π️Lonny's War Update- October 270, 2023 - July 2, 2024 π️
π️Day 270 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
*4:25pm last night- north- rockets - Ramat Naftali*5:05pm last night- north - rockets - Dovev*5:30pm last night - north- rockets Maayan Baruch*7:00pm last night- north - rockets Kfar Giladi, Tel Hai7:35pm- north last night- rockets - Goren, Gordot Hagalil*1:30pm- north- hostile aurcraft- Dishon, Yiftach, Malkia, Ramot Naftali, Mevo’ot Hermon
**The army announced the death of a soldier by a roadside bomb in the West Bank and another wounded.-Reserve First Sergeant Yehuda Geto, 22, from Pardes Hanna-Karkur. The two soldiers were inside a Panther armored personnel carrier when the bomb exploded. Geto was the driver, and the seriously wounded soldier is a commander in the Duvdevan commando unit. According to an initial IDF probe, the vehicle was waiting in an area of Nur Shams where explosive devices were not believed by the army to have been planted. Other Duvdevan troops had disembarked from the APC to carry out operations on foot.
Armed groups in the West Bank frequently plant improvised explosive devices under roads to attack Israeli forces carrying out arrest raids. The military regularly rips up roads with armored bulldozers as a precautionary measure before entering with lighter-armed vehicles. In this case, the army did not rip up the road where the APC was waiting.
**The army announced the deaths of 2 soldiers killed during fighting in the central Gaza Strip last night
-Reserve Master Sergeant Nadav Elchanan Knoller, 30 from Jerusalem
-Reserve Major Eyal Avnion, 25 from Hod Hasharon
Their deaths bring Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip to 322. Another reservist of the 121st Battalion was seriously wounded in the same incident. The IDF is still investigating the circumstances.
Hostage Updates
- Today is the 24th birthday of Matan Tzengauker
Matan Zangauker, 24, and Ilana Gritzewsky, 30, were abducted from their Kibbutz Nir Oz home on October 7 as Hamas terrorists waged a massacre on the kibbutz during the group’s terror onslaught on southern Israel, killing or kidnapping one in four residents on what has become known as the Black Shabbat.
Ilana Gritzewsky was released on November 30 as part of an extension of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel. Her partner, Matan Zangauker, is still captive.
Zangauker’s mother, Einav Zangauker, said after Ilana’s release that they had no information about Matan, except for “a sign of life.” She added that he is strong and a survivor, and can live on rationed food and water.
“Matan, as you were robbed of life, you will return to life, we’re fighting for you,” said Zangauker.
Zangauker is very close with his mother, who lives in nearby Ofakim and was in touch with her on the morning of October 7. When the sirens began sounding early that morning, he told her to relax — they were in their bedroom, which is the safe room.
As the situation worsened in the kibbutz, Zangauker wrote to his mother that the terrorists were in their house.
“Everything will be okay, my prince,” wrote his mother.
Then Matan wrote, “I love you, don’t cry.”
And finally, “Here. Here. Here.”
Zangauker’s parents divorced when he was young and Matan often took care of his younger sisters. He is known as an independent, mature person, always available for support and understanding.
Gritzewsky, Zangauker’s girlfriend, made aliyah from Mexico 14 years ago, on the Naala program. Her parents and sister later immigrated to Israel.
Liora Argamani, the mother of recently rescued hostage Noa Argamani, has died of terminal brain cancer.
The Tel Aviv hospital where Argamani was treated says she “spent her final days alongside her daughter Noa, who returned from captivity, and her close family.”
“We relay the family’s request to respect its privacy at this difficult time,” Icholov Hospital says in a statement.
Argamani had publicly appealed for her daughter’s release ahead of last month’s IDF rescue operation in which three other hostages were also freed, saying she did not have long to live and wanted to see Noa before she died.
Representatives from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum request the establishment of a rehabilitation center to help support the families and the returning hostages at the Knesset’s Health Committee on Tuesday, according to Hebrew media.
The request comes after a new study shows that family members have prolonged traumatic stress, helplessness, and terror that causes mental psychopathology and chronic illnesses.
Despite the family members’ unique situation, their medical treatment is carried out at health fund clinics like all other patients.
Israel’s military leadership wants to see a ceasefire in Gaza even if it leaves Hamas ruling the Strip, The New York Times reports, citing six current and former security officials.
The generals believe that a permanent ceasefire is the best way to free the remaining hostages, and that the IDF needs to restock ahead of a potential war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to the report. An end to the fighting in the south would also open the door for Hezbollah to hold its fire.
The report does not indicate how strenuously this position has been pushed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who promises to keep fighting until “total victory.”
In response, the IDF insists that it is “determined to keep fighting until it achieves the goals of the war — the destruction of Hamas’s military and governance capabilities, the return of our hostages, and the safe return of residents in the north and south to their homes.
“The IDF will continue fighting Hamas across the Gaza Strip,” the statement continues, “alongside continuing to improve our readiness for a war in the north, and defending all of our borders.”
Gaza
- An Israeli military pilot to create “humanitarian enclaves” for Gazan civilians unaffiliated with Hamas is reportedly set to be rolled out in two northern Gaza cities, though some officials are skeptical the plan will point the way to a new reality in the battered enclave.
The plan to carve out Hamas-free “bubbles,” where local Palestinians would slowly take over aid distribution responsibilities, will initially be implemented in Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia, the Financial Times reported on Monday.
The scheme, which would dovetail with a post-war plan to hand aspects of control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority and moderate Arab states, has reportedly been met with skepticism by anonymous former officials and others familiar with the plans. Under the pilot, which will also be implemented in the northwestern Beit Lahia neighborhood of Atatra, Israeli forces would retain security duties for the time being, while Palestinians would gradually take over civil governance, according to the report, which cited six people with knowledge of the plan.
If the model is successful in the north, Israel would begin creating more enclaves in the south, laying a foundation for a replacement for Hamas governing the Strip. Aid will enter from the Western Erez crossing created during the ongoing war against Hamas. Some of those familiar with the plan downplayed its chances of success to the Financial Times, telling the outlet that Israel “already tried” a similar method in various parts of central and northern Gaza with local Palestinian clans. They said that Israel has been working to identify potential non-Hamas local leadership since November, but has been unsuccessful.
“They were all either beaten up or killed by Hamas,” a former Israeli official familiar with postwar planning was quoted saying. In January and February, Israeli defense officials proposed using local clans as a stopgap solution for aid distribution, after a series of deadly incidents involving convoys rushed by mobs of hungry and desperate Palestinians or taken over by armed Hamas members. It is unclear to what extent the idea was ever implemented.
At the time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials laid out a series of plans to hand varying levels of administrative control of some areas in Gaza to local clans free of Hamas influence after the war ended, though experts doubted its viability at the time.
The issue has gained increased urgency in recent weeks as Israel nears the end of its nine-month offensive in Gaza aimed at eliminating Hamas following the devastating October 7 onslaught of southern Israel. The former official who spoke to the Financial Times noted the humanitarian enclaves are one part of a much larger three-tier postwar plan that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the Israeli security establishment have been pushing.
That plan aims to involve a broad international coalition, including the Palestinian Authority and moderate Arab states, which would diplomatically and financially take charge of postwar Gaza. Members of that coalition would effectively govern the humanitarian bubbles.
Other individuals familiar with the discussions told the Financial Times that there are plans to train former PA personnel in Jordan and the West Bank to take over security responsibilities in the Hamas-free pockets. PA intelligence chief Mahed Faraj has already identified several thousand potential recruits, said the paper, which said the force would be trained under US Lt. Gen. Michael Fenzel. Those schemes are opposed by members of Netanyahu’s circle who are resistant to any postwar plan that involve the PA, officials said.
On Tuesday, National Security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said the plan for the “day after” Hamas would start to be implemented in northern Gaza in the coming days.
He said that the IDF plan has “been sharpened” in recent weeks, and that “we will see a practical expression of this plan” shortly. On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel and the US were pushing competing visions for post-Hamas Gaza, and that planning was being held up by Netanyahu’s refusal to seriously consider the issue until the offensive against Hamas ends.
Israel Ziv, a retired major general involved in creating the bubble plan, told the Journal that Palestinians who denounce Hamas would be given the right to live in one of the enclaves and reconstruct homes there.
Ziv added that over time the PA could be brought in to administer the area, and Hamas could also take part in administration if it releases the hostages it currently holds and disarms its military wing. However, Netanyahu has largely rejected allowing the PA to administer the Strip, and has vowed the total annihilation of Hamas. A separate plan, envisioned by the right-wing Misgav think tank, calls for a long-term Israeli military occupation of Gaza, at least until three-quarters of the military wings of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad have been eliminated. According to the report, the IDF estimates it has killed or captured about half of Hamas’s fighting force. Only once that objective is accomplished would the administration of the enclave by a separate force be feasible, the think tank said.
That proposal, which was submitted to Netanyahu by Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, would see northern Gaza remaining without reconstruction. Its residents, who have mostly evacuated to the southern part of the Strip, would not be allowed to return, at least until Hamas’s tunnel network is destroyed.
While the Misgav plan also calls for humanitarian areas in which aid could be distributed, the proposal does not endorse giving locals administrative responsibilities. The plan’s creators reportedly believe the military occupation of Gaza will last between one and five years.
The Wall Street Journal presented a third plan, spearheaded by an unnamed former head of Israeli intelligence, which calls for Israel to collaborate with the US and Arab countries to create a new Palestinian governing body that would work with Israel to fight terrorism. As a compromise between Arab states’ demand that their participation in a day-after plan be conditioned upon an Israeli commitment to a Palestinian state and Netanyahu’s refusal to make such a commitment, the plan calls for discussions on that issue to begin five years after the war.
A fourth plan, devised by the Washington-based Wilson Center, calls for a US-led international police force to administer Gaza without requiring Israel to commit to achieving Palestinian statehood. Eventually, the police force would hand over administrative duties to an undefined Palestinian body.
Robert Silverman, a former US diplomat in Iraq who co-authored that plan, said that despite amending the proposal to fit Israeli demands, it was halted at the Prime Minister’s Office.
“[Netanyahu] believes we finish the war first and then plan the postwar,” Silverman told The Wall Street Journal. “All the people who have done this before say that’s a huge mistake.” A fifth plan written by Israeli academics, and reportedly seen by Netanyahu, seeks to draw on historical precedents of rebuilding war zones, like post-World War II Germany and Japan, as well as Iraq and Afghanistan following the US occupation there.
The document seen by The Wall Street Journal acknowledges the complexities in deradicalizing the education system in Gaza and finding new leadership, and therefore called for the proposal to be implemented as soon as possible. link
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in recent weeks has
privately been walking back its opposition to the involvement of individuals
linked to the Palestinian Authority in managing Gaza after the war against
Hamas, three officials familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.
The development comes after Netanyahu’s office for months
directed the security establishment to not include the PA in any of its plans
for the post-war management of Gaza, according to two Israeli officials who
said the order significantly hampered efforts to craft realistic proposals for
what has become known as “the day after.”
Publicly, Netanyahu continues to reject the idea of PA rule over
the Gaza Strip, telling Channel 14 last week that he will not allow a
Palestinian state to be established in the coastal territory while stating he’s
“not prepared to give [Gaza] to the PA
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s
office in recent weeks has privately been walking back its opposition to the
involvement of individuals linked to the Palestinian Authority in managing Gaza
after the war against Hamas, three officials familiar with the matter told The
Times of Israel.
The development comes after Netanyahu’s office for
months directed the security establishment to not include the PA in any of its
plans for the post-war management of Gaza, according to two Israeli officials
who said the order significantly hampered efforts to craft realistic proposals
for what has become known as “the day after.”
Publicly, Netanyahu continues to reject the idea
of PA rule over the Gaza Strip, telling Channel 14 last week that he will not
allow a Palestinian state to be established in the coastal territory while
stating he’s “not prepared to give [Gaza] to the PA.”
Instead,
Netanyahu told the right-wing network that he would like to establish a “civil
administration — if possible with local Palestinians and hopefully with support
from countries in the region.”
Privately, however, Netanyahu’s
top aides have concluded that individuals with links to the PA are the only
viable option Israel has if it wants to rely on “local Palestinians” to manage
civilian affairs in Gaza after the war, two Israeli and one US official
confirmed over the past week.
“‘Local Palestinians’ is code for
PA-affiliated individuals,” an Israeli security official said. The
likelihood that Abbas would authorize these officials and institutions to
manage Gaza without an Israeli commitment to establish a political horizon that
leads to a two-state solution remains exceedingly low. The same goes for the
involvement of neighboring Arab countries in the post-war governance or
securing of Gaza, given that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar,
Egypt, Jordan and others have conditioned their assistance on a viable path to a two-state solution.
The second Israeli official explained that Netanyahu’s
opposition to handing control of Gaza to the “current PA” remains in place, but
that he could be more flexible if Ramallah implements significant reforms to
better address incitement and terrorism in the West Bank.
However, two
sources familiar with the matter told The
Times of Israel in March that Netanyahu’s office was dragging its feet in
getting on board with a major revamp of the PA, which would include an end to
the welfare payments it doles out to families of Palestinian terror convicts
based on the length of their prison sentences — a policy criticized as
“pay-to-slay.”
The White House has for months sought to receive a nod of
approval from Israel before the proposed reform of the PA is rolled out,
worried that Jerusalem’s rejection of the plan could lead Republicans and some
Democrats in Congress to follow suit, thereby undercutting the effort’s
legitimacy in Washington, the sources said. full
article The Israeli military on Monday called on Palestinians in eastern neighborhoods of Khan Younis to evacuate the area and head toward the designated “humanitarian zone,” likely preceding a renewed ground offensive in the southern Gaza city.
The Israel Defense Forces pulled out of Khan Younis in April after operating there for four months, similar to its withdrawal from the northern Gaza Strip earlier in the campaign against Hamas. The IDF has since returned to those areas to carry out smaller, localized operations, and looks set to repeat this in the southern city.
Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, published a list of the zones that need to be evacuated alongside the announcement, including the Khan Younis suburbs of al-Qarara and Bani Suheila, the Abasan neighborhoods, the town of Khuza’a, and several other areas. The move came after the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group fired a barrage of at least 20 rockets from the Khan Younis area at Israeli border communities, in the largest volley in at least seven months.
“Fear and extreme anxiety have gripped people after the evacuation order,” said Bani Suhaila resident Ahmad Najjar. “There is a large displacement of residents.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s spokesman said “it just shows yet again, that no place is safe in Gaza, more efforts need to be made to protect civilians.”
The vast majority of the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip is currently residing in the Israeli-designated “humanitarian zone,” according to fresh IDF assessments.
Some 1.9 million Palestinians of the 2.3 million Gazan population are currently in the humanitarian zone, located in the al-Mawasi area on the Strip’s coast, some western neighborhoods of Khan Younis, and central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah.
A few hundred thousand Palestinians remain in northern Gaza, and only some 20,000 Palestinians remain in the Rafah area, according to the estimates.
Around 1.4 million Palestinians had been sheltering in Rafah, until the IDF launched its offensive there in May, ordering civilians to move to the humanitarian zone.
Security officials say work that began this morning to boost electric power to a Gaza desalination plant is critical for Israel to continue its operations against Hamas in the Strip.
Officials say the desalination plant will potentially provide 20,000 cubic meters of water daily to the humanitarian zone area, where the vast majority of Gaza’s population is currently residing.
Some 1.9 million Palestinians are currently in the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone, according to Israeli estimates.
Increased drinking water is especially necessary during the summer, and the humanitarian zone also requires water for sanitation to prevent diseases from spreading. Such diseases could also harm Israeli soldiers in Gaza, as well as hostages held by Hamas.
Officials say that preventing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is key to continuing the fighting against Hamas. Otherwise, the country could potentially be forced to end the war.
The move to provide power to the desalination plant was approved by government officials, including the defense minister and energy minister.
Officials say that the plant will be immediately disconnected if the military sees Hamas siphoning off electricity.
The plan to carve out Hamas-free “bubbles,” where local Palestinians would slowly take over aid distribution responsibilities, will initially be implemented in Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia, the Financial Times reported on Monday.
The scheme, which would dovetail with a post-war plan to hand aspects of control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority and moderate Arab states, has reportedly been met with skepticism by anonymous former officials and others familiar with the plans. Under the pilot, which will also be implemented in the northwestern Beit Lahia neighborhood of Atatra, Israeli forces would retain security duties for the time being, while Palestinians would gradually take over civil governance, according to the report, which cited six people with knowledge of the plan.
If the model is successful in the north, Israel would begin creating more enclaves in the south, laying a foundation for a replacement for Hamas governing the Strip. Aid will enter from the Western Erez crossing created during the ongoing war against Hamas. Some of those familiar with the plan downplayed its chances of success to the Financial Times, telling the outlet that Israel “already tried” a similar method in various parts of central and northern Gaza with local Palestinian clans. They said that Israel has been working to identify potential non-Hamas local leadership since November, but has been unsuccessful.
“They were all either beaten up or killed by Hamas,” a former Israeli official familiar with postwar planning was quoted saying. In January and February, Israeli defense officials proposed using local clans as a stopgap solution for aid distribution, after a series of deadly incidents involving convoys rushed by mobs of hungry and desperate Palestinians or taken over by armed Hamas members. It is unclear to what extent the idea was ever implemented.
At the time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials laid out a series of plans to hand varying levels of administrative control of some areas in Gaza to local clans free of Hamas influence after the war ended, though experts doubted its viability at the time.
The issue has gained increased urgency in recent weeks as Israel nears the end of its nine-month offensive in Gaza aimed at eliminating Hamas following the devastating October 7 onslaught of southern Israel. The former official who spoke to the Financial Times noted the humanitarian enclaves are one part of a much larger three-tier postwar plan that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the Israeli security establishment have been pushing.
That plan aims to involve a broad international coalition, including the Palestinian Authority and moderate Arab states, which would diplomatically and financially take charge of postwar Gaza. Members of that coalition would effectively govern the humanitarian bubbles.
Other individuals familiar with the discussions told the Financial Times that there are plans to train former PA personnel in Jordan and the West Bank to take over security responsibilities in the Hamas-free pockets. PA intelligence chief Mahed Faraj has already identified several thousand potential recruits, said the paper, which said the force would be trained under US Lt. Gen. Michael Fenzel. Those schemes are opposed by members of Netanyahu’s circle who are resistant to any postwar plan that involve the PA, officials said.
On Tuesday, National Security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said the plan for the “day after” Hamas would start to be implemented in northern Gaza in the coming days.
He said that the IDF plan has “been sharpened” in recent weeks, and that “we will see a practical expression of this plan” shortly. On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel and the US were pushing competing visions for post-Hamas Gaza, and that planning was being held up by Netanyahu’s refusal to seriously consider the issue until the offensive against Hamas ends.
Israel Ziv, a retired major general involved in creating the bubble plan, told the Journal that Palestinians who denounce Hamas would be given the right to live in one of the enclaves and reconstruct homes there.
Ziv added that over time the PA could be brought in to administer the area, and Hamas could also take part in administration if it releases the hostages it currently holds and disarms its military wing. However, Netanyahu has largely rejected allowing the PA to administer the Strip, and has vowed the total annihilation of Hamas. A separate plan, envisioned by the right-wing Misgav think tank, calls for a long-term Israeli military occupation of Gaza, at least until three-quarters of the military wings of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad have been eliminated. According to the report, the IDF estimates it has killed or captured about half of Hamas’s fighting force. Only once that objective is accomplished would the administration of the enclave by a separate force be feasible, the think tank said.
That proposal, which was submitted to Netanyahu by Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, would see northern Gaza remaining without reconstruction. Its residents, who have mostly evacuated to the southern part of the Strip, would not be allowed to return, at least until Hamas’s tunnel network is destroyed.
While the Misgav plan also calls for humanitarian areas in which aid could be distributed, the proposal does not endorse giving locals administrative responsibilities. The plan’s creators reportedly believe the military occupation of Gaza will last between one and five years.
The Wall Street Journal presented a third plan, spearheaded by an unnamed former head of Israeli intelligence, which calls for Israel to collaborate with the US and Arab countries to create a new Palestinian governing body that would work with Israel to fight terrorism. As a compromise between Arab states’ demand that their participation in a day-after plan be conditioned upon an Israeli commitment to a Palestinian state and Netanyahu’s refusal to make such a commitment, the plan calls for discussions on that issue to begin five years after the war.
A fourth plan, devised by the Washington-based Wilson Center, calls for a US-led international police force to administer Gaza without requiring Israel to commit to achieving Palestinian statehood. Eventually, the police force would hand over administrative duties to an undefined Palestinian body.
Robert Silverman, a former US diplomat in Iraq who co-authored that plan, said that despite amending the proposal to fit Israeli demands, it was halted at the Prime Minister’s Office.
“[Netanyahu] believes we finish the war first and then plan the postwar,” Silverman told The Wall Street Journal. “All the people who have done this before say that’s a huge mistake.” A fifth plan written by Israeli academics, and reportedly seen by Netanyahu, seeks to draw on historical precedents of rebuilding war zones, like post-World War II Germany and Japan, as well as Iraq and Afghanistan following the US occupation there.
The document seen by The Wall Street Journal acknowledges the complexities in deradicalizing the education system in Gaza and finding new leadership, and therefore called for the proposal to be implemented as soon as possible. link
The development comes after Netanyahu’s office for months directed the security establishment to not include the PA in any of its plans for the post-war management of Gaza, according to two Israeli officials who said the order significantly hampered efforts to craft realistic proposals for what has become known as “the day after.”
Publicly, Netanyahu continues to reject the idea of PA rule over the Gaza Strip, telling Channel 14 last week that he will not allow a Palestinian state to be established in the coastal territory while stating he’s “not prepared to give [Gaza] to the PA
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in recent weeks has privately been walking back its opposition to the involvement of individuals linked to the Palestinian Authority in managing Gaza after the war against Hamas, three officials familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.
The development comes after Netanyahu’s office for months directed the security establishment to not include the PA in any of its plans for the post-war management of Gaza, according to two Israeli officials who said the order significantly hampered efforts to craft realistic proposals for what has become known as “the day after.”
Publicly, Netanyahu continues to reject the idea of PA rule over the Gaza Strip, telling Channel 14 last week that he will not allow a Palestinian state to be established in the coastal territory while stating he’s “not prepared to give [Gaza] to the PA.”
Instead, Netanyahu told the right-wing network that he would like to establish a “civil administration — if possible with local Palestinians and hopefully with support from countries in the region.”
Privately, however, Netanyahu’s top aides have concluded that individuals with links to the PA are the only viable option Israel has if it wants to rely on “local Palestinians” to manage civilian affairs in Gaza after the war, two Israeli and one US official confirmed over the past week.
“‘Local Palestinians’ is code for PA-affiliated individuals,” an Israeli security official said. The likelihood that Abbas would authorize these officials and institutions to manage Gaza without an Israeli commitment to establish a political horizon that leads to a two-state solution remains exceedingly low. The same goes for the involvement of neighboring Arab countries in the post-war governance or securing of Gaza, given that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and others have conditioned their assistance on a viable path to a two-state solution.
The second Israeli official explained that Netanyahu’s opposition to handing control of Gaza to the “current PA” remains in place, but that he could be more flexible if Ramallah implements significant reforms to better address incitement and terrorism in the West Bank.
However, two sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel in March that Netanyahu’s office was dragging its feet in getting on board with a major revamp of the PA, which would include an end to the welfare payments it doles out to families of Palestinian terror convicts based on the length of their prison sentences — a policy criticized as “pay-to-slay.”
The White House has for months sought to receive a nod of approval from Israel before the proposed reform of the PA is rolled out, worried that Jerusalem’s rejection of the plan could lead Republicans and some Democrats in Congress to follow suit, thereby undercutting the effort’s legitimacy in Washington, the sources said. full article
The Israeli military on Monday called on Palestinians in eastern neighborhoods of Khan Younis to evacuate the area and head toward the designated “humanitarian zone,” likely preceding a renewed ground offensive in the southern Gaza city.
The Israel Defense Forces pulled out of Khan Younis in April after operating there for four months, similar to its withdrawal from the northern Gaza Strip earlier in the campaign against Hamas. The IDF has since returned to those areas to carry out smaller, localized operations, and looks set to repeat this in the southern city.
Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, published a list of the zones that need to be evacuated alongside the announcement, including the Khan Younis suburbs of al-Qarara and Bani Suheila, the Abasan neighborhoods, the town of Khuza’a, and several other areas. The move came after the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group fired a barrage of at least 20 rockets from the Khan Younis area at Israeli border communities, in the largest volley in at least seven months.
“Fear and extreme anxiety have gripped people after the evacuation order,” said Bani Suhaila resident Ahmad Najjar. “There is a large displacement of residents.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s spokesman said “it just shows yet again, that no place is safe in Gaza, more efforts need to be made to protect civilians.”
The vast majority of the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip is currently residing in the Israeli-designated “humanitarian zone,” according to fresh IDF assessments.
Some 1.9 million Palestinians of the 2.3 million Gazan population are currently in the humanitarian zone, located in the al-Mawasi area on the Strip’s coast, some western neighborhoods of Khan Younis, and central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah.
A few hundred thousand Palestinians remain in northern Gaza, and only some 20,000 Palestinians remain in the Rafah area, according to the estimates.
Around 1.4 million Palestinians had been sheltering in Rafah, until the IDF launched its offensive there in May, ordering civilians to move to the humanitarian zone.
Security officials say work that began this morning to boost electric power to a Gaza desalination plant is critical for Israel to continue its operations against Hamas in the Strip.
Officials say the desalination plant will potentially provide 20,000 cubic meters of water daily to the humanitarian zone area, where the vast majority of Gaza’s population is currently residing.
Some 1.9 million Palestinians are currently in the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone, according to Israeli estimates.
Increased drinking water is especially necessary during the summer, and the humanitarian zone also requires water for sanitation to prevent diseases from spreading. Such diseases could also harm Israeli soldiers in Gaza, as well as hostages held by Hamas.
Officials say that preventing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is key to continuing the fighting against Hamas. Otherwise, the country could potentially be forced to end the war.
The move to provide power to the desalination plant was approved by government officials, including the defense minister and energy minister.
Officials say that the plant will be immediately disconnected if the military sees Hamas siphoning off electricity.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
- Amid the continued Hezbollah attacks that have pushed the two countries to the brink of war, the Israel Defense Forces carried out numerous strikes in Lebanon, with the Iran-backed terror group later announcing the death of one of its members.
Former war cabinet member Benny Gantz meanwhile warned European ambassadors that if the government in Beirut doesn’t restrain Hezbollah, all of Lebanon would soon pay. After several hours of calm Monday morning, aside from a false alarm overnight, a number of rockets hit Israel in the afternoon. One struck the northern border town of Metula, the military said.
There were no reports of injuries, with Metula having largely been evacuated. According to Hebrew media reports, the rocket hit an unoccupied home, with no sirens activated to warn of the attack.
Rocket sirens were also heard in the town of Kiryat Shmona and at least seven rockets hit areas in the north during the afternoon. Five rockets were fired at the northern community of Maayan Baruch, setting off sirens. The IDF said the rockets struck open areas, causing no injuries.
Earlier, one rocket was fired at Dovev, setting off a siren there and another was fired at Ramot Naftali, setting off sirens. According to the IDF, both rockets struck open areas, causing no injuries.
- **Hezbollah and Iran in Urgent Discussions on Lebanon, Report: Possible Timing for IDF Ground Operation**
As the intense phase of fighting in Gaza concludes, eyes are turning towards the northern front • Hezbollah and Iran are discussing how to act once the operation in Rafah ends - whether to reduce attacks from Lebanon in response? • The army requested four more weeks to complete the operation in Rafah.Hezbollah and Iranian officials have held discussions in recent days regarding how they should act once Israel completes the intense phase in the Gaza Strip, namely - the end of the operation in Rafah. Meanwhile, the German newspaper "Bild" reported last night (Monday) that the West estimates that if Hezbollah doesn't stop its attacks on the border - Israel will begin a ground operation in the third or fourth week of July.Initially, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah defined Lebanon as a "supporting front" - meaning, as long as the campaign in Gaza continues, the organization is responsible for "keeping Israel busy." Accordingly, there are signs indicating that Hezbollah is considering weakening its fire towards the north, as there indeed seems to be a weakening in the intensity of the operation in Gaza.In the last 48 hours, there has been a drastic decrease in threats from the Iranians towards Israel. In the days before, the Iranians repeatedly threatened to come to Hezbollah's aid in case Israel attacks Lebanon. But now, the Iranian tone has changed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that "we are progressing towards the end of the elimination phase of Hamas's terror army, we will continue to strike at its remnants." His words come in the shadow of the dramatic discussion in the Southern Command that took place with the participation of the Prime Minister as well as the top command of the IDF and the Minister of Defense.
In the discussion, the next stages in the campaign in Gaza were presented. The military requested four additional weeks to complete the operation in Rafah - until the end of July. Some of the remaining goals to complete by the end of this time window are to locate the tunnels that still exist along the Philadelphi Corridor. As already published on N12, it was explained in the discussion that the achievement in Rafah is still big enough that if it's necessary to stop the operation before July in order to reach an arrangement in the north - it's possible. Netanyahu will present everything that was presented in the discussion to the government as well. The IDF says it's important not to make declarations about ending the war, in order to leave a chance for a hostage deal.
- **Hezbollah and Iran in Urgent Discussions on Lebanon, Report: Possible Timing for IDF Ground Operation**
As the intense phase of fighting in Gaza concludes, eyes are turning towards the northern front • Hezbollah and Iran are discussing how to act once the operation in Rafah ends - whether to reduce attacks from Lebanon in response? • The army requested four more weeks to complete the operation in Rafah.Hezbollah and Iranian officials have held discussions in recent days regarding how they should act once Israel completes the intense phase in the Gaza Strip, namely - the end of the operation in Rafah. Meanwhile, the German newspaper "Bild" reported last night (Monday) that the West estimates that if Hezbollah doesn't stop its attacks on the border - Israel will begin a ground operation in the third or fourth week of July.Initially, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah defined Lebanon as a "supporting front" - meaning, as long as the campaign in Gaza continues, the organization is responsible for "keeping Israel busy." Accordingly, there are signs indicating that Hezbollah is considering weakening its fire towards the north, as there indeed seems to be a weakening in the intensity of the operation in Gaza.In the last 48 hours, there has been a drastic decrease in threats from the Iranians towards Israel. In the days before, the Iranians repeatedly threatened to come to Hezbollah's aid in case Israel attacks Lebanon. But now, the Iranian tone has changed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that "we are progressing towards the end of the elimination phase of Hamas's terror army, we will continue to strike at its remnants." His words come in the shadow of the dramatic discussion in the Southern Command that took place with the participation of the Prime Minister as well as the top command of the IDF and the Minister of Defense.In the discussion, the next stages in the campaign in Gaza were presented. The military requested four additional weeks to complete the operation in Rafah - until the end of July. Some of the remaining goals to complete by the end of this time window are to locate the tunnels that still exist along the Philadelphi Corridor. As already published on N12, it was explained in the discussion that the achievement in Rafah is still big enough that if it's necessary to stop the operation before July in order to reach an arrangement in the north - it's possible. Netanyahu will present everything that was presented in the discussion to the government as well. The IDF says it's important not to make declarations about ending the war, in order to leave a chance for a hostage deal.
West Bank and Jerusalem
- The Israeli injured in the West Bank shooting attack earlier was lightly hurt in the upper body, the Magen David Adom service says.
Politics
- MK Gilad Kariv welcomes the announcement by the Department for Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) that the police officer who forcefully shoved him at an anti-government protest will be put on disciplinary trial.
He asserts, however, that there has been a dramatic rise in incidents of police violence against demonstrators, and lays the blame at the door of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has authority over the police, and at that of DIPI itself.
“In recent months we have seen a steep increase in the level of violence by police officers. This is a direct result of the attitude encouraged by the minister, but no less due to the lenient treatment [of police violence] by DIPI and by the disciplinary authorities of the police,” says Kariv during a hearing of the Knesset Caucus for the Fight Against Police Violence.
“It cannot be that for months citizens’ complaints are not handled properly,” adds the Labor MK.
The Department for Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) announces that it has instructed the Israel Police’s disciplinary unit to hold a disciplinary hearing for a police officer who shoved MK Gilad Kariv during an anti-government demonstration in Tel Aviv in February.
Video footage from the incident showed Kariv, an MK for the Labor party, engaged in an angry exchange with the police officer in question, who then shoved Kariv twice.
DIPI says the police officer had no authority to use force against the MK.
Complaints of police violence against anti-government protestors have mounted in recent months, leading the Public Defender’s Office to strongly criticize DIPI last week for failing to deal with the growing problem.
The National Unity party submits a bill that seeks to cancel the Knesset’s upcoming recess, slated to begin at the end of the month and run until October 27.
“Going on a three-month recess at this time, while 120 hostages are still in the hands of Hamas, thousands are still displaced from their homes, and thousands of men and women of the security forces are being called to serve and are forced to leave their homes, their families and their workplaces harms government oversight during wartime as well as the public interest,” the party says in a statement.
The Knesset is currently holding “critical discussions” on issues such as ultra-Orthodox military service, the extension of conscripts’ and reservists’ service, and the rehabilitation of the battered north of the country, it notes. Just as Israeli solders “are not going on vacation,” neither should elected officials, National Unity argues.
Their announcement comes a week after Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer, making a similar argument, called on Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana to cancel the recess.
Recalling his party’s unsuccessful call to cancel the Knesset’s previous recess, which ran from April 7 to May 19, Forer said lawmakers now “have the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the past and do the minimum required to change the situation.”
He asserts, however, that there has been a dramatic rise in incidents of police violence against demonstrators, and lays the blame at the door of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has authority over the police, and at that of DIPI itself.
“In recent months we have seen a steep increase in the level of violence by police officers. This is a direct result of the attitude encouraged by the minister, but no less due to the lenient treatment [of police violence] by DIPI and by the disciplinary authorities of the police,” says Kariv during a hearing of the Knesset Caucus for the Fight Against Police Violence.
“It cannot be that for months citizens’ complaints are not handled properly,” adds the Labor MK.
The Department for Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) announces that it has instructed the Israel Police’s disciplinary unit to hold a disciplinary hearing for a police officer who shoved MK Gilad Kariv during an anti-government demonstration in Tel Aviv in February.
Video footage from the incident showed Kariv, an MK for the Labor party, engaged in an angry exchange with the police officer in question, who then shoved Kariv twice.
DIPI says the police officer had no authority to use force against the MK.
Complaints of police violence against anti-government protestors have mounted in recent months, leading the Public Defender’s Office to strongly criticize DIPI last week for failing to deal with the growing problem.
The National Unity party submits a bill that seeks to cancel the Knesset’s upcoming recess, slated to begin at the end of the month and run until October 27.
“Going on a three-month recess at this time, while 120 hostages are still in the hands of Hamas, thousands are still displaced from their homes, and thousands of men and women of the security forces are being called to serve and are forced to leave their homes, their families and their workplaces harms government oversight during wartime as well as the public interest,” the party says in a statement.
The Knesset is currently holding “critical discussions” on issues such as ultra-Orthodox military service, the extension of conscripts’ and reservists’ service, and the rehabilitation of the battered north of the country, it notes. Just as Israeli solders “are not going on vacation,” neither should elected officials, National Unity argues.
Their announcement comes a week after Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer, making a similar argument, called on Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana to cancel the recess.
Recalling his party’s unsuccessful call to cancel the Knesset’s previous recess, which ran from April 7 to May 19, Forer said lawmakers now “have the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the past and do the minimum required to change the situation.”
The Region and the World
- **Massive Lawsuit Against Iran, Syria, and North Korea: "They Provided Military, Tactical, and Financial Support for the October 7 Attack"
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) filed the lawsuit against Iran, Syria, and North Korea to hold them responsible for Hamas's terror attack on October 7 • This is the largest lawsuit of its kind, with over 100 plaintiffs • "We hope this case will bring justice and that the world will listen," said Nahar Neta, whose mother was murdered on the Black Saturday.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Kroll law firm filed a federal lawsuit today (Monday) claiming that Iran, Syria, and North Korea provided Hamas with support that enabled it to carry out the October 7 massacre. The lawsuit, which includes more than 100 plaintiffs, demands financial compensation in accordance with federal laws in the United States.
The lawsuit filed by the world's leading organization for preventing hate crimes and antisemitism claims that Iran, Syria, and North Korea provided Hamas with military, tactical, and financial support that allowed the terror organization to carry out the attack on Black Saturday. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt described the importance of the lawsuit filed by the organization: "Iran is the world's largest supporter of terrorism and antisemitism, along with Syria and North Korea - they must be held accountable for their part in the largest antisemitic attack since the Holocaust."
Greenblatt added that the League is doing everything in its power to bring Hamas terrorists and their supporters to justice, and emphasized that in a world where Jewish pain and suffering are too often erased, the plaintiffs hope the case will lead to a breakthrough: "This will bring justice to some of the victims and create a record of Hamas's terrible brutality, carried out with the support of these state sponsors of terrorism."
Foreign countries supporting terrorist activities usually refuse to honor judgments against them, so the victims will need support from the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund - a fund established by the U.S. Congress in 2015 to ensure consistent and significant payments to victims.
One of the plaintiffs, Nahar Neta, whose mother was murdered in Kibbutz Be'eri, said that although the lawsuit will not alleviate the pain, it has the power to do justice and echo the stories from hell: "Nothing will ever heal the unbearable pain Hamas has caused our family or the terrible loss we've suffered, but we hope this case will bring some sense of justice, it's important for us to get the opportunity to tell our stories so the world will hear."
James Pasch, ADL Senior Director of National Litigation and the League's lead counsel in this case, added that beyond financial compensation, the case is of great importance in terms of evidence for the massacre: "In a world where denial of October 7 took hold almost immediately after the events, this case will set the record straight regarding the atrocities that took place that day, and ultimately pave the way for justice, accountability, and compensation."
Each of the more than 100 plaintiffs is a U.S. citizen, or a family member of a U.S. citizen, and the case details the atrocities experienced by victims at the Nova Festival, Kibbutz Be'eri, Kibbutz Sa'ad, Kibbutz Kissufim, Sufa Base, Kibbutz Erez, Kibbutz Alumim, Kibbutz Nir Oz, and the city of Ofakim.
Personal Stories
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) filed the lawsuit against Iran, Syria, and North Korea to hold them responsible for Hamas's terror attack on October 7 • This is the largest lawsuit of its kind, with over 100 plaintiffs • "We hope this case will bring justice and that the world will listen," said Nahar Neta, whose mother was murdered on the Black Saturday.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Kroll law firm filed a federal lawsuit today (Monday) claiming that Iran, Syria, and North Korea provided Hamas with support that enabled it to carry out the October 7 massacre. The lawsuit, which includes more than 100 plaintiffs, demands financial compensation in accordance with federal laws in the United States.
The lawsuit filed by the world's leading organization for preventing hate crimes and antisemitism claims that Iran, Syria, and North Korea provided Hamas with military, tactical, and financial support that allowed the terror organization to carry out the attack on Black Saturday. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt described the importance of the lawsuit filed by the organization: "Iran is the world's largest supporter of terrorism and antisemitism, along with Syria and North Korea - they must be held accountable for their part in the largest antisemitic attack since the Holocaust."
Greenblatt added that the League is doing everything in its power to bring Hamas terrorists and their supporters to justice, and emphasized that in a world where Jewish pain and suffering are too often erased, the plaintiffs hope the case will lead to a breakthrough: "This will bring justice to some of the victims and create a record of Hamas's terrible brutality, carried out with the support of these state sponsors of terrorism."
Foreign countries supporting terrorist activities usually refuse to honor judgments against them, so the victims will need support from the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund - a fund established by the U.S. Congress in 2015 to ensure consistent and significant payments to victims.
One of the plaintiffs, Nahar Neta, whose mother was murdered in Kibbutz Be'eri, said that although the lawsuit will not alleviate the pain, it has the power to do justice and echo the stories from hell: "Nothing will ever heal the unbearable pain Hamas has caused our family or the terrible loss we've suffered, but we hope this case will bring some sense of justice, it's important for us to get the opportunity to tell our stories so the world will hear."
James Pasch, ADL Senior Director of National Litigation and the League's lead counsel in this case, added that beyond financial compensation, the case is of great importance in terms of evidence for the massacre: "In a world where denial of October 7 took hold almost immediately after the events, this case will set the record straight regarding the atrocities that took place that day, and ultimately pave the way for justice, accountability, and compensation."
Each of the more than 100 plaintiffs is a U.S. citizen, or a family member of a U.S. citizen, and the case details the atrocities experienced by victims at the Nova Festival, Kibbutz Be'eri, Kibbutz Sa'ad, Kibbutz Kissufim, Sufa Base, Kibbutz Erez, Kibbutz Alumim, Kibbutz Nir Oz, and the city of Ofakim.
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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