🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 534, 2023

🎗️Day 534 that 59 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

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Hostage Updates

Gershon Baskin discusses how Israel is reacting to the resumption of fighting in Gaza
NPR's Leila Fadel asks veteran Israeli hostage negotiator and peace activist Gershon Baskin about how the country is reacting to the resumption of fighting in Gaza.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

To get more of a sense of that reaction inside Israel, we're joined by Gershon Baskin. He's a veteran hostage negotiator and Israeli peace activist. Good morning, and welcome to the program.

GERSHON BASKIN: Good morning.

FADEL: So what's the Israeli public's reaction been to the government resuming the war in Gaza?

BASKIN: Well, what we've seen is that the majority of Israelis, between 65% to 80% of Israelis, want this war to end and want the hostages to be brought home. And much of the public believes that the continuation or the renewal of the war is putting the hostages' lives in danger and don't believe that the release of the hostages can be achieved through military means. I would say that a good half of Israeli society, if not more, believe that there is no military solution for dealing with Hamas, and there must be a political solution. And even though we've seen support for Prime Minister Netanyahu increasing in the polls in the last couple of months, he still doesn't get enough support, if we were to have elections, to form a new coalition.

FADEL: Yeah.

BASKIN: So he is actually acting against the will of the majority of Israelis right now.

FADEL: Now, the prime minister would say, actually, this is the way, right? He said, from now on, negotiations will only be led under fire. As a hostage negotiator - a successful one, who negotiated the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit back in 2011 - is negotiating while attacks continue an effective strategy?

BASKIN: I don't think so. I think that with the situation that Hamas is in, without - the lack of the political leadership of Hamas in Gaza, only military leaders of Hamas are left in Gaza today. And they are not necessarily taking orders from the Hamas leadership outside. We're putting the hostages in direct danger. They have threatened to execute them. They could be killed by Israeli bombing. In Gaza, we know that hostages have been killed by Israeli bombing since the beginning of the war. There is no evidence whatsoever that the military pressure that Netanyahu talks about would actually achieve any of the goals that he's put for Israel in this war, either the elimination of Hamas or the return of the hostages. Quite the opposite.

FADEL: And so far, what we've seen is hostages have been released in exchange deals. Right now, Hamas is believed to be holding more than 20 hostages who are still alive. That doesn't include those who are believed to be dead. And Israel and the U.S. blame Hamas for the breakdown of the ceasefire, even though Israel broke it, because they are still holding the hostages. Does Hamas bear responsibility here for this resumption of violence?

BASKIN: Well, there were Hamas breaches during the ceasefire. But the main point is that Hamas compromised in entering into the first stage of the ceasefire because they were assured by the mediators, Qatar and Egypt, who apparently received assurance from the United States that Phase 2 of the hostage deal would lead to an end to the war and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. This was the understanding of everyone who went into this deal that Mr. Witkoff enabled to happen. And in fact, Israel had committed itself to begin talks on Phase 2 by Day 16 of the first 42 days period and conclude those talks by Day 30. That never happened, and apparently, Netanyahu and Israel never had any intention of moving into Phase 2. So I think it's improper, it's inaccurate to put all the responsibility on Israel for the renewal of the...

FADEL: On Hamas or on Israel?

BASKIN: All the responsibility on Hamas - sorry - for the renewal of the war and not ending this war and bringing the hostages home. Hamas has said repeatedly that they're willing to release all the hostages. There are 59 in total, including those who are alive, and they have said they were willing to do it in one or two tranches. But yet, Israel has refused to agree to the terms, which would end the war and bring about an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

FADEL: And what are the hostage families saying in this moment about their loved ones and what they want?

BASKIN: The majority of the hostage families are panicking. They had hoped that their loved ones would be able to come home. They've gone through horrible tortures. We've heard the stories of the returning hostages, who have told very vivid accounts of the horrors that they went through during the 500-plus days that they were in captivity. And, of course, every single hostage family is very, very concerned that they may never see their loved ones again.

FADEL: That's longtime Israeli hostage negotiator and peace activist Gershon Baskin. Thank you for joining us.

BASKIN: Thank you. Link

Father of captive soldier: ‘After the deal blew up, Netanyahu is now blowing up the hostages’
Some relatives of Israelis held hostage in Gaza gather outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv for their weekly statement to the press, slamming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for not prioritizing the captives’ return over the destruction of Hamas.
“After the [hostage release and ceasefire] deal blew up, Netanyahu is now blowing up the hostages in Gaza,” says Yehuda Cohen, the father of hostage soldier Nimrod Cohen. “Netanyahu is killing the hostages and destroying the country.”
“Come out to the streets, this is an emergency,” Cohen adds in an appeal for Israelis to join the demonstrators.
Yifat Calderon, the cousin of freed hostage Ofer Calderon, urges US President Donald Trump to “not fall for Netanyahu’s tricks,” accusing the prime minister of “waging an influence campaign of deception against the American administration.”
Tens of thousands demonstrated in Tel Aviv and across the country; Lapid threatened: "If the government does not obey the Supreme Court, we will organize a tax rebellion."

From the demonstration that began at Habima Square against the dismissal of the Shin Bet chief, the crowds continued their march to Begin Gate, joining a protest for the abductees. Amid the resumption of fighting, representatives of the families appealed to Trump: "Do not fall into Netanyahu's trap, the security interest is the return of the hostages." A massive rally was also held at the Hostages Square, where former captive Doron Steinbrecher spoke for the first time, and Sagi Dekel Chen attended a rally in Karmei Gat for the first time. Quotes from the speeches.
The demonstration at Begin Gate of IDF Headquarters, The Kirya

Tens of thousands participated this evening (Saturday) in a protest against the government following the dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and the issuance of a temporary order by the Supreme Court. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said on stage: "If the October 7th government decides not to obey the court's ruling, it will, on that day, at that moment, become a criminal government."

Protesters also arrived at Metzudat Ze'ev (Likud Party Headquarters) in central Tel Aviv, where they burned tires.

In a massive march, crowds moved from Habima Square, where Yair Golan and Yair Lapid spoke, towards Begin Bridge, in support of the families of the hostages. A huge rally was also held at Hostages Square, where former captive Doron Steinbrecher spoke for the first time, sharing her fears about the resumption of fighting. Meanwhile, dozens of protesters blocked the Ayalon South highway. Following the blockade, the police arrested four protesters for questioning.
Tens of thousands demonstrating at Begin Gate

"If the government does not obey the Supreme Court, the entire country must stop. The only system that must not stop is the security system. We will oppose any form of refusal, but apart from that - everything," Lapid added. "The economy must strike, the Knesset must strike, the courts must strike, the local authorities must strike, not only the universities must strike, but also the schools. If we can organize a tax rebellion, we will organize a tax rebellion. We will not be accomplices to the destruction of democracy."

Lapid continued: "We need to remind the citizens of Israel of one more thing - you are being robbed. In the simplest sense of the word. Your money is being stolen. While our heroic fighters are sent again to risk their lives in Gaza, this government is carrying out the biggest theft in the history of the state."

Democratic Party chairman Yair Golan also spoke: "We announce that we are stopping the country. There is no turning back from here. It's all or nothing. We are disrupting. We are striking. We are stopping - the economy, the ports, transportation, schools, academia, businesses, the streets. We are stopping the country - to save it."

Golan called on opposition members to join the struggle. "Let's unite. This is not the time for petty politics. This is not the time for personal considerations. This is the time to establish one powerful, stable, determined democratic front," Golan said. "For too many years we have given in. We gave up our values. We gave up our positions. We groveled to the right - because we thought we were not the majority."

Simultaneously with the evening protests, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video attacking Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, claiming that the distrust between them began on the morning of October 7th, as Bar "did not wake him up." Netanyahu also reiterated his claim that the Qatargate affair is part of an attempt to block the dismissals "for foreign motives."

Netanyahu also presented a copy of alleged internal correspondence with the Shin Bet chief, according to which Bar requested a postponement of the investigation submission date to February 27th, and accused the Attorney General: "In a rare coincidence, she announced on the same day the opening of the investigation into the Qatar affair."
Demonstrators blocking Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv

At the Begin Gate rally, Eyal Eshel, father of the late lookout Roni Eshel, a leader in the struggle to establish a state inquiry commission, called on elected officials: "We will not let you deny October 7th. We will force you to look the disaster in the eye. Without the return of all the hostages and without a state inquiry commission - the State of Israel will never be able to recover. Until then, do not talk to us about revival."

Haim Yellin, former head of the Eshkol Regional Council and a survivor of the massacre, spoke at Begin Gate, responding to the request of Einav Tzangauker to speak there, although he usually attends the Hostages Square. "I did not know if I could stand in front of a lioness mother fighting for her son. I grew up in a house of fighting women. But my heart is broken by what we have become. Even the hostage redemption team has become political. The gap between the people and the leadership is frightening. The people sacrifice. And the leaders - fight," Yelin said.
Thousands lit flashlights during Haim Yellin's address

Michel Ilouz, father of the late abductee Guy Ilouz, said at the same rally: "They talk about attempts to sabotage the deal to return the hostages, but what is happening these days is not sabotage. When someone deliberately causes a living person to die - it is called manslaughter. When someone does it intentionally - it is called premeditated manslaughter, and when someone does it for political reasons - it is simply murder."

The protest at Hostages Square: "The only war that should be waged - in the negotiation rooms"

A rally for a deal was also held at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, for the first time since the collapse of the January ceasefire. "First of all, the hostages. We must not give up on them now," the headquarters of the families for the return of the hostages stated. "The resumption of fighting may kill the living hostages and disappear the dead."

Demonstration at Begin Gate of the IDF Headquarters, The Kirya

At the headquarters of the families, they called on the government to continue the contacts for a deal urgently: "The only war that should be waged is in the negotiation rooms, for the immediate return of all 59 hostages in one phase and immediately."

At the central rally, former hostage Doron Steinbrecher spoke for the first time. "I was here in my dreams in captivity. We knew there was a square, we knew there was a place where every Saturday people are. That there is some gathering of people, who know there are hostages, who did not continue their lives as usual. That they stop for a moment," she shared.

"On Thursday, November 30, 2023, they told me I was going home, but after a few hours they told me I was not going in the next few hours, but that it would happen tomorrow, on December 1st. I did not sleep all night from excitement. Unfortunately, the morning opened with the sounds of explosions and with them also my understanding that I was not going home," Doron shared.
Doron Steinbrecher speaking at Hostage Square

"I come here because it is the right thing, because the public must understand that this is the only thing that matters, because it cannot be removed from the headlines, because the families and friends cannot be alone. I have fears and pains, but not the ones you think. I have fear, that they will not return home. I have fear for whole families, I have pain for whole families. I have fear for the hostages there, I have pain for the hostages there. I have anger for those who think it is okay to return to fight. Where are you? How do you not listen to us? How?"

In addition, Rebecca and Rochama Buchbut - the wife and mother of hostage Elkanah Buchbut, Amit Nimrodi - the sister of hostage Tamir Nimrodi, Gaia Gilboa Dalal - the sister of hostage Guy Gilboa Dalal, Orna and Ronen Nautra - the parents of Captain Omer Nautra, Ayelet Goldin - the sister of Captain Hadar Goldin, and Noam Idan Ben Ezra - the sister of the late Tzachi Idan, spoke.

Eliyah Cohen, who returned from captivity, and his partner at the rally at Hostages Square.

Families of hostages appealed to Trump: "Do not believe Netanyahu"

Representatives of the families of hostages issued a statement earlier in the evening regarding the resumption of fighting in the Gaza Strip, and called for the immediate renewal of contacts for a deal. In their remarks, they emphasized that the fighting may endanger the living hostages and the dead hostages, and demanded that the government act first and foremost to return them all.

Yehuda Cohen, father of abducted soldier Nimrod Cohen, said: "This is the 533rd day that 59 hostages are being held in hell in Gaza. After blowing up the agreement, Netanyahu is blowing up the hostages in Gaza at this moment. We appeal from here to all of Israel - Netanyahu is killing the hostages and destroying the country! Take to the streets, this is an emergency!"
Thousands demonstrate in Jerusalem

"Netanyahu has deliberately decided to sacrifice the lives of my son Nimrod, our citizens, and our soldiers," Cohen added. "He chose Smotrich and Ben Gvir. This is the truth that must be said everywhere. Instead of choosing to save lives, Netanyahu chose death. We have seen it time and time again - the war kills the hostages, and now there is a horrifying possibility that it will also disappear them."

Yifat Calderon, cousin of Ofer Calderon, addressed President Trump: "Netanyahu is managing a deception and influence operation also on the American administration. He has managed to convince you, Mr. President, that the goal of destroying Hamas rule precedes the rescue of the hostages. But this is a lie."

"The Israeli and security interest is first and foremost the hostages. Before everything, to return the living to rehabilitation and the dead to a proper burial," she said. "This is not only the will of the majority of the people, it is the clear interest of the State of Israel. The path to the rehabilitation and correction of the state from the disaster of October 7th requires the return of all the abductees in one phase and the end of the war! Otherwise, there will be no revival for us."
Tens of thousands at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv

Yehudah Cohen, Father of hostage/soldier Nimrod Cohen

Yifat Calderon in a statement for the hostages

Calderon added, "An absolute majority of the people of Israel understand this and yearn for it. But Netanyahu has decided to return to fight for his personal benefit, not for the benefit of Israel. Mr. President, do not fall into Netanyahu's trap. Stop the war in Gaza before it is too late. And to the public we say again - we have reached the moment of truth!"

Former captive Sagi Dekel Chen attended a rally for hostages for the first time.

At the weekly rally of the Nir Oz community in Karmei Gat, former captive Sagi Dekel Chen, who was released in a deal after 497 days in captivity, arrived for the first time this evening.

His wife Avital said on stage: "Today I am especially excited, because for the first time I am standing here at a rally and speaking in front of the most important person in my life - Sagi, the love of my life. For months I spoke and spoke in front of so many people, but you, you did not hear even one speech. And still, I did not give up. Because, I knew that the strength I sent you, you received. Today you stand here and see what a rally for hostages in the State of Israel looks like."

"A few days ago we talked about the resumption of the war, about how it affects the lives of the hostages," Avital added. "You told me that we know the war only from this side, but you know the war also from the other side of the fence. And when there is war, there is no hope. And you fear more than anything that your friends there are losing their hope and you fear for their fate. So I want you to look at all the people around you and see how much strength there is here. We will not give up on the hostages and we will do everything to bring them home. The strength you see here is a strong strength, that stands in all situations, that comes every Saturday to tell all of us - we are with you."

Former captive Ada Sagi, who was abducted from her home in Nir Oz and released in a deal after 53 days, also spoke on stage: "On Tuesday, at two fifteen in the morning, I woke up to the sound of the planes, I reached for the mobile phone to the news site, and I could not believe my eyes: what I feared has come to me."

"What will happen now to the living hostages? What will be the fate of the dead held there? For we are already experienced and hasty: war near the hostages - a sure recipe for their murder," Sagi said and called on the Prime Minister - "Benjamin Netanyahu, let go of the 'Shadow State' imagery, deal again with our loved ones, the living and the dead."  link

Sharp Criticism from the Negotiation Team Towards Minister Dermer: "A Complete Failure" | First Publication
Against the backdrop of the collapse of negotiations and the resumption of fighting: sources familiar with the details who spoke with Channel 12 News criticized the minister for how he is managing the negotiations. The sources accused him of stalling: "We need professionals who act swiftly and respond quickly to developments." Within the negotiation team, there is sharp criticism of how the process is being handled—and of Ron Dermer, the head of the team and a close confidant of the Prime Minister. This was first published this evening (Saturday) on Weekend News.

According to sources familiar with the negotiations who spoke with Channel 12: "It’s nice to call this political negotiations, but at the end of the day, there’s work to be done, and it’s not with the U.S. The Dermer-Wittkoff axis has been a complete failure. We need professionals who act quickly and respond promptly to developments, without dragging things out. Understanding Trump alone is not enough."

Meanwhile, in an hour, the Cabinet meeting, which was originally scheduled for Thursday and postponed, will convene. It is expected to address the fighting in Gaza and the negotiations for the release of the hostages. The dismissed Shin Bet chief, Ronen Bar, has been invited to attend.  Link

Gaza and the South

Fatah calls on Hamas to relinquish power to avoid ‘end of Palestinians’ existence’
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement calls on its rivals, the Hamas terror group, to relinquish power in order to safeguard the “existence” of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“Hamas must show compassion for Gaza, its children, women and men,” Fatah spokesman Monther al-Hayek says in a message sent to AFP from Gaza. He calls on Hamas to “step aside from governing and fully recognize that the battle ahead will lead to the end of Palestinians’ existence” if it remains in power in Gaza.

Responding to Witkoff, Hamas vows no demilitarization ‘as long as the occupation exists’
Senior Hamas official Hussam Badran tells the Hamas-affiliated Palestinian news agency Shabakat Quds that US envoy Steve Witkoff’s remarks about the terror group needing to demilitarize if it wants to remain politically involved in Gaza is “a meaningless proposal as long as the occupation [Israel] exists.”
“When we talk about the weapons of the resistance, they are the weapons of the Palestinian people. Therefore, these weapons are carried by Palestinians to resist the occupation, as guaranteed by international laws and conventions,” adds Badran.
Gaza death toll tops 50,000 since start of war, Hamas health officials say
Civil defense personnel work to retrieve bodies from under the rubble of a home in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip after overnight Israeli airstrikes, March 23, 2025. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
More than 50,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, the enclave’s Hamas-run health authorities say.
According to the Gaza health ministry, at least 50,021 Palestinians have been killed and 113,274 have been injured since October 7, 2023, when the Hamas-led invasion and massacre in southern Israel sparked the ongoing war.
The figures could not be independently verified and do not differentiate between combatants and civilians.
Fighting in Gaza resumed last week with a shock Israeli aerial offensive following a two-month ceasefire.
Hamas confirms senior political official killed in southern Gaza airstrike overnight
Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil speaks during a press conference at a hotel in Cairo on January 14, 2009 after ending a round of talks with Egyptian officials. (Cris Bouroncle/AFP)
Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil speaks during a press conference at a hotel in Cairo on January 14, 2009 after ending a round of talks with Egyptian officials. (Cris Bouroncle/AFP)
The Hamas terror group confirms earlier reports that an Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed one of its senior political leaders overnight.
Pro-Hamas media had reported that Salah al-Bardawil and his wife were killed in an airstrike on Khan Younis, in the south of the Palestinian enclave.
Bardawil was a well-known member of the terror group’s political wing who gave media interviews over the years.
He is the latest in a string of Hamas political officials to have been killed in renewed Israeli airstrikes after the terror group’s de facto government head Essam Addalees and internal security chief Mahmoud Abu Watfa were killed on Tuesday, along with several other officials.
Hamas-run medical authorities in Gaza say that at least 19 people were killed in strikes overnight, including Bardawil.
The European and Kuwaiti hospitals confirm the toll, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians, and say that the numbers include several women and children.

IDF says it launched new ground offensive in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun
The IDF announces that it began ground operations yesterday in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun.
The offensive there is aimed at destroying Hamas infrastructure and expanding a buffer zone along the border, the military says. During the operation, Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck several Hamas targets in the area.
The IDF adds that it is enabling Palestinian civilians to evacuate the “combat zone for their safety.”
IDF issues ‘urgent’ evacuation warning for Tel Sultan neighborhood in Rafah, southern Gaza
The IDF has issued an “urgent” and immediate evacuation warning for Palestinians residing in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of southern Gaza’s Rafah.
In a post on X, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, publishes a map of the area that is to be evacuated, saying that “the area you are in is considered a dangerous combat zone” as the military carries out operations there.
Gazans are instructed to move on foot immediately via the so-called Gush Katif road toward the al-Mawasi area on the southern Strip’s coast. “Movement in vehicles is prohibited,” Adraee says.

He warns that staying in Tel Sultan or traveling via other routes “puts your life and the lives of your families at risk.
“Evacuate the area immediately,” the post adds.
Security cabinet approves new directorate to enable ‘voluntary’ departure of Palestinians from Gaza
Last night, Israel’s security cabinet approved a suggestion by Defense Minister Israel Katz to establish a new administration in the Defense Ministry tasked with enabling Palestinians to “voluntarily” leave the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, Katz’s office says the new directorate will work to “prepare for and enable safe and controlled passage of Gaza residents for their voluntary departure to third countries, including securing their movement, establishing movement routes, checking pedestrians at designated crossings in the Gaza Strip, as well as coordinating the provision of infrastructure that will enable passage by land, sea and air to the destination countries.”
The head of the directorate will be selected by Katz soon, his office says.
The statement adds that the efforts to enable Gazans who seek to migrate from the Strip to do so, are being carried out “subject to Israeli and international law, and in accordance with the vision of US President Donald Trump.”
“We are working with all means to implement the US president’s vision, and we will allow any Gaza resident who wants to move to a third state to do so,” Katz says. link It appears that Netanyahu's yesman, the Minister of Defense also wants to be issued an arrest warrant by the ICC. This 'voluntary' departure from Gaza is far from voluntary. It is a direct and deliberate act to make life so bad for the Gazans that anything and anywhere will be better. There are 2 million refugees in Gaza due to our almost total destruction of the Strip and aiding in the 'voluntary' departure of any of those refugees is legally considered ethnic cleansing which is what Netanyahu's most extreme coalition partners are trying to achieve, first in Gaza and then in the West Bank. They have been trying to do it in the West Bank for years but didn't have the backing of the US administration before to do it. With Trump and his outrageous, ridiculous and illegal plan to empty Gaza and rebuild it as the Mid East Riveria, the extremists feel as though they have carte blanc to do everything they have been dreaming about for years, including annexing all of Areas C (at first) and Gaza and to have uninterrupted Jewish Settlement building all over which would then lead to further expulsion and taking over the lands of areas A and B in order for them to be Palestinian free and only for Jews. That is their messianic mission.

Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria

IDF: 6 rockets fired this morning from Lebanon, probe ongoing into who’s responsible
Smoke at the site of reported Israeli artillery shelling of a Hezbollah target in the Lebanese village of Yohmor in response to earlier rocket fire on Metula, March 22, 2025. (Rabih DAHER / AFP)
Six rockets were launched from Lebanon in the attack on the northern Israeli border community of Metula this morning, three of which crossed the border and were intercepted by air defenses, according to the military.
The other three rockets fell short in Lebanon.
The military is still investigating which group was behind the attack. There has been no claim of responsibility yet, and Hezbollah in a statement denies it launched the rockets.
Immediately after the rocket fire, the IDF carried out artillery shelling toward the source of the rocket fire and later carried out a wave of airstrikes on dozens of Hezbollah launchers and a command center.
The IDF says that it will act against any threat in Lebanon, regardless of the group involved.
Since the beginning of the ceasefire in Lebanon, the IDF says it has killed over 100 terror operatives and targeted over 120 sites in Lebanon that posed a threat to Israel, including efforts by Hezbollah to rebuild its infrastructure and rearm.
The Hezbollah terror group denies being responsible for this morning’s rocket fire on northern Israel.

In a statement, Hezbollah says it “reiterates its commitment to the ceasefire agreement and stands behind the Lebanese state in addressing this dangerous Zionist escalation against Lebanon.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to carry out a second wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
A statement from Katz’s office says he and Netanyahu told the IDF to target dozens of Hezbollah targets in response to the rocket fire earlier today.

Over the weekend, the Israeli Air Force carried out strikes against over 200 targets in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Syria, according to the military.

**Outrage in Lebanon after the shooting to the north: "The government cannot deal with Hezbollah"**

Hezbollah was quick to deny any involvement after the shooting to the north, but in Lebanon, many find it difficult to accept the denial. Political figures and journalists in Lebanon warn that the incident could reignite tensions in the south of the country and deepen the internal rift within the population. Meanwhile, calls are growing for Hezbollah to disarm, against the backdrop of fears of a security deterioration that could harm Lebanon's stability. After a hiatus of about three months, rocket fire from Lebanon resumed this morning (Saturday), with sirens activated in Metula. An IDF spokesperson reported that three launches crossed from Lebanese territory and were intercepted by the Air Force.
Hezbollah was quick to deny its involvement in the shooting, claiming that they are committed to the ceasefire agreed upon with Israel. However, in Lebanon, there are those who do not believe the terrorist organization, and many are outraged at the government for "not being able to deal with Hezbollah," fearing a resumption of fighting and further destruction of Lebanon. Hezbollah's denial, as emphasized by Lebanese commentator Khalil Nasrallah, marks a shift in the organization's approach and highlights the internal political sensitivity in Lebanon. While Israel is trying to decipher the source of the shooting and establish deterrence, a fierce debate is emerging in Lebanon over the implications of the event on the country's security and sovereignty. Lebanese politicians on both sides of the divide point to the danger of the continued existence of weapons outside state control, calling on Hezbollah to disarm or at least reveal its objectives.

**Reactions in Lebanon after the shooting towards Metula**
Lebanese commentator close to Hezbollah, Khalil Nasrallah: "For the first time, Hezbollah is issuing a denial regarding rocket launches. In the past, Hezbollah neither claimed responsibility nor denied, and the circumstances in the region were different, but today's denial, in light of the new phase and reality in the region, is partly related to the internal situation in Lebanon and to some forces that accuse without any assessment. The denial is a message of support for the Lebanese government."

Khalil Nasrallah in an interview with Al-Mayadeen: "Launching rockets in this manner does not serve the resistance or Lebanon. If Hezbollah wanted to carry out an operation, it would have attacked the 'Five Points' and Mount Dov. This phase is different from what preceded the war in all aspects."
Khalil Nasrallah added: "Israel is trying to establish deterrence, as it interpreted the rockets fired towards Metula as a 'message' of harming the security of the settlements. Israel's problem is that it does not know who carried out the launch, and it knows that Hezbollah had no connection to it. Therefore, its responses are meaningless, and actions of this kind may repeat themselves."

**Vehicles and weapons**
Hezbollah vehicles and weapons | Photo: Topline Communications

Lebanese Druze politician Wiam Wahhab: "Today's rocket launcher is acting against Lebanon and its south, trying to start a new war against Lebanon. Look for the perpetrator (of the crime)."
Rassan Hasbani - Member of Parliament from the Christian Lebanese Forces party, part of the anti-Hezbollah camp: "If Hezbollah does not disarm voluntarily or by force by the Lebanese army, then the task will fall to Israel and Syria, and this is something no Lebanese wants."
Hasbani added: "The decision to launch rockets towards Israel this morning was intended to entangle Lebanon in a new war and cause a confrontation between the Lebanese state and army and Israel. The continued possession of weapons by Hezbollah provides Israel with an excuse to attack wherever and whenever it wants."
Antoine Habashi, Member of Parliament from the Christian Lebanese Forces: "The government cannot deal with the issue of Hezbollah's weapons. The 'duo' (Hezbollah and Amal) needs to be transparent about what they have received, and we also need to know the content of the ceasefire agreement and what the 'forces' are doing in the government, which is exactly the issue. If Hezbollah wants to protect its environment, it must obey the law and international decisions. The real fear is an implicit agreement to open the eastern front of Lebanon in parallel to the southern front, which means risking Lebanon."

Destruction in Metula from Hezbollah fire during the war | Photo: Channel 12 News

Lebanese Member of Parliament Ibrahim Mneimneh: "We warn against the reopening of the southern front in Lebanon and see today's rocket launch as a gamble on the lives of the country and the people. We call on the government to emphasize its sovereignty, the exclusivity of weapons, and decisions of war and peace. By opening a thorough investigation and preventing any violation of Lebanon's commitments, especially regarding the implementation of Resolution 1701 and the terms of the ceasefire agreement."
Mneimneh added: "We also reiterate our call for the government to exert pressure and oblige the monitoring committee to take responsibility for stopping all Israeli violations, to fully withdraw from the Lebanese territories still occupied, and to immediately release all prisoners. At this critical moment in the region, Lebanon cannot be a launch point for political messages at the expense of the Lebanese."

Lebanese activist Elio Meallouf: "If a detailed and clear timetable is not set for the handover of Hezbollah's weapons and the Palestinian weapons within the refugee camps - the division of Lebanon will be soon, very soon."

Lebanese journalist Marwan Mitani: "The rockets in southern Lebanon were launched towards northern Israel at a very charged regional moment - the first decisive test for the new Lebanese government. The problem of weapons outside the state remains the 'mother of all crises,' and dealing with it must be a top priority." Link

West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel

IDF says it foiled arms smuggling attempt in the West Bank
The IDF, along with Israel Police and the Shin Bet, have successfully foiled an arms smuggling attempt in the West Bank, the military says.
IDF surveillance soldiers identified suspects involved in smuggling two hunting rifles in the West Bank village of al-Ras, southeast of Tulkarem, the military says in a statement. Forces then quickly located and confiscated the weapons, transferring them for further investigation by the Shin Bet.
The IDF says its forces arrested 20 wanted individuals, interrogated suspects, and seized multiple weapons during a series of counterterrorism operations in the West Bank.
The IDF stresses that it will continue its efforts to combat terrorism and maintain the safety and security of Israeli citizens.
13 neighborhoods of existing West Bank settlements to become independent, security cabinet decides
The security cabinet approves a decision to split off 13 so-called “neighborhoods” of existing West Bank settlements from their “mother settlements,” thereby turning them into 13 independent settlements.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who advanced the security cabinet’s decision in his additional role as minister in the defense ministry, describes the move as an important step to the path of “de facto [Israeli] sovereignty” over the West Bank.
The “neighborhoods” in question were built many years, and even decades, ago, as illegal settlement outposts, that is, without formal cabinet approval.
Some of these outposts were retroactively legalized by the government by way of approving building plans for the construction of a new neighborhood for an authorized and legal settlement at the site of the illegal outpost, even when, as in many cases, that outpost was several kilometers from the original settlement.
This was all done at a time when Israel was cautious about the diplomatic consequences of settlement expansion, and therefore built the so-called settlement “neighborhoods” to disguise the reality of settlement expansion.
The decision now to formally split off the neighborhoods as new settlements allows the government to provide budgets for each of the new settlements individually, as opposed to designating money for it through its old mother settlement. They will also all get their own municipal council.
The new settlements are Alon; Haresha; Kerem Reim; Neriya; Migron; Shvut Rachel; Ovnat; Brosh Habika; Leshem; Nofei Nehemia; Tal Menashe; Ibei Hanahal; and Gvaot.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who advanced the security cabinet’s decision in his additional role as minister in the defense ministry, said the previous situation caused those neighborhoods “great difficulties in their daily management,” and that the new step will help them to “advance and develop.”
Added Smotrich “We are continuing to lead a revolution in the normalization and formalization of settlements. Instead of hiding and apologizing, we are raising the flag, building and settling. This is another important step on the way to de facto [Israeli] sovereignty in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank].” link. This is one of the extremist and messianic imperatives of this failed government, not the hostages, not ending the war, not the budget, not the welfare of the country, but more and more settlements and money for all the ultra religious institutions and yeshiva students who don't go to the army.

Politics and the War (general news)

The Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department says it has received some 16,000 soldiers since the beginning of the war which began on October 7, 2023, including those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
According to the Defense Ministry around half of those received by the rehab centers amid the war have PTSD. Of them, 2,900 are suffering both physical injuries and psychological distress.
Some 6 percent are defined as having moderate injuries and another 4% as having severe injuries. 72 are listed as amputees.
Among the 16,000 soldiers, around 66% are reservists.
The rehab department is working with some 78,000 wounded veterans in total, including those from previous wars. It forecasts that by 2030, the centers will be treating some 100,000, with at least half of them suffering from PTSD.
The names of bereaved families were published as opposing a state inquiry commission - without their knowledge

Amid the uproar surrounding the establishment of a state inquiry commission - which has yet to be established, bereaved families were included without their knowledge in a publication opposing its establishment • Those who disseminated the false publication online were Likud activists • Parents of victims to N12: "We demand a state inquiry commission, you are riding on the grief of bereaved families who are not part of your despicable and delusional campaign."
Bereaved families turn their back during Netanyahu's speech in the Knesset

An organization named the "Din and Tzedek" (Law and Justice) Forum published an advertisement over the weekend claiming that bereaved families oppose the establishment of a state inquiry commission. The publication also included the names of bereaved families who were added to the list without their consent and against their stance. Parents of the murdered victims were outraged: "They used the names without permission, riding on the backs of bereaved families." The campaign was disseminated online by two Likud activists: Victor Shariki and Yigal Malka.

"We, the bereaved families of the Din and Tzedek Forum of October 7, oppose the establishment of a state inquiry commission," the publication distributed by the organization stated. "We demand an independent inquiry commission with real authority that will allow us to uncover the truth. The conclusions of a state inquiry commission are merely recommendations." Menashe Mantsuri, the father of Norel and Roya Mantsuri, who were murdered at the Nova party, responded to the publication: "You included my daughters' names on this list without asking me. You are using my daughters, Roya and Norel Mantsuri, who were murdered at Nova, without my consent. First, you are causing me indescribable pain. Second, you are dishonoring my daughters' names. I demand that my daughters' names be removed immediately. What have you come to?!"

Mantsuri told N12: "I have no idea how my daughters' names ended up in a publication opposing the establishment of a state inquiry commission. This has caused me deep sorrow. They are simply dishonoring my daughters' names. It is unacceptable to turn this issue into a political one. I demand that my daughters' names be removed from this list. Why were they even included in the first place? Everyone knows that I am active in the October Council advocating for the establishment of a state inquiry commission. We want to know the truth and achieve justice. I demand an answer as to how the murder of my daughters has been turned into a political matter."

Norel and Roya Mantsuri, of blessed memory (Archive) | Photo: Courtesy of the family

The list also included the names of Shani Ben Ami, of blessed memory, and Ili Baram, whose parents are known to be part of the struggle for the establishment of an inquiry commission. Amos Baram, the father of Ili Baram, stated: "You used my name and my son's name without my permission. This is a heinous act that cannot be forgiven, especially given the fact that I only call for a state inquiry commission as defined by law. I demand that you remove my name and the names of other families whose consent you did not obtain."

Anat Ben Ami, the mother of Shani, of blessed memory, requested to convey the following message: "You are using my name, my husband's name, and above all, my daughter Shani's name, of blessed memory, without permission. I demand a state inquiry commission. You are riding on the grief of bereaved families who are not part of your despicable and absurd campaign."

Shani Ben Ami, of blessed memory (Archive)

Eyal Eshel, the father of Roni Eshel, of blessed memory, who is fighting alongside other parents for the establishment of a state inquiry commission, told N12: "An act has been committed here that dishonors all the fallen. The greatest shame is that a year and a half after the October 7 catastrophe, we are fighting among ourselves instead of being united. We will remain clean throughout this process. For us, the mission is singular: the establishment of a state inquiry commission as defined by law. Anyone who tries to do the opposite is ultimately collaborating with the denial of the October 7 Holocaust."

Following the publication, the Din and Tzedek Forum issued a clarification and apology: "We wish to express our sincere apologies to any families whose names were included in the advertisement without their knowledge or consent. This was a draft of an advertisement that was not approved for publication by the forum's management or by all the families, and it was mistakenly uploaded to the social media account of Mr. Victor Shariki, who works with the forum and owns an advertising company. Upon identifying the error, the advertisement was immediately removed."

"The advertisement was intended to be approved by the families beforehand, and this will be done in the future," the forum stated. "It is important for us to clarify that the activities of the Din and Tzedek Forum are conducted with full transparency, through a WhatsApp group where daily correspondence takes place, which any participant can review at any time. All the individuals whose names appeared in the advertisement were part of the forum's internal correspondence and had expressed similar positions throughout. However, we respect any family that wishes to withdraw or dissociate from the publication, and we remind everyone that they are free to withdraw at any stage. We take full responsibility for the error, stand by all families regardless, and continue to act with reverence for the memory of the murdered and the pain of their loved ones." Link

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has appointed an external panel of former senior officers to evaluate the military’s October 7 probes and implement its conclusions.
The move is made by Zamir out of “the IDF’s deep commitment to learning, streamlining and improving processes, especially during the war, and for an analysis and examination of the operational, professional and organizational insights,” the military says.
The panel will be headed by Maj. Gen. (res.) Sami Turgeman, a former head of the Southern Command. The other members include former Navy chief Vice Adm. (res.) Eli Sharvit; former IAF chief Maj. Gen. (res.) Amikam Norkin; Maj. Gen. (res.) Yossi Baidatz; Brig. Gen. (res.) Yuval Bazak; Brig. Gen. (res.) Ofer Levi; Brig. Gen. (res.) Meir Finkel; Brig. Gen. (res.) Yom-Tov Tamir; Col. (res.) Avi Eliyahu; Col. (res.) Talya Lankri; Col. (res.) Benny Da-Levi; Col. (res.) Gila Goldrat; and Lt. Col. (res.) Livnat Bar David.
The IDF says the team was chosen based on their “rich experience and in-depth acquaintance with different and varied areas of work in the military, and out of a desire to reach diverse perspectives.”
The team will “formulate the mechanisms and processes required to implement lessons learned from the investigations.” It will also add to or reexamine parts of the investigations “as required” and will recommend re-investigating, if necessary.
The IDF says the team will present its initial conclusions to Zamir in the coming weeks, and subsequently provide a plan to implement its recommendations.
Contradicting known timeline, PM claims Qatar probe was opened to prevent Bar’s firing
PM claims AG, Shin Bet head opened probe into aides’ ties to Doha on same date he had set for Bar to present report on agency’s Oct. 7 failures, but Qatar probe had been ongoing for weeks
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Saturday that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and Shin Bet security agency chief Ronen Bar only opened an investigation into his senior aides’ financial ties with Qatar in order to prevent the government’s firing of Bar.
The premier’s assertion appeared to be based on little evidence and contradicted the known sequence of events, as Netanyahu only initiated the process to dismiss Bar after the investigation into Qatar had already been launched.
Netanyahu’s cabinet voted unanimously on Thursday to fire Bar and was set to meet Sunday to advance the process of firing Baharav-Miara.
In a prerecorded video message containing what he described as “a dramatic revelation of facts that will shake you,” Netanyahu presented what he said were “shocking” documents to back up his claim, though the claims, documents and dates he set out were at odds with the known timeline of the Qatar probe and did not appear to support his assertions.
“The facts prove unequivocally that the dismissal was not intended to prevent the investigation — the investigation was intended to prevent the dismissal,” Netanyahu said, having offered no clear evidence. “So tell me, who here is acting with ulterior motives?”
At the start of the video, Netanyahu pushed back against legal petitions to prevent Bar’s dismissal, stating that Bar “will not remain head of the Shin Bet” and that “there will be no civil war, and Israel will remain a democratic state.”
He did not say, however, how he would respond if the High Court rules to reverse Bar’s ouster.
“We are a nation of laws, and the law in the State of Israel, simply put, means that the government is entitled to fire the Shin Bet chief before the end of his term,” Netanyahu stated, dismissing “claims that the firing of the Shin Bet head was done to prevent the investigation into the issue of Qatar.”
Netanyahu then said that his distrust of Bar began on October 7, 2023, blaming the Shin Bet director for not waking him up as security chiefs discussed worrying signals from Gaza early that morning. He claimed his distrust of Bar grew as the war raged on.
In a Thursday statement to reporters issued by an anonymous Israeli official, who is widely understood to be Netanyahu himself, Bar is alleged to have known Hamas’s attack was going to take place but “did nothing” to stop it.
The premier in his Saturday video appeared to claim that the Shin Bet chief — realizing he was about to be fired — put off submitting the agency’s probes into October 7 and then colluded with Baharav-Miara to launch the Qatar investigation in an attempt to prevent his dismissal.
“I thought that the appropriate time to end the Shin Bet head’s tenure would be after he presented me with the Shin Bet’s probes into the failures of October 7. So it was with the IDF chief of staff. I instructed the Shin Bet head to present me with his probes by February 15,” Netanyahu said.
“On February 15, the date by which he should have presented the probes, Ronen Bar sent me a letter,” he said, holding up the letter in question. “[Bar wrote], ‘I wish to update you that I am unable to present the probe of the Shin Bet on the date you requested.’ He ends the letter by saying, ‘In light of this, I ask to hand in the main findings no later than February 27.'”
(Netanyahu did not mention this in the video, but the letter from Bar also noted that Netanyahu had only informed him at the start of that month of his expectation to receive the Shin Bet probe’s findings within two weeks — a deadline Bar explains he could not meet. He says rushing the report within two weeks would force the Shin Bet to resort to unacceptable “shortcuts” in its investigation — something “to which we cannot agree.” Bar stated in his letter that he was responding to a letter from Netanyahu on February 10. The Shin Bet presented its Oct. 7 probe findings on March 4.)
Netanyahu continued in the video: “But on February 27, he didn’t present me with the investigation, instead asking for several more days. Again, I agreed to his request. But look what happened: That very same day, on February 27, in the evening hours, in a rare coincidence one couldn’t invent, the attorney general announced the opening of a probe into Qatar!”
“The facts prove unequivocally that the dismissal was not intended to prevent the investigation — the investigation was intended to prevent the dismissal,” Netanyahu declared.
In fact, however, the “Qatargate” probe was launched before the date of February 27 highlighted by Netanyahu. February 27 was indeed the date that Baharav-Miara announced a criminal investigation. She was only able to do so because the Shin Bet had already been probing the matter for at least 12 days, gathering information on the alleged ties of Netanyahu’s office to Qatar.
Though an exact date for when the Shin Bet probe was launched is not publicly available, the first query from a reporter on the matter was submitted as early as February 9 — before any of the letters Netanyahu pointed to were sent. The allegations of Netanyahu’s aides’ ties to Qatar were aired by Channel 12 on February 10. By February 15, the Shin Bet had already confirmed a probe was underway.
Channel 12’s political reporter Daphna Liel wrote soon after Netanyahu released his video: “Netanyahu tried to prove this evening that the “Qatargate” affair has no connection to [his decision to dismiss] the head of the Shin Bet, but he did exactly the opposite. The request for a response to the affair was submitted by Ofer Haddad on February 9, and Netanyahu’s letter to Ronen Bar to expedite the investigations he requested was sent the next day — the day the affair was revealed. An incredible coincidence!”
Tracing the money
Relatedly on Saturday, the Kan public broadcaster reported that the police “Qatargate” probe is focused on how funds were transferred between “several hands and firms” since May 2022 and possibly beforehand.
Among the main difficulties that the police face in their inquiry is that some persons of interest reside outside of Israel — most notably Israel Einhorn, a former Netanyahu aide who did public relations work for Qatar before the 2022 World Cup and is a central suspect in a separate case involving the leaking of classified documents.
To overcome the issue, the police and State Prosecutor’s Office are reportedly exploring possibilities to expand the investigation beyond Israel’s borders.
On Friday, Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein, a former Netanyahu spokesman, were revealed to be the two suspects briefly detained for questioning under caution on Wednesday in the ongoing police-Shin Bet “Qatargate” investigation.
The two were arrested on suspicion of contacting a foreign agent, fraud, money laundering and bribery.
Further details regarding the investigation are barred from publication in accordance with a sweeping court-issued gag order that is in effect until April 10.
The investigation was launched following revelations that Feldstein, who was previously a spokesman for Netanyahu, worked for Qatar via an international firm contracted by Doha to feed Israeli journalists pro-Qatar stories while he was employed in the Prime Minister’s Office.
On Wednesday, the Kan public broadcaster published recordings of Israeli businessman Gil Birger saying he funneled funds from a Qatari lobbyist to Feldstein.
Kan noted in its report that, for at least part of Feldstein’s time working for Netanyahu, the aide did not receive any direct salary from the Prime Minister’s Office because he had not passed a security clearance.
According to Channel 12, Feldstein’s lawyers said that the money Feldstein received from Birger was for services he provided “for the Prime Minister’s Office, and not for Qatar.” They claimed that the payments to their client were a “temporary and partial solution by people in the Prime Minister’s Office,” to an “issue that arose regarding his salary,” but did not specify what the issue was that necessitated payment of Feldstein’s government salary from sources outside the government.
The Channel 12 report also added that the statements from Feldstein’s legal team suggested that the idea to pay Feldstein through the Doha-funded PR firm was initiated by Urich, and that their client had no knowledge of the connection between the payments and Qatar. “In other words,” said Channel 12, “Feldstein’s representatives are today shifting the blame to the Prime Minister’s Office, and according to that argument, the Qataris, via American lobbyist Jay Footlik, financed the employment of a military spokesman of the prime minister of Israel during wartime.”
Israelis protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside his corruption trial in Tel Aviv, March 17, 2025, with references to the “Qatargate” scandal involving links between his aides and the Hamas-friendly Gulf state. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
Responding to the mention of his name, lawyers for Urich denied his involvement in the affair and claimed that their client “has no idea who Gil Birger is.”
Feldstein has already been indicted for harming national security in a case involving the theft of classified IDF documents and the leaking of one of them to the German daily, Bild. He, Urich and Einhorn are said to be the central suspects in the national security case in which Feldstein was charged in November. All deny wrongdoing, as has Netanyahu’s office.
The Walla news site reported Wednesday that Feldstein discussed the transfer of the document to Bild with Netanyahu at least twice.
Prosecutors have accused Feldstein of leaking the document in a bid to sway public opinion, which had turned against Netanyahu after the murder in captivity of six Israeli hostages — Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov and Carmel Gat — in late August.
A Channel 13 report earlier this month claimed that hundreds of thousands of dollars were funneled from Qatar to various Netanyahu aides, via various intermediaries, including one owned by Urich, who denied being employed by Qatar. Investigators were reportedly surprised by how much money had been transferred.  link There are many things of note in this article. The first being Netanyahu's unstoppable lies. As I have said in the past, he is the epitome of the old adage 'How do you know if he is lying? His lips are moving.' It seems that he is incapable of telling any part of the truth without injecting his series of lies.
The next thing of note, which is no small think; his continuing narrative of placing all blame for October 7 on the security forces and their heads. They definitely share in the blame but the biggest blame and most responsibility falls on the shoulders of the one who refuses to accept any blame or responsibility himself, Netanyahu. In his world, as prime minister, he only takes responsibility when things go right. Otherwise, it's always someone else's fault. His claim is always that he wasn't informed. Unbelievable. He's only been prime minister for most of the last 15 years, but he didn't know, he wasn't informed, they kept it from him, and his list of excuses goes on and on. The sign on his desk should read 'the buck never stops here'.
And the final issue of note here is to follow what he and his cronies are attempting to do: destroy democracy. He is following the guidebook for destroying democracy. He has attacked the media as the enemy, the judicial system as corrupt and against him, therefore against everyone who follows him, and now going after the major gatekeepers of democracy. One of his cronies, one of many of his extremist messianic ministers announced that they now want to remove the job role of 'guarding Israel's democracy' (i paraphrase) from the official job roles of the Shin Bet, because they are doing just that, guarding democracy and this time from within the Prime Minister's office which seems to have bought and paid for by the Qataris and who knows who else. As one of the subtitles in this article state "follow the money". Only time will tell if and when following the money will lead them to secret bank accounts or holdings that are earmarked for the head of the corruption, Netanyahu.
Government wants to operate ‘above the law,’ without checks on power, alleges AG
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara accuses the government of seeking to operate above the law, without any checks on its power, and of seeking to silence the governmental legal advice system which she heads.
Writing to the cabinet ahead of a scheduled meeting today to approve a no-confidence motion in her, the attorney general asserts that that motion is legally irrelevant and will have no bearing on the government’s efforts to remove her from office.
She also argues that the government fundamentally misunderstands the role of the Attorney General’s Office, which she says is to assist the government in achieving its policies in accordance with the law.
“When the legal advice system presents the government with the boundaries of the law it is doing its job, and it cannot be claimed that these are differences of opinion which are cause to dismiss,” says the attorney general in response to the government’s basic argument that Baharav-Miara has repeatedly thwarted the government from implementing its policies.
She points out that she and the legal advisory system have assisted the current government with the advancement of hundreds of pieces of legislation and hundreds of government resolutions, a form of executive action, and represented the government in over 2,000 petitions, including key issues relating to the war such as petitions against its humanitarian aid policy to Gaza, administrative detention, and other controversial policies.
“The [no-confidence] motion does not seek to advance trust but rather loyalty to the political echelon, not governability but rather regime power without borders, as part of a broader process to weaken the judicial branch and deter the entire professional echelon,” charges Baharav Miara.
“The government seeks to be above the law and to operate without checks and balances, including at the most sensitive time, a time of emergency, anti-government protests, and an election period,” she concludes.  link Both the Attorney General and the Head of the Shin Bet have said the same believable, yet unbelievable thing: the demand from them is to be loyal to the Prime Minister and his government, not to the State and the people and to justice and democracy. Anyone in the right mind and not blind to the actions of these destroyers of democracy, would believe both of them over the compulsive liar Netanyahu and his apparatchiks. These are the demands of an autocracy or dictator, which Netanyahu and his cronies would like instead of our current democracy, or what remains of our democracy.
Protesters march from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Jerusalem home to his office in a demonstration against his government's attempts to fire the head of the Shin Bet and the attorney general, March 23, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Retired Supreme Court justices warn against government’s planned dismissal of AG
Ahead of a planned motion of “no confidence” in Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara at a weekly cabinet meeting later this morning, a number of retired Supreme Court justices have published a letter to the government warning it against the move.
A copy of the letter is obtained and published by several Hebrew media outlets.
“For decades, we have played a central role in maintaining the rule of law in Israel,” it begins. “As part of this role, we have exercised judicial review over decisions made by successive attorneys general on various issues on the legal and public agenda.”
An attorney general’s legal opinions are “intended to prevent the government from making illegal decisions,” the retired justices stress.
“The attorney general fulfills this role in a practical and professional manner, and it is inconceivable that fulfilling her duty as a loyal public servant would be to her detriment and lead to her dismissal,” the letter continues.
It further warns that dismissing Baharav-Miara “would seriously endanger the State of Israel’s status as a country of law founded on sound governance and administration.”
Among the letter’s signatories are retired Supreme Court presidents Esther Hayut, Dorit Beinisch and Aharon Barak, as well as former vice president Elyakim Rubinstein and ex-justice Hanan Melcer.
The motion of no confidence planned for today’s cabinet meeting is the first of several steps the government must take to remove the attorney general from office, and the process is expected to last several months.  link This letter was signed by some of the most respected judicial experts in Israel and were appointed by governments of both sides of the political divide. They understand the grave dangers to democracy and the rule of law that this corrupt and failed government are putting us in and their warnings should be taken strongly and, at the very least, should serve as a basis for these actions to be suspended or cancelled entirely. In a government that concerns itself first and foremost with the country and its citizens, the government would hold off or cancel these actions, but this government has shown itself time and time again that its only concern is to safeguard itself at the expense of the country and the people. They have shown that holding the coalition together is worth sacrificing whatever it takes including the lives of the hostages, the budget of the country, the strength of the security forces, the well being of the population and the future of the country. The coalition, the government holds itself to a higher value than anything else and they have chosen to perpetuate it, to save it at the highest cost. DISGRACEFUL!!!!

Ronen Bar Was Not Fired Due to a "Trust" Issue – But a Lack of "Loyalty"
The unprecedented dismissal of the Shin Bet chief over a "trust issue" between the Prime Minister and the head of the Shin Bet raises deep concerns: Is personal loyalty now required instead of professional independence? At a time when the Shin Bet is grappling with investigations into the failures of October 7th and is in need of dramatic changes, critical damage could be inflicted on Israel's most sensitive organization. Analysis.
Never before in Israel's history has a Shin Bet chief been fired, especially not due to a "trust issue" with the Prime Minister, as the Prime Minister himself claimed. But is this truly a matter of trust, or is it a matter of loyalty?
The only loyalty a Shin Bet chief owes in Israel is to the State of Israel and its laws. This compass is what guides every Shin Bet employee, every role, and certainly its senior commanders: the state is the compass, and they have sworn to serve it. Loyalty is solely to the state and its citizens, not to anyone else. Anyone who thinks they can "tame" the excellent and dedicated employees of the Shin Bet is simply mistaken: either they do not truly know the Shin Bet and its employees, or they are burying their heads in the sand, and I am not sure which is worse.
During my many years of service, I attended countless cabinet discussions, small forums with the Prime Minister and his senior ministers, and meetings of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Never did it occur to me, nor to my colleagues, to bow to the political echelon and betray our roles and professional integrity.
Are the Shin Bet chief and its commanders subordinate to the political echelon and obligated to accept its authority? Absolutely, there is no shadow of a doubt. This has always been the case. But should the Shin Bet chief and its commanders agree to be obedient, say "yes" to every whim, and refrain from expressing any professional criticism or position that does not align with the government's views? Woe to us if we reach that point, as it would be a disaster for the State of Israel and its citizens. Appointing a Shin Bet chief because the Prime Minister believes he will be his "puppet," as the saying goes, is a recipe for disaster.
The head of the Shin Bet leads the most sensitive organization in Israel. The organization and its leader deal with countless arenas of conflict and counterterrorism, including Gaza, Judea and Samaria, Jerusalem, Arab Israelis, and Jewish terrorism; the Iranian espionage arena and other countries; assisting the IDF and the security establishment in operations in distant countries where threats from Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and others exist; the cyber domain with its various threats; establishing contact with Israelis for intelligence gathering within Israel; countering the influence of states and powers seeking to deepen divisions within Israel's heterogeneous society; the intersection of crime and terrorism; and, unfortunately, in cases where actions suspected of harming state security occur within the most sensitive offices of the Israeli government.
The Shin Bet is an operational organization, sharp, with an offensive mindset in its activities, which failed miserably on October 7th. It failed to produce a significant warning that would have alerted the security establishment and did not fully understand the readiness, capability, and determination of Hamas, led by Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, to create and shape a new reality. This is a searing failure, on a historic scale, that will shake the organization and haunt it for many years to come. A gaping wound that will take time to heal.
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar brought the organization back on track in the weeks following October 7th. The Shin Bet returned to being offensive, carrying out its diverse missions in all arenas of combat optimally, with significant achievements in the operational and preventive domains. This is a demonstration of leadership by Ronen Bar that cannot be taken lightly, especially after the trauma of October 7th and the necessary assumption of responsibility on his part for the failure.
The organization also conducted rigorous investigations, the conclusions of which necessitate dramatic changes in many areas, strengthening intelligence capabilities, building new capabilities in intelligence gathering and prevention, and innovative, tactical, and aggressive approaches against the armed militia of Hamas, which still controls Gaza as of this writing.
The destruction of Hamas cannot be completed in the next two to three years. It will take much longer, involving combat and targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad infrastructure and personnel. To prevent Hamas from ruling, another governing mechanism must be established, but at this stage, there is no "magic" solution to create such a governing body, no one is jumping at the opportunity, and a weak and corrupt Palestinian Authority would not survive there for even a day.
Being an Arabist is a profession, not a side gig
The next Shin Bet chief will face unprecedented challenges in their intensity, importance to the organization's functioning, and ability to continue providing security to Israeli citizens. The Shin Bet requires a refresh and replacement of senior and junior commanders, significant organizational and structural changes in light of the various threats in sensitive arenas, with an emphasis on the intense fight against Palestinian terrorism in Judea and Samaria, continued investment in advanced technological capabilities whose significance and importance are hard to even imagine, countering espionage infrastructures more sophisticated than those captured so far, and thwarting Jewish terrorism and attempts to undermine democratic governance.
The next Shin Bet chief will struggle to explain why they continue to fight Jewish terrorism, which poses a clear and immediate danger to settlers in Judea and Samaria, IDF soldiers, and other citizens of the state, and undermines Israel's moral legitimacy to combat Palestinian terrorism. They will have to insist on explaining why maintaining secrecy and preventing leaks are threats to individuals and organizations, why money fuels terrorism, and why refugee camps in the Jenin area cannot be destroyed, especially when there is no real purpose and no long-term thinking about whether such steps would benefit the security of Israeli citizens or potentially worsen it.
For years, the Shin Bet has been perceived, sometimes rightly and sometimes not, as an organization whose essence and capabilities are tactical due to its preventive mission. But the Shin Bet also has impressive strategic capabilities—operational, technological, and certainly research-based—that do not always come to light, especially externally, and the next head of the service will need to significantly strengthen this muscle.
This also connects to the background from which the next head of the service will come and the path they have taken: the next head of the service must be an "Arabist," meaning someone who grew up as a coordinator, speaks Arabic fluently, understands the culture and subtle nuances, and has experienced the Palestinian arena firsthand, in villages, cities, and refugee camps; someone who is familiar with the finest distinctions between Hamas in Jenin and Hamas in Hebron, can read Arabic texts fluently without relying on AI filters, and if woken up at night, can analyze the mood on the Palestinian street at any given moment. In the end, there is no substitute for years of experience. Being an Arabist is a profession, not a side gig.
A Backbone of Steel
The next Shin Bet chief will need to be not only an excellent manager, who will have to make tough decisions and implement far-reaching changes, but also a leader. Someone to whom the service's employees will look up, seeing him as a protective shield and a supportive shoulder, a professional figure who will lead them through a minefield. They will need to be there for them, fight for their right to speak their professional truth, both to him and to the political echelon, and remember and remind, over and over, that their commitment is solely to the state.
"There is a moral necessity for subordinates to have complete trust that their commander knows what he is doing, that he is a responsible person who treats his subordinates as his own children," said David Ben-Gurion at a ceremony at the IDF Command and Staff College in October 1960. He then added: "In this sense, he must be a role model, not just someone who knows all the theories of warfare and military professionalism. He must be a moral person in the highest sense of the word and inspire trust in the hearts of his subordinates through his behavior and way of life." These words remain meaningful and valuable today, especially for any Shin Bet chief.
The next Shin Bet chief must maintain a backbone of steel and continue to establish norms of reliability, integrity, stateliness, and skepticism, not be intimidated by Twitter storms, and not allow external, self-interested parties to influence their decisions. These are the values I know from the Shin Bet, and they must be preserved.
At this time, these qualities take on double and triple importance. The next Shin Bet chief, whether chosen from among the organization's deputies or another senior official who served in the organization and is offered this complex role, will need to stand firm against a suspicious Prime Minister who will do everything to ensure that the organization and its special units do not deal with sensitive issues concerning him and his surroundings; a government whose ministers do not hesitate to attack, in the vast majority of cases in a vile and irresponsible manner, the Shin Bet and its employees, and are quick to shift blame onto them when things go wrong; a government that sometimes does not trust the Shin Bet and sees it as a politically biased body (a thought that is both unfounded in reality and dangerous), part of an imaginary deep state that interferes with its ability to "govern."
The high waves and stormy seas in which Israel is tossed on all fronts and in all directions require strong and stable gatekeepers, loyal and value-driven public servants, who know how to navigate the organizations they lead with determination, professionalism, and stateliness.
The Shin Bet chief is one of the most important dominoes in this sensitive fabric. Let anyone who takes on this role know that if they weaken, there is a danger that they will topple the entire row like a stack of dominoes.
Erik "Harris" Barbing served as head of the Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria region, and head of the Cyber Division in the Shin Bet.. link

The Region and the World

A ballistic missile launched from Yemen a short while ago, apparently aimed at Israel, fell short in Saudi Arabia, according to a defense source.
The missile was identified by the military, but sirens were not activated due to it not posing a threat to Israel.
It is not immediately clear why the missile failed to reach Israel

Personal Stories

"The entire IDF wasn’t there—in the end, it was just three Golani soldiers alone."

"When they were found, their vests were empty": A reconnaissance force of a commander and two soldiers tried to repel terrorists on October 7 as early as 6:35 AM, while most of the country still didn’t realize the terror attack had begun. Commander Itai and his soldiers, Uri and Amit, jumped from point to point: "They were left there alone, the three of them, superheroes." The soldiers who later discovered what happened in the battle are speaking about it for the first time—and the bereaved father who declares: "My goal is for the entire country to know this story."

Platoon commander Lieutenant Itai Maor, Negev machine gunner Corporal Uri Locker, and soldier Corporal Amit Tzur went out on patrol on October 6, 2023, Friday evening, the eve of the holiday, at 10:00 PM. This meant the three were already equipped and operational at 6:29 AM when the first sirens of the terror attack began. The three, a small reconnaissance force from the 51st Battalion of the Golani Brigade, went into action within minutes and fought daring holding battles at several points along the fence: "If it weren’t for them and the standby squad in Zikim—half of Ashkelon would have been wiped out," says one of their battalion comrades today.
Until now, few knew exactly what happened to the three—Itai, 23, and Uri and Amit, just 19—on that terrible morning, facing the enemy. Even those who tried to read about them encountered conflicting versions: some sites wrote that they fought in Zikim, others in Netiv HaAsara, and a third version claimed that the heroic battle they fought took place "at the base where they served." The truth, as it turns out, is much more complex.
When the sirens began, the small force, which had been patrolling for hours along the route closest to the fence in the sector, entered a protected area. Soon, they received word that terrorists were trying to breach the fence and infiltrate Israeli territory. The decision of the three was clear: to engage and prevent infiltration by any means possible, using the weapons they had.

Three soldiers, almost alone, engage in battle and try to get help from a tank. From the footage of the encounter near the fence | Photo: IDF Spokesperson

This is what the battle looked like, minutes after the attack.
"That morning, there were countless sirens and alerts about terrorists across the sector—Itai, Uri, and Amit were already on patrol from the night before. They heard the chaos on the comms," says Dolev, a sergeant in their platoon. Dolev was Amit and Uri’s commander and Itai’s subordinate. That morning, he rushed from his home to fight alongside his friends, who had closed the Sabbath and found themselves in a war.
At 6:35 AM, when few in the country understood what was happening, they were already in the midst of their first battle, in the area between Zikim Beach and Netiv HaAsara. In a video published for the first time in N12 Magazine, the three are seen charging toward the fence, while suspicious figures are on the other side.
Within seconds, a tank arrived at the scene, one of the few in the sector, as backup to assist the forces. Itai, Uri, and Amit are seen running toward it to continue fighting with its cover and firepower. In the following hours, additional forces arrived in the area, but the small reconnaissance force continued to fight almost alone.
After managing to hit several terrorists at the first point of contact, the three drove toward the rear firing range of the Zikim training base. They dismounted to assist other forces engaged there and repel infiltration attempts, from both the fence and the sea, into the outposts and communities in the area. This battle, between Zikim and Netiv HaAsara, lasted until the last bullet. They encountered dozens of terrorists and managed to delay them, but paid for it with their lives.

Terrorists infiltrating Zikim Beach on the morning of October 7

Only after many hours, during searches conducted by their platoon comrades, were Itai, Uri, and Amit z"l located at the battle site: Uri and Itai were found close together, Amit was a few dozen meters away from them. Beside the three soldiers, who were posthumously promoted, lay the bodies of no fewer than eight terrorists they had managed to eliminate during the fighting at that point. The three were found with their vests empty of ammunition.

"I thought for a moment they were messing with me."
Dolev, the person closest to the three, has been trying to piece together the puzzle ever since. He served with them in the Elon platoon, the Namer (Merkava-based APC) platoon, which operates the vehicle so closely associated with Golani. The start of the attack caught him at home in the Dan region: that Sabbath, Simchat Torah, was Itai’s z"l shift, so Dolev wasn’t at the base. That morning, two platoons from the company were at home, and two were on standby. "I had just returned from a party," he recalls.
"At 6:34 AM, the first siren sounded for us—at first, we were sure it was minor, but very quickly I realized it wasn’t. I texted the company commander and, in the meantime, briefed the soldiers who weren’t at the base so they’d be ready to come. I got calls from friends in my platoon who were at Zikim Beach—they told me some of them were already dead. For a moment, I thought they were messing with me, until I received a picture of a squad commander from the platoon who had been shot in the leg."
"They were engaged, dismounted, and began intense fighting—until the last bullet." Platoon commander Itai Maor z"l | Photo: Courtesy of the family

Along with another soldier, Dolev headed south quickly to join the fighting. The two made it to the base. "We dismounted outside the Southern Gaza Division headquarters. We had no contact with the other forces—not with the force at the beach, not with those at the outpost, and not with Itai, Uri, and Amit’s force on the route."
"They prevented unimaginable damage."
"They were engaged, dismounted, and began intense fighting—until the last bullet," Dolev says painfully about his friends and their heroic battle, the extent of which he only discovered afterward, adding: "They prevented unimaginable damage." During those hours, Dolev and the soldier accompanying him realized the scale of the fighting at the outpost and worked to clear it and evacuate the wounded and dead from the area. "I didn’t evacuate Itai, Uri, and Amit—they didn’t want us to break. They knew it would shatter us if we evacuated them from there."

"In the small things, he fought for us like a lion." Platoon commander Itai Maor z"l | Photo: Courtesy of the family

Dolev can’t forget the three, who captured his heart. "Amit Tzur was a kid everyone loved—I could walk around the base during the toughest times, in the darkest moments, and see him smiling on guard duty. And Uri Locker—he was the kid with the biggest heart I’ve ever met, the first to volunteer and the last to leave. He loved being a Negev gunner and dreamed of being a squad commander. He and I—it was love at first sight."
Dolev had the privilege of knowing Itai, the force commander, for a long time before the tragedy and witnessing his growth as a fighter and leader. "He entered the role in a somewhat complicated way. During the line duty, he earned the trust of the soldiers. I remember him fighting for us in a way I’d never seen before—in the small things, he fought for us like a lion."

"Itai was a commander who had your back in every situation" | Photo: Courtesy of the family

Dolev was supposed to be discharged two weeks after October 7, and he trusted Itai blindly to lead the soldiers. "I was with the platoon from day one at the Golani training base, and I told myself I was leaving the platoon in the best hands possible—Itai’s hands. He was a commander who had your back in every situation, even when difficulties arose. It might sound like a cliché, but Itai, Uri, and Amit were people who, no matter what, kept moving forward."
The harsh sights of that day are still fresh in Dolev’s memory. "It’s important to me that people know we fought," he declares. "As much as the guilt stays with us as soldiers that this happened on their watch—it’s still important to me that people understand we gave it our all and did everything we could."

"We defended the sector with our bodies."
Rachamim, a soldier in the 51st Battalion’s rifle company, was with the three in the company. "I and Itai, the platoon commander, were close, we had a good relationship and a lot of interaction during the line duty in Gaza. Amit and Uri were with me in the same draft group, we went through the training course at the same time and continued together to the same battalion and the same company. That morning, our entire company was on the line in the Gaza sector for about two and a half months, until October 7. The sector stretches from Zikim Beach to the Erez Crossing, where a force from the 13th Battalion was stationed. There are four communities in this sector: Zikim, Karmia, Netiv HaAsara, and Yad Mordechai."

"He was a kid everyone loved." Amit Tzur z"l | Photo: Courtesy of the family

In hindsight, Rachamim declares: "We didn’t believe the quiet, we were prevented from fulfilling our role. There were a few unusual incidents on the line that the company tried to respond to." The company commander, Roi, who took up his position just days before the start of that line, told the soldiers from the very first moment: "Whoever meets the rifle company dies," and Rachamim recalls: "That was his first sentence, it was a sentence that stayed with us. The company was divided into six forces in different areas of the sector. The route where Itai, Uri, and Amit’s force was is the closest to the fence," he explains. "Throughout that day, the forces of the 51st Battalion, spread across the Gaza border area, continued to organize against more forces, dismounted, and eliminated terrorists who kept moving toward the sector. I’m proud of the soldiers deployed in the area—we, the soldiers of the 51st Rifle Company, defended the sector with our bodies."
That morning, Rachamim fought at the Erez Regional Control Outpost, near Zikim, not far from the reconnaissance force of the three. "The battle at the outpost was a heroic battle, we went from zero to a hundred, it was one of those moments you don’t imagine even in the most extreme exercises. We realized that within minutes, the terrorists were already inside the outpost, we started moving and positioned ourselves to create a defensive line. At that moment, we came under heavy fire. Next to me fought Ofir Tzioni. Within minutes, he fell, fighting beside me until the last bullet. I was injured, shot in the face, and I’m still undergoing a long recovery."

"In the end, it was just three Golani soldiers alone."
Eyal Locker, Uri’s z"l father, investigated what happened that day himself. "We haven’t received the official investigation yet, but I verified the information in conversations with the battalion commander, the company commander, and people who were there." He recounts: "When the attack began, they were literally within minutes at that position in the video, between the sea and Netiv HaAsara, where there were breach points for the terrorists. The terrorists were literally on the 'hourglass,' and Itai, Uri, and Amit’s force dismounted and engaged them 30 meters from the fence. Some of the terrorists were killed, and some fled. A tank from the 77th Battalion arrived at the scene."
Immediately afterward, the father describes, the three jumped to assist another force in the sector. "One of the Namers took an RPG hit and got stuck, there were something like 14 soldiers inside, and the terrorists started climbing onto the Namer. The force there called for the three soldiers to help. They got there, got out of the vehicle they were in, and were left there alone: the entire IDF wasn’t there. In the end, it was just three Golani soldiers alone. They fought there and fell 400 meters from the point where they got out of the D9, the armored vehicle. Their vests were empty. I was told there was a lot of terrorist equipment in the area, probably used to fortify and evacuate wounded terrorists."
"It’s an amazing story—in the end, three guys, who never imagined they’d be in such a situation with zero resources, just got out of the D9 and fought until the last bullet," says Locker the father with pride and pain. "It’s courage I don’t know where it came from, but from the day he enlisted in Golani, he became a man, and every day we saw him with self-confidence. He loved his friends the most, and when he saw his platoon commander dismount, he did it too."

"In their fighting, they also managed to delay the terrorists—in the Southern Gaza Division headquarters, only two terrorists eventually infiltrated, and they didn’t capture the Erez outpost," explains Eyal. "The entire company, even those who were at home, literally arrived within an hour or two, and terrorists didn’t infiltrate the kibbutzim of Zikim and Karmia either. The two outposts the terrorists gave the highest importance to were Nahal Oz and Yiftach—and Yiftach, which was in their sector, wasn’t captured either. This company eliminated quite a few terrorists, but in the end, our children paid the highest price, for the failure of underestimating the enemy and thinning out the forces, the complacency. Everything that was done to us 50 years and a day before, in the Yom Kippur War, repeated itself."

The last meeting: "I told him, 'Stay alert.'"
"He was a bit frustrated about being in the Namer platoon, he wanted to be an infantryman," says Eyal about his son. According to him, he insisted on being a Negev machine gun operator (Negevist), "and he achieved it and was very happy and proud of it. After the training course ended, he moved to the 51st Battalion’s rifle company. They were on the line for a month and a half in the Hermon and then in training in the north, and from there to the line in Zikim. They were stationed at the Erez Regional Control Outpost. The line started in July, it was a pretty boring line, there weren’t too many disturbances, it happened more in Nahal Oz and Kissufim."
"On Thursday, two days before the Black Sabbath, somehow it worked out in the heavens that we were in the south and visited family: we bought him food, supplements, he wanted to go to the squad commanders’ course, so he quit smoking and worked hard on it. I remember he told me, 'It’s such a bummer I’m not in the special forces, there’s action in Jenin,' I told him, 'Uri, stay alert, here it can flip in a second.' And then we parted, and that was really the last time we saw him."

"I’m the father of a hero."
"All three of them are superheroes—they’ll receive citations. My goal is for the entire country to know this story," declares Eyal. "And not just them—everyone who didn’t run away that day and fought is a hero, a real hero. I’m not the father of a 'soldier who was killed,' I’m the father of a hero. The little honor they deserve is this recognition and the privilege of telling their story, so people know what kind of kids were here and what dreams were cut short for us."
"Uri was supposed to be discharged this week," the father shares. "Right now, I have a nephew enlisting in a week, and they always said that when he enlists, Uri would be discharged, but here, he’s enlisting and Uri won’t be discharged. There are no words to describe what a bereaved family is—we don’t need Memorial Day, we don’t need the ceremonies. Don’t wait for Memorial Day—pick up the phone, come, talk, we won’t bite. Every day for us is Memorial Day. Crying is strength—it’s not a shame."

Uri Locker’s z"l father: "He wanted to go to the squad commanders’ course, so he quit smoking and worked hard on it" | Photo: Courtesy of the family

The Locker family is also focused on commemoration: "From first grade to twelfth grade, Uri mainly played soccer and also loved hiking in nature. We established a soccer field in his honor, on Purim we brought 300 Mishloach Manot packages to the Golani training base, to the 51st Battalion’s platoon. As they say—if someone remembers me, it means I’m still alive."
"It’s important to me that this story is heard, people must hear this story—also for the residents of the Gaza border area," concludes Locker the father. "Because yes, the entire IDF wasn’t there, but the IDF that was there gave everything, until the last bullet. All the Golani soldiers, Nahal, Armored Corps, and the observers—they gave their all. The brigade commanders and above—they need to look straight and take responsibility, not that it will help, but the IDF that was there gave what it had. That morning.  link

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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