🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 366, 2023 - October 6, 2024 🎗️

  

🎗️Day 366 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

 The two sections at the end, personal stories and Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages are very important to read, as important or more than the news of the day.

A YEAR OF CAPTIVITY, A YEAR OF WAR 

• October 7th Investigation in the Pit at the Kirya: What Happened in the IDF General Staff on the Black Saturday - and the Secret Summary Document

  
  

  On the morning of October 7th, even before thousands of terrorists breached into Israel, severe failures were discovered in the IDF's Operations Division • The Head of Operations Branch Basiuk ordered a "limited preparedness" despite worrying signs and decided not to call up soldiers to the Gaza envelope • Shlomi Binder, head of the Operations Division and current head of Military Intelligence, arrived at the Kirya only at 8:45 while Hamas was massacring civilians • A senior officer to N12: "The lack of coordination led to mistakes that cost many, many victims" • Special investigation 

  
  

  A year has passed since the October 7th terror attack, and the signs of the breach in the border fence with Gaza are almost invisible, but the images don't leave our minds. The Nukhba terrorists created 120 different breaches on their way to slaughter children and elderly in their beds and revelers dancing at a party. Facing thousands of terrorists who crossed there were only about 600 fighters, most in pajamas, in rooms. From here the terrorists returned to Gaza with hundreds of hostages, leaving behind destruction and trauma that will accompany the State of Israel for many years.

  
  

  To understand the depth of the failure and the chain of events that led to this heavy disaster, we need to go back in time and examine the conduct of senior officials in the Operations Division - minute by minute. We will expose the mistaken assessments of senior officers, the critical decisions that were not made - and also try to answer the big question: Where was the IDF?

  
  

  Troubling signs: The visit that should have set off red flags

  
  

  Let's go back a month, to September 12, 2023. The IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, arrives for a tour of the Gaza Division. The division commanders present him with a troubling situation: Riots are increasing along the fence, videos show suspicious pickup trucks approaching the border, and Hamas's training graph shows a sharp increase in activity. The division commander, Brig. Gen. Avi Rosenfeld, expresses concern about the situation, but does not present Hamas's invasion plan: "Jericho Wall". The Chief of Staff listens, but his conclusions are surprising. "I don't think Hamas has stopped dealing with terrorism," he says, "but Hamas is deterred." However, **Halevi adds a warning: "A force that is here needs to be ready for a surprise event"**. Words that in hindsight sound like a tragic prophecy.

  
  

  Mistaken assessments: When intelligence misses the big picture

  
  

  10 days before the invasion, a critical meeting takes place between the top military brass and the Prime Minister. The topic at hand: The increasing demonstrations along the fence. The situation assessment presented at this meeting will prove to be tragically mistaken in hindsight. Intelligence assesses that this is a "miscalculation" on Hamas's part - that is, the assumption is that Hamas believes Israel is about to attack, and therefore it may take preemptive action. Despite the worrying signs, a surprising decision is made in the IDF's Operations Division: Not only are forces not added to reinforce the sector, but existing forces are even reduced. Along the border with Gaza, which stretches for 59 kilometers, there should have been three infantry battalions and an armored battalion - a force order of about 1,500 fighters. According to the Operations Division's instructions, up to a third of them can be released home on Saturday or holiday. The meaning - more than 1,000 remain in the envelope. But in the Gaza Division, they decided to send most of the fighters home - much more than half of the force there. **The division's investigation reveals a shocking statistic: On the morning of October 7th, there were only about 600 to 650 fighters on the border.**

  
  

  Maj. Gen. (res.) Guy Tzur, who previously served as commander of the Ground Forces, reacts with shock to this figure: "That's about a battalion. A battalion can't hold such a sector. In days that weren't very dangerous we held it with between two to three brigades." Former head of the Operations Division, Maj. Gen. (res.) Israel Ziv, adds: "It's possible that if there were two or three additional battalions there, they would either have thwarted this move by Hamas or at least drastically reduced the extent of the damage, the extent of the injury."

  
  

  The fateful night: Missing the last opportunity

  
  

  Military Intelligence failed deeply, we dealt with this in several investigations broadcast on Channel 12 News. But in the past year, quite a few questions have arisen about the decisions made at the General Staff even without intelligence warning. About the functioning of the Gaza Division, Southern Command and especially the Operations Division before the Hamas attack and from the moment it began. That is, what happened on the night of October 6th and starting from 6:29 AM on Simchat Torah. At 2:30 AM on October 7th, the phone of the head of the Operations Division, Brig. Gen. Shlomi Binder, rings at his home in the north. From this moment until the invasion begins, he conducts about 50 phone calls. **Despite this, Binder, the army's chief of staff, decides not to leave immediately for the Kirya.** He will only set out on the long journey from the north after the attack has begun, arriving there only at 8:45 and taking command of the command post, the Supreme Command Post, just after 9:00 AM - more than two and a half hours after Hamas stormed the southern communities.

  
  

  At 2:50, the senior officer above him, head of the Operations Division, Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk, receives a similar call. At 4:30, Basiuk conducts a situation assessment. Despite the worrying signs, the assessment remains the same: This is a "miscalculation" by Hamas. Even a dramatic indicative sign that arrives during the night, which cannot be elaborated on due to information security considerations, is mistakenly interpreted as a defensive preparation by Hamas and not as part of an attack plan. **The conversation also raises an extreme scenario with low probability - a localized infiltration of dozens of terrorists into Israel**. Basiuk talks with the deputy head of the Shin Bet who provides a similar assessment. Even after conversations with senior Military Intelligence officials, the head of the Research Division, Amit Saar and the head of the Operations Division - **Basiuk does not change the preparedness and he does not ask to speak with the head of Military Intelligence, Haliva, nor with the Air Force commander or Navy commander**.

  
  

  Moreover, **Maj. Gen. Basiuk also decides not to update the military secretary to the Prime Minister**, Maj. Gen. Avi Gil, and the military secretary of the Defense Minister, Brig. Gen. Guy Markizano - and the two do not receive an update in the critical hours. Maj. Gen. (res.) Gadi Shamni reacts with shock to this conduct: "This is, in my opinion, the big scandal. When I knew, as a division commander, that there was a chance that one terrorist would infiltrate or a squad, the whole division was on its feet. I didn't sleep for whole nights because of such events. Something here was fundamentally flawed in thinking. There was a terrible eclipse here."

  
  

  Faced with the scenarios that arise, Maj. Gen. Basiuk needs to decide what to do. Above the Strip there is an unmanned aerial vehicle of the Zik type whose role is to gather information and attack if necessary, and Basiuk decides to add only one more that will arrive only after the attack has begun. Another Zik he actually sends to Judea and Samaria.

  
  

  Exposure: The document of nightly consultations hours before the invasion

  
  

  In the investigation we reveal for the first time a document of critical importance documenting the nightly consultations that took place in the early hours of October 7th. This document, written as a summary of the conversations that took place at 4:30 AM, just two hours before the start of the attack, provides a rare and disturbing glimpse into the decision-making processes in the fateful moments that preceded the disaster. The central point that emerges from the document is Basiuk's emphasis on preserving intelligence sources, even at the expense of appropriate preparation for a possible threat. The document explicitly states: "The head of Operations emphasized that security scratches need to be avoided and careful preparation should be maintained as much as possible to preserve sensitive sources." Moreover, the head of Operations instructed on "limited preparedness", while giving "maximum attention to preserving sources".

  
  

  Basiuk essentially decides to keep the dramatic information received during the night only to a select few: not to pass it down to brigade commanders, the police and the rapid response teams. **The commander of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, asks to arm the Iron Dome. Basiuk thinks it's not relevant at this stage**. "The head of Operations emphasized that changes in air defense readiness will be examined in the coming hours subject to intelligence developments," the document states. This document confirms the "freeze" that was on that night, despite signs indicating unusual activity. The fear of exposing intelligence sources affected not only Maj. Gen. Basiuk, but also the Chief of Staff, Military Intelligence, the Command and the Division, and caused them to refrain from taking substantial actions.

  
  

  He decides to shorten the readiness of the two helicopters at Ramat David, but in agreement with the Southern Command commander the two decide that these will be transferred south only in the morning. **Basiuk and Finkelman agree on one more thing - there is no need to call up even one soldier to the envelope.**

  
  

  Meanwhile in the Gaza Division, regular dawn readiness, not even enhanced. Most soldiers with underwear or pajamas in bed. This decision will cost a heavy price.

  
  

  Maj. Gen. (res.) and former Deputy Chief of Staff Yair Golan: "Imagine if this event starts with all the tanks in positions, shell in the barrel. Think if at four in the morning the division's armored corps officer had arrived at the Nova festival - and told everyone to disperse. What's the problem? What's the cost? Many, many illogical decisions were made here."

  
  

  Morning hours: Chaos and lack of response

  
  

  At 6:29 AM, Hamas's missile attack begins. Three minutes later, the first explosion occurs in the fence. Nine minutes after the start of the attack, the division commander, Brig. Gen. Rosenfeld, and the Southern Command's operations officer simultaneously declare: "Philistine Knight" - the code for an enemy raid into Israeli territory.

  
  

  However, **only at 6:50, 21 minutes after the start of the attack, does the head of the Operations Division, Brig. Gen. Binder, who is still at his home in the north, declare a state of emergency in the IDF**. At this stage, orders are given to leap forces from Judea and Samaria, forces are called up from bases that were not on alert, and regular soldiers are returned from home. But the precious time lost will not be recovered.

  
  

  An hour and a half after the start of the attack, at 7:58, Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk declares: "War". From this moment, 100,000 reservists are mobilized. An hour and a half later, after another situation assessment in the command pit, this time with the participation of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant, it is decided to mobilize an additional 200,000 reservists.

  
  

  Slow response and confusion on the ground: When the system collapses

  
  

  Facing thousands of terrorists who breached into the Gaza envelope, the Operations Division tried to stream large forces of the army southward. However, due to the chaos and confusion, it was not clear exactly where to send these forces. **Officers who were present in the command pit describe chaotic conduct, when for long hours they failed to produce a clear picture of what was happening on the ground**. The division commander is trapped in the command post, most of his fighters are fighting for their lives in outposts, the southern brigade commander Assaf Hamami has fallen, and the communities are being conquered by Hamas. The Gaza Division collapsed.
  

  
  

  Maj. Gen. (res.) Israel Ziv, former head of the Operations Division, describes the difficult situation: "Very quickly, in fact, from the battalion level, brigade, division, command, everything essentially collapsed from the bottom, and it was difficult for each rank to take command of the situation as a result of this collapse. That's why it took many hours to actually understand the extent of the problem."

  
  

  The Southern Command struggled to cope with the situation, especially with directing the General Staff's ready forces, which were supposed to prevent the massacre in the communities, bases, and the Nova party. Instead, these forces were sent to the wrong places.

  
  

  Maj. Gen. (res.) Guy Tzur explained: "There were places where there was too much force, sent to a point where the threat was much smaller. And other points where the threat was so great that those who were there couldn't even report, and therefore forces didn't arrive there either, and everything was random, and this story is already a mess that is very difficult to control." The General Staff's readiness, consisting of fighters ready for immediate departure with equipment, ammunition, and attached vehicles, included on October 7th five teams of special units for immediate jump: Sayeret Matkal, Shayetet 13, Shaldag, Yahalom, and the School for Operational Driving.

  
  

  After them in operational readiness were 7 operational battalions: Bahad 1, Shizafon Brigades, Bisla"h, Nahal Gadsar, Rotem Battalion, and Battalion 890 of the Paratroopers. In addition, another 1,000 soldiers who were still in training were defined as ready at the company level from each force: from the training schools of Kfir, Nahal, Givati, Artillery, Commando Brigade, Golani Reconnaissance, and the Multi-Dimensional Unit.

  
  

  Slow response: When every minute is critical

  
  

  The Rotem Battalion of Givati, which was a General Staff ready force, received the order to jump only an hour after the attack began. Niv Shabbat, a fighter in the battalion, describes the first moments: "Tznubar Base in the Golan Heights, seven-thirty in the morning, the company commander enters the room, he tells us, 'Guys, everyone wake up, we're being called up to the south, we have buses waiting, all we need to do is gather the equipment, get on the buses and drive where we need to drive'." After another hour of organization, already two hours from the start of the attack, they set out. However, the destination is unclear. Niv says: "I open the phone, you look for a moment and the video of the pickup trucks in Sderot. We arrived in Sderot, we understood that there were already many-many forces there."

  
  

  It turns out that in the Operations Division and Southern Command, they were probably fed by television. **450 fighters arrive in Sderot around 10:30, an hour and a half after control had already been achieved in the city. They are not needed there, while in other communities in the envelope meanwhile a massacre of civilians is taking place.**

  
  

  Only five hours after the invasion do they enter into heroic combat at a critical point - Kfar Aza. Niv describes the difficult situation: "When we arrived at Kfar Aza, it was already 11:30 in the afternoon, the place was crawling with terrorists. We are the first massive large force that conducted combat inside Kfar Aza. Grenades are thrown at us, hell that cannot be explained in words. Right at the beginning, in the first houses, you start to understand the dimensions of the massacre that was there."

  
  

  The Paratroopers School was also directed by Southern Command to Sderot in vain. Bahad 1 was sent to Ofakim, where they discovered that the battles in the city had long since ended. Israel Ziv summarizes: "The entire response was very-very-very late. This is a gap that cannot be explained. They threw forces into the field, but didn't organize the fighting. If you don't understand exactly the picture, then it's difficult for you to organize the fighting."

  
  

  "Mistakes that cost many victims"

  
  

  The consequences of these decisions were disastrous. To Nir Oz, which experienced a massacre and its residents were left alone, forces arrived only at 13:00. To Be'eri, where people were murdered in their homes and burned to death while screaming for help, only a small force of Shaldag was sent in the morning, and large forces arrived only in the afternoon hours. Maj. Gen. (res.) Yair Golan analyzes the failure: "One of the impressive successes here of Hamas, unfortunately, is the dismantling of the IDF's command and control array. Against the background of this absolute paralysis, both the Southern Command headquarters and the General Staff are in operational darkness and don't really know what to do. When they skip over Nir Oz because they forgot it existed, it's mainly a command and control problem."

  
  

  A senior officer told Channel 12 News: "**Thousands of fighters could have been in the critical hours in Be'eri, Kfar Aza, and Nir Oz**. But the lack of coordination between the Operations Division and the Command with the Division and between the IDF and the police - led to mistakes that cost many, many victims."

  
  

  Only in the afternoon hours did the situation picture begin to clear. The Gaza envelope was divided between the division commanders who were called up to the south, and these began to clear the area and rescue all the residents who were hiding in the field or remained in the safe rooms.

  
  

  **IDF Spokesperson's response:** "The IDF is entirely focused now on the intense fighting in all sectors and achieving the war's objectives, and in parallel continues and advances in the process of investigating the events of October 7. When concluded, the findings will be presented transparently to the public."

  
  

  After the publication of the investigation, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit asked to add: "The IDF clarifies in response to the claims presented in the article, that the head of Operations does not directly instruct division commanders or brigade commanders, contrary to what was presented. Also, throughout the night, there is dialogue between the Operations Division and the Air Force and Navy. The claim about the allocation of Zik-type UAVs is incorrect. Also, there was no conversation between the head of Operations and the head of the Operations Division."link

  
  
• A Year Since the October 7 Massacre: The Painful Numbers of the War

  
  

  According to National Insurance Institute data, 878 civilians were killed during the past year - including 53 children • Since the war began, 921 children were orphaned and 119 bereaved parents were left with no children at all • 12 families in Israel experienced more than one loss

  
  

  A year has passed since the October 7 massacre, and the National Insurance Institute is publishing chilling data this morning (Sunday) reflecting the magnitude of the impact on Israeli society. According to the report, 878 civilians were killed in the last year as a result of hostile actions. It's important to emphasize that this number refers only to civilians and does not include security forces and emergency response teams, who are handled by the Ministry of Defense. Of the civilian casualties, 578 were men and 300 were women.

  
  

  The data reveals a particularly difficult picture regarding the harm to children and youth. Among the civilian victims, 53 were under the age of 18. The age breakdown shows that four toddlers up to age 3 were killed, two aged 3-5, three aged 5-8, nine aged 8-12, eight aged 12-14, and 27 aged 14-18. Of all civilian casualties: 803 were from southern Israel, 29 from northern Israel, 26 from central Israel, 9 from Jerusalem and surrounding areas, and 8 from Judea and Samaria.

  

  The destruction at Kibbutz Be'eri after teh attack by Hamas on October 7

  
  

  In addition to the loss of life, the war left psychological and physical scars among many Israeli citizens. The National Insurance Institute reports over 70,000 victims of hostile actions, including 12 amputees. Of all the victims, 12,728 applied for recognition of permanent disability, with 11,760 on a psychological basis, 527 for physical injury, and 441 with both physical and psychological injuries.

  
  

  921 children became orphans, 119 bereaved parents were left with no children at all

  
  

  The war left deep scars in the Israeli social fabric. 921 children became orphans, including 291 children under 18. Additionally, 226 people were widowed as a result of the war, including 47 widowers and 179 widows.

  
  

  1,078 bereaved parents lost one child, including 581 mothers and 498 fathers. 119 bereaved parents were left with no children at all. The data also shows that 1,880 citizens were left without siblings, including 998 men and 882 women. Additionally, 12 families experienced more than one loss, such as a father and son or two parents, not including entire families that were murdered.

  

  Those killed at the Nova Music Festival

  
  

  Housing grants and financial support

  
  

  In the past year, the National Insurance Institute paid more than 2.4 billion shekels in allowances, compensation, and rehabilitation activities for bereaved families and civilian terror victims. In response to the emergency situation, the National Insurance Institute activated an extensive support system, including various grants for residents who were economically affected. One of the most significant grants is the housing grant, designed to assist residents who evacuated independently to accommodation not funded by the state.

  
  

  So far, the National Insurance Institute has transferred about 3.5 billion shekels in housing grants. This grant has helped more than 130,000 residents over the age of 18 and more than 50,000 children. A breakdown of the housing grants shows that in southern Israel, 892 million shekels were paid for almost 40,000 citizens over 18 and about 21,000 children. In the north, the amount was about 2.3 billion shekels for about 43,000 citizens over 18 and about 16,000 children.

  
  

  The National Insurance Institute emphasizes that there is no extension of government legislation for the housing grant beyond September, which will be paid in early October. They claim that in order to transfer payments properly and on time, "there is a need to complete legislation and extend it in a reasonable time." Alongside housing grants, the National Insurance Institute operates a variety of additional assistance programs. These include "return grants" for residents returning to their communities, which so far have totaled 697 million shekels for about 36,000 citizens over 18 and about 20,000 children.

  
  

  "Unemployment replacement" grants are given to residents of evacuated areas who have exhausted their unemployment days according to the law. So far, 22,442 citizens have received this grant, including 874 citizens over 67 who lost their jobs during the fighting, for a total of about 98 million shekels. This grant was recently extended until the end of December 2024.

  
  

  The "return to work incentive" grant is given to those who lived or worked in an evacuated community and returned to work at their workplace. During the war, the National Insurance Institute transferred payment for this grant to 68,364 citizens, for a total amount exceeding 700 million shekels. This grant will be paid until the end of September 2024.

  
  

  Support for reserve service members

  
  

  The National Insurance Institute paid more than 21.6 billion shekels for reserve duty compensation to service members. In addition, special grants were allocated to spouses of reserve service members who took unpaid leave. So far, these grants have been paid to 623 spouses for a total of about 5 million shekels.

  
  

  **Minister of Labor, Yoav Ben Zur, responded to the data:** "We have gone through a difficult year as a people and as individuals since October 7 until today, and the war is still ongoing. We grieve daily for the lives taken brutally by a merciless enemy and accompany with sacred awe the victims of hostile actions who find themselves in a difficult reality and challenging daily coping. As Minister of Labor and as a member of the government, I promise that we will continue to turn every stone to assist, help, support, and do everything to bring all the hostages back home, and I will not rest until we do so."

  
  

  **Zvika Cohen, Acting CEO of the National Insurance Institute, added:** "National Insurance Institute employees work day and night to provide ongoing support to bereaved families, victims of hostile actions, families of hostages and those who returned from Gaza, evacuees, and this is in parallel with ongoing work in all benefits such as nursing, general disability, unemployment, senior citizens, and more. The unimaginable reality where people celebrated life and encountered the worst evil will accompany us for many years to come. As those who meet the public every day, hear their distress, accompany all populations, and bring the reality arising from the field to decision-makers, we see our work as a public mission of the highest order and will continue to do so with sacred awe towards the public, as much as possible."

  
  

  In these complex days and during October, the National Insurance Institute is funding NATAL's helpline 1-800-36-33-63, which will be available by phone at any hour (except Yom Kippur) for psychological support and assistance. The support can be one-time or a longer series of treatments.  link
  
  
  

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

*6:15pm yesterday - north - rockets/missiles

*7:00pm yesterday-north

*12:15am- north-hostile aircraft- Meron Hagolan, Ortal, Alonei Habashan, Ein Zivan
*12:30am-north- rockets/missiles- 

The IDF says 30 launches were identified, with some projectiles intercepted and others impacting in the mostly evacuated city.

*5:10am- north- Three attack drones making their way toward Israel were intercepted by Israeli forces a short while ago, the IDF says.

A Navy warship successfully downed two UAVs launched from the east while they were over the Mediterranean Sea near northern Israel, the army says, releasing footage of the interception.  It adds that Air Force jets intercepted an additional drone, also launched from the east, while it was over the Mediterranean near the coast of the Tel Aviv Metropolis. No alarms were activated as a matter of policy, and there were no casualties, the army says, without elaborating on the origin of the attack. Video

*7:35am- north-hostile aircraft- Arab Al Aramsha

*8:00am- Several suspected drones launched from Lebanon were shot down by Israeli air defenses an hour ago, the IDF says.

According to the military, the “suspicious aerial targets” did not cross into Israeli airspace.

*8:05am-north- Two missiles launched from Lebanon at Israel’s northern coastal plain were shot down by air defenses, the IDF says.

The surface-to-surface missiles set off sirens between Haifa and Hadera along the coast. There are no reports of injuries or damage in the attack.

*8:30am- north - rockets/missiles

*10:35am north --rockets/missiles 

*11:05am - north -rockets/missiles
*1:15pm -north- rockets/missiles
*1:25pm -north -rockets/missiles
*1:50pm -north - rockets/missiles

*2:30pm -north rockets/missiles -A barrage of 25 rockets and several drones were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel a short while ago, the IDF says.

According to the IDF, some of the 25 rockets fired at the Western and Upper Galilee were intercepted by air defenses, while others impacted in the area.  Separately, several drones were intercepted by air defenses over the Western Galilee, the IDF adds.

*3:00pm - South - terror attack at Beersehba Central Bus station -One killed and 10 wounded - The critically wounded victim of the terror attack at Beersheba’s central bus station has succumbed to her wounds, first responders say.

Another eight were taken to a hospital, and the terrorist was shot dead. Police are investigating whether the attack involved both stabbing and gunfire by the terrorist.

Hostage Updates 

• Qatari officials mediating hostage deal talks with Hamas told the families of captives last week that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was no longer calling them, Channel 12 reports.

  The Qataris said Sinwar was now only communicating with a pen and paper — a decision made after a series of assassinations that took out Hamas’s and Hezbollah’s leadership — which poses a challenge to their mediation efforts, the report says.

  The officials also told the families that it is likely Sinwar has surrounded himself with hostages, and dispelled speculation that he may have been killed in an Israeli airstrike, according to the report.

  “Israel has adopted a policy of assassinations that is incompatible with the deal. In the past, there was [former Hamas leader Ismail] Haniyeh and he was eliminated. Now there is Khaled Mashaal and he is much more difficult than Haniyeh,” the officials told the hostage families, Channel 12 reports.

  The location of the meeting was not immediately clear.

  Haniyeh was killed in Tehran in July, in an assassination blamed on Israel, though Jerusalem has not confirmed or denied its involvement. link

  
  

Gaza 

•  The NY Times claims: Hamas Leader Is Holding Out for a Bigger War, U.S. Officials Say
  Yahya Sinwar is increasingly fatalistic, has blocked a cease-fire deal and, so far, been frustrated that Hezbollah and Iran have not come to his aid, officials said. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/04/us/politics/sinwar-hamas-israel-hezbollah-iran.html
  With all due respect to the NY Times, none of the authors of this article have ever spoken with Yehya Sinwar and none of them have the slightest idea what Sinwar wants and what he is thinking.  None of the so-called American officials have ever spoken with Sinwar and none of them know what he is thinking and what he wants.  It is all spins.  (Gershon Baskin, October 5, 2024)
  
  
• Palestinian media report a series of heavy airstrikes and artillery shelling in the northern Gaza Strip. Casualties are reported in the strikes. The IDF said earlier this evening that it targeted Hamas operatives at a former UNRWA compound in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza.  Video
  
  
• The IDF’s 162nd Division launched a new ground operation last night in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya, the military says.
  The IDF says the division’s 401st and 460th armored brigades encircled Jabaliya overnight, and troops are currently operating in the area.
  The operation comes after the IDF says it has intelligence of Hamas operatives and infrastructure in the Jabaliya area, alongside efforts by the terror group to reestablish itself there. 
  

  As troops entered the area, the IDF says, it carried out a wave of airstrikes and artillery shelling, targeting dozens of Hamas sites in Jabaliya, including weapon depots, tunnels, cells of operatives, and other infrastructure.

  “The operation will continue as long as necessary, while systematically striking and thoroughly destroying the terror infrastructure in the area,” the IDF says.

  The 162nd Division was withdrawn from Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor — the Egypt-Gaza border area — after five months, and it has handed over responsibility for the area to the IDF’s Gaza Division.
  
  

• The IDF announces that it is expanding the size of the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in southern Gaza, as it prepares to evacuate civilians from the entire north of the Strip.

  The zone, where the vast majority of the Gazan population currently resides, has multiple field hospitals and most humanitarian aid is being delivered there.

  The IDF says it has published maps for Palestinian civilians “highlighting potential evacuation areas in northern Gaza, including ‘block zones’ that correspond to neighborhoods and regions.”

  The military says it is also opening up two evacuation routes for Palestinians, along the Salah a-Din road and the coastal road.

  Some 200,000 Palestinians have been estimated to remain in northern Gaza, after early in the war the IDF called for the entire region to evacuate to the Strip’s south.
  
  

• The Israeli military says warplanes conducted a pinpoint strike a short while ago on terror operatives who were at a command center in a compound that formerly housed the Ibn Rushd school in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza strip.

  Additionally, the IDF says another pinpoint airstrike targeted a second Hamas control center in Deir al-Balah, located in the former site of the Shuhada al-Aqsa mosque — where Hamas medical officials have claimed 5 were killed and 20 injured.

  The command centers were used by Hamas to plan and carry out terror attacks against IDF forces and the State of Israel, the army says.

  Both strikes were carried out at the direction of the Military Intelligence Directorate, and only after many steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including using accurate munitions, aerial visual intelligence and more intelligence information, the IDF adds.
  
  

• 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 Khalifa Ben Zayed School to plan and carry out attacks against IDF troops and against Israel.

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

Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria

• 
  
  After the IDF called on civilians to flee the area surrounding three Hezbollah sites in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanese media report airstrikes in the area. Video
  
  
  
  

• IDF vows ‘no relief or respite’ for Hezbollah; 440 terror operatives killed in ground op

Army strikes Hezbollah command room embedded in mosque within hospital compound as troops continue raids in south Lebanon; 3 lightly injured by Hezbollah rocket  

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs, on October 5, 2024. (Anwar Amro/AFP)

• The Israel Defense Forces continued its campaign to degrade Hezbollah in Lebanon on Saturday as it targeted command centers, weapons caches, tunnels and more, and as the military said it believed it had killed at least 440 Hezbollah operatives since the start of ground operations on Monday.

  IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said in a statement that Israel “must continue exerting pressure on Hezbollah and creating additional and lasting damage to the enemy. Without relief and without allowing a respite for the organization.”

  The army said on Saturday said it had struck Hezbollah operatives overnight in a command center embedded in a mosque in southern Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil, located within the Martyr Salah Ghandour Hospital compound.  According to the military, the operatives were using the command room “to plan and carry out acts of terror against IDF troops and the State of Israel.”

  The IDF said the drone strike was “precise” and based on intelligence.

  Before carrying out the strike, the IDF said it sent text messages to residents and called up officials in the nearby villages “demanding that all acts of terror carried out at the hospital cease immediately.”

  Meanwhile, three people were lightly injured as a result of a Hezbollah rocket impact in the northern Arab village of Deir al-Asad, police and medics said. They were taken to Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya.

  The Magen David Adom emergency service said it had treated 10 people for acute anxiety after the rocket hit Deir al-Asad.
  
  
  

• The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday stepped up its offensive on southern Lebanon, warning it was determined to stop Iran from  resupplying the Lebanese terror group with arms through border crossings and promising that it would keep Hezbollah out of the southern Lebanon border area for the future. 
  The army broadened its ground operation and also conducted waves of airstrikes at Hezbollah targets, including eliminating a top commander responsible for killing 12 children in a rocket strike on Israel earlier in the year. Meanwhile, the Iran-backed group fired more than 200 rockets into northern Israel on Thursday.

• The potential successor to slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been out of contact since Friday, a Lebanese security source said on Saturday, after an Israeli airstrike that is reported to have targeted him.

In its campaign against the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group, Israel carried out a large strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs late on Thursday, which, according to Israeli officials cited by Axios, targeted Hashem Safieddine in an underground bunker.

The Lebanese security source and two other Lebanese security sources said that ongoing Israeli strikes on Hezbollah’s Dahiyeh stronghold since Friday have kept rescue workers from scouring the site of the attack. Al Jazeera reported Saturday, citing unnamed Lebanese security sources, that there were international mediation efforts to enable rescue teams to search the site, but that Israel was so far refusing to allow them to enter.

Hezbollah has made no comment so far on Safieddine since the attack.

Channel 12 reported Friday night that security officials were increasingly confident he had been killed.

The IDF said on Friday it was still assessing the Thursday night airstrikes, which it said targeted Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters. Safieddine, whom the US State Department designated as a terrorist in 2017, is a cousin of Nasrallah and, like him, is a cleric who wears the black turban denoting ostensible descent from Islam’s Prophet Mohammed.

The loss of Nasrallah’s rumored successor would be yet another blow to Hezbollah and its patron Iran. Israeli strikes in the past few weeks have decimated Hezbollah’s leadership.

Israel expanded its conflict in Lebanon on Saturday with its first strike in the northern city of Tripoli, a Lebanese security official said, after more bombs hit terror targets in Beirut’s suburbs and Israeli troops launched raids in the south. Full article

•  Esmail Qaani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, was last seen in Beirut last week to help the Hezbollah terror group recover from a wave of Israeli attacks, three unnamed Iranian officials tell The New York Times, amid media speculation he was killed in an airstrike. An anonymous IRGC member stationed in Beirut also tells The Times that Iran’s silence on the matter is sparking panic among the paramilitary force’s personnel
  
  
• The IDF says it has carried out a series of pinpoint airstrikes on Hezbollah sites in Beirut, including several weapons depots and other terror infrastructure. 
  The strikes were preceded by extensive steps to mitigate harm to civilians, including advance warning about the impending strikes.
  The military accuses Hezbollah of placing its arms storage and production sites under residential buildings in the Lebanese capital, endangering the population, and vows to keep striking Hezbollah’s military assets in full force.
  
  
• The Washington Post delves into previously unreported details of the alleged Israeli operation that blew up pagers and walkie-talkies used by Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group last month, injuring thousands and kicking off an ongoing flareup that has dealt immense blows to Hezbollah, including the killing of its leader Hassan Nasrallah.
  
   This video grab, shows a walkie-talkie that was detonated inside a house in an attack on Hezbollah members widely blamed on Israel, in Baalbek, east Lebanon, September 18, 2024. (AP Photo)

The report — which cites Israeli, Arab and American security officials, politicians and diplomats, as well as sources close to Hezbollah — says the pagers were made in Israel and conceived by the Mossad spy agency, including a feature that caused many Hezbollah operatives to use the devices with both hands when they detonated, leading to them being rendered unable to fight.

After Mossad officials revealed the capability to elected officials on September 12 and the operation was eventually okayed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, thousands of Hezbollah operatives got a message telling them they had received an encrypted message that requires pressing two buttons — practically forcing them to use both hands, and to be injured in both hands when the blasts occurred as they pushed the buttons.

The report also reveals that the booby-trapped walkie-talkies — which were detonated a day later — had been used by Hezbollah since 2015, providing Israel continued real-time access into the terror group’s communications for many years, before the devices were weaponized in a more literal way.

The tiny explosives in the pagers and the walkie-talkies were concealed in a way that taking apart the device — or even X-raying it — could not reveal the danger to the unwitting Hezbollah members, who readily embraced the Israeli-designed and manufactured gadgets, The Post reports.

It adds that the sales pitch that convinced Hezbollah to purchase the large-battery AR924 pagers earlier this year was made by an unidentified woman working with a Taiwanese firm who had not been aware of the Israeli plot. Link

•  More than 150 Hezbollah sites were struck in the past day during ground operations in southern Lebanon, the IDF says.

  Troops with the IDF’s 98th and 36th divisions have been locating and destroying weapon depots, tunnel shafts, and other Hezbollah infrastructures in villages in southern Lebanon, the military says.

  The soldiers have also been exchanging fire with Hezbollah operations in the area, and directing airstrikes on gunmen and sites used by the terror group.

  The targets hit by the Israeli Air Force included anti-tank missile launch positions, cells of operatives, tunnels, and weapon depots, the IDF adds. 
  
  

• An Israeli strike hits a car factory in central Syria, a war monitor says, in the latest such strike in the country or its border with Lebanon in recent days.

  The raids strike an empty Iranian car factory in the central region of Homs, causing only material damage, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.

  Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel — which rarely comments on individual strikes in Syria — is believed to have carried out hundreds of strikes mainly targeting army positions and Iran-backed fighters including from Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group.
  
  

• The IDF is calling on Lebanese civilians in 25 villages and towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate immediately and head north of the Awali River.

  In recent days, the military has called on residents of dozens of locales in southern Lebanon, including those north of the Litani River, to evacuate.

  The IDF says it will notify 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.

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

•    Israel will certainly respond to the Iranian attack, there is no doubt about that, but what is not clear is what will be the target. The fact that not a single Israeli was killed by the Iranian missile attack allows Israel to decide to hit a symbolic but significant strategic military target without causing unnecessary escalation. Damage to economic targets such as oil pipelines and electricity production facilities will greatly harm the civilian population, which to me seems to be a conflict of interest of Israel with the citizens of Iran, most of whom do not support the regime of the Ayatollahs. Israel must respond because no sovereign country can tolerate a missile attack against it. But Israel also needs to understand that the danger of escalation vis-a-vis Iran is too great, especially when the US opposes a disproportionate Israeli response and will not willingly participate in Israel's own instigated war against Iran. There is a near and clear possibility for Israel to de-escalate the situation with Iran and this is what it should do. (Gershon Baskin, October 5, 2024)
  
  

Personal Stories

 Shenhav and Shoham Yaakov & Liel Jerafi, 29, 26, 18: Aunts and nephew
Murdered by Hamas terrorists near the Supernova music festival on October 7

Shoham Yaakov, 29, her sister Shenhav Yaakov, 26, from Herzliya, and their nephew Liel Jerafi, 18, from Jerusalem, were murdered by Hamas at the Supernova music festival on October 7.
Shoham and Shenhav were both working as part of the festival’s production staff, and they invited Liel to join them at the rave.
When the rocket fire began, the three decided to flee the site via car, and at some point stopped to seek safety in a roadside bomb shelter. They were all slain inside the shelter along with dozens of others when Hamas terrorists threw grenades inside and opened fire on the huddled partygoers.
Two brothers in the family headed down to the Supernova site to try and find their loved ones that Saturday morning, encountering roadblocks, cops and IDF troops who tried to convince them to turn around. They searched for hours and hours but kept coming up empty handed.
For a week, the family couldn’t find any trace of the three despite constant searching. A week after the massacre, Shenhav’s body was identified, and a day later Liel and Shoham were also confirmed killed.
Shoham was buried in Herzliya on October 15, and Shenhav was buried next to her a day later, on October 16. Liel was buried in Beit Shemesh on October 16.
The sisters are survived by their parents, Rachel and Neria Yehiel, and their seven older siblings, Dudu, Avishag, Dvir, Sapir, Ohad, Elad and Hadas.
Liel is survived by his parents, Dudu and Nardit, and his younger siblings Adir, 14, Itay, 9 and Shaylee, 7.
Born and raised in the Kiryat Yovel neighborhood of Jerusalem, Liel focused his high school studies on cyber communications, and was slated to soon enlist in the IDF, aiming for a spot in the prestigious 8200 intelligence unit.
“He really loved computers, he was always on the computer,” his father, Dudu, told a local Jerusalem news site. “He was supposed to join 8200 and all his future was ahead of him. He had a big future, he was an excellent student. A smart kid, kind and quiet.” Dudu said Liel’s younger siblings “loved him so much. He was a true firstborn, he would take care of them, talk to them, advise them. He was a role model for them, he was modest, not one who partied much, even though he was murdered at a festival.” His father said, “I miss his smile, his laughter, the nonsense he loved. I think about him all the time, about his positive spirit and his joy for life.”
Eleven months after he was killed, Liel’s mother, Nardit, wrote on Facebook to “my angel in heaven.”
“It’s already a year without you, a year of longing and endless pain, a year that your voice has been silent,” she wrote. “You left an empty space and a hole in my heart in the shape of you, my beautiful angel… Liel, my heart breaks anew every day. I miss you so much.”
Shoham and Shenhav were very close to each other and the rest of the family, were huge fans of the Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team and loved to go out partying together, their loved ones said.
Avishag, their older sister, told Israel Hayom that Shoham and Shenhav lived every moment of their short lives to the fullest.
“Shoham was very serious on the one hand, but also loved to laugh, to live big and to take life by storm. She dreamed big. She was a personal trainer and a nutritionist, it was important to her to instill in others a healthy lifestyle. She dedicated her life to exercise and even learned boxing,” said Avishag. “She was always working on herself, she took big trips to faraway places. During our happiest moments, during holidays and vacations, she was the family photographer, she captured every moment,” she added.
Shenhav, the youngest of the nine siblings, was “our baby, who arrived after four brothers and four sisters,” said Avishag.
“She saw day-to-day life as boring and she had big dreams,” she said. “She wanted to explore the world, to fly to Australia for a long period. She was an incredible baker, for every birthday she would make my daughter a gorgeous cake. She also planned to open a bakery.”
The two sisters, she said, “were the centers of our lives, they were so close to each other from childhood until the moment they were murdered. They were opposites who completed each other, the sun and the moon — each of them lit up the world in their own way.”
Hadar Cohen, a niece to Shoham and Shenhav, wrote on Instagram how hard it was to come to terms with the fact that “the aunts who were always there for me, and always hung out with me, and took care of me, and made me laugh, and were my best friends — but so much more — are no longer here.”
“My aunts who were the most beautiful, kindest, successful and funny are not around anymore,” she added. “Those who raised me and also sort of grew up with me, Shenhav who tried unsuccessfully to teach me Justin Bieber songs, and Shoham who would drive even an hour so I could braid her hair before she’d go to a festival.”
“My aunts who taught me what unconditional love was, who always took care of me and wanted the best for me — they’re not coming back and I didn’t even get to say goodbye,” she added.
“We miss Shoham and Shenhav and Liel all the time, at every holiday, at every event,” their brother and uncle, Ohad, told i24 news in August. “Their loss is strongly felt in every moment of our lives. Our family will never return to what it was.” link

Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages

Between Near & Far East:

The Japanese Ethos of Taking Responsibility versus Netanyahu’s Ethos of Abandoning the Hostages

Efrat (Cohen) Machikawa

Niece of Gadi Moses, who is being held hostage in Gaza,

and of Margalit Moses, who was released from captivity;

Diplomacy expert; Former Culture, Science and Innovation

Attaché at the Embassy of Israel in Japan.

In 1603, the daughter of the founder of the Japanese Tokugawa Shogunate dynasty was accused of conspiring against her husband, the future heir to the throne. Despite the turmoil in the shogun's private court and the dangerous power games, Shogun Tokugawa honored his values of responsibility to his people and solved the conflict while bringing peace and security which led to the unification and stabilization of Japan for the next 250 years.

Taking responsibility is deeply rooted in Japanese culture, which emphasizes the contribution of individual actions to the creation of the harmony of society as a whole. The uncompromising value of honor and personal integrity is seen as part of preserving the community’s honor.

Leaders in Japan are expected to set an example by taking responsibility and thus strengthen the respect and trust between their partners and subordinates or voters. The commitment of elected officials is also tested against the judicial system. Along with these values, in times of need for amendment, the Japanese life philosophy encourages continuous improvement (Kaizaii) which provides opportunities for learning and progress.

While learning and absorbing these values for over three decades, I recognize these awe-inspiring Japanese cultural values rooted in Gadi Moses. My dear uncle Gadi, who was born and raised in Israel, is a role model of integrity and his admirable sense of responsibility, dedicated to all those around him and to his ongoing improvement - as an outstanding agronomist, as an innovation leader, as a family member and as a member of Kibbutz Nir Oz, located on the western Israeli border along the Gaza Strip. Gadi Moses embodies the roots of the Israeli olive tree and represents the Israeli spirit which makes all of us proud to be Israelis.

Gadi (80) was brutally kidnapped by evil terrorists from his modest home early Saturday morning on October 7th, 2023, and still hasn't returned.

I often think about our elected prime minister, who has the unequivocal responsibility to bring Gadi and the other hostages back home, in the context of the Japanese values of taking responsibility, leadership, integrity and continuous improvement. My stomach turns. My heart bleeds tears. The mind refuses to believe - what values do Benjamin Netanyahu and his dangerous government practice and represent?

The realization that our Prime Minister and elected officials are not worthy of their people and of Gadi and all the other hostages who lost their freedom or lives on Israel's western border inundates me with disappointment and despair. After nine months we seem to be giving birth to more death than life. The sense of betrayal, the collapse of national authority and international diplomacy, the death-tremors of democracy and the existential anxiety that the government has managed to sow in us since the October disaster poison every good part of our beloved country, and leave us devoid of proper leadership. Sacrificing the hostages also means sacrificing redemption and the future of the State of Israel!

The presence of the wishing doll (Daruma) on the shelf in front of me echoes the Japanese phrase “Nana Korobi Ya Oki,” which corresponds with the verse from Proverbs 24: 16 “For the righteous falls seven times, and rises again,” and reminds me that we are stronger than anything, and that upon Gadi’s safe return, along with all the other hostages, he will surely embrace and remind us that although we  stumbled we have the strength to rise and prosper again, just as quoted on Kibbutz Nir Oz’s logo: “Never wearied by the road, forever paving the way.”

We will not rest until we get back on the path to reviving our beautiful, good, values-led and worthy State of Israel.

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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