π️Lonny's War Update- October 340, 2023 - September 10, 2024 π️
π️Day 340 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
*11:10pm yesterday - south - rockets - Kissufim*4:05pm - north - rockets- Zra'it
*4:20pm - north - rockets - Eilon, Yaara, Avdon, Manot, Neve Ziv, Admit, Arab al Aramsha, Hanita
*4:30pm - rockets - Meron Field School, Sasa - Some 45 rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel a short while ago, according to the IDF. A bar rage of 30 rockets was launched at the Mount Meron area, with the military reporting that some were intercepted and others struck open areas. Another 15 rockets were fired at the Western Galilee, some of which were intercepted by air defenses, the IDF adds.
*4:20pm - north - rockets - Eilon, Yaara, Avdon, Manot, Neve Ziv, Admit, Arab al Aramsha, Hanita
*4:30pm - rockets - Meron Field School, Sasa - Some 45 rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel a short while ago, according to the IDF. A bar rage of 30 rockets was launched at the Mount Meron area, with the military reporting that some were intercepted and others struck open areas. Another 15 rockets were fired at the Western Galilee, some of which were intercepted by air defenses, the IDF adds.
There are no injuries in the attacks.
*5:50pm - north - rockets - Ajar
Hostage Updates
- Today is Hostage Yosef Ohana's 24th birthday - He is spending it in Hamas captivity
Taken captive: Yosef-Haim Ohana, helped injured at Supernova rave
The 23-year-old bartender has a ‘heart of gold,’ says mother, who only learned about the October 7 events after sunset
Yosef-Haim Ohana, 23, taken captive by Hamas terrorists at the Supernova desert rave on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)
Yosef-Haim Ohana, 23, was taken captive at the Supernova desert rave on October 7, as Hamas terrorists launched a multi-pronged attack, killing, kidnapping and committing atrocities.
Ohana was in touch with his mother, Miri Ben Ami, on Friday, before the party began. His parents, who are divorced, are both religiously observant and didn’t know about the Hamas attack until after Shabbat.
Ben Ami was in Ukraine at the time with her rabbi, she said in a Kan video.
When she returned to Israel, she began figuring out what had happened to Yosef-Haim that day. He and a friend began helping the injured at the party, bringing them to medics and ambulances during the attack, before trying to escape themselves.
His friend last saw Yosef-Haim as they ran to the main road, just as an RPG was fired by the terrorists. The RPG hit the car where Yosef-Haim’s friend was hiding. He survived, but didn’t see Yosef-Haim again.
Yosef-Haim was first considered missing and several weeks later, Miri was notified by the army that he is a captive in Gaza.
Yosef-Haim, who works as a barman, is the oldest of three brothers, one of whom died several years ago from an illness. He is a helpful, generous soul, said his mother.
“He has a heart of gold,” she said in the Kan video. “I just want my son home, now. That’s my prayer and that’s my hope.” link
Hostage Updates
- Today is Hostage Yosef Ohana's 24th birthday - He is spending it in Hamas captivity
Taken captive: Yosef-Haim Ohana, helped injured at Supernova rave
The 23-year-old bartender has a ‘heart of gold,’ says mother, who only learned about the October 7 events after sunset
Yosef-Haim Ohana, 23, taken captive by Hamas terrorists at the Supernova desert rave on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)Yosef-Haim Ohana, 23, was taken captive at the Supernova desert rave on October 7, as Hamas terrorists launched a multi-pronged attack, killing, kidnapping and committing atrocities.
Ohana was in touch with his mother, Miri Ben Ami, on Friday, before the party began. His parents, who are divorced, are both religiously observant and didn’t know about the Hamas attack until after Shabbat.
Ben Ami was in Ukraine at the time with her rabbi, she said in a Kan video.
When she returned to Israel, she began figuring out what had happened to Yosef-Haim that day. He and a friend began helping the injured at the party, bringing them to medics and ambulances during the attack, before trying to escape themselves.
His friend last saw Yosef-Haim as they ran to the main road, just as an RPG was fired by the terrorists. The RPG hit the car where Yosef-Haim’s friend was hiding. He survived, but didn’t see Yosef-Haim again.
Yosef-Haim was first considered missing and several weeks later, Miri was notified by the army that he is a captive in Gaza.
Yosef-Haim, who works as a barman, is the oldest of three brothers, one of whom died several years ago from an illness. He is a helpful, generous soul, said his mother.
“He has a heart of gold,” she said in the Kan video. “I just want my son home, now. That’s my prayer and that’s my hope.” link
- **The Hostages Tried to Escape or Fight Back and Were Shot in the Tunnel | New Details**
The IDF presented the video from the tunnel to the families of the six murdered hostages. The families learned about the conditions in which their loved ones were held and how they were killed. It appears that the hostages, who were held in inhumane conditions, tried to protect each other. Cabinet ministers also watched the video: "No one remained indifferent."
New details have emerged about the murder of the six hostages in the Gaza tunnel: The families of the murdered hostages watched the video from the tunnel where Hamas militants killed their loved ones. The video, which was also shown to the Cabinet members earlier today (Monday), reveals the harsh conditions in which the hostages were held and provides information about how they were murdered.
From the video, the families learned how their loved ones were killed. The scene in the tunnel was chaotic, and the hostages were shot in different parts of it. It seems that they were not executed together but were shot as they tried to escape or fight back. The signs in the tunnel indicate that they also tried to protect each other. It is possible that the presence of military forces in the area led the terrorists to kill the hostages. The video shown to the families depicted the place where the hostages were held. It was a section of the tunnel, likely used as a passage, but the hostages were kept there for an unknown period, possibly even weeks. Water bottles, energy bars, and the hostages' urine bottles were found in the area.
**The Harsh Conditions in the Tunnel**
Yesterday, "The Main Edition" reported on the conditions in which the hostages were held. The tunnel was small and narrow, with no air vents, bathrooms, or showers. A generator and a small flashlight were found in the tunnel, but they did not always work. A chessboard, writing tools, and notebooks were also found, which will be handed over to the families of the victims. The forces also discovered some protein bars, but not enough to prevent starvation. The hostages suffered from hunger and experienced significant weight loss during their captivity.
Hirsch Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alex Lubanov, and Ori Danino were murdered about a day before IDF forces reached the tunnel. The family of one of the murdered hostages, who spoke with "News 12" yesterday, wanted to emphasize that the hostages "did everything to survive" in impossible conditions. The family criticized the government for failing in its duty to rescue the hostages.
Earlier today, the Chief of Staff presented the footage from the tunnel to the Cabinet ministers. The distressing video provoked intense reactions: "There was complete silence in the room; no one remained indifferent."
Cabinet ministers described watching the video as horrific. "There was complete silence in the room. It was one of the hardest videos to watch. It turns your stomach. The tunnel is narrow and low; one can either lie down, sit, or walk hunched over. You can't fit more than one and a half mattresses width-wise. It’s likely they slept in shifts or along the length of the tunnel," the ministers described. link These good for nothing ministers should not be allowed to even talk about the hostages, mention their names or wear a yellow ribbon. It is in their watch that they hostages were abandoned the first time on October 7 and this good for nothings haven't done anything to bring them home alive. Their inaction and refusal to act brought about their deaths. Their blood is on all of their hands.
- Today I read the official negotiation documents from both Israel and Hamas. I am nothing less than shocked - it is hard to believe that since May they have been working on such a bad agreement focusing in-depth on unimportant detail without seeing the big picture. Meanwhile, the war continues and people are killed, including hostages and innocent Palestinians. Those who really want to bring the hostages home understand that there is no deal without ending the war. Israel’s prime minister refuses to end the war and is ready to sacrifice all the hostages. Hamas is ready for a deal to end the war in three weeks, a full Israeli withdrawal, an agreed release of a number of Palestinian prisoners and the release of all 101 Israeli abductees - and all this in three weeks. But the Netanyahu does not want to end the war.(Gershon Baskin, 9-9-2024
- Hostage Yagev Buchshtav was ‘executed’ by Hamas in Feb. as IDF closed in, mother says
‘Military pressure does not bring hostages back alive. It kills them,’ mother tells Knesset, citing autopsy report; Buchshtav’s death echoes murders of six hostages in late August
The mother of slain hostage Yagev Buchshtavtold the Knesset on Monday that her son had been executed by the Hamas terror group as Israeli forces closed in on his location several months ago, according to an autopsy report she received on Sunday.
“The army was close to the tunnel and they were executed. That’s what comes from military pressure. Military pressure does not bring hostages back alive, it kills them,” Buchstav’s mother Esther said.
“My son was kidnapped alive… He should have returned alive. He returned dead. Murdered,” she told lawmakers at the Knesset. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure for almost a year to strike a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas to secure the remaining captives’ release, has repeatedly said that only “military pressure” will force the terror group to the negotiating table.
Yagev Buchshtav, 34, was abducted from Kibbutz Nirim on October 7, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, amid acts of brutality and sexual assault, triggering the ongoing war.
His death in captivity was announced in July, and in August Israel Defense Forces troops recovered his body, along with those of five others, from a tunnel in southern Gaza. He was killed sometime in February, his mother said. “I don’t think the army is guilty here,” she clarified. “It is the policy of the government. The army does what they tell them.”
The testimony from Buchshtav’s mother came a week after the IDF recovered the bodies of six other Israeli hostages, who had survived some 11 months in captivity before being executed by their captors just days before the military reached them.
- **The Hostages Tried to Escape or Fight Back and Were Shot in the Tunnel | New Details**The IDF presented the video from the tunnel to the families of the six murdered hostages. The families learned about the conditions in which their loved ones were held and how they were killed. It appears that the hostages, who were held in inhumane conditions, tried to protect each other. Cabinet ministers also watched the video: "No one remained indifferent."New details have emerged about the murder of the six hostages in the Gaza tunnel: The families of the murdered hostages watched the video from the tunnel where Hamas militants killed their loved ones. The video, which was also shown to the Cabinet members earlier today (Monday), reveals the harsh conditions in which the hostages were held and provides information about how they were murdered.From the video, the families learned how their loved ones were killed. The scene in the tunnel was chaotic, and the hostages were shot in different parts of it. It seems that they were not executed together but were shot as they tried to escape or fight back. The signs in the tunnel indicate that they also tried to protect each other. It is possible that the presence of military forces in the area led the terrorists to kill the hostages. The video shown to the families depicted the place where the hostages were held. It was a section of the tunnel, likely used as a passage, but the hostages were kept there for an unknown period, possibly even weeks. Water bottles, energy bars, and the hostages' urine bottles were found in the area.**The Harsh Conditions in the Tunnel**Yesterday, "The Main Edition" reported on the conditions in which the hostages were held. The tunnel was small and narrow, with no air vents, bathrooms, or showers. A generator and a small flashlight were found in the tunnel, but they did not always work. A chessboard, writing tools, and notebooks were also found, which will be handed over to the families of the victims. The forces also discovered some protein bars, but not enough to prevent starvation. The hostages suffered from hunger and experienced significant weight loss during their captivity.Hirsch Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alex Lubanov, and Ori Danino were murdered about a day before IDF forces reached the tunnel. The family of one of the murdered hostages, who spoke with "News 12" yesterday, wanted to emphasize that the hostages "did everything to survive" in impossible conditions. The family criticized the government for failing in its duty to rescue the hostages.Earlier today, the Chief of Staff presented the footage from the tunnel to the Cabinet ministers. The distressing video provoked intense reactions: "There was complete silence in the room; no one remained indifferent."Cabinet ministers described watching the video as horrific. "There was complete silence in the room. It was one of the hardest videos to watch. It turns your stomach. The tunnel is narrow and low; one can either lie down, sit, or walk hunched over. You can't fit more than one and a half mattresses width-wise. It’s likely they slept in shifts or along the length of the tunnel," the ministers described. link These good for nothing ministers should not be allowed to even talk about the hostages, mention their names or wear a yellow ribbon. It is in their watch that they hostages were abandoned the first time on October 7 and this good for nothings haven't done anything to bring them home alive. Their inaction and refusal to act brought about their deaths. Their blood is on all of their hands.
- Today I read the official negotiation documents from both Israel and Hamas. I am nothing less than shocked - it is hard to believe that since May they have been working on such a bad agreement focusing in-depth on unimportant detail without seeing the big picture. Meanwhile, the war continues and people are killed, including hostages and innocent Palestinians. Those who really want to bring the hostages home understand that there is no deal without ending the war. Israel’s prime minister refuses to end the war and is ready to sacrifice all the hostages. Hamas is ready for a deal to end the war in three weeks, a full Israeli withdrawal, an agreed release of a number of Palestinian prisoners and the release of all 101 Israeli abductees - and all this in three weeks. But the Netanyahu does not want to end the war.(Gershon Baskin, 9-9-2024
- Hostage Yagev Buchshtav was ‘executed’ by Hamas in Feb. as IDF closed in, mother says
‘Military pressure does not bring hostages back alive. It kills them,’ mother tells Knesset, citing autopsy report; Buchshtav’s death echoes murders of six hostages in late AugustThe mother of slain hostage Yagev Buchshtavtold the Knesset on Monday that her son had been executed by the Hamas terror group as Israeli forces closed in on his location several months ago, according to an autopsy report she received on Sunday.
“The army was close to the tunnel and they were executed. That’s what comes from military pressure. Military pressure does not bring hostages back alive, it kills them,” Buchstav’s mother Esther said.
“My son was kidnapped alive… He should have returned alive. He returned dead. Murdered,” she told lawmakers at the Knesset. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure for almost a year to strike a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas to secure the remaining captives’ release, has repeatedly said that only “military pressure” will force the terror group to the negotiating table.
Yagev Buchshtav, 34, was abducted from Kibbutz Nirim on October 7, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, amid acts of brutality and sexual assault, triggering the ongoing war.
His death in captivity was announced in July, and in August Israel Defense Forces troops recovered his body, along with those of five others, from a tunnel in southern Gaza. He was killed sometime in February, his mother said. “I don’t think the army is guilty here,” she clarified. “It is the policy of the government. The army does what they tell them.”
The testimony from Buchshtav’s mother came a week after the IDF recovered the bodies of six other Israeli hostages, who had survived some 11 months in captivity before being executed by their captors just days before the military reached them.
The hostages’ murder sparked outrage in Israel, drawing hundreds of thousands of people to the streets and provoking a one-day general strike. On Saturday night, organizers of a Tel Aviv rally claimed it was the largest protest in Israeli history, drawing a purported 500,000 demonstrators.
Critics allege that Netanyahu has obstructed a hostage-ceasefire deal by insisting that Israel maintain a security presence along the Gaza-Egypt border.
US President Joe Biden has been among those criticizing the prime minister for not making more concessions, and the White House has said it will present a new proposal for a deal in the coming days. Full article
- **Three
Hostages Sherman, Beizer, and Toledano Were Killed by IDF Bombing | Exclusive
Report**
The hostages were held in a tunnel alongside a senior Hamas official who was eliminated, and they were killed by IDF shelling. The cause of their deaths has been known since February, but the Chief of Staff and other senior officials decided not to disclose it to the public. Their bodies were recovered in December. The IDF responded: "The claims about the investigation being suppressed by the Chief of Staff are incorrect."
The three hostages killed while in Hamas captivity in Gaza, whose bodies were recovered in December—Ron Sherman, Nick Beizer, and Elia Toledano—were killed by IDF bombing in the Strip, as first reported this evening (Monday) on "The Main Edition." The incident occurred because the military was unaware they were with a senior Hamas official who was targeted. The IDF has known these details since February but chose not to release them.
Ron Sherman Χ"ΧIn mid-December, the IDF announced the recovery of the bodies of the three hostages: Nick Beizer, Ron Sherman, and Elia Toledano. All three were abducted alive; Beizer and Sherman were soldiers, and Toledano was kidnapped from the Nova music festival. Their bodies were found in a tunnel in Gaza.
Nick Beizer Χ"ΧAfter their bodies were found, the IDF launched an investigation. As early as January, families were informed of the pathological findings that indicated the soldiers were in the tunnel where Ahmad Ghandour, the commander of Gaza’s northern brigade, was killed. The IDF did not know the information and claimed it was impossible to determine the cause of death—whether they suffocated, were poisoned, or if the information could be confirmed or refuted.Elia Toledano Χ"ΧIn January, the families demanded answers, and in May, additional test results provided a clear answer—the three hostages were killed by IDF action. It was decided not to publish this information. Last month, IDF representatives met with the families of the three hostages and presented these findings to them. However, the IDF had known this information for many months and chose to delay and not disclose it. Senior military officials, including Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, decided not to release it to the public.
In response, the IDF stated: "The claims about the investigation being suppressed by the Chief of Staff are incorrect. The IDF will complete the investigation into the circumstances of the deaths of hostages Sgt. Ron Sherman, Cpl. Nick Beizer, and Elia Toledano in the coming days, and it will be presented to the families. The IDF shares the grief of the bereaved families and will continue to support them." link
**Families of Hostages Respond to Netanyahu: "Mr. Abandonment – You Will Be Judged for Eternity"**
Following the difficult conversation with the father of Ori Danino, and the statement issued by the Prime Minister, families of hostages from the “Forum of Life” released personal videos. Ron Sherman's mother said, "It's because of you that my son was kidnapped." Ditza’s daughter, who was released in a deal, commented, "Your heart is shattered to pieces? If that were true, they would already be home."
The families' protest against Netanyahu Photo: Forum of Life for rescuing the abducteesSome of the families of the hostages responded today (Monday) to Benjamin Netanyahu's conversation with Elhanan, the father of the late Ori Danino, and the statements made by the Prime Minister afterward. The families, members of the “Forum of Life,” released personal videos in response to the Prime Minister, criticizing his statements and his policy regarding the hostage negotiations.
Dr. Maayan Sherman, the mother of Ron Sherman, whose death by IDF fire was officially confirmed today, said in a video: "My son was sacrificed after 34 days due to IDF bombings targeting Ahmad Ghandour, aiming to conquer northern Gaza." She sharply criticized Netanyahu, saying: "You are the person because of whom my son was kidnapped. You are the reason there are still 101 hostages in Gaza." Following the difficult conversation with Elhanan Danino, Netanyahu issued a statement saying: "I hear the cries of the hostage families. My wife and I attend heartbreaking meetings that simply shatter the heart into pieces. I hear, I listen, I don't judge, and I'm doing everything to bring the hostages back and win the war."
Neta Hayman Mina, the daughter of Ditza who was kidnapped and released after 53 days, responded to these statements: "Your heart is shattered to pieces? If that were true, they would already be home." Hayman stated that the only way to bring back hostages is through a deal, as her mother was released.
Professor Boaz Azili, the cousin of Aviv Azili, who was murdered and kidnapped to Gaza, called Netanyahu "Mr. Abandonment" and said: "I'm not surprised that you continue to lie and mislead at the expense of our hostages. Military pressure is killing them." Shai Moses, the nephew of Gadi Moses, who is held captive in Gaza, also called Netanyahu "Mr. Abandonment" and said: "The citizens of Israel and history will judge you for eternity for abandoning the hostages. If you cannot bring them back, step down."
Yael Or, the cousin of Dror Or, who was murdered and kidnapped, also addressed Netanyahu's comments, saying: "You don't judge us? – We judge you for 11 months in which you did everything not to bring our loved ones home." Zehiro Shahar Mor, the nephew of Avraham Munder, who was kidnapped and murdered, said: "You are doing everything you can? – We see how you are doing everything to thwart any attempt at a deal." link
Biden to convene aides on hostage talks as new Hamas demands sink hopes for deal
‘Frustrated’ White House pushing Egypt and Qatar to convince terror group to back down after insisting more terror convicts serving life sentences be released
With attempts to forge a hostage release deal seemingly adrift, US President Joe Biden was expected on Monday to convene his National Security Council to try to find a way forward to free hostages from Hamas captivity and end the fighting in the Gaza Strip.
White House officials told senior Egyptian and Qatari officials earlier Monday that the US is “frustrated” with new Hamas demands on the release of prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli prisons, which it is seeking in exchange for hostages it has held since October 7, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
The Biden administration also asked Cairo and Doha to push Hamas to back off its recent demands, according to the source, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The talks come after reports indicated growing pessimism in the US that a deal will be possible, with a senior US official describing new Hamas demands that terrorists serving life sentences be released for civilian hostages in the first stage as a “poison pill” in remarks reported by the Washington Post Sunday.
Until now, the formula was that hardened terrorists would only be released for kidnapped IDF soldiers, including 150 life-term murderers to be released from Israeli jails during the first phase in return for the five female surveillance soldiers held hostage.
Up until days ago, the US had been widely expected to put out a new proposal aimed at bridging gaps between the sides. However, those plans have apparently been shelved due
After talks failed to advance in recent weeks, the US was widely expected to put forward a new proposal to bridge gaps between the sides on a hostage and ceasefire deal. But with Hamas’s hardened stance, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Monday that the US is being cautious and did not want to release a proposal it knows Hamas will reject.
Reports Sunday indicated that there was broad pessimism over chances for a deal both among Israeli negotiators and US mediators, who were unhappy with both Hamas’s demands and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that troops remain on the Gaza-Egypt border, as well as his recent public comments.
However, two senior US officials involved in hostage negotiations told a policy conference in Washington, DC Monday that disagreements over the Philadelphi Corridor, which Israel says will be used by Hamas to smuggle in arms from the Sinai, were not the reason there is no deal.
Instead, according to Ynet, they blamed the new Hamas demands.
The officials at the invitation-only Middle East-America Dialogue reportedly noted that the Philadelphi Corridor is not even mentioned in the existing proposal. Rather, the point of contention is whether the route is considered to be in a densely populated area; the current proposal stipulates an Israeli withdrawal from such areas.
The issue is “exaggerated,” they said, adding that the prisoner release is the main sticking point. They claimed there had been agreement on the issue, but progress was derailed when Hamas murdered 6 hostages in late August and the terms of the swap were changed.
Contradicting reports and comments indicating that the US had lost patience with Israel as well as Hamas, the officials reportedly claimed that Israel did not need to be pressured, and said families of hostages were mistaken to denounce Netanyahu over the lack of a deal.
At times, they allowed, Israel could do a bit more, but they are focused on Hamas. full article
Standing alongside his British counterpart David Lammy in London, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the two countries are “determined to end the conflict in Gaza as soon as possible.”
He says the US is working closely with Qatar and Egypt “to bridge any remaining gaps” as they craft a new formula for a deal.
“Very soon, we will put that before the parties and we will see what they say,” he says, as pessimism has spread among Israeli and US negotiators in recent days.
“More than 90% of the issues have been agreed, decided, so we’re down to a handful of issues — not even a handful of issues — that are hard but are fully resolvable,” says Blinken.
He notes the “strong interest that everyone in the region has” in a ceasefire, stressing that it is “clearly in Israel’s interest.”
Lammy says the 90% assessment is “completely correct,” and says it is now “in the hands of [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar to get us over the line and to take that deal that is on the table.”
Lammy adds that “there can be no role for Hamas going forward,” while Blinken does not mention the defeat of Hamas.Blinken also notes the threat Iran and its axis pose to Israel. “We are prepared to act together to help Israel defend itself in the future,” he says.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reiterates his support for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement, saying it would give Israel a “strategic opportunity” to address other security challenges.
Bringing the hostages home is “the right thing to do,” Gallant tells foreign journalists.
“Achieving an agreement is also a strategic opportunity that gives us a high chance to change the security situation on all fronts,” he says.
Gallant has continuously been at loggerheads with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and far-right ministers over the matter, and has long been the government’s loudest voice in support of a deal, which is opposed by some others in the leadership.
Gaza
- IDF probing leaks of Hamas papers seemingly aimed at stoking opposition to hostage deal
IDF refutes Bild claim that document on Hamas pressure tactics was written by Sinwar, while material cited by UK Jewish paper on ostensible Sinwar escape plan not known to IDF
IDF refutes Bild claim that document on Hamas pressure tactics was written by Sinwar, while material cited by UK Jewish paper on ostensible Sinwar escape plan not known to IDF
The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday that it had launched an internal investigation after documents recovered from the Gaza Strip were recently leaked to foreign press in an apparent attempt to influence public opinion on the hostage negotiations.
Over the weekend, a report by the German newspaper Bild claimed that a Hamas document found on the computer of leader Yahya Sinwar showed the terror group’s tactics to pressure Israel and stall the hostage talks.
The document’s alleged contents, which claimed that Hamas is seeking to sow division in the Israeli public and that the terror group is not seeking to reach a deal quickly, were nearly identical to points made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent interviews and press conferences.
The IDF said that the document cited by Bild was found in Gaza some five months ago, and was not written by Sinwar himself, but that it was a recommendation paper drawn up by a mid-level Hamas officer.
“The information in the document joins other identical documents that we had in the past; it did not constitute new information,” the IDF said.
The military said that the leak “constitutes a serious offense and will be investigated.” Separately, supposed documents found in Gaza cited by the British newspaper The Jewish Chronicle claimed that Sinwar was planning to smuggle himself and other leaders from the terror group, along with some of the remaining Israeli hostages kidnapped on October 7, out of Gaza via the Philadelphi Corridor and from there to Iran.
This claim too was similar to Netanyahu’s recent talking points regarding the hostage deal and the premier’s insistence on the IDF remaining in the Philadelphi Corridor.
In the case of the Jewish Chronicle report, the IDF said it was unaware of any such document actually existing.
The Jewish Chronicle report was picked up by some right-wing Hebrew media outlets and shared on social media by Netanyahu’s son, Yair.
Speaking at the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu referred to the Bild article at length.
The reported document shows Hamas wants to “tear us apart from the inside and to continue the war until further notice,” said Netanyahu. “The vast majority of Israeli citizens aren’t falling for this trap.”
Netanyahu has in recent weeks insisted that Israel must retain control of the Philadelphi Corridor for the foreseeable future, even during the potential first 42-day phase of a hostage-ceasefire deal in which some 30 living hostages could be freed. He has said that control of the route, along the Gaza-Egypt border, is crucial to Israel’s future, because of the danger that otherwise Hamas would resume weapons smuggling across the border, and build up forces for further October 7 massacres.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and all of Israel’s security chiefs are widely reported to have said that alternative solutions can be found to control the border and that the IDF could swiftly return after the first phase of the deal, or at any other time, and expressed fears that Netanyahu, in raising the Philadelphi demand, is sabotaging a potential deal in order to satisfy his far-right coalition partners and retain power. Link
- A close Palestinian friend said to me at the beginning of the war "if we have to kill Israeli children to have a Palestinian state, I don't want it". I have just seen the pictures of Palestinian children killed last night by Israeli bombings in Gaza and I say: What the hell are we doing? Can we justify our existence as a state if we are killing Palestinian children in Gaza every day? This war has to end - for the sake of the Israeli hostages and for the sake of Israeli soldiers who are sent to die and for the sake of our Palestinian neighbors, this war has to end to today and it has to be the last war between Israel and Palestine. We cannot continue to do this. (Gershon Baskin, September 10, 2024)
Dozens of Palestinians were reported killed as the Israeli military said it struck prominent Hamas operatives at a command room embedded within an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in the southern Gaza Strip early Tuesday morning.
Teams conduct a search and rescue operation after Israeli airstrike on a tent encampment of displaced Palestinians in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, Gaza on September 10, 2024. (Jehad Alshrafi / Anadolu via Reuters)
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said fighter jets struck “significant Hamas terrorists” who were based in the command center in Khan Younis. Palestinian media reported that the strikes took place in the al-Mawasi region on the Strip’s southern coast, west of Khan Younis.
The prominent Hamas operatives had “advanced and deployed terror plots against IDF troops and Israeli civilians,” the military said.
The IDF said it took “many steps” to mitigate harm to civilians in the strike, including using precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.
Israeli officials did not immediately name the targets of the strike.
Authorities in the Hamas-run Strip claimed 40 people were killed and 60 were injured in the attack. The toll could not be immediately verified.
Hamas officials said rescue teams were hampered by large craters blasted into the ground where tents sheltering displaced Gazans previously stood. Hamas Video
A spokesperson for Hamas’s civil defense unit quoted by the Hamas-linked Shehab news agency claimed entire families were swallowed under mountains of sand in the strike, which left massive holes in the ground, and rescuers lack the equipment to dig them out.
Residents and medics said the humanitarian zone was struck by at least four missiles, leaving craters as deep as nine meters (30 feet).
Gaza’s Hamas-run civil emergency service said at least 20 tents caught on fire.
“Our teams are still moving out martyrs and wounded from the targeted area. It looks like a new Israeli massacre,” a Gaza civil emergency official said.
Videos showed Gazans desperately clawing at mounds of sand in the darkness as they tried to reach the dead and injured. Hamas, meanwhile, claimed in a statement that its operatives were not in the area when it was hit by Israeli fighter jets.
Palestinians take shelter from the Israeli bombardment at a school in Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, Wednesday, September 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)“The occupation’s allegations of the presence of resistance fighters are a blatant lie,” Hamas said in a statement on Telegram.
The group has repeatedly denied embedding within civilian populations, despite evidence to the contrary.
In recent months, dozens of airstrikes have been carried out against Hamas sites embedded within schools and other sites used as shelters for civilians, according to the IDF.
On Monday, following rocket fire from the northern Gaza Strip at the southern coastal city of Ashkelon a night earlier, the military called on Palestinians in the Atatra area to evacuate.
Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, published a map of the zones that need to be evacuated. He said that “the specified area has been warned many times in the past” and it is “considered a dangerous combat zone,” following repeated rocket attacks on Israel.
Two rockets were launched at Ashkelon in the attack on Sunday night, one of which was intercepted while the other landed in the sea.
The IDF in recent months has repeatedly issued evacuation orders for areas from which terrorists launch rockets at Israel.
After IDF disputed claim 40 dead in Gaza strike, Hamas health ministry now says toll is 19
The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip revises the death toll in an early-morning IDF strike in the Khan Younis area downward to 19.
The IDF says it targeted three senior Hamas commanders embedded in a humanitarian zone, and disputes the original claimed death toll.
Egypt agreed to allow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to enter the Gaza Strip via the Rafah Crossing, but conditioned this on an Israeli approval that never came, the Kan public broadcaster reports.
Citing a diplomat from an unnamed Middle Eastern country, the report says the PA asked Israel and Egypt to help facilitate Abbas’s promised visit to Gaza. Cairo didn’t object but said Jerusalem had to okay it. Israel refused the request. link This is a big mistake on the part of the Israeli government (big surprise there). Netanyahu continues in his method of weakening the Palestinian Authority because he has learned absolutely nothing from October 7. The PA needs to be embraced and partnered with fully, as it was following Oslo. They are the only body that, in the end, will govern Gaza and ultimately be responsible for the rebuilding of Gaza (with the direct assistance, oversite and management of many other countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, US, Egypt, etc.). While it is true that Abu Mazen needs to step aside for new leadership and total reform of the PA, Israel needs to be on the forefront of partnership with the new PA. Without a better alternative government in Gaza, Hamas will continue and it will be Netanyahu's fault once again for everything that will happen.
This morning, Col. (res.) Golan Vach, a senior Home Front Command search and rescue officer, was wounded in a tunnel collapse in the central Gaza Strip.
Col. (Res.) Golan Vach at the scene of IDF search and rescue efforts after an earthquake in Turkey on February 8, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)The incident came amid efforts to investigate and demolish tunnels in the area, the IDF says.
Vach was trapped inside the tunnel and later rescued, before being taken to a hospital in Israel. He is listed in stable
The military says it has completed an initial probe into the killing of an American woman in the West Bank on Friday, and has found that she was likely mistakenly hit by troops’ gunfire.
The probe, carried out by commanders, has found that Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was “with high probability” killed as a result of “indirect and unintended IDF fire, which was aimed at a main instigator” during a riot.
“The incident occurred during a violent gathering of dozens of Palestinian suspects, who burned tires and threw stones at forces at the Beita Junction,” the IDF says.
Eygi, an American originally from Turkey, was an activist with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).
This undated family photo provided by the International Solidarity Movement on September 6, 2024, shows Aysenur Ezgi Eygi of Seattle. (Courtesy of the Eygi family/International Solidarity Movement via AP)A Military Police investigation has also been launched into the deadly incident, the findings of which will be submitted to the Military Advocate General for review.
The IDF says Israeli officials have submitted a request to carry out an autopsy.
“The IDF expresses its deepest regret over the death of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi,” the military adds.
Dozens of Palestinians were reported killed as the Israeli military said it struck prominent Hamas operatives at a command room embedded within an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in the southern Gaza Strip early Tuesday morning.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said fighter jets struck “significant Hamas terrorists” who were based in the command center in Khan Younis. Palestinian media reported that the strikes took place in the al-Mawasi region on the Strip’s southern coast, west of Khan Younis.
The prominent Hamas operatives had “advanced and deployed terror plots against IDF troops and Israeli civilians,” the military said.The IDF said it took “many steps” to mitigate harm to civilians in the strike, including using precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.
Israeli officials did not immediately name the targets of the strike.
Authorities in the Hamas-run Strip claimed 40 people were killed and 60 were injured in the attack. The toll could not be immediately verified.
Hamas officials said rescue teams were hampered by large craters blasted into the ground where tents sheltering displaced Gazans previously stood. Hamas Video
A spokesperson for Hamas’s civil defense unit quoted by the Hamas-linked Shehab news agency claimed entire families were swallowed under mountains of sand in the strike, which left massive holes in the ground, and rescuers lack the equipment to dig them out.
Residents and medics said the humanitarian zone was struck by at least four missiles, leaving craters as deep as nine meters (30 feet).
Gaza’s Hamas-run civil emergency service said at least 20 tents caught on fire.
“Our teams are still moving out martyrs and wounded from the targeted area. It looks like a new Israeli massacre,” a Gaza civil emergency official said.
Videos showed Gazans desperately clawing at mounds of sand in the darkness as they tried to reach the dead and injured. Hamas, meanwhile, claimed in a statement that its operatives were not in the area when it was hit by Israeli fighter jets.
Palestinians take shelter from the Israeli bombardment at a school in Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, Wednesday, September 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
“The occupation’s allegations of the presence of resistance fighters are a blatant lie,” Hamas said in a statement on Telegram.
The group has repeatedly denied embedding within civilian populations, despite evidence to the contrary.
In recent months, dozens of airstrikes have been carried out against Hamas sites embedded within schools and other sites used as shelters for civilians, according to the IDF.
On Monday, following rocket fire from the northern Gaza Strip at the southern coastal city of Ashkelon a night earlier, the military called on Palestinians in the Atatra area to evacuate.
Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, published a map of the zones that need to be evacuated. He said that “the specified area has been warned many times in the past” and it is “considered a dangerous combat zone,” following repeated rocket attacks on Israel.
Two rockets were launched at Ashkelon in the attack on Sunday night, one of which was intercepted while the other landed in the sea.
The IDF in recent months has repeatedly issued evacuation orders for areas from which terrorists launch rockets at Israel.
After IDF disputed claim 40 dead in Gaza strike, Hamas health ministry now says toll is 19
The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip revises the death toll in an early-morning IDF strike in the Khan Younis area downward to 19.
The IDF says it targeted three senior Hamas commanders embedded in a humanitarian zone, and disputes the original claimed death toll.
Egypt agreed to allow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to enter the Gaza Strip via the Rafah Crossing, but conditioned this on an Israeli approval that never came, the Kan public broadcaster reports.
Citing a diplomat from an unnamed Middle Eastern country, the report says the PA asked Israel and Egypt to help facilitate Abbas’s promised visit to Gaza. Cairo didn’t object but said Jerusalem had to okay it. Israel refused the request. link This is a big mistake on the part of the Israeli government (big surprise there). Netanyahu continues in his method of weakening the Palestinian Authority because he has learned absolutely nothing from October 7. The PA needs to be embraced and partnered with fully, as it was following Oslo. They are the only body that, in the end, will govern Gaza and ultimately be responsible for the rebuilding of Gaza (with the direct assistance, oversite and management of many other countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, US, Egypt, etc.). While it is true that Abu Mazen needs to step aside for new leadership and total reform of the PA, Israel needs to be on the forefront of partnership with the new PA. Without a better alternative government in Gaza, Hamas will continue and it will be Netanyahu's fault once again for everything that will happen.
This morning, Col. (res.) Golan Vach, a senior Home Front Command search and rescue officer, was wounded in a tunnel collapse in the central Gaza Strip.
The incident came amid efforts to investigate and demolish tunnels in the area, the IDF says.
Vach was trapped inside the tunnel and later rescued, before being taken to a hospital in Israel. He is listed in stable
The military says it has completed an initial probe into the killing of an American woman in the West Bank on Friday, and has found that she was likely mistakenly hit by troops’ gunfire.
The probe, carried out by commanders, has found that Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was “with high probability” killed as a result of “indirect and unintended IDF fire, which was aimed at a main instigator” during a riot.
“The incident occurred during a violent gathering of dozens of Palestinian suspects, who burned tires and threw stones at forces at the Beita Junction,” the IDF says.
Eygi, an American originally from Turkey, was an activist with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).
A Military Police investigation has also been launched into the deadly incident, the findings of which will be submitted to the Military Advocate General for review.
The IDF says Israeli officials have submitted a request to carry out an autopsy.
“The IDF expresses its deepest regret over the death of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi,” the military adds.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
A series of alleged Israeli strikes hit military sites in central Syria late Sunday, killing at least 14 people, wounding 43 and sparking fires, Syrian state media claimed.
State news agency SANA reported that Syrian air defenses “confronted an aggression that targeted several points in the central region,” damaging a highway in the Hama province and sparking fires that firefighting teams were battling to control early Monday.
SANA said that the strikes also caused “material losses” to several military sites. Other local media reported that the strikes hit a scientific research center in Masyaf, which has long been associated with the manufacture of chemical weapons and precision missiles by the Syrian regime and Iranian forces. At least 14 dead and 43 wounded people, six in critical condition, were brought to Masyaf National Hospital, SANA said, citing hospital head Faysal Haydar. It did not elaborate on their identities.
The Masyaf area, west of Hama, is thought to be used as a base for Iranian forces and pro-Iranian militias, and has been repeatedly targeted in recent years in attacks widely attributed to Israel.
It contains the Scientific Studies and Research Center, known as CERS or SSRC, which according to Israel is used by Iranian forces to manufacture precision surface-to-surface missiles. Western officials have long associated CERS with the manufacture of chemical arms. According to the United States, sarin gas has been developed at that center, a charge denied by the Syrian authorities.
There was no immediate comment on the strike from Israel, which rarely acknowledges individual operations in Syria. Full article
After
Hezbollah strike on Nahariya, residents say government abandoned them
Drone
hits apartment of members of urban kibbutz who moved to the city out of
idealism; now they say they have to deal with their own shock before they can
help others
The high-rises of Nahariya’s new neighborhood shoot up out of what once was farm fields. In just a few years, hundreds of new residents have flocked to the area, renting apartments with stunning views of the city, the sea, and the rolling green hills that form Israel’s border with Lebanon six miles away.
The buildings went up fast and always seemed to stand tall, almost as if in defiance of the thousands of Hezbollah rockets aimed in their direction. But on Monday afternoon, just hours after a drone launched by the terror group hit a building, the blackened, damaged wall it left behind almost seemed like a sign that the northern city’s 64,000 residents were all-too-easy targets.
Although no one was hurt, the drone hit rendered two apartments unlivable. The attack also had a ripple effect, sending waves of terror through the neighborhood, whose residents felt a sense of foreboding that, after almost-daily bombardments of Kiryat Shmona and dozens of other northern communities for the past 11 months, Hezbollah was beginning to target their city.
Since October 8, the day after Hamas’s cross-border massacre started the war in Gaza, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza.
So far, the skirmishes have resulted in 26 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 20 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
“We feel the government has abandoned us and just let the war go on,” said Tal Masad, a member of urban kibbutz Ruth, who lives two floors down from the damaged apartment, where two other kibbutz members reside. The attack destroyed the bathroom, but “luckily, the couple and their 6-month-old baby weren’t home,” Masad said.
The scene where a drone fired from Lebanon hit a residential building, in the northern city of Nahariya, September 9, 2024. (Flash90)They are part of the Hashomer Hatzair movement’s “urban kibbutz” network, which boasts 15 such projects around the country. The members are currently renting 10 apartments close to one another in the neighborhood. They moved from around the country to Nahariya last September, armed with idealism, hoping to help the community, launch initiatives that include informal educational programs, and foster civic participation along with political and social justice activism.
Masad said the members would hold a meeting on the evening of the attack. Asked if she knew of any kibbutz plans to help neighborhood residents, she said that first “we have to deal with it ourselves.” After, she said, they would talk about “what we want to do.”
A bathroom in a Nahariya apartment rented by urban kibbutz Ruth members, damaged in the Hezbollah drone attack on September 9, 2024. (Tal Masad)
Shaky quiet
As road crews cleaned up the shattered glass around the high-rise in the early afternoon, some of the building’s residents stood around outside, appearing dazed and shaken. One woman, who asked that her name not be used, smoked a cigarette and said the explosion was so loud that her apartment shook and her baby “cried hysterically.”
Slowly, the neighborhood, with its newly constructed playgrounds, seemed to return to an unsettled quiet.
“This is not a situation that anyone can get used to,” said Alina Avshalom, a mother of four who lives down the street from the damaged building. “All the residents in the north are anxious.”
She said that her 9-year-old son, Aviel, attends fourth grade at a school less than a half-mile from the drone strike. The students were “instructed that in the event of an alarm, they should go to the wall and put their hands on their heads because it’s impossible to get a large number of children down to the first floor in 15 seconds.”
In a video announcement soon after the attack, Mayor Ronen Marelly spoke calmly to the city’s residents, urging parents to let their students stay in school until the end of the school day. But that did not stop many parents from rushing to get the children, Avshalom said, causing traffic jams and even more panic.
Avshalom does not have a car, she said, and had to “think twice” before she walked over to her son’s school, frightened that she could be injured in another drone attack. “Only people who work far away didn’t come to pick up their kids,” she said. “I didn’t want my kids to be among the few left in school.” She added that “everyone sends their children to school every day with heavy hearts and great fear.”
Third Lebanon War
Just down the road from the neighborhood, Prof. Masad Barhoum, director of the Galilee Medical Center, said the hospital, which has run most of its facilities underground or in protected areas since soon after October 8, is “preparing for the Third Lebanon War.”
During the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Hezbollah fired close to 4,000 rockets into Israel, resulting in the deaths of 49 Israeli civilians as well as multiple soldiers. Barhoum said the hospital has been readying for the next war since the last one. Dr. Maron Haj, a thoracic surgeon who works at the hospital, said he was seeing patients when he heard his apartment, one floor below the urban kibbutz, was hit in the attack.
“Everything in our apartment was ruined,” he said as he stood near the building, gazing up at his apartment. He said that he had to go get the family dog, and then he and his wife would have to find somewhere else to stay.
“We can’t live there,” he said, and expressed frustration that “nobody from the government” called to “take responsibility” or to “try to help us.”
The members of the kibbutz are not politicians, Masad said, but “when it comes to fear, it doesn’t matter if you’re on the right or the left. Citizens want to live in security and not fear.” link
A series of alleged Israeli strikes hit military sites in central Syria late Sunday, killing at least 14 people, wounding 43 and sparking fires, Syrian state media claimed.
State news agency SANA reported that Syrian air defenses “confronted an aggression that targeted several points in the central region,” damaging a highway in the Hama province and sparking fires that firefighting teams were battling to control early Monday.
SANA said that the strikes also caused “material losses” to several military sites. Other local media reported that the strikes hit a scientific research center in Masyaf, which has long been associated with the manufacture of chemical weapons and precision missiles by the Syrian regime and Iranian forces. At least 14 dead and 43 wounded people, six in critical condition, were brought to Masyaf National Hospital, SANA said, citing hospital head Faysal Haydar. It did not elaborate on their identities.
The Masyaf area, west of Hama, is thought to be used as a base for Iranian forces and pro-Iranian militias, and has been repeatedly targeted in recent years in attacks widely attributed to Israel.
It contains the Scientific Studies and Research Center, known as CERS or SSRC, which according to Israel is used by Iranian forces to manufacture precision surface-to-surface missiles. Western officials have long associated CERS with the manufacture of chemical arms. According to the United States, sarin gas has been developed at that center, a charge denied by the Syrian authorities.
There was no immediate comment on the strike from Israel, which rarely acknowledges individual operations in Syria. Full article
After
Hezbollah strike on Nahariya, residents say government abandoned them
Drone
hits apartment of members of urban kibbutz who moved to the city out of
idealism; now they say they have to deal with their own shock before they can
help others
The high-rises of Nahariya’s new neighborhood shoot up out of what once was farm fields. In just a few years, hundreds of new residents have flocked to the area, renting apartments with stunning views of the city, the sea, and the rolling green hills that form Israel’s border with Lebanon six miles away.
The buildings went up fast and always seemed to stand tall, almost as if in defiance of the thousands of Hezbollah rockets aimed in their direction. But on Monday afternoon, just hours after a drone launched by the terror group hit a building, the blackened, damaged wall it left behind almost seemed like a sign that the northern city’s 64,000 residents were all-too-easy targets.
Although no one was hurt, the drone hit rendered two apartments unlivable. The attack also had a ripple effect, sending waves of terror through the neighborhood, whose residents felt a sense of foreboding that, after almost-daily bombardments of Kiryat Shmona and dozens of other northern communities for the past 11 months, Hezbollah was beginning to target their city.
Since October 8, the day after Hamas’s cross-border massacre started the war in Gaza, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza.
So far, the skirmishes have resulted in 26 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 20 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
“We feel the government has abandoned us and just let the war go on,” said Tal Masad, a member of urban kibbutz Ruth, who lives two floors down from the damaged apartment, where two other kibbutz members reside. The attack destroyed the bathroom, but “luckily, the couple and their 6-month-old baby weren’t home,” Masad said.
The scene where a drone fired from Lebanon hit a residential building, in the northern city of Nahariya, September 9, 2024. (Flash90)
They are part of the Hashomer Hatzair movement’s “urban kibbutz” network, which boasts 15 such projects around the country. The members are currently renting 10 apartments close to one another in the neighborhood. They moved from around the country to Nahariya last September, armed with idealism, hoping to help the community, launch initiatives that include informal educational programs, and foster civic participation along with political and social justice activism.
Masad said the members would hold a meeting on the evening of the attack. Asked if she knew of any kibbutz plans to help neighborhood residents, she said that first “we have to deal with it ourselves.” After, she said, they would talk about “what we want to do.”
A bathroom in a Nahariya apartment rented by urban kibbutz Ruth members, damaged in the Hezbollah drone attack on September 9, 2024. (Tal Masad)
Shaky quiet
As road crews cleaned up the shattered glass around the high-rise in the early afternoon, some of the building’s residents stood around outside, appearing dazed and shaken. One woman, who asked that her name not be used, smoked a cigarette and said the explosion was so loud that her apartment shook and her baby “cried hysterically.”
Slowly, the neighborhood, with its newly constructed playgrounds, seemed to return to an unsettled quiet.
“This is not a situation that anyone can get used to,” said Alina Avshalom, a mother of four who lives down the street from the damaged building. “All the residents in the north are anxious.”
She said that her 9-year-old son, Aviel, attends fourth grade at a school less than a half-mile from the drone strike. The students were “instructed that in the event of an alarm, they should go to the wall and put their hands on their heads because it’s impossible to get a large number of children down to the first floor in 15 seconds.”
In a video announcement soon after the attack, Mayor Ronen Marelly spoke calmly to the city’s residents, urging parents to let their students stay in school until the end of the school day. But that did not stop many parents from rushing to get the children, Avshalom said, causing traffic jams and even more panic.
Avshalom does not have a car, she said, and had to “think twice” before she walked over to her son’s school, frightened that she could be injured in another drone attack. “Only people who work far away didn’t come to pick up their kids,” she said. “I didn’t want my kids to be among the few left in school.” She added that “everyone sends their children to school every day with heavy hearts and great fear.”
Third Lebanon War
Just down the road from the neighborhood, Prof. Masad Barhoum, director of the Galilee Medical Center, said the hospital, which has run most of its facilities underground or in protected areas since soon after October 8, is “preparing for the Third Lebanon War.”
During the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Hezbollah fired close to 4,000 rockets into Israel, resulting in the deaths of 49 Israeli civilians as well as multiple soldiers. Barhoum said the hospital has been readying for the next war since the last one. Dr. Maron Haj, a thoracic surgeon who works at the hospital, said he was seeing patients when he heard his apartment, one floor below the urban kibbutz, was hit in the attack.
“Everything in our apartment was ruined,” he said as he stood near the building, gazing up at his apartment. He said that he had to go get the family dog, and then he and his wife would have to find somewhere else to stay.
“We can’t live there,” he said, and expressed frustration that “nobody from the government” called to “take responsibility” or to “try to help us.”
The members of the kibbutz are not politicians, Masad said, but “when it comes to fear, it doesn’t matter if you’re on the right or the left. Citizens want to live in security and not fear.” link
The IDF confirms killing a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force in a drone strike deep in Lebanon earlier today.
According to the IDF, Muhammad Qassem al-Shaer was involved in many attacks on Israel. The military says his killing “is another blow to the ability of the Hezbollah terror organization to advance and carry out terror attacks from southern Lebanon against the Israeli home front on the northern border.”
Al-Shaer was targeted on a road near Lake Qaraoun in the Beqaa Valley, some 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the Israeli border.
The IDF publishes footage of the strike. video
The IDF confirms killing a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force in a drone strike deep in Lebanon earlier today.
According to the IDF, Muhammad Qassem al-Shaer was involved in many attacks on Israel. The military says his killing “is another blow to the ability of the Hezbollah terror organization to advance and carry out terror attacks from southern Lebanon against the Israeli home front on the northern border.”
Al-Shaer was targeted on a road near Lake Qaraoun in the Beqaa Valley, some 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the Israeli border.
The IDF publishes footage of the strike. video
West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel
**Jordanian
Intelligence Captures 4 Terror Operatives Planning Bombing at Allenby Bridge
Crossing**
According
to non-Israeli sources, a local cell of Jordanians from the city of Salt, west
of Amman, operated a bomb-making lab and planned to send a truck bomb to the
border with Israel. The capture was not made public, likely to avoid stirring
anger among the Jordanian public. In the past two months, Jordan has
intercepted at least three cells directed by Hezbollah.
The
shooting attack at the Allenby Bridge crossing, where three Israelis were
killed by a Jordanian citizen, broke 30 years of calm along the eastern border.
However, this is not the first time in recent months that this crossing has
been targeted by terrorist organizations. Jordan managed to thwart a truck
bombing attempt at the crossing about two months ago.
According
to non-Israeli sources, Jordanian intelligence foiled a plot involving four
terror operatives, Jordanians who are not of Palestinian descent, from the city
of Salt, west of Amman. They led Jordanian forces to the explosives lab they
had set up, where the explosive devices were discovered. It is suspected that
the operatives planned to detonate a bomb using a truck at the Allenby Bridge
crossing, near the border with Israel. The cell that was captured is local and
was not directed by Iran or Hezbollah. The authorities in Jordan did not
publicly announce the capture, likely to prevent a backlash from the Jordanian
public, which is hostile to Israel.
In
mid-June, it was reported that large quantities of explosives smuggled by
Iranians into Jordan were seized in an industrial area of Amman, aimed at
destabilizing the kingdom. Additionally, over the past two months, Jordanian
security forces have captured at least three cells directed by Hezbollah,
recruited online in a manner similar to the Shiite organization's activities in
Nablus, Jenin, and Tulkarm. link
**Jordanian
Intelligence Captures 4 Terror Operatives Planning Bombing at Allenby Bridge
Crossing**
According
to non-Israeli sources, a local cell of Jordanians from the city of Salt, west
of Amman, operated a bomb-making lab and planned to send a truck bomb to the
border with Israel. The capture was not made public, likely to avoid stirring
anger among the Jordanian public. In the past two months, Jordan has
intercepted at least three cells directed by Hezbollah.
The
shooting attack at the Allenby Bridge crossing, where three Israelis were
killed by a Jordanian citizen, broke 30 years of calm along the eastern border.
However, this is not the first time in recent months that this crossing has
been targeted by terrorist organizations. Jordan managed to thwart a truck
bombing attempt at the crossing about two months ago.
According
to non-Israeli sources, Jordanian intelligence foiled a plot involving four
terror operatives, Jordanians who are not of Palestinian descent, from the city
of Salt, west of Amman. They led Jordanian forces to the explosives lab they
had set up, where the explosive devices were discovered. It is suspected that
the operatives planned to detonate a bomb using a truck at the Allenby Bridge
crossing, near the border with Israel. The cell that was captured is local and
was not directed by Iran or Hezbollah. The authorities in Jordan did not
publicly announce the capture, likely to prevent a backlash from the Jordanian
public, which is hostile to Israel.
In
mid-June, it was reported that large quantities of explosives smuggled by
Iranians into Jordan were seized in an industrial area of Amman, aimed at
destabilizing the kingdom. Additionally, over the past two months, Jordanian
security forces have captured at least three cells directed by Hezbollah,
recruited online in a manner similar to the Shiite organization's activities in
Nablus, Jenin, and Tulkarm. link
Politics and the War (general news)
- Speaking to troops during a drill simulating a ground offensive in Lebanon, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel is shifting its focus to the northern front as it aims to soon achieve its objectives in the Gaza Strip.
“The center of gravity is moving to the north, we are nearing the completion of our missions in the south, but we have a task here that has not been carried out, and this mission is to change the security situation and return the residents to their homes,” he says to reservists of the Oded Brigade in northern Israel.
Some 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from their homes amid daily attacks by Hezbollah on northern Israel. Returning the displaced residents of the north to their homes is part of Israel’s war goals, alongside dismantling Hamas and returning the hostages kidnapped by the terror group on October 7.
“These instructions you are waiting for, I gave in the south and saw the forces at work,” Gallant says, referring to Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza. He adds that such orders “will come here as well and you should be prepared and ready to carry out this mission.”
“We are finishing training the entire order of battle for a ground operation [in Lebanon], in all its aspects,” Gallant says.
“I’ve already seen in many circumstances where I stood next to troops who told me: ‘You are just talking.’ After a week I met them on the ground,” he adds to the reserve soldiers.
The IDF says it has resumed its major operation in the northern West Bank, and a large number of troops are currently carrying out a raid in the Tulkarem area.
The operation, internally dubbed Summer Camps, was launched on August 28 with raids in Tulkarem, Jenin and Tubas.
The IDF withdrew from Jenin on Friday, and there have been no major raids since.
“The center of gravity is moving to the north, we are nearing the completion of our missions in the south, but we have a task here that has not been carried out, and this mission is to change the security situation and return the residents to their homes,” he says to reservists of the Oded Brigade in northern Israel.
Some 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from their homes amid daily attacks by Hezbollah on northern Israel. Returning the displaced residents of the north to their homes is part of Israel’s war goals, alongside dismantling Hamas and returning the hostages kidnapped by the terror group on October 7.
“These instructions you are waiting for, I gave in the south and saw the forces at work,” Gallant says, referring to Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza. He adds that such orders “will come here as well and you should be prepared and ready to carry out this mission.”
“We are finishing training the entire order of battle for a ground operation [in Lebanon], in all its aspects,” Gallant says.
“I’ve already seen in many circumstances where I stood next to troops who told me: ‘You are just talking.’ After a week I met them on the ground,” he adds to the reserve soldiers.
The IDF says it has resumed its major operation in the northern West Bank, and a large number of troops are currently carrying out a raid in the Tulkarem area.
The operation, internally dubbed Summer Camps, was launched on August 28 with raids in Tulkarem, Jenin and Tubas.
The IDF withdrew from Jenin on Friday, and there have been no major raids since.
The Region and the World
International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan calls on the Pre-Trial Chamber of the court to issue the arrest warrants he seeks for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “with utmost urgency.”
Khan, who filed his request for warrants in May, says the warrants are needed due to the “ongoing criminality” he alleged in his initial request and to what he said was the “worsening situation in Palestine.”
Khan writes in his submission to Pre-Trial Chamber I that the arrest warrants are necessary to ensure that the targets of the warrants “do not obstruct or endanger the investigation or court proceedings, prevent the continuing commission of the crimes alleged and/or the commission of other Rome Statute crimes.”
The prosecutor requests to have the arrest warrant against for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh withdrawn following his assassination in Tehran in July.
But he does not withdraw his request for an arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif, another senior Hamas leader who Israel believes it assassinated in July, saying the prosecution is still gathering information about “his reported death.”
Khan requested arrest warrants against the Israeli and Hamas leaders in May on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes for the October 7 atrocities committed by Hamas, and Israel’s military policies in its subsequent war against the terror group.
In July, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I allowed other parties to submit amicus briefs on the case, including regarding the court’s jurisdiction over Israeli nationals, which has significantly delayed a decision.
Personal Stories**Rescues Under Fire: The Heroes of the Yedidim Jeep Unit**
During one of the most challenging events in the country’s history, volunteers from the Yedidim organization’s Jeep Unit led complex rescue missions and saved many lives. Members of the unit share their experiences from October 7th — the challenges, the pain, the heroism, and the hope.
In the surprise attack on Israel, the Yedidim Jeep Unit found itself at the heart of the event. Upon hearing about the horrors at the kibbutzim and the Nova festival, the unit’s volunteers rushed to the scene and were confronted with devastation, destruction, and an unimaginable reality. Since October 7th, the Re'im parking area has become a pilgrimage site, with thousands visiting daily to remember the victims. We visited the site with the unit's volunteers and heard about what they went through.
“This is the first time I’ve returned here since,” says Ido Pary, commander of the Lachish region in Yedidim’s Missing Persons Search and Rescue Unit, with pain in his voice. “Seeing the memorials and the photos of the people takes me back to the horrific scenes we saw — the bodies, the burnt vehicles.” Despite the shock and uncertainty, the members of the Jeep Unit became a civilian anchor for the State of Israel, taking on the complex tasks assigned to them. As always, Yedidim's mission was clear: save lives, rescue everyone possible, and be a civilian support system in times of distress.
Neve Cohen, commander of the Jeep Units in Yedidim’s Southern District, details the operations amid the disaster. “We were there to evacuate bodies, transport soldiers and equipment, and secure convoys.”
From the first call, as sirens blared nonstop and heavy rocket barrages fell across wide areas of Israel, Pary realized that these were not routine calls. Due to the large number of requests, he worked to recruit volunteers from Yedidim’s Jeep Units nationwide: “We received a call to help evacuate the Nova festival, and we needed a large force.”
Ido, Neve, and Ben, along with other members of the unit, faced one of the toughest missions, not only physically but also mentally. Ido recalls, “Walking here on the night of October 7th felt like walking hand in hand with the angel of death — it’s an indescribable feeling. But that was the mission, and you keep moving forward.”
Upon arriving at Kibbutz Re'im, the Jeep Unit volunteers encountered numerous horrors. “Even the military didn’t grasp how many bodies were here,” recalls Ben Zubib, commander of the Jeep Unit in Yedidim’s Lachish area. “We had to load the bodies into pickup trucks and trailers to take them out.” Throughout the night, they evacuated the bodies and led survivors to safety. “These moments will stay with us forever.”
Dealing with the destruction and exposure to the harsh scenes took a psychological toll on the volunteers, who found the strength to keep going despite the heavy emotional burden. “There were moments when we just broke down,” shares Pary. “People started crying as they lifted bodies. But you hug your buddy, and somehow that lifts you up.”
The sense of unity and connection between the unit members helped them keep going. “It’s something you don’t forget; these moments will stay with you forever. The real question is how we move forward from here. We can’t dwell on this; we have to look ahead.”
**“We help everyone, without conditions or questions”**
The major challenge facing the Jeep Unit was also physical: the tasks kept piling up alongside exposure to distressing scenes. The unit didn’t stop for a moment: “We were there to transport equipment to soldiers, secure convoys, and do whatever was needed,” explains Neve.
In one mission, the team searched the area where survivors fled on foot from the Nova festival. “We were 85 responders from across the country,” Ben recalls. “We were tasked with creating a line and scanning every area where there might still be missing persons.”
The mission of Yedidim, as Ido emphasizes, is to assist as much as possible, for anyone in need. “We operate at a level of kindness, helping everyone, without conditions and without questions,” he explains. “Our message is simple: to love everyone and help each other. It’s a message of unity, and that’s what Yedidim represents.”
**“When you rescue someone, their smile says it all”**
In light of the challenging events, the Yedidim Jeep Unit has prepared to handle any possible scenario in the future. “Today, we are prepared for any possible conflict in the north or south,” notes Neve Cohen. “The organization is ready with Jeep Units that can operate quickly and respond to complex situations.”
The smiles of the people who received help from the Jeep Unit are what fill the hearts of the unit’s volunteers. “When you rescue someone or help a person in distress, their smile says it all,” says Ido. “That’s what drives us to continue.”
Stuck with your car? Need a rescue? Paz and Yedidim are here to help you. Click on the Yedidim rescue button on the home screen of the Yellow app, through which you can open a rescue call or call the center. The organization’s volunteers will reach you anywhere in the country. The app is available for free download. Paz has donated thousands of child rescue kits, roadside rescue kits, and kits for the Jeep Unit to the organization’s volunteers. https://www.ynet.co.il/activism/article/r1wa11ewhr#autoplay
International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan calls on the Pre-Trial Chamber of the court to issue the arrest warrants he seeks for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “with utmost urgency.”
Khan, who filed his request for warrants in May, says the warrants are needed due to the “ongoing criminality” he alleged in his initial request and to what he said was the “worsening situation in Palestine.”
Khan writes in his submission to Pre-Trial Chamber I that the arrest warrants are necessary to ensure that the targets of the warrants “do not obstruct or endanger the investigation or court proceedings, prevent the continuing commission of the crimes alleged and/or the commission of other Rome Statute crimes.”
The prosecutor requests to have the arrest warrant against for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh withdrawn following his assassination in Tehran in July.
But he does not withdraw his request for an arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif, another senior Hamas leader who Israel believes it assassinated in July, saying the prosecution is still gathering information about “his reported death.”
Khan requested arrest warrants against the Israeli and Hamas leaders in May on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes for the October 7 atrocities committed by Hamas, and Israel’s military policies in its subsequent war against the terror group.
In July, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I allowed other parties to submit amicus briefs on the case, including regarding the court’s jurisdiction over Israeli nationals, which has significantly delayed a decision.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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