🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 425, 2023 - December 4, 2024 🎗️

  

🎗️Day 425 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

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

*7:30pm yesterday - south - rockets - Erez

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Hostage Updates 

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  Tamar Tzohar, grandmother of slain Gaza hostage Omer Neutra, at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square on December 3, 2024. (Courtesy)

  In Tel Aviv, relatives of slain hostage Omer Neutra mourn him, play radio recording of his voice

   They gathered at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square for the weekly program for the hostages, dubbed Singing for their Return, dedicated this week to Omer Neutra.

  The IDF notified Neutra’s family this week that the Israeli-American, for months thought to be a hostage, was killed during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack and his body has been held in Gaza ever since.

  The program begins with a recording from an Army Radio program from several years ago in which Omer’s voice is heard as he is called in to dedicate a song to his tank unit.

  Neutra was last seen injured, lying next to the tank that he commanded, at the Gaza border on the morning of the October 7 onslaught.

  “It’s a small consolation that he didn’t experience long days in captivity,” says his aunt, Genia Tzohar, weeping.

  “It’s sad to me that the nation of Israel that heard so much about you and waited to meet you, won’t get to do that,” she says, as she salutes him. “I hope and pray we will bring you back for burial in your beloved Israel.”

  Tamar Tzohar, Neutra’s grandmother, speaks about her grandson’s early years, being born and raised in New York by his Israeli parents.

  She relates that his parents spoke to Omer on October 6, 2023 — a day before he was killed — and he told them, after weeks of dealing with a steady stream of Hamas activity at the border with Gaza, that his unit had been told they could lower their alertness and could have a more relaxed weekend.

  “We now have to fight to get Omer’s body back home,” says Tzohar.

  
  

• Hamas threatens to kill hostages if Israel launches rescue
  

  Hamas said it had information that Israel intended to carry out a hostage rescue operation similar to one conducted in Gaza’s Nuseirat camp in June and threatened to “neutralize” the captives if such an operation took place, according to an internal statement seen by Reuters.

  In the internal statement dated November 22, Hamas told its operatives not to consider any repercussions of following the instructions and said Israel was responsible for the fate of the hostages. It did not say when any Israeli operation was expected to take place.  link No one should doubt Hamas' threat for a second. For a long time, one of the lines of attempted appeasement of the families was that Hamas would not let any of them die because they are too important for bargaining position. We have seen all too many times that Hamas has no problem executing hostages. Just a few minutes ago, the following report came out

  IDF: 6 hostages were executed early this year by Gaza captors amid airstrikes near their tunnel

  
  Top (L-R): Nadav Popplewell, Yoram Metzger, Avraham Munder; bottom (L-R): Chaim Peri, Yagev Buchshtav, Alex Dancyg. Abducted to Gaza by Hamas on October 7, 2023, their bodies were retrieved by the IDF on August 20, 2024. (Courtesy)
  
  

  More than three months after their bodies were recovered from Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, an IDF investigation has found that six hostages were likely executed by their captors amid an airstrike on a Hamas tunnel.

  Hostages Alex Dancyg, 75, Yagev Buchshtav, 35, Chaim Peri, 79, Yoram Metzger, 80, Nadav Popplewell, 51, and Avraham Munder, 78, were recovered by the IDF from a tunnel in the Hamad Town residential complex of Khan Younis on August 20, months after they were killed.

  The IDF investigation has found that the six men, after being abducted alive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, were taken to a central tunnel in Khan Younis where they were held until late December. The IDF reached that tunnel, which featured holding cells, in January.

  By then, the hostages had been moved to another tunnel in Khan Younis, around four kilometers away. They were held in a narrow hidden passageway under Hamad Town that connected parts of a large underground network in Khan Younis, according to the military’s investigation.

  The IDF had no information on where the hostages were moved to, and on February 14, airstrikes were carried out by fighter jets on Hamas tunnels in the Hamad Town area, targeting a battalion commander in the terror group.

  The military says it did not know of any hostages held in the area, and the strikes were given all the required approvals because there was no suspicion of captives being there.

  Six months later, using new intelligence, the IDF reached the site of the strike and recovered the bodies of the six hostages, all of whom were found to have gunshot wounds, indicating with high likelihood that they were executed by the Hamas guards holding them captive.

  During the August 20 operation, the IDF also recovered the bodies of six Hamas terrorists from the tunnel.

  According to findings from the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, the six terror operatives had no signs of gunfire on their bodies, and they were killed as a result of a “byproduct” from the IDF’s airstrike, meaning they suffocated or were killed by carbon dioxide poisoning inside the tunnel due to a strike.

  The IDF does not know exactly when the hostages were executed — before the strike, during it, or after it. Still, the military believes that the result would have been the same, and the hostages would have died due to the strike’s “byproduct” regardless.

  
  

• Hostage families release AI-generated Hamas hostage propaganda video featuring faux Yair Netanyahu’
  

  A group of hostage families have released an AI-generated Hamas hostage propaganda video featuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Yair.

  “My life is in danger because of the IDF bombing,” Yair Netanyahu can be heard saying in the AI-generated video. “I see the polls here from all the channels – a majority of the country wants a deal. I am asking you, mom and dad — let me go. Only you can. I miss you and Avner, too, and I want to go home.”

  “If their child had been kidnapped, our children would have been home already,” reads a caption at the end of the video.

  The video was released by the Life Forum — a subset of hostage families who have been particularly critical of the government’s handling of the hostage crisis.  Video This video is very clever, but it should have been made a year ago. Everyone in Israel knows that if one of the hostages was the son, daughter, father, mother of a minister of Netanyahu, the hostages would have been home within a week of their capture. I am sure that the poison machine that is Netanyahu and the prime minister's office as well as the rest of his cronies will come out with horrible attacks on the video and the hostage families for their 'cynical use' of Netanyahu's hapless son. It is not cynical at all and his son is far from hapless. However, for Hamas or anyone else to get to Netanyahu junior, they would have to go far to Miami or to a strip club to find him.

  
  
  

• Contradicting US claims of renewed hostage deal push, Qatar says its mediation halt still in place

Qatar’s suspension of its mediation role between Israel and Hamas is still in place, a government spokesperson says, a week after US President Joe Biden claimed that Doha, Egypt and Turkey would be making another push to secure a hostage deal.

On November 8, the Biden administration revealed that it had asked Qatar to oust Hamas’s leaders due to the terror group’s refusal to engage seriously in hostage talks. The next day, Qatar confirmed the decision to kick out Hamas officials, but insisted it had nothing to do with a request from Washington. Instead, it announced its decision to halt mediation efforts, saying it would only resume the role when it deems both sides to be demonstrating willingness to negotiate in good faith.

After brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Biden announced last week that the US, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey would be making “another push” for a hostage deal in the coming days. Egypt and Qatar have been the two main mediators since the start of the conflict and Turkey has been hosting Hamas leaders who fled from Qatar.

While Egypt has reportedly been engaged in this renewed effort, the White House acknowledged yesterday that there was no breakthrough to report. Hours later, US President-elect Donald Trump posted a warning to those holding hostages in the Middle East that they would face unprecedented retribution if the captives are not released by his January 20 inauguration.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari asserts in a press conference that Doha’s pause in mediation efforts remains in place.

“We are suspending our goal as mediators pending both parties showing seriousness in getting back to the negotiation table,” al-Ansari says.

At the same time, Qatar’s “regional contacts” will continue, with a focus on delivering aid to Gaza and maintaining the ceasefire in Lebanon, according to al-Ansari.

• An Israeli delegation headed by Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar will arrive in Cairo tomorrow for talks on a potential hostage-ceasefire deal, al-Araby al-Jadeed newspaper reports.

  The Qatari-owned, London-based outlet says the Israeli delegation will include “a special envoy” from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. No further details are given.

  According to the report, Egypt will present a new draft of its proposal after holding talks with officials from the Hamas terror group. The proposal includes “broad lines that can be moved around,” the report says.

  The visit comes as Israel waits to hear Hamas’s response to an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire in the war that began on October 7, 2023, when the terror group led an attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages to Gaza.  link There are reports by an unnamed official that no delegation is going to Cairo tomorrow and this official also claimed that there is no knowledge in the defense ministry of a delegation. Normally, when there is an  'unnamed official' it is coming out of Netanyahu's office. So we have no information if a delegation is going or not.

Gaza and the South

• Ben Gvir: Netanyahu showing ‘some openness’ to encouraging Palestinian migration from Gaza 
  Far-right minister also calls on Israel to intensify fighting in Gaza, says terms of hostage deal being discussed are ‘unacceptable,’ threatens to bolt coalition. 

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was showing “some openness” over the idea of “encouraging migration” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

“Ideas like settling in Gaza are welcome; the only times we defeated our enemies were when we took territory from them,” Ben Gvir told Army Radio in an interview on Sunday morning. “But that doesn’t satisfy me. I also want to encourage emigration [of Palestinians from Gaza].”

“I am working hard to promote the encouragement of migration from Gaza with the prime minister, and I am beginning to discover some openness on the matter,” he said.

When pushed, the minister would not definitively say whether the premier supports the so-called “transfer” of the Gaza population.

The stance is shared by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionist Party, who said last week that Israel should resettle Gaza and that half of the roughly 2.2 million Palestinians who currently live there should be encouraged to leave within the next two years.

Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005 under the Disengagement Plan, uprooting some 9,000 people and demolishing 21 settlements.

Ben Gvir also called for fighting to be intensified in Gaza.  

“We have a historic opportunity to collapse Hamas. We have a historic opportunity to restore deterrence, reoccupy the Gaza Strip and encourage voluntary emigration. This is what will bring peace to the south,” he said.

The Israeli far right has been pushing for population transfer and “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from Gaza, and the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in their place.

Ultra-Orthodox Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf also called for Israelis to resettle Gaza as he toured the border last week with Daniella Weiss, the head of the Nachala Settlement Movement.

Netanyahu has repeatedly said such actions are not the goal of the war, nor are they on the agenda.

Former defense minister and IDF chief of staff Moshe Ya’alon said on Saturday that Israel’s leadership, driven by far-right elements who seek to resettle Gaza, was taking the country down a path of ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, and warned that Netanyahu’s government was leading the nation to “destruction.”

Ben Gvir also issued an ultimatum over the renewed push for a hostage-ceasefire dealduring his interview with Army Radio, warning that the terms under discussion were unacceptable to him.

“ The terms currently being discussed are irrelevant as far as I am concerned, and the prime minister very much does not want Otzma Yehudit to leave the government,” Ben Gvir said.

Ben Gvir and Smtorich have repeatedly threatened to leave the coalition, thus toppling the government, in the last year as they strongly oppose a deal that would bring the hostages home in exchange for a ceasefire and Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners from its prisons.

Supporters of such a deal have accused Netanyahu of failing to exert his control and authority over his government and allowing himself to be swayed by the more extreme ends of his coalition.

Hamas representatives arrived in Cairo on Saturday for talks with Egyptian negotiators on a potential hostage-ceasefire deal in Gaza as efforts for a second deal continue, as Israel marks a year since the first one saw 105 hostages returned home.

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.

Other than the 105 hostages released in the last deal, four were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 37 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.

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. Link. Unfortunately, there are too many ministers and Knesset members of this corrupted and failed government who are supporting Ben Gvir's and Smotrich's messianic calls to settle Gaza and force out the Palestinian population. They don't care about any implications, not to Israel from within and certainly not from the international community and further moving Israel into a pariah nation status.  They are only focused on their messianic agendas and believe that Israel is an island and can exist without anyone else.

• Washington concerned by report IDF has built dozens of bases in Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor
  The US is concerned by a New York Times report saying that the IDF has significantly bolstered its presence in Gaza, constructing several dozen new military bases in and around the Netzarim Corridor in the Strip’s center in recent months.
  
  State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel says during a press briefing that if the reporting is accurate, the IDF’s actions “certainly would be inconsistent” with US policy regarding the “day after” in Gaza, which opposes any reduction to Gaza’s territory, the continued military control of the Strip by Israel and the forced displacement of Palestinians from their homes.
  
  Patel notes that the reporting has not been corroborated by Israel and he says he’ll leave it to Jerusalem to comment further on the matter.

• US ‘outraged’ by alleged killing of Save the Children staffer in IDF strike on GazaThe US is “outraged” by the reported IDF killing of a Save the Children aid worker in Gaza’s Khan Younis and is seeking more information from Israel on the incident that took place over the weekend, State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel says.

“Humanitarian workers must be protected so they can safely deliver aid… The IDF needs to provide additional information about this incident,” Patel says when asked about the incident during a press briefing.

He declines to draw any conclusions regarding what happened until more information is gathered. “But broadly, we urge Israel to thoroughly and transparently investigate actions like these, and take appropriate action in their system, including ensuring accountability for any violations within their system.”

Save the Children said its staffer, Ahmad Faisal Isleem Al-Qadi, was killed in an IDF airstrike on Saturday.

• Israel says 3 gunmen planning ‘imminent terror attack’ were killed in West Bank drone strike
  

  Three Palestinian gunmen planning an “imminent terror attack” were killed in an Israeli drone strike in the northern West Bank this morning, the IDF and Shin Bet say.

  The trio, members of Hamas, were struck near the Palestinian village of Aqabah.

  After the strike, the IDF says troops raided the site and captured four weaponsWeapons captured following a drone strike near the village of Aqabah in the northern West Bank, December 3, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria

• Lebanon Health Minister Firass Abiad says the Lebanese death toll in more than a year of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has reached 4,047, most of them since September.

  The figure does not differentiate between combatants and civilians. The IDF estimates that some 3,500 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict. Around 100 members of other terror groups have also been reported killed in Lebanon.

  “Until now… we have recorded 4,047 dead and 16,638 wounded,” Abiad tells reporters a week after a ceasefire took effect. Most of the deaths occurred after September 15, he says, adding that “we believe the real number may be higher” due to unrecorded deaths.

  Starting October 8, 2023, Hezbollah-led forces attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the Iran-backed group saying it was doing so to support Palestinians in Gaza amid the war there. Hezbollah then expanded its attacks to also target cities in central and northern Israel with rockets.

  Some 60,000 residents were evacuated from northern Israel near the Lebanon border shortly after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, amid fears Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack, and increasing rocket fire by the terror group. In September, Israel expanded its operations in Lebanon with the aim of enabling northern residents to return to their homes. a ceasefire went into effect last week and has broadly held.

  Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel since October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of 45 civilians. In addition, 76 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes, attacks on Israel, and in the ensuing ground operation launched in southern Lebanon.

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah “holding,” despite a series of incidents.

  “The ceasefire is holding, and we’re using the mechanism that was established when any concerns have arisen about any alleged or purported violations,” Blinken tells journalists on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels.

West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel

•    8 settlers detained over attacks on security forces and Palestinians, damaging property
  

  The police and Shin Bet say that eight Israeli settlers were detained for attacking security forces and Palestinians and causing damage to property in the northern West Bank overnight and this morning.

  
  A Huwara home burned by rioting settlers on December 4, 2024 (Courtesy Huwara residents via Yesh Din)

  “At these moments, many investigative actions are being carried out, which include gathering evidence, collecting findings from the scenes as well as questioning the suspects,” a joint statement says.

  The suspects are being questioned by the police’s West Bank district and the Shin Bet.

  The incidents began after Israeli authorities evacuated an illegal settler outpost near Nablus. In the following hours, settlers stormed the Palestinian villages of Beit Furik and Huwara, where they attacked residents and set fire to property. The suspects also attacked Israeli forces, wounding two Border Police officers.
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Politics and the War (general news

• Netanyahu: High Court has no right to order state commission of inquiry into Oct. 7
  Responding to petitions demanding state commission, lawyer for PM asserts the court would ‘shred the principle of separation of powers’ if it ordered the government to set it up
  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday submitted to the High Court his response to petitions demanding that the government be ordered to establish a state commission of inquiry into the failures of October 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza, claiming that the court has “no authority” to make such a ruling.

  “The Commission of Inquiry Law expressly states that the government is the one that can decide on the establishment of a state commission of inquiry,” said the response, which was filed on Netanyahu’s behalf by attorney Michael Rabilo. “This authority belongs to the government and not to any other entity. This honorable court has expressly stated that ‘the establishment of a state commission of inquiry is a matter for the government to answer and not for the court.’”

  If the court were to order the government to form a state inquiry, it would “shred the principle of separation of powers and the system of checks and balances” in Israel, the response asserted.

  Hebrew media reported last month that Netanyahu has been trying to push legislation that would ban the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught, in favor of a political commission of inquiry chaired by one coalition lawmaker and one opposition lawmaker.

  He has repeatedly put off the establishment of any inquiry, and rejected a state commission to investigate the government’s failures that enabled the deadly Hamas attacks, arguing that all investigations must wait until the fighting in Gaza ends, a stance repeated in Monday’s court filing.

  “Only at the end of the war is it proper that the government be required to decided on what time of committee will be formed,” the response declared.

  The filing came a week after the independent Civilian Commission of Inquiry released a scathing report that tore into Netanyahu, accusing him of undermining the government’s national security decision-making process, creating a rift between Israel’s political and military leadership and leaving the country unprepared for Hamas’s devastating October 7, 2023, incursion.

  The report also alleged the entire government had “failed its primary mission” and that the Israel Defense Forces, Shin Bet, and other organizations “completely failed to fulfill their sole objective — protecting the citizens of Israel.”

  Members of the committee, which was established by relatives of the victims of the attack in light of Netanyahu’s continued refusal to approve a state commission of inquiry and his insistence that he is not to blame for any of the failures, cautioned that their work could not replace that of an official probe with the power to subpoena witnesses, but said that what they had heard was extremely concerning.

  State commissions of inquiry, the inquiry body that enjoys the broadest powers under Israeli law, are typically headed by a retired Supreme Court Justice. Esther Hayut would be a potential choice for that role, after her tenure as president of the top court ended a year ago. But Netanyahu is reportedly vehemently opposed to her appointment, given her outspoken criticism of his government’s effort to radically overhaul the judiciary.  Link   Coments

• Amid growing government campaign for AG’s ouster, MKs file bill to enable police probes against her

  Coalition lawmakers have drafted a bill that would enable criminal investigations against the attorney general and the state attorney, amid a campaign within the government seeking Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s ouster, Hebrew media reports.

  The legislation proposes a new mechanism for cases in which there is information that the police wish to investigate: They would need to request the approval of the justice minister, and he would appoint a prosecutor.

  “The attorney general and state attorney stand at the head of the law enforcement and prosecution apparatuses,” write Religious Zionism MKs Zvi Sukkot and Simcha Rothman in the explanatory notes for the bill. “There is a shortcoming in the existing law regarding opening criminal proceedings against them. The bill seeks to fix this and enable the justice minister to appoint a prosecutor independent of the State Attorney’s Office in cases of this sort.”

  Meanwhile, Shlomo Karhi has revealed the list of 13 ministers who have signed his letter demanding Baharav-Miara’s dismissal: Karhi, Miki Zohar, May Golan, Idit Silman, Amichai Chikli, David Amsalem, Haim Katz, Yitzhak Wasserlauf, Amichay Eliyahu, Orit Strock, Yitzhak Goldknopf, Meir Porush and Itamar Ben Gvir.

  The latter has been adamantly lobbying fellow ministers to act for Baharav-Miara’s ouster, but most ministers have not signed off on this, frustrating Ben Gvir, the Ynet news site reports. The report cites unnamed ministers saying this is the far-right leader’s main current focus and that he has been voicing “extreme” threats over the matter.

  The Knesset is set to hold a declarative discussion tomorrow on firing the attorney general, though it is not expected to include a vote on the matter, Channel 12 reports. Link

  
  

• Eli Feldstein, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said in his police interrogation that he had told the premier about a top-secret intelligence document he is accused of leaking to the foreign press, according to the Kan public broadcaster.

  Netanyahu has previously sought to distance himself from the case and has so far insisted that he learned about the existence of the classified document from the media.

  Kan reports, without citing sources, that Feldstein said he notified the prime minister just two days before he leaked the document to Germany’s Bild newspaper, which published a report on it on September 6.

  Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court said on November 17 that Feldstein had received the document in June.

  A lawyer for a soldier also suspected in the case said on November 12 that Feldstein had told his client that he passed on the material to Netanyahu, who then asked for more. Feldstein told the soldier, who has not been named, “I transferred [the material] to the prime minister, and the prime minister wants more,” lawyer Micha Fettman said on Army Radio. “He’s clearing a full day to handle this matter.”

  Netanyahu has not been summoned for testimony in the case and is not a suspect. Link

• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is endangering the free press, journalists say at an emergency gathering on freedom of expression in the Knesset.

  “We feel that the free media is under a very sharp attack,” Channel 12 news presenter Oded Ben-Ami tells lawmakers, comparing a country without a free press to a hospital whose doctors do not have access to stethoscopes or MRI machines.

  “We are the stethoscope of a democratic state and if you harm us, this state… won’t be able to exist,” he says.

  “Where journalists are flagged for their political positions, arrests will follow,” weighs in Yedioth Ahronoth journalist Merav Betito, referring to a list circulated by Likud activists in recent days that scored Kan public broadcaster journalists on the basis of their political opinions.

  The gathering was organized by Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, himself a former journalist, to protest a series of moves that critics say are aimed at eroding press freedoms, including recent legislative initiatives to grant the government oversight of television ratings data and privatize the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation and Army Radio. In addition, the government has called for a boycott of the left-wing Haaretz daily.

  Michal Assulin, Kan’s music editor, tells the committee that this is not the first time that the government has taken aim at Israel’s public broadcaster, recalling the closure of its predecessor, the Israel Broadcasting Authority, in 2017.

  “I’m scared for freedom of speech,” she says. “Please don’t take my home.”

The Region and the World

•    Pentagon says US forces in eastern Syria struck rocket launchers, tank posing ‘imminent threat’
  
  US forces conducted a self-defense strike today in the vicinity of Mission Support Site Euphrates, a US base in eastern Syria, against three truck-mounted multiple rocket launchers, a T-64 tank and mortars that Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder says presented “a clear and imminent threat” to US troops.

The strike occurred after rockets and mortars were fired and landed in the vicinity of the base, Ryder says. The Pentagon is still assessing who was responsible for the attacks — there are both Iranian-backed militias and Syrian military forces that operate in the area.

Ryder says the attack is not connected to the offensive that is ongoing in Aleppo, where Syrian jihadi-led rebels have advanced and taken over the city.

The US has about 900 troops in Syria to conduct missions to counter the Islamic State group.

June conference chaired by France and Saudis will aim to make two-state solution relevant again

French President Emmanuel Macron announces that he and Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will co-chair a conference on the establishment of a Palestinian state in June.

“We have decided to co-chair a conference for the two states in June next year,” Macron says, referring to Israel and a potential Palestinian state.

“In the coming months, together we will multiply and combine our diplomatic initiatives to bring everyone along this path,” he adds.

Responding to a question on whether France will recognize a Palestinian state, the French president says he will do so “at the right moment” and at a time “when it triggers reciprocal movements of recognition.”

“We want to involve several other partners and allies, both European and non-European, who are ready to move in this direction but who are waiting for France,” he adds.

Macron says the aim is to “trigger a movement of recognition in favor of Israel,” which he says could “provide answers in terms of security for Israel and convince people that the two-state solution is a solution that is relevant for Israel.”

Saudi Arabia appeared close to a deal to normalize relations with Israel as part of a package that would include security guarantees from the United States, prior to Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack which has sparked nearly 14 months of war in Gaza and elsewhere.

Recognition by Saudi Arabia would be a landmark moment in the acceptance of Israel as the kingdom is the guardian of Islam’s two holiest sites. But it has conditioned the move on Israel agreeing to a pathway toward a Palestinian state — a nonstarter for the current hardline government.

Personal Stories

  

Taken captive: Oded Lifshitz, drove Gazans to hospitals

The Kibbutz Nir Oz founder is older and requires medical attention, said his daughter in CNN interview

Oded Lifshitz, 83, was taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz on the morning of Saturday, October 7, when Hamas terrorists invaded the Gaza border communities, killing some 1,400, committing atrocities and taking more than 220 Israelis captive.

Lifshitz was initially taken with his wife, Yocheved, 85. At the time, the family learned that Oded Lifshitz’s cell phone was somewhere in Gaza.

On October 23, Yocheved Lifshitz was freed with another captive, Nurit Cooper.

Their daughter, Sharone Lifshitz, had said her mother uses oxygen when she sleeps and suffers from significant back pain.

“They’re no longer the kind of people who can survive without medications,” said Sharone. “Mom was ripped out of her machine; she was sleeping.”

The couple, who were among the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz, were peace activists and regularly transported patients from Gaza to receive medical treatment in hospitals across Israel.

Oded Lifschitz is a lifelong journalist who wrote for many years for Al-Hamishmar. He’s also a passionate advocate for human rights.

“Their whole house is gone,” said Sharone Lifshitz, one of their daughters, speaking to CNN. “It’s all burned, and that’s the least of it.”  link

For one year, Hamas has held my grandfather hostage. We're running out of time.

My grandparents, Yocheved and Oded Lifshitz, peace activists who were among the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz, were brutally taken hostage by Hamas, along with many others in their community.

Daniel Lifshitz

Opinion contributor

Throughout my life, Rosh Hashanah, or the Jewish New Year, has been a time of reflection – a chance to fondly look back at a year of memorable moments, days, months or seasons. I did this last year, taking stock of what I had and hoped for in the coming year. But not long after last year’s holiday, on Oct. 7, 2023, everything changed and I will never be able to approach the holiday with the same sense of hope and renewal as I once did. 

On that dark day one year ago, my grandparents, Yocheved and Oded Lifshitz, peace activists who were among the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz, were brutally taken hostage by Hamas, along with many others in their community. 

Since then, my life went from a quiet existence to flying around the world, advocating to anyone in power who would listen to save my 84-year-old grandfather, who is still being held hostage by Hamas, before it’s too late. The past year has been a blur of protests and meetings with foreign dignitaries, moments of relief and hope, grief and despair, and reminders that the world keeps turning even if our lives have been at a standstill.

Now, each moment is intrinsically linked to the number of days my grandfather has suffered in captivity.  

For 365 days, my grandfather has been held hostage by Hamas

Day 0: The dark Saturday. My grandparents hid in their safe room until Hamas terrorists shot their way in. They took my grandparents – people who had fought for a peaceful coexistence their whole lives and transported sick Gazans to Israeli hospitals – hostage. 

Days 1-5: Each day we learned more about the level of death and destruction in our community, Kibbutz Nir Oz, where nearly a quarter of the 400 residents were murdered or taken hostage. We heard about the other kibbutzim that were ransacked and what happened at a music festival meant to promote love and peace. In our state of absolute shock and horror, we worried about my grandparents, then ages 83 and 84. Could they survive being held hostage?

Day 17: Momentary relief. My grandmother was released. In just two weeks she lost 10 kilos (22 pounds) and suffered from extreme diarrhea. She said she met a Hamas leader in the tunnels and, though diminished, she didn’t lose her signature strength. She asked him directly how he could do this to innocent people, the ones who had advocated for peace. 

Day 38: I landed in New York for my first international advocacy mission with my new, unwanted identity of “hostage family member.” All I could think about while I was in fancy rooms at the United Nations with high-powered people was: "What kind of room was my grandfather in? Can he breathe?"

Protesters in Israel clash with police while demanding the release of the hostages

A temporary cease-fire, a hostage deal – then nothing

Day 49-56: A temporary cease-fire/hostage deal in Gaza. We watched with hope as more than 100 hostages – women and young children – were released from captivity, many of whom my family knew or had gotten to know as we built a community with our comrades in tragedy. We hoped my grandfather would be on the list to be set free. Sadly, the deal fell apart after seven days, and there’s been no negotiated deal since. 

Day 157: Back to Germany and Washington, D.C., for meetings with elected leaders and dignitaries. I brought photos of my grandfather and my best friend, Dolev Yehud, taking them along on this journey to fight for their freedom. I thought they’d one day like to see their heads next to the U.S. Congress and a Frida Kahlo painting at an art museum. I heard many politicians express their sadness and contempt for Hamas for doing something so evil and holding so many people hostage. But contempt must turn into action to bring them home. 

Day 217: My grandfather turned 84 on May 11th. Does he even know today is his birthday? It’s hard to know how to celebrate someone in captivity, so we spent the day honoring him by tending to his beloved cactus garden in Nir Oz. He and my grandmother grew several hundreds of cacti, succulents and euphorbias. The garden had fallen into disrepair without his watchful eye. I hope we made him proud. 

Day 237: A deal seemed close. President Joe Biden announced that the Israeli government agreed to a three-phase deal. Now, Hamas had to agree. My grandfather, a former journalist and lifelong human rights advocate, would have been covering these negotiations with vigor. As a sixth-generation Israeli who fought in four Israeli wars (including Oct. 7) he understands more than anyone that Hamas started this war with their terror. But he’d also understand the imperative of reaching a hostage release and cease-fire deal for the future of Israel and peace in the region.  

We are out of time

Day 240: My best friend since childhood, Dolev, had been presumed held hostage alongside my grandfather. On this day we learned he was dead, murdered on Oct. 7. The last time I saw Dolev was Rosh Hashanah 2023. I sat with him, his wife, Sigal, and the children on their balcony in the kibbutz. We played card games and kicked around the football. My heart breaks for Sigal and their four children (the fourth was born on Oct. 16 and will never meet her father). Oct. 7 destroyed so many families. 

Day 328: This is the day that six hostages ‒ Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, Ori Danino, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov and Eden Yerushalmi ‒ were murdered in captivity. They could have been reunited with their families if a deal had been reached earlier, but the Israeli government was adding new provisions and Hamas wouldn’t come to the table. I was devastated for their families and worried for my own. 

Day 365: It is hard to put the past year into words. I can no longer listen to music. My grandfather, a talented pianist, can play any song on the piano by just listening to it once. I feel guilty enjoying music when he cannot. I miss my grandfather and our conversations. My daughter misses her great-grandfather. My grandmother misses her husband and is struggling mentally and emotionally.

As I reflect on this Jewish New Year and the first anniversary of Oct. 7, it is one punctuated with emotions tied to memories, all the while my grandfather has been in dangerous captivity. We are out of time. We must bring my grandfather Oded and the remaining 100 innocent hostages home, and a negotiated deal is the only viable path to make that happen.

It has been 365 days filled with glimmers of hope followed by overwhelming sadness. I should not have had to wait one day for my grandfather to come home, let alone 365.

Daniel Lifshitz, who grew up on Kibbutz Nir Oz, is a ex-footballer for Maccabi Tel Aviv and founder of Bourgogne Crown, a wine importing company. He shifted his focus to humanitarian advocacy following the Oct. 7 attacks when his grandparents were taken hostage. link

Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages

Child of Mine

Shiri Artzi

Author and Scriptwriter.

The day the footage of the female Israel Defense Forces field observers’ abduction was released, I was unable to warn my daughter about watching it. She is almost thirteen and a half. I was still at work when she went to the mall with her girlfriends, and when she returned, she did not utter a word for three hours. She looked terrible. Her face was pale, practically gray. She did not raise her eyes. Various scenarios were racing through my mind, and when I asked repeatedly: “What’s wrong?” she refused to answer, mumbling the least convincing “nothing” in the world. Finally, during the evening, she suddenly blurted out: “I saw the footage.” My heart sank and my knees buckled. Oh, how I wanted to protect her from this, but I failed. She stood there in front of me, her words blazing, her eyes weeping. “How can this be? How can they possibly still be there? In what world? Tell me, Mom? How can it be?” I did not know what to say. “Where did you see it? I asked, as if it mattered. “On Instagram. Does it matter?” No, daughter of mine, it does not matter. The problem is not that you saw it, the problem is that it happened. The problem is that they are still there. The problem is that this inferno has been going on for an eternity. “They are only young girls!” she shouted, “They could be my Scout troop leaders. They could be my sisters.” She fell silent and did not say: “They could be me,” but we both thought that, without words. She was crying, her eyes open wide, and I was unable to breathe. I tried to caress her, but she shook me off like a wounded animal as she cried out: “There are people there who are the same age as grandpa and grandma, and there’s a baby there! And every person there is someone’s parent or child or brother or sister. How come they are still there?? How come they have not been brought back, explain it to me, Mom.”

“My child,” I whisper to her, “I don’t understand it myself,” and she says to me, sobbing: “I don’t want to live in such a world,” and I want to say: “Neither do I,” but I don’t. Because I’m her mother and it is my job to mediate for her a world in which living is possible, to convince her that there is some order that can be trusted, there is some sense, there are people to rely on.

“My child,” I embrace her, “We will do everything we can to keep you safe,” and she looks at me with her wise, torn gaze and asks: “And what if that’s not enough?” and I lose the few words and the little air that I still have, and hold her tight and cry with her, helpless, scared and no less infuriated, with a single word rising to the surface of my heart - [we have been] abandoned.

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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