🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 432, 2023 - December 11, 2024 🎗️
🎗️Day 432 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
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
*8:20am-south- for the second time in an hour, 2 rocket launches out of Gaza, both intercepted
Following the rocket attack, the IDF issued evacuation orders for specific areas in the Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza. The IDF’s Arabic language account on social media platform X published details and a list of blocks to be evacuated.
It urged residents to head toward a humanitarian-designated zone near the Mediterranean coast.
“Terrorist organizations are once again firing rockets from your area,” the post read. “This particular area has been warned several times before. For your own safety, you must evacuate this area immediately and move to the humanitarian zone.” The IDF has laid out a safe zone for non-combatants to stay in during the fighting.
Evacuation orders usually come before airstrikes on the areas.
Hostage Updates
The Optimistic Messages, Contradictory Reports, and Significant Disputes That Remain
Senior Israeli officials have been updated that Hamas is interested in a deal. A political source told ynet: “Things have changed; the terror organization has changed its mind.” However, gaps remain, including disagreements over the number of hostages to be released in the first phase. Sources familiar with the details dismissed reports claiming that Hamas had transferred lists to Egypt, stating, “We’re not there yet.”
Yesterday (Tuesday), senior Israeli officials were informed that Hamas wants a deal, following the visit of Shin Bet head Ronen Bar and IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi to Egypt. There is an assessment in Israel that a deal could be reached within a month. However, Israeli officials deny the existence of lists of hostages to be released in the first phase, contrary to recent Arab reports alleging that Hamas passed such lists to Egypt in recent days.
“We’re still not there,” said sources familiar with the matter. Additionally, a significant dispute remains over the number of hostages to be released in the first phase.
In Egypt, Bar and Halevi met with their counterparts to discuss regional security issues, against the backdrop of assessments that a hostage release deal could be reached within one to two weeks. The meeting addressed, among other topics, the sensitive situation in the Middle East following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.
The two also discussed security matters between the countries, including the hostage deal and specifically the Philadelphi Route. However, this is not believed to be an official negotiation delegation. It should be noted that Israeli and Egyptian senior officials have met multiple times since the outbreak of the war in Gaza to discuss security issues as needed.
According to reports, including one in Saudi Arabia’s Asharq Al-Awsat, the meeting between Halevi, Bar, and their Egyptian counterparts included the presentation of a list of 30 living hostages. The newspaper quoted a source familiar with the details of the deal, saying, “The visit indicates we are closer to a ceasefire soon.” The report suggested that Egypt’s proposal might be accepted by the weekend or by mid-month at the latest.
The proposal under discussion reportedly involves a ceasefire lasting up to 60 days, with two hostages released for every two days of calm. Hamas, however, would retain soldiers and "the most important hostages" for future negotiations.
A political source told ynet yesterday that progress had been made in negotiations over a hostage deal. He said: “Until now, the assumption was that Hamas didn’t want a deal, but today it seems that has changed. Until two weeks ago, I thought Hamas didn’t want a deal, but now I tend to believe they’ve changed their position.”
The Situation Has Changed, Conditions Have Shifted
The source added: "The situation has changed. The conditions have shifted. Hamas wanted multiple fronts, but that is over. There are no fronts left, and therefore, there’s a chance to reach a deal in the coming month."
Former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met yesterday at the White House with Brett McGurk, U.S. President Biden’s envoy to the Middle East. Gallant stated, “At the heart of our discussion was the tangible possibility of a breakthrough regarding the return of the hostages in the near future. I emphasized to the president’s envoy that the coming days will be critical for the return of the hostages and that I view this mission as a national and moral priority of the highest order."
Gallant attributed the current progress to a series of operational achievements by Israel’s security apparatus across all combat zones—in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. He said these successes have strengthened Israel’s power and dominance throughout the Middle East while weakening the Shiite axis, culminating in the fall of Assad’s murderous regime in Syria. He added, “In my upcoming meetings in Washington, I will prioritize this crucial mission: bringing the hostages back to Israel.”
Meanwhile, Minister Yoav Ben-Tzur (Shas) stated that party leader Aryeh Deri “is working in every way possible to support the families of the hostages and is pushing with all his might in confidential discussions for a deal to bring them back—a deal supported by security officials.” He added, “Returning the hostages is our duty and responsibility, and our goal is a swift agreement that releases them all in a single phase.”
A senior Egyptian official told ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth yesterday morning that an announcement regarding an agreement leading to a ceasefire and a deal “is very close.” A Hamas delegation, led by senior official Khalil al-Hayya, left Cairo late Sunday night after discussions with Egypt’s intelligence chief, General Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, and his team. It was reported that the delegation submitted a detailed list of Israeli hostages—sick, elderly, men, and women—that Hamas is offering to release in the first phase. Hamas also provided a list of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails it demands to be freed as part of the new deal.
The Egyptian official clarified that an Israeli delegation is expected to travel to Cairo this week for a meeting at intelligence headquarters, during which they will receive the lists of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. Hamas reportedly conveyed to Egypt that “there is a better chance than before to finalize a deal,” contingent on the release of prisoners and Israel’s withdrawal from the Philadelphi Route and other areas in Gaza.
Separately, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with the families of American hostages Idan Alexander, Omar Naotara, Itai Chen, Sagiv Dekel Chen, Keith Segal, Gadi Hagi, and Judy Weinstein Hagi. According to a statement, “The families expressed gratitude for the administration’s ongoing involvement since October 7 and emphasized the need for close cooperation with President-elect Donald Trump’s team to secure the return of the hostages.” Sullivan briefed the families on current negotiations, assuring them the administration would continue its maximum efforts to secure their release.
Earlier, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby addressed Sullivan’s visit to Israel on Thursday. “Jake will meet with the families of hostages again before his flight. Syria will top the agenda, and he will discuss with the Israelis ways to recover the hostages and provide answers to the families about their loved ones. We are not on the verge of signing an agreement, but we are working on it very hard. There’s still a lot of work to do. Hamas continues to be the obstacle to a resolution, but we are putting significant pressure on them,” Kirby said during a press briefing.
Kirby also explained how Assad’s fall might influence the agreement. “Hamas now looks at the world and realizes that no reinforcements are coming to save them. We hope the recent developments in Syria reinforce their sense of isolation and pressure them to take the deal. It remains to be seen if Hamas will move, but they really should, as no one is coming to their aid. They can’t rely on Hezbollah, and they certainly can’t count on Iran. This is the time to reach a deal. We’ll see what happens.” link
- Noa Argamani recalls horrors of captivity, warns of dire conditions for hostagesAt president’s residence, rescued captive says she was injured by an airstrike in Gaza that killed another hostage; Herzog says ‘hostages are in grave danger’
Rescued hostage Noa Argamani revealed new details on Tuesday about her time in Hamas captivity in Gaza and warned of the desperate medical conditions of the remaining hostages at a discussion at President Isaac Herzog’s Residence in Jerusalem.
After she spoke, Herzog said that “the hostages are in grave danger,” and that there is a renewed “significant effort” to reach a deal for their release.
At an emergency discussion on the medical condition of the hostages, Argamani revealed details about a severe injury she sustained in captivity.
“An airstrike hit the building where I, Yossi Sharabi, and Itay Svirsky were kept. As you know, Yossi didn’t survive. Two days later, Itay Svirski was killed,” she said.
Earlier this year, a military investigation into their deaths revealed that Sharabi was killed by an IDF airstrike in January, and that Svirsky was murdered by his captors days later. Both were kept with Argamani, and the three filmed a Hamas propaganda video that was released in January.
Argamani was rescued in an IDF operation in June along with four other hostages, and Svirsky’s body was returned to Israel earlier this week.
At Tuesday’s discussion, Argamani said that the airstrike left her “bleeding, with my head completely open. No one came to help me; not the Red Cross, no doctors, no one.”
“When the doctors saw all my injuries when I returned, they said it was a medical miracle,” she said.
The discussion included a screening of the Hamas propaganda video featuring Argamani in captivity. “This is the shorter and censored version of the video,” she said. “I wanted to spare you the full video.”
Speaking of the remaining hostages who have been held in Gaza for 431 days, she said, “I don’t know how many hostages have suffered in the same situations as I did.”
“We don’t know the condition of the 100 hostages who are still there, and their fate may be worse than mine,” she warned.
After Argamani spoke, President Herzog said, “Today is International Human Rights Day, and one right is not being upheld by the terrorist organization Hamas. Based on the report presented here and its details, based on various sources of information I have, and based on data I receive constantly, I state firmly — the hostages are in grave danger and everything must be done in every way possible to bring them home.”
Herzog addressed the negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal, saying, “There is now a renewed, large, and significant effort. These processes need to mature as quickly as possible.”
“I speak every day with a different world leader, sometimes several times a day with multiple leaders,” he said. “This morning, I spoke with an important regional leader, and I can say that there is a global gathering to prioritize a hostage deal.”
“We want to see everyone at home as soon as possible,” he added.
Also on Tuesday, at the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting, released hostage Ilana Gritzewsky told lawmakers about injuries she sustained in captivity.
“They broke my pelvis, burned my leg, dislocated my jaw, and I can’t hear from my left ear,” she said.
Gritzewsky, 30, was released as part of the November, 2023, ceasefire deal and is the partner of Matan Zangauker, who is still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.
She attended the conference following news that on Monday, the committee’s chairman, Simcha Rothman, refused to screen the recently released Hamas propaganda video of Zangauker from captivity during the meeting.
Zangauker, 24, was taken captive along with 250 others during the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught, and is one of the 96 hostages believed to still be held in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
The Hamas attack killed over 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 38 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the 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
Hadas Calderon: "We are in fear every day, they don't have time"
Hadas Calderon, whose two children were kidnapped and released in the deal, and whose ex-husband and father of her children, Ofer Calderon, was kidnapped in Gaza, said at a demonstration outside the hall in Tel Aviv where Netanyahu's testimony will be held: "If they don't return in the coming days, we will have to live with 100 bronze rons for the rest of our lives. This will be the history of the country. The most serious charge against Netanyahu is abandoning 100 innocent citizens. Taking away their father from my children, that The biggest charge he will bear. His speech yesterday was sad, sacrificial and cruel. We are in fear every day, they don't have time."
Hostage Updates
The Optimistic Messages, Contradictory Reports, and Significant Disputes That Remain
Senior Israeli officials have been updated that Hamas is interested in a deal. A political source told ynet: “Things have changed; the terror organization has changed its mind.” However, gaps remain, including disagreements over the number of hostages to be released in the first phase. Sources familiar with the details dismissed reports claiming that Hamas had transferred lists to Egypt, stating, “We’re not there yet.”
Yesterday (Tuesday), senior Israeli officials were informed that Hamas wants a deal, following the visit of Shin Bet head Ronen Bar and IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi to Egypt. There is an assessment in Israel that a deal could be reached within a month. However, Israeli officials deny the existence of lists of hostages to be released in the first phase, contrary to recent Arab reports alleging that Hamas passed such lists to Egypt in recent days.
“We’re still not there,” said sources familiar with the matter. Additionally, a significant dispute remains over the number of hostages to be released in the first phase.
In Egypt, Bar and Halevi met with their counterparts to discuss regional security issues, against the backdrop of assessments that a hostage release deal could be reached within one to two weeks. The meeting addressed, among other topics, the sensitive situation in the Middle East following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.
The two also discussed security matters between the countries, including the hostage deal and specifically the Philadelphi Route. However, this is not believed to be an official negotiation delegation. It should be noted that Israeli and Egyptian senior officials have met multiple times since the outbreak of the war in Gaza to discuss security issues as needed.
According to reports, including one in Saudi Arabia’s Asharq Al-Awsat, the meeting between Halevi, Bar, and their Egyptian counterparts included the presentation of a list of 30 living hostages. The newspaper quoted a source familiar with the details of the deal, saying, “The visit indicates we are closer to a ceasefire soon.” The report suggested that Egypt’s proposal might be accepted by the weekend or by mid-month at the latest.
The proposal under discussion reportedly involves a ceasefire lasting up to 60 days, with two hostages released for every two days of calm. Hamas, however, would retain soldiers and "the most important hostages" for future negotiations.
A political source told ynet yesterday that progress had been made in negotiations over a hostage deal. He said: “Until now, the assumption was that Hamas didn’t want a deal, but today it seems that has changed. Until two weeks ago, I thought Hamas didn’t want a deal, but now I tend to believe they’ve changed their position.”
The Situation Has Changed, Conditions Have Shifted
The source added: "The situation has changed. The conditions have shifted. Hamas wanted multiple fronts, but that is over. There are no fronts left, and therefore, there’s a chance to reach a deal in the coming month."
Former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met yesterday at the White House with Brett McGurk, U.S. President Biden’s envoy to the Middle East. Gallant stated, “At the heart of our discussion was the tangible possibility of a breakthrough regarding the return of the hostages in the near future. I emphasized to the president’s envoy that the coming days will be critical for the return of the hostages and that I view this mission as a national and moral priority of the highest order."
Gallant attributed the current progress to a series of operational achievements by Israel’s security apparatus across all combat zones—in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. He said these successes have strengthened Israel’s power and dominance throughout the Middle East while weakening the Shiite axis, culminating in the fall of Assad’s murderous regime in Syria. He added, “In my upcoming meetings in Washington, I will prioritize this crucial mission: bringing the hostages back to Israel.”
Meanwhile, Minister Yoav Ben-Tzur (Shas) stated that party leader Aryeh Deri “is working in every way possible to support the families of the hostages and is pushing with all his might in confidential discussions for a deal to bring them back—a deal supported by security officials.” He added, “Returning the hostages is our duty and responsibility, and our goal is a swift agreement that releases them all in a single phase.”
A senior Egyptian official told ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth yesterday morning that an announcement regarding an agreement leading to a ceasefire and a deal “is very close.” A Hamas delegation, led by senior official Khalil al-Hayya, left Cairo late Sunday night after discussions with Egypt’s intelligence chief, General Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, and his team. It was reported that the delegation submitted a detailed list of Israeli hostages—sick, elderly, men, and women—that Hamas is offering to release in the first phase. Hamas also provided a list of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails it demands to be freed as part of the new deal.
The Egyptian official clarified that an Israeli delegation is expected to travel to Cairo this week for a meeting at intelligence headquarters, during which they will receive the lists of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. Hamas reportedly conveyed to Egypt that “there is a better chance than before to finalize a deal,” contingent on the release of prisoners and Israel’s withdrawal from the Philadelphi Route and other areas in Gaza.
Separately, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with the families of American hostages Idan Alexander, Omar Naotara, Itai Chen, Sagiv Dekel Chen, Keith Segal, Gadi Hagi, and Judy Weinstein Hagi. According to a statement, “The families expressed gratitude for the administration’s ongoing involvement since October 7 and emphasized the need for close cooperation with President-elect Donald Trump’s team to secure the return of the hostages.” Sullivan briefed the families on current negotiations, assuring them the administration would continue its maximum efforts to secure their release.
Earlier, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby addressed Sullivan’s visit to Israel on Thursday. “Jake will meet with the families of hostages again before his flight. Syria will top the agenda, and he will discuss with the Israelis ways to recover the hostages and provide answers to the families about their loved ones. We are not on the verge of signing an agreement, but we are working on it very hard. There’s still a lot of work to do. Hamas continues to be the obstacle to a resolution, but we are putting significant pressure on them,” Kirby said during a press briefing.
Kirby also explained how Assad’s fall might influence the agreement. “Hamas now looks at the world and realizes that no reinforcements are coming to save them. We hope the recent developments in Syria reinforce their sense of isolation and pressure them to take the deal. It remains to be seen if Hamas will move, but they really should, as no one is coming to their aid. They can’t rely on Hezbollah, and they certainly can’t count on Iran. This is the time to reach a deal. We’ll see what happens.” link
- Noa Argamani recalls horrors of captivity, warns of dire conditions for hostagesAt president’s residence, rescued captive says she was injured by an airstrike in Gaza that killed another hostage; Herzog says ‘hostages are in grave danger’
Rescued hostage Noa Argamani revealed new details on Tuesday about her time in Hamas captivity in Gaza and warned of the desperate medical conditions of the remaining hostages at a discussion at President Isaac Herzog’s Residence in Jerusalem.After she spoke, Herzog said that “the hostages are in grave danger,” and that there is a renewed “significant effort” to reach a deal for their release.
At an emergency discussion on the medical condition of the hostages, Argamani revealed details about a severe injury she sustained in captivity.
“An airstrike hit the building where I, Yossi Sharabi, and Itay Svirsky were kept. As you know, Yossi didn’t survive. Two days later, Itay Svirski was killed,” she said.
Earlier this year, a military investigation into their deaths revealed that Sharabi was killed by an IDF airstrike in January, and that Svirsky was murdered by his captors days later. Both were kept with Argamani, and the three filmed a Hamas propaganda video that was released in January.
Argamani was rescued in an IDF operation in June along with four other hostages, and Svirsky’s body was returned to Israel earlier this week.
At Tuesday’s discussion, Argamani said that the airstrike left her “bleeding, with my head completely open. No one came to help me; not the Red Cross, no doctors, no one.”
“When the doctors saw all my injuries when I returned, they said it was a medical miracle,” she said.The discussion included a screening of the Hamas propaganda video featuring Argamani in captivity. “This is the shorter and censored version of the video,” she said. “I wanted to spare you the full video.”
Speaking of the remaining hostages who have been held in Gaza for 431 days, she said, “I don’t know how many hostages have suffered in the same situations as I did.”
“We don’t know the condition of the 100 hostages who are still there, and their fate may be worse than mine,” she warned.
After Argamani spoke, President Herzog said, “Today is International Human Rights Day, and one right is not being upheld by the terrorist organization Hamas. Based on the report presented here and its details, based on various sources of information I have, and based on data I receive constantly, I state firmly — the hostages are in grave danger and everything must be done in every way possible to bring them home.”
Herzog addressed the negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal, saying, “There is now a renewed, large, and significant effort. These processes need to mature as quickly as possible.”
“I speak every day with a different world leader, sometimes several times a day with multiple leaders,” he said. “This morning, I spoke with an important regional leader, and I can say that there is a global gathering to prioritize a hostage deal.”
“We want to see everyone at home as soon as possible,” he added.
Also on Tuesday, at the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting, released hostage Ilana Gritzewsky told lawmakers about injuries she sustained in captivity.
“They broke my pelvis, burned my leg, dislocated my jaw, and I can’t hear from my left ear,” she said.
Gritzewsky, 30, was released as part of the November, 2023, ceasefire deal and is the partner of Matan Zangauker, who is still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.
She attended the conference following news that on Monday, the committee’s chairman, Simcha Rothman, refused to screen the recently released Hamas propaganda video of Zangauker from captivity during the meeting.
Zangauker, 24, was taken captive along with 250 others during the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught, and is one of the 96 hostages believed to still be held in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
The Hamas attack killed over 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 38 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the 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
Hadas Calderon: "We are in fear every day, they don't have time"
Hadas Calderon, whose two children were kidnapped and released in the deal, and whose ex-husband and father of her children, Ofer Calderon, was kidnapped in Gaza, said at a demonstration outside the hall in Tel Aviv where Netanyahu's testimony will be held: "If they don't return in the coming days, we will have to live with 100 bronze rons for the rest of our lives. This will be the history of the country. The most serious charge against Netanyahu is abandoning 100 innocent citizens. Taking away their father from my children, that The biggest charge he will bear. His speech yesterday was sad, sacrificial and cruel. We are in fear every day, they don't have time."
Gaza and the South
- 10 terrorists were killed who took part in last night's terrorist operation in Jabaliya in which 4 fighters fell
The IDF spokeswoman said that in a joint operation of the 401st Brigade and the Air Force, aircraft attacked and killed ten of the terrorists who took part in yesterday's terrorist operation in the Gaza Strip, in which the late Sergeant Ido Geno, the late Sergeant Barak Daniel Halpern fell and the late Sergeant Omri Cohen.
Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip overnight and during the day killed at least 33 Palestinians, most of them in an airstrike on a house in Beit Lahiya in the north of the enclave, according to medics in the Hamas-controlled Strip.
The Beit Lahiya strike killed at least 22 people, including women and children, Hamas-run health officials said, without differentiating between fighters and non-combatants. Relatives listed the names of the dead on social media.
More than 30 people were living in the multi-story building before it was struck, and several family members remained missing as rescue operations continued through the morning, the Palestinian WAFA news agency said.
The military said it was checking the report.
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.
In nearby Beit Hanoun, where the IDF has operated since October, medics said an Israeli airstrike killed and wounded several people, without giving an exact toll. Rescue workers said several people were trapped under rubble.
A Palestinian man checks the destruction in a house after an Israeli strike in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, on December 10, 2024. (Eyad BABA / AFP)Earlier on Wednesday, at least seven Palestinians were killed and several others wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a house in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, medics told Reuters.
The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service and medics said four other people were killed in separate Israeli airstrikes on two houses in Gaza City.
Demolition work begins at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, devastated by Oct. 7 Hamas attacks
Demolition work begins at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the Gaza border communities worst hit by the Hamas attack on October 7 last year.
Ninety-seven buildings have been designated for demolition, but no decisions have been made yet about 48 buildings in the “Young Generation” neighborhood.
Of 37 residents of this neighborhood, 11 were murdered and seven were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip. In total, out of the 1,000 residents of Kfar Aza, 62 were killed during the October 7 terror onslaught in southern Israel.
Some 1,200 people were killed, mainly civilians on that day, and 251 were seized as hostages and abducted to the Gaza Strip.
As part of Kfar Aza’s rehabilitation, 400 buildings will be renovated (360 residential buildings and 40 public ones), and damaged infrastructure will be repaired.
The Tekuma Directorate, charged with rehabilitating the Gaza border area, will allocate NIS 200 million (nearly $56 million) to Kfar Aza for the works. These will include building a new Young Generation neighborhood in a different location on the kibbutz, and a new residential neighborhood.
IDF says it killed Hamas commander behind Oct. 7 attack on army post, paraglider chief
The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet say they eliminated two senior Hamas operatives in recent airstrikes in Gaza.
According to the IDF, Fahmi Salami, commander of the elite Nukhba forces in Hamas’s Zeitoun Battalion, was killed in an airstrike on a building that had previously served as the Al-Falah School. Salami led the October 7 attack on the Paga military post, which resulted in the deaths of 14 Israeli soldiers, the army says, adding that he continued to lead terror operations throughout the ongoing conflict.
In a separate strike, Salah Dahman, the head of Hamas’s paraglider unit, was killed in the Jabalia area. The Shin Bet says that Dahman was responsible for overseeing the group’s aerial activities.
Palestinian medical officials say an Israeli strike on a home where displaced people were sheltering in the northern Gaza Strip killed at least 19 people.
That is according to the Kamal Adwan Hospital, which received the casualties on Wednesday, after the overnight strike in the town of Beit Lahiya. Hospital records show that a family of eight were among those killed, including four children, their parents, and two grandparents.
There is no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel has been waging a renewed offensive against Hamas in northern Gaza since early October.
Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip overnight and during the day killed at least 33 Palestinians, most of them in an airstrike on a house in Beit Lahiya in the north of the enclave, according to medics in the Hamas-controlled Strip.
The Beit Lahiya strike killed at least 22 people, including women and children, Hamas-run health officials said, without differentiating between fighters and non-combatants. Relatives listed the names of the dead on social media.
More than 30 people were living in the multi-story building before it was struck, and several family members remained missing as rescue operations continued through the morning, the Palestinian WAFA news agency said.
The military said it was checking the report.
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.
In nearby Beit Hanoun, where the IDF has operated since October, medics said an Israeli airstrike killed and wounded several people, without giving an exact toll. Rescue workers said several people were trapped under rubble.
Earlier on Wednesday, at least seven Palestinians were killed and several others wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a house in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, medics told Reuters.
The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service and medics said four other people were killed in separate Israeli airstrikes on two houses in Gaza City.
Demolition work begins at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, devastated by Oct. 7 Hamas attacks
Demolition work begins at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the Gaza border communities worst hit by the Hamas attack on October 7 last year.
Ninety-seven buildings have been designated for demolition, but no decisions have been made yet about 48 buildings in the “Young Generation” neighborhood.
Of 37 residents of this neighborhood, 11 were murdered and seven were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip. In total, out of the 1,000 residents of Kfar Aza, 62 were killed during the October 7 terror onslaught in southern Israel.
Some 1,200 people were killed, mainly civilians on that day, and 251 were seized as hostages and abducted to the Gaza Strip.
As part of Kfar Aza’s rehabilitation, 400 buildings will be renovated (360 residential buildings and 40 public ones), and damaged infrastructure will be repaired.
The Tekuma Directorate, charged with rehabilitating the Gaza border area, will allocate NIS 200 million (nearly $56 million) to Kfar Aza for the works. These will include building a new Young Generation neighborhood in a different location on the kibbutz, and a new residential neighborhood.
IDF says it killed Hamas commander behind Oct. 7 attack on army post, paraglider chief
The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet say they eliminated two senior Hamas operatives in recent airstrikes in Gaza.
According to the IDF, Fahmi Salami, commander of the elite Nukhba forces in Hamas’s Zeitoun Battalion, was killed in an airstrike on a building that had previously served as the Al-Falah School. Salami led the October 7 attack on the Paga military post, which resulted in the deaths of 14 Israeli soldiers, the army says, adding that he continued to lead terror operations throughout the ongoing conflict.
In a separate strike, Salah Dahman, the head of Hamas’s paraglider unit, was killed in the Jabalia area. The Shin Bet says that Dahman was responsible for overseeing the group’s aerial activities.
Palestinian medical officials say an Israeli strike on a home where displaced people were sheltering in the northern Gaza Strip killed at least 19 people.
That is according to the Kamal Adwan Hospital, which received the casualties on Wednesday, after the overnight strike in the town of Beit Lahiya. Hospital records show that a family of eight were among those killed, including four children, their parents, and two grandparents.
There is no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel has been waging a renewed offensive against Hamas in northern Gaza since early October.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
In a message to the new regime taking shape in Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel wants to establish relations, but won’t hesitate to attack if it threatens the Jewish state.
“If this regime allows Iran to reestablish itself in Syria,” he says in a video statement, “or allows the transfer of Iranian weapons or any other weapons to Hezbollah, or attacks us — we will respond forcefully and we will exact a heavy price from it.”
“What happened to the previous regime will also happen to this regime,” he warns, adding that Israel has no intention of interfering in Syria’s internal affairs, but will do what is necessary to ensure its security.
Netanyahu compares the widespread Air Force bombing campaign of Syria’s strategic military capabilities this week to the 1940 Royal Navy bombing of the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir in Algeria to keep it from falling into the hands of the Nazis. Netanyahu mistakenly attributes the operation to the Royal Air Force. Link
In a message to the new regime taking shape in Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel wants to establish relations, but won’t hesitate to attack if it threatens the Jewish state.
“If this regime allows Iran to reestablish itself in Syria,” he says in a video statement, “or allows the transfer of Iranian weapons or any other weapons to Hezbollah, or attacks us — we will respond forcefully and we will exact a heavy price from it.”
“What happened to the previous regime will also happen to this regime,” he warns, adding that Israel has no intention of interfering in Syria’s internal affairs, but will do what is necessary to ensure its security.
Netanyahu compares the widespread Air Force bombing campaign of Syria’s strategic military capabilities this week to the 1940 Royal Navy bombing of the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir in Algeria to keep it from falling into the hands of the Nazis. Netanyahu mistakenly attributes the operation to the Royal Air Force. Link
- In historic campaign across Syria, IDF says it destroyed 80% of Assad regime’s military
After rebel takeover, Israeli Air Force and Navy strike missile depots, naval vessels, fighter jets and more to ensure they don’t fall into wrong hands
Following a major 48-hour bombing campaign in Syria, the Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday said it had destroyed most of the former Bashar al-Assad regime’s strategic military capabilities, in an effort to prevent advanced weaponry from falling into the hands of hostile elements.
In a statement, the IDF said that its Air Force and Navy had carried out over 350 strikes against “strategic targets” in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime over the weekend, taking out “most of the strategic weapons stockpiles in Syria.”
The military estimated that it had destroyed 70-80 percent of the former Assad regime’s strategic military capabilities.
The operation was dubbed “Bashan Arrow” within the military, after the biblical name for the Golan Heights and southern Syria region.
The IDF released footage from the campaign, during which it said over 320 targets were struck across all of Syria.
The strikes began late Saturday, first taking out Syrian air defenses to give the Israeli Air Force more freedom.
Wave after wave of airstrikes carried out by IAF fighter jets and drones then hit Syrian airbases, weapon depots and weapon production sites in Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Latakia and Palmyra, according to the military.
The military said the airstrikes destroyed many long-range projectiles, Scud missiles, cruise missiles, coast-to-sea missiles, air defense missiles, fighter jets, helicopters, radars, tanks, hangars and more.
The IAF also targeted several chemical weapons sites in Syria during the waves of strikes, Israeli officials have said.
Meanwhile, on Monday night, Israeli Navy missile boats destroyed 15 naval vessels belonging to the former regime at the Minet el-Beida bay and Latakia port on the Syrian coast, the military said.
The Assad regime, which fell on Sunday after a lightning offensive by rebel forces, was an ally of the Iranian regime, and a part of its so-called Axis of Resistance against Israel.
For many years, Syria was used as a throughway for Iranian weapons, en route to terror groups including Hezbollah in Lebanon, with which Israel entered a shaky ceasefire last month.
Israel feared that following the collapse of the Assad regime, the former Syrian army’s weapons could fall into the hands of hostile forces in the country, as well as the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In a message to the new regime taking shape in Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel would seek to establish relations, but wouldn’t hesitate to attack if it threatens the Jewish state.
- Syrian rebels seize large drug warehouse allegedly run by Bashar al-Assad’s brother
Security forces from the new Syrian government announce the capture of a large warehouse used to manufacture and store drugs, including Captagon.
Bashar al-Assad’s regime earned billions of dollars by smuggling highly addictive Captagon amphetamines out of Syria, mainly to oil-rich Arab Gulf states. The drug is used recreationally and by people with physically demanding jobs to keep them alert.
It was also reportedly consumed by ISIS and Hamas terrorists, including those who carried out the October 7 massacre, earning Captagon the moniker ‘ISIS drug.’ The warehouse seized today was managed by Assad’s brother Maher, Syrian sources report. Its location is not disclosed. link The question that was not asked or answered here is what is going to be done with the drugs and the manufactuing facility. Will the rebels keep it and continue with drug making and distribution or will they put an end to it?
Jihadist rebels capture eastern Syria’s Deir Ezzor from US-backed, Kurdish-led force
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) ends brief rule by Syrian Democratic Forces after dramatic fall of Assad regime, as new caretaker government holds first meeting in Damascus
Insurgents who overthrew the Syrian government said Tuesday that they have wrested control of the eastern city of Deir Ezzor after intense battles with a Kurdish-led, US-backed force.
Hassan Abdul-Ghani, a senior commander of the jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which leads the insurgent alliance, said that the rebel forces completely took control of the city.
A member of HTS said in a recorded video that the group would soon conduct a thorough sweep of the city’s neighborhoods to secure the area, adding that the strategic nearby town of Boukamal has also fallen to opposition forces.
“We will advance toward Raqqa and Hasakah and other areas in eastern Syria,” the HTS fighters said.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces had only held the city for a few days. The SDF said it deployed to Deir Ezzor and west of the Euphrates River on Friday, replacing Syrian government forces.
At the time, the SDF said its fighters were not in control of the Boukamal border crossing with Iraq, which Israel has struck numerous times over the years to thwart arms transfers to Iran-linked groups.
The Assad regime, which fell on Sunday after a lightning offensive by rebel forces, was an ally of the Iranian regime, and a part of its so-called Axis of Resistance against Israel.
For many years, Syria was used as a throughway for Iranian weapons, en route to terror groups including Hezbollah in Lebanon, with which Israel entered a shaky ceasefire last month.
Following the regime’s fall, Israel moved to destroy regime weapons sites before they could fall into the hands of forces hostile to the country, with the military estimating Tuesday it had destroyed some 70-80 percent of the former regime’s strategic military capabilities.
Earlier Tuesday, top US military commander for the Middle East Gen. Erik Kurilla visited with US military commanders and troops as well as the SDF.
It wasn’t clear if he met with SDF leader Mazloum Abdi, and US Central Command did not respond to a request for details about his visit or with whom he met. US officials said they did not know what his message to the SDF was.
The US has about 900 troops in Syria, including forces working with Kurdish allies in the northeast to prevent any resurgence of the Islamic State group.
In a press release, Central Command said Kurilla received an “assessment of force protection measures, the rapidly evolving situation, and ongoing efforts to prevent ISIS from exploiting the current situation.”
Kurilla then went on to Iraq, where he met with leaders in Baghdad.
The caretaker Syrian government, which will oversee the country’s affairs until March, held its first meeting Tuesday since overthrowing Assad.
It was attended by the departing Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi Jalali and other ministers along with new Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir. He had led the so-called “salvation government” in areas controlled by HTS-led rebel groups that have taken control of much of the country.
“We were tasked by the general command with managing the affairs of the Syrian government during a transitional period,” Bashir said in a statement following the meeting in Damascus. He added that he hopes ministers in the former Syrian government will assist the new government during this transitional period.
“The caretaker government was formed from a number of ministers of the revolutionary government, which is the Syrian Salvation Government, and this government is a temporary caretaker government that will last until March 2025, until the constitutional issues are resolved,” Bashir said. link The takeover of the Kurdish area is potentially not a good sign. The Kurds have managed the area as an autonomous region for the last years beginning during the Syrian Civil War and Assad last control over that area. It is also an area that was previously ravaged by ISIS, with many men killed and women and girls kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery. The Kurds are allies of both the US and Israel and the takeover of their region can bode very badly for them and potentially for other minority groups that were hoping to set up autonomous regions within Syria.
After rebel takeover, Israeli Air Force and Navy strike missile depots, naval vessels, fighter jets and more to ensure they don’t fall into wrong hands
Following a major 48-hour bombing campaign in Syria, the Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday said it had destroyed most of the former Bashar al-Assad regime’s strategic military capabilities, in an effort to prevent advanced weaponry from falling into the hands of hostile elements.
In a statement, the IDF said that its Air Force and Navy had carried out over 350 strikes against “strategic targets” in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime over the weekend, taking out “most of the strategic weapons stockpiles in Syria.”
The military estimated that it had destroyed 70-80 percent of the former Assad regime’s strategic military capabilities.
The operation was dubbed “Bashan Arrow” within the military, after the biblical name for the Golan Heights and southern Syria region.
The IDF released footage from the campaign, during which it said over 320 targets were struck across all of Syria.
The strikes began late Saturday, first taking out Syrian air defenses to give the Israeli Air Force more freedom.
Wave after wave of airstrikes carried out by IAF fighter jets and drones then hit Syrian airbases, weapon depots and weapon production sites in Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Latakia and Palmyra, according to the military.
The military said the airstrikes destroyed many long-range projectiles, Scud missiles, cruise missiles, coast-to-sea missiles, air defense missiles, fighter jets, helicopters, radars, tanks, hangars and more.
The IAF also targeted several chemical weapons sites in Syria during the waves of strikes, Israeli officials have said.
Meanwhile, on Monday night, Israeli Navy missile boats destroyed 15 naval vessels belonging to the former regime at the Minet el-Beida bay and Latakia port on the Syrian coast, the military said.
The Assad regime, which fell on Sunday after a lightning offensive by rebel forces, was an ally of the Iranian regime, and a part of its so-called Axis of Resistance against Israel.
For many years, Syria was used as a throughway for Iranian weapons, en route to terror groups including Hezbollah in Lebanon, with which Israel entered a shaky ceasefire last month.
Israel feared that following the collapse of the Assad regime, the former Syrian army’s weapons could fall into the hands of hostile forces in the country, as well as the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In a message to the new regime taking shape in Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel would seek to establish relations, but wouldn’t hesitate to attack if it threatens the Jewish state.
- Syrian rebels seize large drug warehouse allegedly run by Bashar al-Assad’s brother
Security forces from the new Syrian government announce the capture of a large warehouse used to manufacture and store drugs, including Captagon.
Bashar al-Assad’s regime earned billions of dollars by smuggling highly addictive Captagon amphetamines out of Syria, mainly to oil-rich Arab Gulf states. The drug is used recreationally and by people with physically demanding jobs to keep them alert.
It was also reportedly consumed by ISIS and Hamas terrorists, including those who carried out the October 7 massacre, earning Captagon the moniker ‘ISIS drug.’ The warehouse seized today was managed by Assad’s brother Maher, Syrian sources report. Its location is not disclosed. link The question that was not asked or answered here is what is going to be done with the drugs and the manufactuing facility. Will the rebels keep it and continue with drug making and distribution or will they put an end to it?
Jihadist rebels capture eastern Syria’s Deir Ezzor from US-backed, Kurdish-led force
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) ends brief rule by Syrian Democratic Forces after dramatic fall of Assad regime, as new caretaker government holds first meeting in Damascus
Insurgents who overthrew the Syrian government said Tuesday that they have wrested control of the eastern city of Deir Ezzor after intense battles with a Kurdish-led, US-backed force.
Hassan Abdul-Ghani, a senior commander of the jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which leads the insurgent alliance, said that the rebel forces completely took control of the city.
A member of HTS said in a recorded video that the group would soon conduct a thorough sweep of the city’s neighborhoods to secure the area, adding that the strategic nearby town of Boukamal has also fallen to opposition forces.
“We will advance toward Raqqa and Hasakah and other areas in eastern Syria,” the HTS fighters said.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces had only held the city for a few days. The SDF said it deployed to Deir Ezzor and west of the Euphrates River on Friday, replacing Syrian government forces.
At the time, the SDF said its fighters were not in control of the Boukamal border crossing with Iraq, which Israel has struck numerous times over the years to thwart arms transfers to Iran-linked groups.
The Assad regime, which fell on Sunday after a lightning offensive by rebel forces, was an ally of the Iranian regime, and a part of its so-called Axis of Resistance against Israel.
For many years, Syria was used as a throughway for Iranian weapons, en route to terror groups including Hezbollah in Lebanon, with which Israel entered a shaky ceasefire last month.
Following the regime’s fall, Israel moved to destroy regime weapons sites before they could fall into the hands of forces hostile to the country, with the military estimating Tuesday it had destroyed some 70-80 percent of the former regime’s strategic military capabilities.
Earlier Tuesday, top US military commander for the Middle East Gen. Erik Kurilla visited with US military commanders and troops as well as the SDF.
It wasn’t clear if he met with SDF leader Mazloum Abdi, and US Central Command did not respond to a request for details about his visit or with whom he met. US officials said they did not know what his message to the SDF was.
The US has about 900 troops in Syria, including forces working with Kurdish allies in the northeast to prevent any resurgence of the Islamic State group.
In a press release, Central Command said Kurilla received an “assessment of force protection measures, the rapidly evolving situation, and ongoing efforts to prevent ISIS from exploiting the current situation.”
Kurilla then went on to Iraq, where he met with leaders in Baghdad.
The caretaker Syrian government, which will oversee the country’s affairs until March, held its first meeting Tuesday since overthrowing Assad.
It was attended by the departing Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi Jalali and other ministers along with new Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir. He had led the so-called “salvation government” in areas controlled by HTS-led rebel groups that have taken control of much of the country.
“We were tasked by the general command with managing the affairs of the Syrian government during a transitional period,” Bashir said in a statement following the meeting in Damascus. He added that he hopes ministers in the former Syrian government will assist the new government during this transitional period.
“The caretaker government was formed from a number of ministers of the revolutionary government, which is the Syrian Salvation Government, and this government is a temporary caretaker government that will last until March 2025, until the constitutional issues are resolved,” Bashir said. link The takeover of the Kurdish area is potentially not a good sign. The Kurds have managed the area as an autonomous region for the last years beginning during the Syrian Civil War and Assad last control over that area. It is also an area that was previously ravaged by ISIS, with many men killed and women and girls kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery. The Kurds are allies of both the US and Israel and the takeover of their region can bode very badly for them and potentially for other minority groups that were hoping to set up autonomous regions within Syria.
West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel
- *6:45pm yesterday - The incident in Bnei Brak in which a car hit a pedestrian, lightly wounding him, has been declared a terror attack by police, multiple Hebrew media outlets report.
Police don’t immediately issue a formal statement to this effect.
The driver, who has been arrested, is reportedly an Arab Israeli man from the Arab town of Zemer.
The Ynet news site publishes what it says is footage of the incident. video of the car
Politics and the War (general news)
- Sinwar’s ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ washed Iran’s axis away, but that doesn’t spell plain sailing for Israel
Hamas, Hezbollah and Assad’s Syria no longer pose a strategic threat, but Tehran will keep working to harm the Jewish state; meanwhile, unpredictable Turkey and its proxies are ascendant
Broken pictures of Iranian spiritual leaders Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini lie on the floor at the Iranian embassy after opposition forces took control of the city in Damascus, Syria, December 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
In 2017, Iran saw an opportunity.
Relations with Hamas had been strained for years, after the Gaza-based terror group backed the Sunni opposition to the Bashar al-Assad regime that Tehran was propping up in Syria.
Then, six years into the bloody civil war, Hamas selected two new chiefs seen as friendly toward Iran — Ismail Haniyeh as the movement’s overall leader based in Qatar, and Yahya Sinwar, the powerful new chief in Gaza
With the new leadership in place, Iran engineered a reconciliation between Assad and Hamas, firming up the ring of armed proxies it had built around Israel.
Tehran, said Sinwar, is Hamas’s “largest backer financially and militarily.”
“All the missiles you might see in Gaza and Lebanon were created with Iran’s support,” boasted the Aerospace Force commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
With Iran’s firm backing, Sinwar felt increasingly emboldened as his military force became more lethal, while Israel didn’t hide its desire to avoid any major conflict in Gaza.
Six years later, the support for Sinwar would prove one of the Islamic Republic’s greatest blunders.
Iran’s high-water mark
The Hamas commander, confident that his forces could inflict enough casualties on Israel to stop a ground invasion and that Iran and its network would come to its aid, launched the surprise attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, smashing through the border in dozens of places, slaughtering 1,200 people in southern Israel and abducting 250 hostages.
It was the high-water mark of the Iranian axis. Sinwar believed that the attack he termed the “Al-Aqsa Flood” would spring other leaks, forcing the walls Israel had built around itself to burst. Instead, his fanatical assault caused a wave that is washing Iran’s proxies away from Israel’s borders, and might end up drowning the regime itself.
After Hamas enjoyed several hours of “success” on October 7, Israel regained control of the situation and moved to the offensive. It ground Hamas’s military down in a matter of months.
When Hezbollah began attacking Israel on October 8, 2023, and refused to stop its rocket fire for the following year, Israel finally unleashed a series of strikes on the Lebanese group’s commanders before moving ground forces across the border. After losing thousands of fighters, most of its rockets, and much of its command, Hezbollah threw in the towel, agreeing to a ceasefire that left what remained of Hamas on its own against Israel.
Israel didn’t have to lift a finger for the next domino to fall. Seeing that Hezbollah and Iran were exhausted and that Russia was stretched to the limit in Ukraine, Syrian rebels last week poured out of their statelet in the northwest, driving south until they took the capital.
The loss to Iran is tremendous. “The entire Iranian project was built on Syrian soil, to a large extent with Assad’s consent,” explained Carmit Valensi, head of the Northern Arena Program at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
From Syria, Iran was able to supply Hezbollah, move Shiite militias across the region, and smuggle arms into the West Bank through Jordan.
The wave moves east
The fragility of the Syrian regime was a surprise, but that was the price Assad paid for his survival. When Sunni rebels threatened to end his rule in 2015, Assad had to invite Iran and Russia in to save his throne — and likely his head. The gamble succeeded in freezing the conflict and leaving him in power, but it meant Syria would turn into a hollowed-out husk of a state.
“Russia was never interested in genuine peace and Iran was never interested in Syria,” said Anna Borshchevskaya of The Washington Institute.
“When you have actors who take over, who are not interested in peace, you realize that no conflict is ever truly frozen, and Russia is a master at managing frozen conflicts,” she continued. “It’s only a matter of time before there’s a spark and things get out of control.”
The question now is how far east the wave that swept Assad aside will reach.
With Iran’s help, Shi’ites and their militias now dominate Iraq. Yet a decade ago the Islamic State spilled out of Syria into northern Iraq, a scenario which is once again conceivable, even if a different Sunni armed group leads the way. Or perhaps Sunnis and Kurds within Iraq will sense an opportunity to assert themselves against Shi’ite militias and the government their sect dominates.
“There is definitely reason to expect others to say, Wait, why don’t we do this as well?” said Yossi Kuperwasser, former head of the research division in IDF Military Intelligence.
The wave could wash even further, all the way to Iran itself.
The regime, already despised by much of the population, looks feckless. With its own population suffering from economic sanctions, it pumped billions of dollars out of the country and into the hands of its proxies. Tehran has little to show for its investment — the arms it sent to Hezbollah were destroyed or captured by Israel. Syria’s military hardware is now in the hands of Sunni groups.
Not only couldn’t Iran defeat its enemies, but it has made the region suddenly far more dangerous for the Shi’ites it claims to protect.
‘Nothing is finished’
Iran losing all of its allies on Israel’s borders was unimaginable before October 7. Yet it brings with it dangers — some familiar, some new — for the Jewish state.
“Nothing is finished,” said Brig. Gen. (res.) Eran Ortal of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies.
“The Shiite axis hasn’t given up its dreams of getting rid of us, nor have they given up on holding onto Lebanon for that purpose,” he continued.
Iran and its battered camp will have to come up with new routes to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah, and new ways to threaten Israel, but they are sure to keep trying.
The rebel groups, even though they include committed jihadists and ostensibly reformed ex-jihadists, aren’t going to pose a threat to Israel in the near term, as the clash between Sunni and Shiite armed groups intensifies in Syria and potentially Iraq.
“They have other enemies,” said Valensi. “They’ll look to finish the fighting in Syria against the remnants of Assad supporters. Israel was on the bottom of their priorities anyway.”
Moreover, since breaking ties with al-Qaeda in 2016, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has sought to portray himself as a moderate.
In recent days, he started signing his statements under his real name, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and assured minorities they would face no harm.
Rebel commander Anas Salkhadi appeared on state TV with a similar message: “Syria is for everyone, no exceptions. Syria is for Druze, Sunnis, Alawites, and all sects.”
That message might be prudent right now, but it doesn’t mean it will remain that way.
“I don’t buy his conversion,” said Yogev Elbaz, a fellow at The Moshe Dayan Center, “He’s a pragmatist.”
Turkey’s time
The weakness of the Iranian axis in the face of Israeli attacks was an opportunity for HTS to make its move against Assad. It is also an opportunity for its main backer, Turkey.
“There was a vacuum,” said Borshchevskaya, “and Turkey took advantage of that moment and was able to fill it.”
“Because of its dominant influence and longstanding support for the Syrian rebels, Turkey will have great influence” in post-Assad Syria, explained INSS Turkey expert Gallia Lindenstrauss.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a bitter Israel critic, will look to weaken Kurdish autonomy and get Syrian refugees in Turkey to head back to Syria.
For domestic reasons or to pull support from Iran to his axis, Erdogan also could decide to double down on his hostility to Israel through Turkey-backed Sunni groups in Syria.
It might sound far-fetched to imagine that Turkey would pursue policies that risk sparking military action by Israel, but recent history shows that Erdogan is willing to get awfully close to that line against regional rivals.
The proxy war between Turkey and Egypt in Libya looked as if it could turn into a direct confrontation in 2020, when Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi threatened direct military force if Turkish-backed forces attacked the city of Sirte.
The same year, Ankara heightened tensions with other Mediterranean rivals. A French mission to stop weapons smuggling to Libya was harassed by Turkish warships, whose sailors manned their weapons. Months later, Turkey sent a civilian vessel, accompanied by warships, to survey for oil and gas in waters claimed by Greece. At one point, according to Reuters, Greek and Turkish warships collided.
Though Israel found an aggressive formula for dealing with Iran-backed groups, it will find it much harder to come up with a response to potential threats from Turkish proxies. There is no military option against Turkey, a NATO member and trading partner for Israel.
Moreover, Turkey is a more nuanced actor than Iran, pursuing relationships with proxy groups that leave it with more deniability.
Still, there would be incentives for both Turkey and Israel to move beyond the animosity that marked the relationship after October 7. The stage seems set for Iran and Turkey to face off in Syria through their proxies in the coming years, and Turkey could use Israel’s intelligence and military cooperation.
“The situation in Syria requires communication that will prevent misunderstandings between Israel and Turkey there,” said Lindenstrauss. link
- Smotrich: Saudi normalization deal won’t happen if it requires Palestinian state
‘If that’s a deal breaker, the deal will sink,’ far-right minister tells Bloomberg; also tells reporters fall of Assad gives Israel opportunity to occupy and resettle Gaza
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Monday that Israel will not agree to a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia if it requires establishing a Palestinian state.
“If that’s a dealbreaker, the deal will sink,” he told Bloomberg in a rare interview with a foreign media outlet.
US and Arab officials have told The Times of Israel that Saudi Arabia, before the Gaza war, had been prepared to settle with steps by Israel that create a pathway for a Palestinian state in exchange for normalization. Riyadh has raised the price of the Palestinian component of the deal over the past year, stressing in no uncertain terms that it will not agree to recognize Israel without a Palestinian state being established.
Smotrich told Bloomberg that the incoming administration of Donald Trump “understands the obligation to ensure the future existence of Israel,” arguing that this involves scrapping the two-state paradigm.
Brian Hook, who is leading the Trump transition at the State Department, said last month that Trump’s 2020 peace plan, which envisioned the establishment of a semi-contiguous Palestinian state, would likely be back on the table.
For his part, Smotrich has said Trump’s victory provides Israel with an opportunity to annex large parts of the West Bank in the coming year. Israel’s Arab neighbors fear the move could collapse the Palestinian Authority, which has limited autonomy over 40 percent of the West Bank.
It is unclear that Trump would back such a plan.
US President Joe Biden’s administration and much of the international community have supported strengthening the Palestinian Authority and enabling it to return to governing the Gaza Strip after the war.
Smotrich told Bloomberg that he and Netanyahu oppose the idea. Both of them have likened the PA to Hamas. Though the PA has expressed support for a two-state solution, it has also lionized terrorism in its education system and regularly pays stipends to jailed terrorists and the families of slain terror operatives.
Netanyahu has instead floated the idea of Arab countries like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia contributing to the administration of Gaza after the war. However, those countries and others in the region have repeatedly said that they would not take part in the post-war management or reconstruction of Gaza without the PA’s involvement.
Smotrich said Israel won’t agree to end the war unless it successfully dismantles Hamas’s governing capabilities — which Israel says it has yet to do after over 14 months of fighting. The US and Israel’s security establishment have warned that a failure to advance a viable alternative to Hamas rule, such as the PA, will allow the terror group to re-fill vacuums temporarily created by IDF operations in Gaza.
As for the West Bank, where some 160,000 Palestinian laborers have been barred from returning to their jobs in Israel and the settlements since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, Smotrich said that the ban will not be lifted.
While Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron has come out against that decision due to the ramifications for Israel’s economy and construction sector, Smotrich said it will pay off in the long run. “It will be a difficult year or two, but eventually the construction sector will emerge with better building technologies and productivity,” he told Bloomberg.
The finance minister also insisted that Israel’s economy remains strong, despite several major agencies lowering Israel’s credit rating in recent months. “It’s important to me that our partners, investors in Israel and abroad, know our hands are firmly on the wheel,” he said.
Pointing out that the shekel was up eight percent against the dollar last Friday, Smotrich argued that the International Monetary Fund and the credit rating agencies were “misreading the Israeli economy.”
Smotrich also highlighted that tech funding in October reached $9 billion year-on-year — fourth only to Silicon Valley, New York City and Boston: “The economy’s working much better than might have been expected.”
He also argued that Trump’s victory provides an opportunity to topple the Islamic Republic of Iran: “We need to deal with the octopus head and eliminate the Iranian regime.”
“We should join hands on this with the new Trump administration. The Western world cannot afford a dictatorial regime which strives for nuclear weapons and threatens to destroy it,” Smotrich said.
Hook said last month that the Trump administration was not seeking regime change in Iran but would take a much harder line against Tehran.
Time to take advantage
Also on Monday, the far-right minister told Israeli reporters that the sudden fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria marks a “dramatic change” in the Middle East that Israel should take advantage of, saying it was time to push for full occupation of Gaza and the re-establishment of settlements there.
“Enemies that seemed threatening and invincible to us are falling and crashing thanks to the power of the IDF and the transition from containment and defense to initiative and attack,” he argued.
“We are still in the middle of the campaign, but now is the time to complete the task and take advantage of the disintegration of the axis of evil to powerfully strike Iran, which is the head of the snake, before it has time to recover from the series of blows we have inflicted on it and its arms,” the far-right politician told reporters in the Knesset ahead of his Religious Zionism party’s weekly faction meeting.
Meanwhile, in the south, “we must also complete the task of occupying Gaza and destroying Hamas in order to return all the hostages and ensure that [the terror group] no longer poses a threat to Israel,” he added.
“The time has come to occupy the territory and take civilian control of Gaza from Hamas, thereby cutting it off from its source of oxygen that still keeps it alive. We have now seen in Syria how the regime’s leaders flee like mice as soon as they realize that they have lost power and control over the citizens. We can do it in Gaza, too,” he said.
“Instead of talking about partial deals that will leave behind many of the hostages… we need to step on the gas pedal, stop being afraid of our own shadow, and do what is required,” he added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly denied that Israel intends to resettle the Strip. However, his pro-settler coalition partners, and members of his own Likud party, have increasingly lobbied for resettlement.
Turning to Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial, Smotrich asserted that requiring him to begin testifying on Tuesday “seriously harms national interests,” and that whoever ignores warnings about this “may be found responsible for security failures and history will judge them for it.”
Nearly every member of the 11-person security cabinet signed a letter Sunday to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and judiciary director Judge Tzachi Uziel to request that Netanyahu’s testimony be delayed in light of developments in Syria.
Smotrich argued that as a member of the security cabinet, he is exposed to information both public and confidential and that he supported delaying the testimony based on this. full article In a normal, non-radicalized, non-extremist, non-messianic government, not only would Bloomberg News not be interviewing someone like Smotrich, they wouldn't even know who he is. Netanhayu, in his desperation to be prime minister would pay any cost and include any element to reach his goal, and he thus enabled and normalized the worst fringe elements of Israeli society and has gone much further by giving them the powers to dictate the future and terrible destiny of Israel.
Smotrich is probably the worst Finance Minister in the history of Israel with zero understanding or even caring about the economy, the international credit ratings, budgets or anything else that goes into managing the economy of the State. His efforts are laser focused on settlements in the West Bank, expanding existing ones and building new ones and getting huge budgets for everything having to do with these settlements, settling Gaza and getting rid of the Palestinian population by 'voluntary' migration and by doing the same in the West Bank. His continued support for preventing the Palestinian workforce from returning to work in Israel is part of this. He is doing all he can to make the lives of the Palestinians miserable so that they will want to leave. He doesn't care that his methodology causes people to lose hope and belief that the situation will get better which makes them prime candidates for being drafted into the extremists ideologies and movements because they offer answers which are 'destroy the enemy and take what was theirs as your own'. His actions promote extremism on both sides and terrorism follows. He and his ilk also began discussing settling Southern Lebanon and now with what is going on in Syria, I fully expect to hear his and the messianic settlement movement start floating the idea of settling the Syrian side of the Golan Heights. As he says in this article, all of the international finance and credit companies are 'misreading Israel' because he knows more about finances and economy than they do. This is just plain intentional stupid blindness, ignorance and phenomenal arrogance.
Smotrich is pinning a lot of hope on the new US administration coming in next month based on Trump's previous administration and allowing Netanyahu to do whatever he wants. He may be right and Trump may go along with annexation of the West Bank and settlement in Gaza because this is what tyrants do and support - repression of the weak, especially if they are Muslim. However, Trump has significant interests in the Gulf with major focus on Saudi Arabia. If he can't pursue and push his interests there without movement on the Palestinian State issue, he may pressure Israel/Netanyahu on that front. On the one hand, I seriously doubt that he will put that much pressure on Netanyahu to go forward with a Palestinian State as Netanyahu can run circles around Trump and convince him of the 'dangers' around that idea. On the other hand, Trump blames Netanyahu for the fiasco of pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Deal. Netanyahu convinced him that Iran would come crawling on 4, begging for an improved deal that Trump would like more. That didn't happen leading the way for Iran to be a moment away from having nuclear weapons. Trump never forgets who did him wrong and this will hold true here as well. However, Netanyahu may persuade him that he, personally is responsible for weakening Iran and its proxies by all that was done to Hizbollah and then the falling of the Assad regime in Syria. This may be enough to sway Trump's limited understanding of what actually happens on the ground and then buy into Netanyahu's game plan of no movement on the Palestinian State, therefore continuing the Israel/Palestinian conflict ad infinitum. Netanyahu never has any strategy and this will be no different.
Hamas, Hezbollah and Assad’s Syria no longer pose a strategic threat, but Tehran will keep working to harm the Jewish state; meanwhile, unpredictable Turkey and its proxies are ascendant
Broken pictures of Iranian spiritual leaders Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini lie on the floor at the Iranian embassy after opposition forces took control of the city in Damascus, Syria, December 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
In 2017, Iran saw an opportunity.
Relations with Hamas had been strained for years, after the Gaza-based terror group backed the Sunni opposition to the Bashar al-Assad regime that Tehran was propping up in Syria.
Then, six years into the bloody civil war, Hamas selected two new chiefs seen as friendly toward Iran — Ismail Haniyeh as the movement’s overall leader based in Qatar, and Yahya Sinwar, the powerful new chief in Gaza
With the new leadership in place, Iran engineered a reconciliation between Assad and Hamas, firming up the ring of armed proxies it had built around Israel.
Tehran, said Sinwar, is Hamas’s “largest backer financially and militarily.”
“All the missiles you might see in Gaza and Lebanon were created with Iran’s support,” boasted the Aerospace Force commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
With Iran’s firm backing, Sinwar felt increasingly emboldened as his military force became more lethal, while Israel didn’t hide its desire to avoid any major conflict in Gaza.
Six years later, the support for Sinwar would prove one of the Islamic Republic’s greatest blunders.
Iran’s high-water mark
The Hamas commander, confident that his forces could inflict enough casualties on Israel to stop a ground invasion and that Iran and its network would come to its aid, launched the surprise attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, smashing through the border in dozens of places, slaughtering 1,200 people in southern Israel and abducting 250 hostages.
It was the high-water mark of the Iranian axis. Sinwar believed that the attack he termed the “Al-Aqsa Flood” would spring other leaks, forcing the walls Israel had built around itself to burst. Instead, his fanatical assault caused a wave that is washing Iran’s proxies away from Israel’s borders, and might end up drowning the regime itself.
After Hamas enjoyed several hours of “success” on October 7, Israel regained control of the situation and moved to the offensive. It ground Hamas’s military down in a matter of months.
When Hezbollah began attacking Israel on October 8, 2023, and refused to stop its rocket fire for the following year, Israel finally unleashed a series of strikes on the Lebanese group’s commanders before moving ground forces across the border. After losing thousands of fighters, most of its rockets, and much of its command, Hezbollah threw in the towel, agreeing to a ceasefire that left what remained of Hamas on its own against Israel.
Israel didn’t have to lift a finger for the next domino to fall. Seeing that Hezbollah and Iran were exhausted and that Russia was stretched to the limit in Ukraine, Syrian rebels last week poured out of their statelet in the northwest, driving south until they took the capital.
The loss to Iran is tremendous. “The entire Iranian project was built on Syrian soil, to a large extent with Assad’s consent,” explained Carmit Valensi, head of the Northern Arena Program at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
From Syria, Iran was able to supply Hezbollah, move Shiite militias across the region, and smuggle arms into the West Bank through Jordan.
The wave moves east
The fragility of the Syrian regime was a surprise, but that was the price Assad paid for his survival. When Sunni rebels threatened to end his rule in 2015, Assad had to invite Iran and Russia in to save his throne — and likely his head. The gamble succeeded in freezing the conflict and leaving him in power, but it meant Syria would turn into a hollowed-out husk of a state.
“Russia was never interested in genuine peace and Iran was never interested in Syria,” said Anna Borshchevskaya of The Washington Institute.
“When you have actors who take over, who are not interested in peace, you realize that no conflict is ever truly frozen, and Russia is a master at managing frozen conflicts,” she continued. “It’s only a matter of time before there’s a spark and things get out of control.”
The question now is how far east the wave that swept Assad aside will reach.
With Iran’s help, Shi’ites and their militias now dominate Iraq. Yet a decade ago the Islamic State spilled out of Syria into northern Iraq, a scenario which is once again conceivable, even if a different Sunni armed group leads the way. Or perhaps Sunnis and Kurds within Iraq will sense an opportunity to assert themselves against Shi’ite militias and the government their sect dominates.
“There is definitely reason to expect others to say, Wait, why don’t we do this as well?” said Yossi Kuperwasser, former head of the research division in IDF Military Intelligence.
The wave could wash even further, all the way to Iran itself.
The regime, already despised by much of the population, looks feckless. With its own population suffering from economic sanctions, it pumped billions of dollars out of the country and into the hands of its proxies. Tehran has little to show for its investment — the arms it sent to Hezbollah were destroyed or captured by Israel. Syria’s military hardware is now in the hands of Sunni groups.
Not only couldn’t Iran defeat its enemies, but it has made the region suddenly far more dangerous for the Shi’ites it claims to protect.
‘Nothing is finished’
Iran losing all of its allies on Israel’s borders was unimaginable before October 7. Yet it brings with it dangers — some familiar, some new — for the Jewish state.
“Nothing is finished,” said Brig. Gen. (res.) Eran Ortal of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies.
“The Shiite axis hasn’t given up its dreams of getting rid of us, nor have they given up on holding onto Lebanon for that purpose,” he continued.
Iran and its battered camp will have to come up with new routes to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah, and new ways to threaten Israel, but they are sure to keep trying.
The rebel groups, even though they include committed jihadists and ostensibly reformed ex-jihadists, aren’t going to pose a threat to Israel in the near term, as the clash between Sunni and Shiite armed groups intensifies in Syria and potentially Iraq.
“They have other enemies,” said Valensi. “They’ll look to finish the fighting in Syria against the remnants of Assad supporters. Israel was on the bottom of their priorities anyway.”
Moreover, since breaking ties with al-Qaeda in 2016, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has sought to portray himself as a moderate.
In recent days, he started signing his statements under his real name, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and assured minorities they would face no harm.
Rebel commander Anas Salkhadi appeared on state TV with a similar message: “Syria is for everyone, no exceptions. Syria is for Druze, Sunnis, Alawites, and all sects.”
That message might be prudent right now, but it doesn’t mean it will remain that way.
“I don’t buy his conversion,” said Yogev Elbaz, a fellow at The Moshe Dayan Center, “He’s a pragmatist.”
Turkey’s time
The weakness of the Iranian axis in the face of Israeli attacks was an opportunity for HTS to make its move against Assad. It is also an opportunity for its main backer, Turkey.
“There was a vacuum,” said Borshchevskaya, “and Turkey took advantage of that moment and was able to fill it.”
“Because of its dominant influence and longstanding support for the Syrian rebels, Turkey will have great influence” in post-Assad Syria, explained INSS Turkey expert Gallia Lindenstrauss.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a bitter Israel critic, will look to weaken Kurdish autonomy and get Syrian refugees in Turkey to head back to Syria.
For domestic reasons or to pull support from Iran to his axis, Erdogan also could decide to double down on his hostility to Israel through Turkey-backed Sunni groups in Syria.
It might sound far-fetched to imagine that Turkey would pursue policies that risk sparking military action by Israel, but recent history shows that Erdogan is willing to get awfully close to that line against regional rivals.
The proxy war between Turkey and Egypt in Libya looked as if it could turn into a direct confrontation in 2020, when Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi threatened direct military force if Turkish-backed forces attacked the city of Sirte.
The same year, Ankara heightened tensions with other Mediterranean rivals. A French mission to stop weapons smuggling to Libya was harassed by Turkish warships, whose sailors manned their weapons. Months later, Turkey sent a civilian vessel, accompanied by warships, to survey for oil and gas in waters claimed by Greece. At one point, according to Reuters, Greek and Turkish warships collided.
Though Israel found an aggressive formula for dealing with Iran-backed groups, it will find it much harder to come up with a response to potential threats from Turkish proxies. There is no military option against Turkey, a NATO member and trading partner for Israel.
Moreover, Turkey is a more nuanced actor than Iran, pursuing relationships with proxy groups that leave it with more deniability.
Still, there would be incentives for both Turkey and Israel to move beyond the animosity that marked the relationship after October 7. The stage seems set for Iran and Turkey to face off in Syria through their proxies in the coming years, and Turkey could use Israel’s intelligence and military cooperation.
“The situation in Syria requires communication that will prevent misunderstandings between Israel and Turkey there,” said Lindenstrauss. link
‘If that’s a deal breaker, the deal will sink,’ far-right minister tells Bloomberg; also tells reporters fall of Assad gives Israel opportunity to occupy and resettle Gaza
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Monday that Israel will not agree to a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia if it requires establishing a Palestinian state.
“If that’s a dealbreaker, the deal will sink,” he told Bloomberg in a rare interview with a foreign media outlet.
US and Arab officials have told The Times of Israel that Saudi Arabia, before the Gaza war, had been prepared to settle with steps by Israel that create a pathway for a Palestinian state in exchange for normalization. Riyadh has raised the price of the Palestinian component of the deal over the past year, stressing in no uncertain terms that it will not agree to recognize Israel without a Palestinian state being established.
Smotrich told Bloomberg that the incoming administration of Donald Trump “understands the obligation to ensure the future existence of Israel,” arguing that this involves scrapping the two-state paradigm.
Brian Hook, who is leading the Trump transition at the State Department, said last month that Trump’s 2020 peace plan, which envisioned the establishment of a semi-contiguous Palestinian state, would likely be back on the table.
For his part, Smotrich has said Trump’s victory provides Israel with an opportunity to annex large parts of the West Bank in the coming year. Israel’s Arab neighbors fear the move could collapse the Palestinian Authority, which has limited autonomy over 40 percent of the West Bank.
It is unclear that Trump would back such a plan.
US President Joe Biden’s administration and much of the international community have supported strengthening the Palestinian Authority and enabling it to return to governing the Gaza Strip after the war.
Smotrich told Bloomberg that he and Netanyahu oppose the idea. Both of them have likened the PA to Hamas. Though the PA has expressed support for a two-state solution, it has also lionized terrorism in its education system and regularly pays stipends to jailed terrorists and the families of slain terror operatives.
Netanyahu has instead floated the idea of Arab countries like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia contributing to the administration of Gaza after the war. However, those countries and others in the region have repeatedly said that they would not take part in the post-war management or reconstruction of Gaza without the PA’s involvement.
Smotrich said Israel won’t agree to end the war unless it successfully dismantles Hamas’s governing capabilities — which Israel says it has yet to do after over 14 months of fighting. The US and Israel’s security establishment have warned that a failure to advance a viable alternative to Hamas rule, such as the PA, will allow the terror group to re-fill vacuums temporarily created by IDF operations in Gaza.
As for the West Bank, where some 160,000 Palestinian laborers have been barred from returning to their jobs in Israel and the settlements since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, Smotrich said that the ban will not be lifted.
While Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron has come out against that decision due to the ramifications for Israel’s economy and construction sector, Smotrich said it will pay off in the long run. “It will be a difficult year or two, but eventually the construction sector will emerge with better building technologies and productivity,” he told Bloomberg.
The finance minister also insisted that Israel’s economy remains strong, despite several major agencies lowering Israel’s credit rating in recent months. “It’s important to me that our partners, investors in Israel and abroad, know our hands are firmly on the wheel,” he said.
Smotrich also highlighted that tech funding in October reached $9 billion year-on-year — fourth only to Silicon Valley, New York City and Boston: “The economy’s working much better than might have been expected.”
He also argued that Trump’s victory provides an opportunity to topple the Islamic Republic of Iran: “We need to deal with the octopus head and eliminate the Iranian regime.”
“We should join hands on this with the new Trump administration. The Western world cannot afford a dictatorial regime which strives for nuclear weapons and threatens to destroy it,” Smotrich said.
Hook said last month that the Trump administration was not seeking regime change in Iran but would take a much harder line against Tehran.
Time to take advantage
Also on Monday, the far-right minister told Israeli reporters that the sudden fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria marks a “dramatic change” in the Middle East that Israel should take advantage of, saying it was time to push for full occupation of Gaza and the re-establishment of settlements there.
“Enemies that seemed threatening and invincible to us are falling and crashing thanks to the power of the IDF and the transition from containment and defense to initiative and attack,” he argued.
“We are still in the middle of the campaign, but now is the time to complete the task and take advantage of the disintegration of the axis of evil to powerfully strike Iran, which is the head of the snake, before it has time to recover from the series of blows we have inflicted on it and its arms,” the far-right politician told reporters in the Knesset ahead of his Religious Zionism party’s weekly faction meeting.
Meanwhile, in the south, “we must also complete the task of occupying Gaza and destroying Hamas in order to return all the hostages and ensure that [the terror group] no longer poses a threat to Israel,” he added.
“The time has come to occupy the territory and take civilian control of Gaza from Hamas, thereby cutting it off from its source of oxygen that still keeps it alive. We have now seen in Syria how the regime’s leaders flee like mice as soon as they realize that they have lost power and control over the citizens. We can do it in Gaza, too,” he said.
“Instead of talking about partial deals that will leave behind many of the hostages… we need to step on the gas pedal, stop being afraid of our own shadow, and do what is required,” he added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly denied that Israel intends to resettle the Strip. However, his pro-settler coalition partners, and members of his own Likud party, have increasingly lobbied for resettlement.
Turning to Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial, Smotrich asserted that requiring him to begin testifying on Tuesday “seriously harms national interests,” and that whoever ignores warnings about this “may be found responsible for security failures and history will judge them for it.”
Nearly every member of the 11-person security cabinet signed a letter Sunday to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and judiciary director Judge Tzachi Uziel to request that Netanyahu’s testimony be delayed in light of developments in Syria.
Smotrich argued that as a member of the security cabinet, he is exposed to information both public and confidential and that he supported delaying the testimony based on this. full article In a normal, non-radicalized, non-extremist, non-messianic government, not only would Bloomberg News not be interviewing someone like Smotrich, they wouldn't even know who he is. Netanhayu, in his desperation to be prime minister would pay any cost and include any element to reach his goal, and he thus enabled and normalized the worst fringe elements of Israeli society and has gone much further by giving them the powers to dictate the future and terrible destiny of Israel.
Smotrich is probably the worst Finance Minister in the history of Israel with zero understanding or even caring about the economy, the international credit ratings, budgets or anything else that goes into managing the economy of the State. His efforts are laser focused on settlements in the West Bank, expanding existing ones and building new ones and getting huge budgets for everything having to do with these settlements, settling Gaza and getting rid of the Palestinian population by 'voluntary' migration and by doing the same in the West Bank. His continued support for preventing the Palestinian workforce from returning to work in Israel is part of this. He is doing all he can to make the lives of the Palestinians miserable so that they will want to leave. He doesn't care that his methodology causes people to lose hope and belief that the situation will get better which makes them prime candidates for being drafted into the extremists ideologies and movements because they offer answers which are 'destroy the enemy and take what was theirs as your own'. His actions promote extremism on both sides and terrorism follows. He and his ilk also began discussing settling Southern Lebanon and now with what is going on in Syria, I fully expect to hear his and the messianic settlement movement start floating the idea of settling the Syrian side of the Golan Heights. As he says in this article, all of the international finance and credit companies are 'misreading Israel' because he knows more about finances and economy than they do. This is just plain intentional stupid blindness, ignorance and phenomenal arrogance.
Smotrich is pinning a lot of hope on the new US administration coming in next month based on Trump's previous administration and allowing Netanyahu to do whatever he wants. He may be right and Trump may go along with annexation of the West Bank and settlement in Gaza because this is what tyrants do and support - repression of the weak, especially if they are Muslim. However, Trump has significant interests in the Gulf with major focus on Saudi Arabia. If he can't pursue and push his interests there without movement on the Palestinian State issue, he may pressure Israel/Netanyahu on that front. On the one hand, I seriously doubt that he will put that much pressure on Netanyahu to go forward with a Palestinian State as Netanyahu can run circles around Trump and convince him of the 'dangers' around that idea. On the other hand, Trump blames Netanyahu for the fiasco of pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Deal. Netanyahu convinced him that Iran would come crawling on 4, begging for an improved deal that Trump would like more. That didn't happen leading the way for Iran to be a moment away from having nuclear weapons. Trump never forgets who did him wrong and this will hold true here as well. However, Netanyahu may persuade him that he, personally is responsible for weakening Iran and its proxies by all that was done to Hizbollah and then the falling of the Assad regime in Syria. This may be enough to sway Trump's limited understanding of what actually happens on the ground and then buy into Netanyahu's game plan of no movement on the Palestinian State, therefore continuing the Israel/Palestinian conflict ad infinitum. Netanyahu never has any strategy and this will be no different.
The Region and the World
- 'Poor man's cocaine': What’s next for Assad’s drug empire after his fall?
Syria’s booming Captagon trade fueled regime’s economy, financed Hamas and Hezbollah, and wreaked havoc on Jordan; with Assad gone, questions loom over the future of this lucrative yet destabilizing industry
With recent developments on the Syrian front, questions arise about the fate of the drug empire in the country established by President Bashar Assad's regime.
Captagon, the stimulant drug nicknamed "The Islamic State’s chemical courage" and "poor man's cocaine," was found among the belongings and in the vehicles of Hamas terrorists during the October 7 massacre. Generating at least $5 billion annually, Captagon has been Syria's number one export.
The drug financed the Syrian army and Hezbollah, while billions also flowed into the private coffers of the Assad family, Syrian army generals and Hezbollah officials. This industry financially sustained the regime as Syria's economy collapsed during the civil war, with operations rivaling the scale of major drug cartels in Mexico and South America.
The man responsible for managing Captagon production in Syria was none other than Maher Assad, the former president’s brother. Until recently, Maher commanded the Syrian army's Fourth Division, often referred to as the "Captagon Division."
However, with rebels now taking control of various Syrian provinces, Maher's focus has likely shifted to his own survival. Reports on his whereabouts remain unconfirmed, with one claiming he was last seen in Qardaha on Syria's coast, possibly planning to leave through Khmeimim Airport.A video shared on a rebel-affiliated channel also revealed an underground bunker beneath his home. The fate of Bashar Assad himself was uncertain for hours until a Kremlin source confirmed that he and his family had fled to Russia.
Captagon production, supported by Iran and in collaboration with Hezbollah, formed the backbone of Assad's regime. Neighboring countries have struggled for years to thwart the relentless smuggling of drugs from Syria.The border between Jordan and Syria, spanning over 375 kilometers (235 miles), presents a particularly challenging area to monitor. Recent developments in Syria suggest that production lines may have halted, at least temporarily, as Maher faces more pressing concerns.Tensions over Captagon have extended beyond Syria's borders. Over the past year, Jordanian fighter jets have reportedly targeted facilities linked to Captagon smuggling near the Jordan-Syria border, particularly in the southwestern Sweida province.These strikes, aimed at warehouses and hubs connected to the drug trade, occasionally resulted in civilian casualties. In one January strike, ten people, including two young girls, were killed in the village of Urman in the Sweida province.Protests erupted, with residents blaming Assad's regime for turning their homes into targets for Jordanian strikes. One demonstrator held a sign accusing Assad: "The Captagon dealer is in his palace, not in Urman or Malah [two areas targeted by airstrikes]."
Hezbollah has consistently denied involvement in drug production, yet reports indicate Iran established manufacturing facilities for the group in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, near the Syrian border. Though involved, Hezbollah has reportedly avoided placing its members in key smuggling roles.Al Jazeera reported earlier this year that Syria produces 80% of the world's Captagon supply. Jordan intercepted 65 million Captagon pills in 2022 alone, all originating from Syria.
Smuggling across the Jordanian border involves both foot traffic and drones, which are also used to transport weapons. The Jordanian army regularly highlights major smuggling busts through official media channels.Amid the ongoing upheaval alongside broader questions about Syria's future and the Assad family's fate, the issue of drug production still looms. Neighboring countries may hope for relief from this menace, but Iran remains active in the region, and Hezbollah, though weakened in recent months, remains a significant actor in the regional drug empire. link
Personal Stories Sahar Baruch, captured when getting inhaler for brother, died in Gaza25-year-old engineering student abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7; death in captivity confirmed by IDF on Dec. 9
On December 9, the IDF confirmed the death of Sahar Baruch, 25, who was taken hostage to Gaza and killed there. This is the story of his capture:
Sahar Baruch, 25, was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7 as they attacked Kibbutz Be’eri, killing dozens and kidnapping residents.
The Ben-Gurion University engineering student was with his grandmother, Geula Bachar, as well as his brother, Idan Baruch, 20, a soldier in the IDF’s Education Corps.
Sahar ran back into his grandmother’s burning house to look for an inhaler for his brother.
Idan, Sahar’s brother, was fatally shot when he left the burning house, which he ran from because he was asthmatic and couldn’t breathe in the smoke.
Idan and his grandmother were both killed by the terrorists, while Sahar was taken hostage to Gaza, where he was murdered.
IDF admits hostage Sahar Baruch was killed during failed rescue attempt last monthMilitary says still unable to determine cause of death of 25-year-old, but confirms Hamas’s claim that he was killed during operation in Gaza on December 8
The IDF notified the family of hostage Sahar Baruch on Wednesday that he was killed during a failed attempt to rescue him from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip last month.
The military said it was unable to determine the cause of death at this stage, and that it was unknown whether Baruch, 25, was murdered by Hamas or killed by Israeli fire during the failed hostage rescue on December 8.
It was also unclear at what stage during the rescue attempt Baruch was killed.
Hamas at the time claimed that Baruch was killed by the IDF, publishing graphic footage of his body, along with equipment apparently belonging to Israeli forces.
Two IDF soldiers were seriously wounded in the attempted hostage rescue, the military said after the incident. It said at the time that it was investigating Hamas’s claims and did not immediately confirm that Baruch’s death was linked to the failed hostage rescue.
The IDF said Wednesday that it would “continue to accompany the Baruch family and the other families of the hostages as needed.”
“We are working in all ways, intelligence and operational, to return the hostages home,” it added.
Baruch was abducted by Hamas terrorists on October 7 as they attacked Kibbutz Be’eri, murdering dozens and kidnapping scores of residents.
Sahar Baruch, who was taken captive by Hamas terrorists, speaks in a video released by the terror group on December 8, 2023. (Screenshot: Telegram)
His body remains held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.It is believed that 129 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November.
Four hostages were released prior to that, and one was rescued by troops. The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered and three hostages were mistakenly killed by the military.
The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 23 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.
Another three people have been listed as missing since October 7, and their fates are still unknown.
Hamas is also holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015, respectively. link
Syria’s booming Captagon trade fueled regime’s economy, financed Hamas and Hezbollah, and wreaked havoc on Jordan; with Assad gone, questions loom over the future of this lucrative yet destabilizing industry
With recent developments on the Syrian front, questions arise about the fate of the drug empire in the country established by President Bashar Assad's regime.
Captagon, the stimulant drug nicknamed "The Islamic State’s chemical courage" and "poor man's cocaine," was found among the belongings and in the vehicles of Hamas terrorists during the October 7 massacre. Generating at least $5 billion annually, Captagon has been Syria's number one export. The drug financed the Syrian army and Hezbollah, while billions also flowed into the private coffers of the Assad family, Syrian army generals and Hezbollah officials. This industry financially sustained the regime as Syria's economy collapsed during the civil war, with operations rivaling the scale of major drug cartels in Mexico and South America. The man responsible for managing Captagon production in Syria was none other than Maher Assad, the former president’s brother. Until recently, Maher commanded the Syrian army's Fourth Division, often referred to as the "Captagon Division."
On December 9, the IDF confirmed the death of Sahar Baruch, 25, who was taken hostage to Gaza and killed there. This is the story of his capture:
Sahar Baruch, 25, was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7 as they attacked Kibbutz Be’eri, killing dozens and kidnapping residents.
The Ben-Gurion University engineering student was with his grandmother, Geula Bachar, as well as his brother, Idan Baruch, 20, a soldier in the IDF’s Education Corps.
Sahar ran back into his grandmother’s burning house to look for an inhaler for his brother.
Idan, Sahar’s brother, was fatally shot when he left the burning house, which he ran from because he was asthmatic and couldn’t breathe in the smoke.
Idan and his grandmother were both killed by the terrorists, while Sahar was taken hostage to Gaza, where he was murdered.
The IDF notified the family of hostage Sahar Baruch on Wednesday that he was killed during a failed attempt to rescue him from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip last month.
The military said it was unable to determine the cause of death at this stage, and that it was unknown whether Baruch, 25, was murdered by Hamas or killed by Israeli fire during the failed hostage rescue on December 8.
It was also unclear at what stage during the rescue attempt Baruch was killed.
Hamas at the time claimed that Baruch was killed by the IDF, publishing graphic footage of his body, along with equipment apparently belonging to Israeli forces.
Two IDF soldiers were seriously wounded in the attempted hostage rescue, the military said after the incident. It said at the time that it was investigating Hamas’s claims and did not immediately confirm that Baruch’s death was linked to the failed hostage rescue.
The IDF said Wednesday that it would “continue to accompany the Baruch family and the other families of the hostages as needed.”
“We are working in all ways, intelligence and operational, to return the hostages home,” it added.
Baruch was abducted by Hamas terrorists on October 7 as they attacked Kibbutz Be’eri, murdering dozens and kidnapping scores of residents.
Sahar Baruch, who was taken captive by Hamas terrorists, speaks in a video released by the terror group on December 8, 2023. (Screenshot: Telegram)
His body remains held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
It is believed that 129 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November.
Four hostages were released prior to that, and one was rescued by troops. The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered and three hostages were mistakenly killed by the military.
The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 23 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.
Another three people have been listed as missing since October 7, and their fates are still unknown.
Hamas is also holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015, respectively. link
Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages
History and Israeli Society Will Never Forgive NetanyahuProf. Eran HalperinResearcher and Lecturer at the Department of Psychology at the Hebrew University, and the Founding Chairman of the "Accord" Center.
Empathy is one of the most basic human experiences, on both the personal and the societal level. The ability to "step into the other's shoes," to understand other people’s thoughts, feel their pain, and try to help them deal with their pain, is a primary human power, which enables societies to survive, function, and thrive. The empathic abilities of a society are especially called for in the face of difficult challenges and national traumas. In such situations, the willingness of its citizens to take action for the sake of the "other," even when that other is not a family member, is the basis of social resilience, and of mechanisms for coping - both individually and collectively - with the hardships, the suffering, and the trauma. Thus, empathy is the glue, the engine, and a key indicator of a society’s ability to recover from national trauma, look forward with hope, and build a collective future.Most of us, I believe, wish to regard ourselves as empathetic people. Moreover, most of us would like to believe that our empathy is not limited to those close to us, and that we would know how to see, feel, and act in the face of the suffering of people who belong to our socio-national group, even when we don’t know them personally. Interestingly, however, recent research in social psychology actually shows that when we come face to face with the suffering of another person, the levels of empathy we feel will depend on the extent to which that other person belongs to "our" group, as opposed to the “other” group. This phenomenon is called the “intergroup empathy bias,” and though it might seem natural, it is not easy to look in the mirror and realize that people who belong, politically, to the left (or to the right) feel more empathy towards the suffering of a child who belongs to their own political group, and less empathy towards a child from the other political group. That is the case when we have no previous personal acquaintance with either child; and that same tendency is even stronger when it comes to religious and national divides. Given these human biases, what distinguishes human societies with stronger social resilience from those with limited social resilience is the ability to feel empathy for hardship and suffering across ideological, political, religious, or ethnic barriers.Sadly, I believe that one of the greatest damages Benjamin Netanyahu will be remembered for in the annals of Israeli history is precisely the weakening of that capacity for empathy. Netanyahu is the one who instigated the shift in Israeli society toward the normalization of the extremists and messianic fanatics. He is the one who has turned every question concerning values – at either the personal or the national level - into a political question (and one that divides society into different groups). He is the one who has erected the high dam that does not allow the flow of simple human empathy from one political and ideological side to the other. Politics is doubtlessly a game of power relations between groups, and it therefore stands to reason that political leaders play that game (too). But a true leader is also responsible for creating and maintaining the infrastructure for the social resilience of his society, primarily by breaking down the barriers to empathy. Netanyahu has not only failed at that role, but over the years his words, deeds, and political maneuvers set up an intricate network of empathy - blocking walls within Israeli society. It is that network that presently does not allow us as a society to stand by the families of the hostages, and act as one body for their return. The abandonment of the hostages is only the tip of the iceberg in the collapse of barriers-crossing empathy in Israeli society, a collapse for which Netanyahu is personally responsible. ‘Abandonment’ has connotations of passivity, but I’m afraid that the empathy-blocking walls that have led to this current abandonment were built with considerable planning, and the active utilization of several interrelated systems. And for that, history and Israeli society will never forgive Netanyahu.
Acronyms and Glossary
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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