🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 465, 2023

🎗️Day 465 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

A UAV from Yemen was shot down over the Mediterranean overnight before it reached Israel's borders. No sirens were sounded as there was no danger to any locations
7:45am - south- Gaza Envelope - rockets - Netiv Haasara
75-year-old woman critically wounded in November rocket attack succumbs to her wounds
Tamar Edri, 75, died on January 12, 2025, after she was critically injured in a Hezbollah rocket attack in Nahariya on November 25, 2024. (Courtesy)
A 75-year-old woman who was critically injured in a Hezbollah rocket barrage on Nahariya in November has succumbed to her wounds, the northern city’s municipality announces.
Tamar Edri was wounded on November 25 when a rocket hit her home on Nahariya’s Jabotinsky Street, according to the municipality statement and Hebrew media reports, the day before a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect.
“We prayed so much and hoped for a different ending, but unfortunately tonight we say goodbye to Tamar with great pain,” the statement adds.
Edri leaves behind her husband, four children, and nine grandchildren.

Hostage Updates
Hamas said to submit response to final hostage deal draft, without reservations
The Hamas terror group has submitted its response to the hostage deal draft, without attaching further reservations, the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news site reports.
The unsourced report does not give further details.
Multiple Hebrew media outlets interpret the one-line Al-Arabiya report, if accurate, as meaning that Hamas has accepted the deal.
Channel 12 news also says that two government ministries have been told to prepare to absorb released hostages in the coming days.
Reports said Doha had handed both parties a “final” draft of the agreement, following a breakthrough in the early hours of the morning in talks between Israel’s negotiating team, Qatar’s prime minister, and US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, who recently joined the negotiations.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported a short while ago that the draft was received by Israel overnight and that it was broadly acceptable to Israel. It said the draft had been approved by Hamas leaders abroad, and “everything” now depended on the agreement of Muhammad Sinwar, Hamas’s de facto leader in Gaza.
Israeli officials deny to Hebrew media that Hamas has submitted its answer to the final draft of the hostage deal.
Mediators have told Hamas to respond to the “final” draft of a hostage-ceasefire deal by midnight tonight, Channel 12 reports.
The TV report also says that, according to unnamed sources, Hamas has given a list to Qatari mediators of living hostages, as Israel has been demanding, and that this list has presumably been seen by Israel.
It adds, without citing sources, that all living hostages on a list of 34 names — of women, children and elderly and infirm men — published last week will be released in the first, 42-day phase of the deal if it comes to fruition.
It says that the release of hostages would begin a week after the truce takes effect.
The report says talks on the second phase of the deal would begin 16 days after the deal takes effect. Male living hostages aged under 50 would be freed in that phase.
Regarding Hamas’s demand for an “end of the war,” the report says such language is unlikely to be used, and that instead there will be references to “a permanent ceasefire.”

Report: High-level Israeli delegation at Doha says conditions to close hostage-ceasefire deal ‘optimal’
Channel 12 news cites senior Israeli officials as saying that talks in Doha to secure a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas over the next two days will be critical in understanding whether an agreement is possible.
The television channel quotes the high-level Israeli delegation currently in Qatar as saying, “It’s possible to reach a final agreement. The conditions for closing are optimal.”
Hamas sources claimed yesterday that a deal had been reached and was awaiting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s final approval.
Mossad chief David Barnea, who traveled to Doha to join the talks last night, is in regular contact with the prime minister over progress in the negotiations.
Shin Bet director Ron Bar, IDF hostage point man Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, and Netanyahu’s political adviser Ophir Falk also flew to Doha with Barnea last night.
‘Reward for terrorism’: Far-right minister comes out against hostage deal, but admits she hasn’t seen it. - She, like the rest of her messianic extremist party doesn't give a damn about the lives of the hostages and has no issue with rejecting any hostage deal that she doesn't even know what its composed of. For her, the hostages who aren't already dead should be considered dead to the state. He only cares are for more and more illegal settlement in the West Bank and to settle Gaza with Jewish settlements and do all that can be done to get rid of all the Palestinians. They are vile creatures who should never have been in the Knesset, let alone as ministers in the government but Netanyahu normalized all these extremists messianics in order to be Prime minister. Disgraceful!!!

Israeli officials tell media hostage deal is close, awaiting final Hamas approval
Mediators confirm significant progress made, but caution that deal not yet finalized, as reports say coming days critical; Smotrich calls emerging deal a ‘catastrophe’
Multiple reports Monday indicated that talks in Qatar for a ceasefire-hostage deal in Gaza had achieved a significant breakthrough overnight, with Israeli officials speaking to several Hebrew media outlets saying an agreement could be close, while others urged caution.
As some mediators and officials involved in the negotiations expressed optimism that a deal was within reach, others cautioned that there were still a number of hurdles to clear, and news outlets shared what they said were the details of the agreement currently on the table.
Speaking to Reuters on Monday morning, an unnamed official briefed on the negotiations said Doha had handed both parties a “final” draft of the agreement, following a breakthrough in the early hours of the morning in talks between Israel’s negotiating team, Qatar’s prime minister, and US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, who recently joined the negotiations.
In a follow-up report later in the day, however, an Israeli official told Reuters that Jerusalem had yet to receive a draft proposal from Qatar.
A person familiar with the talks told the Associated Press that Qatari mediators had put pressure on Hamas to accept the agreement, while Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff had done the same in parallel talks with the Israeli team.
Adding to the sea of contradictory information published across various reports, unnamed Israeli officials briefed some news outlets including channels 12 and 13 that an agreement was virtually done, and was awaiting final approval by Hamas.
Noting that its reporting had been approved by Israel’s military censor, Channel 12 asserted that the developments were “dramatic.”
According to the news outlet, the proposal on the table is similar to the phased deal that was discussed last May, but which never materialized.
Talks have largely revolved around a proposed three-stage deal in which “humanitarian” cases, including women, children, men over 50, and the infirm, would be released first.
On the 16th day of the ceasefire, talks would begin on securing the release of men of military age, followed by a third stage that would see discussions on the governance and reconstruction of the Strip.
An official involved in the negotiations in Doha told Army Radio: “There is cautious progress; it seems the direction is positive.”
Another told Channel 13 that “if Hamas responds soon, all the details can be finalized within days.” The official added that “Israel has come a long way” in its efforts to accommodate Hamas in the negotiations.
People attend a rally calling for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at Central Park in New York City, on January 12, 2025. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that US and Arab mediators had made significant progress overnight toward brokering a deal, but officials said that an agreement had yet to be reached.
Three officials acknowledged progress had been made, and said that the coming days would be critical for ending more than 15 months of war, sparked by Hamas’s devastating attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the talks.
One of the three officials and a Hamas official acknowledged that there were still a number of hurdles to clear. On several occasions over the past year, US officials have said the sides appeared to be on the verge of reaching a deal, only for the talks to break down.
An Egyptian official, meanwhile, said that there had been good progress overnight but also acknowledged that it would likely take a few more days, although the sides were aiming for a deal before Trump’s January 20 inauguration. A third official also assessed that a deal was possible before Trump enters the White House, and said that although they were not yet wrapped up, the talks were in a good place.
A Hamas official said a number of contentious issues still need to be resolved, including an Israeli commitment to end the war and details about the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. The official was not authorized to brief media and spoke anonymously. The Egyptian official confirmed that those issues were still being discussed.
Israel has previously insisted that any ceasefire must not prevent it from continuing the war at a later stage, and the matter has been a key sticking point between the sides. Israel has made the demolition of Hamas’s military and governance capabilities one of its war goals.
Visitors walk through Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, January 13, 2025. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Some issues resolved, but pressing matters remain

The London-based Qatari news outlet Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported on Monday that Israel had submitted a plan to Doha mediators detailing what its presence would look like in the Gaza Strip during and after each phase of the potential deal.
According to the report, Israel has sought a buffer zone of around a kilometer and a half (roughly one mile) along the Gazan border that will remain under Israeli control. Before October 7, 2023, a 300-meter area by the fence had been considered a buffer zone. While there were no Israeli soldiers there, there was an understanding that troops may fire on anyone who entered.
The report claimed that agreements had been reached on the various areas from which the IDF would be required to withdraw during the first and second phases of a deal. It noted that the cautious optimism from the US regarding the success of the deal stemmed from the fact that the current formulation for an agreement would see all hostages and agreed-upon Palestinian prisoners released in the first two stages.
Still under discussion is the matter of how many Palestinian prisoners tied to terror offenses will be released, and where those serving severe sentences would be released to. The report added that Israel has said it needs to know how many of the hostages held in Gaza are alive before it agrees to a figure.
Al-Quds Al-Arabi said the sides had agreed to the management of humanitarian aid within the Strip.
In an apparent sign that progress was being made regarding the release of Palestinian prisoners, a Palestinian Authority official told Ynet that a former minister was traveling to Qatar to ready the list of prisoners to be released under a deal.
Palestinian Prisoners Club director Qadura Fares “went to Qatar to meet with the negotiating team and prepare the list of Palestinian prisoners who will be released as part of a hostage deal,” the source said.
The Prisoners Club is a Palestinian organization that advocates on behalf of Palestinians in Israeli jails. While the organization used to be financially supported by the Palestinian Authority, Ramallah has reportedly ceased funding the body over the past five years.
On Sunday, Fares said the first stage of a potential hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas would entail the release of 25 Israeli hostages in exchange for 48 Palestinian security prisoners who were freed in the Shalit deal in 2011 and incarcerated again since then, along with 200 prisoners serving life sentences, and another 1,000 detainees including women, children and wounded prisoners.
Those serving life sentences would most likely be deported to either Qatar, Egypt or Turkey, he said.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar (right) and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen speak at a press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on January 13, 2025. (Amy Spiro/Times of Israel)
Amid the evolving and contradicting reports in Hebrew, Arabic and English-language media, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar confirmed Monday that progress had indeed been made in the negotiations in Doha.
“Progress was made; we see some progress in the negotiations,” Sa’ar said at a press conference in Jerusalem alongside his visiting Danish counterpart, Lars Løkke Rasmussen. “Israel wants a hostage deal. Israel is working with our American friends in order to achieve a hostage deal, and soon we will know whether the other side wants the same thing,” he added.
Asked about a timeline for a potential deal, Sa’ar said, “There is progress, I said it looks much better than previously… but I don’t want to say more than that, because I realize there are families that are sensitive to every word and every sentence.”
He said that Israel was working with both the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration in the US, and expressed hope “that within a short time we will see things happening, but it is still to be proved.”
While Sa’ar appeared hopeful regarding a deal, his far-right coalition partners were less pleased.

‘A catastrophe’

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the Religious Zionism party, warned in a statement on Monday that it “will not be part of” the emerging deal, which he declared would be “a catastrophe for Israel’s national security.”
“We will not be part of a surrender deal that would include releasing terrorists, stopping the war and dissolving the achievements that were paid for with much blood, and abandoning many hostages,” Smotrich said.
Some families of hostages have argued against a phased deal, saying those set be released in later stages may not return at all if the agreement falls apart or the war resumes.

Families of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip attend a Finance Committee meeting, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on January 13, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Smotrich argued that “now is the time to continue with all our might, to occupy and cleanse the entire Strip, to finally take control of humanitarian aid from Hamas, and to open the gates of hell on Gaza until Hamas surrenders completely and all the hostages are returned.”
The statement from the far-right minister came after a political source told the Walla news outlet on Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was trying to assess if Smotrich would resign from the government should a deal be signed.
The report said the premier believes there’s a high probability National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir will quit the government if there’s a deal, and so was hoping to convince Smotrich to at most vote against an agreement (a cabinet majority is likely even without the backing of the two ministers) but not leave the the coalition.

After Smotrich’s statement, National Unity leader Benny Gantz said his party would give full backing to the deal, calling it “a supreme value and a strategic necessity” to bring back the hostages.
“It is the failure to return them and abandoning them that would be a national catastrophe,” he said in a swipe at Smotrich.
Ninety-four of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas 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 40 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014. link This appears to be the closest we have been to a deal since November 2023. Last night Netanyahu met with the deal killer messianic ministers Smotrich and Ben Gvir to assess their positions and for him to personally determine what will happen to his government if the deal is approved. We don't know the outcome of that meeting but it is not hard to understand. Ben Gvir was most likely a resounding no and that he would bring down the government if a deal is made and Smotrich, based on his remarks to the press has said that he will not be a party to this deal. There is a chance that Smotrich will vote against the deal in the cabinet but not leave the government, for a number of reasons. There is a growing number of the national religious public who do not see Smotrich as being a true leader of what they represent and want represented including a deal to bring home the hostages even if we have to end the war. The second and more important aspect for Smotrich is that if new elections were to be held in the not too distant future, there is a good chance that he and his party will not reach the minimum to be elected to the Knesset. So he is not interested in bringing down the government

Haredi faction: Government must act ‘quickly, without political considerations’ to secure hostage deal
United Torah Judaism’s Agudat Yisrael faction comes out in favor of a potential hostage-ceasefire deal, calling on the government to “act decisively and quickly, without involving political considerations or other interests.”
According to the Ynet news site, the Haredi faction additionally says that a deal is a “moral and national duty.”
“The duty to return the hostages home is not subject to dispute; it is a supreme value that transcends any political dispute. We must act immediately and bring them back without delay,” the faction says.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid reiterates his offer to provide Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political safety net in order to advance a potential hostage deal despite the opposition of the premier’s far-right allies.

National Unity leader Benny Gantz says his party gives full backing to the emerging hostage-ceasefire deal, swiping at Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich who said it would be a “catastrophe.”
“Reaching a plan to return our hostages is a supreme value and a strategic necessity — failing to return them and abandoning them is a national catastrophe,” Gantz says in a statement.
“National Unity will give full political backing to the plan for their return,” he says.

Hostage’s brother to Smotrich: By going against deal you’re sacrificing, executing injured soldier

Ofir Angrest, brother of hostage Matan Angrest, speaks at a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset, November 18, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The brother of a hostage held in Gaza blasts Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for saying a hostage deal would be a “catastrophe,” saying the leader of the far-right Religious Zionism is “sacrificing and executing” the captive soldier.
“I want to stand here and show you who you are sacrificing — Sgt. Matan Angrest, kidnapped, seriously injured, lost all his friends, whom you are executing,” Ofir Angrest tells Smotrich at a Finance Committee meeting at the Knesset, according to the Ynet news site.
“Every day another family loses a son and is broken. This is the time to push for the return of my brother and all the hostages,” he says.
Matan Angrest was taken hostage from Nahal Oz on October 7.

Matan Angrest was taken hostage on October 7, 2023, from his tank unit at the Nahal Oz army base. (Courtesy)

Likud MK shouts at hostage’s father: ‘Your contemptible words are putting your son in Hamas-ISIS dungeons for many more years’

Likud MK Eliyahu Revivo shouts at the father of hostage Nimrod Cohen, saying that his “contemptible words are putting your son in the Hamas-ISIS dungeons for many more years” during a meeting of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee at the Knesset.

Revivo makes the comment after Yehuda Cohen told a Knesset panel that he was willing to go to the International Criminal Court to tell them that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was responsible for crimes against not only Palestinians, but also Israelis.

Cohen notes that 400 soldiers have been killed fighting in Gaza. He says, “If these [ICC] arrest warrants can make Netanyahu abandon his personal interests and make a deal including the very last hostage, then that is what I will do.”

Cohen says that he is making the statement as the father of a soldier held hostage in Gaza who also has a daughter serving in the IDF and another son who is an officer in the reserves.

He is interrupted by Revivo, who points a finger at him and shouts.

Nimrod Cohen, a soldier then aged 19, was taken hostage to Gaza on October 7 from Nahal Oz.

Committee chair MK Simcha Rothman then calls a break in the proceedings. link These disgusting members of Knesset are beyond contempt yelling at the families of hostages. Instead of them taking responsibility as the government members when Israel's worst disaster occurred, they continue to avoid all responsibility and instead choose to besmirch the families of the hostages. Horrendous behavior from our failed government members.

Qatar handed ‘final’ draft of hostage-ceasefire deal to Israel and Hamas for approval, official says
Mediator Qatar has handed Israel and Hamas a “final” draft of a ceasefire and hostage release agreement designed to end the war in Gaza, an official briefed on the negotiations tells Reuters.
A breakthrough was reached in Doha after midnight following talks between Israel’s negotiating team, US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy and Qatar’s prime minister, the official says.

10 coalition MKs, 7 of them from Netanyahu’s Likud, sign letter against ‘immoral’ hostage deal
Ten coalition lawmakers have signed a letter expressing their opposition to a potential hostage-ceasefire deal, the Kan public broadcaster reports.
The signatories calling a potential agreement an “immoral step” include seven members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party
The letter urges the premier to “not cross the most basic moral lines, do not endanger Israel’s security.”
The signatories are Likud’s Amit Halevi, Hanoch Milwidsky, Moshe Saada, Tsega Melaku, Avihai Boaron, Dan Illouz and Moshe Pessal; Otzma Yehudit’s Limor Son Har-Melech and Yitzhak Kroizer; and Religious Zionism’s Simcha Rothman.
Hamas confirms progress in hostage-ceasefire talks: ‘Our prisoners will soon be free’
The Hamas terror group confirms that progress has been made toward a hostage-ceasefire deal.
“We renew our pledge with our steadfast and patient people and with our heroic prisoners in the prisons, and we affirm that their freedom is near,” the group says.
The statement comes after a breakthrough was apparently achieved in talks in Doha overnight.
A Qatari official said Israel and Hamas have both been handed a “final” draft of the proposal, although an Israeli official later denied the claim.
A potential deal is expected to see hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including terror convicts, released to secure the freedom of hostages held in the Strip.
It is believed that 94 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas 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 40 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.

Gaza and the South

Gaza Division Intelligence Officer to Security Coordinators of Border Communities: "The Threat of a Wide-Scale Raid Like October 7 Exists" | Exclusive Report

In a conference held for the region's security officers, the division’s intelligence officer clarified: "The possibility of a raid similar to the events of Black Saturday exists but is considered low-probability." He added that Hamas retains the capability to launch a platoon-scale raid: "This is a capability that is hard to completely eliminate."

The officer sought to reassure the security coordinators (Ravshatzim), stating: "The IDF is now deployed more extensively, and Hamas has been dealt significant blows."
The Gaza Division intelligence officer presented the threat scenarios being prepared for by the IDF to the security coordinators of the border communities. He emphasized: "The threat of a large-scale raid, like the one on October 7, exists but is of low likelihood."

The officer further noted: "Hamas's ability to carry out a platoon-scale raid exists and is feasible." According to him, "This is a capability that is difficult to fully neutralize."
During the conference held last week for the area's security officers, the officer added: "Today, there are three divisions inside Gaza and forces deployed in the border communities. The IDF is more extensively positioned compared to October 7, and Hamas has been significantly struck throughout the Gaza Strip."

Yesterday, it was exclusively reported that during a recent situational assessment involving the IDF and the Ministry of Defense, a detailed timeline was established for the return of residents of the Gaza border communities to their homes. According to the decision, residents of ten out of the thirteen communities that have not yet returned to their homes will be able to do so by the start of the next school year, on September 1, 2025.
The communities included in the plan to return by September 2025 are Nir Yitzhak, Netiv HaAsara, Sufa, Kerem Shalom, Ein HaShlosha, Nirim, Re'im, Kissufim, Nachal Oz, and Holit. Restoration and damage repair work are underway in all these communities, and security assessments indicate that these efforts can be completed by the set deadline. The planned return at the beginning of the school year is aimed at allowing residents, especially families with children, to resume an orderly daily routine. link

Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria

Hezbollah delays meeting with Lebanon president, indicating tensions over PM choice

West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel

Politics and the War (general news)

Sullivan downplays Trump threats to Hamas, says terror group already ‘seeing hell’
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan appears to dismiss the effectiveness of President-elect Donald Trump’s threats to unleash hell on Hamas if it doesn’t release the hostages by the January 20 presidential inauguration.
“I have been struck by this phrase about ‘All hell to pay’ or ‘All hell will break loose’ because if you’re a Hamas fighter sitting in Gaza, I think it would be fair to say that you have been seeing hell rain down on you for [15] months,” Sullivan says in an interview with Bloomberg.
He points to Israel’s “total smashing of Hamas battalions,” its killing of Hamas’s top Gaza leadership and its significant degrading of the terror group’s military network.
“The amount of firepower and military pressure brought to bear on Hamas has been pretty dramatic over the course of the past [15] months… combined with this looming period of transition from one president to another… has created a circumstance where we could get to a deal,” Sullivan says.
Pressed on whether the January 20 deadline pushed by the US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators has been effective in moving the negotiations, the top Biden aide indicates that it has.
Sullivan says that shortly after the November presidential election, US President Joe Biden directed his national security team to work with the incoming administration and ensure there is a “united front” on the hostage deal effort. “This is not a partisan issue. This is an American issue to get our hostages out, and all of the hostages out, bring the fighting to an end and surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza,” he says. link Sullivan is completely correct. After 15 months of war and almost complete destruction of Gaza with 2 million refugees, Hamas doesn't give this statement a second's thought.

The Region and the World

Personal Stories

Matan Ekstein, 23: Avid surfer with a ‘captivating smile’
Murdered while trying to flee the Supernova music festival on October 7

Matan Ekstein (Courtesy)
Matan Ekstein, 23, from Even Yehuda, was murdered by Hamas terrorists while trying to flee the Supernova music festival on October 7.
He attended the rave with three close childhood friends — Ilay Nachman, Addir Mesika, and Sela Maagan. At the start of the rocket fire, they all fled the site of the rave and sought safety in a public bomb shelter.
When they heard the Hamas gunmen approaching, Sela and Matan decided to create a diversion, sprinting out of the shelter. The terrorists opened fire, and Matan was killed while Sela was wounded but managed to ultimately escape and survive. Ilay and Addir then also tried to fight back against the terrorists and were ultimately slain.
Matan was buried in Even Yehuda on October 11. He is survived by his parents, Miri and Erez, and his three siblings, Maayan, Dana and Nir.
He and Ilay and Addir grew up together in Even Yehuda and were active in their local scout troup. The three were all also known as avid surfers. They were buried side-by-side under a surfboard bearing their names.
Matan’s friend Guy Raz wrote on Instagram that he was “a pure person who was wholly full of joy and love. His love for the sea was something inseparable from him. He knew how to make everyone feel like they were the most loved in the world — this was his special trait. His incredible smile never left his face even months. He was an incredible friend and an even better person, knew how to help and listen to everyone.”
His sister-in-law, Natali, wrote on Facebook to “our Matani, the heart of everyone. I can’t believe they took you from us. Your whole life was still ahead of you. You took advantage of every minute and enjoyed life the way only you knew how. Your captivating smile will remain in our hearts forever.”
At a November 2023 memorial for the three friends, 1,500 people came to Netanya’s Poleg beach to surf together in their honor.
At the event, Miri, Matan’s mother, told Ynet that the three of them “were good kids and students, excellent combat soldiers. But more than that they were friends. They were big and happy kids who swallowed up what life had to offer them. They had big aspirations, they were just ahead of starting their studies.”
Miri said the three of them were “the firm foundations of this country, of this generation. Like a blazing sun spreading the light of life and joy. Like the roiling waters that surge and the sea and its waves that were a home to them.”
“Each of them was a whole world,” she added. “When they were alive, they touched the worlds of others, and in their deaths they illuminated the important things for us… to be good, to love, to offer a hand to others, to be part of the lives of others, to travel to new places, to be happy, to listen to music, just as they did.”
Read more Those We Have Lost stories here.

Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages

A Poem

Kobi Meidan

Journalist.

Downward, slowly,
Downward and slowly,
On a transparent wall,
Vapored and dimmed,
Dripping, dripping,
Those hands, these palms,
Dragging, leaving
A dark trace of
Blood. My land,
My land, nothing
I can do.

Why I Didn't Want to Meet Benjamin Netanyahu
Elad Or
Brother of Dror Or who was murdered and whose body is in Gaza.

On October 7th, Hamas terrorists struck five members of my family. In October we discovered that my sister-in-law, Yonat Or, was murdered in Be’eri. My three nephews were liberated as part of the first deal, Alma and Noam on the second day of the deal, and Liam on the sixth day. In early May we found out that my older brother, Dror, had also been murdered in Be’eri and his body taken to Gaza.
In mid-June, Netanyahu invited us to a meeting of the representatives of the families of the hostages who were slain. But I didn't want to see this lying, dangerous and arrogant man, a man who completely abandoned his duty.
What happened between 5 and 8 in the morning in the Gaza Envelope on October 7th is the reason I didn't want to meet him. He is the person directly responsible for this unimaginable disaster, a disaster where masses of Hamas terrorists broke into Israel Defense Forces bases and into towns and villages. A disaster that is the culmination of a failure to prepare, a failure of intelligence, a failure to protect human life. I also didn't want to meet him because of the goings-on between 8 and 11 am. An unfathomable failure in grasping and responding to the events, an unfathomable failure of defense. The kidnapping of Dror's body was only possible because of the surreal reality that prevailed in the occupied Gaza Envelope during those hours in which body snatchers operated unhindered. We will never forgive the abandonment of the living that day.
I didn't want to meet him, because on Passover, in Jerusalem, the police sprayed me with “skunk spray” when I called for a deal to release the hostages. No one apologized to me for this disgusting incident and the added fear it brought to me and my children’s lives.
I didn't want to meet him, because of so many years of war between Israel and Gaza,
years of living without minimal ceasefire agreements, without oversight, without engaging international actors, without a future. Netanyahu tried to hide the war in what is known as the "method of rounds:" by transferring suitcases of dollars to Hamas and turning a blind eye to the threat of the tunnels. All of this blew up in our faces.
I didn't want to meet him, because I don't believe him. I don’t believe a word he says. Netanyahu cultivated and perfected a world of false appearances, lies, spins and manipulation. Netanyahu abandoned us when we were gravely hit by the evil of Hamas; he abandoned us again, leaving us to deal with a campaign of incitement against us, the families of the hostages. I knew that if I came to meet him, it would leave me exposed to another one of his spins, another one of his lies to the media. I just couldn’t agree to that. I didn't want to see him because he was inciting my own people against me. Many Israelis risked their lives on October 7th in an attempt to protect my family and my community. They acted voluntarily, or they were regular or reserve soldiers. Since then, numerous Israeli citizens have been trying to protect us, the families, expressing their support and solidarity. Netanyahu constantly tries to separate us from them. He lies, instills fear, incites. He does all this to survive politically. Abandoning us to a life of hostility and contempt. A life of morbid dependence on him and his rule.
I don't want to see this man. The man who abandons the living hostages, who are like brothers to me, even though he can save them. The man who does not bring back my beloved brother Dror for burial.
I deserve, we all deserve, a better life.

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