π️Lonny's War Update- October 288, 2023 - July 20, 2024 π️
π️Day 288 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
*4:00pm yesterday- north - rockets Misgav Am*4:10pm yesterday - north - hostile aircraft Maayan Baruch
*7:30pm yesterday - north - hostile aircraft Ayelet Hashahar, Ramot Naftali, Upper Galilee*8:25pm yesterday - north - hostile aircraft Ayelet Hashahar*7:30am- north - rockets Manara*11:55am - north - rockets Ajar*11:55am - north - hostile aircraft Kibbutz Dan, Dafna, She'ar Yeshuv*3:35pm - north - rockets Snir, She'ar Yeshuv, El Rom*3:55pm - north - rockets Netua, Zra'it, Shomera, Even Menahem, Kfar Blum, Amir, Sde Nehemia, Beit Hillel, Kiryat Shemona
*7:30pm yesterday - north - hostile aircraft Ayelet Hashahar, Ramot Naftali, Upper Galilee
Hostage Updates
Today would have been Lior Rodief's 62nd birthday but he was killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7 and his body stolen and held hostage in Gaza
Lior Rudaeff, 61, has been missing since early in the morning of October 7, when Hamas terrorists attacked Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak.
The ambulance driver and volunteer medic was up early that morning, preparing for a motorcycle ride to the Ramon Crater, when he got a call from the kibbutz emergency squad to protect the community.
Rudaeff went out to join the battle for the kibbutz, and later sent a message that he had been hurt. He sent his love to his wife, Yaffa, and his four children, and since then, all communication was lost.
“He’s my hero uncle,” said his niece, Yael, in an interview with Kan radio on November 6.
She noted that Lior suffered a significant heart attack two years ago, and relies on his medications, which he wouldn’t have with him in Gaza.
An Argentinian at heart, Lior was a passionate cyclist and a fan of Shlomo Artzi. Lior was married to Yaffa for 38 years. He was a loving father to Noam, Nadav, Bar, and Ben and a doting grandfather to Tomer and Dagan. Lior Rudaeff, 61, lived a life dedicated to helping others, with a boundless heart and generosity that touched all who knew him. He volunteered as an ambulance driver for four decades, always the first to step up and lend a hand to anyone in need.
On Oct. 7, he heard gunshots outside the house and went out to help, then he was murdered and his body was kidnapped. "We know that Dad was injured because he managed to report it to the people in the kibbutz," his daughter Noam Katz said. "Contact with him was lost at 8:45a.m., and since then, we have no information about him."
"None of the hostages who returned saw him," Katz shared on the 100th day since he was kidnapped. "I never imagined it would take so long. On Saturday night, we discovered Dad was missing. I remember my husband told me, 'This is going to take a lot of time,' and I said, 'Of course.' I thought it would take two to three weeks. I never imagined we would reach this number of 100 days without a sign of life."
Professor Ofer Merin, the director of Shaare Zedek Medical Center and a member of a medical committee tasked with examining the hostages' conditions, revealed on Wednesday in an interview with Kan Radio that the decision to announce the death of Israeli-Argentinian hostage Lior Rudaeff from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak in September came following a new video received over the previous weekend.
"We received quite a few recorded materials," he says. "This is a video that wasn't available before. Hamas members were very involved in documentation – they were filmed with GoPro cameras among others. There are security cameras inside Gaza, and the IDF obtained the recorded materials. The committee, unfortunately, determined the deaths of more than 30 people, all of whom were also thanks in part to visual materials. We are constantly receiving new materials."
Lior Rudaeff and his son, Nadav. | Photo: Curtesy
May his memory forever be a blessing
Channel 13 reports that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is considering making a public declaration that Israel is “within reach” of a ceasefire and hostage release agreement to try and add pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a deal.
Gallant believes that Hamas is interested in a deal, that the one on the table isn’t perfect but that the ground is ripe for an agreement, the network says.
In recent weeks, Netanyahu has made new demands regarding continued Israeli presence in the Philadelphi Corridor and the creation of a mechanism for preventing armed Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza that have slowed the talks, Arab and Israeli officials involved have told The Times of Israel. Link
During a security briefing last night, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a hostage deal as soon as possible, the Walla news site reports.
The meeting started at 11:30 p.m., and Netanyahu ended it early after 30 minutes, saying he was tired, Walla reports.
In recent weeks, Netanyahu has made new demands regarding continued Israeli presence in the Philadelphi Corridor and the creation of a mechanism for preventing armed Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza that have slowed the talks, Arab and Israeli officials involved have told The Times of Israel.
Fields in the Palestinian village of Burin that were allegedly torched by settlers on July 19, 2024. (Screen capture/Yesh Din)
"Friday Studio" Poll: Majority in favor of hostage deal, Netanyahu shouldn't fly to Washington
66% of participants support the deal as they understand its details • 54% believe the PM should stay in Israel and advance it • Gantz and Bennett lead Netanyahu respectively for Prime Minister, Lapid and Lieberman lose to him • Full poll data
The "Friday Studio" poll we published yesterday (Friday) evening shows that the majority of the public in Israel supports a deal with Hamas for the return of the hostages in captivity. Also, most respondents believe that Netanyahu should stay in Israel to advance the deal and not travel to speak in the U.S. Congress.
**Here are the poll data:**
Participants were asked, "These days, negotiations are taking place on a deal to return the hostages. From what you know or have heard, do you support or oppose this deal?" 66% said they support it, 16% said they oppose it, and 18% said they don't know.
When asked what they think is more correct for Prime Minister Netanyahu to do, 35% said he should travel to speak in the U.S. Congress, even before advancing the hostage deal, and 54% said he should stay in Israel to advance the hostage deal.
Participants were also asked, "When Prime Minister Netanyahu says 'I didn't know', do you believe or not believe that he 'didn't know'?" 66% said they don't believe him, 27% said they believe him to some degree or another.
Suitability for Prime Minister
The poll data shows that participants believe Netanyahu is more suitable to serve as Prime Minister compared to opposition leader Yair Lapid (32% vs. 29%), but think that the chairman of the State Camp, Benny Gantz, is more suitable than him (33% for Gantz vs. 31% for Netanyahu). Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett maintains an even more significant gap over Netanyahu in the question of suitability for Prime Minister. According to the poll results - 34% think Bennett is more suitable than Netanyahu to serve as Prime Minister, 29% think the opposite. Netanyahu also leads over Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman - 31% vs. 23%.
Poll participants were asked, "If a new right-wing party is established - who do you think should lead it?" 33% responded Naftali Bennett, 12% responded Avigdor Lieberman, and 43% responded neither of them. link
Hostage Updates
Today would have been Lior Rodief's 62nd birthday but he was killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7 and his body stolen and held hostage in GazaLior Rudaeff, 61, has been missing since early in the morning of October 7, when Hamas terrorists attacked Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak.
The ambulance driver and volunteer medic was up early that morning, preparing for a motorcycle ride to the Ramon Crater, when he got a call from the kibbutz emergency squad to protect the community.
Rudaeff went out to join the battle for the kibbutz, and later sent a message that he had been hurt. He sent his love to his wife, Yaffa, and his four children, and since then, all communication was lost.
“He’s my hero uncle,” said his niece, Yael, in an interview with Kan radio on November 6.
She noted that Lior suffered a significant heart attack two years ago, and relies on his medications, which he wouldn’t have with him in Gaza.
An Argentinian at heart, Lior was a passionate cyclist and a fan of Shlomo Artzi. Lior was married to Yaffa for 38 years. He was a loving father to Noam, Nadav, Bar, and Ben and a doting grandfather to Tomer and Dagan. Lior Rudaeff, 61, lived a life dedicated to helping others, with a boundless heart and generosity that touched all who knew him. He volunteered as an ambulance driver for four decades, always the first to step up and lend a hand to anyone in need.
On Oct. 7, he heard gunshots outside the house and went out to help, then he was murdered and his body was kidnapped. "We know that Dad was injured because he managed to report it to the people in the kibbutz," his daughter Noam Katz said. "Contact with him was lost at 8:45a.m., and since then, we have no information about him."
"None of the hostages who returned saw him," Katz shared on the 100th day since he was kidnapped. "I never imagined it would take so long. On Saturday night, we discovered Dad was missing. I remember my husband told me, 'This is going to take a lot of time,' and I said, 'Of course.' I thought it would take two to three weeks. I never imagined we would reach this number of 100 days without a sign of life."
Professor Ofer Merin, the director of Shaare Zedek Medical Center and a member of a medical committee tasked with examining the hostages' conditions, revealed on Wednesday in an interview with Kan Radio that the decision to announce the death of Israeli-Argentinian hostage Lior Rudaeff from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak in September came following a new video received over the previous weekend.
"We received quite a few recorded materials," he says. "This is a video that wasn't available before. Hamas members were very involved in documentation – they were filmed with GoPro cameras among others. There are security cameras inside Gaza, and the IDF obtained the recorded materials. The committee, unfortunately, determined the deaths of more than 30 people, all of whom were also thanks in part to visual materials. We are constantly receiving new materials."
Lior Rudaeff and his son, Nadav. | Photo: Curtesy
May his memory forever be a blessing
Channel 13 reports that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is considering making a public declaration that Israel is “within reach” of a ceasefire and hostage release agreement to try and add pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a deal.
Gallant believes that Hamas is interested in a deal, that the one on the table isn’t perfect but that the ground is ripe for an agreement, the network says.
In recent weeks, Netanyahu has made new demands regarding continued Israeli presence in the Philadelphi Corridor and the creation of a mechanism for preventing armed Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza that have slowed the talks, Arab and Israeli officials involved have told The Times of Israel. Link
During a security briefing last night, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a hostage deal as soon as possible, the Walla news site reports.
The meeting started at 11:30 p.m., and Netanyahu ended it early after 30 minutes, saying he was tired, Walla reports.
In recent weeks, Netanyahu has made new demands regarding continued Israeli presence in the Philadelphi Corridor and the creation of a mechanism for preventing armed Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza that have slowed the talks, Arab and Israeli officials involved have told The Times of Israel.
Fields in the Palestinian village of Burin that were allegedly torched by settlers on July 19, 2024. (Screen capture/Yesh Din)
"Friday Studio" Poll: Majority in favor of hostage deal, Netanyahu shouldn't fly to Washington
66% of participants support the deal as they understand its details • 54% believe the PM should stay in Israel and advance it • Gantz and Bennett lead Netanyahu respectively for Prime Minister, Lapid and Lieberman lose to him • Full poll data
The "Friday Studio" poll we published yesterday (Friday) evening shows that the majority of the public in Israel supports a deal with Hamas for the return of the hostages in captivity. Also, most respondents believe that Netanyahu should stay in Israel to advance the deal and not travel to speak in the U.S. Congress.
**Here are the poll data:**
Participants were asked, "These days, negotiations are taking place on a deal to return the hostages. From what you know or have heard, do you support or oppose this deal?" 66% said they support it, 16% said they oppose it, and 18% said they don't know.
When asked what they think is more correct for Prime Minister Netanyahu to do, 35% said he should travel to speak in the U.S. Congress, even before advancing the hostage deal, and 54% said he should stay in Israel to advance the hostage deal.
Participants were also asked, "When Prime Minister Netanyahu says 'I didn't know', do you believe or not believe that he 'didn't know'?" 66% said they don't believe him, 27% said they believe him to some degree or another.
Suitability for Prime Minister
The poll data shows that participants believe Netanyahu is more suitable to serve as Prime Minister compared to opposition leader Yair Lapid (32% vs. 29%), but think that the chairman of the State Camp, Benny Gantz, is more suitable than him (33% for Gantz vs. 31% for Netanyahu). Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett maintains an even more significant gap over Netanyahu in the question of suitability for Prime Minister. According to the poll results - 34% think Bennett is more suitable than Netanyahu to serve as Prime Minister, 29% think the opposite. Netanyahu also leads over Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman - 31% vs. 23%.
Poll participants were asked, "If a new right-wing party is established - who do you think should lead it?" 33% responded Naftali Bennett, 12% responded Avigdor Lieberman, and 43% responded neither of them. link
Gaza
- The intelligence officer of Hamas’s Gaza City Brigade was killed in an airstrike yesterday, the IDF and Shin Bet announce.
According to the IDF, Adil Hamdiya was among several Hamas terrorists targeted at a United Nations compound in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, a strike the military issued a statement on last night.
Hamdiya served in the role of chief of intelligence in the Gaza City Brigade since 2019, and was responsible for collecting intelligence on Israel ahead of the October 7 onslaught, according to the IDF and Shin Bet.
Amid the war, Hamdiya directed Hamas attacks against IDF troops in Gaza, and worked to collect intelligence on Israel’s ground maneuver, according to the military.
Following the strike yesterday, the IDF said it carried out “many steps” to mitigate harm to civilians, including using aerial surveillance and “precision munitions.”
In recent weeks, more than 50 airstrikes have been carried out against Hamas sites embedded within schools and other sites used as shelters for civilians, according to the IDF.
A public fight broke out between Yoav Gallant and Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday over the medical treatment of Gaza children, with officials in the Defense Ministry accusing the prime minister of playing politics with lives at stake.
Gallant announced on Wednesday that a field hospital for children would be established by the IDF in Israel, near the Gaza border, due to the extended closure of Gaza’s Rafah Crossing into Egypt, which Gazans had previously used in order to travel overseas for medical treatment.
Egypt has stopped all movement through Rafah, saying it is protesting Israel’s takeover of the area as part of its offensive in southern Gaza. This has harmed the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza as well as the ability of humanitarian cases to depart the territory. But Gallant’s announcement was apparently not coordinated with the prime minister. On Thursday, Netanyahu’s office announced he had sent a missive to Gallant saying he would not approve the establishment of the field hospital “and for this reason it will not be established.”
An official in the Defense Ministry told The Times of Israel: “The prime minister is keeping a hospital for injured children from being opened up for political reasons.”
They appeared to be referring to Netanyahu seeking to avoid criticism from his far-right allies, upon which his coalition is dependent. The Prime Minister’s Office declined to respond to the defense official’s accusation.
After Netanyahu’s statement, Gallant’s office responded by saying the plan to establish a field hospital had been put forward because earlier plans to send children in dire need of treatment abroad had been held up by the Prime Minister’s Office. It noted that Netanyahu had previously accepted the minister’s original recommendation that complex cases be sent abroad by way of Israel, but then failed to move the program forward.
Gallant claimed that he had appealed to the Prime Minister’s Office and National Security Council (NSC) two weeks ago asking for a directive to be sent to relevant ministries to cooperate on the plan. “Despite the clear directive from the prime minister to enact the defense minister’s proposal,” Gallant’s office said, “a discussion on the topic was canceled and the NSC’s instruction was not sent.”
Gallant’s office said that because of the pressing need to take action, the defense minister had announced the establishment of a field hospital.
“Only after the defense minister’s directive to establish a field hospital did the NSC remember to respond to his request and adopt his proposal to transfer complex patients from Gaza to a third country via Israel,” Gallant’s office said.
Palestinian children suffering from malnutrition or chronic diseases such as cancer, wait with family members at Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 24, 2024, after they reportedly were given permission by the Israeli army to leave the besieged Palestinian territory for treatment through the Kerem Shalom crossing, amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Bashar Taleb / AFP)Gallant told his US counterpart, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, about the plan for a field hospital along the Gaza border during a call earlier this week. His office said work had begun on the matter. This has now apparently been halted by the premier’s veto. The hawkish Tikva Forum representing some hostages’ families slammed Gallant for planning to establish a hospital “for the enemy’s children.”
“This is an outrageous decision that boils our blood and abandons our children,” the forum said in a statement.
The military has coordinated the establishment of several field hospitals run by other countries inside Gaza during the war, as well as floating hospitals in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Egypt’s Sinai to treat Gazans in need.
Israel has not brought injured Gazans into its hospitals since the beginning of the war, though sick children who were admitted before October 7 remain in the country. Netanyahu and Gallant have been at odds several times since the coalition was formed, and ministers within the government have urged the prime minister to fire him on multiple occasions.
Recently Gallant has been pressing the prime minister to reach a deal for the release of hostages held by Hamas, reportedly leading to heated arguments between the two.
In May, the defense minister publicly urged Netanyahu to rule out the possibility of Israeli military or civilian rule in Gaza, suggesting instead that “Palestinian entities” and other “international actors” should govern the Strip. Netanyahu has dismissed any discussions of the “day after” in Gaza as meaningless until Hamas is defeated.
In late March 2023, Netanyahu fired Gallant for warning that the divides in Israeli society caused by the coalition’s judicial overhaul plans posed a “clear, immediate, and tangible threat to the security of the state.” His termination was met with public outrage and he was rehired two weeks later. link in yet another show of small politics, Netanyahu puts his political priorities over the lives of sick children. He has no morale compass coupled with a total lack of empathy and sympathy.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm.Daniel Hagari says the military is seeing “increasing signs” that Muhammad Deif was killed in last weekend’s strike in the Gaza Strip.
“The signs are increasing as to the success of the elimination of Muhammad Deif,” Hagari says in response to a question at a press conference.
“[Hamas commander] Rafa’a Salameh was definitely eliminated. Deif and Salameh were next to each other at the time of the strike. Hamas is hiding what happened to Deif,” he says. Link we all hope this is true the world will be a better place without Deif in it but after 7 failed attempts, it is dangerous to presume anything like this without definitive proof
According to the IDF, Adil Hamdiya was among several Hamas terrorists targeted at a United Nations compound in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, a strike the military issued a statement on last night.
Hamdiya served in the role of chief of intelligence in the Gaza City Brigade since 2019, and was responsible for collecting intelligence on Israel ahead of the October 7 onslaught, according to the IDF and Shin Bet.
Amid the war, Hamdiya directed Hamas attacks against IDF troops in Gaza, and worked to collect intelligence on Israel’s ground maneuver, according to the military.
Following the strike yesterday, the IDF said it carried out “many steps” to mitigate harm to civilians, including using aerial surveillance and “precision munitions.”
In recent weeks, more than 50 airstrikes have been carried out against Hamas sites embedded within schools and other sites used as shelters for civilians, according to the IDF.
A public fight broke out between Yoav Gallant and Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday over the medical treatment of Gaza children, with officials in the Defense Ministry accusing the prime minister of playing politics with lives at stake.
Gallant announced on Wednesday that a field hospital for children would be established by the IDF in Israel, near the Gaza border, due to the extended closure of Gaza’s Rafah Crossing into Egypt, which Gazans had previously used in order to travel overseas for medical treatment.
Egypt has stopped all movement through Rafah, saying it is protesting Israel’s takeover of the area as part of its offensive in southern Gaza. This has harmed the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza as well as the ability of humanitarian cases to depart the territory. But Gallant’s announcement was apparently not coordinated with the prime minister. On Thursday, Netanyahu’s office announced he had sent a missive to Gallant saying he would not approve the establishment of the field hospital “and for this reason it will not be established.”
An official in the Defense Ministry told The Times of Israel: “The prime minister is keeping a hospital for injured children from being opened up for political reasons.”
They appeared to be referring to Netanyahu seeking to avoid criticism from his far-right allies, upon which his coalition is dependent. The Prime Minister’s Office declined to respond to the defense official’s accusation.
After Netanyahu’s statement, Gallant’s office responded by saying the plan to establish a field hospital had been put forward because earlier plans to send children in dire need of treatment abroad had been held up by the Prime Minister’s Office. It noted that Netanyahu had previously accepted the minister’s original recommendation that complex cases be sent abroad by way of Israel, but then failed to move the program forward.
Gallant claimed that he had appealed to the Prime Minister’s Office and National Security Council (NSC) two weeks ago asking for a directive to be sent to relevant ministries to cooperate on the plan. “Despite the clear directive from the prime minister to enact the defense minister’s proposal,” Gallant’s office said, “a discussion on the topic was canceled and the NSC’s instruction was not sent.”
Gallant’s office said that because of the pressing need to take action, the defense minister had announced the establishment of a field hospital.
“Only after the defense minister’s directive to establish a field hospital did the NSC remember to respond to his request and adopt his proposal to transfer complex patients from Gaza to a third country via Israel,” Gallant’s office said.
Gallant told his US counterpart, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, about the plan for a field hospital along the Gaza border during a call earlier this week. His office said work had begun on the matter. This has now apparently been halted by the premier’s veto. The hawkish Tikva Forum representing some hostages’ families slammed Gallant for planning to establish a hospital “for the enemy’s children.”
“This is an outrageous decision that boils our blood and abandons our children,” the forum said in a statement.
The military has coordinated the establishment of several field hospitals run by other countries inside Gaza during the war, as well as floating hospitals in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Egypt’s Sinai to treat Gazans in need.
Israel has not brought injured Gazans into its hospitals since the beginning of the war, though sick children who were admitted before October 7 remain in the country. Netanyahu and Gallant have been at odds several times since the coalition was formed, and ministers within the government have urged the prime minister to fire him on multiple occasions.
Recently Gallant has been pressing the prime minister to reach a deal for the release of hostages held by Hamas, reportedly leading to heated arguments between the two.
In May, the defense minister publicly urged Netanyahu to rule out the possibility of Israeli military or civilian rule in Gaza, suggesting instead that “Palestinian entities” and other “international actors” should govern the Strip. Netanyahu has dismissed any discussions of the “day after” in Gaza as meaningless until Hamas is defeated.
In late March 2023, Netanyahu fired Gallant for warning that the divides in Israeli society caused by the coalition’s judicial overhaul plans posed a “clear, immediate, and tangible threat to the security of the state.” His termination was met with public outrage and he was rehired two weeks later. link in yet another show of small politics, Netanyahu puts his political priorities over the lives of sick children. He has no morale compass coupled with a total lack of empathy and sympathy.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm.Daniel Hagari says the military is seeing “increasing signs” that Muhammad Deif was killed in last weekend’s strike in the Gaza Strip.
“The signs are increasing as to the success of the elimination of Muhammad Deif,” Hagari says in response to a question at a press conference.
“[Hamas commander] Rafa’a Salameh was definitely eliminated. Deif and Salameh were next to each other at the time of the strike. Hamas is hiding what happened to Deif,” he says. Link we all hope this is true the world will be a better place without Deif in it but after 7 failed attempts, it is dangerous to presume anything like this without definitive proof
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
- IDF says fighter jets targeted Hezbollah weapons depots in southern Lebanon. Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah weapon depots in southern Lebanon’s Tayr Harfa and Blida a short while ago, the IDF says.
Palestinian terror groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad call on the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization to withdraw its recognition of Israel in retaliation for a resolution approved by the Knesset rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The two groups made the announcement late last night following a meeting in the Gulf nation of Qatar between Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Islamic Jihad chief Ziad Nakhaleh and his deputy Mohammed al-Hindi, according to a Hamas statement.
The two groups says the Palestinian people have the right to set up their own independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. Link
The United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) warns that “anarchy” is spreading in the Gaza Strip, with rampant looting, unlawful killings and shootings as the population faces a humanitarian crisis.
Ajith Sunghay, head of OHCHR for Gaza and the West Bank, describes unlawful killings and looting in the absence of law enforcement linked to “Israel’s dismantling of local capacity to maintain public order and safety in Gaza.”
“Our office has documented alleged unlawful killings of local police and humanitarian workers, and the strangulation of supplies indispensable to the survival of the civilian population. Anarchy is spreading,” says Sunghay, who returned from a visit to Gaza yesterday.
Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for OHCHR, says the conditions in Gaza have “led to the predictable and entirely foreseeable unraveling of the fabric of society in Gaza, setting people against one another in a fight for survival and tearing communities apart.”
“There is looting, mob justice, extortion of money, family disputes, random shootings, fighting for space and resources, and we see youths armed with sticks manning barricades,” he says.
Palestinian terror groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad call on the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization to withdraw its recognition of Israel in retaliation for a resolution approved by the Knesset rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The two groups made the announcement late last night following a meeting in the Gulf nation of Qatar between Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Islamic Jihad chief Ziad Nakhaleh and his deputy Mohammed al-Hindi, according to a Hamas statement.
The two groups says the Palestinian people have the right to set up their own independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. Link
The United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) warns that “anarchy” is spreading in the Gaza Strip, with rampant looting, unlawful killings and shootings as the population faces a humanitarian crisis.
Ajith Sunghay, head of OHCHR for Gaza and the West Bank, describes unlawful killings and looting in the absence of law enforcement linked to “Israel’s dismantling of local capacity to maintain public order and safety in Gaza.”
“Our office has documented alleged unlawful killings of local police and humanitarian workers, and the strangulation of supplies indispensable to the survival of the civilian population. Anarchy is spreading,” says Sunghay, who returned from a visit to Gaza yesterday.
Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for OHCHR, says the conditions in Gaza have “led to the predictable and entirely foreseeable unraveling of the fabric of society in Gaza, setting people against one another in a fight for survival and tearing communities apart.”
“There is looting, mob justice, extortion of money, family disputes, random shootings, fighting for space and resources, and we see youths armed with sticks manning barricades,” he says.
West Bank and Jerusalem
The Yesh Din rights group says Israeli settlers have torched fields belonging to Palestinians in the northern West Bank village of Burin.
The latest reported incident of settler violence comes as the World Court issues a ruling that blasts Israel for failing to reign in on such attacks and deems Israel’s presence in the territories to be illegal. video of the fires
Fields in the Palestinian village of Burin that were allegedly torched by settlers on July 19, 2024. (Screen capture/Yesh Din) video of the fires
The Yesh Din rights group says Israeli settlers have torched fields belonging to Palestinians in the northern West Bank village of Burin.
The latest reported incident of settler violence comes as the World Court issues a ruling that blasts Israel for failing to reign in on such attacks and deems Israel’s presence in the territories to be illegal. video of the fires
Politics and the War (general news)
- My brothers' Facebook post:
I hope I am wrong, but I don't think it is possible for there to be a ceasefire-hostage-prisoners deal before Netanyahu's Congressional speech. Netanyahu wants to speak in the US above the heads of Congress and way past Joe Biden to Donald Trump who in the past called Netanyahu a weak leader. Netanyahu wants Trump to hear the following words: I am not weak. I do not give into terror. I will not surrender to any Hamas demands. I am destroying Hamas and I will have my final victory. My long arm will reach all of the Hamas leaders and we will get them. I am your man in Israel! You Donald and I together will reshape the Middle East. You will return to the White House and I will be alongside of you all the way (you always knew that I am a Republican!). (Gershon Baskin, July 20, 2024
- Far-right Likud MK Nissim Vaturi appears to mock the victim of the overnight drone strike in Tel Aviv.
“I don’t know who he is, but if there is someone in his family who has protested [against the government this will probably serve as a wake-up call]. They must be asking themselves: how can I protest now that a member of my family has been killed?” Vaturi tells the 102-FM radio channel.
Vaturi appears to be suggesting that the victim or his family members had attended anti-government protests because he had been living in liberal-leaning Tel Aviv
Yevgeny Ferder, 50, was killed when the Houthi drone fell near the Momo Hostel where he worked.
There is no evidence thus far that he or his family attended anti-government protests. Link Vaturi is a loud mouth jerk but he isn’t the only right wing politician who does victim blaming and attacking anyone who is not right wing claiming that the protests are the reasons for all the ills in the world, instead of looking at their own culpability
Far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir issue statements calling for annexing large parts of the West Bank in response to the International Court of Justice’s ruling that Israeli policy in the territories violates international law. Link this shouldn’t surprise anyone this us their response to anything and everything it is all part of their extreme fundamentalist, messianic and anti Arab ideology
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insists that the two-state solution isn’t dead and can’t be.
There are some fundamental realities that we can’t escape: Between Gaza and the West Bank, there are somewhere over 5 million Palestinians. There are about 7 million Israeli Jews. Neither is going anywhere… There has to be an accommodation that brings lasting peace and security to Israelis who so desperately want it and need it and fulfills the right self-determination of the Palestinians.”
He says the Palestinian state cannot threaten Israel, or be ruled by Hamas or a Hezbollah-like terror group.
Blinken asserts that the two strongest opponents of a two-state solution are Iran and Hamas, “so the strongest possible rebuke… would be the realization of two states.”
He says the US is working to advance Israel’s integration in the region, indicating this requires movement on the Palestinian issue. Link
The World Court says in a non-binding advisory opinion that Israel’s continued presence in the territories is illegal and that it should come to an end “as rapidly as possible.”
“The sustained abuse by Israel of its position as an occupying power through its annexation and assertion of permanent control over occupied Palestinian territory, and its continued frustration of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination violates fundamental principles of international law, and renders Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful,” the court determines in its ruling.
“This illegality relates to the entirety of Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in 1967. This is the territorial unit across which Israel has imposed policies and practices to fragment and frustrate the ability of the Palestinian people to exercise its right to self-determination, and over large swaths of which it has extended Israeli sovereignty in violation of international law.”
It also says Israel must make reparations for damages caused by its rule of the territories. Link many will interpret this ruling as antisemitic and anti Israel and there may be something to it. However, our 57 year occupation of the West Bank and the millions of Palestinians is a continuing crime. The Palestinians are deprived of both civil and human rights and are targeted by extremist settlers as well as extremist ministers and Knesset members (who are mostly extremist settlers). It is high time for change and an end to this destructive occupation. It is destructive to the Palestinians and very destructive to Israel.
Israel welcomes the decision by the European Union to make a package of aid funding to the Palestinian Authority contingent on progress in the body’s reforms.
A statement from the Foreign Ministry says the decision is “an important first step which indicates European understanding and recognition of the need to ensure the implementation of reforms.”
Foreign Minister Israel Katz says that the move is “recognition that the current Palestinian Authority has failed deeply… this is a precedent-setting step and message from the EU to Abu Mazen [PA President Mahmoud Abbas]: if you want financial help, stop funding terror.”
The statement from the European Commission says that the PA reform strategy is aimed at “combatting corruption, advancing the rule of law and transparency, reforming the social security and education systems, improving the business environment, and strengthening the foundations of a market-based economy” and that the payments will be based on “progress towards the agreed-upon reform milestones.”
The European Commission says it will provide the Palestinian Authority with 400 million euros ($435.5 million) in emergency financial support in the coming two months.
The money will be disbursed in the form of grants and loans in three payments between July and September, subject to progress in the implementation of the reform agenda of the Palestinian Authority, the Commission says.
I hope I am wrong, but I don't think it is possible for there to be a ceasefire-hostage-prisoners deal before Netanyahu's Congressional speech. Netanyahu wants to speak in the US above the heads of Congress and way past Joe Biden to Donald Trump who in the past called Netanyahu a weak leader. Netanyahu wants Trump to hear the following words: I am not weak. I do not give into terror. I will not surrender to any Hamas demands. I am destroying Hamas and I will have my final victory. My long arm will reach all of the Hamas leaders and we will get them. I am your man in Israel! You Donald and I together will reshape the Middle East. You will return to the White House and I will be alongside of you all the way (you always knew that I am a Republican!). (Gershon Baskin, July 20, 2024
“I don’t know who he is, but if there is someone in his family who has protested [against the government this will probably serve as a wake-up call]. They must be asking themselves: how can I protest now that a member of my family has been killed?” Vaturi tells the 102-FM radio channel.
Vaturi appears to be suggesting that the victim or his family members had attended anti-government protests because he had been living in liberal-leaning Tel Aviv
Yevgeny Ferder, 50, was killed when the Houthi drone fell near the Momo Hostel where he worked.
There is no evidence thus far that he or his family attended anti-government protests. Link Vaturi is a loud mouth jerk but he isn’t the only right wing politician who does victim blaming and attacking anyone who is not right wing claiming that the protests are the reasons for all the ills in the world, instead of looking at their own culpability
Far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir issue statements calling for annexing large parts of the West Bank in response to the International Court of Justice’s ruling that Israeli policy in the territories violates international law. Link this shouldn’t surprise anyone this us their response to anything and everything it is all part of their extreme fundamentalist, messianic and anti Arab ideology
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insists that the two-state solution isn’t dead and can’t be.
There are some fundamental realities that we can’t escape: Between Gaza and the West Bank, there are somewhere over 5 million Palestinians. There are about 7 million Israeli Jews. Neither is going anywhere… There has to be an accommodation that brings lasting peace and security to Israelis who so desperately want it and need it and fulfills the right self-determination of the Palestinians.”
He says the Palestinian state cannot threaten Israel, or be ruled by Hamas or a Hezbollah-like terror group.
Blinken asserts that the two strongest opponents of a two-state solution are Iran and Hamas, “so the strongest possible rebuke… would be the realization of two states.”
He says the US is working to advance Israel’s integration in the region, indicating this requires movement on the Palestinian issue. Link
The World Court says in a non-binding advisory opinion that Israel’s continued presence in the territories is illegal and that it should come to an end “as rapidly as possible.”
“The sustained abuse by Israel of its position as an occupying power through its annexation and assertion of permanent control over occupied Palestinian territory, and its continued frustration of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination violates fundamental principles of international law, and renders Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful,” the court determines in its ruling.
“This illegality relates to the entirety of Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in 1967. This is the territorial unit across which Israel has imposed policies and practices to fragment and frustrate the ability of the Palestinian people to exercise its right to self-determination, and over large swaths of which it has extended Israeli sovereignty in violation of international law.”
It also says Israel must make reparations for damages caused by its rule of the territories. Link many will interpret this ruling as antisemitic and anti Israel and there may be something to it. However, our 57 year occupation of the West Bank and the millions of Palestinians is a continuing crime. The Palestinians are deprived of both civil and human rights and are targeted by extremist settlers as well as extremist ministers and Knesset members (who are mostly extremist settlers). It is high time for change and an end to this destructive occupation. It is destructive to the Palestinians and very destructive to Israel.
Israel welcomes the decision by the European Union to make a package of aid funding to the Palestinian Authority contingent on progress in the body’s reforms.
A statement from the Foreign Ministry says the decision is “an important first step which indicates European understanding and recognition of the need to ensure the implementation of reforms.”
Foreign Minister Israel Katz says that the move is “recognition that the current Palestinian Authority has failed deeply… this is a precedent-setting step and message from the EU to Abu Mazen [PA President Mahmoud Abbas]: if you want financial help, stop funding terror.”
The statement from the European Commission says that the PA reform strategy is aimed at “combatting corruption, advancing the rule of law and transparency, reforming the social security and education systems, improving the business environment, and strengthening the foundations of a market-based economy” and that the payments will be based on “progress towards the agreed-upon reform milestones.”
The European Commission says it will provide the Palestinian Authority with 400 million euros ($435.5 million) in emergency financial support in the coming two months.
The money will be disbursed in the form of grants and loans in three payments between July and September, subject to progress in the implementation of the reform agenda of the Palestinian Authority, the Commission says.
The Region and the World- "The Houthis' 'Upgrade' – and the Mistaken Classification: New Details on the UAV Explosion in Tel Aviv
The explosive UAV that detonated in central Tel Aviv caused the death of 50-year-old Yevgeny Freder and injured eight others • No alert was activated before the explosion, despite 6 minutes of tracking by Air Force systems • The reason: The Houthi UAV was 'upgraded' and not classified as a threatening target • This is the route it flew from Yemen to the heart of the country
The explosive UAV that detonated last night between Thursday and Friday in central Tel Aviv flew on a new route – it was launched from Yemen, passed from Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea, and from there to deep inside Israeli territory. It carried an especially small warhead, less than half the size of a 'typical' UAV, to carry more fuel to increase flight range.
Step by step: Here's how it happened
The explosive UAV that detonated in central Tel Aviv caused the death of 50-year-old Yevgeny Freder and injured eight others • No alert was activated before the explosion, despite 6 minutes of tracking by Air Force systems • The reason: The Houthi UAV was 'upgraded' and not classified as a threatening target • This is the route it flew from Yemen to the heart of the country
The explosive UAV that detonated last night between Thursday and Friday in central Tel Aviv flew on a new route – it was launched from Yemen, passed from Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea, and from there to deep inside Israeli territory. It carried an especially small warhead, less than half the size of a 'typical' UAV, to carry more fuel to increase flight range.
Step by step: Here's how it happened
* The U.S. identified five UAVs launched from Yemen, managed to intercept only four of them.
* Israel was updated that the fifth UAV was on its way and tracked it using identification systems.
* The Air Force estimated the UAV's flight time, and when it passed, they assumed it had lost its way and fallen.
* The UAV was identified in tracking systems – for 6 minutes it was followed from the Air Force's command center.
* Simultaneously, another UAV flying from Iraq was identified – attention was shifted to it, and it was intercepted.
* The Air Force classified the Houthi UAV as a non-threatening target and did not activate an alert.
* Why wasn't the UAV classified as a threat?
* The UAV's unique flight path: from Egypt, to the Mediterranean Sea, and eastward to Tel Aviv.
* The Houthis 'upgraded the UAV' with a smaller warhead, carrying 5 to 7 kg of explosives instead of 18.
* Recently, there was a false identification and interception of a friendly country's UAV.
* Initial investigation – and guidelines for the future
* The Air Force completed the initial investigation, concluding it was human error.
* It was decided to double the supervisory factors and enhance identification scans in Israel's airspace.
* There's also a possibility of considering action in Yemen, directly against the Houthi threat.
The UAV explosion in Tel Aviv caused the death of 50-year-old Yevgeny Freder and injured eight others. Freder worked and lived for years in the apartment hotel near the corner of Shalom Aleichem and Ben Yehuda streets where the explosion occurred. He was born in Russia, grew up in Belarus, and immigrated to Israel alone. Yevgeny is survived by a sister and a niece.
In the morning hours, IDF Spokesman Brigadier General Daniel Hagari made a statement to the press, clarifying that it was human error. The IDF understood that there was an error in judgment and took responsibility for it. Additionally, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi held a situation assessment and ordered an intelligence and technological investigation to understand the device and the arena from which it was launched." link
New footage shows the deadly Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv early this morning.
The video, filmed by a beachgoer, shows the explosive-laden drone flying at a low altitude into Tel Aviv from the direction of the sea, before impacting an apartment building.
One person was killed and eight others were wounded in the attack. video of drone crash in Tel AvivSince the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip, more than 200 drones and cruise missiles have been launched from Yemen at Israel, according to IDF data.
One cruise missile struck near Eilat in March, and one drone struck Tel Aviv overnight.
The IDF says the vast majority of the threats were intercepted by US forces and in a handful of cases by Israeli fighter jets and ground-based air defense systems.
- US Intelligence Warns - Russia May Supply Advanced Weapons to Houthis in Yemen. Putin's cooperation with the terrorist organization - in response to Biden's approval for Ukraine to attack Russia using American weapons • US defense officials criticized the US President: not doing enough to deal with the Houthi threat to commercial shipping routes. US intelligence agencies have warned the administration that Russia may supply advanced weapons to the Houthis in Yemen in response to Biden's approval for Ukraine to attack Russian territory using American weapons, as reported today (Friday) in the Wall Street Journal. The White House has begun a diplomatic effort through a third country to prevent Putin from supplying weapons to the Houthis. It was also reported that US defense officials made it clear that the US is not doing enough to deal with the Houthi threat to commercial shipping routes, and that the US Army Central Command was asked to prepare a broader list of targets, including specific military personnel, ahead of possible additional attacks in Yemen. The senior US commander in the Middle East recently claimed in a classified letter to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that military actions in the region are "failing" and not deterring the Houthis from attacking ships in the Red Sea. The senior US military official added that stronger economic, diplomatic, and military pressure should be applied simultaneously on the terrorist organization in Yemen to prevent it from acting against American and European vessels. A decision by Moscow to arm the Houthis is expected to indicate an escalation in its tension with the US administration. Putin has already raised concerns among US officials with his strengthening ties with North Korea, Iran, and China. Link
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insists that the two-state solution isn’t dead and can’t be.
There are some fundamental realities that we can’t escape: Between Gaza and the West Bank, there are somewhere over 5 million Palestinians. There are about 7 million Israeli Jews. Neither is going anywhere… There has to be an accommodation that brings lasting peace and security to Israelis who so desperately want it and need it and fulfills the right self-determination of the Palestinians.”
He says the Palestinian state cannot threaten Israel, or be ruled by Hamas or a Hezbollah-like terror group.
Blinken asserts that the two strongest opponents of a two-state solution are Iran and Hamas, “so the strongest possible rebuke… would be the realization of two states.”
He says the US is working to advance Israel’s integration in the region, indicating this requires movement on the Palestinian issue. Link
From "The First to Identify" to "The Last to be Updated": Netanyahu's Lines of Defense
The Prime Minister and his office perpetuate the bubble culture and repeatedly emphasize that he himself is not familiar with the details, as the relatives of the lookouts who fell on October 7 also discovered. Is his inner circle really not telling him everything, or is "Rahamim didn't know" the argument for the commission of inquiry? Yaron Avraham on the rolling of responsibility - and the opposition's illusions
It may sound like a minor detail, but the truth is that this is the core of cores. The recordings we revealed this week from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with the families of the lookouts who fell in Nahal Oz on October 7 don't just teach us about the expected rolling of responsibility onto the army in particular and the defense establishment in general, nor about the limited sense of responsibility, if any, that he feels in light of the dimensions of the most terrible trauma the State of Israel has known since its establishment. First and foremost, what grated on the ears of every listener is Netanyahu's usual mantra, or more accurately, Rahamim's. Yes, again, Rahamim didn't know.
Netanyahu didn't know, for example, according to him, that the lookouts served in a command center located at a base on the border line - without weapons. He didn't know that no one had visited the families of the lookouts, a strange statement in itself if one takes into account that he himself had not visited them either. If this were a psychometric test, the examinee would get dizzy or the test itself would be disqualified by the appeals committee. Oddly, Netanyahu also told the families that he was not aware of the fact that the lookouts had warned that a raid was about to take place. He didn't know that they had returned home to their parents, brothers and sisters and lamented with full mouths: "Right after the holiday, something big is going to happen." And let's say he didn't know before October 7, which is certainly possible, how could it be that he didn't know after the Black Sabbath? After all, this is perhaps the most talked-about topic in the media and public discourse - the lookouts. The symbol of abandonment and failure. A morbid icon of contempt, belittlement, and turning a blind eye.
It's no coincidence that one of the family members said this shocking sentence to the Prime Minister: "Do you know what punishment the girls received if they diverted their gaze from the screen? They got 28 days in jail. What's the punishment for averting one's gaze that cost 1,400 murdered and the highest price for us? I want to know what punishment they will receive. Because if my sister had averted her gaze, she would have gone to jail. What punishment will all those who averted their gaze for so many years receive?" True, the Prime Minister is busy, especially in times of war. We don't need to check him on every visit, and it's clear that it's difficult to impossible to reach everyone. Still, didn't someone in his environment tell him that the lookouts had foreseen everything? It's even stranger, if we take into account what we know from the first days of the war - that his office is looking for any material that will prove that the failure lies on the military side and not on the political side. Therefore, there's no escape but to determine: either Netanyahu lied to the families and pretended not to know, or he is disconnected and lives in a sterile bubble that nothing penetrates. Neither option is particularly encouraging.
By the way, this isn't the first time that "Rahamim" has no mercy regarding the extent of our naivety. This isn't the first time that the explanation "I didn't know" appears. Again and again, the Prime Minister and his office perpetuate the bubble culture and emphasize that he himself was not familiar with the details, didn't hear, wasn't exposed, wasn't updated, didn't know. It's already a method they're proud of. He didn't know that Sergeant Yaron Shai z"l, son of former minister Izhar Shai, fell in battle on October 7. Only after Shai posted about it on social media was Netanyahu "updated" and made a phone call. He also didn't know about the humanitarian pause that the IDF decided on in the corridor in the Rafah area, while IDF forces were maneuvering there. He also didn't know about the humanitarian aid entering directly from Israel, as no one had updated him. And the director of Shifa Hospital who was released from Israeli prison? Netanyahu didn't know about that either, didn't hear and didn't know. The Prime Minister also didn't know that our enemies were waiting for an opportunity to launch an attack, and also didn't know that the defense establishment was warning about this, even though four letters addressed specifically to him explicitly warned about it. He also didn't know about the dangers lurking at the celebration in Meron, and the commission of inquiry made it clear to him: your responsibility is not limited to what you actually knew, but extends to what you should and could have known. There are more examples, but the principle is clear: the Prime Minister has gone from "the first to identify" to "the last to be updated", and if this sounds to you like an argument for a commission of inquiry (if one ever arises), it seems you're not wrong.
Meanwhile, it seems that Netanyahu feels stronger and more encouraged than at any other moment during recent months. His speech in the Knesset plenum yesterday (Wednesday) was a masterpiece of arrogance and disconnection. "We are going to eliminate the neo-Nazi rule in Gaza, we are advancing step by step while members of this house explained that we should act differently," Netanyahu said and simply did not tell the truth. The documents of Gadi Eisenkot and Benny Gantz that we revealed tell how the former called for entering Rafah back in February and the latter informed the Americans in May that it would happen very soon. The one who delayed was Netanyahu himself. He is also the one who hesitated, a very minimalist description, before the ground maneuver, after undergoing intimidation talks from Major General (Res.) Yitzhak Brik. But what do the facts matter? What matters is searing consciousness. Even the failures of October 7 won't succeed in taking this from him. It's doubtful if anything will. "If it were up to you, the opposition, studios and former officials - you would have already ended the war and Mohammad Deif would already be walking around as a victor," the Prime Minister added in his 40 signatures speech. "We are determined to win, to bring back all our hostages, and the key is pressure and more pressure and more pressure. Your way is both to lose in the war and to abandon all the hostages to their bitter fate." A person who heard these things called me and told how already in the late 90s Netanyahu told him: "There are four things that will always give me the upper hand - the Democratic president, the media and the left, and the Palestinians." Well, how right he is.
And now to the opposition. Such a display of impotence hasn't been seen in our parts for a long time. Just imagine the opposite, that the one currently heading the government is Yair Lapid or Naftali Bennett. Netanyahu as the head of the opposition would have convened an "urgent rally to restore Israeli deterrence". If it could be branded as a million-person rally - all the better. Galit Distel Atbaryan and May Golan would have taken the podium and said: "This government has abandoned us, allowed Yahya Sinwar to conquer us because of its connection to the Islamic Movement, and now it's entrenching itself in its seats. It's betraying us and the people of Israel." Miri Regev would have elaborated: "Lieberman and Sa'ar are stopping the IDF from winning, only Netanyahu can bring victory." The opposition in Israel is paralyzed. It doesn't have the tools, the libido and the fervor to do what Netanyahu did to it. It's not really driving any defiant process against him. A flabby doze on paralyzing steroids. Lapid is still trying, it must be said honestly. He's trying to create a discourse that undermines the foundations of the coalition, both publicly and in closed rooms. But he doesn't have the effective mouthpieces that Netanyahu has. But where is Gantz? Where is Eisenkot? Where is Sa'ar? What good did their exit from the government do if in the opposition they're a kind of sleeping pill? This week, one of the people closest to Netanyahu sneered the following sentence: "And these still want to take power from him? To each his own illusions." Well, how right he is. link
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insists that the two-state solution isn’t dead and can’t be.
There are some fundamental realities that we can’t escape: Between Gaza and the West Bank, there are somewhere over 5 million Palestinians. There are about 7 million Israeli Jews. Neither is going anywhere… There has to be an accommodation that brings lasting peace and security to Israelis who so desperately want it and need it and fulfills the right self-determination of the Palestinians.”
He says the Palestinian state cannot threaten Israel, or be ruled by Hamas or a Hezbollah-like terror group.
Blinken asserts that the two strongest opponents of a two-state solution are Iran and Hamas, “so the strongest possible rebuke… would be the realization of two states.”
He says the US is working to advance Israel’s integration in the region, indicating this requires movement on the Palestinian issue. Link
From "The First to Identify" to "The Last to be Updated": Netanyahu's Lines of Defense
The Prime Minister and his office perpetuate the bubble culture and repeatedly emphasize that he himself is not familiar with the details, as the relatives of the lookouts who fell on October 7 also discovered. Is his inner circle really not telling him everything, or is "Rahamim didn't know" the argument for the commission of inquiry? Yaron Avraham on the rolling of responsibility - and the opposition's illusions
It may sound like a minor detail, but the truth is that this is the core of cores. The recordings we revealed this week from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with the families of the lookouts who fell in Nahal Oz on October 7 don't just teach us about the expected rolling of responsibility onto the army in particular and the defense establishment in general, nor about the limited sense of responsibility, if any, that he feels in light of the dimensions of the most terrible trauma the State of Israel has known since its establishment. First and foremost, what grated on the ears of every listener is Netanyahu's usual mantra, or more accurately, Rahamim's. Yes, again, Rahamim didn't know.
Netanyahu didn't know, for example, according to him, that the lookouts served in a command center located at a base on the border line - without weapons. He didn't know that no one had visited the families of the lookouts, a strange statement in itself if one takes into account that he himself had not visited them either. If this were a psychometric test, the examinee would get dizzy or the test itself would be disqualified by the appeals committee. Oddly, Netanyahu also told the families that he was not aware of the fact that the lookouts had warned that a raid was about to take place. He didn't know that they had returned home to their parents, brothers and sisters and lamented with full mouths: "Right after the holiday, something big is going to happen." And let's say he didn't know before October 7, which is certainly possible, how could it be that he didn't know after the Black Sabbath? After all, this is perhaps the most talked-about topic in the media and public discourse - the lookouts. The symbol of abandonment and failure. A morbid icon of contempt, belittlement, and turning a blind eye.
It's no coincidence that one of the family members said this shocking sentence to the Prime Minister: "Do you know what punishment the girls received if they diverted their gaze from the screen? They got 28 days in jail. What's the punishment for averting one's gaze that cost 1,400 murdered and the highest price for us? I want to know what punishment they will receive. Because if my sister had averted her gaze, she would have gone to jail. What punishment will all those who averted their gaze for so many years receive?" True, the Prime Minister is busy, especially in times of war. We don't need to check him on every visit, and it's clear that it's difficult to impossible to reach everyone. Still, didn't someone in his environment tell him that the lookouts had foreseen everything? It's even stranger, if we take into account what we know from the first days of the war - that his office is looking for any material that will prove that the failure lies on the military side and not on the political side. Therefore, there's no escape but to determine: either Netanyahu lied to the families and pretended not to know, or he is disconnected and lives in a sterile bubble that nothing penetrates. Neither option is particularly encouraging.
By the way, this isn't the first time that "Rahamim" has no mercy regarding the extent of our naivety. This isn't the first time that the explanation "I didn't know" appears. Again and again, the Prime Minister and his office perpetuate the bubble culture and emphasize that he himself was not familiar with the details, didn't hear, wasn't exposed, wasn't updated, didn't know. It's already a method they're proud of. He didn't know that Sergeant Yaron Shai z"l, son of former minister Izhar Shai, fell in battle on October 7. Only after Shai posted about it on social media was Netanyahu "updated" and made a phone call. He also didn't know about the humanitarian pause that the IDF decided on in the corridor in the Rafah area, while IDF forces were maneuvering there. He also didn't know about the humanitarian aid entering directly from Israel, as no one had updated him. And the director of Shifa Hospital who was released from Israeli prison? Netanyahu didn't know about that either, didn't hear and didn't know. The Prime Minister also didn't know that our enemies were waiting for an opportunity to launch an attack, and also didn't know that the defense establishment was warning about this, even though four letters addressed specifically to him explicitly warned about it. He also didn't know about the dangers lurking at the celebration in Meron, and the commission of inquiry made it clear to him: your responsibility is not limited to what you actually knew, but extends to what you should and could have known. There are more examples, but the principle is clear: the Prime Minister has gone from "the first to identify" to "the last to be updated", and if this sounds to you like an argument for a commission of inquiry (if one ever arises), it seems you're not wrong.
Meanwhile, it seems that Netanyahu feels stronger and more encouraged than at any other moment during recent months. His speech in the Knesset plenum yesterday (Wednesday) was a masterpiece of arrogance and disconnection. "We are going to eliminate the neo-Nazi rule in Gaza, we are advancing step by step while members of this house explained that we should act differently," Netanyahu said and simply did not tell the truth. The documents of Gadi Eisenkot and Benny Gantz that we revealed tell how the former called for entering Rafah back in February and the latter informed the Americans in May that it would happen very soon. The one who delayed was Netanyahu himself. He is also the one who hesitated, a very minimalist description, before the ground maneuver, after undergoing intimidation talks from Major General (Res.) Yitzhak Brik. But what do the facts matter? What matters is searing consciousness. Even the failures of October 7 won't succeed in taking this from him. It's doubtful if anything will. "If it were up to you, the opposition, studios and former officials - you would have already ended the war and Mohammad Deif would already be walking around as a victor," the Prime Minister added in his 40 signatures speech. "We are determined to win, to bring back all our hostages, and the key is pressure and more pressure and more pressure. Your way is both to lose in the war and to abandon all the hostages to their bitter fate." A person who heard these things called me and told how already in the late 90s Netanyahu told him: "There are four things that will always give me the upper hand - the Democratic president, the media and the left, and the Palestinians." Well, how right he is.
And now to the opposition. Such a display of impotence hasn't been seen in our parts for a long time. Just imagine the opposite, that the one currently heading the government is Yair Lapid or Naftali Bennett. Netanyahu as the head of the opposition would have convened an "urgent rally to restore Israeli deterrence". If it could be branded as a million-person rally - all the better. Galit Distel Atbaryan and May Golan would have taken the podium and said: "This government has abandoned us, allowed Yahya Sinwar to conquer us because of its connection to the Islamic Movement, and now it's entrenching itself in its seats. It's betraying us and the people of Israel." Miri Regev would have elaborated: "Lieberman and Sa'ar are stopping the IDF from winning, only Netanyahu can bring victory." The opposition in Israel is paralyzed. It doesn't have the tools, the libido and the fervor to do what Netanyahu did to it. It's not really driving any defiant process against him. A flabby doze on paralyzing steroids. Lapid is still trying, it must be said honestly. He's trying to create a discourse that undermines the foundations of the coalition, both publicly and in closed rooms. But he doesn't have the effective mouthpieces that Netanyahu has. But where is Gantz? Where is Eisenkot? Where is Sa'ar? What good did their exit from the government do if in the opposition they're a kind of sleeping pill? This week, one of the people closest to Netanyahu sneered the following sentence: "And these still want to take power from him? To each his own illusions." Well, how right he is. link
At the same time Sahar and Erez, separately, are being led on motorcycles to Gaza. "All the thoughts surfaced - where are my parents, what about Erez, what about Rotem, where is my family and what about the kibbutz?" Sahar recalls. "What will they do to me? Where will they take me? Abuse me, rape me? All the most terrible thoughts in the world. I remember they transferred me to a pickup truck and in the truck there were about six terrorists with me and they just started laughing there in the car."
"He knew a little Hebrew and then he asked me what my father's name was. I told him 'Ofer Calderon', and then he gestured on his face and I didn't understand what he wanted. And after about half an hour, almost an hour, suddenly I see my father. I didn't recognize him at first because he had a lot of beard, mustache, a lot of hair, his face was thinner, his body was thinner and he had lost about 10 kilos."
Is there a fear of forgetting? Forgetting his smell, his voice? Nine months is a long time.
"I think we've already forgotten," says Sahar. "If I suddenly see a video or picture, it's like remembering a person who's supposedly not with us. It's the same pain, you hardly remember anything about the person and it's almost a year."
"We can't live without him, we simply can't," says Rotem. link
Acronyms and Glossary
ICC - International Criminal Court in the Hague
IJC - International Court of Justice in the Hague
MDA - Magen David Adom - Israel Ambulance Corp
PA - Palestinian Authority - President Mahmud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen
PMO- Prime Minister's Office
UAV - Unmanned Aerial vehicle, Drone. Could be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, or be weaponized with missiles or contain explosives for 'suicide' explosion mission
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