🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 495, 2023 - February 12, 2025 🎗️

  

🎗️Day 495 that 76 of our hostages in Hamas captivity
**There is nothing more important than getting them home! NOTHING!**

“I’ve never met them,

But I miss them. 

I’ve never met them,

but I think of them every second. 

I’ve never met them,

but they are my family. 

BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!”

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

#BringThemHomeNow #TurnTheHorrorIntoHope

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

‎אין נצחון עד שכל החטופים בבית

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

*

Hostage Updates 

• The breaches of the ceasefire agreement are on both sides. Both Hamas and Israel have not fulfilled their commitments to the agreement that they made.  It was a bad agreement when first proposed by Biden in May 2024.  It remains a bad agreement now. First the parties must fulfill their commitments and that depends on the mediators to make it happen - mostly the United States.  But it is also more than legitimate for the mediators to say to the parties that the agreement must be sped up and lead to the release of all of the hostages quickly along with the release of the agreed Palestinian prisoners.  In order for the war to end and for Israel to withdraw from Gaza, I call on responsible Palestinians and the Arab states of Egypt , Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia and any other willing Arab states to come together to propose the new governmental structure for Gaza that will focus on bringing life back to Gaza.  Hamas cannot continue to control Gaza and expect the war to end.  This is the choice they have to make.  But this war must end and it must happen now! (Gershon Baskin, February 11, 2025)

  
  

• Netanyahu: Ceasefire ends, IDF resumes ‘intensive fighting,’ if hostages not returned by noon Saturday

  Issuing threat day after Hamas suspended releases, PM doesn’t specify how many hostages must be freed on Sat. * Says ministers back Trump’s deadline and ‘revolutionary vision’ for Gaza * IDF bolsters troops in south, calls up reservists
  

  Israel will resume “intense fighting” in Gaza if Hamas doesn’t release hostages by midday Saturday, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video statement after a four-hour security cabinet meeting, noting that Hamas “breached the deal” yesterday by announcing its decision “not to release our hostages.”
  “If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon,” he says, “the ceasefire will end, and the IDF will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated.”

  He does not specify how many hostages must be freed on Saturday. Three Israeli hostages are scheduled to be freed on Saturday under the terms of the deal. Accusing Israel of breaching the deal, Hamas announced yesterday it was suspending hostage releases until further notice.

  US President Donald Trump yesterday called for all hostages to be released by Hamas by Saturday at noon.
  Israeli statements today have taken care not to call for all 76 remaining hostages to be released by the weekend. An Israeli official said earlier that Hamas must release nine more hostages in the coming days.
  The security cabinet, says Netanyahu “welcomed President Trump’s demand for the release of our hostages by Saturday noon, and we all also welcomed the president’s revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza.”

  
  
  

• Security chiefs said to urge government not to jeopardize phase one hostage releases
  Israeli security chiefs have told the political echelon that Israel needs to try to see phase one of the Gaza deal through to its end, and get out as many hostages as possible, Channel 12 reports.
  It says that at today’s security cabinet meeting, far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich urged the full endorsement of President Trump’s ultimatum that all the hostages be released by Hamas by Saturday noon.
  
  As of this writing, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not explicitly demanded that all hostages be freed by that deadline, although an unnamed political source has done so.
  “We need to show restraint right now, to completely finish phase one,” the TV report quotes an unnamed security source saying. “We must not cut off the dynamic of the hostage releases. The framework is working. The mediators are guaranteeing the agreement and there’s no real reason to stop the sequence right now.”
  
  Seventeen more hostages are supposed to be freed in the current phase one of the deal, nine of whom are believed to be alive.
  The TV report also quotes an unnamed military source, adding: “We have very significant offensive tools, and are giving [the political leadership] all the options. One has to understand how things develop and take President Trump’s ultimatum and leverage it effectively to secure the release of as many hostages as possible.
  
  “If there is no progress that gets the deal back on track, decisions must be made,” this source adds. “Hamas is being faced with the massive scale of destruction [in Gaza], is counting the dead and publishing the list of its dead commanders.”
  
  “As regards the big young men in the crisply ironed uniforms at the hostage release ceremonies,” the military source sneers, “it’s likely that these are operatives who were too scared to get entangled with IDF troops, and hid out in humanitarian zones until the ceasefire started. And we will know how to go back and hit them.”

• Israeli official says security cabinet ‘partially adopted’ Trump’s demand for all hostages to be freed by Sat.
  
  The security cabinet “partially adopted” US President Donald Trump’s demand that all hostages in Gaza be released by Hamas by Saturday, an Israeli official tells Ynet.
  
  “We are relying on the US president’s ultimatum and we want to see how Hamas reacts,” says the official. “Since we didn’t violate the agreement, rather Hamas did, there is justification for our side violating the agreement. Israel is saying, ‘Hold me back.’ We want to see how Hamas responds to this.”
  
  “There’s a reason Netanyahu didn’t give a number” of hostages to be released by Saturday in his recent statement, says the official.
• Qatar, Egypt ‘working intensively’ to resolve Gaza truce ‘crisis,’ Palestinian source says

  Mediators Qatar and Egypt were “working intensively” to resolve the crisis surrounding the Gaza ceasefire deal, a Palestinian source tells AFP, after Hamas said it would not release hostages as scheduled on Saturday and Israel threatened in response to resume fighting.

  “Mediators from Qatar and Egypt are in contact with the American side,” says the source on condition of anonymity, as he is not authorized to speak publicly on the Gaza ceasefire.

  “They are working intensively to resolve the crisis and compel Israel to implement the humanitarian protocol in the ceasefire agreement and begin negotiations for the second phase,” the source adds.

  The ongoing ceasefire deal has come under immense strain in recent days. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that fighting might resume if hostages are not released by Saturday. Hamas threatened not to free the hostages as it alleged Israel was not allowing in all the aid that was promised, a claim Jerusalem rejects.

  
  
• Hamas delegation arrives in Cairo for Gaza ceasefire talks

  A Hamas delegation has arrived in Cairo to continue Gaza ceasefire talks, with the second phase supposed to get underway, a statement by the Palestinian terror group says.

  Hamas said earlier this week it would stop the release of hostages scheduled for Saturday until further notice, leading Israel to warn the truce could collapse.

  
  
• Hostage Shlomo Mantzur, 85, was slain on Oct. 7, his body is held in Gaza, says IDF

  Family of hostage twins Gali and Ziv Berman says it has received word they are alive and being held separately; brothers of hostage Omri Miran say released captive saw him in July
  
  Shlomo Mantzur, the oldest hostage still in Gaza, was declared dead by Israeli authorities on Tuesday, who said that he had actually been killed in the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught and his body taken captive.

  

  
  

  
  Families of hostages and their supporters also gathered to protest outside the Knesset as the security cabinet was slated to meet. The cabinet meeting was moved earlier in the day following the Hamas announcement on Monday evening that it would pause releasing hostages until further notice, alleging Israeli “violations” of the ceasefire.

  When they had faced the terrorists, Mazal said, “One of them slapped him. So I said, ‘Why did you do that? That’s not nice.’ He’s an elderly man. And then Shlomo also said, ‘I didn’t do
  anything. I’m an elderly man’.”
  
  Since his abduction, she said in the May interview, there had been no information regarding him. “I’m always disappointed with their answers,” she said, apparently referring to Israeli officials who were in contact with her.
  
  Shlomo Mantzur with his grandchildren Ori and Roni (Courtesy)
  In a statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed condolences to the Mantzur family, adding that “we will not rest or be silent until his return for burial in Israel. We will continue to act determinedly and tirelessly until we return all our hostages — both the living and the fallen.”
  
  Mantzur was on the list of the 33 hostages slated to be freed in the current first stage of the ceasefire deal. Of the 33, Hamas has said that eight are no longer alive, but did not identify them. Israel had earlier expressed concern over Mantzur’s fate due to his advanced age. On day 42 of the first stage of the ceasefire, March 1, Hamas is expected to return the bodies of those eight slain hostages.
  
  Protesters block Route 1 near the entrance to Jerusalem, demanding the release of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, February 11, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
  
  Following Tuesday’s announcement, Israel has now confirmed the deaths of 36 of the total 76 hostages remaining in Gaza.
  Berman twins ‘alive and in life-threatening danger;’ sign of life
  from Omri Miran
  
  Meanwhile, the family of Ziv and Gali Berman, who were kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza more than 16 months ago, said a sign of life had been received from the twins.
  
  Their aunt Maccabit Mayer told the Kan public radio on Tuesday that they received word of the brothers’ status from hostages who were freed in the past three weeks. The twins are not on the list of those slated to be released in the deal’s first stage.
  
  “There’s a sigh of relief, but at the same time there’s also great fear,” Mayer said, adding that the brothers “are not being held together, but they’re alive and they are in life-threatening danger.”
  
  Ziv and Gali Berman were taken captive by Hamas terrorists from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023. (Courtesy)

  Just before he was kidnapped, Gali Berman told his mother that he had to go and be with his neighbor Emily Damari, who was afraid. Emily was also kidnapped on October 7; she was freed last month on the first day of the ceasefire, January 19.
  
  “We don’t want another sign of life; we want them back home,” said Mayer. “Gali and Ziv need to come home — quickly.”
  The update came as the family of Hamas hostage Omri Miran, 46, also said it received a sign of life from him via a hostage recently released from Gaza as part of the ceasefire deal with Hamas.
  
  Brothers Boaz and Nadav Miran said in a round of media interviews that the returned hostage told them he had been held with Omri in tunnels and apartments until July 2024, and at that time Omri seemed to be physically fine. The two noted, however, that his situation may have since deteriorated in the seven months that have passed.
  
  “That is a lot of time, there is concern,” brother Nadav Miran told the Walla outlet.
  
  Omri Miran (center) from Kibbutz Nir Oz, with his wife Lishay (left) and daughter Roni; Omri was taken captive by Hamas terrorists to Gaza on October 7, 2023 (Noa Sharvit/Courtesy)

  Miran was taken captive on October 7, 2023, from Kibbutz Nahal Oz by terrorists who drove him across the border in his own car. His wife, Lishay Miran, was left behind with their two daughters, Roni, 2, and Alma, 6 months.

  
  

• Kibbutz Kissufim announced Tuesday morning that Mantzur, 85, had been killed, without elaborating on the circumstances. The IDF later confirmed that it had updated his family that he was killed during the October 7 attack.
  The military said Mantzur was murdered during the October 7 onslaught and his body taken by Hamas terrorists to Gaza, where it remains held. It was unclear if he was murdered in Kibbutz Kissufim en route to Gaza or in the Strip itself that day. His death was declared by a panel of health experts and members of the rabbinate, following intelligence the IDF says it obtained in recent months.
  
  Illustrative: The destruction caused by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Kissufim on October 7, 2023, in southern Israel, seen November 20, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
  “The IDF has been operating throughout the war with a wide range of methods to collect information about the hostages in the Gaza Strip. The IDF and other security agencies will continue to accompany the families of the hostages as long as needed,” the military added.
  “This is one of the most difficult days in the history of our kibbutz,” Kissufim said in a statement. “Shlomo was much more than a community member to us — he was a father, a grandfather, a true friend and the beating heart of Kissufim.”
  Advertisement
  The kibbutz statement added that “his smile, modesty and human warmth were an inspiration to us all. Our hearts are so broken that we were unable to bring him back to us alive. The entire community grieves his loss and is united in grief and pain.”
  Mantzur, a native of Baghdad who survived the Farhud pogrom in 1941, moved to Israel at age 13. He was among the founders of Kissufim, where he worked for years in the chicken coop as well as at an eyewear factory, and learned carpentry as a hobby. He is survived by his wife, Mazal, five children, 12 grandchildren and five siblings. He was 85 when he was killed and his body abducted; he would have turned 87 next month.
  Wife Mazal has said that her husband was abducted in his pajamas after terrorists opened fire on the door of the safe room of their home at the kibbutz. In a May 2024 Channel 12 television interview, she said she last saw him being taken away, handcuffed, by several terrorists. Channel 12 reported that he was driven away in his own car. Mazal managed to flee to a neighbor’s home.
  
  

• Also Tuesday, the family of hostage twins Ziv and Gali Berman said it has received signs of life from the brothers, as concern mounts over the fate of the captives remaining in Gaza in light of a Hamas threat to halt the upcoming hostage releases and fears that future stages of the deal will be torpedoed.
  A small group of protesters blocked the Route 1 Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway on Tuesday morning near the capital, demanding that the government not jeopardize the hostage release deal. Some held up a large banner reading, “Abandoning the hostages is a war crime,” while others set off smoke bombs and chanted slogans.
  
  
  
  
• Family of hostage Yosef-Haim Ohana says it has received ‘clear indication’ he’s alive
  
  
  

  Yosef-Haim Ohana, taken captive by Hamas terrorists at the Supernova desert rave on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)
  
  
  Hana Mastronov, whose nephew Yosef-Haim Ohana is held hostage in Gaza, tells Ynet that the family has received a “clear indication” that he is alive.
  
  
  “When we saw the people who returnedthis past Saturday, it broke us even more than we were already broken. That is why we chose to speak to the media,” Mastronov tells Ynet, in reference to the poor health of the latest freed hostages.
  
  
  In recent days, several families of hostages have said they’ve received signs of life from their loved ones. It is thought that these have come from hostages released from Gaza under the current ceasefire deal.
  
  
  Ohana, 24, was taken captive at the Supernova desert rave on October 7, 2023.
  
  
  
  

• ‘Look me in the eyes’ — ‘I don’t want to’: Top coalition MK clashes with bereaved families

  MK Moshe Gafni of United Torah Judaism entered into a confrontation earlier with bereaved families at the Knesset Finance Committee, which he chairs.

  Families were demanding the formation of a state commission of inquiry to probe the failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, attack. The government has so far refused to establish such a commission.

  At one point, Gafni, apparently confusing the families with those of hostages, said: “If there is one thing that is not up for discussion at all for me, it is the return of the hostages. This is a matter of absolute pikuah nefesh (preservation of life). There was never any debate [for me] about this.”

  Eyal Eshel, the father of a young surveillance soldier killed during the October 7 attack, was taken aback. “MK Gafni, we are bereaved parents. Good morning to you. What hostages are you talking about?” he said, raising his voice. “Do you see anyone here who is a hostage? The entire country is being held hostage. MK Gafni, we are bereaved families!”

  “Alright,” Gafni said tersely.

  “Alright? What’s alright?” Eshel demanded. “We’re at nearly 500 days into this Israeli Holocaust.”

  “MK Gafni, I want to enlist your support for our one and only request, which is so basic: the establishment of a state commission of inquiry. So that we can understand what happened here, what the failures were. Look me in the eyes for a moment.”

  To this, Gafni, who was looking down, responded: “I don’t want to.”

  “You don’t want to look me in the eyes?” Eshel asked. “Why? Why? Even now [you’re exhibiting] such scorn?”

  
  

• The family of Alon Ohayon has received an update: the first sign of life from him has been confirmed. He is injured in his eyes and is being held in Hamas tunnels.

  After 492 days in captivity, the family today received the first confirmation that Alon is alive. According to the information received, he is being held in harsh conditions in Hamas tunnels, suffering from an eye injury and a severe lack of food. Tomorrow marks his 24th birthday in captivity. The family stated, "He has no time left; the second phase of the deal must be advanced."

  

  The family of Alon Ohayon today (Sunday) received the first sign of life from him since he was abducted on October 7. According to the information provided to the family, Ohayon is being held in Hamas's underground tunnels in Gaza, suffering from an eye injury and a severe lack of food.

  "After 492 days of uncertainty, we have received the first sign of life—our Alon is alive," the family said in a statement. "He is injured and not receiving treatment." The family added that they learned Alon had been held in the tunnels alongside other hostages who were recently released.

  
  Idit Ohel with Alon who is in captivity in Gaza
  
  

  Alon, a talented musician and pianist who studied music, was abducted from the party at Re'im that he attended with four friends at 5:30 in the morning, shortly before the attack began. Just a month earlier, he had returned from a six-month trip to the East. According to eyewitness accounts, when the shooting started, he and his friends sought shelter in a safe room, into which the terrorists threw grenades. Alon and others managed to throw some of the grenades back out, but the terrorists broke in and abducted him and two others. He was later identified in a video released by Hamas. Two of his friends were murdered that day.

  The family of the hostage Alon Ohayon and his friends provided an update: "Alon is being held in harsh conditions in Hamas's underground tunnels. He is injured in his eyes."

  The information received by the family paints a grim picture of the conditions of captivity. Alon is being held without daylight and without access to basic human conditions. "We are happy and excited to know that Alon is alive, but we are also devastated and shocked by the severe physical and mental state Alon is in and the abuse he and the other hostages are still enduring," the family's statement read.

  Following the recent release of other hostages, the family described their difficult emotions: "We all sat and cried on Saturday as we watched our dear brothers who were released after a prolonged hell. We demand that our leaders take the necessary humane steps to bring Alon and the other victims out of the hell they are experiencing."

  Tomorrow, Alon will mark his 24th birthday while still in Hamas captivity. The family made an emotional appeal to the government: "Time is running out. The second phase of the deal must be advanced, and all the hostages must be returned. Your moral duty is to do everything to save Alon and all the hostages.

  The family invited the public to gather tomorrow at 7:00 PM at Hostage Square to mark Alon's birthday and join the fight for his release. "Alon has survived the inferno so far, but he has no time left! The release of the hostages must not be delayed. Everyone is humanitarian!" the family emphasized.  link

• **Doron is Finally Home: The Mother and Sister of the Released Hostage Speak About the Psychological Terror and Hell She Endured in Captivity**

  Simona and Yamit, the mother and sister of Doron Steinbrecher, who was released from Hamas captivity, shared their feelings upon her return. "I can't grasp that the struggle to bring Doron back is over," Yamit shared. They described the horrific things she heard in captivity: "They told her, 'There is no Kibbutz Kfar Aza.'" They also expressed anger over her abandonment on October 7 and her reluctance to speak with the Prime Minister. They called for the continuation of the deal: "We need to get them out of there."

  Doron Steinbrecher was held captive by Hamas for 471 days and was released in the first phase of the deal, along with Emily Damari and Romy Gonen. Last night (Tuesday), Doron's mother and sister were interviewed on the main news broadcast and shared updates on her condition.

  Simona, Doron's mother, opened up about the emotions she has been experiencing since her daughter's return: "When I see her, I still can't believe it—I've turned into a nagging mother, I can't stop touching her." Yamit Ashkenazi, Doron's sister, added: "I can't grasp that the struggle to bring Doron back is over and that she's here. Suddenly, 'Doron' appears on my screen, and she calls. Our siblings' group chat is active again—these are the little things we waited for."

  Yamit recounted the day Doron was released: "In that moment, the only thing you want is to hug her so tightly and tell her it's over. I remember her terrified face, and it's etched in my mind because it was the first time I saw Doron alive—on her feet. All the talk afterward about that photo, how she looked scared—it was very hard for me. That's why, after a few days, I immediately posted a photo of her smiling."

  
  **Doron Steinbrecher's Mother and Sister in Their First Interview After Her Release | Photo: Channel 12 News**

  Yamit continued: "Her first question when she returned was whether Oded, my husband, was alive. As far as she knew, Oded, the kids, and I were killed on October 7. Then, when she saw me for ten seconds on TV, she knew I was alive—but she knew nothing about Oded, the kids, or her friends from Kfar Aza. They told her, 'There is no Kibbutz Kfar Aza.'"

  Doron's sister elaborated on what she knows: "There were events with hostages, for example, they heard names being thrown around—and we had to break the news to her when she returned. She was somewhat connected to the TV and managed to see ten seconds of the first cabinet meeting I was in." She continued: "The psychological terror there works overtime. She thought we had moved on with our lives and that the entire country had moved on. That thought is the most painful thing for me."

  Yamit shared about Doron's condition: "Doron is doing well, better than we feared. She went through hell, and we were very afraid of what would remain of our Doron deep inside—but she is still herself. There's a vitality in her that we were afraid would be gone, but her spirit wasn't broken. In her first eye roll, I felt she was back."

  When asked when we would hear Doron's story, Yamit said: "She will decide when, how much, and why, but I can say that human nature is to survive. Even in the harshest conditions, without food, in tunnels, without air or sunlight, people survive. But even that isn't a given, and you can't say—they'll survive there, because they won't. The hostages who return will be rehabilitated, and the families are strong enough to help them recover. But truly, just sitting with them, you understand it's not a given at all."

  
  **Doron in the Dramatic Moments of Her Release | Photo: Reuters**

  Yamit shared that Doron has no interest in speaking with the Prime Minister or ministers. "She is very angry about being abandoned on October 7 and about being abandoned for so long afterward. She was abandoned—there's no other way to describe it. She was abandoned, and they continue to be abandoned—as long as they don't return home." Simona added that she spoke with the Prime Minister: "It was very important for us to convey a message from Doron, that it's important to her that everything be done to bring all the hostages back." When asked if she thought the message was received, she replied: "The words aren't the issue—the actions are."

  Yamit shared her pain: "I can't understand how a minister in the Israeli government says we won't be forced into a reckless deal. No one is truly focused on getting those who are there out. Now there are hostages there who are being abused and chained. That's why it was so important for us to come and speak. We, as the families of a returned hostage, know how important it is to get them out of there."

  Yamit concluded: "I admire her. And she finds it hard when people call her a hero. I told her, 'If you're not a hero, then who is?' She is very strong and very eager to continue her life—or to start it anew."  link

  
  

• Family of slain hostage Shlomo Mansour eulogizes ‘a man with a heart of gold’
  

• 

  Visitors walk past a poster of slain hostage Shlomo Mansour at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv. February 11, 2025. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)*

  The family of hostage Shlomo Mansour, 86, says that it received the news from the IDF today that he was killed on October 7, 2023, with “deep sorrow and heavy hearts.”
  The family hail him as “the pillar of strength for our entire family. A man of high morals and values, a lover of humanity, who always helped others wholeheartedly.”
  “A man with a heart of gold, golden hands, and a smile worth gold,” the family statement says.
  “We call upon decision-makers to make a brave and ethical decision to bring all hostages home immediately – the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for proper burial in their homeland,” the statement says, adding thanks to the IDF soldiers who fought in Gaza to try and bring him back and the Hostage Family Forum for its  support.
  “Continue to support and cry out the cry of the hostages until they are all returned home,” the statement says.

  
  

  Gaza and the South

• Germany’s cabinet has decided in principle to deploy police forces for a European Union civilian mission to monitor the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt at Rafah, a government source tells Reuters.

  The exact timing as well as the size of Germany’s contribution to secure the key entry and exit point for the Palestinian territory has yet to be decided, the source adds.

  The European Union last month restarted the civilian mission with personnel from Spain, Italy and France to secure the crossing, which is also the main passage for humanitarian aid.

  Germany, which holds federal elections on February 23, has previously said some of its ministries had consulted on their role in the mission.

  
  
• Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi will not travel to Washington for talks at the White House if the agenda includes US President Donald Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza, two Egyptian security sources say.

  In a call between Trump and Sissi on February 1, the US president extended an open invitation to his Egyptian counterpart to visit the White House, the Egyptian presidency previously said. No date has been set for a visit, a US official said.

  The Egyptian presidency and foreign ministry do not immediately respond to requests for comment.

  
  

• IDF approving battle plans for renewed Gaza fighting in event that ceasefire collapses
  The IDF Southern Command is approving battle plans for the Gaza Strip in the event that the ceasefire-hostage deal with Hamas collapses, according to the military.

  Currently, two IDF divisions are responsible for defenses along the Gaza border and the Philadelphi Corridor: the 162nd Division and Gaza Division.

  Since last night, several brigades and special forces units were deployed to the Southern Command to bolster the existing forces.

  Several more brigades are on standby and will be deployed to the Southern Command if necessary.

  Additional divisions are currently in the process of preparing for possible deployment to Gaza, depending on the developments.

  The IDF says there are no changes to guidelines for civilians at this stage, and it is prepared for “a variety of scenarios.”

• IDF bolstering Southern Command troops, calling up reservists, as PM warns ceasefire will end if hostages not freed Saturday
  

  Following a fresh assessment, the IDF says it is further bolstering forces in the Southern Command after Hamas said it would postpone the release of hostages.

  The military describes the bolstering of troops as “extensive” and says it includes calling up reservists.

  “The reinforcements of troops and mobilization of reservists are being carried out in preparation for various scenarios,” the IDF says.
  

  It makes the announcement as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will resume “intensive fighting” against Hamas if hostages are not released by noon on Saturday.

  The military raised its level of alert yesterday in the Southern Command, anticipating a possible return to fighting in the Gaza Strip if the ceasefire-hostage deal falls apart.

• Fearing return to war, Hamas tells senior officials to stop using phones – report

  Terror group claims it is still committed to ceasefire a day after it said it was halting prisoner releases, blames Israel for ‘complications’ threatening deal
  

  Hamas has reportedly instructed senior figures in the terror group to stop using cell phones amid concerns that the fragile ceasefire with Israel could fall apart, bringing with it a return of Israel’s military offensive.

  Sources in Hamas told the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat outlet on Tuesday that the group’s military wing and senior leadership have instructed all senior political and military figures to stop using their phones, as many had returned to using the devices after the ceasefire began last month.

  According to the sources, several senior officials have already stopped using their phones over fears of attempts by the IDF to track them via the devices and assassinate them.  full article

• Egypt plans to “present a comprehensive vision for the reconstruction” of the Gaza Strip that ensures Palestinians remain on their land, the Egyptian foreign ministry says in a statement.

  Egypt “hopes to cooperate” with the administration of US President Donald Trump “to reach comprehensive and just peace in the region.”

  The statement comes as Trump continues to press for his plan to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its population to neighboring Egypt and Jordan despite rejection from Arab states.
  
  

• Arab League chief: Moving Palestinians ‘unacceptable for Arab world’

  
  File: Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the closing press conference of the joint extraordinary leaders summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League in Riyadh on November 11, 2024. -  (Fayez Nureldine / AFP)

  File: Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the closing press conference of the joint extraordinary leaders summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League in Riyadh on November 11, 2024. - (Fayez Nureldine / AFP)

  Arab League secretary-general Ahmed Aboul Gheit rejects any displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and West Bank, calling it “unacceptable” for the region.

  “The focus today is on Gaza and tomorrow it will shift to the West Bank with the objective of emptying Palestine of its historical inhabitants,” he asserts at the World Governments Summit in Dubai.

  “It’s unacceptable for the Arab world, which has fought this idea for 100 years.”

  Aboul Gheit is commenting on US President Donald Trump’s plan to move Palestinians out of Gaza, which has been widely condemned in the Arab world.

  “After resisting this for 100 years, we Arabs are not about to capitulate in any way now because we have not suffered a political, military or cultural defeat,” he says.

  
  

• IDF says airstrike in southern Gaza targeted two suspects who picked up a drone

  
  

  File: People walk past building rubble in a ruined neighborhood in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on January 21, 2025 (Eyad BABA / AFP)

  
  

  The IDF confirms carrying out an airstrike in southern Gaza’s Rafah this morning, saying it targeted two suspects who had gone to pick up a drone.

  The drone had been flown from Israel into the southern Gaza Strip, and was being tracked throughout its flight, the military says. In recent months, the IDF says, it has identified several attempts to smuggle weapons and drugs into Gaza using drones. The drone was apparently being controlled by smugglers on the Israeli side.

  An Israeli strike targeted the drone and the two suspects who taken possession of it. One was killed and the second was wounded, according to Palestinian media.

  
  

Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria

• US denies Israel’s request to further push off deadline for Lebanon withdrawal

  Washington official confirms Jerusalem asked for extension but says administration planning on keeping to February 18 date for IDF exit
  

  Israel asked the Trump administration on Monday for another extension to the deadline for the IDF withdrawal from southern Lebanon, but won’t get it, a US official told The Times of Israel.

  The response from Washington is that for now, it plans to stick to the February 18 deadline, said the US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday to discuss the matter.

  US deputy Mideast envoy Morgan Ortagus traveled to Lebanon, and then Israel, over the weekend to survey the progress of the US-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that ended the war that spiraled from border attacks by the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group. Ortagus told reporters that the Trump administration views February 18 as a “firm date” for the completion of Israel’s withdrawal.
  

  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked US President Donald Trump to support a further extension of the IDF’s deployment in Lebanon, Channel 12 reported Monday.

  According to the report, Israel is seeking to keep an IDF presence at five key border points to enable the maintenance of a buffer zone.

  The report said that Israel has reiterated to the US its claim that the Lebanese Army is not effectively deployed in south Lebanon, as the terms of the ceasefire said it would, and is not preventing Hezbollah from reorganizing. Israel has warned that Hezbollah aims to return to the border area as soon as IDF troops depart.  full article

• IDF hits Hezbollah sites in Lebanon, including smuggling tunnel on Syrian border

  Military says tunnel in Beqaa Valley had been struck in the past, latest attack was to prevent its restoration; other facilities belonging to Lebanese terror group targeted
  

  Israeli fighter jets carried out several airstrikes in Lebanon on Sunday evening, including against a tunnel between Lebanon and Syria used by the Hezbollah terror group to smuggle arms, the Israel Defense Forces said.

  The IDF said the tunnel, in the Beqaa Valley, had also been struck in the past. “The IDF is determined to prevent restoration and use of this tunnel,” it said in a statement.

  The Beqaa Valley area, a Hezbollah stronghold, is north of the Litani River, beyond which the Iran-backed group is required to withdraw under the ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024 after more than a year of hostilities, including two months of all-out war.
  

  Additionally, the military said Sunday the Israeli Air Force targeted several Hezbollah sites in other areas of Lebanon, which included weapons and rocket launchers that “posed an immediate threat” to Israel.

  According to the IDF, the targeted sites were “a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

  Lebanese media reported a series of strikes in the Nabatieh area, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the border with Israel, and in the Baalbek area in the Beqaa Valley, nearly 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Israel.
  

  The strikes came a day after the IAF struck what the IDF said were Hezbollah operatives at a weapons manufacturing site in eastern Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley on Saturday. Lebanon’s state news agency reported six dead and two wounded in that strike.

  The ongoing conflict began with Hezbollah’s cross-border rocket and drone attacks on October 8, 2023, the day after the Palestinian terror group Hamas led thousands of terrorists in a devastating invasion of southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and triggering war in the Gaza Strip.

  The Iran-backed group said its attacks were to support Gaza. By the time the ceasefire came into effect, Israel had decimated Hezbollah’s leadership and depleted its fighting capabilities.

  Under the deal, Hezbollah must pull back north of the Litani — some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Israel’s border — while Israel is entitled to strike threats it considers imminent, and forward less imminent threats to a monitoring committee comprising representatives of Lebanon, Israel, France, the United States and UNIFIL.

  Under the truce deal, Lebanon’s military was to deploy in the south alongside UN peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over 60 days.  link

West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel

• IDF says troops killed Palestinian gunman near West Bank’s Tulkarem; soldier injured. 
  

An assault rifle captured by IDF troops from a Palestinian gunman in the Nur Shams camp near the West Bank city of Tulkarem, February 12, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says troops of the Maglan commando unit killed a Palestinian gunman in the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarem in the West Bank earlier today.

The troops encountered a group of gunmen amid an ongoing counter-terrorism operation and exchanged fire with them. One of the gunmen was killed, and his weapon was seized, the military says.

One of the Maglan soldiers was moderately wounded in the incident, and he was taken to a hospital for treatment.

The major counter-terrorism offensive in the northern West Bank, dubbed Operation Iron Wall, was launched on January 21, and the military expects it to last several more weeks. Troops have been operating in the Jenin, Tulkarem, and Tubas areas.

Politics and the War (general news)

• State Comptroller says 3 million Israelis suffering from trauma since October 7
  Engelman faults Health Ministry for ‘collapsed’ health care system; Health Minister Uriel Buso set to double the scope of mental health services
  

  In a report on the mental health system, State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman said that in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas-led massacre and subsequent war, approximately 3 million people among the adult population had experienced anxiety, depression and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

  “The mental health system, which had difficulty functioning even before October 7, collapsed in the first days of the war,” Engelman said.

  The report, released on Tuesday, said that in the six months following the October 7 attack, only about 0.6 percent of the population received mental health treatment through health management organizations (HMOs) and resilience centers, even though 38% of the population reported moderate to severe symptoms.
  

  “I warned about the failures in the field of mental health care in a letter to the prime minister about a month after the massacre,” Engelman wrote, “but all the deficiencies have yet to be fully corrected.”

  According to the findings of the report, an estimated 580,000 Israelis suffer from at least one symptom of PTSD at a severe level as a direct consequence of the events of October 7 and their aftermath.

  The survey was conducted by the State Comptroller in April 2024, six months after the war began on October 7, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

  Engelman said that he presented his first findings to the prime minister on November 13, 2023, after visiting conflict zones in the south and north of the country immediately after the massacre and the start of the war.
  

  He accused Health Minister Uriel Buso and ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov of not updating the mental health system’s preparation for war and other traumatic events, despite a National Emergency Management Authority assessment that was first published in 2001.
  

  Once the war broke out and thousands of Israelis were evacuated, Engelman said that the mental health system failed in its treatment of evacuees.

  The system operated “without a structured approach, alongside local volunteer initiatives, and without maintaining treatment continuity and documentation,” Engelman said.
  

  Of the comptroller’s sample of 1,010 adults, one-third of the participants reported moderate or severe post-traumatic stress disorder or depression symptoms. About one-fifth reported anxiety symptoms.

  The survey predicts that approximately 900,000 people will seek help for mental health issues in the future.

  As of now, however, the report found that since the massacre, health funds and health centers have provided treatment to less than one percent of the population.

  Why don’t Israelis seek professional help?

  According to the survey, a significant portion of those affected by PTSD, anxiety and depression are hesitant to seek treatment. While 17% of respondents expressed concerns about confidentiality, another 5% said they couldn’t find a suitable therapist. Of the 16% who experienced moderate to severe symptoms, they reported that although they had not yet sought care, they intended to do so.
  

  The most important reason, however, is that people said they don’t want to wait an average of six months for treatment.

  “It is unthinkable that people would have to wait in line for about six months to receive treatment from a psychiatrist at a health insurance company,” Engelman said.

  “The lack of treatment for such a large number of people reporting symptoms can lead to chronic illness, accompanied by a decline in functioning,” the report said.

  Engelman said that because of a shortage of manpower, the treatment offered by the HMOs and resilience centers is not sufficient to meet demand.

  For example, of the 10,500 children who were evacuated from Sderot, treatment was provided to only 440 (4%).

  Of adults, only about 11% of all evacuees from southern and northern communities received mental health care from health funds and resilience centers by the end of March 24.

  The audit also revealed that only one percent (1%) of the survivors of the massacre at the Nova festival received treatment from the resilience centers or HMOs, despite a survey showing that those who experienced these traumatic events, or had close family members involved, had almost double the reported mental health symptoms compared to those who were not involved.

  Moreover, only 13% of volunteers at the ZAKA organization who worked during the events of October 7 and the following weeks clearing and identifying human remains, received treatment from the public health care system.

  
  ZAKA volunteers searching through the rubble of a home destroyed by Hamas terrorists near the Gaza Strip in southern Israel (Zohar Shpak/ZAKA)

  In response, Buso said that the October 7 events were unprecedented and that “tens of thousands of Israelis received immediate professional mental health treatment through various means available to the healthcare system, in an incident of mass casualties never before seen.”

  Mental health “has been the central focus of the healthcare system’s agenda” since the first days of the war, the health minister said.

  “A self-reporting survey is fundamentally flawed,” he added, “and cannot predict the extent of those seeking mental health treatment. It may also cause real harm and lead to a sense of psychological helplessness in the general public.”

  Professor Jonathan Huppert, Head of the Center for Trauma Recovery in the Department of Psychology at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, agreed.

  “The report relied entirely on a self-administered survey conducted at the height of the war in April 2024 and then estimates the extent of the population in need of mental health services,” Huppert said.

  Shas MK Uriel Buso attends a Knesset committee meeting on May 16, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

  Buso added that the ministry had set a goal to double the scope of mental health services available to the public to address the needs arising from the October 7 events and the war, also determined by the public resources allocated to the healthcare system.

  Despite the widespread need for services following the events, there is broad agreement that not everyone who experienced emotional distress will require mental health treatment, Buso said.

  “It’s likely that once there is closure, people are more likely to start the natural recovery process even without therapy,” Huppert said. “What percentage? That’s a good question.”

  However, he said, “There’s no ability to move on because of the enormity of the event. We’re not at closure. We’re still managing the trauma… we’re still in trauma.”

The Region and the World

•    
  
  

Personal Stories

  

Sharon Aloni Cunio

Released with Her 3-Year-Old Daughters After 52 Days in Hamas Captivity; Her Husband David Is Still in Gaza, Along with His Brother Ariel

"There are 129 people still sitting there, including my husband and my brother-in-law, under unlivable conditions, wearing who knows what. The last time I saw him, he had half a sleeve on—and they’re just shivering from the cold... I’m stuck. I’m on hold. For me, life hasn’t moved forward since they separated me from David. The girls are having fits of rage they never had before October 7."

Ori Megidish, 19

"They kidnapped us while some of us were still in our pajamas. They murdered my best friends."

Rescued by IDF and Shin Bet forces after 23 days in Hamas captivity.

---

Moran Stella Yanai

40-Year-Old, Released After 54 Days in Hamas Captivity

"I was a prize. They brought people to see me from outside, to show them what they had managed to capture. I got my hands on a deck of cards and decided that through the game, I would earn their trust. Even though they mocked me and humiliated me while we played, I was determined: I would make them like me so I could get food."

Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages

I Will Never Forget nor Forgive

Yael Adar

Mother of Tamir Adar, who was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz, injured, and died due to lack of medical care.

On October 7th, 2023, our lives were irreversibly shattered by the negligence of the Israeli government. Our home, our children, and our community were left unprotected, and I lost my son, his friends, my friends, and the semblance of a normal life - all due to our government's failure.

I spent 42 years living in the Gaza Envelope area. We surrounded Gaza, but we ourselves were not shielded. For two decades, we were silenced by tax concessions, resilience programs, and the construction of shelters - a façade of security that masked the reality. This silence allowed the Hamas monster to grow, ultimately rising against us and knocking on our doors on Simchat Torah, in October of 2023.

On that day, my daughter-in-law turned into a widow, my grandchildren became orphans, my children - bereaved siblings, and I - a mother who lost her eldest son. For what? For a security that you, Bibi, promised us, a security that was never delivered. The Israel Defense Forces personnel acknowledged their failure, admitting to the lapse in securing the border and taking immediate action. You, Mr. Prime Minister, however, refuse to accept responsibility for the October 7th massacre. You claim to have seen nothing, heard nothing, known nothing, even though on June 29th, 2023, during a memorial for the soldiers who died in Operation Protective Edge, you vividly described the impending danger: an invasion of our villages and cities, the taking of hostages. You promised us security, yet left us exposed. Three months later, everything you so clearly described unfolded before our eyes.

During Operation Cast Lead in January 2009, ten soldiers and three civilians were killed. Back then, you, Mr. Netanyahu, were in the opposition, immediately pledging to end the Hamas regime: “There is only one course of action - to end Hamas in Gaza. We will fulfill this mission; we will end the terror reign of Hamas.”

Fifteen years have passed, during most of which you were Prime Minister, continuously making empty promises of security while leading us through more gory conflicts. Despite numerous opportunities to destroy Hamas, you failed to give us security. Every campaign forced us from our homes, only to return “until the next round.” Every time, you claimed Hamas was critically weakened, so we went back, raising our children under constant trauma and post-traumatic stress, while you labeled us “privileged.” We secured the border, toiled the land, only to have our loved ones murdered, raped, butchered, and abducted.

You exploited our devotion to life on the border, creating a false sense of security. You abandoned my family’s life, living on the border, and every day without my son is another day of abandonment. I will never forget, nor forgive. You bear the responsibility. 

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

IPS - Israel Prison System

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

Join my Whatsapp update group https://chat.whatsapp.com/IQ3OtwE6ydxBeBAxWNziB0 
Twitter - @LonnyB58 

Bluesky - @lonny-b.bsky.social