthi militant group have claimed responsibility for attacking a Liberia-flagged vessel in the Red Sea that a maritime agency said had survived five missiles, while also saying they targeted three other vessels including two in the Mediterranean.
The Iran-aligned Houthis say their attacks on shipping lanes are in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and the militant Islamist group Hamas.
Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesperson, says in a televised statement that the group launched ballistic missiles at the Delonix, an oil tanker, and that it took a “direct hit.”
However, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) monitor said earlier in the day that the ship, which was targeted 150 nautical miles (172 miles) northwest of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, reported no damage and was heading northward.
Saree also says the Houthis attacked the Ioannis ship in the Red Sea, as well as the Waler oil tanker and the Johannes Maersk vessel in the Mediterranean.
He says the Johannes Maersk, which is owned by Maersk MAERSKb.CO, the world’s second-largest container carrier, was targeted because it belongs to “one of the most supportive companies for the Zionist entity and the most that violates ban decision of access to the ports of occupied Palestine.”
International shipping has been disrupted since November by attacks in the region launched by the Houthis. Many vessels have opted to avoid the Red Sea route to the Suez Canal, taking the longer journey around the southern tip of Africa instead.
Otza Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kroizer tells the Makor Rishon weekly that his far-right party might leave the government if Israel doesn’t launch an offensive against Hezbollah.
“If there is no campaign in the north, we will have to make a decision about remaining in the government. This government cannot continue to exist if a diplomatic agreement is made [to end tensions] in the north,” he says.
The comments echoed ones made by Otzma Yehudit chairman and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir who said during last night’s cabinet meeting that only a war against Hezbollah will restore security for Israel’s northern residents.
Personal Stories
The Iran-aligned Houthis say their attacks on shipping lanes are in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and the militant Islamist group Hamas.
Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesperson, says in a televised statement that the group launched ballistic missiles at the Delonix, an oil tanker, and that it took a “direct hit.”
However, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) monitor said earlier in the day that the ship, which was targeted 150 nautical miles (172 miles) northwest of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, reported no damage and was heading northward.
Saree also says the Houthis attacked the Ioannis ship in the Red Sea, as well as the Waler oil tanker and the Johannes Maersk vessel in the Mediterranean.
He says the Johannes Maersk, which is owned by Maersk MAERSKb.CO, the world’s second-largest container carrier, was targeted because it belongs to “one of the most supportive companies for the Zionist entity and the most that violates ban decision of access to the ports of occupied Palestine.”
International shipping has been disrupted since November by attacks in the region launched by the Houthis. Many vessels have opted to avoid the Red Sea route to the Suez Canal, taking the longer journey around the southern tip of Africa instead.
Otza Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kroizer tells the Makor Rishon weekly that his far-right party might leave the government if Israel doesn’t launch an offensive against Hezbollah.
“If there is no campaign in the north, we will have to make a decision about remaining in the government. This government cannot continue to exist if a diplomatic agreement is made [to end tensions] in the north,” he says.
The comments echoed ones made by Otzma Yehudit chairman and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir who said during last night’s cabinet meeting that only a war against Hezbollah will restore security for Israel’s northern residents.
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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