Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
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Hostage Updates
Press Release & Video: “The Donald Trump factor” brought about the Israel-Hamas deal but Prime Minister Netanyahu will pay for his incompetence: Middle East Director of the International Communities Organization.
The Middle East Director of the International Communities Organization, who is also the negotiator who secured the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011, believes “the Donald Trump factor” brought about the Israel-Hamas deal adding that a significant role was played by the man Trump has appointed as his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Whilst Gershon Baskin believes that, despite opposition from cabinet ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, the deal will be cleared by the Israeli cabinet, where Netanyahu has a majority on his side, Netanyahu will pay for his incompetence and negligence and his government will eventually fall.
In a 25-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Dr. Baskin explains in detail the terms of the 3 Phase deal, the manner and number of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners who will be released, the arrangements for Gazans to return to their homes and for humanitarian aid to be stepped up and the buffer zones around Gaza. He also talks about how Israeli troops will behave during Phase 1 and about restrictions on military and reconnaissance operations in Gaza during Phase 1.
Dr. Baskin talks about the prospects in Phase 2 of the deal of a permanent ceasefire leading to Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza and then, in Phase 3, the cost of reconstruction and who will foot the bill.
Finally, Dr. Baskin explains that there was a better deal which Prime Minister Netanyahu was unwilling to accept. He shares details of this better deal, which he personally helped to arrange.
There are few people who understand hostage-for-prisoner exchanges better than Dr. Baskin. He was the person who negotiated the release of Gilad Shalit in 2011. His account and explanation of this deal is, therefore, particularly enlightening and will help you understand what has been achieved as well as what remains uncertain and undecided. Youtube interview on "The Wire"
Security cabinet has voted to approve hostage release-ceasefire deal -The deal will now move to the full cabinet for a discussion and vote expected to be held before Shabbat begins.
PM’s office says first Gaza hostages expected to be released Sunday as planned, despite bureaucratic delays
Members of the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad terror groups release Israeli hostages to the Red Cross, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, November 28, 2023. (Flash90)
The Prime Minister’s Office says that despite the delays in signing the deal and its approval by the government, hostages are still expected to be released from Gaza on Sunday as planned.
According to a statement from the PMO, once the ceasefire deal has been approved by both the security cabinet and the full cabinet, and has gone into effect, “the release of hostages can be carried out according to the planned outline,” which would see three female hostages freed on Sunday.
The security cabinet is meeting now and the full government is expected to meet tomorrow evening to approve the deal.
Following the government approval, the High Court is still slated to hear petitions against elements of the deal, but it is widely expected not to intervene.
Government to meet to approve hostage deal; these are the 33 hostages set to be released in first phase
Hostages' families receive notice of updated list confirmed by Hamas that includes Israeli women, children and elderly set to be freed after being abducted on October 7; list of first hostages to be freed to be sent by Saturday afternoon Following the signing of a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas on Friday, the IDF informed the hostages’ families about the list of names Israel requested for release which Hamas approved. The updated list included the 33 individuals, as well as others hoping their relatives — both living and deceased — will be released in the deal's second phase.
The government meeting to approve the deal, which was initially rescheduled for Saturday, will take place on Friday afternoon in Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. The first list of hostages to be released is set to be sent to Israel by Saturday at 16:30 p.m., according to Israeli officials.
The Prime Minister's Office announced that "subject to the cabinet and government’s approval and the agreement’s implementation, the hostages’ release could proceed as planned, expected as early as Sunday."
The list aligns with the one Hamas approved earlier this month, based on a roster Israel submitted months ago. However, the families weren't provided information regarding the hostages' conditions.
The 10 women to be released
The first to be released are expected to be women abducted from kibbutzim and the Nova Music Festival: Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, Arbel Yehud, Doron Steinbrecher and Shiri Bibas and her young children, Ariel and Kfir. Subsequently, five female IDF lookouts captured at the Nahal Oz base will be freed: Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, and Naama Levy.
The list also includes 10 men aged 50–85: Ohad Ben-Ami, Gadi Moses, Keith Siegal, Ofer Calderon, Eliyahu Sharabi, Itzik Elgart, Shlomo Mansour, Ohad Yahalomi, Oded Lifshitz and Tsahi Idan.
Additionally, nine other injured or ill hostages are set to be released in the deal's first phase: Yarden Bibas, Sagui Dekel Hen, Yair Horn, Omer Wenkert, Alexander Trufanov, Eliya Cohen, Or Levy, Tal Shoham and Omer Shem Tov. Also included are Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who have been held captive in Gaza for nearly a decade.
These are the 33 hostages set to be released in deal's first phase
Hisham al-Sayed, Avera Mengistu
Hamas plans to release the hostages over 42 days (six weeks), with at least three hostages freed weekly. Living hostages will be released before the deceased. Under the terms of the deal, women will be released first in two stages: three women on the first day and four on the seventh day.
However, nothing is certain and Hamas may attempt to derail the agreement at various stages. Israeli officials stressed that at each phase, the Prime Minister's Office will issue an official statement listing the names of the hostages scheduled for release that day only after they have been handed over to IDF forces and their families have been updated.
Hostage families say Gaza deal will be ‘hard,’ call for all stages of ceasefire agreement to be fulfilled
Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, speaks during a press conference at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on January 17, 2025 (Hostages Forum)
As the cabinet convenes to vote on the hostage deal, four hostage family members hold a press conference at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square.
Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, says she is the closest she’s been in 468 days to hugging her son.
“We can’t let any political considerations ruin this opportunity,” she says.
Zangauker, one of the hostage family members who has repeatedly blamed the government for the hostage situation, protesting daily at Tel Aviv’s Begin rallies, calls on Israelis to join the protests and demand the complete fulfillment of all stages of the deal.
“This deal will shake us all, it will be hard,” says Zangauker. “Join us, my Matan and all the hostages need you with us.”
Anat Angrest, mother of Matan Angrest, a combat soldier who was wounded and taken hostage from his tank on October 7, notes that her son’s name is not on the list of 33 hostages that will be released home in the first stage of the hostage deal.
“You who should have been on the top of the list aren’t even on it,” says Angrest. “We didn’t convince the government over the last 15 months that your blood is worth the same as the others.”
Daniel Lifschitz, Anat Angrest, Einav Zangauker and Michel Illouz, relatives of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, at a press conference at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square on January 15, 2025. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
The grandson of Oded Lifshitz, 84, who is on the list of 33 hostages, says his grandfather is the only great-grandfather in the world held hostage.
“We didn’t believe that 15 months would pass that a great-grandfather is held hostage and the world doesn’t help him and the Israeli government doesn’t help him and I pray for the moment that he will return on his own two legs and we’ll welcome him with love,” says Daniel Lifshitz.
He speaks of some 30 hostages who have been killed in captivity in Gaza, and that this deal is too late for them, many of whom were his friends and his grandparents’ friends.
Lifschitz adds, “On Sunday, we will begin a new history of this country, it will be hard, and I ask you to honor the hostage families’ privacy.”
Cousin of slain hostage says pending deal with Hamas ‘is terrible, but no deal with terrorists is ever good’
In a photo released on January 16, 2025, Udi Goren poses with a poster of his cousin Tal Chaimi, who was killed and his body taken captive to Gaza on October 7, 2023. (Hostages Forum)
As hostage families await the cabinet deal decision regarding the hostage deal, hostage family member Udi Goren, whose cousin Tal Chaimi was killed and his body taken hostage on October 7, says the pending deal “is terrible, but no deal with terrorists is ever good.”
Goren, one of the six hostage family members who are part of the Hostages Forum steering committee, says the only way for the country to get out of the situation in which it found itself on October 7, 2023, is to make this deal and then remain committed to those who suffered as a result of the Hamas terrorist attack that took place on that Shabbat.
“When people say they’re afraid of terrorists getting out in an exchange, they’re right,” said Goren. “But this is the deal we have. I want [hostage] Liri [Albag] to sleep near her parents next week, and I don’t want terrorists to ever touch her again.”
Albag is one of the five female surveillance soldiers taken hostage and expected to be among the first hostages released.
Goren says the hostage families are in a terrible emotional state at this point, and the task of the Forum steering committee is to represent each of the hostage families, including all those in the various categories, whether the hostage is alive or dead, injured, male or female, or in relatively good health.
“Our job is to use our voices and every interaction with any public institution, politician or public servant like [hostage envoy] Gal Hirsch, and to negotiate this deal forward,” says Goren.
Gaza and the South
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
Guterres says UNIFIL found 100 Hezbollah ‘weapons caches’ in south Lebanon since ceasefire began
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says peacekeepers have discovered more than “100 weapons caches” belonging to Hezbollah and its allies in south Lebanon since a ceasefire between the terror group and Israel.
UN peacekeepers “uncovered over 100 weapons caches belonging to Hezbollah or other armed groups since 27 November,” he says, adding that the “presence of armed personnel, assets and weapons” other than those of the Lebanese army and the UNIFIL peacekeeping force violated a UN Security Council decision that ended a 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
Under the truce agreement signed by Israel and Hezbollah on November 27, the IDF is required to cede all of its positions in southern Lebanon to the Lebanese army within 60 days. At the same time, Hezbollah is required to retreat north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the border with Israel.
Syria says it foiled attempt to smuggle rifles, drones into Lebanon via illegal border crossing
A shipment of weapons destined for Lebanon which was captured by Syrian authorities, in an image released on January 17, 2025. (Tartous Public Security Directorate via SANA)
Syria’s public security directorate announces that it foiled an attempt to smuggle arms into Lebanon via an illegal border crossing in the Tartous area.
Images released by Syrian media show a shipment of rifles, grenade launchers, Iranian Shahed drones, and other weapons that were captured and seized by authorities.
Israel has been concerned that weapons from the former Assad regime in Syria could be sent to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon. The IDF has also struck several border crossings between Syria and Lebanon to prevent arms from reaching the Lebanese terror group.
West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel
Politics and the War (general news)
NO WINNERS IN THIS WAR
Israel will claim victory. Hamas will claim victory. But the people of Israel and the people of Palestine know that there are no winners. No one has won this war. This land, from the River to the Sea, is full of people who are suffering, who are in pain, who cannot celebrate victory. There are no winners in wars, only losers - and we have lossed big-time on both sides of this war. Don't believe those leaders who beat the drums of war and talk of victory. I assure you they are safe as they send us and our families to war. If we don't hold those leaders responsible for the disasters that they have led us to and if we don't get rid of those leaders to the waste bins of history, our losses will be compounded and maybe even deserved. We must hold our irresponsible leaders to own up to their failures. We cannot continue to kill each other. There is no military solution to the conflict. There is no viable option of an armed struggle. This must be the last Israeli-Palestinian war. We, the people of Israel and Palestine, must ensure that we start walking the path of real peace and justice. From this trauma we will emerge more committed to genuine peace than ever before! (Gershon Baskin, January 17, 2025)
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir reiterates his Otzma Yehudit party will leave the coalition if the hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas that was signed in Doha last night is approved, as is expected to happen today or tomorrow. This is actually a huge win for Israel and a major side benefit of the hostage deal. We get rid of the worst possible minister of National Security that the country has ever seen, a racist, messianic, convicted criminal who should never have any place in any public office. We can only hope that, upon his leaving the government, we will never ever see him there again, but as long as someone like Netanyahu, who cares first and foremost about his own personal and political position over that of the state, we cannot be guaranteed that we are done with Ben Gvir at all.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has come to an understanding with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the hostage-ceasefire deal signed with Hamas in Doha last night, according to Hebrew media reports.
The two reached an agreement over the far-right minister’s demand that the IDF return to fighting Hamas in Gaza after a temporary ceasefire and over the issue of control over humanitarian aid being transferred to the Palestinian enclave, according to Channel 12 News and the Walla news site.
Smotrich and his Religious Zionism party will vote against the deal but remain in the government as a result of the agreement, the reports say.
Last night, Smotrich’s fellow far-right coalition member Itamar Ben Gvir said his Otzma Yehudit party will quit the government if the deal is approved. linkSmotrich's agreement to stay in the coalition did not come for free and it is doubtful that all of the details of their discussions and agreements will become public, but we can be sure that Netanyahu has likely given in to some of Smotrich's most important interests such as massive expansion of settlements in the West Bank as well as new settlements and building there. With Trump coming into the White House in a few days, Netanyahu is not worried about ruffling American features regarding illegal settlements and building in the West Bank. In fact, he anticipates full support from Trump and Netanyahu's gives to Smotrich could possibly have gone so far as agreeing to begin the process of full annexation of Areas C of the West Bank to Israel, if not all of the West Bank. The gives to Smotrich may also include hurting the Palestinian Authority even more as well as going along with his racist and illegal plans to 'encourage' Palestinian 'voluntary' expulsions. With Netanyahu, nothing is beyond the pale when it comes to keeping his seat as Prime Minister.
Shin Bet says Katz didn’t hold security consult before deciding to free settlers from administrative detention
Defense Minister Israel Katz did not consult with the Shin Bet security agency before announcing his decision to free West Bank settlers held under administrative detention orders.
The Shin Bet says that Katz decided without checking with the agency regarding the security implications of the move.
Katz in November announced an end to administrative detention orders for West Bank settlers, meaning Israel now only uses the controversial policy of holding suspects without charge against Palestinian terror suspects.
Several Jewish Israeli suspects were still being held in administrative detention when Katz made the November decision, and they were due to be released when their orders expired. Now they will be released early as a result of today’s announcement. linkThis is a horrendous decision by Katz and one that encourages even more violence by the extremist settlers against Palestinians. His warped rationale is that we will be releasing Palestinian prisoners, even those with lots of blood on their hands, so we should release Jewish terrorists as well. As opposed to Hamas terrorists, we are a nation of laws and a supposed democracy that is supposed to abhor and prevent violence, not encourage it. Katz's decision is antithetical to the rule of law, but this government is made up of too many ministers who don't believe that there should be the same laws for everyone. This decision is a perfect example.
The Region and the World
ICC prosecutor defends war crimes warrant for Netanyahu, says Israel made ‘no real effort’ to probe allegations
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan defends his decision to bring war crimes allegations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying Israel has made “no real effort” to investigate the allegations itself.
In an interview with Reuters, he stands by his decision over the arrest warrant despite a vote last week by the US House of Representatives to sanction the ICC in protest, a move he describes as “unwanted and unwelcome.”
ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant last November for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict.
The Prime Minister’s Office does not immediately respond to a request for comment on Khan’s remarks to Reuters.
Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes. The United States is also not a member of the ICC and Washington has criticized the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.
“We’re here as a court of last resort and… as we speak right now, we haven’t seen any real effort by the State of Israel to take action that would meet the established jurisprudence, which is investigations regarding the same suspects for the same conduct,” Khan tells Reuters.
“That can change and I hope it does,” he says in the interview that was conducted yesterday, as a hostage-ceasefire deal was signed in Doha by Israel and Hamas. linkWithout getting into whether of not, the prosecutor or the court has anti-Israeli bias, his statement that Israel has made no real effort to probe the allegations is 100% correct and goes right to core of an issue that most people in Israel want as well, A State Commission of Inquiry to investigate October 7, the years leading up to Black Saturday, and the war. Netanayahu has done everything he can to prevent the birth of a State Commission as he knows too well that he will be found culpable and responsible for bringing us to October 7, for having too few military resources on the border, the total misconception of what we needed to deal with and for mismanagement of the war, all of which has contributed to over 1800 Israelis killed, thousands wounded and permanently maimed, not to speak of the multitudes of trauma victims we will be needed to help for years to come, 250 hostages, among them 100 who have already spent 469 days in captivity, 150,000 Israelis made refugees in their own country, the total destruction of Gaza, over 40,000 Gazans killed, 2 million new refugees in Gaza, and the list goes on, and all this with absolutely no strategy for the war or the day after. Netanyahu is to blame directly for so many of the items in the list above and should be criminally responsible for much of it. We need an official, independent State Commission of Inquiry, both to determine who was is culpable, responsible and to blame and to determine was needs to be done so that October 7 can never happen again. What we don't need is a government commission that will be politically based, managed and limited with a directive to push all blame onto the security forces and leave the political echelon, in particular Netanyahu with a totally clean record.
Personal Stories
The mother of a fallen IDF soldier continues his crusade for universal IDF enlistment
Ahead of a crucial Tuesday Knesset meeting, Laly Derai is advocating for an end to military exemptions for the Haredi community after son Saadia Derai was killed in action in Gaza
In a eulogy delivered at the June funeral of her son, Sgt. 1st Class (res.) Saadia Derai, who was killed in combat in the Gaza Strip, Laly Derai chose to highlight the issue of increasing rates of military service among Israel’s Haredi community and the importance of enlistment.
“This isn’t about sharing the burden — it’s about sharing the privilege,” the grieving mother declared in a soundbite that later went viral.
Recent weeks have seen Derai embark on a media blitz, appearing on dozens of Israeli news channels and outlets to discuss ultra-Orthodox conscription. She will also speak at a planned debate on the matter at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday.
“I can’t count how many conversations I had with Saadia on this subject. It was in his blood. He couldn’t bear seeing people hiding behind the Torah to avoid the most fundamental Jewish act in the world,” she told The Times of Israel this week.
A 1948 decision by Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, not to draft Haredi yeshiva students into the nascent Jewish state’s military has influenced policy in subsequent decades.
Today, over 66,000 Haredi men aged 18 to 24 have secured exemptions from military service, claiming they devote most of their waking hours to Torah study. But public outcry against blanket exemptions for Haredi soldiers has grown since war erupted after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre, in which some 1,200 people in southern Israel were slaughtered and 251 kidnapped to the Gaza Strip, launching the ongoing war.
A landmark decision this past summer rocked the Haredi world when the High Court of Justice issued a unanimous ruling saying there is no longer a legal framework to allow for exceptions for yeshiva students and that the IDF must begin drafting Haredi men of military age.
The High Court of Justice on Friday demanded clarification from the government on the measures that will be implemented to ensure conscription among the Haredi population, two days after it heard a petition arguing that the IDF had not issued draft orders to all eligible Haredi men.
Sgt. 1st Class (res.) Saadia Derai reads the Talmud while on duty in an undated photo. (Courtesy)
Derai has called for a march from the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery to the Knesset, timed to coincide with Tuesday’s session of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
In an interview with The Times of Israel, Derai explained how the loss of her son, a rabbinical student who was studying at Jaffa’s Shirat Moshe hesder yeshiva — an institution that combines military service with Torah study — deepened her commitment to advocating for military enlistment.
[Editor’s note: Saadia Derai was a special needs aide for this reporter’s son. Personal reflections about his death can be read here.]
“I feel like I am continuing my son’s path. This is my way of staying connected to him, to his Torah, and to who he was. This issue burned within Saadia, and it burned within me long before he fell in battle. I’m advancing it now because I have a voice, and I’m using it unapologetically,” she declared.
Saadia, 27, served as a combat soldier in the Alexandroni Brigade’s Battalion 9203. He was called up to the northern border for reserve duty on October 7, 2023, and served for five straight months on the northern border before briefly returning home to Jaffa to his wife Racheli and their two children, 3-year-old Hallel and 1-year-old Yinon Shaul. He was then redeployed to Gaza, where, on June 20, 2024, he was killed in a mortar attack in Zeitoun, close to the Netzarim Corridor. A day after the weeklong ritual mourning period concluded, Racheli discovered she was pregnant with their third child.
Saadia Derai with daughter Hallel and then-newborn son Yinon Shaul. (Courtesy)
At the time of Saadia’s death, his platoon’s commanding officer, Capt. (res.) Idan Siboni, was not with him on the battlefield, but was in Herzliya heading a panel discussion on military enlistment alongside a group of ultra-Orthodox representatives. Saadia had helped Siboni with his presentation the day before, and the two came up with a credo outlining their views on the importance of military enlistment.
Among the panel members were a number of IDF generals, along with ultra-Orthodox MK Yitzhak Pindrus of the United Torah Judaism party. A group of hecklers from the audience did not allow Pindrus to speak.
“It was this absurd situation, people from the secular camp — the camp I belong to — are yelling at me, asking why I gave Pindrus a platform to speak, while on the other hand, Pindrus is basically saying he has zero intention to risk his own life to serve,” Siboni said.
“I suddenly felt very, very alone and all I wanted to do was return to the field to be with my men — who are both secular and religious, but who are completely united,” Siboni said.
Sgt. 1st Class (res.) Saadia Derai, right, with his platoon commander Capt. (res.) Idan Siboni in an undated photo. (Courtesy)
During a joint interview on Israel’s Channel 12 last week, Siboni issued an on-air apology to Laly Derai.
“I’m sorry I never managed to bring your son home,” he told her.
The two were being interviewed about a crowdfunding campaign that Siboni and other soldiers from the Alexandroni Brigade launched to raise money to purchase a home for Saadia’s widow. The platoon had already taken on the responsibility of supporting Racheli — who is due to give birth in a month and a half — by helping with groceries and joining her on milestone occasions such as birthdays.
For nearly six months, Racheli kept her pregnancy a secret, with Siboni being one of the first people she confided in.
“Saadia is gone. But we all felt it was our duty to make sure Racheli, Hallel, Yinon and their unborn baby, are taken care of — not just now, but down the road,” Siboni said.
Saadia’s mother praised Siboni and the rest of the platoon.
“I am comforted that Saadia spent his last moments with these holy men, who are now doing everything for his family. Saadia also showed them that it is absolutely possible to be both a Torah scholar and fight for Israel,” she said.
She dismissed the notion — espoused by many within the Haredi population — that Torah study and prayers alone protect Israel, citing biblical examples such as Abraham, King David and Deborah the prophetess who combined faith with direct efforts in battle.
“When Goliath defied Israel and God, David didn’t go to the synagogue to pray for Goliath’s fall; he faced him with stones and fought him,” she said.
Saadia Derai with mother Laly. (Courtesy)
A corrosive shame
Reflecting on her discussions with government officials, Derai noted that some admitted to feeling ashamed about the enlistment crisis but claimed that political pressure forced their hand, compelling them to act against their beliefs. Others advocate for dialogue rather than coercion, but Derai criticized this approach, saying, “We’ve been talking for 75 years and it hasn’t worked.”
The religious Zionist community would no longer tolerate inaction, she asserted: “We send our children to the battlefield, and we won’t allow this to continue.”
Derai criticized the defense apparatus’ current approach to the war, arguing that it lacked actions that would lead to a decisive victory and failed to reflect the gravity of the situation.
“I feel like we’re waging this war with a mindset stuck in October 6,” she said. She railed against the “half-baked plans” for future raids into Gaza, noting that soldiers are still dying in areas — particularly in the northern part of the Strip — that were supposedly cleared of terrorists.
Derai also called out the lack of integration of other sectors of society into the broader war effort, whether through military, national, or civil service.
“I’m talking not just about the ultra-Orthodox community but also the Arab community — not necessarily in the military but in national or civil service. It seems to me that people haven’t yet grasped the magnitude of this event — that we are in an existential war, a war for our survival,” she said.
Saadia Derai with wife Racheli and their children Hallel and Yinon Shaul. (Courtesy)
The enlistment of Haredim in the IDF was “no longer a nice-to-have option,” she said, but a fundamental requirement for the state’s survival.
Derai outlined a draft framework to address the crisis through what she called a Basic Law on service that would include four tracks: military service, prioritized through a centralized directorate to meet IDF needs; national service, expanded beyond its current framework, which is largely limited to religious Zionist post-high school girls, to include roles in healthcare, rescue, and economic agencies; support for exceptional talent in fields like science, arts, and sports; and Torah study, with quotas and state funding for dedicated scholars.
“These scholars would be fully funded by the state because I believe that Torah study is a Zionist value,” she explained, with the caveat that the program must be closely supervised to ensure participants “truly dedicate their days to studying Torah.”
Each track would contribute to the state, with participation tied to access to economic benefits and public sector opportunities. Those outside these tracks would forfeit privileges such as subsidized housing and affirmative action in public sector employment, ensuring equal responsibility across all sectors of society.
Her service law proposal also includes a call for the IDF to focus solely on security rather than “continuing to act as a melting pot,” Derai said, referring to the military’s function in fostering cultural integration by bringing together recruits from diverse sectors of society.
Sgt. 1st Class (res.) Saadia Derai, far right, with his platoon in an undated photo. (Courtesy)
“The army doesn’t need to educate soldiers. It can provide heritage lessons, but it doesn’t need to homogenize everyone. It has enough work in security,” she said.
To encourage enlistment of the ultra-Orthodox, she advocated for creating optimal conditions that respect their lifestyle, and called for the immediate increase in funding for ultra-Orthodox hesder yeshivas and preparatory academies regardless of legislative changes in the future.
“The military needs to give ultra-Orthodox recruits optimal conditions so they can remain ultra-Orthodox,” she said.
Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages
Netanyahu is a Threat to Israel's Security
Amos Malka
Major General (Res.).
About a year ago, in the midst of the protests against the attempted judicial coup, I cautioned people in every television studio, radio interview, opinion column in newspapers and dozens of speeches at demonstrations that Netanyahu, through his actions and omissions, had become a security threat to the State of Israel.
Recently, the Inquiry Commission of the Submarine Affair issued letters of caution to five senior officials. The letter of caution to the Prime Minister was of unprecedented severity and stated that Netanyahu "endangered national security and harmed the foreign relations and economic interests of the State of Israel."
October 7th, 2023, saw the worst security breach in the history of the State, under the leadership of Binyamin Netanyahu. The same Netanyahu who I cautioned months earlier posed a security risk. In retrospect, the Inquiry Commission of the Submarine Affair found that he had endangered national security.
From October 7th until today, the risk has become even more dangerous in light of Netanyahu's conduct during the most challenging campaign in our history. From being the target of an attack by a murderous and cruel terrorist organization with unprecedented international support, we have become an isolated state, in conflict with the entire world, to the point that the International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued an indictment, together with arrest warrants, against the country’s leadership.
The thread that connects the dots of my warning in 2023; the findings of the Inquiry Commission of the Submarine Affair; the materialization of the risk on October 7th; and the escalation of risk to highest levels - this thread is that these are not errors in judgment, or a misreading or mis-assessment of the situation. Netanyahu is very capable in matters of security and foreign policy, and his reading and assessment of the situation are completely sober. The problem is that everything he is doing is with full awareness and all for one single goal: his survival in power in order to evade a sentence and verdict in his personal trial.
Netanyahu has "put himself into voluntary captivity" by the far right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. He refuses to hold a thorough and comprehensive strategic discussion; he refuses to define war goals for the northern and peripheral arenas; he refuses to pursue a hostage deal that could have been implemented five months ago, and he refuses to discuss the American-Saudi initiative Netanyahu of yesteryear would have:
- Reached a full hostage deal before carrying out a ground campaign
- Conducted an intense offensive operation without the pressure
of the hostages and for a limited period
- Introduced a civilian control mechanism to replace Hamas
in the Gaza Strip
- Adopted the American-Saudi plan
- Backed the IDF and the security forces rather than
attacking them day and night
- Resolved the Lebanese front without subjecting
the north to nine long months of indignity
- Taken responsibility
Had an election been held in June or July 2024, we would have seen the hostages released. The war in Gaza would have come to an end. The situation in Lebanon would have been resolved. The American initiative would have been adopted. Why? Because he would have come to the elections with achievements, and not with perpetuation of failure and the abandonment of the hostages, as is the case today.
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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These are the 33 hostages set to be released in deal's first phase 
Hisham al-Sayed, Avera Mengistu 
Daniel Lifschitz, Anat Angrest, Einav Zangauker and Michel Illouz, relatives of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, at a press conference at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square on January 15, 2025. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Sgt. 1st Class (res.) Saadia Derai reads the Talmud while on duty in an undated photo. (Courtesy)
Saadia Derai with daughter Hallel and then-newborn son Yinon Shaul. (Courtesy)
Sgt. 1st Class (res.) Saadia Derai, right, with his platoon commander Capt. (res.) Idan Siboni in an undated photo. (Courtesy)
Saadia Derai with mother Laly. (Courtesy)
Saadia Derai with wife Racheli and their children Hallel and Yinon Shaul. (Courtesy)
Sgt. 1st Class (res.) Saadia Derai, far right, with his platoon in an undated photo. (Courtesy)
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