🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 359, 2023 - September 29, 2024 🎗️

  

🎗️Day 359 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

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

*10:05am yesterday - north - rockets/missiles

*11:05pm yesterday - north - Hostile Aircraft 
*11:15pm yesterday - north - hostile aircraft
*3:20am - north - rockets/missiles - Kiryat Shemona
*5:30am- south - hostile aircraft - Eilot, Eilat, Shahoret Industrial area -The Israel Defense Forces says a Navy missile ship intercepted a drone over the Red Sea overnight. The military says the UAV was shot down before it reached Israel’s border, and releases footage of the interception. The drone triggered sirens in resort city of Eilat and surrounding areas.

*8:40am - north- rockets/missiles - Tiberias and all areas around the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee)- A barrage of eight rockets was launched from Lebanon at the Tiberias area this morning, setting off sirens in the city and several other towns near the Sea of Galilee, the military says.

According to the IDF, the rockets struck open areas, causing no injuries. Footage shared on social media shows that at least one of the rockets landed in the Sea of Galilee. video
*12:55pm - north - rockets/missiles
*1:35pm - north - hostile aircraft - Avivim
*2:25pm - north - rockets/missiles
*4:20pm - north - rockets/missiles
*4:35pm - north - rockets/missiles - A barrage of some 20 rockets was fired from Lebanon at the Upper Galilee in the past hour, the IDF says. According to the military, most of the rockets were intercepted by air defenses. There are no reports of injuries or major damage. Hezbollah takes responsibility for the rocket fire, claiming to have targeted Rosh Pina and Safed.

*4:50pm - north - rockets/ missiles

Hostage Updates 

Today would have been the 60th birthday of Yair 'Yaya' Yaacov

Kibbutz Nir Oz announced in February that Yair “Yaya” Yaakov, who disappeared from the kibbutz during the Hamas onslaught of October 7, had been killed that day and his body was being held by Hamas in Gaza.

Yaakov, 59, was thought until now to be held captive alive in the Strip. His partner, Meirav Tal, was also taken, as were his two sons, Or, 16, and Yagil, 12 — though the latter two had been in a different home in the kibbutz that day.

Or and Yagil were released from captivity as part of a truce deal on November 27, and Tal (who is not the boys’ mother) was released a day later.

Authorities did not specify how they had ascertained Yaakov’s death, though in the months that have passed since the attack, Israel has made use of a mix of intelligence and forensic evidence to make such determinations.

Yaakov is survived by Meirav and his three children, Shir, Or and Yagil. The kibbutz noted that he worked at an auto shop in Kibbutz Alumim, and “was a modest, simple man, who loved his family, the land and music.” A statement from the Hostages Family Forum said that “Yair was a family man with a huge heart, always willing to help everyone. He was energetic and loved enjoying life.”

The last the family heard from the couple on October 7 was a message from Tal at 9:20 a.m., noting that terrorists had entered their home and that Yaakov was trying to hold the safe room door shut in order to fend off the attackers. Video discovered later showed that the terrorists eventually used grenades to open the door of the sealed room.

His family was previously told that he had been injured in the Hamas attack and that the terrorists had used brutal force against him, but had few other details, and had been hoping that he would be returned home safely.

Meirav Tal embraces her partner Yair Yaakov’s boys, Or and Yagil Yaakov, also released from captivity, at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital after she was released as a hostage by the Gaza-ruling Hamas terror group, November 28, 2023. (Courtesy)

The Yaakovs were among the 72 hostages taken by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, out of the 253 kidnapped overall that day amid the terror group’s murderous onslaught on southern Israel.

The IDF has said based on its findings that 30 of the remaining 130 hostages kidnapped that day are no longer alive, with some killed by Hamas on October 7 and others slain while in captivity.

A weeklong truce in late November saw the release of 105 hostages from Gaza, with four released separately prior to that. Three hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 11 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military.

The Hostage Families Forum main umbrella group has called on the government to make a deal with Hamas as soon as possible to secure the release of the remaining hostages before it is too late.  link

Biden’s Legacy – The wars in Gaza and Lebanon, or ending the Wars in Gaza and Lebanon?

Only President Joe Biden can bring the hostages home and end the war in Gaza. Will this be his legacy or will it be the president who fueled the war in Gaza?

• The Biden legacy: The president who brought home the hostages!

Even after the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the war between Israel and Hezbollah will continue and only end when the war between Israel and Hamas ends in Gaza. As opposed to what Israeli leaders and some US official spokespeople are saying, there is a deal on the table to end the war in Gaza in three weeks that the entire Hamas leadership agrees to. This was transmitted to me directly by a senior member of the Hamas leadership and a member of the Hamas negotiating team. This is what he wrote to me and then verified it with a voice message:

September 10, 2024

Gershon, what you are now receiving from me is an official and approved position of the Hamas movement regarding reaching an agreement/deal.
Ghazi Hamad, Member of Shura Council and the Hamas Negotiating Team

General principles for stopping the war in Gaza
Submitted by Hamas

1- Work to complete all the procedures mentioned below within one phase of three weeks

2- Return all Israeli hostages, civilians and military, alive and dead, in exchange for the release of an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons

3- Permanent ceasefire and cessation of all military actions and activities

4- Withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, and return to what it was before October 7

5- Guarantee a truce between the two parties for a period of 5 years during which all military actions and activities are stopped by both parties

6- Existence of international guarantees to follow up on the implementation of the agreement

7- Guarantee the entry of relief materials and the start of the reconstruction process in the Gaza Strip allowing only relief and reconstruction materials to enter and allowing the reconstruction process to begin in the Gaza Strip under the supervision of an international committee.

8 – This matter may require certain details and mechanisms to implement the agreement, but if official approval is received, we are ready to enter into the details.

I have known this Hamas leader for 18 years during which time I have negotiated with him on and off, officially and unofficially.  Our most famous negotiation led to the breakthrough that brought home the captive Israeli soldier in October 2011, Gilad Schalit after more than five years in Hamas captivity in exchange for 1027 Palestinian prisoners, including more than 300 who had murdered Israelis, including four who murdered my wife’s first cousin. Prime Minister Netanyahu and nearly 80% of Israelis supported the deal back then.

The current deal on the table was negotiated by me with the help of retired Israeli General Amiram Levin, in order to grant it more legitimacy than just coming from an Israeli veteran peace activist. In follow up discussions with Hamas, with questions coming from the White House West Wing, the Hamas leader also stated: “Gershon, we have no objection to forming a civilian government, technocrats, of independent and professional people to manage the affairs of Gaza, and enjoy all the powers that guarantee security, order and management of the crossings.” Further clarifying this message, I received confirmation from a former Fatah senior Palestinian non-Hamas personality in exile that the messages that I have received are confirmed by another senior member of the Hamas leadership including noting that Hamas agrees that issues of internal security and their weapons would be in the hands of the new non-Hamas technocratic professional government.

All of this was first conveyed to the three heads of the Israeli negotiating team – the head of the Mossad, the head of the Shin Bet, and a retired general brought into to coordinate the negotiations. One of those three responded to this proposal: “but the Prime Minister does not agree to end the war.”  This is something well known in the Israeli public, but this was an official comment from one of the three official Israeli negotiators. Netanyahu does not want to end the war; he is willing to sacrifice the remaining 101 Israeli hostages (and no know knows how many of them remain alive) on the altar of his own political survival.

But ending the war must happen. Too many people have been killed, too must destruction has occurred. More than 1200 Israelis were killed on October 7, 2023 by the atrocious crimes of Hamas and too many innocent Palestinians, tens of thousands have been killed since then. Gaza is in destroyed. Gaza is in ruins with a humanitarian distaste unfolding every minute. More than 200,000 Israelis are homeless and Netanyahu spoke about total victory in the United Nations.  There is no military solution to these conflicts and there has never been. And now Lebanon and the north of Israel are in flames.

There is one person in the world who has the power to bring an end to these horrendous wars – President Joe Biden. President Biden had the fortitude to say “DON’T” to Iran and then backed it up with US aircraft carriers and the might of the US military. Israel is so completely dependent on the United States and the US diplomatic tool box is so packed with powerful diplomatic carrots that Israel has enjoyed for many years, but it is also very full with many diplomatic sticks. It is time to take out the sticks.  I, without knowing all of the details, can come up with many suggestions for leverage that the US has over Israel. I am sure that those in the know can come up with a very significant list of extreme pressure points of leverage that can impose the US demand to Prime Minister Netanyahu to end the wars and pick up the agreement that is on the table.

President Biden needs to decide if the nickname “Genocide Joe” is going to be his long-lasting legacy, or will it be the man who brought an end to the wars in Lebanon and Gaza and who brings home the Israeli hostages.  President Biden has dedicated more time to the families of Israeli hostages than every member of the Israeli government. Now it is time to finish the task and to bring them home.

Dr. Gershon Baskin has been in negotiations with Hamas for 18 years. He is the director of Middle East operations for the UK based NGO International Communities Organization and has lived in Israel for 46 years. link

Gaza 

•  The IDF says it carried out an airstrike against a group of Hamas operatives operating out of a former school in the northern Gaza Strip a short while ago.

  According to the military, Hamas was using the Umm al-Fahm School in Beit Lahiya to plan and carry out attacks against IDF troops and against Israel.

  The school has been serving as a shelter for displaced Palestinians.

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

• A kilometer-long tunnel was recently located and demolished in the central Gaza Strip, the IDF announces.

  The tunnel, which the military says was built under a civilian area and close to several homes, was found by troops of the 5th Brigade and combat engineers, including members of the elite Yahalom Combat Engineering Unit.

  Inside the tunnel, the IDF says troops found several rooms, equipment, and weapons belonging to Hamas operatives. video of the tunnel

Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria

• "In Beirut, everyone is asking: Who betrayed Nasrallah?" | Special report from Lebanon

  Rental prices have tripled, and Dahieh residents who fled discovered there's no more room in refugee centers. Nasrallah's assassination left Beirut's residents in shock, with many reacting with hysteria, denial, or suspicion. Conspiracies and accusations are arising at every corner: "The Iranians abandoned him. Nasrallah was revered in Tehran, Khamenei brought him close, made him an ally, and then deserted him." One thing is certain: fear of the terrorist organization still exists in the streets.

  "This man, Hassan Nasrallah, will not die," Lebanese citizens, supporters of Hezbollah, claimed to me last night (Saturday). Many of them are still waiting to see him on television screens, explaining to them what's going to happen, what the situation is. They still think they'll see him announcing that he's alive and functioning, that everything is fine with him, and that Hezbollah's announcement of his assassination was just a tactic meant to confuse the enemy. It's hard to believe. I went out yesterday for a long tour of the streets of the capital, Beirut. The city that's always bustling with life - looked dead. In the few places where young people still gathered, there was absolute hysteria: "This man died in the middle of his life, they eliminated him with enormous humiliation," his supporters claimed, who were almost the only ones who came out to the street. A few hours earlier, a Lebanese-patriotic demonstration was held in the city, with dozens of young people standing on the street, holding Lebanese flags and staying silent - still afraid of Hezbollah members. Their aim was to convey a message to the wider world that "Lebanon will remain Lebanon", with or without the terrorist organization and its eliminated leaders.

  Interestingly, the accusing fingers weren't pointed yesterday towards Israel, but towards Iran: "They abandoned him," they say in Beirut. "Nasrallah was revered in Tehran, Leader Khamenei brought him close, made him an ally - and abandoned him." Khamenei, the admirers claimed, tends to abandon his allies: first, he abandoned Ismail Haniyeh, all of Gaza, and now his favorite, Nasrallah. The Lebanese Hezbollah supporters see Nasrallah's death as an Iranian betrayal. The Shiites in Lebanon, who are not from my community, are calling for a boycott of the Iranian ruler - whose representative sent to support Nasrallah was eliminated along with him in the attack on Dahieh. Yesterday, many in the streets of Beirut were already telling stories about Iran's distancing from Nasrallah, about his charm fading in the eyes of Leader Khamenei. These are stories that no one can confirm or deny.

  What we know now is that Hezbollah's actions were completely exposed to Israeli intelligence. All his steps were under surveillance for long months. Every phone call had an additional ear listening. "Who betrayed Hezbollah?" That was the question that troubled the Lebanese yesterday. Conspiracies are rampant: some claim that the Iranians are the ones who betrayed, due to the desire to reach a new nuclear deal with the Americans. According to this theory, the Iranians lied to Nasrallah that the fighting against Israel would not last long, and that "we, meaning the Iranians, are in control." But the fighting dragged on, and someone handed the Secretary-General's neck to the Israelis.

  There are also those who believe it was Syrian intelligence who sold out Nasrallah. Either way, someone sold out Hezbollah, and Israel managed to locate the exact place where the organization's leadership was found. Israel managed to discover the hideout that only a few knew where it was located underground, and knew well who was invited to the secret meeting that took place there. The attack that led to Nasrallah's precise elimination was not routine. The echoes of the explosion were felt tens of kilometers away from the bombing site. This explosion reminded of the mega-explosion in the port of Beirut in 2020 when the entire city shook and immediately after, the size of the horrific destruction, hundreds of dead and wounded were revealed.

  

  The Lebanese waited with bated breath for confirmation of the rumors about Nasrallah's elimination. At first, they were sure it was Israeli propaganda. Hezbollah waited almost a day until the announcement. Meanwhile, again refugees from Dahieh found themselves and their families without a roof over their heads, crying, destitute, wandering in space and refusing to believe that this disaster had befallen them.

  This situation didn't start yesterday: last Monday, residents of southern Lebanon woke up to the sounds of sirens from Israeli army bombings, calling on them to immediately evacuate their homes. The residents left, fled, carried with them few belongings and escaped in cars that created an endless traffic jam. The journey from southern Lebanon to Beirut, which usually takes two hours, they made in twenty long hours.

  When they finally arrived in Beirut, they discovered that there were no reception centers waiting for them. There's no emergency plan. The Ministry of Education opened improvised schools, and Beirut residents took refugees into their homes voluntarily. Churches also took in refugees, but the state of Lebanon with its offices and government - was not in the picture and did not mobilize to help. In Dahieh, they initially refused to take in refugees. Now, when the neighborhood's residents fled in fear, they discovered that the reception centers are already full to capacity. Many had to spend nights in their cars. Others slept by the roadside, on blankets they managed to take out of their homes before fleeing. Other refugees spent days and nights in the Rafic Hariri Mosque (named after the former Prime Minister) where he is buried. Living people forced to live alongside the dead.

  There are also refugees who chose to flee to areas hostile to Hezbollah, like the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon. There they discovered eye-catching signs meant to welcome them. However, the refugees were warned not to hang pictures of the hated Nasrallah there, and to remove his pictures from their cars.

  Citizens of Israel, think about us, the innocent citizens of Lebanon. We are not a side in the war. We are suffering. Even if some food stores are open, no one can afford to buy enough food. Meat hasn't been on our table for many days. Power outages last at least nine hours a day, and rental prices have tripled. A house that cost $1,000 two weeks ago has now jumped to $3,000. In a small two-room apartment, at least two families will crowd in under pressure.

  They promised us a short war, but for almost a year now, Lebanese citizens don't know what each day will bring. Anyone who can afford it - tries to escape or has escaped. Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese refugees are still sleeping under the open sky. They say Hezbollah has finished its path? So they say. There are those who claim that this is just a break until the next stage of the campaign.

  Nicola Moutran | Lebanese journalist

  
  

• A top commander in Hezbollah’s intelligence division was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut this afternoon, the IDF says.

  Hassan Khalil Yassin, according to the IDF, headed a unit in Hezbollah’s intelligence division that was tasked with locating Israeli military and civilian sites in Israel to be targeted.

  The IDF says Yassin worked closely with Hezbollah’s rocket, missile, and drone units, and was “personally involved in terror plots that were carried out from the beginning of the war against civilians and soldiers, and planned additional attacks in the coming days.”

  Fighter jets carried out the strike on a site in Dahiyeh, killing Yassin.

• The IDF is calling on Lebanese civilians in the Beqaa Valley, in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, and in southern Lebanon, to flee immediately from sites used by Hezbollah.

  “If you are near Hezbollah assets… for your safety and the safety of your families, we ask you to stay away from the area and not return until further notice,” Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, says on X.

• The New York Times says that Israel has worked since the conclusion of the Second Lebanon War in 2006 to build up a formidable intelligence apparatus that deeply penetrated the Hezbollah terror organization.

  The report says Israel has sent undercover commandos “deep into the country” to carry out “sensitive intelligence missions.”

  Officials tell the outlet that Israel’s willingness to carry out daring missions sets it apart from the intelligence agencies and units of other countries.

  The report additionally says the focus of the IDF’s signals intelligence Unit 8200 on Hezbollah meant that the military could pass information to the US that resulted in the airstrike killed General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq in January 2020.

• The Israel Defense Forces may have begun, or is about to begin, small operations across the Lebanon border to take out nearby Hezbollah positions, two US officials tell ABC.

  The report refers to small-scale “border movements.”

  The officials tell the US outlet that Israel does not appear to have decided whether to launch a full ground operation into Lebanon, but that it would likely be limited in scope if it does.

  The officials say that in order for Israel to fulfill its aim of enabling the some 60,000 displaced Israelis to return home, decapitating the Hezbollah leadership will not be enough.

• Overnight, Israeli fighter jets struck dozens of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, the IDF says.

  The targets included rocket launchers aimed at Israel and buildings used by Hezbollah, including where it stored weapons, according to the military.

  It releases footage of some of the strikes video

• Initial reports claim an airstrike attack has just taken place near Albukamal on the Iraqi-Syrian border, along with other areas in Styria’s northeastern Deir Ezzor region.

  Syria’s Sham FM says locals in Deir Ezzor reported hearing loud explosions in the desert east of the Euphrates River city.
  

  Albukamal is thought to be on a major smuggling route used by Shiite groups, including Hezbollah, to transport weapons from Iran. Attacks in the past there have been attributed to the US military.

  Israel’s army said earlier it was concentrating its efforts in Lebanon on imposing a blockade aimed at keeping Iranian weapons from entering the country.

  A Syria-based war monitor claims 12 pro-Iran fighters were killed in airstrikes of unknown origin in eastern Syria, and a large number of people were wounded.

  “Twelve pro-Iranian fighters were killed in air strikes of unknown origin targeting their positions in the city of Deir Ezzor and to the east of the city, as well as the Boukamal region, near the border with Iraq,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.

  Five of the strikes targeted military positions near Deir Ezzor airport, it adds.

  The Observatory, which says it relies on a network of sources on the ground, has been accused of inflating casualty numbers in the past.

  The origin of the strikes are unknown, with widespread speculation they were carried out by Israel or the US.

• Israeli fighter jets struck some 45 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon’s Kafra a short while ago, the military says.

  According to the IDF, the sites included weapons depots and other infrastructure.

• A short clip circulated by Lebanese media outlets purports to show the moment the body of Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah was recovered from the terror group’s underground headquarters in Beirut.

  A medical source and a security source told Reuters earlier today that Nasrallah’s body had been removed from the site of the Israeli airstrike on Friday.

  Hezbollah confirmed Nasrallah’s death yesterday, after the IDF bombed the terror group’s main headquarters in the Lebanese capital on Friday. video lifting Nasrallah's body

• More than 20 Hezbollah operatives were killed alongside the leader of the terror group, Hassan Nasrallah, in the Israeli airstrike on Beirut on Friday, the IDF says.

  
  People check the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

  According to the military, among those killed at Hezbollah’s underground headquarters in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut were:

  • Ali Karaki, the commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front.
  • Ibrahim Hussein Jazini, head of Nasrallah’s personal security unit.
  • Samir Tawfiq Deeb, an adviser to Nasrallah.
  • Abd al-Amir Muhammad Sablini, responsible for Hezbollah’s force buildup.
  • Ali Nayef Ayoub, responsible for Hezbollah’s firepower.

  The IDF says that Jazini and Deeb were among the closest people to Nasrallah, and as such were “a significant source of knowledge regarding the ongoing functioning of the Hezbollah terror organization and Nasrallah in particular.”

  The Hezbollah commanders and Nasrallah had been gathered in their main underground command center in Beirut when they were struck.

  The IDF says the site was located beneath residential buildings, close to a United Nations-run school.

• Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati says in a televised speech that his country had “no option but the diplomatic option,” in response to a question about diplomatic efforts to end fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group.

  He also says the intensified fighting may have forced up to a million people to flee parts of Lebanon in possibly the worst displacement crisis in the country’s history.

  Mikati tells reporters that “the estimated number is very high and may reach one million” — which would amount to roughly a sixth of Lebanon’s population.

  “It is the largest displacement movement that may have happened… in Lebanon,” he says.

• The IDF releases images showing F-15i fighter jets of the Israeli Air Force’s 69th Squadron taking off from Hatzerim Airbase to carry out the assassination of Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Friday.

  Dozens of bunker-busting bombs were dropped by the fighter jets on Hezbollah’s underground headquarters in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut in the attack, according to the military.

  According to an analyst cited by the New York Times, the eight F-15I jets were equipped with at least 15 2,000-pound munitions with an American-made precision guidance system that attaches to bombs.

West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel

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Politics and the War (general news)

•  
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The Region and the World

• Israeli attack on Hodeidah port and power station in western Yemen

  About a day after another launch from Yemen, for the third time in about two weeks, Arab media outlets are reporting on Israeli Air Force strikes at several locations: "10 simultaneous strikes, the explosions shook the city". Meanwhile: In Lebanon, they report another attack in Dahieh in Beirut.

  In Yemen, explosions were reported at noon (Sunday) in Hodeidah, Yemen - almost a day after the Houthis launched a ground-to-ground missile at central Israel. The Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen network reported that more than 10 airstrikes were carried out on oil tanks at Ras Issa port and additional strikes on Hodeidah port - noting "the explosions shook the city". The Saudi channel "Al-Hadath" reported that Israel attacked a power station at the port in response to the Houthi launches.

  Concurrent with the attack in Yemen: In Lebanon, they reported another attack in Dahieh.

  As mentioned, last night a ground-to-ground missile was fired from Yemen, which was successfully intercepted outside the country's borders - and activated alarms in many areas throughout Israel. This missile was the second fired by the Houthis in the last three days. Since that missile launch about two weeks ago - until today there has been no Israeli response against the terrorist organization that controls part of Yemen.

  

  
  
  

  Israel had already then expressed concern about erosion in deterrence following the missile launch and non-response, unlike the time when the Air Force bombed Hodeidah port in Yemen in response to the deadly UAV that hit Tel Aviv in July - which resulted in the death of Yevgeny Freder and injured 10 other people.

• There are divisions within Iran’s government over how to respond to Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the New York Times reports.

  The detailed report says conservatives within the Iranian leadership are pushing for a strong response to the killing of the leader of Tehran’s strongest proxy, while moderates, led by new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, are arguing for restraint.

  Hardliners want Tehran to respond to the killing with a strike that would deter Israel from potentially hitting Iran, while Pezeshkian reportedly argued that doing so would mean they would be falling into a trap laid by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to widen the war.

  Citing four unnamed Iranian officials who knew Nasrallah, the newspaper reports that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “had been deeply shaken by his friend’s death and was in mourning, but had assumed a calm and pragmatic posture.”

  The report notes that Khamenei appeared to signal that a response may come directly from the Hezbollah terror organization rather than Tehran.   
  
  

• In Syria, 37 terror operatives affiliated to the jihadist Islamic State group and an al-Qaeda-linked group were killed in two strikes, the United States military says.

  Two of the dead were senior leaders in terror groups, it says.

  US Central Command says it struck northwestern Syria on Tuesday, targeting a senior member from the al-Qaeda-linked Hurras al-Deen group and eight others. They say he was responsible for overseeing military operations.

  They also announce a strike from Sept. 16, in which they conducted a “large-scale airstrike” on an ISIS training camp in a remote undisclosed location in central Syria. That attack killed 28 militants, including “at least four Syrian leaders.”

  “The airstrike will disrupt ISIS’ capability to conduct operations against US interests, as well as our allies and partners,” the statement reads.

  There are some 900 US forces in Syria, along with an undisclosed number of contractors, mostly trying to prevent any comeback by ISIS, which swept through Iraq and Syria in 2014, taking control of large swaths of territory.

  US forces advise and assist their key allies in northeastern Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, located not far from strategic areas where Iran-backed terror groups are present, including a key border crossing with Iraq.

Personal Stories

"I didn't look death in the eyes, I gave it a high five on the way"

**Noam Ben Shalosh**, a soldier in the 13th Support Company of Golani, was stationed at a post near Kibbutz Alumim on October 7th. He was severely wounded in a battle with terrorists at the entrance to the kibbutz and lost his leg. After four and a half months of rehabilitation, he moved to live alone in an apartment in Kiryat Ono, and is planning for the future. 

"The first time I returned to Alumim was five months ago. One of the friends in our group is a sergeant in Givati, and we went to visit him at the base in the south after he came out of Gaza. I took the opportunity to see the base and show my friends around. I was afraid to go alone. The first person I wanted to be there with was Dori (Dori John Kamari), my friend who fought with me there and lifted me during my evacuation. But when the opportunity arose to return with a supportive environment of friends, I went for it. It was difficult for me, I saw my blood there on the concrete shelter, which had meanwhile turned from red to brown."

"When I arrived now for the second time, I saw people who had returned to the kibbutz. Cute children who came to say hello to me and their parents, who made me feel like family there. I haven't gone back there with my parents, I think it will be harder for them than for me, they took the injury very hard. I didn't look death in the eyes, I came and gave it a high five on the way."

"On the morning of October 7th, I was at the Magen Alumim base, a base inside a huge banana plantation. I volunteered for that Shabbat, I wasn't even supposed to be there. I was on guard duty all night, and I remember that before I went up on Friday evening, I watched an episode of 'Fauda'. I sat in the room and asked myself, 'How did they surprise us like this?' and got angry. Ten hours later I found myself in the exact same situation."

"I woke up the entire company that was at the base in the morning. We were initially in the concrete shelters because we thought it was rocket fire, but we heard on the radio that the deputy commander had been shot in the head and we were sure he was already gone. We realized it was something more serious and the rest of the team geared up. Some were in the middle of a run or still in their underwear. We put on our equipment and went out to Kibbutz Alumim, where we were surprised at the entrance with a serious burst of fire at the vehicle. I leapt under fire, and just as I reached the concrete barrier, a terrorist approached me at point-blank range. Everything happened in milliseconds."

"I saw him aiming at the platoon commander, I shot and killed him at that moment. Suddenly, one rises up who saw that I had killed his friend, I shot at him. But when he fell, his weapon took a hit and let out a burst. I took three bullets - one in the leg, one in the neck, and one below the chest. I fell to the floor and notified the forces that I was wounded. I lay there and had nothing to do, it was clear to me that I was dying. I heard a terrorist approaching me, firing a shot to confirm the kill. They were extremely drugged, so he didn't shoot accurately, but the shrapnel hit me."

**What goes through your mind at that moment?**

"I was quite lucid and remembered that I had my phone on me. It took me some time to get it out of my pocket because the bullet that entered my neck went to my shoulder and tore all the nerves that control my arm. I called my older brother, who is an officer and two years above me, because I knew he could handle the situation without panicking me. I was dying on the phone to him and said that I had been shot and that I love him and to take care of everyone. He asked if I wanted to talk to mom and dad, and then I couldn't really talk anymore. There were still terrorists around me and I wanted to play dead. We were five soldiers against 40 terrorists, and then another mass of them arrived."

"The bleeding was serious and I started to choke. Friends from the team lifted me off the floor. On the way, we saw civilians from the party we had saved when we covered them on their way to a shelter, and today we're all in very good contact. My evacuation took many hours. They brought me back to the post, and instead of getting an airlift evacuation, Sayeret Matkal evacuated me in a Savanna and I arrived at Soroka Hospital in critical condition. For two days they tried to save my leg, I underwent four amputations."

Noam's strong character was revealed to the whole country during his rehabilitation period at Sheba Hospital. "They told me that the rehabilitation would take seven months, and I insisted that I would succeed in four. I entered there as a 21-year-old kid, a Golanchik, body-building, working since age 13 and doing everything on my own - and then you need someone to shower you and change your diaper. I set myself a rehabilitation record, and every morning I told myself that God doesn't give trials to those who can't handle them."

"I'm constantly looking for ways to make an impact through my story and what I've been through. I'm not some guru, I'm a 21-year-old kid who went through a difficult thing in life and shares what I've learned. There are sleepless nights, there are mood swings and crises, but I always try to be active and surrounded by people, and to remind myself that everything that happened to me is a lesson, even if it doesn't seem like it to me. Before the injury, I thought I'd be discharged and fly to Mexico, today I want to get married. Bring me the right girl, and I'll marry her this year."

Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages

Hit And Run

Snir Daan

The Brother of Kineret that was brutally murdered in Be’eri, and whose niece Carmel Gat is still held hostage in Gaza.

We always knew we have a strong army that will keep us safe and that we in turn will enlist and protect the country we’ve built.

On October 7th the sky fell. The army was overwhelmed, terrorists  roaming free in the western Negev, slaughtering, raping, and looting our families.

“Why is this happening? Where is the army?”
Abandonment.

In addition, it turns out there are captives in Gaza. “How can this be?

Why could this happen?”

Abandonment.

And worst of all, the days pass by and we still ask, “How is it possible

that they are still there?”

Isn’t it the state’s obligation to bring them back, and promptly?

Abandonment.

There are many ways to bring them back, but those who choose to abandon them, choose to do nothing.

The inability to reach a decision is the root of this abandonment. The refusal to suffer the consequences for the event.

There is a tendency to judge a traffic offender in hit and run accidents harshly. Especially one involved in accidents resulting in bodily harm or loss of life, while abandoning victims and leaving them with no aid. Such

a driver is seen as breaking the law and destroying the basic elements necessary for the existence of a decent and moral human society.

This is abandonment. There is no difference between the reluctance to bring our captives back and running away from the scene of an accident

without offering help.

My niece Carmel is still held hostage in Gaza. Despite all efforts to bring about a deal which would make it possible for her to come back, the prime minister chooses to ignore offers and even hinder and thwart

all attempts, so he will not be forced to make a decision. So he can run away from the scene.

This is lawless abandonment.

Carmel was taken from her home. So were Alon, Yarden and Gefen, and Kineret as well.

Kineret was dragged along the sidewalks of Be’eri and then brutally murdered. Alon and Gefen escaped and managed to return to Be’eri at night. On their own. Without the army’s help.

Yarden returned in a hostage deal 54 days later.

The same deal should have continued until all captives were released. For that to happen, demanding decisions needed to be made, but the prime minister preferred to run away from the scene.

How do we keep going in such a reality of abandonment and betrayal,

disregarding every moral value we were raised on?

How can we move forward when our country is being led by a man who chooses, every day, to abandon its citizens?

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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