π️Lonny's War Update- October 334, 2023 - September 4, 2024 π️
π️Day 334 that 101 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!!!”
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
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!ΧΧΧ Χ Χ¦ΧΧΧ Χ’Χ Χ©ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧΧ€ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧͺ
Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
*8:50am - north - Hostile aircraft - Shamir*11:50am - north - rockets - Beit Hillel, Maayan Baruch, Hagoshrim, Tel Hai, Kiryat Shemona
*12:00pm - north - rockets - Beit Hillel, Kiryat Shemona, Tel Hai, Misgav Am, Ramot naftali, Malkia, Hagoshrim, Kfar Yuval, Maayan Baruch, Margaliot, Kfar Giladi, Dishon - Some 65 rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Galilee Panhandle in the past hour, according to the IDF.Several rockets impacted the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, causing damage to at least one home, local authorities say. The IDF says some rockets were also intercepted and others hit open areas. Hezbollah takes responsibility for the barrage, claiming to have targeted Israeli military positions.
*1:40pm - north - rockets - Netua, Shtula
*2:25pm - north - rockets - Zra'it*2:30pm - north - rockets - Zra'it
*3:50pm - north - rockets - Hanita
*12:00pm - north - rockets - Beit Hillel, Kiryat Shemona, Tel Hai, Misgav Am, Ramot naftali, Malkia, Hagoshrim, Kfar Yuval, Maayan Baruch, Margaliot, Kfar Giladi, Dishon - Some 65 rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Galilee Panhandle in the past hour, according to the IDF.
Several rockets impacted the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, causing damage to at least one home, local authorities say. The IDF says some rockets were also intercepted and others hit open areas. Hezbollah takes responsibility for the barrage, claiming to have targeted Israeli military positions.
*1:40pm - north - rockets - Netua, Shtula*2:25pm - north - rockets - Zra'it
*3:50pm - north - rockets - Hanita
Hostage Updates
Hostage Updates
- Hostage family members rage against ‘Mr. Abandonment’ at Tel Aviv protest
In Tel Aviv, chants of “You’re not alone — we’re with you” greet relatives of hostages who get up to speak to the 2,000-person strong crowd demanding a hostage deal.
A group representing people arrested at anti-government rallies says two protesters have been detained at the demonstration.
Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, tells ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government their “names will be written in the history books with the blood of the hostages who were murdered in Gaza.” “You have one way to avoid that fate — abandon the hangman from Aza Street,” she says, referring to the address of Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence. “Replace him with someone who will bring a deal.”
Ifat Kalderon, cousin of hostage Ofer Kalderon, accuses Netanyahu of harming the negotiations by ordering the assassination of top Hamas officials and “causing the death of the hostages,” riffing on his former nickname of Mr. Security.
“The military pressure, which never led to progress in the negotiations, has turned into a veritable mortal danger for the hostages,” she says. “And you, Mr. Abandonment, have lost the way.”
She calls on her cousin Ofer to stay strong, and thanks the crowd for coming to the protest.
Eli Albag, father of hostage Liri Albag, calls on the crowd to hoist their phones in a moment of silence for the six slain hostages recovered from Gaza over the weekend and the six slain hostages recovered the week before.
Three comments on the situation. (Gershon Baskin, 4.9.2024):
1. An interfering element: tonight on Channel 11 the episode about Gilad Shalit in the series "Prisoners" will be broadcast in which I am interviewed. I haven't seen the episode yet, but I remember that while Gilad was in captivity (5 years and 4 months), during the time that Hagai Hadas (former Mossad man) was the coordinator of for the prisoners and hostages, Hadas told the Schalit family not to talk to me because "Baskin is a disruptive element." I fully admit that I'm a disruptive element - and that's probably how the official system still relates to me today. In my humble opinion, we need a lot of interfering elements because the official elements fail to return the hostages and also fail to end the war. So to all of the interfering elements out there, join me and together we might be more successful.
2. Philadelphia corridor: The threat of Philadelphia corridor is invented by Netanyahu to torpedo any deal with Hamas. Alon Ben David (senior military correspondent) reported last night on Channel 13 that so far the IDF has not found a single tunnel that crosses the corridor to the Egyptian side. It turns out that the Egyptians did close all the tunnels, and even if they didn't, the security solution for the Philadelphia corridor is on the Egyptian side of the corridor - in Egyptian sovereign territory. When I asked the Hamas people what their position was regarding the closure of the corridor on the Egyptian side, they responded that it is Egyptian sovereign territory and the Egyptians can do as they wish there. Israel should conduct negotiations with Egypt and the USA so that the Americans will finance, provide technology, and assume supervision and control of the hermetically closing of the corridor from the Egyptian side, and then there will be no security threat from it.
3. The image of victory: It seems to me that Netanyahu will not consider ending the war until Sinwar is killed, and maybe not after that either. The murder of the six hostages over the weekend constitutes a fundamental change in Hamas' attitude to the living hostages. Hamas announced that any Israeli military attempt to rescue the hostages would end in their extermination. There is no reason to believe that the elimination of Sinwar will not end with the elimination of all the hostages. Only a deal will bring back all of the hostages.
Protesters demonstrating against the government
and in favor of a hostage deal have gathered at a number of intersections
around the country, according to the Hostage and Missing Families Forum.
Crowds of several dozen to several hundred people,
waving signs and flags, are seen gathered near Rehovot, Hod Hasharon, near
Nahalal in the lower Galilee, and elsewhere.
In Tel Aviv, the crowd has swelled to thousands,
according to media reports, with relatives of hostages delivering angry
speeches from atop a van in the middle of Begin Boulevard.
“The Philadelphi axis is the biggest bluff there
is,” says Eli Albag, father of hostage Liri Albag, referring to an area on the
Gaza-Egypt border where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded troops
remain, turning it into a major sticking point in talks.
“Netanyahu thinks Israel’s people are dummies.
Hezbollah, Iran, the West Bank, Gaza — the most important axis is the Ben
Gvir-Smotrich axis. That’s the most dangerous axis to the nation of Israel,” he
says, according to the Ynet news site.
The White House says that an Israel-approved
framework for a hostage deal meant to close gaps between the sides includes an
IDF withdrawal from heavily populated areas along the Philadelphi Corridor, a
day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel must keep its
forces deployed on the Gaza-Egypt border stretch and would do so for the
foreseeable future.
“The deal itself, including the bridging proposal that we started working with…
includes the removal of Israeli Defense Forces from all densely populated
areas, and that includes those areas along and adjacent to that corridor,” says
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby in a briefing
with reporters. “That’s the proposal that Israel had agreed to.”
Kirby declines to clarify when asked whether this
means that the US supports allowing Israeli troops to remain in less densely
populated areas along the Philadelphi Corridor.
While reiterating the deal’s requirement for
Israel to at least partially withdraw from Philadelphi, the White House
spokesperson acknowledges that Jerusalem is publicly stressing that it “would
need some security along that corridor.”
“I’m not going to get into a debate with the prime
minister over what he said over the weekend,” Kirby says.
Netanyahu argued yesterday that allowing troops to
withdraw from the Gaza-Egypt border, which Israel says is a major smuggling
artery, would result in arms and equipment for making weapons and digging
tunnels again being smuggled into the Strip and the possibility of hostages
being smuggled out.
He said Israel would retain control of the
Philadelphi Corridor for the foreseeable future, describing its presence there
as crucial to preventing Hamas from rearming, and vital to Israel’s
future. Link it’s hard to believe that Netanyahu is
agreeing to leave the Philadelphi Route, especially after his press conference
yesterday. however, sine the US statement out, the PM’s office has been silent
**The New Proposal That Might Be Presented as Early as the Weekend, the Plan for Philadelphi, and the Assessment: How Sinwar Will Respond**
Netanyahu insists on the IDF remaining in the Philadelphi Corridor, but Israel has said it would be willing to consider withdrawing from it in the second phase of a deal. The assessment: Sinwar will refuse the new plan, which might include further demands to compromise on the disputed issue. Sources familiar with the negotiations believe the U.S. will exert more pressure on Netanyahu. On the agenda: the release of 23 hostages.
The Americans did not like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comments at the Monday press conference regarding Israel's refusal to fully withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor. "This doesn’t help us," said an American official. The mediators in the negotiations for a ceasefire and a hostage deal also clarified that they do not understand why Netanyahu said this. Sources involved in the talks with the Americans and the mediators said there is a difference between what Netanyahu said at the press conference and the maps presented by the negotiating team during discussions.
Israel has stated that it is willing to consider a full withdrawal from the corridor in the second phase; however, according to Israeli assessments, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is expected to reject a plan that includes such an offer because he does not believe the deal will reach that phase, and therefore, he demands a full withdrawal immediately, in the first phase.
Sources familiar with the issue said the emerging bridging proposal might not necessarily come from the U.S. but could possibly come from Qatar. Another possibility is a joint proposal from the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt. The proposal is expected to be submitted by the end of the week, perhaps even on Thursday.
According to the sources, the proposal will include another demand for Israel to be flexible on the Philadelphi issue, which "has become the main obstacle to a ceasefire and a hostage deal," according to the Washington Post. There was already an agreement between Israel and the U.S. to reduce the forces stationed in Philadelphi, but it seems that the Americans will demand further reductions. Either way, the principle of maintaining a military presence appears to be agreed upon by the parties in the first phase of the deal, even if it is reduced to a handful of IDF positions.
The assessment in Israel, as mentioned, is that Yahya Sinwar will not accept this and will oppose it because he demands zero Israeli presence, zero soldiers in the corridor. The Americans know that for Sinwar to agree, they must show that they are pressuring Netanyahu to compromise on Philadelphi, and this might be reflected in the bridging proposal. In Israel, there is pessimism, and the expectation is that Sinwar will say "no."
**The Urgency Has Changed Following the Hostage Murders**
Meanwhile, behind-the-scenes talks continue. Mossad Chief Dedi Barnea visited Qatar on Monday, and an Israeli working team is continuing discussions there. The parties are trying to finalize the last details, such as the list of names that changed dramatically following the murder of six hostages, four of whom were supposed to be released in the deal. Now, the parties are discussing the release of 23 live hostages. Israel is still insisting on maximizing the number and adding more names. Sources familiar with the details said that the execution of the six hostages shocked them, and they understand that there is an added sense of urgency, and they must reach the finish line. The Americans are also now open to other thinking and a paradigm shift in the negotiations and may increase pressure on Netanyahu, backing him into a corner. The Americans believe that, in the end, Netanyahu will say "yes" out of fear of being seen as the refuser.
However, senior government officials said the real question is who to save—the hostages or the coalition. According to them, Netanyahu has currently chosen the coalition. They emphasized what has been said several times: National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir threatened Netanyahu that if there is a deal, the coalition will fall apart. An Israeli official familiar with the details of the negotiations noted that progress had been made on certain issues with the mediators, but currently, Hamas is "not in the picture." According to him, even if the U.S. presents a bridging proposal, it is doubtful it will lead to a breakthrough because Hamas, as usual, will respond with "yes, but."
The understanding in Israel is that the Americans are increasing pressure on Israel but are failing to get Egypt and Qatar to truly pressure Hamas. It is also understood in Israel that the pressure will focus on withdrawing from Philadelphi and the Rafah Crossing, but Netanyahu does not intend to back down on this issue.
"On Saturday, IDF forces recovered six bodies that were murdered by Hamas, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin," said John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council at the White House, this evening. "They were executed; Hamas is responsible for their deaths. As President Biden said, Hamas leaders will pay for their crimes. The President and Vice President met yesterday in the Situation Room at the White House with the negotiating team to discuss the next steps to secure the release of the hostages. We are working on a proposal that will ensure the release of the hostages, include massive aid to Gaza residents, and stop the fighting." Kirby added: "The team is still working to reach a deal. We are consulting with Qatar, Egypt, and Israel, and Egypt and Qatar are in contact with Hamas. The murders over the weekend underscore the urgency before us to reach closure. I won’t go into the details of the proposal, but we are continuing to work on it. There are ups and downs, but it is entirely possible. We had a sense of urgency before, but the execution of the hostages highlights how important it is to continue working."
Kirby was also asked about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence on the Philadelphi Corridor and replied: "The proposal, including the bridging proposal, includes the removal of the IDF from all densely populated areas, and this includes the areas along the Philadelphi Corridor. It's all in the proposal. I am not going to negotiate in public. The deal states that the IDF needs to exit all densely populated areas in the first phase, including those around the Philadelphi Corridor where it meets these areas." link
The IDF has issued a warning to Israel’s political leadership that any expansion of the military operation in Gaza risks the lives of the hostages, Channel 13 reports.
The network cites a senior military official who asserts that a hostage deal, on the other hand, would allow the IDF to operate more freely in Gaza, including in places where it has not yet operated.
Earlier this week, IDF chief Herzi Halevi visited the tunnel in Rafah where the bodies of six hostages were found over the weekend after they were executed by their Hamas captors who apparently got wind that the IDF was approaching.
The IDF’s policy has been not to enter areas when they have intelligence that hostages may be held there. The intelligence apparently wasn’t strong enough regarding the Rafah tunnel in question in what led the soldiers to approach the area, tipping off the Hamas lookouts, the Kan public broadcaster reports.A preliminary investigation conducted by the IDF into the murder of the six hostages has found that Hamas lookout fighters positioned outside the Rafah tunnel spotted Israeli troops approaching and tipped off the guards who executed the captives before fleeing the scene. link This is just another of a long line of warnings by the security establishment that Netanyahu and his failed government will total ignore and claim to know better than the experts. We have seen how their stupidity (because it is not ignorance - they were provided with all of the information and constantly choose to ignore it) is causing the war to go on without an end in sight, bringing about the deaths of more and more hostages until there won't be any alive, not dealing with the war going on in the north or the threat of regional war with Iran, ignoring the economy, and spitting in the face of all of our allies.
US Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff hails the strength of former American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s parents at a Washington vigil memorializing him and the five other hostages who were killed by Hamas last week.
He recalls the conversation he and Vice President Kamala Harris had with Jon and Rachel Goldberg-Polin after “their souls were torn apart, just like the garments we tear in mourning.”
“They were comforting us. They were asking about the latest in the negotiations,” he shares. “They were asking how we can use this terrible moment to make progress. They told the vice president that they don’t want Hersh’s death to be in vain.”
“At Hersh’s funeral yesterday, they still wore the tape marking the number of days the hostages have been in captivity: 332,” Emhoff continues. “I saw that and thought, ‘The count was never about their son alone.'”
“Jon and Rachel’s hearts have room to hold everyone. They are not giving up, and neither can we,” Harris’s husband adds, asserting that the administration is committed to securing a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Addressing the pain of the global Jewish community, Emhoff says, “How you feel right now is how I feel. And how we all feel is something the Kamala hears directly from me.”
“I share what I’m feeling with the vice president – as my partner, as my wife. She knows. She gets it. She cares. She’s committed.”
**Headline: Relatives of Hostages Included in Netanyahu's Document: "The List is Shrinking, Every Name Burns"**
The "Clarifications" document from July, which a senior security official labeled a "document of blood" because it included new demands that stalled a deal, was fully revealed on ynet. It includes a list of 40 hostages, some of whom have since been murdered. "Lives could have been saved from the hell of Gaza," says the uncle of Carmel Gat, who was murdered. Gadi Moses' son is concerned: "Being on the list doesn't guarantee anything."
The full publication of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "Clarifications" document on ynet yesterday (Tuesday), a document that a senior security official claimed was meant to thwart a hostage deal and ceasefire with Hamas, has provoked angry reactions from the hostages' relatives. The families' headquarters accused Netanyahu of no longer being able to claim that he isn't working to sabotage a deal. The document also revealed a list of 40 hostages whose release Israel sought, if alive, as part of the first phase of the proposed deal, which includes the release of hostages from "humanitarian" categories such as women, the sick, and the elderly.
List of 40 hostages that were part of Netanyahu's "Clarifications"
Netanyahu's document raised demands that are currently stalling progress in the deal negotiations, such as the demand to remain in the Philadelphi Route (after Israel had already agreed to withdraw in the original proposal from May), and the inclusion of the list of names has effectively brought back to the discussions an issue that delayed negotiations for many months in the past. A security official accused Netanyahu of creating another dispute with Hamas over who would be classified as "sick" by including the list in the document, calling it another "trick" by the Prime Minister.
The list includes the names of four of the six hostages murdered last week in Rafah. There could have been no debate over at least three of them—Carmel Gat and Eden Yerushalmi, and Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose hand was severed—they would have been released if the deal had gone through. The fourth is Almog Sarusi. "Seeing 'your hostage's name' burns your heart, but every name burns. Lives could have been saved from the hell of Gaza," said Shnir Dan, uncle of Carmel Gat, who was murdered. Addressing Netanyahu's insistence on staying in the Philadelphi Route, he described it as "another symptom": "Netanyahu is the disease. Before, it was Rafah, before it was the number of terrorists, before it was the hostages' list. There will always be something."
**"Even at the UN, Netanyahu drew a bomb—and today, Iran is a threshold nuclear state"**
The name of Itzik Elgart, 68, also appears on the list under the category of elderly hostages (over 50). His brother Danny said that his feeling is that Netanyahu is abandoning him and endangering his life: "Bibi is signing the death certificate of all the hostages abandoned in captivity. His press conference illustrates how much he disdains the citizens of Israel with maps that are missing settlements. According to Bibi's map, Kibbutz Nir Oz no longer exists," said Elgart, referring to the fact that the map of the Gaza Strip presented by Netanyahu at the press conference last night included names of several kibbutzim but not Nir Oz.
The 6 hostages who were executed by Hamas this past weekend - Right to left - Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino
Right to left bottom - Almog Sarusi, Carmel Gat, Alex Lubnov
"Even at the UN, he drew a bomb—and today, Iran is a threshold nuclear state," added Danny Elgart, wondering why "today the Philadelphi Route is the threat and not the Iranian nuclear issue." He added, "This just shows where Netanyahu has led us. The Philadelphi Route should be named after Bibi. He funded it, ignored it, and for his entire reign, he ignored it. Ammunition that killed soldiers was smuggled through it. Thousands of terrorists fled to Egypt through it. He is the darling of the Philadelphi Route—and now he is selling it to us as a threat. The only threat to the State of Israel is Netanyahu himself."Oded Moses-Orbach, son of Gadi Moses, also included in the list under the elderly category, said, "As we have come to realize in recent weeks, being on this list does not guarantee anything. With great pain and anger, we see that this list is shrinking. The clarifications document clarifies one thing: Netanyahu is complicit in the crime of the murder of Israeli citizens in captivity. The Philadelphi Route is a long pipe that on one end supplies oxygen to the Prime Minister and his government, and on the other end deprives the little oxygen left for the hostages and kills them. This is the truth about the Philadelphi Route. According to all current and former security officials, the Philadelphi Route is important, but the Prime Minister is lying to the citizens when he presents a distorted picture of the route's implications for the state's security. The government ministers who are complicit in the Prime Minister's ongoing obstructions are partners in the crime. The citizens of Israel are not willing to be complicit in the crime and will continue to take to the streets to demand an immediate deal. If the government has given up on the hostages, the people will bring them back."
Eli Sharabi's name also appears on the list. His brother Yossi, who was also kidnapped to Gaza and killed in captivity, was also listed. Their brother Sharon said, "The citizens of Israel have been crying out for 11 months to bring the hostages back from Hamas captivity. For 11 months, conditions have not matured between the parties to agree on a life-saving plan. The marathon is still ongoing without being able to know or see the finish line. The importance of the Israeli government, along with security officials holding on to the Philadelphi Route, is indeed important, but it does not balance against the moral test of abandoning 101 hostages who are still languishing in Hamas captivity. Until when? Until we bring them back in coffins?
"The timeline is more urgent and pressing than the Philadelphi Route, and this is the moral test of the Israeli government regarding Israel's security preparedness against its enemies on predefined borders. Where is our path as a nation that sanctifies human life? A question that Israeli society will have to decide now, in light of the attachment to a route that we have neglected for about 20 years. Is it really not worth bringing back the living hostages and the remains that are still there? How does the importance of one security route or another come to the forefront of public discourse within two months compared to saving lives?" Sharon added. "The list of 40 must overnight become the list of 101 without compromise. I turn to Prime Minister Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu: Save our children from the torture apartments and rape and from the tunnels of terror and death, save the families and citizens of Israel whose souls are trapped with them, save your and our Israel from a crisis that will never be healed. From the depths of my heart, I appeal to you, be a leader for a history that will echo for generations. Keep Israel values-based for the sake of saving lives. This is our absolute victory."
Sharon Sharabi who's 2 brothers are hostages - Yossi was killed in captivity and Hamas is holding his body. Eli's entire family was killed on October 7The document published by Ronen Bergman also elicited a response from Einav Tsengauker, whose son Matan is kidnapped in Gaza. "The shocking document that was published will serve as an indictment of Netanyahu for the murder of the hostages. He is not interested in the Philadelphi Route but in the integrity of the government. My son is a victim of cheap politicians who act as Netanyahu's lackeys. It is not enough that we, the families of the hostages, have experienced incitement from the government. Now we receive evidence of the decision to sacrifice our families for the sake of the chair and the coalition's integrity—six hostages could have been here with us alive if Netanyahu had not thwarted the deal; four of them would have been in the humanitarian phase. All that remains for us is to cry out for the hostages still alive and continue to protest against the government of blood."
Einav Tzengauker who's son Matan is in Hamas captivity. She is an amazing person and a leader in the fight to bring the hostages homeFollowing the exposure, many of the hostages' families decided to intensify their struggle for release. For example, the Angerst family, whose son, armored corps fighter Matan, was seriously wounded and kidnapped on October 7, said: "To be honest, we are a family that all voted for Bibi, including Matan," said his father, Haggai, yesterday. "We genuinely believed at first that the Prime Minister would bring him back, and to be honest, I would be very happy to say that the Prime Minister is doing everything to release the hostages, but that is not the case. The opposite. We see that he is doing everything to foil the negotiations—and we are losing this war."
You shall not killYou shall not covetYou shall not answer your neighbor with a lieMatan's brother, Ofir, also spoke with pain: "At first we supported, we thought they were working on it. But the six who were murdered this week, executed, that was the final certificate of poverty. It made us realize that we have to take to the streets, because if not, we will bring Matan back in a bag."
Nofar Buchstab, whose brother Yagav (35) was recovered about two weeks ago from Gaza alongside five other bodies after being murdered in Hamas tunnels, has not stopped her fight for the release of the hostages. "When I think of the six previous bodies, it is very difficult for me," she said yesterday. "I have questions, why didn't we wake up when they were rescued? And now another six, and that is already 27 hostages who were kidnapped alive and murdered in captivity. That is so many. We have been crying out for months that the military pressure is killing them, and they were really executed. Our government does not want to bring them home. It is unfortunate that six more people had to be murdered to make us understand this." link
Hamas releases video of slain Ori Danino saying 'People of Israel: Do not neglect us'
He addresses PM Benjamin Netanyahu and the war cabinet saying
"you failed us on October 7."
Hamas
published a video of the late Ori
Danino, one of the six Gaza hostages who was murdered in captivity, on
their Telegram on Tuesday.
The bodies
of hostages Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog
Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Ori Danino were found in the Gaza Strip, the IDF
said on Sunday morning. The IDF retrieved the bodies of the hostages from
a tunnel under the city of Rafah in Gaza.
The video starts with a montage of photos of the six dead
hostages. Danino then introduces himself with his name, where he is from and
where he was taken hostage from.
"Our living conditions are very difficult, there is no
food, no water, no electricity," he says. He adds that there is non-stop
shooting and bombing. He addresses PM Benjamin Netanyahu and the war cabinet saying
"you failed us on October 7."
"Today you are trying to kill us one after another in
failed rescue attempts."
Danino then asks the camera, "Where were you when they shot
me?" followed by several other questions about the government's absence on
and after October 7.
To the people of Israel
Addressing the people of Israel, he begs, "Keep doing
everything until we get out of here alive.""Get u s out of here alive because at this pace no one will
survive"
Speaking to his family, he told them how much he loved them:
"There is not a day that I do not think of you." link to article and Hamas video of Ori
During a visit to the central Gaza Strip yesterday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi hints his support for a hostage deal with Hamas in remarks provided by the military.
“We must not give up on any of the war goals. The IDF is continuing to defeat the military wing of Hamas and is doing everything possible to bring the hostages back alive. Every hostage we return alive now will have many more years of life, and every terrorist will ultimately be eliminated,” he says.
THE 3-WEEK DEAL
All eyes on Washington now - the final "take it or leave it deal" must put a speedy end to the war in Gaza, guarantee a release of all of the Israeli hostages. The deal will include a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of an agreed number and names of Palestinian prisoners and a significant increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza. I can all be done in three weeks. Anyone with influence - transmit this message - the clock is ticking. Gershon Baskin. Sept 4 2024
In Tel Aviv, chants of “You’re not alone — we’re with you” greet relatives of hostages who get up to speak to the 2,000-person strong crowd demanding a hostage deal.
A group representing people arrested at anti-government rallies says two protesters have been detained at the demonstration.
Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, tells ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government their “names will be written in the history books with the blood of the hostages who were murdered in Gaza.” “You have one way to avoid that fate — abandon the hangman from Aza Street,” she says, referring to the address of Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence. “Replace him with someone who will bring a deal.”
Ifat Kalderon, cousin of hostage Ofer Kalderon, accuses Netanyahu of harming the negotiations by ordering the assassination of top Hamas officials and “causing the death of the hostages,” riffing on his former nickname of Mr. Security.
“The military pressure, which never led to progress in the negotiations, has turned into a veritable mortal danger for the hostages,” she says. “And you, Mr. Abandonment, have lost the way.”
She calls on her cousin Ofer to stay strong, and thanks the crowd for coming to the protest.
Eli Albag, father of hostage Liri Albag, calls on the crowd to hoist their phones in a moment of silence for the six slain hostages recovered from Gaza over the weekend and the six slain hostages recovered the week before.
Three comments on the situation. (Gershon Baskin, 4.9.2024):
1. An interfering element: tonight on Channel 11 the episode about Gilad Shalit in the series "Prisoners" will be broadcast in which I am interviewed. I haven't seen the episode yet, but I remember that while Gilad was in captivity (5 years and 4 months), during the time that Hagai Hadas (former Mossad man) was the coordinator of for the prisoners and hostages, Hadas told the Schalit family not to talk to me because "Baskin is a disruptive element." I fully admit that I'm a disruptive element - and that's probably how the official system still relates to me today. In my humble opinion, we need a lot of interfering elements because the official elements fail to return the hostages and also fail to end the war. So to all of the interfering elements out there, join me and together we might be more successful.
2. Philadelphia corridor: The threat of Philadelphia corridor is invented by Netanyahu to torpedo any deal with Hamas. Alon Ben David (senior military correspondent) reported last night on Channel 13 that so far the IDF has not found a single tunnel that crosses the corridor to the Egyptian side. It turns out that the Egyptians did close all the tunnels, and even if they didn't, the security solution for the Philadelphia corridor is on the Egyptian side of the corridor - in Egyptian sovereign territory. When I asked the Hamas people what their position was regarding the closure of the corridor on the Egyptian side, they responded that it is Egyptian sovereign territory and the Egyptians can do as they wish there. Israel should conduct negotiations with Egypt and the USA so that the Americans will finance, provide technology, and assume supervision and control of the hermetically closing of the corridor from the Egyptian side, and then there will be no security threat from it.
3. The image of victory: It seems to me that Netanyahu will not consider ending the war until Sinwar is killed, and maybe not after that either. The murder of the six hostages over the weekend constitutes a fundamental change in Hamas' attitude to the living hostages. Hamas announced that any Israeli military attempt to rescue the hostages would end in their extermination. There is no reason to believe that the elimination of Sinwar will not end with the elimination of all the hostages. Only a deal will bring back all of the hostages.
Protesters demonstrating against the government
and in favor of a hostage deal have gathered at a number of intersections
around the country, according to the Hostage and Missing Families Forum.
Crowds of several dozen to several hundred people,
waving signs and flags, are seen gathered near Rehovot, Hod Hasharon, near
Nahalal in the lower Galilee, and elsewhere.
In Tel Aviv, the crowd has swelled to thousands,
according to media reports, with relatives of hostages delivering angry
speeches from atop a van in the middle of Begin Boulevard.
“The Philadelphi axis is the biggest bluff there
is,” says Eli Albag, father of hostage Liri Albag, referring to an area on the
Gaza-Egypt border where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded troops
remain, turning it into a major sticking point in talks.
“Netanyahu thinks Israel’s people are dummies.
Hezbollah, Iran, the West Bank, Gaza — the most important axis is the Ben
Gvir-Smotrich axis. That’s the most dangerous axis to the nation of Israel,” he
says, according to the Ynet news site.
The White House says that an Israel-approved
framework for a hostage deal meant to close gaps between the sides includes an
IDF withdrawal from heavily populated areas along the Philadelphi Corridor, a
day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel must keep its
forces deployed on the Gaza-Egypt border stretch and would do so for the
foreseeable future.
“The deal itself, including the bridging proposal that we started working with…
includes the removal of Israeli Defense Forces from all densely populated
areas, and that includes those areas along and adjacent to that corridor,” says
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby in a briefing
with reporters. “That’s the proposal that Israel had agreed to.”
Kirby declines to clarify when asked whether this
means that the US supports allowing Israeli troops to remain in less densely
populated areas along the Philadelphi Corridor.
While reiterating the deal’s requirement for
Israel to at least partially withdraw from Philadelphi, the White House
spokesperson acknowledges that Jerusalem is publicly stressing that it “would
need some security along that corridor.”
“I’m not going to get into a debate with the prime
minister over what he said over the weekend,” Kirby says.
Netanyahu argued yesterday that allowing troops to
withdraw from the Gaza-Egypt border, which Israel says is a major smuggling
artery, would result in arms and equipment for making weapons and digging
tunnels again being smuggled into the Strip and the possibility of hostages
being smuggled out.
He said Israel would retain control of the
Philadelphi Corridor for the foreseeable future, describing its presence there
as crucial to preventing Hamas from rearming, and vital to Israel’s
future. Link it’s hard to believe that Netanyahu is
agreeing to leave the Philadelphi Route, especially after his press conference
yesterday. however, sine the US statement out, the PM’s office has been silent
**The New Proposal That Might Be Presented as Early as the Weekend, the Plan for Philadelphi, and the Assessment: How Sinwar Will Respond**
Netanyahu insists on the IDF remaining in the Philadelphi Corridor, but Israel has said it would be willing to consider withdrawing from it in the second phase of a deal. The assessment: Sinwar will refuse the new plan, which might include further demands to compromise on the disputed issue. Sources familiar with the negotiations believe the U.S. will exert more pressure on Netanyahu. On the agenda: the release of 23 hostages.
The Americans did not like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comments at the Monday press conference regarding Israel's refusal to fully withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor. "This doesn’t help us," said an American official. The mediators in the negotiations for a ceasefire and a hostage deal also clarified that they do not understand why Netanyahu said this. Sources involved in the talks with the Americans and the mediators said there is a difference between what Netanyahu said at the press conference and the maps presented by the negotiating team during discussions.
Israel has stated that it is willing to consider a full withdrawal from the corridor in the second phase; however, according to Israeli assessments, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is expected to reject a plan that includes such an offer because he does not believe the deal will reach that phase, and therefore, he demands a full withdrawal immediately, in the first phase.
Sources familiar with the issue said the emerging bridging proposal might not necessarily come from the U.S. but could possibly come from Qatar. Another possibility is a joint proposal from the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt. The proposal is expected to be submitted by the end of the week, perhaps even on Thursday.
According to the sources, the proposal will include another demand for Israel to be flexible on the Philadelphi issue, which "has become the main obstacle to a ceasefire and a hostage deal," according to the Washington Post. There was already an agreement between Israel and the U.S. to reduce the forces stationed in Philadelphi, but it seems that the Americans will demand further reductions. Either way, the principle of maintaining a military presence appears to be agreed upon by the parties in the first phase of the deal, even if it is reduced to a handful of IDF positions.
The assessment in Israel, as mentioned, is that Yahya Sinwar will not accept this and will oppose it because he demands zero Israeli presence, zero soldiers in the corridor. The Americans know that for Sinwar to agree, they must show that they are pressuring Netanyahu to compromise on Philadelphi, and this might be reflected in the bridging proposal. In Israel, there is pessimism, and the expectation is that Sinwar will say "no."
**The Urgency Has Changed Following the Hostage Murders**
Meanwhile, behind-the-scenes talks continue. Mossad Chief Dedi Barnea visited Qatar on Monday, and an Israeli working team is continuing discussions there. The parties are trying to finalize the last details, such as the list of names that changed dramatically following the murder of six hostages, four of whom were supposed to be released in the deal. Now, the parties are discussing the release of 23 live hostages. Israel is still insisting on maximizing the number and adding more names. Sources familiar with the details said that the execution of the six hostages shocked them, and they understand that there is an added sense of urgency, and they must reach the finish line. The Americans are also now open to other thinking and a paradigm shift in the negotiations and may increase pressure on Netanyahu, backing him into a corner. The Americans believe that, in the end, Netanyahu will say "yes" out of fear of being seen as the refuser.
However, senior government officials said the real question is who to save—the hostages or the coalition. According to them, Netanyahu has currently chosen the coalition. They emphasized what has been said several times: National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir threatened Netanyahu that if there is a deal, the coalition will fall apart. An Israeli official familiar with the details of the negotiations noted that progress had been made on certain issues with the mediators, but currently, Hamas is "not in the picture." According to him, even if the U.S. presents a bridging proposal, it is doubtful it will lead to a breakthrough because Hamas, as usual, will respond with "yes, but."
The understanding in Israel is that the Americans are increasing pressure on Israel but are failing to get Egypt and Qatar to truly pressure Hamas. It is also understood in Israel that the pressure will focus on withdrawing from Philadelphi and the Rafah Crossing, but Netanyahu does not intend to back down on this issue.
"On Saturday, IDF forces recovered six bodies that were murdered by Hamas, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin," said John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council at the White House, this evening. "They were executed; Hamas is responsible for their deaths. As President Biden said, Hamas leaders will pay for their crimes. The President and Vice President met yesterday in the Situation Room at the White House with the negotiating team to discuss the next steps to secure the release of the hostages. We are working on a proposal that will ensure the release of the hostages, include massive aid to Gaza residents, and stop the fighting." Kirby added: "The team is still working to reach a deal. We are consulting with Qatar, Egypt, and Israel, and Egypt and Qatar are in contact with Hamas. The murders over the weekend underscore the urgency before us to reach closure. I won’t go into the details of the proposal, but we are continuing to work on it. There are ups and downs, but it is entirely possible. We had a sense of urgency before, but the execution of the hostages highlights how important it is to continue working."
Kirby was also asked about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence on the Philadelphi Corridor and replied: "The proposal, including the bridging proposal, includes the removal of the IDF from all densely populated areas, and this includes the areas along the Philadelphi Corridor. It's all in the proposal. I am not going to negotiate in public. The deal states that the IDF needs to exit all densely populated areas in the first phase, including those around the Philadelphi Corridor where it meets these areas." link
The IDF has issued a warning to Israel’s political leadership that any expansion of the military operation in Gaza risks the lives of the hostages, Channel 13 reports.
The network cites a senior military official who asserts that a hostage deal, on the other hand, would allow the IDF to operate more freely in Gaza, including in places where it has not yet operated.
Earlier this week, IDF chief Herzi Halevi visited the tunnel in Rafah where the bodies of six hostages were found over the weekend after they were executed by their Hamas captors who apparently got wind that the IDF was approaching.
The IDF’s policy has been not to enter areas when they have intelligence that hostages may be held there. The intelligence apparently wasn’t strong enough regarding the Rafah tunnel in question in what led the soldiers to approach the area, tipping off the Hamas lookouts, the Kan public broadcaster reports.A preliminary investigation conducted by the IDF into the murder of the six hostages has found that Hamas lookout fighters positioned outside the Rafah tunnel spotted Israeli troops approaching and tipped off the guards who executed the captives before fleeing the scene. link This is just another of a long line of warnings by the security establishment that Netanyahu and his failed government will total ignore and claim to know better than the experts. We have seen how their stupidity (because it is not ignorance - they were provided with all of the information and constantly choose to ignore it) is causing the war to go on without an end in sight, bringing about the deaths of more and more hostages until there won't be any alive, not dealing with the war going on in the north or the threat of regional war with Iran, ignoring the economy, and spitting in the face of all of our allies.
US Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff hails the strength of former American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s parents at a Washington vigil memorializing him and the five other hostages who were killed by Hamas last week.
He recalls the conversation he and Vice President Kamala Harris had with Jon and Rachel Goldberg-Polin after “their souls were torn apart, just like the garments we tear in mourning.”
“They were comforting us. They were asking about the latest in the negotiations,” he shares. “They were asking how we can use this terrible moment to make progress. They told the vice president that they don’t want Hersh’s death to be in vain.”
“At Hersh’s funeral yesterday, they still wore the tape marking the number of days the hostages have been in captivity: 332,” Emhoff continues. “I saw that and thought, ‘The count was never about their son alone.'”
“Jon and Rachel’s hearts have room to hold everyone. They are not giving up, and neither can we,” Harris’s husband adds, asserting that the administration is committed to securing a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Addressing the pain of the global Jewish community, Emhoff says, “How you feel right now is how I feel. And how we all feel is something the Kamala hears directly from me.”
“I share what I’m feeling with the vice president – as my partner, as my wife. She knows. She gets it. She cares. She’s committed.”
**Headline: Relatives of Hostages Included in Netanyahu's Document: "The List is Shrinking, Every Name Burns"**
The "Clarifications" document from July, which a senior security official labeled a "document of blood" because it included new demands that stalled a deal, was fully revealed on ynet. It includes a list of 40 hostages, some of whom have since been murdered. "Lives could have been saved from the hell of Gaza," says the uncle of Carmel Gat, who was murdered. Gadi Moses' son is concerned: "Being on the list doesn't guarantee anything."
The full publication of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "Clarifications" document on ynet yesterday (Tuesday), a document that a senior security official claimed was meant to thwart a hostage deal and ceasefire with Hamas, has provoked angry reactions from the hostages' relatives. The families' headquarters accused Netanyahu of no longer being able to claim that he isn't working to sabotage a deal. The document also revealed a list of 40 hostages whose release Israel sought, if alive, as part of the first phase of the proposed deal, which includes the release of hostages from "humanitarian" categories such as women, the sick, and the elderly.
Netanyahu's document raised demands that are currently stalling progress in the deal negotiations, such as the demand to remain in the Philadelphi Route (after Israel had already agreed to withdraw in the original proposal from May), and the inclusion of the list of names has effectively brought back to the discussions an issue that delayed negotiations for many months in the past. A security official accused Netanyahu of creating another dispute with Hamas over who would be classified as "sick" by including the list in the document, calling it another "trick" by the Prime Minister.
The list includes the names of four of the six hostages murdered last week in Rafah. There could have been no debate over at least three of them—Carmel Gat and Eden Yerushalmi, and Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose hand was severed—they would have been released if the deal had gone through. The fourth is Almog Sarusi. "Seeing 'your hostage's name' burns your heart, but every name burns. Lives could have been saved from the hell of Gaza," said Shnir Dan, uncle of Carmel Gat, who was murdered. Addressing Netanyahu's insistence on staying in the Philadelphi Route, he described it as "another symptom": "Netanyahu is the disease. Before, it was Rafah, before it was the number of terrorists, before it was the hostages' list. There will always be something."
**"Even at the UN, Netanyahu drew a bomb—and today, Iran is a threshold nuclear state"**
The name of Itzik Elgart, 68, also appears on the list under the category of elderly hostages (over 50). His brother Danny said that his feeling is that Netanyahu is abandoning him and endangering his life: "Bibi is signing the death certificate of all the hostages abandoned in captivity. His press conference illustrates how much he disdains the citizens of Israel with maps that are missing settlements. According to Bibi's map, Kibbutz Nir Oz no longer exists," said Elgart, referring to the fact that the map of the Gaza Strip presented by Netanyahu at the press conference last night included names of several kibbutzim but not Nir Oz.
Right to left bottom - Almog Sarusi, Carmel Gat, Alex Lubnov
"Even at the UN, he drew a bomb—and today, Iran is a threshold nuclear state," added Danny Elgart, wondering why "today the Philadelphi Route is the threat and not the Iranian nuclear issue." He added, "This just shows where Netanyahu has led us. The Philadelphi Route should be named after Bibi. He funded it, ignored it, and for his entire reign, he ignored it. Ammunition that killed soldiers was smuggled through it. Thousands of terrorists fled to Egypt through it. He is the darling of the Philadelphi Route—and now he is selling it to us as a threat. The only threat to the State of Israel is Netanyahu himself."
Oded Moses-Orbach, son of Gadi Moses, also included in the list under the elderly category, said, "As we have come to realize in recent weeks, being on this list does not guarantee anything. With great pain and anger, we see that this list is shrinking. The clarifications document clarifies one thing: Netanyahu is complicit in the crime of the murder of Israeli citizens in captivity. The Philadelphi Route is a long pipe that on one end supplies oxygen to the Prime Minister and his government, and on the other end deprives the little oxygen left for the hostages and kills them. This is the truth about the Philadelphi Route. According to all current and former security officials, the Philadelphi Route is important, but the Prime Minister is lying to the citizens when he presents a distorted picture of the route's implications for the state's security. The government ministers who are complicit in the Prime Minister's ongoing obstructions are partners in the crime. The citizens of Israel are not willing to be complicit in the crime and will continue to take to the streets to demand an immediate deal. If the government has given up on the hostages, the people will bring them back."
Eli Sharabi's name also appears on the list. His brother Yossi, who was also kidnapped to Gaza and killed in captivity, was also listed. Their brother Sharon said, "The citizens of Israel have been crying out for 11 months to bring the hostages back from Hamas captivity. For 11 months, conditions have not matured between the parties to agree on a life-saving plan. The marathon is still ongoing without being able to know or see the finish line. The importance of the Israeli government, along with security officials holding on to the Philadelphi Route, is indeed important, but it does not balance against the moral test of abandoning 101 hostages who are still languishing in Hamas captivity. Until when? Until we bring them back in coffins?
"The timeline is more urgent and pressing than the Philadelphi Route, and this is the moral test of the Israeli government regarding Israel's security preparedness against its enemies on predefined borders. Where is our path as a nation that sanctifies human life? A question that Israeli society will have to decide now, in light of the attachment to a route that we have neglected for about 20 years. Is it really not worth bringing back the living hostages and the remains that are still there? How does the importance of one security route or another come to the forefront of public discourse within two months compared to saving lives?" Sharon added. "The list of 40 must overnight become the list of 101 without compromise. I turn to Prime Minister Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu: Save our children from the torture apartments and rape and from the tunnels of terror and death, save the families and citizens of Israel whose souls are trapped with them, save your and our Israel from a crisis that will never be healed. From the depths of my heart, I appeal to you, be a leader for a history that will echo for generations. Keep Israel values-based for the sake of saving lives. This is our absolute victory."
The document published by Ronen Bergman also elicited a response from Einav Tsengauker, whose son Matan is kidnapped in Gaza. "The shocking document that was published will serve as an indictment of Netanyahu for the murder of the hostages. He is not interested in the Philadelphi Route but in the integrity of the government. My son is a victim of cheap politicians who act as Netanyahu's lackeys. It is not enough that we, the families of the hostages, have experienced incitement from the government. Now we receive evidence of the decision to sacrifice our families for the sake of the chair and the coalition's integrity—six hostages could have been here with us alive if Netanyahu had not thwarted the deal; four of them would have been in the humanitarian phase. All that remains for us is to cry out for the hostages still alive and continue to protest against the government of blood."
Following the exposure, many of the hostages' families decided to intensify their struggle for release. For example, the Angerst family, whose son, armored corps fighter Matan, was seriously wounded and kidnapped on October 7, said: "To be honest, we are a family that all voted for Bibi, including Matan," said his father, Haggai, yesterday. "We genuinely believed at first that the Prime Minister would bring him back, and to be honest, I would be very happy to say that the Prime Minister is doing everything to release the hostages, but that is not the case. The opposite. We see that he is doing everything to foil the negotiations—and we are losing this war."
Matan's brother, Ofir, also spoke with pain: "At first we supported, we thought they were working on it. But the six who were murdered this week, executed, that was the final certificate of poverty. It made us realize that we have to take to the streets, because if not, we will bring Matan back in a bag."
Nofar Buchstab, whose brother Yagav (35) was recovered about two weeks ago from Gaza alongside five other bodies after being murdered in Hamas tunnels, has not stopped her fight for the release of the hostages. "When I think of the six previous bodies, it is very difficult for me," she said yesterday. "I have questions, why didn't we wake up when they were rescued? And now another six, and that is already 27 hostages who were kidnapped alive and murdered in captivity. That is so many. We have been crying out for months that the military pressure is killing them, and they were really executed. Our government does not want to bring them home. It is unfortunate that six more people had to be murdered to make us understand this." link
Hamas releases video of slain Ori Danino saying 'People of Israel: Do not neglect us'
He addresses PM Benjamin Netanyahu and the war cabinet saying
"you failed us on October 7."
Hamas
published a video of the late Ori
Danino, one of the six Gaza hostages who was murdered in captivity, on
their Telegram on Tuesday.
The bodies of hostages Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Ori Danino were found in the Gaza Strip, the IDF said on Sunday morning. The IDF retrieved the bodies of the hostages from a tunnel under the city of Rafah in Gaza.
The video starts with a montage of photos of the six dead hostages. Danino then introduces himself with his name, where he is from and where he was taken hostage from.
"Our living conditions are very difficult, there is no food, no water, no electricity," he says. He adds that there is non-stop shooting and bombing. He addresses PM Benjamin Netanyahu and the war cabinet saying "you failed us on October 7."
"Today you are trying to kill us one after another in failed rescue attempts."
Danino then asks the camera, "Where were you when they shot
me?" followed by several other questions about the government's absence on
and after October 7.
To the people of Israel
Addressing the people of Israel, he begs, "Keep doing
everything until we get out of here alive.""Get u s out of here alive because at this pace no one will
survive"
Speaking to his family, he told them how much he loved them:
"There is not a day that I do not think of you." link to article and Hamas video of Ori
During a visit to the central Gaza Strip yesterday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi hints his support for a hostage deal with Hamas in remarks provided by the military.
“We must not give up on any of the war goals. The IDF is continuing to defeat the military wing of Hamas and is doing everything possible to bring the hostages back alive. Every hostage we return alive now will have many more years of life, and every terrorist will ultimately be eliminated,” he says.
THE 3-WEEK DEAL
All eyes on Washington now - the final "take it or leave it deal" must put a speedy end to the war in Gaza, guarantee a release of all of the Israeli hostages. The deal will include a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of an agreed number and names of Palestinian prisoners and a significant increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza. I can all be done in three weeks. Anyone with influence - transmit this message - the clock is ticking. Gershon Baskin. Sept 4 2024
Gaza
Israeli troops have killed more than 200 terror operatives during operations led by the 162nd Division in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip in recent weeks, the IDF says.
The military says dozens of weapons hidden inside homes in the neighborhood have also been located.
In one incident, troops searching a building battled a gunman. In the basement, the IDF says, the soldiers located a cache of weapons and supplies used by the terror operatives.
More than 10 long-range rocket launchers were also located in the Tel Sultan area, the military adds.
Long-range rocket launchers found by troops in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in a handout image published September 4, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says the Palestinian death toll since the terror group launched the October 7 attack on Israel now stands at 40,861.
The figure cannot be independently verified and includes more than 17,000 Hamas gunmen Israel says it has killed in battle. Israel also says it killed some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Israeli troops have killed more than 200 terror operatives during operations led by the 162nd Division in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip in recent weeks, the IDF says.
The military says dozens of weapons hidden inside homes in the neighborhood have also been located.
In one incident, troops searching a building battled a gunman. In the basement, the IDF says, the soldiers located a cache of weapons and supplies used by the terror operatives.
More than 10 long-range rocket launchers were also located in the Tel Sultan area, the military adds.
Long-range rocket launchers found by troops in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in a handout image published September 4, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says the Palestinian death toll since the terror group launched the October 7 attack on Israel now stands at 40,861.
The figure cannot be independently verified and includes more than 17,000 Hamas gunmen Israel says it has killed in battle. Israel also says it killed some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
Overnight, a drone heading toward Israel from the eastern direction was shot down by air defenses, the IDF says.
The military says the drone did not enter Israeli airspace.
The Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for launching a drone at Haifa.
Meanwhile, Israeli fighter jets struck a Hezbollah rocket launcher in southern Lebanon’s Zibqin, used in a previous attack on Israel, the IDF says.
Buildings used by Hezbollah in Khiam and Ayta ash-Shab were also struck, the military adds.
It publishes footage of the strikes. video
Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon’s Kounine and Qabrikha that were used in previous attacks on Israel, the IDF says. Meanwhile, the IDF says that one projectile launched from Lebanon at the border community of Shtula an hour ago struck an open area. No injuries were caused in the attack. The military releases footage of the strikes. video
Damage was caused to property in the latest rocket barrage from Lebanon on Kiryat Shmona, authorities say.
The Fire and Rescue service says it is responding to reports of impacts that sparked fires in buildings and in open areas in Kiryat Shmona.
Police say they is also handling several rocket impact sites that caused damage but no injuries.
Overnight, a drone heading toward Israel from the eastern direction was shot down by air defenses, the IDF says.
The military says the drone did not enter Israeli airspace.
The Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for launching a drone at Haifa.
Meanwhile, Israeli fighter jets struck a Hezbollah rocket launcher in southern Lebanon’s Zibqin, used in a previous attack on Israel, the IDF says.
Buildings used by Hezbollah in Khiam and Ayta ash-Shab were also struck, the military adds.
It publishes footage of the strikes. video
Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon’s Kounine and Qabrikha that were used in previous attacks on Israel, the IDF says. Meanwhile, the IDF says that one projectile launched from Lebanon at the border community of Shtula an hour ago struck an open area. No injuries were caused in the attack. The military releases footage of the strikes. video
Damage was caused to property in the latest rocket barrage from Lebanon on Kiryat Shmona, authorities say.
The Fire and Rescue service says it is responding to reports of impacts that sparked fires in buildings and in open areas in Kiryat Shmona.
Police say they is also handling several rocket impact sites that caused damage but no injuries.
West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel
- Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says the military is “mowing the lawn” during an ongoing major operation against terror groups in the West Bank, but will need eventually to “pull out the roots.”
“The rise of terror in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) is an issue that we need to be focused on at every moment. The process is an attack to prevent terror. We are mowing the lawn, [but] the moment will also come when we will pull out the roots, that must be done,” he says following an assessment in the West Bank with senior IDF officers.
“The rise [in terror] that comes in the form of car bombs and shooting everywhere, these are things that need to be put to an end,” Gallant says.
“These terror organizations that call themselves by all kinds of names, in Nur Shams, or in Tulkarm, or in Far’a, or in Jenin, they (the terror groups) should be wiped out. Every such terrorist should be eliminated, [or] if they surrender, arrest them,” he adds.
The IDF releases footage of it demolishing a bomb-making lab in the West Bank city of Tulkarem amid an ongoing operation there. Another clip released by the military shows an explosive device planted under a road in Tulkarem being neutralized by troops. The IDF says it also located a bomb hidden in a baby carriage in the area. videos
“The rise of terror in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) is an issue that we need to be focused on at every moment. The process is an attack to prevent terror. We are mowing the lawn, [but] the moment will also come when we will pull out the roots, that must be done,” he says following an assessment in the West Bank with senior IDF officers.
“The rise [in terror] that comes in the form of car bombs and shooting everywhere, these are things that need to be put to an end,” Gallant says.
“These terror organizations that call themselves by all kinds of names, in Nur Shams, or in Tulkarm, or in Far’a, or in Jenin, they (the terror groups) should be wiped out. Every such terrorist should be eliminated, [or] if they surrender, arrest them,” he adds.
The IDF releases footage of it demolishing a bomb-making lab in the West Bank city of Tulkarem amid an ongoing operation there. Another clip released by the military shows an explosive device planted under a road in Tulkarem being neutralized by troops. The IDF says it also located a bomb hidden in a baby carriage in the area. videos
Politics and the War (general news)
- Press Release & Video: Netanyahu is “a drunk
driver in the seat of government”; I have worked out a deal with Hamas that can
work: Israeli hostage negotiator, Gershon Baskin, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
The man who is internationally acclaimed for
securing the release of Israeli solider Gilad Schalit from Hamas custody in
2011 has described Prime Minister Netanyahu as “a drunk driver in the seat of
government”. Gershon Baskin says Netanyahu’s belief that military pressure can
defeat Hamas and secure the release of hostages is wrong and is likely to lead
to the opposite outcome i.e. the killing of the hostages. As he put it:
“Military pressure has killed and is killing hostages”.
In a 30-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The
Wire, Gershon Baskin, who is also the Middle East Director of the International
Communities Organization, spelt out the details of a deal he has worked out
with Hamas for the release of all 101 hostages, dead or alive, the end of the
war, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the agreed release of Palestinian
prisoners by name and number. Dr. Baskin says he has received a written message
from an unnamed Hamas leader (on 3/9) which says: “We support your proposal”
adding “all leaders” do. Dr. Baskin says that rather than take his word for it
Israel should get Qatar and Egypt to clarify and verify with Hamas whether they
have accepted this deal or not.
Speaking about the so-called Biden peace deal, a
new and updated version of which could be announced in the very near future,
Dr. Baskin called it “a bad plan (which) doesn’t end the war (and) doesn’t
return all hostages.
I will stop there. I am only giving you the main
broad important points made by Dr. Baskin. There’s an awful lot of detail in
the interview which you must hear yourself.
Dr. Baskin speaks in detail about why the Biden
plan is a bad plan. He explains why Netanyahu’s insistence that Israel must
control the Philadelphi Corridor is an attempt to scupper the Biden plan but
also unnecessary because, as he explains, Egypt has already effectively closed
access to Gaza through the corridor.
Dr. Baskin speaks at length about why Netanyahu’s
belief that military pressure can release the hostages is mistaken and wrong
and dangerous.
Dr. Baskin gives extensive details of his own
plan, his approaches to Qatar, Egypt and America to get them to seriously think
about his plan and the response he’s got from Hamas. He also explains why,
unlike what he’s done in the past, he’s gone public with the details of his
plan.
You must see the interview for all of this. interview
- Israel at its lowest point ever, Netanyahu reneged on hostage deal proposal, Eisenkot charges
The man who is internationally acclaimed for
securing the release of Israeli solider Gilad Schalit from Hamas custody in
2011 has described Prime Minister Netanyahu as “a drunk driver in the seat of
government”. Gershon Baskin says Netanyahu’s belief that military pressure can
defeat Hamas and secure the release of hostages is wrong and is likely to lead
to the opposite outcome i.e. the killing of the hostages. As he put it:
“Military pressure has killed and is killing hostages”.
In a 30-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The
Wire, Gershon Baskin, who is also the Middle East Director of the International
Communities Organization, spelt out the details of a deal he has worked out
with Hamas for the release of all 101 hostages, dead or alive, the end of the
war, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the agreed release of Palestinian
prisoners by name and number. Dr. Baskin says he has received a written message
from an unnamed Hamas leader (on 3/9) which says: “We support your proposal”
adding “all leaders” do. Dr. Baskin says that rather than take his word for it
Israel should get Qatar and Egypt to clarify and verify with Hamas whether they
have accepted this deal or not.
Speaking about the so-called Biden peace deal, a
new and updated version of which could be announced in the very near future,
Dr. Baskin called it “a bad plan (which) doesn’t end the war (and) doesn’t
return all hostages.
I will stop there. I am only giving you the main
broad important points made by Dr. Baskin. There’s an awful lot of detail in
the interview which you must hear yourself.
Dr. Baskin speaks in detail about why the Biden
plan is a bad plan. He explains why Netanyahu’s insistence that Israel must
control the Philadelphi Corridor is an attempt to scupper the Biden plan but
also unnecessary because, as he explains, Egypt has already effectively closed
access to Gaza through the corridor.
Dr. Baskin speaks at length about why Netanyahu’s
belief that military pressure can release the hostages is mistaken and wrong
and dangerous.
Dr. Baskin gives extensive details of his own
plan, his approaches to Qatar, Egypt and America to get them to seriously think
about his plan and the response he’s got from Hamas. He also explains why,
unlike what he’s done in the past, he’s gone public with the details of his
plan.
You must see the interview for all of this. interview
National Unity MK and former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot says that he takes the issue of the Philadelphi Corridor seriously, but accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “delegitimizing” the defense minister and IDF officers in his statements about who should control the Gaza-Egypt border.
Appearing at a press briefing with fellow former IDF chief and National Unity party head Benny Gantz, Eisenkot also says the Iranian threat has been ignored while Netanyahu has been in office.
“Israel is at its lowest point since its founding,” claims Eisenkot, pointing out that Israel has yet to achieve any of its war aims. He says that Netanyahu made sure that every minister supported the hostage proposal of May 27, “but quickly went back on it for political reasons.”
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry issues a statement rejecting Prime Minister’s comments regarding the Philadelphi Corridor and the need for Israel to indefinitely maintain control over the Egypt-Gaza border stretch.
“Cairo rejects the statements of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and deems him responsible for increasing tensions in the region,” the statement says.
The statement rejects Netanyahu’s claims that Cairo has allowed Hamas to smuggle weapons from the Sinai Peninsula to Gaza and accuses the premier of attacking Egypt in order to distract the Israeli public from the mounting criticism of his handling of the war. link Egypt is 100% correct. The same sentiment has been said in Israel as well. Netanyahu will do and say anything to distract the public from criticizing him and his actions in the war and about the hostages. We have seen that systematically throughout the war (and throughout Netanyahu's political career). Whenever there is mounting criticism against him, he and his well oiled publicity machine will find things to distract the public and put the spotlight on totally non-connected issues. Netanyahu is trying to do it now to distract from the execution of the 6 hostages which happened because of his refusal to reach an deal to bring the hostages home and the way in which they were killed - the terrorists heard the IDF in the area or even in that tunnel and were instructed to kill all the hostages, which is proving the exact opposite of Netanyahu's motto of putting more military pressure on Hamas to bring the hostages home. The pressure is killing the hostages and Netanyahu's hands are so bloody from the deaths of all the hostages killed in captivity, let alone the 1200 killed on October 7. Netanyahu is as guilty as Hamas for their deaths. If it wasn't for his immunity of office, I have little doubt that he would be put on trial in the future for bringing about the deaths of so many innocent civilians.
Israelis seem to have largely despaired that the government will be able to reach a hostage release deal with Hamas anytime soon, with nearly three-quarters of respondents expressing pessimism regarding the possibility in a survey released on Wednesday.
According to the Israel Democracy Institute’s August 2024 Israeli Voice Index, which polled 600 people across the country last week, 78.5 percent of Jewish respondents and 49% of Arabs expressed doubts regarding the likelihood of an agreement in the near future. Overall, 73.5% of respondents were pessimistic while only 21% were optimistic.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under immense criticism domestically for allegedly blocking a deal with his insistence since July on continued Israeli control of the Philadelphi Corridor.
During a press conference on Monday evening, he made clear he would not agree to Israel leaving the Philadelphi Corridor, even for the first 42-day phase of a hostage-ceasefire agreement. His remarks drew a furious response from members of the opposition, with National Unity chairman Benny Gantz arguing that Israel can and “will return to Philadelphi if and when required” and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid accusing the Netanyahu of embroiling Israel in “a forever war.”
Asked if Netanyahu’s demand to retain the Philadelphi Corridor is “largely based on military and strategic considerations,” 51% agreed that it was, while 39% indicated that they believe his position is “largely intended to prevent a deal from being reached, for Netanyahu’s own political reasons.”
Breaking it down, 58.5% of Jewish respondents agreed that Netanyahu’s reasons stem from military reasons while the majority of Arabs (66.5%) believe he is trying to prevent an agreement.
Among those opposed to Netanyahu’s position on the Philadelphi Corridor is Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who has called for the security cabinet to walk back its recent decision that any potential ceasefire and hostage release deal must include an Israeli military presence along the route.
According to the poll, 66% of Israelis believe the ongoing public spat between Netanyahu and his defense minister has had a “negative impact on the management of the war.”
Health Minister Uriel Buso says that the country is in the midst of its worst-ever mental health crisis amid the ongoing war.
“We are experiencing the largest mental health event the state has known since its establishment. A crisis that requires us, as a state and a society, to change perceptions and upgrade the public mental health system once and for all to meet the challenges posed by the war and the future,” he says at the Enosh Mental Health 2024 Conference in Tel Aviv.
Buso says that ministry assistance to the HMOs to treat mental health issues will double to about 600 million shekels in 2025.
“It is very important to focus on actions that create resilience,” he says. The ministry has taken “several significant steps to make the system less deficit-ridden and more stable, with financial certainty and the ability to invest wherever needed,” he says.
“Since October 7, we have increased the capacity of resilience centers at a cost of tens of millions of shekels,” he says. “Thousands of Israelis have been treated to date.”
He says the ministry has integrated new technologies, expanded mental health crisis teams, and trained mental health support professionals.
“Today, mental health is the most important issue in the healthcare system,” adds Moshe Bar Siman-Tov, Health Ministry director general.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry issues a statement rejecting Prime Minister’s comments regarding the Philadelphi Corridor and the need for Israel to indefinitely maintain control over the Egypt-Gaza border stretch.
“Cairo rejects the statements of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and deems him responsible for increasing tensions in the region,” the statement says.
The statement rejects Netanyahu’s claims that Cairo has allowed Hamas to smuggle weapons from the Sinai Peninsula to Gaza and accuses the premier of attacking Egypt in order to distract the Israeli public from the mounting criticism of his handling of the war. link Egypt is 100% correct. The same sentiment has been said in Israel as well. Netanyahu will do and say anything to distract the public from criticizing him and his actions in the war and about the hostages. We have seen that systematically throughout the war (and throughout Netanyahu's political career). Whenever there is mounting criticism against him, he and his well oiled publicity machine will find things to distract the public and put the spotlight on totally non-connected issues. Netanyahu is trying to do it now to distract from the execution of the 6 hostages which happened because of his refusal to reach an deal to bring the hostages home and the way in which they were killed - the terrorists heard the IDF in the area or even in that tunnel and were instructed to kill all the hostages, which is proving the exact opposite of Netanyahu's motto of putting more military pressure on Hamas to bring the hostages home. The pressure is killing the hostages and Netanyahu's hands are so bloody from the deaths of all the hostages killed in captivity, let alone the 1200 killed on October 7. Netanyahu is as guilty as Hamas for their deaths. If it wasn't for his immunity of office, I have little doubt that he would be put on trial in the future for bringing about the deaths of so many innocent civilians.
Israelis seem to have largely despaired that the government will be able to reach a hostage release deal with Hamas anytime soon, with nearly three-quarters of respondents expressing pessimism regarding the possibility in a survey released on Wednesday.
According to the Israel Democracy Institute’s August 2024 Israeli Voice Index, which polled 600 people across the country last week, 78.5 percent of Jewish respondents and 49% of Arabs expressed doubts regarding the likelihood of an agreement in the near future. Overall, 73.5% of respondents were pessimistic while only 21% were optimistic.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under immense criticism domestically for allegedly blocking a deal with his insistence since July on continued Israeli control of the Philadelphi Corridor.
During a press conference on Monday evening, he made clear he would not agree to Israel leaving the Philadelphi Corridor, even for the first 42-day phase of a hostage-ceasefire agreement. His remarks drew a furious response from members of the opposition, with National Unity chairman Benny Gantz arguing that Israel can and “will return to Philadelphi if and when required” and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid accusing the Netanyahu of embroiling Israel in “a forever war.”
Asked if Netanyahu’s demand to retain the Philadelphi Corridor is “largely based on military and strategic considerations,” 51% agreed that it was, while 39% indicated that they believe his position is “largely intended to prevent a deal from being reached, for Netanyahu’s own political reasons.”
Breaking it down, 58.5% of Jewish respondents agreed that Netanyahu’s reasons stem from military reasons while the majority of Arabs (66.5%) believe he is trying to prevent an agreement.
Among those opposed to Netanyahu’s position on the Philadelphi Corridor is Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who has called for the security cabinet to walk back its recent decision that any potential ceasefire and hostage release deal must include an Israeli military presence along the route.
According to the poll, 66% of Israelis believe the ongoing public spat between Netanyahu and his defense minister has had a “negative impact on the management of the war.”
Health Minister Uriel Buso says that the country is in the midst of its worst-ever mental health crisis amid the ongoing war.
“We are experiencing the largest mental health event the state has known since its establishment. A crisis that requires us, as a state and a society, to change perceptions and upgrade the public mental health system once and for all to meet the challenges posed by the war and the future,” he says at the Enosh Mental Health 2024 Conference in Tel Aviv.
Buso says that ministry assistance to the HMOs to treat mental health issues will double to about 600 million shekels in 2025.
“It is very important to focus on actions that create resilience,” he says. The ministry has taken “several significant steps to make the system less deficit-ridden and more stable, with financial certainty and the ability to invest wherever needed,” he says.
“Since October 7, we have increased the capacity of resilience centers at a cost of tens of millions of shekels,” he says. “Thousands of Israelis have been treated to date.”
He says the ministry has integrated new technologies, expanded mental health crisis teams, and trained mental health support professionals.
“Today, mental health is the most important issue in the healthcare system,” adds Moshe Bar Siman-Tov, Health Ministry director general.
The Region and the World
Norway’s $1.7 trillion wealth fund may have to divest shares of companies that violate the fund watchdog’s new, tougher interpretation of ethics standards for businesses that aid Israel’s operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Council on Ethics for the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund sent an Aug. 30 letter to the finance ministry, seen by Reuters, that summarizes the recently expanded definition of unethical corporate behavior. The change has not previously been reported.
The letter does not specify how many nor name companies whose stocks might be sold but suggests it would be a small number, should the board of the central bank, which has the final say, follow recommendations that the council makes.
One company has already been identified for disinvestment under the new definition, it says.
“The Council on Ethics believes the ethical guidelines provide a basis for excluding a few more companies from the Government Pension Fund Global in addition to those already excluded,” the watchdog writes, giving the formal name for Norway’s sovereign wealth fund.
The fund has been an international leader in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment field. It owns 1.5% of the world’s listed shares across 8,800 companies, and its size carries influence.
Since the start of the war in Gaza in October, the fund’s ethics watchdog has been investigating whether more companies fall outside its permitted investment guidelines. The letter says that the scope of exclusions was “expected to increase somewhat” under the new policy.
Among the companies that the watchdog could be looking at are RTX Corp, General Electric and General Dynamics. According to nongovernmental organizations, they make weapons used by Israel in Gaza.
The fund held investments worth 16 billion crowns ($1.41 billion) in Israel as of June 30, across 77 companies, according to fund data, including companies involved in real estate, banks, energy and telecommunications. They represented 0.1% of the fund’s overall investments.
- **U.S. Indictments Against Senior Hamas Officials: "Involvement in the Murder of at Least 43 Americans"**
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed indictments against the leadership of Hamas and other militants for "involvement in the October 7 massacre and the murder of at least 43 American citizens." Among those indicted are Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, three senior members of the terrorist organization who were killed—Mohammed Deif, Marwan Issa, and Ismail Haniyeh—as well as other militants.link
Personal Stories
**11 Months Between Despair and Hope: Michal Lubanov's Struggle to Bring Her Abducted Husband Alex Back**
When Alex Lubanov, the bar manager at Nova, was abducted, his wife Michal was in her fourth month of pregnancy and the mother of a one-and-a-half-year-old toddler. Throughout the entire period of captivity, Michal did everything she could to try and bring him back without losing hope: during her pregnancy and childbirth, in the struggle, in moments of joy, and in moments of despair. Michal continued to fight for her beloved’s return until the news of his murder. New details have now emerged about Alex’s time in captivity.
On Tuesday evening, new details were revealed on the "Central Edition" about the captivity of Alex Lubanov. After his abduction, Alex was taken to Gaza in a taxi stolen from one of the border communities. Initially, he was held by a family, and then handed over to Hamas for money. During the early stages of his captivity, he was held with Andrei Kozlov, Almog Meir Jan, and Shlomi Ziv, who were later released in Operation "Arnon." A few days before the hostage deal, he was separated from his companions and told he was about to be released. In recent months, his family was informed that he was alive and in good health.
We accompanied Michal, Alex’s wife, and their son Tom, throughout the 11 months they awaited his return from captivity, hoping he was alive. During this time, Michal tried to give her son "normal moments." One such moment was when two-year-old Tom was seen running around the garden like only two-year-olds can. However, when he returned to the car, his eyes fell on a picture of his father during his captivity in Gaza. As soon as he recognized his father’s image, a smile spread across his face. The absence of his father in his life was suddenly apparent. "Papa, Papa," he called repeatedly. Michal describes Alex as a deeply involved father in Tom’s life. "He feeds, bathes, and puts him to bed," she said. "Tom was born just five months after we got married. Tom was nearly two when we found out I was pregnant again. We met ten years ago and bonded very quickly," she shares.
Alex owned a company of active bars, and on October 7, he worked at Nova as the bar manager. "He went out to provide for his family and never returned," says Michal. "I always insist that we don’t speak about him in the past tense, always in the present; he is always here," she adds. "It’s surreal. I wonder if we will ever fully grasp it, as if it happened, that this is reality, that my husband was actually taken hostage in Gaza."
As part of her refusal to accept the unbearable reality, in November 2023, a trip was held in Alex's honor. "This whole event is for Alex," Michal explains. "Jeeps are his life, and that’s what he loves to do. It’s like raising a cry, we’re here, we’re not giving up, and we will bring you back. I’ll do everything. If it means going on jeep trips every Saturday, I’ll go on jeep trips every Saturday because he’s alive and he’s here, and we’re not commemorating him. I don’t think it’s something the human mind can comprehend, something like this, such a cruel thing." Even Omri Glickman from the band Hope 6 attended the event, singing "In Her World"—Alex and Michal’s wedding song—in an effort to perhaps recall happier moments and instill hope. Michal watched the hostage deal on television, which did not include Alex, and was angered by the distinctions made between the hostages by gender and age during their release. "They should release everyone. It’s better if they all come back together, not in stages, and not differentiating between men and women, soldiers, and the elderly," she says. "I respect everyone, but I want Alex now. I’m not interested in these definitions."
**A High-Risk Pregnancy Without Alex**
While Alex was in captivity, Michal was dealing with a high-risk pregnancy, adding another layer of difficulty to her complicated life circumstances. "There’s a 50 percent chance it could go smoothly, and a 50 percent chance it could become complicated, up to the worst-case scenario," she explains. According to her, Alex was aware of the risks involved in her pregnancy. "He was worried, very worried, and right now, he’s not aware of everything I’m going through." When asked if she had thought of a name, Michal remains steadfast in her hope that Alex would be there. "I want him to come and choose the name with me. I’m not considering the possibility that he won’t be there to choose the name."
Her mother tries to comfort her, though it is uncertain if she succeeds. "You always want to see Alex instead of me here, I understand, and I feel it, and this is what we have," she tells her daughter. "We’ll have a happy ending, Mom," Michal tries to encourage in turn. Her mother adds, "Hopefully."
The hospital staff managed to lift her spirits with good news about her pregnancy: "There’s no doubt it’s going well," says Professor Livia Kapusta during an ultrasound. "This cute little fetus, it’s our Hanukkah miracle, because we’ve seen it get worse, and we’ve seen it get better. Today, there are no tears. Today, there’s a big smile," Dr. Karina Kreiden Haratz tells Michal, and finally asks a question that will remain in the air for a long time after leaving the clinic: "At the next appointment, will there be someone else with you?"
"I’m always afraid that my mental state could affect my health," Michal shares after receiving the good news about her pregnancy, and immediately searches for a bit of optimism: "But no, I’m okay, I’m fine. Now I can finally breathe a little." Despite the challenges of her pregnancy, Michal did not hesitate to take steps toward bringing her loved one back. At a rally held for the hostages in Ashkelon in January, she gave a speech in which she declared: "I am Michal, and my heart is in Gaza. We were abandoned on October 7, do not abandon us again. Alex is your city’s son, Alex is a man of love and giving. Alex is a man of freedom. I am Michal, and I am the wife of a hostage. There will be no victory until everyone is home, bring them back now!"
**A Birthday in Captivity**
During Alex’s time in captivity, his 33rd birthday passed. In Israel, Michal wanted to mark the date and gathered all his friends for the occasion. "I’m sure he’s getting by there with Sinwar. Alex knows how to make cocktails," describes his close friend Zohar Steinberg, imagining possible scenarios of Alex getting along with Sinwar in captivity: "Go bring apples, we’ll make you a cocktail." Or, "Go get some meat, I’ll make you a barbecue." The friends agree among themselves that Alex is surely supporting everyone in captivity, protecting the weak as he always did, and they add that he’s probably adding laughter as well.
Alongside the jokes that shed light on more sides of Alex, Michal also sees fit to draw his friends’ attention to the importance of helping with his rehabilitation upon his return: "It’s important that you know you also have a very important role in this because, with God’s help, when he comes back, he will need a lot of support and rehabilitation." Her optimism about her beloved’s return is evident in every sentence and every action she takes.
"I hope he knows when his birthday is, and I hope he’s wishing himself all the things he wants. We’ll celebrate when he comes back," she says. "I’m not willing to accept any other possibility; for his 34th, he’ll blow out the candles. That’s it, enough with the words."
**A Single Mother**
The moment of the birth of Alex and Michal’s second son arrived in February. "I prepared myself a lot for this day. It was a planned cesarean," Michal explains. During the birth, her mother was by her side, supporting her. "His name is Kai," she reveals the baby’s name. "Once, Alex and I talked about names, and I just threw out the name Kai. He immediately said: ‘Yes, yes, it could be an option.’" Michal, whose optimism could be her second name, immediately added, "If he really doesn’t like it, he’ll add a second name." The optimism and the difficulty are intertwined, and the difficulty hits her mainly in moments when she is left alone. "People tell me, ‘You have the best reason in the world to be happy.’ But it’s not complete. I’m so happy on one hand, and on the other, I look at him and I cry. The hardest part was leaving the hospital and coming home. And then at home, I felt the emptiness, I felt he wasn’t here, and always the thought—does he even know he has a child?" She continues, "And I have to start dealing with living as a single mother because I always had Alex, he always supported me, and he really was the most amazing husband in the world." Even though she tried not to do so—Michal speaks about Alex in the past tense. "It happens to me because the memories are becoming more distant, so it automatically turns to the past tense," she testifies.
Alex, Michal and thier older son
The bitter end she so desperately tried to prevent finally arrived, and Alex was laid to
rest. At the funeral, she eulogized him with all the words she wanted to say to him while waiting for his return and her final words she had hoped she would never have to say: "Love of my life. We vowed until death do us part, so how did it separate us? I want to thank you. Thank you for who I am today because of you. Thank you for loving me unconditionally. I will do everything to be strong for the boys. I hope you are proud of me. I’m sorry you didn’t come back alive. I’m sorry I couldn’t bring you back."
Norway’s $1.7 trillion wealth fund may have to divest shares of companies that violate the fund watchdog’s new, tougher interpretation of ethics standards for businesses that aid Israel’s operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Council on Ethics for the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund sent an Aug. 30 letter to the finance ministry, seen by Reuters, that summarizes the recently expanded definition of unethical corporate behavior. The change has not previously been reported.
The letter does not specify how many nor name companies whose stocks might be sold but suggests it would be a small number, should the board of the central bank, which has the final say, follow recommendations that the council makes.
One company has already been identified for disinvestment under the new definition, it says.
“The Council on Ethics believes the ethical guidelines provide a basis for excluding a few more companies from the Government Pension Fund Global in addition to those already excluded,” the watchdog writes, giving the formal name for Norway’s sovereign wealth fund.
The fund has been an international leader in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment field. It owns 1.5% of the world’s listed shares across 8,800 companies, and its size carries influence.
Since the start of the war in Gaza in October, the fund’s ethics watchdog has been investigating whether more companies fall outside its permitted investment guidelines. The letter says that the scope of exclusions was “expected to increase somewhat” under the new policy.
Among the companies that the watchdog could be looking at are RTX Corp, General Electric and General Dynamics. According to nongovernmental organizations, they make weapons used by Israel in Gaza.
The fund held investments worth 16 billion crowns ($1.41 billion) in Israel as of June 30, across 77 companies, according to fund data, including companies involved in real estate, banks, energy and telecommunications. They represented 0.1% of the fund’s overall investments.
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed indictments against the leadership of Hamas and other militants for "involvement in the October 7 massacre and the murder of at least 43 American citizens." Among those indicted are Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, three senior members of the terrorist organization who were killed—Mohammed Deif, Marwan Issa, and Ismail Haniyeh—as well as other militants.link
Alex, Michal and thier older son
Acronyms and Glossary
ICC - International Criminal Court in the Hague
IJC - International Court of Justice in the Hague
MDA - Magen David Adom - Israel Ambulance Corp
PA - Palestinian Authority - President Mahmud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen
PMO- Prime Minister's Office
UAV - Unmanned Aerial vehicle, Drone. Could be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, or be weaponized with missiles or contain explosives for 'suicide' explosion mission
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