🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 344, 2023 - September 14, 2024 🎗️

  

🎗️Day 344 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

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

‎אין נצחון עד שכל החטופים בבית

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

*6:55pm yesterday- north -rockets - She'ar Yeshuv

*12:35am - north - rockets - Manara
*12:55am -  north - rockets -Avivim, Elipelet, Amnon, Vered Hagalil, Birya, Safed, Dalton, Amuka

*6:00am - north - rockets -Shtula
*6:10am - north - rockets -Gordot Hagalil
*7:30am - north - rockets -Dovev
*7:40am - north - rockets -Yiftach
*8:15am - north - rockets -Dishon, Malkia, Hakuk, Cachal, Safed, Acbera
*9:00am - north - rockets -Alma, Ramot Naftali, Elipelet, Dishon, Machanaim, Hatzor Haglilit, Tzahar Industrial Zone, Rosh Pina, Minhat Machanaim, Tuba Zangaria, Amuka, Malkia, Nof Kineret, Safed, Karkum, Amiad, Vered Hagalil - over 55 rockets this morning to the Safed area
*10:05am - north - rockets -Avivim

*1:55pm - south - rockets - Ashkelon
2:00pm- north - rockets - Kfar Szold

*2:10pm - north - rockets - She'ar Hayeshuv
*3:40pm - north - rockets - Baram
*5:10pm - north - rockets - Yiron

Hostage Updates 

The family of slain hostage Alex Lobanov authorizes the publication of parts of the final video recorded by his Hamas captors. 

Executed hostage Alex Lobanov is seen in a propaganda video released by the Hamas terror group. Lobanov's family published the video on September 13, 2024 (Screencapture)

In the days following the execution of six hostages, the terror group released several propaganda videos of the hostages. Israeli authorities and human rights groups, and several freed hostages, have said that hostages are coerced into making their remarks in such videos. Israeli media outlets generally publish them only if their families request that they do so.

In the 90 second, heavily edited video, Lobanov says the hostages are being held “in very very difficult circumstances. There are no basic supplies, like water, food electricity and hygiene.”

“There are bombings all the time, we are afraid and have difficulty sleeping,” he says, adding that Hamas has moved him from hideout to hideout ten times during his time in captivity.

Appealing to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the government, Lobanov says they failed the people on October 7th and have failed the hostages since “in all efforts to release us alive.”

He accuses the government of trying to kill them so they do not have to make a deal. He calls on the Israeli public to help his pregnant wife and two-year-old child make their voices heard. “Go out to the streets, protest, do everything so that we will come out of here alive.”

The clip ends with Lobanov saying: “To my family, Michal, Tom, Mom, Dad — Remain strong and united, I miss and love you.”

Following the release of the video, the Hostages Families Forum says his final plea only makes it more urgent to bring the rest of the captives home.

“This horrific video further demonstrates Hamas’s cruelty. Alex and five other hostages managed to survive in nightmarish conditions for over 10 months before being brutally executed. Recently released footage from their underground prison offered only a glimpse of the unimaginable horrors they endured in captivity. Time is running out for the remaining 101 hostages. A deal must be struck immediately to save them,” the Forum says. Hamas video of Alex

• Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s parents call to keep fighting for hostages ‘before it’s too late’
  Jon and Rachel say murder of their son and 5 others in tunnel ‘could have and should have been avoided’; Netanyahu repeats claim Hamas ‘turned down’ latest deal proposal

  
  Rachel Goldberg-Polin (right) and Jon Polin, parents of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin who was murdered by his Hamas captors, speak in a video published on their social media accounts, September 12, 2024 (Screenshot via social media).

  The parents of slain-Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin called on Thursday for the public to keep protesting on behalf of a deal that will enable the release of the 101 people still believed to be held hostage in Gaza.

  In a video published on their social media accounts, Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin appear wearing the now-distinctive masking tape on their shirts with the number “342,” to signify the number of days that have passed since the October 7 terror onslaught and since their son and many others were abducted from the Supernova music festival. Even after the death of their son, the couple have continued to wear the tape daily to mark time passing for those still being held in Gaza.

  “We are still in mourning, but we are also in an emergency situation,” Jon states in the video. “We are speaking on our behalf, but also in the sweet memories of the precious souls of Hersh, Alex, Almog, Ori, Eden and Carmel.”
  

  “Their deaths could have and should have been avoided,” he added. “People in positions of power failed them and failed us as their families. No other family should experience what we are experiencing. We must continue to act to save the remaining 101” — 97 of whom were kidnapped on October 7 and four who have been held in Gaza for a number of years.

  Hersh, along with Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat and Almog Sarusi, was executed in a tunnel in southern Gaza’s Rafah late last month, and his body recovered by the IDF overnight on August 31.

  News of their killings just days before the IDF located their bodies sparked deep mourning across Israel and provided even greater fuel to 11 months of protests demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agree to a deal with Hamas that would see the release of the hostages in exchange for a ceasefire and Israel freeing jailed Palestinian security prisoners.

  
  Demonstrators attend an anti-government protest calling for action to release the Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza, in front of the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, September 12, 2024. (Jack Guez/AFP)

  Netanyahu has repeatedly said — including on Thursday — that he is doing everything he can to reach a deal favorable to Israel, blaming Hamas for thwarting talks, while some families of hostages have accused the premier of stymieing a deal with unnecessary demands for political ends.

  In the video statement, Rachel Goldberg-Polin said, “We have people whose lives are hanging in the balance, and we don’t want any other family to experience what we are currently experiencing, along with the precious other five that Jon mentioned.”
  

  Addressing the many people she said have offered help in recent days, the bereaved mother asked them to: “Keep writing to the White House, keep writing to the prime minister, keep wearing the tape, keep going out and advocating.”  Video of Rachel and Jon Goldberg-Polin

  “We have to figure out a way to get these people home before it’s too late,” she continued. “So please, keep doing what you have been doing for all of these days. It’s day 342. Let’s get this to an end in the memory of those beautiful six.”

  Netanyahu, meanwhile, reiterated on Thursday his claim that Hamas is to blame for the lack of progress in talks for a deal. link

Gaza 

•  Channel 12 news plays intercepted recordings purporting to show Hamas operatives discussing how to disperse overflowing Gaza aid that they had seized.

  In the recordings of radio conversations, one operative says, “We have trucks overflowing with goods.” The second operative declines the offer, saying “we have everything. In the meantime, we have no room in the stores.” He then suggests they send the goods to Khan Younis.

  The report says the recordings indicate the difficulties in applying pressure on Hamas, which is making millions off control over the hundreds of trucks of international aid that enter Gaza every day.

  The report also says that the IDF plans to reexamine efforts that allow private traders to import goods into Gaza because Hamas has been taking 20% of all the profits from the deals.

• Two buildings used by Hamas in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, close to a school used as a shelter for displaced Palestinians, were struck by Israeli fighter jets earlier today, the IDF says.

  The military says the buildings were used by Hamas operatives for various attacks and to manufacture weapons.

  The IDF denies some Palestinian reports that the strike targeted a fuel facility in the area, near the Dar al-Arqam School.

  The Hamas-run civil defense reports five dead in the strike.

  The IDF says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strike and accuses Hamas of “systematically” using civilian sites for terror. video of the destruction

• In recent days, troops of the 162nd Division have killed more than 100 gunmen during operations in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF says.

  Also amid the operations, the military says soldiers have located rocket launchers, weapon caches, and other infrastructure belonging to Hamas.

• Earlier today, Israeli Air Force fighter jets, with precise targeting and intelligence guidance from Military Intelligence, the Shin Bet, and the Southern Command, struck Hamas terrorists operating in two military structures in the Al-Farkan area of Gaza City. These military structures were used by the terrorists for various terror activities and the production of weapons. The buildings are located near an area that was previously a school and now serves as an active shelter.

  The IDF spokesperson stated that "prior to the strike, many measures were taken to minimize the risk to civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence. The terrorist organization systematically violates international law, cruelly exploiting civilian institutions and the population as human shields for its terror activities."

• "He will make a mistake": This is how the chase for Yahya Sinwar is conducted

  

  Since October 7, the Hamas leader in Gaza has become Israel's number one target. The security establishment is investing enormous resources to locate him, but despite all the decisive declarations and tremendous efforts, he manages to evade capture. The stories behind the hunt for Hamas's symbol of cruelty, from the military "city" underground in Khan Yunis to the Shin Bet's special command center - and why, despite everything, Israel believes it's only a matter of time until they get to him.

  Yahya Sinwar's figure is blurred, but clearly identifiable. He walks through a narrow, dark tunnel, part of Hamas's strategic tunnel network in Khan Yunis. Two of his children and one of his wives are in front of him, his brother Ibrahim leads the group. They move towards one of the safe zones prepared in advance, as a heavy iron gate slams shut behind them. This rare footage was filmed on October 10, days after the surprise attack, captured by a camera installed in the tunnel dozens of meters long. In those days, the IDF reached several similar tunnels where Sinwar had stayed and was forced to flee from them.

  "We were close," admitted the commander of Division 98, Brigadier General Dan Goldfus, in an interview with Nir Dvori. "We were in his compound, we reached the underground compound, the compound was hot. We also found a lot of money there. The coffee was still hot, weapons were thrown around, minutes..."

  Indeed, since the October 7 massacre, the Hamas leader in Gaza has been on the run. The security system is investing enormous efforts in locating him, which have not yet yielded the desired result. At times it seems that the hunt for him is tightening, and at other times it appears that he manages to stay one step ahead of the army and the intelligence community. "We are closer to him than before," states Shalom Ben Hanan, former senior official in the Shin Bet. "Sometimes such opportunities arise within a minute. Suddenly the golden piece of information arrives, suddenly someone saw him, suddenly he made some mistake. There's no doubt that if we manage to get the operational opportunity and the right intelligence - there will be an elimination." 

  He is in constant movement Despite the American assessment that Sinwar hasn't left his hiding place in the tunnels in the Khan Yunis area since the beginning of the war, there are those who believe that the Hamas leader in Gaza remains on the move and changes his hiding locations. "He needs to move," Ben Hanan estimates. "Wanted individuals move from place to place. They usually don't stay in the same place for too long. If you stay in one place for too long, there's a higher chance of intelligence being gathered on you." Ben Hanan explains that a wanted person succeeds in evading capture only when they are in constant motion, frequently changing their location and hiding methods. "Sometimes you're with hostages and sometimes you're within a civilian population, sometimes you're in a market and sometimes you're in a tunnel, sometimes you're in disguise and sometimes you're not. The change is what impairs the ability to gather solid intelligence against you."

  Initially, Israel believed he was in Gaza City. Some spoke about the possibility that he had fled south along with hundreds of thousands of residents from the northern Gaza Strip, disguised and concealing his identity. However, the video of Sinwar from the first days of the war was then discovered, proving that from the very beginning, the Hamas leader in Gaza was in his hometown of Khan Yunis, close to his parents' house and the refugee camp where he was born.

  "Sinwar behaves like a professional killer," declares Micha Kobi, who interrogated Sinwar for long hours in Israeli prison. "He wants to save himself and deceives everyone. He knows how to expertly utilize his knowledge about Israel and the IDF's thought patterns. He prepared himself well and prepared the tunnels where he would like to hide. He reads us, but he will fall. We need to be much stronger and more patient because it will take us time."

  According to him, Sinwar's involvement in the talks is actually a constraint, a response to what he calls the "make-believe game" of the US, Israel, Qatar, and Egypt. "He doesn't want a deal at all," he states.  "He's one of the biggest scoundrels I've ever known - a sophisticated interrogatee, a liar, a crook, and a scumbag. Why did he even make the previous deal? Not because he wanted to make a deal with Israel. He wanted a three-week break to reorganize. He went out into the field, made visits to various places, distributed resources, and gave orders."

  "Hears the tractors above him"

  From the very first moment, the figure of one man hovered as Israel's supreme target. Hamas's murderousness on October 7 and its inhuman cruelty were embodied in one person. The security establishment, and especially the political echelon, repeatedly returned to the message, and often boasted that they were very close to catching him.

  "Our forces are now surrounding Sinwar's house," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on December 6. "His house is not his fortress, and he can escape, but it's only a matter of time before we get him." Hope quickly dissipated when the IDF spokesman clarified an hour later: Sinwar is not there, but "underground."

  In the same month, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared: "Sinwar is now hearing the IDF tractors above him, the Air Force bombs, and the IDF's actions. He will also meet our rifle barrels soon."

  In February, it was again Gallant who declared that "Sinwar is on the run from the IDF. He moves from hiding place to hiding place and fails to communicate with his forces."

  This week, almost a year after the start of the war, Gallant's tone changed slightly - but remained determined. "The Sinwar brothers are not immune - like Mohammed Deif and Marwan Issa, they will make a mistake and we will reach them," said the Minister during an operational status assessment on the Netzarim axis.

  The one who presented a different tone, perhaps in an attempt to temper expectations, was IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, who reminded the ministers that it took the U.S. a decade to eliminate the arch-terrorist Osama bin Laden. "Taking out senior officials takes time - it took 10 years to bring bin Laden's head," he said at a Cabinet meeting in December.

  Indeed, declarations are one thing and reality is another: The extensive efforts, enormous resources, and advanced means - all these have not yet yielded the desired result. Sinwar, who has been declared a "dead man walking" time and again, is still alive.

  "The Shin Bet has many and varied intelligence and operational capabilities that have been demonstrated in the past year in a long series of targeted eliminations and thwarting of attacks," says Lior Akerman, former senior Shin Bet official and currently head of the National Resilience Department at the Institute for Policy and Strategy at Reichman University and chairman of the New People's Council. "One can assume that Sinwar's locations at various stages were also known, even if not in real-time."

  The War Room for Eliminating Sinwar

  Since the outbreak of the war on October 7, efforts to locate Sinwar have become a central mission of the Israeli security system. A dedicated war room was established in the Shin Bet, staffed by special task forces operating around the clock. These teams, composed of the best minds in the intelligence and operations community, are exclusively engaged in the mission of locating the Hamas leader.

  This hunt is not limited to passively waiting for the moment when Sinwar will make a mistake. "You need to proactively create that moment through intelligence means and field operations," clarifies Ben Hanan. "You interrogate people, you activate sources, you use technological tools, you conduct deception exercises." The purpose of all these efforts is to generate precise and up-to-date information about his location. "There are always directions and estimates about his whereabouts. The challenge is to reach a 12-digit coordinate, which allows you to act most accurately and at the most suitable timing. That is a bit more difficult." American and Israeli sources understand that Sinwar long ago abandoned electronic communication and relies on a complex network of couriers to manage the terrorist organization and the ongoing military campaign. His irregular communication with the organization's leadership in Qatar has been known since the start of the war, given the fact that he remains in hiding to evade Israeli bombings. "In my opinion, this is 90% the situation," estimates Ben Hanan. "He won't use digital means. For years, high-profile targets haven't used digital means during their period of being wanted. They are aware of the threats this poses and know they are not fully aware of all our capabilities." 

  Nevertheless, according to American sources quoted by the New York Times, Sinwar did speak with other senior Hamas officials using mobile and satellite phones from the tunnels during the earlier stages of the war and even consumed news from Israeli media. Another sign of his updates via one means or another can be seen in Hamas's announcement this week, stating that Sinwar sent a congratulatory letter to the President of Algeria on his recent election victory. "Of course, he's not using phones now," Kobi is certain. "He knows he's being listened to. He will ask others to use them when they are already far from him. He will continue to manage Hamas as much as he can through couriers and orders." As the head of Hamas's political bureau and the organization's leader in the Gaza Strip, and in the absence of Deif, Issa, and many others from the organization's leadership, Sinwar remains relatively isolated. However, even from his hiding place, he maintains full control over the organization and the negotiations with Israel. "All of Sinwar's desires today are to remain the ruler of Hamas in Gaza, continue building the organization, and survive the war with Israel," explains Kobi. "But he also knows that Israel will not give up under any circumstances. We are going for the destruction of capabilities. We will try to locate him, find him, and also kill him."

  **Survive or Die**  

  Last month, the New York Times revealed, citing American sources, that the U.S. is deploying special teams to assist Israel in capturing and killing Hamas's leader in Gaza. This includes advanced equipment, such as ground-penetrating radar, to try and locate him underground. The data from this radar, combined with intelligence gathered by Israel from captured Hamas militants and many seized documents, helped build a more complete picture of Hamas's extensive tunnel network throughout the Gaza Strip. 

  As the IDF advanced in the fighting, it became clear that the scale and complexity of the tunnel system, especially in the Khan Younis area, far exceeded early estimates. An analysis of captured documents from Gaza showed that Sinwar, Deif, and other senior Hamas officials had prepared in advance for the possibility of a large-scale ground maneuver in the Strip. They built a kind of underground "military city" beneath Khan Younis and the surrounding area, a sophisticated system of tunnels and complexes that would allow them to survive and continue operating even under heavy military pressure. 

  "You don't build 500 kilometers of tunnels across the Gaza Strip unless you're preparing for such a scenario," emphasizes Ben Hanan. "These tunnels are for defense, for hiding, for movement during a period of being wanted, and for ground maneuvers."  "All of this was done right under our noses, in some places in ways we couldn't even imagine." According to various reports, even when the option of exiling him from Gaza was suggested as part of a deal, which would ensure his survival, Sinwar refused. "He is so deeply driven by hatred for Jews that nothing else matters to him," Kobi describes. "He has no problem becoming a martyr if he feels he has no choice; he even told me that. He won’t flee to Egypt or agree to exile—not to an offer from Gal Hirsch or anyone else. He wants to survive or die. He already sees himself as Salah ad-Din al-Ayyubi; he sees himself as the hero of Islam, the hero of Gaza. And he's recognized as such."

  **Underground and Above Ground**  

  In both Israel and the U.S., it has often been estimated that Sinwar surrounds himself with Israeli hostages, using them as human shields to prevent Israel from attacking him. In a January report by NBC, Israeli officials were quoted saying that Sinwar and other Hamas leaders were likely at one point near a tunnel in Khan Younis that contained cages where hostages were held. According to these sources, the hostages were part of a protective layer for these leaders, which also included lower-ranking Hamas militants. "It’s reasonable to assume that Sinwar and the Hamas leadership stayed near the location where the hostages were held and then moved on," said Yonatan Conricus, a former IDF spokesperson for foreign media, who was quoted at the time. "I think being close to the hostages saved his life more than once."

  "Sinwar has already made many mistakes in the past, but the decision of the political leadership before October 7 was not to harm him, even though it was possible, due to irrelevant political considerations," Ackerman believes. "Today, in the midst of intense fighting, and with him operating under extreme compartmentalization and secrecy, the difficulty of locating him is multiplied due to his caution and the fact that he is hiding with a higher level of security than usual, surrounding himself with hostages as a protective barrier." However, Ben Hanan is not entirely convinced by this information: "No one knows if he's currently with hostages or not, if he's with them all the time or only part of the time. In my opinion, it's not at all certain that he is constantly with hostages."

  According to him, "Sinwar can't always know what tools Israel might be willing to use or its capability to deploy them. I assure you that his imagination is running wild to the most fantastical places. That's how it is with a state's capabilities." He notes that other top wanted figures, like Marwan Issa and Mohammed Deif, did not constantly surround themselves with hostages. "Deif hid within a humanitarian zone, where it is known that we have operational limitations. As part of his escape, he wisely decided that this would be one of the locations. His logic worked; he didn't make a cardinal mistake. It could have been a matter of centimeters in one direction or the other, and the operation would have failed, or the conditions wouldn't have allowed it to be carried out. It’s a mental game to see who can overcome the situation faster. In this instance, he lost, but in many other instances, he came out on top."

  "We were close to him, very close"  

  Israel has often been on the verge of success, but Sinwar managed to escape at the last moment. According to the New York Times, on January 31, commandos raided a complex tunnel network under Khan Younis based on intelligence indicating that the Hamas leader was hiding there. Sinwar had indeed been there, but he fled the bunker in haste a few days earlier. In his place, the forces found documents and a large sum of money, worth around one million dollars. In an interview with *Meet the Press* about four months ago, National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi confirmed that the IDF had been very close to eliminating Sinwar but missed him by just a few days.  "We were close to him, some say even very close at a certain point. Perhaps even less than a few days," said Hanegbi. Despite the frustration over the difficulties in capturing Sinwar, there is cautious optimism in Israel following Deif's elimination. If the most wanted man in Hamas has been taken out, the elimination of the Hamas leader is also only a matter of time. "The man hasn't survived the last 13 years because he constantly evades assassination, but because most of the time Israel chose not to eliminate him," clarifies Ben Hanan. "As long as we are on the ground, using intelligence tools, conducting interrogations, and applying pressure—the chances of reaching him will always be better than they were before. Even if it's not perfect, and in my opinion, it's far from perfect."

  Ben Hanan estimates that during the peak intensity of the ground maneuver, the chances of reaching the Hamas leader were higher. "My logic says that in an intense war, there are more opportunities," he explains, adding that "when there are many forces on the ground and the intensity of the eliminations is high, there are more opportunities." According to him, "One of the problems with this war is that we are not holding territory." In his view, the lack of prolonged control over areas makes it easier for Sinwar to escape and allows Hamas to reorganize.

  Ackerman argues that the intensity of the fighting is not necessarily a decisive factor in locating the Hamas leader. According to him, "In terms of operational methods, there is no connection to intense fighting or not. The Shin Bet's capabilities are always deployed to locate terrorists using various methods." He emphasizes that Sinwar "is a dead man walking and is living on borrowed time," and he believes that eventually, Sinwar will be caught, whether due to a mistake he makes or from another source of information. However, he warns against overly focusing on the Hamas leader himself: "Sinwar is a leader but just one man. Not the entire war and Hamas' capabilities depend on him and his existence, and that's how we should approach it."  According to him, "The considerations regarding the war's objectives and how it is conducted should be made independently of the personal hunt for him. His day will come, no doubt."
  The details in this article were cleared for publication by the military censor. link

Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria

• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will bring a motion before the security cabinet on Sunday to make returning the residents of northern Israel to their homes an official goal of the war, the Ynet news site reports.

  
  Residents of northern communities and their supporters protest demand early elections, the restoration of security in the north and the release of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip, in Karmiel, July 25, 2024. (Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

  The move comes amid increasing tensions and Israeli threats to launch an operation to push back Hezbollah from the border.

  Since October 8, 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 amid the war there.

  With hopes for a Gaza ceasefire fading, the chances of a diplomatic deal with Hezbollah are also increasingly slim.

  Netanyahu’s office says “the prime minister has been saying for a long while that there is a crucial need to return the northern residents to their homes and to ensure their safety as a goal of this war, that is also our policy in reality.”

  The PMO says Netanyahu has wide support for the move.  Link. It’s only taken him 11 months with 80,000 northern residents as refugees in their own country and the rest of the north living in a war zone with little protection. A blatant example of this worthless prime minister and his totally failed government 

• Israeli fighter jets struck a building in southern Lebanon’s Kawkaba earlier today, where several Hezbollah operatives were identified, the IDF says.

  Separately, a Hezbollah weapons depot, a rocket launcher used in a previous attack and other buildings belonging to the terror group in Majdal Zoun, Jebbayn and Blida were struck, the military adds.

  The IDF releases footage of the strikes. Video
  
  

• Two members of  Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force are killed in a suspected Israeli drone strike on an apartment deep inside Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley, local media report.

  The Al Manar channel, which is affiliated with Hezbollah says an apartment was hit in the western area of the valley.

  Local media report at least two people are killed, identifying them as Hezbollah members.

• US special envoy Amos Hochstein will meet with Israel’s leadership on Monday in an attempt to avoid further escalation between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon, the Walla news site reports.

  US officials tell Walla that they are concerned by the increasingly belligerent rhetoric from Israel regarding Lebanon and are keen to avert a full-scale war.

  Both Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF chief Herzi Halevi this week warned that Israel needs to turn its focus to Lebanon and is prepared for a major operation.

  Some 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from their homes amid daily attacks by Hezbollah on northern Israel.

  Israel has expressed openness to a diplomatic solution to the conflict but has said it would launch an all-out war against Hezbollah to restore security to the north if an agreement isn’t reached.  Link once again, Joe Biden is doing more for Israel than our own prime minister and his failed government 

•  Hezbollah says it fired dozens of rockets at IDF base in latest barrage

  Hezbollah takes responsibility for dozens of rockets fired from Lebanon at northern Israel this morning claiming it targeted an Israeli artillery base northwest of the Sea of Galilee. Hezbollah says it fired dozens of katyusha rockets at the base. There were no reports of injuries in the attack.

• Some 55 rockets have been fired toward Safed and the surrounding areas this morning, the IDF says.

  In the first barrage, around 20 rockets were fired and in the second, some 35. A number were intercepted while others fell in open areas. There were no reports of injuries.

  According to the Hebrew-language media reports, a number of the impacts sparked fires.

  

  The military says a short time later, jets hit the rocket launchers in south Lebanon.

• A military source in Lebanon told the Lebanese newspaper *Al-Diyar*: "Hezbollah has shifted from a war of support for Gaza, which began on October 8, to a war of survival against Israel. It is well aware that Israel has entered a new phase in the northern war and that Israel’s permanent goal in any war against Hezbollah is its elimination. This goal is unrealistic, as any Israeli ground invasion into Lebanese territory would have disastrous consequences for the Israeli army, due to Hezbollah's combat experience in the field, in addition to its strength in deterring the army and forcing it to retreat to where it came from."

  According to him, "The leadership in Israel may think that it can establish a buffer zone on the border through a military operation that would push Hezbollah far enough to no longer pose a threat to it and the northern settlements – but these perceptions are imaginary."

West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel

•     The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says one of its employees was killed this week during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank, the first such death in more than a decade.

  The agency, known as UNRWA, says the employee was “shot and killed on the roof of his home by a sniper” and that it was “the first time an UNRWA staff member has been killed in the West Bank in more than 10 years.”

  The incident took place in the Far’a refugee camp in the northern West Bank, the statement says.

  It identified the slain employee as Sufyan Jaber Abed Jawwad, who “worked as a sanitation laborer” in the camp and “is survived by his wife and five children.”

  An Israeli military statement earlier today said troops had “conducted a 48-hour counter-terrorism operation” in the areas of Tubas, Tamun and Far’a, killing “five armed terrorists” in an air strike and a sixth in “exchanges of fire” with “a terrorist that hurled explosive devices.”

  The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the UNRWA statement about its staffer.

  UNRWA, which coordinates nearly all aid into Gaza, has been in crisis since Israel accused dozens of its employees of being involved in the October 7 massacres that sparked the war.
  
  

• The IDF says it has located a short tunnel near a hospital in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, amid an ongoing counter-terrorism operation. 
  The tunnel had an entrance but no exit, the military says, indicating that it was still under construction.

IDF troops seen operating in Tulkarem in the West Bank in a picture released on September 13, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says troops will investigate the tunnel and then destroy it.

The military resumed its major operation in the northern West Bank on Tuesday after a lull of a few days. The operation, dubbed “Summer Camps,” was launched on August 28.

Since the operation resumed, the IDF says it has killed 10 gunmen in clashes and drone strikes.

•  IDF: UNRWA staffer killed in West Bank raid was hurling explosives at troops
  Army accuses Sufyan Jaber Abed Jawwad of being a known terror operative in the Fara’a camp, after the UN agency says he was ‘shot and killed on the roof of his home by a sniper’
  The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said Friday that one of its employees was killed this week during an Israeli raid in the West Bank.
  UNRWA identified the slain employee as Sufyan Jaber Abed Jawwad, who “worked as a sanitation laborer” in the northern West Bank’s Fara’a camp and “is survived by his wife and five children.”
  According to UNRWA, he was “shot and killed on the roof of his home by a sniper” and that it was “the first time an UNRWA staff member has been killed in the West Bank in more than 10 years.” 
  The Israel Defense Forces later said Jawwad was throwing explosives at troops in the camp and was a known terror operative, issuing an English language statement accusing the agency of “not telling the full story.”

  IDF spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said that during an operation in Fara’a, a suspect was identified hurling explosive devices that posed a threat to the forces operating in the area. IDF troops opened fire toward him to remove said threat, and he was killed.

  “The terrorist was subsequently identified and it was discovered he is also an UNRWA employee named Sufyan Jaber Abed Jawwad. It should be noted that after receiving his details, it was found that the terrorist was known to Israeli security forces and he had been complicit in additional terrorist activities,” Shoshani said.

  “This is yet another example of an UNRWA employee taking active part in terrorist activities against Israel, as has been proven in several other cases in the past, including employees who participated in the October 7 massacre,” he said.
  In an earlier statement, the IDF said troops “conducted a 48-hour counter-terrorism operation” in the areas of Tubas, Tamun and Fara’a, killing “five armed terrorists” in an airstrike and a sixth in “exchanges of fire” with “a terrorist that hurled explosive devices.”
  Mourners on Friday carried Jawwad’s body through the streets of Fara’a, with his blue UN vest resting atop the Palestinian flag that covered him. Funerals for Palestinians killed in the airstrike were held in nearby Tubas, with images showing gunmen among those in attendance — including one wearing a Palestinian Islamic Jihad headband.

  
  Gunmen, including one wearing an Islamic Jihad headband, take part in a funeral procession for Palestinians killed by an Israeli airstrike in Tubas, in the northern West Bank, on September 13, 2024. The military said the strike targeted five terror operatives. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)

  The incident came days after UNRWA said six of its staffers were killed in an Israeli strike targeting a Hamas control center at a school-turned-shelter in central Gaza’s Nuseirat, with the IDF later saying three of them were members of the terror group.

  The UN denounced Israel over the strike, saying the school had been “deconflicted” and calling it the highest death toll among its team in a single incident.

  The IDF said Hamas was using the school to plan and carry out attacks against troops and Israel, and that it carried out “many steps” to mitigate harm to civilians in the strike. The military also said that it identified nine of the 18 people reported killed in the strike as Hamas operatives, including the three UNRWA staffers.

  UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said after the school strike that at least 220 members of the agency’s staff have been killed in Gaza throughout the war sparked by the Hamas-led October 7 massacres. Israel says Gaza terror groups regularly and systematically operate from within such sites, using civilians as human shields with the express purpose of increasing civilian casualties during the war.

  UNRWA, which coordinates nearly all aid into Gaza, has been in crisis since Israel accused dozens of its employees of being involved in the October 7 attack.

  
  
  A screenshot of drone footage released by the IDF on May 14, 2024, shows Palestinian gunmen next to UN vehicles at a UNRWA logistics center in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah. (Israel Defense Forces)

  In January, UNRWA said it had fired an unspecified number of staffers, after Israeli authorities provided information that pointed to their active participation in the onslaught.

  Earlier this month, the UN announced that nine UNRWA employees “may have been involved” in Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel and will be fired from the organization.

  The accusations by Israel led numerous countries to suspend their funding to the organization, but many have since renewed it, citing the difficult humanitarian situation in the Strip. link

Politics and the War (general news)

• Police arrest 3 women for handing out flyers calling for hostage deal at synagogue where MK prays. Three women are arrested in Herzliya on suspicion of trespassing after distributing leaflets calling for the release of the hostages in a Herzliya synagogue, police say.
  

  Hebrew media reports say the synagogue is one where Likud MK Yuli Edelstein prays.

  The flyers show the pictures of four of the female soldiers captured and Ariel and Kfir Bibas, the two youngest children who remain in captivity, with the caption “Let my people go.”

  In the center is a picture of Edelstein from his time as a refusenik in a Soviet jail.
  

  

Hundreds of people are demonstrating outside the Herzliya police station where three women are being detained for trespassing after they left flyers calling for the release of hostages in a synagogue where Likud MK Yuli Edelstein prays.

A lawyer for the three says the women were taken away in handcuffs and are being interrogated for over six hours.

The flyers show pictures of four of the female soldiers captured and Ariel and Kfir Bibas, the two youngest children who remain in captivity, with the caption “Let my people go.”

In the center is a picture of Edelstein from his time as a refusenik in a Soviet jail. --Whoever doesn't believe we are very much on the way to a fascist dictatorship must look at this event, not as a one off, but as a matter of standard operations of the Israel police which is quickly devolving into Ben Gvir's Militia which is exactly according to his plan. And Netanyahu, the weakling disastrous prime minister who, at home is bullied by his wife and abhorrent child (who thankfully is in Miami but unthankfully costing us millions of shekels/month), and in his government by the extremists racists Ben Gvir and Smotrich, just goes along with all of their terrorist behavior because it keeps him in power. More and more demonstrators for the hostages and those against the government are being abused and arrested and Ben Gvir has a press conference praising the actions of the leader of the extremist attackers of the demonstrators, instead of having him arrested for his violence. This is not normal, this is not democracy, this cannot be acceptable!!!!

•  **Detained for 8 hours for placing flyers of abductees in a synagogue: "They handcuffed my hands and feet, it's scary"**

  Idit Alexandrovitz and two other women who placed flyers in a synagogue in Herzliya were questioned for hours and then released to their homes under restrictive conditions. "They told me I was under arrest for conspiracy to commit a crime and breaking and entering. I assume this came from higher up," she said after leaving the Glilot police station, where dozens protested. Another detainee: "I'm ashamed of the synagogue."

  "They told me I was under arrest for conspiracy to commit a crime and breaking and entering. They handcuffed my hands and feet and brought me to the station," said Idit Alexandrovitz to Ynet. She was one of three women arrested yesterday (Friday) in Herzliya after placing flyers with photos of abductees in a synagogue in the city two days earlier. According to her, the police contacted her in the afternoon and informed her that she was under arrest. link

• The police chief on Saturday ordered an investigation into the arrest of three women who placed leaflets on seats at MK Yuli Edelstein’s synagogue calling for the release of the hostages held in Gaza, as several dozen rallied outside the Herzliya house of worship.

  Police said that “in light of the allegations” about the case’s handling, police chief Daniel Levy had ordered a probe into the arresting officers’ conduct.

  “If there was a problem in the officers’ conduct, it will be handled accordingly,” said the statement, saying that the arrests were made after they received a call that someone had “broken into the synagogue.”
  

  Amid growing public anger over the arrests, a column of protesters trailed Edelstein — a lawmaker from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party — as he walked to synagogue on Saturday morning.

  
  Protesters surround MK Yuli Edelstein as he walks to synagogue in Herzliya the day after three women were arrested for placing hostage flyers in the house of worship, September 14, 2024 (Yair Palti/Pro-Democracy Protest groups)
  
  
  The demonstrators waved Israeli flags and shouted “shame” and “forsaker of Zion.” The chant was a reference to the fact that the Likud lawmaker was a Prisoner of Zion — a Jewish refusenik jailed in the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

  The Detainee Support Organization, which represents arrested anti-government activists, released a video of protesters shouting “abandoner” and “shame” as Edelstein, who chairs the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, exited the synagogue.  video of the protest  Yuli Edelstein is an extreme disappointment. Every now and then, he says the right things, which are generally opposed to Netanyahu, but then backs down and shows that he is nothing more than Netanyahu's puppy dog. he thought that he could succeed Netanyahu and tried going up against him a few years back but he failed and has shown that he is nothing more than a weakling who has also lost his soul and moral compass.

The Region and the World

•    Four Islamic State group leaders were killed in a joint US-Iraqi raid in western Iraq last month, including the head of the jihadist organization’s operations in the country, CENTCOM says.

  “This operation targeted ISIS leaders and served to disrupt and degrade ISIS’ ability to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians,” CENTCOM says in a statement on X.

Personal Stories

Acronyms and Glossary

COGAT - Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories

ICC - International Criminal Court in the Hague

IJC - International Court of Justice in the Hague

MDA - Magen David Adom - Israel Ambulance Corp

PA - Palestinian Authority - President Mahmud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen

PMO- Prime Minister's Office

UAV - Unmanned Aerial vehicle, Drone. Could be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, or be weaponized with missiles or contain explosives for 'suicide' explosion mission

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