🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 382, 2023 - October 22, 2024 🎗️

  

🎗️Day 382 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.

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

*6:50pm yesterday - Tel Aviv - explosion heard in Tel Aviv caused by a rocket from Lebanon that landed in open area.

Explosion across from the Herzlia Beach

*7:25pm yesterday - north - rockets/missiles
*10:15pm yesterday - north -rockets/missiles
*12:25am - north -rockets/missiles
12:50am - north - hostile aircraft - Ortal, Ein Zivon-rockets/missiles
*4:50am - center north and north- Yokeam-rockets/missiles
*4:50am - Haifa and areas around- rockets/missiles
*6:30am - north -rockets/missiles

*6:30am - Acre-rockets/missiles
*6:35am - Center - Modiin Elite, Beit Areih, Nili, Naaleh, Ofarim-rockets/missiles
*7:45am - Center north and center- Jisr al Zarka, Zichron Yaacov, Maagan Michael, Rishpon, Shefaim, Kfar Shmaryahu, Herzlia, Gaash, Yakum, Caesarea, Tel Aviv, Glilot, Cinema City Glilot, Or Akiva, Binyamina, Dor, Ramat Gan, Hemed, Mishmar Hashiva, Bneir Brak, Bat Yam, Givataim, Holon, Azur, Or Yehudan -rockets/missiles
*7:45am - north -rockets/missiles
*10:00am - north - rockets/missiles
*11:40am - north - rockets/missiles
*1:25pm - north - rockets/missiles
*1:30pm - north -rockets/missiles
*2:10pm - north - rockets/missiles
*3:35pm - north - rockets/missiles
*4:15pm - North -rockets/missiles
*4:30pm - north - rockets/missiles
*4:45pm - north - rockets/missiles

Hostage Updates 

• While the US initially framed Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as an opportunity to jumpstart hostage talks after a months-long impasse, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby acknowledges that no such negotiations have restarted in the five days since his death.

  “I cannot sit here today and tell you that negotiations are about to restart in Doha or Cairo or anywhere else, but we have started to begin to think about it here and have had some initial conversations with our Israeli counterparts,” Kirby says.

  Relatedly, US special envoy Amos Hochstein is currently in Beirut for talks with Lebanese officials “to see what could be in the realm of the possible in terms of trying to find a meaningful ceasefire” between Israel and Hezbollah, Kirby adds. link. Although the US Secretary of State Blinken is arriving tomorrow to try to restart hostage talks (along with important discussions about Lebanon and Iraq), there is little chance that the US will do anything that demands pressure on Israel before the elections. And the problem is that Netanyahu won't do anything real regarding the hostages without very strong pressure from the US.

• **Ben Gvir and Smotrich Opposed, Likud Ministers Supported: The Egyptian Proposal for a Hostage Release Deal**

  After the assassination of Sinwar, the head of the Shin Bet visited Cairo and received a proposal from the head of Egyptian intelligence: the release of several hostages in exchange for a two-week ceasefire in Gaza. Ministers from Otzma Yehudit and the Religious Zionism party objected, saying, "This is a gift to Hamas while Israel has momentum." The proposal was not brought to a vote, so its feasibility remains unclear.
  Following Sinwar's dramatic assassination, efforts by intermediaries to broker a deal with Israel intensified. Senior security officials presented to the ministers a proposal made to Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar during his meeting with the head of Egyptian intelligence in Cairo. According to the proposal, several hostages would be released in exchange for a two-week ceasefire. This was revealed in a central news broadcast last night (Monday).
  Ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich opposed the proposal, calling it "a gift to Hamas while Israel is in a strong position." In contrast, ministers Yoav Gallant, Miri Regev, Israel Katz, and Yariv Levin supported advancing the deal. Intermediaries and security officials believe that a small deal like this could lead to additional deals or at least help create a foundation for renewed negotiations on a broader agreement.
  The proposal was not put to a vote, and its feasibility remains uncertain. Security officials emphasized that they are trying to create creative frameworks to break the deadlock. However, the proposal was not previously discussed in a smaller forum led by the Prime Minister and the negotiation team, leading to an assessment that its chances of progressing at this stage are low. link Besides the fact that Netanyahu doesn't want any deal that even hints at ending the war, it didn't even reach that stage His extreme messianic coalition partners who he has relinquished all power to, refuse to accept any deal whatsoever. They have never cared about the lives of the hostages. Smotrich said at the beginning of the war that they are casualties of the war (he is also the same one who said that Hamas was an asset to Israel prior to October 7). These two don't lose a blink of sleep over all of the people killed, the victims of October 7 and everyone since. Smotrich refused to see the film that was shown to foreign diplomats and ministers, stating that he wants to sleep at night. It doesn't matter that all the families of the 101 hostages don't sleep at night, as long as he can. These two are not just extreme in their ideologies, they are downright evil. Their extremism was always part of the pale until Netanyahu normalized them and their ideologies and continues to give them full reign to do and say as they want no matter how much damage it does or how many lives are lost.

Gaza 

•  My brother's interview on France 24 English: Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is dead, but the war against Israel continues in Gaza, with more than 80 people reported missing in Israeli strikes on Saturday night. This blow to the organisation has destabilised Hamas, but it still seems to have the capacity to strike its enemies. In Israel, the announced war aim of the complete destruction of Hamas is being pursued despite the hundred hostages still in Gaza, and is supported by a large part of the population. Dr Gershon Baskin, Middle East director international Communities Organization, has more. 
  
  
• In Death, Hamas Leader May Have Won Wider Support Than When He Was Alive (My brother was interviewed for this article)

  Across the Arab world, U.S.-aligned governments find themselves in difficult positions as clerics and citizens praise Yahya Sinwar
  

  For more than a year, Mustafa Muhammed, a displaced Palestinian, had sensed other Gazans living in tents there turning against Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader who orchestrated the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Some people sleeping on the street or among the debris of their homes after waves of Israeli bombardments were growing openly scornful, he said.

  That is, until Sinwar was killed—not deep in a tunnel, or fleeing Gaza, as many people suspected would be the case, but dying in an encounter with Israeli soldiers in the south of the strip.

  Sinwar’s final moments were on display in a video released by Israel that apparently showed the Hamas chief critically injured, throwing an object at a surveillance drone shortly before his death. When Gazans saw the footage, many changed their minds, Muhammed said.

  “It showed he was fighting until the very end,” he said. 

  Sinwar’s actions as one of Hamas’s top operatives, and especially last year’s attack on Israel, divided opinion across the Palestinian territories and wider region. Designated as a terrorist by the U.S., he had been convicted of multiple murders in Israel, including the killing of Palestinians he considered to be collaborators, and was serving a prison sentence there before he was released in a prisoner exchange. 

  Only 29% of Palestinians in Gaza were satisfied with Sinwar, according to September polling from the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. But the way he died has prompted a reappraisal among many Palestinians and Arabs, and it is putting some governments in a bind as they measure their own responses to his death.

  Key U.S. allies Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt are in a particularly delicate position, analysts say. Swaths of their populations are sympathetic to the Palestinian cause if not Hamas itself, while their governments have either at points designated Hamas a terrorist group or are wary of its influence and connections to Iran.

  “The manner of Sinwar’s death puts those countries in a tight spot at a sensitive time,” said Mouin Rabbani, a nonresident fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, an independent research center based in Qatar. “The people’s attitudes toward their governments have been, ‘You haven’t been able to achieve anything through diplomacy, while movements much weaker than you like Hamas and Hezbollah are causing Israel grief.’” 

  “They are critical that their leaders don’t have an effective strategy and are relying on the U.S. and Europe to put an end to this, which they feel is an admission of impotence,” Rabbani added.

  This quandary explains why the regional players have responded to Sinwar’s death in very different ways.

  Some, like Iran, Hamas’s biggest state supporter, have lionized him. Saudi Arabia, in contrast, has used its influence over the country’s media arm to call Sinwar a terrorist and welcome his death, drawing a wave of protests, including the vandalism of a Saudi channel’s offices in Iraq, according to Saudi officials.

  Officials from Egypt and Jordan—both having diplomatic relations with Israel and the latter having a significant Palestinian population—have mostly stayed quiet publicly. “They are going out of their way to not issue a direct response to this topic,” Rabbani said.

  The U.S. was less equivocal, with President Biden saying Sinwar’s death was “a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world,” while French President Emmanuel Macron said it represented an opportunity to de-escalate the conflict in Gaza and called for the release of the remaining hostages taken from Israel a year ago on Oct. 7.

  This upswell of support for Sinwar in the Middle East, apparent across social media and in some street demonstrations, has little to do with last year’s attack on Israel, which left dead around 1,200 people and triggered a devastating Israeli response. Rather it reflects the symbolism of his decision to stay in Gaza for the war instead of orchestrating it from Qatar, where Hamas’s political leadership resides, or fleeing to neighboring Egypt, said Nasser Alkidwa, a former Palestinian foreign minister.

  “It makes a difference to people in the Arab world that he was above ground, that he didn’t escape, and that he was fighting,” Alkidwa said. “How and where he died also refutes the Israeli narrative of Sinwar abandoning the people of Gaza. And many people feel Israel can’t pretend this is a big achievement because his killing wasn’t planned or done through using intelligence.”

  The drone footage released by Israel appears central in this shift in sentiment toward Sinwar, said Gershon Baskin, a former Israeli hostage negotiator who is now Middle East director of the diplomacy advocacy group, International Communities Organization.

  That video shows a badly damaged building littered with dust and debris, exposed wires and scattered furniture. It also shows a man, which the military said was Sinwar, sitting motionless with his back to the drone, in a chair, his face covered with a cloth.

  His arm appeared to be severely wounded. Then suddenly he heaved a piece of wood at the drone, attempting to bring it down, but he failed. The video provided by the military ended at that point, and Sinwar was killed as a tank fired on the building soon after.  

  A senior Arab official involved in cease-fire negotiations said they were surprised Israel released the footage, as it could contribute to a continuing defiance among the Palestinian public as well as militants in Gaza. Baskin, the former Israeli negotiator, said Israel didn’t seem to account for how the release of the drone footage could invigorate not only the Palestinian public but much of the region. 

  “The Israeli political system has no awareness whatsoever—and they don’t care—what the message is to the Arab world,” Baskin said. “This is Netanyahu selling himself, pursuing his political survival, and saying, ‘I am the hero, I killed Nasrallah, I killed Sinwar.’ Israel is signaling, ‘[Militant leaders] are never out of our reach and we will get to every single one of them.’”

  The Israeli prime minister’s office declined to comment on the video and the military didn’t respond.

  The question likely troubling governments across the region is how to react if there is a surge in pro-Palestinian demonstrations urging them to take a tougher line on Israel.

  Jordan, a kingdom with restrictions on speech and assembly, has generally tolerated frequent pro-Palestinian protests over the past year, including some where protesters have chanted pro-militant slogans while waving Hamas flags. Jordan is likely trying to avoid the unrest a crackdown on protests could create, analysts say. 

  Other countries are less lenient. Complete article

  
  

  
  

• Armed gangs have been preventing trucks of humanitarian aid from entering Gaza through the Kerem Shalom Crossing, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says.

  
  

  Armed and masked Palestinians seen on trucks loaded with international humanitarian aid entering Gaza through the Israeli Kerem Shalom Crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, April 3, 2024. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

  
  

  “There are plenty of trucks that are waiting to get in there, and they’re not able to because of these armed gangs and criminal groups that are stopping them, so we all have to take a turn here and see what we can do to reduce that pressure down at Kerem Shalom so that that aid can get in,” Kirby says during a press briefing.

  He notes that Israel has allowed 120 trucks of aid into Gaza after barring aid from reaching the several hundred thousand people still in the area for two weeks.

  “More needs to be done. But we have seen an uptick over the last few days,” Kirby says.

• Two Hamas sources say the Palestinian terror group is moving toward appointing a Doha-based ruling committee rather than a single successor to its chief Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli troops last week.

  “The Hamas leadership’s approach is not to appoint a successor to the late chief, the martyr Yahya Sinwar, until their next elections” scheduled for March “if conditions permit,” a well-informed source from the group tells AFP.

  A five-member committee that was formed in August following the assassination of political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran “will take over the leadership of the group,” the source adds.

  The committee was formed to facilitate decision-making given the difficulty of communicating with Sinwar in Gaza before his death.

  Sinwar was named the Gaza chief of the militant group in 2017, before rising to become the overall leader of Hamas after Haniyeh was assassinated in July.

  The source says the committee is made up of representatives of West Bank, Gaza and the Palestinian diaspora, namely Khalil al-Hayya for Gaza, Zaher Jabarin for the West Bank and Khaled Meshaal for Palestinians abroad.

  It also includes the head of Hamas’s Shura advisory council Mohammed Darwish and the secretary of the political bureau, who is never identified for security reasons.

  All current members of the committee are based in Qatar.

  According to the source, the committee is tasked with “governing the movement during the war and exceptional circumstances, as well as its future plans.”

  He added that it is authorized to “make strategic decisions”.

  Another source from the group says that the Hamas leadership discussed a proposal that was made “internally” to appoint a political chief without announcing their name.

  But, the source adds, the leaders preferred to rule through the committee.

  Sinwar was killed by Israeli troops in southern Gaza on Wednesday, more than a year into the devastating war in the territory sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack that he orchestrated. The attack killed some 1,200 people and took another 251 hostages.

Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria

• Syria’s defense ministry says two civilians were killed in an Israeli strike that targeted a vehicle earlier in the day.

  “At approximately 17:05 pm (1417 GMT), the Israeli enemy launched an air strike targeting a civilian car in the residential neighborhood of Mazzeh in Damascus, killing two civilians and injuring three,” the ministry says in a statement. It does not identify the dead. There is no immediate comment from Israel.

  

  The person killed in the vehicle strike in Damascus is Abu Hassan I'am, the successor of Sheikh Salah's replacement, who was responsible for transferring weapons to Hezbollah.
  IDF says it killed top Hezbollah money man in Syria strike, promises more attacks on terror group’s financial network
  
  

• The IDF says it has defeated Hezbollah’s forces in every area that Israeli troops have so far operated in southern Lebanon.

  According to the military’s latest estimates, more than 1,200 Hezbollah members have been killed amid the ground offensive. In all, since October 2023, over 2,000 members of the terror group have been killed, the IDF says.

  Among the dead Hezbollah members are seven brigade-level commanders, 21 battalion-level commanders, and two dozen company commanders, according to the IDF.

  The military says it sees Hezbollah struggling to bring in reinforcements to counter the IDF’s five divisions operating against it in southern Lebanon, and that the amount of weapons the army has seized is affecting the terror group’s ability to carry out attacks.

  In terms of rocket capabilities, the IDF estimates that Hezbollah maintains about 30% of what it initially had before the war, which is still thousands of rockets.

  But due to the elimination of Hezbollah’s leadership, including numerous field commanders, the IDF says Hezbollah is struggling to carry out massive rocket fire that the terror group had initially planned.

  The IDF still aims to wrap up its operations in southern Lebanon within a few weeks. Once the threat of a Hezbollah invasion is removed from the border area, residents of the north will be able to return to their homes. link I hope that this report is close the reality but I still believe that it is premature and exaggerated. The airstrike against Hizbollah's financial institutions, however will have a major impact on Hizbollah's future (report follows this). Many Hizbollah terrorist fighters are there for the money. In South Lebanon, (and Lebanon in general), there is a financial crisis that has been going on for a long time with very high unemployment and underemployment. Hizbollah was paying salaries on a regular basis and that induced many people to join the forces, even without the Hizbollah ideology. Hitting Hizbollah's finances can put a dent in their ability to continue to pay salaries which could have the effect that the IDF is aiming for.

The Israeli military conducted a wave of airstrikes across Lebanon on Sunday, targeting branches of Al-Qard al-Hasan, a financial association associated with the militant group Hezbollah.

The organization was placed under U.S. sanctions in 2007 and has been accused by American, Israeli, Saudi Arabian and other officials of operating as Hezbollah’s de facto banking arm. Inside Lebanon, where Hezbollah also functions as a political organization and provides a range of social services, Al-Qard al-Hasan is designated a non-governmental organization and is viewed as a Hezbollah-affiliated charity.

The strikes marked an apparent escalation of Israel’s war against Hezbollah, with a senior Israel intelligence official saying the targeting of the banking system — rather than weapons depots or command and intelligence centers — was intended to disrupt Hezbollah’s day-to-day operations, undermine its support in Lebanese communities and hamper its ability to rebuild.

The financial organization has about 30 branches across Lebanon, including in the Dahiya, a densely packed area adjoining Beirut where Hezbollah holds sway.

“In the coming days, we will reveal how Iran funds Hezbollah’s terror activities by using civilian institutions, associations, and NGOs that act as fronts for terrorism,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military’s chief spokesman, said in a statement on Sunday evening.

Critics of the group say the organization allows Hezbollah to build up its influence with citizens in Lebanon while hobbling the state and putting Lebanon’s banks at risk of foreign sanctions.

A senior Israeli official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters said that Israel aims to disrupt Hezbollah’s day-to-day financial operations, including paying salaries of Hezbollah’s operatives, which all run through Al-Qard al-Hasan, and to undermine the trust between Hezbollah and the many Lebanese Shiite Muslims who use the branches as an alternative banking service.  Complete article

IDF spokesperson Brigadier General Daniel Hagari presented an image of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's financial bunker, who was eliminated, and said in a statement to the press: "Last night, a call was made for Lebanese residents to evacuate certain areas, and 20 targets were struck—most of them in Beirut. One of the targets was an underground cash vault used by the 'Al-Qard Al-Hassan' association. It contained a stockpile of cash and gold worth tens of millions of dollars, intended to fund Hezbollah." (Lonny's note: in his press conference, Hagari said that the bunker had as much as half a billion dollars)

Nasrallah's money bunker: This bunker served for many years as Nasrallah's emergency bunker, and was hidden below the Alsahel Hospital. Today it serves as the central money warehouse for Hizbollah, where they stored most of the terror organization's money that was stolen from Lebanese citizens and used for terror.

According to Hagari, "In recent years, Lebanon has been in an economic crisis. Hezbollah exploited this crisis to strengthen its foothold and status in Lebanon. Hezbollah established a separate network from Lebanon’s official and legal economy, raising hundreds of millions of dollars. The U.S. and Western countries have imposed heavy sanctions on this association because it directly funds terrorist activities. The systems we attacked are entities under the terrorist organization, disguised as civilian infrastructures, but their sole purpose is to enhance Hezbollah's terror capabilities." Hagari further explained that "Hezbollah uses the state's civilian institutions, particularly its own association, and through its systems, it takes money from Lebanese citizens. In a different reality, this money would have been used to rebuild Lebanon—not to rebuild missiles."

• **"Hezbollah was in control, we were completely dependent on them": Dramatic testimony from a UN soldier in Lebanon**
  "Hezbollah controlled all the areas where UN personnel could visit. In some places, it was even impossible to take pictures," described Michael, a Danish citizen who served as a soldier with one of the UN bodies in southern Lebanon, in an interview with one of his country's popular newspapers. His account further supports Israel's claims that the UN has failed miserably in its mission to prevent Hezbollah's strengthening and to enforce Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War. "We were completely dependent on Hezbollah. Our freedom of movement was restricted," he said.
  
  Michael, who was interviewed by the Danish newspaper BT, has already retired after a 25-year career. He shared that about a decade ago, he was sent to southern Lebanon as part of the UNTSO, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, which operates alongside the main UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL. The two organizations often work from the same bases, and Michael noted that even back then, Hezbollah had significant control over their activities. As an example, he mentioned that UN personnel avoided operating in the dark due to fear of the group's militants. "So, we had a lot of free time in the evenings and nights," said Michael, who asked not to reveal his last name.

  Michael, a Danish soldier who served in Lebanon a decade ago, testified about the complete inability to act against the terror organization. "We didn’t operate in the dark due to fear; even taking photos was prohibited. We knew very well who made the decisions," he said, also revealing that Hezbollah-supporting translators worked with the UN force: "One of them praised Nasrallah, so I kicked him out of the car." Violations of Resolution 1701? "We reported daily; nothing happened. The UN is powerless."

  
  Michael, during his servicee with UNIFIL - "We knew very well who was making the decisions"

  
  
  "We were completely dependent on Hezbollah. Our freedom of movement was limited," said Michael, who spoke to the Danish newspaper *BT* after retiring from a 25-year career. He shared that he was sent about a decade ago to southern Lebanon as part of the UNTSO force, which works alongside the main UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL. The two organizations often operate from the same bases, and Michael recounted that even back then, Hezbollah’s control over their activities was extensive. As an example, he noted that UN personnel avoided operating in the dark due to fear of Hezbollah militants.
  He also testified that when UNIFIL or UNTSO personnel attempted to reach locations where Hezbollah was suspected of operating, they were often stopped by members of the terror organization. "They simply blocked the road. They weren’t openly armed, but they were aggressive, and it was very clear they were Hezbollah members—we knew very well who was making the decisions, especially in the Shiite towns. They didn’t want us to see what they were doing." Michael emphasized that UN observers were prohibited from documenting the militants' activities: "We weren’t allowed to film or take pictures. And if we did, locals could confiscate our cameras. This happened to my colleagues from UNIFIL and UNTSO."
  
  Michael added that when UNIFIL or UNTSO personnel attempted to reach areas where Hezbollah was suspected of operating, they were often stopped by Hezbollah members. "They would just block the way. They weren’t openly armed, but they were aggressive, and it was clear they were Hezbollah. We knew very well who made the decisions, especially in Shiite towns. They didn’t want us to see what they were doing." 
  Regarding border enforcement activities, Michael testified that the instructions were to keep a distance from Hezbollah militants. "When we patrolled the Blue Line, we often saw 'civilians' very close to Israeli military installations, taking pictures. When that happened, we withdrew and watched from a distance, as we were instructed to do so," he said.
  He also shared that some of the interpreters working for the UN were Hezbollah sympathizers. "There was one time I threw one of them out of my car because he praised Hassan Nasrallah. I simply refused to listen to that."
  Michael emphasized the "complete inability" to act against Hezbollah’s violations of Resolution 1701, which prohibits armed activities south of the Litani River (except for the Lebanese army). This, along with the lack of consequences for Hezbollah, was a major source of frustration for him. "We reported daily on violations of Resolution 1701, especially on restrictions on our freedom of movement. We were instructed to report every violation, no matter how small. But nothing happened," he said. "We never heard back from them, and they never initiated anything. It was very frustrating."
  Michael added that he was surprised by recent Israeli revelations of tunnels and numerous underground terror infrastructures that the IDF is now destroying as part of its limited maneuver in villages near the border. According to the *BT* report, these tunnels are very close to UNIFIL bases. "We didn’t hear or see any digging when we were there—I would never hide that. But on the other hand, there were a few civilian homes and probably 'chicken farms' near the Blue Line when I was there, and of course, we couldn’t and weren’t allowed to inspect them."
  His testimony comes against the backdrop of a heated confrontation between the UN and Israel after UNIFIL refused Israel’s demand to move its positions five kilometers north due to clashes with Hezbollah. Israel claims that this refusal essentially makes the UN observers hostages of Hezbollah, which uses them as human shields. link

• Israeli fighter jets struck around a dozen Hezbollah command rooms near Tyre in southern Lebanon today, the military says.

  The IDF says some of the command rooms belonged to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force.

  Israel accuses Hezbollah of placing its command centers and other infrastructure within civilian areas of Lebanon.

  The IDF says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strikes, including using precision munitions and issuing evacuation warnings in advance. video and pictures

• A Hezbollah drone launched from Lebanon at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea on Saturday caused damage to his residence, the military censor now permits for publication.

  An image, previously barred from publication by the military censor, shows the damage caused to the home by the drone impact.

  The blast cracked glass in a bedroom window but did not penetrate the home, apparently because of reinforced glass and other protections.

  

  There were no injuries, and Netanyahu and his wife were not home at the time. link As opposed to the damaged and destroyed homes of northern residents who have not had Government insurance agents come to assess their home damages for as long as a year, they showed up to Netanhayu's mansion within 1.5 hours of the attack. It can be seen that they damage is so minimal but if I could lay down a bet, I would lay odds that he and his wife will claim damages in the tens of thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands. After all, their last demand for repairs to their private mansion to be paid by the state was for insulating the entire house at a cost of $250,000. So far, that has been turned down but that could change. They have had their swimming pool entirely redone on the backs of the taxpayers and try not to pay for any repairs or improvements on their private homes (they own 3 including the mansion in Caesarea).

• 
  

West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel

•  The US calls for a swift Israeli investigation into the alleged IDF killing of a Palestinian woman harvesting olives in the West Bank last week and for Israel to allow Palestinians to access their lands during the harvest season.

  State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel calls reports of the IDF killing “incredibly concerning,” noting that the Israeli army has launched an initial probe into the matter and has suspended a commander in the unit involved. “expectation is that Israel investigate this thoroughly, swiftly, transparently and that it seek accountability in this instance as well.”

  “It is not lost on us that the annual olive hardest harvest [provides] major economic activity to Palestinian people… and we believe that Palestinians need to have access to their land to conduct these kinds of harvests when appropriate,” Patel says.

  “It continues to be that we want to see some changes when it comes to military rules of engagement, particularly as it relates to the West Bank,” he adds.   

Politics and the War (general news)

• 7 East Jerusalem men arrested in Iran spy plot, including bid to kill nuclear scientist
  Ring of suspects aged 19-23, almost all Israeli citizens, marks fifth Iranian spy case revealed since September, and first to profess a desire to hurt Israel as the main motivation
  

  
  Seven East Jerusalem Palestinians have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran and plotting attacks in Israel on the Islamic Republic’s behalf, the Israel Police and Shin Bet said Tuesday, marking the fifth such case to be revealed in just over a month and the second in as many days.

  The suspects, all men aged 19 to 23 from the Beit Safafa neighborhood without previous criminal or security-related records, were pursuing the assassination of an Israeli nuclear scientist as well as the mayor of a large city in central Israel, the authorities said in a statement.

  Six of the suspects are Israeli citizens, and the other is a permanent resident. The leader of the ring, a 23-year-old named Rami Alian, was recruited by an Iranian agent, and Alian then recruited the other six members, authorities said.
  

  They are expected to be indicted by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office on charges of serious security violations, the statement said.

  The suspects “worked as an organized cell, in which each of them had a defined role,” a security official said, adding that the suspects knew each other from the neighborhood, and had personal relationships that helped them coordinate their activities.

  The suspects carried out various missions for their Iranian contacts, including posting graffiti demanding the release of Israeli hostages, vandalizing sites in Jerusalem, and photographing various locations, the authorities said.
  

  After a while, “the missions turned into more serious sabotage efforts, like setting a vehicle on fire” — which the group did in the city’s Ein Kerem neighborhood, in exchange for 2,000 NIS ($529) — ”or purchasing weapons,” a security official said.

  At one point Alian was asked to hurl a hand grenade at an Israeli security serviceman, allegedly locating a soldier in Jerusalem and receiving 15,000 NIS ($3,969) to purchase the grenade, but not carrying out the mission in the end.
  

  After this incident, he was told to photograph a research center, which he allegedly did, in exchange for 5,000 NIS ($1,322).

  Alian was ultimately given a photo and address of a nuclear scientist whom the Islamic Republic wanted him to assassinate, and was told he would be paid NIS 200,000 ($53,000) if he succeeded, authorities said.

  He allegedly began preparations for the act, gathering information about the target, including his daily habits, whereabouts, and other personal information, but the cell was arrested before it could move forward.

  “They tried to prepare the ground for a planned assassination,” a security official said.

  Police said Alian told investigators he was aware he was working for Iranians and wanted to harm national security, citing the war in Gaza. “I feel proud that an Iranian turned to me,” he allegedly said.
  

  The members of the alleged ring also appeared to have contacted their Iranian handlers directly. “They weren’t helped by a Turkish intermediary, as was the case in previous instances; rather they used different means, which we can’t share,” a senior police official said.

  The investigation into the ring began in September, and detectives followed the suspects for a month and a half. Their detention has so far been extended until October 24.

  A search of the suspects’ houses upon their arrest yielded some NIS 50,000 ($13,229), as well as some 10 credit cards, and a fake police license plate.

  The Shin Bet in recent months has announced a series of alleged Iranian plots, in which Tehran had tried to trick Israelis online into carrying out missions. In January, authorities uncovered a scheme involving Israelis who were allegedly recruited to gather intelligence on high-profile figures.

  In September, a man from the southern city of Ashkelon was arrested on allegations that he was smuggled into Iran twice and received payment to carry out missions on behalf of Tehran, and was recruited to assassinate either Israel’s prime minister, defense minister, or the head of the Shin Bet.
  

  Then, on October 14, a man and his 18-year-old partner, both from Ramat Gan, were arrested on charges they carried out various acts of sabotage and vandalism on behalf of an Iranian agent.

  On October 16, the Israel Police and State Attorney’s Office announced the arrest of a man from central Israel, who allegedly acquired a weapon in order to kill an Israeli scientist on instructions from an Iranian agent, after performing several smaller tasks on the agent’s behalf.

  And on Monday, it was announced that seven Israeli citizens, Jewish immigrants from Azerbaijan, had been arrested last month on suspicion of spying for Iran for as long as two years, carrying out hundreds of tasks at the behest of the Islamic Republic, motivated by a financial payout of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
  

  The suspects were accused of photographing and collecting information on IDF bases and facilities, including the Kirya defense headquarters in Tel Aviv and the Nevatim and Ramat David air bases, which have been targeted by Iran and Hezbollah since the outbreak of the war last year.

  The suspects announced Monday were also accused of gathering information on Iron Dome batteries, ports and energy infrastructure, including the power plant in Hadera, and allegedly received maps of strategic sites from their handlers.

  In addition, members of the ring revealed Monday were accused of collecting information about several Israeli citizens, including a senior security figure, and may have been part of a plot to ultimately assassinate the figure. link

• **Revealed: The Ministers' Attack on the IDF Chief of Staff in the Cabinet - and Halevi's Response**

  Another clash occurred between cabinet ministers and the Chief of Staff, this time centered on the issue of humanitarian aid and the drone launched towards the Prime Minister's residence. The ministers reportedly asked, "What's so complicated about bringing in more aid? Why haven't you done it already?" The Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, responded: "I don't have extra manpower for these tasks. Do you want our soldiers to get hurt distributing sacks of flour in Nuseirat? I need every soldier for the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon. International organizations should handle this."

  The ministers also criticized the Israeli response to the drone launched toward the Prime Minister's residence in Caesarea. Halevi replied: "The Prime Minister approved every strike, and that's what was carried out. We would love to eliminate Nasrallah, but we’ve already killed him."

  Sources present at the discussion described the ministers' attack on the Chief of Staff as an "ambush."

  The ministers' harsh words came after Halevi received warnings from brigade commanders leading the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon about the severe exhaustion among both regular and reserve forces, who have been fighting nonstop for over a year. "It's becoming extremely tough," the brigade commanders told the Chief of Staff. Soldiers about to complete their mandatory service will be summoned immediately upon release for emergency reserve duty (known as *Tzav 8*). Reserve soldiers are also reporting significant struggles with their families and neglected businesses.  link These are the same ministers who refuse to take responsibility for anything, not for their total abandonment of the south or the north, not for stating that Hamas is an asset to Israel, not for the lack of any strategic plan for the war or to end the war, and worst of all not for the absolute and continuous abandonment of the hostages. These things don't enter their lexicon. The only thing that they care about is blaming the army for their own fuck ups, securing money for settlements and religious boondoggles, maintaining the many ridiculous ministries that should never have been formed to begin with, and getting jobs for all their cronies. And of course, for continuing their attempts of judicial takeover and keeping this failed government going.

•  White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says the US is not yet sure how Pentagon documents detailing Israeli preparations for a retaliatory attack on Iran managed to be leaked into the public domain.

  Kirby tells reporters during a press briefing the Defense Department is probing the leak, which has “deeply concerned” US President Joe Biden

  “You can rest assured that [Biden] will be actively monitoring the progress of the investigative effort to figure out how this happened,” Kirby adds.

  He says the US hasn’t received any indication that additional classified documents will be leaked and has been in communication with Israel on the matter.

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The Region and the World

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Personal Stories

  

Never Forget: The Recorded Testimonies of Survivors of the October 7 Massacre

Over 1,200 testimonies from survivors of the "Black Sabbath" have been documented so far as part of "Testimony 710." One resident of the southern region shared, "My husband heard about the horrors I went through and said, 'It's like hearing testimony from the Holocaust.'" Ron Segal, whose mother was murdered in Netiv HaAsara, said, "It’s important to have this story documented for the history of the Jewish people." The founders of the initiative emphasize, "We must ensure how the massacre will be remembered decades from now."

On October 9, two days after the October 7 massacre, residents of the southern communities began documenting and preserving their harrowing experiences and survival stories from the "Black Sabbath." Their goal is to establish a national archive that will include thousands of filmed testimonies, serving as a memory for future generations.

Personal Accounts Yurit Orbach shared her experience: "I found myself in the middle of the fighting with my parents, trapped in a shelter for 16 hours. When I returned to the kibbutz with my husband, we went back to the same room, the same shelter, into the nightmare. As I told him what happened, he muttered, 'I can’t believe it, this is like hearing Holocaust testimony.' That’s when I realized how important it is to share our stories, even though I felt at the time that my story was insignificant."

Ron's Segal's mother was murdered on October 7 in her home in Netiv HaAsara. "Around that time, I also received word that a very close friend of mine, a partner I've worked with for many years from Be'er Milka, was also murdered," Segal shared. "It's very important for them to promote some kind of conversation around this, for there to be some kind of documentation and continuity, so who am I to say no? This story isn't really mine; it's the story of the people of Israel." 

So far, "Testimony 710" has documented over 1,200 testimonies with the help of more than 400 volunteers who travel around the country recording survivors' stories. "Most of my work is finding the witnesses. It sounds simple, but it’s not simple. We just finished an interview with a woman who took a year to be able to sit and talk. The psychological processes and trauma are very deep," said Sela'it, an interviewer and coordinator for the project. "It’s very important to me that in a hundred years, there will be a record of these events, for the sake of the country and the survivors," added Dave, a photographer and interviewer. 

Hundreds of testimonies have already been made public, with many more expected to be released soon. The testimonies are currently being translated into various languages to showcase the horrors to people worldwide. 

Ittai Ken-Tor and Sagiv Aloni, founders of the project, spoke about it: "I’m a filmmaker who has made many documentaries, some of which touched on the Holocaust, including producing films for Yad Vashem. When the event started, I asked myself what the right thing to do was, and I realized our role is to listen to people, to give them the opportunity to tell their story." "One of the things that really guided us was thinking about how these events will be remembered 10, 20, 30 years from now, not just today when all the information is available on social media and in the media, but what people will think about this decades from now," the two added. 

In the coming months, they will continue traveling across the country, collecting filmed testimonies from those who have experienced the worst and will do everything to ensure that the memory of what happened here remains in our hearts forever.

Orbach noted, "It’s important to pass this on to our generations and for the world to hear, so no one will ever be able to deny what happened here, so that our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will learn and know the history. I am the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, and I understand the significance of this story." link

'Waiting to photograph the return of the hostages,' veteran Ynet photojournalist says

After 35 years covering warzones, Ziv Koren says nothing prepared him for October 7; 'A photograph is proof that it happened,' he reflects, stressing importance of documenting tragedy

Veteran photojournalist Ziv Koren says he can barely remember life before October 7, 2023, the day Hamas launched a brutal attack on Israel. Like many Israelis, Koren awoke to a new reality that day, but as a professional, he quickly headed south under fire to document the events as they unfolded. Since then, he has been working tirelessly.
"I've been working 19 hours a day, seven days a week, for a year straight, to try to produce that significant body of work, which for me is a historical document that should remain here for future generations," he told Ynet during a special broadcast marking the one-year anniversary of the massacre.

Burned and abandoned vehicles on October 7

Koren believes the world is split into two groups: "Half who don’t remember October 7, and the other half who don’t believe it really happened. In the end, the photograph is such a significant document. It’s proof that things really happened, and that’s why I try to echo October 7 around the world,” he said, noting his collaboration with Israel’s Foreign Ministry to ensure global awareness.

The truth is hidden behind the cliché: one picture is worth a thousand words, no matter how many interviews and speeches will be everywhere, in the global media. This picture, this photograph, has much more meaning. "True. And that's why, again, I'm trying to create an echo for this footage, so there is also an exhibition that has been on display for several months at the Peres Center, and at the same time, the Foreign Ministry has an exhibition that has already been shown in many countries around the world. There is work with magazines abroad that publish the story, to keep the issue of October 7 relevant, and not forget in any way the issue of the hostages. These are the goals."

Looking for belongings in the wreckage

You got in touch with some of the hostages who returned, in the sense that you also accompany them. We saw it with Mia there, for example. really. How did such a relationship come about? "First of all, it's on a daily level. I mean, especially since the project we did for Yedioth and Ynet, that we bring back significant figures whose lives changed on the seventh of October to the place where it happened. I must say that it has almost become my daily life - the fact that I am in touch with hostages who have returned, with wounded people who are still in rehabilitation, with families I accompany."

Noa Argamani after being rescued from Hamas captivity

Mia Schem after being released from Hamas captivity

It also affects the image, the photography. "Yes, but it's a double-edged sword, because you stab and are stabbed with the same degree of intensity, and these are really people who entered my heart and became, I can say, even my friends. I think that every citizen in the State of Israel should get up every morning and think about what he can do to end this unimaginable saga, there are Israelis who were kidnapped from their beds and are under the ground in Gaza. We cannot afford to normalize this event. It is impossible, and there are great minds in the world Here in this country, which has to find some kind of solution, it is impossible to normalize this event."

What moment are you waiting to take a picture? "The return of the hostages. There will not be a happier moment than this in the history of the State of Israel." link

Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages

The Charge: Negligent Homicide

Joshua Sobol

Playwright and author.

In a 1981 ruling, Israel’s High Court of Justice wrote that “the right to life and everything that life depends upon is the mother of all rights.” It follows, then, that the state’s paramount duty is to safeguard the lives of its citizens; the state’s raison d’etre is validated by its capacity to fulfill this duty, the “mother” of all obligations to its citizens.

The day 251 Israelis were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists, the government of Israel and its leader were tasked with the supreme duty, and the highest responsibility, of saving the hostages from the death threat that hung over them as long as they were in Hamas’s hands.

After recovering from the shock of October 7th, Benjamin Netanyahu laid out two objectives for what came to be known as the “Iron Swords” war, in the following order: crushing Hamas and freeing the hostages. But by presenting the freeing of Israel’s hostages as an outgrowth of a military campaign to destroy Hamas, Netanyahu relegated the saving of the hostages’ lives to second place, in terms of both time and attention, while giving top priority to wiping out Hamas through war.

It was only because of a negotiated agreement that included a cease- fire that 80 hostages were freed alive. Seven others were rescued in military operations.

After months of war have failed to achieve the goal of rescuing all the hostages, the country’s leader must acknowledge that the path he chose was misguided from the start. Instead of saving lives, it has predictably caused death.

After nine months of fighting, over 100 Israelis remain in Hamas captivity - including 42 who have apparently lost their lives, having been murdered or having met an agonizing death amid the harsh conditions of captivity. The failure to assign top priority from the outset to freeing the captives, through any possible deal, is tantamount to negligent homicide. After all, a person who drives irrationally and recklessly in spite of all warnings would be charged with criminally negligent homicide and put on trial.

The state of Israel remains duty - bound to prove the legitimacy of its existence by returning the living hostages to their loved ones, and those who are no longer alive to those who cherish their memory. 

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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