🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 440, 2023 - December 19, 2024 🎗️

  

🎗️Day 440 that 100 of our hostages in Hamas captivity
**There is nothing more important than getting them home! NOTHING!**

“I’ve never met them,

But I miss them. 

I’ve never met them,

but I think of them every second. 

I’ve never met them,

but they are my family. 

BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!”

We’re waiting for you, all of you.
A deal is the only way to bring
all the hostages home- the murdered for burial and the living for rehabilitation.

#BringThemHomeNow #TurnTheHorrorIntoHope

There is no victory until all of the hostages are home!

‎אין נצחון עד שכל החטופים בבית

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

*2:35am - Center - Ballistic missile from Yemen was intercepted but shrapnel caused significant damage in the Ramat Gan area
Debris following the interception of a Houthi ballistic missile launched from Yemen at central Israel this morning caused extensive damage to a school in Ramat Gan.

According to the military, the ballistic missile was intercepted by the long-range Arrow air defense system, and sirens sounded in central Israel due to fears of falling shrapnel.

A building at a school in Ramat Gan collapsed apparently as a result of a large piece of debris that struck the area.

The military is investigating the incident. In the past, partially intercepted missiles launched at Israel have crashed with their warhead intact and caused extensive damage.

Heavy damage was caused to a school in Ramat Gan from the interception of the missile from Yemen

In the Ramat Gan Municipality we have been informed that a wide collapse has been detected in the main building of an elementary school in the city's Ramat Afel neighborhood. The lower grade students and special education students will study in nearby schools, the older students will study online from home.

*11:45am - south - hostile aircraft - Ein Habasor, Magen - Gaza border communities - false alarm but people still run to their shelters as they only find out later that it was a false alarm
*3:30pm - south - rockets - Kissufim, Sapir College, Gavim, Yachini, Zro'a, Nir Moshe 

*3:30pm - Tel Aviv - An IDF spokesperson said: The Air Force intercepted a suspicious aerial target in the Mediterranean area a short time ago, the target was intercepted before it crossed into Israel. According to policy, no alerts were activated.

Departure of an interceptor off the coast of Tel Aviv Photo: Use according to Section 27A of the Copyright Law

Hostage Updates 

• Yesterday, Matan Zangauker marked his 25th birthday—his second in Hamas captivity.
  

  
  

  
  

  His mother, Einav, shares a heartfelt plea:

  "Let’s make one wish: that Matan will be the last hostage to celebrate a birthday in captivity. We will never stop fighting for every hostage, and we will continue this struggle until they all return home."

  
  

  She reflects on the birthday she cannot share with her son:

  "I don’t have a cake for Matan, no balloons to decorate his room.

  But he should know—he is the crown of our family, the pride of the Zangaukers. 

  I ask him to imagine a cake, and on it, just one word: hope."

  
  

  #BringThemHomeNow

  

  
  
• The compartmentalization, the limited discussion - and possibility for breakthrough | New details about the contacts for a deal

  

  
  

  The summary of details for the first stage in the partial deal is in the final stretch, after more progress in narrowing the gaps • Tomorrow a limited consultation is expected at the Prime Minister's Office with Ministers Katz, Dermer and heads of the defense system • Senior officials in Israel: "Can finalize the details within days, and execute a deal within few weeks" • Among the sections still in dispute: identity of hostages to be released and Philadelphia Corridor

  
  

  The negotiating teams for the hostage deal made another step and progressed in narrowing the gaps. The summary of details for the first stage in the deal is now in the final stretch, and in Israel they are waiting for the delegation's return from Qatar, in order to understand exactly where the contacts stand.

  
  

  Today (Thursday) a limited consultation is expected at Prime Minister Netanyahu's office with participation of Defense Minister Israel Katz and Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, in addition to heads of the defense system regarding progress in negotiations and additional details in the contacts.

  
  

  The Prime Minister keeps the negotiation details very close to his chest, and shares only with people who must know like relevant people from the defense system - this apparently out of concern that the agreement details won't be accepted by the coalition at this stage of negotiations. Netanyahu instructed all those involved not to speak about the details absolutely.

  
  

  In Israel, senior officials claim that it will be possible to finalize the agreement details within days - and execute a deal within few weeks. Meanwhile, CIA chief, Bill Burns, is in Doha working on the gaps that still exist between Israel and Hamas, which make this statement particularly ambitious since they are still large.

  
  

  From Hamas's side - an answer has still not been given to one of the big disputes in negotiations. The question whether the terror organization will be willing to accept a partial deal without receiving guarantees to end the war in later stages, still hovers in the negotiation rooms but sources involved in negotiations are convinced: who will ultimately decide if there will be a deal and under these conditions - is Prime Minister Netanyahu.

  
  

  The international pressure to reach an agreement intensifies

  * The incoming American President, Donald Trump, presents an image of involvement behind the scenes of the deal. Sources who met with Trump's team admitted: "They are not at all in control of the deal details".

  * Michael Levy, whose brother Or was kidnapped to Gaza spoke at the UN Security Council: "I ask you to prove that international law has meaning. Demand the release of all 100 living. They are sons, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters."

  * Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon: "It's possible a deal won't be done in one phase - but will be executed like in the previous deal".

  * UN Under-Secretary-General for Middle East: "There is basis to believe hostages are suffering from violence and sexual abuse". link

  
  
• UN torture expert visits Oct. 7 sites for first time, speaks to hostage families

  Alice Jill Edwards calls hostage-taking a ‘war crime,’ says she’s hopeful for deal; pledges to speak to PA about sexual violence, and Israel about allegations of abusing detainees
  

  The United Nations’s senior expert on torture visited the kibbutzim that were attacked on October 7, 2023, for the first time on Wednesday, to offer support to families of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.

  

  Dr Alice Jill Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture (right), speaks with Simona Steinbrecher (left), the mother of hostage Doron Steinbrecher, as she visits Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the Israeli communities ravaged during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas terrorists, December 18, 2024. (REUTERS / Stoyan Nenov)
  
  

  Alice Jill Edwards, the UN special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment, spoke to Reuters, as mediated talks continued between Israel and Hamas for a potential hostage-ceasefire deal.

  “I’m very hopeful for a deal. I’ve been calling for a long time for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages. This is an unlawful act under international law. It’s an atrocity. It’s a war crime,” she said in an interview.
  

  “I am hopeful that the families will be able to see their loved ones as soon as possible and that there will be peace restored in this region.”

  Some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages, amid acts of brutality and sexual assault. The Hamas attack started the ongoing war in Gaza, which has also included fighting on other fronts.

  On her visit, Edwards described the scene as both eerie and uneasy, a mix of flowers and greenery amid broken windows and shattered glass, the result of intense gun battles and homes being set on fire by the Hamas invaders as they attempted to flush residents out on that October day 14 months ago.
  

  Edwards said she had written to the Palestinian Authority — which governs parts of the West Bank, and does not have a presence in Gaza — about independent and verifiable reports of sexual torture and violence that occurred on October 7. It was not immediately clear whether Edwards made any reference to Hamas or other terror groups that participated in the attack.

  In March, the UN envoy on sex crimes during conflict presented a report at the UN indicating that rape and gang rape likely occurred during the onslaught, that “clear and convincing” evidence shows that hostages were raped while being held in Gaza, and that those currently held captive are still facing such abuse.
  

  Edwards said she would also speak to Israeli authorities about allegations of torture and mistreatment of Palestinians in Israeli detention.

  The UN human rights office issued a report in July, alleging that Palestinian detainees held by Israel since October 7 have been subjected to torture, including waterboarding, sleep deprivation, electric shocks, the release of dogs, and other forms of mistreatment.

  The Israel Defense Forces and Israel Prison Service said at the time that all prisoners are treated in accordance with international law, and that reports of abuse are investigated.

  Israel’s High Court of Justice said in September that authorities must abide by the law in their treatment of Palestinian terror suspects, addressing in particular the notorious Sde Teiman detention facility, where several soldiers have been investigated, and one indicted, over alleged abuse of detainees.

  
  Israelis attend a rally calling for the release of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, and marking 435 days of their captivity, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, December 14, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

  Edwards said Wednesday, “It is very important that when you have two communities that are suffering and live so close together, that we recognize the suffering of each. They are different. They are of different scale. They will be different individually.”

  “But, you know, everybody counts and every life counts and we should preserve that. And that is the essence of human rights. It’s not about, you know, picking sides. The side is of human rights and the people’s right to live in safety, peace and security,” she said.
  

  Edwards said her goal was to document what happened in Israel and to let the hostages and their families know there are people who are fighting for the captives’ safe return, and the return of the bodies of hostages who have been killed in captivity.

  Yuval Haran, 38, whose father was killed and whose seven relatives were abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri, stood outside the rubble of his parents’ home.

  “This isn’t about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it isn’t about politics or right or left, it isn’t about war, it’s about human beings and we need to remember these are human beings that for almost 440 days are being held,” he said.

  “We don’t care about revenge. You know, my father was murdered here, but I don’t want revenge for my father … I want all the hostages back. I want that we have a quiet and peaceful life. This is what I pray for.”

  Edwards said: “All of the crimes that have been committed in these last 13, 14 months need independent and impartial investigations.” link So many of the families of the hostages are also survivors of October 7 and many lost members of their family while others, including themselves were kidnapped and many of their homes and all their belongings were destroyed by fires lit by the Hamas barbarians. They have lost so much and have had to fight for over 14 months to get their loved ones back home. Despite their major losses, they are not looking for revenge. All they want is their loved ones back home, the living to be cared for and rehabilitate physically and emotionally and for the dead to be buried. Enough is enough. They need to be brought home now and the only way is with a deal!

  
  

• Report from Lebanon: Israeli Demands in "Excellent Progress" Negotiations

  The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reports, citing sources in Hamas: "The state of negotiations taking place in Doha is excellent, and most of the disputed issues have been resolved, so it is possible that we are very close to reaching an agreement." However, it was reported that two significant points of contention remain.

  The first is the Israeli demand for a list of the names of all captives, both living and deceased. According to Palestinian terror organizations, this cannot be done without at least a week of calm to locate all the captives and determine their status.

  The second point is Israel's demand to include the names of kidnapped soldiers in lists of captives categorized as meeting the criteria for the "humanitarian phase." This would mean that a wounded soldier, for example, would be considered one of the ill captives included in the first phase of the deal. Hamas, on the other hand, claims this contradicts the agreed-upon parameters for the release of captives and prisoners.

  
  
  
  

Gaza and the South

• 7 minutes from Zikim | Inside Beit Lahia - The central threat to northern Gaza envelope

  

  
  

  While Gaza envelope residents begin to return to their homes, Kfir Brigade forces are operating in one of Hamas's toughest strongholds in northern Gaza Strip - and destroying all terror infrastructure • Those infrastructures were for years a real threat to civilians' lives in the envelope • "Our purpose here is to enable northern envelope residents to return to live here quietly," said Colonel Barut, Kfir Brigade Commander • Documentation from inside Beit Lahia

  
  

  For many years, the landscape for Zikim Kibbutz residents was toward the houses in Beit Lahia in Gaza Strip. The highest point in the kibbutz became during different fighting rounds a closed military area due to anti-tank fire threat from Gaza Strip - just 7 minutes drive from Israeli territory.

  
  

  We entered inside Beit Lahia, moments before the return home to Zikim Kibbutz to see what changed in the place that became the biggest threat to kibbutz residents over the years, and to understand if it's really safe and possible to return and raise children in northern Gaza envelope.

  
  

  Lieutenant Colonel Yaniv Barut, Kfir Brigade Commander who fights these days in the area under Division 162, told about his brigade's mission: "Beit Lahia will be destroyed with all infrastructure, both above ground and below it. We've been here 7 weeks and work systematically house to house, destroying everything," the Brigade Commander said.

  
  

  "Every high-rise building in Sderot can be seen from this point. On a good day, you can see all the other side of the envelope," said Col. Barut. "A year and bit back - Hamas sees everything inside every house in Netiv HaAsara, in buildings in Sderot and Zikim, everything was targets and objectives. In the end, our operation's purpose here is to destroy terror and enable northern envelope residents to return here and live here quietly."

  
  

  A bit south from that point is Lieutenant Colonel Yoel, Shimshon Battalion Commander in Kfir Brigade. The sights on the way to meeting him are inconceivable, with almost no buildings remaining standing. The brigade's fighters who lost 9 friends within a month, succeeded in destroying tunnels and eliminating hundreds of Hamas terrorists, among them senior commanders like Beit Lahia's Deputy Battalion Commander, and northern Gaza's anti-tank fire commander, who executed the shooting from which Staff Sergeant Omer Tabib z"l was killed.

  
  

  "In the four weeks we're working here, each of these houses became a Hamas terror base - therefore we're destroying them," said Lt. Col. Yoel, who since attending his daughter's birth two and half months ago hasn't returned home. "Every house is terror infrastructure, we're here for this and will do everything - the fighters know and say this themselves. Every morning they wake up here to very significant fighting with two missions before their eyes: returning the hostages and protecting envelope residents," said Shimshon Battalion Commander.

  
  

  "The fighting here isn't like anything this time. The enemy's pressure is felt and he's not fighting like he used to fight before," shared Lt. Col. Yoel about the changed fighting in Gaza Strip. "I have no doubt that the pressure on Hamas is a significant factor, because he understands he's on the ropes. You can see combat means that our battalion found during area clearing, which means there are no uninvolved here."

  
  

  "Our mission is clear - to see that the enemy has no infrastructure here, no way to exit from here and no ability to fight against our forces and Israel's home front. We're here to ensure this won't happen."

  
  

  A bit more than two kilometers from the point where we stood, you can see where envelope residents live, Zikim Kibbutz. Now, after a year and two months outside their home, Lt. Col. Yoel answered the question whether the decision to return now is the right decision: "Unequivocally it's the right decision. We are here - this is a space that enables life in the envelope."  link

  
  

• Israeli fighter jets struck groups of Hamas operatives at command centers embedded within two former schools in Gaza City a short while ago, the military says.

  According to the IDF, the Hamas members were using the al-Karama and Shaaban schools in the Tuffah neighborhood to plan and carry out attacks against troops in Gaza and against Israel.

  The schools were serving as shelters for displaced Palestinians. Palestinian media report at least 15 dead in the strikes.

  The IDF says it took steps to mitigate harm to civilians in the strikes, including by using precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.

Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria

• The IDF says it demolished rocket launchers and weapons at Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon

  During operations carried out by the 300th “Baram” Regional Brigade, the IDF says troops found anti-tank missiles, an artillery piece, explosive devices, and rocket launchers.

  Some of the launchers found by troops were aimed at Israel, the military adds.  video

  
  

• The IDF estimates that northern residents who have been evacuated since Hezbollah began cross-border attacks on October 8, 2023, will be able to return to their homes in three months, Channel 12 reports, weeks into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanon-based terror group.

  The report notes that the updated timeframe isn’t far from the original plan, which was to allow residents of northern border communities to go home on February 1, 2025.

  Some 60,000 residents were evacuated from northern towns on the Lebanon border shortly after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, amid fears Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack, and increasing rocket fire by the terror group.

  Since the ceasefire came into effect at the end of November, the communities have begun rebuilding and repairing damage from the Hezbollah attacks.

  Earlier today, IDF Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin said that the military was continuing to enforce the truce.

  “We are determined to take our fate into our own hands and enforce the [ceasefire] agreement and remove the threat to the border — just like we did today, yesterday, and every day since the agreement was signed,” he said, according to a statement.

West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel

•     

Politics and the War (general news)

• MKs push bill to block West Bank territorial concessions, prevent Palestinian state
  Proposal would ‘effectively prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state in any future arrangement,’ states the Knesset’s right-wing Land of Israel Caucus
  

  The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee will soon begin holding hearings on a proposed bill applying a Basic Law requiring a public referendum for land-for-peace deals to the West Bank and Israeli territorial waters, the Knesset’s right-wing Land of Israel Caucus announced on Wednesday.

  The so-called Israel Security Law would amend the Basic Law: Referendum, passed in 2014, which states that any plan to cede land in Israel, East Jerusalem, or the Golan Heights, as part of a future peace agreement, must be put to a public referendum. The 2014 law does not cover the West Bank.

  If passed into law, the new bill would require either a public referendum or “a special majority of at least 80 MKs to approve any agreement that involves territorial concessions, including in Judea and Samaria” and would “effectively prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state in any future arrangement,” the caucus declared in a statement, referring to the West Bank by its biblical names.
  

  It would also apply to Israeli territorial waters, a direct response to former prime minister Yair Lapid’s 2022 maritime agreement with Lebanon.

  More than 20 lawmakers belonging to the right-wing caucus — most but not all of them members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition — came out in support of the proposal in a letter to caucus co-chair Simcha Rothman, from the far-right Religious Zionism party. Rothman also chairs the Constitution Committee.

  “This is the time for action, and the Land of Israel Caucus is taking proactive steps that will shape future political arrangements. There is a broad consensus in Israeli society and in the Knesset that a Palestinian state must not be established,” said Rothman, in a joint statement with caucus co-chairs Yuli Edelstein (Likud) and Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit).
  

  “At our initiative, a decisive majority of the Knesset voted in favor of a declaration rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state,” they continued — referring to a resolution passed overwhelmingly in the plenum ahead of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s July visit to the United States to address a joint session of Congress.

  “The bill that is now being promoted is the practical expression of that declarative decision. The statement we are making is clear: After October 7th, the State of Israel will not allow terrorist groups to endanger the security of our citizens by establishing a base of operations on or within our borders. The Israel Security Law seeks to amend the Referendum Law and to bring all areas of the historic Land of Israel and our territorial waters within the scope of the law.”
  

  Last month, Brian Hook, who is leading the Trump transition at the State Department, said that US President-elect Donald Trump’s 2020 peace plan, which envisioned the establishment of a semi-contiguous Palestinian state, would likely be back on the table in his next term.

  The Saudis have also stated that a precondition to any normalization with Israel, a major goal of Netanyahu, would require a commitment to a viable pathway for a Palestinian state.

  Asked if his push for the legislation was related to concern that the Trump administration would revive their so-called deal of the century, Rothman declined to speculate, merely asserting that Israeli officials “need to reflect to the world the deep consensus” that has developed domestically on the issue.

  The establishment of a Palestinian state is “the path to the destruction of the State of Israel” and, as such, “it’s a good idea to make sure no one will be tempted to change this deep status quo in Israeli society, under any pressure,” he said.
  

  “We need to learn from what happened before October 7th. It’s easy to forget the neighborhood that we are living in. You would think it’s not easy. I definitely would say I was surprised how easily people bought the lies about a Palestinian state and the peace and prosperity that it will bring — all the dreams of Oslo and the disengagement and whatever,” Rothman continued, referring to the 1990s agreements with the Palestinians and the 2005 withdrawal from Gaza.

  “I think that now, when we have paid such a heavy price and we all understand the dangers, it’s time to set it in legislation so it won’t be forgotten easily.”
  

  According to a survey released this September, only 21% of Jewish Israelis, a 13-point decrease from 2022, support a two-state solution.

  Asked about Religious Zionism chairman and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s recent statement that Trump’s victory provides Israel with the opportunity to advance the annexation of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Rothman declined to make any specific predictions.

  However, he said that he believed a Trump White House would provide “an opportunity to think about solutions to the problems in the Middle East and for the State of Israel in ways that the current administration was not even open to listen to.”  link Rothman has something right, it is exactly what happened after Oslo that brought us October 7, but everything else he says is totally wrong. After Oslo came the Rabin assassination which shortly thereafter brought Netanyahu back as prime minister and has been for most of the last 15 years.  It is Netanyahu and his right wing governments that killed and buried Oslo, his refusal to work with the Palestinian Authority and every purposeful action to weaken the PA, his continued strengthening of Hamas, and his totally detached and warped belief that we can continue occupying another people, stealing their land to put up more and more settlements, depriving them of basic human and civil rights and then expecting them to be not only deterred, but happy to remain in this situation. It is this deliberate warped marketing of a total false scenario to convince his cult that he can make us all safe while maintaining an unlivable situation for the Palestinians. This is what brought October 7 and it is precisely these acts of a 'leader' who lacks any strategic plan for the betterment of the country and the region, a person who takes no responsibility whatsoever for his failures, yet comes running as rocket speeds to take credit for anything that will make him look good. And all of these things are the reasons that he is doing all he can to make sure an Official State Commission of Inquiry never comes to fruition because he knows that he bears more responsibility than anyone else in the country for our worst disaster in our history. If he could, he would find a way to rewrite history as he so fears that October 7 will totally blacken his legacy, as it should. His legacy will be as the person most responsible for the worst day in our history, for allowing more Jews to be slaughtered in a single day since the holocaust, for enabling 250 people to be taken hostage by the barbaric terrorists that he made sure would continue to get billions of dollars of funding over many years. He is the head, he is to blame.



• The justice minister is bent on tearing Israel apart from within. 
  Yariv Levin appears to have learned nothing from Israel’s recent calamities. And his boss continues to recklessly encourage him
  

  A rather underappreciated statistic in this week’s annual Israel Democracy Institute survey showed that almost half of respondents now consider friction between right and left to be by far the most “acute social tension in Israel today.”

  As recently as two years ago, by contrast, around the time of deadly violence in mixed Jewish-Arab cities, the same survey found respondents most concerned by social tension between Jews and Arabs, and in previous years they were most worried by tensions between religious and secular Jews.
  

  The survey also found that 58 percent of Israelis believe our democracy is under threat, and showed that trust in the Knesset and the government has plunged to record lows over the past year. Faith in the Supreme Court is also falling, although nowhere near as low as faith in the political leadership.

  Manifestly, these findings are tied to the coalition’s attempts to radically constrain the powers of, and exert near-absolute political control over, the judiciary — a gambit obsessively advanced through most of last year by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, to the accompaniment of relentless attacks on the ostensible unrepresentative nature and purported anti-government bias of the justice system in general and the Supreme Court in particular.
  

  You might have thought that the imperative to protect Israel more effectively from outside enemies, as underlined by the political and military failure to predict and thwart Hamas’s October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre, would have been a sufficient deterrent to again tearing the nation apart from within by reviving the key judicial overhaul legislation. If so, you would have been mistaken.

  Horrified that the justices last week ordered him to take the ordinarily routine step of convening the Judicial Selection Committee to elect a new Supreme Court president after over a year of footdragging — because his preferred candidate would not be chosen — Levin last weekend declared that the court had left him “no choice” but to return to the business of its subjugation.

  While Levin didn’t specify which part of the overhaul legislative package he’d seek to pass first, multiple Hebrew media outlets cited a bill that would change the makeup of the Judicial Selection Committee, effectively giving the government control over the selection of judges. That bill passed its first Knesset plenum reading in February 2023, and could, therefore, quickly be passed into law via its second and third readings.
  

  Levin’s boss, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, earlier last week added fuel to the fire by asserting at a press conference that he would not allow the establishment of a state commission of inquiry, typically headed by a retired Supreme Court justice, into the catastrophe of October 7, because, he asserted, “A state commission is not acceptable to a considerable portion of the people.”

  In fact, surveys have shown repeatedly that a vast proportion of the electorate certainly does want a state commission — the only body with the statutory powers to fully expose what went wrong and thus protect against a recurrence — to investigate October 7; those that don’t can only have been influenced by the constant assaults on the judiciary by Levin and many of his coalition colleagues.

  The justice minister’s determination to destroy Israel’s independent judiciary — the sole institution capable of protecting Israelis from abuse by the political leadership — was unforgivable before the Hamas invasion and subsequent multifront war. His renewed effort to do so, recklessly backed by a prime minister who is also discrediting and pushing for the ouster of the attorney general, is as acutely dangerous to the nation’s well-being as ever.
  

  Levin’s boss, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, earlier last week added fuel to the fire by asserting at a press conference that he would not allow the establishment of a state commission of inquiry, typically headed by a retired Supreme Court justice, into the catastrophe of October 7, because, he asserted, “A state commission is not acceptable to a considerable portion of the people.”

  In fact, surveys have shown repeatedly that a vast proportion of the electorate certainly does want a state commission — the only body with the statutory powers to fully expose what went wrong and thus protect against a recurrence — to investigate October 7; those that don’t can only have been influenced by the constant assaults on the judiciary by Levin and many of his coalition colleagues.

  The war in Gaza has subsided but not ended, with soldiers still falling and 100 hostages still unthinkably held there. Hezbollah is massively degraded but not destroyed, and the vast challenge of rebuilding the north has yet to begin. Syria under its jihadist leadership is an unknowable quantity. The speed and success of the anti-Assad insurrection should be giving Jordan’s leadership cause for concern, with potential security implications for Israel. The Palestinian Authority may share such worries about its future, and has been stepping up actions against terror groups in Jenin. The Houthis have yet to be silenced.
  

  But most importantly, the ayatollahs in Iran are cornered, deprived of their most potent proxies and, in the assessment of Israel, the US, and indeed the UN’s own nuclear weapons watchdog, positioning themselves to break out to the bomb. Having significantly increased its stockpiles of 60% enriched uranium, the Islamic Republic is practically a nuclear threshold state, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned this week — to the point where attempting to revive the 2015 deal intended to keep it from the bomb is “no longer useful.”

  Instead, the Israel Air Force, now enjoying full air supremacy across a route taking in Syria, has declared that it’s increasing its readiness and preparations for a potential strike on Iranian nuclear targets.

  What since October 7, 2023, turned into a strategic battle by Israel to face down a regime in Tehran bent on our destruction is, in other words, now entering its climactic stage. Only an anti-Zionist pyromaniac would choose this moment to plunge Israel back into the depths of internal division. Step forward, Yariv Levin.  link
  
  

The Region and the World

• The Israeli military carried out a series of intense airstrikes that shook Yemen’s rebel-held capital and a port city early Thursday, in a preplanned operation that coincided with the Houthis firing a missile at central Israel.

  No one was injured by the ballistic missile, which the Israel Defense Forces said was downed outside Israeli airspace by the long-range Arrow air defense system, though falling shrapnel caused heavy damage in the city of Ramat Gan. It was the second missile from Yemen fired this week, along with a drone attack.

  According to a statement by the Israel Defense Force, dozens of Israeli Air Force (IAF) aircraft participated in the strikes in Yemen, including fighter jets, refuelers and spy planes, some 2,000 kilometers from Israel. The Houthi targets were struck at the Hodeida port — which Israel has struck twice before — and for the first time, in the rebel-held capital Sana’a, the IDF said. 
  The overnight Israeli airstrikes in Yemen were aimed at paralysing all three ports used by the Iran-backed Houthis on the coast of the country.

  All of the tugboats used to bring ships into ports were struck in the Israeli attack.

  In Israel’s previous attack on the Hodeidah port, the cranes used to unload shipments were struck.

  Now, it is believed by Israel that all activity at the ports controlled by the Houthis is paralyzed.

  The IDF confirms striking in Yemen, saying Israeli fighter jets struck Houthi targets following the Iran-backed rebel group’s repeated missile and drone attacks on Israel.

  According to an IDF statement, the targets struck by the warplanes were “used by Houthi forces for their military operations.”

  “Attacking these targets harms the terrorist authorities by preventing the exploitation of infrastructure for military and terror purposes, including transferring Iranian weaponry to the region,” the military says.

  The IDF also says that “with Iran’s guidance and funding,” the Houthis have acted together with Iran-backed militias over the past year to attack Israel, “undermine regional stability and disrupt global shipping.”

  “The IDF is determined to continue acting and striking whoever threatens citizens of the State of Israel, at any distance required.”

  Hypocrisy of the day
  
  Iran condemns Israeli strikes on Houthis as flagrant violation of international law
  

  Tehran condemns as a “flagrant violation” Israeli strikes on ports and energy sites run by the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group in Yemen.

  Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei says the attacks were “a flagrant violation of the principles and norms of international law and the UN Charter.”

  The strikes came after repeated missile and drone attacks by the rebel group on Israel, including a missile fired overnight.

Personal Stories

  

Sgt. 1st Class Shay Pizem, 23: Had only 2 weeks with his daughter

Killed while fighting against Hamas terrorists in southern Gaza on December 15, 2023

Sgt. First Class (res.) Shay Uriel Pizem, 23, a tank commander in the 401st Armored Brigade’s Ninth Battalion from Ein HaNatziv, was killed on December 15, 2023, while battling Hamas terrorists in southern Gaza.

Shay was killed when a balcony collapsed on his tank during a nighttime operation in Khan Younis.

He was slain three weeks after the birth of his first child. He is survived by his widow Maayan and baby Yarden, parents Carmit and Shimon, siblings Re’em, Adva and Tzuri.

“With all the grief over your passing, my dear Shay, we still must give thanks for all the good we had from you,” Shimon said, speaking at Shay’s funeral.

“Every part of your life was to us like a whole person filled with good,” said his father.

Carmit told Army Radio that from an early age, Shay was “active and always looking for challenges.”

“He knew how to take advantage of every moment. He had an ideology in which he believed that real joy came from working hard and reaching your goals,” said his mother.

Shay and Maayan grew up together in Ein HaNatziv.

“Everyone always laughed at us. They would say ‘Shay and Maayan will get married first’ and ‘Shay and Maayan will get married at 18,'” she told Kan.

Shay left reserve duty to be present at Yarden’s birth and spent two weeks with her and Maayan before going back to the war.

“He was always a happy person, but during those first days with Yarden, he was happier than I’d ever seen him. He was head over heels in love with that girl. As short as it was, it felt like a long time,” Maayan said.

When he left for the last time, Maayan asked him if it was hard for him to say goodbye to Yarden and he replied, “No, because now I know more than ever what I’m fighting for.”

“We’ll tell Yarden that he was a hero, but not a hero like in the movies. He was a normal person who always fought to stay humble,” Maayan told Ynet.

“I’ll especially tell her that he loved her most in the world, that he had the most wonderful two weeks with her, that she was his greatest pride, and that he had never loved in his life like he loved her and was never more excited than he was with her,” said his wife.

Shay studied at the yeshiva in Har Etzion and also helped establish a religious boarding school in Har Etzion.

“In all his 23 years, Shay was a leading and valued character, a smart, talented, serious, and idealistic student, but still happy and social with a sharp sense of humor,” said Rabbi Amnon Bazak who teaches in the yeshiva.

The boarding school’s principal, Rabbi Amichai Gordin, told Israel Hayom that Shay’s contribution to the school was “dramatic.”

“He was a rare man of education. He was very pleasant and had a superior ability to reach people. It’s rare that you can say about a 23-year-old that he was one of the main establishers and an essential part of a yeshiva,” he said.

Read more Those We Have Lost stories here.

Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages

History Will Be His Judge

Aaron Barnea

Member of The Parents' Circle - Israeli-Palestinian Families' Forum for Peace and Reconciliation.

As time passes and the memory and colossal failure of October 7th do not fade, and as the condition of the hostages held by the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad deteriorates, the truth about the fundamental weaknesses in Netanyahu's leadership surfaces. This man always regarded himself as more than a politician - a visionary statesman with a broad historical view and a deep and far-reaching understanding of the history of Israel and of the Jewish people.

I believe it is the nearly mystical figure of David Ben Gurion, and his undisputed standing as the founding father of the state, which Netanyahu envisions. He views himself as endowed with qualities and abilities that will cast a shadow on Ben Gurion's standing in the historical perspective. According to Ben Gurion's undisputed view, Israel's historical mission is to secure the safety of the Jews. I have committed his words to memory: "The State of the Jews means, in the most basic sense, security for the Jewish person. If there is one thing that Jews lack throughout the world it is security. Even where the Jews are safe, they lack a sense of security. Why so? Because their security is not in their own hands. We strive for that—to ensure that our security is in our own hands, and it is that which we aim at since we first started to build a Jewish community in Palestine/Israel." As mentioned earlier, this view was undisputed. Left and right were united in this shared understanding of the fundamental historic role of the State of Israel.

The events of October 7th, 2023, shattered this understanding. This was not a mere mishap—it was the result of a distorted perception of security held by Netanyahu’s ultra-right government, regarding the priorities dictating the deployment of Israel's defense forces. Dozens of settlements along the Gaza border were abandoned due to messianic hallucinations that were crafted into a policy with the approval and encouragement of the cabinet's chief, Benjamin Netanyahu.

This was not a perceptual error. It was a decision dictated by Netanyahu's political survival considerations and perhaps also by his father's nationalistic - Revisionist legacy. His conscience should have led him to resign in disgrace and to publicly acknowledge his ultimate responsibility for the horrific failure - the murder of hundreds of peaceful citizens, the destruction of settlements and, of course, the brutal kidnapping of men, women and children by the savage beasts of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Netanyahu's decision to remain in office rather than step down and take moral and ethical responsibility is crucial in view of his decisive and exclusive responsibility for neglecting the hostages in Gaza, maliciously abandoning them in the hands of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Indeed, even though their lives and health are in constant danger, their release is delayed due to irrelevant considerations that negate Israel’s long-term interests and appear to be informed by Netanyahu’s own, personal survival.

History will judge him, and its verdict will be grim

Acronyms and Glossary

COGAT - Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories

ICC - International Criminal Court in the Hague

IJC - International Court of Justice in the Hague

MDA - Magen David Adom - Israel Ambulance Corp

PA - Palestinian Authority - President Mahmud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen

PMO- Prime Minister's Office

UAV - Unmanned Aerial vehicle, Drone. Could be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, or be weaponized with missiles or contain explosives for 'suicide' explosion mission

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