π️Lonny's War Update- October 280, 2023 - July 12, 2024 π️
π️Day 280 that 120 of our hostages in Hamas captivity
**There is nothing more important than getting them home! NOTHING!**
“I’ve never met them,But I miss them. I’ve never met them,but I think of them every second. I’ve never met them,but they are my family. BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!”
There is no victory until all of the hostages are home!ΧΧΧ Χ Χ¦ΧΧΧ Χ’Χ Χ©ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧΧ€ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧͺ
Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
*4:55pm yesterday - North - rockets Zra'it*9:30am- north- rockets Admit, Avivim
*12:30pm - South - rockets Kerem Shalom
**Thea rmy announced the death of a soldier killed by an explosive drone in the north-Reserve Staff Sergeant Valery Chipanov, 33 from Netanya
*12:30pm - South - rockets Kerem Shalom
Hostage Updates
Israeli negotiators were departing for Cairo Thursday evening for further mediated deliberations on a hostage-for-ceasefire deal with Hamas, the Prime Minister’s Office said, after talks in Doha Wednesday.
The delegation was headed by Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and included IDF representatives.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office also said the premier met with his negotiating team in the morning after its return from Qatar on Wednesday night. In Doha, the team headed by Mossad Director David Barnea discussed with the heads of the American, Qatari and Egyptian teams “the parts of the deal dealing with the return of the hostages and the ways to implement the proposal.” full article
Israeli and American officials say Hamas has softened some of its stances in hostage talks, according to Axios, which reports that intelligence assessments indicate the terror group wants a ceasefire due to its weakening military position.
An Israeli official involved in the negotiations tells the news site that this intelligence has led Netanyahu to toughen Israel’s demands for a deal, explaining that the premier “is trying to use Hamas’s weakness to get as much as he can out of the negotiations.”
“But there is a risk that he will go too far and the negotiations collapse,” the official says, adding that the premier wants a deal but is willing to play hardball.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s renewed demand for any Gaza truce deal to prevent the return of weapons and armed terrorists to the Strip’s north violates prior agreements with mediators and will complicate or even thwart negotiations, according to unnamed senior security sources cited by Channel 12 news.
Hostage Updates
Israeli negotiators were departing for Cairo Thursday evening for further mediated deliberations on a hostage-for-ceasefire deal with Hamas, the Prime Minister’s Office said, after talks in Doha Wednesday.
The delegation was headed by Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and included IDF representatives.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office also said the premier met with his negotiating team in the morning after its return from Qatar on Wednesday night. In Doha, the team headed by Mossad Director David Barnea discussed with the heads of the American, Qatari and Egyptian teams “the parts of the deal dealing with the return of the hostages and the ways to implement the proposal.” full article
Israeli and American officials say Hamas has softened some of its stances in hostage talks, according to Axios, which reports that intelligence assessments indicate the terror group wants a ceasefire due to its weakening military position.
An Israeli official involved in the negotiations tells the news site that this intelligence has led Netanyahu to toughen Israel’s demands for a deal, explaining that the premier “is trying to use Hamas’s weakness to get as much as he can out of the negotiations.”
“But there is a risk that he will go too far and the negotiations collapse,” the official says, adding that the premier wants a deal but is willing to play hardball.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s renewed demand for any Gaza truce deal to prevent the return of weapons and armed terrorists to the Strip’s north violates prior agreements with mediators and will complicate or even thwart negotiations, according to unnamed senior security sources cited by Channel 12 news.
Netanyahu included that demand in a list he issued yesterday of new conditions for a deal.
The network cites sources familiar with the talks as saying that in its May 27 response to mediators, Israel gave up its initial demand to maintain control of the so-called Netzarim Corridor, which currently splits the Strip in two and prevents the return of gunmen to the northern part. “The demand to monitor everyone moving north is a retraction of our concession on the matter,” one source is quoted as saying. “The IDF will know how to deal with the situation even if armed fighters return to the north, and we can find a solution with the Americans.
“This is a demand that will prevent a deal,” the source says. “In the best case, it is an obstacle that will make the continuation [of talks] more difficult, and in the worst case, it is aimed as a spoke in the negotiations’ wheel and at eliminating the ability to reach a deal.
“We are in a crucial two days for the deal to succeed. It’s either now or in a very long time, perhaps never. Prime Minister Netanyahu added demands that deviate from the agreements with the mediators.” --Just as every other negotiation since November, Netanyahu has done everything to block a deal. This is his latest effort to scuttle the negotiations and everyone knows that this is what he is doing. He should just come out and say the truth that he is willing to sacrifice every single one of the hostages' lives in order for him to stay in power.
Gaza
- The US military’s humanitarian pier off the coast of Gaza, which has been hampered by bad weather and aid distribution problems, will shut down soon, US President Joe Biden’s administration confirms.
While the pier has brought in 8,100 metric tons of aid to a marshaling area on Gaza’s shore since it started operating in May, the 1,200-foot-long (370-meter-long) floating pier has had to be removed multiple times because of bad weather.
Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder says the military unsuccessfully tried to reanchor the pier yesterday. There is no new date for a reanchoring, but the effort will soon end.
“The pier has always been intended as a temporary solution to enable the additional flow of aid into Gaza during a period of dire humanitarian need … the pier will soon cease operations,” Ryder says,
US officials have told Reuters that the pier operations could shift to the Israeli port of Ashdod as soon as next week, when aid meant for the pier in Cyprus could dry up.
- Elam Maor, a member of Kibbutz Be’eri’s local security team, tells Channel 12 that he spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at 11:00 a.m. on October 7, and told him that there were hundreds of terrorists inside the kibbutz.
Netanyahu, he says, assured him that the incident would be dealt with.
“Somehow you managed to get through to Netanyahu, at around 11 in the morning on that Sabbath, in a telephone call,” news anchor Danny Kushmaro marvels.
“It happened,” Maor replies.
Kushmaro: “And you told him, ‘We need help?'”
Maor: “Be’eri is alone. Be’eri is abandoned. There are hundreds of terrorists here.”
Kushmaro: “And he tells you, something like, ‘It’s okay, the IDF is on the way?'”
Maor: “Not, ‘It’s okay’. He says, ‘We’ll deal with it.’ It was 11 o’clock, and the incident was a long way from being dealt with. In fact, the additional military force arrived at Be’eri at 1:30 [p.m.].”
Kushmaro: “In retrospect, would you have told him something different?”
Maor: “I think that was the most accurate thing I could say… We were there at Be’eri alone for many hours.”
Maor commends the IDF for acknowledging and detailing its failures in today’s probe, and insists that a state commission of inquiry into the events leading up to and on October 7 is essential. Tactical and strategic lessons must be learned, he says.
While the pier has brought in 8,100 metric tons of aid to a marshaling area on Gaza’s shore since it started operating in May, the 1,200-foot-long (370-meter-long) floating pier has had to be removed multiple times because of bad weather.
Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder says the military unsuccessfully tried to reanchor the pier yesterday. There is no new date for a reanchoring, but the effort will soon end.
“The pier has always been intended as a temporary solution to enable the additional flow of aid into Gaza during a period of dire humanitarian need … the pier will soon cease operations,” Ryder says,
US officials have told Reuters that the pier operations could shift to the Israeli port of Ashdod as soon as next week, when aid meant for the pier in Cyprus could dry up.
Netanyahu, he says, assured him that the incident would be dealt with.
“Somehow you managed to get through to Netanyahu, at around 11 in the morning on that Sabbath, in a telephone call,” news anchor Danny Kushmaro marvels.
“It happened,” Maor replies.
Kushmaro: “And you told him, ‘We need help?'”
Maor: “Be’eri is alone. Be’eri is abandoned. There are hundreds of terrorists here.”
Kushmaro: “And he tells you, something like, ‘It’s okay, the IDF is on the way?'”
Maor: “Not, ‘It’s okay’. He says, ‘We’ll deal with it.’ It was 11 o’clock, and the incident was a long way from being dealt with. In fact, the additional military force arrived at Be’eri at 1:30 [p.m.].”
Kushmaro: “In retrospect, would you have told him something different?”
Maor: “I think that was the most accurate thing I could say… We were there at Be’eri alone for many hours.”
Maor commends the IDF for acknowledging and detailing its failures in today’s probe, and insists that a state commission of inquiry into the events leading up to and on October 7 is essential. Tactical and strategic lessons must be learned, he says.
- :Be’eri probe shows army’s colossal errors, residents’ bravery
Investigation into Oct. 7 Hamas invasion of kibbutz, where 101 civilians and 31 security personnel died, finds disastrous response by military amid battle against hundreds of terrorists
Investigation into Oct. 7 Hamas invasion of kibbutz, where 101 civilians and 31 security personnel died, finds disastrous response by military amid battle against hundreds of terrorists
On the morning of October 7, 2023, hundreds of terrorists swarmed into the unsuspecting Gaza border community of Kibbutz Be’eri, in what would become one of the deadliest killing grounds amid the Hamas-led terror onslaught, and the worst attack on a single community.
Residents were left to fend for themselves for long hours, with the army — stunned by the shock attack on dozens of towns and in utter disarray — failing to come to their rescue as terrorists moved from home to home, kidnapping, brutalizing and massacring civilians well into the afternoon.
In all, 101 civilians and 31 security personnel were killed in Be’eri — a community of around 1,000 residents — and a further 30 residents and two more civilians were taken hostage by the Hamas terrorists, 11 of whom still remain in Gaza. At least 125 homes in the community were damaged and destroyed amid the fighting. On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces presented its probe into the battle at the kibbutz — the first in its detailed investigations of the many battles of that day — highlighting the heroism of Be’eri’s local security team and other Israeli forces who participated in the fighting, as well as the army’s colossal failures that enabled the massacre. Be’eri was the hardest-hit community in Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, during which some 3,000 terrorists stormed across the border and massacred close to 1,200 people in their homes and at a nearby music festival in southern Israel, and took 251 hostages to Gaza.
The probe, carried out by Maj. Gen. (res.) Mickey Edelstein, a former commander of the Gaza Division, covers all aspects of the fighting in the kibbutz that day. Edelstein and his team — none of whom had any involvement in the events themselves, according to the IDF — spent hundreds of hours investigating the onslaught and battle at Be’eri, reviewing every possible source of information, from residents’ WhatsApp messages to both Israeli and Hamas radio communications, as well as surveillance videos, aerial footage, interviews of survivors and those who fought, plus visits to the scene.
The reason for the Be’eri probe being presented first among the long list of IDF investigations into the October 7 onslaught was twofold, according to the military: Firstly, the IDF considers the Be’eri investigation the first to be ready to be presented to the public, although some final details still need to be ironed out. Secondly, the military sees the presentation of the probe as a way of rebuilding trust with the kibbutz in particular and the Israeli public in general, following the IDF’s failures on October 7. The Be’eri probe was aimed at drawing specific operational conclusions for the military. It did not examine a wider picture of the military’s perception of Gaza and Hamas in recent years, which is to be covered in separate, larger, investigations into the IDF’s intelligence and defenses. The army is also not looking at policies as set by the political leadership, in a bid to avoid a fight with government leaders who have insisted such investigations must wait until after the war against Hamas ends.
The probe concluded that the IDF “failed in its mission to protect the residents of Kibbutz Be’eri,” largely since the military had never prepared for such an event — an Israeli community being captured by terrorists, as well as a widescale attack in numerous towns and army bases simultaneously by thousands of terrorists.
The IDF had trained for “single intrusions” and as a result, its forces were deployed in such a way that there were no troops that could be sent to Be’eri amid the widescale attack.
The probe found that the army had difficulty in building a clear picture of what was happening in Be’eri until the afternoon hours, despite the local security team providing information on the fighting starting early in the morning. It also found that security authorities did not provide Be’eri with an adequate warning of the attack. According to the investigation, the IDF had difficulty in command and control of the situation during the first hours of the fighting in Be’eri.
During the onslaught, numerous units were involved in battling Hamas in Be’eri, and there was little coordination, leading to a large number of troops gathering outside the community and not being immediately involved in the fighting, according to the probe. Some troops were ordered not to enter and fight but instead help evacuate civilians; others initially fought inside the kibbutz but then withdrew to evacuate wounded soldiers; and in some cases, troops waited for their commanders to arrive before entering. Later in the evening, commanders were briefing troops before entering to avoid friendly fire, which also caused a large buildup of troops outside Be’eri. The probe also found cases in which troops acted inappropriately vis-Γ -vis civilians, such as not shielding them amid rocket attacks in the area.
The investigation team also determined that residents of Be’eri and members of the kibbutz’s local security team managed to hold the line for the first several hours of the attack, preventing terrorists from massacring more civilians. The probe also pointed to tactical failures amid the battle in Be’eri, including some that were “understandable” given the circumstances, which included a lack of information and the highly tense and chaotic situation, and failures that occurred because of wrong decision-making by commanders.
Failures due to wrong decision-making included some units entering Be’eri and then withdrawing; the fact that for the first seven hours of the attack, only 13 troops and 13 members of the kibbutz’s local security team and other armed civilians were fighting off the invasion; and that in a handful of cases wounded soldiers were given priority in evacuation over civilians. More than 300 terrorists invaded Be’eri. These included 100-120 members of Hamas’s elite Nukhba force, 50-70 additional Hamas operatives, and around 100-150 members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, other terror organizations, and Palestinian civilians who later arrived to loot and riot.
At least 100 terrorists were ultimately killed by Israeli forces in the kibbutz, and 18 were captured alive.
The timeline of the attack
The Hamas assault on Be’eri began not long after 6:30 a.m. on October 7, and had largely ended by the evening of October 8, although some terrorists remained in the area and were killed or captured by troops even on October 9. At 5:30 a.m. on October 7, Israeli troops stationed in the Be’eri and Nahal Oz area took their stations along the Gaza border in a shift change. The Hamas onslaught would begin exactly an hour later.
Amid a deluge of rockets fired at Israel, the first Hamas terrorists broke through the border barrier at 6:30 a.m. They attacked two tanks stationed at the so-called Paga military post, also known internally in the IDF as “the Be’eri protector” outpost — located on the border just across from the kibbutz. The attackers used RPGs and drones dropping explosives.
One of the tanks was disabled by the Hamas fire, and its team members were killed and their bodies abducted. The second tank maneuvered further north and engaged several terrorists, but also sustained hits, and its team members, aside from the driver, were killed.
The driver took the tank to the Nova music festival near the community of Re’im to engage terrorists there as they massacred partygoers. Much later, at 2:30 p.m., Col. Nissim Hazan would drive that same tank back to Be’eri and, in an infamous incident, fire shells at a home where Hamas was holding hostages.
Surviving troops at the Paga outpost continued to battle terrorists and were unable to protect Be’eri, while other forces stationed in the area would go to fight attackers at Nahal Oz, leaving the kibbutz undefended. At 6:42 a.m., Hamas terrorists from the Nuseirat Battalion’s 2nd company crossed the border on motorcycles and headed toward Be’eri. The last members of the company reached the kibbutz at 7:20 a.m.
The battalion’s 1st and 3rd companies, meanwhile, first headed to the Nova musical festival, where they murdered hundreds of partygoers. Later, the two companies would head to the southern city of Netivot, but en route would spot an IDF tank and instead turned back and go to Be’eri per instructions given by Hamas commanders, joining the 2nd company. Arik Kraunik, the chief of the Be’eri security team, spotted the first Hamas terrorists on motorcycles heading toward Be’eri, and notified the army and residents. He also told members of the local security team to meet up at the armory, where the kibbutz’s assault rifles were locked up. Kraunik had the keys.
Kraunik approached the kibbutz’s main entrance as two terrorists breached it, and was killed in a firefight.
At the same time, Ilan Weiss, the deputy of the emergency response team who lived on the western side of the kibbutz, and who also had a key, set out from his home to reach the armory but was also killed by terrorists and his body was abducted to Gaza.
This left the remaining members of the security team without assault rifles to fight with, and with only their personal weapons.
The two terrorists who killed Kraunik at the main entrance, in Be’eri’s north, continued moving inside the community, killing civilians and members of the security team as they headed to the northwestern side of Be’eri, where Hamas had used a bulldozer to breach the fence and allow dozens more terrorists to stream in.
One of those shot by the two terrorists at that time was Gil Buyum, also a member of the security team, who was taken into the kibbutz’s dental clinic but later died. Several security officers made a stand against the terrorists from the dental clinic. At around 7:27 a.m. a group of five police officers entered the kibbutz, but immediately turned around after hearing gunfire and were not seen again that day, according to security camera footage and testimony from a resident. The probe was unable to determine where the officers headed after leaving Be’eri.
Meanwhile, Hamas terrorists were moving from home to home in Be’eri’s western neighborhood, murdering those inside and setting fire to buildings. The local security team along with several armed civilians, including reservist general Yossi Bachar, fought back, preventing the terrorists from advancing into the center of the kibbutz.
By 9:03 a.m., 13 members of the Air Force’s elite Shaldag unit arrived by helicopter, making them the first Israeli troops to begin fighting in Be’eri.
The Shaldag team would be the only IDF unit in Be’eri until around 1:30 p.m.. According to the probe, only 26 armed Israelis were present in Be’eri until that time, facing down around 340 terrorists.
At one point amid the fighting, the Shaldag team lost one member and another was seriously wounded, leading them to withdraw to the entrance and evacuate the wounded. This failure to stay to fight alongside the local security team and civilians represented poor decision-making and a serious professional error, the probe found.
The Shaldag team repositioned itself at the entrance to Be’eri, killing several Hamas terrorists there, and would later return to fight inside the kibbutz. Additional Shaldag members would later arrive, among them Maj. (res.) Yitzhar Hofman (Hofman went on to fight inside Gaza in the war and was killed in a Hamas sniper attack in Gaza City earlier this year).
At 11:30 a.m., Palestinian civilians began to enter Be’eri and riot and loot the community. Hamas’s two additional companies, which had gone first to the Nova party, arrived at Be’eri at 12:15 p.m. By 1 p.m., all 32 of the kibbutz hostages had been taken by terrorists to Gaza. No other hostages were taken after that time. According to the probe, the terrorists attempted abductions after 1 p.m. without success.
By this time, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi had decided to appoint commanders to take charge of specific areas in southern Israel where fighting was taking place, in an attempt to coordinate the troops. Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram, the commander of the 99th Division, was appointed to the Be’eri area at 1 p.m., though he arrived much later to the community, at around 4:15 p.m.
Meanwhile, members of the elite Sayeret Matkal unit attempted to reach Be’eri, but encountered terrorists on the Route 232 road just outside the kibbutz and were delayed in reaching it.
At around 1:30 p.m., Shaldag and Sayeret Matkal decided to each take opposite sides of Be’eri and search the community for the estimated remaining 200 terrorists, as well as rescue civilians who had been holed up in the safe rooms of their homes for hours.
As the special forces were operating, the Paratroopers’s 890th Battalion arrived at Be’eri and without coordinating or knowing of the other units’ activities, also began to sweep the kibbutz. Still, there was only one suspected incident of friendly fire between the troops in Be’eri, and that occurred overnight. According to the probe, the troops were careful not to open fire unless they were engaged in a direct battle with terrorists, fearing hitting civilians. Over the following hours, between 1:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., troops engaged in a series of gun battles with Hamas terrorists inside Be’eri. Meanwhile, a group of police officers attempted to drive around the kibbutz to reach it from its western side, but were ambushed by Hamas terrorists with RPGs and all eight were killed.
Between 2 and 3 p.m., the first civilians in Be’eri were evacuated, although most were taken out at around 6 p.m.
At 5 p.m., tanks, including the one driven by Col. Nissim Hazan, arrived at Be’eri and began to scan the area along with the other forces present.
Pessi Cohen’s house
The incident at the home of Pessi Cohen in Be’eri was one of three hostage face-offs between terrorists and security forces amid the October 7 onslaught. The others took place at a home in Ofakim and at the Sderot police station.
Terrorists, from Hamas’s two additional companies, had rounded up civilians in the southern neighborhood of Be’eri and brought them to a single home, Cohen’s. Six were held outside in the yard, while another nine were held inside the house, though one was already dead, according to the probe.
At 3:08 p.m. a first phone call was made to police regarding hostages being held in Be’eri. Due to a miscommunication, the report was forwarded to troops as a hostage situation at Be’eri’s dining hall, and not at Cohen’s home. At 3:59 p.m., one of the terrorists holding the hostages at Cohen’s home called his superiors in Gaza and told them that the IDF had arrived. The military intercepted this call.
Meanwhile, before knowing that hostages were held in the house, members of the police’s elite Yamam unit fired a shoulder-launched missile toward Cohen’s home after coming under machine gun and RPG fire from it.
It was shortly afterward that the Yamam and Shin Bet security agency realized the house was where hostages were being held, and not the dining hall. As forces surrounded the home, the hostages in the yard were not visible to them.
As Hazan’s tank arrived in the area around 5 p.m., he crushed several Hamas pickup trucks that had apparently been intended by the terrorists to take away the hostages held at Cohen’s home.
At the same time, one of the eight terrorists inside Cohen’s home surrendered to Israeli forces, using one of the survivors, Yasmin Porat, as a human shield as he exited the house. This saved her life.
Brig. Gen. Hiram, by then in Be’eri but not at the house, gave approval to fire light tank shells near and at the building to pressure the terrorists inside to surrender.
At 5:33 p.m., Yamam and Shin Bet commanders ordered Hazan’s tank to fire the first light tank shell near the building. The first shell struck the pathway leading to the home.
At 6 p.m., Hiram arrived at Cohen’s home, and spoke to the Yamam commander there, ordering them to finish within 40 minutes as the sun was setting. After about 20 minutes, Hiram left to handle other incidents in Be’eri.
At 6:26 p.m., a call was made by Hamas commanders in Gaza to the terrorists at Cohen’s home, ordering them to run away. A minute later, at 6:27 p.m., a second light tank shell was launched at the pathway. At 6:32 p.m., the terrorists told their commanders in Gaza that they would fight to the death, and two minutes later a third shell was launched at the pathway.
This shell bounced off the ground and struck just above the doorway of Cohen’s home, according to the probe. As a result of the impact, shrapnel killed hostage Adi Dagan, 68, and injured his wife, Hadas Dagan, 70.
A fourth shell was launched at 6:57 p.m., targeting the roof. According to the probe, this was also to apply pressure on the terrorists to release the hostages, and not aimed at harming anyone inside.
Meanwhile, fighting continued in surrounding homes, and troops were also coming under fire from where the hostages were held. Among those involved in attempting to reach the hostages was Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora (he was killed months later during a successful hostage rescue mission in the Gaza Strip in June). At 7:57 p.m., a long burst of gunfire was heard by the forces, and then silence with no sound of the hostages. The special forces then decided to enter the home, engaging in a gun battle with the remaining terrorists inside. Only one of the hostages, Hadas Dagan, survived the exchange of fire. The causes of death of the 13 other hostages have not been definitively identified, though many were apparently killed by gunfire.
Between 10 p.m. on October 7 and 5 a.m. on October 8, the IDF continued to evacuate civilians from Be’eri and search for remaining terrorists, although there were far fewer engagements.
Searches continued the following day, until the IDF declared that it had regained control of the kibbutz. Still, there were a number of clashes in the area over the following days, as some Hamas terrorists hid out.
IDF chief: ‘Probe illustrates the magnitude of the failure’
IDF chief Halevi in a statement issued alongside the probe said that while this was just the first investigation into the onslaught, which does not reflect the entire picture of October 7, it “clearly illustrates the magnitude of the failure and the dimensions of the disaster that befell the residents of the south who protected their families with their bodies for many hours, and the IDF was not there to protect them.”
He said that additional investigations would provide a fuller picture of the onslaught, and enable the IDF to draw operational conclusions that would be implemented immediately. The IDF said it would also set up a website where the findings would be publicly available, and it would be updated over time with additional investigations into the battles on October 7.
There were some 40 battle locations during the Hamas attack, which are being investigated by more than 20 military commanders.
Each battle investigation or set of investigations is to be presented upon completion, and not all simultaneously, as some events have proven to be more complex than others to review.
The IDF hopes to present all battle investigations by the end of August.
The military is also meanwhile carrying out an investigation focused on a timeframe from the March 2018 Hamas-led Gaza border riots until October 10, 2023, the point when Israeli troops reestablished control of southern Israel following the attack.
This investigation includes the IDF’s intelligence assessments on Hamas from 2018 until the outbreak of the war, and the military’s conception of its own defenses and its operational plans against threats in Gaza.
Additional IDF probes into October 7, such as the intelligence and decision-making process on the eve of the onslaught, as well as the days leading up to it, will be based on the conclusions of this investigation. link
Opposition lawmakers on Thursday said the military’s newly released findings of its failures in the Kibbutz Be’eri massacre on October 7 underlined the urgent need for a state commission of inquiry into the events leading up to and on that day.
The detailed report by the Israel Defense Forces, presented to the community Thursday and later released publicly, highlighted the heroism of the local security team and other forces who participated in the fighting, but concluded that the army was woefully ill-prepared for such an enormous onslaught, and ultimately “failed in its mission to protect the residents of Kibbutz Be’eri.”
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said the probe, as well as Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s speech earlier in the day in which he spoke of the need for a wide-ranging probe, “proves even more the need for a state commission of inquiry into the events of October 7. “The government cannot continue to avoid its responsibility toward the citizens of Israel, the families of the fallen and families of hostages,” he wrote on X.
Yisrael Beytenu party chair Avigdor Liberman said in a statement that the Be’eri probe proved there was “no other choice except the appointment of a state commission of inquiry led by a judge,” instead of an investigation focusing on security forces “who risked their lives protecting the residents from bloodthirsty terrorists.”
“The investigation must begin with the prime minister and defense minister, the main ones responsible for the worst failure in the country’s history. The general staff also should be held responsible, especially those that determined on the eve of the war that Hamas was deterred and not interested in an escalation,” Liberman wrote.
State commissions of inquiry can be established by a government resolution or by the Knesset’s State Control Committee, and are independent panels whose members are selected by the Supreme Court president from among serving or retired Supreme Court or district court judges.
Despite calls from several opposition lawmakers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that an investigation determining the culpability of the government cannot take place while the war in Gaza is ongoing. He has also been non-committal on establishing a state commission — the investigatory body with the greatest powers — indicating that other formats may be appropriate. Critics have accused Netanyahu of avoiding the matter for fear of how such an inquiry might reflect on his role in events. In a challenge to Netanyahu Thursday, Gallant called for the formation of a state commission that would examine all decision-makers and their failures leading up to the massacre, including himself.
Yair Golan, head of the Democrats union of Labor and Meretz, said the Be’eri probe was “a drop in the ocean” compared to what a state commission could find.
“Our soldiers, bereaved families, and the families of hostages deserve a full and broad investigation into all the failures that led to October 7. The country needs it so that ‘never again’ doesn’t remain an empty slogan. Citizens need it to know their country is doing everything to not abandon them again,” he wrote on X.
Labor party MK Efrat Rayten wrote that the probe was a positive first step, “but without a state commission with broad investigative powers to examine the additional failures on that dark day, drawing lessons and implementing the conclusions, we will not be able to make a real and serious correction to prevent such disasters.” Firebrand MK Tally Gotliv of the ruling Likud party slammed the probe for focusing on soldiers, charging that Israelis wanted to know where the heads of the security establishment were on October 7, and how thousands of terrorists broke through the border. full article
Opposition lawmakers on Thursday said the military’s newly released findings of its failures in the Kibbutz Be’eri massacre on October 7 underlined the urgent need for a state commission of inquiry into the events leading up to and on that day.
The detailed report by the Israel Defense Forces, presented to the community Thursday and later released publicly, highlighted the heroism of the local security team and other forces who participated in the fighting, but concluded that the army was woefully ill-prepared for such an enormous onslaught, and ultimately “failed in its mission to protect the residents of Kibbutz Be’eri.”
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said the probe, as well as Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s speech earlier in the day in which he spoke of the need for a wide-ranging probe, “proves even more the need for a state commission of inquiry into the events of October 7. “The government cannot continue to avoid its responsibility toward the citizens of Israel, the families of the fallen and families of hostages,” he wrote on X.
Yisrael Beytenu party chair Avigdor Liberman said in a statement that the Be’eri probe proved there was “no other choice except the appointment of a state commission of inquiry led by a judge,” instead of an investigation focusing on security forces “who risked their lives protecting the residents from bloodthirsty terrorists.”
“The investigation must begin with the prime minister and defense minister, the main ones responsible for the worst failure in the country’s history. The general staff also should be held responsible, especially those that determined on the eve of the war that Hamas was deterred and not interested in an escalation,” Liberman wrote.
State commissions of inquiry can be established by a government resolution or by the Knesset’s State Control Committee, and are independent panels whose members are selected by the Supreme Court president from among serving or retired Supreme Court or district court judges.
Despite calls from several opposition lawmakers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that an investigation determining the culpability of the government cannot take place while the war in Gaza is ongoing. He has also been non-committal on establishing a state commission — the investigatory body with the greatest powers — indicating that other formats may be appropriate. Critics have accused Netanyahu of avoiding the matter for fear of how such an inquiry might reflect on his role in events. In a challenge to Netanyahu Thursday, Gallant called for the formation of a state commission that would examine all decision-makers and their failures leading up to the massacre, including himself.
Yair Golan, head of the Democrats union of Labor and Meretz, said the Be’eri probe was “a drop in the ocean” compared to what a state commission could find.
“Our soldiers, bereaved families, and the families of hostages deserve a full and broad investigation into all the failures that led to October 7. The country needs it so that ‘never again’ doesn’t remain an empty slogan. Citizens need it to know their country is doing everything to not abandon them again,” he wrote on X.
Labor party MK Efrat Rayten wrote that the probe was a positive first step, “but without a state commission with broad investigative powers to examine the additional failures on that dark day, drawing lessons and implementing the conclusions, we will not be able to make a real and serious correction to prevent such disasters.” Firebrand MK Tally Gotliv of the ruling Likud party slammed the probe for focusing on soldiers, charging that Israelis wanted to know where the heads of the security establishment were on October 7, and how thousands of terrorists broke through the border. full article
Community statement from kibbutz worst hit on Oct. 7 calls for state commission of inquiry, while some survivors fume at what they see as a lackluster investigation
Troops of the IDF’s Commando Brigade have located weapons and a command room used by Hamas at UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City, the military says.
The troops raided the compound earlier this week as part of a new operation carried out by the 99th Division in western and southern neighborhoods of Gaza City. The UNRWA HQ has not been in use in recent months. The IDF raided the compound earlier this year, discovering a major Hamas tunnel network that passed beneath it.
Weapons found by IDF troops at UNRWA's headquarters in Gaza City, in a handout photo published July 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)In the latest operation, the IDF says the commandos captured Hamas operatives who attempted to flee the UNRWA facility, as well as engaging in battles with cells of gunmen who were holed up inside. The Commando Brigade troops also found parts of a Hamas drone, a command room used to observe Israeli forces and dozens of weapons, including rockets, machine guns, mortars, explosive devices, grenades and drones that drop bombs, the military says.
Troops of the Commando Brigade operate at UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City, in a handout photo published July 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)In a nearby university building, the IDF says the commandos located an underground bomb-making lab and additional weapons.
A Hamas drone found by IDF troops at UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City, in a handout photo published July 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)- Despite the denial issued by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, two officials involved in the hostage talks tell The Times of Israel that Israeli negotiators have in fact been discussing the possibility of an IDF withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor between Gaza and Egypt as part of a potential ceasefire deal.
The withdrawal would be part of an arrangement that would see Egypt, with the help of the US and other international partners, bolster the border in order to ensure that Hamas cannot smuggle weapons into Gaza from Sinai, the officials say.
The arrangement would include the construction of an underground wall along the corridor to neutralize the tunnel threat, the officials add. --Netanyahu's office described this as being 'fake news'
Hamas has suggested during ceasefire negotiations that an independent government of non-partisan figures run postwar Gaza and the West Bank, a member of the Palestinian terror group’s political bureau says, with another Hamas source saying this would pave way for Palestinian national elections.
“We proposed that a non-partisan national competency government manage Gaza and the West Bank after the war,” Husam Badran says in a statement about the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas with mediation from Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
“The administration of Gaza after the war is a Palestinian internal matter without any external interference, and we will not discuss the day after the war in Gaza with any external parties,” Badran asserts.
A Hamas official tells AFP the proposal for a non-partisan government was made “with the mediators.”
The potential government will “manage the affairs of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in the initial phase after the war, paving the way for general elections,” says the official, who does not want his name disclosed. link It should be recognized that Hamas' offer for a non-Hamas government to rule Gaza sounds very nice but their plans are quite nefarious (no surprise there). On the one hand, they are very happy to relinquish the demands of municipal responsibility (health care, food supplies, traffic and building) but they plan to continue their military operations which includes actual physical control over the population to keep them in place and under their firm hand. They will continue with tunnel building, smuggling, weapons manufacture, military training and rebuilding their forces and of course, education. They know that whoever controls education controls the future.
During operations in Gaza City, the IDF says troops with the 99th Division have located lathes used to manufacture weapons, along with cash belonging to terror groups.
Several gunmen were also killed amid the fighting in Gaza City, according to the army.
In southern Gaza’s Rafah, the IDF says that troops with the 162nd Division killed numerous more gunmen in clashes and by calling in airstrikes.
Meanwhile, several rockets were fired from northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun at the Lachish Regional Council area in southern Israel yesterday, setting off sirens in the town of Nir Israel, near Ashkelon.
The IDF says the rockets struck open areas, and in response, airstrikes were carried out against sites belonging to terror groups in the area of the launch.
Troops of the IDF’s Commando Brigade have located weapons and a command room used by Hamas at UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City, the military says.
The troops raided the compound earlier this week as part of a new operation carried out by the 99th Division in western and southern neighborhoods of Gaza City. The UNRWA HQ has not been in use in recent months. The IDF raided the compound earlier this year, discovering a major Hamas tunnel network that passed beneath it.
In the latest operation, the IDF says the commandos captured Hamas operatives who attempted to flee the UNRWA facility, as well as engaging in battles with cells of gunmen who were holed up inside. The Commando Brigade troops also found parts of a Hamas drone, a command room used to observe Israeli forces and dozens of weapons, including rockets, machine guns, mortars, explosive devices, grenades and drones that drop bombs, the military says.
In a nearby university building, the IDF says the commandos located an underground bomb-making lab and additional weapons.
The withdrawal would be part of an arrangement that would see Egypt, with the help of the US and other international partners, bolster the border in order to ensure that Hamas cannot smuggle weapons into Gaza from Sinai, the officials say.
The arrangement would include the construction of an underground wall along the corridor to neutralize the tunnel threat, the officials add. --Netanyahu's office described this as being 'fake news'
Hamas has suggested during ceasefire negotiations that an independent government of non-partisan figures run postwar Gaza and the West Bank, a member of the Palestinian terror group’s political bureau says, with another Hamas source saying this would pave way for Palestinian national elections.
“We proposed that a non-partisan national competency government manage Gaza and the West Bank after the war,” Husam Badran says in a statement about the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas with mediation from Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
“The administration of Gaza after the war is a Palestinian internal matter without any external interference, and we will not discuss the day after the war in Gaza with any external parties,” Badran asserts.
A Hamas official tells AFP the proposal for a non-partisan government was made “with the mediators.”
The potential government will “manage the affairs of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in the initial phase after the war, paving the way for general elections,” says the official, who does not want his name disclosed. link It should be recognized that Hamas' offer for a non-Hamas government to rule Gaza sounds very nice but their plans are quite nefarious (no surprise there). On the one hand, they are very happy to relinquish the demands of municipal responsibility (health care, food supplies, traffic and building) but they plan to continue their military operations which includes actual physical control over the population to keep them in place and under their firm hand. They will continue with tunnel building, smuggling, weapons manufacture, military training and rebuilding their forces and of course, education. They know that whoever controls education controls the future.
During operations in Gaza City, the IDF says troops with the 99th Division have located lathes used to manufacture weapons, along with cash belonging to terror groups.
Several gunmen were also killed amid the fighting in Gaza City, according to the army.
In southern Gaza’s Rafah, the IDF says that troops with the 162nd Division killed numerous more gunmen in clashes and by calling in airstrikes.
Meanwhile, several rockets were fired from northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun at the Lachish Regional Council area in southern Israel yesterday, setting off sirens in the town of Nir Israel, near Ashkelon.
The IDF says the rockets struck open areas, and in response, airstrikes were carried out against sites belonging to terror groups in the area of the launch.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
A man in his 30s was critically wounded on Thursday morning as a result of an impact by an explosive-laden drone near Kibbutz Kabri in the Western Galilee, medics said, amid a series of attacks by Lebanese terrorists on northern communities.
The military said several drones that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon hit the Western Galilee area, while others were downed by air defenses.
Television news broadcast footage of a house and two cars that were also damaged in the attack in Kabri, which has not been evacuated amid the months-long cross-border attacks by the Hezbollah terror group. Kenny, a resident of the northern kibbutz, told Channel 12 that he was just starting to drive south with his wife when the alert sirens sounded. They pulled over and hurried to take cover inside their house, and moments later saw their vehicle destroyed by an apparent direct hit.
“We heard sirens, a lot of sirens, three or four rounds, which is rare for Kabri. We decided to stop. I turned off the car and we ran straight into the house. Within a minute there was a massive boom and we could see from the house that the car was destroyed. It was a huge blast,” he said.
“It’s hard to digest, very hard,” his wife Ronit told the network. “It’s a miracle.”
The couple said the front of their house was also damaged in the drone attack.
It came around an hour after several suspected drones were shot down by air defenses over the Upper Galilee, as sirens rang out across northern Israel throughout the morning warning of incoming fire from Lebanon.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said Wednesday his Lebanese terror group would accept Palestinian ally Hamas’s decision on Gaza hostage negotiations and would stop cross-border attacks on Israel if a ceasefire were reached.
Hezbollah has traded almost daily fire with Israeli forces in support of Hamas since the Palestinian terror group’s October 7 attack on Israel triggered war in the Gaza Strip, stoking fears of a full-blown conflict in the north.
“Hamas is negotiating… on behalf of the whole axis of resistance,” Nasrallah said, referring to regional pro-Iran groups opposed to Israel and the United States. “Whatever Hamas accepts, everyone accepts and is satisfied with,” he said, adding: “We do not ask (Hamas) to coordinate with us because the battle in the first instance is theirs.”
Nasrallah’s remarks came days after he met with a Hamas delegation headed by foreign relations chief Khalil al-Hayya, and as talks were to resume in Qatar toward a truce-for-hostage deal in the Gaza war, now grinding into its 10th month.
Hamas has signaled that it would drop its insistence on a “complete” ceasefire — which Israel has repeatedly rejected — as a condition for starting truce talks, saying it would instead seek a commitment from mediators. Nasrallah repeated his position that “if a ceasefire is reached, and we all hope for that… our front will cease fire without any discussion.”
“That is a commitment, because it is a support front and we have been clear [about this] from the start,” he said, during a televised address commemorating a senior Hezbollah commander killed in an Israeli strike last week. However, Nasrallah warned that “we will never allow any attack that the Israeli enemy might carry out against Lebanon [even] if there is a ceasefire in Gaza.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Sunday that “we will continue fighting and doing everything necessary to bring about the desired result” in the campaign against Hezbollah, “even if there is a ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah announced three new attacks on Wednesday, including an “aerial offensive with a squadron of explosive drones” targeting a military base in the Golan Heights.
The Israeli military said one soldier was lightly wounded after three drones from Lebanon impacted near the Beit Hameches junction in northern Israel. The IDF announced it was investigating why sirens did not sound and why it failed to intercept the drones. The Lebanese terror organization, which has increased its use of explosive drones in recent weeks, said the latest attack was in retaliation “for the attack and assassination carried out by the Israeli enemy… on the Damascus-Beirut road” on Tuesday.
A source close to the Iran-backed group, requesting anonymity, told AFP that a former bodyguard to Nasrallah was killed in the strike, identifying him by the surname of Qarnabash. Hezbollah in a statement announced the death of a fighter with the same surname, Yasser Qarnabash, but did not detail his role or rank in the terror group.
- The military announces a fresh round of strikes on Hezbollah, saying it hit facilities used by the terror group and other related targets in southern Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces also says it intercepted a “suspicious aerial target” from Lebanon earlier this evening, resulting in no injuries or damage.
The IDF says it struck a Syrian military post in southern Syria’s Tasil overnight, in response to a rocket attack. The rocket fired late last night struck an open area in the southern Golan Heights, causing no injuries.
A man in his 30s was critically wounded on Thursday morning as a result of an impact by an explosive-laden drone near Kibbutz Kabri in the Western Galilee, medics said, amid a series of attacks by Lebanese terrorists on northern communities.
The military said several drones that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon hit the Western Galilee area, while others were downed by air defenses.
Television news broadcast footage of a house and two cars that were also damaged in the attack in Kabri, which has not been evacuated amid the months-long cross-border attacks by the Hezbollah terror group. Kenny, a resident of the northern kibbutz, told Channel 12 that he was just starting to drive south with his wife when the alert sirens sounded. They pulled over and hurried to take cover inside their house, and moments later saw their vehicle destroyed by an apparent direct hit.
“We heard sirens, a lot of sirens, three or four rounds, which is rare for Kabri. We decided to stop. I turned off the car and we ran straight into the house. Within a minute there was a massive boom and we could see from the house that the car was destroyed. It was a huge blast,” he said.
“It’s hard to digest, very hard,” his wife Ronit told the network. “It’s a miracle.”
The couple said the front of their house was also damaged in the drone attack.
It came around an hour after several suspected drones were shot down by air defenses over the Upper Galilee, as sirens rang out across northern Israel throughout the morning warning of incoming fire from Lebanon.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said Wednesday his Lebanese terror group would accept Palestinian ally Hamas’s decision on Gaza hostage negotiations and would stop cross-border attacks on Israel if a ceasefire were reached.
Hezbollah has traded almost daily fire with Israeli forces in support of Hamas since the Palestinian terror group’s October 7 attack on Israel triggered war in the Gaza Strip, stoking fears of a full-blown conflict in the north.
“Hamas is negotiating… on behalf of the whole axis of resistance,” Nasrallah said, referring to regional pro-Iran groups opposed to Israel and the United States. “Whatever Hamas accepts, everyone accepts and is satisfied with,” he said, adding: “We do not ask (Hamas) to coordinate with us because the battle in the first instance is theirs.”
Nasrallah’s remarks came days after he met with a Hamas delegation headed by foreign relations chief Khalil al-Hayya, and as talks were to resume in Qatar toward a truce-for-hostage deal in the Gaza war, now grinding into its 10th month.
Hamas has signaled that it would drop its insistence on a “complete” ceasefire — which Israel has repeatedly rejected — as a condition for starting truce talks, saying it would instead seek a commitment from mediators. Nasrallah repeated his position that “if a ceasefire is reached, and we all hope for that… our front will cease fire without any discussion.”
“That is a commitment, because it is a support front and we have been clear [about this] from the start,” he said, during a televised address commemorating a senior Hezbollah commander killed in an Israeli strike last week. However, Nasrallah warned that “we will never allow any attack that the Israeli enemy might carry out against Lebanon [even] if there is a ceasefire in Gaza.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Sunday that “we will continue fighting and doing everything necessary to bring about the desired result” in the campaign against Hezbollah, “even if there is a ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah announced three new attacks on Wednesday, including an “aerial offensive with a squadron of explosive drones” targeting a military base in the Golan Heights.
The Israeli military said one soldier was lightly wounded after three drones from Lebanon impacted near the Beit Hameches junction in northern Israel. The IDF announced it was investigating why sirens did not sound and why it failed to intercept the drones. The Lebanese terror organization, which has increased its use of explosive drones in recent weeks, said the latest attack was in retaliation “for the attack and assassination carried out by the Israeli enemy… on the Damascus-Beirut road” on Tuesday.
A source close to the Iran-backed group, requesting anonymity, told AFP that a former bodyguard to Nasrallah was killed in the strike, identifying him by the surname of Qarnabash. Hezbollah in a statement announced the death of a fighter with the same surname, Yasser Qarnabash, but did not detail his role or rank in the terror group.
The IDF says it struck a Syrian military post in southern Syria’s Tasil overnight, in response to a rocket attack. The rocket fired late last night struck an open area in the southern Golan Heights, causing no injuries.
West Bank and Jerusalem
- Settlers said to torch store, bulldozer in attack on northern West Bank town
Palestinians are reporting an attack by settlers on the northern West Bank town of Bazariya, where they allegedly torched a building supply store and a bulldozer. The settlers also reportedly threw rocks at Palestinians in the village, which is near the Homesh outpost. There are no reports of injuries or arrests. video of the fires the settlers caused
Palestinians are reporting an attack by settlers on the northern West Bank town of Bazariya, where they allegedly torched a building supply store and a bulldozer. The settlers also reportedly threw rocks at Palestinians in the village, which is near the Homesh outpost. There are no reports of injuries or arrests. video of the fires the settlers caused
Politics and the War (general news)
- Everything was clear from the first moment
Already on the morning after October 7th, Israel knew the price it would have to pay. A cool-headed and brave leader would have immediately understood the most urgent and important goal at that moment - to bring the kidnapped Israelis home • Since then, the string of failures has continued, but the fundamental situation hasn't changed - and we should remember this in face of the current critical opportunity to right the wrong • Former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo, opinion
On the morning of October 7th, we woke up to the greatest disaster in the state's 75 years of existence. The Western Negev was conquered for a day, about 1,400 were murdered, 250 were kidnapped, including infants, girls and boys, women and men, elderly women and men, female and male soldiers, all snatched from their beds without any warning or alert. This is an immeasurable failure and oversight.
A brave and cool-headed leader would have immediately understood, just hours after the magnitude of the disaster became clear, that the primary goal, the first and only, is to free the hostages, and only after their return, down to the last of them, those alive and those deceased, would it be possible to think about the next steps: creating a security situation that would allow the residents of the border communities to return to their homes and eliminating all Hamas terrorists who took direct or indirect part in the events of October 7th. From the first moment, **it was clear** what price Israel would be required to pay. **It was clear** as day that it would not be possible to return all the hostages through military operations, not even a significant minority. The Prime Minister did not set the return of the hostages as the supreme goal of the campaign. Only after public pressure was the mission introduced, alongside the collapse and elimination of Hamas, when it's self-evident that two supreme goals cannot be set in parallel, as there is an inherent contradiction.
**It was clear** to anyone who understands fighting terrorism that massive military pressure, no matter how intense, would not advance their release. **It was clear** that as time passes, the price for their release would only increase and rise. **It was clear** from the start that with the beginning of a ground maneuver, many would be killed and murdered, and the number of casualties would rise and rise. **It was clear** that it would not be possible to return the hostages without ending the war and returning to the force positions of October 6th.
The Israeli government abandoned its citizens twice: the first time on October 7th and the second time when it did not do what was necessary to return them. The Prime Minister made every possible mistake in managing the war's supreme goal - returning all the hostages home. And now, perhaps the last opportunity for the Israeli government to bring them home presents itself, some to their families and some to an Israeli grave. Will the Prime Minister again sabotage the move for personal and coalition reasons?
Returning all the hostages down to the last one, alive and deceased, is a commandment. Missing this opportunity will be remembered in infamy and will be credited to the Prime Minister's detriment. He must fulfill his duty, even if nine full months late.
**> Tamir Pardo is a former Mossad chief. He also wrote this article in the book "Mr. Abandonment - The Legacy of the Hostages' Deserter", initiated by the Forum of Families for the Rescue of the Hostages** link
- Spiritual Leader of the Lithuanian Haredi Public to Yeshiva Students: Do Not Report to Recruitment Offices
Following the Defense Minister's decision to issue draft orders to 3,000 young Haredim, Rabbi Dov Landau published a letter in "Yated Ne'eman": "The instruction for yeshiva students is not to report at all to the recruitment offices, and not to respond to any summons, not even a first summons." Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, also one of the spiritual leaders of the Lithuanian public, expressed similar sentiments - as did a number of Sephardic rabbis
**Haredi leaders declare that they do not intend to allow yeshiva students to enlist:**
The leader of the Haredi-Lithuanian stream and head of the Slobodka Yeshiva, Rabbi Dov Landau, published a letter today (Thursday) on the front page of the newspaper "Yated Ne'eman." In the letter, he wrote, among other things: "During the years of government here in the country, there was an understanding with the military authorities that yeshiva and kollel students would not be drafted, and therefore, following the instructions of the great rabbis of the generation, in order to conduct ourselves as a decent and disciplined public, we cooperated with the military authorities to legally arrange the deferment which included reporting to military offices to receive yeshiva student status."
He attacked the Supreme Court judges in his letter: "Now the situation is that the courts have declared war against the world of Torah, and they are the ones who opened a front and came to change the arrangement that existed all these years, and instructed the army to begin the process of actually drafting yeshiva students, and since the army is obligated to the courts, it has become necessary that we cannot rely on agreements and understandings with the army chiefs, since their hands are bound in chains of iron by the judges, and any response to the decrees of the courts constitutes surrender to their war against God and His Torah."
Rabbi Landau called on young Haredim not to report to the recruitment office, even if they receive orders: "Therefore, the instruction for yeshiva students is not to report at all to the recruitment offices, and not to respond to any summons, not even a first summons. And may God save us from their hands, and may we merit to see an increase in Torah learners immersed in its study, to meditate on it day and night in peace and quiet, for the Torah is our life and the length of our days, and no weapon formed against you shall prosper, God willing."
Earlier, Rabbi Landau sharply criticized Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's decision to issue draft orders to 3,000 Haredim in a conversation with rabbis, saying: "A state that drafts yeshiva students has no right to exist. In times of war, they want to take away the merit of Torah learners - this is absolute suicide." The rabbi added: "The moment there is no arrangement and the army is at war with us, what's the point of showing up? For what? This government is against us in everything." At the end of the meeting, the rabbi called on the chairman of the Yeshiva Committee, Rabbi Chaim Aharon Kaufman, to convey his opinion to the Sephardic and Hasidic rabbis in the Haredi sector so that there would be a unified position on the matter.
Rabbi Landau also told the chairman of the Yeshiva Committee today: "We are law-abiding citizens. We have always done everything not to quarrel with the state or the army. Our reporting to the recruitment offices was based on basic trust and understandings that those who want to study Torah will not go to the army, and the reporting is a formal procedure established by law. The moment they don't recognize the important value of Torah study and have opened a war against us, and without any coordination with the Yeshiva Committee regarding the orders, etc., we have no trust that the very act of reporting will not be to our detriment. We have lost even the little trust that still existed between the Yeshiva Committee and the army."
Res. Gen. MK Elazar Stern from Yesh Atid said in response to the words of the Haredi-Lithuanian stream leader: "These legends of 'whoever studies Torah doesn't need to defend the country' need to stop. They invented a new Judaism! A real reform, a reform whose purpose is: If someone comes to kill you - dodge in a yeshiva! There is an opportunity and obligation here to make a historic change. It's our duty, there's no right or left here - just those who serve and those who don't, those who pay the price and those who don't. Let them not threaten us - we will not surrender."
Against the background of discussions on drafting Haredim to the IDF, one of the prominent rabbis in the Lithuanian stream who serves alongside Landau as the head of the Slobodka Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, has recently instructed to send yeshiva students to talk to young Haredim who are not studying in yeshivas and instruct them not to report for any draft order. According to a report on the "Behadrei Haredim" website, last night (Tuesday) a consultation was held at Rabbi Hirsch's home with the chairman of the Yeshiva Committee, as well as several conversations with heads of yeshivas defined as for "dropouts" - educational institutions for those who failed to fit into the regular Haredi yeshiva track. According to those present at the conversations, Rabbi Hirsch instructed not to report at all to the recruitment offices, and added that yeshiva students should be sent to all yeshivas to warn the young men not to report at all.
**Head of Porat Yosef Yeshiva: "The draft decree - a great danger"**
Senior yeshiva heads in the Sephardic Haredi public, some of them members of Shas's Council of Torah Sages, also held a gathering led by Rabbi Moshe Tzadka to discuss the draft law. At the end of the gathering, they published a document calling on Haredim not to cooperate with the IDF and not to respond to draft orders sent to them. In the public letter, they even claim that "any reporting to recruitment offices is forbidden by Torah law." Rabbi Tzadka, head of the "Porat Yosef" Yeshiva, sent a letter to Rabbi Moshe Maya, the elder of the Council of Torah Sages, in which he wrote: "Now, in this hour when they are acting, God forbid, to destroy the Haredi public through the terrible draft decree, and never has there been such a severe situation and such a great danger, there is great importance to gather and assemble together to establish the opinion of the holy Torah - for the entire future of the Haredi public and yeshiva students depends on this hour."
Rabbi Maya replied that he was unable to attend the rabbis' gathering due to his health condition: "Due to the great importance, I should have come immediately, but from a health perspective, it's not possible for me. In prayer and request, I join for the success of the matter." In recent weeks, the IDF has been making an effort together with the National Insurance Institute to locate young Haredim of draft age who work most of the day, so that they will be the first to be called for military service, and not to start with those who study in yeshiva most of the day. The head of the IDF's Manpower Directorate, Major General Yaniv Assur, said yesterday in a discussion in the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the goal by 2026 is to bring about the enlistment of about 10,000 young Haredim.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant addressed the issues of Haredi enlistment today in the Knesset plenum and said: "Our interest is not to create disputes and rifts in the people. This is the first time that draft orders are being sent to the Haredi population. I estimate that in the near future we will send thousands of orders. If we need to recruit 3,000, then in light of the response situation, we will implement it with safety margins. I estimate that in the July-August recruitment we will issue about 3,000 orders with the intention that the maximum will arrive. If 3,000 arrive - excellent, and if not - we will learn for future recruitments. We are not looking to take actions to provoke, we are looking for success in the process." link It is time to end the ridiculous situation where Yeshiva students aren't drafted, receive stipends and many other monetary benefits that no other young people in Israel get who do serve in the army. It is time for them to serve, to share the necessary burden to defend the state and stop with all the taking of everything and not giving back anything to the community at large. At no time in the history of the Jewish people did Torah study exempt them from serving their communities or being soldiers in the ancient Jewish armies. Ben Gurion made a concession in 1948 to exempt 400 (four hundred) Yeshiva students from the draft and it continued that way for many years until political power was abused and the numbers went to thousands and finally became a virtual blanket exemption for any Haredi, even those who dropped out or were kicked out of yeshivot. Prior to the war, the fight to enlist them was a fight of principle of sharing the burden and greater participation in the country in work and education. The war has shown that it is no longer an issue of principle but an issue of life and death and truly defense of the state. The leaders who are calling for them to totally disregard the draft notices should be charged and arrested for incitement to commit crimes and those who don't show up, to be arrested and charged as well and yes, be forced into the army. That is exactly what happened to everyone else.
The Biden administration on Thursday issued its fifth batch of sanctions against Israeli extremists and illegal outposts, targeting three individuals and five entities, including the anti-miscegenation Lehava group led by already-designated extremist Benzi Gopstein, an ally of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
The sanctions largely take aim at individuals and entities linked to those already sanctioned in the previous four rounds.
These include the co-heads of the already-designated Tzav 9 group, Reut Ben Haim and Shlomo Sarid. Their far-right group has led attacks on humanitarian aid convoys en route to Gaza in Israel and the West Bank. Ben Haim becomes the first woman targeted using the executive order United States President Joe Biden signed in February after three years of urging Israel to crack down on settler violence. Shortly after the US announcement, the Kan public broadcaster revealed that the Treasury Department had confused Sarid with an uninvolved Israeli named “Aviad Shlomo Sarid,” listing the latter’s ID number and birthdate, instead of the information of the Sarid who heads Tzav 9.
Treasury Department sanctions were also imposed on four West Bank outposts owned or controlled by other already-designated extremists “who have weaponized them as bases for violent actions to displace Palestinians,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says in a statement. “Outposts like these have been used to disrupt grazing lands, limit access to wells, and launch violent attacks against neighboring Palestinians.”
The targeted outposts are Meitarim Farm run by already-sanctioned Yinon Levi; HaMahoch Farm and Neria’s Farm run by the already sanctioned Neria Ben Pazi; and Manne’s Farm, run by Issachar Manne, who is among the three individuals sanctioned in the latest batch. full article
After Criticism from Gallant and IDF: Cabinet Extended Mandatory Service to 36 Months for the Next 8 Years
The Cabinet approved, and the day after tomorrow the government will vote on the Defense Minister and army's demand that soldiers in mandatory service serve 3 years • The approval came after sharp criticism from Defense Minister Gallant towards the government, stating that this is an urgent move due to the war, and he attacked in a security briefing to ministers: "For months now, political needs and the desire to gain headlines have been greater than the need on the ground"
The Cabinet approved the extension of mandatory service for soldiers to 36 months for the next 8 years, and the decision will be brought to a vote in the upcoming government meeting to be held on Sunday. The approval came days after harsh criticism from Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who accused his government colleagues of dragging their feet on the issue for political reasons despite the urgent security need.
At the beginning of the week, Minister Gallant gave a briefing at the government meeting, warning that immediate action must be taken to extend the duration of service in the IDF in light of the growing threat and the significantly reduced force order. "The need on the ground is clear, but for months now, political needs and the desire to gain headlines have been greater," Gallant attacked during the briefing. He turned to the other ministers and said, "The responsibility to give the IDF the basic conditions to continue fighting falls on everyone in this room. People are the first of these. Without this, there's nothing."
The demand to extend mandatory service also came from the army. The service duration was supposed to be shortened by two months to 30 months, but due to the war, the IDF demanded to extend the service back to 36 months. The reason for this is the growing shortage of soldiers, alongside the ongoing threat in various arenas.
Once again, Gallant's criticism received a sharp response from ministers in the government. Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi asked him during that briefing: "How do you agree to pass the extension of regular service without broad agreement, while in the exemption from enlistment law you insist on Gantz's agreement?" Gallant, for his part, clarified that "Israel's security is not politics. Security is the condition for our existence. There's a difference between the need to recruit soldiers and the need to exempt people from service." link The army's needs have increased greatly for many reasons: the losses during the war of so many soldiers and offices as well as those who are now disabled; the rethinking of how the army needs to operate as a result of the total surprise and ill prepared IDF on October 7; the multiple fronts that need to be protected, defended and supported. If the army does not begin immediately drafting the ultra religious, the mandatory service will not be 36 months but could be extended all the way up to 4 years and increasing the reserve duty days/year as well as further extending the age of reserve service. Galant is one of the only members of the coalition who is truly acting on behalf of the country and not for his own personal political goals. Many of his actions and statements are contrary to Netanyahu's and others in the coalition and his future in the Likud is tenuous at best, and he knows it. The government needs more people who are willing to put the country's needs before their own. Unfortunately, in this coalition, that is too much to ask for.
The Biden administration on Thursday issued its fifth batch of sanctions against Israeli extremists and illegal outposts, targeting three individuals and five entities, including the anti-miscegenation Lehava group led by already-designated extremist Benzi Gopstein, an ally of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
The sanctions largely take aim at individuals and entities linked to those already sanctioned in the previous four rounds.
These include the co-heads of the already-designated Tzav 9 group, Reut Ben Haim and Shlomo Sarid. Their far-right group has led attacks on humanitarian aid convoys en route to Gaza in Israel and the West Bank. Ben Haim becomes the first woman targeted using the executive order United States President Joe Biden signed in February after three years of urging Israel to crack down on settler violence. Shortly after the US announcement, the Kan public broadcaster revealed that the Treasury Department had confused Sarid with an uninvolved Israeli named “Aviad Shlomo Sarid,” listing the latter’s ID number and birthdate, instead of the information of the Sarid who heads Tzav 9.
Treasury Department sanctions were also imposed on four West Bank outposts owned or controlled by other already-designated extremists “who have weaponized them as bases for violent actions to displace Palestinians,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says in a statement. “Outposts like these have been used to disrupt grazing lands, limit access to wells, and launch violent attacks against neighboring Palestinians.”
The targeted outposts are Meitarim Farm run by already-sanctioned Yinon Levi; HaMahoch Farm and Neria’s Farm run by the already sanctioned Neria Ben Pazi; and Manne’s Farm, run by Issachar Manne, who is among the three individuals sanctioned in the latest batch. full article
After Criticism from Gallant and IDF: Cabinet Extended Mandatory Service to 36 Months for the Next 8 Years
The Cabinet approved, and the day after tomorrow the government will vote on the Defense Minister and army's demand that soldiers in mandatory service serve 3 years • The approval came after sharp criticism from Defense Minister Gallant towards the government, stating that this is an urgent move due to the war, and he attacked in a security briefing to ministers: "For months now, political needs and the desire to gain headlines have been greater than the need on the ground"
The Cabinet approved the extension of mandatory service for soldiers to 36 months for the next 8 years, and the decision will be brought to a vote in the upcoming government meeting to be held on Sunday. The approval came days after harsh criticism from Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who accused his government colleagues of dragging their feet on the issue for political reasons despite the urgent security need.
At the beginning of the week, Minister Gallant gave a briefing at the government meeting, warning that immediate action must be taken to extend the duration of service in the IDF in light of the growing threat and the significantly reduced force order. "The need on the ground is clear, but for months now, political needs and the desire to gain headlines have been greater," Gallant attacked during the briefing. He turned to the other ministers and said, "The responsibility to give the IDF the basic conditions to continue fighting falls on everyone in this room. People are the first of these. Without this, there's nothing."
The demand to extend mandatory service also came from the army. The service duration was supposed to be shortened by two months to 30 months, but due to the war, the IDF demanded to extend the service back to 36 months. The reason for this is the growing shortage of soldiers, alongside the ongoing threat in various arenas.
Once again, Gallant's criticism received a sharp response from ministers in the government. Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi asked him during that briefing: "How do you agree to pass the extension of regular service without broad agreement, while in the exemption from enlistment law you insist on Gantz's agreement?" Gallant, for his part, clarified that "Israel's security is not politics. Security is the condition for our existence. There's a difference between the need to recruit soldiers and the need to exempt people from service." link The army's needs have increased greatly for many reasons: the losses during the war of so many soldiers and offices as well as those who are now disabled; the rethinking of how the army needs to operate as a result of the total surprise and ill prepared IDF on October 7; the multiple fronts that need to be protected, defended and supported. If the army does not begin immediately drafting the ultra religious, the mandatory service will not be 36 months but could be extended all the way up to 4 years and increasing the reserve duty days/year as well as further extending the age of reserve service. Galant is one of the only members of the coalition who is truly acting on behalf of the country and not for his own personal political goals. Many of his actions and statements are contrary to Netanyahu's and others in the coalition and his future in the Likud is tenuous at best, and he knows it. The government needs more people who are willing to put the country's needs before their own. Unfortunately, in this coalition, that is too much to ask for.
The Region and the World
- Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan says NATO cannot be allowed to continue its partnership with the Israeli administration.
“Until comprehensive, sustainable peace is established in Palestine, attempts at cooperation with Israel within NATO will not be approved by Turkey,” Erdogan says at a news conference at the NATO summit.
Turkey also continues its diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, he says. Erdogan adds that he has instructed Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to start to restore relations with Syria. Regarding F-16 sales to Turkey, Erdogan says: “I talked to Mr. Biden. ‘I will solve this problem in 3-4 weeks’ he said.”
A Dutch court rejects a demand by rights groups to order the Netherlands to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts that might end up in Israel.
The case, started by rights groups including the Dutch arm of Oxfam, followed another district court ruling in February that the Netherlands cannot send F-35 parts to Israel over concerns the jets could be involved in alleged violations of international humanitarian law in the war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
The groups claimed that the Dutch state stopped the direct export of parts to Israel but continued to deliver fighter jet parts to the US and other countries, from which they could then be sent on or used in planes destined for Israel, and that this should also be stopped under the earlier order.
However, The Hague district court says in a press release that the groups’ interpretation of the February ruling is too broad and the Dutch state is complying with the export ban as ordered.
- British security firm Ambrey says that a merchant vessel reported two explosions about 21 nautical miles (39 km) west of Yemen’s Mocha.
One “missile” impacted the water and another exploded in the air, the vessel reported to Ambrey, adding that both explosions occurred within 0.5 nautical miles of the vessel.
“The vessel was withholding its automatic identification system transmissions at the time. Ambrey is investigating the vessel’s affiliations with the Houthi target profile,” the Ambrey advisory says.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been launching drone and missile strikes in shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November, claiming that they are acting in solidarity with Hamas amid the war in Gaza.
In dozens of attacks, the Houthis have sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least three seafarers.
Personal Stories
“Until comprehensive, sustainable peace is established in Palestine, attempts at cooperation with Israel within NATO will not be approved by Turkey,” Erdogan says at a news conference at the NATO summit.
Turkey also continues its diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, he says. Erdogan adds that he has instructed Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to start to restore relations with Syria. Regarding F-16 sales to Turkey, Erdogan says: “I talked to Mr. Biden. ‘I will solve this problem in 3-4 weeks’ he said.”
A Dutch court rejects a demand by rights groups to order the Netherlands to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts that might end up in Israel.
The case, started by rights groups including the Dutch arm of Oxfam, followed another district court ruling in February that the Netherlands cannot send F-35 parts to Israel over concerns the jets could be involved in alleged violations of international humanitarian law in the war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
The groups claimed that the Dutch state stopped the direct export of parts to Israel but continued to deliver fighter jet parts to the US and other countries, from which they could then be sent on or used in planes destined for Israel, and that this should also be stopped under the earlier order.
However, The Hague district court says in a press release that the groups’ interpretation of the February ruling is too broad and the Dutch state is complying with the export ban as ordered.
One “missile” impacted the water and another exploded in the air, the vessel reported to Ambrey, adding that both explosions occurred within 0.5 nautical miles of the vessel.
“The vessel was withholding its automatic identification system transmissions at the time. Ambrey is investigating the vessel’s affiliations with the Houthi target profile,” the Ambrey advisory says.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been launching drone and missile strikes in shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November, claiming that they are acting in solidarity with Hamas amid the war in Gaza.
In dozens of attacks, the Houthis have sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least three seafarers.
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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