π️Lonny's War Update- October 273, 2023 - July 5, 2024 π️
π️Day 273 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
*1:10pm yesterday - south - rockets Nahal Oz*8:55am- south - rockets- Kerem Shalom
*The army announced the death of a soldier -Reserve Major Itai Galea, 38 from Ramat Gan was killed by a rocket launched by Hizbollah in the Golan Heights. He left behind 2 young daughters and his wife in advanced stage of pregnancy. 
The army announce the death of a soldier killed in battle in Gaza City-Captain Eli Elisha Lugosi, 21 from Kiryat Shemona
May their memories forever be a blessing
Hostage Updates
- **Negotiation Delegation's Departure Approved for Deal Discussions, New Framework: Israel Can Return to Fighting**
**The day after Hamas' response, Israel believes a hostage deal can be reached within two to three weeks: "The main issues are behind us. The negotiations now are about details, not principles". Israel demanded the inclusion of female observers and warned: "Whoever removes them will ruin the entire deal"**
Israel is optimistic and believes reaching a hostage deal within two to three weeks is possible - but they say it won't be simple. The day after Hamas' response to the deal proposal, described by various sources as "the best so far", Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved sending out the negotiation delegation regarding the hostages. According to various reports, the deal is divided into three different stages - with stage A lasting six weeks, during which all women in captivity will be released, along with the elderly and sick. During this stage, where 33 living and deceased hostages are expected to be released, negotiations will be conducted on stage B of the deal - which Hamas has so far demanded to include a full IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, something Israel has so far refused. At this stage, the remaining living hostages will be released. In these two stages, hundreds of terrorists will be released from Israeli prisons, including those with blood on their hands. Afterwards - in stage C - the bodies will also be released.
According to a political source, Netanyahu "repeatedly emphasized that the war will end only after achieving all its goals and not a moment before". Therefore, the emerging agreement essentially preserves Israel's option to return to war if agreements on the second stage are not reached during the first stage. If this option wasn't preserved, the chance of negotiating for the men and soldiers who would remain in captivity after stage A would have drastically decreased.
Additionally, in the past, Hamas refused to include the kidnapped female observers in the humanitarian phase - and Israel insists on their inclusion. "Whoever wants to remove them will ruin the entire agreement," those sources warned.
Israel clarifies that this is not a "perfect" agreement, but sources familiar with the matter said that "the main issues are behind us. The negotiations now are about details, not principles, because we've already agreed on the principles". The teams, it should be noted, are formulating Hamas' response in both Arabic and Hebrew, to examine that there are no tricks or ploys.
The reasons that led to the change in direction, and the relative optimism that a deal might be possible soon, are the pressure from the United States alongside that of Qatar and Egypt; Hamas' understanding that the rift between Israel and the United States is not widening; and also Hamas' unfulfilled hope that the intensity of fighting in Gaza would gradually decrease.
It should be noted that prior to the approval of sending out the delegation, an Israeli senior official said that the possibility of a summit with the CIA chief and mediators in the coming days to reach a deal should not be ruled out. Meanwhile, the assessment is that the next stage will be proximity talks - it's still unclear where they will be held and at what level - whether in the presence of the Mossad chief or only through professional ranks. Link this is the best news we’ve heard in a long time but it’s hard to be too optimistic due to the major pitfalls in front of us. Hamas has not and will not drop their demand for an end of the war and it is very hard to believe that Netanyahu will put the hostages above his desire to continue the war. If the above report is completely true and not just journalists’ assumptions, then the first stage could run its course without a commitment to end the war (if Hamas will agree to this which I tend to doubt), and we can get back 33 hostages (living and dead) which will hopefully include the young women observer soldiers. The very bad aspect is that, like the November deal, it can all go to hell somewhere during the first stage or between the first and second stage and leave all the younger male hostages in captivity with the war still going strong. The best deal should be for all the hostages at once and an end to the war. We have to get them home.
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells US President Biden that he has agreed to send an Israeli delegation to renewed indirect negotiations, a Hamas spokesman is quoted as saying, “We do not trust Netanyahu or the US administration. We trust the resistance, our people, and the support fronts,” a reference to other Iran-backed terror groups including Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“By monitoring Netanyahu’s statements, we can notice the contradiction, and this confirms that Netanyahu is not serious about reaching an agreement,” Hamas spokesman in Lebanon Ahmed Abdel Hadi tells the pro-Hezbollah Lebanese al Mayadeen satellite news station, adding that “Netanyahu does not want a ceasefire.”
He says that Hamas is “dealing objectively” and vows to “continue the resistance if an agreement is not reached, and if an agreement is reached, that is excellent.” The Hamas spokesman says the terror group did not “submit a paper or provide a response” to the latest hostage-ceasefire deal proposal, but rather “showed flexibility.”
“We were seeking to formulate fixed phrases, and the flexibility today is in form, not content,” Abdel Hadi is quoted as saying.
“We were told by the mediators that the atmosphere is positive and that an agreement can be reached,” he adds.
More than six months of negotiations carried out by mediators including the US, Qatar and Egypt have time and again failed to advance toward a deal that would see the release of the 116 hostages kidnapped on October 7 who are believed to remain captive in Gaza, in exchange for a truce in fighting and the release of hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners.
Mossad spy agency chief David Barnea traveled alone today to Doha to meet with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani to discuss a proposed hostage and truce deal with Hamas, the Kan public broadcaster reports, citing senior Israeli officials.
Shin Bet security agency chief Ronen Bar and Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, the IDF’s point person in the talks, who are both part of Israel’s high-level negotiating team, did not accompany him, according to the report.
Officials tell Kan, people should curb their expectations that talks will be successful.
My brother's post: Some thoughts on the renewed negotiations:
First of all - the big issue - if this is what happened - then this is in fact a breakthrough - but i am totally unsure if Hamas has agreed to this:
Beginning the implementation of Phase I - 32 hostages, six weeks of ceasefire, Israeli redeployment outside of populated areas (where are these non-populated areas?), also the issue of number of humanitarian aid trucks and their delivery - who is in charge of distribution? Where? How? Movement of people from south to north? Who? How many people? When? Can Israel check them? The number of Palestinian prisoners to be released – the categories of prisoners? Israeli veto on names? Where are they released to? What are the terms of their release? Timing - prisoners to hostages? Who does the logistics - ICRC? someone else? - these are the main issues that must be answered if progress will be made.
Some additional questions: Why did Netanyahu agree to send only the head of the Mossad (Dede Barnea) and not the head of the Shabak (Ronen Bar) and the Chief Negotiator from the army (Nitzan Alon)? How much of a mandate did the Head of Mossad get from Netanyahu? Can any deal be accepted by Netanyahu’s government? If yes, would Ben Gvir and Smotrich remain in the government? Why is Israel negotiating for only 32 hostages and not all 120? Is it possible that Hamas was pressured into accepting a deal that does not obligate Israel to end the war or has the US promised Qatar and Egypt that the US would force the end of the war? Has the US received assurances from Lebanon that if the war in Gaza ends, the war in the north would also end?
There are many additional questions. I believe that I have the answers to some of them, but most remain without answers.
Gershon Baskin, July 5, 2024
- Hostage mothers rally at Habima Square to demand government ink deal
Hostage Updates
- **Negotiation Delegation's Departure Approved for Deal Discussions, New Framework: Israel Can Return to Fighting****The day after Hamas' response, Israel believes a hostage deal can be reached within two to three weeks: "The main issues are behind us. The negotiations now are about details, not principles". Israel demanded the inclusion of female observers and warned: "Whoever removes them will ruin the entire deal"**Israel is optimistic and believes reaching a hostage deal within two to three weeks is possible - but they say it won't be simple. The day after Hamas' response to the deal proposal, described by various sources as "the best so far", Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved sending out the negotiation delegation regarding the hostages. According to various reports, the deal is divided into three different stages - with stage A lasting six weeks, during which all women in captivity will be released, along with the elderly and sick. During this stage, where 33 living and deceased hostages are expected to be released, negotiations will be conducted on stage B of the deal - which Hamas has so far demanded to include a full IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, something Israel has so far refused. At this stage, the remaining living hostages will be released. In these two stages, hundreds of terrorists will be released from Israeli prisons, including those with blood on their hands. Afterwards - in stage C - the bodies will also be released.According to a political source, Netanyahu "repeatedly emphasized that the war will end only after achieving all its goals and not a moment before". Therefore, the emerging agreement essentially preserves Israel's option to return to war if agreements on the second stage are not reached during the first stage. If this option wasn't preserved, the chance of negotiating for the men and soldiers who would remain in captivity after stage A would have drastically decreased.Additionally, in the past, Hamas refused to include the kidnapped female observers in the humanitarian phase - and Israel insists on their inclusion. "Whoever wants to remove them will ruin the entire agreement," those sources warned.Israel clarifies that this is not a "perfect" agreement, but sources familiar with the matter said that "the main issues are behind us. The negotiations now are about details, not principles, because we've already agreed on the principles". The teams, it should be noted, are formulating Hamas' response in both Arabic and Hebrew, to examine that there are no tricks or ploys.The reasons that led to the change in direction, and the relative optimism that a deal might be possible soon, are the pressure from the United States alongside that of Qatar and Egypt; Hamas' understanding that the rift between Israel and the United States is not widening; and also Hamas' unfulfilled hope that the intensity of fighting in Gaza would gradually decrease.It should be noted that prior to the approval of sending out the delegation, an Israeli senior official said that the possibility of a summit with the CIA chief and mediators in the coming days to reach a deal should not be ruled out. Meanwhile, the assessment is that the next stage will be proximity talks - it's still unclear where they will be held and at what level - whether in the presence of the Mossad chief or only through professional ranks. Link this is the best news we’ve heard in a long time but it’s hard to be too optimistic due to the major pitfalls in front of us. Hamas has not and will not drop their demand for an end of the war and it is very hard to believe that Netanyahu will put the hostages above his desire to continue the war. If the above report is completely true and not just journalists’ assumptions, then the first stage could run its course without a commitment to end the war (if Hamas will agree to this which I tend to doubt), and we can get back 33 hostages (living and dead) which will hopefully include the young women observer soldiers. The very bad aspect is that, like the November deal, it can all go to hell somewhere during the first stage or between the first and second stage and leave all the younger male hostages in captivity with the war still going strong. The best deal should be for all the hostages at once and an end to the war. We have to get them home.
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells US President Biden that he has agreed to send an Israeli delegation to renewed indirect negotiations, a Hamas spokesman is quoted as saying, “We do not trust Netanyahu or the US administration. We trust the resistance, our people, and the support fronts,” a reference to other Iran-backed terror groups including Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“By monitoring Netanyahu’s statements, we can notice the contradiction, and this confirms that Netanyahu is not serious about reaching an agreement,” Hamas spokesman in Lebanon Ahmed Abdel Hadi tells the pro-Hezbollah Lebanese al Mayadeen satellite news station, adding that “Netanyahu does not want a ceasefire.”
He says that Hamas is “dealing objectively” and vows to “continue the resistance if an agreement is not reached, and if an agreement is reached, that is excellent.” The Hamas spokesman says the terror group did not “submit a paper or provide a response” to the latest hostage-ceasefire deal proposal, but rather “showed flexibility.”
“We were seeking to formulate fixed phrases, and the flexibility today is in form, not content,” Abdel Hadi is quoted as saying.
“We were told by the mediators that the atmosphere is positive and that an agreement can be reached,” he adds.
More than six months of negotiations carried out by mediators including the US, Qatar and Egypt have time and again failed to advance toward a deal that would see the release of the 116 hostages kidnapped on October 7 who are believed to remain captive in Gaza, in exchange for a truce in fighting and the release of hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners.
Mossad spy agency chief David Barnea traveled alone today to Doha to meet with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani to discuss a proposed hostage and truce deal with Hamas, the Kan public broadcaster reports, citing senior Israeli officials.
Shin Bet security agency chief Ronen Bar and Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, the IDF’s point person in the talks, who are both part of Israel’s high-level negotiating team, did not accompany him, according to the report.
Officials tell Kan, people should curb their expectations that talks will be successful.
My brother's post: Some thoughts on the renewed negotiations:
First of all - the big issue - if this is what happened - then this is in fact a breakthrough - but i am totally unsure if Hamas has agreed to this:
Beginning the implementation of Phase I - 32 hostages, six weeks of ceasefire, Israeli redeployment outside of populated areas (where are these non-populated areas?), also the issue of number of humanitarian aid trucks and their delivery - who is in charge of distribution? Where? How? Movement of people from south to north? Who? How many people? When? Can Israel check them? The number of Palestinian prisoners to be released – the categories of prisoners? Israeli veto on names? Where are they released to? What are the terms of their release? Timing - prisoners to hostages? Who does the logistics - ICRC? someone else? - these are the main issues that must be answered if progress will be made.
Some additional questions: Why did Netanyahu agree to send only the head of the Mossad (Dede Barnea) and not the head of the Shabak (Ronen Bar) and the Chief Negotiator from the army (Nitzan Alon)? How much of a mandate did the Head of Mossad get from Netanyahu? Can any deal be accepted by Netanyahu’s government? If yes, would Ben Gvir and Smotrich remain in the government? Why is Israel negotiating for only 32 hostages and not all 120? Is it possible that Hamas was pressured into accepting a deal that does not obligate Israel to end the war or has the US promised Qatar and Egypt that the US would force the end of the war? Has the US received assurances from Lebanon that if the war in Gaza ends, the war in the north would also end?
There are many additional questions. I believe that I have the answers to some of them, but most remain without answers.
Gershon Baskin, July 5, 2024
- Hostage mothers rally at Habima Square to demand government ink deal
Mothers of Hamas-held hostages are demonstrating in Tel Aviv’s Habima Square nearly nine months after the October 7 massacre.
The mothers are joined by at least a thousand of other demonstrators, who will soon begin marching toward the nearby Hostages Square.
“Every mother knows what it’s like to go through pregnancy,” says Shira Albag, mother of 19-year-old Liri Albag says. “I carried Liri for nine months… for nine months now my Liri is there, dealing with darkness in the tunnels, lack of air, and homesickness.”
“There is right now a deal on the table,” she continues, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “show leadership and courage and sign off the deal.”
Demonstrators led by the mothers then set out to Hostages Square, chanting: “Women want to return the hostages!”
Gaza
- Very important to read --The dramatic warning before the October 7 massacre: "The sword is coming - now is the time to warn the people"
Since the war, we have already been exposed to ignored warnings and intelligence reports, but News 12 has obtained a document containing one of the biggest warnings that should have set off all the red lights. Just before the massacre, a sergeant from Unit 8200 warned in an email to the intelligence officer of the Gaza Division: "Hamas' training demonstrates to us that the 'Jericho Wall' plan is operational. It's likely we won't be able to give a long enough warning to prepare for prevention."
**Exclusive:** Much will still be said about the October 7 failure, and after we've already exposed warnings and intelligence reports that were ignored on News 12, last night (Thursday) we published for the first time on the "Central Edition" what turned out to be one of the warnings closest to the date of the massacre, one of the most focused warnings.
The warning before the massacre was written by the same sergeant from Unit 8200 who rang all possible bells and received no response. In an email sent by Sergeant V., shortly before that black Saturday, she wrote that "the sword is coming - now is the time to warn the people" and in fact tried to warn again, hoping someone would wake up. In the email sent to a series of officers, including the intelligence officer of the Gaza Division, Sergeant V. wrote: "The training exercises demonstrate to us that the 'Jericho Wall' plan is an operational, practiced plan, meaning that Hamas already has forces today that practice these outlines and know how to carry them out on order day."
This is not the only warning. Sergeant V. also referred to the alert, an issue at the heart of the investigations: "It's likely we won't be able to give a long enough warning to prepare to prevent the event. This is the place to think about formulating concepts for dealing with the event when it actually happens in order to minimize the damage."
"The other side is determined in its intentions to carry out the plan. If the plan is activated - we can expect bitter and difficult fighting. The exercise is very reminiscent of the plan that appeared in 'Jericho Wall' to destroy the defense system of the Gaza Division. The raid training on the country's territory indicates that the 'Jericho Walls' plan is no longer just a plan on paper," wrote Sergeant V.
The email was sent after many others that had already been sent to the Division Intelligence Officer and other senior officers in Military Intelligence who simply refused to be impressed. However, she signed this email with almost desperate words, so that maybe this time someone would listen to her: "This email is in the nature of blowing the shofar because the sword is coming - now is the time to warn the people." This sentence corresponds with the verse from "Ezekiel" that every intelligence person who swore allegiance to the IDF and the corps knows. It describes the role of the intelligence person in the following words: "But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone's life, that person's life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood."
The email had a series of recipients, and in additional correspondence that reached us, also very close to October 7, V. again warns following the exercises and movements she analyzes and identifies in harsh sentences. As already claimed, the Division Intelligence Officer dismissed the warnings and wrote that the scenario she presented was completely imaginary, but this is the email that validated, that called to anyone who was willing to listen, that "Jericho Wall" is not just pompous boasting by Hamas as one of the senior intelligence officers defined it, but an action plan that went into execution.
In addition, several questions are raised, such as who saw the document and how high it went up and what was done about it. We hope that we will know soon as a result of the investigations, but one thing is certain, October 7 could and should have been prevented. It wasn't blindness, it was closing eyes while galloping into the abyss.
**IDF response:** "The IDF is in the midst of the process of internal operational investigations of the events of October 7 and what preceded them. The purpose of the investigations is learning and drawing lessons for the continuation of the fighting. The investigations are being carried out these days and when they are summarized, they will be presented transparently to the public."
Following the army's response, we checked with the IDF what was done with the information sent to the Division Intelligence Officer. According to sources in the IDF, the information in the email was not brought to the head of Military Intelligence or to the Chief of Staff. Also, what was written in the email was not included in the investigation chapter presented so far to the Chief of Staff, and this will be examined separately. In addition, from conversations we are having, it appears that tempers in Military Intelligence are running high, as those who ignored this email are still in their positions. link
The Israel Defense Forces publishes a video it says shows Hamas members beating captured Gazan civilians who entered a warehouse where humanitarian aid was stored.
“While Israel is making great efforts to ensure the entry of aid is being facilitated to the people of Gaza, Hamas continues to steal and hide it from Gazan civilians,” the IDF posts on X.
“These civilians just wanted to eat, but Hamas had other plans.”
Israel has long claimed that Hamas hoards food supplies, keeping the much-needed aid from the rest of the Gazan population. link to video
Some 100 gunmen have been killed and more than 100 sites belonging to terror groups have been destroyed amid the IDF’s ongoing week-long operation in Gaza City’s Shejaiya, the military says.
Over the past day, the IDF says troops killed dozens of gunmen in clashes, tank shelling, and by calling in airstrikes to Shejaiya.
One strike in Shejaiya was carried out against a terrorist who launched rockets at the southern community of Nahal Oz yesterday. The IDF says the terrorist was identified and struck two minutes after the attack on the border community.
The pinpoint operation in Shejaiya, launched on June 27, is being carried out by the 98th Division.
Meanwhile, the IDF says dozens more terror operatives were killed and several booby-trapped buildings were destroyed in southern Gaza’s Rafah over the past day, amid operations by the 162nd Division.
And in central Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor, several more gunmen were killed by troops with the 99th Division, including a cell attempting to plant bombs, the military says.
Amid the ground operations in Gaza, the IDF says fighter jets and drones carried out more than 50 strikes across the Strip, including booby-trapped buildings, cells of gunmen, and rocket launchers.
The Israel Defense Forces publishes a video it says shows Hamas members beating captured Gazan civilians who entered a warehouse where humanitarian aid was stored.
“While Israel is making great efforts to ensure the entry of aid is being facilitated to the people of Gaza, Hamas continues to steal and hide it from Gazan civilians,” the IDF posts on X.
“These civilians just wanted to eat, but Hamas had other plans.”
Israel has long claimed that Hamas hoards food supplies, keeping the much-needed aid from the rest of the Gazan population. link to video
Some 100 gunmen have been killed and more than 100 sites belonging to terror groups have been destroyed amid the IDF’s ongoing week-long operation in Gaza City’s Shejaiya, the military says.
Over the past day, the IDF says troops killed dozens of gunmen in clashes, tank shelling, and by calling in airstrikes to Shejaiya.
One strike in Shejaiya was carried out against a terrorist who launched rockets at the southern community of Nahal Oz yesterday. The IDF says the terrorist was identified and struck two minutes after the attack on the border community.
The pinpoint operation in Shejaiya, launched on June 27, is being carried out by the 98th Division.
Meanwhile, the IDF says dozens more terror operatives were killed and several booby-trapped buildings were destroyed in southern Gaza’s Rafah over the past day, amid operations by the 162nd Division.
And in central Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor, several more gunmen were killed by troops with the 99th Division, including a cell attempting to plant bombs, the military says.
Amid the ground operations in Gaza, the IDF says fighter jets and drones carried out more than 50 strikes across the Strip, including booby-trapped buildings, cells of gunmen, and rocket launchers.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
Following a day of over 200 rockets and 40 explosive UAVs launched on the north, a statement by Hizbollah:
Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem says the terror group is not expecting an all-out war with Israel at the moment but is ready for the worst.
Speaking to Russian outlet Sputnik, Qassem says that Israel has “no choice” but to end its war against the Hamas terror group through a ceasefire deal.
“Hamas will not stop if Israel doesn’t stop, and the most likely outcome for the war ending is through an agreement, especially because of the upheaval inside Israel,” he says, referring to anti-government protests.
“The possibility of expanding the war is not at hand at the moment, but the organization is prepared for the worst,” he adds.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah met a Hamas delegation headed by the group’s deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, to discuss the situation in Gaza and the latest ceasefire talks, Hezbollah says.
The security cabinet convened on Thursday evening as Israel approved sending a delegation to renewed hostage release and ceasefire talks, a day after Hamas submitted its latest amendments to the current proposed deal.
Overnight, Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon’s Jebbayn and Kfar Hamam, the military says.
It adds that troops also shelled areas near Naqoura with artillery to “remove a threat.” video of the attack
Following a day of over 200 rockets and 40 explosive UAVs launched on the north, a statement by Hizbollah:
Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem says the terror group is not expecting an all-out war with Israel at the moment but is ready for the worst.Speaking to Russian outlet Sputnik, Qassem says that Israel has “no choice” but to end its war against the Hamas terror group through a ceasefire deal.
“Hamas will not stop if Israel doesn’t stop, and the most likely outcome for the war ending is through an agreement, especially because of the upheaval inside Israel,” he says, referring to anti-government protests.
“The possibility of expanding the war is not at hand at the moment, but the organization is prepared for the worst,” he adds.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah met a Hamas delegation headed by the group’s deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, to discuss the situation in Gaza and the latest ceasefire talks, Hezbollah says.
The security cabinet convened on Thursday evening as Israel approved sending a delegation to renewed hostage release and ceasefire talks, a day after Hamas submitted its latest amendments to the current proposed deal.
Overnight, Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon’s Jebbayn and Kfar Hamam, the military says.
It adds that troops also shelled areas near Naqoura with artillery to “remove a threat.” video of the attack
West Bank and Jerusalem
- The Civil Administration, which manages civilian affairs in the West Bank, has declared 2,965 acres of land in the Jordan Valley region to be state land, meaning it is fit for future development.
According to the Peace Now organization, which campaigns against the West Bank settlements, this is the largest designation of state land since the Oslo Accords in 1993, and follows other large designations of state land including 1,976 acres also in the Jordan Valley in March, 650 acres east of Jerusalem in February, and 42 acres in the Etzion Bloc.
The new declaration involves land some 50 kilometers north of Jericho, immediately adjacent to the 1,976 acres of state land designated in March. The designation was issued on June 25 but only published today.
The amount of land declared to be state land in 2024, some 5,852 acres as of July, far outstrips any other year this century. The highest previous total was 1,181 acres in 2014.
The Civil Administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich are determined to fight against the entire world and against the interests of the people of Israel for the benefit of a handful of settlers who receive thousands of dunams [each one is a quarter acre] as if there were no political conflict to resolve, or war to end,” says Peace Now.
“Today, it is clear to everyone that this conflict cannot be resolved without a political settlement that establishes a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Still, the Israeli government chooses to actually make it difficult and distance us from the possibility of peace and stopping the bloodshed.”
Four terrorists were killed during an operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, a security official tells the Kan public broadcaster.
The Palestinian Authority health ministry also says four Palestinians were killed in Jenin. The IDF said earlier that it exchanged fire with several terrorists that were holed up in a building in the city and launched a drone strike targeting a terror squadron.
According to the Peace Now organization, which campaigns against the West Bank settlements, this is the largest designation of state land since the Oslo Accords in 1993, and follows other large designations of state land including 1,976 acres also in the Jordan Valley in March, 650 acres east of Jerusalem in February, and 42 acres in the Etzion Bloc.
The new declaration involves land some 50 kilometers north of Jericho, immediately adjacent to the 1,976 acres of state land designated in March. The designation was issued on June 25 but only published today.
The amount of land declared to be state land in 2024, some 5,852 acres as of July, far outstrips any other year this century. The highest previous total was 1,181 acres in 2014.
The Civil Administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich are determined to fight against the entire world and against the interests of the people of Israel for the benefit of a handful of settlers who receive thousands of dunams [each one is a quarter acre] as if there were no political conflict to resolve, or war to end,” says Peace Now.
“Today, it is clear to everyone that this conflict cannot be resolved without a political settlement that establishes a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Still, the Israeli government chooses to actually make it difficult and distance us from the possibility of peace and stopping the bloodshed.”
Four terrorists were killed during an operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, a security official tells the Kan public broadcaster.
The Palestinian Authority health ministry also says four Palestinians were killed in Jenin. The IDF said earlier that it exchanged fire with several terrorists that were holed up in a building in the city and launched a drone strike targeting a terror squadron.
Politics
- Dangerous incompetents at the heart of government are subverting Israel’s
war on Hamas
The release of a Gaza hospital chief back into the terrorists’ embrace is,
of course, anybody’s fault but that of the minister in charge of the prisons *
Is Corbyn finished? * How close is Iran to the bomb?
When you appoint dangerous incompetents to vital ministerial
positions, don’t be surprised when the result is dangerous incompetence.
Thus, on Monday,
Mohammad Abu Salmiya, the director of Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, who was arrested in November for
alleged complicity with Hamas, was released from detention in
Nafha Prison in the Negev and sent home to Gaza. Under Abu Salmiya’s watch,
Shifa had developed into a major Hamas command center,
where the IDF has killed hundreds of gunmen and
uncovered a substantial tunnel network,
where hostages were held, and where, according to the IDF,
at least one hostage, Noa Marciano, was killed. An oft-arrested thug
horrifyingly placed by Netanyahu in charge of the forces of law and order,
which he is now in the process of brutalizing, Ben Gvir is entirely incapable
of fulfilling ministerial responsibilities or, obviously, of acknowledging his
failures to do so.
Thus he has blamed the
release of a central alleged abettor of monstrous terrorists on the Shin Bet,
which has in fact long been warning that there are insufficient cells to hold
the large numbers of Hamas and Islamic Jihad suspects being taken into custody
during the Gaza war.
For his part, Netanyahu,
also incapable of taking responsibility for anything unsuccessful — starting
with the October 7 catastrophe itself — characteristically contrived to blame
his reviled High Court, for having expressed concern over the conditions in
which Gaza terror suspects have been held by the IDF at another facility, Sde
Teiman.
The bigger picture is
actually still more ignominious. Abu Salmiya was only one of some 55 Gaza
terror-affiliated suspects who were blithely transported from jail back to the
embrace of Hamas because of a lack of space. The Prison Service deemed them
less dangerous than other inmates, notably those from the West Bank, who it
calculated would immediately resume terrorist activities.
Worse still, the
Shin Bet has made clear that it has frequently refrained from arresting terror
suspects in Gaza because, despite the significant value of the material they can provide under
questioning, it knows there would be no facility available to hold them.
And thus, under the
stewardship of a minister who should have no place in government, Israel is
subverting its own war effort.
We should, unfortunately,
also brace now for the dire consequences of similar incompetence by the second
far-right pyromaniac at the heart of the Israeli government, in the vital
ministry where he presides with parallel high-risk arrogant ineptitude.
Bezalel Smotrich is already
hard at work to financially destroy the Palestinian Authority, a deeply
problematic institution with which Israel nonetheless coordinates security
efforts in the West Bank, and which Netanyahu may yet have to afford some sort
of indirect role in Gaza. Like Ben Gvir, Smotrich is also an apologist for West
Bank Jewish settler extremists, and an advocate of West Bank and Gaza
settlement policies that would destroy Israel’s Jewish majority and stretch the
IDF’s standing army, reserve ranks and resources beyond breaking point.
With the Israeli economy battered by the war, overseas
investment at risk, and Israelis themselves wary of their own financial
futures, it would only take an intemperate comment, much less action, by the
finance minister to trigger a kind of internal run on the Israeli economy.
And Smotrich is reliably
intemperate. link
- Dangerous incompetents at the heart of government are subverting Israel’s
war on Hamas
The release of a Gaza hospital chief back into the terrorists’ embrace is, of course, anybody’s fault but that of the minister in charge of the prisons * Is Corbyn finished? * How close is Iran to the bomb?
When you appoint dangerous incompetents to vital ministerial positions, don’t be surprised when the result is dangerous incompetence.
Thus, on Monday, Mohammad Abu Salmiya, the director of Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, who was arrested in November for alleged complicity with Hamas, was released from detention in Nafha Prison in the Negev and sent home to Gaza. Under Abu Salmiya’s watch, Shifa had developed into a major Hamas command center, where the IDF has killed hundreds of gunmen and uncovered a substantial tunnel network, where hostages were held, and where, according to the IDF, at least one hostage, Noa Marciano, was killed. An oft-arrested thug horrifyingly placed by Netanyahu in charge of the forces of law and order, which he is now in the process of brutalizing, Ben Gvir is entirely incapable of fulfilling ministerial responsibilities or, obviously, of acknowledging his failures to do so.
Thus he has blamed the release of a central alleged abettor of monstrous terrorists on the Shin Bet, which has in fact long been warning that there are insufficient cells to hold the large numbers of Hamas and Islamic Jihad suspects being taken into custody during the Gaza war.
For his part, Netanyahu, also incapable of taking responsibility for anything unsuccessful — starting with the October 7 catastrophe itself — characteristically contrived to blame his reviled High Court, for having expressed concern over the conditions in which Gaza terror suspects have been held by the IDF at another facility, Sde Teiman.
The bigger picture is actually still more ignominious. Abu Salmiya was only one of some 55 Gaza terror-affiliated suspects who were blithely transported from jail back to the embrace of Hamas because of a lack of space. The Prison Service deemed them less dangerous than other inmates, notably those from the West Bank, who it calculated would immediately resume terrorist activities.
Worse still, the Shin Bet has made clear that it has frequently refrained from arresting terror suspects in Gaza because, despite the significant value of the material they can provide under questioning, it knows there would be no facility available to hold them.
And thus, under the stewardship of a minister who should have no place in government, Israel is subverting its own war effort.
We should, unfortunately, also brace now for the dire consequences of similar incompetence by the second far-right pyromaniac at the heart of the Israeli government, in the vital ministry where he presides with parallel high-risk arrogant ineptitude.
Bezalel Smotrich is already hard at work to financially destroy the Palestinian Authority, a deeply problematic institution with which Israel nonetheless coordinates security efforts in the West Bank, and which Netanyahu may yet have to afford some sort of indirect role in Gaza. Like Ben Gvir, Smotrich is also an apologist for West Bank Jewish settler extremists, and an advocate of West Bank and Gaza settlement policies that would destroy Israel’s Jewish majority and stretch the IDF’s standing army, reserve ranks and resources beyond breaking point.
With the Israeli economy battered by the war, overseas investment at risk, and Israelis themselves wary of their own financial futures, it would only take an intemperate comment, much less action, by the finance minister to trigger a kind of internal run on the Israeli economy.
And Smotrich is reliably intemperate. link
- Activists use ersatz settlement to show they’re ‘willing and ready’ to resettle Gaza: Right-wing, religious activists have established and rebuilt a proto-settlement on border with Strip three times since June 25: ‘We’d be happy to do this in Gaza given the chance’
A group of religious right-wing activists has engaged over the last two weeks with establishing an ersatz Gaza settlement close to Israel’s border with Gaza but inside Israel’s borders.
The goal of the endeavor, according to one of the organizers, is to demonstrate to the government that there is a concrete willingness among such activists to establish new Israeli settlements within Gaza itself, by being physically present on the ground right next to the coastal enclave.
“We are showing that there are people who are ready to do this, we’d be happy to do this inside Gaza if we had the chance,” said Yosef Yitzhak De Bresser, one of two main activists behind the initiative. Prominent figures inside the government, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir are strongly in favor of establishing Israeli settlements inside Gaza, and have advocated for such measures publicly.
Elei Aza (Toward Gaza), as the proto-settlement has been dubbed, was first established on June 25 just a few kilometers from the Gaza border between the communities of Yad Mordechai and Netiv Ha’asara.
It has already been forcibly evacuated twice by Israeli security forces, and rebuilt twice by the approximately 20 hardcore activists who established it, similar to the modus operandi of radical settlers in the West Bank. It was most recently demolished on Tuesday morning before being swiftly reestablished that evening.
But the activists have now voluntarily evacuated ahead of what De Bresser said would be a meeting with IDF officials on Friday to potentially find an agreed upon site for the dwelling. Asked how establishing Elei Aza helps achieve the goal of building settlements inside Gaza, De Bresser said that it demonstrates the political hard right puts its money where its mouth is.
“We wanted to establish a nucleus of activists on the ground to show that we are willing and ready to do this,” he said.
“It creates pressure on the government, on the IDF, the police and the residents of the region, and shows that this is possible, shows that there are people who are ready to do this if we are just given the chance.”
De Bresser has become a full-time activist for several hard right causes since the Hamas-led October 7 atrocities that sparked the war in Gaza.
He has organized and taken part in marches to the Gaza border demanding the resettlement of the territory by Israel, and was one of the activists who managed to break through a border crossing and actually enter the enclave.
According to De Bresser, he’s also organized efforts to block humanitarian aid to Gaza, which right-wing activists and some politicians oppose. He estimates that he has been arrested approximately 20 times in the course of these activities.
Asked if the conflict with the Palestinians will not be exacerbated by establishing Israeli settlements in the densely populated Strip, De Bresser said this policy would be to encourage “voluntary” emigration of Gazans from the territory.
“I don’t want to mix the populations, I want to encourage emigration. We need to remove all the population and they want to leave, why prevent them,” he claimed.
“If we continue to give them fuel and provisions, cement and steel, then they won’t want to leave because they’ll be able to rebuild.
“Let’s give them a few hundred dollars so they can have a good new start in Europe.” linkhttps://www.timesofisrael.com/activists-use-ersatz-settlement-to-show-theyre-willing-and-ready-to-resettle-gaza/
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir threatened to bolt the coalition during Thursday night’s security cabinet meeting after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to send a delegation to Qatar to discuss a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas, according to quotes reported by Hebrew media.
According to the reports, Ben Gvir accused Netanyahu of holding closed-door meetings with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and security chiefs, casting the cabinet as merely “a decoration.”
“I’m telling you prime minister, that if you make a decision alone, it is your responsibility, and you will also remain alone. I was not elected by half a million people to sit in the government while the heads of the security establishment make the decisions,” he said, the reports say.
Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel asked Ben Gvir if he was making threats, to which he replied: “I am not threatening, this is the realist. If you decide alone, don’t expect me to hold up the government afterward.” link Ben Gvir has proved a long time before he entered politics that he has no moral compass, soul, empathy or sympathy. And since the beginning of the war, he has stated repeatedly that he doesn't care about the hostages. Their lives and the lives of their families are not important. The most important things to him are his messianic, racist ideologies inherited from the racist leader Meir Kahana, as well as settling all of the West Bank and Gaza. He is a convicted criminal who should have stayed on the extreme outside fringes of society but Netanyahu, in his never ending pursuit to remain prime minister, normalized this criminal and gave him a militia as well and the power to push the weakened Netanyahu in any direction he wishes. Ben Gvir must be pushed back to the shadows of the fringes and never be allowed near any public office
- 'The nation demands occupation': Minister shares post calling for conquest of Sinai: Far-right Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu on Wednesday retweeted a social media post promoting the sale of merchandise calling for the occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, more than four decades after Israel returned the territory to Egypt as part of the two countries’ landmark 1979 peace treaty.
The tweet, by user Ayelet Lash, called on the public to purchase a shirt printed with what is supposed to be a map of Israel — including the West Bank, Gaza and Sinai — emblazoned with the slogan “Occupation Now.”
It also contained a link to a website selling “Occupation Now” merchandise and advocating for the expansion of Israeli sovereignty into Sinai, southern Lebanon and, eventually, Jordan. The original post, which was promoted by Eliyahu, declared: “The people demand an occupation! Occupation now!”
Neither the minister’s spokesman, nor one representing National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, responded to requests for comment. Ben Gvir is the leader of Eliyahu’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declined to comment when asked for its view on the minister’s post. -- linkThis is just another one of the criminal ministers of the racist Jewish Power party of Ben Gvir. They have absolutely no interest or care about international ramifications or even about peace treaties signed by our government and held for almost 50 years. Their messianic racist ideologies and actions are a danger to the State of Israel and never should have been in any government.
A group of religious right-wing activists has engaged over the last two weeks with establishing an ersatz Gaza settlement close to Israel’s border with Gaza but inside Israel’s borders.
The goal of the endeavor, according to one of the organizers, is to demonstrate to the government that there is a concrete willingness among such activists to establish new Israeli settlements within Gaza itself, by being physically present on the ground right next to the coastal enclave.
“We are showing that there are people who are ready to do this, we’d be happy to do this inside Gaza if we had the chance,” said Yosef Yitzhak De Bresser, one of two main activists behind the initiative. Prominent figures inside the government, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir are strongly in favor of establishing Israeli settlements inside Gaza, and have advocated for such measures publicly.
Elei Aza (Toward Gaza), as the proto-settlement has been dubbed, was first established on June 25 just a few kilometers from the Gaza border between the communities of Yad Mordechai and Netiv Ha’asara.
It has already been forcibly evacuated twice by Israeli security forces, and rebuilt twice by the approximately 20 hardcore activists who established it, similar to the modus operandi of radical settlers in the West Bank. It was most recently demolished on Tuesday morning before being swiftly reestablished that evening.
But the activists have now voluntarily evacuated ahead of what De Bresser said would be a meeting with IDF officials on Friday to potentially find an agreed upon site for the dwelling. Asked how establishing Elei Aza helps achieve the goal of building settlements inside Gaza, De Bresser said that it demonstrates the political hard right puts its money where its mouth is.
“We wanted to establish a nucleus of activists on the ground to show that we are willing and ready to do this,” he said.
“It creates pressure on the government, on the IDF, the police and the residents of the region, and shows that this is possible, shows that there are people who are ready to do this if we are just given the chance.”
De Bresser has become a full-time activist for several hard right causes since the Hamas-led October 7 atrocities that sparked the war in Gaza.
He has organized and taken part in marches to the Gaza border demanding the resettlement of the territory by Israel, and was one of the activists who managed to break through a border crossing and actually enter the enclave.
According to De Bresser, he’s also organized efforts to block humanitarian aid to Gaza, which right-wing activists and some politicians oppose. He estimates that he has been arrested approximately 20 times in the course of these activities.
Asked if the conflict with the Palestinians will not be exacerbated by establishing Israeli settlements in the densely populated Strip, De Bresser said this policy would be to encourage “voluntary” emigration of Gazans from the territory.
“I don’t want to mix the populations, I want to encourage emigration. We need to remove all the population and they want to leave, why prevent them,” he claimed.
“If we continue to give them fuel and provisions, cement and steel, then they won’t want to leave because they’ll be able to rebuild.
“Let’s give them a few hundred dollars so they can have a good new start in Europe.” linkhttps://www.timesofisrael.com/activists-use-ersatz-settlement-to-show-theyre-willing-and-ready-to-resettle-gaza/
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir threatened to bolt the coalition during Thursday night’s security cabinet meeting after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to send a delegation to Qatar to discuss a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas, according to quotes reported by Hebrew media.
According to the reports, Ben Gvir accused Netanyahu of holding closed-door meetings with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and security chiefs, casting the cabinet as merely “a decoration.”
“I’m telling you prime minister, that if you make a decision alone, it is your responsibility, and you will also remain alone. I was not elected by half a million people to sit in the government while the heads of the security establishment make the decisions,” he said, the reports say.
Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel asked Ben Gvir if he was making threats, to which he replied: “I am not threatening, this is the realist. If you decide alone, don’t expect me to hold up the government afterward.” link Ben Gvir has proved a long time before he entered politics that he has no moral compass, soul, empathy or sympathy. And since the beginning of the war, he has stated repeatedly that he doesn't care about the hostages. Their lives and the lives of their families are not important. The most important things to him are his messianic, racist ideologies inherited from the racist leader Meir Kahana, as well as settling all of the West Bank and Gaza. He is a convicted criminal who should have stayed on the extreme outside fringes of society but Netanyahu, in his never ending pursuit to remain prime minister, normalized this criminal and gave him a militia as well and the power to push the weakened Netanyahu in any direction he wishes. Ben Gvir must be pushed back to the shadows of the fringes and never be allowed near any public office
The tweet, by user Ayelet Lash, called on the public to purchase a shirt printed with what is supposed to be a map of Israel — including the West Bank, Gaza and Sinai — emblazoned with the slogan “Occupation Now.”
It also contained a link to a website selling “Occupation Now” merchandise and advocating for the expansion of Israeli sovereignty into Sinai, southern Lebanon and, eventually, Jordan. The original post, which was promoted by Eliyahu, declared: “The people demand an occupation! Occupation now!”
Neither the minister’s spokesman, nor one representing National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, responded to requests for comment. Ben Gvir is the leader of Eliyahu’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declined to comment when asked for its view on the minister’s post. -- linkThis is just another one of the criminal ministers of the racist Jewish Power party of Ben Gvir. They have absolutely no interest or care about international ramifications or even about peace treaties signed by our government and held for almost 50 years. Their messianic racist ideologies and actions are a danger to the State of Israel and never should have been in any government.
- Report: State Attorney to expand inquiry into lawmakers' incitement against Gazans
The State Attorney’s Office is reportedly seeking to expand its investigation into politicians for alleged incitement against Palestinians in Gaza amid the ongoing war, as part of its response to International Court of Justice orders to probe such activity.
According to a report in the Walla news site on Wednesday, the state attorney is expected to investigate some of those lawmakers whose calls for destroying all of the Gaza Strip were mentioned during proceedings at the ICJ, where South Africa has accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
The news comes a day after a report indicated that state prosecutors are moving ahead with such a probe into comments made by firebrand National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
It is considered unlikely that the investigations will lead to indictments in light of the politicians’ parliamentary immunity. Rather the move is designed to show the ICJ that Israel is complying with its orders to investigate and punish anyone who violates the clause of the Genocide Convention prohibiting incitement to genocide. The ICJ duly ordered Israel in its January 26 orders to “prevent and punish” incitement to genocide.
Israel adopted the Genocide Convention into law in its 1950 Law for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, which includes the prohibition on incitement to genocide.
According to Walla, another lawmaker expected to be investigated is Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who while speaking at an event in Ofakim in April, quoted the Book of Deuteronomy, saying, “There is no half job. Rafah, Deir el-Balah, Nuseirat — total destruction. ‘Thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.’ There is no place under heaven.”
Likud MK Tally Gotlieb is also considered a potential target after she was mentioned at the ICJ hearings for writing on X, “‘May your village burn!’ Yes yes as far as I’m concerned it is a great chant to wish upon Gaza to be erased and go up in flames. I have said not once that revenge is a value. They almost occupied the kibbutzim in the south, butchered, raped, cut off heads and pulled out eyes, almost 1,400 murdered in one Saturday. So may their village burn.” link The lot of these 'lawmakers' are nothing short of racists who are prepared to violate the International Laws of Genocide to attain their messianic goals and all else be damned.
- Report: State Attorney to expand inquiry into lawmakers' incitement against Gazans
The State Attorney’s Office is reportedly seeking to expand its investigation into politicians for alleged incitement against Palestinians in Gaza amid the ongoing war, as part of its response to International Court of Justice orders to probe such activity.
According to a report in the Walla news site on Wednesday, the state attorney is expected to investigate some of those lawmakers whose calls for destroying all of the Gaza Strip were mentioned during proceedings at the ICJ, where South Africa has accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
The news comes a day after a report indicated that state prosecutors are moving ahead with such a probe into comments made by firebrand National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
It is considered unlikely that the investigations will lead to indictments in light of the politicians’ parliamentary immunity. Rather the move is designed to show the ICJ that Israel is complying with its orders to investigate and punish anyone who violates the clause of the Genocide Convention prohibiting incitement to genocide. The ICJ duly ordered Israel in its January 26 orders to “prevent and punish” incitement to genocide.
Israel adopted the Genocide Convention into law in its 1950 Law for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, which includes the prohibition on incitement to genocide.
According to Walla, another lawmaker expected to be investigated is Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who while speaking at an event in Ofakim in April, quoted the Book of Deuteronomy, saying, “There is no half job. Rafah, Deir el-Balah, Nuseirat — total destruction. ‘Thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.’ There is no place under heaven.”
Likud MK Tally Gotlieb is also considered a potential target after she was mentioned at the ICJ hearings for writing on X, “‘May your village burn!’ Yes yes as far as I’m concerned it is a great chant to wish upon Gaza to be erased and go up in flames. I have said not once that revenge is a value. They almost occupied the kibbutzim in the south, butchered, raped, cut off heads and pulled out eyes, almost 1,400 murdered in one Saturday. So may their village burn.” link The lot of these 'lawmakers' are nothing short of racists who are prepared to violate the International Laws of Genocide to attain their messianic goals and all else be damned.
The Region and the World
-
Personal Stories '
- We challenge the narrative that Hamas are good Muslims,’ says Bedouin hostages’ relative: Bashir Ziyadne has been lobbying for the release of two family members held in Gaza, protesting the Israeli government’s perceived inaction and the Arab world’s indifference
Bashir Ziyadne, 28, has spent the past nine months campaigning for the release of his relatives, still in the hands of Hamas: his second cousin, Youssef Ziyadne, 53, and Youssef’s son, Hamza, 22, who were abducted to Gaza while working in Kibbutz Holit on the Gaza border on October 7.
The Ziyadne are a Bedouin clan from the Negev Desert in southern Israel. Youssef’s two teenage children, Bilal, 18, and Aisha, 17, were also taken hostage, but were freed on November 30 after more than 50 days in Hamas’s captivity, in a ceasefire deal that saw the release of a total of 105 hostages, mainly children and their mothers, the elderly, and foreign workers.
Since that tragic day, Bashir Ziyadne has come forward as the family’s English-speaking spokesperson. At least once a week, he is involved in public advocacy activities to lobby for the release of his hostage relatives, meeting with international press, diplomats, or groups of foreign visitors. His involvement has become increasingly outspoken and political. Two weeks ago, he took the podium at a rally calling for an immediate deal to release the hostages, and for elections to replace the Netanyahu government.
“On October 7, like countless families in the south and the north, my family and I woke up to a nightmare that, in my opinion, a responsible government could have easily prevented,” he said at the outset of his speech, to cheers from the crowd.
The protest was held in Beersheba, the southern city where Ziyadne studies law. He is originally from nearby Rahat, the largest Bedouin city in Israel. Over the first two months after October 7, Ziyadne said, he met twice with members of the now-defunct war cabinet, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
But soon after the weeklong ceasefire with Hamas at the end of November, Israeli politicians seemed to have forgotten about his family, he said. “The problem is, the government is not doing what it is supposed to do, namely bring back the hostages. We feel that every politician is conducting his own election campaign,” Ziyadne said in a recent interview with The Times of Israel at the Hostages and Missing Families Forum headquarters in Tel Aviv.
More recently, the law student met with high-profile international actors, such as former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, during their respective visits to Israel. The Ziyadne clan was hit hard on October 7. Beside Youssef and his three children abducted to Gaza, another family member, Abd Alrahman Atef Ziyadne, 26, was murdered by terrorists while camping on Zikim Beach, north of the Gaza Strip. His body was only found days later, riddled with 11 bullets.
Another relative, also named Youssef Ziyadne, 47, is credited with having rescued 30 people from the Supernova party in his minibus, and possibly hundreds more, as revelers followed his vehicle in their cars as they scrambled to find a way out of the site of the massacre.
Ziyadne did not conceal the difficulty of being a student while he and his family are gripped by anxiety for the fate of their loved ones, and during the disruptions caused by the war to the academic calendar and the time he devotes to his PR engagements. “I’m still trying to make something out of the current year,” he said.
As he was thrust into the spotlight, the tragedy that befell the Ziyadne family ended up having unexpected repercussions on his personal life, and on how he perceives his place inside Israeli society as part of a marginalized minority. “Before October 7, I didn’t feel equal to [Israeli] Jews, to be honest. I felt that there is a way for me to feel equal, but I need to work harder than them,” he said.
“Because of the nation-state law, I always felt that at some point I would hit a glass ceiling,” he added, referring to a controversial 2018 law that defined Israel as the Jewish nation-state and abolished the status of Arabic as an official language, “even though I get help from the government, which covers most of my tuition fees in the framework of affirmative action.”
“But after all that happened after October 7, I feel equal to everyone else,” he said.
The following conversation was lightly edited for clarity.
The Times of Israel: What is the latest update you’ve received about your two family members still held by Hamas, your second cousin Youssef Ziyadne and his son Hamza?
Bashir Ziyadne: My family hasn’t received any updates for over 200 days. What we know is what Bilal and Aisha told us after their release from their 54-day captivity, during the temporary ceasefire.
They didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye to their father and older brother. When the time came for their release, Hamas told them to get up, blindfolded them and took them out of the tunnel.
When the four of them were captured, they told Hamas that they were Muslims. Hamas responded with an Arabic sentence meaning “You should not be afraid.” But they still took them hostage. We know that they were kept together in a tunnel, were given Quran books and prayer mats, and enough food not to starve. They were not talked to, which is very odd because the other Jewish hostages who came back from captivity said that Hamas spoke with them a lot, and conducted psychological warfare. Jewish hostages were shown maps of Israel and told, “This is now Palestine.” They were told the government does not care about them. But to my relatives, Hamas said nothing.
The four of them thought they were the only ones who had been taken captive, and they assumed that only a handful of people had been killed.
They feared that they could die at any point. Every day, they thought the next day would be their last day. And then the following day, the same.
We, the family, were very much opposed to them being freed “for a ransom,” in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during a ceasefire. We demanded from the start that they be released without a deal. [Hamas] has no right to keep Muslim prisoners to achieve the release of other Muslim prisoners. It claims to be an Islamic group, that it does not hurt Muslims. Then how come it did? How are Bilal and Aisha coping with what they experienced, seven months after their release?
They are doing okay, but are still very frightened. They don’t act the way they used to, and they feel guilty that they left their father and brother behind. They have been seeing therapists, which is something very unusual in our culture. Before October 7, I can guarantee that no one from my family knew what PTSD was. They didn’t even believe in psychology. Today, they do.
The therapy is provided by the Hostages Families’ Forum. They also provide Aisha and Bilal with private Hebrew language classes, which they don’t know because they grew up in an unrecognized village.
[The large Ziyadne clan is scattered between the city of Rahat and a handful of villages outside the urban area. The dwelling where Bilal and Aysha grew up is a village that is not recognized by the Israeli land authority, and therefore the government does not provide basic infrastructure or services to its residents, including education. Like other children in their village, Bilal and Aysha have to go to Rahat for school, but logistical difficulties render their attendance irregular.]
- We challenge the narrative that Hamas are good Muslims,’ says Bedouin hostages’ relative: Bashir Ziyadne has been lobbying for the release of two family members held in Gaza, protesting the Israeli government’s perceived inaction and the Arab world’s indifference
Bashir Ziyadne, 28, has spent the past nine months campaigning for the release of his relatives, still in the hands of Hamas: his second cousin, Youssef Ziyadne, 53, and Youssef’s son, Hamza, 22, who were abducted to Gaza while working in Kibbutz Holit on the Gaza border on October 7.
The Ziyadne are a Bedouin clan from the Negev Desert in southern Israel. Youssef’s two teenage children, Bilal, 18, and Aisha, 17, were also taken hostage, but were freed on November 30 after more than 50 days in Hamas’s captivity, in a ceasefire deal that saw the release of a total of 105 hostages, mainly children and their mothers, the elderly, and foreign workers.
Since that tragic day, Bashir Ziyadne has come forward as the family’s English-speaking spokesperson. At least once a week, he is involved in public advocacy activities to lobby for the release of his hostage relatives, meeting with international press, diplomats, or groups of foreign visitors. His involvement has become increasingly outspoken and political. Two weeks ago, he took the podium at a rally calling for an immediate deal to release the hostages, and for elections to replace the Netanyahu government.
“On October 7, like countless families in the south and the north, my family and I woke up to a nightmare that, in my opinion, a responsible government could have easily prevented,” he said at the outset of his speech, to cheers from the crowd.
The protest was held in Beersheba, the southern city where Ziyadne studies law. He is originally from nearby Rahat, the largest Bedouin city in Israel. Over the first two months after October 7, Ziyadne said, he met twice with members of the now-defunct war cabinet, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
But soon after the weeklong ceasefire with Hamas at the end of November, Israeli politicians seemed to have forgotten about his family, he said. “The problem is, the government is not doing what it is supposed to do, namely bring back the hostages. We feel that every politician is conducting his own election campaign,” Ziyadne said in a recent interview with The Times of Israel at the Hostages and Missing Families Forum headquarters in Tel Aviv.
More recently, the law student met with high-profile international actors, such as former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, during their respective visits to Israel. The Ziyadne clan was hit hard on October 7. Beside Youssef and his three children abducted to Gaza, another family member, Abd Alrahman Atef Ziyadne, 26, was murdered by terrorists while camping on Zikim Beach, north of the Gaza Strip. His body was only found days later, riddled with 11 bullets.
Another relative, also named Youssef Ziyadne, 47, is credited with having rescued 30 people from the Supernova party in his minibus, and possibly hundreds more, as revelers followed his vehicle in their cars as they scrambled to find a way out of the site of the massacre.
Ziyadne did not conceal the difficulty of being a student while he and his family are gripped by anxiety for the fate of their loved ones, and during the disruptions caused by the war to the academic calendar and the time he devotes to his PR engagements. “I’m still trying to make something out of the current year,” he said.
As he was thrust into the spotlight, the tragedy that befell the Ziyadne family ended up having unexpected repercussions on his personal life, and on how he perceives his place inside Israeli society as part of a marginalized minority. “Before October 7, I didn’t feel equal to [Israeli] Jews, to be honest. I felt that there is a way for me to feel equal, but I need to work harder than them,” he said.
“Because of the nation-state law, I always felt that at some point I would hit a glass ceiling,” he added, referring to a controversial 2018 law that defined Israel as the Jewish nation-state and abolished the status of Arabic as an official language, “even though I get help from the government, which covers most of my tuition fees in the framework of affirmative action.”
“But after all that happened after October 7, I feel equal to everyone else,” he said.
The following conversation was lightly edited for clarity.
The Times of Israel: What is the latest update you’ve received about your two family members still held by Hamas, your second cousin Youssef Ziyadne and his son Hamza?
Bashir Ziyadne: My family hasn’t received any updates for over 200 days. What we know is what Bilal and Aisha told us after their release from their 54-day captivity, during the temporary ceasefire.
They didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye to their father and older brother. When the time came for their release, Hamas told them to get up, blindfolded them and took them out of the tunnel.
When the four of them were captured, they told Hamas that they were Muslims. Hamas responded with an Arabic sentence meaning “You should not be afraid.” But they still took them hostage. We know that they were kept together in a tunnel, were given Quran books and prayer mats, and enough food not to starve. They were not talked to, which is very odd because the other Jewish hostages who came back from captivity said that Hamas spoke with them a lot, and conducted psychological warfare. Jewish hostages were shown maps of Israel and told, “This is now Palestine.” They were told the government does not care about them. But to my relatives, Hamas said nothing.
The four of them thought they were the only ones who had been taken captive, and they assumed that only a handful of people had been killed.
They feared that they could die at any point. Every day, they thought the next day would be their last day. And then the following day, the same.
We, the family, were very much opposed to them being freed “for a ransom,” in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during a ceasefire. We demanded from the start that they be released without a deal. [Hamas] has no right to keep Muslim prisoners to achieve the release of other Muslim prisoners. It claims to be an Islamic group, that it does not hurt Muslims. Then how come it did? How are Bilal and Aisha coping with what they experienced, seven months after their release?
They are doing okay, but are still very frightened. They don’t act the way they used to, and they feel guilty that they left their father and brother behind. They have been seeing therapists, which is something very unusual in our culture. Before October 7, I can guarantee that no one from my family knew what PTSD was. They didn’t even believe in psychology. Today, they do.
The therapy is provided by the Hostages Families’ Forum. They also provide Aisha and Bilal with private Hebrew language classes, which they don’t know because they grew up in an unrecognized village.
[The large Ziyadne clan is scattered between the city of Rahat and a handful of villages outside the urban area. The dwelling where Bilal and Aysha grew up is a village that is not recognized by the Israeli land authority, and therefore the government does not provide basic infrastructure or services to its residents, including education. Like other children in their village, Bilal and Aysha have to go to Rahat for school, but logistical difficulties render their attendance irregular.]
In March, your relative Ali Ziyadne, Youssef’s brother, confronted the Palestinian envoy to the UN [Riyad Mansour], demanding answers regarding Youssef and Hamza’s protracted captivity in Gaza. Did that have any effect?
In March, your relative Ali Ziyadne, Youssef’s brother, confronted the Palestinian envoy to the UN [Riyad Mansour], demanding answers regarding Youssef and Hamza’s protracted captivity in Gaza. Did that have any effect?
My family was quite disappointed with Ali shouting at the Palestinian diplomat at the UN. First of all, the person in question was from the Palestinian Authority, not from Hamas, so he was not the right address. There was no way he could help us.
My family was quite disappointed with Ali shouting at the Palestinian diplomat at the UN. First of all, the person in question was from the Palestinian Authority, not from Hamas, so he was not the right address. There was no way he could help us.
My family was quite distressed at what Ali did, and at the fact that the video went viral. We don’t want that much attention, because we are very afraid for the lives of our family members who are still held hostage in Gaza. We don’t really want to challenge Hamas. Has your family received any support from Arab and Muslim countries?
My family was quite distressed at what Ali did, and at the fact that the video went viral. We don’t want that much attention, because we are very afraid for the lives of our family members who are still held hostage in Gaza. We don’t really want to challenge Hamas. Has your family received any support from Arab and Muslim countries?
I know that a delegation from the Islamic Movement in Rahat traveled to Qatar, but nobody from Muslim countries has been in touch with us.
I know that a delegation from the Islamic Movement in Rahat traveled to Qatar, but nobody from Muslim countries has been in touch with us.
For Jews, there is one Jewish country that is responsible for taking care of everyone. For us, there is no single Muslim country, and there is no legal obligation for other countries to take care of us. There is maybe a moral obligation, but that applies to all the other hostages as well, not only the Muslim ones.
For Jews, there is one Jewish country that is responsible for taking care of everyone. For us, there is no single Muslim country, and there is no legal obligation for other countries to take care of us. There is maybe a moral obligation, but that applies to all the other hostages as well, not only the Muslim ones.
Are you disappointed with their lack of support?
Are you disappointed with their lack of support?
No. We are Israeli citizens, and we demand from the Israeli government to make sure that the hostages are back – not only my relatives but all of them. I come here [to the headquarters of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum] regularly, I meet with all the other families, and I know that behind each name there is a human life. I worry about them too.
No. We are Israeli citizens, and we demand from the Israeli government to make sure that the hostages are back – not only my relatives but all of them. I come here [to the headquarters of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum] regularly, I meet with all the other families, and I know that behind each name there is a human life. I worry about them too.
I see the Israeli government and Hamas treating the hostages as pawns. They take them, move them around. But when I meet with the families [of other hostages], and hear their personal stories, I am reminded that they are real people with goals and dreams. If our government really saw all the hostages as human beings and not as pawns, I think there would already have been a deal.
I see the Israeli government and Hamas treating the hostages as pawns. They take them, move them around. But when I meet with the families [of other hostages], and hear their personal stories, I am reminded that they are real people with goals and dreams. If our government really saw all the hostages as human beings and not as pawns, I think there would already have been a deal.
I don’t have anything to say to Hamas, because I am not represented by them. I see Hamas as a terrorist organization, so I don’t expect much of them.
I don’t have anything to say to Hamas, because I am not represented by them. I see Hamas as a terrorist organization, so I don’t expect much of them.
I’m an Israeli citizen, and I am represented by Israel. I want to see that my government, which takes pride in the fact that we choose life over death, will actually walk the talk.
I’m an Israeli citizen, and I am represented by Israel. I want to see that my government, which takes pride in the fact that we choose life over death, will actually walk the talk.
To tell the truth, I am a bit disappointed with the Hostages Family Forum. I think we are too polite. We are trying too hard not to hurt anyone inside Israeli society. [The Forum has adopted an explicit stance of political neutrality]. But I think we should be firmer in demanding new elections. How would that help overcome the stalemate with Hamas, in your view?
To tell the truth, I am a bit disappointed with the Hostages Family Forum. I think we are too polite. We are trying too hard not to hurt anyone inside Israeli society. [The Forum has adopted an explicit stance of political neutrality]. But I think we should be firmer in demanding new elections. How would that help overcome the stalemate with Hamas, in your view?
I don’t think that this current government will bring back the hostages, and I think that’s something that we should have realized months ago. Because in a government where you have members such as [Itamar] Ben Gvir and [Bezalel] Smotrich, it’s very hard to be optimistic. They’d be willing to sacrifice the hostages for their own political gain.
I don’t think that this current government will bring back the hostages, and I think that’s something that we should have realized months ago. Because in a government where you have members such as [Itamar] Ben Gvir and [Bezalel] Smotrich, it’s very hard to be optimistic. They’d be willing to sacrifice the hostages for their own political gain.
[Ziyadne referred to the national security minister and the finance minister respectively, two firebrand government members known for their hardline stances in negotiations with Hamas and other Palestinian groups.]
[Ziyadne referred to the national security minister and the finance minister respectively, two firebrand government members known for their hardline stances in negotiations with Hamas and other Palestinian groups.]
Hamas’s foremost condition to release the hostages is for the IDF to stop all military activity inside the Gaza Strip and withdraw its forces. Should this or any other Israeli government agree to that condition?
Hamas’s foremost condition to release the hostages is for the IDF to stop all military activity inside the Gaza Strip and withdraw its forces. Should this or any other Israeli government agree to that condition?
If that is what Hamas wants, so be it. I don’t think Hamas will refrain from shooting rockets at Israel in the months after the ceasefire, and when it does, it will be legitimate for Israel to attack it again. But destroying Hamas is impossible; even the IDF spokesperson recently admitted that Hamas is an idea that cannot be eradicated.
If that is what Hamas wants, so be it. I don’t think Hamas will refrain from shooting rockets at Israel in the months after the ceasefire, and when it does, it will be legitimate for Israel to attack it again. But destroying Hamas is impossible; even the IDF spokesperson recently admitted that Hamas is an idea that cannot be eradicated.
In order to destroy an idea, one should put forward an alternative. I’m not a politician and I can’t say what the right thing to do would be right now, but I am 100% positive that the goals of the war are not realistic. We must think of a way to pressure our current government to come to its senses. The families of Bedouin hostages, including your own, have mostly maintained a low profile, keeping media appearances to a minimum or avoiding them altogether. This is quite striking compared to most families of Jewish hostages, some of whom have embarked upon international campaigns to call for the release of their loved ones. Why is that?
In order to destroy an idea, one should put forward an alternative. I’m not a politician and I can’t say what the right thing to do would be right now, but I am 100% positive that the goals of the war are not realistic. We must think of a way to pressure our current government to come to its senses. The families of Bedouin hostages, including your own, have mostly maintained a low profile, keeping media appearances to a minimum or avoiding them altogether. This is quite striking compared to most families of Jewish hostages, some of whom have embarked upon international campaigns to call for the release of their loved ones. Why is that?
[Beside Youssef and Hamza Ziyadne, there are two other Bedouin hostages in the hands of Hamas, Farhan al-Qadi, 52, abducted on October 7 from his workplace in a moshav near Gaza, and Hisham al-Sayed, who according to Israeli authority is mentally unstable and entered Gaza of his own accord in 2014 and has been in Hamas captivity ever since. His father Sha’ban has issued appeals for his release on various occasions over the past decade. Another member of the Bedouin minority, Mohammed Alatrash, was presumed to have been taken captive, but the IDF revealed last week that he was killed on October 7 and his body taken to Gaza. A sixth Bedouin hostage, Samar Talalka, was mistakenly killed by the IDF in December with two other hostages, after they had managed to escape from captivity.]
[Beside Youssef and Hamza Ziyadne, there are two other Bedouin hostages in the hands of Hamas, Farhan al-Qadi, 52, abducted on October 7 from his workplace in a moshav near Gaza, and Hisham al-Sayed, who according to Israeli authority is mentally unstable and entered Gaza of his own accord in 2014 and has been in Hamas captivity ever since. His father Sha’ban has issued appeals for his release on various occasions over the past decade. Another member of the Bedouin minority, Mohammed Alatrash, was presumed to have been taken captive, but the IDF revealed last week that he was killed on October 7 and his body taken to Gaza. A sixth Bedouin hostage, Samar Talalka, was mistakenly killed by the IDF in December with two other hostages, after they had managed to escape from captivity.]
The families of Bedouin hostages are caught between a rock and a hard place. Some in Arab countries view us as collaborators and traitors because we are part of the Families Forum and demand the release of all the hostages. They see reality as black and white, either our [Arab] narrative or their [Israeli] narrative, but the situation of the families of Bedouin hostages is quite the same as that of the Jewish hostages.
The families of Bedouin hostages are caught between a rock and a hard place. Some in Arab countries view us as collaborators and traitors because we are part of the Families Forum and demand the release of all the hostages. They see reality as black and white, either our [Arab] narrative or their [Israeli] narrative, but the situation of the families of Bedouin hostages is quite the same as that of the Jewish hostages.
Al Jazeera did not want to speak with us, because we challenge their narrative that Hamas is the resistance, that they’re good Muslims. Some Muslim viewers would be okay with the fact that Hamas killed Jews in Israel because they think every one of them is a soldier or a potential soldier. Hamas always says that there are no real civilians in Israel, including children. Some think that each [Israeli] is eventually going to join the army, so it’s okay to kill them. By the way, nobody from my family served in the IDF.
Al Jazeera did not want to speak with us, because we challenge their narrative that Hamas is the resistance, that they’re good Muslims. Some Muslim viewers would be okay with the fact that Hamas killed Jews in Israel because they think every one of them is a soldier or a potential soldier. Hamas always says that there are no real civilians in Israel, including children. Some think that each [Israeli] is eventually going to join the army, so it’s okay to kill them. By the way, nobody from my family served in the IDF.
People really like this polarization where Israel is portrayed as the occupier and Palestinians as freedom fighters, but it’s not true. We [Bedouins] show that Hamas captured Muslims and even killed 17 from our community. Hamas does not really want peace or prosperity. It is a terrorist group run by fundamentalists who will destroy everyone and everything in order to achieve its goal, which is unrealistic, and quite horrifying as well. link
People really like this polarization where Israel is portrayed as the occupier and Palestinians as freedom fighters, but it’s not true. We [Bedouins] show that Hamas captured Muslims and even killed 17 from our community. Hamas does not really want peace or prosperity. It is a terrorist group run by fundamentalists who will destroy everyone and everything in order to achieve its goal, which is unrealistic, and quite horrifying as well. link
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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