*4:15pm - north - rockets Dalton, Kadita, Ramat Dalton, Ben Zimra
Hostage Updates
Yesterday was Alex Danzig's 76th birthday
A conversation with Ben Danzig, his son, which took place on November 12, 2023 with Prof. Liat Hamama, and also based on material from the media
Alexander (Alex), is a member of Kibbutz Nir Oz, a father of 4 children (three sons: Ben, Matti, Yuval, and a daughter: Lee), a grandfather of 13 grandchildren (aged between One and a half and 21 years old).
Alex was born in 1948, in Poland, his parents were Holocaust survivors.
When he was 9 years old, Alex immigrated to Israel with his parents.
He spent his first few years growing up and learning Hebrew in Kibbutz Negba with his uncle.
At the age of 12, he moved to live with his parents in Yad Eliyahu ,a neighborhood in Tel- Aviv, where he continued his school studies until he joined the army.
Alex’s military service included actions that could not be shared, but he contributed greatly to Israel in all of its wars.
He came to Kibbutz Nir Oz when he joined “Gar’inNahal”as part of his military service. He was also a member of the of “Ha’Shomer Hatzair” movement and served several times as Head of Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Alex taught about the Holocaust and together with Avraham Atzili from Kibbutz Zikim, he developed the Israeli Youth Delegation program to Poland. He also wrote books for travelers to Warsaw, Lublin, Krakow and Lodz.
As described by his son, Ben Danzig, Alex is an intellectual, a polymath, and a conversationalist in a wide range of fields.
Alex loves sports and also worked in Kibbutz Nir Oz fields for many years.
Five years ago, Alex suffered from a heart attack, and thanks to the resourcefulness of one of his neighbors, he survived. He needs medications to keep him healthy.
On Saturday, October 7, 2023, Alex was captured and kidnapped by Hamas, along with about 80 other residents (children, men, women) from his community.
Among the people that were kidnapped is Itzik Elgarat, 69, Alex’s brother-in-law (the brother of Alex’s children’s mother), who was shot by Hamas and taken while bleeding into Gaza.
His son, Ben Danzig, states: “I hold the hope… that the politicians do their job and return all hostages to their own country… It’s about people – human beings!!!
In March, Hamas reported that Alex Danzig, a Polish-Jewish historian kidnapped in the Gaza Strip, was found dead. The Al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas) reported on Telegram that Alex Danzig was among seven hostages who were killed during the recent Israeli bombing of the Gaza. “We tried to keep them alive,” a spokesperson for the Al-Qassam Brigades said. Earlier, the terrorist group revealed the names of three of the seven dead hostages. The identities of the remaining victims, including Alex Danzig, were disclosed after “examining and verifying” their bodies. “We have contacted the Israeli authorities, who have not confirmed this information yet,” PaweΕ WroΕski, spokesman for the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Polish Radio, referring to the matter. -- There has not been confirmation by Israel that he was killed in captivity. Hamas has continually released reports of dead hostages who were taken into captivity alive. Some of them are complete fabrication, a part of their psychological terrorism. However, some reports have been confirmed.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is slated to meet with the Israeli hostage negotiating team before he departs for Washington tomorrow afternoon, according to a source in Netanyahu’s office. linkNetanyahu huddles! He shouldn't even be going. He has 120 hostages in Gaza for 289 days and they are his direct responsibility. They are there because he failed miserably for years, yet he fails to take responsibility and do very much to actually bring them home. It is more important to him to put on a show in front of congress and make history as the foreign 'leader' who addresses both houses of congress the most times. That is more important to him and he is willing to let the hostages linger and die in Hamas captivity. A real leader would make a deal and not go anywhere that is not directly related to getting them home. Shame! Shame! Shame!
Demonstrators protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Israeli government and for the release of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip outside Hakirya Base in Tel Aviv, July 20, 2024. (Itai Ron/Flash90)
Thousands of demonstrators in Jerusalem are marching to Paris Square in protest of Netanyahu’s government and urging an immediate hostage deal.
Incensed over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned US trip and speech to Congress this coming week, marchers fly a banner that reads: “No flight without a deal.”
The protesters come to a standstill at Paris Square, adjacent to Netanyahu’s official residence, but continue to chant before the start of a joint hostage families and anti-government rally.
“Only an end to the war will bring the hostages home,” says Mai Alvini-Peri, the grandson of Haim Peri, who was abducted by Hamas from Nir Oz on October 7 and confirmed dead by the IDF in early June.
“An end to the war will also bring an end to the government,” he adds. “So you all can understand why this war is continuing so long, and why there still isn’t a hostage deal.”
Mai Alvini-Peri, grandson of slain hostage Haim Peri, speaks to crowd of anti-government demonstrators in Jerusalem on July 20, 2024. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)
Alon Gat, whose sister Carmel Gat is in Hamas captivity, tells Ynet that he turned down an invitation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fly with him to Washington next week, as he fears the prime minister is endangering his sister’s life by intentionally delaying a hostage deal.
“Netanyahu invited me on the flight and at first I thought it could help, that we would be able to impact things,” he says. “I believed that on the flight, he would announce that he was signing the deal. But as the deadline approached, we realized that this wasn’t going to happen, and instead the opposite is true — he is hindering progress and isn’t making any decisions.”
He says that he believes other families currently expected to fly with Netanyahu’s delegation will join him in his decision.
“I couldn’t live with myself knowing that I was traveling with him and that at that time, god forbid, something had happened to Carmel. I know that Netanyahu is taking his time. I don’t know how he lives with it,” he adds. linkNetanyahu is trying to use hostage family members on his trip to Washington as a fig leaf to show he has the support of the hostages' families, which he does not. Almost everyone agrees that Netanyahu could have gotten all the hostages home in November and then multiple times during the war but he scuttled every possible deal in favor of his political agenda: to stay in power.
Alon Gat, brother to hostage Carmel Gat, applauds a hostage rescue as he pushes for a diplomatic deal on June 12, 2024 (Courtesy)
Eight Likud lawmakers have said that they will refuse to back the hostage deal being discussed by Israel and Hamas in indirect negotiations unless significant changes are made to the proposal, Channel 12 reports.
According to the report, the lawmakers sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a set of demands for changes that they said must be made, if they are to support the deal. The letter was signed by Likud MKs Amit Halevi, Hanoch Milwidsky, Dan Illouz, Moshe Saada, Ariel Kellner, Shalom Danino, Tally Gotliv, and Nisim Vaturi.
The list of reported demands set forth by the lawmakers includes the following stipulations:
All hostages are to be released at once, rather than in several stages
Israel must not withdraw from the Netzarim Corridor or the so-called Philadelphi Corridor
There must be a significant IDF presence along every significant route in Gaza
The lawmakers were reported to have also made several additional demands, which were not expanded on in the report.
While Netanyahu himself has added several “non-negotiable” demands to the hostage deal in recent days, leading the negotiating team to reportedly pause talks until new clauses are drawn up, the Likud lawmakers were said by Channel 12 to believe his amendments still do not go far enough.
A group of hostage families say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sabotaging a deal to free their loved ones and warn they will protest his visit to the United States later this week if he doesn’t announce an agreement.
Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sabotaged a deal because “it is more important to him to save his seat than rescue lives.”
Zangauker says a deal could have already been reached but the prime minister has delayed discussions and raised new demands.
Mati Danzig, the son of captive Alex Danzig, says that if Netanyahu travels to the United States this week without announcing a hostage deal, relatives will also travel to make the world hear that the premier is “the obstacle to a deal.”
Yifat Calderon, the cousin of hostage Ofer Calderon expresses support for Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, defense officials, and Israeli negotiators, urging them not to allow Netanyahu to sabotage a deal. “If Netanyahu again sabotages a deal, come out to the public with the truth,” she says.
The freed abductee answers Netanyahu: "Just suffer? A
terrorist, murderer and rapist with a weapon stood next to me" With the
reports of progress in the talks in the background, and before the Prime
Minister's flight to Washington, Einav Tsengauker called out: "Deal now -
no tricks and no shticks." At the Kidnapped Square, Merav Tal, who was
released from captivity, spoke: "Netanyahu's statement - disconnected and
sad." Thousands protested across the country, a daughter marched "A
after the demonstration in Kaplan. Lapid: "Netanyahu - a deal, before the
flight" In the Hostages
Square this evening (Saturday night), like every week, the rally was held
calling for the return of the kidnapped, who have been held captive in Gaza for
288 days - with the title: "First deal, then travel". Along with the
rally, there were demonstrations calling for elections and the dissolution of the
government in a series of focal points, including at the Kaplan intersection in
Jerusalem and in front of the Caesarea residence of Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu, who will take off tomorrow for his visit to Washington . At the rally in the Kidnapped Square, Merav Tal, who was
released from Hamas captivity after 53 days, and Aviram Shaul, the brother of
the fighter Oron Shaul, whose body has been held in Gaza for a decade, spoke. At the end of the rally and demonstration in Kaplan, the
demonstrators started marching south on Begin Road. Mounted police blocked them, and
minor clashes began between the parties. A police officer was recorded grabbing
a hostage sign from a protester, and throwing it on the floor. Clashes
developed between protesters against the government and supporters of the
government, which heated up to the point of violence between the parties.
Masked men were even recorded throwing stones at the protesters.
Before the rally, families of hostages gave a statement to
the media in front of Begin Gate of the Kirya (IDF Headquartes), while in the background reports of progress
towards a deal , and Netanyahu's trip. Einav Tsengauker, one of the leaders of
the protest and the mother of the abducted Matan, called on the Prime Minister
to sign a deal this evening, and before show trip to the US: "Netanyahu -
enough of scuttling the deal." Zengauker also said: "There has been a deal on the
table ready to be closed for several weeks. And we are standing here today,
after another wasted week in which Netanyahu once again torpedoed and dragged
his feet. He postponed discussions, introduced new conditions, hardened
positions, and claimed that we should not be under pressure, because the
hostages, they only suffer and don't die. These are twisted statements of a
detached prime minister who does not want a deal.
"Contrary to all of Netanyahu's straw-man claims,
senior security officials have already announced that there are no security
obstacles to the deal. All security obstacles have been removed, only
political, criminal and outrageous obstacles remain. There is one person who
stands between me and Matan - and between us and our loved ones. It is the
prime minister who it's more important to him to save his seat as prime minister than to save lives. Netanyahu -
time is running out for the hostages, and after you get your picture of
victory, it's your duty to bring a deal this evening before you take off to the
US and announce that you accept the deal without new conditions, without
tricks. ".
Kidnapped Alex Danzig's son, Mati, also called on Netanyahu
to sign a deal even before his flight. "The head of the Mossad warns that
the girls in captivity do not have time, the minister of defense warns that the
fate of the hostages will soon be sealed - and the prime minister has time to
worry about his political survival, at the expense of the lives of the
hostages. This is complete systematic madness. If Netanyahu gets on a flight
without announcing that he accepts the deal - we will raise our voice and
warn in the US and all over the world that Netanyahu is the obstacle to the
deal, and for many months he has sabotaged it time and time again."
Yifat Kalderon, cousin of Ofer Kalderon, who was kidnapped
in Gaza, told about his call to his daughter Sahar, who was released from
captivity, to protest. "My kidnapped cousin, Ofer, told his daughter Sahar
who returned from captivity, 'Go to the demonstrations, fight' - we are
fighting to save our family members, but this is also a fight to save the country."
At the central rally in Hostage Square, Merav Tal, who
was kidnapped to Gaza with her partner Yair Yaakov, whose body is still being
held in Gaza, and his two sons, Or and Yagel, testified that she heard about the
demonstrations on the radio while she was in captivity: "In the terrifying
darkness that covered my time in Gaza, I heard the demonstrations in the square
on the radio The hostages and your calls here were simply a lifeline of care
and love for a person drowning in a sea of fear and hatred, and this is the
most empowering and exciting thing that can be."
Tal referred to Netanyahu's statement from the cabinet
meeting, saying: "There is no pressure, they only suffer,
they don't die' - this is a detached and sad statement. I would like to
describe to you, Mr. Prime Minister, what a minute in the captivity of
terrorists looks like: it is transitions between apartments when I dressed up
in a plastic bag with masking tape and it's hard to breathe. It's a terrorist,
a rapist standing next to me, because you don't know what they're going to do
with you The terrible thing to connect with and gain the trust of those
terrorists who murdered everything that was dear to me."
'Suffering, not dying" wihle Netanyahu and his wife sit and have coffee
Aviram Shaul, Oron Shaul's brother, said: "The further
we get from nine months, the closer we get to 10 years. With a hand on our
hearts, did anyone imagine that we would mark nine months without our brothers
and sisters? I also did not imagine that I would mark a decade of Oron's
kidnapping." He appealed to Netanyahu: "I call on you Prime Minister,
don't let the background noises mislead you, you know exactly what is the right
thing to do now. Sign a deal that will free all 120 abductees and all the
families from this ongoing nightmare."
According to him, "These are extremely significant
decisive moments, this is a golden opportunity that who knows if it will return
soon. There are not many moments like this, I tell you honestly. Dear public,
we need you with us in these moments, we need to 'burn' the streets - we all need
to go out and vote with your feet in favor of a deal that will save dozens of
hostages who are alive and return the dead to a proper grave in Israel. Our
brothers and sisters in captivity expect us to do it for them and we are
certainly not the ones to leave them in captivity. The time is now - a deal.
Yizhar Lifshitz, son of hostage survivor Yochaved Lifshitz
and hostage Oded Lifshitz, said: "Time has meaning. To the families whose
loved ones died in captivity - apologies. The hostages are our hearts, their
pain is our pain. Any citizen who thinks as if his son, his home and his
parents - are hostages in Gaza. After nine Months, after operational
successes, we are once again facing the possibility of a solution - which
includes the return of all the hostages home.
"We are strengthening the Prime Minister, the IDF and
its commanders - do not fear. The people of Israel want the hostages and are
ready to pay a painful price. Hostages returned home are strength, a strategic
necessity for existence - the nation of Israel is alive."
The headquarters of the families for the return of the
hostages said: "Tonight, October 288, when the Netanyahu deal that will
bring all the hostages home is on the table, the headquarters of the families
of the hostages will hold the support rally for the families of the hostages calling on the Prime Minister to approve the deal before his flight to Congress
in Washington."
Opposition leader Yair Lapid spoke at a demonstration that
took place at the same time at the Kaplan intersection in Tel Aviv, entitled
"Elections Now". Lapid attacked the Prime Minister in his speech:
"Netanyahu is traveling now to address Congress, he has one last chance to
come to Congress and announce on stage that he is going to make a hostage deal. If he doesn't make an announcement, why is he traveling? If you don't
announce to Congress that you are going to make a hostage deal, don't go. Go
to Qatar, go to Cairo, sit in your office, until there is white smoke. Don't go to Washington to put on a show."
At the same time, demonstrations against the government took
place in a series of centers throughout the country. Thousands demonstrated at
Horev Junction in Haifa, before that a march left the auditorium in the
center of Carmel. Hundreds protested at the anchor intersection in Emek Hafer,
on Route 4. Protesters carried signs such as "Deal to return
immediately". Hundreds also demonstrated at the Science Park intersection
in Rehovot. Hundreds also protested at the Amiad Junction, calling for
elections and a deal to release the hostages. Thousands also demonstrated in
Paris Square in Jerusalem. link
Gaza
The military has found that it failed to properly assess and respond to the invasion of terrorists in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, according to findings reported by Channel 12 news.
According to Channel 12, the military found that the Gaza division failed to understand the situation at the kibbutz and did not properly manage forces on the day, with troops sent to neighboring communities but not Nir Oz itself.
In one of the major blunders, special forces on the way to Nir Oz encountered terrorists on the way to the battle, where an officer was killed at around 11 a.m.
The squadron was then redirected to another task, but the IDF’s Southern Command did not notify the Operations Directorate, and additional forces were not sent.
At 11:30 a.m., Egoz special forces that were dispatched to Kibbutz Kissufim and Nir Oz also encountered terrorists on the way and never arrived at their destination.
Southern Command did not find out about that incident until 1:30 p.m. Soldiers from the Shayetet special forces unit were then sent but only arrived at 2:20 p.m., by which time terrorists had managed to murder and kidnap dozens of people.
The 69-year-old kibbutz, located 2.8 kilometers (1.7 miles) from Gaza, lost more than a quarter of its 400 members on October 7, with 46 people murdered, including entire families, and 71 people taken hostage. Fourteen Thai citizens who worked at Nir Oz were also murdered that morning.
Over the past week, more than 150 terror operatives were killed during an operation in Gaza City, the IDF says.
The raid, launched earlier this month, is being led by the 99th Division, with the Alexandroni, 8th, and Commando brigades, and elite Multi-Domain Unit.
During the first week of the operation, troops had raided UNRWA’s headquarters, where Hamas had regrouped.
In recent operations, the IDF says the troops raided several multi-story buildings in Gaza City where Hamas operatives were holed up.
The forces located weapons, equipment belonging to Hamas’s naval forces, and intelligence materials, the army says.
In addition to the estimated 150 gunmen, the IDF says troops demolished more than 100 sites belonging to terror groups and located an underground weapons manufacturing site.
Weapons found by IDF troops in Gaza City, in a handout image published July 20, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF struck a building in the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in the Gaza Strip yesterday, which it says was used by a Hamas-linked company to funnel funds to the terror group.
The building in the Deir al-Balah area housed offices of the Elkahira company, which according to the IDF, was a “central part of the infrastructure used to store and transfer large amounts of funds to terror organizations in the Gaza Strip, as well as to carry out terror activities” since the beginning of the war.
The IDF says the strike was carried out after it ordered the evacuation of Palestinian civilians in the area. It also says a fighter jet launched “precision munitions” in the attack, to mitigate harm to civilians.
In a separate attack on Thursday, the IDF says it killed an employee of Elkahira who had transferred funds to terror groups in Gaza, including the military wing of Hamas.
At least 13 people were killed in three Israeli airstrikes that hit refugee camps in central Gaza overnight into Saturday, according to Palestinian health officials.
Among the dead in Nuseirat Refugee Camp and Bureij Refugee Camp were three children and one woman, according to Palestinian ambulance teams that transported the bodies to the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. The 13 corpses were counted by AP journalists at the hospital.
The latest casualties follow a rare moment of hope in war-ravaged Gaza after medical teams recovered a live baby from a heavily pregnant Palestinian mother killed in an airstrike that hit her home in Nuseirat late Thursday evening.
Heavily pregnant Ola al-Kurd, 25, was killed along with six others in the blast but was quickly rushed by emergency workers to Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza in the hope of saving the unborn child. Hours later, doctors told The Associated Press that a baby boy had been delivered. The still-unnamed newborn is stable but has suffered from a shortage of oxygen and has been placed in an incubator, Dr. Khalil Dajran says. The baby boy’s father was wounded in the same strike but survived.
Palestinians walks near tents used as shelter along a street covered with stagnant wastewater in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on July 19, 2024. (Bashar Taleb/AFP)
IDF troops operating in southern Gaza’s Rafah killed numerous gunmen over the past day, the military says in a morning update.
The IDF says troops of the Givati Brigade engaged in several clashes with terror operatives, and the 401st Armored Brigade is carrying out “significant activity” against Hamas sites and operatives in Rafah’s northwestern Tel Sultan neighborhood.
Meanwhile, in the Netzarim Corridor in the Strip’s center, the IDF says reservists with the Alexandroni Brigade raided several Hamas sites and called in an airstrike against a group of gunmen in a building.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
Some 45 rockets were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel in less than an hour yesterday, the IDF says. The first barrage of some 30 rockets targeted the northern Golan Heights, at 3:35 p.m. According to the IDF, some of the rockets were intercepted while others impacted open areas. Some of the rocket impacts sparked fires. video of 5 rockets
Lebanese media report a strike against a vehicle in the southern village of Borj al-Mlouk. Casualties are reported in the strike. The village is located about 4 kilometers north of the Israeli border.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group says Israel’s strike on the Houthi-controlled Hodeidah port in Yemen — which was carried out in response to a drone attack on Tel Aviv by the Iran-backed group — marked a dangerous turn nine months into Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
“The foolish step taken by the Zionist enemy heralds a new, dangerous phase of a very important confrontation across the entire region,” the Iran-backed terror group says in a statement.
Two IDF soldiers are lightly and moderately wounded in a Hezbollah explosive-laden drone attack in the northern Golan Heights earlier this evening, the military says.
According to the IDF, several suspected drones entered Israeli airspace in the attack, and interceptor missiles were launched at them.
The IDF says the drones were not intercepted, and struck in northern Israel, leading to the injury of the two soldiers.
Firefighters work to extinguish wildfires following a missile attack from Lebanon which fell close to Israel's border with Syria in the Golan Heights, on July 20, 2024. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
Two IDF soldiers are lightly and moderately wounded in a Hezbollah explosive-laden drone attack in the northern Golan Heights earlier this evening, the military says.
According to the IDF, several suspected drones entered Israeli airspace in the attack, and interceptor missiles were launched at them.
The IDF says the drones were not intercepted, and struck in northern Israel, leading to the injury of the two soldiers.
A fire broke out in Banias, Hezbollah's "missile
depot" was attacked about 30 km from the border
The IDF attacked a Hezbollah warehouse in Adlon, residents
in the area were asked to stay in their homes due to strong secondary
explosions. The terrorist organization launched dozens of rockets and drones
into the Galilee and the Golan - and a huge fire broke out in Banias. Two
soldiers were moderately and slightly injured. Heads of councils in the north: "We
will consider changing the name of the settlement Avivim to Tel Avivim. Maybe
that way Israel will react strongly"
An attack was carried out last night (Saturday) in the area
between the towns of Adlon and Al-Kharaib, about 30 kilometers from the border
between Israel and Lebanon, and was aimed at a Hizbullah military depot. The
attack was carried out north of the city of Tzur. Sources told the Saudi TV
channel "Al-Hadad" that "Israel Attacked a missile depot in the
Adlon area." video of the attack
According to a Lebanese report, the residents of al-Kharaib
were asked to stay in their homes because of the explosions and shrapnel in the
area, following the "Israeli attack". Also, according to the Lebanese
National News Agency, there are wounded in the attack, and the Sidon-Zur road
is blocked in both directions as a result.
During the evening hours yesterday, alarms were set off in
the Golan Heights and the the Galilee region, and subsequently two IDF
soldiers were moderately and lightly injured as a result of falls in the area
of the settlement of Zaora. They were evacuated for medical treatment at a
hospital, and their families were informed. In addition, after Hezbollah
launched dozens of rockets and UAVs to the north of Parza A huge fire in the
Nahal HaBanias Reserve in the Golan. This is due to shrapnel and pieces of
burning interceptors that were sent towards the launches.
Following the events in the Golan, head of the council Uri
Kellner told Ynet that "tonight the Banias reserve on the slopes of the
Golan burned down. The fire comes after the tragic death of Noa and Nir Burns
last week. We demand that deterrence and security be returned to the North. The
Golan and the settlement in the north are a national strategic shield. The
government must appreciate the continued resilience of the residents in the
Golan, who insist on staying there and holding the borders of the book, and
accordingly provide assistance and financial support to the residents." Later,
the head of the Upper Galilee Regional Council, Amit Sofer, referred to the
Israeli attacks in Yemen , and said that "We are proud of the appropriate
response of the IDF in Yemen. In the next name committee we might consider
changing the name of the settlement Avivim to Tel Avivim or Tel Aviv. Perhaps
this way the State of Israel will react strongly when missiles or drones fall
on the settlement again, as has been the case for nine months. We demand that
the State of Israel treat the attacks in the north exactly as it treats the
attacks in the center of the country."
"The north is burning and the government ignores and is silent." The fires in Banias
( Photo: Alon Inbar )
The head of the regional council, Meta Asher, and the
chairman of the Line of Conflict Forum, Moshe Davidovich, also responded,
saying that "one small drone in Tel Aviv and all of Yemen is burning.
Hundreds of drones and thousands of Burkans - the north is burning and the
government is ignoring and silent." Interior Minister Moshe Arbel also
commented He is to the events in the north: "The quick response to the
murderous attack from Yemen on Tel Aviv within a day is exactly what is
required even when the attack is on Metula, Ayelet Hashar, Kiryat Shmona and
Metta Asher. One law for all our settlements. There is no room for favoring Tel
Aviv over any other settlement in Israel."
Matan , the son of Noa and Nir Burns, referred to the UAV
that was launched from Yemen and exploded in Tel Aviv on Friday, as a result of
which city resident Yevgeni Perder (50) was killed, and made a comparison to
the situation in the north of the country. He wrote in a story on his Instagram
account that "when a couple of parents were murdered in the Golan Heights - broadcast
of Dancing with the Stars. UAV in Tel Aviv - special broadcast at 4:00 in the
morning. All are equal, but some are more equal and less equal."
Besides the attack in the Adlon and Al-Kharaib areas,
Lebanon also reported attacks in the south of the country in the settlement of
Majdal in the Tsur area, and in other places. link
West Bank and Jerusalem
PA losing grip on West Bank amid Israeli raids, post-Oct. 7
cash freeze
Analysts say squeezing Ramallah likely to boost rivals Hamas
and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as workers get partial salaries and authorities
can’t pay for roads, sewage, medicine
Roads torn up months ago by army
bulldozers in the Jenin refugee camp amid operations against terror groups
remain unpassable because the Palestinian Authority can’t afford to fix them.
Government employees are being paid a fraction of their salaries, and health
services are collapsing.
These are all signs of a deep
financial crisis that has crippled the administration led by President Mahmoud
Abbas in the Israeli-controlled West Bank, prompting questions over its future
even as the United States and other countries are pressing for a “revitalized” PA to run the Gaza Strip when fighting
there ends.
The PA’s finances have been in
disarray for years as donor states have cut back funding that once covered
nearly a third of its $6 billion annual budget, demanding reforms to tackle
corruption and waste.
But Palestinian officials say they worsened sharply since
October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern
Isreal, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, and sparking the
war in Gaza.
Amid the war, Israel has
withheld from the PA funds earmarked for Gaza from tax revenue Jerusalem
collects on behalf of the PA under the 1993 Oslo Accords.
Finance Minister Bezalel
Smotrich halted the transfer in light of what he said was the PA’s support for
Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught and its actions against Israel on the
international stage.
The strains are particularly
evident in Jenin, a volatile city in the northern West Bank where Israel has
long targeted terror operatives and has stepped up operations since October.
Nidal Obeidi, the city’s mayor, said Israeli raids since October
have inflicted more damage than in the past on essential infrastructure.
“The water and sewage pipes are hit. Power transformers are shot
at, and even water storage tanks on roofs,” Obeidi told Reuters.
He estimated the repairs
would cost $15 million in the refugee camp alone. But with the PA “under
siege,” he said, resources are scarce.
Roads have been torn up
during such raids by engineering forces to neutralize bombs planted by terror
operatives against Israeli soldiers.
Palestinian officials say the
PA is facing one of its gravest crises since it was created under the Oslo
Accords 30 years ago.
At the time, Palestinians saw
the PA as a steppingstone toward their goal of an independent state in the West
Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital.
But as that goal has remained
elusive, the salaries and services provided by the PA have helped keep Abbas
and his Fatah faction politically relevant in the face of expanding Israeli
settlements in the West Bank and challenges posed by armed rivals such as
Hamas, which seized Gaza in 2007.
Ghassan Khatib, a lecturer at Birzeit University in the West
Bank who once served as a Palestinian minister, said Israeli policies risked
further marginalizing the PA “and at a certain point in time might cause its
collapse.”
“They have the effect of
reducing the political weight of factions that support a peaceful settlement
with Israel — namely Fatah — in favor of the opposition groups, mainly Hamas,”
he said.
The office of Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu and the PA did not comment on Khatib’s remarks.
However, Hussein al-Sheikh, a
senior Palestinian official, told Al Arabiya TV in June that the shortfall in
funding meant the PA could not “do its duties towards the Palestinian people,” which
could lead to the “collapse of the Palestinian Authority.”
Warning of another intifada
The West Bank and East
Jerusalem are home to over three million Palestinians, and, according to
Israeli authorities, some 700,000 Israeli settlers. Israeli security forces
control the West Bank, although the PA exercises limited governance of areas
where most of the Palestinian population lives.
Under a longstanding
arrangement between the sides, Israel collects taxes on goods that pass through
Israel into the West Bank and makes monthly transfers to authorities in
Ramallah.
Following the October 7
attacks, Smotrich began withholding a portion of those revenues equal to the
amount transferred by the PA to Gaza, where the Abbas-led administration has
continued financing services, salaries and pensions since Hamas took over.
Smotrich argued the funds would end up in Hamas’s hands.
The finance minister has also
accused the PA of failing to condemn the October 7 attacks. Abbas has generally
condemned violence against civilians and criticized Hamas’s raid as giving
Israel an excuse to attack Gaza, but the PA never issued a full-throated
condemnation of the atrocities committed by Hamas.
The amount withheld — approximately NIS 300 million ($80
million) a month — added to previous deductions imposed by Israel equivalent to
amounts paid by the PA to the families of terrorists and those jailed or killed
by Israeli authorities, which Israel argues serves as direct encouragement of
terrorism.
In May, Smotrich suspended
transfers altogether, accusing the PA of working against Israel after the
International Criminal Court prosecutor sought arrest warrants against its
prime minister and defense minister, and three European countries recognized a
Palestinian state.
“The Palestinian Authority joined Hamas in trying to harm
Israel, inside Israel and around the world, and we will fight it,” Smotrich
said at a June 27 cabinet meeting.
Smotrich, who
also controls Israeli civilian affairs in the West Bank under the coalition
agreements, released some funds in a quid pro quo deal that saw the government legalize five
West Bank outposts. Israel transferred NIS 435 million ($116 million) to the PA
in early July, but Palestinian officials say Israel is still holding NIS 6
billion ($1.6 billion) of its funds.
“What was transferred was not
enough to pay 60% of the salaries, and therefore the financial crisis is
ongoing,” Mohammad Abu al-Rub, a PA spokesperson, told Reuters. “Israel deducts
around two-thirds of the revenue, and this puts all the government plans on
hold and increases public debt.”
The Finance Ministry said it
is prohibited by law and a cabinet decision from transferring funds that would
be sent to Gaza and “flow into terrorism.” It said the amount withheld was “not
even close” to NIS 6 billion, adding in a statement to Reuters: “If the
Palestinian Authority does not transfer funds to finance terrorism, there will
be no harm” to its economy.
The US says the funds belong to the PA and has urged Israel to
release them, while also pressing the PA to implement reforms to prepare it to
administer Gaza after the war — an idea Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected.
“The viability of the Palestinian Authority is essential to
stability in the West Bank, which in turn is essential to Israel’s own security
interests,” Vedant Patel, a US State Department spokesperson, said at a July 2
news conference.
The IDF has warned the
government that cutting off funds to the PA could push the West Bank into
another “intifada” — the name used for two violent Palestinian uprisings
between 1987 and 2005 — according to a June report by public broadcaster Kan
that was confirmed to Reuters by an Israeli official.
The military referred Reuters
at the time to the Shin Bet internal security service, which declined to
comment. Netanyahu’s office did not
answer questions for this article.
‘Nobody is helping’
The financial pressure on the
PA comes as economic and security conditions in the West Bank have deteriorated
sharply, further eroding support for Abbas’s administration, which last held
parliamentary elections 18 years ago and which many Palestinians view as wholly
corrupt.
More than 60% of Palestinians
now support the PA’s dissolution, according to an opinion
poll published by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in
June, which also found support for armed struggle had risen.
The PA pays salaries or
pensions to 150,000 people in Palestinian territories. The last time it paid
them in full was in 2022. In March and April, it says, PA employees received
50% of their salaries. In May, they got 60%.
Adding to the economic
hardship in the West Bank, Israel has since October 7 denied entry to some
200,000 Palestinians who used to commute daily to work in Israel, citing
concerns of further attacks.
Kathem Harb, a 53-year-old
father of four who works in the PA’s national economy ministry, said he could
only afford basics like rice, flour and cooking gas.
“We live on the bare minimum,” he said, adding there was no
money sometimes for water and electricity bills.
Cuts to PA salaries mean
staff at government clinics only show up to work a couple of days each week,
according to health worker unions. Around 45% of essential medications are out
of stock, the World Health Organization said last month.
Hayat Hamdan, a woman in her
fifties, had traveled 10 kilometers (six miles) from the town of Arraba to a
government clinic in Jenin in hopes of finding subsidized medication for her
wheelchair-bound husband. But inside, many of the pharmacy shelves were empty.
“We have health insurance,
but it is of no use,” Hamdan said. “Since the start of the Gaza war until
today, we are buying most medicines at our own expense.”
Meanwhile, raids by groups of
extremist Israeli settlers on Palestinian villages have mushroomed, while
attacks by Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem have killed more
than a dozen Israelis.
Since October 7, more than 560 West Bank Palestinians have been
killed, according to the PA health ministry. The IDF says the vast majority of
them were killed during clashes with gunmen amid raids or were terrorists
carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 22
Israelis, including security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in
Israel and the West Bank. Another five members of the security forces were
killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
In the Jenin refugee camp —
where some 14,000 people live packed into an area of less than half a square
kilometer — young men carrying assault rifles patrol streets in open defiance
of the PA, underlining the sway terror groups such as Hamas and Palestinian
Islamic Jihad still have despite Israeli raids.
Bullet marks on the facade of
the nearby PA headquarters offer a reminder of past clashes between PA security
forces and armed assailants.
A man in his 20s, who asked to be identified only as Mohammed
for safety reasons, said conditions in the camp were bad before October 7 due
to the Israeli raids and had gotten a lot worse since.
“There are no roads; the
infrastructure is destroyed; homes are destroyed; shops are destroyed,” he
said, expressing frustration with the PA for cracking down on its enemies while
doing little for Palestinian civilians.
“There is no work; the
authority isn’t paying salaries; the prices are going up. Nobody is helping the
people of the camp.” linkThe viability of the PA is actual quite crucial for Israel despite the extremist politicians' statements. Since Oslo, Israel and the PA have had very close security agreements. Originally they were exemplary but have waned over the Netanyahu years. Despite that, they are still close and and the PA has foiled hundreds of terrorist attacks out of the West Bank. This is a fact that very few Israelis hear about, let alone people outside the country. Abu Mazen, President of the PA has threatened many times to end the security cooperation due to actions by the Israeli government such as withholding the tax money, but had never done it. He, too realizes that it is important to them to maintain this security cooperation. On the other hand, his opponents claim that he and his security forces are just puppy dogs for Israel. The PA needs to change drastically and that means to put technocrats in all the key positions both for the West Bank and for Gaza. The Palestinian people need this to regain faith in their governing body and Israel needs it to work with new people towards the 'day after' in Gaza and working towards a 2 State Solution.
The American offer to Abu Mazen and the refusal that could
harm the chances of a hostage deal
The US asked the Palestinian Authority not to be officially
responsible for the management of the Rafah crossing in the event of a deal •
Abu Mazen's representatives rejected the proposal and demanded: "We expect
Israel to recognize the Palestinian Authority as the party designated to take
over control of the Strip" • Hamas continues to insist that any government
that will be restored in Gaza will be with their approval
The Palestinian Authority rejected an American proposal that
officially it would not be responsible for managing the Rafah crossing as part
of a deal. Israel has so far refused to hand over the transition to the
Palestinian Authority officially, but was willing for PA officials to take over
the responsibility unofficially.
In a meeting that took place in Tel Aviv last week between the
person in charge of Middle East affairs at the White House, Brett McGurk, and
the heads of the Israeli security establishment and Abu Mazen's two close
aides, Hussein al-Sheikh and General Majed Faraj, it was also suggested that
the US and Egypt jointly assume responsibility for preventing smuggling Along
the Philadelphia axis.
It was also suggested that the supervision of preventing the
passage of terrorists north of the Netzer axis be carried out from the air. Abu
Mazen's men stood by their demand that Israel recognize the Palestinian
Authority as the party designated to take control of the Strip. This is a
significant development since without the Palestinian Authority's agreement to
the outline of the control of the Rafah crossing, the parties will have
difficulty reaching a hostage deal.
At the same time, in the background of Abu Mazen's continued
refusal to send his men to Gaza, there are messages from the Hamas leadership
which warned that it will act against any arrangement that does not have its
prior consent, both in the Rafah crossing and in other issues. In these
messages, Hamas repeated its proposal that a technocratic government be established
to manage the Strip with its consent and approval.
Hamas leaders also clarified that they oppose the replacement of
the teams that operated on the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing before
the war. According to them, these are people who are state officials and their
status and rights must be preserved. It should be noted that Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Rafah crossing area today to examine the IDF's
recommendations regarding the desired arrangements there, should the IDF withdraw
from there as part of a hostage deal.
In the meantime, N12 learned that in Fatah's central committee, a
serious disagreement emerged between Abu Mazen and his loyalists and other
senior officials, led by Jibril Rajoub. Rajoub and his ilk are in favor of
opening a serious dialogue with Hamas on the coordination of the arrangements
in the Gaza Strip at the end of the war and the integration of Hamas into the
PLO. Abu Mazen and his supporters believe that there is no benefit in such an
attempt. Despite this, Abu Mazen agreed to send his deputy in the Fatah
leadership, Mahmoud al-Aalul, for meetings with the Hamas delegation in China
within a few days after earlier canceling his consent to the dialogue initiated
by Beijing.
Two days ago, we
revealed in the "Main Edition" the outline drawn up by the head of
the Shin Bet and Israeli security officials with the head of Egyptian
intelligence regarding the Philadelphia axis and the Rafah crossing .
According to the outline, the Rafah crossing will be operated by international
entities "with the support of Palestinian entities that do not belong to
Hamas", according to A list to be approved by the Shin Bet and compiled by
Egypt.
Even before that, engineering works will be carried out to make
sure that there are no smuggling tunnels that cross into Egypt. According to
the outline, Israel will control all the technological means that will be placed
in the area. This, after electronic means were installed to monitor tunnels on
the Philadelphia route, as well as above-ground measures to prevent illegal
drug smuggling. link
Politics and the War (general news)
The White House National Security Council discussed sanctioning far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, three US officials tellAxios.
According to a senior US official, US President Joe Biden declined a recommendation by senior White House officials to undertake the measure earlier in the year when he first signed an executive order allowing sanctions on Israeli settlers.
According to the report, the idea was raised again at the NSC this week, but US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew suggested “engaging with Smotrich” instead of boycotting him in order to change his behavior.
The inclusion of entities involved in settlement construction in current US sanctions was also considered, the report says.
Additionally, those present in the discussion were unanimous in supporting overturning the Trump administration’s policy of labeling products made in West Bank settlements as “made in Israel,” the officials tell Axios.
The White House declined to comment on the report.
Not wanting to legitimize many of his extremist views regarding the Palestinians, the Biden administration has imposed an effective boycott of Smotrich, refusing to meet with him or Ben Gvir.
The Biden administration has been particularly frustrated over Smotrich’s reported efforts to block enforcement against illegal settlement construction and his withholding of hundreds of millions of dollars in Palestinian tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority. linkThe American Ambassador, Jack Lew is very naive to believe that working with Smotrich can change his behavior. This is how he has been all of this life. His actions are based on his deep roots of extremism and messianic ideology and will never change. He has proved this throughout his political life especially in the last 9 months of the war. Every single one of his actions are predicated on his extremist goals of settlements and money for the religious. Those have been his priorities throughout and there were expectations that they might change for the war, but they have not. Ben Gvir's entire history is one of Jewish terrorism. He was a close and devout follower of the racist Meir Kahana and has lived his life according to those racist ideals. His law practice was dedicated to defending Jewish terrorist and he does the same as a minister, but goes much further with the power provided to him by Netanyahu. Ben Gvir's criminal record is as long as my arm and Smotrich's is plenty rich as well.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stubborn opposition to a Palestinian state does not deter the European Union’s Middle East peace envoy from believing a two-state solution remains achievable.
Sven Koopmans, in an interview with AFP, says with the Israel-Hamas war ongoing and Israel needing international support, Netanyahu’s government cannot indefinitely disregard European views on resolving the conflict.
Netanyahu and some ministers in his right-wing government staunchly oppose the creation of a Palestinian state, which many argue has become even more urgent since Hamas’s October 7 massacre that sparked the devastating war.
“I think that recently he was very explicit about rejecting the two-state solution,” Koopmans says. “Now, that means that he has a different point of view from much of the rest of the world.”
The Dutch diplomat says one side’s rejection of “the outcome that we believe is necessary” does not mean efforts to seek a solution should cease. Last month, the European Union invited Israel to discuss Gaza and human rights.
Israel agreed to a meeting after July 1, when Hungary, which supports Netanyahu’s government, assumed the EU presidency. “It is important that we have that discussion,” Koopmans says.
“I am sure that in such a meeting, there will be very substantive discussions about what we expect from our partner Israel. “And that relates to things that we do not see at present.”
As US President Joe Biden considers stepping down from the race against Donald Trump, a consideration has been Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming visit to Washington and speech before Congress, The New York Times reports.
According to the paper, aides believe Biden won’t give Netanyahu “the satisfaction” of announcing he is removing himself from the running prior to his speech, due to their tense relationship over the war against Hamas in Gaza.
The paper says Biden has not yet made a decision to withdraw and describes him as frustrated and exasperated with the concerted campaign by top Democratic officials to pressure him into quitting. But it also says he increasingly realizes he may have no choice but to do so. linkIf Biden steps down, the ramifications for Israel and the war are not positive. Without his pressure, or as a lame duck, Netanyahu will feel strengthened not to compromise or make a deal for the hostages. In addition, this can and will affect anything having to do with the 'day after' plan for Gaza and any discussions about a 2 State solution. Netanyahu will feel perfectly comfortable being Netanyahu without any outside pressure from the US Administration. Bad news all around
Right-wing activists threw stones at protesters leaving the weekly anti-government demonstration in Tel Aviv, leading to clashes between the two groups, Hebrew media outlet Channel 12 reported.
In a video circulating online, a group of allegedly right-wing youth are seen hurling stones at protesters as they walk past before they are confronted by a group of rally-goers, of whom several are wearing Brothers in Arms shirts.
Several men then rush at each other while others try to pull them back, and one man is seen being pushed forcefully against a fence. videoIt's almost always that the extreme right chooses violence and other abusive behavior in protests
The Region and the World
The following are ongoing reports about the air raid on Houthi areas in Yemen in order of the reports - if/when there is an official Israeli announcement, I will post that as the primary report:
The Israeli Air Force releases footage showing yesterday’s airstrike against the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeida in western Yemen, which came following a deadly drone attack on Tel Aviv carried out by the Iran-backed group.
The video shows missiles launched by IAF fighter jets striking four large container cranes at the port, used to unload shipments.
The IAF also releases footage showing fighter jets being refueled amid the operation, dubbed Outstretched Arm, as well as the arrival of some of the aircraft back in Israel following the strike. - video of the attack
The Israel Defense Forces in a statement confirms it carried out airstrikes in Yemen a short while ago.
“Fighter jets struck military targets of the Houthi terror regime in the area of the Al Hudaydah Port in Yemen, in response to the hundreds of attacks carried out against the State of Israel in recent months,” the IDF says. The military says there is no change to instructions for Israeli civilians. It says it will provide further details soon.
The Al Arabiya outlet, citing unnamed sources, says the strike against the fuel depot and oil refineries at the port of Al-Hudaydah in Yemen, was carried out jointly by Israel, the US, and the UK. The report also claims that 12 Israeli aircraft, including F-35 fighter jets, participated in the attack.
The Houthi-run health ministry blames Israel for a series of strikes on a fuel depot in the rebel-held Yemeni port city of al-Hudaydah, adding that the strikes caused casualties.
“The Israeli enemy’s raids on oil storage facilities in the port of Hodeida” have led to deaths and injuries, the health ministry says in a statement carried by Houthi-run media, without specifying a toll. Israel has yet to comment on the strikes.
Israeli fighter jets alone conducted strikes on the Houthi-controlled port city of al-Hudaydah in Yemen, a senior Israeli official tells the Walla news site.
An earlier report by the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya claimed that the attack was a joint
The IDF releases footage of F-15 fighter jets being prepared ahead of the strike in Yemen earlier today.
An F-15 fighter is seen at an IAF airbase ahead of an Israeli strike in Yemen, July 20, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Al-Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by the Houthi terror group, updates the casualty count from today’s Israeli strike in Yemen, saying that three people were killed and 87 were wounded.
Earlier in the day, it said 80 people were wounded and none were killed.
An Iran foreign ministry spokesman slammed the IDF strike on a Houthi-controlled port in Yemen, warning that Israel’s “dangerous adventurism” could spark a regional war.
Nasser Kanaani adds that Israel and its sponsors — including the US government are “directly responsible for the dangerous and unpredictable consequences of the adventurist attacks on Yemen.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel struck the Houthis in Yemen in order to send a message after they killed an Israeli citizen in a drone strike early Friday morning.
“The fire that is currently burning in Hodeidah, is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear,” Gallant says in a statement. “The Houthis attacked us over 200 times. The first time that they harmed an Israeli citizen, we struck them. And we will do this in any place where it may be required.”
The Iran-backed Yemeni rebels have launched over 200 drones and cruise missiles at Israel since November, according to the military, the majority of which have been intercepted by US forces and in a handful of cases, by Israeli fighter jets and ground-based air defense systems.
Israeli strikes on Yemen’s Houthi-held port city of al-Hudaydah will be met with “escalation,” an official of the Iran-backed rebel movement says, warning Israel will “pay the price.” “The Zionist entity will pay the price for targeting civilian facilities, and we will meet escalation with escalation,” Houthi politburo member Mohammed al-Bukhaiti says in a post on social media.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) says that in the past day, its forces destroyed a Houthi-operated unmanned aerial vehicle over the Red Sea. “It was determined the UAV presented an imminent threat to U.S. and coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region,” CENTCOM writes on X. “These actions were taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure.”
Personal Stories
Acronyms and Glossary
COGAT - Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories
ICC - International Criminal Court in the Hague
IJC - International Court of Justice in the Hague
MDA - Magen David Adom - Israel Ambulance Corp
PA - Palestinian Authority - President Mahmud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen
PMO- Prime Minister's Office
UAV - Unmanned Aerial vehicle, Drone. Could be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, or be weaponized with missiles or contain explosives for 'suicide' explosion mission
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We are continuously learning of more and more of the information that the powers that be had prior to October 7 and did little to nothing. So much is still not known. Most will come out in the Official Committee of Inquiry after the war, but some of that information will not be made public due to security concerns. Following is the information that is public knowledge as of today and is documented. It is presented relatively chronologically but some aspects ran in parallel throughout same and different periods of time. 1. Six years ago, Hamas launched its own television station: Al-Aqsa TV. The station quickly became a highly-effective propaganda tool, which Hamas continues to use to preach its message of hatred of the West, Jews, and Israel. “A fictional series on Palestinian TV last year seemingly predicted key elements of Hamas’ Oct. 7 sneak assault on Israel — from the terrorists’ white vans to targeted kibbutzim and the abduction of Israeli soldiers.” 1 ...
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