🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 391, 2023 - October 31, 2024 🎗️

  

🎗️Day 391 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!!!”

Sukkot 2023

Look how joyful the families were, gathered together to celebrate and rejoice.

The sukkah isn’t very big, so everyone sits shoulder to shoulder, singing, laughing, praying, and enjoying the feast.

At this point, they are naïve to what is about to happen on October 7th.

Sukkot 2024

Most of the sukkahs were burned to the ground, and those that remain standing depict the void and devastation left after the massacre and abductions.

We can’t rebuild or celebrate until all our hostages are back home.

Bring them all back 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

*9:45pm yesterday - north -rockets/missiles

*10:30pm yesterday - north - hostile aircraft - Sha'al
*1:30am - north -hostile aircraft -Naharia, Shavei Zion, Kfar Giladi, Kfar Yuval, Metulla - The Israel Defense Forces says it shot down a drone from Lebanon, shortly after sirens were heard in Nahariya and neighboring towns in the Western Galilee.

It also says several missiles fired from Lebanon struck open areas in the Upper Galilee, following the activation of warning alerts in the area.

*2:05am - north -hostile aircraft - Sasa
*4:20am - north - hostile aircraft - Rosh Hanikra, Batzet, Milu'ot, Leeman, Naharia, Shavei Zion
*4:25am - north - Hostile aircraft - Bustan Hagalil, Shavei Zion, Acre, 
*7:40am - north - rockets/missiles
*11:00am - noroth - hostile aircraft - Masaade, Majdal Shams, Boka'ata, El Rom
*11:35am - north - rockets/missiles
*12:20pm - north - rockets/missiles

     The Israel Defense Forces says some 30 rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel in a barrage that triggered sirens in Karmiel and other towns in the Galilee region.

The military says a number of the rockets were intercepted while others hit open areas.

There were no reports of injuries in the barrage.

*3:10pm - north - rockets/missiles
*3:45pm - north - rockets/missiles
*4:20pm - north - rockets/missiles
*5:05pm - north -rockets/missiles
*6:05pm - north -rockets/missiles

Hostage Updates 

Today is the 22nd birthday of Omer Shem Tov 

It’s Omer’s second birthday in captivity. Unbelievable and unbearable. Taken from the Nova festival 391 days ago, all he wanted was to dance and enjoy life.

Why isn’t Omer home already? What could be more important than bringing him back to his loving family and friends?

Taken captive: Omer Shem-Tov’s car was driven into Gaza
From the Supernova desert rave he sent a live location to his parents, who later identified him by his tattoos on Hamas videos  
“He sounded more panicked, from call to call,” said his father, Malki Shem-Tov, speaking in a video about his son.
His parents then noticed that the location was moving, and the car was heading in the direction of Gaza.
They called him, wanting to make sure he knew where he was going, but Omer didn’t answer.
“We waited and waited, we contacted the hospitals,” said Malki Shem-Tov.
Eventually, they saw a Hamas video that had been posted on Telegram, showing Omer and his friend lying on a floor in Gaza.
They were able to identify Omer from his tattoos, said his mother.
At 9:30 a.m., Omer and a friend reached the friend’s car and got in. Omer sent a live location to his parents.
                                

Omer Shem-Tov last spoke to his parents around 10 a.m. on October 7, as he sounded increasingly panicked about what was happening around him while Hamas terrorists shot hundreds and abducted dozens at the Supernova music rave in the desert.

• A senior Hamas official says that the terror group rejects any proposal for a temporary halt to more than a year of fighting in Gaza sparked by its October 7 onslaught, and insists on a lasting ceasefire.

  “The idea of a temporary pause in the war, only to resume aggression later, is something we have already expressed our position on. Hamas supports a permanent end to the war, not a temporary one,” Taher al-Nunu, a senior leader of the movement, tells AFP.

  Mediators seeking to broker a hostage deal and ceasefire are expected to propose a truce of “less than a month” to Hamas, a source with knowledge of the talks told AFP yesterday.

  Meetings between Mossad head David Barnea, CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatar’s prime minister in Doha, which concluded on Monday, discussed proposing a “short-term” truce of “less than a month,” the source said on condition of anonymity because of the talks’ sensitivity.

  The proposal involves exchanging hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israeli prisons and increasing aid to Gaza, the source added, with the US reportedly believing it could lead to a more permanent ceasefire.

  Nunu says the group has not received any proposal so far, adding if it gets such a plan, it will respond.

  However, he reiterates the demands the terror group has been insisting on for months — “a permanent ceasefire, withdrawal [of Israeli forces] from Gaza, the return of displaced people, sufficient humanitarian aid to Gaza and a serious prisoner exchange deal.”

  It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF. Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.

Gaza  and the south

•  The IDF says it foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons into Israel from Egypt yesterday, using a drone.
  The drone was identified crossing the border from Egypt into Israel, before it was downed.

  
  A drone and weapons the military says it recovered during an attempt to smuggle arms via UAV from Egypt into Israel (Israel Defense Forces)

  
  Troops dispatched to the scene found that the drone was ferrying four rifles and a handgun, the military adds.
  It is the second such incident in recent weeks.

Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria

• Leaked draft shows Lebanon deal would include global oversight, Israeli freedom to act 
  The ceasefire proposal between Israel and Hezbollah that the US is pushing begins with a 60-day implementation period, during which time the Lebanese army will deploy along the border and confiscate Hezbollah arms in southern Lebanon, according to a draft agreement published by Kan news.

  IDF forces will exit Lebanon within seven days of the end of hostilities and will be replaced by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), with UN peacekeepers facilitating the transition. Ultimately, there will be 10,000 LAF troops along the border with Israel.

  At the end of the 60 days, Israel and Lebanon will hold indirect negotiations through the US on fully implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and resolving border disputes.

  A new International Monitoring and Enforcement Mechanism (IMEM) will be created, chaired by the US, and include Italy, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, UNIFIL and regional countries.

  Israel “may choose to act against violations” and can respond to threats from Lebanese territory, according to the draft. If Lebanon or IMEM don’t address weapons shipments or production, Israel can strike such targets, after consulting with the US.

  Israel can still conduct intelligence flights over Lebanon, but they should not be visible to the naked eye or break the sound barrier.

  There is also a draft side letter between the US and Israel affirming Israel’s right to self-defense, and saying the US will play a lead role in implementing the ceasefire and ensuring Lebanon meets its commitments.
  
  

• Flipping approach, US pursues calm in Lebanon that will then spread to Gaza

  After months of arguing truce in Gaza needed for one in Lebanon, Biden aides say Hezbollah willingness to disconnect from Strip offers opportunity, hope that Hamas will take notice
  

  The Biden administration now views securing a ceasefire in Lebanon as the best way to end the war in Gaza, two US officials told The Times of Israel on Wednesday, acknowledging that Washington has flipped its assessment in recent weeks after months of asserting that calm in the Strip is what would de-escalate tensions along the Blue Line.

  The shift follows the significant widening of Israeli operations against Hezbollah in mid-September, which included mass detonations of the terror group’s communication devices (which Israel has not claimed credit for), the elimination of much of its top leadership and a limited ground invasion that has dismantled much of its military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.

  Before those developments, US officials repeatedly pointed to Hezbollah’s vow not to cease its cross-border attacks against Israel until there is a ceasefire and Jerusalem accepts that the road to calm along the Lebanon border runs through the Palestinian enclave.
  

  “The first thing that we want to get is a ceasefire in Gaza… because we think that would allow us to unlock a diplomatic resolution across the Blue Line,” said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on September 17, referring to the demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon.

  The same message was regurgitated by Biden officials in August, July, June and May, as they prioritized efforts to secure a hostage release and ceasefire deal in Gaza.

  But amid Israel’s intensified military campaign against Hezbollah, officials from the terror group began indicating they were prepared to accept a ceasefire, regardless of whether a truce is reached in Gaza beforehand.
  

  The military gains by Israel and the willingness of Hezbollah to de-link from the conflict in Gaza have allowed the US to make progress in recent days toward a ceasefire along the Blue Line.

  Accordingly, US special envoy Amos Hochstein will arrive in Jerusalem on Thursday for meetings with top Israeli officials about his new proposal for a ceasefire in Lebanon.
  

  A draft of the US proposal published Wednesday by the Kan public broadcaster describes a 60-day implementation period for the deal during which Israel would initially withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon and the Lebanese Armed Forces would deploy there instead, dismantling remaining Hezbollah infrastructure in the process.

  Through the establishing of new enforcement mechanisms, the US proposal aims to ensure the full enforcement of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, whose stipulations that Hezbollah must disarm and retreat beyond the Litani River 18 miles from the border have gone unimplemented since it was adopted at the end of the 2006 Second Lebanon War.

  Hochstein’s decision to travel to Israel followed indications from Jerusalem and Beirut that they were prepared to move forward with the US proposal and that Hezbollah is willing to follow suit, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel.

  The Israeli official clarified that a deal wasn’t likely before next week’s US presidential election, but a one-month timeframe for its approval was “very realistic.”
  

  Taking Hezbollah at its word

  Meanwhile, the US has begun changing its rhetoric regarding the connection between the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.

  “We have always thought that [a ceasefire in Lebanon] should be delinked from Gaza,” Miller said on Wednesday.
  

  The US has indeed spoken out against Hezbollah’s decision to begin launching near-daily attacks at Israel on October 8, 2023, and has rejected the notion that it amounts to solidarity with the Palestinians.

  At the same time, Washington had all but adopted as its operating theory the Hezbollah assertion that calm on the Israel-Lebanon border was predicated on a Gaza ceasefire.

  Asked last month why calm in Gaza would likely have to come first, Miller responded, “It is the fact that Hezbollah has made clear there won’t be any end to the terrorist attacks against Israel until there’s a ceasefire in Gaza.”
  

Stuck in Gaza

A US official speaking to The Times of Israel maintained that Hezbollah’s willingness to disconnect from the Gaza war not only boosts the chances for a ceasefire in Lebanon, but also improves the prospects that Hamas will subsequently ease its stance in hostage talks when it understands that it’s increasingly fighting Israel alone.

Mediators from the US, Egypt and Qatar have sought to restart hostage talks since Israel killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar two weeks ago.

Washington has framed Sinwar’s death as an opportunity to achieve a breakthrough, arguing that the Hamas leader was the primary obstacle to a deal.

Egypt and Qatar have been less convinced, arguing that Sinwar’s killing de-centralizes Hamas’s decision-making process, thereby complicating efforts to secure a deal.

Nonetheless, Egypt proposed a 12-day ceasefire earlier this week, during which four hostages seized by Hamas during the October 7 onslaught last year would be released in exchange for at least 100 Palestinian security prisoners. During those 12 days, the sides would agree to negotiate a longer-term hostage deal.

Mediators are working to sell the proposal to the parties, and CIA Director Bill Burns departed for Cairo on Wednesday to discuss the offer further.

A second US official clarified that the US is “working Gaza and Lebanon simultaneously,” noting that both Hochstein and White House Mideast czar Brett McGurk will arrive in Israel on Thursday, with the former tasked with discussing the Lebanon ceasefire and the latter aiming to advance a Gaza truce.

However, the official acknowledged that the Lebanon negotiations are currently better positioned to succeed. 

“The hope is that this will then translate to success in Gaza,” said the US official.

Does correlation equal causation?
But this isn’t the first time talks for a Lebanon ceasefire appeared more advanced than those in Gaza. In late September, the US unveiled an initiative a 14-day ceasefire after it believed it had secured the support of Jerusalem and Beirut.
But that effort failed to gain traction before collapsing altogether after Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah two days later.
The first US official argued that this latest round of Lebanon talks is different because Hezbollah has “dropped Gaza from the equation.” New Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said Wednesday that his group was prepared to reach a ceasefire with Israel if the terms are “suitable,” while making no mention of the ongoing war in the Strip.

An Arab diplomat, also speaking on condition of anonymity, was less generous in his explanation of the shift in the US approach, saying it had more to do with “throwing as many ideas at the wall and hoping one sticks.”

“They had tried the ‘Gaza first’ strategy and that those talks are still stuck, so now they’re flipping the script,” said the diplomat.

“If the ‘Lebanon first’ strategy succeeds and a ceasefire in Gaza follows, I’m not so sure correlation will have meant causation,” they added, arguing that each conflict is playing out at its own pace and will wrap up accordingly.  link It is amazing that there are still people who think that pressure will change the dynamics and demands of the negotiating with Hamas. Their bottom line does not and will not change no matter how many of their leaders will kill or if they feel they are fighting alone. Their bottom line for a hostage deal is ending the war. Without that as part of the deal, there will not be any change, no small deals, no flexibility, nothing. Anything else is just wishful thinking by people who either are naive, ignorant, want their own publicity, spins or stupid speculation.

  

• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets in his Jerusalem office with US special envoy Amos Hochstein and Middle East czar Brett McGurk.

  According to Netanyahu’s office, the prime minister stresses that the most important element of an agreement to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is not the piece of paper it’s written on, but “Israel’s determination and ability to enforce the agreement and to foil any threat to its security from Lebanon, in a manner that will return residents to their homes safely.”

  The meeting is part of intensive US efforts to broker a ceasefire agreement to end 13 months of fighting in northern Israel and southern Lebanon.

• A commander of a Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile unit was killed in a recent airstrike, the IDF announces, as it also releases footage of an attack on a cell of operatives who launched missiles at an Israeli drone yesterday.
  According to the IDF, a strike carried out by fighter jets this week in the southern Lebanon village of Burj Qallawiyah killed Muhammad Khalil Alian.

  Alian was the commander of Hezbollah’s anti-tank array in the Hajjar regional unit, which is responsible for attacks on northern Israel’s Ramim Ridge region.

  Meanwhile, a drone strike yesterday in Mazraat al-Yahoudiyeh, just north of Tyre, killed a cell of Hezbollah members who launched a missile at an Israeli Air Force unmanned aerial vehicle, the IDF says. 
  
  

• As the difficult task of evacuating the wounded in the wake of the direct rocket impact near Metula continues, medics say that five people are listed in critical condition and one is serious.

  According to reports, the injured are agricultural workers. They are being evacuated by IDF troops before being transferred to the care of the emergency services.

  It is unclear if the casualty numbers are expected to rise still further.

  Update
  

  
  5 killed, one seriously wounded in earlier direct Hezbollah rocket strike near Metula

  Five people were killed and one seriously injured in the earlier rocket strike near Metula.

  One of the killed was an Israeli citizen and the other four were foreign nationals.

  The rocket fired from Lebanon hit an agricultural area close to the northern border town.

• Two people were killed in a rocket attack near Kiryat Ata, outside of Haifa, the Magen David Adom rescue service says.

  The two, a woman in her 60s and a man around 30, are declared dead after being found in an agricultural area near Gilam Junction, according to first responders.

  A third person, a man in his 70s, is transported to a hospital with light injuries.

  The three were injured by rocket shrapnel following an attack on the area just before 3:15 p.m.
  

  The Israeli killed alongside four foreign nationals in a Hezbollah rocket strike near Metula today is named as Omer Weinstein, 47, a father of four.

  Kibbutz Dafna, where he resided, says it shares in the grief of his widow Hadas and the family.

  
  
  
  May their memories be a revolution

• 
  IDF: Fighter jets struck Hezbollah weapon depots, command centers in Syria

  By Emanuel Fabian

  Israeli fighter jets struck weapons depots and command centers belonging to Hezbollah in Syria a short while ago, the IDF says.

  The strikes were carried out in the al-Qusayr area, close to Lebanon’s border with Syria.

  The sites belonged to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force and the terror group’s armament unit, according to the military.

  The armament unit is responsible for storing weapons in Lebanon, and according to the IDF, it recently expanded its activities to Syria, where it stored weapons in al-Qusayr.

  The strikes come as part of the IDF’s efforts to prevent weapon transfers from Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

• According to fresh IDF data, some 1,300 drones have been launched at Israel since the start of the war last year, from all fronts — Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Iran.
  The IDF says that 231 of the drones struck Israel, causing causalities and damage in some cases. Drones that exploded in open areas are also counted as having struck Israel.
  Some 80 percent of drones have been intercepted, according to the military.
  The IDF says it is increasing its efforts against Hezbollah’s aerial forces, known as Unit 127, which is responsible for drone attacks on Israel.
  So far, the commander of the unit has been killed, along with other officers. In all, around 10% of the unit’s members have been killed or wounded, according to the IDF.
  The Hezbollah aerial forces are currently left with some 30% of the drones it had before the war — thought to be in the hundreds — according to IDF assessments.
  The military says that it has struck 54 sites used by the aerial forces to store drones, 24 sites used to store cruise missiles, eight sites where drones and cruise missiles were assembled, six underground sites, and seven weapon depots.
• Israeli attacks killed 45 people in Lebanon in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 2,865 since October 2023, the Lebanese health ministry says, without differentiating between civilians and combatants.
   

West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel

•  A Hamas member planning to carry out imminent terror attacks was killed by Israeli special forces in the West Bank city of Tulkarem a short while ago, the IDF, police and the Shin Bet say.
  According to a joint statement, members of police’s Yamam counter-terrorism unit and Shin Bet agents, with IDF support, operated in Tulkarem to eliminate Hussam al-Malah, who they identify as a prominent Hamas member.  
  
  
• The Israel Defense Forces says fighting is ongoing in Jabalia as the military presses its north Gaza offensive.
  The IDF says that dozens of terror targets and weapons warehouses have been hit.
  In central Gaza, the military says troops destroyed a site used for the production of munitions. 
• Soldiers, armed settlers targeted Palestinian olive harvesters in West Bank 80 times this month — rights group
  

  The Yesh Din rights group says it has documented 80 incidents of violence by soldiers and armed settlers targeting Palestinian olive harvesters in the month of October alone.

  
  Settlers allegedly carrying off stolen olives from Palestinian-owned olive trees from the land of the West Bank village of Bayt Lid close to the Einav settlement, October 2024. (Screenshot, courtesy Yesh Din)
  
  

  The incidents took place across 42 Palestinian villages and included shootings, violent assaults and threats, the expulsion of harvesters and prevention of harvesting, theft of crops and agricultural equipment, and tree uprooting.

  In 85 percent of the incidents, Israeli security personnel were present but didn’t prevent the attacks, Yesh Din says.

  “The increasing number of incidents and the cooperation between the settlers and security forces personnel raise concerns that the prevention of Palestinian olive harvesting in the West Bank is a deliberate policy of Israel,” the rights group adds.  must see video of the violent settlers attacking Palestinians and Israelis

• 
  
• 
  

Politics and the War (general news)

•  Walla news reports that when two Israeli Air Force jets were scrambled to escort Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plane when he returned from the US last month, the demand did not come from security services or even the premier himself, but from his wife, Sara, who feared an attempt to shoot down the plane in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah a day earlier.

  Citing unnamed sources, the report says the Prime Minister’s Office first asked for an escort for the entire journey, which was rejected by the Air Force, and later asked for an escort for the trip’s final leg, which was approved, and two F-35s escorted the plan into Israeli airspace.

  The prime minister’s plane, Wing of Zion, is already equipped with an anti-missile protection system.

  The report also says the PMO sought to publish a photo of the escort, which was refused by the IAF. It says the jets were even instructed to fly behind the premier’s plane so that no one on board could take photos for PR purposes.

  The PMO rejects the report, calling it “utter fake news.” The IDF does not confirm or deny it, saying only that “security for the prime minister’s plane is determined according to security assessments and regulations.”  link Once again, I don't believe the Prime Minister's Office and I do believe the news source. The PMO lies constantly to protect their boss and get him good publicity and attempt to block any bad publicity. Even when they are caught in their lies, they decline to comment, instead of apologizing or giving an excuse.
• At the height of war in Gaza, two former leaders offer a path towards peace - Christiane Amanpour speaks with former Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, and Former Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister, Nasser Al-Kidwa, about the peace plan they are promoting to end the war in Gaza. interview on CNN My brother is the person who made this happen.
  

• Israeli pair arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran; couple allegedly gathered intel on Mossad, were asked to find assassin
  

  A couple from Lod have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Tehran, the Shin Bet and police say, the latest in a number of such cases of alleged espionage for Tehran to be revealed in recent weeks.

  Officials say one of the pair was tasked with finding an assassin on behalf of his Iranian handlers.

  According to the statement, Rafael and Lala Guliyev, both aged around 32, carried out intelligence gathering missions on security and national infrastructure sites, as well as tracking an academic at a security think tank with the intention of her being harmed.

  Rafael Guliyev was allegedly also asked to find an assassin.

  The pair were said to have been recruited as part of an Iranian ring that recruits Israelis who are part of the community of immigrants from the Caucasus region.

  The pair were said to have been recruited by an Israeli of Azerbaijani origin.

  According to security officials, Rafael Guliyev carried out surveillance tasks on security sites in Israel, including the Mossad’s headquarters, and collected information on an academic working at Institute for National Security Studies (INSS).

  He was said to have been assisted by his wife in a number of the missions.

  The statement does not reveal if the couple was believed to have been motivated by financial or ideological reasons.

  A Shin Bet official says the investigation revealed “once again the efforts of the Iranian intelligence agencies to recruit and exploit Israeli citizens in order to promote espionage and terrorist activity in Israel.”

The Region and the World

•  Saudi Arabia hosts the first meeting of a new “international alliance” to press for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

  Unveiled last month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the “International Alliance to Implement the Two-State Solution” brings together nations from the Middle East, Europe and beyond.

  Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan says nearly 90 “states and international organizations” are taking part in the two-day meeting in Riyadh.

  “A genocide is happening with the goal of evicting the Palestinian people from their land, which Saudi Arabia rejects,” he says, describing the humanitarian situation as “catastrophic” and denouncing the “complete blockade” of northern Gaza.

  The Riyadh meeting is expected to focus on humanitarian access, the embattled UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA and measures to advance a two-state solution, diplomats say.

  The Gaza war has revived talk of a “two-state solution” in which Israeli and Palestinian states would live in peace side by side, though analysts say the goal seems less attainable than ever. link Netanyahu still thinks that if he doesn't talk about it, the Palestinian issue will go away despite all that happened on October 7 and on. In fact, it is quite the oppposite. We can no longer live ignoring the conflict where equal amounts of Israelis and Palestinians live between the river and the sea. Neither of us is going anywhere and a different way must be found. Isn't 100 years of battle and killing for the same piece of land enough? Unfortunately, we don't have the leaders to bring us down this road, a different road, one that takes statespeople to guide the way and not be concerned about their political position and the next elections, people who are committed to a better future for both sides which will generate a better future for the region. October 7 brought back the possibility and reality of the need to reach a 2 state solution to bring about a New Middle East.

    
  
  

• Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister says some of the bilateral agreements the kingdom has been negotiating with Washington are “not that tied” to the normalization of Saudi relations with Israel and are “moving ahead.”

  Potential US-Saudi agreements about trade and artificial intelligence are “not tied to any third parties” and “can progress probably quite quickly,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud says on stage at an investment conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

  “Some of the more significant defense cooperation agreements are much more complicated. We would certainly welcome an opportunity to finish them before the [end of the Biden] administration’s term, but that’s reliant on other factors outside of our control,” he says.

  “The other work streams are not that connected, and some of them are progressing quite quickly, and we hope to see moving forward.”

  Saudi Arabia and the US are looking into a set of agreements on nuclear energy, security and defense cooperation, which were originally all part of a wider normalization deal with Riyadh and Israel.

  US President Joe Biden’s aides originally envisioned, in three-way negotiations before the devastating Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, for Saudi Arabia to gain US security commitments and US nuclear cooperation in exchange for normalizing ties with Israel.

  US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had said in May that Washington and Riyadh were close to concluding a set of agreements but cautioned that for normalization to proceed there must be calm in Gaza and a path to Palestinian statehood.

  Prince Faisal reiterates the kingdom’s position that it would not recognize Israel without a Palestinian state, adding on that accord, Saudi Arabia is “quite happy to wait until the situation is amenable” before moving ahead with normalization.

  The normalization deal is widely seen as dead in the water because Riyadh is now conditioning it on the establishment of a Palestinian state — a nonstarter for Israel.  link Netanyahu's greatest dream was normalization with Saudi Arabia because he, rightly saw that it would be a game changer for us. But due to his absolute blind refusal to even discuss a way forward towards ending the Israel/Palestine Conflict which would result in a Palestinian State, he has been willing to damn us and the region to never ending war. Saudi's demand for a plan towards solving the conflict in order to complete normalization is the only major roadblock and Netanyahu won't budge. Closing this issue would also bring about normalization with the rest of the Arab world and most of the Muslim world as has been declared at conferences of both organizations. These things are worth sitting down, discussing and finding the right path forward to bring it all about, if we had the right leadership, which we obviously do not.

Survivors

Personal Stories

  Taken captive: David Cunio, abducted from burning house

Wife and daughters, also taken hostage on October 7 from Nir Oz, were released on November 27

David Cunio, 34, was taken hostage on October 7 from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, as Hamas terrorists attacked the community, burning homes, killing residents and kidnapping people.

David was abducted along with his wife, Sharon Aloni Cunio, 33, their 3-year-old  twin daughters, Yuli and Emma, and Sharon’s sister, Danielle Aloni, 44, and daughter Emilia, 5, who were visiting them for the holiday weekend.

Sharon and the twins were released on November 27 as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel. Her sister Danielle and daughter Emilia were released on November 24.

Twins Yuli and Emma Cunio, 3, seen being released, in propaganda footage issued by the Hamas terror group that abducted them, on November 27, 2023. (Courtesy)

David Cunio and his three brothers were born and raised at Kibbutz Nir Oz. Another brother, Ariel Cunio, was also taken hostage on October 7 with his girlfriend, Arbel Yehud, and Arbel’s brother, Dolev Yehud.

On that morning, the rest of the family, Sharon and Danielle’s sister and parents, began messaging them when missile alerts began in various parts of the country.

At first, Sharon said they didn’t know much, just that they were safe in the sealed room, and had been told there were terrorists in the kibbutz, not a first-time occurrence.

An hour later, Sharon wrote that they could hear terrorists in her neighbor’s house. Half an hour later, she texted that the terrorists were in her house and she wasn’t sure they were going to make it.
Another hour and a half later, Sharon sent a voice message that the terrorists had set the house on fire, and smoke was getting under the door of the sealed room. The last message was at 11:20 a.m.

Hours later, the sisters’ family members were able to get in touch with David’s extended family, those who live on Nir Oz and survived. They had already checked Sharon and David’s house and hadn’t found anyone.

Later that day, a TikTok video circulated that appeared to show David, Sharon and one of the twins on the back of a pickup truck with Hamas terrorists.

Sharon Aloni Cunio, 34, her husband David Cunio, 34, and their twin daughters, Yuli and Emma, 3, were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023. Sharon, Yuli and Emma were released on November 27, 2023. (Courtesy)

Six days later, the Aloni family was informed that all six were officially recognized as kidnapped by Hamas and in Gaza.

David and Sharon Cunio met ten years ago when David and his twin brother, Eitan Cunio, were hired to act in Tom Shoval’s 2013 feature film “Youth” in 2013.

It was the first acting experience for both brothers, and Sharon Aloni was handling press relations for the film. While making the film, she and David fell in love.

Eitan and David Cunio, stars of Tom Shoval’s ‘Youth’ (courtesy: Match Factory)

Sharon and David Cunio settled on Nir Oz, as did Eitan Cunio and his wife, Stav, and two other brothers. The Cunio’s parents and grandmother, of Argentinian origin, also live on Nir Oz and survived the Hamas attack. link

Mother of two hostages in Gaza: 'I received a sign of life'

David and Ariel Cunio were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with David's wife, Sharon, their three-year-old twin daughters, Emma and Yuli, and Arbel, Ariel's girlfriend.

Sylvia Cunio whose sons David and Ariel Cunio are being held hostage in Gaza, shared with Kan Reshet Bet that she recently received a sign of life from them. (interview August 2024)

“I heard from them not long ago. There is a sign of life. I jumped for joy. I’ve been waiting for them so long and want them with me already. I want to smell, hug, and kiss them,” she told Kan radio.

Reflecting on the prolonged conflict, Cunio expressed her desperation, saying, “I hope that this happens as soon as possible. 308 days of war is unbearable. We never thought it would last this long.”

She also mentioned during the radio interview that she has stopped watching the news, waiting instead for the moment her sons will be released.

“I believe it will happen. I want it more than anything, and I have had the greatest hope since October 7. My girls have been waiting so long, thinking, talking, and asking when the bad guys will release them. They were there and knew what it was like. Even though they are young, they understand everything,” imparted Cunio.

In a direct appeal to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently expressed regret over the events of October 7 in an interview with Time Magazine, Sylvia urged him to take action.

“Even if it was a mistake and he did not know, I want him to do something, to bring the children back, to bring everyone back. He should put himself in my shoes and think that those children are his,” she told Kan.In his interview with Time Magazine, Netanyahu acknowledged the gravity of the October 7 massacre, expressing deep regret over the loss of life and the prolonged suffering of the hostages. He admitted that the government’s response had its shortcomings but emphasized that efforts were ongoing to secure the release of those held captive by Hamas.

The Cunio Family

David Cunio, 34, was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 during a brutal attack by Hamas terrorists. He was taken hostage along with his wife, Sharon Aloni-Cunio, and their three-year-old twin daughters, Emma and Yuli. While Sharon and the girls were released in November 2023, David remains in captivity in Gaza.

David’s younger brother, Ariel Cunio, was also abducted from the same kibbutz on the same day, along with his girlfriend, Arbel Yehud. Both Ariel and Arbel remain in captivity in Gaza.  link

Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages

Anat Maor

Former Knesset Member, PhD in Public Policy, Tel Aviv University.

In 2022, when the Prime Minister was sworn in, he said: “I vow to faithfully fulfill my role as Prime Minister...”.

To Israel’s misfortune, after betraying the country’s security by arming Hamas with Qatar's massive funds, and after abandoning Israeli citizens in the south, leaving them in the clutches of Hamas, Netanyahu himself is personally responsible for forsaking the hostages, leaving them to die at the hands of murderous members of Hamas, while all this time he focuses solely on his personal political survival.

Since that horrific day when the hostages were abducted, Netanyahu has presented a false duality, stating that it is either “the return of the hostages” or “the dismantling of Hamas”. This is a dismal manipulation aimed solely at keeping him in power! He made sure that the hostages remained in captivity, and that the war raged on, just so that the public and the Knesset would be too busy and preoccupied to impeach him or launch a State Commission of Inquiry.
    A rational and humane analysis of the situation would suggest that it was both possible and necessary to secure the return of the hostages immediately following their ruthless and terrifying abduction, prior to any ground operation in Gaza. The next opportunity to bring them home was during the negotiations regarding humanitarian aid for Gaza. The aid should have been allowed, as is required by international law, but it should have been carried out under the condition that all hostages be released and brought back home! Israel could have been clever, and could have let in one aid truck, in exchange for one returned hostage, unharmed, alive.

Netanyahu’s continuous abandonment of the hostages is appalling for two additional reasons:

Netanyahu boasted about dismantling Hamas, yet delayed the Israel Defense Forces operations in Gaza that would have led to victory. This, again, was based on that same motive: political survival at all costs. As he touted the “obliteration of Hamas”, he in fact solidified Hamas’ rule by refusing to discuss an alternate government comprised of Arab countries - Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and moderate Palestinian leaders who would be appropriately trained for the role - with the support of the United States and under its patronage. Thus, Netanyahu has breached the trust of the hostages and the citizens of Israel’s south. He is not “Mr. Security” but rather the one responsible for the failure, meaning the continued rule of Hamas in Gaza.

Further depravity is evident in the manner in which Netanyahu conducted these negotiations. Two former ministers who were members of the War Cabinet - high-ranking generals and experts - have attested to numerous instances in which Netanyahu went against the consensus regarding negotiation strategies, caving in to the most extreme ministers in his government, and revoking agreed-upon guidelines. When he claims to have approved plans, he is lying. He only gave his approval after forcing delays - in other words, approval would be granted long after the offer had expired, thus ensuring that attempts to strike a deal would be successfully thwarted.

Hence, for the hostages to be released and returned, it is mandatory, as some of the hostage families have been saying now for months, to remove this heartless and reckless Prime Minister from power. We cannot allow this government and this Knesset to normalize the madness into which they have plunged us. We need no further proof that Netanyahu will not follow the path of Menachem Begin and Golda Meir, who resigned following the wars for which they were responsible. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all Knesset Members, from the political Right, Center, and Left, to immediately terminate Netanyahu’s delusional reign. That is the only way to secure the return of our loved ones from captivity.

Dear hostage families, we embrace and strengthen you, as we all urge the hostages’ return.

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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