π️Lonny's War Update- October 504, 2023 - February 21, 2025 π️
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π️Day 504 that 69 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
*Shin Bet said to arrest suspects who transported bus bombers, including Jewish Israeli
The Shin Bet security agency reportedly arrested three suspects, including at least one Jewish Israeli, suspected of driving at least one of the apparent terrorists who set off several bombs on empty buses in the Tel Aviv suburbs of Bat Yam and Holon last night.
Hebrew media outlets report that the Jewish Israeli suspect will be brought for a remand hearing today. Additionally, a Palestinian illegally in Israel was also reportedly detained in connection to the attack as well as at least one other suspect.
The Shin Bet declines to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.
**A potential disaster was miraculously averted yesterday when terrorists planted large bombs on 4 different buses in the Gush Dan area (Bat Yam and Holon). If those buses had been full of passengers, we would have had several mass casualty events. Article in section on West Bank and Israel section below
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The Shin Bet security agency reportedly arrested three suspects, including at least one Jewish Israeli, suspected of driving at least one of the apparent terrorists who set off several bombs on empty buses in the Tel Aviv suburbs of Bat Yam and Holon last night.
Hebrew media outlets report that the Jewish Israeli suspect will be brought for a remand hearing today. Additionally, a Palestinian illegally in Israel was also reportedly detained in connection to the attack as well as at least one other suspect.
The Shin Bet declines to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.
**A potential disaster was miraculously averted yesterday when terrorists planted large bombs on 4 different buses in the Gush Dan area (Bat Yam and Holon). If those buses had been full of passengers, we would have had several mass casualty events. Article in section on West Bank and Israel section below
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Hostage Updates
A COUNTRY IN MOURNING
Yesterday was a horrible day, one of so many, one that brought us back so quickly to October 7. The bodies of Shiri, Ariel, Kfri and Oded Lifshitz brought with them the pain of an entire nation and a reminder that there are no winners in this war, there is no such thing as 'total victory'! There are only losers on both sides. We lost the war on October 7 and the Palestinians lost on October 8.
We have over 2000 dead and worse than that, the total loss of the sense of security and the total loss of faith in our government. We had a temporary loss of faith in our army but fortunately, the army got its act together and regained most of the faith of the public except for one all too important thing. We all were raised and educated towards the ideology and action that we take care of each other and we don't leave our people behind. While we have hostages left in Gaza, no one sending their child to the army can now fully believe that their child coming home is a guarantee. In this, the government failed us miserably and has continued to fail us for 504 days and counting. While there are hostages in Gaza, we cannot begin to heal, to rebuild our faith in our government, to start our post trauma period because we are still in a trauma of 16 months and going. In this war, there are no military victories that can heal us. The only victory that can begin that healing is bringing home the hostages. This will be our victory.A country in mourning: crowds accompanied the Shabbat of the abducted
- Israel says it has received list from Hamas of hostages slated for release tomorrow
Top row, from left: Omer Shem-Tov, Tal Shoham, Eliya Cohen. Bottom row, from left: Avera Mengistu, Hisham al-Sayed, Omer Wenkert (Courtesy)
Israel says it has received a list from Hamas of the six hostages slated for release from Gaza tomorrow.
In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office says that the families of the hostages on the list have been informed. It asks the public to refrain from sharing rumors or unverified information.
Hamas earlier named those hostages as Tal Shoham, Omer Shem-Tov, Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed. The names were publicized in Israel earlier this week when the families were informed. Hamas says it will probe allegations over Shiri Bibas’s remains, asks Israel to return body of Gazan woman
Palestinian terrorists carry one of the coffins said to carry the bodies of four slain Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Khan Younis in the Gaza on February 20, 2025. (Eyad BABA / AFP)Hamas expresses surprise over Israeli anger after the terror group handed over a body yesterday that it claimed was Shiri Bibas, but Israeli authorities determined was not.
In a statement, Hamas says it will “examine these allegations very seriously” and announce the results of its investigation.
The Hamas statement reiterates its claim that there may have been an “error or mix up” in bodies found in the rubble of an Israeli airstrike which it said killed Shiri and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir. Israel said last night that Ariel and Kfir, whose remains were identified after being handed over, were murdered in captivity by terrorists.
Hamas calls on Israel to return to Gaza the body of the Palestinian woman that it handed over yesterday in place of Shiri.
The terror group says it remains committed to implementing the current ceasefire-hostage release deal and vows to uphold “all of our obligations,” claiming that it has no interest in holding on to any bodies of hostages.
Hamas claims Shiri Bibas’s remains were mixed with other human remains in rubble of airstrike
After Israel said a body returned from Gaza yesterday was not that of Shiri Bibas, Hamas claims that the Israeli hostage’s remains had been mixed with other human remains from the rubble after an Israeli air strike hit the place where she was being held.
Hamas official Ismail al-Thawabteh claims that Shiri’s body “was turned into pieces after apparently being mixed with other bodies under the rubble,” reiterating its claim that Israel was behind her death.
Hamas has claimed for the past year that Shiri and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Israeli authorities said overnight that the remains of Ariel and Kfir were identified and that they were murdered by terrorists in captivity.
They said the remains placed in a coffin labeled with Shiri’s face were actually that of an unidentified Gazan woman.
Israeli officials say that the body handed over was in a condition that authorities at the Abu Kabir forensic institute were able to definitively determine it did not belong to Shiri.They say the body was also dressed in clothing, and was examined several times by the institute. The body’s DNA was tested against that of Shiri and all other female hostages still held by Hamas, and none of them matched.
Hostage Forum demands government act ‘wisely’ following news that Shiri Bibas’s body not returned
In a statement, the Hostage Families Forum calls on the government to find a way to bring back Shiri Bibas as quickly as possible, after Israel overnight said the body handed over by Hamas yesterday did not belong to her.
The forum says it experienced “terrible shock” to learn that the body handed over with those of Oded Lifshitz, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, was not that of Shiri, as Hamas had said, nor of any other hostage.
“Our demand of the Israeli government is to find the right, wise and quickest way to bring back Shiri and all the hostages,” the forum adds, appearing to use careful language ahead of the slated release tomorrow of six living hostages.
“Our loved ones are there and we do not know their fate,” the forum adds. “Don’t leave them there in the hands of the vile murderers.” The forum says Israel must “stand wisely and responsibly in the face of violations of the agreement, and not let up.”
### Aunt of Kfir and Ariel Bibas: "Sorry, this should never have happened to you. We will miss you forever - and we will not give up on Mom"
Ofri Bibas, the sister of Yarden Bibas and the aunt of young Kfir and Ariel, bid farewell to her nephews today (Friday) in a post she shared on Facebook, after their bodies were identified in the past 24 hours at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute. "Sorry, Luli. Sorry, Pirpir. None of this should have happened to you. We will miss you forever. We will not give up on Mom, Shiri," wrote Ofri, after Shiri Bibas' body was not returned alongside her young children—instead, the body of a Gazan woman was brought to Israel.
In an earlier statement published by Kibbutz Nir Oz, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's promise to avenge Hamas' cruel violation of not returning Shiri Bibas with her children, it was written: "We woke up to a difficult morning. Alongside this, we hold fast to our values and the clear demands of the Bibas family at this time: release (the hostages), not revenge."
Nir Oz clarified that "the state must bring Shiri back by all means, in a way that does not thwart the continuation of the deal and the release of all hostages immediately. Hamas is a murderous organization that does not hesitate to kill infants and toddlers. Our expectations are from the Israeli government, whose actions must be immediate to bring all 70 hostages out of the hands of the murderers and end the ongoing failure."
Following his statement this morning, in which Netanyahu promised that "Hamas will pay the price," he issued another statement, this time in English, presenting the images of young Kfir and Ariel to the world. In this longer statement, Netanyahu said, "Today is a tragic day. It is a day of endless sorrow, of indescribable pain. Four-year-old Ariel Bibas, his one-year-old brother Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz were brutally murdered by the savages of Hamas. Their bodies are returning home to a nation in mourning. A nation that will never forget these beautiful souls."
"The children of the Bibas family, in particular, have become a symbol of who we are and who we are fighting against. These perfect children, once again, were four years old and less than a year old when the savages of Hamas kidnapped them from their mother's arms. She fought like a lioness to protect her sons. Just imagine their terror. Imagine their confusion. Perfect little children who never harmed a soul. Who kidnaps a small child and a baby and murders them? Monsters, that's who. These Hamas monsters also cynically refused to return the boys' mother, Shiri, and instead sent the body of a Gazan woman, in a brazen violation of the agreement. Today, the heavens are shaking."
He added, "As the Prime Minister of Israel, I swear that I will not rest until the savages who executed our hostages are brought to justice. They do not deserve to walk this earth. Nothing will stop me." Unlike his Hebrew statement, in his English statement, Netanyahu apologized to Ariel, Kfir, and Oded: "I am so sorry we could not save you from the monsters who did this."
Despite the violation of the agreement, it should be noted that Israel, at this stage, intends to continue the current hostage deal and bring out the six living hostages tomorrow—Tal Shoham, Omar Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, Avraham Mengistu, Hisham al-Sayed, and Elia Cohen. Israel, in fact, does not want to break the deal.
In Israel, there is difficulty understanding why Hamas violated the agreement and sent, as part of the return of the abducted bodies, a body that is not Shiri Bibas'. The estimation that this was an innocent mistake is "50-50," according to Israeli sources. On the other hand, the fact that Hamas chose to return the bodies of the murdered children, Kfir and Ariel, indicates that Hamas knew where they were buried.
Hamas did not deny that a body other than the mother's was transferred and issued its first official response: "It is possible that the remains of Shiri Bibas' body were mixed with the remains of others." In a fuller statement, Hamas said, "The organization emphasizes the need to move forward in implementing the terms of the agreement at all levels. We have received the claims from Israel through the mediators and will examine them seriously. We point to the possibility of a mistake or mixing of bodies that may have resulted from the bombings in the area where the family was present. At the same time, we call for the return of the body that, according to the occupation, belongs to a Palestinian woman killed during the Zionist bombing."
In the coming days, unprecedented pressure will be applied on Hamas to correct the mistake and return Shiri Bibas, who is estimated to no longer be alive, as soon as possible.
- In Yad Mordechai, in the Hostage square and along all the southern roads up to the Institute of Forensic Medicine, crowds of Israelis stood with flags to accompany the convoy carrying the coffins of the empty abductees who returned to Israel
We will not forget, we will not forgive (the government and Prime Minister)
PM’s office: Oded Lifshitz was slain in captivity by Palestinian Islamic Jihad
Oded Lifshitz (Amiram Oren)
MAY HIS MEMORY BE A REVOLUTIONThe Prime Minister’s Office confirms that the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine has finished its identification of slain hostage Oded Lifshitz. It says that the IDF has told Lifshitz’s family that he was slain in captivity by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
His family announced two hours ago that they had been notified.
Lifshitz, 83, a lifelong peace activist and one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz, was kidnapped from his home there on October 7, 2023. His wife Yocheved was abducted separately and released 16 days later.
- **On the Morning of the Return of the Fallen Hostages: Hate Graffiti Written on a Sign at the Hostages Families Headquarters**
Activists from the headquarters found the messages "You protested in favor of refusal, and this is the result, you are to blame" and "The left is responsible for the massacre" written on a sign at the entrance to the headquarters in Tel Aviv. The inciting graffiti was discovered, and likely written, on the morning when the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her children Ariel and Kfir, as well as Oded Lifshitz, were returned to Israel after being murdered while in Hamas captivity in Gaza. 
Throughout the morning, crowds of family members and supporters arrived at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to honor the memory of the fallen hostages being returned to Israel. Yael Adar, the mother of the fallen hostage Tamir Adar, may he rest in peace, said in the Channel 12 studio that it fills her heart to see the square full. "We thought it was impossible for the square to be full when people return alive and there is joy, but to be empty when the fallen return," she said. "The square is full today to express respect and forgiveness for those who have returned."
In response to the incident, the Hostages Families Headquarters stated: "We were shocked to discover on this difficult morning that last night, signs supporting the hostages and their families were vandalized outside the headquarters. The defacement of these signs is an attempt to harm the families themselves and the most just struggle of all—bringing all the hostages home. This horrific and violent act, which is under investigation by the Israel Police, will not silence us or cause us to stop our determined efforts, on behalf of the families, until the last hostage is returned—the living for rehabilitation and the fallen for burial. Following the complaint we filed, we expect the police and authorities to act decisively against the vandals and ensure that such incidents do not happen again."
Alongside the crowds in the square in Tel Aviv, dozens of members of the Nir Oz community stood in silent protest this morning near their temporary residence in Karmei Gat. Dozens of people also waited in the pouring rain at the edges of the Gama junction to greet the convoy carrying the fallen hostages returning from Gaza, so they could pay their final respects.
"We are in great pain because we feared this is what would come," said Ofra from Kibbutz Tzalim, where Jordan Bibas grew up and where she was his guide for many years during his childhood. "We are also embracing this pain. Closing this circle is important to everyone—to us as members of Yarden's kibbutz, and to all those who have not yet returned. We are here for him, and for all the hostages and all the fallen." link When the war began 16 months ago, when the population came together to do whatever can be done to help in all areas, no matter their religious or political leanings. I heard a news commentator here in Israel who said that he hoped that when the war ends, he hopes that we will continue to act this way towards each other. We can and will continue to argue with each other but he hoped that it would no longer be with anger and violence. That statement touched me deeply as we have seen the divisions in Israel grow on a daily basis for many years and it had reached the worst aspects and actions in a society with anger and violence and that this divide was deliberate, planned and promoted regularly by none other than our prime minister, Netanyahu, who I have called for many years, the great divider. I hoped beyond all hope that his actions and words would change and he would show himself to be a leader that we desperately needed following October 7 but he quickly dashed all of those naive hopes. He and his machine of poison quickly went into action and as soon as the hostage families started to organize and demand action to bring the hostages home, Netanyahu's machine of hate pushed the issue to the unbelievable situation of being a political issue and not a national moral imperative. As a result, Netanyahu supporters and the supporters of the extremist messianic partners began cursing the families and their supporters and referring to us as traitors and Hamas supporters. It is this horrific poison machine is what brought this disgusting grafitti of blaming the hostage families for the war and for the death of their loved ones. Disgusting!
- Gaza ceasefire won’t have a 2nd phase, ‘senior official’ pledges to pro-Netanyahu outlet
For the second time this week, Channel 14 — a pro-Netanyahu network that is the only Israeli outlet to which the prime minister has granted interviews since 2021 — reports that there will be no second phase of the deal with Hamas.
On Sunday, Channel 14 cited a “senior Israeli official” saying there will not be a second phase, and Israel will instead try to extend the ongoing first phase. Today, it does not source its claim that the security establishment is looking into extending the ongoing first phase by two weeks, but quotes the senior official as certain that the second phase will not happen.
The outlet — which is seen as having regular access to Netanyahu and his inner circle — says that a final decision has been made with the Americans that the ceasefire will end and that Israel will “open the gates of hell” on Gaza.
This messaging comes as the government tells other outlets that it will hold negotiations on the second phase. link This is likely coming directly/indirectly out of Netanyahu's office, which means it comes from him without it being an official announcement, and therefore not one that he has to defend or answer about. This isn't a surprise as he has been doing everything to avoid any discussion on Phase 2. The closest he has come is to say that the negotiators will discuss the extension of Phase 1. No one knows what that means, perhaps an attempt to release more hostages without committing to end the war, which is specified in the Phase 2 part of the open agreement. We need Phase 2 but in one release and not weekly or even daily. We need all the hostages to be brought home immediately and all together. That will require the end of the war and pull back of Israeli forces.
- **"We received monstrous reactions": The struggle for Avraham will end on Shabbat, but the sense of injustice will not**
Just days before the expected release of Avraham Mengistu from captivity in Gaza, Avihu Yalo, who has fought for his return for over a decade, is still not sure it’s really happening. In an interview with *Ynet*, he talks about a cheerful young man who spiraled mentally after his brother’s death (he was never treated), the online reactions to his release ("crossing norms, loss of values"), and his dreams for the future: "I hope he stands on his own feet, builds a home, and heals his wounded soul."
After more than 3,800 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, Avraham Mengistu is expected to be released and return to Israel this coming Shabbat, alongside Hisham al-Sayed, Omar Shem Tov, Tal Shoham, Elia Cohen, and Omer Wenkert. Avihu Yalo, one of the leaders of the campaign for his return, who also serves as chairman of the *Tzedek* party and is a social activist and entrepreneur, spoke to *Ynet* today (Thursday) about the mixed emotions, the beginning of the struggle, and the dreams he has for Avraham: "I hope he gets married, becomes a father. That he succeeds in rebuilding himself out of this tragedy." 
**Celebrating Avraham’s birthday, August 2024**
Abera Mengistu in a video from Hamas 2023
"This moment, when we were told Avraham would return on Shabbat, was complex and overwhelming. On one hand, the excitement is so great, it’s an amazing thing. On the other hand, you can’t help but ask—is this really happening? Will it happen? After all, this moment comes after so many years of struggle, of trying to keep his case in the public consciousness, to talk about it again and again, to remind people that he’s alive," says Yalo. "Until the last moment, when we see him, there’s a fear that, God forbid, it won’t happen. Avraham’s parents, for example, don’t want to be interviewed yet, they don’t want to speak, they’re afraid of being disappointed."
Avraham, who was born in Ethiopia, came to Israel at the age of five with his parents, brothers, and sisters. "In a one-room apartment in the Antiquities neighborhood of Ashkelon," as Yalo describes it, they lived together—11 people. "This is a family that has experienced so many difficulties and hardships, environmental, economic. An invisible family, it’s not like they have connections to the media or politicians. Ehud Olmert said it, Yoaz Hendel wrote it—if his name were different, and he were born into a different family, this wouldn’t have played out like this. He would have been brought home long ago," he says.
"Avraham represented otherness, difference, in the broadest and fullest sense. A member of the Ethiopian community, a mental health patient, from a family living in the south. Not someone the general public could identify with, or imagine as their own child. Avraham is the backyard of all the bad things that happen in Israel. For a long time, he didn’t matter to anyone."
"In the test of Avraham, Israeli society failed." Avihu Yalo (Photo: Avi Moalem)
*Elia Cohen, Omar Shem Tov, Hisham al-Sayed, Avraham Mengistu, Omer Wenkert, Tal Shoham* *The hostages expected to be released from captivity, including Mengistu (Photo: REUTERS/Hannah McKay, Tomer Shunem Halevi)*
**And then came October 7?** "And then came October 7, a disaster unlike anything we’ve ever known, an unimaginable tragedy. But alongside that, there was a quick understanding that this was also an opportunity to bring Avraham home. In the end, the State of Israel had not expressed a willingness to bring him back over the years and had not acted on it. I’m quite convinced he would never have returned without this deal.
"Before that, we repeatedly encountered indifference. At the hardest moment for the Mengistu family, instead of coming to explain, to be there and embrace them, Israeli society failed. In the test of Avraham, Israeli society failed. All the values—‘love your neighbor as yourself,’ ‘there is no greater mitzvah than redeeming captives’—none of that existed when it came to Avraham."
*Gil Elias, a relative of Avraham who fought for his return (Photo: Tomer Shunem Halevi)*
**Even now, after the announcement of his release, some of the reactions have been harsh.** "Horrific and monstrous. There’s this sense that a restraint has been lifted, and there are no inhibitions, no compassion. It’s malice, vileness. I can’t believe people write such terrible things. Fine, don’t celebrate or rejoice in the parents’ joy, who have been crying and not sleeping for over a decade, just asking for the most precious thing they have, their son back, but don’t say such vile things. Instead of welcoming him with joy, embracing him, showing him that he’s part of us and that it’s good he’s coming home—people write with monstrosity and evil. The reactions show how much Israeli society has become a bad place. This is crossing every boundary, every norm, there are no norms. Everything is broken."
**The focus is mainly on him being a mental health patient who ‘crossed the border of his own free will’?** "Look, Avraham was a cheerful kid, like everyone else. Smiling, laughing, hanging out with friends. In his early 20s, his close brother Michael, who was his role model, his guiding light, died in tragic circumstances. He lost the most significant figure in his life, and he received no help, no treatment, no support in his grief. Suddenly he became a different person, from someone with hobbies and connections to people, he became a mental health patient, searching for himself. Drifting, detached. Does anyone really think he did this of his own free will? That he was responsible for his actions? He was forgotten. He was abandoned, time and time again. If he had lived in Bnei Brak, Ramat Efal, or Merhavia, maybe he would have received treatment that would have helped him with his grief."
When Yalo talks about abandonment, he returns to the event of crossing the border itself, and is furious that it should have been prevented. "You can see in the videos that he doesn’t even know where he is, wandering around, not sure whether to cross. This happened two months after Operation Protective Edge, when that entire area was fortified, secured from every direction at the highest levels. How did you not try to prevent this? Recently, when 20 guys crossed, didn’t you bring them back? Did you say, ‘Their problem?’—so all the more so when it’s a mental health patient.
"Israeli society needs to start addressing the issue of mental health struggles. We’re all witnessing now the state of people who survived the massacre, at Nova and in the Gaza border communities and all the war zones, people who even took their own lives because of the traumas they experienced. We can show compassion here as a society, we must do it."
**Now that he’s returning, he’ll finally receive the therapeutic support he needs.** "Yes. We won’t have to fight for it, the infrastructure is ready, and he’ll have a framework to help him. I don’t know what condition he’ll return in, what’s going through his mind, if he even remembers who he is."
**You’ve been active in this struggle for over a decade, and yet you’ve never actually met him.** "I can’t wait to see him. I first came across the case when I read on some blog in October 2014 that there was an Ethiopian citizen being held in Gaza. It shocked me, I said this can’t be. I felt Avraham could have been my little brother, even you, under certain circumstances, could find yourself in that position. It will be amazing. I hope to see him as soon as Shabbat ends."
**What do you want for him? What’s the dream?** "I hope he gets the healing he deserves. That he returns to life and joy. I hope he gets married, becomes a father, and rebuilds himself. Out of this tragedy, may he regain his vitality after so many years of ongoing suffering. That will be the real healing. To see him standing on his own feet, healing his wounded soul, that will be the greatest happiness for us." link
- Ex-hostage Iair Horn recounts being ‘starved, interrogated, abused,’ begs Trump to bring home ‘seriously ill’ brother
Iair Horn, who was freed from Hamas captivity on Saturday, pens a message to US President Donald Trump in a column in Fox News begging him to help free his brother, Eitan, who is still held hostage and not slated for release during the ceasefire’s first stage.
“While my body lies in Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, my heart and soul remain trapped in Gaza,” writes Horn. “As long as my brother Eitan and the other hostages are held captive there, I too remain a hostage.”
With the return of the bodies yesterday of Ariel and Kfir Bibas and Oded Lifshitz, Horn writes: “I am tormented by a single thought: Will my brother Eitan be next? Will more families receive their loved ones in coffins?”
Horn reveals that for his first month in captivity, he was separated from Eitan before they were reunited and “stayed side by side until the day of my release – a moment that tears at my heart every second of every day.”
He says that “the conditions of our captivity were beyond anything humans should endure. The physical torture was unbearable, especially in those first months. But it was the psychological torture that almost broke us – the constant fear that each breath could be our last, that any word or movement could trigger our captors’ violence. We were starved, interrogated, abused. I survived by focusing only on making it through one more day, then another.”
Horn says that his brother is “seriously ill” and “has severe infections and dangerous fevers. Every hour that passes puts their lives at greater risk.”
Turning to Trump, Horn writes: “I will forever owe you my life. History will remember you as the leader who took decisive action when it mattered most, who upheld the sacred value of human life. Everything I do from this point forward will be thanks to your efforts. But there is urgent work still to be done. I beg you to use your influence once again to bring home those who remain. We need your help now more than ever.”
Hostage Updates
Yesterday was a horrible day, one of so many, one that brought us back so quickly to October 7. The bodies of Shiri, Ariel, Kfri and Oded Lifshitz brought with them the pain of an entire nation and a reminder that there are no winners in this war, there is no such thing as 'total victory'! There are only losers on both sides. We lost the war on October 7 and the Palestinians lost on October 8.
We have over 2000 dead and worse than that, the total loss of the sense of security and the total loss of faith in our government. We had a temporary loss of faith in our army but fortunately, the army got its act together and regained most of the faith of the public except for one all too important thing. We all were raised and educated towards the ideology and action that we take care of each other and we don't leave our people behind. While we have hostages left in Gaza, no one sending their child to the army can now fully believe that their child coming home is a guarantee. In this, the government failed us miserably and has continued to fail us for 504 days and counting. While there are hostages in Gaza, we cannot begin to heal, to rebuild our faith in our government, to start our post trauma period because we are still in a trauma of 16 months and going. In this war, there are no military victories that can heal us. The only victory that can begin that healing is bringing home the hostages. This will be our victory.A country in mourning: crowds accompanied the Shabbat of the abducted
- Israel says it has received list from Hamas of hostages slated for release tomorrowTop row, from left: Omer Shem-Tov, Tal Shoham, Eliya Cohen. Bottom row, from left: Avera Mengistu, Hisham al-Sayed, Omer Wenkert (Courtesy)
Israel says it has received a list from Hamas of the six hostages slated for release from Gaza tomorrow.
In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office says that the families of the hostages on the list have been informed. It asks the public to refrain from sharing rumors or unverified information.
Hamas earlier named those hostages as Tal Shoham, Omer Shem-Tov, Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed. The names were publicized in Israel earlier this week when the families were informed. Hamas says it will probe allegations over Shiri Bibas’s remains, asks Israel to return body of Gazan woman
Palestinian terrorists carry one of the coffins said to carry the bodies of four slain Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Khan Younis in the Gaza on February 20, 2025. (Eyad BABA / AFP)Hamas expresses surprise over Israeli anger after the terror group handed over a body yesterday that it claimed was Shiri Bibas, but Israeli authorities determined was not.
In a statement, Hamas says it will “examine these allegations very seriously” and announce the results of its investigation.
The Hamas statement reiterates its claim that there may have been an “error or mix up” in bodies found in the rubble of an Israeli airstrike which it said killed Shiri and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir. Israel said last night that Ariel and Kfir, whose remains were identified after being handed over, were murdered in captivity by terrorists.
Hamas calls on Israel to return to Gaza the body of the Palestinian woman that it handed over yesterday in place of Shiri.
The terror group says it remains committed to implementing the current ceasefire-hostage release deal and vows to uphold “all of our obligations,” claiming that it has no interest in holding on to any bodies of hostages.
Hamas claims Shiri Bibas’s remains were mixed with other human remains in rubble of airstrike
After Israel said a body returned from Gaza yesterday was not that of Shiri Bibas, Hamas claims that the Israeli hostage’s remains had been mixed with other human remains from the rubble after an Israeli air strike hit the place where she was being held.
Hamas official Ismail al-Thawabteh claims that Shiri’s body “was turned into pieces after apparently being mixed with other bodies under the rubble,” reiterating its claim that Israel was behind her death.
Hamas has claimed for the past year that Shiri and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Israeli authorities said overnight that the remains of Ariel and Kfir were identified and that they were murdered by terrorists in captivity.
They said the remains placed in a coffin labeled with Shiri’s face were actually that of an unidentified Gazan woman.
Israeli officials say that the body handed over was in a condition that authorities at the Abu Kabir forensic institute were able to definitively determine it did not belong to Shiri.They say the body was also dressed in clothing, and was examined several times by the institute. The body’s DNA was tested against that of Shiri and all other female hostages still held by Hamas, and none of them matched.
Hostage Forum demands government act ‘wisely’ following news that Shiri Bibas’s body not returned
In a statement, the Hostage Families Forum calls on the government to find a way to bring back Shiri Bibas as quickly as possible, after Israel overnight said the body handed over by Hamas yesterday did not belong to her.
The forum says it experienced “terrible shock” to learn that the body handed over with those of Oded Lifshitz, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, was not that of Shiri, as Hamas had said, nor of any other hostage.
“Our demand of the Israeli government is to find the right, wise and quickest way to bring back Shiri and all the hostages,” the forum adds, appearing to use careful language ahead of the slated release tomorrow of six living hostages.
“Our loved ones are there and we do not know their fate,” the forum adds. “Don’t leave them there in the hands of the vile murderers.” The forum says Israel must “stand wisely and responsibly in the face of violations of the agreement, and not let up.”
### Aunt of Kfir and Ariel Bibas: "Sorry, this should never have happened to you. We will miss you forever - and we will not give up on Mom"
Ofri Bibas, the sister of Yarden Bibas and the aunt of young Kfir and Ariel, bid farewell to her nephews today (Friday) in a post she shared on Facebook, after their bodies were identified in the past 24 hours at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute. "Sorry, Luli. Sorry, Pirpir. None of this should have happened to you. We will miss you forever. We will not give up on Mom, Shiri," wrote Ofri, after Shiri Bibas' body was not returned alongside her young children—instead, the body of a Gazan woman was brought to Israel.
In an earlier statement published by Kibbutz Nir Oz, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's promise to avenge Hamas' cruel violation of not returning Shiri Bibas with her children, it was written: "We woke up to a difficult morning. Alongside this, we hold fast to our values and the clear demands of the Bibas family at this time: release (the hostages), not revenge."
Nir Oz clarified that "the state must bring Shiri back by all means, in a way that does not thwart the continuation of the deal and the release of all hostages immediately. Hamas is a murderous organization that does not hesitate to kill infants and toddlers. Our expectations are from the Israeli government, whose actions must be immediate to bring all 70 hostages out of the hands of the murderers and end the ongoing failure."
Following his statement this morning, in which Netanyahu promised that "Hamas will pay the price," he issued another statement, this time in English, presenting the images of young Kfir and Ariel to the world. In this longer statement, Netanyahu said, "Today is a tragic day. It is a day of endless sorrow, of indescribable pain. Four-year-old Ariel Bibas, his one-year-old brother Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz were brutally murdered by the savages of Hamas. Their bodies are returning home to a nation in mourning. A nation that will never forget these beautiful souls."
"The children of the Bibas family, in particular, have become a symbol of who we are and who we are fighting against. These perfect children, once again, were four years old and less than a year old when the savages of Hamas kidnapped them from their mother's arms. She fought like a lioness to protect her sons. Just imagine their terror. Imagine their confusion. Perfect little children who never harmed a soul. Who kidnaps a small child and a baby and murders them? Monsters, that's who. These Hamas monsters also cynically refused to return the boys' mother, Shiri, and instead sent the body of a Gazan woman, in a brazen violation of the agreement. Today, the heavens are shaking."
He added, "As the Prime Minister of Israel, I swear that I will not rest until the savages who executed our hostages are brought to justice. They do not deserve to walk this earth. Nothing will stop me." Unlike his Hebrew statement, in his English statement, Netanyahu apologized to Ariel, Kfir, and Oded: "I am so sorry we could not save you from the monsters who did this."
Despite the violation of the agreement, it should be noted that Israel, at this stage, intends to continue the current hostage deal and bring out the six living hostages tomorrow—Tal Shoham, Omar Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, Avraham Mengistu, Hisham al-Sayed, and Elia Cohen. Israel, in fact, does not want to break the deal.
In Israel, there is difficulty understanding why Hamas violated the agreement and sent, as part of the return of the abducted bodies, a body that is not Shiri Bibas'. The estimation that this was an innocent mistake is "50-50," according to Israeli sources. On the other hand, the fact that Hamas chose to return the bodies of the murdered children, Kfir and Ariel, indicates that Hamas knew where they were buried.
Hamas did not deny that a body other than the mother's was transferred and issued its first official response: "It is possible that the remains of Shiri Bibas' body were mixed with the remains of others." In a fuller statement, Hamas said, "The organization emphasizes the need to move forward in implementing the terms of the agreement at all levels. We have received the claims from Israel through the mediators and will examine them seriously. We point to the possibility of a mistake or mixing of bodies that may have resulted from the bombings in the area where the family was present. At the same time, we call for the return of the body that, according to the occupation, belongs to a Palestinian woman killed during the Zionist bombing."
In the coming days, unprecedented pressure will be applied on Hamas to correct the mistake and return Shiri Bibas, who is estimated to no longer be alive, as soon as possible.
- In Yad Mordechai, in the Hostage square and along all the southern roads up to the Institute of Forensic Medicine, crowds of Israelis stood with flags to accompany the convoy carrying the coffins of the empty abductees who returned to IsraelWe will not forget, we will not forgive (the government and Prime Minister)
PM’s office: Oded Lifshitz was slain in captivity by Palestinian Islamic Jihad
Oded Lifshitz (Amiram Oren)The Prime Minister’s Office confirms that the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine has finished its identification of slain hostage Oded Lifshitz. It says that the IDF has told Lifshitz’s family that he was slain in captivity by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
MAY HIS MEMORY BE A REVOLUTION
His family announced two hours ago that they had been notified.
Lifshitz, 83, a lifelong peace activist and one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz, was kidnapped from his home there on October 7, 2023. His wife Yocheved was abducted separately and released 16 days later.
- **On the Morning of the Return of the Fallen Hostages: Hate Graffiti Written on a Sign at the Hostages Families Headquarters**Activists from the headquarters found the messages "You protested in favor of refusal, and this is the result, you are to blame" and "The left is responsible for the massacre" written on a sign at the entrance to the headquarters in Tel Aviv. The inciting graffiti was discovered, and likely written, on the morning when the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her children Ariel and Kfir, as well as Oded Lifshitz, were returned to Israel after being murdered while in Hamas captivity in Gaza.Throughout the morning, crowds of family members and supporters arrived at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to honor the memory of the fallen hostages being returned to Israel. Yael Adar, the mother of the fallen hostage Tamir Adar, may he rest in peace, said in the Channel 12 studio that it fills her heart to see the square full. "We thought it was impossible for the square to be full when people return alive and there is joy, but to be empty when the fallen return," she said. "The square is full today to express respect and forgiveness for those who have returned."In response to the incident, the Hostages Families Headquarters stated: "We were shocked to discover on this difficult morning that last night, signs supporting the hostages and their families were vandalized outside the headquarters. The defacement of these signs is an attempt to harm the families themselves and the most just struggle of all—bringing all the hostages home. This horrific and violent act, which is under investigation by the Israel Police, will not silence us or cause us to stop our determined efforts, on behalf of the families, until the last hostage is returned—the living for rehabilitation and the fallen for burial. Following the complaint we filed, we expect the police and authorities to act decisively against the vandals and ensure that such incidents do not happen again."Alongside the crowds in the square in Tel Aviv, dozens of members of the Nir Oz community stood in silent protest this morning near their temporary residence in Karmei Gat. Dozens of people also waited in the pouring rain at the edges of the Gama junction to greet the convoy carrying the fallen hostages returning from Gaza, so they could pay their final respects."We are in great pain because we feared this is what would come," said Ofra from Kibbutz Tzalim, where Jordan Bibas grew up and where she was his guide for many years during his childhood. "We are also embracing this pain. Closing this circle is important to everyone—to us as members of Yarden's kibbutz, and to all those who have not yet returned. We are here for him, and for all the hostages and all the fallen." link When the war began 16 months ago, when the population came together to do whatever can be done to help in all areas, no matter their religious or political leanings. I heard a news commentator here in Israel who said that he hoped that when the war ends, he hopes that we will continue to act this way towards each other. We can and will continue to argue with each other but he hoped that it would no longer be with anger and violence. That statement touched me deeply as we have seen the divisions in Israel grow on a daily basis for many years and it had reached the worst aspects and actions in a society with anger and violence and that this divide was deliberate, planned and promoted regularly by none other than our prime minister, Netanyahu, who I have called for many years, the great divider. I hoped beyond all hope that his actions and words would change and he would show himself to be a leader that we desperately needed following October 7 but he quickly dashed all of those naive hopes. He and his machine of poison quickly went into action and as soon as the hostage families started to organize and demand action to bring the hostages home, Netanyahu's machine of hate pushed the issue to the unbelievable situation of being a political issue and not a national moral imperative. As a result, Netanyahu supporters and the supporters of the extremist messianic partners began cursing the families and their supporters and referring to us as traitors and Hamas supporters. It is this horrific poison machine is what brought this disgusting grafitti of blaming the hostage families for the war and for the death of their loved ones. Disgusting!
- Gaza ceasefire won’t have a 2nd phase, ‘senior official’ pledges to pro-Netanyahu outletFor the second time this week, Channel 14 — a pro-Netanyahu network that is the only Israeli outlet to which the prime minister has granted interviews since 2021 — reports that there will be no second phase of the deal with Hamas.On Sunday, Channel 14 cited a “senior Israeli official” saying there will not be a second phase, and Israel will instead try to extend the ongoing first phase. Today, it does not source its claim that the security establishment is looking into extending the ongoing first phase by two weeks, but quotes the senior official as certain that the second phase will not happen.The outlet — which is seen as having regular access to Netanyahu and his inner circle — says that a final decision has been made with the Americans that the ceasefire will end and that Israel will “open the gates of hell” on Gaza.
This messaging comes as the government tells other outlets that it will hold negotiations on the second phase. link This is likely coming directly/indirectly out of Netanyahu's office, which means it comes from him without it being an official announcement, and therefore not one that he has to defend or answer about. This isn't a surprise as he has been doing everything to avoid any discussion on Phase 2. The closest he has come is to say that the negotiators will discuss the extension of Phase 1. No one knows what that means, perhaps an attempt to release more hostages without committing to end the war, which is specified in the Phase 2 part of the open agreement. We need Phase 2 but in one release and not weekly or even daily. We need all the hostages to be brought home immediately and all together. That will require the end of the war and pull back of Israeli forces.
- **"We received monstrous reactions": The struggle for Avraham will end on Shabbat, but the sense of injustice will not**Just days before the expected release of Avraham Mengistu from captivity in Gaza, Avihu Yalo, who has fought for his return for over a decade, is still not sure it’s really happening. In an interview with *Ynet*, he talks about a cheerful young man who spiraled mentally after his brother’s death (he was never treated), the online reactions to his release ("crossing norms, loss of values"), and his dreams for the future: "I hope he stands on his own feet, builds a home, and heals his wounded soul."After more than 3,800 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, Avraham Mengistu is expected to be released and return to Israel this coming Shabbat, alongside Hisham al-Sayed, Omar Shem Tov, Tal Shoham, Elia Cohen, and Omer Wenkert. Avihu Yalo, one of the leaders of the campaign for his return, who also serves as chairman of the *Tzedek* party and is a social activist and entrepreneur, spoke to *Ynet* today (Thursday) about the mixed emotions, the beginning of the struggle, and the dreams he has for Avraham: "I hope he gets married, becomes a father. That he succeeds in rebuilding himself out of this tragedy."**Celebrating Avraham’s birthday, August 2024**Abera Mengistu in a video from Hamas 2023"This moment, when we were told Avraham would return on Shabbat, was complex and overwhelming. On one hand, the excitement is so great, it’s an amazing thing. On the other hand, you can’t help but ask—is this really happening? Will it happen? After all, this moment comes after so many years of struggle, of trying to keep his case in the public consciousness, to talk about it again and again, to remind people that he’s alive," says Yalo. "Until the last moment, when we see him, there’s a fear that, God forbid, it won’t happen. Avraham’s parents, for example, don’t want to be interviewed yet, they don’t want to speak, they’re afraid of being disappointed."Avraham, who was born in Ethiopia, came to Israel at the age of five with his parents, brothers, and sisters. "In a one-room apartment in the Antiquities neighborhood of Ashkelon," as Yalo describes it, they lived together—11 people. "This is a family that has experienced so many difficulties and hardships, environmental, economic. An invisible family, it’s not like they have connections to the media or politicians. Ehud Olmert said it, Yoaz Hendel wrote it—if his name were different, and he were born into a different family, this wouldn’t have played out like this. He would have been brought home long ago," he says."Avraham represented otherness, difference, in the broadest and fullest sense. A member of the Ethiopian community, a mental health patient, from a family living in the south. Not someone the general public could identify with, or imagine as their own child. Avraham is the backyard of all the bad things that happen in Israel. For a long time, he didn’t matter to anyone.""In the test of Avraham, Israeli society failed." Avihu Yalo (Photo: Avi Moalem)*Elia Cohen, Omar Shem Tov, Hisham al-Sayed, Avraham Mengistu, Omer Wenkert, Tal Shoham**The hostages expected to be released from captivity, including Mengistu (Photo: REUTERS/Hannah McKay, Tomer Shunem Halevi)***And then came October 7?**"And then came October 7, a disaster unlike anything we’ve ever known, an unimaginable tragedy. But alongside that, there was a quick understanding that this was also an opportunity to bring Avraham home. In the end, the State of Israel had not expressed a willingness to bring him back over the years and had not acted on it. I’m quite convinced he would never have returned without this deal."Before that, we repeatedly encountered indifference. At the hardest moment for the Mengistu family, instead of coming to explain, to be there and embrace them, Israeli society failed. In the test of Avraham, Israeli society failed. All the values—‘love your neighbor as yourself,’ ‘there is no greater mitzvah than redeeming captives’—none of that existed when it came to Avraham."*Gil Elias, a relative of Avraham who fought for his return (Photo: Tomer Shunem Halevi)***Even now, after the announcement of his release, some of the reactions have been harsh.**"Horrific and monstrous. There’s this sense that a restraint has been lifted, and there are no inhibitions, no compassion. It’s malice, vileness. I can’t believe people write such terrible things. Fine, don’t celebrate or rejoice in the parents’ joy, who have been crying and not sleeping for over a decade, just asking for the most precious thing they have, their son back, but don’t say such vile things. Instead of welcoming him with joy, embracing him, showing him that he’s part of us and that it’s good he’s coming home—people write with monstrosity and evil. The reactions show how much Israeli society has become a bad place. This is crossing every boundary, every norm, there are no norms. Everything is broken."**The focus is mainly on him being a mental health patient who ‘crossed the border of his own free will’?**"Look, Avraham was a cheerful kid, like everyone else. Smiling, laughing, hanging out with friends. In his early 20s, his close brother Michael, who was his role model, his guiding light, died in tragic circumstances. He lost the most significant figure in his life, and he received no help, no treatment, no support in his grief. Suddenly he became a different person, from someone with hobbies and connections to people, he became a mental health patient, searching for himself. Drifting, detached. Does anyone really think he did this of his own free will? That he was responsible for his actions? He was forgotten. He was abandoned, time and time again. If he had lived in Bnei Brak, Ramat Efal, or Merhavia, maybe he would have received treatment that would have helped him with his grief."When Yalo talks about abandonment, he returns to the event of crossing the border itself, and is furious that it should have been prevented. "You can see in the videos that he doesn’t even know where he is, wandering around, not sure whether to cross. This happened two months after Operation Protective Edge, when that entire area was fortified, secured from every direction at the highest levels. How did you not try to prevent this? Recently, when 20 guys crossed, didn’t you bring them back? Did you say, ‘Their problem?’—so all the more so when it’s a mental health patient."Israeli society needs to start addressing the issue of mental health struggles. We’re all witnessing now the state of people who survived the massacre, at Nova and in the Gaza border communities and all the war zones, people who even took their own lives because of the traumas they experienced. We can show compassion here as a society, we must do it."**Now that he’s returning, he’ll finally receive the therapeutic support he needs.**"Yes. We won’t have to fight for it, the infrastructure is ready, and he’ll have a framework to help him. I don’t know what condition he’ll return in, what’s going through his mind, if he even remembers who he is."**You’ve been active in this struggle for over a decade, and yet you’ve never actually met him.**"I can’t wait to see him. I first came across the case when I read on some blog in October 2014 that there was an Ethiopian citizen being held in Gaza. It shocked me, I said this can’t be. I felt Avraham could have been my little brother, even you, under certain circumstances, could find yourself in that position. It will be amazing. I hope to see him as soon as Shabbat ends."**What do you want for him? What’s the dream?**"I hope he gets the healing he deserves. That he returns to life and joy. I hope he gets married, becomes a father, and rebuilds himself. Out of this tragedy, may he regain his vitality after so many years of ongoing suffering. That will be the real healing. To see him standing on his own feet, healing his wounded soul, that will be the greatest happiness for us." link
- Ex-hostage Iair Horn recounts being ‘starved, interrogated, abused,’ begs Trump to bring home ‘seriously ill’ brother
Iair Horn, who was freed from Hamas captivity on Saturday, pens a message to US President Donald Trump in a column in Fox News begging him to help free his brother, Eitan, who is still held hostage and not slated for release during the ceasefire’s first stage.
“While my body lies in Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, my heart and soul remain trapped in Gaza,” writes Horn. “As long as my brother Eitan and the other hostages are held captive there, I too remain a hostage.”
With the return of the bodies yesterday of Ariel and Kfir Bibas and Oded Lifshitz, Horn writes: “I am tormented by a single thought: Will my brother Eitan be next? Will more families receive their loved ones in coffins?”
Horn reveals that for his first month in captivity, he was separated from Eitan before they were reunited and “stayed side by side until the day of my release – a moment that tears at my heart every second of every day.”
He says that “the conditions of our captivity were beyond anything humans should endure. The physical torture was unbearable, especially in those first months. But it was the psychological torture that almost broke us – the constant fear that each breath could be our last, that any word or movement could trigger our captors’ violence. We were starved, interrogated, abused. I survived by focusing only on making it through one more day, then another.”
Horn says that his brother is “seriously ill” and “has severe infections and dangerous fevers. Every hour that passes puts their lives at greater risk.”
Turning to Trump, Horn writes: “I will forever owe you my life. History will remember you as the leader who took decisive action when it mattered most, who upheld the sacred value of human life. Everything I do from this point forward will be thanks to your efforts. But there is urgent work still to be done. I beg you to use your influence once again to bring home those who remain. We need your help now more than ever.”
Gaza and the South
- Israel denies mobile homes entered Gaza today, says Kerem Shalom crossing is shut
Footage published by Palestinian media purports to show five trucks carrying equipment for mobile homes after entering the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom crossing this morning.
Despite the footage, a spokesperson for the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) stresses that the crossing is not open this morning, and the video may not be from today.
Omer Dostri, the spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office, posts on X that the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza is shut, and nothing has entered the Strip since yesterday. Dostri says that the equipment seen in the footage “entered Gaza in the past few days and not today.”
The entry of mobile homes and construction equipment into Gaza has been a sticking point, with Hamas last week threatening to halt the release of hostages under the ceasefire deal unless the items were allowed in.
On Tuesday, a senior Israeli official said Israel was to start allowing mobile homes and heavy construction equipment into Gaza in a controlled manner.
Footage published by Palestinian media purports to show five trucks carrying equipment for mobile homes after entering the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom crossing this morning.
Despite the footage, a spokesperson for the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) stresses that the crossing is not open this morning, and the video may not be from today.
Omer Dostri, the spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office, posts on X that the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza is shut, and nothing has entered the Strip since yesterday. Dostri says that the equipment seen in the footage “entered Gaza in the past few days and not today.”
The entry of mobile homes and construction equipment into Gaza has been a sticking point, with Hamas last week threatening to halt the release of hostages under the ceasefire deal unless the items were allowed in.
On Tuesday, a senior Israeli official said Israel was to start allowing mobile homes and heavy construction equipment into Gaza in a controlled manner.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
- IDF says strikes on Lebanon-Syria border targeted Hezbollah arms smuggling routes
The IDF confirms carrying out airstrikes on the Lebanon-Syria border a short while ago, saying its fighter jets targeted border crossings used by the Hezbollah terror group to smuggle arms.
The military says the attempts by Hezbollah to bring weapons into Lebanon “constitute a blatant violation of the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
- IDF says strikes on Lebanon-Syria border targeted Hezbollah arms smuggling routes
The IDF confirms carrying out airstrikes on the Lebanon-Syria border a short while ago, saying its fighter jets targeted border crossings used by the Hezbollah terror group to smuggle arms.
The military says the attempts by Hezbollah to bring weapons into Lebanon “constitute a blatant violation of the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel
IDF says 90 terror suspects detained in West Bank over the past week
IDF troops detained some 90 terror suspects in the West Bank over the past week, including five overnight in the town of Iktaba near Tulkarem, the military says.
The IDF has been carrying out a major offensive in the northern West Bank, dubbed Operation Iron Wall, since January 21.
Troops also seized 15 firearms in the West Bank over the past week, the military adds.
Last night, the IDF said that following a fresh assessment in light of the bus bombings in Bat Yam and Holon, it had blocked several checkpoints leading into the West Bank in specific areas, and would ramp up activities in the so-called seam zone, the area between the Green Line and Israel’s West Bank barrier.
Additionally, the IDF said it bolstered the West Bank area with three additional battalions.
### Strategic Event That Alters Reality
The four explosive devices that were intended to detonate, likely during peak hours, represent primarily an intelligence failure of the security system—particularly the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency). A coordinated attack of this magnitude requires advanced planning by a terrorist infrastructure operating at a high level of compartmentalization. This must be treated as a strategic event that alters reality, necessitating additional security measures.
The four explosive devices placed on buses, which were intended to detonate during peak hours and harm dozens of Israelis commuting to work, school, shopping, or other activities, must be treated as a strategic event that alters reality. This event demands additional security measures, both defensive and offensive. We must not assume that the fact that a major disaster was averted due to the quick thinking of a civilian negates the need to understand the significant escalation we are facing.These four explosive devices are, first and foremost, an intelligence failure and gap within the security system, particularly within the Shin Bet and its specialized capabilities. Such a coordinated attack is not the result of a momentary whim by a frustrated Palestinian youth or a bored gang of thugs. This is a terrorist operation that requires advanced planning, intelligence gathering, field reconnaissance, studying bus schedules and suitable locations for planting explosives, preparing escape routes, manufacturing or smuggling explosives into Israel, and recruiting the terrorists to carry out the attack.
site of the exploded bus in Bat Yam
Therefore, when such a terrorist infrastructure exists, even if it operates at a high level of compartmentalization, the Shin Bet must investigate the reasons for the failure to thwart it, and this will indeed be done. Last night, we were a hair's breadth away from an attack with dozens of casualties. Even though complete closure of the area is never possible, yesterday's attack requires a different and renewed perspective on reality.However, it is important to remember: the efforts of Shin Bet personnel, along with other security forces, are immense, daily, and involve personal risk. They require a battle of wits against terrorist infrastructures that are gaining experience, demonstrating sophistication, and are determined to enter through the window when the door is closed, and through the roof when the window is sealed.
Every "successful" attack like this, and every drop of Israeli blood spilled—and I am familiar with these feelings from my days commanding Shin Bet personnel in Judea and Samaria—is deeply painful and personally impactful. On the other hand, the organization's personnel do not have time to dwell on personal feelings but must quickly learn the battlefield and the gaps to provide effective operational and preventive responses for the future. Miracles and civilian resourcefulness are not a work plan, as any novice investigator or young Shin Bet coordinator knows.
Police forces at the site of the explosion in Bat Yam
Last night's statement by the Tel Aviv District Commander that "this is the Shin Bet's responsibility" (and also the IDF, according to him) is partially correct, and no one in the organization shirks or shifts this responsibility—but it was not appropriate to say it in this manner, especially when the event was just beginning, and initial findings were still being collected at the scene.The Shin Bet, Israel Police, and IDF work shoulder to shoulder, day and night, to thwart attacks, apprehend terrorists, and reach explosive labs in the field in advance. Shin Bet fighters and police officers risk their lives together, and such a statement by a district commander at the rank of chief superintendent, which primarily symbolizes an attempt to shirk any shred of responsibility, mainly represents populism and alignment with political figures and social media influencers who cynically exploit every event not to encourage learning lessons but to harm the Shin Bet and its thousands of employees. This is neither appropriate nor fair.
### Back to the Second Intifada
No wave of terrorism is identical to another, but last night's event brought me back to the wave of suicide bombings during the terror attacks, the explosive devices, and the campaigns of terror and mass killings of the years 2000-2008 on buses, event halls, cafes, restaurants, and markets. A daily struggle against organized and planned terrorism. To stop this terrible wave of bloodshed, the IDF launched Operation Defensive Shield, and Israel returned to fighting that continues to this day in Judea and Samaria, enhancing its capabilities to combat Palestinian terrorism.
Therefore, I have no doubt that within a relatively short time, the Shin Bet, along with Yamam (National Counter-Terrorism Unit) and other units, will apprehend those who planted the explosives, who had access and accurate information about the buses and their operations. I estimate that those who planted the explosives are well-acquainted with the area, possibly due to work in Israel or connections with holders of blue ID cards. All these details will be clarified and are being clarified as I write these lines, and they will provide a significant lead to understanding the entire infrastructure, its scope, its dispatchers, its funding, and its strengthening.
The working assumption, supported by facts and field data, is that the money for purchasing weapons, explosives, and their smuggling is Iranian. These are substantial sums that reach Israel through various channels, including money changers and increasingly through cryptocurrency; the diverse weapons continue to be smuggled into Israel mainly from the eastern border with Jordan, and until recently also from the Syrian region; and the knowledge is available to anyone on the internet.
It is no coincidence that in recent years, many Palestinian terrorists have become demolition experts, knowledge hubs that have developed the ability to build dangerous explosive devices, many of which have been used in recent years against IDF forces at the entrances to refugee camps, intended for use within Israel, and unfortunately, have exacted a heavy toll of soldiers who have fallen during operations. This is why the IDF operates regularly within refugee camps, and in recent weeks, particularly intensively: what is not stopped there will reach a bus in Bat Yam, a market in Tel Aviv, and a cafe in Hadera.
### Not a Local Phenomenon but a Significant Threat
The phenomenon of "brigades" in Judea and Samaria, particularly those active in refugee camps, has long become a threat that is neither tactical nor local but a significant threat to the security of Israeli citizens. These brigades are composed of a mix of young people with various terrorist identities—Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah, and others—and they have been operating for several years in refugee camps in Tulkarm, Jenin, Nablus, and many other villages. Their activities are no longer local, and in the past year, they have also carried out attacks deep within Israel.
These are armed groups that instill fear and terror in the refugee camps and their surroundings, while also garnering admiration and serving as inspiration for every Palestinian youth watching their confrontations and battles with Israeli security forces.
This reality necessitates the continuation of military operations in Judea and Samaria, particularly in the northern West Bank, and their intensification. The IDF and Shin Bet will need to take more drastic measures in the refugee camps, which have long become no man's land; expanding targeted prevention, reaching sites where Israel has not frequently operated until recently, preventing the exit of Palestinians and workers from terrorism-stricken areas, and killing or capturing terrorists and operatives at various levels. Each one that security forces apprehend opens a path to many others, including senior figures. And every such activity prevents attacks that are planned to be carried out, sometimes in the immediate term.
Most of the recent events and attacks we have experienced originate from refugee camp areas, from Tulkarm to Jenin. Currently, the southern region of Judea and Samaria is relatively quiet. From my extensive experience in the Judea and Samaria sector, the southern region—Hebron, Bethlehem, and the surrounding villages—awakens late. But a terrorist awakening in these areas has always been more dangerous and deadly, and we must prepare for this in advance with continuous, offensive, and proactive operational and intelligence activities, even if at this stage its intensity is lower than that in the north.
Another important point to remember is the return to the field of terrorists released in recent hostage deals (deals that the State of Israel must carry out given the unimaginable abandonment of thousands of civilians and soldiers on October 7). These are very dangerous knowledge hubs who, during their time in prison, gained experience, connections, and acquaintances, and were fueled by more hatred and radicalization. Even if only some of them return to terrorist activities in Judea and Samaria, they will worsen the already severe security reality. Therefore, the IDF and Shin Bet will need additional resources to closely monitor these released individuals, act against them, attempt to deter them, and, if necessary, thwart them if it becomes clear they are returning to their old ways or even just planning to do so.
Moreover, I do not believe that Palestinian security forces provide a significant response to the situation. While they continue to coordinate with Israeli security forces and operate in various places with efficiency that can, to say the least, be debated; where the IDF is not present, the grass will grow back, and quickly. There is and will be no substitute for proactive, offensive, and continuous activities by the IDF and other security forces, and we must leave our fate and security in our own hands, particularly in grass-mowing operations, and prevent its growth into wild weeds. And what is this grass-mowing? An aggressive campaign to prevent terrorism from the moment a person or group is identified as planning or even considering lethal activities against us.
### Improving Defense Components
Alongside proactive and daily offensive activities, there must be immediate improvement in the physical defense components in settlements in Judea and Samaria, in cities, local councils, and remote communities—alongside adjustments in the entry of Palestinians into these communities, which should be minimal to nonexistent. We are in a new reality, where risk management must be calculated and clear.
The State of Israel is in a sensitive and dangerous internal security situation. We do not need another attempted attack to convince us that more security personnel are needed in public transportation and the light rail in a more airtight manner, as well as improved security in large public buildings, malls, markets, and mass events.
This requires more police and municipal patrol presence, more flashing lights from patrol cars, and more security personnel—in this aspect, skilled personnel who are also compensated accordingly. If the current state of security in crowded public places continues as it is, I fear this system will not be effective enough. It must be strengthened, immediately, and this requires joint activity by the Israel Police and local authorities.
Alongside these measures—civilian vigilance, personal weapon carrying, and reporting any suspicious activity to the police—have been and continue to be life-saving.
IDF says 90 terror suspects detained in West Bank over the past week
IDF troops detained some 90 terror suspects in the West Bank over the past week, including five overnight in the town of Iktaba near Tulkarem, the military says.
The IDF has been carrying out a major offensive in the northern West Bank, dubbed Operation Iron Wall, since January 21.
Troops also seized 15 firearms in the West Bank over the past week, the military adds.
Last night, the IDF said that following a fresh assessment in light of the bus bombings in Bat Yam and Holon, it had blocked several checkpoints leading into the West Bank in specific areas, and would ramp up activities in the so-called seam zone, the area between the Green Line and Israel’s West Bank barrier.
Additionally, the IDF said it bolstered the West Bank area with three additional battalions.
### Strategic Event That Alters Reality
The four explosive devices that were intended to detonate, likely during peak hours, represent primarily an intelligence failure of the security system—particularly the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency). A coordinated attack of this magnitude requires advanced planning by a terrorist infrastructure operating at a high level of compartmentalization. This must be treated as a strategic event that alters reality, necessitating additional security measures.
The four explosive devices placed on buses, which were intended to detonate during peak hours and harm dozens of Israelis commuting to work, school, shopping, or other activities, must be treated as a strategic event that alters reality. This event demands additional security measures, both defensive and offensive. We must not assume that the fact that a major disaster was averted due to the quick thinking of a civilian negates the need to understand the significant escalation we are facing.
These four explosive devices are, first and foremost, an intelligence failure and gap within the security system, particularly within the Shin Bet and its specialized capabilities. Such a coordinated attack is not the result of a momentary whim by a frustrated Palestinian youth or a bored gang of thugs. This is a terrorist operation that requires advanced planning, intelligence gathering, field reconnaissance, studying bus schedules and suitable locations for planting explosives, preparing escape routes, manufacturing or smuggling explosives into Israel, and recruiting the terrorists to carry out the attack.
Therefore, when such a terrorist infrastructure exists, even if it operates at a high level of compartmentalization, the Shin Bet must investigate the reasons for the failure to thwart it, and this will indeed be done. Last night, we were a hair's breadth away from an attack with dozens of casualties. Even though complete closure of the area is never possible, yesterday's attack requires a different and renewed perspective on reality.
However, it is important to remember: the efforts of Shin Bet personnel, along with other security forces, are immense, daily, and involve personal risk. They require a battle of wits against terrorist infrastructures that are gaining experience, demonstrating sophistication, and are determined to enter through the window when the door is closed, and through the roof when the window is sealed.
Every "successful" attack like this, and every drop of Israeli blood spilled—and I am familiar with these feelings from my days commanding Shin Bet personnel in Judea and Samaria—is deeply painful and personally impactful. On the other hand, the organization's personnel do not have time to dwell on personal feelings but must quickly learn the battlefield and the gaps to provide effective operational and preventive responses for the future. Miracles and civilian resourcefulness are not a work plan, as any novice investigator or young Shin Bet coordinator knows.
Last night's statement by the Tel Aviv District Commander that "this is the Shin Bet's responsibility" (and also the IDF, according to him) is partially correct, and no one in the organization shirks or shifts this responsibility—but it was not appropriate to say it in this manner, especially when the event was just beginning, and initial findings were still being collected at the scene.
The Shin Bet, Israel Police, and IDF work shoulder to shoulder, day and night, to thwart attacks, apprehend terrorists, and reach explosive labs in the field in advance. Shin Bet fighters and police officers risk their lives together, and such a statement by a district commander at the rank of chief superintendent, which primarily symbolizes an attempt to shirk any shred of responsibility, mainly represents populism and alignment with political figures and social media influencers who cynically exploit every event not to encourage learning lessons but to harm the Shin Bet and its thousands of employees. This is neither appropriate nor fair.
### Back to the Second Intifada
No wave of terrorism is identical to another, but last night's event brought me back to the wave of suicide bombings during the terror attacks, the explosive devices, and the campaigns of terror and mass killings of the years 2000-2008 on buses, event halls, cafes, restaurants, and markets. A daily struggle against organized and planned terrorism. To stop this terrible wave of bloodshed, the IDF launched Operation Defensive Shield, and Israel returned to fighting that continues to this day in Judea and Samaria, enhancing its capabilities to combat Palestinian terrorism.
Therefore, I have no doubt that within a relatively short time, the Shin Bet, along with Yamam (National Counter-Terrorism Unit) and other units, will apprehend those who planted the explosives, who had access and accurate information about the buses and their operations. I estimate that those who planted the explosives are well-acquainted with the area, possibly due to work in Israel or connections with holders of blue ID cards. All these details will be clarified and are being clarified as I write these lines, and they will provide a significant lead to understanding the entire infrastructure, its scope, its dispatchers, its funding, and its strengthening.
The working assumption, supported by facts and field data, is that the money for purchasing weapons, explosives, and their smuggling is Iranian. These are substantial sums that reach Israel through various channels, including money changers and increasingly through cryptocurrency; the diverse weapons continue to be smuggled into Israel mainly from the eastern border with Jordan, and until recently also from the Syrian region; and the knowledge is available to anyone on the internet.
It is no coincidence that in recent years, many Palestinian terrorists have become demolition experts, knowledge hubs that have developed the ability to build dangerous explosive devices, many of which have been used in recent years against IDF forces at the entrances to refugee camps, intended for use within Israel, and unfortunately, have exacted a heavy toll of soldiers who have fallen during operations. This is why the IDF operates regularly within refugee camps, and in recent weeks, particularly intensively: what is not stopped there will reach a bus in Bat Yam, a market in Tel Aviv, and a cafe in Hadera.
### Not a Local Phenomenon but a Significant Threat
The phenomenon of "brigades" in Judea and Samaria, particularly those active in refugee camps, has long become a threat that is neither tactical nor local but a significant threat to the security of Israeli citizens. These brigades are composed of a mix of young people with various terrorist identities—Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah, and others—and they have been operating for several years in refugee camps in Tulkarm, Jenin, Nablus, and many other villages. Their activities are no longer local, and in the past year, they have also carried out attacks deep within Israel.
These are armed groups that instill fear and terror in the refugee camps and their surroundings, while also garnering admiration and serving as inspiration for every Palestinian youth watching their confrontations and battles with Israeli security forces.
This reality necessitates the continuation of military operations in Judea and Samaria, particularly in the northern West Bank, and their intensification. The IDF and Shin Bet will need to take more drastic measures in the refugee camps, which have long become no man's land; expanding targeted prevention, reaching sites where Israel has not frequently operated until recently, preventing the exit of Palestinians and workers from terrorism-stricken areas, and killing or capturing terrorists and operatives at various levels. Each one that security forces apprehend opens a path to many others, including senior figures. And every such activity prevents attacks that are planned to be carried out, sometimes in the immediate term.
Most of the recent events and attacks we have experienced originate from refugee camp areas, from Tulkarm to Jenin. Currently, the southern region of Judea and Samaria is relatively quiet. From my extensive experience in the Judea and Samaria sector, the southern region—Hebron, Bethlehem, and the surrounding villages—awakens late. But a terrorist awakening in these areas has always been more dangerous and deadly, and we must prepare for this in advance with continuous, offensive, and proactive operational and intelligence activities, even if at this stage its intensity is lower than that in the north.
Another important point to remember is the return to the field of terrorists released in recent hostage deals (deals that the State of Israel must carry out given the unimaginable abandonment of thousands of civilians and soldiers on October 7). These are very dangerous knowledge hubs who, during their time in prison, gained experience, connections, and acquaintances, and were fueled by more hatred and radicalization. Even if only some of them return to terrorist activities in Judea and Samaria, they will worsen the already severe security reality. Therefore, the IDF and Shin Bet will need additional resources to closely monitor these released individuals, act against them, attempt to deter them, and, if necessary, thwart them if it becomes clear they are returning to their old ways or even just planning to do so.
Moreover, I do not believe that Palestinian security forces provide a significant response to the situation. While they continue to coordinate with Israeli security forces and operate in various places with efficiency that can, to say the least, be debated; where the IDF is not present, the grass will grow back, and quickly. There is and will be no substitute for proactive, offensive, and continuous activities by the IDF and other security forces, and we must leave our fate and security in our own hands, particularly in grass-mowing operations, and prevent its growth into wild weeds. And what is this grass-mowing? An aggressive campaign to prevent terrorism from the moment a person or group is identified as planning or even considering lethal activities against us.
### Improving Defense Components
Alongside proactive and daily offensive activities, there must be immediate improvement in the physical defense components in settlements in Judea and Samaria, in cities, local councils, and remote communities—alongside adjustments in the entry of Palestinians into these communities, which should be minimal to nonexistent. We are in a new reality, where risk management must be calculated and clear.
The State of Israel is in a sensitive and dangerous internal security situation. We do not need another attempted attack to convince us that more security personnel are needed in public transportation and the light rail in a more airtight manner, as well as improved security in large public buildings, malls, markets, and mass events.
This requires more police and municipal patrol presence, more flashing lights from patrol cars, and more security personnel—in this aspect, skilled personnel who are also compensated accordingly. If the current state of security in crowded public places continues as it is, I fear this system will not be effective enough. It must be strengthened, immediately, and this requires joint activity by the Israel Police and local authorities.
Alongside these measures—civilian vigilance, personal weapon carrying, and reporting any suspicious activity to the police—have been and continue to be life-saving.
Politics and the War (general news)
The Region and the World
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Personal Stories **"When will I know how my son was murdered?" | Victims' families demand answers**
"To whom were the observers' warnings relayed?" • "What will change in the security concept?" • "How could the fence breach have been so easy? They promised an impenetrable barrier" – 50 questions from bereaved families, grieving friends, and returned hostages, who have been waiting for answers for 500 days and are demanding the establishment of an investigative committee | A special project by *N12* and the "October Council."
**Amir, father of the late Yehonatan Ken-Dror** 
Commander of the Southern Command, it was in your hands to reinforce forces—especially on a holiday, which was ripe for disaster. Why were the forces thinned, contrary to all logic?
**Efrat, mother of the late Shay Regev** 
Why wasn’t the Nova party dispersed as soon as the first information about an unusual event in Gaza was received?
**David, grandfather of the late Tomer Barak** 
Why, to this day, has no information been provided to us about the circumstances of Tomer’s death? Not from the army, not from the state, nor from any official body. Why must families conduct their own investigations and piece together information themselves?
**Shir, daughter of the late Shahar and Shlomi Matias** 
How is it possible that soldiers refused to come to my sister’s and my apartment to check if we were alive just because we didn’t answer the phone (due to no reception), even though we sent signs of life during the day?
**Orly Niv Edelstein, mother of the late Sgt. Omri Niv Feirstein** 
How could you leave a base of recruits like Zikim without reinforcement and without special preparation?
**Margarita Gan-Levi, daughter of the late Yelizaveta Kostitsin** 
Why did security forces arrive so late to Ofakim? Why have I not received a call from any official, an autopsy report, or any information—how was my mother murdered?
**Mirav Cohen, partner of the late Ram Nagbi, Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha** 
Assuming I return home to Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha, what will change now in the security concept?
**Tali Ron Weinrauch, sister of the late Ofer Ron** 
How could the fence breach have been so easy, without the army arriving at the scene? They promised an impenetrable barrier.
**Shay, brother of the late Tal Shelev** 
Why wasn’t there a clear defense plan for every community in case of an attack? Why didn’t every force on the ground know which community they were responsible for in such a case?
**Liat, relative of the late Yigal Vax** 
Why didn’t an armored ambulance arrive to Netiv HaAsara? MDA returned the call 24 hours later. Why didn’t Yigal have a weapon? He was part of the rapid response team, and I later learned he didn’t have a weapon. He went out with a machete.
**Batya Ben-Zaken, mother of the late Dor Malka** 
To this day, I don’t know how Dor was murdered—none of us parents know any details about the murder of our children. We don’t know how he was killed, when, in what manner, or by whom. When will we get answers?
**Menashe, father of the late Nooraland Roiya Manzuri** 
Why did the state and the army continue to empower Hamas and "contain" it despite countless warning signs along the way?
**Ronen, husband of the late Rafaella Shelo** 
My beloved wife Rafaella took her own life after our two children survived the Nova massacre and lost their friends. My son lay wounded under a car for five hours without rescue. Who is responsible for his abandonment?
**Danny, father of the late Alon Weber** 
Why did it take so long to identify bodies? Doesn’t the state have a contingency plan for an event of this scale?
**Lihi, daughter of the late Rivka Ben-Horin** 
How do you "forget a kibbutz"? How does an entire kibbutz disappear from the map on October 7, and no one comes to it? Where were the failures in each link of the chain of command? How will you act to ensure such a failure never happens again in any community in the country?
**Miri, mother of the late Sgt. Kim Dokarker** 
Why didn’t they let me reach my daughter and rescue her while she was still alive? From 6:30 a.m., I called the police—they said they sent rescue, but they lied to me. Through people in the shelter, I found out my daughter bled to death until at least 12:00 p.m. Where was everyone?
**Nirit and Yael, parents of the late Sgt. Neta Bar-Am** 
Nahal Oz outpost is defined as a Hamas target zone. How is it possible that such a forward outpost, at high risk according to army definitions, received no warning on October 7, even though warnings began arriving as early as 2:00 a.m.?
**Avishai Edri, friend of the late Ilan Fiorentino** 
Why weren’t preemptive strikes carried out to disrupt the "Jericho Wall" plan, which was in the IDF’s hands before the massacre? Why weren’t senior terrorist leaders, who later led the murderous plan, eliminated?
**Ran, son of the late hostage Yoram Metzger** 
How did the Prime Minister oversee the IDF’s deployment along the border in recent years?
**Mazal Tazazo, friend of the late Daniel Cohen and Yochai Ben-Zecharia** 
I’m a mother, living in Netivot, and I’m terrified. How can you assure me that our lives are safe in our city and that what happened won’t happen again?
**Shimon, father of the late Yarden Bouskila** 
How can you, as the political echelon, not take responsibility? It seems you’re trying to shift the blame solely onto others. What allows you to behave this way as leaders of the nation and government officials? Who is truly responsible for what happened here?
**Rotem, son of the late Amiram Cooper, who was killed in captivity, and Nurit Cooper, who was released in the November deal** 
My father and his fellow captives were held in a tunnel bombed by IDF forces. How do you bomb a tunnel in Khan Younis when you know hostages are being held in the area?
**Eldad and Orna, parents of the late Gili Adar** 
When did the Defense Minister first learn about the massacre and the infiltration of terrorists into the party at Re’im? When did the Prime Minister learn about it? Why wasn’t the cabinet convened immediately? Did his office conceal evidence to alter the exact time he was informed? link
Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages
How Will History Remember Benjamin Netanyahu?Prof. Anita ShapiraProfessor Emerita of Jewish History at Tel Aviv University.
How will history remember Benjamin Netanyahu? It's a tough question. He is one of the most complex people ever to participate in the Israeli political arena.Years ago, when I was a young doctoral student at the Institute for the Study of Zionism at Tel Aviv University, we held a conference and invited Professor Benzion Netanyahu (Benjamin Netanyahu's father), who I believe was about 100 years old at the time, to give the opening lecture. The Head of the Institute, who was also the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Professor Daniel Carpi, greeted the esteemed guest. I was struck by this convening of the old revisionist aristocracy. They had lost favor after the Revisionist Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky passed away in 1940. Professor Netanyahu was Jabotinsky's secretary. Carpi was himself the son of an Italian revisionist leader. Netanyahu Sr. had grace and manners that matched the Jabotinskian idea of dignity. Professor Carpi observed aristocratic manners as well. He did not care for the Etzel underground organization alumni, who founded the official Zionist organization Herut and pushed aside the older revisionists. He saw them as a recently gathered mob. It turned out that Netanyahu Sr. was in agreement with Professor Carpi's disfavor of this new version of revisionism, which obviously lacked Jabotinskian dignity.What would Professor Netanyahu say about the behavior of his son, the Prime Minister of Israel? There is no dignity in it, certainly no greatness of heart. Benjamin Netanyahu was never supposed to be the scion of the family who would rise to greatness. True, he was sent to study in the best schools in America, but his father never harbored any great expectations for him. He obviously knew his son's character. It seems that Benjamin Netanyahu has spent his life trying to prove that he is a worthy heir of his father, that he is The Great Netanyahu. He even named a bypass near Jerusalem after his father, as if in this way, he can commemorate the greatness of them both.Now, Bibi Netanyahu's historical reckoning has arrived. Will he be remembered as the person responsible for the disaster of October 7, 2023, the one who plunged Israel into a purposeless and unending war, who splintered the bonds of Israeli society, and perhaps even sparked a devastating conflict with Hezbollah—all to sustain his deranged coalition and evade the grasp of the law? Or perhaps he will regain his senses, recall his father and the legacy of Jabotinskian dignity, and realize that returning the hostages home could unify nearly every Israeli and, perhaps, lead them to forgive him for some of the harm he has caused.Perhaps this will cause the coalition to fall apart, but even that is uncertain - where will all of these delusionals go? However, if he doesn’t do the right thing, he will be remembered in Jewish history as the one who abandoned Israeli citizens, the one responsible for the death and loss of hundreds of men, women and children, the one who at the pivotal moment, could not rise above petty concerns. That is not a good place to have in history. He would not wish to be remembered in this way. His father would not have wanted him to be remembered in this way.Benjamin Netanyahu, history is calling your name. Your decision will determine your legacy for ages!
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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