Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
*10:25pm yesterday - south - rockets Nir Am
*12:00pm - north - rockets - Malkia *5:00pm - north - rockets - Malkia, Shlomi, Naharia, Gesher Haziv 5:10pm - north - rockets - Metuzuba - around 25 rockets fired on the north from Lebanon within half and hour
Hostage Updates
Today would have been Yoram Metzger's 81st birthday which he will never celebrate. Yoram was kidnapped alive on October 7 and was in a Hamas video alive in December 2023. In June, he death was declared by the committee that deals with deaths without the bodies since October 7.
On June 3, 2024, after obtaining new intelligence, the Israeli military confirmed the death of Israeli hostage Yoram Metzger, 80, who was killed in Hamas captivity. Below are the initial reports of his capture and its aftermath:
Yoram Metzger, 80, was taken captive with his wife, Tami Metzger, 78, from their Kibbutz Nir Oz home on October 7, as Hamas terrorists waged war in their community, killing and kidnapping one-quarter of the residents.
Tami Metzger was released on November 28 as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel.
Their daughter-in-law, Ayala Metzger, has described the couple as old and sick. Yoram has diabetes and after breaking his hip half a year ago, he still has a hard time walking.
The couple — parents of three and grandparents to seven — was in touch with their family, some of whom also live on the kibbutz, on the morning of October 7, said a granddaughter, Ofir Metzger, in a Kan radio interview.
“They’re not always on Whatsapp,” said Ofir, “they’re older.”
They also don’t always like to enter the safe room but promised their kids and grandkids that they were there that morning.
At 8:50 a.m., the elder Metzgers sent their last message, without any further communication.
When the family was later able to enter the house, there were no signs of struggle, said Ofir, aside from evidence that terrorists ransacked their home.
The army eventually notified the family that they were changing Yoram and Tami’s status from missing to captives.
Another grandchild’s family survived the terrorist onslaught that day by holding the door of their safe room closed for more than six hours, while terrorists rampaged through the house.
“We realized later how lucky that was,” said Ofir.
Her family was later evacuated to Eilat, along with the remaining members of Nir Oz.
Yoram worked in the Nirlat factory for decades and more recently in the kibbutz garage. He’s an excellent cook, humorous, a lover of history and a dedicated drinker of the Nir Oz winery’s cellar.
Amiram Cooper, Yoram Metzger, and Chaim Peri (from the Hamas video December 2023)
On the evening news last night, the commentators were discussing a number of things related to the war and current events including the killing of Haniyeh and Shukr, the hostages and the Olympics. They were incensed at the state of the hostage negotiations that they are frozen because all eyes are now on the Iran/Hizbollah anticipated attack. Their discussion about the Olympics was that it was wonderful that so many of our athletes are coming back with medals but that isn't enough to make the country celebrate. They stated correctly that the only thing that has been a cause of celebration since the November hostage deal was the rescue of the 6 living hostages. For the country, that was truly worthy of celebration, that was victory, not the killing of more Hamas or Hizbollah terrorists. When Haniyeh was killed, most people said that it was good and that the rest of Hamas leaders also need to be killed, but there were no celebrations, no cheers, no one went out into the streets to party. But when the hostages came home, everyone was happy and crying for joy. If only our prime minister would recognize that and get the hostages home, that would be victory.
Western officials have circulated a new Gaza ceasefire-hostage release proposal in the past four days that could put an end to escalating tensions in the region, according to a Qatari-owned media outlet.
The unsourced Al-Arabi Al-Jadid report says that Western and Arab officials close to both Israel and Iran have reviewed the proposal, which would potentially prevent both Tehran and its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, from launching threatened retaliation attacks on Israel.
The draft is said to include a ceasefire and Israel’s withdrawal of troops from Gaza to achieve a “sustainable calm,” along with a hostage and prisoner exchange and a framework for the reconstruction of the Strip.
American and Western efforts to prevent an escalation in the region after the assassinations last week of Hezbollah’s top military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran are driving progress, according to the report.
The report adds that Hamas’s promotion of Yahya Sinwar to lead the terror group’s politburo, replacing Haniyeh, could be a positive development in terms of coming to an agreement as he represents the “demands of the resistance.”
It echoes reports by The Washington Post and Politico in the past day citing officials as saying that Iran could be reconsidering its promised major attack amid diplomatic pressure.
Gaza
Fighter jets struck rocket launchers located near aid warehouses in southern Gaza and a weapons manufacturing plant that was embedded within an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, the Israel Defense Force said Wednesday.
The Hamas launchers had been used for recent rocket attacks on southern Israel, the army said.
Also on Wednesday, the army called on Palestinians in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun to head to “shelters in the center of Gaza City.” Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, said the army was preparing to “forcefully and immediately operate” against terror groups in the area after missiles were fired from there at Sderot and Ashkelon on Tuesday.
The IDF has carried out numerous small raids in Beit Hanoun since dismantling the local Hamas battalion there during the initial months of the ground offensive. Not many civilians are thought to remain there. In all of northern Gaza, fewer than 200,000 Palestinians remain, according to recent IDF assessments.
Dozens of rockets were fired over the past week from southern Gaza, mostly at Israeli border communities, but several long-range attacks also targeted the Gan Yavne area near Ashdod and towns near Kiryat Malachi.
According to the IDF, those rockets were fired from launchers belonging to Hamas that were placed next to two humanitarian aid distribution warehouses, including one belonging to UNRWA, the United Nations aid agency for Palestinian refugees. The launchers were struck and destroyed, and the IDF said it had identified secondary explosions following the airstrike, indicating that additional weapons were stored there.
“The Hamas terrorist organization regularly violates international law, while systematically exploiting civilian buildings and the civilian population as human shields for terror activity against the State of Israel,” the IDF said. “Alongside this, the IDF, through COGAT, will continue to work in cooperation with the international aid organizations in the Gaza Strip,” it added.
Dozens more airstrikes were carried out in Gaza over the past day, targeting buildings used by terror groups and cells of operatives, according to the military.
A weapons manufacturing plant was destroyed in an airstrike Tuesday, the IDF said. According to the army, the plant belonged to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and was located within the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in Deir el-Balah, in the Gaza Strip’s center. full article
My brother's interview on France 24 (in English): 'Sinwar represents the most extreme element in Hamas organisation', expert says Hamas named the alleged mastermind of the deadliest attack in Israeli history, Yahya Sinwar, as its new leader, further inflaming regional tensions as the Gaza war entered its 11th month on Wednesday. The hope of a ceasefire goes away as 'Sinwar represents the most extreme element in Hamas organisation', according to Gershon Baskin, Middle East Director, International Communities Organisation, who was France 24's guest. Interview with Gershon Baskin
A senior Hamas member in the Gaza Strip who was involved in directing attacks in the West Bank, was killed in a recent airstrike, the IDF announces.
According to the military, Nael Sakhel was targeted on July 24, and a few days later, it received intelligence that he was killed.
Sakhel had been a member of Hamas’s so-called West Bank headquarters for more than a decade, the IDF says. The Gaza Strip-based unit is charged with directing attacks on Israel from or within the West Bank.
According to the IDF, Sakhel was involved in funding and providing weapons to terror cells in the West Bank.
Sakhel had first been detained by Israel in 2003 and sentenced to life over involvement in a suicide bombing in Israel. He was then released and exiled to Gaza in a 2011 deal, in which Israel exchanged 1,027 terror convicts for captive soldier Gilad Shalit.
The IDF says it uncovered and destroyed several rocket launchers in the Gaza-Egypt border area, adjacent to the Gaza Strip’s largest fuel depot.
Troops of the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion demolished the launchers last night.
The IDF says that there was no harm to the fuel depot in the operation.
“Any damage to the facility, including rocket fire from these nearby launch pits, could endanger the lives of tens of thousands of Gazan citizens in the surrounding areas. This is a further example of the systematic abuse of civilian and humanitarian infrastructure by the terror organizations in Gaza,” the IDF says.
The IDF says it carried out airstrikes against Hamas command and control centers embedded within two schools in Gaza City a short while ago.
According to the IDF, Hamas operatives were gathered at the Abdel Fattah Hamoud and al-Zahraa schools, in Gaza City’s Daraj and Tuffah neighborhoods, when the strikes were carried out.
Palestinian media say that at least five were killed at the Abdel Fattah Hamoud School and another seven were killed at the al-Zahraa School.
“The school compounds were used as command and control centers for terrorists and commanders in the Hamas terror organization,” from which they planned and carried out attacks against troops in Gaza and against Israel, the military says.
To mitigate harm to civilians, the IDF says it carried out “many steps,” including using aerial surveillance, a “precision munition,” and other intelligence.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
Hezbollah appears increasingly set to act against Israel “independent” of an expected Iranian response to the recent killing of two terror leaders, CNN reports, citing two sources familiar with intelligence on the matter.
One of the sources says Hezbollah is moving at a faster clip than Iran in readying an attack, which the Lebanese terror organization looks to launch in the coming days. According to the US news network, multiple officials say Iran seems to still be hashing out its retaliation plans, with one US military official quoted as saying Tehran has already made some — but not all — of the expected preparations for a large-scale attack against Israel.
The second source says that unlike Iran, Hezbollah can likely initiate an attack with few to no advanced signs as Lebanon border Israel. The source adds that it’s unclear how or if the Islamic Republic and its Lebanese proxy are cooperating on a potential attack, and that some officials believe they may not be on the same page about how to proceed.
West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with heads of West Bank settlements earlier today to discuss the implications of the sanctions placed on individual settlers by the US and other Western countries in recent months, the Prime Minister’s Office says.
During the meeting, Netanyahu reassured the settlement leaders that the government is “working to stop” financial and immigration sanctions from being imposed against Israeli extremists in the West Bank, and stressed that the matter was being taken seriously.
“This is a matter for the entire State of Israel, and not just Judea and Samaria,” he said.”
The meeting also focused on the security situation in the West Bank, and on the IDF’s activities in the area, which aim to clamp down on terror threats against those who live there, the PMO adds. linkInstead of demanding order and implementing legal action against the extremist who terrorize Palestinians including burning down vehicles, homes, factories, seriously injuring and even killing, Netanyahu chooses again to turn a blind eye to that terror and enables it to continue.
Politics and the War (general news)
The Biden administration says it’s “appalled” by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s comments earlier this week suggesting that starving the entire population of Gaza could be justified in order to secure the release of the Israeli hostages.
“We are appalled by these comments and reiterate that this rhetoric is harmful and disturbing,” a State Department spokesperson says in a statement to The Times of Israel.
US President Joe Biden and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have repeatedly stressed “the need to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, remove any obstacles to the flow of aid and restore basic services for those in need,” the statement adds.
Speaking at a conference on Monday, Smotrich said, “We bring in aid because there is no choice.”
“We can’t, in the current global reality, manage a war. Nobody will let us cause two million civilians to die of hunger, even though it might be justified and moral until our hostages are returned,” he continued. “Humanitarianism in exchange for humanitarianism is morally justified — but what can we do? We live today in a certain reality, we need international legitimacy for this war.” linkWhy wasn't Netanyahu also appalled by Smotrich's statements? Why wasn't anyone in this horrific government appalled by his inhumanity and lust for the destruction of another people? How could this racist be a senior member of a government of the people of Israel?
The Department for Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) has conducted a search at the home of the head of the Hadera Police, Chief Superintendent Amit Pollak, and confiscated his phone, Hebrew media outlets report, in a move that sparks criticism from cabinet ministers.
Earlier this week, DIPI questioned Pollak under caution on suspicion of abuse of power, assault and obstruction of justice over an incident in April when he and other officers violently arrested several people, including pensioners and IDF veterans, who put a mock cardboard tank on a truck as part of a protest that was scheduled for that evening outside of Prime Minsiter Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Caesarea.
According to Ynet, Pollak’s lawyers say DIPI conducted the search at nine o’clock at night, waking up children in the house and causing panic, while accusing the unit of treating the Hadera police chief as “a member of an organized crime group and not a respected and outstanding police officer.”
DIPI says in response that the statement from Pollak’s lawyers isn’t accurate, but won’t further elaborate because the investigation is still underway.
Ynet reports further that DIPI searched for Pollak all day, but that he avoided them, leaving them no choice but to go to his home.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says in response that he fully backs Pollak, asserting his only sin was to “preserve public order and uphold the law,” adding “DIPI will not threaten police officers.” linkpolice violence and abuse of demonstrators is not a new phenomenon in Israel. However, it has gotten progressively worse since Ben Gvir became their Minister. He has encouraged and rewarded police violence, in particular against demonstrators on behalf of the hostages and especially those demonstrating against this government. His statement of support for the abusers is not lip service. It in line with his ideologies that anyone who doesn't believe as he does is the enemy. Unfortunately, there are many ranking and non ranking police officers who want to be on the good side of the minister and go above and beyond at demonstrations where they are supposed to be there to maintain order. Instead, they become the inciters of violence with their horses, batons and even smoke and stun grenades at peaceful demonstrations. The DIPI (internal affairs) unfortunately doesn't investigate most of the offences committed by the police at the demonstrations.
Testifying before an independent civil commission of inquiry into the events of October 7, former premier Ehud Olmert accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of silencing dissenting voices within the security establishment, leading senior officials to hold off from informing him of unpleasant facts.
“For 15 years, there has been a concept that any senior security official who says something [critical] becomes a target for slander and censure by the prime minister himself and his entire entourage. An atmosphere was created in which people do not tell [him] the facts and their opinions to avoid sparking fights that would undermine their status and ability to act,” Olmert claims.
Olmert says one of Israel’s security chiefs told him that Netanyahu “discredits and belittles” him and that Olmert had to convince him not to resign.
Olmert also defends his own record as part of the government that implemented the 2005 disengagement from Gaza, stating that contrary to claims that the pullout “exposed us to security risks” and caused terrorism, Hamas was shooting rockets at Israel “even before the disengagement and continued firing after as well.”
However, he does admit to a missed opportunity to defeat Hamas during Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009.
“I ordered the army to prepare a plan through which we would enter the Gaza Strip and establish order there,” he says. “In the first phase, we talked about the occupation of the northern part and an attempt to purge Hamas elements followed by the cleaning up of the [Philadelphi Corridor] and Rafah axis. Those forces in the south would then connect with the troops occupying the northern half of Gaza in order to eliminate the rule of Hamas in the entire Strip.”
However, “what happened is that then-defense minister Ehud Barak thought there was a chance to reach an agreement with Hamas that would allow a ceasefire or a prolonged truce,” he continues.
“I asked the commanding general how long it would take us to capture the Philadelphi Corridor, and he said 48 hours. I asked how long for Rafah was and he said three weeks. I asked how many would be killed and he said 75. At the cabinet meeting, they presented different and more inflated figures.”
“It was clear that there was a situation here a month and a half before elections, with a prime minister who resigned and an entire security establishment who opposed military action,” Olmert says, arguing that he didn’t have the legitimacy to approve the more ambitious plan for occupying Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is “deeply” sorry that the October 7 massacre occurred.
A man holds up a sign with an image depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's during a protest against his government and to call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas terror group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, March 30, 2024. (AP/Maya Alleruzzo)
In an interview with Time magazine, Netanyahu is asked if he would apologize for the events of the day happening on his watch.
“Apologize?” he asks back. “Of course, of course. I am sorry, deeply, that something like this happened. And you always look back and you say, Could we have done things that would have prevented it?”
Netanyahu has not formally taken responsibility for the failures that led up to the Hamas assault on southern Israel, and has attempted to cast the blame on Israel’s security chiefs.
“I’ve said that following the end of the war, there’ll be an independent commission that will examine everything that happened before, and everybody will have to answer some tough questions, including me,” he tells Time. linkNetanyahu still refuses to take responsibility for October 7 and his statement that there will be an independent commission to 'examine everything that happened before' does not mean a State Commission of Inquiry which he absolutely does not want. His intention (as he has stated in the past) for an independent commission is a commission appointed by the Knesset or the government which will have limited powers, both in its investigations and of course, in its legal powers to prosecute. He knows very well that a State Commission of Inquiry will find years of personal negligence and responsibility that would bring criminal charges against him as well as many others. Netanyahu's statement of "I am sorry, deeply, that something like this happened. And you always look back and you say, Could we have done things that would have prevented it?” is the same as saying to someone who was in an accident "I'm sorry this happened to you", which is a vanilla apology without any content and then he asks if there were things that 'we' could have done to prevent this, again does not take any personal responsibility and leaves it open for his continued blaming the security establishment for everything and leaves him clean. And to add insult to injury, he said "Iwill stay in office as long as I believe I can help lead Israel to a future of security, enduring security and prosperity.” Despite his total failure which brought about October 7, he still tries to sell himself as Mr. Security. He is just the opposite. He bears the direct responsibility and blame for bringing us to the point of the worst security situation that Israel has ever known since the War of Independence and his continued drive to stay Prime Minister causes us to continue to be in a multi front war with 115 hostages in Gaza. He is the most dangerous person in Israel today.
The Region and the World
The United States Central Command announces that US Air Force F-22 fighter jets arrived to CENTCOM’s area of responsibility today, “as part of US force posture changes in the region and to address threats posed by Iran and Iranian-backed groups.”
The US has been deploying fighter jets and other assets to the Middle East as tensions are high amid an anticipated Iranian and Hezbollah attack on Israel
The Shin Bet security agency reveals a new batch of fake social media accounts it says were used by Iranian intelligence services in attempts to recruit Israeli civilians to carry out various tasks in the country.
The Iranian intelligence operatives contacted Israelis on social media and tried to get them to carry out missions that would have harmed state security, the Shin Bet says.
The agency says it also discovered in several of the groups posts by an account named IRAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE, which had offered “interesting and exciting” jobs with a high salary.
The posts included links where applicants were supposed to fill out personal details.
Several civilians who were contacted by the Iranian accounts contacted Israeli security authorities and reported the suspicious messages, the Shin Bet says.
The Shin Bet calls on the public to be vigilant online, refrain from handing over personal information to unknown accounts, and report any suspicious activity.
The plans recently uncovered by the Shin Bet are not the first instances of Iranian operatives trying to target Israelis via social media.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels will coordinate with other members of the “Axis of Resistance” in any joint operation, the group’s leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi says, using the name that Iran and its regional allies use for groups aligned with Tehran.
He says any decision to respond to Israeli attacks would be made by the axis as a whole.
Last week, Hezbollah military chief Fuad Shukr was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut, and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a blast in Tehran, allegedly by Israel. Earlier in July, Israel struck the Houthi-controlled Hodeidah port in Yemen after a Houthi drone strike killed a man in Tel Aviv.
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 There were so
We’re waiting for you, all of you.
A man holds up a sign with an image depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's during a protest against his government and to call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas terror group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, March 30, 2024. (AP/Maya Alleruzzo)
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