🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 507, 2023 - February 24, 2025 🎗️

  

🎗️Day 507 that 63 of our hostages in Hamas captivity
**There is nothing more important than getting them home! NOTHING!**

“I’ve never met them,

But I miss them. 

I’ve never met them,

but I think of them every second. 

I’ve never met them,

but they are my family. 

BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!”

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

#BringThemHomeNow #TurnTheHorrorIntoHope

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

‎אין נצחון עד שכל החטופים בבית

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

*

Hostage Updates 

• CNN interview with my brother Gershon Baskin about the hostage release deal link to video interview
  
  
  

• Funeral for Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas to be held Wednesday after public procession

  

  Kfir and Ariel Bibas (Hostages Families Forum)

  
  

  Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas will be laid to rest in a funeral ceremony on Wednesday, the family says.

  
  

  The family requests that the ceremony itself be for loved ones only, but says that it will publish a funeral procession route to allow members of the public to pay their respects that day, and will also try to livestream the proceedings.

  
  

  “The warm embrace, the love and the strength that you have sent us from all over Israel and the world strengthen us and accompany us during these moments of crisis,” the family says in a social media post. “We are aware that many of you want to be there, to pay your respects, to express your love and to say your goodbyes together with us.”

  
  

  However, they add, “please respect our choice to say our goodbyes during these final moments in the way that is right for us.”
  
  
  
• ‘Avera lives!’: Brother of freed hostage says he has a long recovery ahead

  

  Avera Mengistu (left) embraces his brother, Ilan, at a military facility near Re'im on February 22, 2025. (IDF)

  
  

  Ilan Mengistu, the brother of released hostage, Avera Mengistu, says that “finally, finally, the long terrible journey has reached its end.”

  
  

  “Avera, whose name means life, is home, Avera lives!,” he says, speaking at the hospital where his brother is recuperating, after being held in Gaza for 10 years and finally freed yesterday with five other hostages.

  
  

  Mengistu says his brother, who crossed into Gaza in 2014 of his own volition and was held captive there for more than a decade, has a long path of recuperation ahead of him.

  
  

  “We’re here for you and pray for your full recovery,” says his brother, adding that while the photos of the reunions of the released hostages are emotional and joyful, there are many other issues to be dealt with upon a hostage’s return home.
  ‘Avera lives!’: Brother of freed hostage says he has a long recovery ahead link For quite a few years, I was involved with the Forum for the Release of Avera Meginstu and had to honor to meet his family. His release is a great occurrence that, unfortunately would never have happened if not for October 7 and the taking of hostages that day. The governments, since Avera's captivity had only paid lip service to his family and anyone involved in the fight to bring him home. There were 2 main reasons for the acceptance of his ongoing captivity. The first being racism. Avera is an Ethiopian Israeli Jew from Ashkelon. His family is a quiet one that has never rocked the boat and for the first two years listened entirely to the government not to make any noise about him as it would hurt their efforts to get him home. Unfortunately, those efforts were almost nothing. It wasn't until relatives of Avera spoke to my brother, who was already known for his actions and role in the release of the soldier Gilad Schalit from Hamas captivity. He, of course was working the whole time behind the scenes to try to get Avera released and to get a sign of life from Hamas but the government was barely engaged in his release. He is a black Ethiopian from a quiet and poor family and his importance to the public was zilch. Most of the Israeli population never heard of him or of his captivity. 
  The second reason for the lack of care from the government and the public was that Avera suffered from mental illness. When his older brother, who he was very attached to, suddenly died, he went into a mental tailspin and was hospitalized on several occasions but the mental health care in Israel is very lacking and he was released each time without proper care in the hospital and virtually no follow up care. The mental health crisis in Israel before the war was one of purposeful blindness. The government has barely done anything to improve it and the public doesn't much care about it unless they are directly impacted. Avera would frequently disappear for days from his home and family and either come back or be found. On that occasion 11 years ago, he disappeared and walked along the Zikim Beach south of Ashkelon and entered Gaza while the Army patrols were watching him and did nothing to stop him. When his plight was brought to the public, many people didn't care, They said he entered Gaza on his own volition so it was his own doing and his own problem. They didn't care that he was suffering from mental illness. The government never felt much pressure to do anything. A similar thing happened to another hostage, Hisham Al-Sayyad, a beduin also suffering from mental illness who entered Gaza on his own and taken into captivity a decade ago. The government was willing to pay a tiny price for the release of the two but nothing near the demands of Hamas and therefore, both Avera and Hisham were left there to wither. With October 7 and the massive amounts of hostages taken, they were finally included in the hostages held in Gaza and became part of the national public fight and they were finally both brought home. Both of them went into Gaza suffering from mental illnesses which have gone untreated for over a decade. Needless to say, they weren't miraculously cured and hopefully now, they will get the care they needed back them.
  I have been in touch with Ilan Mengistu, Avera's older brother who led the fight for all this time to get Avera home. Following is what he wrote to me today: 
  

  "Hello, dear Lonny. It was always good to hear from you.

  There are no words to express my appreciation to you.

  You are a person with a good heart.

  We definitely got a happy ending to the long journey."

  
  Gershon and Lonny Baskin demonstrating on behalf of Avera Mengistu years ao
  

  

  Demonstrating on behalf of Avera Mengistu years ago

  
  

  
  
• Freed hostage Eliya Cohen underwent surgery without anesthesia in Gaza — TV report

  

  Freed hostage Eliya Cohen reunites with family members at the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, February 22, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)
  
  

  Eliya Cohen had surgery while in captivity to remove bullets with no anesthesia, according to details reported by Channel 12 news.

  
  

  Cohen, who was freed yesterday from more than 500 days of captivity, spent some time in captivity with Almog Sarusi, who was murdered with five other hostages last August, the report says. He was later held in a tunnel with Alon Ohel, who is still held hostage, and Eli Sharabi and Or Levy, who were recently freed.

  
  

  They were held chained up to each other, the report says. The report says that in the period before he was freed, Cohen was given a large amount of food to improve his appearance. They were also only unchained in recent weeks and had to “learn to walk again,” the report says.

  
  

  Cohen and Sharabi would say kiddush on Friday nights even with no wine.

  
  

  Cohen spoke to Ohel’s family soon after his return to Israel. He said it was very hard to leave Alon, and that Alon is now on his own.

  
  

  Cohen has reportedly told his loved ones that he was in a tunnel that was bombed by the IDF and managed to just escape in time.

  
  

  
  
• Sister of Yarden Bibas: He is ‘still trying to come to terms with the horrible news’

  

  Yarden Bibas (center) with his sister Ofri and father Eli, soon after his release from Hamas captivity on February 1, 2025. (IDF Spokesman)

  
  

  Ofri Bibas, the sister of Yarden Bibas, says he is still struggling to come to terms with the confirmation of the murder in captivity of his wife and sons, and the extreme levels of public attention that surround it.

  
  

  “Yarden is still dealing with the publicity and the fame of the family, and it’s not easy and is even frightening,” Ofri says in a public message shared online. “The reactions to the murder of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir move him very much, but Yarden is still trying to come to terms with the horrible news.”

  
  

  Ofri says that her brother, who spent 16 months in Hamas captivity, moves along a “spectrum of emotions.” In the span of a few weeks, the family went from “huge joy” over Yarden’s return to “deep sadness and shock,” with the confirmation of the murders of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir, she says.

  
  

  At times, she says, “he wonders how Shiri would respond to all this, and Shiri is not here to go through it with him.”

  
  

  She asks the public to respect the family’s request that the funeral slated for Wednesday be for family and friends only, following a public procession.

  
  

  Ofri says that Yarden sees the widespread support, and has asked to tell the public, “You don’t need to ask forgiveness.” The forgiveness they deserve should come first and foremost “with the return of all the rest of the hostages to their homes and their families… Only then can we begin to recover.”

  
  

  
  
• Hamas official: All negotiations halted until Israel frees prisoners slated for release
  Hamas will hold off on negotiations with Israel through mediators unless Israel frees the 602 Palestinian prisoners slated for release in exchange for the six Israeli hostages handed over yesterday, says Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi.
  
  
  In a statement on Telegram, the official calls on mediators to pressure Israel into implementing the ceasefire agreement’s provisions.
  
  
  Early this morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not release the prisoners until Hamas provided guarantees that it would end the “demeaning” ceremonies it has held to mark the transfer of Israeli hostages.  link 
  Unfortunately, this has very little impact on Netanyahu as he doesn’t want to negotiate phase 2
  
  
• Families of freed hostages ‘overwhelmed,’ vow to fight for the rest

  

  Family and friends of hostage Omer Shem Tov in Tel Aviv watch and celebrate his release, February 22, 2025. (Dana Reany / Hostages Families Forum)
  
  

  Some more statements from families of the hostages released today:

  
  

  Tal and Adi Shoham’s families say: “This is an unforgettable moment, where all emotions are rapidly mixing together. Our Tal is with us.

  
  

  “Our only request is to seize this window of opportunity to secure a deal that will bring fathers back to their children. Children need their fathers.”

  
  

  Eliya Cohen’s family says it is “overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude,” and had no information about his condition until he was released.

  
  

  “This moment, which should be filled with joy, is also accompanied by pain over what he endured there, and for the families of those killed in the war,” says the family. “Finally, Eliya can be surrounded by his loved ones, his family, and his girlfriend, and begin a new path.”

  
  

  Omer Shem Tov’s family says that “after 505 days of suffering and nightmare,” they can hug him again.

  
  

  “Thank you to God, to the people of Israel for their prayers, strength, and love. Thank you to the soldiers who sacrificed for this moment, to everyone involved in the negotiations and diplomatic effort,” they say.

  
  

  “We will continue to fight together with all the families and the Hostages Families Forum,” they say. “Our lives are intertwined until everyone returns.”

  
  

  Itay and Maya Regev, who were kidnapped alongside Shem Tov and released in the November 2023 deal, say their “triangle is complete again.”

  
  

  “Our heart is finally beating as it should, now that our best friend has returned home,” they said. “We pray and hope to witness many more moments like this. We will not stop fighting until everyone returns home.”

  
  
• Released hostage Omer Wenkert: I’m joining the struggle to free all the captives
  

  Released hostage Omer Wenkert posts a picture on social media, showing a conversation with his mother in which he vows to join the public struggle to free all the remaining hostages.

  In the conversation, his mother tells him that “from tomorrow we rejoin the struggle to free everyone.”

  He replies: “No you are not going back, It’s me that’s joining the struggle with all my force. I won’t stop until everyone is back.”

  “Two of my brothers are still there and I will use every drop of energy there is to bring them back,” he says.

• Witkoff says he expects second stage of ceasefire-hostage deal, is working on phase one ‘extension’
  

  White House special envoy Steve Witkoff says he will be in the region on Wednesday to work to “get an extension of phase one” of the hostage release-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

  Speaking to CNN, Witkoff says the US also expects the second stage of the deal to take place and will continue participating in talks on phase two.

• **"The Terrorists Told Tal That His Parents Were Fighting, He Said Hamas Admires Us"**  

  Tal Shoham was kidnapped on October 7 from Kibbutz Be’eri and held in Gaza for 505 days. Last Saturday, he was finally released and reunited with his family. This morning (Monday), his father shared details about the first days since his son’s return, the reunion with his children, and the difficult experiences he endured in captivity: "Tal was shackled in an apartment for months; the days alone drove him crazy."  

  

  Last Saturday, another phase of the first stage of the current hostage deal was carried out, during which six hostages held in Gaza were released. Among them was 40-year-old Tal Shoham, who was kidnapped on October 7 from Kibbutz Be’eri along with his wife and two children, who were released from captivity last year.  

  After Shoham was reunited with his family, his father, Gilad Kornfeld, was interviewed this morning (Monday) on *Morning News* and spoke with Niv Raskin about the long battle he waged, the beginning of the rehabilitation process, and the surprising detail that Hamas terrorists told his son during captivity: "He wasn’t exposed to TV or radio. The terrorists told him everything that was happening here and that his parents were fighting for him. He told us that Hamas admires us," Kornfeld said.  

  "Honestly, I’m still processing it. Every morning we meet Tal at the hospital and talk to him—not about what happened. He discusses that with security forces," Kornfeld continued, describing his son’s release from captivity. "He’s the same Tal, optimistic, wanting to eat and join us in the fight. I always said he was strong physically and mentally, and I believed he would survive. The first thing I told him was, 'Why did you come back now and not a week earlier?' I’d been planning to say that to him for a long time."  

  *Could you prepare for the moment of release?*  

  "We had no information. We sat in Re’im in front of the screens, and when the terrorists’ car with Tal approached, we didn’t know what would come out of it. When we saw Tal, there was a lot of crying and laughter. He’s thin but walked on his feet with his head held high. It’s an incredible feeling, even better than the birth itself. We got a child back from hell. The entire flight, he sat next to me. He’s 40, and I’m holding his hand."  

  *What do you know about what he went through there?*  

  "He was shackled in an apartment for several months, then everyone was taken down to the tunnels, and he doesn’t talk about that. He was alone for quite some time and knew the time by the call to prayer. The days alone drove him crazy. Later, he was with other hostages and was the responsible adult. There were no significant fights among them; they shared food fairly. He got one pita and two spoons of cheese for an entire day. He lost 25 kilograms. There were times when even the captors didn’t have enough food and took from them. They got used to it."  

  *Did he talk about the release ceremony?*  

  "No. There’s a video that went viral of Tal sitting in the car before the ceremony, with a terrorist threatening Israel, and Tal smiling in his face. He didn’t surprise me; I knew he was strong physically and mentally. Tal didn’t know that Omer Wenkert would be released with him. They met, and he said they’re brothers for life."  

  *How was his reunion with the children?*  

  "We weren’t there for the initial reunion. Psychologists understood from conversations with men who returned from captivity that the first thing they want is to meet their partner and then their children, so that was the order. Their father is back, and now their rehabilitation has begun. They’re sleeping in the same room at the hospital. That’s how the rehabilitation of children whose father was in Gaza begins, and that’s how it should be for all the children who’ve returned."  

  *You waged a long battle.*  

  "From the joy of our family, we move to the next story—there are still hostages and fallen soldiers in Gaza. Again, someone wants to sabotage the deal. We won’t let that happen. We’re back in the fight, and Tal wants to come to the square. We’ll demand that from this moment on, we decide—no one decides for us about our hostages. There won’t be this insane thing of going back to war until the last hostage returns. The State of Israel must close this chapter. I suggest the Prime Minister consult with President Trump and not do anything foolish."  link

  
  

• The message that arrived from Gaza to the family of the abducted Nimrod Cohen: "I'm okay. Don't worry, love."

  The father of Nimrod, who was abducted on October 7 from the tank in which he served, spoke today on the news about the message the family received. "We received signs of life from him last week, from two hostages who were with him for 8 months in the tunnels," his father said.

  Yehuda Cohen, the father of the abducted soldier Nimrod Cohen, said today (Wednesday) on Channel 12 News that his son conveyed a message through two survivors of captivity. "I'm okay, don't worry about me. I love you," Nimrod conveyed to his parents through the returnees.

  "There are no question marks, he will return," said Yehuda Cohen. "He will return alive and well. We received signs of life from him last week. Two hostages who were with him for 8 months together, in reasonable conditions under the definition of tunnels. He is there, he is alive. I even asked through one of the family members of those who were released, he left some kind of message with a few words - 'He's okay, don't worry. He loves you.' That's the message we received from Nimrod."

  He added: "I understand that his condition is good, he knows - and we received through interrogations of the returnees - he knows how to manage a daily routine and therefore he knows how to hold himself during this time, he also knows that the end is very close."

  Yehuda Cohen, the father of the abducted soldier Nimrod Cohen, in a statement

  
  Yehuda Cohen, Nimrod's father, during a statement by the families of the hostages

  Yehuda Cohen also attacked Netanyahu for the accusations against figures in the negotiations: "It's important to emphasize now that the Prime Minister spat on the heads of the Shin Bet and the Mossad, they can't respond to his spitting, only he can spit. Now he appointed Ron Dermer, who until three months ago was walking around Florida saying everyone is dead."

  "This is no longer in the hands of Netanyahu, nor Dermer, nor Smotrich with his percentage plan," he added. "It's in the hands of Trump and Whitkoff. They are currently representing us against the government that betrayed us, a government that according to the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, the controversial Nation-State Law that Netanyahu also conceived - which says that it is the duty of the state to protect the citizens of Israel and rescue them in times of trouble, they are not doing that." link

• ‘She saw how people were fighting to bring her home:’ Freed hostage Liri Albag visits Hostage Square
  Freed hostage Liri Albag visits Hostages Square with her older sister Shay, who says that Liri saw an image of Hostages Square while in Hamas captivity.
  “She saw the Saturday night rallies,” writes Shai Albag on Instagram. “It strengthened her, that’s how she knew she wasn’t forgotten.”
  “She saw how people were fighting to bring her home,” writes Albag. “And today for the first time, she’s seeing it with her own eyes. She sees the square and the sighs and the people who are part of the struggle. She seems how much love was around her all the time. We have to continue doing everything we can until the final hostage.”

  
  

Gaza and the South

•  Israel says it foils attempt to smuggle smartphones, projectors into Gaza inside aid truck

  

  Trucks carrying mobile homes are lined up on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on February 20, 2025. (AFP)

  
  

  Israeli authorities say they foiled an attempt to smuggle prohibited items into the Gaza Strip in a humanitarian aid truck.

  
  

  According to the Defense Ministry and Israel Police, a truck carrying aid that was passing through the Erez Crossing into northern Gaza was found to also be ferrying 650 smartphones, dozens of sim cards, three projectors, and car replacement parts.

  
  

  The driver, an Israeli civilian, was arrested.

  
  
• Israel said to lodge complaint with Egypt over troop deployments in Sinai

  

  A view of the Israel-Egypt border south of the Nitzana Crossing, January 12, 2025. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

  
  

  Israel has lodged an official complaint with Egypt over alleged violations of agreements on troop deployments in the Sinai peninsula, Israel Hayom reports.

  
  

  Last month, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter accused Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi of violating the US-brokered 1978 peace deal between Jerusalem and Cairo.

  
  

  “Egypt is in very serious violation of our peace agreement in the Sinai. This is an issue that is going to come to the fore because it’s not tolerable,” Leiter told American Jewish leaders.

  
  

  “We have bases being built that can only be used for offensive operations, for offensive weapons — that’s a clear violation,” Leiter said. “For a long time, it’s been shunted aside, and this continues. This is going to be an issue that we’re going to put on the table very soon and very emphatically.”

  
  

  In addition, multiple Israeli outlets have run articles in recent weeks highlighting concern over Egyptian deployment in the Sinai.

  
  

Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria

• IDF has built 9 military posts inside Syria buffer zone, reveals defense chief

  

  A temporary IDF post on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, in a handout photo issued on January 28, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
  
  

  Speaking at an IDF cadets graduation ceremony, Defense Minister Israel Katz reveals the military has constructed at least nine posts inside Syria.

  
  

  “[The IDF] built two proper posts atop the summit of Mount Hermon and seven posts in the buffer zone to ensure defense and offense against any challenge,” he says.

  
  

  He adds the IDF will remain in the posts “indefinitely.”

  
  
• IDF says it struck additional Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon
  

  

  Israeli fighter jets fly over Beirut during the funeral procession of Lebanon's former Hezbollah leaders, Hassan Nasrallah and his cousin and successor, Hashem Safieddine, in Beirut, Lebanon, February 23, 2025. (AP/Bilal Hussein)

  The IDF says it carried out strikes against additional Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon a short while ago.
  The targets included several buildings used by Hezbollah to store weapons, where activity by operatives was identified, the military says.
  The military says Hezbollah’s activity at the sites is a “violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

  The IDF has carried out several strikes in Lebanon today, in addition to sending fighter jets to fly over the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
•  Hezbollah tells operatives to allow Lebanese army to take control of border area
  

  Hezbollah has issued internal directives for its operatives who do not live south of the Litani River to vacate the area to allow the Lebanese Armed Forces to assume control over the border region as demanded by the ceasefire with Israel, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a source close to Hezbollah.

  Some Hezbollah units have been totally dismantled after the Israeli campaign in Lebanon, says the source, but others were reconstituted by bringing fighters back from Syria following the fall of deposed president Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

  The report cites another source who indicates that the Iran-backed terrorist group has lost some 5,000 operatives fighting against Israel since October 7, 2023.

  Israeli troops completed their withdrawal from southern Lebanese villages on February 18, but remained deployed in five strategic positions.

  
  

West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel

• Settlers said to set Palestinian buildings on fire after several injured in clashes
  

Makeshift buildings in a West Bank Bedouin village burn after being reportedly torched by Israeli settlers on February 22, 2025. (Screenshot/X)

Arab outlets report that Israeli settlers set fire to several buildings this afternoon in a Bedouin village near Jaba, a Palestinian town in the central West Bank.

According to Ynet, the arson follows a series of violent clashes and stone-throwing incidents between settlers and Palestinians wielding axes outside the nearby Geva Binyamin settlement.

Five people were injured, among them three Palestinians and two Israelis.

Politics and the War (general news)

• At the Crossroads by Gershon Baskin
  We stand at a very dangerous and crucial crossing point at this moment. Do we move to Phase 2 of the ceasefire deal or does Israel renew the war and essentially sacrifice the remaining 63 hostages? The main difficulty for Israel is that Phase 2 includes the end of the war and the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza. But the war will not end if there are hostages remaining in Gaza. The war will not end if Hamas is left in control of Gaza. There are still those in Israel’s political leadership who continue to hold onto the fantasy that Hamas can be eliminated through military means. There are those in the right-wing who understand that Hamas won’t be eliminated through the military and that Hamas is here to stay, so, according to them, Israel needs to create a military government to control all of Gaza, remain in Gaza perhaps forever. Alongside this camp there are the real estaters inspired by Trump’s Gaza Riviera with dreams of beachside Israeli settlements (without Palestinian neighbors) and the much more delirious messianics inspired by the likes of Betzalel Smotrich who believe that they are the real estate agent of God on earth.
  In a much wider view of our situation, the crossroads are actually a lot bigger and offers more opportunities, if we had any leaders with the wisdom to examine what is essentially right in front of us. The Gaza war has created a regional strategic environment that enables the first real opportunity for moving towards the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the last round of negotiations between Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas. The chances of real change are much better today than at the time that Olmert tried to negotiate an end of the conflict. The basis for believing that there are higher chances of success now emanate from the weakening of the Iranian axis including the removal of the Assad regime in Syria, the weakening of the Hezbollah stranglehold over Lebanon and the weakening of Hamas in Gaza. Along with the changes within the Iranian Axis, we also have what is beginning to look like a much more unified Arab position, accelerated by the Trump danger of the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the threat that is posed directly to the regimes of Jordan and Egypt from that. The firming up of the position of Saudi Arabia regarding the creation of a Palestinian state in the territories occupied by Israel in 1967 is now an Iron Wall standing between Israel’s burning desire for full normalization with Saudi Arabia and Mohammed ben Salman’s commitment for a Palestinian state that he has made very public to the whole world.
  Of all of the issues on the agenda, the most urgent is to end the war in Gaza. That is the precondition for returning all of the hostage. It is also the only way that reconstruction of Gaza can begin which will require an enormous international effort and about 90 billion dollars. The two million homeless people of Gaza are the vivid reason why reconstruction cannot wait, even one day. But no real money or genuine planning for reconstruction will happen in Gaza without Israel withdrawing from Gaza and as long as Hamas remains in power – both in government and with their armed militia. Most of the Hamas leadership outside of Gaza seems to recognize this new reality, but the youngsters with the new uniforms, shiny guns and new vehicles that were untouched by all of the Israeli bombing are in the mood of “look at us – we’re in charge now!” and they may be becoming uncontrollable by the Hamas leaders sitting in their comfortable villas in Istanbul, Cairo and Doha. They are definitely a challenge, but in reality, if there are no more Israeli forces in Gaza, they lose their targets and there is very little that they can do – because without the money and the support, they cannot really control Gaza. This is a challenge that a new, legitimate Palestinian non-Hamas government in Gaza can tackle.
  The main obstacles before us are the current triangle of leaders: Netanyahu – Abbas – Hamas, all who need to be sent packing if we want to see real positive change here. The weakest point of the triangle is Abbas. Abbas is 90 years old; he is in the 20th year of a four-year term of office and has almost no legitimacy amongst his own people. A large majority of Palestinians view him and his Palestinian Authority as corrupt and dictatorial. Abbas removed the legislative branch of government; he makes legislation by Presidential Decrees. He has appointed most of the judges. He controls the security forces and he controls the money. Civil society has been disempowered by means of control on registration and reporting together with a hyper-active security force. While Abbas continues the security coordination with Israel, which is viewed positively within Israel’s national security establishment, for the Palestinian people it makes the Abbas regime appear to be collaborators with the Israeli occupation and sometimes as employees of the Israeli settlers. Abbas’s disdain of Hamas has kept him in power for a long time with the support of Israel and some of the Arab leaders. It now seems that, at least many of the Arab leaders believe that Abbas needs to step aside and allow someone with credibility and abilities to take over the functions of government from him. But that person must be committed to the two states solution, to the unification of Palestinian government and territory, to the end of the armed struggle, to fighting corruption and to democracy. That is a hard list of demands for a new Palestinian leader who must continue to confront a hostile Israeli occupation and an Israeli government which seems intent on dismantling the Palestinian Authority. There are a couple of Palestinian candidates who could meet the demands of office that could lead the Palestinians to freedom and it is for the Palestinian people to decide who that leader is and to understand that they no longer really have an alternative Palestinian strategy that will lead to their freedom.
  A new Palestinian leader who would have the courage to stand up and say to the Palestinian people that we as Palestinians have only one real choice if we want to survive as a nation – that is to recognize that Israel exists, that the Jewish people have a legitimate connection to the land between the River and the Sea, but that they must understand that they were never here alone. There have always been others in the land, and we Palestinians are the others. And we are equal in size to them. Our right, as Palestinians, is to have a nation-state of our own which is non-negotiable. We can negotiate borders, economics, water, security, and even on the future of Jerusalem, but our right for self-determination in a state of our own is not negotiable. If Palestinians were bold enough to also state that they are undertaking a full review of their educational system to reform it in a way which recognizes Israel as a neighbor that the Palestinian people desire to live in peace with, I believe we would see a rapid change of Israeli public opinion that would not only rejoin the belief in the two-states solution, the public would also bring down the Netanyahu regime. The essential ingredient that keeps the Netanyahu regime in power is the deep belief in Israel that the Palestinian people will never agree to live in peace in a Palestinian state next to Israel, instead of in place of Israel. Of course, Palestinians have the same image of Israelis and if the world was fair, the stronger party would take the first step – but that is unlikely to happen. It seems that Israel is able to cope with the continuation of the conflict for many more years, which to me seems much longer than what the Palestinian people can allow themselves to do because they pay a much higher price in suffering than the Israeli people do. The urgency for change seems to be at a much higher degree for the Palestinians than for the Israelis. It is simply a matter of the asymmetric reality of this conflict.
  Back to Gaza – an Israel agreement to end the war and to withdraw from Gaza will only come if President Trump insists on it. The importance of the unified Arab position on both the future of Gaza without Hamas and a Palestinian government committed to the two states solution should be the fuel needed to steer Trump into the direction of knowing that at the end of the road is the Noble Peace Prize and a place for Trump in history as the peacemaker of the Middle East. There are a lot of moving pieces here and the movement is already happening. The first steps are in motion with the generation of the united Arab position. We in Israel have our work together in organizing a political movement that will be ready to begin our march forward on the day that the Netanyahu government falls. We don’t have a clear leader in Israel today who can fill the role of the leader that understands that the peace of no choice is now the order of the day to replace the war of no choice. There is a whole new generation of young inspiring Israeli leaders who are emerging from the protest movements, from civil society, from academia, from the arts, and from the world of hi-tech. These young talents need to be coalesced into a political force that will enable the next Israeli government to grasp that the movement from deep trauma to normalcy is through preserving the values of the society of mutual aid and social solidarity and the determination to end the conflict with the Palestinian people. This is not a naïve fantasy but a hard cold strategic view of Israel’s reality and the fundamental understanding that there is no military solution to this conflict. It is now upon us to choose the path of basing our future on knowing that there will never be a solution until everyone living between the River and the Sea has the same right to the same rights. link
  ABOUT THE AUTHOR:The writer is the Middle East Director of ICO - International Communities Organization - a UK based NGO working in Conflict zones with failed peace processes. Baskin is a political and social entrepreneur who has dedicated his life to peace between Israel and her neighbors. He is also a founding member of “Kol Ezraheiha - Kol Muwanteneiha” (All of the Citizens) political party in Israel.
  
  

• 
  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented photos of Shiri Bibas and her children, and from the crowd, people shouted, "Why didn't you bring them back?"

  The Prime Minister spoke at an officer training course graduation ceremony, clarifying that Israel will continue to hold strategic positions in Lebanon and deepen its activities in Judea and Samaria. Netanyahu stated, "We demand demilitarization in southern Syria—we will not tolerate any threat to the Druze community there." The Chief of Staff, while the Prime Minister and Defense Minister were in the audience, said, "We must recruit as many as possible—none of us are allowed to pass the problem on to others."

  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today (Sunday) that Israel demands the demilitarization of several districts in southern Syria. "We will not tolerate any threat to the Druze community in southern Syria," Netanyahu clarified at the graduation ceremony for combat officers. Due to concerns over the "Coral" system, the ceremony was not held as usual at Bahad 1, but at the "Toto" Hall in Holon. At the beginning of his speech, the Prime Minister thanked the Chief of Staff ahead of the end of his term. He presented a photo of Shiri Ariel and Kfir Bibas, of blessed memory, and from the crowd, people shouted, "Why didn't you bring them back? Shame."

  "The photo of Shiri Bibas and her tender children, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, says it all," Netanyahu said as he presented the photo. "I ask that you engrave it on your hearts, that we remember what we are fighting for and against whom we are fighting. We are fighting to ensure our existence against human monsters," he added. "This war is long, and it requires steadfastness on seven fronts, along with a prolonged effort to defeat our enemies."

  "Since October 7, we have turned the tide. The direction is victory, victory, and only victory," Netanyahu continued. "We will complete the war's objectives—the complete elimination of Hamas, through negotiation or other means. All the hostages will return home, and Hamas will not rule Gaza." He referred to the deal for the release of hostages, stating, "A combination of military and political pressure will lead to the return of hostages. The pressure, along with Trump's strong statement, brought hostages home. We will not relent in our mission to bring everyone home."

  The Prime Minister addressed the IDF's operations in Judea and Samaria and the introduction of additional forces into the fight. "Our forces are advancing deep into refugee camps, destroying infrastructure, and eliminating terrorists as needed," Netanyahu said. "Yesterday, we entered to clear the Qabatiya refugee camp, deploying tanks for the first time—we are fighting with all means and in every location." He also noted that in Lebanon, the IDF will continue to hold strategic positions along the border until the Lebanese army and government fulfill their commitments under the agreement. Additionally, Netanyahu clarified that Israel demands full demilitarization in the Daraa, As-Suwayda, and Quneitra districts in southern Syria: "We will not tolerate any threat to the Druze community there."

  Netanyahu stated, "Our forces will remain in the Mount Hermon area and the buffer zone indefinitely to protect our settlements and thwart any threat to them." He also referred to Iran, saying, "The unstable regime sought to strangle us with a ring of fire through terrorism. We have significantly disrupted parts of the axis of evil with deadly strikes that have garnered global astonishment and admiration. We have severely degraded Iran's capabilities and damaged its defense and missile capabilities." He clarified, "The ultimate goal is clear: we will not allow the acquisition of nuclear weapons."

  Defense Minister Israel Katz spoke after the Prime Minister, outlining the security policy in Syria. "Our eyes are open to the entire region—especially toward Syria today. We have committed to not allowing a return to the reality of October 7—and that is how it will be," Katz said. "There is a new policy in southern Syria. The IDF will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves in the security zone in southern Syria—from here to the As-Suwayda-Damascus axis—and will act against any threat," he clarified.

  "Our duty is to protect the lives of Israeli citizens against any threat and danger," Katz said. "We will not allow Hamas terrorists to threaten Israel's security, and we will not return to the pre-October 7 reality. A significant part of what was will not return to normal," he added. "Above all, the directive is to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. We will do whatever is necessary to achieve this. We will never allow such a threat to emerge against Israel."

  The Defense Minister referred to the funeral of Nasrallah, which took place simultaneously with the ceremony. "The Air Force planes that flew over Beirut today during the funeral sent a clear message: anyone who threatens to destroy Israel and attacks Israel—this will be their end," he clarified. Regarding the IDF's operations in Judea and Samaria, Katz said, "Today, I instructed the IDF to prepare for a prolonged stay in the camps that have been cleared over the next year, and to prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism."

  Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi was greeted with applause as he took the stage to speak after the Prime Minister and Defense Minister. "The fear of investigations is akin to choosing future failure," Halevi said shortly after beginning his speech. "An investigation is part of military action, and through it, we learn and improve," he added. "Every combat commander knows firsthand that fighting is no trivial matter. It involves risks and great responsibility for the lives of his subordinates. The ability to recover quickly from failure and move forward again—that is what turns a commander into a leader."

  Halevi subtly criticized Netanyahu, saying, "The way to achieve results, especially in war, is not to charge forward like unrestrained horses, rushing ahead without discernment or a precise goal." He added, "Anyone who thinks that the sole purpose of a combat commander is to charge forward will have to bear the consequences and be responsible for the outcomes." He also took a jab at the issue of ultra-Orthodox conscription, stating, "We must recruit as many as possible—none of us are allowed to pass the problem on to the next generation."

  Halevi addressed the return of hostages as part of the recent deal. "We bow our heads to the Bibas and Lifshitz families and ask for forgiveness for not being able to bring their loved ones back alive," he said. "There are still 63 hostages in captivity, and we will do everything in our power to bring them all back," he clarified.

• Outgoing IDF chief asks ‘forgiveness’ from Bibas and Liftshitz families after bodies returned
  

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi speaks at an IDF cadets graduation ceremony in Holon, February 23, 2025. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)

Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi apologizes to the families of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz, for failing to return their loved ones from captivity alive, after Hamas returned their bodies last week.

All four were murdered in captivity, according to Israel.
“We bow our heads before the Bibas and Lifshitz families, and ask for forgiveness for not being able to bring their loved ones back while they were alive,” Halevi says at an IDF cadets graduation ceremony.
“They are another 63 hostages, and we will do everything we can to bring everyone back,” he adds.

Outgoing IDF chief warns against ‘rushing forward without discernment’

Speaking at a ceremony earlier today, outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi tells graduating cadets that rushing forward with no plan will not bring success, in apparent veiled criticism aimed at some in Israel’s political leadership.
“The way to bring about achievements, especially in a war, is not to gallop like unbridled horses, rushing forward without discernment and without a precise goal,” Halevi says.
“Anyone who thinks that the sole purpose of a combat commander is to gallop forward will have to bear the consequences and be responsible for the consequences,” he says.
Halevi tells the graduating cadets that they should act like cavalry, “standing tall, holding the reins, and leading wisely into new challenges.”
“If you fall, return to the reins and continue better than you were,” he adds.

 

• Release of 602 Palestinian prisoners delayed as Israel indicates it is weighing next steps
  

  Multiple reports indicate the planned release of 602 Palestinian prisoners after today’s hostage return is being delayed.

  Israel informed Palestinian officials in the West Bank that the release will be pushed back to 8 p.m. this evening, according to Arab outlets.

  An unnamed Israeli source quoted by several Hebrew media outlets says: “Regarding the delay in the release of the terrorists — following the conclusion of [the prime minister’s] security consultation [tonight], a decision will be made regarding the next steps, and the completion of the return of hostages’ remains at this stage.”

  Analysts speculate that the delay is tied to the brutal murders of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas by their terrorist captors, but there is no official word on this.

The Region and the World

•   Lebanese president tells Iranian parliament speaker: Country is ‘tired of others’ wars’
  

  Lebanese President Joseph Aoun tells Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf that his country “paid a heavy price” for the Palestinian cause and is “tired of others’ wars” during a meeting in the president’s official residence outside Beirut.

  Ghalibaf, who traveled to Lebanon for today’s funeral for slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, meets with the president as part of a larger delegation including Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and its ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani.

  Ghalibaf tells Aoun that Iran is willing to help Lebanon with its reconstruction efforts following Israel’s ground invasion, according to a post from the Lebanese president’s official X account.

  Aoun tells the Iranian official that Lebanon’s leadership supports the Gaza reconstruction plan discussed during Friday’s Arab summit in Riyadh, which laid out a path towards a two-state solution in opposition to Trump’s plan for the mass relocation of Gazans outside the enclave.

  
  

• Israeli reporter details the classified materials he found at Iran’s embassy in Damascus soon after Assad’s fall
  

  Channel 12’s investigative program Uvda is to air a report tonight documenting its reporter Itai Anghel’s visit to Damascus a few days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

  In a promo, Anghel is seen roaming the markets of Damascus, entering abandoned military bases and Iranian headquarters, and interviewing soldiers from the post-revolution Syrian army.

  Ahead of the broadcast, Anghel shared details of his visit, stating: “Everything is open; you can walk into bases and even the Iranian embassy. I took a folder from there that might contain descriptions of Iranian spies. There are passports and photos. It’s hard to believe how exposed everything is.”

  Regarding his visit to the abandoned Iranian embassy, Anghel added: “There were hidden doors in the embassy building, behind which I found a massive server farm and loads of files. They shredded a lot of documents, but many were left intact. You can see classified materials still there. This was Shi’ite Iran’s greatest power hub. From here, they operated Hezbollah.”
  “Surely, our [Israeli security] people were also there in the first chaotic days to gather intelligence,” Anghel said. “I wandered alone in the bases. You could take grenades or the warheads of fighter jets.”

Personal Stories

  

Many readers have asked me for a bit of comfort, so here I say: There is hope | Ben Caspit  

Without a shred of shame  

Former Minister Yizhar Shay, who lost his son Yaron (Nuni), a fighter in the Nahal Reconnaissance Unit, in the heroic battle to defend Kerem Shalom on October 7, published this post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday: "We are entering a sad, unbearable day. The fallen who will return home tomorrow will break all our hearts. So let’s be together tomorrow. For one moment, we can forget about right and left, for and against, the voices of strife and contention among us. Let’s just be for tomorrow. For the hostages, for their families, for our fallen who are returning home tomorrow to receive their right to eternal rest, for the fighters, for the wounded in body and soul, for those dear to us whom we lost in this war, for the State of Israel."  

I really wanted to embrace this message. To embrace the natural desire for a moment of quiet, of bowing our heads, of soul-searching, of forgiveness. We deserve such a moment, after all we’ve been through. I wanted to be "for," until I once again encountered the "against": On the same day, Prime Minister Netanyahu also published a video ahead of the difficult day awaiting us all: "Tomorrow will be a very difficult day for the State of Israel. A day of shock, a day of grief," Netanyahu said, explaining that his heart, like ours, is torn to pieces.  

Who among us hasn’t had their heart broken since October 7 for Shiri Bibas, the mother who became a symbol, and her two redheaded toddlers, Kfir and Ariel. Tender toddlers who were kidnapped along with their mother from the place that should have been the safest in their world. Magical redheads, at the beginning of their lives, whose videos playing in the family’s embrace, on the kibbutz lawn, and gazing curiously at the world they were just born into, have shaken our hearts since that morning.  

And then, the images of the kidnapping. The terror on Shiri’s face. The inferno around them. The cruel shattering of the familiar world, of human values, of the logical course of life, which, as of the writing of these lines, is being examined to see if it was cut short in an instant.  

The problem is that at the same time, while filming his conciliatory mourning video, Netanyahu made sure his office published a scathing statement against those who had been leading the negotiations for the return of the hostages, in these words: "The achievement of the agreement to release six of our living hostages in one phase is the result of the Prime Minister’s decision to change the composition of the negotiation team. The new team changed the dynamics and led negotiations, instead of giving and taking," a statement said on Wednesday on behalf of a "source familiar with the details."  

This source is not "familiar with the details." He is familiar with the task of smearing the very people he himself appointed to lead the negotiation team. This source is the Prime Minister, who knew what kind of day awaited us the next day and yet rushed to gather baseless credit for himself while tarnishing those he sent to do the job. He does all this while testifying in his criminal trial, when he is handed a note about a "security update" and he leaves for a "consultation." Without a single gram of shame in his entire body.  

**Family annihilation**  

We’ll return to this later, because this column must begin with an apology and a plea for forgiveness from the citizens of Israel who were abandoned on October 7 to their fate. Who were slaughtered, murdered, raped, burned, kidnapped, humiliated, and abandoned. Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel Bibas became the symbol of what happened that day, the red tip of the iceberg of abandonment and failure.  

The Bibas family is not the only family that lost many of its members. A particularly painful corner of my heart is also reserved for the Kotz family. Father, mother, three children. They were, and are no more. Just like that, in one fell swoop. Lavan Kotz, 50 years old minus a week, who was born during the Yom Kippur War and was murdered 50 years later in an almost identical failure, in her home in Kfar Aza along with her husband Avivit and their three children, Rotem, Yonatan, and Yiftach. Rotem was a squad commander of recruits in the IDF. Yonatan and Yiftach studied with my daughter Alona at the Kfar HaYarok school and played on the Hapoel Tel Aviv youth basketball team. The team is now named after them.  

Yonatan and Yiftach were supposed to stay that Shabbat at the Kfar HaYarok boarding school, but they decided to spend it at the kibbutz so as not to miss the "Kite Festival." The annual children’s event, where they fly kites into the skies of the Gaza border area, near the border fence. One of the goals of this festival was to send a message to the children on the other side of the border, in Gaza. A message of peace, of hope, of the possibility that other days would come.  

The five family members were found embraced in their home in the kibbutz, lifeless. There was a family, and now there is no more. Another tragedy in an endless chain of family disasters from that terrible day. Like the Kadam Siman-Tov family, who lost Tamar, her husband Yonatan (Johnny), the twins Arbel and Shachar (5 and a half years old), and the toddler Omer, aged two. Carol, Johnny’s mother, was also murdered there.  

Tomer and Dikla Arava, from Nahal Oz, were also murdered. And the Bira family, from Be’eri. Parents Yasmin and Oron, daughters Tair and Tehel. Their brother, Yahav, is the only one who survived the massacre. And there is also, or rather no longer, the Hazroni family from Be’eri: Ayala, 76, her brother Avia, 69, and his twin grandchildren Liel and Yinon, aged 12.  

And how can we ignore Abigail Edan, the curly-haired, heart-stealing girl whose father Roy Edan held her in his arms as he was shot by the murderers in their home in the kibbutz. Along with him, his wife Smadar was also murdered. Abigail managed to escape from her father’s arms just in time and wandered, covered in his blood, through the kibbutz paths, until she was picked up by a neighboring family. Then she was kidnapped. She returned in the first hostage deal and charmed her way into the hearts of the entire world, sitting on President Biden’s lap.  

This list is just a sample of the horrors of October 7. On that day, 53 children were murdered. A huge number of parents became bereaved, some of whom lost all their children. A huge number of children became orphans. Brothers and sisters who lost all their siblings. Grandparents who lost their grandchildren. And vice versa.  

Our forefathers who established this state had one main goal in mind: to prevent scenes like these. Never again. Jews would no longer be abandoned. Parents would no longer hide their children in the attic, in the closet, or in the safe room. We would not be defenseless. There would be no need to beg the gentiles for help. We would not return to the doors of superpowers, pleading for them to come to our rescue. "The State of Israel," Ariel Sharon used to say at every opportunity, "is the only place where Jews can defend themselves, by themselves."  

On October 7, 2023, we returned to those terrible days. There was no state here, no army, no protection for the residents of the Gaza border communities, from Kfar Aza to Sderot and Ofakim. It happened again. Peaceful, innocent citizens, parents and their children, grandparents and their grandchildren, were slaughtered in their homes. And there was no one to protect them. To lend a hand. To prevent the disaster. To rush to their aid. In many communities, the army was slow to arrive, and when it did, it was in a trickle that failed to stop the flood.  

Nir Oz, the kibbutz of the Bibas family, became the symbol of abandonment, because no one arrived there. Not on time, not late. Not at all. The kibbutz residents were murdered, kidnapped, and burned for hours, in broad daylight. They fought for their lives themselves, but it wasn’t enough. The murderers were in no hurry. They calmly finished their work and returned to their lair. Nir Oz thus became the symbol of abandonment. Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas, along with Oded Lifshitz, were from Nir Oz. They returned yesterday. After their bodies are identified, they will be buried in the soil of their kibbutz. The person primarily responsible for their abandonment has yet to muster the courage to visit there.  

**Drunk on poison**  

A day before the return of the fallen hostages, a man named Shlomo Karhi took the podium in the Knesset. A minister in Israel. He delivered one of the most magnificent speeches of hatred and incitement heard recently. He turned to MK Alon Schuster of the National Camp, a member of Kibbutz Mefalsim, and hurled this text at him: "I see you wearing a shirt that says 'The cost of living is not on our backs.' You’re a kibbutznik, eating organic food, drunk on luxury. When did you ever suffer from the cost of living in the kibbutzim?"  

Alon Schuster has devoted his entire life to developing the western Negev in general, and the Gaza border area in particular. His kibbutz, Mefalsim, was attacked on October 7. His son, a company commander in the IDF, went out to fight the attackers. Schuster "spent" that day in the situation room, trying to save as many lives as possible. Not far from him, former MK Shai Har-Melech was less fortunate. He and his wife Hava were attacked in their home in Kfar Aza. Their son Omer was murdered on the spot. The Har-Melech couple, along with their daughter, her husband, their granddaughter, and a newborn baby, were besieged for 22 hours by the terrorists, until they managed to escape. Their home was completely destroyed.  

500 days have passed, and now, standing before MK Schuster is a minister in the Israeli government, who takes the podium to respond on behalf of the government to some proposed legislation, and he defamed him and kibbutzniks in general, for no fault of their own. He defamed the farmers of the Gaza border area, symbols of Zionism and our renewal in the land of Israel, the people who work their land to the last furrow, on the Gaza border, even today, after the massacre. He defamed the kibbutzniks who paid the heaviest price on October 7. The people who were abandoned to their fate by the very government in which he sits, washing his hands clean.  

I ask myself if this obtuse man, Karhi, really thinks that kibbutzniks don’t feel the cost of living, which has reached unprecedented heights under the current government. Where does he manage to draw all this hatred from? Hasn’t he heard that most kibbutzim were privatized long ago? Does he really think that on the eve of the return of the bodies to Kfar Aza, this is the right time to call kibbutzniks "drunk on luxury"?  

Karhi is drunk on poison. It’s a pity he didn’t go over the list of the murdered, kidnapped, and surviving kibbutzniks. He would have recognized people from all professions, ethnicities, diasporas, and opinions. They are first-class Zionists and Israeli patriots. Not privileged. They work hard, produce, pay taxes, serve in the regular army and reserves, and make the desert bloom. No one is drafting any draft-dodging laws in their honor now. On the contrary, the government is shirking its supreme moral duty to bring them home as quickly as possible.  

While we bury the dead and mourn them, Karhi and his colleagues continue to divide us, to incite and pit us against each other. They do this while dozens of kibbutz members are still held hostage in Gaza. They, or their bodies. 16 of them are from Nir Oz. They do this a day before Shiri, Kfir, Ariel, and Oded return to Israel. This will be their legacy, and that of their government.  

So what remains is to ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness from the depths of my heart to all those who experienced October 7 in the Gaza border area or beyond. Forgiveness on behalf of the army that was not prepared, did not deploy, and did not protect. Forgiveness on behalf of the arrogant and self-absorbed intelligence officers who did not see the writing on the wall, the writing that was smeared there in giant letters. Officers who dismissed warnings, observers, intercepted Hamas plans, and observed Hamas drills. Forgiveness on behalf of all the security systems that failed. On behalf of the Chief of Staff, the head of Military Intelligence, the commander of Unit 8200, and the relevant generals, forgiveness on behalf of the head of the Shin Bet and his people. Forgiveness.  

Forgiveness on behalf of the reckless government that brought us to this point. The government and its leader, who preferred to bury their heads in the sand and allowed Hamas to build its murderous monster. The government that ignored the warnings and continued to dismantle the fragile fabric of this state, on the way to disaster. The government in which one of its ministers (Amichai Eliyahu) was asked, before the massacre, one morning on the radio, why his government was not responding to rocket fire from Gaza to Sderot, and he replied: "Step by step, first we’ll complete the judicial revolution, then we’ll deal with terrorism."  

Forgiveness on behalf of a Prime Minister who pretended to be the "guardian of Israel" and became the destroyer of Israel. Forgiveness on behalf of a shameless and immoral leader who, since October 7, has been focused on his survival, while blaming others. A man who is incapable of backing his subordinates, who is incapable of being held accountable for his actions. Any other leader, in any other country, would not have remained in his position for more than a week after the massacre. Any other leader, in another country, would have curled up in a corner and not left his house out of shame.  

Our leader behaves as if he wasn’t here during the October 7 massacre. As if all this has nothing to do with him, is not connected to him, and does not belong to him. He is entirely focused on preventing a state commission of inquiry, on ousting all the other responsible parties except himself, in the hope that this will prove his innocence. He pounces like a predator on all the successes achieved after the massacre, but disappears and ignores the failures smeared on his face and hands.  

His statement last Wednesday, that "until now it was giving and taking," blaming Dedi Barnea, Ronen Bar, and Nitzan Alon, whereas from now on it is "negotiations" thanks to him, is a model of abomination. It contains not a gram of truth, not a shred of morality, not a grain of connection to reality. It strongly resembles that tweet he tweeted in the dead of night, about three weeks after the massacre. It happened at the end of the first press conference he held, when he was asked about his responsibility for the disaster and the warnings he received from security officials.  

During the press conference, Netanyahu dodged the question in his typical manner. But a few hours later, after 1 a.m., he published this tweet: "Contrary to the false claims, at no time and at no stage was Prime Minister Netanyahu given any warning about Hamas’s war intentions. On the contrary, all security officials, including the head of Military Intelligence and the head of the Shin Bet, assessed that Hamas was deterred."  

The late-night statement sparked great anger. Netanyahu deleted the tweet and apologized for it. Since then, 16 months have passed. His self-confidence has returned. He has managed to survive October 7. He no longer apologizes to anyone. Let them apologize to him.  

The problem with the statement Netanyahu published this week, on behalf of a "source familiar with the details," is that even his most ardent supporters know it is baseless. Just last week, Netanyahu stood in the Knesset and cried out from the depths of his heart, from the podium, that this deal, which he called this week "giving and taking," is his deal. "I proposed it! I brought it! This is my deal!!!" he shouted loudly.  

And now, suddenly, it’s "giving and taking." Even the minor achievement of uniting two phases into one does not belong to Netanyahu. This was a proposal from Hamas that was submitted three weeks ago. Even before he ousted Ronen Bar and Dedi Barnea from the negotiation team. In other words, this man invented the entire event, just so he could gather a meager, insignificant coupon, while spreading lies and slandering his subordinates. After all, everything that happened in the negotiations from the first moment to the last was approved by Netanyahu. He set the mandate, the parameters, the method, the outline. He approved everything, after delaying everything in every possible way. And as usual, at the moment of truth, he couldn’t resist his instincts and returned to himself: Everything that succeeds is me, everything that fails is them. Meaning, not me.  

**The general correction**  

This column is dark. It oscillates between grief and rage. The previous columns were not optimistic either. The previous column, which recounted Netanyahu’s "loyalty speech" in the cabinet, sparked great concern among readers. Many of them wrote to me and asked for hope. Some glimmer to hold onto. Light at the end of the tunnel.  

Friends, there is hope. There is a lot of hope. The hope is us. The Israelis. Over the past two years, since the dark clouds of Yariv Levin’s insane judicial coup appeared in our skies, I have been moving among the people. I meet them. All the organizations and groups that sprang up out of nowhere, overnight, to fight for this country. I see the enormous number of patriotic Israelis, lovers of this land with all their heart and soul. Their self-sacrifice. Their love for the Zionist vision, for the enterprise our forefathers established here. Their determination to fight for it. Not to give up.  

After October 7, this grew to biblical proportions. I tell you with certainty: There is no other nation like this. There is no other country where there is such a concentration of wonderful people, people who are capable of any mission, any effort, any miracle that needs to be performed to protect or save our precious state.

You meet them in the IDF. In the regular army and reserves. In the field units and special forces. You meet the Golani soldiers, the tank crews, the paratroopers, the pilots, the engineers, and the bulldozer operators. You meet the young and the old, the secular and the religious, the kibbutzniks, the moshavniks, the city dwellers, and the settlers. They are bound together, love each other, depend on each other.

You see the amazing solidarity of the public around its fighters, around its hostages. You see the lines of people standing with Israeli flags on the sides of the roads before every military funeral. You see the masses of Israelis who went out yesterday with their flags and coats to the roads leading from the Gaza Strip to the National Center of Forensic Medicine. Standing with a flag in hand, tears in their eyes, in the midst of a crazy storm, wind and rain, thunder and lightning. Standing and waiting for the coffins of the Bibas and Lifshitz families. Standing in silence.

I tell you, with certainty, that this spirit will prevail. I don’t know exactly how, and I don’t know exactly when, but it will prevail. It will bring a new spirit here. It will bring a new government here. There will be ministers and leaders here who will wake up every morning to work for the state, not for the party. Or the sector. Or their narrow group. It will be a government of patriots for whom the state will be more important than their careers, their entourages, and their jobs.

There will be a new spirit here that will return us to being what we were: one people. They will no longer scatter us to the winds. They will no longer incite us against each other. They will no longer call entire groups among us by derogatory names. They will no longer accuse, mark, defame, and persecute public servants, law enforcers, and defenders of the realm. There will be leaders here who will earn the trust of the people and return it by taking responsibility and leading. They will not run from blame, they will not shirk responsibility, they will lead. Citizens will be judged not by their proximity to power, or to the trough, or to the center of the party, but by their contribution to the state, to the community, to society.

When this happens, we will all serve, we will all work, we will all share the same fate, the same burden, and the same load. There will be no privileged sons of gods. No one will turn the elites into enemies of the people. No one will see education, academia, progress, and technology as manifestations of idolatry. We will have to continue to fight our Arab enemies for a long time, but we will not try to imitate their customs or adopt their values.

The correction will have to be deep. We will need to renew the public’s trust in all the state institutions that have been tarnished in recent years. We have no other Supreme Court, no other judicial system, no other army, Shin Bet, or Mossad. All of them need correction, but not destruction. We will fortify democracy. We will install brakes, checks, and balances that will not allow another gang to pounce on it again, somewhere in the future. The word "deterred" will be outlawed. In its place, the word "modesty," long forgotten, will take root.

A small, even tiny, image of hope that I caught this week on social media: Volunteers from "Brothers in Arms" are finishing rebuilding and renovating one of the neighborhoods in Kfar Aza, a neighborhood that was almost completely destroyed in the deadly Nukhba attack. This week, they raised the pergolas installed in front of the white houses. In my imagination, I saw the residents of Kfar Aza returning home, sitting on Shabbat morning under the pergola, where fig and vine will intertwine, unafraid, smiling, healing.

And one more small, true story: A few weeks ago, two reservists, who had finished a tour of duty, asked to volunteer for the "Brothers in Arms" renovation project in Kfar Aza. They contacted the organization and were told to come to a meeting point near the kibbutz, where a liaison from the association would be waiting to take them to the construction site.

They arrived. A liaison woman was waiting, pleasant-faced. Not young. Around her neck were two dog tags. They asked her why two dog tags. "One for the hostages," she said. And the second? they asked.

"The second is the dog tag of my fiancé who fell while returning hostages," she replied. "His name was Yoni. Yoni Netanyahu."  link

Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages

We are Stuck With A Prime Minister Who Cares Only About his Political Survival

Neta Heiman Mina

Member of Kibbutz Nir Oz, daughter of Ditza Heiman who was taken hostage on October 7th and released after 53 days.

Benjamin Netanyahu's views were never my views, but at the beginning of his term of office, I had hopes that he was doing what he believed was for the benefit of the State of Israel and its citizens. As the years passed and the corruption scandals and indictments increased, doubts arose, along with the sense that whenever criticism flared, he would ignite the region, and those who paid the price were the residents of the Gaza Envelope - residents of the area which before Netanyahu's time was called the Western Negev, the beautiful peaceful Negev in which I grew up. I was furious at his conduct. I protested against him at Balfour and Kaplan [demonstration sites in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv], and as far as Ramot and Neve Ativ in northern Israel.

Then came October 7th. It was clear to me that he would not accept responsibility, but I was certain that he would do everything possible to bring home those who had been forsaken and taken to Gaza under his watch.  I was disillusioned very soon. His speeches were crystal clear about his priorities.

When they said in the beginning that only military pressure would bring back the hostages, it sounded most probable, but I still thought I might be missing something.

Then came the hostage deal. Over 100 hostages were returned in this deal, including my mother, who came back on the 53rd day of the war, the fifth day of the deal. On the seventh night, still within the adrenaline rush of my mother's return, I realized that the deal was going up in smoke. He preferred war over the return of more live hostages. True, the number of days hostages were released was seven and not ten as had been agreed, Hamas was not holding up its end of the deal. But I had no expectations from Hamas - it is a cruel and murderous terrorist organization. However, I expected more from my Prime Minister, and yes, he's still mine, even though I didn't vote for him. I expected him to understand that there was nothing more important than human lives. The disappointment was overwhelmingly bitter.

And thus, the ritual began. Every time negotiations move forward, it is suddenly extremely urgent to eliminate some arch-terrorist, thus avoiding any possibility of a deal. The pressures he faces from his coalition - not to stop the war and not to release prisoners - were and are clear to all. Time passed, and he discovered a better tactic: it was so easy to make a damaging statement when a deal was in the works, for Hamas to take back a step.

The abandonment of October 7th turned into continuous abandonment, not to mention countless abandonments every moment in which any and every possible action is not being taken to reach a deal.

 We are stuck.

We are stuck with a Prime Minister who cares only about his political survival, and the contributing factor for reaching this end is continuation of the war; a Prime Minister whose sole interest is his voters’ base, as can easily be seen in the photo-ops with the released hostages a week ago. I don't remember him having a photo-op, visiting, or even calling the hostages who came back in the early hostage deal, nor with the two kibbutz hostages that our heroic soldiers released.

Eight months of military pressure, and the hostages have never been further from returning. Many of them will not return alive, even though they were abducted alive, and their blood, and the blood of those who are yet to die, is on the hands of one person, our Prime Minister.

Acronyms and Glossary

COGAT - Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories

ICC - International Criminal Court in the Hague

IJC - International Court of Justice in the Hague

IPS - Israel Prison System

MDA - Magen David Adom - Israel Ambulance Corp

PA - Palestinian Authority - President Mahmud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen

PMO- Prime Minister's Office

UAV - Unmanned Aerial vehicle, Drone. Could be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, or be weaponized with missiles or contain explosives for 'suicide' explosion mission

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