🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 361, 2023

🎗️Day 361 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

Once again, we (the whole country) is in a holding pattern waiting for a possible direct attack from Iran. The intelligence came from the US administration. We have been warned by the Homefront Command to be near bomb shelters/safe rooms. If there will be an attack, it is expected to be largely ballistic missiles which only take about 12 minutes from launch to impact in Israel. Explosive UAVs (drones) can take up to 9 hours which enabled coalition partners to shoot down many of them long before reaching new Israel territory. The trajectory of ballistic missiles is very different (up and arched) and therefore the air defenses are different and there is less time to shoot them down. In addition, their explosive payloads are expected to be heavy with the ability to cause great damage.

We just received a warning from the IDF Spokesman that the anticipated attack will be very wide and heavy.

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

7:55pm yesterday - north - rockets/missiles
11:45pm yesterday - north - rockets/missiles
12:45am - north - rockets/missiles
1:25am - north - rockets/missiles
1:35am - north - rockets/missiles
1:45am - north - rockets/missiles
4:30am- north - rockets/missiles
6:10am -north - rockets/missiles
7:35am -north - rockets/missiles
8:00am - north - rockets/missiles
9:50sam - north - rockets/missiles
10:25- north - rockets/missiles
11:00 - Tel Aviv, Gush Dan and all central areas- 2nd time in a month - rockets/missiles - Hezbollah takes responsibility for the rocket fire on central Israel, saying it launched “Fadi-4” missiles at the Glilot Base near Herzliya, home to the IDF’s Unit 8200 and Mossad headquarters. Two people were moderately injured in the attack and are receiving medical treatment.
The impact site of a rocket fired from Lebanon at northern Israel, October 1, 2024. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Shrapnel in Ramat Hasharon from shotting down the missiles

12:00pm - north - rockets/missiles
12:05 pm- north - rockets/missiles
12:10pm - north - rockets/missiles
12:30pm- north - rockets/missiles - Sirens are sounding almost nonstop in the northern town of Metula near the border with Lebanon. Three rounds of alerts have sounded in the community in the last hour alone.
Sirens are also sounding in the nearby town of Misgav Am. There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
1:00pm -north - rockets/missiles
1:05pm -north - rockets/missiles
2:20pm -north - rockets/missiles -Some 30 rockets were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel in the past few hours, the IDF says. At least 15 rockets were fired at the Upper Galilee, which impacted open areas and sparked fires, and another 15 were launched at the Western Galilee, also impacting open areas. There are no reports of injuries or major damage. The IDF says it also carried out airstrikes on several buildings where Hezbollah stored weapons and rocket launchers in Lebanon.
3:10pm -north - rockets/missiles
3:50pm - north - rockets/missiles
3:55pm - north - rockets/missiles
4:05pm -north - rockets/missiles
4:10pm - north - rockets/missiles
5:40pm -north - rockets/missiles
*6:35pm - center- rockets/missiles - Loud explosions are heard in several areas in and around Tel Aviv, without any sirens warning of a rocket attack. The IDF says that one rocket crossed from Lebanon and fell in an “open area in the center of the country,” without elaborating. Hebrew media reports suggest that the rocket fell in the sea near Bat Yam, without endangering any population centers and therefore not triggering sirens.

Hostage Updates
The major focused effort of this week will be to force the Israeli negotiation team to demand answers from the mediators that they need to receive from Hamas about Hamas's official agreement to the three-weeks deal that includes:
- The end of the war
- Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
- Agreed release of Palestinian prisoners
- The return of all 101 hostages
- The transfer of power in Gaza to a technocratic professional body - not of Hamas - including all aspects of government - governance and security.
Bring the official confirmation of Hamas' agreement to President Biden.
Make the three-week deal come true!!!
(Gershon Baskin, September 30, 2024)

Relatives of some of the Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza say they fear Israel’s intention to launch a ground operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon will further delay a deal that could lead to their loved ones’ release.
“It takes away from the hostages,” Sharon Lifschitz says, during a news conference in London.
She continues: “If there is a ground incursion, then they are telling us nothing will happen for two weeks or three weeks or five weeks.”
Lifschitz’s parents were kidnapped when Hamas-led terrorists raided southern Israel on October 7. Her mother, Yocheved, was freed in November but her father, Oded, is still being held captive.
Relatives of hostages with connections to the UK held a private meeting today with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy in hopes of increasing pressure for the hostages’ release.
Stephen Brisley’s sister Lianne Sharab and two nieces were killed by Hamas on October 7, and his brother-in-law Eli Sharabi is a hostage.
Stephen Brisley, whose sister Lianne Sharabi and nephews Noiya and Yahel Sharabi were murdered by Hamas on October 7, 2023, in Israel, and the brother-in-law of hostage Eli Sharabi, speaks at a press conference in London, September 30, 2024, ahead of the first anniversary of the kidnapping. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
He says the Israeli government insists the hostages are its top priority, but “that’s not the impression I get at the moment.” link The families are absolutely right. We have seen that the hostages has become a 'non-issue' in the press and more dangerously, in the government. There hasn't been any discussion or negotiations for weeks, even before the Hizbollah beepers and killing of Nasrallah. This serves Netanyahu's political interest as well. He wants the hostages issue out of the press and out of the government discussions.
"Hamas is willing to agree to a framework that would end everything within three weeks."

Dr. Gershon Baskin, who was involved in negotiations for the release of Gilad Shalit, claimed: "It's possible to end the war, return the hostages, and transfer control of Gaza to another body that is not Hamas."

Dr. Gershon Baskin, who mediated during the Shalit deal, along with Major General (Res.) Amiram Levin, initiated the 'Three-Week Plan' — a proposal for a hostage deal and an agreement to end the war in Gaza. In a conversation with Anat Davidov and Udi Segal on 103FM, he spoke about the initiative.

According to him, "Is there someone to talk to? Apparently, yes. If a framework is desired, Hamas is willing to reach a plan that would end everything within three weeks, including the return of the hostages. They are ready to hand over control to a professional civilian and technocratic body, and they will no longer govern the Strip."

Regarding the skepticism surrounding the relevance of this initiative, he said: "I constantly say: don't believe me. My conversations with Hamas are not relevant, but there is even a slim chance that Hamas is willing to return the hostages within three weeks, end the war, and transfer control."

And on the Israeli side? Baskin said: "On our side, the negotiation team tells me the Prime Minister does not want to end the war. Israel needs to approach the Qataris, Americans, and Egyptians and demand they secure a commitment from Hamas: withdrawal from Gaza, an end to the war, and a mutually agreed release of Palestinian prisoners."

He claimed that the key to this framework is already agreed upon, with only minor disagreements remaining: "There is the issue of Israel's veto, which Israel demands, but these are minor issues. It is possible to end the war, return the hostages, and transfer Hamas's control of Gaza to another body that is not Hamas."

"We are not facing the Russian army."

Regarding Israel's fear of a future attack from Hamas, Baskin said: "I suggest we not get into these myths. We are not facing the Russian army. If there had been 15 tanks and three helicopters in the air on October 7, this wouldn’t have happened. The fact that we weren't on the border was the issue. We need to be at the border, and the IDF's deployment must be with forces, not just cameras. We’ve learned this lesson." link

Relatives of the hostage Bibas family speak in a press conference about what it feels like to mark a year since the entire family — Yarden, Shiri and their two children, Ariel, now 5 and Kfir, 20 months — were taken captive by Hamas terrorists to Gaza on October 7 from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
The Bibas family, father Yarden, mother Shiri, baby Kfir and four-year-old Ariel, were taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nir Oz. (Courtesy)
The ongoing uncertainty is painful, says Ofri Bibas Levy, sister of Yarden who describes not knowing where her family is, whether they’re dead or alive, if they’re being tortured, and if they have food or water.
“Those thoughts are with me every minute — when I have a cup of coffee, or take a shower or see my five-year-old doing something new,” she says. She describes her anxiety when she hears a car outside her house, sure an army official is coming to notify her of the deaths of her relatives. “I carry this anxiety all the time.”
Bibas Levy says she hopes that a ceasefire in the north would force an agreement on both the north and south, and release the hostages from Gaza.
“If there is a ceasefire with Hezbollah without the hostages, it’s like a death sentence for my family,” she says.

Shiri Bibas and her sons Ariel, 4, and baby Kfir, are abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023. (Screenshot)
Bibas Levy last saw her brother and his family on Rosh Hashanah last year.
The Bibas family members all speak about losing hope some days, after months of appealing to every diplomat and world leader as well as the Israeli government.
“I meet all these important people. I’m not that important, I’m just a person living in Israel, and something horrible happened to my family — that’s why they are meeting with me. It’s surreal,” says Tomer Keshet, Yarden’s cousin, referring to meetings with Hillary Clinton, US senators, ambassadors and more. “It’s a horrible feeling to meet all of these people who have major influence and can’t bring our family back.”
“I feel a sort of personal failure that they’re not here yet,” says Yifat Zailer, a cousin of Shiri.

Yifat Zailer, cousin to Shiri Bibas, held hostage by terrorists in Gaza since October 7, visits the kindergarten at Kibbutz Nir Oz, to mark one year since her cousins were taken hostage, October 1, 2024. (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)
Zailer talks about the year of mourning for her aunt and uncle, Shiri’s parents, Margit and Yossi Silverman, burned to death in their Nir Oz home on October 7. Margit Silverman, 63, had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. “She couldn’t have run away,” said Zailer, who is sure her uncle, Yossi, would not have left Margit’s side.
“Their house burned to the ground for hours. It took two weeks to find their remains,” says Zailer. Her uncle passed on his red hair to his grandchildren.
“I need to stop and remember, and I haven’t allowed myself to do that until now,” she says. “I haven’t mourned them yet.”

Gaza

Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria

IDF: 3,000 terrorists were waiting to attack north after Oct. 7; special forces carried out 70 raids on Hezbollah since then

Hezbollah weapons and equipment recovered by the IDF from Lebanon in recent months, on display at the IDF Northern Command in Safed, October 1, 2024 (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)
As the Israel Defense Forces officially launched ground operations in southern Lebanon early this morning, the military is now disclosing that it has already carried out more than 70 small raids with special forces since the beginning of the war, destroying numerous Hezbollah positions, tunnels, and thousands of weapons that would have potentially been used by the terror group to invade Israel.
According to the IDF, troops in the raids over past months silently reached around 1,000 Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, some of them several kilometers from the border fence, including tunnels and bunkers where the terror group stored weapons. The IDF said the sites were located both inside Lebanese villages and in forested areas.
The raids have been carried out since early in the Israel-Hamas war, after the IDF said it managed to push back Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force from the border area, enabling Israeli commandos to enter Lebanon with almost no detection. There were no direct clashes with Hezbollah operatives amid any of the raids.
According to IDF assessments, some 2,400 Radwan terrorists and another 500 Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists — trained by Radwan — were waiting in southern Lebanon villages to attack Israel in the days after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.
The IDF Northern Command had expected an invasion from Lebanon and bolstered its defenses. In the following weeks, it carried out numerous strikes on Hezbollah operatives and sites along the border, causing the thousands of Radwan terrorists to withdraw several kilometers back.
The raids carried out by the IDF commandos, including combat engineers, sometimes lasted three to four days, according to the military. In all, 200 nights’ worth of operations had been carried out.
The military showed reporters dozens of weapons, including assault rifles, machine guns, RPGs, anti-tank missiles, explosive devices, mines, mortars, and equipment such as walkie-talkies (which did not explode) that had been recovered by the commandos from within Hezbollah tunnels and bunkers.
Military officials said that the recovered weapons were less than 1 percent of what had been found in the Hezbollah sites. Practically, it was difficult for the soldiers to lug back dozens of heavy weapons back to the country through the difficult terrain, but some soldiers still took on the challenge.
The IDF identified that while its commando operations were successful, it was not enough to be able to achieve the newest of Israel’s war goals — enabling the return of the displaced residents of the north to their homes.
Therefore, the IDF launched what it described as “limited, localized, and targeted raids” in southern Lebanon, carried out by an entire division, with the goal of demolishing Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the border area.
The operation has much of the same goals as the commando raids, but now the army can be less silent with its activities, and destroy tunnel networks and other sites that normally can’t be carried out by small forces that are operating quietly. Previously, the IDF would strike the raided Hezbollah sites from the air after troops had withdrawn.
Military officials have said they aim for the offensive to be as short as possible, even just a few weeks. There has been no intention by the IDF to remain in southern Lebanon, but instead, it plans to bolster its defenses and surveillance on the border following the ground operation against the terror group, and make sure Hezbollah does not return to the area

Israeli armored vehicles seen in a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, October 1, 2024. (AP/Baz Ratner)

The IDF sees a chance that its strikes on Hezbollah, killing its entire top leadership, could lead to a power balance change in Lebanon, with the government regaining control of areas in the country, especially the south, from the hands of the Iran-backed group.
Still, the IDF has assessed that Hezbollah still possesses rocket and missile fire capabilities, highlighted by this morning’s barrage on central Israel in which two people were wounded. Military officials said the army does not aim to “drain the ocean” and destroy every last rocket, but will work to disarm the terror group as much as possible.
The IDF's invasion of Lebanon can start the moment that the security cabinet approves, sources have told the Jerusalem Post.
The cabinet, which started to meet on the issue at 7:30 p.m, will have multiple choices for what kind of invasion to choose from, though the expected initial focus is still southern Lebanon.
In addition, US President Joe Biden and a wave of US officials have been warning of an imminent Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon to start later Monday. The clock toward an IDF ground invasion of southern Lebanon started to move ahead much faster than expected even a day or so ago as signs of Hezbollah's weakness grew in recent days.
Senior IDF sources have been extremely surprised at how ineffective Hezbollah has been at responding to the military's onslaught against it over the last two weeks and in particular since Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated this past Friday. They also said as recently as Sunday night that a significant majority of Hezbollah's capability to retaliate on the Israeli home front has been harmed and makes it far more reduced than might have been expected.
Although when Israel started to pummel Hezbollah around two weeks ago, it believed it could achieve some element of surprise and degrade the Lebanese terror group somewhat in terms of retaliation, the Home Front Command slapping restrictions on the entire North, including Haifa, was a foreshadowing of concern that the IDF expected Haifa could get hit very hard. Instead, not a single person in Haifa has been killed by Hezbollah and the city has barely been touched. Likewise, much of the southern portions of the North that were expected to be hit hard for the first time by Hezbollah's longer range rockets, have felt minimal impact compared to the dark forecast.
In fact, not a single Israeli has been killed by Hezbollah since Nasrallah was killed three days ago.
Cities like Safed, Acre, Nahariya, Kiryat Shmona and villages farther North which have been under short range rocket fire for extended periods remain so, but that level of threat is nowhere near the strategic level threat which the IDF expected Hezbollah to pose - potentially killing thousands of Israelis and ravaging Tel Aviv and critical infrastructure. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's statements to the Tank Corps and other statements to northern town leaders on Monday that he expected to be using ground forces soon against Hezbollah, was not just a throw away statement, but a true statement of intent, the Jerusalem Post understands.
The fact that key IDF officials on Monday were confirming that a significant majority of Hezbollah's capabilities have been harmed, whereas on Friday many top IDF officials were warning that such statements were hubris, seems to indicate how the vacuum of Hezbollah's response extending over several days has shifted the defense establishment's view about how deeply Hezbollah is reeling.
There was also no real statement by Hezbollah about the war from Friday until Monday, and even on Monday it is unclear who will replace Nasrallah or when such an announcement will be made. In other words, it is unclear who is running Hezbollah now and who, and whether, a central leader will be running it if an IDF invasion starts relatively soon. full article
Dan Harel, former Deputy Chief of Staff - entering Lebanon is easy but if there is no exit strategy, leaving Lebanon becomes a swamp. Setting strategy is the job of the government and not the army. Since this prime minister and his governments never set strategy and everything is tactical (except for his personal political interests), it is highly doubtful that an exit strategy will be set and that is exactly how we get bogged down in never ending wars.
The IDF’s 98th Division, an elite formation of paratrooper and commando units, led the overnight ground operation in Lebanon, the military says.
The division’s Paratroopers and Commando brigades were joined by the 7th Armored Brigade, after preparing for the operation in recent weeks.
The 98th Division previously operated in the Gaza Strip for months amid the war against Hamas.
The Israeli military urges residents of more than 20 towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate immediately, in a statement from IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee on X.
“The IDF does not want to harm you, and for your own safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately. Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, installations and combat equipment is putting their life in danger,” the IDF adds.
The statement comes after Israel this morning announced the commencement of limited ground operations against the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.
The IDF destroyed a warehouse of surface-to-air missile launchers that Hezbollah had placed just 1.5 kilometers from Lebanon's Beirut International Airport, the military said on Monday.
In their statement, the IDF said that the placement of these missiles was a threat to the international airspace for passenger planes and could hit any aircraft flying into the Lebanese airspace.
In an English-language statement as Israel begins a limited ground operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari says the terror group was planning to use villages near the border for “staging grounds for an October 7-style invasion into Israeli homes.”
“Hezbollah turned Lebanese villages next to Israeli villages into military bases already for an attack on Israel,” he says.
Hagari says the terror group had planned “to invade Israel, attack Israeli communities and massacre innocent men, women and children. They called this plan, ‘Conquer the Galilee.'”
“We will not let the 7th of October happen again on any one of our borders,” he vows, almost a year after some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, mostly civilians, amid acts of brutality and sexual assault, sparking the ongoing war in Gaza.
Hagari points to UN Resolution 1701 from 2006, which declares that Hezbollah is barred from maintaining a military presence south of the Litani River, which lies about 30 kilometers (around 20 miles) from Lebanon’s southern border.
“Eighteen years after 1701, Hezbollah is the world’s largest non-state army, and southern Lebanon is swarming with Hezbollah terrorists and weapons,” Hagari says.
“If the state of Lebanon, and the world, can’t push Hezbollah away from our border, we have no choice but to do it ourselves,” he says, while reiterating that Israel’s war is with the Iran-backed terror group and not the Lebanese people, and that the IDF is taking measure to prevent civilian harm.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said yesterday that Beirut is ready to fully implement Resolution 1701 and deploy the Lebanese army south of the river.
Air strikes in the Dahiyeh neighborhood of Beirut overnight targeted several Hezbollah sites, including weapons production facilities and other military infrastructure, the IDF says in a statement.
“The terrorist organization Hezbollah intentionally builds its weapons production and military sites under the heart of Beirut and embeds them in population centers in the city,” the military says, adding that the IDF is continuing to operate “to ensure the restoration of security to the State of Israel and its citizens.”
The IDF releases footage of the overnight strikes. video
An Israeli strike in Lebanon early on Tuesday targeted Mounir Maqdah, commander of the Lebanese branch of the Palestinian Fatah movement’s military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, according to two Palestinian security officials.
Maqdah’s fate was unknown.
The strike hit a building in the crowded Ain El-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern city of Sidon, the sources said.
It marked the first strike on the camp, the largest of several Palestinian camps in Lebanon, since cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel broke out nearly a year ago.
Syrian state television says one of its anchors was killed in an Israeli strike on Damascus after midnight on Tuesday, with state-run media reporting three rounds of strikes in the capital area in one night.
State television says in a statement that it “mourns anchor Safaa Ahmad who was martyred in the Israeli aggression on the capital Damascus.”
The official SANA news agency earlier said that “air defense systems are intercepting hostile targets for the third time tonight in the Damascus area,” using a phrase that usually refers to Israeli strikes.
Syrian military sources claim to Reuters that Israel has struck at least three anti-aircraft radar stations in southern Syria, including one stationed in a military airfield.
The drone strikes reportedly hit two radar stations west of the city of Sweida, including one stationed in an airbase in the area.
Another purportedly hit a radar station in the adjoining Daraa province. They are part of the Syrian army’s air defenses in the southern region, one of the sources adds.
There was no immediate comment from the IDF, which rarely comments on strikes carried out in Syria.
The UN peacekeeping force says the IDF has notified it of its intention to undertake limited ground incursions into Lebanon.
UNIFIL says in a statement that despite the developments in Lebanon, peacekeepers are remaining in position. It urges all actors to step back from escalatory acts.
“Any crossing into Lebanon is in violation of Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a violation of (UN Security Council) resolution 1701,” UNIFIL says.
Israel’s operation is believed to be aimed at pushing Hezbollah north in line with UNSC 1701, which requires that the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers be the only armed force south of the Litani River. link The UNIFIL statement is the epitome of hypocrisy. UN Resolution was totally compromised under the eyes and presence of UNIFIL by Hizbollah for the last 18 years. 1701 states very clearly that the only armed personnel and forces allowed south of the Litani River are the Official Lebanese Army and UNIFIL. Hizbollah is the defacto army in the south as well as the governing body. In the first years of 1701, UNIFIL forces were filled with soldiers from Western Countries and took their mission seriously. The later years, the forces go into bunkers whenever there is shelling and other security actions and they do almost nothing to maintain and police 1701.

West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel

A special forces soldier was seriously wounded during clashes in the West Bank overnight, the Israel Defense Forces says, and three other troops in the Duvdevan commando unit were moderately hurt during the firefight in the Balata refugee camp adjacent to Nablus in the northern West Bank.
Troops had been attempting to carry out an arrest at a building in the camp as part of an operation that began Sunday night, when they were fired on from inside. One gunman was killed and another wounded, according to the IDF.
Elsewhere, the army says troops killed a Palestinian accused by Israel of planning and executing attacks on troops in the area. A statement from the army says Abed Shaheen had recently attempted to put together a cell to attack soldiers near Nablus.
Six people were arrested during the overnight raids, the army says.
Bombs and weapons found in Nablus

Politics and the War (general news)

The Region and the World
Yemen’s Houthi rebels say they shot down another American-made MQ-9 Reaper drone over the country, with videos purportedly showing a surface-to-air missile striking it.
Responding to queries from The Associated Press, the US military acknowledges an MQ-9 was “downed but we have nothing additional to provide.”
The attack comes as the one-year anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip approaches. The Houthis have targeted ships traveling through the Red Sea over the war as US-led airstrikes pound their positions in Yemen. That has imperiled a waterway that typically sees $1 trillion of trade pass through it, as well as crucial shipments of aid to war-torn Sudan and Yemen.
The Houthis also continue to launch missiles targeting Israel, drawing retaliatory airstrikes from Israel this weekend on the port city of Hodeida.
The Houthi-run broadcaster Al-Masirah claims shooting down the MQ-9, hours after video footage circulated online showing the purported missile striking the aircraft over Yemen’s Saada province. A single image online also appears to show the wreckage of the drone, with pieces resembling that of an MQ-9.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree claims the Yemeni rebels targeted Israeli military posts in Tel Aviv and Eilat with drones today, in a televised speech.
The claim of responsibility appears to be related to a drone intercepted by the Israeli Air Force early this morning over the Mediterranean Sea, dozens of kilometers west of Israel’s central coast.
Multiple Katyusha rockets were fired near Baghdad International Airport, two Iraqi military officials told Reuters early on Tuesday, but a US official disputes reports that its military forces were targeted in the incident.
“All military personnel are accounted for and military forces were not targeted as had been reported,” the US defense official tells Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Two Iraqi security sources say an initial investigation showed three rockets were fired, including one that landed near buildings used by Iraqi counter-terrorism forces, causing damages and fire to some vehicles but no casualties.
The sources had previously said at least two Katyusha rockets were also fired at a military base hosting US forces and that air defenses intercepted the rockets.
But the US official says Washington was aware of reports of an attack instead on the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Complex, which is a Department of State facility.
The US Department of State is assessing the damage caused by the attack, according to a spokesperson, who says there were no casualties.
Iraq, a rare regional partner of both the United States and Iran, hosts 2,500 US troops and also has Iran-backed armed factions linked to its security forces.
Iran-aligned armed groups in Iraq have repeatedly attacked US troops in the Middle East since the Gaza war began. link Everyone should realize that the same forces attacking the US forces are the same terrorist groups (Iranian Proxies) that are attacking Israel. Their enemies are the West but they use Israel and the US as the main symbols for all of their enemies.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched an explosive-loaded drone that crashed into one ship today in the Red Sea and a missile that exploded against another.
The first attack took place some 110 kilometers (70 miles) off the port city of Hodeida and targeted the Panama-flagged oil tanker Cordelia Moon, the multinational Joint Maritime Information Center says. A captain on a ship saw four “splashes” near the vessel, the center overseen by the US Navy says. That likely would have been missiles launched at the vessel that missed.
The drone boat later damaged the Cordelia Moon, which sustained a puncture to one of its ballast tanks in the attack. Those tanks control a ship’s buoyancy. Houthi strikes in the past have targeted ships at their waterline to disable the vessels.
Drone boats have been increasingly used by the Houthis. The ship had been heading north to the Suez Canal with armed private security guards aboard, the private security firm Ambrey says.
Another attack with a missile targeted a separate ship also heading north to the Suez Canal with armed security on board, Ambrey says.
Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree later claims the two attacks in a prerecorded message. He names the second vessel, though it does not match against another name circulated by private security officials. The discrepancy could not be immediately reconciled.
Personal Stories

From pajama party to Gaza captivity, and back to the burned house

Emily Hand (9) was kidnapped along with her friend Hila Rotem-Shoshani (13) and Hila's mother, Raya Rotem. Raya, Hila, and Emily were released in the first hostage deal, and these days they are moving to temporary housing for Be'eri residents in Kibbutz Hatzerim. This is the first time Raya has been interviewed since her release.

"When I saw the house now, I didn't feel like it was my home. I see a destroyed house and can't connect to it. Only when I see it in pictures intact, with us photographed in it, do the memories come back. You could say this about the whole kibbutz actually, which in the first months had many soldiers, visitors, and security forces – it felt a little less like our home."

"Hila, my daughter, grew up in the kibbutz, I'm a kibbutz member, and my parents came to Be'eri when they were in the Nahal. I was born here and always felt safe in the Gaza envelope. I always said how lucky I was not to be in Nahal Oz, because Nahal Oz is right on the fence compared to Be'eri. I always thought Be'eri's situation was better than Nir Oz and Nir Am. The first time I returned to Be'eri was for the memorial of the twins Liel and Yanai Hetzroni z"l, who were in Pessi's house. I knew my house was burned, but I didn't really want to go. My brother had been to the house before me and managed to get things out."

"On the day it happened, I remember we woke up around 6:30 to a Red Alert and I just put the girls in the safe room. Until they said in the kibbutz WhatsApp groups that there was a terrorist infiltration, I thought everything was normal, and they even reported it was in a place not far from me. I thought it was two or three terrorists, and suddenly everyone in the group is writing 'it's at my place too'. And still, I was sure our forces were on top of them. In all the years I've lived in Be'eri, I've never known such a thing, and I didn't understand the magnitude of the event."

All this while Emily, Hila's friend who came to sleep over, is also in the house.

"I was in constant contact with Thomas, with Emily's grandmother and her sister, but it wasn't a normal event where they could just jump over and take her. At some point, they broke down the door of the house, and we realized it was at our place. Pretty quickly they opened the safe room door because I wasn't holding it, I didn't even know there was such an option. In the first moments, there was someone with an orange vest and I had hope he was one of ours, but they immediately told me 'we're going to Gaza'. They started asking me where my car was, I explained to them that I don't have a car and we got into an argument. They didn't understand what it means that I don't have a car, that's how it is in a kibbutz. And I'm alone with two girls. I'm not shouting or crying, I'm in control and not allowing myself to fall apart, and denial keeps me going. I still don't understand how bad it can be."

What did the journey from the kibbutz to Gaza look like?

"The journey was very short, shorter than I imagined. We left the house and saw all of Be'eri burning, smoke coming out of houses, doors dismantled, bodies lying on the ground, people everywhere. The terrorists led us to someone else's house in the kibbutz, as he had a car, and from there we drove. They waited to find a car in the kibbutz that could transport people. During all this time I'm with the two girls. We left the house around 12:05, and then they took my phone and I lost track of time."

"The gate was wide open and I was shocked at how close Gaza was. I kept thinking someone would stop the car, soldiers, planes, something - but nothing. The skies were empty and we were on our way to Gaza unhindered. They switched us to another car inside Gaza, and brought us to a house where there were already other hostages. We were there for two days, then moved to another house, and from there to another house where we spent most of the time. It was roughly opposite Be'eri, not deep inside Gaza."

For most of the days in captivity, the girls drew and played cards, and had conversations with other hostages. "I couldn't allow myself to close my eyes for a second. The other hostages really helped me with the girls, and still I felt I needed to stay composed."

Until they informed you about the release, just before which they separated you from the children.

"I remember the morning when the guards came to check what the girls were wearing. At first they told us to go into the shower for release and then someone said not me, just the little girls. I told another hostage 'they're taking the girls from me'. The girls got shoes and wore the clothes they came with – and they took them. It was the hardest night. Until then I barely cried, but that night I cried until they told me 'khalas, khalas' (enough, enough)."

Now you're building your new home in Hatzerim.

"Everything needs to be brought anew. There's nothing, down to the forks and salt-pepper shakers. It's not easy, but finally there's a feeling of home." link

Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages

History Will Be His Judge

Aaron Barnea

Member of The Parents' Circle - Israeli-Palestinian Families' Forum for Peace and Reconciliation.

As time passes and the memory and colossal failure of October 7th do not fade, and as the condition of the hostages held by the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad deteriorates, the truth about the fundamental weaknesses in Netanyahu's leadership surfaces. This man always regarded himself as more than a politician - a visionary statesman with a broad historical view and a deep and far-reaching understanding of the history of Israel and of the Jewish people.

I believe it is the nearly mystical figure of David Ben Gurion, and his undisputed standing as the founding father of the state, which Netanyahu envisions. He views himself as endowed with qualities and abilities that will cast a shadow on Ben Gurion's standing in the historical perspective. According to Ben Gurion's undisputed view, Israel's historical mission is to secure the safety of the Jews. I have committed his words to memory: "The State of the Jews means, in the most basic sense, security for the Jewish person. If there is one thing that Jews lack throughout the world it is security. Even where the Jews are safe, they lack a sense of security. Why so? Because their security is not in their own hands. We strive for that—to ensure that our security is in our own hands, and it is that which we aim at since we first started to build a Jewish community in Palestine/Israel."

As mentioned earlier, this view was undisputed. Left and right were united in this shared understanding of the fundamental historic role of the State of Israel.

The events of October 7th, 2023, shattered this understanding. This was not a mere mishap—it was the result of a distorted perception of security held by Netanyahu’s ultra-right government, regarding the priorities dictating the deployment of Israel's defense forces. Dozens of settlements along the Gaza border were abandoned due to messianic hallucinations that were crafted into a policy with the approval and encouragement of the cabinet's chief, Benjamin Netanyahu.

This was not a perceptual error. It was a decision dictated by Netanyahu's political survival considerations and perhaps also by his father's nationalistic - Revisionist legacy. His conscience should have led him to resign in disgrace and to publicly acknowledge his ultimate responsibility for the horrific failure - the murder of hundreds of peaceful citizens, the destruction of settlements and, of course, the brutal kidnapping of men, women and children by the savage beasts of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Netanyahu's decision to remain in office rather than step down and take moral and ethical responsibility is crucial in view of his decisive and exclusive responsibility for neglecting the hostages in Gaza, maliciously abandoning them in the hands of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Indeed, even though their lives and health are in constant danger, their release is delayed due to irrelevant considerations that negate Israel’s long-term interests and appear to be informed by Netanyahu’s own, personal survival. History will judge him, and its verdict will be grim

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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