π️Lonny's War Update- October 497, 2023 - February 14, 2025 π️
π️Day 497 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
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!ΧΧΧ Χ Χ¦ΧΧΧ Χ’Χ Χ©ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧΧ€ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧͺ
Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
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Hostage Updates
Phase One – Back on Schedule….BUT…..
It seems that the mediators have been successful and that tomorrow Hamas will send to Qatar the names of the next 3 Israeli hostages that will be released on Saturday. Both Israel and Hamas breached their commitments in the agreement that they made and the mediators – Qatar, Egypt and the US - have successfully strong armed both sides into continuing phase one of the deal. More tents will enter Gaza, temporary housing caravans will also enter. More fuel for hospitals and the power plant will be allowed in and heavy machinery for clearing away the rubble of building bombed by Israel will enter to begin to search for bodies underneath the rubble – perhaps the bodies of Israeli hostages also. Negotiations on phase 2 may begin after Saturday that were supposed to begin on day 16 and end by day 30; they did not begin on time and they will not conclude on time. But it is still not too late for Israel and the mediators to say to Hamas, lets merge phase one and two into one deal – let’s end the war and bring home all of the hostages now. Hamas will agree. But as we all know, the endgame of phase 2 is the end of the war and Israeli full withdrawal from Gaza. That will not happen as long as Hamas remains in control of Gaza. Despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Gazans want Hamas to be out of power, as long as there is no viable alternative to Hamas, the Gazans will rightfully fear Hamas and will not rise up against them. Gazans are struggling on a daily basis for the most basic means of survival – shelter, food, water, sanitization, medical supplies. Gazans don’t have to ability to rise up against the ruler who hold guns when there is no one else there to support in their place. As the remaining Hamas leadership outside of Gaza is emerged in talks about changing direction, some of them understanding the disaster that their actions have brought down on the Palestinian people, the new armed youngsters with new uniforms and guns are gaining power and maybe one day soon tell the political leadership outside that they will not listen to them. There are no real Hamas political leaders in Gaza today and the Hamas guys with guns have no understanding of the responsibility that they hold now on the fate of the people of Palestine.
The crazies in Netanyahu’s government, along with Netanyahu himself, who are calling for the resumption of the war and ending the ceasefire, once again sacrificing the hostages, need to be told by the Israeli public that before they send a single Israeli soldier into a battle with no achievable strategic goals, that they should wear uniforms together with their own children and head to the front, instead of sitting in their comfortable offices and chauffer driven cars, let them lead the charge to battle for a goal which is not achievable. Hamas will not be destroyed militarily. Hamas will not be forced out of power with the power of guns. That will only happen politically. There needs to be a decision by the Palestinian leadership on who can govern Gaza. President Abbas and his cronies need to come to their senses and understand that they cannot govern Gaza. There are responsible Palestinians who can take the lead working with neighboring Arab states, but anyone on the Palestinian side who is brave enough to stand up and take responsibility for trying to bring life back to Gaza is considered by Ramallah to be a traitor. In the meantime, the delaying of the decisions of who will lead Gaza to enable the war to end and push Israel to withdraw from Gaza endangers the lives of Palestinians and keeps Israelis living next to Gaza in constant trauma from the possibility of another October 7.
Instead of the Trump administration wasting time and political capital on delusional ideas of population transfers (ethnic cleansing), it is time for Trump to drop his crazy ideas and call for the convening of a regional summit including Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia with the participation of other internationals such as the EU and the USA in order to come to quick decisions on the Palestinian government that will rule Gaza from the next 2-3 years before Palestinians can hold elections for an agreed on leadership for the Palestinian people. That same regional conference needs to put squarely and firmly on the table that the two states solution is back on the agenda and that there is no alternative it that has the ability to marginalize the extremists on both sides. The majority of Israelis and Palestinians want to live in peace, but that will only happen when we can both believe that the other side is actually willing to live in peace. No more armed struggle, no more occupation, no more belief in military solutions. Mutual recognition, mutual respect and dignity, and a belief in two states that will live in peace and understand that their own national interests demand that we start marching on the path to make that real. Israelis and Palestinians will never have security unless both of them have security. Hard to swallow now while we are all still living in trauma and fear, but this war really must be the last Israeli Palestinian war. (Gershon Baskin, February 13, 2025)
Hostage Updates
Phase One – Back on Schedule….BUT…..
It seems that the mediators have been successful and that tomorrow Hamas will send to Qatar the names of the next 3 Israeli hostages that will be released on Saturday. Both Israel and Hamas breached their commitments in the agreement that they made and the mediators – Qatar, Egypt and the US - have successfully strong armed both sides into continuing phase one of the deal. More tents will enter Gaza, temporary housing caravans will also enter. More fuel for hospitals and the power plant will be allowed in and heavy machinery for clearing away the rubble of building bombed by Israel will enter to begin to search for bodies underneath the rubble – perhaps the bodies of Israeli hostages also. Negotiations on phase 2 may begin after Saturday that were supposed to begin on day 16 and end by day 30; they did not begin on time and they will not conclude on time. But it is still not too late for Israel and the mediators to say to Hamas, lets merge phase one and two into one deal – let’s end the war and bring home all of the hostages now. Hamas will agree. But as we all know, the endgame of phase 2 is the end of the war and Israeli full withdrawal from Gaza. That will not happen as long as Hamas remains in control of Gaza. Despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Gazans want Hamas to be out of power, as long as there is no viable alternative to Hamas, the Gazans will rightfully fear Hamas and will not rise up against them. Gazans are struggling on a daily basis for the most basic means of survival – shelter, food, water, sanitization, medical supplies. Gazans don’t have to ability to rise up against the ruler who hold guns when there is no one else there to support in their place. As the remaining Hamas leadership outside of Gaza is emerged in talks about changing direction, some of them understanding the disaster that their actions have brought down on the Palestinian people, the new armed youngsters with new uniforms and guns are gaining power and maybe one day soon tell the political leadership outside that they will not listen to them. There are no real Hamas political leaders in Gaza today and the Hamas guys with guns have no understanding of the responsibility that they hold now on the fate of the people of Palestine.
The crazies in Netanyahu’s government, along with Netanyahu himself, who are calling for the resumption of the war and ending the ceasefire, once again sacrificing the hostages, need to be told by the Israeli public that before they send a single Israeli soldier into a battle with no achievable strategic goals, that they should wear uniforms together with their own children and head to the front, instead of sitting in their comfortable offices and chauffer driven cars, let them lead the charge to battle for a goal which is not achievable. Hamas will not be destroyed militarily. Hamas will not be forced out of power with the power of guns. That will only happen politically. There needs to be a decision by the Palestinian leadership on who can govern Gaza. President Abbas and his cronies need to come to their senses and understand that they cannot govern Gaza. There are responsible Palestinians who can take the lead working with neighboring Arab states, but anyone on the Palestinian side who is brave enough to stand up and take responsibility for trying to bring life back to Gaza is considered by Ramallah to be a traitor. In the meantime, the delaying of the decisions of who will lead Gaza to enable the war to end and push Israel to withdraw from Gaza endangers the lives of Palestinians and keeps Israelis living next to Gaza in constant trauma from the possibility of another October 7.
Instead of the Trump administration wasting time and political capital on delusional ideas of population transfers (ethnic cleansing), it is time for Trump to drop his crazy ideas and call for the convening of a regional summit including Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia with the participation of other internationals such as the EU and the USA in order to come to quick decisions on the Palestinian government that will rule Gaza from the next 2-3 years before Palestinians can hold elections for an agreed on leadership for the Palestinian people. That same regional conference needs to put squarely and firmly on the table that the two states solution is back on the agenda and that there is no alternative it that has the ability to marginalize the extremists on both sides. The majority of Israelis and Palestinians want to live in peace, but that will only happen when we can both believe that the other side is actually willing to live in peace. No more armed struggle, no more occupation, no more belief in military solutions. Mutual recognition, mutual respect and dignity, and a belief in two states that will live in peace and understand that their own national interests demand that we start marching on the path to make that real. Israelis and Palestinians will never have security unless both of them have security. Hard to swallow now while we are all still living in trauma and fear, but this war really must be the last Israeli Palestinian war. (Gershon Baskin, February 13, 2025)
Three hostages to be freed Saturday were all abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz; all have dual citizenships
Hamas hostages (L-R) Sasha Trufanov, Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Yair Horn, set to be released from Gaza on February 15, 2025. (Courtesy)All three hostages set for release tomorrow were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz as Hamas terrorists swarmed through the kibbutz, killing or kidnapping one in four of the community’s residents on October 7, 2023.
Sagui Dekel-Chen, who has dual Israeli-American citizenship, saw Hamas-led terrorists entering the kibbutz and was among the first to raise the alarm. He was last heard from at 9:30 a.m., according to his father, Connecticut-born Jonathan Dekel-Chen, a Hebrew University professor who also lives at Nir Oz. Sagui’s mother, Neomit, was taken captive along with her neighbors in an electric cart that was headed toward Gaza when an IDF helicopter shot at the terrorists and driver. Neomit, injured, made her way back toward the kibbutz and was eventually rescued and evacuated.
His wife Avital gave birth to their third daughter Shachar in December 2023, and he will meet her tomorrow for the first time.
Sasha Trufanov, who has dual Israeli-Russian citizenship, was taken hostage along with three members of his family — grandmother Irena Tati, mother Yelena (Lena) and his girlfriend, Sapir Cohen. Sasha’s father, Vitaly Trufanov, was killed in the Hamas-led massacre. Yelena and Irena were released by Hamas on November 29, 2023, at the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sapir Cohen was released on November 30, 2023, as part of a week-long truce.
Yair Horn, who has dual Israeli-Argentinean citizenship, was abducted from his Nir Oz home on October 7. His brother Eitan was also abducted, is still being held, and is not on the list of the 33 hostages scheduled to be freed in the current first phase of the hostage-ceasefire deal.
Hamas says Israel will release 369 Palestinian prisoners tomorrow, 36 of them serving life sentences
Israel will release 369 Palestinian security prisoners tomorrow as part of the sixth hostage-prisoner exchange, says the Hamas prisoners’ media office, including 36 serving life sentences.
The remaining 333 prisoners slated for release in the first phase of the deal were detained in the Gaza Strip after October 7, over the course of the war.- Hope dies last’: Or Levy visits Hostages Square, days after release from Hamas captivity
Freed hostage Or Levy visits Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, less than a week after he was released from Hamas captivity, February 14, 2025. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
Released hostage Or Levy visits Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, six days after his release from Hamas captivity and says he insisted on doing so despite resistance from his family and doctors.
“It’s been a week now, a week since I was reborn,” says Levy of his release last Saturday. “I’m trying to process what happened during the 491 days I missed, trying to understand what transpired in our country during that time.”
He says that during his captivity in Gaza, he didn’t know whether or not his wife Eynav was still alive.
Eynav Levy was killed in the roadside shelter near the Nova rave, where the couple had fled during the rocket onslaught on the morning of October 7, 2023, while Or was taken captive.
“It was such devastating news I received when I returned, but I promised her every day while I was there that I would stay strong for her and for the greatest gift she gave me in life — Mogi,” says Levy, referring to their three-year-old son, Almog.
“It was important for me to understand everything you’ve done and continue to do, to see the work that is far from taken for granted,” says Levy during his visit to the square. “I may be here, but I still have many brothers and sisters in the hell of Gaza, and their time is running out.”
“Alon and Eliya, I’m waiting for you,” says Levy, referring to Alon Ohel and Eliya Cohen, who were held with him and fellow released hostage Eli Sharabi. “Bring them all back! Now! Whatever it takes.”
Levy says he’s certain all the work done in the fight for the hostages helped him and the others return to their families, and thanks the public for its help and support and for never giving up.
“It truly isn’t taken for granted, and I genuinely feel that you all played a part in giving me my life back,” he says. “Hope dies last.”
- IDF chief apologizes to recently freed surveillance soldiers for failing them on Oct. 7
Released hostage soldier Agam Berger, right, meets Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag, fellow soldiers also freed from Hamas captivity, at Rabin Medical Center, January 30, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi apologizes to the recently released hostage soldiers during a meeting this morning.
“It was wrong to have not taken you seriously, you were amazing soldiers, I apologize for what you experienced in captivity,” Halevi says to four of the five surveillance soldiers who were held by Hamas for 15 months, according to leaked remarks.
For months before Hamas’s onslaught, female surveillance soldiers reported signs of activity along the restive Gaza border, situated a kilometer from them. No action was taken by the more senior officers who received the reports, and the information was disregarded as unimportant by intelligence officials.
During the meeting, the four soldiers — Agam Berger, Liri Albag, Naama Levy and Karina Ariev — told Halevi what they went through in Hamas captivity, as well as what happened during the October 7 onslaught when they were kidnapped from the Nahal Oz army post.
Halevi told the four that they had excelled in their role as observers and correctly warned of what could happen.
The chief of staff also told them that the military would fully investigate what happened on October 7, and that they should “be partners in the investigation” by providing testimony.
The fifth surveillance soldier released from Hamas captivity, Daniella Gilboa, was not present in the meeting.
- In first, Netanyahu spokesman admits no talks ongoing on truce’s 2nd phase, in breach of dealLikud MK Yuli Edelstein says in a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting that Israel is “unequivocally dealing with the second stage of a hostage release deal.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman Omer Dostri pushes back against the veteran lawmaker, saying in a statement that “as opposed to MK Edelstein’s claim — Israel is not negotiating right now on the second stage in the deal.”
Talks over the second stage were meant to begin last week, on day 16 of the ceasefire. This appears to be the first time Israel has officially admitted they are not being held, in contrast to the deal’s terms.
- Freed hostage Ohad Ben Ami gets ecstatic welcome from local schoolchildren as he arrives home from hospitalFreed hostage Ohad Ben Ami gets an ecstatic welcome from local schoolchildren as he arrives at the apartment his family has rented in Tel Aviv, shortly after he was released from the hospital.
Ben Ami was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023. He was released by Hamas last Saturday.
Video shows children reaching through the fence surrounding the school to shake his hand, as crowds of kids gather round him. video
- Hamas says it’ll free hostages as planned; PM’s office implies gaps remain on dealTerror group, Egyptian media claim ‘obstacles’ threatening to unravel Gaza agreement have been overcome, though Israel denies reports of mobile homes, heavy equipment entering Strip
Hamas on Thursday signaled that a crisis threatening to unravel the Gaza truce deal could be avoided, despite uncertainty over the number of hostages due to be released by the terror group on Saturday and conflicting reports over aid supplies entering the Strip.
Hamas gunmen stand in front of a stage before they hand over three Israeli hostages to a Red Cross team in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, on February 8, 2025. (BASHAR TALEB / AFP)Hamas said it was committed to implementing the deal, “including the exchange of prisoners according to the specified timeline,” but did not specify how many hostages would go free on Saturday, when three are scheduled to be released. President Donald Trump has demanded that “all” hostages be released by noon on Saturday.
Egypt’s state-aligned Extra News reported that Cairo and Doha had successfully “overcome obstacles,” citing an official source as saying that Israel and Hamas were now committed to implementing the deal.
The terror group said that mediators had promised to resolve issues preventing the continued flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, though a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied a Qatari report that mobile homes and heavy equipment were entering the Strip.
The Prime Minister’s Office called the Al Jazeera report, which claimed the mobile homes and earth-moving equipment would be allowed into the Strip on Thursday, “fake news.”
“There is no basis for it,” the statement said, with Netanyahu spokesman Omer Dostri following up a short while later with a clarification that “there is no entry of mobile homes or heavy equipment into Gaza, and there is no coordination for it.”
Egyptian security sources told Reuters they expected heavy construction equipment to enter on Thursday and if that happened then Hamas would release hostages on Saturday as scheduled.
Bulldozers and trucks carrying mobile homes wait to enter Gaza at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Feb. 13, 2025. Aid trucks are currently using the Kerem Shalom entry point pending completion of maintenance and repair work at the Rafah border crossing into southern Gaza from Egypt. (AP Photo/Mohamed Arafat)The terror group’s statement came a day after a Hamas delegation, led by top official Khalil al-Hayya, arrived in Cairo for talks with mediators on the flailing hostage-ceasefire agreement sealed last month.
Hamas said it did not want the deal to collapse, though it rejected what it called the “language of threats and intimidation” from Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, who have said the ceasefire should end if the hostages are not released.
“Accordingly, Hamas reaffirms its commitment to implementing the agreement as signed, including the exchange of prisoners according to the specified timeline,” the terror group said in a statement, adding that both Egyptian and Qatari mediators would press on with efforts “to remove obstacles and close gaps.”
The fragile ceasefire has been strained since Hamas announced on Monday that it wouldn’t release hostages on Saturday as planned, accusing Israel of preventing aid from reaching the Strip, which Israel denies. Trump then warned that “hell” would break loose if Hamas failed to release all the hostages being held in Gaza by Saturday.
Following those remarks, Netanyahu said Israel would resume “intense fighting” in Gaza if Hamas did not return hostages by Saturday noon. Israel then put out a series of conflicting statements saying Hamas must release “our hostages,” “nine hostages,” and “all of them” for the ceasefire to continue.
Touring Gaza on Thursday morning, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar said forces were prepared for an escalation if the hostage deal with Hamas collapses.
In remarks provided by the Shin Bet, Bar said that alongside efforts to complete the hostage release deal with Hamas, “the forces on the ground are at a high level of readiness to deal with various scenarios, including preparations for an escalation in the area.”
Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, a member of Netanyahu’s security cabinet, told public radio on Thursday that he did not believe Hamas would be able to get out of the agreement.
“There’s a deal, they won’t be able to give anything less than what is in the deal,” he said. “I don’t believe that Hamas can behave otherwise.”
Hamas says 73,000 tents delivered but no mobile homes
The terror group said on Thursday that the most recent talks in Cairo have focused on issues such as Israel’s allowing the entry of mobile homes, tents, medical and fuel supplies, and heavy machinery needed for the removal of rubble.
Salama Marouf, head of the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza, told Reuters only 73,000 of the required 200,000 tents had arrived in the enclave, while no mobile homes had been permitted so far.
A Palestinian man walks in front of tents set up in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip on February 12, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)COGAT, the Defense Ministry agency overseeing aid deliveries into Gaza, said 400,000 tents had so far been allowed in, while countries meant to supply mobile homes had not yet sent them.
International aid officials confirmed that aid was coming in despite considerable logistical problems, though they cautioned that far more was needed.
“We have seen improvement in some ways, but certainly, the response is nowhere near enough to meet the needs of so many people who face so much destruction and loss,” said Shaina Low, an official from the Norwegian Refugee Council based in the Jordanian capital Amman.
She said shelter materials were going in, despite Israeli restrictions on so-called “dual use” materials which can also be used for military purposes.
Under the ceasefire, Hamas has so far released 16 Israeli hostages from an initial group of 33 children, women, and older men agreed to be exchanged for almost 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners and detainees in the first stage of a multi-phase deal. Hamas also freed five Thai hostages in an unscheduled release in January.
Hostages, Ohad Ben Ami, left, and Eli Sharabi, right, are paraded by Hamas terrorists before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, February 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)Negotiations on a second phase of the agreement, which mediators had hoped would see the release of the remaining hostages as well as the full withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces troops from Gaza, were supposed to be already underway in Doha but an Israeli team returned home on Monday, two days after arriving.
The threat to cancel the 42-day initial ceasefire that formed the basis of the agreement has drawn thousands of Israeli protesters onto the streets this week, calling on the government to stick with the deal in order to bring the remaining hostages home.
Earlier on Thursday, Channel 12 news reported that Hamas was expected to release three hostages on Saturday, as per the truce schedule, if the hostage-ceasefire deal holds.
Israel had reportedly sent a message to Hamas through mediators Egypt and Qatar that the deal would continue if the terror group released three hostages, as scheduled, on Saturday.
Protesters block the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv, calling for the release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, 13 February 2025. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)Meanwhile, Hamas politburo official Husam Badran called for massive marches in the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the weekend in opposition to Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza in order to rebuild the war-torn enclave.
Badran additionally called on Palestinians to mobilize amid escalating violence in the northern West Bank as Israeli troops continue a weeks-long counter-terror operation, urging them to “take part in the global movement” and unify “around the option of resistance.”
Trump’s plan to take over Gaza has alarmed the Arab world, particularly Jordan and Egypt, which the US president has singled out as primary candidates to host relocated Palestinians.
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, mostly civilians, amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.
Seventy-three of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF.
The 17 hostages slated to be returned in phase one of the Gaza ceasefire deal as of February 8, 2025 after the first five rounds saw 16 captives freed. Row 1 (L-R): Ariel Bibas, Kfir Bibas, Shiri Bibas, Sasha Trufanov; Row 2: Shlomo Mantzur, Ohad Yahalomi, Oded Lifshitz, Tsahi Idan; Row 3: Hisham al-Sayed, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Yair Horn, Omer Wenkert; Row 4: Itzik Elgarat, Eliya Cohen, Avera Mengistu, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem-Tov. (All photos courtesy)
Hamas has so far released 21 hostages — civilians, soldiers, and Thai nationals — during the ceasefire that began in January. Another 17 hostages are slated for release in the first phase of the accord, of whom the terror group has said eight are dead.
Hamas also freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that.
Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 40 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the body of an IDF soldier who was killed in 2014. The body of another IDF soldier, also killed in 2014, was recovered from Gaza in January. link
- Released hostage Karina Ariev’s sister says ex-soldier focused on Oct. 7 failureSasha Ariev talks about Karina’s desire to commemorate her friends killed at Nahal Oz, as Shlomi Berger, father of released hostage Agam talks about the desire for normalcy
Freed hostage Karina Ariev returns to her home in Jerusalem, February 5, 2025, after being released from the hospital. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
As released hostage Karina Ariev arrived home this week to the Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze’ev, she was focused on her recovery, which has included trying to understand what happened on the Nahal Oz army base on October 7, 2023, the day she was taken captive.
“It’s harder to talk about that day than it is to speak about the 15 months of her captivity,” said Sasha Ariev, Karina’s older sister who has served as her family’s spokesperson for the duration of Karina’s captivity.
Ariev, one of the five surveillance soldiers who was released home after 15 months of captivity, was taken hostage early in the morning of October 7, along with Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, Liri Albag and Naama Levy. Many more of her comrades were killed.
According to recent reports, the five IDF surveillance soldiers were held hostage in Gaza City by a senior member of Hamas’s military wing.
Sasha Ariev did not say if her sister was held hostage with the others for the entire time but confirmed that Karina and Daniella Gilboa were held together throughout their captivity.
Karina had last spoken to her parents at 7:00 a.m. that morning. They later found a Hamas video publicized on Telegram, in which Karina was one of three young women lying down in a jeep, surrounded by men speaking in Arabic. Karina was one of the three, her face wounded and bleeding.
Surveillance soldier Karina Ariev, who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, pictured (right) in captivity in a photograph that was made public by her family on July 16, 2024 (Courtesy)She had been in the army for one year by October 7, 2023, and she was stationed at the Nahal Oz army base on the Gaza border for nine months.
“She was one of the more experienced surveillance soldiers, and Daniella too,” said Sasha Ariev. “They were the ones who were supposed to train the new girls.”
The new recruits included Levy, Albag and Berger, who had arrived at the Nahal Oz base a few days earlier.
They were all part of the team working as one of the communication lookouts at the army base near Kibbutz Nahal Oz — part of the team of soldiers who watch the feeds from the cameras placed on the barrier that was breached by Hamas terrorists.
On that morning, as the base was invaded by Hamas terrorists, staff officers and surveillance soldiers entrenched themselves in the war room.
A total of 20 people were killed, and an investigation into the nature of the deaths of IDF surveillance soldiers serving on the Nahal Oz base on October 7 has reportedly revealed that they were killed by a toxic gas that caused suffocation and loss of consciousness within a few minutes of exposure.
Seven surveillance soldiers were abducted from the Nahal Oz base, including Or Megidish, who was then rescued by the IDF in October 2023; Noa Marciano, who was killed in captivity; and Ariev, Gilboa, Albag and Levy, who were freed five days before Berger.
While surveillance soldiers provide real-time intelligence information to soldiers in the field, earning them the name “the eyes of the army,” members of the all-female force believe that they were not taken seriously, partly due to their gender.
According to the accounts of the soldiers, no action was taken by the more senior officers who received the reports, and the information was disregarded as unimportant by intelligence officials.
“Even before the 7th, the job was complicated, it was hard,” said Sasha, Karina’s sister. “There was the distance from home, the complicated work of watching the screens, and knowing that the higher-ups didn’t listen to her.”
Israeli hostages Liri Albag (2nd to left), Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, and Naama Levy wave on a stage before Hamas operatives hand them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025. (AFP)What made Karina’s service palatable before October 7 were the friends and the atmosphere that the soldiers created for themselves.
Karina keeps talking about what happened that day, how it could have happened that the base was invaded by a swarm of terrorists, said Sasha Ariev.
“She really thinks about it, she wants to know how this happened, how it could have been allowed to happen,” said her sister. “They spoke about it all the time during their captivity, how no one listened to them.”
“It’s just a different experience, to know what it is to be a surveillance soldier, to have served many shifts,” she added.
Now that Karina has been released and returned home, she’s focused on the struggle to get the rest of the hostages released. She’s familiar with the names of the soldiers who were taken hostage from the tanks at Nahal Oz, “and it’s one of the things that pains her,” said Sasha Ariev. “They were taken hostage on the same day, and they’re still there.”
She is also focused on commemorating her friends who were killed in Nahal Oz on that day.
“She knew that they had been killed when she was being taken into captivity; she saw what happened,” said Sasha Ariev, “and that occupied her mind a lot. She wants to meet with their parents and talk to them and tell them that she survived for them, not just for herself. She goes back to their commemoration again and again. She talks about them all the time.”
What’s helpful is that Karina is ready to talk to them, said her sister, 25, a neurobiology student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who paused her studies and work for the last months to lead her family’s efforts in urging the government to move forward on a hostage deal.
“She said that she waited for this moment to share what happened to her,” Sasha Ariev. “It’s important that we just listen to what she tells us.”
Released hostage Karina Ariev, third from right, and her sister, Sasha Ariev, far right, with cousins after Karina’s release on January 25, 2025 (Courtesy)Karina also fulfilled her army service, which was completed during her 15 months of captivity.
“She finished her service,” said her sister. “Now she needs to learn how to make her own choices, something she didn’t do in school or in the army or in captivity.”
The challenge is to return to normal life.
“We’re feeling the hug of a nation,” she added. “People send us presents and food and come to give us hugs and Karina has to get used to it. She keeps asking, ‘What? Why? Why are they giving me presents?'”
The return to ordinary life
The adjustment to regular life is a process, said Shlomi Berger, father of released hostage Agam Berger, who was released five days after the other four surveillance soldiers.
In the two weeks since his daughter returned home to Israel, Shlomi Berger said it’s a miracle that his daughter returned in relatively good physical health, compared with the skeletal condition of the three male hostages released last Saturday.
Freed hostage Agam Berger (right) reunites with her parents Shlomi and Merav at an IDF facility next to the Gaza border on January 30, 2025. (IDF)“It’s a miracle, but she really came back okay, especially when you see the men who were released last Shabbat [Saturday], they looked like concentration camp survivors,” he said. “She has some rehabilitation ahead of her, she didn’t walk a lot and she has to strengthen her body, so that’s the next challenge.”
The other challenge, he said, is for Agam to return to regular life.
“These girls have to figure out how to go to the mall and the corner store, and will people come up to them and want to hug and kiss them,” he said. “They want to be anonymous.”
It’s a shift that’s made slowly, described Shlomi Berger, starting with walks outside their Holon home at night, when there are fewer people around.
“We’ll get to the moment when she’ll go where she wants,” he said. “We all need to get back to regular life.”
As Agam slowly shares the details of the last 15 months, Shlomi Berger said he felt a sense of surprise at hearing about his daughter’s steadfastness, as she told her parents about fasting on Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av, even obtaining a different kind of flour on Passover to observe the leavened bread-free holiday.
Former hostage soldier Agam Berger attends an IDF ceremony for her sister Bar, who completed a military course, on February 3, 2025. (IDF)“I couldn’t believe it,” said Berger, adding that the five surveillance soldiers kept journals and a calendar that they weren’t allowed to bring with them back to Israel. “They tried to keep their identities and follow the holidays and Shabbat.”
Agam’s family had heard from other former hostages released in November 2023 about Agam’s turn to religious observance as a way of strengthening her own resolve in captivity and had followed their daughter’s example.
“We chose belief,” he said. “That’s what kept us sane.”
For now, said Shlomi Berger, they’re focused on her rehabilitation and doing it together.
“Now we’ll be with Agam, hand in hand until we can let her go,” he said.
It’s not possible to simply return to regular life, said Sasha Ariev.
“Karina is back, and our family is complete, but there are hostages who aren’t back, so I’m not going back to my life just because my sister is back,” said Sasha Ariev. “It took so long for this ceasefire to happen, and I’ll continue to struggle and fight so that we get to all the stages of the ceasefire.” link
- Hamas forced surveillance troops to watch torture videos of male hostages, says mother
The female surveillance soldiers recently freed from Gaza were forced by Hamas to watch videos of male hostages being tortured, according to one of their mothers.
Speaking with Channel 12 news alongside three other mothers of the surveillance troops, Shira Albag quotes her daughter Liri as saying “I got out of the hell that we went through there, but the men, the soldiers, are going through worse than us.'”
“The terrorists also made a point to show them videos and share with them all sorts of things that they [the male hostages] were going through there, that they starved… all sorts of things that are really tough,” Shira Albag says. “Even today when they’re here, we don’t know everything exactly that they went through.”
In a portion of the interview aired Wednesday, the mother of released soldier hostage Daniella Gilboa detailed how Hamas forced her daughter to fake her death for a propaganda it filmed while she was in captivity, leading to rumors she had been killed.
'Donkey food, poor hygiene and fear of the IDF': Parents of released IDF lookouts talk about their daughters' suffering
Female hostages endured unimaginable hardships: cursed by captors and their children, sharing rooms with terrorists, no electricity and wearing the same pair of underwear since October 7; The parents of Karina, Liri and Naama recount how their daughters struggle to speak of the horrors
Weeks after returning to Israel following 477 days in captivity, a stark contrast remains between the relative openness of the released IDF lookouts about their time in Gaza and their silence regarding the events of October 7.
While they have spoken in detail to their families about their conditions in captivity — the constant life-threatening danger, their captors' treatment, hunger and poor hygiene — they avoid discussing what happened in the shelter at the Nahal Oz base that Saturday.
During those hours, they waited in vain for help, were beaten by terrorists and watched their comrades killed before their eyes.
"She just doesn’t talk about it," said Albert Ariev, father of Karina Ariev. "What happened in that shelter was horrific. It makes her rehabilitation even harder — I can see it. Something terrible happened to my daughter on October 7. The captivity wasn't easy but the nightmare is split into two parts."
Why is what happened in the shelter off-limits, while she discusses more than a year in captivity?
"She says she saw and experienced terrible things there. She was severely wounded and told us that she wanted to die on that day. She wished for an airstrike to end her suffering. They abused and beat her endlessly. That’s it — she won’t go further. She just says, 'I went through hell that day and wished to die.' It was the worst day of her entire period in captivity."
Since the second hostage deal began, Israelis have struggled to process the harrowing accounts of those who returned. The challenge is even greater for their families, mixing relief with the horror of what they endured.
Ynet spoke with three parents of the five released observers: Albert Ariev, father of Karina; Shira Albag, mother of Liri Albag and Yoni Levy, father of Naama Levy. They all agreed: The wounds from October 7 have not begun to heal yet.
Shira Albag: "October 7 is as much a trauma as captivity and we haven't even begun addressing it. They saw their friends murdered and then sat there for four hours. Liri told me, 'Mom, we’ll have to process that later.' She hasn't spoken about what happened there.
“At the time, they thought it had only happened at their base — they had no idea of the scale. Only after four days, when they met other hostages, did they start to grasp the full picture. It took time for them to realize how many people were kidnapped."
"Liri heard radio broadcasts and watched TV, mostly Al Jazeera. When she and her friends learned Arabic, they understood the situation — there was a war. They knew about the first hostage deal because people held with them were released.
“The captors made sure to hide anything relevant from them, except for negative news about Israel — saying there were no agreements, no efforts to bring them back. They used psychological terror, telling them, 'We’ll marry you off and convert you to Islam.'"
Yoni Levy: "Naama was exposed to the famous image of her from October 7. People told her about it — there was no way around it. She became famous against her will. From what little she’s shared, the real trauma, the breaking point and the most horrifying scenes were on October 7. Her world collapsed on that day."
Bread made of donkey food
The upright posture and piercing gaze of the four lookouts released on January 25 gave the impression they had been together the entire time, but in reality, they were often separated.
"Liri was with Agam Berger from day one and, at times, with Naama," said Shira Albag. "She wasn’t with Daniella Gilboa or Karina. They have a deep connection. They experienced something we will never understand.
“They don’t talk about it — when they meet, they just hold hands in silence and understand each other. Each of them went through it alone but their bond gave them strength. Even now, outside of captivity, being together helps them cope."
Did they see the Hamas videos of them?
"They saw them on TV. Their captors made sure they did. But Liri told me, 'Mom, it passed quickly.' They didn’t dwell on it. Not like us, who watched them over and over for days."
Where was Liri held?
"She was in both houses and tunnels. Mostly homes. The tunnels drove her crazy with the silence, even though they technically had more freedom to move. But they were humid and eerily quiet — total silence. At least in the houses she could hear movement outside, which helped her feel that something was happening."
"The houses she was in belonged to families with children and those kids cursed at her, spat on her and threatened her. We’ll have to deal with these kids when they grow up to be terrorists. That’s our reality in the Middle East."
What did they eat? How did they maintain hygiene?
"Sometimes they got two meals a day; sometimes they had nothing for days. At times, they ate food meant for donkeys. They made pita bread from it because there was no flour. Hygiene was minimal. Liri wore the same underwear from October 7. As women, we understand what that means — it’s not easy. They got sick a lot."
How did they pass the time?
"With a lot of thoughts and imagination. They played word-association games. They all kept diaries but weren’t allowed to take anything out of captivity. They also sang — rewriting lyrics to familiar songs."
Anger at the state
Karina, on the other hand, preferred staying in tunnels. "She had a logical explanation," said Albert Ariev. "Being above ground in Gaza was a death trap. She preferred to be underground because there were constant airstrikes above.
“Some days, they were moved while buildings collapsed around them, with shrapnel flying everywhere. She just wanted to be somewhere safe — even if it was a tunnel. She didn’t care as long as she survived."
"Sometimes they got two meals a day; sometimes they had nothing for days. At times, they ate food meant for donkeys."
What were the conditions like?
"They only had cold water and washed with a funnel. She had no spare underwear but asked for a toothbrush and got one. There was no electricity. Some days, she didn’t leave her bed. They could move between locations, but they were stuck in a room for a month at times."
How was the food?
"She said it was 'not tasty,' but she forced herself to eat. She ate whatever the terrorists ate. During tough times, they gave them their own food."
Karina spent more than a year with Daniella Gilboa. How did they pass the time?
"My daughter came back speaking fluent Arabic. It’s surreal. She translates Al Jazeera for us. They also wrote songs. They enlisted together, served at the Nahal Oz base for nine months and were among the few lookouts who knew exactly what was happening that morning. When Karina called us, she simply said, 'War broke out. Dad, don’t come here.' That’s how she said goodbye."
"They were a trio — Karina, Daniella and Aviv Hajaj, who was murdered in the shelter before their eyes. They were always together in the operations room, deeply bonded. That helped them survive, despite the occasional arguments in captivity."
Yoni Levy: "Naama was held with other hostages and, at times, with some of the lookouts. There were many relocations, separations and regroupings. She’s mostly angry at Israel. She feels the state tried to kill her because it bombed the houses she was in. In one case, they barely escaped and a collapsing wall injured her. Her biggest fear was our own bombings."
How were they treated by their captors?
Shira Albag: "Liri reads people well. The moment she was taken, she understood: 'This is my reality now. I’m in Gaza and I need to survive like a Gazan.' She knew how to handle them — not by fighting, but by playing their game.
“It worked well beyond our expectations. At the same time, the terrorists slept in their room 24/7, always watching them. Every moment was a threat — one wrong word or a captor in a bad mood and everything changed."
Albert Ariev: "The captors explained why they carried out October 7—it was the blockade, the food shortages, the power cuts. They were both angry and emotional. Karina kept her distance, avoiding debates."
"She saw firsthand what happened when Israel bombed. She’s furious that people, including her, weren’t evacuated before the airstrikes. She knows Hamas is a terrorist group responsible for October 7, but she’s also angry at Israel because she lived through the war on both sides—as an abandoned target on October 7 and as a captive under bombardment in Gaza."
'Every little thing brings them back'
Even now, surrounded by loved ones, captivity lingers.
Albert Ariev: "Karina told us there were constant bombings in Gaza. Even today, she covers her ears when a helicopter flies overhead. We hope it passes with time."
Yoni Levy: "We were at home when a passing car made some noise — something we didn't even notice — but she got terribly scared. She watched a bit of the release on Saturday and you could see it shook her. She doesn't understand what it means — whether there will be another round or not.
“We can't even explain to her what a 'humanitarian phase' means and that young people and soldiers would come later. She keeps saying, 'Everyone needs to get out of there, what don't you understand?' Even on a personal level, her recovery can't begin until it ends and everyone comes back."
Shira Albag: "Liri said right after she was released, 'We were in hell and the boys are in an even worse hell.' We see the girls now and they look strong, like they're okay and they laugh — but nothing is okay. People need to understand that.
“We need to get everyone out urgently just so they can get close to being okay. There's no set formula for their recovery and we still don't know how to approach it. No one in this country does — not even the therapists. Everyone is learning, us and Liri too."
Hamas footage of the lookouts' abduction Did she watch the hostage release on Saturday?
"I didn't watch TV. I only looked at Liri and when I saw her reaction, I quickly told them, 'Turn it off.' I saw it wasn't good for her. She froze. Every little thing like that brings them back. I saw that even though she was home, at that moment, she was still in captivity.
"Liri said that more than once that the terrorists told them, 'When you're united, we fear you. You're strong.' They kept repeating it. That's something everyone needs to take in — the leaders and the people. Over these 15 months, I've realized the people are very united but our leadership isn't."
Albert Ariev: "Karina also thinks about the hostages still there a lot. She said, 'Our hearts are split into 255 pieces.' Every person who doesn’t return shatters her heart. She was only with Daniella throughout captivity, but she heard from others about different hostages and knows the horrors they're enduring."
'You can't be fully happy'
The returning lookouts have modest dreams: waking up and making coffee, eating breakfast at home, opening their own closet, sleeping in their own bed and showering in their own bathroom. The small things that were taken from them for 15 months now bring them immense joy.
Shira Albag: "Everything is in her hands now and those little things do her good. Even just sitting with us and watching TV — not that we get to do much of it. Yesterday, she got a tattoo she dreamed of while in captivity and even drew it — a postage stamp with hearts and a phrase that gave her strength throughout. The funny thing is, I don't even remember what it says."
Yoni Levy: "In her first days back, Naama really wanted to go to the sea. She said she had dreamed about it for a long time underground. Even in the hospital, there was a window and every afternoon, when there was nothing else to do, she would go look at the sunset over the sea.
“So, when we had the chance, we took her for half an hour — to see the horizon, to hear the waves. She and I are trying to figure out when she can run a few kilometers again. Sports was a big part of her life and we're looking for the first opportunity for her to reconnect with herself, with her body."
Albert Ariev: "Karina has a long rehabilitation ahead of her. She was injured in the head and lower limbs. Her legs are full of shrapnel, which makes standing and walking for long periods difficult. She also has shrapnel in her face, so it'll take time.”
What would you say to the hostages’ families still waiting?
Shira Albag: "Three weeks ago, I was in their place. Nothing I say can help — they’re at their lowest point. But you can't lose hope and faith. You have to hold onto them. Talk to the hostages, on the radio and TV.
“We don’t know who’s listening. It strengthens them. Liri didn’t hear us, only other families, and still, it gave her strength. Just by reaching out, they don’t lose hope. We're in a battle to bring them home. Liri is here, but for me, this war isn’t over until the last hostage returns."
Albag can’t hold back her tears. "It's still hard for me," she says. "I see Idit, Alon Ohel’s mother, and I cry with her. Just a moment ago, Liri was in his place. You can’t be fully happy. Even Liri isn’t fully happy as long as there’s a hostage still in there." link
- **"Abigail said, 'Grandma, I was in Gaza,' as if she had been on a trip to Paris"**
"They saw all the horror, my grandson told me, 'Dad died outside'": On the morning of October 7, Carmel Edan tried to save his family—but his son and daughter-in-law were murdered, and his granddaughter Abigail was kidnapped to Gaza while her brother hid in a closet. "I was sure they would kill her there," he says. "I felt chaos inside." In an interview, the grandfather and grandmother talk about the moments of terror, the sadness that entered their home, the fight to bring everyone back, and the curses they endured on the street.
For 14 hours, Michael and Amalia Edan endured hell inside the narrow closet in their family's safe room in Kibbutz Be'eri. Early that cursed morning, they saw their parents, Roi and Smadar, killed, while their younger sister, Abigail, fled to the neighbors' house. That was the last thing they saw before entering the closet. As chaos raged outside and a battle erupted between the kibbutz's emergency squad and the terrorists, the two children—just 9 and 6 years old—calmly and unbelievably managed the situation over the phone, in a scenario that even much older adults might not have handled.
Amalia and Michael began calling their relatives intensively, including their worried grandparents, who were left in the dark not far away in Moshav Kfar Harif. "They were so brave, I don’t know where they got it from—to call the police and say there’s no dad and no mom," says grandfather Carmel Edan, father of the late Roi. "Michael even went outside to call for his dad and tell him that mom was dead, and then he saw him dead too. The whole time they were hiding in the closet, there were shots around their house, a tank drove over their sidewalk and lawn, and destroyed Smadar’s car."
Only after many hours were Michael and Amalia rescued, and it was later discovered that Abigail had been kidnapped to Gaza along with the neighbors, the Brodetz family. She returned to Israel after 49 days in Hamas captivity. "They saw all the horror. Their mother was shot at point-blank range, and the blood splattered on them. To this day, I don’t understand it—how Michael described the whole story to the police: 'We’re from the Gaza border area, we’re from Kibbutz Be'eri.' And when they asked him who killed his mom and dad, he said, 'A soldier dressed like an Arab.' Such maturity—I don’t know if I could have done something like that or described it."
Can you explain where this maturity came from?"Maybe from all the rounds [of conflict] they’ve been through. But I can’t explain it," Carmel replies, and his wife, Liza, the grandmother, adds: "It’s their character. The home always radiated calm and peace, without hysteria. We always spoke openly in front of the children. If we needed to shout, we shouted. And if we needed to talk, we talked. I think every home should function like that. And maybe in their home, they also talked about what to do in case of..."
"He told me: Dad died outside.""I was sleeping, and Carmel woke me up and immediately told me that Roi had been murdered," Liza recalls of that day. "And I, still half-asleep, didn’t understand. I felt some movement in the house, and people had already started coming in. I didn’t understand what was happening to me. Honestly, I didn’t understand. I was still in some kind of dream, it took me time to recover. Our friend Rachel came right away, and she’s the kind of person who knows how to put things in perspective. I said to her, 'What are these water bottles? What are you bringing here? What is this?' She said, 'Liza, didn’t you understand that Roi was murdered?' I just didn’t understand."
Abigail Edan with her parents and brother (Photo: Family Album)
Roi and Smadar were murdered on October 7; the children survived. Abigail Edan with her late parents and brother | Photo: Family Album
The Edan family home in Kibbutz Be'eri after the terrorist attack | Photo: Amit Martin Menasherov, N12
So, early in the day, you understood what had happened, right? How did you know?"I called Roi at seven in the morning, when we already knew something was happening, and he didn’t answer," Carmel says. "At that time, Liza was still asleep. We have an agreement that if he doesn’t answer, it’s because he’s filming, so I don’t disturb him. I called Smadar, and she didn’t answer either. We kept calling Smadar’s phone until Michael answered and said, 'Mom is dead,' in those exact words. 'And where’s Dad?' I asked. 'Dead outside, with Abigail,' he said. What I did at that moment, I don’t know."
"I heard a lecture by a priest who said that when news of someone’s death is sudden, a person has some kind of internal immunity, a denial," Liza remarks. "You put your body into some kind of defense mode, and I think that’s what happened to me too. I didn’t scream. The first time I screamed was at the cemetery. I let it all out when I was alone, after the funeral. I said to God, 'Why two? Couldn’t you have left one parent to raise the children?' And I walked away because I didn’t get an answer. And to this day, I feel like I’m in some kind of fog. Because I didn’t get answers. I didn’t care what all those army officers said: 'It was like this, and they entered like that, and they did this.' I really didn’t care about the details. There were soldiers from the Yahalom unit, they told me how they rescued the children. It was like a story from a book that they told me. I don’t understand. I still don’t understand that this even happened."
Liza and Carmel Edan (Photo: Amit Martin Menasherov, N12)
"I saw the footage and understood: Roi is gone."
Is there any fear of the day when the realization of what happened will hit?"I already understood that Roi and Smadar are gone. I feel loss, chaos, darkness. All day, and every day until today," Carmel replies. "I already knew this was a big event, a very big one. Usually, helicopters and planes pass by here. And no plane passed for several hours. I understood that the country had been invaded, not just the Gaza border area. It was very hard. I wanted to go to Kibbutz Be'eri, because I said, 'What can I do? My son was murdered, his wife was murdered, what can I do?' But there were already terrorists in Sderot, and it was impossible to reach Be'eri. There were many roadblocks; they wouldn’t let anyone through.
"I felt strong chaos inside because I couldn’t save my son. So I tried to think that maybe he was injured. Because when Michael told me he went outside and saw Roi dead with Abigail, I believed him, but I said I wanted to check if it was true. A few hours later, I went online, as there were already hundreds of people at our house, to see if there was any footage he had taken, because he was supposed to film all these things. And then I saw that all the photos were from the IDF spokesperson. So I understood, Roi is gone."
And when the news came that Abigail had "only" been kidnapped and not murdered, was that a relief?"It was actually more fear, because you don’t know what’s happening to her there," Liza replies, and her husband adds: "Exactly. Because you don’t know if they’ll kill her or not."
Abigail Edan at her first meeting with her family after her release from captivity, November 2023 | Photo: Schneider Hospital Spokesperson
"I wasn’t on TV, I was in Gaza.""On the day of the attack, I kept praying that Roi would be killed and not taken captive," Carmel Edan recently told Haaretz in an interview. He admits now that he also thought the same terrifying thought about his granddaughter, Abigail—whose fate, like her father’s, was unclear in the first days after the attack. "I was sure they would kill her there. What happened, and the fact that she returned, is a miracle," he says.
"All the time I thought: Who is hugging her? Who is giving her a kiss? Who is putting her to bed at night and telling her a story? That’s what really bothered me," says the grandmother. "That’s what I thought all the time. To this day—and I’ve said this to the three psychologists who have been supporting us—I haven’t cried. I want someone to slap me awake, to make me cry. I can’t, I can’t cry."
And how is Abigail doing these days?"Abigail is fine, she’s walking and laughing. She’s an amazing girl. Amazing," Carmel replies, and Liza says: "When I told her I saw her on TV, she said, 'Grandma, silly. I wasn’t on TV. I was in Gaza.' Really? She said it as if she was talking about a trip to Paris. And she goes on, 'I was in Gaza.' I said to myself, 'Liza, shut up. Just go along with her, let her think she was in heaven.'"
"We saw her as a happy girl who really wanted candy when we came to give her some," Carmel adds. "The trip to the U.S. didn’t interest her, and Biden—that didn’t mean anything to her, nor did the nice clothes they dressed her in."
"Afraid to ask them, I saw the sadness."Are the grandchildren aware of what’s happening with the release of the hostages?"I saw them last week. My goal as a grandfather is to see the kids, kiss and hug them, spoil them with shopping. Since October 7, I’ve never asked them what they think (about the situation). I didn’t want them to start thinking about everything that happened, so I don’t ask—I don’t want to take them back mentally. My role as a grandfather, when they come here or when I’m there, is to kiss and hug them tightly. That’s all, all the time. I don’t ask, and I’m afraid to ask. I saw the sadness. Michael is introverted and has less appetite to eat, he walks with his head down. I’m also afraid to ask the adoptive parents, the guardians (Zoli and Liron, the uncles of Abigail, Michael, and Amalia)—because they’re also hurt, they’ve also been through a lot in these rounds."
What did you think when you saw the recent releases?"Ugh. It was shocking. I only watched for a few minutes, and it was very tough. I remembered Bibi saying this isn’t a Holocaust. And I keep saying, 'Bibi, this is a Holocaust. You brought a Holocaust upon us.' There’s no other word for it. Again, I couldn’t watch, it’s hard for me. Hard, hard. I know one of the released hostages. Eli (Sharabi) is the brother of Osnat, my neighbor—I just couldn’t believe this could happen. I look at the people, and I see they all came back skin and bones. How can something like this happen?"
The release of Eli Sharabi (Photo: Ali Hassan, Flash 90)
In general, what do you think about the deal?"Everyone should be released at once. They asked me, even before Abigail came back, if that meant I didn’t want her to be released now. I said if she’s being released, let her be released, but the deal should be with everyone. There’s no such thing as doing it in threes. It will take years, and by then we’ll really see the scenes we saw again this weekend. Bibi was the finance minister, doesn’t he know how to do business?"
The hobby that became Roi’s professionCarmel was born in Iraq, Liza in Russia. He grew up in Ramat Gan, and she as a moshavnik in Kfar Harif, near Kiryat Malakhi. They met at Kibbutz Re’im, where Carmel arrived as a foster child, and chose to settle in Liza’s moshav, where their four children were born—Roi was the second, after Amit, the eldest—followed by Gilad and the youngest, Dafna. They still live in Kfar Harif to this day. A very Israeli family, the Edan family, very rooted. Moshavniks. They made their living from agriculture and Liza’s work as a museum guide and medical secretary. In recent years, they have been retirees dealing with complex medical issues and helping to raise their ten grandchildren.
As a moshavnik, the son of a farmer, one might have expected the late Roi to also turn to working the land. But life near nature took him instead to the field of photography. "At 14, he got his first camera. He would photograph flowers—mostly anemones and sea squills—and also a lot of landscapes and nature, things like that. He took the camera everywhere," Liza recalls.
"At school, there was a photography track, he went there, and at the end of 12th grade, he photographed the yearbook. I told him, 'Roi, you’re taking on a very heavy task. Parents pay a lot of money for yearbooks.' It’s considered the highlight of 12th grade, the yearbook. This task of the yearbook—that’s what made him realize this was his profession. Even when he served in Lebanon, he would only talk to me about nature and landscapes. He had a connection to aesthetics, to beautiful things."
"And he also loved himself, a little," Liza continues about her son. "Roi really loved nice clothes, the best of the best. Everything had to be top fashion. And good food, of course. He knew about every restaurant. In the kibbutz, there were four guys, and if suddenly at six in the evening someone mentioned a restaurant in Haifa, then off they went, and they’d come back to Kibbutz Be'eri. He traveled abroad endlessly. I once asked Smadar if it bothered her that he was always going out with his friends abroad, and she was surprised I even asked. She gave him so much space.
"The last time I spoke to her, she said, 'I’d like to have a friend to travel with too.' But she couldn’t. She was devoted to her security role and her family. I once said to her, 'Tell me what you’re doing. What, do I tell you where I’m going and what I’m doing?' And when I asked her that, she said, 'You want to know? Be patient. One day you’ll know.'"
Carmel Edan (Photo: Amit Martin Menasherov, N12)"I feel loss, chaos, darkness. All day, and every day until today." Carmel Edan at his home
The love story of Roi and Smadar, may their memory be a blessing, began at a gas station. He studied photography at Sapir College and therefore rented a unit at Kibbutz Nahal Oz, while she studied Middle Eastern studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The gas station at the entrance to the kibbutz was Roi’s regular stop on the way between the college and his apartment. And there waited for him Smadar, a local who worked there, at the convenience store. Smadar was the one who made the first move with Roi, Carmel and Liza say. After they finished their studies, both thrived. He became a photojournalist and covered the southern region for Ynet. She was accepted to work in the Shin Bet.
"When Roi started working as a photographer, while still a student, I bought him all the equipment and asked him, 'Now that you have all the equipment, explain to me: how will you make money?'" Carmel recalls. "He said, 'Dad, don’t worry. I stand in Sderot, near the Magen David Adom station, and when an ambulance goes by, I follow it. If there was an accident, I take pictures and send them.' That’s how they bought his photos, and slowly he built himself up."
From mourning to true friendship: "They helped us with everything."Amid all the difficulty and burden that came with life as bereaved parents, a small ray of light entered the lives of Carmel and Liza in the form of Anat Shadmi and Ami Tzurman from the Civil Headquarters for Bereaved Families—the "Bereaved for the Bereaved" headquarters. This initiative was established following the October 7 massacre, when the ground shook beneath the feet of many families who lost their world in an instant.
Veteran bereaved families from all of Israel’s wars, who have personally experienced the depths of pain, have mobilized to provide support and assistance. These volunteers operate independently and swiftly, offering a listening ear and providing emotional and logistical support—understanding that in families like the Idan family, where young grandchildren are left unprotected and grandparents find themselves at the center of the trauma, every human touch is a lifeline.
The emphasis on grandparents like Liza and Carmel Idan, whose connection to their grandchildren is sometimes stronger than usual, highlights the importance of support even in the "quiet" circles of loss. The volunteers map out the needs of the families and provide personal solutions, whether in housing arrangements, legal assistance, or simply being someone who knows how to listen—because sometimes, as in the case of Anat and Ami, this quiet support is exactly what’s needed to start again. 
"Friendship, like an adoptive family." Anat Shadmi with Liza and Carmel Idan | Photo: N12
Shadmi, a resident of the communal settlement Mishmar David, who joined the interview, has not personally experienced bereavement. She got involved in this initiative almost by chance. But none of that prevented her from forming a close bond with Carmel and Liza Idan. "I was offered other things as well. I don’t know why, but the story of bereaved families spoke to me," she says. "I was with other families too, in other places across the country. They asked me to continue with more families, and I visited some of them several times. But in the long run, I can only focus on one family, and with Carmel and Liza, it just clicked. We saw that there was continuity, so I stayed."
"In the beginning, when we arrived, there were really a lot of people. It was during the shiva. But since we don’t know the people, I always go to the kitchen area, where there are always active women who know all the connections. Someone explained to me who the parents were, who the siblings were, and I started approaching each one to explain what we do. We also leave behind a phone list so they can reach out. I agreed with them that I would return after a short while, and since then, we’ve been here."
Liza shares: "We’re really happy they come because they have no ulterior motives. They come with a clean slate—to listen to you, to feel you, and to ask what is bothering you and troubling you. They don’t ask, ‘So how are you? How do you pass your days? What do you do?’—I do nothing. I don’t want to do anything, I just want to sit and stare at the ceiling. Anat and Ami don’t ask stupid questions. With them, I don’t have to put on a brave face or choose my words carefully. If we’re feeling good, we’ll say so. If we’re feeling bad, we’ll complain. I saw Anat among the crowds that were here, one day during the shiva, and I didn’t know who they were or what their role was. Later, they kept coming, and then they came again. And when a week passed without them visiting, I already missed them."
"They give me friendship, like an adoptive family," says Carmel. "And I don’t know if we adopted them or they adopted us. We are not willing to let them go. They helped us with everything: they spoke to lawyers when there were issues, and they reached out to social services to come visit, because I can’t drive right now, and they arrange appointments for us. If this emergency hub didn’t exist, I don’t know where we would be today. Simple as that." 
"Slowly, he built himself as a photographer." The late Roi Idan | Photo: Yedioth Ahronoth
"I Haven't Slept Since It Happened"
Until 14 months ago, Carmel and Liza lived the simple life of two retirees. Their responses to the terrible tragedy that struck them were opposite: Liza chose to withdraw, while Carmel turned the disaster into a motivation for action, even though he was diagnosed with prostate cancer about three years ago. A surgery he underwent not long before the murder of Smadar and Roi failed, leaving many metastases in his body. "Of course, it affects me," says Carmel, acknowledging the obvious—the tragedy further worsened his condition. "First of all, I haven’t slept since it happened. I just lie in bed, and my legs keep moving constantly."
Yet, despite his struggles and the radiation treatments he has undergone and still needs to undergo, he dedicates a significant portion of his time to the fight for the return of the hostages. The sister of the Sharabi brothers—Yossi, of blessed memory, and Eli—lives nearby, just down the street from Carmel and Liza in Kfar Harif. Only recently was there a slight sigh of relief in her home when Eli returned from captivity. As all of Israel anxiously waits for the next phases of the deal and fears for the fate of the remaining hostages, the Idan family knows firsthand how joyous such a deal can be.
"Just as I’m not sleeping, those who have been at the Hostage Square for hundreds of days—I know some of them and meet them—my heart goes out to them," says Carmel with sadness. "What’s happening here is insane. There is a malicious hand—there can be no other explanation—that is blocking these negotiations. That’s why I said I hoped Roi was murdered and not there. If we were in that situation today, we would not be in a good place." 
Despite his medical condition, Carmel continues to protest and fight "until the last hostage returns" | Photo: Amit Martin Mansharof, N12
"The Driver Spat on Me and Shouted: 'Only Bibi!'"
"I don’t go because it’s too difficult," says Liza. "I went once to a rally for Nir Oz, and it was just horrible hearing all the stories. But Carmel doesn’t miss a single event; he regularly travels to the Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, and people help him with transportation. Since our tragedy, we have been embraced by various organizations. Carmel went through a period of radiation treatments, and they came to pick him up from home every day for two months."
"The relatives of the hostages work so hard," adds Carmel. "I was there, in the square, on a rainy day, completely soaked, and I was amazed at how everyone stayed for hours, doing everything they could for the hostages. And while standing there with them, people spit in my face. Once, at a protest at Masmiya Junction—close to home—a car stopped next to me, the driver opened the door, spat, and shouted, ‘Only Bibi.’ How disgraceful."
"That person doesn’t understand that we are not political. We are for the return of the hostages. What, as if no Mizrahi person has been affected? Are they only harming 'us'? I’m Mizrahi, and they harmed me—they murdered my son, they kidnapped my granddaughter—so what? And yet people yell 'Only Bibi' at me. What a disgrace. Do you not understand what you’re doing? What does Bibi have to do with this right now? Even you, the driver—come join us. This is for you too."
How long do you plan to stay involved in this fight for the hostages?
"Until the last one returns." link
Three hostages to be freed Saturday were all abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz; all have dual citizenships
Hamas hostages (L-R) Sasha Trufanov, Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Yair Horn, set to be released from Gaza on February 15, 2025. (Courtesy)
All three hostages set for release tomorrow were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz as Hamas terrorists swarmed through the kibbutz, killing or kidnapping one in four of the community’s residents on October 7, 2023.
Sagui Dekel-Chen, who has dual Israeli-American citizenship, saw Hamas-led terrorists entering the kibbutz and was among the first to raise the alarm. He was last heard from at 9:30 a.m., according to his father, Connecticut-born Jonathan Dekel-Chen, a Hebrew University professor who also lives at Nir Oz. Sagui’s mother, Neomit, was taken captive along with her neighbors in an electric cart that was headed toward Gaza when an IDF helicopter shot at the terrorists and driver. Neomit, injured, made her way back toward the kibbutz and was eventually rescued and evacuated.
His wife Avital gave birth to their third daughter Shachar in December 2023, and he will meet her tomorrow for the first time.
Sasha Trufanov, who has dual Israeli-Russian citizenship, was taken hostage along with three members of his family — grandmother Irena Tati, mother Yelena (Lena) and his girlfriend, Sapir Cohen. Sasha’s father, Vitaly Trufanov, was killed in the Hamas-led massacre. Yelena and Irena were released by Hamas on November 29, 2023, at the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sapir Cohen was released on November 30, 2023, as part of a week-long truce.
Yair Horn, who has dual Israeli-Argentinean citizenship, was abducted from his Nir Oz home on October 7. His brother Eitan was also abducted, is still being held, and is not on the list of the 33 hostages scheduled to be freed in the current first phase of the hostage-ceasefire deal.
Hamas says Israel will release 369 Palestinian prisoners tomorrow, 36 of them serving life sentences
The remaining 333 prisoners slated for release in the first phase of the deal were detained in the Gaza Strip after October 7, over the course of the war.
Freed hostage Or Levy visits Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, less than a week after he was released from Hamas captivity, February 14, 2025. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
Released hostage Or Levy visits Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, six days after his release from Hamas captivity and says he insisted on doing so despite resistance from his family and doctors.
“It’s been a week now, a week since I was reborn,” says Levy of his release last Saturday. “I’m trying to process what happened during the 491 days I missed, trying to understand what transpired in our country during that time.”
He says that during his captivity in Gaza, he didn’t know whether or not his wife Eynav was still alive.
Eynav Levy was killed in the roadside shelter near the Nova rave, where the couple had fled during the rocket onslaught on the morning of October 7, 2023, while Or was taken captive.
“It was such devastating news I received when I returned, but I promised her every day while I was there that I would stay strong for her and for the greatest gift she gave me in life — Mogi,” says Levy, referring to their three-year-old son, Almog.
“It was important for me to understand everything you’ve done and continue to do, to see the work that is far from taken for granted,” says Levy during his visit to the square. “I may be here, but I still have many brothers and sisters in the hell of Gaza, and their time is running out.”
“Alon and Eliya, I’m waiting for you,” says Levy, referring to Alon Ohel and Eliya Cohen, who were held with him and fellow released hostage Eli Sharabi. “Bring them all back! Now! Whatever it takes.”
Levy says he’s certain all the work done in the fight for the hostages helped him and the others return to their families, and thanks the public for its help and support and for never giving up.
“It truly isn’t taken for granted, and I genuinely feel that you all played a part in giving me my life back,” he says. “Hope dies last.”
Hamas on Thursday signaled that a crisis threatening to unravel the Gaza truce deal could be avoided, despite uncertainty over the number of hostages due to be released by the terror group on Saturday and conflicting reports over aid supplies entering the Strip.
Hamas said it was committed to implementing the deal, “including the exchange of prisoners according to the specified timeline,” but did not specify how many hostages would go free on Saturday, when three are scheduled to be released. President Donald Trump has demanded that “all” hostages be released by noon on Saturday.
Egypt’s state-aligned Extra News reported that Cairo and Doha had successfully “overcome obstacles,” citing an official source as saying that Israel and Hamas were now committed to implementing the deal.
The terror group said that mediators had promised to resolve issues preventing the continued flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, though a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied a Qatari report that mobile homes and heavy equipment were entering the Strip.
The Prime Minister’s Office called the Al Jazeera report, which claimed the mobile homes and earth-moving equipment would be allowed into the Strip on Thursday, “fake news.”
“There is no basis for it,” the statement said, with Netanyahu spokesman Omer Dostri following up a short while later with a clarification that “there is no entry of mobile homes or heavy equipment into Gaza, and there is no coordination for it.”
Egyptian security sources told Reuters they expected heavy construction equipment to enter on Thursday and if that happened then Hamas would release hostages on Saturday as scheduled.
Bulldozers and trucks carrying mobile homes wait to enter Gaza at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Feb. 13, 2025. Aid trucks are currently using the Kerem Shalom entry point pending completion of maintenance and repair work at the Rafah border crossing into southern Gaza from Egypt. (AP Photo/Mohamed Arafat)
The terror group’s statement came a day after a Hamas delegation, led by top official Khalil al-Hayya, arrived in Cairo for talks with mediators on the flailing hostage-ceasefire agreement sealed last month.
Hamas said it did not want the deal to collapse, though it rejected what it called the “language of threats and intimidation” from Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, who have said the ceasefire should end if the hostages are not released.
“Accordingly, Hamas reaffirms its commitment to implementing the agreement as signed, including the exchange of prisoners according to the specified timeline,” the terror group said in a statement, adding that both Egyptian and Qatari mediators would press on with efforts “to remove obstacles and close gaps.”
The fragile ceasefire has been strained since Hamas announced on Monday that it wouldn’t release hostages on Saturday as planned, accusing Israel of preventing aid from reaching the Strip, which Israel denies. Trump then warned that “hell” would break loose if Hamas failed to release all the hostages being held in Gaza by Saturday.
Following those remarks, Netanyahu said Israel would resume “intense fighting” in Gaza if Hamas did not return hostages by Saturday noon. Israel then put out a series of conflicting statements saying Hamas must release “our hostages,” “nine hostages,” and “all of them” for the ceasefire to continue.
Touring Gaza on Thursday morning, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar said forces were prepared for an escalation if the hostage deal with Hamas collapses.
In remarks provided by the Shin Bet, Bar said that alongside efforts to complete the hostage release deal with Hamas, “the forces on the ground are at a high level of readiness to deal with various scenarios, including preparations for an escalation in the area.”
Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, a member of Netanyahu’s security cabinet, told public radio on Thursday that he did not believe Hamas would be able to get out of the agreement.
“There’s a deal, they won’t be able to give anything less than what is in the deal,” he said. “I don’t believe that Hamas can behave otherwise.”
Hamas says 73,000 tents delivered but no mobile homes
The terror group said on Thursday that the most recent talks in Cairo have focused on issues such as Israel’s allowing the entry of mobile homes, tents, medical and fuel supplies, and heavy machinery needed for the removal of rubble.
Salama Marouf, head of the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza, told Reuters only 73,000 of the required 200,000 tents had arrived in the enclave, while no mobile homes had been permitted so far.
A Palestinian man walks in front of tents set up in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip on February 12, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
COGAT, the Defense Ministry agency overseeing aid deliveries into Gaza, said 400,000 tents had so far been allowed in, while countries meant to supply mobile homes had not yet sent them.
International aid officials confirmed that aid was coming in despite considerable logistical problems, though they cautioned that far more was needed.
“We have seen improvement in some ways, but certainly, the response is nowhere near enough to meet the needs of so many people who face so much destruction and loss,” said Shaina Low, an official from the Norwegian Refugee Council based in the Jordanian capital Amman.
She said shelter materials were going in, despite Israeli restrictions on so-called “dual use” materials which can also be used for military purposes.
Under the ceasefire, Hamas has so far released 16 Israeli hostages from an initial group of 33 children, women, and older men agreed to be exchanged for almost 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners and detainees in the first stage of a multi-phase deal. Hamas also freed five Thai hostages in an unscheduled release in January.
Hostages, Ohad Ben Ami, left, and Eli Sharabi, right, are paraded by Hamas terrorists before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, February 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Negotiations on a second phase of the agreement, which mediators had hoped would see the release of the remaining hostages as well as the full withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces troops from Gaza, were supposed to be already underway in Doha but an Israeli team returned home on Monday, two days after arriving.
The threat to cancel the 42-day initial ceasefire that formed the basis of the agreement has drawn thousands of Israeli protesters onto the streets this week, calling on the government to stick with the deal in order to bring the remaining hostages home.
Earlier on Thursday, Channel 12 news reported that Hamas was expected to release three hostages on Saturday, as per the truce schedule, if the hostage-ceasefire deal holds.
Israel had reportedly sent a message to Hamas through mediators Egypt and Qatar that the deal would continue if the terror group released three hostages, as scheduled, on Saturday.
Protesters block the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv, calling for the release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, 13 February 2025. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
Meanwhile, Hamas politburo official Husam Badran called for massive marches in the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the weekend in opposition to Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza in order to rebuild the war-torn enclave.
Badran additionally called on Palestinians to mobilize amid escalating violence in the northern West Bank as Israeli troops continue a weeks-long counter-terror operation, urging them to “take part in the global movement” and unify “around the option of resistance.”
Trump’s plan to take over Gaza has alarmed the Arab world, particularly Jordan and Egypt, which the US president has singled out as primary candidates to host relocated Palestinians.
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, mostly civilians, amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.
Seventy-three of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF.
The 17 hostages slated to be returned in phase one of the Gaza ceasefire deal as of February 8, 2025 after the first five rounds saw 16 captives freed. Row 1 (L-R): Ariel Bibas, Kfir Bibas, Shiri Bibas, Sasha Trufanov; Row 2: Shlomo Mantzur, Ohad Yahalomi, Oded Lifshitz, Tsahi Idan; Row 3: Hisham al-Sayed, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Yair Horn, Omer Wenkert; Row 4: Itzik Elgarat, Eliya Cohen, Avera Mengistu, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem-Tov. (All photos courtesy)
Hamas has so far released 21 hostages — civilians, soldiers, and Thai nationals — during the ceasefire that began in January. Another 17 hostages are slated for release in the first phase of the accord, of whom the terror group has said eight are dead.
Hamas also freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that.
Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 40 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the body of an IDF soldier who was killed in 2014. The body of another IDF soldier, also killed in 2014, was recovered from Gaza in January. link
Freed hostage Karina Ariev returns to her home in Jerusalem, February 5, 2025, after being released from the hospital. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
As released hostage Karina Ariev arrived home this week to the Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze’ev, she was focused on her recovery, which has included trying to understand what happened on the Nahal Oz army base on October 7, 2023, the day she was taken captive.
“It’s harder to talk about that day than it is to speak about the 15 months of her captivity,” said Sasha Ariev, Karina’s older sister who has served as her family’s spokesperson for the duration of Karina’s captivity.
Ariev, one of the five surveillance soldiers who was released home after 15 months of captivity, was taken hostage early in the morning of October 7, along with Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, Liri Albag and Naama Levy. Many more of her comrades were killed.
According to recent reports, the five IDF surveillance soldiers were held hostage in Gaza City by a senior member of Hamas’s military wing.
Sasha Ariev did not say if her sister was held hostage with the others for the entire time but confirmed that Karina and Daniella Gilboa were held together throughout their captivity.
Karina had last spoken to her parents at 7:00 a.m. that morning. They later found a Hamas video publicized on Telegram, in which Karina was one of three young women lying down in a jeep, surrounded by men speaking in Arabic. Karina was one of the three, her face wounded and bleeding.
Surveillance soldier Karina Ariev, who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, pictured (right) in captivity in a photograph that was made public by her family on July 16, 2024 (Courtesy)
She had been in the army for one year by October 7, 2023, and she was stationed at the Nahal Oz army base on the Gaza border for nine months.
“She was one of the more experienced surveillance soldiers, and Daniella too,” said Sasha Ariev. “They were the ones who were supposed to train the new girls.”
The new recruits included Levy, Albag and Berger, who had arrived at the Nahal Oz base a few days earlier.
They were all part of the team working as one of the communication lookouts at the army base near Kibbutz Nahal Oz — part of the team of soldiers who watch the feeds from the cameras placed on the barrier that was breached by Hamas terrorists.
On that morning, as the base was invaded by Hamas terrorists, staff officers and surveillance soldiers entrenched themselves in the war room.
A total of 20 people were killed, and an investigation into the nature of the deaths of IDF surveillance soldiers serving on the Nahal Oz base on October 7 has reportedly revealed that they were killed by a toxic gas that caused suffocation and loss of consciousness within a few minutes of exposure.
Seven surveillance soldiers were abducted from the Nahal Oz base, including Or Megidish, who was then rescued by the IDF in October 2023; Noa Marciano, who was killed in captivity; and Ariev, Gilboa, Albag and Levy, who were freed five days before Berger.
While surveillance soldiers provide real-time intelligence information to soldiers in the field, earning them the name “the eyes of the army,” members of the all-female force believe that they were not taken seriously, partly due to their gender.
According to the accounts of the soldiers, no action was taken by the more senior officers who received the reports, and the information was disregarded as unimportant by intelligence officials.
“Even before the 7th, the job was complicated, it was hard,” said Sasha, Karina’s sister. “There was the distance from home, the complicated work of watching the screens, and knowing that the higher-ups didn’t listen to her.”
Israeli hostages Liri Albag (2nd to left), Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, and Naama Levy wave on a stage before Hamas operatives hand them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025. (AFP)
What made Karina’s service palatable before October 7 were the friends and the atmosphere that the soldiers created for themselves.
Karina keeps talking about what happened that day, how it could have happened that the base was invaded by a swarm of terrorists, said Sasha Ariev.
“She really thinks about it, she wants to know how this happened, how it could have been allowed to happen,” said her sister. “They spoke about it all the time during their captivity, how no one listened to them.”
“It’s just a different experience, to know what it is to be a surveillance soldier, to have served many shifts,” she added.
Now that Karina has been released and returned home, she’s focused on the struggle to get the rest of the hostages released. She’s familiar with the names of the soldiers who were taken hostage from the tanks at Nahal Oz, “and it’s one of the things that pains her,” said Sasha Ariev. “They were taken hostage on the same day, and they’re still there.”
She is also focused on commemorating her friends who were killed in Nahal Oz on that day.
“She knew that they had been killed when she was being taken into captivity; she saw what happened,” said Sasha Ariev, “and that occupied her mind a lot. She wants to meet with their parents and talk to them and tell them that she survived for them, not just for herself. She goes back to their commemoration again and again. She talks about them all the time.”
What’s helpful is that Karina is ready to talk to them, said her sister, 25, a neurobiology student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who paused her studies and work for the last months to lead her family’s efforts in urging the government to move forward on a hostage deal.
“She said that she waited for this moment to share what happened to her,” Sasha Ariev. “It’s important that we just listen to what she tells us.”
Released hostage Karina Ariev, third from right, and her sister, Sasha Ariev, far right, with cousins after Karina’s release on January 25, 2025 (Courtesy)
Karina also fulfilled her army service, which was completed during her 15 months of captivity.
“She finished her service,” said her sister. “Now she needs to learn how to make her own choices, something she didn’t do in school or in the army or in captivity.”
The challenge is to return to normal life.
“We’re feeling the hug of a nation,” she added. “People send us presents and food and come to give us hugs and Karina has to get used to it. She keeps asking, ‘What? Why? Why are they giving me presents?'”
The return to ordinary life
The adjustment to regular life is a process, said Shlomi Berger, father of released hostage Agam Berger, who was released five days after the other four surveillance soldiers.
In the two weeks since his daughter returned home to Israel, Shlomi Berger said it’s a miracle that his daughter returned in relatively good physical health, compared with the skeletal condition of the three male hostages released last Saturday.
Freed hostage Agam Berger (right) reunites with her parents Shlomi and Merav at an IDF facility next to the Gaza border on January 30, 2025. (IDF)
“It’s a miracle, but she really came back okay, especially when you see the men who were released last Shabbat [Saturday], they looked like concentration camp survivors,” he said. “She has some rehabilitation ahead of her, she didn’t walk a lot and she has to strengthen her body, so that’s the next challenge.”
The other challenge, he said, is for Agam to return to regular life.
“These girls have to figure out how to go to the mall and the corner store, and will people come up to them and want to hug and kiss them,” he said. “They want to be anonymous.”
It’s a shift that’s made slowly, described Shlomi Berger, starting with walks outside their Holon home at night, when there are fewer people around.
“We’ll get to the moment when she’ll go where she wants,” he said. “We all need to get back to regular life.”
As Agam slowly shares the details of the last 15 months, Shlomi Berger said he felt a sense of surprise at hearing about his daughter’s steadfastness, as she told her parents about fasting on Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av, even obtaining a different kind of flour on Passover to observe the leavened bread-free holiday.
Former hostage soldier Agam Berger attends an IDF ceremony for her sister Bar, who completed a military course, on February 3, 2025. (IDF)
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Berger, adding that the five surveillance soldiers kept journals and a calendar that they weren’t allowed to bring with them back to Israel. “They tried to keep their identities and follow the holidays and Shabbat.”
Agam’s family had heard from other former hostages released in November 2023 about Agam’s turn to religious observance as a way of strengthening her own resolve in captivity and had followed their daughter’s example.
“We chose belief,” he said. “That’s what kept us sane.”
For now, said Shlomi Berger, they’re focused on her rehabilitation and doing it together.
“Now we’ll be with Agam, hand in hand until we can let her go,” he said.
It’s not possible to simply return to regular life, said Sasha Ariev.
“Karina is back, and our family is complete, but there are hostages who aren’t back, so I’m not going back to my life just because my sister is back,” said Sasha Ariev. “It took so long for this ceasefire to happen, and I’ll continue to struggle and fight so that we get to all the stages of the ceasefire.” link
The female surveillance soldiers recently freed from Gaza were forced by Hamas to watch videos of male hostages being tortured, according to one of their mothers.
Speaking with Channel 12 news alongside three other mothers of the surveillance troops, Shira Albag quotes her daughter Liri as saying “I got out of the hell that we went through there, but the men, the soldiers, are going through worse than us.'”
“The terrorists also made a point to show them videos and share with them all sorts of things that they [the male hostages] were going through there, that they starved… all sorts of things that are really tough,” Shira Albag says. “Even today when they’re here, we don’t know everything exactly that they went through.”
In a portion of the interview aired Wednesday, the mother of released soldier hostage Daniella Gilboa detailed how Hamas forced her daughter to fake her death for a propaganda it filmed while she was in captivity, leading to rumors she had been killed.
'Donkey food, poor hygiene and fear of the IDF': Parents of released IDF lookouts talk about their daughters' suffering
Female hostages endured unimaginable hardships: cursed by captors and their children, sharing rooms with terrorists, no electricity and wearing the same pair of underwear since October 7; The parents of Karina, Liri and Naama recount how their daughters struggle to speak of the horrors
Weeks after returning to Israel following 477 days in captivity, a stark contrast remains between the relative openness of the released IDF lookouts about their time in Gaza and their silence regarding the events of October 7.
While they have spoken in detail to their families about their conditions in captivity — the constant life-threatening danger, their captors' treatment, hunger and poor hygiene — they avoid discussing what happened in the shelter at the Nahal Oz base that Saturday.
During those hours, they waited in vain for help, were beaten by terrorists and watched their comrades killed before their eyes.
"She just doesn’t talk about it," said Albert Ariev, father of Karina Ariev. "What happened in that shelter was horrific. It makes her rehabilitation even harder — I can see it. Something terrible happened to my daughter on October 7. The captivity wasn't easy but the nightmare is split into two parts."
Why is what happened in the shelter off-limits, while she discusses more than a year in captivity?
"She says she saw and experienced terrible things there. She was severely wounded and told us that she wanted to die on that day. She wished for an airstrike to end her suffering. They abused and beat her endlessly. That’s it — she won’t go further. She just says, 'I went through hell that day and wished to die.' It was the worst day of her entire period in captivity."
Since the second hostage deal began, Israelis have struggled to process the harrowing accounts of those who returned. The challenge is even greater for their families, mixing relief with the horror of what they endured.
Ynet spoke with three parents of the five released observers: Albert Ariev, father of Karina; Shira Albag, mother of Liri Albag and Yoni Levy, father of Naama Levy. They all agreed: The wounds from October 7 have not begun to heal yet.
Shira Albag: "October 7 is as much a trauma as captivity and we haven't even begun addressing it. They saw their friends murdered and then sat there for four hours. Liri told me, 'Mom, we’ll have to process that later.' She hasn't spoken about what happened there.
“At the time, they thought it had only happened at their base — they had no idea of the scale. Only after four days, when they met other hostages, did they start to grasp the full picture. It took time for them to realize how many people were kidnapped."
"Liri heard radio broadcasts and watched TV, mostly Al Jazeera. When she and her friends learned Arabic, they understood the situation — there was a war. They knew about the first hostage deal because people held with them were released.
“The captors made sure to hide anything relevant from them, except for negative news about Israel — saying there were no agreements, no efforts to bring them back. They used psychological terror, telling them, 'We’ll marry you off and convert you to Islam.'"
Yoni Levy: "Naama was exposed to the famous image of her from October 7. People told her about it — there was no way around it. She became famous against her will. From what little she’s shared, the real trauma, the breaking point and the most horrifying scenes were on October 7. Her world collapsed on that day."
Bread made of donkey food
The upright posture and piercing gaze of the four lookouts released on January 25 gave the impression they had been together the entire time, but in reality, they were often separated.
"Liri was with Agam Berger from day one and, at times, with Naama," said Shira Albag. "She wasn’t with Daniella Gilboa or Karina. They have a deep connection. They experienced something we will never understand.
“They don’t talk about it — when they meet, they just hold hands in silence and understand each other. Each of them went through it alone but their bond gave them strength. Even now, outside of captivity, being together helps them cope."
Did they see the Hamas videos of them?
"They saw them on TV. Their captors made sure they did. But Liri told me, 'Mom, it passed quickly.' They didn’t dwell on it. Not like us, who watched them over and over for days."
Where was Liri held?
"She was in both houses and tunnels. Mostly homes. The tunnels drove her crazy with the silence, even though they technically had more freedom to move. But they were humid and eerily quiet — total silence. At least in the houses she could hear movement outside, which helped her feel that something was happening."
"The houses she was in belonged to families with children and those kids cursed at her, spat on her and threatened her. We’ll have to deal with these kids when they grow up to be terrorists. That’s our reality in the Middle East."
What did they eat? How did they maintain hygiene?
"Sometimes they got two meals a day; sometimes they had nothing for days. At times, they ate food meant for donkeys. They made pita bread from it because there was no flour. Hygiene was minimal. Liri wore the same underwear from October 7. As women, we understand what that means — it’s not easy. They got sick a lot."
How did they pass the time?
"With a lot of thoughts and imagination. They played word-association games. They all kept diaries but weren’t allowed to take anything out of captivity. They also sang — rewriting lyrics to familiar songs."
Anger at the state
Karina, on the other hand, preferred staying in tunnels. "She had a logical explanation," said Albert Ariev. "Being above ground in Gaza was a death trap. She preferred to be underground because there were constant airstrikes above.
“Some days, they were moved while buildings collapsed around them, with shrapnel flying everywhere. She just wanted to be somewhere safe — even if it was a tunnel. She didn’t care as long as she survived."
"Sometimes they got two meals a day; sometimes they had nothing for days. At times, they ate food meant for donkeys."
What were the conditions like?
"They only had cold water and washed with a funnel. She had no spare underwear but asked for a toothbrush and got one. There was no electricity. Some days, she didn’t leave her bed. They could move between locations, but they were stuck in a room for a month at times."
How was the food?
"She said it was 'not tasty,' but she forced herself to eat. She ate whatever the terrorists ate. During tough times, they gave them their own food."
Karina spent more than a year with Daniella Gilboa. How did they pass the time?
"My daughter came back speaking fluent Arabic. It’s surreal. She translates Al Jazeera for us. They also wrote songs. They enlisted together, served at the Nahal Oz base for nine months and were among the few lookouts who knew exactly what was happening that morning. When Karina called us, she simply said, 'War broke out. Dad, don’t come here.' That’s how she said goodbye."
"They were a trio — Karina, Daniella and Aviv Hajaj, who was murdered in the shelter before their eyes. They were always together in the operations room, deeply bonded. That helped them survive, despite the occasional arguments in captivity."
Yoni Levy: "Naama was held with other hostages and, at times, with some of the lookouts. There were many relocations, separations and regroupings. She’s mostly angry at Israel. She feels the state tried to kill her because it bombed the houses she was in. In one case, they barely escaped and a collapsing wall injured her. Her biggest fear was our own bombings."
How were they treated by their captors?
Shira Albag: "Liri reads people well. The moment she was taken, she understood: 'This is my reality now. I’m in Gaza and I need to survive like a Gazan.' She knew how to handle them — not by fighting, but by playing their game.
“It worked well beyond our expectations. At the same time, the terrorists slept in their room 24/7, always watching them. Every moment was a threat — one wrong word or a captor in a bad mood and everything changed."
Albert Ariev: "The captors explained why they carried out October 7—it was the blockade, the food shortages, the power cuts. They were both angry and emotional. Karina kept her distance, avoiding debates."
"She saw firsthand what happened when Israel bombed. She’s furious that people, including her, weren’t evacuated before the airstrikes. She knows Hamas is a terrorist group responsible for October 7, but she’s also angry at Israel because she lived through the war on both sides—as an abandoned target on October 7 and as a captive under bombardment in Gaza."
'Every little thing brings them back'
Even now, surrounded by loved ones, captivity lingers.
Albert Ariev: "Karina told us there were constant bombings in Gaza. Even today, she covers her ears when a helicopter flies overhead. We hope it passes with time."
Yoni Levy: "We were at home when a passing car made some noise — something we didn't even notice — but she got terribly scared. She watched a bit of the release on Saturday and you could see it shook her. She doesn't understand what it means — whether there will be another round or not.
“We can't even explain to her what a 'humanitarian phase' means and that young people and soldiers would come later. She keeps saying, 'Everyone needs to get out of there, what don't you understand?' Even on a personal level, her recovery can't begin until it ends and everyone comes back."
Shira Albag: "Liri said right after she was released, 'We were in hell and the boys are in an even worse hell.' We see the girls now and they look strong, like they're okay and they laugh — but nothing is okay. People need to understand that.
“We need to get everyone out urgently just so they can get close to being okay. There's no set formula for their recovery and we still don't know how to approach it. No one in this country does — not even the therapists. Everyone is learning, us and Liri too."
Did she watch the hostage release on Saturday?
"I didn't watch TV. I only looked at Liri and when I saw her reaction, I quickly told them, 'Turn it off.' I saw it wasn't good for her. She froze. Every little thing like that brings them back. I saw that even though she was home, at that moment, she was still in captivity.
"Liri said that more than once that the terrorists told them, 'When you're united, we fear you. You're strong.' They kept repeating it. That's something everyone needs to take in — the leaders and the people. Over these 15 months, I've realized the people are very united but our leadership isn't."
Albert Ariev: "Karina also thinks about the hostages still there a lot. She said, 'Our hearts are split into 255 pieces.' Every person who doesn’t return shatters her heart. She was only with Daniella throughout captivity, but she heard from others about different hostages and knows the horrors they're enduring."
'You can't be fully happy'
The returning lookouts have modest dreams: waking up and making coffee, eating breakfast at home, opening their own closet, sleeping in their own bed and showering in their own bathroom. The small things that were taken from them for 15 months now bring them immense joy.
Shira Albag: "Everything is in her hands now and those little things do her good. Even just sitting with us and watching TV — not that we get to do much of it. Yesterday, she got a tattoo she dreamed of while in captivity and even drew it — a postage stamp with hearts and a phrase that gave her strength throughout. The funny thing is, I don't even remember what it says."
Yoni Levy: "In her first days back, Naama really wanted to go to the sea. She said she had dreamed about it for a long time underground. Even in the hospital, there was a window and every afternoon, when there was nothing else to do, she would go look at the sunset over the sea.
“So, when we had the chance, we took her for half an hour — to see the horizon, to hear the waves. She and I are trying to figure out when she can run a few kilometers again. Sports was a big part of her life and we're looking for the first opportunity for her to reconnect with herself, with her body."
Albert Ariev: "Karina has a long rehabilitation ahead of her. She was injured in the head and lower limbs. Her legs are full of shrapnel, which makes standing and walking for long periods difficult. She also has shrapnel in her face, so it'll take time.”
What would you say to the hostages’ families still waiting?
Shira Albag: "Three weeks ago, I was in their place. Nothing I say can help — they’re at their lowest point. But you can't lose hope and faith. You have to hold onto them. Talk to the hostages, on the radio and TV.
“We don’t know who’s listening. It strengthens them. Liri didn’t hear us, only other families, and still, it gave her strength. Just by reaching out, they don’t lose hope. We're in a battle to bring them home. Liri is here, but for me, this war isn’t over until the last hostage returns."
Albag can’t hold back her tears. "It's still hard for me," she says. "I see Idit, Alon Ohel’s mother, and I cry with her. Just a moment ago, Liri was in his place. You can’t be fully happy. Even Liri isn’t fully happy as long as there’s a hostage still in there." link
Gaza and the South
- Some in Israel concerned Trump’s USAID freeze may spark humanitarian crisis in Gaza — official
The Trump administration’s halt to much of the operations of the US Agency for International Development has some in Israel concerned, as it coincides with the implementation of Knesset legislation severely restricting the operations of UNRWA — a combination that could spark a humanitarian crisis if the war in Gaza resumes, a senior Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
The concern is largely being voiced within COGAT — the Israeli military body responsible for facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, the Israeli official explains.
Israel has been working to have alternative international agencies replace the large logistical role UNRWA has been playing in the Gaza humanitarian operation.
USAID funds many of those agencies, including the World Food Programme. While some of that funding has been allowed to continue in recent days, the Israeli official says there are other programs USAID funds in Gaza, the West Bank and beyond that are important to Israel’s security and economy but are currently in limbo.
- Report: Pentagon threatening to withhold military aid from Egypt unless it accepts Trump’s Gaza plan
The US is attempting to pressure Cairo into accepting President Donald Trump’s vision for the postwar Gaza Strip and the relocation of Palestinians to Egypt, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.
Citing Egyptian sources in Washington, the London-based news outlet alleges that the Pentagon recently warned Egyptian military officials that it may begin restricting military aid if Cairo doesn’t fall in line and accept Trump’s plan.
In particular, the sources say that supplies needed for routine maintenance and spare weapons parts could be on the chopping block.
Trump first suggested on January 25 that Egypt and Jordan should take in Palestinians from Gaza. In the days that followed, he proposed a US takeover of Gaza and a potential permanent displacement of Palestinians from the enclave with no right of return.
He has continued to insist that both Jordan and Egypt will come around, although the Egyptian foreign ministry said earlier this week that it plans to present an alternative vision for the reconstruction of Gaza that ensures Palestinians remain on their land. link Neither Jordan nor Egypt, nor any other Arab country will do as Trump is pushing them to do even at the expense of losing all aid from the US. They are truly between a rock and hard place. It is a decision of whether to hurt their economy or to risk their regime. It is obvious to all but Trump what they will do.
Saudi Arabia to host leaders of 4 Arab countries, PA president at summit on Trump’s Gaza plan next week
Saudi Arabia will host the leaders of four Arab countries at a summit on February 20 to discuss Donald Trump’s proposal for a US takeover of Gaza, a source with knowledge of the preparations says.
The leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will attend the summit, which will take place ahead of an Arab League meeting in Cairo on February 27 on the same issue, the source says.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, another source says Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will also attend.
The Trump administration’s halt to much of the operations of the US Agency for International Development has some in Israel concerned, as it coincides with the implementation of Knesset legislation severely restricting the operations of UNRWA — a combination that could spark a humanitarian crisis if the war in Gaza resumes, a senior Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
The concern is largely being voiced within COGAT — the Israeli military body responsible for facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, the Israeli official explains.
Israel has been working to have alternative international agencies replace the large logistical role UNRWA has been playing in the Gaza humanitarian operation.
USAID funds many of those agencies, including the World Food Programme. While some of that funding has been allowed to continue in recent days, the Israeli official says there are other programs USAID funds in Gaza, the West Bank and beyond that are important to Israel’s security and economy but are currently in limbo.
The US is attempting to pressure Cairo into accepting President Donald Trump’s vision for the postwar Gaza Strip and the relocation of Palestinians to Egypt, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.
Citing Egyptian sources in Washington, the London-based news outlet alleges that the Pentagon recently warned Egyptian military officials that it may begin restricting military aid if Cairo doesn’t fall in line and accept Trump’s plan.
In particular, the sources say that supplies needed for routine maintenance and spare weapons parts could be on the chopping block.
Trump first suggested on January 25 that Egypt and Jordan should take in Palestinians from Gaza. In the days that followed, he proposed a US takeover of Gaza and a potential permanent displacement of Palestinians from the enclave with no right of return.
He has continued to insist that both Jordan and Egypt will come around, although the Egyptian foreign ministry said earlier this week that it plans to present an alternative vision for the reconstruction of Gaza that ensures Palestinians remain on their land. link Neither Jordan nor Egypt, nor any other Arab country will do as Trump is pushing them to do even at the expense of losing all aid from the US. They are truly between a rock and hard place. It is a decision of whether to hurt their economy or to risk their regime. It is obvious to all but Trump what they will do.
Saudi Arabia to host leaders of 4 Arab countries, PA president at summit on Trump’s Gaza plan next week
The leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will attend the summit, which will take place ahead of an Arab League meeting in Cairo on February 27 on the same issue, the source says.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, another source says Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will also attend.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
- After IDF’s Hezbollah smuggling claim, Lebanon tells Iranian airline its flight won’t be allowed to land
Dozens of Lebanese nationals have been stranded at the international airport in Tehran since this morning after Lebanese aviation authorities informed the Iranian Mahar Air airline that its flight to Beirut would not be permitted to land, Lebanese news channel LBCI reports.
Last night, the IDF said that Iran’s IRGC Quds Force has, in recent weeks, been using civilian flights to smuggle cash to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon via the Beirut international airport, and that the Israeli military has been regularly updating a US-led committee supervising the ceasefire with information to foil the attempts.
- IDF to remain at five strategic points in southern Lebanon, minister confirms
The IDF will maintain a presence in five strategic points in southern Lebanon “until Lebanon implements its treaty obligations,” Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer tells Bloomberg, following reports from yesterday that the US has approved the move.
The minister, a close Netanyahu confidant, does not say how long the troops will remain, but “signaled Israeli troops won’t be removed in the short-term.”
According to the terms of a November 2024 ceasefire agreement with the Hezbollah terror group, Israel was set to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by late January — a deadline that was extended to February 18, with American and Lebanese approval — as Hezbollah withdrew its forces north, and the Lebanese military deployed to the region.
Israel has accused Lebanon of failing to meet its obligations to deploy to the area, allowing Hezbollah to maintain or renew its presence there.
The US rejected an Israeli request for a further extension earlier this week, a US official said, and the Lebanese government has insisted on a complete IDF withdrawal.
- IDF finds, destroys Hezbollah weapons depots in southern LebanonIDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon have demolished several Hezbollah weapon depots, the military says.
In the arms caches, the IDF says troops of the 769th “Hiram” Regional Brigade found missiles, rockets, mortars, grenades, explosive devices and firearms.
The soldiers also found a multiple rocket launcher system.
The weapons were seized and the facilities were blown up by combat engineers. link
Dozens of Lebanese nationals have been stranded at the international airport in Tehran since this morning after Lebanese aviation authorities informed the Iranian Mahar Air airline that its flight to Beirut would not be permitted to land, Lebanese news channel LBCI reports.
Last night, the IDF said that Iran’s IRGC Quds Force has, in recent weeks, been using civilian flights to smuggle cash to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon via the Beirut international airport, and that the Israeli military has been regularly updating a US-led committee supervising the ceasefire with information to foil the attempts.
The IDF will maintain a presence in five strategic points in southern Lebanon “until Lebanon implements its treaty obligations,” Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer tells Bloomberg, following reports from yesterday that the US has approved the move.
The minister, a close Netanyahu confidant, does not say how long the troops will remain, but “signaled Israeli troops won’t be removed in the short-term.”
According to the terms of a November 2024 ceasefire agreement with the Hezbollah terror group, Israel was set to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by late January — a deadline that was extended to February 18, with American and Lebanese approval — as Hezbollah withdrew its forces north, and the Lebanese military deployed to the region.
Israel has accused Lebanon of failing to meet its obligations to deploy to the area, allowing Hezbollah to maintain or renew its presence there.
The US rejected an Israeli request for a further extension earlier this week, a US official said, and the Lebanese government has insisted on a complete IDF withdrawal.
West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel
- IDF troops destroyed explosive-laden car in West Bank’s Jenin, military says
Troops of the Egoz commando unit destroyed an explosive-laden car in the West Bank city of Jenin earlier today, the military says.
Footage published by the IDF shows a drone dropping a bomb on the parked car. video
Troops of the Egoz commando unit destroyed an explosive-laden car in the West Bank city of Jenin earlier today, the military says.
Footage published by the IDF shows a drone dropping a bomb on the parked car. video
Politics and the War (general news)
The Region and the World- Iran accuses Israel of disrupting air route to Lebanon after Hezbollah smuggling claim stops flight from landing
Iran’s foreign ministry accuses Israel of disrupting flights between Tehran and the Lebanese capital, Beirut, after Lebanese aviation authorities refused to permit an Iranian passenger flight to land on Thursday.
Iran’s foreign ministry accuses Israel of disrupting flights between Tehran and the Lebanese capital, Beirut, after Lebanese aviation authorities refused to permit an Iranian passenger flight to land on Thursday.
The refusal came after Israel said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had been smuggling cash to Hezbollah on civilian flights.
“The threat by the Zionist Regime to a passenger plane carrying Lebanese citizens has disrupted normal flights to Beirut Airport,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei says in a statement.
Lebanese media reported that dozens of Lebanese nationals were stranded in Tehran after the Maher Air airline was informed that its flight to Beirut would not be able to land.
Personal Stories
MAYA LIMBERG
**17-year-old, released after 53 days in Hamas captivity along with her mother Gabriela and their dog Bella:**
"Bella is different from other small dogs I know; she’s quite quiet... so they didn’t notice her... We gave her scraps of our food so she could eat, and she tried to walk in every direction in the area where we were held... She helped me a lot. She kept me occupied. She was a moral support, even though she didn’t mean to be. I’m so glad I was able to go through this entire journey with her..."
AGAM GOLDSTEIN
**17-year-old, released after 51 days in Hamas captivity along with her mother Chen and brothers Gal and Tal. Her sister Yam and father Nadav (of blessed memory) were murdered on October 7:**
"I remember our arrival there. I told my mom, 'Mom, they’re going to rape me,' but I didn’t really understand... Even now, I don’t fully grasp that I was there. It feels like someone else’s story. It feels like there was never really a moment of understanding the situation. I don’t know if we’ll ever truly understand that we were there."
OPHELIA ROITMAN
**77-year-old, released after 53 days in Hamas captivity:**
"I was very scared during the first two weeks. I thought I was going crazy because I was alone, almost without light, and almost without food. Food became very important to me—having it in my hand or in a drawer. It reminded me of the Holocaust... The days are very hard. One day feels like an entire week."
Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages
Your Hands are Covered in Blood (Isaiah, Chapter 1, verse 15)Prof. Ruhama WeissProfessor of Talmud and Spiritual Guidance, author and publicist.
A Google search for the words “Netanyahu shirks responsibility” yields an astounding number of results. Netanyahu has shirked responsibility for the “submarine affair” purchases from Germany; he has sidestepped blame in his ongoing trial: “There’s nothing there, because nothing happened.” In 2018 he lashed out at Orna Peretz, who complained about the shutting down of a Kiryat Shmona emergency room, and said “You bore us,” and then later denied his words. That is his modus operandi: he generates catastrophes, evades responsibility, evades the evasion, and moves on to the next disaster.But nothing can compare to what is happening right now: he has shirked responsibility for everything related to October 7th: Hamas’ conquest of parts of Israel, the brutal massacre, anescalating war, and the capture of hostages. We are all to blame, but him? He shakes it off, preoccupied with his own survival.Netanyahu has had a number of opportunities to free the hostages, but he shies away from responsibility. He’d rather sidestep, accusing the families of the hostages. “They haven’t thanked us,” his wife complains about the families, who are crazed with anxiety about their loved ones. He blames Hamas for reneging on deals. He would also blame God (if not for the fear it would cost him his coalition), but he will not take responsibility.Netanyahu’s routine evasion and the contempt he feels for anyone who demands he take responsibility is reminiscent of an ancient Jewish tradition about which we read in the Passover Haggadah:“The wicked one, what does he say? What is this service to you? ‘To you’, he says, but not to himself! When he sets himself apart from the community, he denies the very core of our beliefs. And you must set his teeth on edge and tell him, "It is because of this that the Lord acted for me when I came out of Egypt"; `For me' - but not for him! Had he been there, he would not have been redeemed!"What can we say, Bibi? You’re the “wicked” one from the Haggadah. You are the man who routinely sets himself apart. Whenever times are hard for your people, you step away from involvement. From responsibility. When things look and photograph well (for instance, the Independence Day ceremonies before the massacre), you demand to play a central role as part of the “people.” And whenever you want funds from the public coffers (when don’t you?) you are the “public” itself.But whenever it is necessary to shoulder responsibility and take action - you deny the core of our beliefs. You shrug it off and feign innocence: “What is this service to you?” You don’t understand the parents who are waiting for their sons and daughters, you don’t empathize with their horror. You don’t want to relate to the children who are worried about their parents. You deny the very core of our beliefs, and the core of the Jewish people’s beliefs has always been mutual accountability.What is ironic is that had you been there yourself, you would have been saved. Because if you were there, in the Hamas tunnels, there would be a different, perhaps a female prime minister, and he or she would not behave as you have. They would comply with the rule: “All of Israel are responsible for each other,” and release the hostages.Your hands are covered in blood.
Acronyms and Glossary
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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