🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 319, 2023 - August 20, 2024 🎗️

  

🎗️Day 319 that 109 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!!!”

Evyatar David made the way from Kfar Saba to the NOVA Music Festival with three of his best friends, one of whom is Guy Gilboa-Dalal. Evyatar finished his family Shabat dinner and went to party with his friends. Today, 319 days after October 7th, both Evyatar and Guy are being held captive in Gaza and the other two friends who were with them, Ron and Idan, are dead. They were both murdered by Hamas terrorists on that day.

Evyatar, the second child of Galia and Avishai David, was born on the last candle of Hannukah. “He brought a lot of light with him” his mother said. “Once he stood on his own two feet he turned into Mowgli – a happy vibrant kid, who loves fooling around, climbing, jumping and testing his boundaries”.

The David family is like a musical band. On Shabbat and on holidays they all play together. Evyatar and Yeela play the guitar, Illay plays the piano and Avishai sings. Evyatar dreams of becoming a music producer. Trans is his favorite musical genre. Until he fulfills his dream he works as a Birthright group leader and
works at a coffee shop.

“He has that thing, the ability to connect to everyone. He is that friend you’d call when you need a good advice or once something happens to you” says Sagi, his friend. “I hope he’s with Guy. They have been friends since kindergarten and being together will keep both their spirits up. I also hope someone gave him a guitar”.

Bring Evyatar, Guy and all 109 hostages back

We’re waiting for you, all of you.
A deal is the only way to bring
all the hostages home- the murdered for burial and the living for rehabilitation.

#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

*10:00pm yesterday - north - rockets Kabri

*4:00am- north - rockets - Dovev, Baram
*8:00am - north - rockets - Gadot, Yesod Hamaaleh, Holeta, Ortal

*8:15am - north - rockets - Ortal, Malkia, Katzrin, Gadot
*12:20pm - north - rockets Shtula, Kabri, Eilon, Yaara, Manot, Avdon, Neve Ziv

More than 75 rockets were launched from Lebanon to the north so far today. No reports of injuries but a number of fires were caused by rockets falling into open areas.

**The army announced the death of an officer, Lieutenant Shachar Ben Nun, 21 from Petach Tikvah. He was killed due to a technical error of a malfunction in an airstrike in Gaza. The airstrike was off course by 300 meters (1000 feet). The army is investigating.

May his memory forever be a blessing

Hostage Updates 

• The IDF rescued the bodies of 6 hostages. The deceased hostages brought back were Alex Dancyg, 75, Yagev Buchshtav, 35, Chaim Peri, 79, Yoram Metzger, 80, Nadav Popplewell, 51, and Avraham Munder, 78.. Munder, Dancyg, Peri, and Metzger were all abducted alive by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, while Buchshtav and Popplewell were taken hostage from Kibbutz Nirim. All 6 had been kidnapped alive and were killed in captivity.
  In December, Hamas had published a video showing Peri, Metzger, and a third hostage alive, and in March the terror group claimed that the three were killed by Israeli strikes. In May, Hamas shared a coerced propaganda clip featuring Popplewell. It was apparently published weeks after he was killed. Hamas in March claimed that Buchshtav had died due to lack of food and medication, and that Dancyg had been killed by Israeli fire. The claims have not been confirmed by the IDF.
   Their blood is on the hands of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his failed government who have been willing to sacrifice the lives of all the hostages for their political survival.
  
  
  Kibbutz Nir Oz declares death of hostage Avraham Munder; relative says body rescued from Gaza
  Nephew of slain hostage Avraham Munder says his body was recovered from Gaza tunnel

Avraham Munder was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists from his Kibbutz Nir Oz home on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy) 

Hostage Avraham Munder has been murdered in Hamas captivity, Kibbutz Nir Oz announces. In a statement, the Gaza border community says Munder, 79, had “suffered bodily and mental torture for months” before being killed. Munder, who had worked at a paint factory, is remembered as “a very warm person who loved singing.”

His son Roy was murdered on October 7, and he was kidnapped along with his wife Ruti, his daughter Keren and his only grandson Ohad, all three of whom were released in a hostage deal in November.

Eyal Mor, the nephew of slain hostage Avraham Munder, tells the Kan public broadcaster that Munder’s body has been recovered from a tunnel in Gaza’s Khan Younis by the IDF.

“According to initial estimations, the death happened already in March,” Mor says, adding that the family hasn’t been told the cause of death as officials await a pathological report.

The military is due to release details to the public later.

Another nephew of Munder, Shahar Mor Zahiro, tells Radio 103FM that the government “wasted time and opportunities to save him.”

“This is another horrific case, the blood is on the hands of the government,” he charges. “For [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s survival, my uncle died. Get all the living hostages out now.”

 

Kibbutz Nirim announces that the bodies of Hamas hostages Nadav Popplewell and Yagev Buchshtav have also been recovered from the Gaza Strip, in addition to the remains of Avraham Munder.

Both were kidnapped on October 7 and later confirmed dead by Israeli authorities.The military is due to release details to the public later.

Nadav Popplewell, abducted by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nirim (Courtesy)

Yagev Buchshtav was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nirim (Courtesy)

Kibbutz Nir Oz issues a new statement saying the body of resident Chaim Peri has also been returned from Gaza, after being “abandoned to his death in captivity” in the Strip.

This is in addition to at least four other dead hostages whose extraction has been confirmed by local authorities. The military is due to release details to the public later.

Peri, 80, is mourned as an “entrepreneur, humanist and peace activist” who saved his wife on October 7 before being abducted by terrorists.

Chaim Peri, who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorist on October 7, 2023 and died in captivity. (Courtesy)

Kibbutz Nir Oz says that the body of resident Yoram Metzger, 80, has also been recovered from Gaza in a military operation.

This is in addition to at least three other dead hostages whose extraction has been confirmed by their hometowns.

The military is due to release details to the public later.

Metzger, who had worked at a paint factory and later at a car garage, was kidnapped with his wife Tami, who was released in a hostage deal in November.

Nir Oz says the development is “the biggest proof of the importance of a deal that will return our boys and girls as soon as possible, before it is too late.”

It adds that the kibbutz “hopes no soldier was hurt in the military operation” since recovering the bodies is important but not at the price of endangering troops.

Yoram Metzger was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nir Oz. (Courtesy) 

• From Gershon Baskin: Rescuing 6 bodies is not success - it is shameful!

  Shame on those who call the recovery of six bodies of Israeli hostages a success. Shame on those who think that military pressure saves hostages - military pressure kills them.  Shame on those who praise the flattening of Gaza and the killing of tens of thousands of Gazans. To be clear - the first deal in November 2023 was not done thanks to the military pressure - the real fact is that the military pressure delayed this deal by at least two weeks - I say this with 100% certainty. It was possible to save dozens of additional hostages back  in November, but Prime Minister Netanyahu and the army chiefs wanted to renew the war - to exert more military pressure which only resulted in the killing of more hostages and many innocent Palestinians. Netanyahu is committing crimes against the State of Israel and against the people of Israel and of course against the Palestinian people.

  There are another 109 abductees in Gaza, a large number of them are probably not among the living. 

  This war must end already. It is possible to reach security arrangements that will protect the State of Israel. Let's not forget that what happened on October 7th would not have happened if there were 10-15 tanks on the border and three attack helicopters in the air. What happened was the result of criminal negligence, arrogance, and political decisions that turned the Israel Defense Forces into the police force of the occupation and settlements. The IDF can protect the borders of Israel from Israel's borders. But remember this - Israel will never have security if the Palestinians do not have freedom and dignity. The Palestinians will not have freedom and dignity if Israel does not have security. To achieve this - freedom, dignity and security for both peoples - we must - all of us - remove our failed leaders - on both sides and as quickly as possible.
  

• The stories of the six
  Peri, who retired from a military career at age 50, was in later life an art curator, film lecturer, and peace activist who would volunteer to drive sick Palestinian children from the Gaza border to Israeli hospitals.
  He is survived by his wife, Osnat, five children, and 13 grandchildren. Peri’s kibbutz mourned him as an “entrepreneur, humanist and peace activist” who saved his wife on October 7 before being abducted by terrorists.
  
  Noam Peri, the daughter of Israeli hostage Chaim Peri, poses for a portrait while holding a photograph of her father who was held captive by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, May 20, 2024. Chaim Peri was declared dead in captivity by the IDF in June 2024. (Yossi Aloni/FLASH90)
  
  

  Metzger had worked in the Nirlat paint factory for decades and more recently in the kibbutz garage. He was described by his family as an excellent cook and a lover of history with a great sense of humor, and a dedicated connoisseur of the Nir Oz winery cellar.

  Metzger had been kidnapped with his wife Tami, who was released in a hostage deal in November. He is survived by her, three children and seven grandchildren.

  
  Former hostage Tami Metzger poses for a picture with a portrait of her husband Yoram, who was declared dead in captivity on June 3, during an interview at her residence in the southern city of Kiryat Gat on June 9, 2024. (Sharon ARONOWICZ / AFP)

  Popplewell, a dual Israeli-UK citizen, was described by relatives as a family-oriented guy, devoted to his nieces and nephews, who loved to read science fiction and play bridge with his friends in the kibbutz.

  He is survived by his sister Ayelet and mother Channah.

  
  People hold portraits of hostages Gadi Moses, Itay Chen, Nadav Popplewell and Tal Shoham as relatives and supporters of Israeli captives held in Gaza since the October 7 attacks by Hamas terrorists, gather before the start of a four-day march to Jerusalem calling for their release, on February 28, 2024, near the site of the Supernova music festival in southern Israel. (JACK GUEZ / AFP)

  Munder, who had worked at a paint factory, was remembered as “a very warm person who loved singing,” his kibbutz said.

  His son Roee was murdered on October 7, and he was kidnapped along with his wife Ruti, his daughter Keren, and his only grandson Ohad, all three of whom were released in a hostage deal in November.

  
  Avraham and Ruti Munder and their grandson Ohad Munder, were taken captive from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023 by Hamas terrorists. Ruti and Ohad were released in a November 2023 hostage deal. Avraham died in captivity and his body was rescued from Gaza by the IDF overnight August 19-20, 2024. (Courtesy)

  Dancyg, a Polish-Israeli, was born in Warsaw in 1948 to Holocaust survivors, and his family came to Israel in 1957. He had lived at Nir Oz since he completed his military service, and grew peanuts and potatoes there.

  He spent his life educating about the Holocaust and teaching other educators, including Yad Vashem guides as well as Polish educators and public figures, how to teach the Nazi genocide of the Jews.

  
  A mural portraying Polish-Israeli Holocaust historian and educator Alex Dancyg, who was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, with the subtitle referring to him as ‘Ambassador of Dialogue,’ can be seen in Warsaw, Poland on October 19, 2023. (Wojtek Radwanski/AFP)

  Buchshtav was a musician and soundman who built his own instruments, including electric guitars.

  His wife, Rimon Kirsht Buchshtav, was abducted with him and then released on November 28 in a hostage deal with Hamas. The couple was together throughout Rimon’s captivity and she didn’t want to leave Yagev behind, but was told to go willingly or be dragged on the floor.

  The couple, known for creating a home full of music and rescuing abused animals, had met in high school and then reconnected years later, marrying in 2021.

  
  Rimon Kirsht Buchshtav and Yagev Buchshtav were taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nirim. Rimon was released during a weeklong deal on November 28 2023; Yagev’s death in captivity in Gaza was announced by the IDF on July 22, 2024. (Courtesy)

  
  

• The Hostages Families and Missing Forum on Tuesday welcomed the extraction of the bodies of Avraham Munder, Alex Dancyg, Chaim Peri, Yagev Buchshtab, Yoram Metzger, and Nadav Popplewell, all kidnapped alive by Hamas on October 7. But it also urged the government to “do everything in its power” to finalize a long-delayed agreement to secure the release of the remaining 109 hostages held in Gaza, saying that a negotiated deal was the only way to get them home.

  “The recovery of the bodies of Abraham, Alex, Chaim, Yagev, Yoram, and Nadav crucially provides their families with necessary closure and grants eternal rest to the murdered,” the Hostages Forum said in a statement.

  “Israel has a moral and ethical obligation to return all the murdered for dignified burial and to bring all living hostages home for rehabilitation. The immediate return of the remaining 109 hostages can only be achieved through a negotiated deal. The Israeli government, with the assistance of mediators, must do everything in its power to finalize the deal currently on the table.”
  

  Mati Dancyg, whose father Alex’s body was recovered on Tuesday, lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, accusing it of “choosing to abandon the hostages in order to survive.”

  Speaking to Kan news, Dancyg noted testimony from released hostages that said Alex was in decent condition in the initial months after thousands of Hamas-led terrorists burst across the border into Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping 251. “He and all the hostages could have been brought back,” he charged. “Netanyahu chose to sacrifice the hostages. Karma will judge him and he will pay for it, big time.” full article

• The Minister of Defense to the US Secretary of State Blinken: The US should lead the pressure until reaching an outline that will allow the return of the hostages"

  
  

  Defense Minister Gallant stated to the US Secretary of State in Lincoln that the entire security establishment is committed to continuing the fighting in Gaza until the goals are achieved, and emphasized to him that just as Israel leads the military pressure on Hamas, "the US must lead the political pressure until reaching an outline that will allow the return of the hostages." , according to him. --It is my understanding that Galant's statement to Blinken about applying pressure is not limited to pressure on Hamas but also applying pressure to Netanyahu.
  
  
• At a meeting with the families of Hamas-held hostages who hold US citizenship, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US is convinced that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is truly committed to reaching a deal this time, Channel 12 reports.

Blinken met with the families, as he has done on numerous previous visits, shortly before his press conference earlier this evening.

He gave them a sense that a deal can be finalized within days, the report says, and told them it seemed that the prime minister is invested in achieving a deal.

“And what if he’s bluffing again?” one of the participants reportedly asked Blinken.

He is said to have laughed and said, “We’ll know. We have a way to measure if the prime minister is committed to a deal. And this time our assessment is that he is.”

He also reportedly told them that there is immense pressure on Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar to agree to the bridging proposal — including from the Qatari and Egyptian mediators. Link I definitely trust Blinken and Biden far more than I trust Netanyahu and they both know that Netanyahu is not to be trusted either  we all sincerely hope that Blinken is not just talking optimistically to keep the talks going but is really reading the room correctly. What we need to hear is Netanyahu saying those same words in Hebrew and removing all of his obstacles to the deal. 

•  Hamas senior official Osama Hamdan criticizes US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s statement Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted an updated proposal, saying it “raises many ambiguities” because it’s “not what was presented to us nor what we agreed on.”

  Hamdan told Reuters that Hamas has already confirmed to mediators that “we don’t need new Gaza ceasefire negotiations, we need to agree on an implementation mechanism.” Link Osama Hamadan is one of only a couple of people who actual speak on behalf of Hamas and Sinwar. It’s still too early and unclear to know if this statement is a positive or a negative in relation to the ongoing negotiations but it seems to me to be a sign that negotiations are, indeed ongoing.  

• The new US “bridging proposal” for a hostage release-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas would allow Israeli troops to continue to patrol part of the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, The New York Times reports, citing officials familiar with the negotiations.

  According to the Times, the US proposal would allow a reduced number of Israeli troops to remain posted along the border route. However, the officials say that the suggestion is likely to be shot down by Hamas, which has said it will not tolerate any Israeli presence in the area whatsoever.

  It adds that Egypt has also expressed displeasure, and Egyptian officials have warned that the extended presence of Israeli troops would pose national security concerns.

  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will not withdraw from the route, or the Netzarim Corridor, and that troops must be stationed there for strategic and security reasons. Earlier this week, Israeli negotiators were said to have told the prime minister that his insistence on these demands was dooming the deal.

  The officials say that another of Netanyahu’s other “non-negotiable” demands also posed issues at the talks in Doha over the weekend, after the US asked to delay in-depth conversations regarding Israel’s demand to screen displaced Palestinians returning to the northern part of the Strip, to ensure that they aren’t carrying weapons.

• The Hostages Families Forum accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of permanently abandoning the hostages to their fates in Gaza after he told members of the hardline Tikva and Gvura forums earlier today that “Israel won’t leave the Philadelphi Corridor and the Netzarim Corridor under any circumstances,” and said he was “not sure there will be a deal.”

  “The prime minister’s remarks are effectively a torpedoing of the hostage deal,” the forum says. “Netanyahu won’t face that abandoning the hostages leads to their being murdered in captivity.

  “They’re not suffering, they’re also dying,” the statement continues, referring to comments allegedly made by the premier during a cabinet meeting last month, when he said that the hostages “are suffering but they are not dying.”

  “There is no hope and no heroism in a ‘firm’ stance that will result in the continued death of all the hostages,” the forum continues, alluding to the Tikva and Gvura forums, whose names mean “hope” and “heroism,” respectively. “The Israeli government abandoned the hostages on October 7 and is now abandoning them for good.”

• Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slams Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for an immediate deal before the hostages “all die.”

  “Enough with the briefings, enough with the tweets,” Lapid states. “All of Netanyahu’s attempts to sabotage the negotiations should stop. A deal now, before they all die.”

• Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker and a leading critic of the government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, says Mossad director David Barnea has told her that a hostage deal is impossible to achieve in the current political reality.

  
  Einav Zangauker, mother of Matan Zangauker who is being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, sits on the street near the Begin Gate at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, June 1, 2024. (Paulina Patimer / Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

  Testifying before the unofficial commission of inquiry into the failure before, on and after the October 7 Hamas onslaught, Zangauker says that toward the end of a meeting around May, Barnea told her: “Dear Einav, unfortunately, in the current political constellation, a deal to release the hostages is impossible.”

  “He explained this was because of politics,” she says.

  The Mossad, in a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, says that “the words attributed to the Mossad head weren’t spoken at all,” adding: “In his meeting with Einav Zangauker, the Mossad head did not refer to any political constellation in the context of the negotiations, as claimed.”

  The statement says Barnea “is continuing to work to bring about a deal for the release of all hostages soon.” link I certainly believe Einav over Netanyahu and his office who have all been exposed of lying multiple times for Netanyahu's benefit.

Gaza 

• Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel’s “center of gravity” is gradually moving away from the Gaza Strip to the northern front, as the country readies for a major escalation with Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

  “Our center of gravity is moving from south to north, we are in a gradual change, we have more tasks in the south, we have hostages, we need to bring them, we are negotiating on this and I believe we will succeed in reaching results, this is a very important thing,” Gallant says during a visit to the 36th Division in northern Israel.

  “We want to return the [displaced] residents to the north, we want to return them safely. If it is possible to do this in an agreement, we will do it in an agreement,” he says, warning that Israel will otherwise act.

   

• The recovery of the bodies of six Israeli hostages from the southern Gaza Strip overnight was the fastest such operation carried out by the military so far during the war, which IDF sources said indicated the army’s ability to quickly establish control of areas it previously withdrew from.

  On Sunday, the IDF’s 98th Division expanded its operation in Khan Younis and by early Monday, it had achieved “operational control” over one of the neighborhoods where the bodies of the hostages were believed to be held.

  The IDF had relatively precise intelligence on the tunnel where the bodies of the hostages were held, although not the exact location.

  According to the military, within less than 24 hours, combat engineers located a 10-meter deep tunnel shaft that led to a tunnel system in the area, with one team spotting various indications of where the bodies were being held.

  Overnight between Monday and Tuesday, the bodies were found and extracted from the Strip, making it the fastest operation to recover hostages’ bodies so far amid the war. Previous operations to recover the bodies of hostages have taken several days, in comparison.

  Hamas had attempted to hide the remains of the hostages, placing them in an underground passage which was hidden behind a false wall inside the tunnel system.

  The IDF says combat engineers of the elite Yahalom unit and members of the Shin Bet security agency managed to break through the false wall, blast doors, and other blockages inside the tunnel, where in addition to the bodies they also located weapons, explosive devices, and other equipment belonging to Hamas terrorists.

  The IDF says the recovery mission was carried out following fighting in the area, during which troops scanned buildings and killed several gunmen.

  Some of the terrorists that had been guarding the tunnel had fled, while other apparent guards were killed fighting troops in the surrounding area, according to military sources.

  The troops found weapons on several dead terror operatives within a few hundred meters of the tunnel where the bodies were held, close to some of the shafts that led to the underground passages. Military sources said those gunmen were likely guarding the area of the tunnel.

  The bodies of the apparent guards were taken to Israel along with the remains of the hostages for identification, as the IDF wanted to be certain that no hostages were left behind.

• Troops with the 162nd Division killed some 40 gunmen in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of southern Gaza’s Rafah over the past day, in clashes and by directing airstrikes, the IDF says.

  In one incident in Tel Sultan, the military says troops with the Nahal Brigade spotted a cell of RPG-wielding operatives at a building and directed a drone to strike the site.

  Further north, in Khan Younis, the IDF says troops with the 98th Division killed several more terror operatives and destroyed sites belonging to terror groups, including rocket launchers used in recent attacks.

  In central Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor, reservists with the 252nd Division killed several terror operatives by directing airstrikes, according to the military.

  In an incident in the central Gaza area, reservists of the Jerusalem Brigade killed two gunmen who emerged from a tunnel and attempted to plant a bomb near the troops, the IDF adds.

• The IDF says it carried out an airstrike against Hamas operatives at a command room embedded within a school in Gaza City.

  According to the military, Hamas was using the command room at the Mustafa Hafez School to plan and carry out attacks against troops in Gaza and against Israel.

  The IDF says it carried out “many steps” to mitigate harm to civilians in the strike, including using precision munitions, aerial surveillance and other intelligence.

  “The Hamas terror organization systematically violates international law, brutally exploiting civilian institutions and the population as a human shield for terror activity,” the military adds.

  In recent months, dozens of airstrikes have been carried out against Hamas sites embedded within schools and other sites used as shelters for civilians, according to the IDF.

  A spokesperson for the civil defense agency in Hamas-run Gaza says at least seven people were killed in the strike, including five men and two children.

Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria

• In Lebanon it is reported: a vehicle was attacked in Deir Kanon in the south of the country, reports of one dead and one injured

  

  
  

  The Hezbollah terror group confirms the death of Hussein Ali Hussein Suleiman in an IDF drone strike in southern Lebanon’s Deir Qanoun earlier this evening.

  His death brings the terror group’s toll in IDF strikes since October to at least 415.

  The IDF said Suleiman was a prominent member of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile unit.

  
  

• Following Israeli airstrikes on a Hezbollah weapons depot in northern Lebanon, two security sources tell Reuters that nobody was killed in the incident.

  According to the Lebanon health ministry, eight people were injured, including six Lebanese citizens and two Syrian children.

  Following the depot strike, the Lebanese Agricultural Scientific Research Authority says it will close its research stations in the Beqaa region as a precaution because unexploded missiles landed nearby.

  
  

  A barrage of some 40 rockets was fired from Lebanon at the Upper Galilee and Golan Heights a short while ago, according to the IDF.
  Some of the rockets were intercepted by air defenses, and there are no reports of injuries.
  The large barrage comes after the IDF struck Hezbollah weapons depots deep in Lebanon last night, and killed a prominent operative in a drone strike.
  Meanwhile, fresh sirens sound in the Upper Galilee and Golan Heights, including the city of Katzrin.
  Another 15 rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Upper Galilee and Golan a short while ago, bringing the total since this morning to 55, the military says.
  The IDF says some of the rockets were intercepted, while the rest hit open areas, causing no injuries.
  Hezbollah takes responsibility for the attack, saying it launched dozens of rockets at two military bases in response to an IDF strike deep in Lebanon yesterday.
  The IDF says it also struck one of the launchers shortly after the rocket fire..

West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel

•     The chief of the IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth and the head of the Civil Administration, Brig. Gen. Hisham Ibrahim, visited the West Bank village of Jit this evening.

  The visit comes as part of a military investigation into Thursday’s settler attack in the village, during which more than 100 Israeli assailants set fire to homes and cars, and one Palestinian man was killed.

• A fifth Israeli settler suspected of assaulting four Arab Israeli women, plus a three-year-old, in the West Bank outpost of Givat Ronen earlier this month has been detained by police.

  The suspect was detained overnight and is currently being questioned by police and the Shin Bet security agency. Earlier today, a court extended the suspect’s detention until Friday.

  Four others have been detained in the past week, although one has since been released to house arrest.

  The victims, residents of the Bedouin city of Rahat in southern Israel, were on their way to the West Bank city of Nablus. They had accidentally driven into the outpost, in an area that has seen repeated clashes between extremist settlers and Palestinians. The five were taken to Beilinson Medical Center in Petah Tikva after being attacked by the settlers.

Politics and the War (general news)

•  Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says he will refuse to attend a state memorial ceremony marking October 7 overseen by Transportation Minister Miri Regev.

  Instead, Lapid says, “I will be with the families of those murdered from Be’eri and Sderot and Nir Oz.” The opposition leader says that “this government is not legitimate and is not worthy of their memory.”

  “The only ceremony that Netanyahu’s government and its extremists can and must do is resignation and the announcement of a state commission of inquiry,” he adds.

  A number of communities hit hard by the October 7 attack have also said they will not be taking part in the ceremony spearheaded by the often controversial Regev, a Netanyahu loyalist, and many families of those being held hostage have indicated they will hold their own separate event. Link this failed government, the same one that is responsible for October 7, yet continues to accept that responsibility has the unmitigated gaul to decide that Miri Regev should be responsible for the state ceremony of remembrance and mourning while that same government fails repeatedly to bring the hostages home. No decent person should have anything to do with the Netanyahu/Regev irresponsibility fest on the blood of 1600 dead and 109 still lingering in Hamas captivity. This is the greatest shame but these politicians, unfortunately have no shame and no depth is too low for them to sink. 

• Kibbutz Be’eri announces its opposition to the government’s plans to hold a state memorial ceremony to mark one year since the October 7 Hamas terror assault, in which 101 residents of the kibbutz were slaughtered.

  In a statement, the kibbutz says it would prefer for the government to instead “invest all its energy in promoting a deal to return the hostages and end their abandonment.”

  Instead of a ceremony, the government should establish a state commission of inquiry “that will provide us with answers and draw conclusions with which it will be possible to start to heal,” the kibbutz says, adding that it would prefer the government to “deal with the lives that can still be saved.”

  Kibbutz Be’eri will hold a private memorial ceremony on October 7 for the members it lost, it says.

  Earlier this week, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said he would boycott the state-run memorial, which is expected to be overseen by Transportation Minister Miri Regev, in favor of spending the day with the families of those murdered “from Be’eri and Sderot and Nir Oz.”

  A number of other communities hit hard by the October 7 attack have also said they will not be taking part in the ceremony spearheaded by the often controversial Regev, a Netanyahu loyalist, and many families of those being held hostage have indicated they will hold their own separate event.

The Region and the World

•   There could be a long wait for Iranian retaliation against Israel, a spokesman for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps says, according to Iranian state media.

  The Middle East has been bracing for Iran’s avowed retaliation over the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied that it was behind the killing.

  “Time is in our favor and the waiting period for this response could be long,” Alimohammad Naini says, referring to retaliation against Israel, and reiterating that “the enemy” should wait for a calculated and accurate response.

  Iranian leaders are weighing all circumstances and the Islamic Republic’s response might not be a repeat of previous operations, he adds, according to Iranian state media.

  Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of carrying out the strike that killed Haniyeh hours after he attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian. 

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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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