Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
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Hostage Updates
Top officials said already gearing up for 2nd phase hostage talks, ahead of schedule Qatari PM says ‘pushing for this’; Shin Beit, Mossad chiefs reportedly discussed next stage in Egypt, two weeks before start date; Trump envoy Witkoff also expected to be involved
Top officials from the US, Israel, and Egypt were reportedly already moving on the second stage of the Gaza hostage-ceasefire deal on Wednesday, some two weeks ahead of the scheduled date for the discussions to begin.
The reports came as Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said he was ready to start mediating talks on the second stage as soon as possible, and as US President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff said he would travel to the region to be part of what he described as an inspection team deployed in and along the Gaza Strip to ensure ceasefire compliance.
The Qatari prime minister told the Walla outlet that he plans to speak to Mossad head David Barnea this week to begin discussing negotiations on the second phase of the agreement: “We are pushing for this.”
Al Thani spoke in Davos, where he is attending the annual World Economic Forum.
Witkoff will also hold talks on the second phase when he arrives, Walla reported.
An unnamed senior Israeli official told the Walla site that Israel has “no problem” beginning the talks before day 16, but cautioned that the process could be lengthy.
“Negotiations on the first phase lasted months, and reaching an agreement on the second phase may also take a long time,” the unnamed official said. Previously, Israeli officials have said the discussions were set to begin on day 16 of the first phase of the deal.
Another Israeli official told the site that Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Barnea held talks on the deal during their Cairo meetings with Egyptian intelligence officials this week, but noted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not yet had a meeting on the second phase of the deal. Nonetheless, he stressed that Israel wants to see the ceasefire plan through.
Channel 12 reported that while in Egypt, Bar and Barnea specifically discussed details of the second phase of the deal, including how many Palestinian security prisoners would be released for each Israeli hostage set free.
Qatar, Egypt, and the United States brokered the multi-phase deal between Israel and Hamas terrorists, and the two Arab countries have set up a communications hub in Cairo to head off new clashes between the foes.
Despite the reported developments, the fate of the latter stages of the ceasefire deal is still in question. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said Netanyahu promised him that fighting will be renewed after the first phase ends. Smotrich has vowed to not allow a deal that stops the war before Hamas is destroyed.
Even Trump, who has touted his role in securing the deal, said Monday he was “not confident” that the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement would be upheld through all three phases.
Arab diplomats speaking to The Times of Israel have credited Trump and Witkoff, who held talks in Qatar and Israel in the final week of the Gaza negotiations, with helping bring the deal across the finish line, particularly by pressuring Netanyahu.link
Israel Demands Arbel Yehud Be Released in the Next Phase of the Deal
Arbel Yehud was abducted along with her partner Ariel Koniu from Nir Oz and is being held by the Islamic Jihad. In addition to her, six other women remain in captivity, including Shiri Bibas and five female observation officers abducted from the Nahal Oz base.
Today (Wednesday), Israel demanded that Yehud be released in the upcoming phase of the hostage deal, set to take place this Saturday. This would be in addition to three other hostages whose names will be announced in the coming days.
After the release of Romi, Emily, and Doron, 94 hostages remain in Hamas captivity. Among them, in addition to Yehud, are six women: Shiri Bibas, and soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniela Gilboa, Liri Elbag, Agam Berger, and Naama Levi. It is still unclear in which phase of the first stage Shiri Bibas and her children, Kfir and Ariel, are expected to be released. According to the agreement, three hostages are expected to be released in each phase, except on the 42nd day of the deal, when 14 hostages are expected to be released.
Yehud, who was abducted with her partner Ariel Koniu from Nir Oz, is being held by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization. Ariel’s brother, David, is also held in Gaza, while David's wife, Sharon, and their daughters, Emma and Yuli, were released in the first phase of the hostage deal.
Earlier today, the IDF operated in southern Gaza and eliminated Akram Atef Farhan Zanon, an operative in the Islamic Jihad. Simultaneously, warning shots were fired at suspects approaching forces in several areas in the Strip.
The IDF stated: “The IDF is determined to fully implement the agreement’s terms to bring back the hostages. The military is prepared for any scenario and will continue to take all necessary actions to eliminate immediate threats to our soldiers.” link
NYT reveals stealthy role of CIA director in Gaza hostage, ceasefire deal Towing the line between diplomat and intelligence agent, Burns's trips to the region are shrouded under a cloak of mystery.
CIA director William Burns played a significant role in the mediation between Israel and Hamas following October 7, integrating his intelligence experience with his role as a negotiator, the New York Times revealed this week.
Burns - a a former diplomat - said he was "on the phone every day" with David Barnea, the Mossad chief, and Qatari PM Mohammed bin Abdulhrahman Al Thani.
Towing the line between diplomat and intelligence agent, Burns's trips to the region are shrouded under a cloak of mystery. Burns told NYT that this stealth "makes it easier to come and go."
Mossad director David Barnea seen over a wall of hostage posters in Tel Aviv (illustrative) (credit: FLASH90)
Burns called the Israel-Hamas negotiations "the most complicated negotiations I have been involved in, in the sense it was indirect talks twice removed."
This is a reference to the somewhat proxy mediation between the fighting parties. Burns and Barnea negotiated with Qatar and Egypt, who in turn coordinated and relayed messages from Hamas leaders in Doha.
The ex situ Hamas leaders then negotiated with the in situ Hamas leaders in Gaza, who were underground.
These negotiations were of heightened importance, Burns added, due to the involvement of human factors.
"This wasn't just about texts. It was about real human beings whose lives were in danger," he told NYT, referring to the hostages and their families as well as Gazan civilians.
In total, Burns travelled to the region 19 times since the beginning of the war.
A near miss
It seemed, however, as though the trips were set to be fruitless, given the lack of a deal. As the time approached for Burns to leave the CIA on Friday, it seemed the mission would fail, however, a last minute deal was announced on Wednesday last week.
Burns said part of the reason for the final success of a deal was that Hamas's military leaders were "beleaguered" by the degradation of their forces, but also because Israel's strategic blows on Iran and Hezbollah had created space for political maneuverability. "The Israeli political leadership is beginning to see that perfect is not on the menu here, but they have achieved a lot of what they want to achieve," he told NYT. link
This Is How the Finance Minister Works Behind the Scenes to Halt the Hostage Deal
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich convened bereaved families, families of hostages, and strategic advisors for an extraordinary meeting aimed at devising a strategy to resume combat and halt the hostage deal. Sources present at the meeting report a complex discussion intended to shift public opinion and influence government policy.
Exclusive Report: Just one day after the return of three hostages to Israel, Finance Minister Smotrich publicly welcomed their return. However, it has now been revealed that the minister held a secret and unexpected meeting. Families of bereaved, families of hostages, and strategic advisors were summoned to the meeting, where preparations for a public protest were discussed with the aim of stopping the deal’s continuation and resuming combat.
A senior source who participated in the meeting told N12, “We were invited to an urgent, secret, and unofficial meeting whose purpose was to devise a strategy to pressure the public so that we could return to fighting immediately after the completion of the first phase of the deal.” According to the source, the participants were tasked with preparing for a public and global awareness campaign to pave the way for renewed combat and halting the deal.
The meeting and its subsequent exposure paint a complex picture of the behind-the-scenes battle between supporters and opponents of the deal. The Finance Minister, who has previously voiced strong opposition to such deals, is now actively working to shift public opinion and influence the government’s future policy.
Chen Avigdori, whose family was abducted to Gaza and later released in a previous deal, responded to the report: “After Shabbat, Rabbi Bezalel the Abandoner will tweet how moved and emotional he is, embracing the returned hostages. Then I will say I don’t believe him. And then people will tell me I don’t understand the complexity. Well, excuse me, but in this matter, there’s no complexity—an abandoner of hostages is an abandoner of hostages.”
Gil Dickman, cousin of Carmel Gat who was murdered in captivity, also criticized the minister: “With one hand, Smotrich praises the hostages who returned; with the other, he applies political pressure on the families of hostages, exploiting their pain to run a dark campaign behind the scenes to blow up the deal and abandon hostages to be murdered? Thirty hostages murdered in captivity wasn’t enough?”
A spokesperson for the Finance Minister stated: “The minister frequently meets with bereaved families and families of hostages. The content of these personal discussions always remains confidential, and the minister ensures not to quote from these meetings to allow for open and honest dialogue.” LINK
Gaza and the South
Head of Hamas Beit Hanoun battalion appears to be alive after IDF said he was killed
The commander of Hamas’s Beit Hanoun battalion, Hussein Fayyad, who the IDF says was eliminated in May, appears to be alive.
Footage shared by Palestinian media shows a man identified as Fayyad speaking today at a funeral.
On May 24, the IDF said Fayyad was killed in a tunnel in a joint operation carried out by the 98th Division and special forces of the Air Force and elite Yahalom Combat Engineering unit.
It would not be the first time that the IDF has announced the death of a Hamas commander and later backtracked after determining that its intelligence at the time was not accurate.
The military has not yet commented on the reports that Fayyad is alive.
Hamas presence in Gaza during truce is a message the terror group is still in charge Though jubilant crowds celebrating ceasefire have been described by Israel as an exaggeration of Hamas’s strength, the group has begun to curb looting, restore basic services
In neighborhoods leveled by 15 months of war with Israel, Hamas officials are overseeing the clearance of rubble in the wake of Sunday’s ceasefire. The Palestinian terror group’s gunmen are guarding aid convoys on Gaza’s dusty roads, and its blue-uniformed police once again patrol city streets, sending a clear message: Hamas remains in charge.
Israeli officials have described a parade of jubilant Hamas operatives that celebrated the ceasefire on Sunday in front of cheering crowds — including in Gaza City where the terror group released three Israeli women it had been holding hostage for 471 days — as a carefully orchestrated attempt to exaggerate its strength.
But, in the days since the ceasefire took effect, Gaza’s Hamas-run administration has moved quickly to reimpose security, curb looting, and start restoring basic services to parts of the Palestinian enclave, swaths of which have been reduced to wasteland by the war, which was sparked by the terror group’s brutal October 7, 2023, onslaught in southern Israel.
Reuters spoke to more than a dozen residents, officials, regional diplomats and security experts who said that, despite Israel’s vow to destroy it, Hamas remains deeply entrenched in Gaza and its hold on power constitutes a challenge to implementing a permanent ceasefire.
The Iran-backed terror group not only controls Gaza’s security forces, but its administrators run ministries and government agencies, paying salaries for employees and coordinating with international nonprofits, they said. On Tuesday, its police and gunmen – who for months were kept off the streets by Israeli airstrikes – were stationed in neighborhoods through the Strip.
“We want to prevent any kind of security vacuum,” said Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office. He said that some 700 police were protecting aid convoys and not a single truck had been looted since Sunday – a contrast to the massive theft of food by criminal gangs during the conflict.
A spokesperson for the United Nations in Geneva confirmed on Tuesday there had been no reports of looting or attacks on aid workers since the ceasefire took effect on Sunday.
The three-phase accord caps a yearlong international effort to get both Hamas and Israel to agree to a deal meant to end the war and free the hostages held in Gaza, with 33 captives set to be released over the next 42 days in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including several serving multiple life sentences for deadly terror attacks.
Also as part of the initial stage of the accord, which includes a temporary ceasefire, a major surge of humanitarian aid has begun to flow into Gaza.
A member of security forces loyal to Hamas stands guard atop one of the trucks carrying humanitarian aid coming in from the Kerem Shalom border crossing in al-Shoka, east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on January 21, 2025 (Bashar TALEB / AFP)
In recent weeks, Israeli airstrikes have targeted lower-ranking administrators in Gaza, in an apparent bid to break Hamas’s grip on government. Israel had already eliminated most of the terror group’s senior leadership, including political chief Ismail Haniyeh and the masterminds of the October 7 attack, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif.
Despite the losses, Al-Thawabta said the Hamas-run administration continued to function. “Currently, we have 18,000 employees working daily to provide services to citizens,” he said.
The Hamas-run municipalities had begun on Sunday clearing the rubble from some roads to vehicles to pass, while workers repaired pipes and infrastructure to restore running water to neighborhoods. On Tuesday, dozens of heavy trucks ferried debris from destroyed buildings along the enclave’s main arteries.
Palestinians prepare to erect a tent near the rubble of their houses as they return to Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, on January 21, 2025, on the third day of a ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (Omar Al-Qatta/AFP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not articulated a vision for Gaza’s postwar future beyond insisting that Hamas can play no role and stating that the Palestinian Authority – a body set up under the Oslo Peace Accords three decades ago that partially administers the West Bank — also cannot be trusted under its current leadership. The Israeli government did not respond to Reuters’ questions.
Joost Hiltermann, of the International Crisis Group, said the terror group’s firm grip on Gaza presented Israel with a dilemma.
“Israel has a choice, to continue fighting in the future and killing people — and that hasn’t worked in the past 15 months — or it can allow an arrangement where the Palestinian Authority takes control with Hamas’s acquiescence,” Hiltermann said.
Hamas’s military capability is hard to assess because its rocket arsenal remains hidden and many of its best-trained fighters may have been killed, Hiltermann said, but it remains by far the dominant armed group in Gaza: “Nobody is talking about the PA taking over Gaza without Hamas’s consent.”
While senior Hamas officials have expressed support for a unity government, Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority and a longtime adversary of Hamas, has not given his assent. Abbas’s office and the Palestinian Authority did not respond to a request for comment.
Fresh negotiations
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel must withdraw its troops from central Gaza and permit the return of Palestinians to the north during an initial six-week phase, in which 33 hostages will be released. Starting from the 16th day of the ceasefire, the two sides should negotiate a second phase, expected to include a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops and the release of more hostages.
This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows an Israeli army military convoy moving along a road inside the northern Gaza Strip on January 13, 2025 (Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
Reconstruction, expected to cost billions of dollars and last for years, would only begin in a third and final phase.
The deal has divided opinion in Israel. While there was widespread celebration of the return of the first three hostages on Sunday, many Israelis want to see Hamas destroyed for its October 7, 2023, massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, mostly civilians, alongside acts of brutality and sexual assault.
Even before the ceasefire took effect, members of Netanyahu’s cabinet said they favored returning to war to remove Hamas from power, once hostages have returned home. Three far-right ministers resigned over the halt in fighting.
“There is no future of peace, stability and security for both sides if Hamas stays in power in the Gaza Strip,” Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Sunday.
Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida told Reuters that the terror group would honor the terms of the ceasefire and urged Israel to do the same.
Destruction is pictured in al-Shoka, east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on January 21, 2025 (Bashar TALEB / AFP)
Fifteen months of war have left Gaza a wasteland of rubble, bombed-out buildings and makeshift encampments, with hundreds of thousands of desperate people sheltering from the winter cold and living on whatever aid can reach them. The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 46,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
Israel says it has killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
The ceasefire deal calls for 600 trucks of aid per day to reach Gaza. Al-Thawabta, the spokesman for the Hamas-run administration, said it was liaising with UN bodies and international relief organizations about security for aid routes and warehouses, but the agencies were handling the distribution of aid.
A UN damage assessment released this month showed that just clearing away the more than 50 million tons of rubble left in the aftermath of Israel’s bombardment could take 21 years and cost up to $1.2 billion
On Sunday, as Hamas forces paraded on the streets, some residents expressed pride that the terror group that rules Gaza had survived the onslaught.
Fighters from Hamas’s Qassam Brigades control the crowd as Red Cross vehicles arrive to collect Israeli hostages to be released under a ceasefire deal, in Gaza City, January 19, 2025. (AP/Abed Hajjar)
“Name me one country that could withstand Israel’s war machine for 15 months,” said Salah Abu Rezik, a 58-year-old factory worker. He praised Hamas for helping to distribute aid to hungry Gazans during the conflict and trying to enforce a measure of security.
“Hamas is an idea and you can’t kill an idea,” Abu Rezik said, predicting the group would rebuild.
Others voiced anger that Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack had brought destruction to Gaza.
“We had homes and hotels and restaurants. We had a life. Today we have nothing, so what kind of a victory is this?” said Ameen, 30, a Gaza City civil engineer, displaced in Khan Younis. “When the war stops, Hamas must not rule Gaza alone.”
No rivals
While the Palestinian Authority says it is the only authority with the legitimacy to govern postwar Gaza, it has no presence in the enclave and little popular support, polls show.
Since 2007, when Hamas drove out the Palestinian Authority dominated by the rival faction Fatah after a brief civil war, it has crushed opposition in Gaza. Supported by funds from Iran, it built a feared security apparatus and a military organization based around a vast network of tunnels — much of which Israel says it destroyed during the war.
A large Hamas tunnel found along the Philadelphi Corridor in southern Gaza’s Rafah, September 12, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)
Israel floated tentative ideas for postwar Gaza, including coopting local clan leaders – several of whom were immediately assassinated by Hamas – or using members of Gazan civil society with no ties to terror groups to run the enclave. But none has gained any traction.
Key donors, including the United Arab Emirates and US President Donald Trump’s new administration, have stressed that Hamas — which is designated as a terrorist organization by many Western countries — cannot remain in power in Gaza after the war.
Diplomats have been discussing models involving international peacekeepers, including one that would see the United Arab Emirates and the United States, along with other nations, temporarily overseeing governance, security and reconstruction of Gaza until a reformed Palestinian Authority is able to take charge.
Another model, supported by Egypt, would see a joint committee made up of both Fatah and Hamas run Gaza under the supervision of the Palestinian Authority.
A member of the Palestinian Authority security forces stands at a traffic circle in the Jenin refugee camp, in the northern West Bank, December 29, 2024. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)
Michael Milshtein, a former Israel Defense Forces intelligence officer now at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies in Tel Aviv, described Hamas’s public willingness to discuss a unity government as “cosmetic.”
“As long as they are behind the scenes, handling matters, they don’t care that there will be a committee as a front,” he said.
On Monday, shortly after taking office, Trump expressed skepticism about the Gaza ceasefire deal, when asked if he was confident that all three phases of the agreement would be implemented. He didn’t elaborate further.
A spokesperson for the Trump camp did not respond to a request for comment. LINK
More than 2,400 aid trucks enter Gaza under ceasefire with no major looting, UN says Senior UN aid official says some kids tried to loot food baskets, water; believes issue will be resolved when Gazans realize there’s enough for everyone
A cameraman films as trucks carrying humanitarian aid coming in from the Kerem Shalom border crossing arrive in al-Shoka, east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on January 21, 2025. (Bashar TALEB / AFP)
Nearly 900 humanitarian aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the third day of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian terrorists Hamas, as a senior UN official said so far there had been no apparent law-and-order issues.
The latest arrivals bring the three-day total to more than 2,400 trucks entering the enclave.
Throughout the 15-month war, the UN has described its humanitarian operation as opportunistic — saying it was facing problems with Israel’s military operation, access restrictions by Israel into and throughout Gaza and looting by armed gangs.
The Israeli military has said that attacking and stealing aid is an ongoing problem, especially in southern Gaza. COGAT, the Defense Ministry body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, has said convoys are attacked by Hamas terrorists and known crime families.
Israel has also said that it had been working to address the humanitarian situation since the start of the war, adding that the main problem with aid deliveries was UN distribution challenges.
Muhannad Hadi, the top UN aid official for Gaza and the West Bank, said there had been minor incidents of looting in the past three days, but “not like before.”
Palestinians chase humanitarian aid trucks that arrived through the Kerem Shalom crossing into the Gaza Strip, in Rafah, January 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
“It’s not organized crime. Kids jumped on some trucks trying to take food baskets. There were some other people (who) tried to take some bottled water,” he told reporters after visiting the Palestinian enclave on Tuesday.
“Hopefully within few days this will all disappear once the people of Gaza realize that we will have aid enough for everybody.”
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 897 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, citing information it received from Israel and the guarantors for the ceasefire agreement – the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
This compares with 630 on Sunday and 915 on Monday. The truce deal requires at least 600 truckloads of aid to be allowed into Gaza every day of the initial six-week ceasefire, including 50 carrying fuel. Half of those trucks are supposed to go to Gaza’s north, where experts have warned famine is imminent.
Hadi warned that problems were likely to arise: “Let’s not assume that because there is a ceasefire life is going to be rosy and our work is going to be a walk in the park.”
He said the aid operation faced logistical problems because the road network within Gaza was destroyed, adding that the movement of people within the enclave was also a complicating factor.
OCHA said on Tuesday that humanitarian priorities in Gaza include food assistance, opening bakeries, providing healthcare, restocking hospitals, repairing water networks, bringing material to repair shelters, and reuniting families. link
Hamas-run agency says 2 killed by IDF tank near Rafah; no immediate comment from IDF
The Hamas-run civil defense agency in Gaza says that two Palestinians were killed by an Israeli tank west of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, during the ceasefire.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
The Deadline for Withdrawal Approaches, the IDF Requests "More Time": Lebanon’s Army Passivity and the Remaining Work
Next week, the IDF is scheduled to withdraw from Lebanon following an extensive operation. However, it remains uncertain whether this will occur on the planned date—60 days after the ceasefire took effect. Terrorist infrastructure in the region remains abundant, and the Lebanese Army struggles to meet IDF demands, prompting the latter to request additional time. Local leaders express frustration. Despite Hezbollah’s threats to renew hostilities, Israel does not anticipate a resumption of fighting. Meanwhile, Lebanese citizens plan to return to their homes.
Ceasefire Put to the Test
Thousands of IDF soldiers stationed along the Lebanon border—from Rosh Hanikra to Mount Dov and within Shia villages in southern Lebanon—are working tirelessly to uncover and destroy the remaining weapons and terrorist infrastructure near Israel’s northern border. They await directives from Israeli leadership regarding the continuation of operations in southern Lebanon next week.
Under the ceasefire agreement, all IDF forces are expected to withdraw on Sunday, leaving Lebanon without an Israeli military presence. At that point, Israel will rely on assurances from the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL to handle Hezbollah’s removal and complete the clearance of areas where the IDF has worked for months to thwart Hezbollah’s declared plans to seize the Galilee.
Recent operations highlight the unfinished task. On Wednesday, the IDF’s 810th Brigade combat team uncovered and confiscated significant weapons caches during a raid in the rugged terrain of Lebanon’s Mount Dov area. The IDF has requested additional time to address the vast terrorist infrastructure embedded in villages and other areas that Israeli forces have yet to reach or maneuver through. The Cabinet is expected to discuss the continued IDF presence in southern Lebanon and the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in a meeting on Thursday.
Awaiting U.S. Policy Direction
Israeli political leaders also await guidance from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump on how Israel should proceed in Lebanon. Over recent weeks, the IDF has destroyed terrorist infrastructure, seizing thousands of weapons, including rockets, anti-tank missiles, explosives, and small arms. Units have withdrawn from several villages where their mission was ostensibly complete, such as Naqoura near UNIFIL headquarters, where the IDF uncovered a full-scale assault outpost system adjacent to UNIFIL forces.
Lebanese Army’s Limited Capability
The IDF has refrained from setting a rigid timeline for completing its mission, citing security concerns for northern Israeli residents. Military sources estimate that an additional 30 days may be necessary. Although UNIFIL and the Lebanese Army claim recent successes in dismantling Hezbollah weapons, they have struggled to meet IDF demands for addressing the remaining terrorist sites.
Sunday marks the end of the 60-day ceasefire deadline agreed upon between Israel and Hezbollah. According to the agreement, only Lebanese security forces may carry weapons or operate in southern Lebanon after that date. The Lebanese Army is also required to dismantle Hezbollah’s weapons and infrastructure south of the Litani River.
However, analysts from Alma, a research institute focusing on northern Israeli security challenges, emphasize that the agreement’s true test lies in the Lebanese Army’s actions in areas south of the Litani River, where the IDF did not operate and Hezbollah’s infrastructure remains unaddressed. Lt. Col. (Res.) Sarit Zehavi, founder of the Alma Institute, warns that while Lebanon has recently elected a president and prime minister not aligned with Hezbollah, the group’s participation in the government limits any meaningful change.
Frustrated Israeli Leaders
Israeli border community leaders are skeptical of the ceasefire agreement and have demanded that the IDF remain in southern Lebanon for at least another year to establish a security buffer zone. Moshe Davidovitch, head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council, stated that trust in security forces has eroded, and he advocates for a clear Israeli military presence to enforce the agreement. Similarly, David Azoulay, mayor of Metula, has urged residents not to return home, citing unresolved security concerns.
Lebanon Prepares for Return Despite Israeli Presence
In Lebanon, the approaching deadline has also garnered widespread attention. Reports indicate that some Lebanese residents plan to return to their villages regardless of the IDF’s withdrawal. Hezbollah-affiliated media outlets have claimed ongoing Israeli operations in southern Lebanon, including drone strikes. Lebanese officials have expressed frustration with delays, with some threatening retaliatory actions if Israel does not withdraw by the deadline.
As tensions mount, the coming days will determine whether the ceasefire agreement can withstand the challenges posed by conflicting demands and unaddressed security threats. link
IDF seeks US sign-off on resuming Hezbollah war, citing ceasefire violations
To date, the IDF has killed around 50 Hezbollah fighters since the ceasefire, but almost all of those occurred within the first month.
The IDF hopes the government and key Western powers such as the US will support it being able to extend its stay in southern Lebanon beyond the January 27 deadline for about another 30 days to ensure that more Hezbollah weaponry concealed in border villages is destroyed.
Hezbollah has committed several dozen significant violations of the ceasefire deal, the IDF told The Jerusalem Post, adding that they have been minor, being that Hezbollah has not fired into Israel since late November.
It was unclear if the violations would be enough to convince the US and others to allow the IDF to stay in southern Lebanon for a temporarily longer period and whether the whole situation could blow up into a larger war.
Already in late December, about 30 days after the November 27 ceasefire, the IDF said Hezbollah had carried out about 120 very minor ceasefire violations, with a small number of those also involving attempts to move some of its rockets from one location to another and the IDF generally attacking cells involved in this activity.
In the one instance in which Hezbollah fired into Israel during the first week of the ceasefire after the IDF had killed several Hezbollah terrorists, the terrorist group merely fired two mortars into an open area of the Golan Heights.
To date, the IDF has killed about 50 Hezbollah terrorists since the ceasefire. Most of that occurred within the first month, with much less friction between the IDF and Hezbollah during January.
The Biden administration and sources close to the Trump administration have emphasized that the ceasefire with Hezbollah must not collapse. Hezbollah has said it would reignite the war with Israel if the IDF does not withdraw by 60 days after the ceasefire.What is Outbrain
France and other international parties also want the IDF out and have accused the military of dozens of its own violations of the ceasefire. Seemingly to try to support its narrative of needing more time to destroy Hezbollah weapons, which it says the Lebanese army has been too slow to eliminate, the IDF on Wednesday said it had found an entirely new stash of concealed weapons near the border. Pushing to maintain ceasefire Another difficult issue on Day 60 will be how the IDF handles unarmed civilians returning to their villages if it has not yet withdrawn. During the 60-day ceasefire period, the IDF warned that it would fire on anyone approaching its defense lines on suspicion of being Hezbollah terrorists. But it will be harder to make this argument after Day 60, especially if there is little outside global support for Israel remaining in southern Lebanon. Although this has not been publicly discussed, another option would be for Israel to continue to carry out airstrikes periodically against Hezbollah weapons, even if it does withdraw on Day 60. But if the Lebanese army does not keep Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon, the IDF could consider resuming a larger conflict. link
IDF says troops still finding weapons, Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon
IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon are continuing to locate weapons and Hezbollah infrastructure, the military says.
The IDF says troops of the 7th Armored Brigade, during scans in south Lebanon, found Russian-made anti-tank missiles, grenades, and assault rifles.
Additionally, in a joint operation with the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit, the army says troops found several tunnels belonging to Hezbollah, some of which were used as weapon depots.
The weapons were seized and infrastructures were demolished.
The IDF says it is still deployed to some areas of southern Lebanon in accordance with the ceasefire agreement.
Israel has until Sunday to leave south Lebanon, though it has reportedly asked mediators for another 30 days.
Hezbollah official assassinated by gunmen outside Lebanon home Hammadi may be the same Muhammad Hamamdi, who is on the FBI's most-wanted list following his hijacking of a West German plane in 1985, during which an American service member was tortured to death.
Hezbollah official Sheikh Muhammad Ali Hammadi reportedly died of his wounds after unknown gunmen opened fire on him, killing him instantly, Al-Akhbar, a Hezbollah-affiliated news source, reported on Tuesday.
He was shot outside his home in the Bekaa Valley. At this time, it is unclear who shot Hammadi, Israeli media reported.
An-Nahar reported that the assassination was not political in nature and was instead motivated by a four-year-old family feud.
Security forces have begun an investigation to determine the circumstances, an Al-Manar TV correspondent said.
FBI's most wanted
Hammadi may be the same Muhammad Hamamdi, who is on the FBI's most-wanted list following his hijacking of a West German plane in 1985, during which an American service member was tortured to death.
Hamamdi was reportedly killed in a strike in Pakistan, according to Pakistani intelligence, but this was never confirmed, and the FBI kept him on the list following the strike.
Hamamdi is wanted for over a dozen crimes, including hostage taking, air piracy resulting in murder, and placing explosives aboard an aircraft. link
West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel
IDF launches major counterterror raid in West Bank’s Jenin, expected to last days Operation Iron Wall begins with drone strikes on terror infrastructure; large numbers of troops enter city; 10 Palestinians said killed, 40 wounded
The Israel Defense Forces launched a major counterterrorism operation in the northern West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday afternoon, which military sources said was expected to last several days.
The operation began with a series of drone strikes on infrastructure used by terror groups in Jenin, a military source said.
Palestinian media outlets reported several airstrikes and local health officials said at least 10 people were killed and 40 were wounded.
Footage published by Palestinian media showed Israeli Air Force helicopters flying over Jenin.
In a brief joint statement, the IDF and Shin Bet security agency confirmed the operation, dubbed “Iron Wall,” and said further details would be provided later.
IDF sources said large numbers of troops, including special forces, Shin Bet agents and Border Police officers, were operating in the city.
The goals of the operation were to “preserve the IDF’s freedom of action” in the West Bank, neutralize terror infrastructure and eliminate imminent threats, according to military sources.
The sources said the operation would last at least several days.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation was “another step in achieving the goal we set, strengthening security in Judea and Samaria.”
Judea and Samaria is the biblical name for the West Bank.
“We are operating in a systematic and decisive way against the Iranian axis wherever it sends its arms, in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Judea and Samaria,” Netanyahu said in a statement released by his office. full article
The Trump Administration is Working for a Hostage Deal to Lead to Normalization with Saudi Arabia
From Israel's perspective, the groundwork for normalizing relations with the Arab state has been laid. A source familiar with the negotiations for the second phase stated: "Technical issues can be resolved – what’s needed are significant political decisions." The goal is for Saudi Arabia to be the first on the list, followed by other countries.
After the hostage deal, which the new administration of President Donald Trump pursued even before his term began, was set in motion, the U.S. has identified a new goal – normalization between Jerusalem and Riyadh. The Trump administration wants discussions on the second phase of the hostage deal to serve as a bridge toward normalization between the two nations.
For Israel, all diplomatic and security preparations have been thoroughly addressed. There is already a clear strategic framework and structure awaiting a political green light to proceed on a timeline that aligns with the second phase – within less than three months. Prime Minister Netanyahu is expected to face a crossroads requiring a decision: alongside the high cost of releasing prisoners and potential coalition crises with Smotrich, he will have a tremendous alternative. It's worth noting that Minister Ron Dermer had already worked with the previous administration to prepare Netanyahu for this decision, though it was ultimately decided to continue the conflict and wait for Trump. Now, the deal from the perspectives of Israel, the U.S., and, to a large extent, Saudi Arabia, is ready and awaiting significant decisions.
A source involved in the negotiations commented to Channel 12 News about moving to the second phase of the deal, which includes the keys to releasing prisoners: "The technical issues can be resolved – significant political decisions are required." The normalization move with Saudi Arabia is expected to be the beginning of something larger, with other major Muslim countries, led by Indonesia, expected to follow the Arab kingdom.
U.S. Report: Efforts to Advance Normalization are a Top Priority for the Administration
American media outlet Politico reported late Wednesday that the Trump administration aims to ensure the release of all hostages and establish a permanent ceasefire. However, officials acknowledge that reaching agreements on the second phase may be a long process. Administration officials emphasized that efforts to advance normalization with Saudi Arabia are a top priority.
It was also reported that U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be directly involved in the talks and efforts to achieve normalization, alongside Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Meanwhile, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who has been in contact with the U.S. administration and recently visited Trump’s estate, clarified in a Knesset plenary session today that "there was no promise of a Palestinian state in negotiations with Saudi Arabia."
According to reports, an Israeli step or gesture toward a Palestinian state is a key Saudi demand in the negotiations for normalization with Israel. "The less we talk, the more we achieve. Only three or four people in the country knew about the Abraham Accords 24 hours before signing," added the minister.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, addressed the discussion on normalization between Israel and regional countries in an interview with Fox News: "This marks the beginning of the end of the war. The significance is that the entire region will be fundable because there will no longer be concerns about missile attacks from the Houthis or Hezbollah." According to Witkoff, the condition for normalization was a ceasefire. linkNormalization has been a key issue for the US administration for a number of years. Saudi Arabia desperately wants a defense pact with the US similar to a NATO situation but the government as well as congress have conditioned it on normalization with Israel. Prior to October 7, Saudi Arabia has all but abandoned the Palestinian cause and were willing for there to be a non binding vanilla statement from Israel saying that Israel would work towards a solution with the Palestinians. The war brought the Palestinian issue back to the forefront and Saudi Arabia once again got fully behind the cause of a 2 State solution to end the conflict as a condition for normalization with Israel. Netanyahu, who's wet dream is to have normalization with Saudi Arabia (and then most of the Arab and Muslim world to follow) was more than willing to give the vanilla declaration, is not at all willing to accept a Palestinian State even at the cost of losing normalization with Saudi Arabia. He is hoping that his good friend Trump will remove the 2 state demand from the Saudi demands. This will be a question for the Saudis. That would be a huge gift to Netanyahu and he would try to use this success to further his narrative that he hopes will help to erase the failures of October 7 from people's minds. It will convince the diehards who see Netanyahu more like a king but most will never forget or forgive.
Israel's leaders should follow Halevi's lead Israel will only be able to fully move on from October 7 when all those who bear responsibility for the disaster have been replaced. Accountability demands change, not just admissions of guilt.
Israel will only be able to fully move on from October 7 when all those who bear responsibility for the disaster have been replaced. Accountability demands change, not just admissions of guilt.
This means replacing both military leaders who failed to anticipate the events and protect the country’s citizens from the Hamas invasion and political leaders whose decisions over the years made such a catastrophe possible.The military failures on October 7 are painfully obvious – from not heeding the many warnings of an attack to the time it took the army and air force to repel the invaders.
The political failures span from ignoring Hamas’s buildup in Gaza since 2007 to entrenching Hamas in Gaza by allowing Qatar to send cash-filled suitcases every month and dismissing warnings that domestic divisions emboldened Israel’s enemies.
The only way forward
The country’s military and political leaders need to be replaced not as a form of punishment but rather as a way to jump-start the nation’s confidence in its leadership.
How can the country have faith in leaders responsible for a historic failure who remain in the same positions of authority? How can they be sure that these leaders won’t repeat the same assumptions and miscalculations?
This does not mean that the IDF didn’t have some head-spinning achievements since October 7 that have reshaped the Middle East – from decapitating Hezbollah to weakening Iran to destroying the Syrian army after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. But those achievements do not wipe out the colossal initial failure, for which there needs to be a reckoning.
Halevi’s resignation was quickly followed by OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Yaron Finkelman. Their resignations add to a growing list of senior IDF officials stepping aside, including Maj.-Gen. Aharon Haliva, former head of Military Intelligence, and Brig.-Gen. Avi Rosenfeld, former head of the Gaza Division.
Several more are expected, including Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Ronen Bar.
In contrast, the only political leader to resign was former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and his departure had more to do with political maneuvering than an expression of contrition over October 7.
While military leaders are resigning, thus setting examples regarding accountability – though some say it should not have taken them 15 months to do so – the country’s political leaders remain entrenched. They have not voluntarily moved aside.
Whereas Halevi’s resignation and that of other members of the top IDF brass will go far toward restoring faith in the integrity of the country’s military leadership, the refusal of the political echelon to do so will only create more cynicism and further erode public trust in government.
Moreover, the political echelon that has to admit responsibility does not only include Netanyahu but also opposition leaders such as Benny Gantz, who, as chief of staff from 2010-2015 and then defense minister five years later, bears a great deal of responsibility for the country’s policy toward Hamas since 2007.
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, whose divisive rhetoric helped fuel the divisions in the country that invited an enemy attack, should also be held accountable.
Halevi, in his resignation letter, called for an independent commission of inquiry to be set up, something which polls have consistently shown the public wants. An inquiry should enable the lessons of October 7 to be learned across the board: in the military, among the government, and among the opposition.
With Halevi stepping down and the expected resignation of several other top-level IDF officers, new appointments will need to be made. This provides the IDF with an opportunity to renew itself by appointing new leaders, untainted by October 7 and unburdened by the same groupthink that made the Hamas attack possible.
These leaders can bring a fresh perspective to how the IDF should prepare and operate – something October 7 showed is badly needed. Following October 7, the country needs new faces and innovative strategies.
The high-level IDF resignations create the opportunity for this to happen in the military. A similar opportunity should be afforded the political echelon through new elections – the sooner, the better.
link. Most of the calls in this article are right on the money. The political echelon must take responsibility and go home. They should have gone home on October 8 but, unfortunately they did everything they could to remain in power and try to rewrite history, with Netanyahu, of course being the worst of them. Gantz most likely has a position of responsibility and culpability as Chief of Staff and then Defense Minister, but to call out Lapid for his 'divisive rhetoric' is somewhat a joke but not terribly surprising that this came from the Jerusalem post, a news outlet that from the early 90's became a right wing mouthpiece and until October 7 blindly supported Netanyahu as well. The person with 99% of the responsibility and blame for divisiveness in the nation is Netanyahu who has built his career on the 'us and them' rhetoric which continues to today. He is the one who made it his mission to make the word 'leftist' a derisive term and anyone who is his 'enemy' is a leftist. Personally, I have never been a big fan of Lapid but stating that his rhetoric fueled the divisions that invited the attack is probably both libelous and slander. What weakened the country and caused the worst divisions Israel has seen was Netanyahu's governments plans and attempts to destroy democracy as we know it in Israel by eliminating the independence of the judiciary and making it subservient to the government. It was those actions and plans that brought out hundreds of thousands of Israelis every week to the streets to protest and disrupt and fight this coup d'etat against democracy and the will of the people. This is where the original sin comes from.
Gantz vows to ensure government doesn’t collapse before all hostages released in deal
National Unity chairman Benny Gantz slams Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “extremist” government for failing to “formulate a path to overthrow the Hamas regime” in Gaza.
“It’s been over a year and a solution has still not been found on how to deliver humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza without some kind of mediation by Hamas,” the former war cabinet minister says during a speech at Reichman University in Herzliya.
“At the beginning of the war, I laid down principles for the establishment of an international administration that will operate in Gaza on behalf of the moderate Arab countries. We have an opportunity to implement this plan together with the Trump administration [and] we must not miss it,” he continues.
Turning to the current ceasefire-hostage return deal, Gantz reiterates his promise to provide Netanyahu with the backing he needs to keep to the agreement in the face of opposition from his far-right coalition partners.
“My colleagues and I promised a safety net for the return of the hostages and we will stand by it. There is no need to enter the government to ensure that it does not fall. A safety net can also be provided outside the government,” he says.
His party will stand in the way of legislation that exempts the Haredi community from military service and block passage of a budget that is bad for the economy, he says, adding, “But as long as the return of the abductees is really at the center of the action, we will find the solutions so that the government does not fall ‘until the final hostage.'”
A spokesman for Gantz likewise does not provide details on what sort of solutions are available to the National Unity chief.
The Region and the World
Personal Stories
14 months after hostage son was freed, father says family still held captive by trauma
Ahead of the ceasefire and first phase of hostage deal, Yoav Engel gives a glimpse into the world of a family shaken by their child’s Oct. 7 kidnapping to Gaza
As families of hostages anxiously follow the unfolding hostage deal, Yoav Engel, father of former captive Ofir Engel, sent a message of support to the families whose loved ones are not on the initial list of 33 hostages being freed in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal. An additional 64 are believed to be held, not all of them alive.
“We are with you until the return of the very last hostage,” said Engel. “There are no living hostages or dead hostages, there are just hostages. And there are still 97 hostages in Gaza.”
The Hamas terror organization was slated to release three female hostages, Romi Leshem Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari, from Gaza on Sunday afternoon.
Four more hostages will be returned to Israel on the seventh day of the ceasefire, and three hostages will be returned every week for four weeks. Finally, 14 hostages will be returned in the sixth and final week of phase one.
Engel spoke last week with The Times of Israel, reflecting on the difficulties of moving forward from his child’s kidnapping to Gaza by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023.
“My wife and I turn to each other — it’s so crazy to think we went through this,” said Engel. “When I talk about it, it’s like I’m talking about someone else, it’s like a film. Did this really happen to us?”
Ofir Engel, center, as he was released home from Gaza captivity on November 29, 2023 with his parents Yoav, left, and Sharon Engel (Courtesy)
The 54 days that Ofir, now 18, spent in captivity threw Engel, his wife Sharon, and Ofir’s two younger sisters into a maelstrom of uncertainty that resonates to this day.
Everything reminds them of he fear, anguish and anxiety of those twomonths.
Engel knows that he and his family are relatively fortunate. Ofir returned to them healthy and whole, and in a sense, the terrifying chapter was closed.
Except that it wasn’t.
“This will be with us for a long time,” said Engel, who spends part of each week fighting for government funding to pay for his family’s therapy, an ordeal now familiar to many survivors of the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught.
Some 1,200 people were slaughtered in southern Israel that day, and 251 were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip.
Ofir, then 17, was visiting his girlfriend, Yuval Sharabi, on October 7, 2023, at her family’s home in Kibbutz Be’eri. As Hamas terrorists invaded the kibbutz killing 101 residents, burning homes and committing atrocities, Ofir was taken hostage with Yuval’s father Yossi Sharabi and a neighbor’s teenage son.
Ofir and the other teenager were freed on November 29. Yossi Sharabi, 53, remained in captivity and was then killed, possibly by an IDF strike in Gaza, on January 16, 2024.
“[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu said to me twice that Yossi was alive, that they wouldn’t blow up any place that had living hostages, even if they weren’t sure there was anyone nearby,” said Ofir Engel. “But 29 hostages have been killed that way.”
Now the Engels mourn with the Sharabis while hoping that Yossi Sharabi’s brother, hostage Eli Sharabi, will come home. Eli’s wife and two daughters were killed at their home in Be’eri on October 7.
Eli Sharabi, now 52, is on the list of 33 hostages to be freed in the first phase of the deal.
“I can try and understand how Nira [Sharabi] is doing,” said Engel, referring to Yossi Sharabi’s wife, “yet I can’t even describe how I am. There are no words in Hebrew that describe this. The words don’t exist in our language.”
Former hostage Ofir Engel, far right, with his girlfriend Yuval Sharabi’s mother, Nira Sharabi, second from left, and the rest of the family in the ruins of their Kibbutz Be’eri home, in January 2024 (Courtesy)
Engel and his father, Yosef “Jucha” Engel, once an aide to Shimon Peres, are a regular presence at hostage gatherings and rallies, often standing with Sharon Sharabi, the brother of Eli and Yossi Sharabi, holding pictures of his two brothers.
While Engel is back at work as head of the athletics department at Jerusalem’s Shalva organization, working with people with disabilities, he still participates regularly in hostage family circles.
He speaks at various hostage forums and is at the weekly demonstrations in front of the Knesset on Mondays in the struggle to bring the hostages home.
As Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of murdered hostage Hersh Golderg-Polin recently remarked, families like theirs are “hostage adjacent.”
It isn’t the first time that Engel and his family have experienced a catastrophic event related to the nation’s security. In 1996, Engel’s younger brother, Yair Engel, died during his naval commando training.
It has now been 28 years since Yair died, and Ofir’s kidnapping induces a different kind of trauma, said Engel.
Members of Ofir Engel’s family rally for his safety while he was still held hostage from October 7 to November 30, 2023. (Courtesy)
“When my brother was killed, they knocked on the door and everything that we knew just collapsed, but we also knew what happened next, we buried him and sat shiva [ritual mourning], we went through the motions,” said Engel, who lives with his family and the extended Engel family on Kibbutz Ramat Rachel within the Jerusalem municipality.
When Ofir was taken hostage, it was five days until it became certain that he was a hostage, and 35 days until they had any signs of life from him.
“Every moment we were waiting, wondering if they would find his body but holding onto hope and belief,” said Engel. “In my head, I believed he was alive rather than think otherwise but you don’t know what to do. There’s no rulebook.”
Engel didn’t work during those months.
He’s now back at work but often feels like he’s at loose ends, lacking focus. He speaks about this frequently in meetings with the National Insurance Institute, which grants funds for ongoing therapies, and in Knesset committee meetings, where he discusses the need to help the victims and their extended families.
“They don’t see us as victims because we weren’t there,” said Engel. “This affects everybody, from the victim to the victim’s family, to the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.”
Yoav Engel, top, second from right, in the Knesset with other hostage families as hostage mother Einav Zangauker, middle, bottom row, reacts during a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset on December 16, 2024. (Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
And yet for the most part, former hostage Ofir is doing well, even though aspects of his future are still uncertain.
He is currently participating in a pre-army service year in the Golan Heights, as is his girlfriend Yuval, although the two are in different programs, said Engel.
Engel thinks back to November 29, 2023, when his son returned home, which also happened to be the senior Engel’s birthday.
“It was the birthday gift to end all birthdays,” said Engel.
On that first day, as they sat in a courtyard of Schneider Hospital, Ofir asked why yellow ribbons were tied to all the branches of a nearby tree.
“He had no idea they were for the hostages,” said Engel.
The next day, Engel took his son to the Hostages Forum offices in Tel Aviv. On the way there, Ofir saw an enormous image of himself magnified on the Azrieli Mall electronic billboard.
“He couldn’t believe it,” said Engel.
The Engel and Sharabi families on a trip to Disney World after Ofir Engel, bottom second left, was released home from Gaza captivity on November 29, 2023 (Courtesy)
Ofir Engel recently did a press tour to promote “Survived to Tell,” a virtual reality experience from the Israel-is organization that includes his account of his ordeal, filmed in the ruins of his girlfriend’s Kibbutz Be’eri home.
“Sometimes he feels he’s telling the story of someone else,” said his father, who keeps a set of the VR goggles in his Jerusalem living room. “He sees his picture on TV and says, ‘There I am.’ It’s very strange for him.”
All these months later, the Engels still feel connected to it all. They’re waiting anxiously for the hostage deal, with hopes that Yuval’s uncle, Eli Sharabi, is still alive and will return home.
“Let’s see if he’s still alive, but then, how will he keep going?” said Engel. “His entire family was killed. Your stomach clenches just thinking about it. But let’s first see that he’s alive.” link
Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages
Retaining Power in Exchange for Criminal Neglect
Prof. Shlomo Ben-Ami
Former Member of Knesset and government minister, Professor of history at Tel-Aviv University.
The crime of forsaking the hostages in Hamas’s death tunnels by the person who has been primarily responsible for their kidnapping - Benjamin Netanyahu, the man whose entire, unbearably long political life has been a permanent display of narcissistic obliviousness to the fate of individuals (“You bore me”, he once told a citizen when she dared complain about the absence of health services in the city of Kiryat Shmona) - will surely be recorded in the chronicles as his greatest transgression. Apropos Kiryat Shmona, whose inhabitants are currently dispersed across the country - following a woefully wrong decision by him to evacuate them - he has arrogantly dismissed the demand to open the next school year in the town. “What’s so sacred about September 1st?” said he who would not dare say so about Yeshiva students, the apple of his eye, as without them he cannot remain in power.
Which is truly the crux of the matter: whatever is useful at the moment for securing his position in power is worth every effort and humiliating supplication. And if, as anyone can plainly see, the continuation of the war in Gaza, with its constant bloodshed - their blood as well as ours - with the Carthage-like devastation that is taking place there, and with the criminal abandonment of the hostages, for whom every passing day is a death sentence hanging over the weakest and most vulnerable amongst them, is indeed the winning formula for his enduring rule, then so be it. Recently, he has gone even further, when in an interview on his “base” channel, he objected to the ceasefire and hostage release proposal which he himself had previously put forward through President Biden. Now this compulsive liar asserts that he would only agree to the release of “some of the hostages” in return for a ceasefire, after which he plans to quickly resume his war of destruction, as otherwise he stands to lose the support of the only parties to whom he feels truly accountable: Minister of Finance and head of the Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich, and Minister of National Security and head of far-right Otzma Yehudit Party Itamar Ben-Gvir.
As the great author Primo Levi suggested, every generation has its own kind of fascism. And Netanyahu’s conduct in recent years leaves no doubt that the man strives to impose a quasi-fascist dictatorship in Israel. Furthermore, the damned judicial coup that has led us into the current tragedy has not ceased for a minute, whilst our sons are being slain in battle and the hostages are perishing. This coup is also a blatant payoff to his political allies. There really is no difference between Netanyahu and his kind: Erdogan in Turkey, Donald Trump in the U.S., or Viktor OrbΓ‘n in Hungary. They all share the conviction that the enemy within—the left, the liberals, the rival party - must be eradicated.
Unfortunately for the majority of those murdered and those taken hostage in the community of the Gaza Envelope localities, they are categorized as - heaven forbid - “Leftists”. They are part of the same community that Netanyahu and his poison machine have been fighting against as “traitors” and a “fifth column”. No wonder he has yet to set foot in the region to offer condolences. Oops, sorry - he did visit, but that was only in order to impress his antisemitic pal Elon Musk with his war propaganda. For Netanyahu, being in power is always an ongoing performance of disinformation and pretense, posturing and swagger. There is never a real, attentive and empathic discourse with the public, and in these dark hours, not even with the victims of the fiascos of his own doing; first and foremost, the hostages.
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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A member of security forces loyal to Hamas stands guard atop one of the trucks carrying humanitarian aid coming in from the Kerem Shalom border crossing in al-Shoka, east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on January 21, 2025 (Bashar TALEB / AFP)
Palestinians prepare to erect a tent near the rubble of their houses as they return to Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, on January 21, 2025, on the third day of a ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (Omar Al-Qatta/AFP)
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