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
*6:45pm yesterday - A drone was shot down by the Israeli Air Force over southern Israel a short while ago, the IDF says.
The military does not specify where the drone was launched from, or where in the south it was intercepted. There are no injuries in the incident.
*7:00pm yesterday - A barrage of some 85 mortars and rockets was fired from Lebanon at the Metula area in the past hour, according to the IDF. Some of the rockets were intercepted, and several impacts were also identified. There are no immediate reports of injuries in the attack.
*8:00pm yesterday - north - rockets/missiles *9:45 pm yesterday -north - rockets/missiles *3:15am - north - rockets/missiles *4:15am - north - rockets/missiles *5:45am - north - rockets/missiles *7:00am - north - rockets/missiles *7:25am - north - rockets/missiles **:10am - north - rockets/missiles *8:35am - north - rockets/missiles *8:50am - north - rockets/missiles *9:00am - north - rockets/missiles *9:10am- north - rockets/missiles
*9:40am -north - rockets/missiles *10:15am - north - rockets/missiles *10:50am- north - Haifa and areas around Haifa - rockets/missiles *11:15am - north - rockets/missiles *11:50am - north - rockets/missiles *1:00pm - north - rockets/missiles *1:40pm - north - rockets/missiles *2:10pm -south - Kissufim, Ein Hashlosha- rockets fired from Gaza is now a rare occurence. Both rockets were intercepted *2:25pm - north - rockets/missiles *3:25pm - north - rockets/missiles *4:00pm - north - rockets/missiles
IDF announces death of Cpt. Ben Zion Falach during fighting
in south Lebanon yesterday
The IDF announces the death of an officer killed during
fighting in southern Lebanon yesterday.
The slain soldier is named as Cpt. Ben Zion Falach, 21, of
the Paratroopers Brigade’s 202nd Battalion, from Nitzanei Oz.
His death brings the IDF’s toll in the ground offensive
against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon to nine. Falach was killed in a separate incident on Wednesday, and
not in the battles in which eight other soldiers were killed.
Two soldiers killed, 20 wounded in Iraq drone attack on Golan
Heights base
Two Israeli soldiers were killed and more than 20 were
wounded in a drone attack from Iraq early Thursday morning, the IDF announced.
The slain soldiers are named as:
Sgt. Daniel Aviv Haim Sofer, 19, a signals officer cadet in
the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion, from Ashkelon.
Cpl. Tal Dror, 19, an IT specialist with the Golani Brigade’s
13th Battalion, from Jerusalem.
According to an IDF probe, two explosive-laden drones were
launched from Iraq in the attack, one of which was shot down by air defenses
and the second impacted an army base in the northern Golan Heights.
In addition to the two slain soldiers, another 23 were
wounded in the attack, including two seriously and 21 lightly.
Soldiers killed in a drone attack on the Golan Heights on
October 3, 2024: Sgt. Daniel Aviv Haim Sofer (left) and Cpl. Tal Dror. (Israel
Defense Forces)
Hostage Updates
Israel should take Gaza ceasefire deal, says hostage
negotiator who freed Gilad Shalit
Gershon Baskin tells The National that Israelis must realise
their own security failures allowed October 7 to happen
Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, pictured with his father Noam, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak, is freed in October 2011 after five years in Hamas captivity. Israeli PMO / AFP
The people of Israel need to “own up to the reality” that the October 7 attacks happened because of their own security failures, the country’s leading peace negotiator has told The National.
Gershon Baskin, who played a key role in the release of Israeli army hostage Gilad Shalit in 2011, has also put forward a peace plan for Gaza that he claims has been agreed by Hamas.
But the political activist, who is possibly the best connected Israeli to Hamas, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu torpedoed the proposal for unexplained reasons.
As the first anniversary of war approaches, Mr Baskin is uncompromising on how Israel needs to accept responsibility for its failings and the subsequent bloodshed in Gaza and beyond.
Israel's strikes and ground offensive in Gaza have killed almost 41,700 people, injured tens of thousands and left most of the population displaced. This followed a Hamas-led attack on southern Israeli communities on October 7, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 240 abducted.
People had to understand that Israel was “not facing the Russian army” in Hamas, and if on the day their military had deployed “just 15 tanks on the ground and three helicopters in the air” the attack would not have happened, said Mr Baskin.
“It's not like we have to reoccupy Gaza to protect ourselves from another October 7,” he said. “Let's be real, if the army is on the border, it can't happen again.”
But Israelis also had to understand that the attack was the culmination of decades of Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “It blew up in our face,” said Mr Baskin. “You cannot ignore it. You cannot sweep it under the rug.”
He said it was remarkable that the two-state solution was now back on the table, after everyone “thought it was dead”. When the war finally ends, said Mr Baskin, there will remain “seven million Palestinian Arabs and seven million Israeli Jews between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea”.
For peace to be sustainable “we have to figure out how we're going to live together and that we have no interest in killing more Palestinians, that they're our neighbours”.
Three-week peace plan
Mr Baskin, who is in regular contact with lead Hamas
negotiator Ghazi Hamad, says that Hamas has accepted a “three-week peace plan”
in which they have agreed to transfer governance to a “professional,
technocratic government responsible for all – including security”.
At the request of the families of the 101 hostages still held
by Hamas, he explored a possible agreement to improve on the “bad deal” put
forward by Israel and the US in May.
Mr Baskin asked Mr Hamad if Hamas would end the war in three
weeks, with an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, Palestinian prisoners released and
hostages returned.
“After three days' consultation, Ghazi Hamad came back to me
and said, ‘yes, we accept’. I asked, ‘the whole leadership?’ He said, ‘yes, the
whole leadership,'” intimating that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was in agreement.
US officials wanted to know if Hamas would give up power, and
Mr Hamad responded, through the negotiator, that they would transfer governance
to a Palestinian body.
Asked about internal security and the weapons, Hamas stated
that they were willing to turn these over to the new government. “They were
willing to give up quite a lot,” said Mr Baskin.
He asked the Americans to get clarification from Qatari and
Egyptian negotiators, as Hamas said “it won't go public with it, because it
weakens our position”.
Mr Baskin says an Israeli negotiator later told him Prime
Minster Benjamin Netanyahu “did want to end the war”. It appeared that the
Israeli leader had determined that defeating Hezbollah and invading southern
Lebanon took precedence, he suggested.
“Here's a deal, which even Netanyahu can present as a win,”
said Mr Baskin, speaking at his home in Jerusalem. “It ends the war. There's a
new government of Gaza and the hostages come home. How is that a lose for
Netanyahu?”
Backchannels with Hamas
This conviction to achieve peace, and his credibility to articulate it, are born from Mr Baskin’s personal dealings in the conflict.
His connections with Hamas began when two decades ago, he met a Palestinian professor from Gaza who was fascinated by him – having never met an Israeli before.
This led Mr Baskin to meeting Ghazi Hamad and it was this connection that was used when his wife’s cousin was kidnapped by extremists and he was asked to intervene. Sadly, it was too late to save the man who was murdered just before he could be rescued.
But Mr Baskin had established a connection, and when Gilad Shalit was captured in 2006 and taken into captivity in Gaza, he was called by the Hamas negotiator.
Torturous talks began, with Mr Baskin eventually obtaining a proof-of-life letter written by the Israeli soldier, 50 days after his abduction.
The Israeli government then secretly entered into deal-making that took five years before Mr Shalit was released in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in 2011.
To the horror of some of Mr Baskin's relatives, they included four men who had killed his wife’s cousin.
On the day of their release Mr Baskin called the man’s widow. “She screamed at me for almost an hour,” he said. “But what she said on the phone, I broke down in tears … ‘Gershon, my husband isn't coming home, but the people who killed him are.'”
His response was that at least one Israeli life had been saved as a result, but she has never spoken to him since.
Grateful for Mr Baskin’s role in his release, Mr Shalit invited him to his wedding, where no politician was present.
While the pair have occasional communication, Mr Baskin knows that “me being in contact with him is just a reminder of his past, so I minimise it”.
Among those freed was Mr Sinwar, who despite being a senior Hamas figure, was not thought by the Israeli security to be so dangerous to them because he was serving four life sentences for killing Palestinian collaborators, not Israelis.
For 18 years Mr Baskin has engaged in speaking to Hamas, which is proscribed by Israel as a terrorist group. Despite this, the authorities have let him be.
“In Israel it is illegal to talk to the enemy, but I’ve been doing it for 18 years and no one has arrested me,” he said with a smile. link
Gaza
Food supplies to Gaza have fallen sharply in recent weeks because Israeli authorities have introduced a new customs rule on some humanitarian aid and are separately scaling down deliveries organized by businesses, people involved in getting goods to the war-torn territory told Reuters.
The new customs rule applies to truck convoys chartered by the United Nations to take aid from Jordan to Gaza via Israel, seven people familiar with the matter said. Under the rule, individuals from relief organizations sending aid must complete a form providing passport details, and accept liability for any false information on a shipment, the sources said.
Trucks carrying aid queue on the Egyptian side of the Rafah
border crossing with the Gaza Strip on September 9, 2024. (AFP)
They said relief agencies were disputing that requirement, which was announced mid-August, because they fear signing the form could expose staff to legal problems if aid fell into the hands of Hamas or other enemies of Israel.
As a result, shipments have not been getting through the Jordan route — a key channel in Gaza supplies — for two weeks. The dispute has not affected shipments via Cyprus and Egypt, the sources said.
In a parallel move, Israeli authorities have restricted commercial food shipments to Gaza amid concerns that Hamas was benefiting from that trade, the people familiar with the matter and industry sources said.
United Nations and Israeli government data show that in September, deliveries of food and aid sank to their lowest in seven months.
Israel’s civilian coordination agency for the Palestinian territories COGAT, which oversees aid and commercial shipments to Gaza, confirmed that no UN chartered convoy has moved from Jordan to Gaza since September 19, but a spokesperson said Israel was not blocking goods.
The spokesperson referred questions about the form dispute to Israel’s Economy Ministry. A ministry spokesperson did not answer Reuters’ questions. A spokesperson for the UN’s emergency response arm, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), declined to comment. COGAT did not address specific questions about commercial shipments.
The twin restrictions, which had not been previously reported, have reignited concerns among aid workers that pervasive food insecurity will worsen for the 2.3 million Gazans in the war-battered Palestinian enclave, where Israel has been fighting the Hamas terror group for the past year.
“Lack of food is some of the worst it’s been during the war, these past weeks especially,” Nour al-Amassi, a doctor who works in southern Gaza, told Reuters by phone.
“We thought we’d been able to get a hold on it but it’s got worse. My clinic treats 50 children a day for various issues, injuries and illness. On average 15 of those are malnourished.”
The number of trucks carrying food and other goods to Gaza fell to around 130 per day on average in September, according to COGAT statistics. That is below about 150 recorded since the beginning of the war, and far off the 600 trucks a day that the US Agency for International Development says are required to address the threat of famine in wartime.
Food insecurity has been one of the most fraught issues of the war that began after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 terror onslaught on Israel, in which some 1,200 people were slaughtered and 251 were seized as hostages.
Israel has denied accusations that it has carried out a “targeted starvation campaign” in the Gaza Strip, and the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) in June found that its earlier assessment, which had warned that there would be famine by July, had been wildly inaccurate. full article Humanitarian aid trucks on the Egyptian side of the border
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
In a joint operation with the Israeli Air Force, the military says a building in southern Lebanon in the area where the Golani soldiers were operating, was struck.
The strike killed the commander of Hezbollah’s regional unit in the area, and other top field officers. The IDF does not specify which area of southern Lebanon the incident took place, due to operational security concerns.
Other airstrikes were carried out against Hezbollah operatives spotted by Golani soldiers in the same area, the IDF says.
The Golani troops also located several weapons and equipment during the operations, the military adds.
In the past day, the IDF says fighter jets carried out strikes on 15 Hezbollah sites in the Lebanese capital of Beirut.
The targets included weapon manufacturing sites, weapon depots, and other infrastructure, the military says.
The IDF says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strikes, including using “precision munitions” and aerial surveillance.
“The Hezbollah terrorist organization has deliberately embedded its weapons production facilities and weaponry beneath residential buildings in the heart of the city of Beirut, endangering the population in the area,” the military adds.
*IDF eliminates one of the leaders of the precision missile production project in the Hezbollah terrorist organization*
The IDF spokesperson announced that Air Force fighter jets carried out a targeted attack, with precise guidance from the Intelligence Division, in the Beirut area at the beginning of the week, eliminating the terrorist Mohammed Yousef Anisi, who served as a senior official in the weapons production administration of the Hezbollah terrorist organization.
"Anisi was one of the leaders of the precision missile production project of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon. He was a unique knowledge center and possessed technological capabilities in the field of weapons production," the IDF stated. "Anisi joined the Hezbollah terrorist organization more than 15 years ago and was an expert in mechanical engineering. He dedicated his training to the organization's build-up of strategic weaponry." link
More than 250 Hezbollah operatives have been killed during IDF operations in southern Lebanon since troops began a ground offensive there late Monday, according to the military.
The Israeli ground operations in southern Lebanon have been described by the IDF as “limited, localized, and targeted raids,” with the goal of demolishing Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the border area, especially in the villages adjacent to Israel, to enable residents of the north to return home.
Military officials have said that the IDF intends for the operations to end as quickly as possible, even within a few weeks.
Among the 250 Hezbollah fighters killed since Monday are at least 21 field commanders, according to the IDF, including five brigade-level commanders, 10 company commanders, and six platoon commanders.
The IDF’s 98th and 36th divisions are currently operating in several Lebanese villages close to the Israeli border, where the military says troops have located a large amount of weapons and infrastructure that Hezbollah left behind.
More than half a million Lebanese civilians have fled southern Lebanon, following IDF evacuation warnings, according to military assessments.
Troops have mostly come under anti-tank missile fire and mortar attacks amid the operations, though there have also been several close-quarters engagements.
In one incident yesterday, IDF paratroopers killed some 15 Hezbollah operatives who were spotted in buildings and tunnel shafts in a village in southern Lebanon. Only one soldier was wounded in the engagement.
The ground operations come simultaneously as Israel continues to carry out strikes on the terror group’s top commanders in the capital Beirut, capabilities across the country, and weapon shipments from Iran.
In southern Lebanon, amid the ground operations, more than 2,000 Hezbollah sites have been struck from the air, the IDF adds.
The military says fighter jets overnight struck a 3.5-kilometer-long tunnel that crossed between Lebanon and Syria, and which the IDF says was used by Hezbollah to smuggle Iranian weapons.
According to the IDF, the tunnel was operated by Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, which is tasked with delivering weapons from Iran and its proxies to Lebanon.
The strike destroyed the tunnel where weapons were transported through and stored, as well as buildings, weapon depots and other infrastructure in the vicinity, the military says.
A separate overnight strike targeted “infrastructure” at the Masnaa Border Crossing between Lebanon and Syria after the IDF said it identified attempts to deliver Iranian weapons to Hezbollah. The IDF has said it has stepped up efforts to prevent any weapons being delivered from Iran to Hezbollah via Syria. On Tuesday, the commander of Hezbollah’s Unit 4400 was killed in a strike on Beirut.
A UN refugee agency official says most of Lebanon’s nearly 900 shelters are full and that people fleeing Israeli strikes are increasingly sleeping out in the open.
“Most of the nearly 900 government-established collective shelters in Lebanon have no more capacity,” UNHCR’s Rula Amin tells a Geneva press briefing. “With the onset of winter, UNHCR is concerned that conditions for those affected by the escalating conflict will only worsen,” she adds.
The commander of Hezbollah’s communications division was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut yesterday, the military announces.
According to the IDF, Muhammad Rashid Sakafi headed Hezbollah’s communications since 2000 and was considered close to the terror group’s leadership.
“Sakafi invested significant efforts to develop communication capabilities between all of Hezbollah’s units in all periods of operation, to maintain the flow of information throughout the terrorist organization,” the military adds.
The overnight heavy airstrike in Beirut targeted Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters, according to the IDF.
Flames rise from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, October 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The military is not disclosing at this stage who was at the underground bunker in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh, during the strike.
According to reports by The New York Times and Axios, the target was Hashem Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah’s executive council. Safieddine is presumed to be the successor of Hassan Nasrallah following his assassination last week.
The Israeli attack in Beirut’s southern suburbs targeted a meeting that Hashem Safieddine was attending with other senior Hezbollah leaders in an underground bunker, the New York Times reports, citing three unnamed Israeli officials.
It remains unclear if Safieddine was harmed in the Israeli strike, which has reported to have been one of the heaviest in the past year. Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah’s executive council, is presumed to be the successor of Hassan Nasrallah following his assassination last week.
The IDF is calling on Lebanese civilians in 37 villages and towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate immediately, and head north of the Awali River.
In recent days, the military has called on dozens of locales in southern Lebanon, including those north of the Litani River, to evacuate.
“Hezbollah’s activity forces the IDF to act against it. The IDF does not wish to harm you,” Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, says in a statement on X.
“For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately. Anyone who is near Hezbollah operatives, their facilities or their weapons, puts themselves at risk,” he says.
The IDF says it will update the civilians when it is safe to return.
The evacuations come amid Israeli ground operations in southern Lebanon, which the military has described as “limited, localized and targeted raids,” with the goal of demolishing Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the border area.
Officials have said that the military intends for the operations to end as quickly as possible.
An Israeli strike near Lebanon’s Masnaa border crossing with Syria this morning created a four-meter (12 feet) wide crater, Lebanon Transport Minister Ali Hamieh tells Reuters.
The Hezbollah-affiliated minister says the strike — on the Lebanese side of the border — cut off a road used by Lebanese fleeing to Syria.
Yesterday, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) military spokesman accused Lebanese terror group Hezbollah of using the crossing to transport military equipment into Lebanon.
“The IDF will not allow the smuggling of these weapons and will not hesitate to act if forced to do so, as it has done throughout this war,” IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X.
Ground Operation and Air Strikes: Israel's Pressure Axis in Lebanon
The IDF has struck more than 250 Hezbollah operatives in maneuvers and attacked over 2,000 targets • Forces are operating on the ground - with massive cover of aerial fire rings and tank fire • The military clarifies: The border villages after the war will not return to being "terror villages"
The IDF's ground operation in southern Lebanon continues, while the Air Force simultaneously strikes in Beirut and deep inside Lebanon. The IDF has intensified friction in the ground maneuver, with forces hitting more than 250 Hezbollah operatives so far, including 21 commanders. Today (Friday), forces found dozens of weapons and military equipment items left behind by Hezbollah operatives.
The ground operation in southern Lebanon is conducted along the contact line, against Hezbollah terror targets. The ground move is carried out in parallel with striking Hezbollah and its fire capabilities through attacks deep within the country - both in Beirut and on the border with Syria. In preparation for the ground maneuver, the IDF attacked villages in southern Lebanon, hitting Hezbollah's capabilities. Also, the army called on residents to evacuate beyond the Litani, and it's estimated that more than half a million Lebanese have left their homes. In IDF air strikes, more than 2,000 targets were attacked.
IDF soldiers clearing the area found terror infrastructures in villages along the contact line. Among other things, bunkers and tunnels were located, along with weapons depots, launchers, weapons, explosive devices, and ammunition. The IDF found more military equipment than estimated, and units in the field are handling these items.
The forces in Lebanon are required to operate in complex and mountainous terrain, but they are managing the fighting well. During the ground activity, there were several exchanges of fire with terrorists, and 15 terrorists who emerged from tunnels were eliminated. Additionally, the forces are operating with air cover and a envelope of tank and artillery fire.
The IDF clarifies that the villages in southern Lebanon at the end of the fighting will not return to being "terror villages". Since the beginning of the ground maneuver, 9 casualties have fallen, yesterday the name of the last of them, Captain Ben-Zion Pelach z"l, was allowed to be published.
At the beginning of the week, the IDF spokesperson officially announced the start of a focused and limited ground operation against Hezbollah terror targets in the area near the border in southern Lebanon. The announcement stated that in accordance with the decision of the political echelon, the IDF began an operation in several villages near the border - from which an immediate threat to Israeli border communities is posed. link
West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel
Last night’s airstrike in the West Bank city of Tulkarem
killed a Hamas commander who was planning a major terror attack on the first
anniversary of the October 7 onslaught, military sources say.
The IDF and Shin Bet said earlier that Zahi Yaser Abd
al-Razeq Oufi was planning an imminent terror attack.
Military sources described Oufi as a “ticking time bomb,” who
was planning a major attack on October 7.
At least 18 Palestinians were reported killed in the strike.
The IDF also says it is on heightened alert for other
attempts by Hamas to carry out attacks ahead of and on the anniversary of the
massacre, both from the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
The head of a Hamas terror network in Tulkarem, along with several other operatives, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the West Bank this evening, the IDF and Shin Bet say.
According to the military, the airstrike carried out by a fighter jet in Tulkarem targeted Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi, a top Hamas commander in Tulkarem who was planning a terror attack “in the immediate time frame.”
Oufi planned and led an attempted car bombing attack near the settlement of Ateret last month, the IDF says.
He was also involved in providing weapons to other terror operatives who carried out numerous attacks in the West Bank and in Israel recently, including those that led to the injury of Israeli civilians, according to the military.
The IDF and Shin Bet add that he “worked to establish terrorist networks on behalf of Hamas and assisted terror operatives in the area to carry out significant shooting and explosive attacks.”
“[He] intended to carry out an attack in the immediate time frame,” and therefore the strike was carried out, the IDF says.
Several more terror operatives in the same Hamas network were killed in the strike, according to the IDF. The Palestinian Authority health ministry says that at least 18 people were killed.
The IDF has carried out dozens of airstrikes in the West Bank in the past year, but mostly with drones and helicopters, rarely with fighter jets.
Politics and the War (general news)
Blame Game Between Ministry of Transportation and IDF, While
Soldiers Have No Way to Reach Bases
Soldiers called to report to bases during the holiday and
Sabbath are forced to report to assembly points independently, without the
shuttle service operated by the state • Ministry of Transportation clarified
they are "available to provide service," but public transportation is
not operating • Ministry of Defense jabbed: "The Ministry of
Transportation is expected to step up and assist within its
responsibility" • Meanwhile, a senior government official referred to
Minister Regev, who is spending this time in Hungary: "A walking disaster,
she lost her shame long ago"
**Blame game between government ministries over the
non-operation of public transportation for soldiers during the holiday:** The
Ministry of Defense pointed an accusing finger today (Friday) at the Ministry
of Transportation, which is not ordering the operation of public
transportation. The Ministry of Transportation clarified that it is prepared to
operate buses, but claimed: "Any complaint or claim regarding the
transportation of reserve soldiers should be directed to the Ministry of
Defense/IDF only."
The IDF operates its own shuttles from assembly points spread
throughout the country, but to reach them one must do so independently. The
Ministry of Transportation should take care of the gap between home and the
assembly points - but it's not doing so. The Ministry of Transportation held 14
discussions on emergency and routine transportation, but didn't implement
anything from them. This absurd situation causes hundreds of reservists and
regular soldiers to struggle to reach bases during wartime because there's no
public transportation during the four days of the holiday. Social networks are
flooded with requests from soldiers for help with rides to get to the north
until public transportation resumes on Saturday night, and many civilians are
stepping up to help – instead of the government solving the crisis.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev is facing harsh criticism
on social networks, and the Ministries of Transportation and Defense are busy
exchanging blame. Due to the public transportation crisis to bases, the
"Brothers in Arms" movement set up a transport system and platform
matching reserve soldiers needing rides with drivers willing to transport them.
The shuttles will operate in cooperation with the "Moving on Weekend"
service - starting today at 20:00 - and throughout the Sabbath. The service
will be available in Tel Aviv, Be'er Sheva, Haifa, and other cities across the
country.
At the beginning of the war, soldiers encountered the same
distress, and a year later, it doesn't seem that those who should have learned
the lessons. Besides the transportation distress in the country, there are many
reservists abroad trying to return to Israel without success, and here too
there's no serious solution yet.
In recent days, Facebook has been filled with posts from
reservists looking for rides and citizens volunteering to drive them. Soldiers
are asking for rides northward and reservists wanting to return home for the
holiday. Criticism is growing online against Minister Regev for not arranging
in advance the operation of a transport system for reservists, and a picture of
her next to a jewelry store in Hungary published on social media caused great
anger and claims that while she's sending soldiers to fight in the north, she
finds time to enjoy herself. A senior government official commented:
"Minister Regev is a walking disaster - vacationing abroad while
reservists are stuck without transportation to war. She lost her shame long ago
- she's a liability to the government."
Former Defense Minister and Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor
Liberman sharply criticized and called on the government to solve the situation
immediately. "It's unacceptable that many reserve soldiers called during
the holiday to report to their units and combat zones are forced to look for
rides in the absence of public transportation due to the holiday," he
tweeted. "I call on the government to fix this terrible failure and
operate public transportation today for all holiday days - it's a matter of
life and death and national security."
Instead of ensuring the operation of transport systems, the
Ministries of Transportation and Defense are passing responsibility between
them. The Ministry of Defense emphasized that the responsibility for
transporting soldiers by public transportation or bringing them back to the
country lies with the Ministry of Transportation: "It's expected that the
Ministry of Transportation will conduct ongoing situational assessments
regarding the public need for operating public transportation on Sabbath or
rescue flights. The IDF and Ministry of Defense are busy with war efforts and
defeating the enemy."
The Ministry of Transportation claimed that in conversations
with the Ministry of Defense, they were told there's no need yet for operating
a special travel system for reserve soldiers. "The Ministry of
Transportation is prepared at any time to provide an immediate response with thousands
of buses for the needs of the defense system," they wrote in response to
the Ministry of Defense's statement.
Professional sources in the Ministry of Transportation held
talks with security officials to examine the needs for operating an emergency
transport system in addition to the one operated by the Ministry of Defense,
and under the circumstances, it was found that at this time there's no need for
an additional system to be operated by the Ministry of Transportation.
"We note that even in the last hour, another inquiry was
made from the Ministry of Transportation to the Ministry of Defense, and it was
replied that there's no need for additional reinforcement," the Ministry
of Transportation clarified. "The IDF doesn't rely on public transportation
and has never relied on it in the past. There are dedicated buses that take
[soldiers] to assembly points." linkThis is just another in a tremendously long list of failures of this failed government and the antipathy of its senior ministers. This is a government that is totally responsible for October 7, yet refuses to take any responsibility. In any other country, the government, let by the Prime Minister would have resigned on October 8 but this government has no shame, moral compass or soul.
The Region and the World
The New York Timesreportsthat a growing number of Iranians are expressing anxiety about a potential war with Israel, even as its government officials indicate a determination not to back down.
The Times interviews more than a dozen Iranians in different cities and across the political spectrum who assert that they’re opposed to a war with Israel or the US, fearing it would further harm their already struggling economy.
“Nobody I know has prepared for a possible war,” Mahdieh, 41, an engineer in Tehran, tells NYT. “We are jarred. Let us have our normal life. We are not willing or want to enter a war era.”
The phrase, “NO WAR” has widely been shared on Iranian social media along with, “Which bunkers will you use to shield the people? How will you repair damaged infrastructure? There is no good in war, do not lay ruin to Iran.”
“We had to slap it [Israel] in the face, otherwise it would keep moving forward,” Hamidreza Jalaeipour, a prominent sociologist close to the reformist faction, says in a discussion on the application Clubhouse. But “if there is a war, it will be imposed on us.”
Jalaeipour still predicts that Iranians would rally around the flag if a war does end up breaking out.
“Most of us are not happy about the interference of the Islamic Republic in the region and its so-called proxies. People do not want their national resources to be spent abroad,” says Mahan, a 50-year-old doctor in the northern city of Rasht to the Times. “The most pressing feeling these days, both for myself and the majority of friends and people I know, is the fear and worry of war.”
Iran will target Israeli energy and gas installations if Israel attacks it, the semi-official Iranian news agency SNN quotes Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps deputy commander Ali Fadavi as saying.
“If the occupiers make such a mistake, we will target all their energy sources, installations, and all refineries and gas fields,” Fadavi said.
The threat comes soon after Iran’s leader Ali Khamenei defended Hamas’s invasion, slaughter and mass abductions in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. He also said Israel “cannot seriously harm” Hezbollah and Hamas, as the Jewish state continues to degrade both group’s combat capabilities, and that Israel “will not last long.”
Fadavi also warns that Israel would “expose its existence to extinction if it made a mistake.”
Personal Stories
Amir Naim, 27: Engineering student was eagerly
awaiting son’s birth
Killed battling the Hamas attack on Kibbutz Erez on
October 7
Amir Manzhor Naim, 27, from Kibbutz Erez, was killed battling the Hamas attack on the kibbutz on October 7.
A member of the kibbutz’s local security team, Amir set out early that morning to join the rest of the team and repel the dozens of terrorists who were heading their way.
“We were hiding in our safe room and as soon as Amir understood that something unusual was happening, he jumped up, got ready in two minutes, and went out to handle things. We didn’t even have a chance to say a proper goodbye,” his wife, Shahar, told The Times of Israel in February.
The team gathered at the highest point in the kibbutz, from which they could see two pickup trucks full of terrorists heading their way, another member of the squad, Ben Sadan, told Ynet. They opened fire on them and a ferocious gunfight ensued, with “grenades, RPGs, insane gunfire,” he said. In the battle, Amir was wounded and died “in my arms.”
Nobody else in the kibbutz was killed, and the security team successfully repelled the Hamas invasion.
Amir was buried on October 18, 2023, in Rishon Lezion, and is slated to be reburied on October 8, 2024, in Kibbutz Erez. He was retroactively recognized as a fallen soldier with the rank of major in the reserves.
He is survived by his wife, Shahar, his parents, Orna and Asher and his older siblings, Moran and Dekel. His firstborn son, Refael, was born in April 2024, six months after he was killed.
Shahar’s cousin, Tal Keren, was murdered the same day while fishing at Zikim Beach.
Born and raised in Kibbutz Erez, Amir stood out for being tall and broad, and played basketball for many years as a kid, often referred to by his nickname of “rhino.” During his mandatory army service, he served in the Yahalom unit of the Combat Engineering Corps, working in its bomb disposal unit. He later became an officer, and after his release was an active reservist in the Golani Brigade.
Amir was in his final year of studying chemical engineering at the Shamoon College of Engineering in Beersheba and was also working a student job at Intel.
His family chose to memorialize him in a number of ways connected to his interests, including a local basketball tournament, a hackathon aimed at finding usage for salt created as a byproduct from water desalination, and a line of beers with a rhinoceros logo. He also loved smoking meat in his backyard, hosting friends for large barbecues and taking jeep trips in the desert, his loved ones said.
Amir’s cousin, Gal Naim, told People magazine, “He was just a very kind person that you could always count on. He always had your back. He reminded me why we came to this country because you’re always with your family…. we remember him for all the happy moments and all the family pictures.”
His sister, Moran, wrote on Facebook that her brother “always understood me, always made me laugh no matter what — even when we were in the middle of a stormy fight, in which you were of course always right.”
“My brother, with the huge smile, the rolling laughter and the kind eyes,” she continued. “The most determined — always first! I’m so proud of you. You are my hero, you are a hero to all of us… There are no words to describe how much I love you. Forever.”
Amir and Shahar were together for a decade, ever since high school when they met on a school heritage trip to Poland. They settled in Erez, Amir’s hometown, and were excited to start building their family together.
Shahar said she felt her husband’s absence at every doctor’s appointment, test, and scan on the journey toward their son’s birth.
“Amir left me and the whole family a huge gift and that makes me take good care of myself and the baby, who is a pinpoint of light I am waiting to meet,” she said in February, a few months before he was born.
Shahar told Channel 12 news that “it pains me that [Rafael] won’t experience having a father. He will experience a father — just one who isn’t physically here.” link
Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages
A Chronology of Abandonment
Danny Elgarat
Brother of hostage Itzik Elgarat. Historian, Jurist, Teacher
and Educator.
Medal of Valor Recipient.
“Danny, it’s the end, it’s the end…”. These are the words my brother used to
describe his abandonment by the State of Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, as he was being kidnapped - wounded and bleeding– from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Prof. Benzion Netanyahu, the father of
Benjamin “Mr. Abandonment” Netanyahu, was the personal secretary of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, founder of the Revisionist Zionist movement in the
1920’s, and one of those closest to him. He was
known as one of the leading historians in his field. Benzion Netanyahu had
three children: Yonatan (Yoni), Benjamin (Bibi), and Ido. All were raised by
their family according to strict Revisionist ideology.
The seeds of the calamity that so
drastically engulfed the family–and later the
entire country - was sown towards the end of the 1950’s, when Dr. Benzion Netanyahu applied for a position at the Hebrew
University in Jerusalem. His application was rejected. Dr. Netanyahu was deeply
hurt and accused a left-leaning establishment of blackballing him on political
grounds. Over the years, Benjamin Netanyahu has capitalized on his “victimhood” at the hands of the left in order to incite
and unite the extremely large community of other “victims.” Netanyahu has turned victimhood into the mainstay of his rise to
power, and later, of his rule. He has used his term of office to lead a
divide-and-conquer policy of inciting “victims” against “lefties” and sowing
division. Despite becoming a multi-millionaire who lives in Caesarea, he has
managed to lure to his side the “victim” from Yeruham. On the Palestinian front, all his actions were aimed at torpedoing any advancement
towards a peaceful settlement, in effect condemning Israel to an ongoing
conflict.
These are the acts of neglect and
abandonment that led to the catastrophic failure of Oct. 7th:
- The decision to strengthen Hamas over the
Palestinian Authority.
- The deal releasing captured IDF soldier Gilad
Shalit in exchange for 1,027 terrorists, among them Yahya Sinwar.
- A tacit “Dollars for Quiet” agreement with
Sinwar and refraining from eliminating him.
- Ignoring the arming and military
development of Hamas.
- Creating and promoting the misconception
among the Israeli public that Hamas was deterred, thus preventing any
discussion. Dissenting voices were stifled, to the point that the defense
minister was fired.
- Spreading the misconception of deterrence
through the media.
- Ignoring the growing threat from an
ever-stronger Hezbollah on the northern border.
- Surrendering to Itamar “No ceasefire or no government” Ben-Gvir.
- Allowing Iran to become a nuclear
threshold state, which could attack Israel undeterred and with no retaliation.
- Neglecting the hostage negotiations, as
more and more of them die in Hamas captivity.
- Ignoring the hostages who have returned,
and forcing the families of the remaining hostages to take up the
campaign for the return of their loved ones.
- Insisting on maintaining power, even as he
is charged in multiple criminal cases.
- Establishing an inciting,
propaganda-spreading TV channel.
The abandonment since October 7th is of the
worst kind, since it was and is being conducted in full awareness and with full
intent. “Danny, it’s the end,” my brother Itzik predicted as he was taken hostage. He was right.
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
Join my Whatsapp update group https://chat.whatsapp.com/IQ3OtwE6ydxBeBAxWNziB0 Twitter - @LonnyB58
We are continuously learning of more and more of the information that the powers that be had prior to October 7 and did little to nothing. So much is still not known. Most will come out in the Official Committee of Inquiry after the war, but some of that information will not be made public due to security concerns. Following is the information that is public knowledge as of today and is documented. It is presented relatively chronologically but some aspects ran in parallel throughout same and different periods of time. 1. Six years ago, Hamas launched its own television station: Al-Aqsa TV. The station quickly became a highly-effective propaganda tool, which Hamas continues to use to preach its message of hatred of the West, Jews, and Israel. “A fictional series on Palestinian TV last year seemingly predicted key elements of Hamas’ Oct. 7 sneak assault on Israel — from the terrorists’ white vans to targeted kibbutzim and the abduction of Israeli soldiers.” 1 ...
Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, pictured with his father Noam, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak, is freed in October 2011 after five years in Hamas captivity. Israeli PMO / AFP
Flames rise from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, October 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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