🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 314, 2023 - August 15, 2024 🎗️

  

🎗️Day 314 that 115 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!!!”

The "Yellow Chair Initiative" launched by Kibbutz Nir Oz, in collaboration with the Business Forum and led by the International Bank, offers solace and strength.
Created by Yael Yehoud, the project honors her late son Dolev and daughter Arbel, providing a symbol of resilience since October 7th.
Tragically, Dolev, a beloved family member, was murdered by Hamas on October 7th while aiding the wounded as a medic.
Arbel, Dolev's sister, is still held captive for over ten months, taken with her partner, Ariel Cunio. Yael says: "On behalf of our heart broken family, who has already lost the dearest of all, we cry out for Arbel and all abductees' safe release and have them back home. Don't rest, don't close your eyes, let us put an end to this cycle of terror."

#BringThemHomeNow #TurnTheHorrorIntoHope

There is no victory until all of the hostages are home!

‎אין נצחון עד שכל החטופים בבית

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

*10:05pm yesterday - north - rockets - Beit Hillel, Maayan Baruch, Hagoshrim, Kiryat Shemona

*3:40am - north - hostile aircraft - Lakosh, Maalot Tarshiha, Avirim, Fasuta, Mailia
*8:00am - south - rockets 0 Kissufim
*9:10am - north - rockets - Maayan Baruch, Kfar Yuval, Ajar
*9:25am - south - rockets Kissufim
*10:50am - north - rockets Malkia

*11:10am - north - Hostile aircraft- Arab al Aramsha, Admit, Eilon, Goren, Gordot Hagalil, Hanita, Yaara
*2:10pm - north - hostile aircraft - Kela, Sha'al, Neot Mordechai

*2:30pm - north - rockets Shamir, Manara, Margaliot, Kiryat Shemona, Kfar Blum, Amir, Sde Nehemia, Beit Hillel
*3:00pm - south - rockets Kerem Shalom
*5:45pm - North - rockets Misgav Am
*6:20pm - north - hostile aircraft - Dishon, Yiftach, Malkia, Mevo'ot Hermon, Ramot Naftali, Gonen, Kfar Blum, Kfar Szold, Lahavot Habashan, Neot MOrdechai, Amir, Sde Nehemia, Shamir

Hostage Updates 

• On the eve of talks in Doha aimed at finalizing a hostage-ceasefire agreement, Israel has reportedly drawn up a list of the names of the 33 living hostages it insists must be released in the first phase of a deal.
  

  Hostage Families in the Knesset Gallery 

  
  Channel 12 news says that amid speculation about Israel potentially accepting the release of only 18 living hostages in the first, six-week phase of the deal, and a further 15 bodies of hostages, Israel has in fact made clear that it is insisting on the release of 33 living hostages in that first phase.

  Israel, it says, is “conveying a list” with the names of the 33 living hostages it wants freed in the first phase, all of whom meet the so-called humanitarian designation — covering women, children, the elderly and the sick — including female soldiers.

• Hamas says it will not take part in a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks slated for tomorrow in Qatar, but mediators expect to consult with the Palestinian terror group afterward.

  “Going to new negotiations allows the occupation to impose new conditions and employ the maze of negotiation to conduct more massacres,” Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri tells Reuters.

  “Hamas is committed to the proposal presented to it on July 2, which is based on the UN Security Council resolution and the Biden speech and the movement is prepared to immediately begin discussion over a mechanism to implement it,” said Abu Zuhri.

  Hamas’s absence from the talks, however, does not eliminate the chances of progress since its chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya is based in Doha and the group has open channels with Egypt and Qatar.

  A source familiar with the matter says Hamas wants the mediators to come back to them with a “serious response” from Israel. If that happens, the group says, it will meet with mediators after the Thursday session. An official briefed on the talks process says mediators expect to consult with Hamas.

• Senior Hamas Official in Interview: "We Need to Discuss the Existing Framework, Not Something New"

  Hamas Political Bureau member Osama Hamdan was interviewed by the AP news agency. In the interview, he spoke about the upcoming summit and the terrorist organization's expectations from it. Hamdan declared in his interview that Mohammed Deif was not killed, and accused Israel of "lack of good faith." Mediators will try to continue the pressure to reach a deal to avoid a wider regional war.

  Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan was interviewed by the AP news agency ahead of the negotiation summit to be held in Qatar today (Thursday), and attacked the United States as a mediator in the negotiations. Hamdan said that Hamas "is losing faith in the United States as a mediator in attempts to reach a ceasefire."

  In the interview, Hamdan accused Israel of lack of good faith in the negotiations and claimed that the head of Hamas's military wing, Mohammed Deif, is still alive despite reports in Israel that he was eliminated.

  Hamdan, a member of Hamas's Political Bureau responsible for, among other things, setting policy on various issues in the terrorist organization, added that Hamas will only discuss the framework presented by President Joe Biden in a special speech at the end of May. After the presentation of the framework, which was categorized by the Americans as an Israeli proposal to end the war, Israel and Hamas hurled accusations at each other regarding creating obstacles in the negotiations.

  "We informed the mediators that any negotiation meeting should be based on setting goals and timelines for the existing conditions, instead of dealing with new things," Hamdan said in the interview and added that "otherwise, Hamas has no reason to participate in the summit."

  Hamdan revealed in the interview that Hamas had requested several times to add mediating countries, including Russia and Turkey, but was refused by Israel, which wanted to stay with Qatar, Egypt, and the United States as the only mediators in the negotiation talks.

  The senior Hamas Political Bureau official claimed that "more than once we agreed to large parts of the ceasefire proposals, but Israel rejected them, ignored them, or carried out a new attack in Gaza immediately after receiving the proposal, as it did the day after Hamas accepted the proposal, and Israel launched an operation in Rafah," according to Hamdan, who added that CIA Director William Burns, who is taking part in the negotiations, told Hamas through mediators at the time that Israel would accept the deal as it was.

  "The Americans failed to convince Israel at that time. In my opinion? They didn't pressure the Israeli negotiating team enough," Hamdan said in the interview, emphasizing that "Hamas cannot give up its demands, despite the understanding that Palestinians in Gaza have suffered and are especially expecting an agreement on a ceasefire."

  Between the Summit Lines: Elimination of Senior Officials and Regional Escalation

  After the mediators' declaration on August 9, which caused Prime Minister Netanyahu to announce the departure of a delegation for another negotiation summit, the parties will arrive at a summit that may result in a ceasefire agreement and release of hostages, but preventing overall regional escalation is also on the agenda. The declaration came after the elimination of several senior officials, including Mohammed Deif, head of Hamas's military wing and one of the architects of October 7, whose death Hamdan denies in the interview.

  After the elimination of senior Hezbollah official Fouad Shukr by Israel in the Dahieh neighborhood of Beirut, and the head of Hamas's political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh in the heart of Tehran, to which Israel neither denies nor confirms connection, the Middle East is tense as all sides prepare for possible escalation, and opening a wider arena with new players like the Americans and Iranians is already on the agenda. All parties are trying to prevent such developments in the Middle East, and therefore the negotiations have gained even greater urgency from the perspective of the mediating countries, and are seen as the "last chance" to make a diplomatic move that will lower the flames, and perhaps succeed in preventing Iran and its proxies from responding to the assassinations. link

• "There is only one existential threat"

  The families of hostages marched in Tel Aviv before the summit in Qatar, after which - Itai Chen's father believes - the government will decide "whether to move forward to the next chapter or enter into political considerations." Tal Shoham's father: "The issue is normalized and we are on the verge of collapse. I don't wish anyone to go through what we are going through." Eli's sister and Yossi Sharabi: "It is now, there is no other moment"
  

  It is not easy to maintain optimism for more than 10 months, and the families of the hostages repeatedly went through the moment of waiting for a successful deal that would bring their loved ones home - and then the great disappointment. Today (Thursday) another summit will be held in Qatar to reach a deal for the release of the hostages, and the families are asking - "look us in the eye and bring them home". This morning, several family members made a statement in Tel Aviv, then marched to Ze'ev Citadel, a stronghold of the Likud party.

  Decision point: the obstacles, the gaps and the dilemma before the summit
  

  "I have no alternative but to be optimistic, but we have to work on hope," said Robbie Chen, the father of Sgt. Itai Chen who fell on October 7 and his body is kept in a Gaza strip. They have to make the moral, value, Jewish decision - the return of all the hostages. I trust the professional team, they sit with us, hear and feel our pain. I believe they will bring the best deal they can, and then they will reach the Israeli government, which will have to decide whether we can move forward to our next chapter as a nation, or whether political considerations will come into play."

  According to him, "The Americans ask us every time how it is that the Israeli citizens have such a short memory. This administration has proven that it stands by Israel, and then they hear from senior ministers that America is pushing for a 'surrender agreement.' If there is no agreement now, the political reality will distance the ability To reach him even more. The families all understand, even those who will not be in the first beat - that this wheel must be set in motion so that we can bring them all."
  

  Osnat, the sister of the brothers Yossi and Eli Sharabi who were kidnapped to Gaza, finds it difficult to maintain optimism. "My brother Sharon is much more optimistic, I'm less so," she said. "I'm used to disappointments and don't allow myself to develop expectations." Until I see them in a Red Cross vehicle, I won't believe it's happening. On the other hand, I want to believe and hold onto the hope that this is really the right moment to do it, because there is no other moment. it is now I believe that Yossi and Eli are before the eyes of the negotiation team, I have to believe in them and them. That they will start the first phase and move smoothly to the next ones, I have to believe that. I have one brother who was killed there and one brother that we hope lives and survives, we must see him here ".

  Gilad Korngold, Tal Shoham 's father , also tries not to develop expectations. "I try to make an effort not to enter into euphoria, to hope. I can't fall again," he said. "We'll see first of all who will arrive, where we're going. I think time will tell if our prime minister, who is in charge of the country,  will agree - or will again tell stories about Hamas not wanting a deal. I don't know Hamas. I know that the State of Israel abandoned us, and placing the blame on Hamas is not wise. The role of the state, according to the contract signed 76 years ago between the state and its citizens, is to return all of them to Israel - even at very high prices. And my son has no price. I'm not begging, I'm demanding to make the effort and get them all out immediately. The abandonment of the hostages is the only existential threat to the State of Israel, and if they are abandoned, the Prime Minister will be remembered forever."
  

  According to Korngold, "I am furious that members of the Knesset and ministers have gone on a very long break and there is almost no one who boldly comes out and calls the Prime Minister 'This is it, now there is a deal to get everyone out and calm the country's borders and reorganize'. I think that Israeli society is with us, less than before but Still, but unfortunately it is important to understand that the problem is not only ours. We have been through so much. The problem of the hostages is that I don't wish it for anyone to go through what we went through on October 7 and not what we have been going through for almost a year now. We are asking the people of Israel to take to the streets, demonstrate like in a democratic country and try with the power of the great crowd to change the Israeli government's decision to abandon the hostages."
  

  In a statement given by the family members this morning, Korngold addressed ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, who regularly expressed opposition to the deal, and said: "Mr. Smotrich and Mister Ben Gvir, if my son is a worthy sacrifice in your eyes, then take your wives and children and go to Gaza. Make the sacrifice that you want so much." Shahar Mor (Zahiro), the nephew of the hostage Avraham Monder, attacked that "We don't trust the Israeli government that drags its feet, help us put pressure on all parties and especially on it. If Netanyahu wanted to bring them it would have happened, they are dying because of his negligence."

  Danny Elgert, whose brother Itzik is being held captive, added: "Bibi, it turned out the other way around for you. You eliminated Haniyeh to torpedo the move, but it seems that today the Iranians are pressing for a ceasefire. It is no longer up to you. The regional war you brought will free the hostages. You missed the opportunity to get out A little better than you entered this event, we don't trust you."
  

  The full interview with Orly Gilboa
  

  At the same time, Orli Gilboa, the mother of the hostage Daniela Gilboa, told Ynet that "I feel that this is the last chance, an opportunity that must be taken with both hands. So much time has passed, if we postpone this opportunity, I don't know if there will be a next chance for the hostages who are still alive Every day we hear about such and such cases of hostages killed in captivity. I know about 30 hostages who have been killed in captivity - this is an unimaginable number. We have to deal with human animals, at the end of it Depends on us."

  Lishi Miran-Lavia, the wife of the hostage Omri Miran, commented on the categories of release in the deal: "They keep saying 'men' - some of them are fathers of very small children. Some of them are also children of, brothers of. Omri is not only a 'man', that's how he was born, But he's a father. This is the semantics we have to use. Alma has 4 months. We're 10 months old without him. They're other things besides 'men'.
  

  Lishi's words to Ynet 

  Lishi added that "None of us really know what is written in the stages. The Russian roulette continues. I really fell short of saying who is where and in which category, and we are still in the trauma, as long as Amri is not here. A 3-year-old girl reminds herself where father is and what happened and the bad people who took You can't get out of this. I'm still living in an accommodation unit with my parents. My wish is that I will return to be anonymous hand on the keyboard".

  Tonight the families will hold the last chance march that will leave at 19:00 from the Independence House in Tel Aviv (Rothschild 16), and will reach Shaar Shaul of the Kriya, near the Kidnapped Square. At the march, the families will call out to the negotiating team: "Don't come back without a deal! Negotiate until white smoke comes out." link

Gaza 

•  Visiting troops securing the Gaza-Egypt border area, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says the military can continue to operate against Hamas even if it is required to leave the so-called Philadelphi Route under a hostage deal with the terror group.

  Halevi indicates that even if redeployed, soldiers will continue to have eyes on the border area, seen as a key smuggling route, and troops will carry out pin-point incursions when needed.

  The decision on moving troops, he adds, is up to the political leadership.

  “If it decides that we’re staying in Philadelphi, we’ll know how to stay there and stay strong. If it decides that we must monitor [the area] and carry out raids whenever we have an indication, we will know how to do it,” he adds.  Halevi says that holding the Philadelphi Route, which Israel says Hamas uses to smuggle arms from Egypt into Gaza, is “an important thing, because it deals with [Hamas’s] force build-up.”

  “Hamas should know that every day it holds our hostages, it will be more bitter for it than the previous day. We will act [against Hamas] even harder until we manage to return the hostages, and after that we will not allow Hamas to even raise its head,” he says.

• Israel has achieved all it can in its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, several US officials told the New York Times in an article published Thursday, saying that the Israel Defense Forces would never be able to completely eradicate the terror group.

  The report, citing current and former US and Israeli officials, said that only a deal, not military pressure, could secure the release of the remaining 115 living and dead captives in Gaza who were abducted on October 7. Still, the report said, Israel’s Gaza offensive has achieved far more against Hamas than US officials had predicted in October.

  “Israel has been able to disrupt Hamas, kill a number of their leaders and largely reduce the threat to Israel that existed before October 7,” Gen. Joseph L. Votel, the former head of US CENTCOM, told the Times, adding that Hamas has been “diminished.”
  The US assessment appears to echo that of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant who earlier this week reportedly referred to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s talk of a “total victory” against Hamas as “gibberish.” full article

• More than 50 tunnels discovered along the Philadelphi Route, the Egypt-Gaza border area, have been demolished by combat engineers over the past week, the IDF says.

  The military does not detail how many of the tunnels crossed into Egypt.

  Tunnels along the Philadelphi Route are believed to be used by Hamas for smuggling arms into the Strip.

Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria

• Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon’s Houla that were primed for an attack on northern Israel, the IDF says.

  The military says that jets also struck buildings used by Hezbollah in Rab al-Thalathine and Blida today. Another building used by Hezbollah in Naqoura, just across from the Israeli border, was struck by ground troops, the IDF adds.

  There is no mention of any action in Marjaayoun, where Lebanese media report an Israeli drone struck a vehicle.

West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel

•   Four IDF soldiers were wounded in this morning’s counter-terrorism operation in the northern West Bank city of Tubas after their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb, the military says.

  Two soldiers who had been in the David light armored vehicle at the time of the attack were listed in moderate condition, and another two soldiers were lightly hurt.

  The 12-hour operation in Tubas, the nearby town of Tamun and the Far’a camp wrapped up earlier today.

  Amid the operation, five Palestinian gunmen were killed, including four in a drone strike, according to the military and Palestinian media.   According to the IDF, a “senior” member of a terror group in the area, who was wanted by Israel, was killed in an exchange of fire with troops.

  Hamas identified one of the gunmen as a member of the terror group.

  The military says it also seized five M-16 assault rifles and one makeshift submachine gun, along with other weapons, including explosive devices.

  Three wanted Palestinians were also detained, the IDF adds.

  
  

• Land allocation approved for first new West Bank settlement to be built since 2017

  The plot of land for the first West Bank settlement to be established from scratch since 2017 has been formally designated by the Civil Administration, in a step which allots some 148 acres of land for the new community southwest of Jerusalem and west of Bethlehem.

  The establishment of Nahal Heletz was formally approved by the government in June this year along with the retroactive legalization of four West Bank outposts.

  The military order, which was issued on Tuesday and announced on Wednesday, amended the original state land designation in the area, ultimately slashing 26 acres from the 174 originally that were originally allotted.
  

  Anyone claiming to be adversely affected by the boundary changes has 45 days to file an appeal to an appeals committee.

  The order was lauded by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who advanced the establishment of the settlement, and said it would help connect Jerusalem to the Gush Etzion region of the West Bank, adding that he would continue to “fight against” a Palestinian state by “establishing facts on the ground,” such as Nahal Heletz.

  The Peace Now organization, which campaigns against the settlements condemned the designation, saying the location of Nahal Heletz was designed to interrupt Palestinian territorial contiguity in the area, was a further step toward “de facto annexation” of the West Bank, and that the settlement would be located on a UNESCO world heritage site as well.
  

  Zoning plans and construction permits will still need to be obtained before construction on the new settlement can begin, a process that typically takes several years.

  “Connecting Gush Etzion and Jerusalem by establishing a new settlement is an historic moment,” said Smotrich, who as an additional minister in the Defense Ministry has sweeping powers over civilian affairs in the West Bank. “No anti-Israelism or anti-Zionism will stop the continued development of the settlements. We will continue to fight the dangerous idea of a Palestinian state, and establish facts on the ground. This is my life’s mission and God willing I will continue with it as much as I can.”

  Peace Now accused Smotrich of advancing a “de facto annexation” plan of the West Bank, and said that the location of Nahal Heletz was intentionally chosen to disrupt the territorial contiguity between numerous Palestinian villages in the region with a population of approximately 25,000 people, including Batir Wallajah, Husan, Beit Jala and al-Khader.

  It will also help cut off these Palestinian villages from Jerusalem, along with the Sde Boaz settlement that was retroactively legalized by the government in February 2023, by creating a settlement contiguity from Jerusalem through Nahal Heletz to Sde Boaz and along to the Gush Etzion bloc.

  Peace Now said the boundaries of the land designated for Nahal Heletz are extremely convoluted, and could result in Palestinians being blocked from accessing their private land even if the settlement itself does not include those areas.

  The organization noted that the new settlement will be built on land it said belongs to Battir, and which was designated as a UNESCO world heritage site in 2014 under the name “Palestine: Land of Olives and Vines – Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir” for the area’s ancient agricultural stone terraces.

  Peace Now also said that in past negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians for the establishment of a Palestinian state, it was tacitly agreed that the Gush Etzion region would become part of Israel while the Bethlehem region would have territorial contiguity for the Palestinians. 
  “Smotrich continues to promote de facto annexation, shows contempt for the UNESCO charter that Israel is a signatory to, and we will all pay the price,” said the organization. “The settlement which will be established will be an enclave in a Palestinian zone, and will bring about friction and security challenges.” link   This is the one of the only things that this failure of a Finance Minister cares about, not the war, not the budget, not the hostages, not the downgrading of Israel's credit rating, none of the crucial issues that are THE CRITICAL issues affecting the state today. And our Prime Minister who appointed this failure to this critical senior position enables all of it.

• A Show of Support for Hamas in a Rival’s Backyard
  After Hamas’s political leader was killed, some honored him in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where a rival Palestinian faction is dominant.
  

  On the day that Hamas’s political leader was assassinated in Iran, small groups of Palestinians in a number of West Bank cities turned out to protest, some chanting pro-Hamas slogans and waving the armed group’s green flag.

  Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, condemned the July 31 killing of the leader, Ismail Haniyeh. The Palestinian Authority, a political adversary of Hamas, ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff and called for a day of strikes and business closures, while a wake for Mr. Haniyeh drew political leaders from across the West Bank.

  This outpouring of sympathy was notable because unlike Gaza, which Hamas has controlled for most of the past two decades, the West Bank and the Palestinian Authority are dominated by Hamas’s main rival, the more moderate Fatah faction. And the Palestinian Authority generally has shown little tolerance for such open shows of support for armed groups in the past, at times using force to break them up.

  In the 10 months since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, the Palestinian Authority has been losing support to factions like Hamas that favor armed struggle and are actively fighting Israel, according to a recent poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. At the same time, deadly Israeli raids and attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank have escalated.
  

  Israeli officials say those raids are aimed at preventing a second front from opening up in the West Bank while the war in Gaza is ongoing. Israel also accuses some of the armed groups in the West Bank of plotting attacks against it.

  “The P.A. is reading the room right now,” said Tahani Mustafa, a senior Palestine analyst at the International Crisis Group. “If they were to clamp down on Hamas supporters, it would be absolutely disastrous,” she added.

  “The P.A. recognizes that it is deeply unpopular, which has been evidenced by opinion poll after opinion poll, especially since the 7th of October,” Ms. Mustafa said, adding that repressing shows of support for Hamas during a period of mourning for a leader who is arguably more popular than Mr. Abbas “would be political suicide.” The hands-off approach to the demonstrations last week signaled a political balancing act by the Palestinian Authority, which has suffered from low approval ratings and a crisis of legitimacy while Hamas — designated as a terrorist group by the United States and Israel — has gained supporters. Mr. Haniyeh was assassinated last week in the guesthouse where he was staying in Tehran, where he was visiting to attend the inauguration of the new Iranian president. Iranian officials and Iran-backed Hamas blamed Israel, an assessment also reached by several U.S. officials. Israel has not publicly taken responsibility. “Assassinating Palestinian political leaders is something the Palestinian Authority is going to speak out about,” said Diana Buttu, a lawyer and former legal adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organization, which represents Palestinians internationally and is also dominated by Fatah.

  Tolerating expressions of sympathy for Hamas “is a way of allowing people to express sentiment and let out anger,” she added. “But also, I genuinely think this is something that saddens them. It is part of Israel’s history of assassinating our leaders.”

  The political chasm between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority has divided Palestinians for nearly two decades as each has tried to position itself as the legitimate leader. In 2006, Fatah lost a legislative election to Hamas. The next year, Hamas fighters routed Fatah security forces from the Gaza Strip and forcibly seized control of the territory.

  Over the years since then, multiple efforts to reconcile the rival factions have failed.

  But last month, in an unusual show of unity, Fatah and Hamas signed a joint statement in Beijing. And though it is clear that the prolonged Gaza war and questions over who will govern postwar Gaza have made Palestinian unity even more urgent, there are few other signs that the factions are actually bridging their differences. The joint statement, which was also signed by other smaller Palestinian factions, supports the formation of a temporary government for Gaza and the West Bank, and said the new government should begin working on uniting Palestinian institutions in both territories, reconstructing Gaza and preparing for national elections. The Biden administration has said repeatedly that a revamped Palestinian Authority should play a role in postwar Gaza.

  But even those Palestinians who saw the development in Beijing with a measure of hope have low expectations, as previous attempts to broker unity have also resulted in joint statements and agreements without any lasting progress.

  Some Palestinians have long been critical of the Palestinian Authority and its security forces, which have quietly helped Israeli intelligence agencies target Palestinians accused by Israel of militant activity, including Hamas members. The critics argue that these institutions have become little more than subcontractors for an occupying power, exerting authoritarian control and, at times, violently cracking down on dissent.

  Ms. Mustafa said the somber mood among many Palestinians in the West Bank on the day Mr. Haniyeh was killed was evidence of the growing support for Hamas.

  In a video of one protest in the West Bank city of Jenin on the night of July 31, one Palestinian man yelled, “We from the land of Jenin affirm that we are all Hamas,” as he led dozens of people walking through the streets.

  “In terms of Hamas’s popularity, yes, they are the de facto leaders of Palestinians, whether we like it or not,” Ms. Mustafa said. “They are the only ones fighting for Palestinians in the face of no international protections.” link  While support for Hamas is at an all time low in Gaza, we are directly responsible for what is happening in the West Bank and the fact that Smotrich is appropriating more Palestinian lands in the West Bank to create new settlements and expanding existing settlements and Ben Gvir encourages settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and instructs that police not to do anything to prevent or prosecute, we continue to create more and more hatred and extremism among Palestinians in the West Bank

Politics and the War (general news)

• Ahead of tomorrow’s hostages-ceasefire negotiations in Doha, Biden administration officials have reportedly been on the phone with three Israeli political leaders — Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Shas leader Aryeh Deri — to stress the importance of finalizing a deal.

  Channel 12 news, citing unnamed sources, says the calls to the three, all former members or observers in the now-defunct war cabinet, were made earlier today, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a series of meetings to prepare for the Doha talks.

  The US officials highlighted the linkage between a deal and the capacity to avert escalation with Iran and Hezbollah, the TV report says.

  In recent days, the report adds, the mediators have made efforts “to minimize the differences” between the sides, and today reached solutions to some of Netanyahu’s recent demands. Where no agreed solutions prove possible, it adds, the US and other mediators will offer their own bridging proposals — notably on the issue of northern Gaza, where the prime minister is demanding a mechanism to prevent the return of armed Hamas operatives.

  The report says Israel’s negotiating team considers that Netanyahu has “slightly widened” their leeway in the talks.

  The report says Israel and the mediators are unfazed that Hamas is saying it won’t be at the summit, and regards this stance as a tactic. Hamas representatives are in Doha in any case, and any finalized proposal will be conveyed to them.

  It says the Doha talks are expected to last two days. 
  
  

• IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the military has killed more than 17,000 terror operatives in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war.

  He says in a press conference that the IDF’s “significant fighting” and achievements harm Hamas’s ability to regroup and recover. “We are determined to continue this,” he says.

  Regarding Hamas’s recent claims that its guards killed a hostage and wounded two others, Hagari says that the terror group is “spreading manipulative messages about the hostages, as part of its attempts to use psychological terror, in order to sow fear and terror among the public.”
  

• Former war cabinet minister Benny Gantz issues a video statement urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal as quickly as possible in order to bring home the hostages and let tens of thousands of northern evacuees return to their homes, accusing the premier of dilly-dallying due to political considerations.

  “At first, you hesitated on maneuvering [in southern Gaza], then you hesitated on moving the effort to the north, and for months you hesitated to move forward with a hostage outline out of fear for the fate of the coalition,” Gantz claims while touring the northern kibbutz of Ayelet Hashahar.

  “It is time for you to stop tending to the fate of the government, and only tend to the fate of the country,” he adds. “For once, be brave.”

  In response, Netanyahu’s Likud party contends that “the protocols will prove that Gantz is the one who opposed decisions that were critical for the security of Israel, including decisions regarding dramatic military actions” while Gantz was in the decision-making war cabinet before leaving the wartime coalition in June.

  Likud claims that the recent assassinations of several terror chiefs are a testimony to the “change of reality” following Gantz’s departure, concluding that “those not contributing to the struggle for victory and the return of the hostages would do better if they at least didn’t do damage.”

  National Unity fires back, saying, “Netanyahu knows well why he is trying to alter protocols and refusing to form a state commission of inquiry that will expose the truth: Who was afraid to launch a ground maneuver, who delayed the entry to Khan Younis, and who didn’t want at first to enter the Philadelphi Corridor.”

The Region and the World

• White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says the US doesn’t know if and when an Iran retaliatory attack against Israel might occur, but that it does have information that it could come with little or no notice.

  “We have information… that an attack could come with little or no warning, and certainly could come in coming days, and we have to be ready for it,” Kirby says in a phone briefing.

  “I can’t sit here and tell you for sure that there’s been a decision [by Iran] to change their mind [about attacking Israel], and I can’t tell you for sure, if they attack, what that is going to look like, or even when it would occur,” he adds.

  “We know that Iran has made some preparations. We believe that should they choose to attack, they could do it with little or no notice… We don’t want it to come to that,” Kirby says.

  Earlier this week, US President Joe Biden said he expected Iran to hold off on its attack if a ceasefire is reached between Israel and Hamas.

    
•  Three hours after the London-based Iran International reported a massive cyberattack targeting Iran’s central bank and other Iranian banks, there is as yet no additional source describing the attack and no comment from Iran.

  The report by the anti-regime outlet, which alleges widespread disruption to the Iranian banking system and says the attack “could be one of the largest cyberattacks ever against Iranian state infrastructure,” is being prominently highlighted in Hebrew media.

  Babak Itzhaki, Iran International’s Israel correspondent, tells Israel’s Channel 12 that the Iranian regime has been trying to cover up the attack for several hours. He claims hackers have obtained bank details and credit card details of millions of Iranians.

  Noting that there is no official response from Iran to the report to date, he says he anticipates a denial by the regime.

• The United States has issued sanctions targeting Houthi and Hezbollah trade networks, the US Treasury Department says, as Washington seeks to increase pressure on Tehran and the Iranian proxies. The department says in a statement that it targeted companies, individuals and vessels accused of being involved in the shipment of Iranian commodities, including oil and liquefied petroleum gas to Yemen and the United Arab Emirates on behalf of a Houthi financial official’s network.

Personal Stories

  

Ravid Katz, 51: Lifelong educator and devoted father of three

Killed fighting the Hamas invasion of Kibbutz Nir Oz, his body kidnapped to Gaza and retrieved by the IDF on July 24

Ravid Aryeh Katz, 51, was slain by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, and his body was abducted to Gaza.

The morning of the attack, Ravid made sure that his partner and their children were safe with neighbors in their reinforced room before heading out to join the rest of the local security team to battle the terrorist invasion. He was slain in the firefight and his body was kidnapped by the terrorists.

His family was informed on November 28, 2023, that Ravid had been killed during the October 7onslaught. On July 24, 2024, his body was brought back to Israel for burial following an IDF operation in Khan Younis.

He was buried in Nir Oz on July 28, on what would have been his 52nd birthday.

A member of the Nir Oz local security team, Katz was posthumously recognized by the Defense Ministry as a fallen soldier with the rank of sergeant major in the reserves.

Ravid’s half-sister, Doron Katz-Asher, and her two daughters, Raz and Aviv, were kidnapped by Hamas that day and released on November 24 — four days before his death was confirmed.

He is survived by his partner, Revital, their four-month-old daughter Alma, his children Shahar, 12, and Shira, 9, (whom he shared with his ex-wife Hila), his parents, Moshe and Yardena and his sisters Michal, Leeor and Doron.

Ravid was born and raised in Nir Oz, a place his loved ones said he never dreamed of leaving. After finishing high school, he completed a year of national service working with youth before enlisting in the IDF and serving as a paramedic in the Nahal Brigade.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in informal education from the Oranim Academic College and spent years as a teacher and guidance counselor as well as a community counselor working with at-risk youth.

Before his death was confirmed, his girlfriend, Revital Yanay, wrote online to “Ravid, the father, a father who is in love with his children.”

“Ravid is a father who invests time and experiences in his children, and through this teaches them about values, teaches them about life, encourages them to ask questions, to investigate and to find answers, how to be better friends and how to be happy with the little things,” she wrote.

“He always makes sure to make the kids laugh, makes up stories, tells jokes and talks in funny voices,” she said. “Loves the land, the salt of the earth, loves to travel around our country and share this love with his children.”

Ravid’s sister, Doron Katz-Asher, wrote on Facebook after his body was returned to Israel about “my brother who was older than me by 16 years, who I always looked up to.”

Doron said that it is “not taken for granted that we have the privilege of burying you here in the earth of Nir Oz, the place you were born, where you grew up, where you established your family and where you were killed while trying to protect us and the whole community that Saturday.”

She said that during her “first days in captivity, when I was so worried about your fate, I hoped so much that after you left the house with your weapon you realized that you had no chance against hundreds of terrorists and found somewhere to hide. But immediately I realized who you are, and the values you were raised on, and I knew that you had fought until your last bullet.”

Doron expressed her thanks to Ravid “for so many lessons in which you were a guide without even knowing it, for teaching me that it’s never too late, that there’s always something to fight for, that things could be better, that we should always be thankful for what we have.”

She said that she would “miss so much our meetings on your balcony with a perfect snack that you made in your tabun alongside some unique beer that only you knew. We’ll miss the photos you sent on WhatsApp before Shabbat with all of your cooking, and every time I asked for a delivery, you would always say, ‘Just come over.'”

Doron vowed to “continue your path together with Shahar, Shira and Alma… I love you forever.”

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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