π️Lonny's War Update- October 271, 2023 - July 3, 2024 π️
π️Day 271 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
*5:00pm - north - rockets - Margaliot, Kiryat Shemona, Beit Hillel, Tel Hai, Kfar Giladi, Metulla*5:05pm - north - rockets - Kiryat Shemona*12:00am - south - rockets - Sufa, Holit*12:45pm- north - terrorist attack in Carmiel - 1 dead, 1 seriously wounded in stabbing attack
Hostage Updates
Rescued hostage Noa Argamani says she is grateful she was able to spend her mother’s last moments with her as Liora Argamani is laid to rest in Beersheba, after she died earlier in the day following a lengthy battle with brain cancer.
“I stand here and it’s still hard for me to accept. Against all odds I was privileged to be with you in your last moments, to talk to you, laugh with you and hear you,” she says in front of a packed room.
Noa Argamani was kidnapped from the Nova festival on October 7 and held hostage until June 8, when she was rescued from an apartment building in central Gaza, along with three other hostages in a nearby building, in an operation by Israeli special forces. She was swiftly reunited with her mother, who was already in a deteriorated condition, and the two spent the last weeks together. “Thank you for being strong and holding on so I could see you one last time,” Argamani says. She thanks her mother for their 26 years together and for everything she taught her. “You made me who I am today,” she says.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasts “anonymous sources” in the IDF quoted telling The New York Times that Israel’s military leadership wants a ceasefire in Gaza even if it leaves Hamas in power for the time being.
“I don’t know who those unnamed parties are, but I’m here to make it unequivocally clear: It won’t happen,” says Netanyahu in a video statement. “We will end the war only after we have achieved all of its goals, including the elimination of Hamas and the release of all our hostages.”
According to the report, which quoted nine current and former military officials, army brass see a break in the fighting as the best way to free the hostages, as well as replenish depleted weapons stocks and troop strength ahead of a possible war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Netanyahu denies the army is short on anything it needs to fulfill the goals set for it by the political leadership.
“The IDF has all the means to achieve [the goals],” he says.
“We will not succumb to defeatism, neither at The New York Times nor anywhere else,” he adds. “We are filled with the spirit of victory.” link Netanyahu's two 'goals' are mutually exclusive at this time. Nearly 9 months since the war started and that the hostages are being held captive, we cannot wait for Netanyahu's elusive 'total victory' to get live hostages home. Only through a deal which will mean ending the war, will bring the hostages home. Yehuda Cohen, father of 19-year-old Nimrod who was kidnapped on October 7, said in a conversation with ynet that families of hostages will fly to the USA to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit there this month. "Netanyahu will surround himself with sympathy in the USA, we cannot stand by. Without Netanyahu's disappearance from the political map, there will be no progress in the deal," he claimed.
According to him, "The plan is not yet finalized, but we are supposed to arrive in the USA on the days Netanyahu will be in Washington. Of course, you'll know when we're there. The goal - so they don't think there isn't harsh criticism of Netanyahu from hostage families."
Hostage Updates
Rescued hostage Noa Argamani says she is grateful she was able to spend her mother’s last moments with her as Liora Argamani is laid to rest in Beersheba, after she died earlier in the day following a lengthy battle with brain cancer.
“I stand here and it’s still hard for me to accept. Against all odds I was privileged to be with you in your last moments, to talk to you, laugh with you and hear you,” she says in front of a packed room.
Noa Argamani was kidnapped from the Nova festival on October 7 and held hostage until June 8, when she was rescued from an apartment building in central Gaza, along with three other hostages in a nearby building, in an operation by Israeli special forces. She was swiftly reunited with her mother, who was already in a deteriorated condition, and the two spent the last weeks together. “Thank you for being strong and holding on so I could see you one last time,” Argamani says. She thanks her mother for their 26 years together and for everything she taught her. “You made me who I am today,” she says.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasts “anonymous sources” in the IDF quoted telling The New York Times that Israel’s military leadership wants a ceasefire in Gaza even if it leaves Hamas in power for the time being.
“I don’t know who those unnamed parties are, but I’m here to make it unequivocally clear: It won’t happen,” says Netanyahu in a video statement. “We will end the war only after we have achieved all of its goals, including the elimination of Hamas and the release of all our hostages.”
According to the report, which quoted nine current and former military officials, army brass see a break in the fighting as the best way to free the hostages, as well as replenish depleted weapons stocks and troop strength ahead of a possible war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Netanyahu denies the army is short on anything it needs to fulfill the goals set for it by the political leadership.
“The IDF has all the means to achieve [the goals],” he says.
“We will not succumb to defeatism, neither at The New York Times nor anywhere else,” he adds. “We are filled with the spirit of victory.” link Netanyahu's two 'goals' are mutually exclusive at this time. Nearly 9 months since the war started and that the hostages are being held captive, we cannot wait for Netanyahu's elusive 'total victory' to get live hostages home. Only through a deal which will mean ending the war, will bring the hostages home. Yehuda Cohen, father of 19-year-old Nimrod who was kidnapped on October 7, said in a conversation with ynet that families of hostages will fly to the USA to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit there this month. "Netanyahu will surround himself with sympathy in the USA, we cannot stand by. Without Netanyahu's disappearance from the political map, there will be no progress in the deal," he claimed.
According to him, "The plan is not yet finalized, but we are supposed to arrive in the USA on the days Netanyahu will be in Washington. Of course, you'll know when we're there. The goal - so they don't think there isn't harsh criticism of Netanyahu from hostage families."
Gaza
The United Nations says an evacuation order for parts of Khan Younis and Rafah is the largest such edict in the Gaza Strip since 1.1 million people were told to leave the north of the enclave in October.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric says Monday’s evacuation order applies to about a third of Gaza and initial estimates by the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, show that some 250,000 people may have been currently living in that area. Dujarric says “an evacuation of such a massive scale will only heighten the suffering of civilians and drive humanitarian needs even higher.”
“People are left with the impossible choice of having to relocate, some most likely for the second or third time, to areas that have barely any spaces or services, or staying in areas where they know heavy fighting will take place,” he says.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says troops have killed at least 900 terror operatives in southern Gaza’s Rafah amid the ongoing operation there.
“We count in [Hamas’s] Rafah Brigade, what we saw with our eyes… over 900 dead terrorists, including commanders, at least one battalion commander, many company commanders and many operatives,” Halevi says to troops during a visit to a forward logistics base in the southern Gaza Strip.
He says the military will continue to destroy Hamas’s infrastructure in Rafah, including its tunnels. “It takes time, so this campaign is long because we do not want to leave Rafah with the infrastructure,” Halevi says.
- The IDF spokesperson updated on the continued activity of Division 98 in Shuja'iyya, to which forces have returned in recent days. "They eliminated terrorists, located weapons, and destroyed terror infrastructure," he updated. According to the IDF, over the past day, fighters from the Paratroopers Brigade combat team destroyed more than 50 terror infrastructures. In focused raids carried out by the forces, they located operational shafts and weapons.
In the center of the Gaza Strip, Air Force aircraft, in cooperation with Division 99 forces, eliminated "terrorists who posed a threat." In the Rafah area, fighter jets in cooperation with Division 162 forces destroyed several terror infrastructures and eliminated terrorists in the area. In one of the strikes, a fighter jet in cooperation with forces from the Nahal Brigade combat team attacked a military structure and eliminated two terrorists who were in it.
The United Nations says an evacuation order for parts of Khan Younis and Rafah is the largest such edict in the Gaza Strip since 1.1 million people were told to leave the north of the enclave in October.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric says Monday’s evacuation order applies to about a third of Gaza and initial estimates by the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, show that some 250,000 people may have been currently living in that area. Dujarric says “an evacuation of such a massive scale will only heighten the suffering of civilians and drive humanitarian needs even higher.”
“People are left with the impossible choice of having to relocate, some most likely for the second or third time, to areas that have barely any spaces or services, or staying in areas where they know heavy fighting will take place,” he says.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says troops have killed at least 900 terror operatives in southern Gaza’s Rafah amid the ongoing operation there.
“We count in [Hamas’s] Rafah Brigade, what we saw with our eyes… over 900 dead terrorists, including commanders, at least one battalion commander, many company commanders and many operatives,” Halevi says to troops during a visit to a forward logistics base in the southern Gaza Strip.
He says the military will continue to destroy Hamas’s infrastructure in Rafah, including its tunnels. “It takes time, so this campaign is long because we do not want to leave Rafah with the infrastructure,” Halevi says.
In the center of the Gaza Strip, Air Force aircraft, in cooperation with Division 99 forces, eliminated "terrorists who posed a threat." In the Rafah area, fighter jets in cooperation with Division 162 forces destroyed several terror infrastructures and eliminated terrorists in the area. In one of the strikes, a fighter jet in cooperation with forces from the Nahal Brigade combat team attacked a military structure and eliminated two terrorists who were in it.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
Eight firefighting crews are battling a blaze near Kiryat Shmona sparked by a volley of rockets fired from Lebanon at the area earlier today, the fire service says.
Teams have been working for two hours to try to keep the flames from spreading to homes, but have yet to gain control over the fire, the service says.
The deputy leader of Hezbollah says the group cannot say if it would halt hostilities against Israel should the war in Gaza wind down without a formal ceasefire.
“If there is a ceasefire in Gaza, we will stop without any discussion,” Sheikh Naim Kassem tells The Associated Press at the terror group’s political HQ in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Hezbollah’s participation in the Israel-Hamas war has been as a “support front” for its ally, Hamas, Kassem says. “If the war stops, this military support will no longer exist.”
But he is less unequivocal on what happens if Israel withdraws but no ceasefire is declared, a scenario that Israeli and US officials have increasingly looked to as a possible way to bring fighting on Israel’s northern border to an end before it snowballs into all-out war.
“If what happens in Gaza is a mix between ceasefire and no ceasefire, war and no war, we can’t answer [how we would react] now, because we don’t know its shape, its results, its impacts,” Kassem says.
Kassem says he doesn’t believe that Israel has the ability or has made a decision to launch a war at present. He warns that even if Israel intends to launch a limited operation in Lebanon that stops short of a full-scale war, it should not expect the fighting to remain limited.
“Israel can decide what it wants: limited war, total war, partial war,” he says. “But it should expect that our response and our resistance will not be within a ceiling and rules of engagement set by Israel… If Israel wages the war, it means it doesn’t control its extent or who enters into it.”
A barrage of some 15 rockets was fired from Lebanon at the Kiryat Shmona area an hour ago, the IDF says. Ten of the rockets were intercepted by air defenses, and the other five impacts caused no injuries, according to the military. Hezbollah claimed responsibly, saying it launched dozens of Katyusha rockets at a military base in the area.
Meanwhile, the IDF says its fighter jets struck a building in southern Lebanon’s Yarine after a Hezbollah operative was identified entering the structure.
The Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib sent a special third-party message to Foreign Minister Israel Katz explaining to him that his country did not want a war to break out between them.
"We are interested in peace, we do not want war,” Habib said, in a statement that was delivered through the Azeri Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov who spoke with Katz on Tuesday. Their conversation was conveyed to The Jerusalem Post by Katz’s spokesperson.
Lebanon and Israel do not have diplomatic relations, so communications between them are unusual and often done through third parties. Habib spoke up amid growing fear of a Third Lebanon War after almost nine months of cross-border violence between the IDF and Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group located in Lebanon along its border with Israel.
Hezbollah has launched consistent attacks against the northern part of the country since Hamas invaded southern Israel on October 7. link The Lebanese government and the Lebanese people are against war and furious with Hizbollah for bringing them to the precipice of war.
"No Rehabilitation. Contractors Refuse to Come": The Enormous Damage to the North in Numbers
Almost 9 months since Hezbollah launched its attack on the north, and the extent of destruction revealed shows an abandoned region. More than 1,023 hits on buildings, 121 in Metula alone. About a quarter of the damage - due to IDF activity. The head of the Upper Galilee Regional Council emphasizes: "In most of our evacuated kibbutzim, it's impossible to even reach and assess the extent of damage"
It seems that Israel has not yet decided whether to go to a full-scale war in Lebanon, and meanwhile, the war of attrition being waged leaves behind destruction and ruin in more than 130 settlements. Since Hezbollah launched its attack on the north, more than 1,023 hits on civilian buildings, public structures, and infrastructure have been reported as a result of rocket fire, drones, and missiles from Lebanon. About a quarter of the damage is due to IDF activity in the north. This emerges from updated data from the "Northern Horizon" administration of the Ministry of Defense.
According to an analysis of damage reports collected by the northern administration, most of the civilian damage is to citizens' homes. Due to security risks, only 802 sites hit by fire have been inspected so far, and "Property Tax" officials have managed to reach them. At the beginning of the week, "Northern Horizon", together with Property Tax, began leading a pilot in Kibbutz Manara in the Upper Galilee, where they are collecting data and examining the extent and severity of damage using a special drone.
The five settlements with the most damaged houses, buildings, and public infrastructure are Kiryat Shmona with 147 hits reported so far. After it, Manara with 130 buildings damaged from minor to total destruction. Then Metula with 121 houses, most of which were damaged to an undetermined extent, due to the security risk for Property Tax assessors in reaching the settlement adjacent to the border fence with Lebanon. In Shlomi, 115 houses were hit, most of them lightly. In Arab al-Aramshe, 88 houses were damaged, the severity of half of them has not yet been determined due to security risk.
Based on the damage examined so far, it appears that Manara suffered the most severe hits. 65 of the kibbutz houses were moderately to very heavily damaged, out of a total of 130 buildings hit. The settlements of Shtula (42 houses), Kiryat Shmona (31), Zarit (20), and Avivim (20) are also at the top of the list of settlements with the highest number of severely damaged houses.
"In most of our evacuated kibbutzim, it's impossible to even reach and assess the state of damage to infrastructure, buildings, and residents' homes," describes Giora Zaltz, head of the Upper Galilee Regional Council. He explains that especially in the mountain back kibbutzim, like Yir'on, Yiftach, Misgav Am, and others, it's not possible to estimate the damage to residents' homes.
"The damage is not only from Hezbollah fire but also from the prolonged presence of IDF forces in the settlements. In kibbutzim like Yiftach where army forces were in all the houses for several months, we don't know what damage was caused by the prolonged stay. What is the damage to houses that weren't directly hit and no resident has visited them, but the windows of the houses were shattered and animals entered them, there's plumbing and water damage, and more."
Nearly nine months have passed since the war broke out and Israel has not yet decided whether the army will launch a counterattack to distance Hezbollah terrorists. As long as this war of attrition continues, the extent of damage will only increase and we will know its severity only in retrospect.
It's too early to talk about the necessary actions for rehabilitating the settlements. "We're not doing any repairs right now because contractors are not willing to enter and repair or build. We don't even have an estimate of when we can start dealing with rehabilitation." link
A man was killed and a second man was wounded in a terror stabbing attack at a shopping mall in the northern city of Karmiel on Wednesday, police and medics said.
The assailant was not immediately identified, according to police. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said that two men in their 20s were taken to Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya. They were listed in critical and serious condition, according to MDA. One of them was later declared dead.
"Two eliminated in vehicle strike near Tyre" | Report: One of them - a senior Hezbollah commander: Arab media outlets are reporting two casualties in a vehicle strike southeast of Tyre. According to a report on Al-Hadath network, one of them is the commander of Hezbollah's "Aziz" unit, Abu Ali Nasser. His unit operates in the eastern sector of Lebanon, from the South Lebanon area to the Western Bekaa.
Eight firefighting crews are battling a blaze near Kiryat Shmona sparked by a volley of rockets fired from Lebanon at the area earlier today, the fire service says.
Teams have been working for two hours to try to keep the flames from spreading to homes, but have yet to gain control over the fire, the service says.
The deputy leader of Hezbollah says the group cannot say if it would halt hostilities against Israel should the war in Gaza wind down without a formal ceasefire.
“If there is a ceasefire in Gaza, we will stop without any discussion,” Sheikh Naim Kassem tells The Associated Press at the terror group’s political HQ in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Hezbollah’s participation in the Israel-Hamas war has been as a “support front” for its ally, Hamas, Kassem says. “If the war stops, this military support will no longer exist.”
But he is less unequivocal on what happens if Israel withdraws but no ceasefire is declared, a scenario that Israeli and US officials have increasingly looked to as a possible way to bring fighting on Israel’s northern border to an end before it snowballs into all-out war.
“If what happens in Gaza is a mix between ceasefire and no ceasefire, war and no war, we can’t answer [how we would react] now, because we don’t know its shape, its results, its impacts,” Kassem says.
Kassem says he doesn’t believe that Israel has the ability or has made a decision to launch a war at present. He warns that even if Israel intends to launch a limited operation in Lebanon that stops short of a full-scale war, it should not expect the fighting to remain limited.
“Israel can decide what it wants: limited war, total war, partial war,” he says. “But it should expect that our response and our resistance will not be within a ceiling and rules of engagement set by Israel… If Israel wages the war, it means it doesn’t control its extent or who enters into it.”
A barrage of some 15 rockets was fired from Lebanon at the Kiryat Shmona area an hour ago, the IDF says. Ten of the rockets were intercepted by air defenses, and the other five impacts caused no injuries, according to the military. Hezbollah claimed responsibly, saying it launched dozens of Katyusha rockets at a military base in the area.
Meanwhile, the IDF says its fighter jets struck a building in southern Lebanon’s Yarine after a Hezbollah operative was identified entering the structure.
The Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib sent a special third-party message to Foreign Minister Israel Katz explaining to him that his country did not want a war to break out between them.
"We are interested in peace, we do not want war,” Habib said, in a statement that was delivered through the Azeri Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov who spoke with Katz on Tuesday. Their conversation was conveyed to The Jerusalem Post by Katz’s spokesperson.
Lebanon and Israel do not have diplomatic relations, so communications between them are unusual and often done through third parties. Habib spoke up amid growing fear of a Third Lebanon War after almost nine months of cross-border violence between the IDF and Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group located in Lebanon along its border with Israel.
Hezbollah has launched consistent attacks against the northern part of the country since Hamas invaded southern Israel on October 7. link The Lebanese government and the Lebanese people are against war and furious with Hizbollah for bringing them to the precipice of war.
"No Rehabilitation. Contractors Refuse to Come": The Enormous Damage to the North in Numbers
Almost 9 months since Hezbollah launched its attack on the north, and the extent of destruction revealed shows an abandoned region. More than 1,023 hits on buildings, 121 in Metula alone. About a quarter of the damage - due to IDF activity. The head of the Upper Galilee Regional Council emphasizes: "In most of our evacuated kibbutzim, it's impossible to even reach and assess the extent of damage"
It seems that Israel has not yet decided whether to go to a full-scale war in Lebanon, and meanwhile, the war of attrition being waged leaves behind destruction and ruin in more than 130 settlements. Since Hezbollah launched its attack on the north, more than 1,023 hits on civilian buildings, public structures, and infrastructure have been reported as a result of rocket fire, drones, and missiles from Lebanon. About a quarter of the damage is due to IDF activity in the north. This emerges from updated data from the "Northern Horizon" administration of the Ministry of Defense.
According to an analysis of damage reports collected by the northern administration, most of the civilian damage is to citizens' homes. Due to security risks, only 802 sites hit by fire have been inspected so far, and "Property Tax" officials have managed to reach them. At the beginning of the week, "Northern Horizon", together with Property Tax, began leading a pilot in Kibbutz Manara in the Upper Galilee, where they are collecting data and examining the extent and severity of damage using a special drone.
The five settlements with the most damaged houses, buildings, and public infrastructure are Kiryat Shmona with 147 hits reported so far. After it, Manara with 130 buildings damaged from minor to total destruction. Then Metula with 121 houses, most of which were damaged to an undetermined extent, due to the security risk for Property Tax assessors in reaching the settlement adjacent to the border fence with Lebanon. In Shlomi, 115 houses were hit, most of them lightly. In Arab al-Aramshe, 88 houses were damaged, the severity of half of them has not yet been determined due to security risk.
Based on the damage examined so far, it appears that Manara suffered the most severe hits. 65 of the kibbutz houses were moderately to very heavily damaged, out of a total of 130 buildings hit. The settlements of Shtula (42 houses), Kiryat Shmona (31), Zarit (20), and Avivim (20) are also at the top of the list of settlements with the highest number of severely damaged houses.
"In most of our evacuated kibbutzim, it's impossible to even reach and assess the state of damage to infrastructure, buildings, and residents' homes," describes Giora Zaltz, head of the Upper Galilee Regional Council. He explains that especially in the mountain back kibbutzim, like Yir'on, Yiftach, Misgav Am, and others, it's not possible to estimate the damage to residents' homes.
"The damage is not only from Hezbollah fire but also from the prolonged presence of IDF forces in the settlements. In kibbutzim like Yiftach where army forces were in all the houses for several months, we don't know what damage was caused by the prolonged stay. What is the damage to houses that weren't directly hit and no resident has visited them, but the windows of the houses were shattered and animals entered them, there's plumbing and water damage, and more."
Nearly nine months have passed since the war broke out and Israel has not yet decided whether the army will launch a counterattack to distance Hezbollah terrorists. As long as this war of attrition continues, the extent of damage will only increase and we will know its severity only in retrospect.
It's too early to talk about the necessary actions for rehabilitating the settlements. "We're not doing any repairs right now because contractors are not willing to enter and repair or build. We don't even have an estimate of when we can start dealing with rehabilitation." link
A man was killed and a second man was wounded in a terror stabbing attack at a shopping mall in the northern city of Karmiel on Wednesday, police and medics said.
The assailant was not immediately identified, according to police. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said that two men in their 20s were taken to Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya. They were listed in critical and serious condition, according to MDA. One of them was later declared dead.
"Two eliminated in vehicle strike near Tyre" | Report: One of them - a senior Hezbollah commander: Arab media outlets are reporting two casualties in a vehicle strike southeast of Tyre. According to a report on Al-Hadath network, one of them is the commander of Hezbollah's "Aziz" unit, Abu Ali Nasser. His unit operates in the eastern sector of Lebanon, from the South Lebanon area to the Western Bekaa.
West Bank and Jerusalem
- The Palestinian Authority health ministry in the West Bank says four people have died as the result of an IDF drone strike in the Nur Shams camp near Tulkarem.
Palestinian media named the four as Yazid Saad al-Shafi, Nimr Anwar Hamarsheh, Mohamed Yasser Shehadeh and Mohamed Hassan Ghannam, with photos showing them two of them holding rifles and a third in a tactical vest.
An Israeli drone strike was carried out against a cell of terror operatives in the West Bank’s Nur Shams camp a short while ago, the military says. According to the IDF, the operatives were planting an explosive device when they were struck. A military source says the IDF was tracking the cell, and ambushed them as the operatives began to plant a roadside bomb. The location of the strike was about 100 meters from where an Israeli soldier was killed by a roadside bomb on Monday morning, according to the source. Palestinian media also report the strike.
There is no immediate information on the number of casualties in the attack, but a report claims at least one person was killed and footage shared by Palestinian media shows at least one person being transported by ambulance as medics perform chest compressions.
Hebrew media reports say a large group of Israeli settlers hurled stones at Palestinian cars on a major West Bank road, injuring at least three travelers. According to the reports, citing an unnamed defense source, the army was called in to break up the riot on Route 60 near Luban al-Sharqiya, south of Nablus. The official Palestinian news outlet Wafa reports that three people were injured in the attacks, and damage was caused to a number of cars.
It’s unclear if the attack is related to an incident earlier in the day in which a group of settlers touring an outpost near Nablus were shot at, with one person lightly injured.
IDF troops have shot at least four gunmen during searches in the Nablus area for a terrorist who opened fire on Israeli civilians at a West Bank outpost earlier today, the military says.
An Israeli civilian at the Mitzpe Yosef outpost near the settlement of Har Bracha was slightly wounded by gunfire that came from deep within Nablus, according to the IDF and medics.
Following the attack, the IDF says it launched a manhunt for suspects in the Nablus area, during which it exchanged fire with several gunmen. A military source says at least four armed Palestinians were shot.
The official Palestinian Wafa news outlet reports that one person was shot in the foot during IDF operations in Nablus. It says soldiers have set up checkpoints around the city.
Palestinian media named the four as Yazid Saad al-Shafi, Nimr Anwar Hamarsheh, Mohamed Yasser Shehadeh and Mohamed Hassan Ghannam, with photos showing them two of them holding rifles and a third in a tactical vest.
An Israeli drone strike was carried out against a cell of terror operatives in the West Bank’s Nur Shams camp a short while ago, the military says. According to the IDF, the operatives were planting an explosive device when they were struck. A military source says the IDF was tracking the cell, and ambushed them as the operatives began to plant a roadside bomb. The location of the strike was about 100 meters from where an Israeli soldier was killed by a roadside bomb on Monday morning, according to the source. Palestinian media also report the strike.
There is no immediate information on the number of casualties in the attack, but a report claims at least one person was killed and footage shared by Palestinian media shows at least one person being transported by ambulance as medics perform chest compressions.
Hebrew media reports say a large group of Israeli settlers hurled stones at Palestinian cars on a major West Bank road, injuring at least three travelers. According to the reports, citing an unnamed defense source, the army was called in to break up the riot on Route 60 near Luban al-Sharqiya, south of Nablus. The official Palestinian news outlet Wafa reports that three people were injured in the attacks, and damage was caused to a number of cars.
It’s unclear if the attack is related to an incident earlier in the day in which a group of settlers touring an outpost near Nablus were shot at, with one person lightly injured.
IDF troops have shot at least four gunmen during searches in the Nablus area for a terrorist who opened fire on Israeli civilians at a West Bank outpost earlier today, the military says.
An Israeli civilian at the Mitzpe Yosef outpost near the settlement of Har Bracha was slightly wounded by gunfire that came from deep within Nablus, according to the IDF and medics.
Following the attack, the IDF says it launched a manhunt for suspects in the Nablus area, during which it exchanged fire with several gunmen. A military source says at least four armed Palestinians were shot.
The official Palestinian Wafa news outlet reports that one person was shot in the foot during IDF operations in Nablus. It says soldiers have set up checkpoints around the city.
Politics
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) released a second round of incriminating documents which shed more light unto funds that were allegedly ordered to be transferred from Doha to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, which is claimed to have taken place at least twice in the past 12 years.
These documents were leaked as part of the Raven Project, which involved the leak of dozens of Qatar related documents portraying Doha as financially involved with political and military figures across the world. According to Reuters, the documents originate in a leak led by ex-NSA agents working for actors in Qatar’s rival-neighbor, the UAE.
This round includes a 2012 classified "top secret" letter from then Qatari prime minister and foreign minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Aal Thani to then economy and finance minister Yousef Husain Kamal in which the prime minister explains the decision of the Qatari Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Aal Thani, to transfer a grant of $50 million to Netanyahu, and a second letter from the same year in which Kamal states that the money had been transferred to Netanyahu in cash by means of Qatar's State Security Service. Link It is quite unusual that the Jerusalem Post has published this before most of the rest of Israeli press. The Post has traditionally been Netanyahu supporters but tides seem to be turning as the war goes on. If there is truth and evidence to this story, Netanyahu needs to be tried, convicted and sent to prison for so many crimes, not the least should be treason. I am sure that there will be follow ups to this highly explosive story.
- An investigation by the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate into the events surrounding Hamas’s October 7 invasion and slaughter in southern Israel, presented to Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi last night, has found that there were more than enough indications of the imminent Hamas attack to have set off warning lights and enabled the prevention of the catastrophe, Channel 12 reports.
The results of the probe, described in the report as the “initial findings,” were presented to Halevi at a high-level meeting in his office, at which participants were required to sign a document pledging not to leak and agreeing to undergo polygraph tests if necessary in the future.
The TV report quotes “sources familiar” with the Intelligence Directorate probe saying there were signs ahead of the attack that should have “lit up all the red lights” and that “we’ve mobilized various fronts in the past on less than this.”
People who have seen the material in the investigation have expressed “deep frustration,” the TV report says, because it should have been “possible to connect all the dots and prevent this.”
Last night’s meeting was also presented with material covering the IDF Gaza Division’s assessments from 2018 until October 7, and specific material concerning the events of October 6 and 7, the report says.
The presentation covered “what each of the [various IDF] elements knew, what information they shared with each other, and what steps were taken in light of what they understood.” The TV report says there were no arguments over the facts, but “to some extent over interpretations.”
The TV report says Halevi may now seek a fuller investigation by incoming IDF intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, because of “tensions” between the chief of staff and outgoing intel chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, who announced his resignation in April. But it quotes other sources saying the probe is “very thorough.”
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) released a second round of incriminating documents which shed more light unto funds that were allegedly ordered to be transferred from Doha to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, which is claimed to have taken place at least twice in the past 12 years.
These documents were leaked as part of the Raven Project, which involved the leak of dozens of Qatar related documents portraying Doha as financially involved with political and military figures across the world. According to Reuters, the documents originate in a leak led by ex-NSA agents working for actors in Qatar’s rival-neighbor, the UAE.
This round includes a 2012 classified "top secret" letter from then Qatari prime minister and foreign minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Aal Thani to then economy and finance minister Yousef Husain Kamal in which the prime minister explains the decision of the Qatari Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Aal Thani, to transfer a grant of $50 million to Netanyahu, and a second letter from the same year in which Kamal states that the money had been transferred to Netanyahu in cash by means of Qatar's State Security Service. Link It is quite unusual that the Jerusalem Post has published this before most of the rest of Israeli press. The Post has traditionally been Netanyahu supporters but tides seem to be turning as the war goes on. If there is truth and evidence to this story, Netanyahu needs to be tried, convicted and sent to prison for so many crimes, not the least should be treason. I am sure that there will be follow ups to this highly explosive story.
The results of the probe, described in the report as the “initial findings,” were presented to Halevi at a high-level meeting in his office, at which participants were required to sign a document pledging not to leak and agreeing to undergo polygraph tests if necessary in the future.
The TV report quotes “sources familiar” with the Intelligence Directorate probe saying there were signs ahead of the attack that should have “lit up all the red lights” and that “we’ve mobilized various fronts in the past on less than this.”
People who have seen the material in the investigation have expressed “deep frustration,” the TV report says, because it should have been “possible to connect all the dots and prevent this.”
Last night’s meeting was also presented with material covering the IDF Gaza Division’s assessments from 2018 until October 7, and specific material concerning the events of October 6 and 7, the report says.
The presentation covered “what each of the [various IDF] elements knew, what information they shared with each other, and what steps were taken in light of what they understood.” The TV report says there were no arguments over the facts, but “to some extent over interpretations.”
The TV report says Halevi may now seek a fuller investigation by incoming IDF intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, because of “tensions” between the chief of staff and outgoing intel chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, who announced his resignation in April. But it quotes other sources saying the probe is “very thorough.”
The Region and the World
- Yemen’s Houthis say they and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq have conducted a joint operation attacking a vital target in the Israeli city of Haifa, though no such attack appears to have taken place.
The military operation has been carried out with “a number of winged missiles,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree says in a televised statement, without identifying the target.
There are no reports of attacks in or near Haifa or anywhere else in the country. The last air raid sirens sounded at 5 p.m. for a Hezbollah barrage aimed at the northern city of Kiryat Shmona. Earlier in the day, a drone alert sounded in the Golan Heights and the army said two UAVs were downed in southern Lebanon before reaching Israeli airspace.
The Houthis and Islamic Resistance in Iraq, both aligned with Iran, regularly make claims of attacks deemed overblown.
Personal Stories "On 7.10, the values of the state were lost along with Dad": The oldest hostage in captivity for 270 days
Shlomo Mansour, 86, is the only hostage from Kibbutz Kisufim. His wife, Mazal, begged for her life and managed to escape from the terrorists: "She knits at the pace of her thoughts and worries, longing for the return of the one who shared 60 years of life with her." His daughter chose not to tell her children until his granddaughter was upset that he didn't come to her birthday: "I dreamed he came back, but then I woke up."
In the first months after Shlomo Mansour (86) was kidnapped, his daughter Moshit chose not to tell her children, Uri (9) and Roni (7). "I hoped that when I told them what happened - he would already be with us," she explains, "I didn't believe we would reach this situation." But then Roni's birthday arrived, and she was very hurt that grandpa didn't come to celebrate with her. "What a jerk he is," the child said. When Uri went to school and saw the pictures of the hostages on a sign calling for their return, Moshit told him that grandpa was photographed as a representative of the Gaza envelope residents, and he was excited and filled with pride. But then the children returned to their routines and questions began to arise. Moshit had to tell them "that there were people who didn't behave nicely and took other people. I wrote down all the questions they raised and promised that when grandpa returns - they will be able to ask him everything." She says: "But all the wonderings still occupy them today, and I still don't have any answers. Later they found out that he was also beaten. Each time we reveal another part of the story to them. They take the worries and fears with them. We don't lack nights with screams during sleep. On Purim, they chose to dress up as soldiers, with guns and masks. They draw, sing, and play out their fears - they live it. Grandpa is really missing for them as a person and as a sign of return to the sanity that was taken from them. I have no way to calm them down - because I also don't know how to calm myself down. My head is constantly busy, there's no closure to the story."
**About Shlomo**Mansour is the oldest hostage held in the Strip, the only one in captivity from Kibbutz Kisufim. After surviving the Farhud riots (of WW2), he immigrated to Israel from Iraq in 1951 with his family. At 16, he was among the founders of Kisufim. He is a father of five children and grandfather to 12 grandchildren. On March 17, he marked his 86th birthday in captivity and earlier that month, on March 1, he was supposed to celebrate 60 years of marriage with Mazal, his wife. "This is a person who rides a bicycle and drives a car, tends to an invested garden full of creations, worked all his life in a chicken coop and an eyewear factory, studied jewelry making and carpentry," Moshit says, "full of energy, always with a smile and giving, he's a man of many talents and has a strong work ethic. He knows how to fix and do everything. He fills me with pride, he went through two Holocausts, with the second one happening in his country, in his home, the place where he was supposed to feel the most protected."
**October 7**On that Saturday, Moshit and her children were supposed to travel to her parents' house, but instead they woke up to the sounds of sirens heard in central Israel. "We got up in panic and entered the safe room. In a moment of pause, we turned on the TV and saw that there were endless alerts in Kisufim. I called my dad to ask how they were. He was already waiting for us to arrive but immediately understood the situation, and said to me: 'They changed our plans for us'," his daughter recounts. "I managed to have two more conversations with him. The last conversation ended at 7:24, and during it he promised me that 'everything will be okay'."
A few minutes later, the terrorists broke down the door of Shlomo and Mazal's home. "My mom begged for her life," Moshit says, "They violently took both of them out of the house, handcuffed my father and beat him. My mom asked them to stop and told them 'he's old, he didn't do anything'." On the way to their vehicle, Mazal identified an opportunity to escape, ran to her neighbor's house and locked herself in the safe room until the rescue under fire at 2:00 AM. The terrorists set a fire to make them come out, but miraculously it went out. "But we don't know what happened to dad since that day. It was clear to us that something bad happened, but we didn't understand what - the mind can't even imagine such a thing. We entered into a sleepless night, tried to understand from mom what happened to dad. Hours of shock and anxiety," she added tearfully.
**On his condition in captivity**"We know nothing and everything," says Moshit. Throughout all the days that Shlomo has been held captive, no sign of life has been received from him. No information about him was received from the released hostages either. "This is not a natural disappearance, there's a huge failure here. It angered me that the hostage release deal was stopped on the claim that Hamas didn't stand by the agreement. It's a terrorist organization," she emphasizes, "The process shouldn't have been stopped - we should have taken everything Hamas agreed to give and only when they stop on their side to move to other solutions."
**Moments of crisis**"There are endless moments of crisis every day. The questions don't leave me: how did this happen and why aren't they doing everything to bring everyone back. Dad has such a high level of values, which for me represents the country - the rootedness, manual labor, love for the homeland and others. On October 7, something in the country collapsed, and its values were lost along with dad. Our trust in the system is broken, the concern is endless, the longing for him is present all the time. Everything is a trigger - he's part of us at every moment," Moshit shares painfully. "The connection with my children, his grandchildren, is very much missing now. Every time we would come to Kisufim he would greet them excitedly at the entrance to the kibbutz. He would build them wooden games, a whole children's world especially for them in the garden. Never resting for a moment, giving immense attention and love to everyone, at all ages. Whenever they came to him they knew they would get whatever they wanted."
Mazal, Shlomo's wife, was evacuated to a hotel in the Dead Sea and is waiting to move to permanent housing in Omer. "These days she sits and knits at the pace of her thoughts and worries, missing his presence and hoping for the return of the one who shared 60 years of life with her," Moshit says.
**Moments of hope**"I know there are miracles, I'm waiting for one. That's my hope. Throughout my life I've seen miracles, so I'm waiting for my personal miracle."
We end the meeting with Mansour's grandchildren with ice cream, grandpa's favorite dessert. "We loved to ride with him on the mobility scooter, or go to the pool, and we loved eating ice cream together the most," Uri and Roni recount. "It became like a tradition in family gatherings, a kind of fixed ceremony where the ice cream is pulled out of the freezer at home or we go to choose it at the kibbutz store," Moshit added. "Grandpa got slapped by the terrorists, you know? I dreamed he came home and I hugged him, but then I woke up," Uri remembers. "Grandpa oh grandpa hug me, and we'll never part," Roni sings. link
The military operation has been carried out with “a number of winged missiles,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree says in a televised statement, without identifying the target.
There are no reports of attacks in or near Haifa or anywhere else in the country. The last air raid sirens sounded at 5 p.m. for a Hezbollah barrage aimed at the northern city of Kiryat Shmona. Earlier in the day, a drone alert sounded in the Golan Heights and the army said two UAVs were downed in southern Lebanon before reaching Israeli airspace.
The Houthis and Islamic Resistance in Iraq, both aligned with Iran, regularly make claims of attacks deemed overblown.
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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