π️Lonny's War Update- October 355, 2023 - September 25, 2024 π️
π️Day 355 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
We’re waiting for you, all of you.
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
There is a new section at the end -Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages - A collection of short essays by influential people in Israel today - by the Forum for Life - Saving Israeli Hostages
Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
*7:20pm yesterday - north - rockets and missiles - more than 270 rockets and missiles fired at Israel yesterday*7:40pm yesterday - north - hostile aircraft - Atlit - this is the furthest that 3 droned were launched from Lebanon and reached as far south as Atlit, tens of kilometers from the border. It obviously would have come in from the west over the sea. Two were shot down by our air defenses. The 3rd drone fell in the sea by Atlit
*7:55pm yesterday - north - rockets/missiles - Galilee region*12:20am- north - hostile aircraft - Sapir*1:00am- south- A drone that entered Israeli airspace from the eastern direction impacted in the Arava desert, according to the IDF.
*7:55pm yesterday - north - rockets/missiles - Galilee region
The military says there are no injuries in the attack. It does not detail if any damage was caused. Sirens had sounded in the Jordan border community of Sapir amid the incident. The Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq takes responsibility for the drone attack, saying it launched it at a “target” in the Jordan Valley.
*1:45am- north - rockets/Missiles
*3:00am - north - hostile aircraft - Zivan, Merom Hagalil
*6:30am - center - rockets/missiles - surface to surface missile - Tel Aviv, Pi Glilot - Target was the Mossad and Military Intelligence Base at Glilot - missile was shot down by David's Shield missile defense system
*6:30am - north - rockets/missiles
*8:50am - north - hostile aircraft - Eli Ad
*9:05am - north - rocket/missiles
An Israeli missile defense system intercepts rockets fired from Lebanon over Safed on September 25, 2024 (David Cohen/Flash90)
*3:10pm - north - rockets/missiles
*3:30pm - north - rockets/missiles
Hostage Updates
- In my assessment, the war in the north against Hezbollah will not lead to a deal with Hamas, on the contrary, in my opinion, it could lead to the radicalization of Hamas' position vis-Γ -vis Israel. Israel will not defeat Hezbollah and will not defeat Hamas. People who think it is God's commandment to die a martyr’s death will neither surrender nor be defeated. This is all another Netanyahu's spin in order not to end the war in Gaza and continue to survive politically in power. (Gershon Baskin, September 24, 2024)
- The pessimistic assessment of the head of the Hostages Unit: "Currently there is no deal"
Deadlock in negotiations for a hostage deal • Head of the Hostages Unit Nitzan Alon presented a pessimistic assessment and said in a conversation with the families: "Currently there is no deal, the American proposal is stuck" • One of the families said: "Can you specify timelines, when will there be a deal"; Alon replied: "I can't"
Families of hostages who spoke with Reserve Major General Nitzan Alon, head of the IDF's Hostages Command and one of the few sources who speaks with the families and "provides answers," sought to understand where the deal and the American proposal that was supposed to arrive stand, as we first reported last night (Tuesday) on the "Central Edition."
In a conversation with him, Major General (res.) Alon gave a pessimistic assessment to the families and said that "currently there is no deal." According to Alon's words to the families, the mediation attempts and the new proposal (based on the previous proposal) by the Americans and Qataris are at a deadlock, as the gaps are too wide. A representative of one of the families insisted and asked: "Can you specify timelines, when will there be a deal?" and Alon replied: "I can't." A representative of one of the families responded: "Meaning there are no timelines. That means, four months, during the US elections, there will be no deal."
While Alon emphasized that attempts are being made and that they are trying to find solutions, the families left with the impression that these attempts are mainly by lower ranks. In fact, the families left desperate, frustrated, and in pain, fearing that not only will a year pass and 101 hostages will still be in Gaza, but worse. link The war in the north is taking all of the headlines and Netanyahu's focus. The air force is working day and night bombing Hizbollah military sites and no one is talking about the hostages. This serves Netanyahu very well. He has the backing of his failed government coalition as well as the support of most of the opposition parties who have constantly failed to unite and organize against this failed government or to put together a united front demanding a deal to bring the hostages home. And all of this is giving Sinwar exactly what he wants: a multifront war and more unrest in Israel. Netanyahu is dancing to Sinwar's violin.
Relatives of the six Israeli hostages executed by their terrorist captors on August 29 pen an article in Time magazine, revealing previously unaired details about the extent of starvation endured by their loved ones and about meetings with international officials who let them down during months of advocacy.
The piece is written by the father of Carmel Gat and the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi and Alexander Lobanov, plus the latter’s wife. The bodies of all six abductees were located by IDF troops and brought to Israel two days after their murders.
Hostages (clockwise from top left) Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Almog Sarusi, 25, Carmel Gat, 40, and Alex Lobanov, 32.The families reveal that during his time in captivity, Lobanov’s weight dropped from 86 kilograms (190 pounds) to 60 (132 pounds).
They say that Goldberg-Polin, who was around 1.8 meters (6 feet) tall, had weighed just 52 kilograms when he was murdered.
And the body of Eden Yerushalmi, who was 1.65 meters (5 foot 5) tall, weighed just 36 kilos (79 pounds).
The families say Israeli leaders did not secure the release of their loved ones and and the other hostages “for calculations they deemed strategic.”
“But there are so many other people who could have done so much more to save them,” they add. “For 328 days, many of us traveled the world and met politicians, diplomats, business titans, celebrities—people with power. They made promises, nodded, held our hands, cried with us, hugged us tightly…and then failed to deliver results.
“Celebrities met us in secluded rooms but asked that we never acknowledge publicly that they did so; they feared losing followers. Leaders of humanitarian aid organizations, including the International Red Cross and the World Health Organization, claimed they would like to intervene but could not figure out how. Two Muslim clerics confidentially assured us, wrongly, that our loved ones would be okay because harming hostages violated Islam; but they and too many other religious leaders were publicly silent,” they continue.
“More than one of these many people with power assured us that the hostages would survive, that their return was only a matter of time. Some said our loved ones were suffering but surely not dying.”
They end their column with a plea to international actors: “Take action now to bring home their 101 brothers and sisters still in Gaza. As Rabbi Hillel famously asked in ancient Jewish law, ‘If not now, WHEN?'”
The focus on the Israel-Hezbollah attacks has eclipsed both the focus on Gaza and on the hostages. As the country is about to commemorate the horrors of October 7th, the families of the hostages increasingly feel that their cause is treated like yesterday’s news, especially in light of the possibility of a new war in Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee this week that only half of the 101 hostages are still alive. Some hostage families have noted that that means more than the estimated third dead, as it has been acknowledged by the Israel Defense Forces.
Officials in the US and Israel admit that the hostage talks are stuck. Last week, a Biden administration official went so far as to say that he doubted that a deal would be reached until the end of the American president’s term. At the center of the impasse is the question of the viability of the organizing principle that has animated the hostage talks for many months: a phased ceasefire, in return for a partial hostage release. The current impasse raises the question of whether there is an alternative idea that could revive the hostage talks.
The hostage impasse is not just terrible news for the hostage families and the Israeli people but also for the United States. Several of the hostages are also US citizens, and one of the hostages who was murdered in the tunnel last month, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was an American citizen.
Beyond the actual hostages themselves, US diplomacy has bet that a hostages-for-ceasefire deal would be the vehicle not only to end the Israel-Hamas war but also to shut down the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel in the North. The hope was that even a temporary ceasefire of six weeks could be extended and could enable the Biden administration to determine whether a ceasefire in Gaza could be key for Saudi-Israeli normalization, a proposition encouraged by Riyadh.
At the heart of the US concept for the last many months, shared by the other two mediators (Qatar and Egypt) was the idea of a three-phase ceasefire. This concept had appeal for both Israel and Hamas. Israel liked the phased approach because it could avoid committing to a full withdrawal from Gaza during phase one. Hamas liked this approach, as it required them to release only 33 of the estimated 101 hostages, allowing leader Yahya Sinwar to keep human shields in place that would ostensibly limit Israel’s efforts to kill him.
In other words, the phased approach allowed both parties to delay their most significant concessions. Israel would not have to withdraw from Gaza immediately, and Hamas would not have to release the hostages all at once. The second phase was designed to address the most contentious issues, while the third phase would involve the exchange of bodies from both sides.
Yet now this paradigm of a phased ceasefire seems to be unraveling for different reasons that are not mutually exclusive.
Of course, it is fair to question whether Sinwar ever truly agreed to the phased approach. Some say he did. He wants the release of as many of the estimated almost 600 life-time prisoners convicted in court for terror largely against civilians included in the deal as possible — individuals to whom he promised, 13 years ago in prison, that he would push for their release. Those who think he would agree to a phased deal would point to the very detailed multi-page documents of May 6th and July 2nd, submitted by Hamas. Whenever Hamas is asked to go beyond their July 2nd document, they point to it as the limit of their flexibility. Some wonder if the reports of the disappearance of Sinwar are tied to this. He does not seem reachable, leading to rumors that he may have died in an Israeli strike, although it is also possible that Sinwar made himself unreachable to the mediators — via couriers — so he cannot make further concessions.
Others will say that it is hard to fathom Sinwar’s actions fully, given his utter disregard for the destruction of Gaza. He is cited in The Wall Street Journal as saying that many need to die on the Palestinian side for victory to be reached. Citing the number of Algerians who were killed for the cause of Algerian independence, he reportedly told Hamas members in Doha, “These are necessary sacrifices.” Ministers in the Israeli cabinet briefed by the intelligence community call him a “sociopath.” Others say his self-image is of a modern Saladin, who cares more about the verdict of Arab history than the tactics of negotiations.
And yet some argue that his calculations are more sophisticated than that. Sinwar has seen international public opinion blaming Israel for the impasse of talks, so why not hold out? Maybe a war in Lebanon would reignite Sinwar’s unfulfilled October 7th dream for a regional war. In addition, with Israel now deploying significantly fewer troops than it had in Gaza during the early stages of the war, he might argue that there is no longer any real leverage to pressure him.
Finally, Israeli officials close to Netanyahu have reportedly said that after phase one of a ceasefire, Israel would resume fighting in Gaza – so phase one would not be a prelude to a full withdrawal. Sinwar famously follows Israeli media, and he is likely to believe that Netanyahu sees the continuation of the war as critical for the survival of the current coalition and that the Israeli premier therefore has no intention to do fulfill more than the first phase of hostage release.
Moreover, some note that the paradigm of a phased ceasefire has been challenged in no small measure by one of the mediators: Cairo. In mid-August, Secretary of State Antony Blinken came to the Mideast to promote a US “bridging proposal” that would enable Israel to thin out its forces along the southern Gaza corridor adjacent to the Egyptian border known as the Philadelphi Corridor as part of a first phase of the deal.
That was an effort by Blinken to square a circle. While other ideas have been put forward by all three mediators, the US knew it was alone on this proposal. Blinken was aware of Netanyahu’s opposition to leaving the corridor, though he also knew, at the same time, that Israel was under no obligation to withdraw completely from Gaza, as part of the first phase of a deal. It would be sufficient to redeploy away from those parts of the corridor near densely populated areas. Yet, Egypt would not hear of it, unhappy with any arrangement that positioned Israeli forces near the Egyptian border, and fearing that those temporary measures might become permanent. Egypt did not join the US bridging proposal — and it did not take a lot to persuade Hamas not to accept the proposal either.
The question now is to determine possible next steps. Sources close to the hostage talks are wondering if the only way to revive them is to scrap the “phases” paradigm and go for a one-shot deal: releasing all the hostages in exchange for all of the Palestinian prisoners who would be released in phases one and two. This is sometimes called an “all for all” approach.
Those favoring the “all for all” deal argue that it is the only way to get all the hostages out, not just a subset of them. However, it would front-load the release of the Palestinian prisoners, and, most importantly, it would force Israel to pull out of Gaza sooner rather than later.
The Israeli interpretation of a one-shot deal differs significantly from this. Gal Hirsh, a former military official appointed by Netanyahu (but not formally) as part of the IDF hostage team, cited Netanyahu as favoring one phase if Sinwar, not Israel, would be the one forced out of Gaza. Yet, that would not be accepted, as the mediators see the ultimate goal of the deal as Israel leaving Gaza.
This does not scare MK Gadi Eisenkot, formerly a member of the war cabinet and a former IDF chief of staff. He has said publicly that a pullout from Gaza should not be frightening, as Israel possesses military strength and it could always return to Gaza in short-order and hostage lives would be saved in the meantime. That said, officials close to Netanyahu insist that Israel would need to commit to the international community that it is not returning to Gaza, which would complicate any prospect of going back.
So is “all for all” likely? For those who think Sinwar is happy with a long-time war of attrition, with his personal human shields and belief that Lebanon heralds a metastasizing regional war to his own benefit, the answer is obviously no. But Sinwar may not be the only one opposed to this approach. The one-phase approach forces Israel to choose between the hostages and staying in Gaza — issues that Israel has not wanted to see as diametrically opposed. That is at the heart of the dilemma.
Netanyahu seems to have made his choice: he will not prioritize the hostages over leaving Gaza, as his interpretation of the stakes for the latter are too high for Israeli security. His critics will say it is all about coalition survival, and that cannot be ruled out. Yet, politicians are often less cynical about themselves than others are about them.
Even if Netanyahu will not publicly articulate it, his view seems clear: the impasse goes on, and there is more time for Israel to hunt down Sinwar. This is consistent with the premier’s worldview that pressure works for Israel if it can be sustained, a point disputed by the hostage families, six of which saw their loved one executed last month, when it became clear that the IDF was not far away.
The phased negotiating paradigm meant the hostage families and Netanyahu were not necessarily on a collision course because Israel could defer, rather than concede, its objective. Now, however, they are in a zero-sum situation under “all for all,” as it forces a choice of obtaining all hostages versus leaving Gaza. Anybody who has followed Netanyahu for a long time knows that he often likes to avoid hard decisions and instead hopes that time is on his side, even when he knows that time the one thing the hostages do not have. link
A delegation of 20 family members of hostages held in Gaza sailed around the New York Harbor yesterday to raise awareness during the United Nations General Assembly’s week of meetings in New York.
The ship bore signs reading “Let them go now,” a different slogan from the one used by other hostage families, “Bring them home now.”
According to the organizers, some boats sailing by shouted words of support.
The delegation — organized in coordination with the IDF, Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry — is slated to meet with the Czech and Bulgarian presidents, UN Secretary-General AntΓ³nio Guterres, the World Health Organization, a representative of the Vatican, and the foreign ministers of Sweden, France, Canada, and the European Union.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum slams Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his upcoming visit to New York to speak at the UN General Assembly.
“While the country is burning and 101 hostages have been abandoned in the Hamas death tunnels for 355 days, the prime minister chooses another unnecessary show trip to the US,” the forum says in a statement.
Netanyahu is expected to fly to New York tomorrow with his wife Sara, and address the UNGA on Friday with a speech focusing on Iran. The prime minister will stay in New York until Saturday evening, when he will return to Israel at the conclusion of the Jewish Sabbath.
Hostage Updates
- In my assessment, the war in the north against Hezbollah will not lead to a deal with Hamas, on the contrary, in my opinion, it could lead to the radicalization of Hamas' position vis-Γ -vis Israel. Israel will not defeat Hezbollah and will not defeat Hamas. People who think it is God's commandment to die a martyr’s death will neither surrender nor be defeated. This is all another Netanyahu's spin in order not to end the war in Gaza and continue to survive politically in power. (Gershon Baskin, September 24, 2024)
- The pessimistic assessment of the head of the Hostages Unit: "Currently there is no deal"Deadlock in negotiations for a hostage deal • Head of the Hostages Unit Nitzan Alon presented a pessimistic assessment and said in a conversation with the families: "Currently there is no deal, the American proposal is stuck" • One of the families said: "Can you specify timelines, when will there be a deal"; Alon replied: "I can't"Families of hostages who spoke with Reserve Major General Nitzan Alon, head of the IDF's Hostages Command and one of the few sources who speaks with the families and "provides answers," sought to understand where the deal and the American proposal that was supposed to arrive stand, as we first reported last night (Tuesday) on the "Central Edition."In a conversation with him, Major General (res.) Alon gave a pessimistic assessment to the families and said that "currently there is no deal." According to Alon's words to the families, the mediation attempts and the new proposal (based on the previous proposal) by the Americans and Qataris are at a deadlock, as the gaps are too wide. A representative of one of the families insisted and asked: "Can you specify timelines, when will there be a deal?" and Alon replied: "I can't." A representative of one of the families responded: "Meaning there are no timelines. That means, four months, during the US elections, there will be no deal."While Alon emphasized that attempts are being made and that they are trying to find solutions, the families left with the impression that these attempts are mainly by lower ranks. In fact, the families left desperate, frustrated, and in pain, fearing that not only will a year pass and 101 hostages will still be in Gaza, but worse. link The war in the north is taking all of the headlines and Netanyahu's focus. The air force is working day and night bombing Hizbollah military sites and no one is talking about the hostages. This serves Netanyahu very well. He has the backing of his failed government coalition as well as the support of most of the opposition parties who have constantly failed to unite and organize against this failed government or to put together a united front demanding a deal to bring the hostages home. And all of this is giving Sinwar exactly what he wants: a multifront war and more unrest in Israel. Netanyahu is dancing to Sinwar's violin.
Relatives of the six Israeli hostages executed by their terrorist captors on August 29 pen an article in Time magazine, revealing previously unaired details about the extent of starvation endured by their loved ones and about meetings with international officials who let them down during months of advocacy.
The piece is written by the father of Carmel Gat and the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi and Alexander Lobanov, plus the latter’s wife. The bodies of all six abductees were located by IDF troops and brought to Israel two days after their murders.
Hostages (clockwise from top left) Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Almog Sarusi, 25, Carmel Gat, 40, and Alex Lobanov, 32.The families reveal that during his time in captivity, Lobanov’s weight dropped from 86 kilograms (190 pounds) to 60 (132 pounds).
They say that Goldberg-Polin, who was around 1.8 meters (6 feet) tall, had weighed just 52 kilograms when he was murdered.
And the body of Eden Yerushalmi, who was 1.65 meters (5 foot 5) tall, weighed just 36 kilos (79 pounds).
The families say Israeli leaders did not secure the release of their loved ones and and the other hostages “for calculations they deemed strategic.”
“But there are so many other people who could have done so much more to save them,” they add. “For 328 days, many of us traveled the world and met politicians, diplomats, business titans, celebrities—people with power. They made promises, nodded, held our hands, cried with us, hugged us tightly…and then failed to deliver results.
“Celebrities met us in secluded rooms but asked that we never acknowledge publicly that they did so; they feared losing followers. Leaders of humanitarian aid organizations, including the International Red Cross and the World Health Organization, claimed they would like to intervene but could not figure out how. Two Muslim clerics confidentially assured us, wrongly, that our loved ones would be okay because harming hostages violated Islam; but they and too many other religious leaders were publicly silent,” they continue.
“More than one of these many people with power assured us that the hostages would survive, that their return was only a matter of time. Some said our loved ones were suffering but surely not dying.”
They end their column with a plea to international actors: “Take action now to bring home their 101 brothers and sisters still in Gaza. As Rabbi Hillel famously asked in ancient Jewish law, ‘If not now, WHEN?'”
The focus on the Israel-Hezbollah attacks has eclipsed both the focus on Gaza and on the hostages. As the country is about to commemorate the horrors of October 7th, the families of the hostages increasingly feel that their cause is treated like yesterday’s news, especially in light of the possibility of a new war in Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee this week that only half of the 101 hostages are still alive. Some hostage families have noted that that means more than the estimated third dead, as it has been acknowledged by the Israel Defense Forces.
Officials in the US and Israel admit that the hostage talks are stuck. Last week, a Biden administration official went so far as to say that he doubted that a deal would be reached until the end of the American president’s term. At the center of the impasse is the question of the viability of the organizing principle that has animated the hostage talks for many months: a phased ceasefire, in return for a partial hostage release. The current impasse raises the question of whether there is an alternative idea that could revive the hostage talks.
The hostage impasse is not just terrible news for the hostage families and the Israeli people but also for the United States. Several of the hostages are also US citizens, and one of the hostages who was murdered in the tunnel last month, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was an American citizen.
Beyond the actual hostages themselves, US diplomacy has bet that a hostages-for-ceasefire deal would be the vehicle not only to end the Israel-Hamas war but also to shut down the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel in the North. The hope was that even a temporary ceasefire of six weeks could be extended and could enable the Biden administration to determine whether a ceasefire in Gaza could be key for Saudi-Israeli normalization, a proposition encouraged by Riyadh.
At the heart of the US concept for the last many months, shared by the other two mediators (Qatar and Egypt) was the idea of a three-phase ceasefire. This concept had appeal for both Israel and Hamas. Israel liked the phased approach because it could avoid committing to a full withdrawal from Gaza during phase one. Hamas liked this approach, as it required them to release only 33 of the estimated 101 hostages, allowing leader Yahya Sinwar to keep human shields in place that would ostensibly limit Israel’s efforts to kill him.
In other words, the phased approach allowed both parties to delay their most significant concessions. Israel would not have to withdraw from Gaza immediately, and Hamas would not have to release the hostages all at once. The second phase was designed to address the most contentious issues, while the third phase would involve the exchange of bodies from both sides.
Yet now this paradigm of a phased ceasefire seems to be unraveling for different reasons that are not mutually exclusive.
Of course, it is fair to question whether Sinwar ever truly agreed to the phased approach. Some say he did. He wants the release of as many of the estimated almost 600 life-time prisoners convicted in court for terror largely against civilians included in the deal as possible — individuals to whom he promised, 13 years ago in prison, that he would push for their release. Those who think he would agree to a phased deal would point to the very detailed multi-page documents of May 6th and July 2nd, submitted by Hamas. Whenever Hamas is asked to go beyond their July 2nd document, they point to it as the limit of their flexibility. Some wonder if the reports of the disappearance of Sinwar are tied to this. He does not seem reachable, leading to rumors that he may have died in an Israeli strike, although it is also possible that Sinwar made himself unreachable to the mediators — via couriers — so he cannot make further concessions.
Others will say that it is hard to fathom Sinwar’s actions fully, given his utter disregard for the destruction of Gaza. He is cited in The Wall Street Journal as saying that many need to die on the Palestinian side for victory to be reached. Citing the number of Algerians who were killed for the cause of Algerian independence, he reportedly told Hamas members in Doha, “These are necessary sacrifices.” Ministers in the Israeli cabinet briefed by the intelligence community call him a “sociopath.” Others say his self-image is of a modern Saladin, who cares more about the verdict of Arab history than the tactics of negotiations.
And yet some argue that his calculations are more sophisticated than that. Sinwar has seen international public opinion blaming Israel for the impasse of talks, so why not hold out? Maybe a war in Lebanon would reignite Sinwar’s unfulfilled October 7th dream for a regional war. In addition, with Israel now deploying significantly fewer troops than it had in Gaza during the early stages of the war, he might argue that there is no longer any real leverage to pressure him.
Finally, Israeli officials close to Netanyahu have reportedly said that after phase one of a ceasefire, Israel would resume fighting in Gaza – so phase one would not be a prelude to a full withdrawal. Sinwar famously follows Israeli media, and he is likely to believe that Netanyahu sees the continuation of the war as critical for the survival of the current coalition and that the Israeli premier therefore has no intention to do fulfill more than the first phase of hostage release.
Moreover, some note that the paradigm of a phased ceasefire has been challenged in no small measure by one of the mediators: Cairo. In mid-August, Secretary of State Antony Blinken came to the Mideast to promote a US “bridging proposal” that would enable Israel to thin out its forces along the southern Gaza corridor adjacent to the Egyptian border known as the Philadelphi Corridor as part of a first phase of the deal.
That was an effort by Blinken to square a circle. While other ideas have been put forward by all three mediators, the US knew it was alone on this proposal. Blinken was aware of Netanyahu’s opposition to leaving the corridor, though he also knew, at the same time, that Israel was under no obligation to withdraw completely from Gaza, as part of the first phase of a deal. It would be sufficient to redeploy away from those parts of the corridor near densely populated areas. Yet, Egypt would not hear of it, unhappy with any arrangement that positioned Israeli forces near the Egyptian border, and fearing that those temporary measures might become permanent. Egypt did not join the US bridging proposal — and it did not take a lot to persuade Hamas not to accept the proposal either.
The question now is to determine possible next steps. Sources close to the hostage talks are wondering if the only way to revive them is to scrap the “phases” paradigm and go for a one-shot deal: releasing all the hostages in exchange for all of the Palestinian prisoners who would be released in phases one and two. This is sometimes called an “all for all” approach.
Those favoring the “all for all” deal argue that it is the only way to get all the hostages out, not just a subset of them. However, it would front-load the release of the Palestinian prisoners, and, most importantly, it would force Israel to pull out of Gaza sooner rather than later.
The Israeli interpretation of a one-shot deal differs significantly from this. Gal Hirsh, a former military official appointed by Netanyahu (but not formally) as part of the IDF hostage team, cited Netanyahu as favoring one phase if Sinwar, not Israel, would be the one forced out of Gaza. Yet, that would not be accepted, as the mediators see the ultimate goal of the deal as Israel leaving Gaza.
This does not scare MK Gadi Eisenkot, formerly a member of the war cabinet and a former IDF chief of staff. He has said publicly that a pullout from Gaza should not be frightening, as Israel possesses military strength and it could always return to Gaza in short-order and hostage lives would be saved in the meantime. That said, officials close to Netanyahu insist that Israel would need to commit to the international community that it is not returning to Gaza, which would complicate any prospect of going back.
So is “all for all” likely? For those who think Sinwar is happy with a long-time war of attrition, with his personal human shields and belief that Lebanon heralds a metastasizing regional war to his own benefit, the answer is obviously no. But Sinwar may not be the only one opposed to this approach. The one-phase approach forces Israel to choose between the hostages and staying in Gaza — issues that Israel has not wanted to see as diametrically opposed. That is at the heart of the dilemma.
Netanyahu seems to have made his choice: he will not prioritize the hostages over leaving Gaza, as his interpretation of the stakes for the latter are too high for Israeli security. His critics will say it is all about coalition survival, and that cannot be ruled out. Yet, politicians are often less cynical about themselves than others are about them.
Even if Netanyahu will not publicly articulate it, his view seems clear: the impasse goes on, and there is more time for Israel to hunt down Sinwar. This is consistent with the premier’s worldview that pressure works for Israel if it can be sustained, a point disputed by the hostage families, six of which saw their loved one executed last month, when it became clear that the IDF was not far away.
The phased negotiating paradigm meant the hostage families and Netanyahu were not necessarily on a collision course because Israel could defer, rather than concede, its objective. Now, however, they are in a zero-sum situation under “all for all,” as it forces a choice of obtaining all hostages versus leaving Gaza. Anybody who has followed Netanyahu for a long time knows that he often likes to avoid hard decisions and instead hopes that time is on his side, even when he knows that time the one thing the hostages do not have. link
A delegation of 20 family members of hostages held in Gaza sailed around the New York Harbor yesterday to raise awareness during the United Nations General Assembly’s week of meetings in New York.
The ship bore signs reading “Let them go now,” a different slogan from the one used by other hostage families, “Bring them home now.”
According to the organizers, some boats sailing by shouted words of support.
The delegation — organized in coordination with the IDF, Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry — is slated to meet with the Czech and Bulgarian presidents, UN Secretary-General AntΓ³nio Guterres, the World Health Organization, a representative of the Vatican, and the foreign ministers of Sweden, France, Canada, and the European Union.The Hostages and Missing Families Forum slams Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his upcoming visit to New York to speak at the UN General Assembly.
“While the country is burning and 101 hostages have been abandoned in the Hamas death tunnels for 355 days, the prime minister chooses another unnecessary show trip to the US,” the forum says in a statement.
Netanyahu is expected to fly to New York tomorrow with his wife Sara, and address the UNGA on Friday with a speech focusing on Iran. The prime minister will stay in New York until Saturday evening, when he will return to Israel at the conclusion of the Jewish Sabbath.
Gaza
- More than 40 Hamas operatives were killed by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip over the past day, the IDF says.
The military says the operatives who were killed are field commanders and members of other arrays in the terror group, including its rocket division and propaganda unit.
In the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF says, it has launched a new pinpoint operation in Beit Lahiya, aimed at destroying Hamas infrastructure there.
Troops with the Gaza Division located three rocket launchers in the Beit Lahiya area, one of which was loaded with at least three rockets, the army says.
In central Gaza, the IDF says reservists with the 252nd Division have launched several raids in Gaza City’s Sabra and Zeitoun neighborhoods, as well as on the outskirts of Nuseirat. The military says that the reservists located and destroyed several tunnels in the area.
In the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF’s 162nd Division continues to operate in Rafah and the so-called Philadelphi Corridor, the Egypt-Gaza border area. In Rafah, the IDF says troops killed several gunmen spotted in a tunnel shaft, and located many weapons.
The military says the operatives who were killed are field commanders and members of other arrays in the terror group, including its rocket division and propaganda unit.
In the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF says, it has launched a new pinpoint operation in Beit Lahiya, aimed at destroying Hamas infrastructure there.
Troops with the Gaza Division located three rocket launchers in the Beit Lahiya area, one of which was loaded with at least three rockets, the army says.
In central Gaza, the IDF says reservists with the 252nd Division have launched several raids in Gaza City’s Sabra and Zeitoun neighborhoods, as well as on the outskirts of Nuseirat. The military says that the reservists located and destroyed several tunnels in the area.
In the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF’s 162nd Division continues to operate in Rafah and the so-called Philadelphi Corridor, the Egypt-Gaza border area. In Rafah, the IDF says troops killed several gunmen spotted in a tunnel shaft, and located many weapons.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
- There are 2 millions Israelis within firing range of the Hizbollah rockets and missiles. There is no school and no work going on for those 2 million people while the heavy rockets and missile launches are going on.
There are almost half a million people in the Haifa and Acre areas without safe rooms.
- Nasrallah refrains from using his full power - this is the reason | The commentatorsHezbollah has expanded its firing range, but at this stage it can be estimated that it is still measured • The terror organization refrains, for example, from using its precision missiles, and decides not to deploy all its capabilities • Why? The actions that the IDF has yet to take, the nature of the campaign, and also Iranian involvement • News 12 commentators
Ehud Yaari: Although Hezbollah has expanded its firing range in recent days, it seems that it is not using all its power, despite the damage to the command and control system and missile stockpiles. In Lebanon and the Western world, people are asking why it appears that Nasrallah is not deploying all of Hezbollah's capabilities.Nasrallah believes that the IDF has not yet shifted into high gear. He notices that the IDF avoids attacking the deep underground missile arrays. Accordingly, he adheres to the same equation he seemingly drew for himself, emphasizing in most declarations that the firing is aimed at military targets. The Iranians, it can be estimated, have a substantial influence on the intensity, scope, and timing of Hezbollah's response. Tehran is pressing on the brake pedal, not allowing Nasrallah to use all the capabilities they transferred to him, and to significantly expand the campaign. Nasrallah prefers a long and ongoing war of attrition, rather than a short and intense war. This way, he hopes, international intervention will come, or internal pressure will be created within Israel - something that will release him from a full campaign, which could also cause severe damage to the organization and Lebanon.
Nir Dvori: Today's assassination in Beirut joins the series of attacks that have recently thinned out Nasrallah's general staff. This was a man from Nasrallah's inner circle, assassinated in a safe house in Beirut alongside other officers from the rocket array, a senior official who was directly subordinate to Nasrallah.The Air Force is expanding and deepening its operation. The purpose is to severely damage Hezbollah's firepower and rocket array. The IDF says this disrupts some of the firing, but it still has many capabilities. At this stage, the IDF chooses to be measured. Both sides are not yet "all in" in the campaign, but this can of course change later.
Ohad Hemo: In recent days, one can see a "normalization" of attacks in Dahieh. What was Nasrallah's red line has become routine. Today, the head of Hezbollah's missile and rocket array was assassinated there, including precision missiles. A capability that has not been used so far. The seniors assassinated in Dahieh were in Nasrallah's top military leadership. Therefore, although Hezbollah is a decentralized organization, the situation it finds itself in is very unusual and not normal. The commanders who were responsible for carrying out attacks were hit and some are out of service. Still, it's important to remember that despite the blows, Hezbollah has very significant capabilities - it's all a matter of decision.
Amit Segal: There are diplomatic contacts regarding the possibility of preventing a rapid slide into all-out war - and to take advantage of the military opportunity for settlement in Lebanon. The goal, before Netanyahu, is to make Nasrallah understand that he will not be able to continue firing at Israel, because the prices are unbearable.Meanwhile, Nasrallah is deepening the firing, and Israel's problem is worsening with the expansion of restrictions on additional areas across the country. Is there a marathon of talks on the possibility of disconnection between Gaza and Lebanon? Contacts on this axis continue and Israel does not rule out a diplomatic arrangement. And in the south - despite the IDF's severe blows, it's hard to imagine that Sinwar, if still alive, would now agree to proposals for one agreement or another. This is because what he hoped for from the first moment is finally happening - not only Gaza in flames, but the entire Middle East.Furthermore, a team has already been established headed by Minister Ron Dermer with the aim of bringing the diplomatic end scenarios, and although Netanyahu says the event is to separate Hezbollah from Hamas, last month there were very vigorous contacts with mechanisms to calm the situation in Gaza, which after involving the Emirates and the Saudis - got stuck. link IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says the military is preparing for a ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“You can hear the planes above, we are attacking all day. Both to prepare the area for the possibility of your entry [into Lebanon], and also to continue causing blows to Hezbollah,” Halevi tells troops of the 7th Armored Brigade during a drill simulating a ground offensive in Lebanon.
“Hezbollah today expanded its [range] of fire. Later today, it will receive a very strong response,” he vows, after the terror group fired a missile at central Israel this morning.
“Today we will continue, we do not stop, we continue to attack and continue to strike them everywhere. The goal is a very clear goal, to return the [displaced] residents of the north safely,” Halevi continues.
“To do this, we are preparing the [ground] maneuver,” he says to the soldiers.
Israeli Air Force fighter jets have struck some 280 Hezbollah sites across Lebanon today so far, the IDF says.
The military says the targets included rocket launchers used in attacks today on Safed, Nahariya and towns east of Haifa.
Also among the targets were Hezbollah operatives, dozens of weapon depots, and primed rocket launchers, according to the IDF.
The military says it is continuing to strike Hezbollah, to destroy its rocket and missile capabilities.
Some 60 sites belonging to Hezbollah’s intelligence division have been struck across Lebanon today, the IDF says.
The military says that the strikes carried out by fighter jets destroyed surveillance equipment, command rooms and other infrastructure used by Hezbollah to build an intelligence picture.
The two individuals injured in a rocket strike in Kibbutz Sa’ar were trying to reach cover when the projectile hit, Channel 12 reports.
According to the outlet, the two were working to renovate a building in the community when the sirens began.
The building did not have a protected area so the two tried to run to a nearby building.
Moshe Davidovich, head of the local council, tells the outlet that residents of the border communities have “basically zero seconds” to take cover when the sirens start.
The scene of a rocket strike in Kibbutz Sa'ar on September 25, 2024 (Magen David Adom)
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says one of the victims of the Hezbollah rocket attack in Kibbutz Sa’ar near Nahariya is listed in serious condition.
The 35-year-old man is being taken to Galilee Medical Center in Nahriya along with a 52-year-old man who was moderately hurt in the attack.
Both victims were hit by shrapnel as a result of a direct rocket impact, MDA says.
An unnamed Hezbollah official tells Reuters that the recent attack on the terror group’s communication devices — widely blamed on Israel — put 1,500 fighters out of commission because of their injuries, with many having been blinded or had their hands blown off.
Pieces of an exploded pager in a picture circulating on social media, September 17, 2024 (via telegram)While that is a major blow, it represents a small fraction of Hezbollah’s strength, which a report for the US Congress on Friday put at 40,000-50,000 fighters.
The terror group’s chief Hassan Nasrallah has claimed the group has 100,000 fighters.
In an apparently coordinated attack, the Gold Apollo branded devices detonated last week across Hezbollah’s strongholds of south Lebanon, Beirut’s suburbs and the eastern Bekaa valley.
A day later, walkie-talkies carried by members of the terror group also exploded.
There are almost half a million people in the Haifa and Acre areas without safe rooms.
Ehud Yaari: Although Hezbollah has expanded its firing range in recent days, it seems that it is not using all its power, despite the damage to the command and control system and missile stockpiles. In Lebanon and the Western world, people are asking why it appears that Nasrallah is not deploying all of Hezbollah's capabilities.
Nir Dvori: Today's assassination in Beirut joins the series of attacks that have recently thinned out Nasrallah's general staff. This was a man from Nasrallah's inner circle, assassinated in a safe house in Beirut alongside other officers from the rocket array, a senior official who was directly subordinate to Nasrallah.
Ohad Hemo: In recent days, one can see a "normalization" of attacks in Dahieh. What was Nasrallah's red line has become routine. Today, the head of Hezbollah's missile and rocket array was assassinated there, including precision missiles. A capability that has not been used so far.
Amit Segal: There are diplomatic contacts regarding the possibility of preventing a rapid slide into all-out war - and to take advantage of the military opportunity for settlement in Lebanon. The goal, before Netanyahu, is to make Nasrallah understand that he will not be able to continue firing at Israel, because the prices are unbearable.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says the military is preparing for a ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“You can hear the planes above, we are attacking all day. Both to prepare the area for the possibility of your entry [into Lebanon], and also to continue causing blows to Hezbollah,” Halevi tells troops of the 7th Armored Brigade during a drill simulating a ground offensive in Lebanon.
“Hezbollah today expanded its [range] of fire. Later today, it will receive a very strong response,” he vows, after the terror group fired a missile at central Israel this morning.
“Today we will continue, we do not stop, we continue to attack and continue to strike them everywhere. The goal is a very clear goal, to return the [displaced] residents of the north safely,” Halevi continues.
“To do this, we are preparing the [ground] maneuver,” he says to the soldiers.
Israeli Air Force fighter jets have struck some 280 Hezbollah sites across Lebanon today so far, the IDF says.
The military says the targets included rocket launchers used in attacks today on Safed, Nahariya and towns east of Haifa.
Also among the targets were Hezbollah operatives, dozens of weapon depots, and primed rocket launchers, according to the IDF.
The military says it is continuing to strike Hezbollah, to destroy its rocket and missile capabilities.
Some 60 sites belonging to Hezbollah’s intelligence division have been struck across Lebanon today, the IDF says.
The military says that the strikes carried out by fighter jets destroyed surveillance equipment, command rooms and other infrastructure used by Hezbollah to build an intelligence picture.
The two individuals injured in a rocket strike in Kibbutz Sa’ar were trying to reach cover when the projectile hit, Channel 12 reports.
According to the outlet, the two were working to renovate a building in the community when the sirens began.
The building did not have a protected area so the two tried to run to a nearby building.
Moshe Davidovich, head of the local council, tells the outlet that residents of the border communities have “basically zero seconds” to take cover when the sirens start.
The scene of a rocket strike in Kibbutz Sa'ar on September 25, 2024 (Magen David Adom)
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says one of the victims of the Hezbollah rocket attack in Kibbutz Sa’ar near Nahariya is listed in serious condition.
The 35-year-old man is being taken to Galilee Medical Center in Nahriya along with a 52-year-old man who was moderately hurt in the attack.
Both victims were hit by shrapnel as a result of a direct rocket impact, MDA says.
An unnamed Hezbollah official tells Reuters that the recent attack on the terror group’s communication devices — widely blamed on Israel — put 1,500 fighters out of commission because of their injuries, with many having been blinded or had their hands blown off.
While that is a major blow, it represents a small fraction of Hezbollah’s strength, which a report for the US Congress on Friday put at 40,000-50,000 fighters.
The terror group’s chief Hassan Nasrallah has claimed the group has 100,000 fighters.
In an apparently coordinated attack, the Gold Apollo branded devices detonated last week across Hezbollah’s strongholds of south Lebanon, Beirut’s suburbs and the eastern Bekaa valley.
A day later, walkie-talkies carried by members of the terror group also exploded.
West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel
- At least two Palestinians were reported wounded on Monday due to a rocket fired by Lebanon’s Hezbollah that struck the northern West Bank.
The rocket was part of a barrage of some 10 long-range projectiles that Hezbollah launched at Israel, setting off sirens in several West Bank settlements east of Tel Aviv. The IDF said the rockets struck open areas. The Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news agency reported that the two — a 60-year-old man and an elderly woman — were hurt by “an unknown rocket” that struck between homes in Deir Istiya, causing “significant material damage.”
Images from Deir Istiya showed the site of the impact and damage to a nearby car and home.
Wafa did not specify the condition of the wounded Palestinians, but said they were taken to a hospital.
According to the report, “it was not determined if the rockets were fired from Lebanon or from the interceptor rockets launched by the Israeli occupation.” The impact in Deir Istiya came amid some of the most intense fighting yet between Israel and Hezbollah, which have been engaged in skirmishes since the Lebanese terror group began launching attacks on northern communities and military posts following its fellow Iran-backed ally Hamas’s October 7 cross-border onslaught on Israel from the Gaza Strip. Link
The rocket was part of a barrage of some 10 long-range projectiles that Hezbollah launched at Israel, setting off sirens in several West Bank settlements east of Tel Aviv. The IDF said the rockets struck open areas. The Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news agency reported that the two — a 60-year-old man and an elderly woman — were hurt by “an unknown rocket” that struck between homes in Deir Istiya, causing “significant material damage.”
Images from Deir Istiya showed the site of the impact and damage to a nearby car and home.
Wafa did not specify the condition of the wounded Palestinians, but said they were taken to a hospital.
According to the report, “it was not determined if the rockets were fired from Lebanon or from the interceptor rockets launched by the Israeli occupation.” The impact in Deir Istiya came amid some of the most intense fighting yet between Israel and Hezbollah, which have been engaged in skirmishes since the Lebanese terror group began launching attacks on northern communities and military posts following its fellow Iran-backed ally Hamas’s October 7 cross-border onslaught on Israel from the Gaza Strip. Link
Politics and the War (general news)
- https://www.timesofisrael.com/utj-organ-hamodia-publishes-op-ed-blaming-southern-kibbutz-residents-for-october-7/
The IDF says it is calling up two reserve brigades to be deployed to northern Israel.
The military says the move, made following a fresh assessment, “will allow the continuation of the fighting effort against the Hezbollah terror organization, the protection of the citizens of the State of Israel, and the creation of the conditions for the safe return of the [displaced] residents of the north to their homes.” --Unfortunately, this is probably just the beginning of the emergency call ups. As the Chief of Staff said, they are preparing for a ground incursion and a ground incursion cannot take place with only 2 reserve brigades. Many of us are hopeful that it doesn't reach that phase.
- https://www.timesofisrael.com/utj-organ-hamodia-publishes-op-ed-blaming-southern-kibbutz-residents-for-october-7/
The IDF says it is calling up two reserve brigades to be deployed to northern Israel.
The military says the move, made following a fresh assessment, “will allow the continuation of the fighting effort against the Hezbollah terror organization, the protection of the citizens of the State of Israel, and the creation of the conditions for the safe return of the [displaced] residents of the north to their homes.” --Unfortunately, this is probably just the beginning of the emergency call ups. As the Chief of Staff said, they are preparing for a ground incursion and a ground incursion cannot take place with only 2 reserve brigades. Many of us are hopeful that it doesn't reach that phase.
The Region and the World
- Two more drones launched from Iraq overnight struck open areas in the northern Golan Heights, according to the IDF.
Sirens had sounded in Ein Zivan and Merom Golan during the incident at around 3 a.m.
The drone impacts sparked fires in open areas, but no injuries were caused.
The Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq took responsibility.
The United States is spearheading a new diplomatic effort to end hostilities in both Gaza and Lebanon, linking the two conflicts as part of a single initiative, six sources familiar with the initiative tell Reuters.
Details are being hammered out at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to two Lebanese officials, two Western diplomats, a source familiar with Hezbollah’s thinking and a source briefed on the talks.
Personal Stories
**"Something in the soul and brain refused to believe we were there, as if it didn't happen to me"**
**Daniel Aloni** was kidnapped with her daughter Emilia (6) while visiting her sister in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Along with them, her sister Sharon Aloni-Cunio, her husband David, and their young daughters were also kidnapped. Daniel and Emilia were released together with Sharon and her daughters in the first hostage deal. David Cunio is still held captive by Hamas.
"I vowed not to return to Nir Oz. I debated whether to be photographed at home or somewhere else where I'd be more comfortable, but I thought maybe I should close the circle of this terrible story that befell our family, and go to Nir Oz. After agreeing, I felt like I was preparing for it like a university exam. I didn't sleep well beforehand, and as we drove there, I felt like the closer we got, the more faint I felt, that I'd see the house and collapse."
"When we arrived, the fears dissipated. It was hard to be there, but also very disconnected. Something in the soul and brain refused to connect and believe we were there, as if it didn't happen to me. Until the photoshoot, I hadn't seen the house and the extent of the disaster, I didn't look at it when we were taken out at gunpoint, with dozens of terrorists around, carrying girls in our arms and with my sister, who was taken from me and I didn't see her until after the release."
"October 7th was such an event-packed experience that the body was in a prolonged state of shock. The brain activated defense mechanisms of disconnection, which also worked when I arrived there now, for the first time. The only place that survived was the safe room we came out of. I still saw there the treats we gave the girls that morning, the wipes I used to clean the child, everything remained as if time stood still. On the wall remained a mark of a sooty handprint, my handprint."
**How did returning to the burnt safe room affect you?**
"It brought back moments when we open the window and they're there, to the volley of shots we received towards the window. It's simply unbelievable that we survived this, the fire, the shots, the captivity. We survived only thanks to a higher power, as I see it. In those moments, a very strong mechanism of detachment worked in me. I'm not crying, not falling apart, I didn't react as I thought I would. Because of the little girls, there was no feeling that you have time to feel sorry for yourself. I struggled to survive, between a range of feelings of 'Am I alive? Am I dead? Will I manage to get out of here?' All this while I hear the girls coughing their souls out as the house is on fire."
**Emilia asks what about her aunt's house in Nir Oz?**"No, she knows there's no kibbutz anymore, that it burned down and there's nothing to go back to, that we won't drive there anymore."
**Will your sister Sharon return to Nir Oz?**"Nobody intends to return there. Too many memories and fears. I remember my brother-in-law David saying that morning, 'The moment this is over, we're flying out of here.' He understood he wouldn't stay here anymore, he just didn't think this would happen and that he'd be kidnapped to Gaza. We only thought we'd die, not about a kidnapping scenario."
"Personally, I don't really have a personal connection to the Gaza envelope. I'm not from a kibbutz, didn't live there, and don't feel I want to continue seeing it. But every citizen in the country who wasn't in the Gaza envelope on October 7th needs to be in Nir Oz and the affected kibbutzim and see what happened there. To understand that it's not a matter of a handful of families, but of tens of thousands of residents whose circles were affected and whose world collapsed in one day. It's a moral obligation to see these atrocities, as difficult as it is, it's like being in Auschwitz."
**How is your and Emilia's recovery after being released from captivity?**"All these months I've been busy rehabilitating her and myself and fighting for the return of the hostages. As long as they're there, we have no ability to put this episode behind us and truly recover, because our family is still experiencing this trauma anew every day, as my sister's husband and her daughters' father hasn't returned to us. This daily struggle doesn't allow recovery for anyone. The last sign of life we received from David was in the first months, and it feels so invalid. You receive a sign of life one day, and the next day they might shoot them in the head. We know he was alive and with my sister until two days before the release. Where is he now, and what's happening with him and his brother and partner? Only God knows."
"I remind myself that if there are Holocaust survivors who were in such a situation for so long and still managed to build a home and raise families afterwards, I too won't be sucked into the trauma and the terrible experiences that my daughter and I went through, because otherwise they've defeated me. I won't give them the pleasure of knowing they've shattered our souls."
link
Sirens had sounded in Ein Zivan and Merom Golan during the incident at around 3 a.m.
The drone impacts sparked fires in open areas, but no injuries were caused.
The Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq took responsibility.
The United States is spearheading a new diplomatic effort to end hostilities in both Gaza and Lebanon, linking the two conflicts as part of a single initiative, six sources familiar with the initiative tell Reuters.
Details are being hammered out at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to two Lebanese officials, two Western diplomats, a source familiar with Hezbollah’s thinking and a source briefed on the talks.
link
Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages
Netanyahu’s Legacy is the Abandonment of Public Health, and
the Abandonment of Life Itself
Prof. Hagai Levine - Chairman of the Israeli Association of Public Health
Physicians, and head of the medical team serving the hostages' families.
In October 2018, Netanyahu surprised us with a rare moment
of candor that testifies to his legacy - the abandonment of life and public
health.
Orna Peretz, a resident of Kiryat Shemona, an admirer of
Netanyahu and a supporter of his Likud party, demanded basic health services for outlying
communities. Netanyahu shut her down crassly, saying, “You simply don’t interest us, you’re boring us.”
That comment reflects his attitude not just toward our health,
but toward our lives as well.
For that’s the simple truth about Mr. Abandonment: our
health doesn’t interest him. Israel’s National Health Insurance Law is based on
the principles of “justice, equality and mutual aid.” Netanyahu abandoned these
principles for the sake of his political and personal interests. During his
long tenure as prime minister, he has caused grave damage to Israel’s public
health system. And that damage costs lives.
As prime minister, Netanyahu privatized the health system,
widening the gaps between the country’s center and its periphery, and
undercutting professionalism to benefit foreign interests. For years, he’s been
weakening professional staff and essential infrastructure. He abandoned the
health of Israel’s children to the epidemics of smoking and obesity by
charting an irresponsible policy that benefited big business. He allowed the
pollution of air, water, and soil, in the service of gas and energy tycoons. He
abandoned Israel to the ravages of the climate crisis, failing to adequately
prepare.
During the COVID epidemic, Netanyahu led a reckless and
ineffective policy of extreme closures that defied professional recommendations
and was procedurally flawed. He abandoned the elderly to loneliness and
abandoned children to boredom by closing schools for no reason - decisions that
will have grave implications for many years to come.
Instead of bolstering the epidemiological network, he
abandoned the public and its privacy to a stupid tracking system carried out by
the Shin Bet security service.
The campaign Netanyahu has led to diminish the judicial
system and its independence will also batter public health. The weakening of
the courts and gatekeepers, the appointment of incompetents, and the
obliteration of professionalism, threaten the health system and public health.
That attempt at judicial overhaul has weakened Israel. Netanyahu was warned that
our enemies would see that as a ripe opportunity to strike, but he ignored
those explicit warnings.
On October 7th and in its aftermath, his abandonment reached
new lows, the horrific consequences of which are well known. More than 1,600
killed in combat or murdered, and more than 250 taken hostage.
For over nine months, 120 of these hostages have been
abandoned by Netanyahu, relinquished to the cruel hands of their captors. The
ongoing abandonment of the hostages, and Netanyahu’s torpedoing of deals that would
free them, put his legacy on display in the most tragic way – the abandonment
of life itself.
The families of the hostages, who require rehabilitation and
recognition as victims of terrorism, have been abandoned as well, their needs
unmet.
But the abandonment doesn’t end there. While Netanyahu’s
government is busy handing out money to coalition partners and passing laws
that serve vested interests, about 200,000 people in Israel’s north and south have been uprooted from their homes, with no return in
sight. Soldiers are being sent to the battlefield with no clear strategy, their
businesses and livelihoods are being hurt, and their families are living in a
constant state of anxiety. About 10,000 war-wounded are being treated by a
starved health system. The difficult conditions have led to a mental health
crisis to which Netanyahu is indifferent.
Kiryat Shemona and residents of the north and south continue
to bore Netanyahu. Displaced and insecure, they are suffering from severe physical
and mental health problems. The north is on fire and there’s no strategy or
responsible adult at the wheel - because Netanyahu’s legacy is the abandonment
of public health, and the abandonment of life itself.
Netanyahu’s Legacy is the Abandonment of Public Health, and
the Abandonment of Life Itself
Prof. Hagai Levine - Chairman of the Israeli Association of Public Health Physicians, and head of the medical team serving the hostages' families.
In October 2018, Netanyahu surprised us with a rare moment
of candor that testifies to his legacy - the abandonment of life and public
health.
Orna Peretz, a resident of Kiryat Shemona, an admirer of Netanyahu and a supporter of his Likud party, demanded basic health services for outlying communities. Netanyahu shut her down crassly, saying, “You simply don’t interest us, you’re boring us.”
That comment reflects his attitude not just toward our health,
but toward our lives as well.
For that’s the simple truth about Mr. Abandonment: our
health doesn’t interest him. Israel’s National Health Insurance Law is based on
the principles of “justice, equality and mutual aid.” Netanyahu abandoned these
principles for the sake of his political and personal interests. During his
long tenure as prime minister, he has caused grave damage to Israel’s public
health system. And that damage costs lives.
As prime minister, Netanyahu privatized the health system, widening the gaps between the country’s center and its periphery, and undercutting professionalism to benefit foreign interests. For years, he’s been weakening professional staff and essential infrastructure. He abandoned the health of Israel’s children to the epidemics of smoking and obesity by charting an irresponsible policy that benefited big business. He allowed the pollution of air, water, and soil, in the service of gas and energy tycoons. He abandoned Israel to the ravages of the climate crisis, failing to adequately prepare.
During the COVID epidemic, Netanyahu led a reckless and
ineffective policy of extreme closures that defied professional recommendations
and was procedurally flawed. He abandoned the elderly to loneliness and
abandoned children to boredom by closing schools for no reason - decisions that
will have grave implications for many years to come.
Instead of bolstering the epidemiological network, he
abandoned the public and its privacy to a stupid tracking system carried out by
the Shin Bet security service.
The campaign Netanyahu has led to diminish the judicial
system and its independence will also batter public health. The weakening of
the courts and gatekeepers, the appointment of incompetents, and the
obliteration of professionalism, threaten the health system and public health.
That attempt at judicial overhaul has weakened Israel. Netanyahu was warned that
our enemies would see that as a ripe opportunity to strike, but he ignored
those explicit warnings.
On October 7th and in its aftermath, his abandonment reached
new lows, the horrific consequences of which are well known. More than 1,600
killed in combat or murdered, and more than 250 taken hostage.
For over nine months, 120 of these hostages have been
abandoned by Netanyahu, relinquished to the cruel hands of their captors. The
ongoing abandonment of the hostages, and Netanyahu’s torpedoing of deals that would
free them, put his legacy on display in the most tragic way – the abandonment
of life itself.
The families of the hostages, who require rehabilitation and
recognition as victims of terrorism, have been abandoned as well, their needs
unmet.
But the abandonment doesn’t end there. While Netanyahu’s government is busy handing out money to coalition partners and passing laws that serve vested interests, about 200,000 people in Israel’s north and south have been uprooted from their homes, with no return in sight. Soldiers are being sent to the battlefield with no clear strategy, their businesses and livelihoods are being hurt, and their families are living in a constant state of anxiety. About 10,000 war-wounded are being treated by a starved health system. The difficult conditions have led to a mental health crisis to which Netanyahu is indifferent.
Kiryat Shemona and residents of the north and south continue
to bore Netanyahu. Displaced and insecure, they are suffering from severe physical
and mental health problems. The north is on fire and there’s no strategy or
responsible adult at the wheel - because Netanyahu’s legacy is the abandonment
of public health, and the abandonment of life itself.
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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