🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 276, 2023 - July 8, 2024 🎗️

  

🎗️Day 276 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!

‎אין נצחון עד שכל החטופים בבית

Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements

*5:40pm yesterday - north - rockets - Hatzor Haglilit, Amuka, Dalton, Kedarim, Safed

*7:00pm yesterday - north - hostile aircraft- Sde Nehemia, Amir, Kfar Blum, Beit Hillel, Lahavot Habashan

*8:40pm yesterday - north - Rockets - Bukata, Massada

*12:20am - north - rockets Talme Elihau

*4:55am - south - rockets - Nahal Oz

**The army announced the death of a soldier killed in battle in Gaza

- Major Jalaa Ibrahim, 25 from Sajur

May his memory forever be a  blessing

Hostage Updates 

• My brother’s post: The Prime Minister has already started to make a targeted thwarting of the deal with Hamas. He will not let the negotiating team reach agreements. In his speech to Congress, he will wink at Trump by saying that he is strong against terrorism.  Netanyahu continues to neglect the abductions and the hostages.  If what I write is true, the head of the Mossad, the head of the Shin Bet and Major General Nitzan Alon must resign from leading the negotiations. There is no way that Netanyahu will let them succeed. 
  
  
  The Prime Minister's Office: The Prime Minister's firm stand against the attempt to stop the IDF operation in Rafah is what brought Hamas to enter into negotiations. The Prime Minister continues to firmly stand by the principles already agreed upon by Israel:
  1 - Any deal will allow Israel to return and fight until all the goals of the war are achieved. 
  2 - It will not be possible to smuggle weapons to Hamas from the Gaza border to Egypt. 
  3 - The return of thousands of armed terrorists to the north of the Gaza Strip will not be possible. 
  4 - Israel will maximize the number of live abductees that will be returned from Hamas captivity. 
  The outline that was agreed upon for Israel and received the blessing of President Biden will allow Israel to return abductees without harming the other goals of the war.
  
  
  
  
• Netanyahu issues list of ‘non-negotiable’ demands as hostage talks slated to restart Security officials, mediators accuse PM of intentionally sabotaging deal by highlighting gaps in negotiations ahead of delegation’s departure to Cairo and Doha this week.  of what he said were non-negotiable Israeli demands, including a guarantee that Israel could resume fighting, which would need to be met in the event of a hostage release and ceasefire deal with Hamas.

Netanyahu’s statement, at a crucial phase ahead of the resumption of talks, sparked anger, both in Israel and among mediators, with some accusing him of attempting to sabotage hard-won progress.

The renewed negotiations in both Egypt and Qatar come after the Hamas terror group said on Saturday that it was ready to discuss a hostage deal and an end to the war in Gaza without an upfront commitment by Israel to a “complete and permanent ceasefire,” breaking from the position it has held in all previous negotiations since November. Hamas’s altered stance regarding the US-backed proposal for a phased truce and hostage exchange deal in Gaza could potentially pave the way for the first pause in fighting since last November, although all sides have cautioned that a deal is still not guaranteed.

The list of four demands presented by the Prime Minister’s Office declared, first, that any potential deal must “allow Israel to return and fight until all the goals of the war are achieved.” In addition, the statement read, it must be ensured that the deal will not allow for the smuggling of weapons from Egypt into Gaza, and nor can it allow for “the return of thousands of armed terrorists to the north of the Gaza Strip.”

Finally, the statement added, “Israel will maximize the number of live hostages that are released from Hamas captivity.”

“The plan that has been agreed to by Israel and which has been welcomed by President Biden will allow Israel to return hostages without infringing on the other objectives of the war,” the statement also declared.  Acknowledging Hamas’s backing down from its demand for an upfront Israeli commitment to end the war and its return to the negotiating table, the statement attributed the change to “the prime minister’s firm position against attempts to stop the IDF’s ground operation in Rafah.”

Speaking to AFP on Sunday, an unnamed senior Hamas official confirmed the terror group was no longer seeking an upfront commitment to a complete ceasefire, and explained that “this step was by-passed, as the mediators pledged that as long as the [hostage’ negotiations continued, the ceasefire would continue.]”

On Friday, Walla news reported that Mossad chief David Barnea, Israel’s lead negotiator, who made a brief trip to Doha that day for talks with the Qatari mediators, had rejected the demand for a written commitment from mediators regarding the subject, although Axios subsequently reported that Washington was working on a solution to the disagreement.

Israel has said that there were still “gaps” in Hamas’s response to the proposed deal — the details of which Netanyahu’s office appeared to publicize in its statement — but all sides are expected to step up negotiating efforts in the coming days.

Four-way summit

An official with knowledge of the mediation said on Sunday that US Central Intelligence Agency director William Burns was expected to visit Qatar this week, and an Egyptian source said he would be making a stop in Cairo.

During his visit to Doha, Burns will reportedly hold a four-way meeting with Barnea, Egyptian intelligence head Abbas Kamel, and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.  Turkey is also expected to step up its efforts to push for a deal, the Hamas official told AFP, but did not elaborate on what that would entail.

Speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, two Hamas officials with knowledge of the talk said that the terror group was waiting for Israel’s response to its submitted amendments, while another said Israel was in talks with Qatar, and a response would be forthcoming within days. 

 Undermining truce efforts

The statement from Netanyahu’s office was met with anger by Israeli security officials and mediators, who, not for the first time, accused the prime minister of trying to sabotage the deal.

“Netanyahu pretends that he wants a deal, but is working to torpedo it,” an anonymous security official told Channel 12. “He’s dragging out the process, trying to stretch time until his speech in Congress [on July 24] and then the [Knesset] recess.”

According to the security official, there was “no enthusiasm or drive” on the prime minister’s part to finalize a deal for the hostages’ release, and instead of discussions being driven by urgency, they were instead built on “smears and radicalized positions.”

A second source questioned Netanyahu’s desire to “emphasize the gaps” in the negotiations “just before the departure of the delegation,” Channel 12 reported. Opposition Leader Yair Lapid similarly slammed Netanyahu, asking rhetorically what the point of his statement had been.  “I have one response to the announcement from the Prime Minister’s Office: What is it good for? We are at a critical moment in the negotiations, the lives of the hostages depend on it; why issue such provocative messages?” Lapid asked. “How does it contribute to the process?”

A senior official from one of the countries mediating between Israel and Hamas also accused Netanyahu of trying to sabotage the deal.

The senior official, speaking to The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity, said that the non-negotiable demand to resume fighting after the first stage of the ceasefire and hostage release deal publicized by Netanyahu’s office hits at the most sensitive aspect of the ongoing negotiations, as Hamas is seeking assurances from the mediators that Israel will not resume fighting after the initial phase.

The official said the mediators had succeeded in bringing Hamas down from an earlier demand for an upfront commitment from Israel to end the war upon the start of the first stage of the agreement.

They have instead kept in place relatively open-ended language regarding the transition from phase one to phase two that allows both Israel to feel comfortable enough that it has the ability to resume fighting if Hamas ceases to negotiate in good faith and Hamas to feel comfortable enough that the mediators will prevent Israel from resuming the war instead of implementing the permanent ceasefire that is stage two of the deal.

“Statements like the one made by the prime minister severely harm efforts to maintain that ambiguity,” the senior official from the mediating country said.

“One cannot help but conclude that they are being made for purely political purposes,” the official added, referencing Netanyahu’s desire to appease far-right coalition partners who oppose the hostage deal under discussion.  The Israeli-drafted outline for a hostage deal and truce in Gaza that Biden presented at the end of May proposed a phased deal that would include a “full and complete” six-week ceasefire that would see the release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners.

During these 42 days, Israeli forces would also withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza and allow the return of displaced people to their homes in northern Gaza.

Over that period, Hamas, Israel, and mediators would also negotiate the terms of the second phase that could see the release of the remaining male hostages, both civilians and soldiers, in return, Israel would free additional Palestinian security prisoners and detainees. The third phase would see the return of any remaining hostages, including bodies of dead captives, and the start of a years-long reconstruction project.

A Hamas source told Reuters over the weekend that the proposal ensures that mediators would guarantee a temporary ceasefire, aid delivery, and withdrawal of Israeli troops, as long as indirect talks continue to implement the second phase of the agreement.  

Hamas also expects up to 400 trucks of humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip each day of the pause in fighting, an official from the terror group told AFP. Negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US have so far failed to secure a truce in Gaza and release of captives there, since a weeklong ceasefire in November saw Hamas free 105 hostages in return for 240 Palestinian prisoners. Israel believes 116 people remain in Hamas captivity following the October 7 terror onslaught, though dozens of those are no longer alive. Hamas is also believed to hold the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014, as well as two civilians, presumed alive, who entered the Strip of their own accord not long after.  Link 

• Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar will reportedly head up a delegation being dispatched to Cairo tomorrow to take part in talks about the hostage release deal and the future control of the Rafah Crossing. According to a report in the Walla news site, Bar will take part in talks in the Egyptian capital on a potential hostage-truce deal, including discussions of the names of the Palestinian security prisoners slated to be released, as well as the future control of the crossing.
  The Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt has been essentially shut since the IDF began operations in the city in May, infuriating Cairo. Earlier today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published a list of Israeli demands for the talks, which included a vow that Israel will not allow weapons smuggling between Egypt and Gaza, a likely reference to control of the crossing.
  Mossad chief David Barnea was in Qatar last week and is slated to return again this week, as negotiations on a potential deal have been restarted.
  
  
• A senior official from one of the countries mediating between Israel and Hamas accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to sabotage the hostage deal, which has been gaining momentum in recent days, with his latest statement pledging to resume the war, even after the staged ceasefire deal goes into effect. The senior official speaking to The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity says that this non-negotiable demand publicized by Netanyahu’s office hits at the most sensitive aspect of the ongoing negotiations, as Hamas is seeking assurances from the mediators that Israel will not resume fighting after the first stage of the ceasefire and hostage release deal.
  The official says the mediators have succeeded in bringing Hamas down from an earlier demand for an up-front commitment from Israel to end the war upon the start of the first stage of the agreement.
  They have instead kept in place relatively open-ended language regarding the transition from phase one to phase two that allows both Israel to feel comfortable enough that it has the ability to resume fighting if Hamas ceases to negotiate in good faith, and Hamas to feel comfortable enough that the mediators will prevent Israel from resuming the war instead of implementing the permanent ceasefire that is stage two of the deal.
  “Statements like the one made by the prime minister severely harm efforts to maintain that ambiguity,” the senior official from the mediating country says. “One cannot help but conclude that they are being made for purely political purposes,” the official adds, referencing Netanyahu’s desire to appease far-right coalition partners who oppose the hostage deal under discussion.
  
  

• Relatives of Israelis held captive by Hamas in Gaza gather in front of the Jerusalem home of Aryeh Deri, the leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas coalition party, to call on him to support a hostage deal.
  Neighbors of the Haredi politician come out of their building to perform havdala, a ceremony that marks the end of Shabbat, with the protesters, praying for the return of the hostages and the success of Israel’s soldiers in the field.    

• ‘We’re held captive by Netanyahu and Sinwar’: Thousands protest for hostage deal: Hostage mother suspends herself in cage at Tel Aviv protest, demands government ‘stop dragging feet’ and bring home her son; youth group leads Jerusalem march to PM’s residence

  Thousands of anti-government protesters marched to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on Sunday night, at the end of a nationwide day of demonstrations marking nine months since October 7, and calling for both immediate elections and a deal to facilitate the release of the 120 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

  Thousands more gathered in Tel Aviv, where Einav Zangauker — whose son Matan is captive in Gaza — was suspended in a cage hanging from a bridge over Begin Road in an act of protest against the government.

  The acts of protest in two of Israel’s most populous cities were preceded by a day of action across the country, during which protesters blocked highways and held rallies outside the homes of government ministers, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Foreign Minister Israel Katz, and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.

  The demonstrations started at 6:29 a.m., the same time that Hamas fired the first rockets at Israel on October 7, launching a day of unprecedented death and destruction, and nine months of war.

  Five people were arrested in north Tel Aviv early Sunday afternoon for disturbing the peace by staging an unauthorized demonstration at the Kfar Hayarok interchange. Twelve others received tickets for causing public disturbances and using their vehicles to block traffic. Minor confrontations also broke out between demonstrators and police at the Rokach/Namir interchange in north Tel Aviv.

  By the evening, the dispersed protests in Tel Aviv had merged into one, as crowds arrived to hear Zangauker speak from her suspended position five meters up in the air.

  Signs plastered on the metal cage advocated for an immediate hostage deal, proclaiming: “Netanyahu, it is in your hands,” and “The government abandoned [them], the people will bring them back.”

  Addressing the crowd, Zangauker said she pulled the dramatic stunt, “because we are all held captive by Netanyahu and [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar.” reads: "We won't let them torpedo [a deal]". (Gil Levin/ Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

  Barriers blocking Jerusalem protesters

  A ‘week of resistance’

  Thousands of anti-government protesters marched to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on Sunday night, at the end of a nationwide day of demonstrations marking nine months since October 7, and calling for both immediate elections and a deal to facilitate the release of the 120 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

  Thousands more gathered in Tel Aviv, where Einav Zangauker — whose son Matan is captive in Gaza — was suspended in a cage hanging from a bridge over Begin Road in an act of protest against the government.

  The acts of protest in two of Israel’s most populous cities were preceded by a day of action across the country, during which protesters blocked highways and held rallies outside the homes of government ministers, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Foreign Minister Israel Katz, and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.

  Bomb shelters make good neighborsKeep Watching 

  The demonstrations started at 6:29 a.m., the same time that Hamas fired the first rockets at Israel on October 7, launching a day of unprecedented death and destruction, and nine months of war.

  Five people were arrested in north Tel Aviv early Sunday afternoon for disturbing the peace by staging an unauthorized demonstration at the Kfar Hayarok interchange. Twelve others received tickets for causing public disturbances and using their vehicles to block traffic. Minor confrontations also broke out between demonstrators and police at the Rokach/Namir interchange in north Tel Aviv.

  By the evening, the dispersed protests in Tel Aviv had merged into one, as crowds arrived to hear Zangauker speak from her suspended position five meters up in the air.

   

  

  
  

  Signs plastered on the metal cage advocated for an immediate hostage deal, proclaiming: “Netanyahu, it is in your hands,” and “The government abandoned [them], the people will bring them back.”

  Addressing the crowd, Zangauker said she pulled the dramatic stunt, “because we are all held captive by Netanyahu and [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar.”

   “There is a deal on the table that can save lives, and all of us. I want Matan at home, I want all the hostages at home now,” she continued. “I want to tell Netanyahu: The keys to this cage and all the other cages are in your hands. For nine months, you have abandoned the hostages. Netanyahu — stop dragging your feet. We want them at home and it’s up to you to bring them home.”

  “I want Matan home,” she repeated. “I want to hear my son call me ‘Mom.'”

  In Jerusalem, the march to Netanyahu’s residence was led by the HaShomer HaTzair youth movement, who set out chanting, “We won’t agree to the abandonment of the hostages!”

  The procession began at Sacher Park and headed in both directions along Ben Zvi Boulevard, a major road in the city that runs alongside the park.

  Police flanked the protesters and walked ahead of the crowd, as mounted officers and a water cannon were on standby further down the road.

  By the time the protest reached Jerusalem’s Rehavia neighborhood, it had thinned out, after splitting into multiple directions, although hundreds pushed on in an attempt to get as close to Netanyahu’s residence as possible.

  Police had erected barriers on Azza Street, however, to prevent them from passing beyond a certain point.

  Hillel Levi-Faur, one of the protest organizers, delivered an impromptu speech directed at the police.

  “You know us, we are non-violent protesters,” he said. “All these barricades and unnecessary blockades are a shame. Allow us to demonstrate in front of the Prime Minister’s Residence.”

  Behind him, protesters shouted: “Bibi is abandoning the hostages!” before reading off the names of the remaining Hamas captives in Gaza.

  The rally followed clashes with the police earlier in the evening, which had resulted in one protester requiring medical attention after they were said to have been violently shoved by the police.

  The clash in question erupted as police cleared protesters from the light rail tracks. Footage on social media showed police officers pushing protesters and dragging one woman on the ground. According to the person who posted the video, the police arrested an activist from “Meshanim Kivun” (lit. “changing direction”), a climate-oriented protest group.

  Sunday’s demonstrations were part of the “week of resistance” that protest groups kicked off at the weekly demonstrations on Saturday evening.

  Some of Israel’s leading companies, mainly from the tech and finance sectors, let their workers take time off to join in Sunday’s protests, which anti-government groups announced in late June. Netzach Israel, a right-wing advocacy group, said on Sunday that it would attempt to cooperate with shareholders in pursuing legal action against the companies.

  Protest groups have rallied weekly since early 2023, when the government introduced a plan to weaken the judiciary. The demonstrations were paused for a few weeks after Hamas’s October 7 invasion and massacre in southern Israel, before returning full force to call for new elections, claiming the government has a moral imperative to regain the public’s trust after failing to avert the largest massacre in the country’s history.

  In recent months, the central anti-government protest in Tel Aviv has taken place in conjunction with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum rally calling for the release of their loved ones. During the war, protest groups have also doubled down on their opposition to legislation exempting yeshiva students from military service, which critics describe as a power grab by Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox coalition partners.

  “Israel has been abandoned for 275 days [since October 7],” read a statement from Brothers in Arms, a reservists’ protest group, ahead of Sunday’s demonstrations. “The government of extremists refuses to take responsibility and return the mandate to the people, to retrieve our brothers and sisters who were snatched from their home at any price, and in tandem, is legislating draft dodging,” the statement continued.

  “We will carry on dogged demonstrations until the abandonment government wakes up, takes responsibility, and sets a date for elections.” One hundred and sixteen hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza; the IDF has confirmed the deaths of 42 of them. Hamas is also believed to be holding the bodies of two IDF soldiers killed in 2014, as well as two civilians, presumed to be alive, who entered of their own accord while suffering from mental illness in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

• My brother’s post 

NETANYAHU IS LEADING US DIRECTLY INTO A DEAD END!

If Netanyahu is once again blocking the possibilities of a negotiated agreement to bring the 120 Israeli hostages home (alive and dead) and an end to the war, what exactly is his plan? To me it seems that his plan is clear, find the Hamas senior leadership (at least Yehya Sinwar, Mohammed Sinwar, and Mohammed Deif), kill them, declare victory and then the hostages will be freed. A much more likely scenario is that yes, perhaps, the Israeli army will find those Hamas leaders and yes, if they are found, they will be killed.  It is also very likely that Israeli soldiers will be killed in that battle as well. Why should anyone believe that if the Hamas senior leadership is killed, that the remaining living Israeli hostages will not be killed by those holding them? Why should we believe that if this scenario happens that Israel will be able to find the remains of those hostages who have already been killed?  Why should we believe that once this happens the war will be over?  It is much more likely that Israel will remain in Gaza, the Rafah-Philidelphi crossing will be held by Israel, the Netzerim line will remain in Israel’s control and Hamas and Jihad insurgency will continue killing Israeli soldiers every week. Israel will have to establish a military government in Gaza and the pressure from Israel’s right-wing messianic crazies to build Israeli settlements in Gaza will increase. There will be no reconstruction of Gaza because Gaza controlled by Hamas or Gaza controlled by Israel will not see one dollar of international finance for the reconstruction of Gaza.  More than 2 million Gazans will wallow in hunger, unimaginable poverty, and suffering. But Netanyahu will speak in the US Congress – he will glare into the faces of the American leaders, with the image of Trump in his eyes, and tell dear Donald – I am not weak as you think – I have stood firm in the face of Hamas and terror.  You are my man, and I am your man. And while these political idiots are pumping their testosterone, the people of Israel and the people of Palestine will be suffering, locked into a conflict that must come to the end. Our lack of leaders, in the US, in Israel, and the Palestine is what will continue to bring more suffering on our people and on the whole region. 

Gershon Baskin, July 8, 2024

Hostage forum calls on PM to delay US trip until after deal has been signed to free captives
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, representing the loved ones of many of those held in Gaza, calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay his trip to the United States until a deal is signed for the release of the captives.

• “We implore Prime Minister Netanyahu to prioritize finalizing a hostage release deal before traveling to the US and addressing Congress. He has the freedom to travel wherever he wants. These hostages can’t,” the forum says in a statement.

  “We thank the US government for its ongoing support in efforts to achieve the deal and release all hostages,” the statement reads. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

  The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, representing the loved ones of many of those held in Gaza, calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay his trip to the United States until a deal is signed for the release of the captives.

  “We implore Prime Minister Netanyahu to prioritize finalizing a hostage release deal before traveling to the US and addressing Congress. He has the freedom to travel wherever he wants. These hostages can’t,” the forum says in a statement.

  “We thank the US government for its ongoing support in efforts to achieve the deal and release all hostages,” the statement reads.  link

Gaza 

• Gaza Civil Defense says deputy head of Hamas Ministry killed - The IDF said Sunday fighter jets struck a compound within a school in Gaza City where terror group operatives were gathered. A separate site in the school used by Hamas to manufacture weapons was also hit, it added.

  Before carrying out the strike, the IDF said it carried out “many steps” to mitigate harm to civilians, including using aerial surveillance and other intelligence.

  “The Hamas terror organization systematically violates international law, systematically exploiting civilian buildings and the civilian population as human shields for terror activity against the State of Israel,” the military added.

  Hamas’s civil defense agency said that the deputy head of the Hamas-run labor ministry, Ihab al-Ghussein, was killed in the strike. The military did not confirm Ghussein’s death in its statement.

• Foreign journalists enter Rafah: "Limited fighting? The destruction here is identical to the rest of the Gaza Strip"

  For the first time since the ground operation began in southern Gaza, the IDF escorted journalists from international media outlets to Rafah - and they described the notable destruction: "Almost every building along the road has been destroyed"

  Foreign journalists entered Rafah yesterday (Sunday) accompanied by IDF spokesperson Brigadier General Daniel Hagari, for the first time since the ground operation began in southern Gaza. CNN reporter Jeremy Diamond later wrote that "the scale of destruction there is staggering - but also all too familiar." The journalist reported that the war has turned the neighborhood they were brought to "unrecognizable," adding: "Israel has described the fighting in Rafah as 'limited' - but the destruction looks almost identical to what I've seen in northern Gaza, central Gaza and Khan Younis through the narrow prism of trips to Gaza with the Israeli military."

  Hagari explained to the foreign journalists that the destruction they see is the result of Hamas's decision to booby-trap tunnels and houses so that they would explode on IDF forces. "This is either because the houses were booby-trapped, or when we destroyed a tunnel houses collapsed, or Hamas fired from the houses and endangered our forces and there was no other option but to destroy them to ensure the forces would be safe," he told them. Hagari added that other parts "are not destroyed to the same extent," but CNN clarified that since the IDF has prohibited foreign journalists from entering Gaza independently - "his claims cannot be verified."

  Hagari told the journalists that the IDF has killed more than 900 terrorists in Rafah, and is close to defeating what remains of the terrorist organization's forces in the area. He added that he cannot say whether the ground operation in Rafah will be the IDF's last in the Gaza Strip - and explained that there might be, for example, intelligence information about the presence of hostages in the area, which would force the army to conduct additional raids.

  The Wall Street Journal described the area they toured with the IDF as a "wasteland," also emphasizing the destruction. "All the buildings still standing are riddled with bullet holes, or parts of them have been torn apart in tank shelling or airstrikes," it was written, and reporter Dov Lieber noted that he also saw a mosque that had partially collapsed, and that the destruction was also evident at the Rafah crossing. He noted that although Israel presented the new operation as "focused," in practice "it still left heavy damage, with hundreds of airstrikes along with tank fire and demolitions. More than a million Palestinians were forced to flee, and vital humanitarian aid is struggling to cross the border. Relations with Egypt have become very tense."

  The reporter noted that like in most parts of the Gaza Strip, in Rafah too the roads were destroyed by Israeli tanks, and also detailed to readers the dispute between the IDF and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the continuation of the fighting and the "day after" issue. He also explained that until the IDF entered the city, thousands of Hamas terrorists fled, and emphasized that although above ground it appears that the IDF has a significant hold on the city - below ground "the forces are still in the process of locating and understanding the extent of Hamas's enormous tunnel network." Most of the IDF's casualties in Rafah, it was written, were caused by explosive traps planted by the terrorists.

  "Almost every building along the road has been destroyed as IDF forces say they continue to find tunnel entrances and rocket or mortar launch sites," added the Wall Street Journal reporter.

  The New York Times also focused on the destruction they saw in Rafah. "Streets that were once bustling have turned into a maze of rubble," it was written there. "Everyone has disappeared. More than a million people fled to avoid the Israeli onslaught that began two months ago, many displaced again and again and now living in tent cities that stretch for miles. They face an uncertain future, as they mourn the loss of their loved ones."

  According to the journalist who signed the report, Adam Goldman, "The army says it is fighting with precision and restraint against Hamas fighters who are in civilian areas - but the death, destruction and mass displacement of civilians have left Israel increasingly diplomatically isolated." He emphasized that despite the fact that the journalists were accompanied by the army and required to stick to the convoy, the soldiers did not restrict their work or censor it.

  He also described the explosive traps that the IDF talked about and the nature of fighting in a built-up and dense area, and Hamas's smuggling method through the Philadelphi Route. At the end of the article, Goldman described a moment when the convoy climbed to a high place, where Hagari climbed a small hill. He pointed towards Tel al-Sultan - a neighborhood in Rafah - and said that "hostages were held there, and a small group of Americans could have been among them. Their release required a rescue operation or military pressure. We will bring back the hostages - each of your countries would do the same after October 7." link

Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria

• Defense Minister Yoav Gallant conducted an operational assessment at the Hermon summit and received a briefing from commanders on the fighting against Hezbollah and attempts by Iran and its proxies to establish a presence in the Golan Heights. Later, he spoke with soldiers from the 53rd Armored Battalion and heard about the fighting in the Gaza Strip and the strengthening of readiness for a possible action against Hezbollah.

  Gallant emphasized to the soldiers that their main goal is to erode the enemy's readiness and strengthen the IDF's preparedness for any possible development. "I gave clear instructions to the forces both in the south and in the north - these are two separate sectors," Gallant said. "Even if we reach an arrangement in a hostage deal, it doesn't obligate what happens here, unless Hezbollah reaches an arrangement. Even if there's a ceasefire there, we continue to fight here and do everything necessary. This is what brings results."

West Bank and Jerusalem

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Politics and the War (general news)

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The Region and the World

• The US military’s Central Command says in a statement that in the past 24 hours its forces destroyed two Houthi drones in Houthi-controled areas of Yemen while partner forces destroyed two Houthi drones over the Gulf of Aden.

  “It was determined these systems presented an imminent threat to US, coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region. These actions were taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US, coalition, and merchant vessels,” the statement reads.

  The US is spearheading a naval coalition to protect vessels in the vital waterway and has also conducted airstrikes in Houthi territory, both on its own and alongside Britain.   

Personal Stories

  

Acronyms and Glossary

COGAT - Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories

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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