🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 427, 2023 - December 6, 2024 🎗️

  

🎗️Day 427 that 100 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

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Hostage Updates 

• I am not optimistic about the chances of reaching a deal that will release the hostages because Netanyahu is not willing to end the war. Even if Hamas agrees to enter into a temporary ceasefire and release civilian hostages, it will not implement the deal without a guarantee in advance that in the second phase the war will end. I also think that a deal that does not return all the hostages in a very short period of time is a bad deal. We must pressure Israel to reach a full deal, short in time and including the end of the war. This is the order of the hour. (Gershon Baskin, 12-5-2024)
  
  

• And once again, the hostages are barely in the news. There may be some discussions going on but the focus has again been taken off of them due to the Syrian situation, Netanyahu's trial, the corrupt government's attempts to fire the Attorney General and their continued plans to pass laws that destroy the last remaining remnants of democracy. The main actors who are pushing for a hostage deal are the Americans, both in the current administration and the incoming, the Egyptians, and the Qataris who have returned as negotiating partners. From Israel, there is lip service with Netanyahu and his cronies making statements that they are prepared for a deal and say that Hamas will be more flexible in a deal but they know very well that the only deal that can be made with Hamas entails ending the war and withdrawal of troops. And still, it is Netanyahu who will do everything to preserve his personal and political situation over the interest of the country and the lives of the hostages. The overwhelming majority of the population want a deal even if it means ending the war in order to get the hostages home. The people know that without the hostages, the country cannot begin to heal and the most basic and most important covenant between the government and the people to protect its citizens, which was horribly broken on October 7 cannot never be restored if the hostages are not brought home in a deal.
  
  

Gaza and the South

• Some 18,000 Palestinian civilians have been evacuated from northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya in the past day, according to a report by Army Radio.

  

  
  

  Before entering the town in the Strip’s far north last month, the IDF estimated that only a few thousand Palestinians were residing there.

  During the evacuation of the population from several shelters in the combat zone, troops detained around 100 suspected terror operatives who were taken to Israel for questioning, the report says.

  The military has previously denied it is seeking to forcibly displace Palestinians in Gaza, saying that “the IDF’s warnings to members of the civilian population to temporarily distance themselves from areas expected to be exposed to intense warfare are made in accordance with the obligation under international law to take feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm by providing advance warnings prior to attacks. The IDF only operates in areas in which there is known to be a militant presence, and is still at this time working to dismantle Hamas’s military infrastructure in various areas throughout the Gaza Strip.”

  Troops killed some 20 terror operatives during fighting in Beit Lahiya in the past day, Army Radio says, a relatively low figure compared to recent weeks, as combat in the area has become less intense.

  The IDF launched an offensive against Hamas in the Strip’s far northern towns of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun in early October. So far, the military estimates that it has killed at least 1,750 terror operatives.

  Another 1,300 have been detained, and around 90,000 civilians have been evacuated from the area.

  Thirty-one IDF soldiers have been killed so far in the operation.

• The US State Department says Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated the Biden administration’s call for Israel to do more to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza during his meeting with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar yesterday in Malta.

  Following a pair of months that saw the lowest amount of aid enter the Strip since the start of the war, the US in October gave Israel a 30-day deadline to take significant steps to boost the humanitarian situation or risk a partial weapons embargo. As the deadline expired last month, Washington said Israel had made enough progress on many of the steps requested by Washington to avoid an embargo. However, the administration stressed that it expected Israel to maintain the new measures instituted in order to alleviate the humanitarian crisis as much as possible.

  Israel argues that Hamas is stealing or profiting off of much of the aid that is entering Gaza, while large quantities are looted by criminal gangs.

  International stakeholders maintain that Israel effectively occupies the Strip and controls the crossings and is therefore responsible for the humanitarian situation inside the enclave. They also argue that Israel’s refusal to allow the Palestinian Authority to gain a foothold in Gaza has allowed Hamas to fill any vacuums temporarily created by the IDF through its military activity against the terror group.

• Hamas commander who led Kibbutz Nahal Oz massacre on Oct. 7 killed in recent Gaza strike -- IDF, Shin Bet
  

  One of the Hamas commanders who led the attack on Kibbutz Nahal Oz during the October 7 terror onslaught last year was killed in a recent airstrike, the military and Shin Bet announce in a joint statement.

  This past week, Israeli fighter jets struck and killed several top commanders in Hamas’s Shati Battalion in Gaza City, the military says.

  Among those killed was Majdi Aqilan, who the IDF says was the deputy battalion commander and a company commander.

  On October 7, 2023, Aqilan was one of the commanders who led the massacre and taking of hostages at Nahal Oz, according to the military.

  
  
  The destruction caused by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, near the Israeli-Gaza border, in southern Israel, October 20, 2023 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

  
  

  Additionally, the strike killed Mamdouh Mehna, who the IDF says is a senior tunnel specialist in Hamas’s Gaza City Brigade. On October 7, 2023, Mehna also raided Nahal Oz.

  Another terrorist killed in the strike is named by the IDF as Ahmed Suwaidan, a company commander in the Shati Battalion, who was involved in kidnapping Israeli civilians and taking them to Gaza on October 7.

  The Hamas operatives were also involved in attacks on Israel and troops in Gaza amid the war, the army adds.

  
  

• The IDF says that last night’s airstrike in the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in the southern Gaza Strip killed several Hamas operatives, including a top commander in the terror group’s internal security forces.

  According to the military, Osama Ghanim was involved in “activity to suppress the citizens of Gaza and was responsible for detecting threats against Hamas from within the Strip.

  “Ghanim held a key role in implementing Hamas’s brutal methods, which included conducting harsh civilian interrogations while violating human rights, suppressing residents suspected of opposing Hamas, and persecuting civilians from the LGBTQ+ community,” the IDF says.

  The IDF says it took numerous steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strike, including by using a precision munition, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.

  Palestinian media reported that some 20 people were killed in the strike.

• IDF says it killed Hamas commander who planned Oct. 7 aerial infiltration
  

  The commander of Hamas’s aerial forces in Gaza City was killed in a recent airstrike, the IDF and Shin Bet announce.

  According to the military, Nidal al-Najjar was among the Hamas terrorists who planned the aerial infiltration into Israel during the October 7 onslaught.

  On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists flew over the border in paragliders and carried out a massacre in southern Israel.

  Al-Najjar was killed in an airstrike on Tuesday, the military says.

  The IDF says he was also responsible for Hamas’s air defenses, and during the war carried out explosive-laden drone attacks against troops operating in Gaza.

• The director of north Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital and the Hamas-run territory’s civil defense agency says Israel conducted several strikes today that hit the facility.

  “There was a series of airstrikes on the northern and western sides of the hospital, accompanied by intense and direct fire,” Hossam Abu Safieh says, adding that four staff were killed and no surgeons are left at the site.

  The IDF has not yet responded to AFP requests for comment on the strikes.

  Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.

  Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for the Hamas-run civil defense agency in Gaza, tells AFP that the IDF entered Kamal Adwan Hospital this morning, evacuated patients, and arrested several Palestinians.

  The city of Beit Lahiya has been the site of an intense IDF operation aiming to stop Hamas from regrouping in northern Gaza for the past two months.

Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria

• Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem says that his group, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, will be by Damascus’s side as Islamist-led rebels press a sweeping offensive.

  In a televised address, Qassem denounces “terrorist groups” who want to “destroy Syria again… to bring down the regime” and “create chaos.”

  “They will not be able to achieve their goals despite what they have done in past days, and we as Hezbollah will be by Syria’s side in thwarting the goals of this aggression as much as we can,” Qassem says.

  He does not elaborate on what sort of support his group might provide, but Hezbollah suffered heavy losses in its war with Israel which ended with a fragile ceasefire on November 27, the day the Syrian rebels launched their offensive.

  Qassem accuses the United States and Israel of supporting “takfiri” factions, a term the Shiite Muslim group uses to refer to jihadists or supporters of radical Sunni Islam.

• Two residents of the northern Druze village of Mas’ada have been arrested for carrying out surveillance missions on behalf of Iran’s IRGC Quds Force, the Shin Bet and police say.

  The suspects, Tahrir Safadi and Bassem Safadi, a father and son, were detained in November over suspicions they were “recruited by Iranian elements and committed crimes of espionage and contact with a foreign agent during the war,” the Shin Bet says.

  The investigation found that Tahrir, 21, a software engineering student, was involved in surveillance missions for Iran and the so-called Axis of Resistance in recent years, at the request of his father, Bassem.

  The Shin Bet says he would collect information on IDF activity in his area, the Golan Heights, which was then handed over to Hussam as-Salam Tawfiq Zidan, a journalist with the Iranian state-owned Al-Alam News Network.

  Zidan lived in Damascus and simultaneously worked for the Palestine division in the Quds Force, according to the Shin Bet. The unit is responsible for aiding Palestinian terror groups in carrying out attacks.

  Tahrir and Bassem were both instructed by their Quds Force handler Zidan to carry out various missions, including taking photos of troops, tank movements, equipment, and other details, the security agency says.

  Today, an indictment was filed against Tahrir Safadi, accusing him of “grave crimes of espionage.”

  His father, Bassem, will be held in administrative detention due to “the absence of a criminal proceeding alternative, and given his high risk to state security and public peace,” the Shin Bet says.

  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, or recruited Israelis to gather intelligence on high-profile figures, military targets, and other sites.

  “The investigation of the case revealed once again the fact that elements of the Axis, led by Iran, work to advance terror activity in Israel and exploit the residents of the State of Israel for espionage activities,” the agency says.

  The Shin Bet and police add that they view the case, and any other contact by Israelis with Iranian elements, “gravely.”

• IDF confirms overnight strikes on Syria-Lebanon crossings, which it says are used to transfer arms to Hezbollah
  

  Israeli fighter jets struck several border crossings and land routes between Syria and Lebanon overnight, which the military says were used to transfer weapons to Hezbollah.

  The strikes were carried out against the Arida Crossing between northern Lebanon and Syria, as well as several routes in the al-Qusayr area.

  Syria’s state news agency says the Arida Crossing is out of service following the strikes.

  The military says the strikes were part of a campaign against Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, which is tasked with delivering weapons from Iran and its proxies to Lebanon.

  The strikes come just over a week into a fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah. The IDF has said that amid the truce it will continue to act to prevent all weapons deliveries to the Iran-backed terror group, including by striking shipments anywhere in Lebanon or Syria.

• Iran aims to send missiles and drones to Syria and increase the number of its military advisers there to support Syrian President Bashar Assad in his battle against jihadist-led rebels, a senior Iranian official tells Reuters.

  “It is likely that Tehran will need to send military equipment, missiles and drones to Syria… Tehran has taken all necessary steps to increase the number of its military advisers in Syria and deploy forces,” the official says on condition of anonymity.

  “Now, Tehran is providing intelligence and satellite support to Syria.”

• Jordan has closed its only passenger and commercial border crossing into Syria, the country’s interior ministry says.

  A Syrian army source tells Reuters that armed groups had been firing at Syria’s Nassib border crossing into Jordan.

  “Armed groups who infiltrated the crossing attacked Syrian army posts stationed there,” the source adds.

  He says dozens of trailers and passengers were now stranded near the area.

  Jordan’s interior minister said Jordanians and Jordanian trucks would be allowed to return via the crossing, known as the Jaber crossing on the Jordanian side, while no one would be allowed to cross into Syria.

  The Saudi Alhadath news channel reports that gunmen have taken control of a number of villages and military checkpoints around the southern city of Deraa, near the Nasib crossing, including the town of Nawa, located only about 15 km, or nine miles, from the Israeli Golan.

  Separately, Syrian rebel commander Hassan Abdul Ghany urges top military officers to defect, in a video statement aired today.
  
  
  

• The IDF says it is bolstering forces on Israel’s border with Syria, amid the developments in the civil war.

  The move comes following fresh assessments held yesterday by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and the head of the Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin.

  The IDF says it is deploying additional ground and air forces in the Golan Heights in light of the developments in Syria.

  It says troops are deployed to the border in the Golan Heights and are “raising their readiness according to the various scenarios.”

  In a video released by the IDF, troops are seen fortifying a barrier along the border with Syria.

  “The IDF is following the events and is prepared for any scenario in attack and defense,” the military says, adding that it “will not allow a threat near Israel’s border, and will work to thwart any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel.”

• Troops of the 146th Division during operations in the western sector of southern Lebanon located several rocket launchers aimed at Israel, the military says.

  During scans, the IDF says the troops found and destroyed launchers, mortars, dozens of rockets, ammunition crates, and assault rifles.

  
  A rocket launcher found by IDF troops in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo issued on December 6, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

  “The IDF operates in accordance with the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, while maintaining the terms of the ceasefire,” the military says.

  Troops are still deployed to southern Lebanon, and the military says it will “act in the face of any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens.”

West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel

• Smotrich tells Civil Administration there’s ‘great opportunity’ to annex W. Bank

  Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently told workers of the Civil Administration, the Defense Ministry body in charge of Israeli and Palestinian civil affairs in the West Bank, that he hopes to shut down the department as part of Israeli annexation of the West Bank, Ynet reports.

  “I hope we’ll have a great opportunity with the new US administration to create full normalization [of Israeli rule] and bring government ministries in here,” he is quoted as telling Civil Administration officials.

  “There will be an orderly process, and we’re working now on solidifying the administrative work and putting the plan on the table.” He added: “This is a serious statement, I’ve spoken with the prime minister about it and we are taking it very, very seriously. I also spoke with the designated ambassador to Washington, Dr. Yechiel Leiter. We are trying to create a real process here. There is a lot of work involved, but this was once an impossible reality, and we can make it a reality.” Link Smotrich, like all the extremists believe that they can force millions of Palestinians out of the West Bank and Gaza and make them Arab free  they would like that to happen within Israel as well but recognize that is more difficult for their racist plans. Most settlers in the West Bank, who are not necessarily extremist tend to be blind to the Palestinians, not even recognizing that they are their neighbors nir accepting the real demographics of the population. So when Smotrich and his messianic extremists sell them a bill of goods of annexation, they claim drastically reduced numbers of Palestinians to push the lie that it barely affects them. The biggest blind spot, intentionally is the overall demographic that there are equal numbers of Jews and Palestinians between the river and the sea- 7 million of each.  Annexation is actually the first major step to the end of the Zionist experiment of a Jewish homeland and will eventually bring about a one state solution, initially as a Jewish apartheid nation where the Palestinians have no civil rights. This is unsustainable and the world will force an end to that just as they dud with a South Africa and by then, it is likely that the demographics will have change to a larger Arab population making the Jewish population a minority in a one state reality forever ending the concept of a Jewish State. Smotrich and his fellow extremists, claiming to be the real and new Zionists will actually bring about the end to a Zionist dream  

   

• IDF commandos killed Palestinian gunman who opened fire at them during Nablus raid — military source
  

  Overnight, troops of the IDF’s Duvedevan commando unit killed a Palestinian gunman who opened fire at them during an operation in the Balata camp near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, a military source says.

  Meanwhile, four weapons were seized by troops in the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan, also near Nablus, according to the source.

  
  
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Politics and the War (general news)

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The Region and the World

• Iran claims successful launch in space program believed to improve Tehran’s ballistic missiles
  Iran claims to have conducted a successful space launch, the latest for its program the West alleges improves Tehran’s ballistic missile program.

Iran says it conducted the launch using its Simorgh program, a satellite-carrying rocket that had seen a series of failed launches. The launch took place at Iran’s Imam Khomeini Spaceport in rural Semnan province.

There is no immediate independent confirmation the launch was successful.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles can be used to deliver nuclear weapons. Iran’s nuclear program has now enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels after the collapse of its nuclear deal with world powers.

Personal Stories

 

"My Daughter Cries Silently at Night, My Son Runs to the Shelter at Every Noise": The Plight of Children in Northern Israel

Although a ceasefire has been achieved in the north, the path to emotional stability for residents is still long. A study examining the war’s impact on children and adolescents found that most are grappling with emotional challenges that worsen in the absence of proper adult mediation. "No one has taken the time to talk to educators and parents about the implications of this situation," says Noam, a father of three and a mental health professional. "Without this, there will be no recovery."

Dr. Ortal Buchnik Atzil stresses the urgency: "The state must intervene immediately and allocate funds for psychological support for northern residents."

Noam (pseudonym), a father of three from northern Israel, experiences the effects of the war on his children daily. "Our eldest daughter seems to act normal, but she's very tense and full of worries. Our middle daughter has deep anxieties—at night, she curls up and cries silently, as if she wants to disappear. She’s scared to be alone, even at home. Our youngest son runs to the shelter at the slightest noise," he shares.

The destruction on Kibbutz Manara in the north

"It's a rollercoaster," he explains. "The core issue here stems from the system’s inability to manage the situation. No one talked to the educators throughout the year about what their behavior during an alarm means for the children or how to address kids dealing with anxiety. Most of the difficulties we face arise from the fears instilled in children due to a lack of professionalism."

Noam adds that his family receives help from the educational psychology service only because they sought it out themselves. "There is no public awareness, guidance, or parental support available," he laments.

This is how the situation in the north affects the soul of children and teenagers
67% are dealing with behavioral issues

66% with social issues

57% with depression
37% show signs of of hidden dropping out of school

growth of 43% in family tension and fighting in the family

As a mental health professional, Noam predicts significant long-term consequences: "Children are developing severe anxiety, a lack of independence, low frustration tolerance, poor self-esteem, and social withdrawal. Some even experience bedwetting. This is the reality—there won’t be real recovery. These are children who already faced deficits during the COVID-19 pandemic, and now they endure another year of war. The damage is deep, and there are no adequate resources to address it."

A recent study led by Dr. Ortal Buchnik Atzil, in collaboration with Dr. Lilach Lev Ari, Dr. Maayan Shorer of Ruppin Academic Center, and Dr. Liat Helfman of the University of Haifa, highlights the emotional and psychological challenges faced by children in the north amid the ongoing conflict. Conducted in the spring of 2024, the study surveyed 400 parents of children under 18, including both evacuees and those still living at home.

"We hypothesized that families facing dislocation from their natural environment or regular rocket attacks would experience high-intensity stress with significant psychological consequences," explains Dr. Buchnik Atzil, a faculty member at Ruppin Academic Center and a psychologist. "We wanted to be the voice of these families and an entire region that is not receiving adequate support."

The researchers identified a range of symptoms persisting since October 7, exacerbated by the war: "Anxiety attacks, outbursts of rage, children returning to sleep with their parents, difficulty with separation, nightmares, and a constant fear that something bad will happen. The more anxiety and stress parents experience, the more their children mirror these symptoms."

Furthermore, many children are exposed to distressing content at school or through friends. Some parents, believing their children have inadvertently learned about traumatic events, choose silence over explanation—an approach that amplifies symptoms. "The lack of mediation in schools is a critical issue. Children are left to interpret events on their own, which often results in further trauma. Our most significant finding is that when parents take the lead in explaining and processing events for their children, symptoms decrease." 

In the North, Experts Say, a Double Trauma and Profound Fatigue Prevail

“There is a sense of deep exhaustion and layered trauma in the north,” the researchers explain. “It’s not only the families directly exposed to terrorism, those whose homes were struck by rockets or who were physically harmed. Anxiety and depression are not limited to the first circle of victims. Simply living in the north, where life has been disrupted by constant sirens, increases the likelihood of experiencing these issues. However, it’s important to emphasize that most people can recover with the right support—community-based and meaningful. The real problem is that communities have disintegrated, support systems are lacking, and there aren’t enough resources to help people recover and reduce the intensity of their symptoms.”

Nadav (pseudonym), a father of three from Kiryat Shmona, deeply feels the impact of community collapse. “It’s like losing all the foundational circles that give your life meaning and stability,” he explains. “Not just physical things like your home, your room, and your bed, but also the familiar surroundings—the neighborhood, friends, youth groups, school, and activities. All of that disappeared for my kids in a single day, replaced by something temporary—a hotel room, then one apartment, and another. There’s no stability, and there’s a fear of forming attachments because they know it’s all temporary. I see this in my kids—they don’t want to get too attached because they’re constantly expecting the next move. It’s a constant tension. They have to repeatedly adapt to being the new kid, the outsider, the one without a home. That’s the main struggle.”

Nadav also notes that the educational gaps, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic, have only widened. “At their regular school, we had access to special integration hours to address these gaps, but we don’t have that now because we’re in a different framework that lacks those resources. I don’t know how they’ll close these gaps, which will lead to other gaps—in self-confidence, in the ability to develop life skills and learning abilities. When we were in the hotel, there were more services available to them. Once we left, those services disappeared, and even at the schools, support was limited and sporadic, depending on the available staff.”

Discussions about returning home bring additional challenges. “My youngest daughter is experiencing a resurgence of anger outbursts that she had in the past, which have suddenly returned. We’ve been dealing with this especially in the past two weeks, as talk of a ceasefire has resurfaced all the anxieties. On the one hand, it’s exciting to think about going back home, but on the other hand, it stirs up many fears. What will happen? How will we return? Will it be safe?”

The mental health system’s difficulty in providing adequate support predates the war, especially in peripheral areas, and has only worsened in the past year. The researchers stress the urgent need to expand emotional and psychological support for this population.

“The situation in the north is not just one of acute stress,” explains Dr. Buchnik Atzil. “It’s about coping with chronic stress that wears down parents’ ability to regulate themselves and be a support system for their children. We see children growing up in fear, without self-soothing tools, without social connections, and unable to focus on their studies. What’s emerging is a post-traumatic generation that feels a loss of trust in the systems and their ability to help. We are calling on the state to intervene immediately, providing funding and psychological support for both parents and educational staff.”  link

Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages

This Stain will Darken the Israeli Ethos for Generations to Come

Nahum Barnea

Journalist.

Oded Lifshitz is one of the founders of kibbutz Nir Oz, a community leader, a peace activist, a journalist, and a friend. We both served in the same squad of less than 20 soldiers in the reserves, and from there we continued a close friendship of nearly 60 years. On the morning of October 7th we were texting in the group chat. The chat came to a halt in the middle of the sentence: “Oded and his wife Yocheved - Yochkeh - were attacked in their home.” He was injured and kidnapped. We know he made it alive into Gaza; we don’t know what his situation is today.

Yochkeh, who is 85, was kidnapped. She was released on October 23rd, and I met her in the hospital hallway, minutes after she got off the helicopter. She described her captivity clearly, rationally, and with integrity. People in Israel and all over the world marveled at her courage. Ever since, she, along with her and Oded’s four children grandchildren, have been fighting for the hostages’ release.

Ostensibly, Yochkeh’s fight should not have been necessary. Approximately 240 children, elderly people, women and men were kidnapped that morning from their homes, taken out of their beds, and from the Nova party. Most were civilians, a few were soldiers. The crime falls solely on the shoulders of Hamas, but the responsibility for freeing them falls entirely on the Israeli government and the military, who abandoned them. Freeing them by force; freeing them by deception; freeing them with a hostage deal - any approach is legitimate, as long as freeing the hostages is the primary objective of this war.

Surprisingly, freeing the hostages was not on the list of goals that the government laid out at the beginning of the war - neither on the top of the list or the bottom. There are those who interpret the omission of the hostages from the list as an expression of the panic that gripped the governing body at the time. It’s true that panic was raging, but there was also repression, avoidance of handling the situation, and evasion of responsibility.

The families of the hostages had no choice but to take to the streets, and they were not alone. The call for a hostage deal became the primary goal of the resistance movement and swept it along.

Netanyahu engaged unwillingly in negotiations with Hamas. He was - and is - in a snare: he cannot veto a move that is intended to save the lives of hostages, but he does not want to pay the price: an end to the war, the release of hundreds or even thousands of terrorists from prison, a resignation to the continued existence of Hamas in Gaza with Sinwar at its head, and the admission that his promise of total victory was an empty catchphrase.

The result is that he skips back and forth on the thin line between yes and no: when Hamas’ Sinwar says no, Netanyahu says yes; when Sinwar says yes, Netanyahu says no. The only hostage deal executed so far was stopped prematurely. The villain in this story is Sinwar, but the biggest loss belongs to Israel. A deal fell through twice because of Netanyahu’s political concerns, and once, due to a pointless insistence on part of the military.

One hundred and twenty hostages are still being held in Gaza. According to military assessments, only about half of them are still alive. Extremists in the government tell us that we should acknowledge their loss; that those who will be freed by force will live, and those who will die - will die. But there are others, those who warn that this stain will darken the Israeli ethos for generations to come and tell the story of a country that twice neglected the lives of its citizens: once during the October 7th massacre, and the second time when they remained in captivity. Should this happen, the contract between the state and its citizens will be fatally breached, while Zionism’s basic promise - to provide Jews with a safe haven in their own land - will be annulled at the same time.

One hundred and twenty Israelis and their families are at the forefront of the fight: they are its emotional heart. But underneath this beating heart is the entire Zionist project.

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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