🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 548, 2023 - April 6, 2025 🎗️

  

🎗️Day 548 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

• Hamas releases propaganda video showing hostages Bar Kupershtein and Maxim Herkin
  
  

  Hostages Maxim Herkin (left) and Bar Kupershtein. (Courtesy)

  Hamas has released a propaganda video that shows hostages Bar Kupershtein and Maxim Herkin, in the first sign of life from both of them since they were abducted by terrorists on October 7, 2023.

  Herkin’s relatives earlier said they recognized his voice after Hamas published a blurred clip from the video, which the families have asked Israeli media not to publish.

• Hostage soldier’s mom says captives ‘undergoing Holocaust while Netanyahu is on a luxury vacation’
  
  

  Families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza hold a press conference in Tel Aviv on April 5, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

  Hostage families urge US President Donald Trump for help in freeing the Israelis held captive by Hamas terrorists and Gaza while hitting out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for spending the weekend in Budapest.

  “While the hostages are undergoing a Holocaust and drinking water from toilets in captivity, Netanyahu is on a luxury vacation in Europe,” says Vicky Cohen, mother of hostage soldier Nimrod Cohen. “A year age we stood here and declared that Netanyahu is the obstacle to a deal. We were right!”

  Appealing to Trump, the cousin of freed hostage Ofer Calderon says the pressure he applied led to the release of the hostages during the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal that has since lapsed.

  “You are the only one who can bring a stop to the war and bring everyone home at once. All the other threats can be dealt with after all the hostages are returned,” says Yifat Calderon.
  
  

• "Look Me in the Eyes": Omer Wenkert's Cry – and the Plea to the Cabinet and Netanyahu | Live from Hostages Square  x
  
  A survivor of captivity, released after 505 days in the hell of Gaza, spoke at a rally in Hostages Square, urgently calling for the return of the 59 remaining hostages—and mentioning his friends: "My true rehabilitation will come when my brothers Guy (Gilboa Dalal) and Aviatar (Aviatar David) return home." He asked to testify before the prime minister and ministers: "Don’t look away." For the first time: Liri Albag and Gadi Moses will also address the thousands.  

59 hostages still in captivity, 547 days later: Omer Wenkert, who was freed a month and a half ago after 505 days in Hamas captivity, delivered his first speech tonight (Saturday) in Hostages Square since his release. He called for the return of the 59 hostages still held in Gaza and made a direct appeal to the government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow him to address the cabinet and share his experience: "Don’t look away, see us. See the tears in our eyes, the flags that refuse to fall. Netanyahu, it’s only up to you to bring them home." Later in the rally, fellow survivors Liri Albag and Gadi Moses will also speak. Ynet is broadcasting the rally live.  

"I’m Here, Shaken and Screaming – Bring My Brothers Back from Captivity"  

Wenkert began his speech: "I am here, shaken and screaming—bring my brothers back from captivity. But I am not truly here, only half of me stands here. Part of me is still captive in a tunnel, and you are not truly here either—because part of all of us is still held in Gaza." He continued: "My true rehabilitation will come when my beloved brothers Guy and Aviatar board an Air Force helicopter, step into the room where their loved ones await them, and are finally home in Israel." He said the true healing from captivity and national recovery from trauma "is when the lights turn on in dozens of homes, and our brothers return to their families and communities."  

He recounted how he was abducted from a shelter where 28 young men and women were murdered, "among them my best friend, my sunshine who became my guardian angel—Kim Damti." He described his time in captivity: "I was held in extreme conditions in a narrow tunnel next to a waste pit. For 505 days, I was starved, humiliated, beaten. For 197 of those days, I was alone, nearly losing my sanity."  

A Direct Message to Netanyahu  

He addressed Netanyahu directly: "Prime Minister, it is on you to bring them back. It is only on you to bring them home. Remember, these are my brothers, these are our brothers, and it is only on you to bring them home. Tonight, we stand here under the skies of this land as the voice of a cry that has no voice. The voice of my brothers who are still starved, beaten, humiliated, and suffering. The word 'freedom' sounds grand, lofty, but it is also simple: being with family."  

Call to the Cabinet and Netanyahu  

He urged the cabinet members and Netanyahu to act for the hostages' return: "From here, I call on the cabinet members and the prime minister to invite me to the next cabinet meeting and look me in the eyes as I testify. I call on you—don’t look away. Be brave and invite me to tell you firsthand what my captive brothers are enduring at this very moment. To the dear families—you are not alone. The heart of an entire nation is with you. And we will keep marching, shouting, and crying out—until the heart is filled again with the light of freedom. Of home. Of return. Of hope."  

Wenkert asked protesters to continue fighting for the hostages' release: "By standing here in the square every Saturday, brave mothers sharing the 101 community, the protesting people of Israel—you are the hope for our brothers in Hamas’ tunnels, you are the human embodiment of freedom. Keep protesting and demanding—you are the light, you are the hope. Tonight, we are here to remind and cry out: Freedom is the imperative of the hour. It is the most basic value of a nation born from a longing for liberty."  

Finally, he mentioned Guy and Aviatar again: "Stay strong for yourselves and for me. I promise you and all the hostages—we will not give up. You are coming back, you are coming back, you are coming back."  

Earlier: Families' Statement at Begin Gate  

Earlier, families of hostages spoke outside Begin Gate in the Kirya, sharply criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct amid his visit to Hungary—from where he will continue to the U.S.—and developments in the "Qatar-Gate" affair involving his associates.  

Merav Svirsky, sister of hostage Itai Svirsky who was murdered in captivity, said: "This is the 547th day our loved ones are held in the hell of Gaza. This week, the tip of the iceberg of foreign interests managing Netanyahu’s office and the country—which led to thwarting the hostages' return—has begun to be exposed. The influence operation run by Netanyahu’s office to improve Qatar’s image while vilifying Egypt is another move to sabotage a deal. We could have brought everyone back and ended the war, but Netanyahu and his office preferred money and personal interests over saving lives and bringing back the fallen!"   

 

"Netanyahu ordered the expansion of the war and lies that military pressure will bring them back, when the facts prove he is killing them and hiding the bodies of the fallen—and now Hamas has announced that half the hostages are being held in areas slated for attack. Why did Netanyahu violate the agreement and sabotage Phase Two? Why is Netanyahu cherry-picking [who comes home], instead of bringing everyone back at once? Why was Egypt’s proposal to end the war and return all hostages not even discussed in the cabinet? Is it because Israel’s government has become Qatar’s government? Netanyahu is working to save himself instead of saving the hostages. Netanyahu—go home! The hostages—bring them home! And you—go home! That is what will save us all."

 

Protest at Habima Square  

Meanwhile, thousands gathered in protest at Habima Square in Tel Aviv. One protester staged a demonstration where a noose was hung from a pole, and she stood beneath it wrapped in an Israeli flag with the hostages' symbol, her mouth tied with rope. She held a sign reading "Hanged" using small photos of the hostages, and on the other side: "This is the betrayal"—likely implying the hostages are being abandoned in Gaza.  

Former minister Tzipi Livni spoke to the crowd at Habima Square, sharply attacking Netanyahu and his government: "At their core are violent moves to crush Israel’s systems and values and impose unrestrained dictatorship. When the government abandons hostages to a terrible fate, when a just war becomes the government’s 'survival war'—we must shout, enough! When they shatter the beacon of justice and law in Israel, when deep darkness falls upon us—we are here to light the dark corners and wake those who still don’t see the magnitude of the danger from within." 

 

 

"Last Passover, We Were Their Servants": Liri’s Chilling Speech 

The freed observer reminded the rally in Hostages Square of the holiday: "Freedom? 59 are still in hell. 

Liri Albag’s Chilling Speech: "Last Passover, We Were Their Servants"

Hostage survivor Liri Albag began her remarks to the crowd—her first speech in Hostages Square—with gratitude: "Thank you to all of you who fought and are still fighting for the return of my brothers and sisters." She also thanked IDF soldiers and bereaved families: "My heart is with you. Tonight, I stand before you—free. But my heart remains there." She emphasized: "I am the voice of those who cannot speak, scream, or ask for help. We are a people who sanctify life, not death."

She recounted the moment the last deal collapsed: "We were sure we were going home. The doors didn’t open—and the nightmare continued." At that moment, she said, she lost trust: "Trust in the outside world, trust that anyone remembered us." Since then, she has called for silence to end: "We must not grow accustomed to this. We must not accept it as routine."

Albag described the harsh reality she endured in captivity: "A year and a half of torture—physical, psychological, even sexual violence. They forbade us to cry, hug, or listen to each other." Last Passover in captivity, she said, was traumatic: "We were alone, drowning in depression. They forced us to work. We were their servants." Now, as the holiday of freedom approaches, she reminded the crowd: "59 of our brothers and sisters are still there."

She expressed fear over renewed fighting: "Every return to combat endangers them. The hostages are the first to pay the price," and warned of the risks to soldiers themselves. She closed with a declaration: "The hostages must return now! The conditions are unbearable. There is no victory without all 59 hostages home. No one should know how this feels—so scream their cry with me."

 

Gadi Moses Calls for Halting the Fighting: "Our Brothers Are Losing Hope as Bomb Shells Whistle"

Eighty-year-old hostage survivor Gadi Moses also delivered his first speech to the crowds in Hostages Square, stating:

"In just over a week, we will celebrate Passover—the holiday of freedom. This year, the meaning of my freedom is far deeper. After 482 days in captivity under Islamic Jihad, I am once again free among my family and my people."

He explained that even the words of Israel’s national anthem—"Our hope is not yet lost" and "To be a free people in our land"—took on profound new meaning for him after his ordeal.

Amid the resumption of fighting, he shared:

"The drums of war echo in my ears again. I was there, and I heard these sounds from the other side of the border too. It is horrifying. It chokes the throat and paralyzes the soul. Our captive brothers are losing all hope as the whistle of bomb shells rings out from every direction. These shells have killed—and could still kill—our helpless brothers."

He sharply criticized the policy of escalating military pressure:

"The assumption that killing people will make Hamas understand they must release the hostages is fundamentally flawed. Human life and property mean nothing to them. They hold bargaining chips and aim to exploit them for maximum gain from their perspective."

He emphasized:

"The hostages’ time is not unlimited. Some are sick, some wounded, some despairing, some broken mentally. As a nation, we are bound to them morally and ethically. They are our brothers—murdered or abducted as free citizens in a democratic state, or soldiers who went out to defend it. We must not abandon them in their distress. We must not sort them by standards not our own. We must free them all—and now."

He thanked IDF regular and reserve soldiers and their families, then directed a message to the government:

"I call on the Israeli government to stop the war, withdraw the IDF from Gaza, and implement Phase Two of the deal Israel signed. We have no time—the ground is burning beneath our feet! There is a grave risk of more hostages dying, and some of our fallen hostages may disappear entirely. Enough of this nightmare for the families. Stop the war and bring everyone home now."     link

• Mom, sister of slain captives slam PM over renewed fighting: No more hostages ‘should pay’ with their lives
  

  Merav Svirsky, sister of slain hostage Itay Svirsky, tells some 1,000 anti-government protesters at the Begin Road entrance to the IDF headquarters that it’s “insane and insufferable, and painful to the spirit and soul and body, that I paid the dearest price because of this government of destruction and its head,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

  “He’ll do anything to preserve his rule,” she says. “And if that’s not enough, today we also know that ‘diplomatic source'” — reportedly Netanyahu’s pseudonym in press statements from his office — “is sometimes Qatari public relations posing as a diplomatic source,” adds Svirsky, alluding to recent revelations from the criminal investigation of alleged criminal ties between Hamas-backer Qatar and top aides to Netanyahu.

  “Not another hostage should pay with their life for the criminal conduct of the government and its head,” she says. “Enough of all this unnecessary death. Instead of destructive revenge, we must go back to sanctifying life.”

  Maayan Sherman, whose soldier son Ron Sherman was killed in an Israeli airstrike while in Hamas captivity, says that “along with Ron, 40 hostages have been murdered or killed because of this abandonment, while the government of Israel is busy with the insanity of the judicial overhaul.”

  “Despite all the pain, I refuse to give up hope,” she says. “We’re here to remind everyone what responsibility is, what guilt is, what compassion is and what moral duty is.”

  The Begin Road protest is bolstered by participants from an earlier anti-government demonstration at Habima Square.

  As they marched up Kaplan Street toward Begin, the demonstrators passed dozens of left-wing activists standing in silence on the side of the road, clutching pictures of Palestinian children slain in Gaza.

  One of the marchers yells at the activists, “Put up a picture of Bibas,” referring to young brothers Ariel and Kfir Bibas, who were killed in Hamas captivity along with their mother Shiri.

• The abducted father met with Minister Dramer and raged: "Returning the hostages is not his top priority"  

Ronen, the father of the late Capt. Omer Neutra: "I don’t see how we’ll bring the hostages back this way."  

Hostage survivor Ilana Gritzvski, partner of abducted Matan Tzengauker, on the decision to expose the sexual abuse in captivity: "I have no choice—only this way do they listen. Men also suffer sexual abuse in captivity." About the government: "Where did we fail? This neglect—where does it come from? You’re supposed to protect us and keep us safe."  
Ronen Neutra, father of the fallen abducted soldier Capt. Omer Neutra, reported this morning (Sunday) on Galei Tzahal that he met with Minister Ron Dermer and felt that "it’s not certain that returning the hostages is his top priority over eliminating Hamas in the war’s objectives."  
"As long as we don’t reach an agreement with Hamas where they disarm," the bereaved father said, "I don’t see how we’ll bring the hostages back."  
Hostage survivor Ilana Gritzvski, partner of abducted Matan Tzengauker, also spoke on Galei Tzahal about the fear amid the expansion of IDF operations in Gaza. "The hostages’ lives are in danger every moment. When I was in captivity, with every bombardment, I prayed those wouldn’t be my last moments—it’s just a feeling of abandonment. What freedom do I have when Matan is still there? I moved to a country that sanctifies life—where is that now?" she wondered.  

Gritzvski also shared her frustration over reports that the Trump-Netanyahu meeting would first address tariffs and Iran before the hostages and the situation in Gaza—"It’s very painful. We’ve always felt we’re not a priority, and I’ve always had to fight."  
"They always find a way to try to turn a blind eye," the survivor said about the government ministers. "They’re busy with budgets, with firing the Shin Bet chief. Our government is abandoning them, but we won’t let them—the people are helping us keep them a priority."  
"They can’t look us in the eye, they can’t give us meetings without us having to fight for it. Where did we fail? This neglect—where does it come from? You’re supposed to protect us and keep us safe. You’re our mother and father in this war—you’re supposed to give us answers," Gritzvski lamented.  
On her decision to expose the sexual abuse she endured in captivity, Gritzvski said: "Every single day, I’m forced to reopen my intimate, personal wounds from captivity and talk about the abuse—psychological, physical, sexual—and it’s so painful, but there’s no choice. Only this way do they listen to us. Men also suffer sexual abuse in captivity—I’m so worried for Matan and all the hostages."  link Ronen Neutra is 100% correct. Dermer never put the hostages return as his main goal even though he is now the point person in negotiations. He only does Netanyahu's bidding and Netanyahu does not want to end the war and that means that Hamas will never make a deal to release the hostages. Dermer was appointed just for that, to make sure that Netanyahu's goals are the priority and not the hostages or ending the war.

 

Gaza and the South

• Army releases video of Israeli forces entering corridor between Rafah and Khan Younis
  
  

  An IDF M109 howitzer is seen firing into the southern Gaza Strip, in a handout photo published by the military on April 5, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

  The IDF releases footage from the entry of the 36th Division into the so-called Morag Corridor, located between southern Gaza’s Rafah and Khan Younis, last week.

  It marks the first time since the beginning of the war that ground troops are operating in the area.

  The division entered the corridor area on Wednesday, following a night of intensive airstrikes and evacuation warnings.

  The military says it is operating in the Morag Corridor and in Rafah to demolish the remaining Hamas infrastructure.  video

  
  
• Gazan medic says he saw Israeli troops firing on emergency vehicles near Rafah
  

  A Palestinian paramedic who was present at an incident in which 15 of his colleagues were killed in southern Gaza last month says he saw Israeli troops firing at emergency vehicles that he later saw stained with blood.

  Munther Abed, a volunteer for the Palestinian Red Crescent, says he was responding to a call with two colleagues near Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip on March 23 when he was detained by the Israeli soldiers shortly before they opened fire on other emergency vehicles.

  He says he had not been able to see exactly what happened when the soldiers opened fire.

  Abed says he and colleagues had received a call to go out to help wounded people at around dawn following an airstrike in the Al-Hashasheen area in Rafah, close to the border with Egypt.

  “We moved right away, it was me and two other colleagues. As soon as we arrived there, we came under fire and they detained us,” he tells Reuters by phone from his house in Khan Younis, referring to shooting by Israeli soldiers.

  After he was detained, he says he lost sight of his two colleagues.

  As he was standing near the soldiers, he says he saw other emergency vehicles approaching the Israeli soldiers’ position.

  “I could see the vehicle of the Civil Emergency. The soldiers began shooting at the vehicles, they fired heavily,” he says. “It was dark and I couldn’t see what happened to the people there, but they [the soldiers] fired heavily. They asked me to duck down and they were firing heavily. I felt as if the bullets were hitting me personally.”

• Gazan reports claim at least 9 dead in new Israeli strikes on Strip
  

  Gazan media report at least eight deaths in an alleged Israeli airstrike on a home in western Khan Younis in the Strip’s south.

  Reports also claim a child has been killed in a bombing in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City in the Strip’s north.  video

Northern Israel, Lebanon and Syria

• Lebanese official says US envoy discussed disarming Hezbollah, but without deadline
  

  A Lebanese official says that US deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus discussed disarming Hezbollah without setting a deadline during her meetings in Beirut a day earlier.

  The Lebanese official, speaking anonymously as they were not authorized to brief the media, says Ortagus discussed “intensifying and speeding up the work of the Lebanese army in dismantling Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, leading to restricting weapons to state hands, without setting a timetable.”

  Ortagus has not made any official statements during the visit, but Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam described their discussions with the US official as positive, noting they addressed the situation in south Lebanon and economic reforms.

  Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Hezbollah operatives and members of affiliated terror groups since a ceasefire in November, following two months of open war aimed at ending rocket attacks from the Iran-backed group for nearly a year. The terror group started firing rockets and drones at Israeli communities and military posts on October 8, 2023, in support of the terror group Hamas, which invaded Israel from the Gaza Strip a day earlier.

• IDF says 2 Hezbollah operatives targeted in south Lebanon airstrike
  

  The Israel Defense Forces says two members of Hezbollah were targeted in an airstrike in south Lebanon.

  The military says the two were “operating an engineering vehicle” in the Zibqin area while they were “attempting to restore terrorist infrastructure.”

  Earlier, Lebanese media reported that one person was killed in a strike on a bulldozer.

  Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Hezbollah operatives and members of affiliated terror groups since a ceasefire in November, following two months of open war aimed at ending rocket attacks from the Iran-backed group for nearly a year.

  The terror group started firing rockets and drones at Israeli communities and military posts on October 8, 2023, in support of fellow terror group Hamas, which had invaded Israel from the Gaza Strip a day earlier.
• Over 100 chemical weapons sites could remain in Syria, watchdog says
  

  Over 100 chemical weapons sites are suspected to remain in Syria, The New York Times reports.

  The report cites estimations by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

  The sites are thought to have been for the development and research of chemical weapons under the regime of deposed Syrian leader Bashar Assad, the Times says. Some of the sites could be hidden in caves or other hard-to-identify locations, the report says.

  The newspaper notes that the chemical weapons stockpiles could include the sarin nerve agent, as well as chlorine and mustard gas.

  Experts tell the newspaper that there are concerns that the chemical weapons could fall into the hands of extremists and terror groups.

  Syria agreed to give up its chemical weapons stockpile in 2013, after the government was accused of launching an attack near Damascus that killed hundreds of people. However, it is widely believed to have kept some of the weapons and was accused of using them again in subsequent years.

  Israel has said it struck suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rockets in Syria, saying it did so in order to prevent them from falling into the hands of hostile actors.

West Bank, Jerusalem, Israel and Terror Attacks

• Settlers raid Palestinian village in southern West Bank, leave before cops arrive
  

  Around a dozen armed settlers raid the Palestinian village of Tuba in the West Bank’s South Hebron Hills.

  Police were dispatched to the scene but only arrived after the settlers left, according to locals.

  The goal of the raid was to try to provoke Palestinian locals into providing a “pretext” to attack them, says the Israeli Beyond the Herd activist group, which works in solidarity with Palestinians in the southern West Bank who face regular attacks from settler extremists.

  One of the settlers involved in today’s raid is Issachar Manne, a US citizen who was sanctioned by the Biden administration due to his involvement in attacks on Palestinians. Manne and another US citizen filed a lawsuit against the sanctions that was pending when the Trump administration scrapped them altogether upon taking office.

  Tuba is one of a group of Palestinian villages located in Masafer Yatta, which was the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary on settler violence and IDF demolitions of Palestinian homes in the West Bank. Since the movie gained notoriety, villagers have faced an uptick in settler attacks.

  Locals say the attacks are designed to intimidate Palestinians into fleeing their land and that they are backed by the state, which rarely prosecutes such incidents.  link. video of the criminal settlers These Jewish settler terrorists believe that they own all the land in the West Bank and that the Palestinians don't have any rights there. They are nothing less than criminals and terrorists.

Politics and the War and General News

• MK at anti-government rally in Tel Aviv accuses PM of seeking to turn Israel into Hungary
  
  
  

  People take part in an anti-government rally against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Habima Square in Tel Aviv, April 5, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

  Some 1,000 people gather for a demonstration at Habima Square in Tel Aviv before marching to join the anti-government hostage families’ protest outside the Begin Road entrance to the IDF headquarters.

  Yesh Atid lawmaker Yoav Segalovitz tells the crowd at Habima that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is lying about Qatar amid the probe into the allegedly illicit ties between the premier’s top aides and the Hamas-backing Gulf emirate.

  Quoting a video statement Netanyahu put out this week, Segalovitz says that “all of a sudden, Qatar has become a ‘complex country.’ A country that deals with terrorism, where Hamas people reside permanently, is suddenly a ‘complex country.'”

  He says Netanyahu has a “mark of Cain mark on his forehead” for failing to prevent the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, “whitewashing” far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and introducing “conspiratorial terms such as ‘deep state’ into public discourse.”

  “I’m proud to have been part of the deep state,” says Segalovitz, a former commander of the police’s Lahav 433 major crimes unit, which is investigating the so-called Qatargate affair.

  Segalovitz says that Netanyahu, who is on a state visit to Budapest, wants to make Israel like Hungary, where “the justice system has been suppressed, the constitution changed, the press isn’t free, academia is trampled.”

  “Netanyahu gets his picture taken by the Danube,” he says, referring to a photo of the premier at a Holocaust memorial in Budapest this week. “He has yet to come to Nir Oz” Segalovitz adds, referring to the southern Kibbutz that was ravaged in the Hamas-led October 2023 attack.

  The demonstration also features a speech from former foreign minister Tzipi Livni.

  The crowd cheers as she reads a litany of grievances against Netanyahu. The applause is especially strong when she accuses the government of enabling “violent rampages of killing and destruction by Jews against Arabs in Judea and Samaria,” a rare reference to the West Bank at the Habima demonstration.

• Parents of female Nahal Oz soldiers killed on Oct. 7 ask IDF to recognize their bravery
  
  
  

  The torched command center of the Nahal Oz IDF base, overrun by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, during a visit by relatives of slain lookout soldiers on December 19, 2023. (Courtesy/Eyal Eshel)

  The parents of the female soldiers and officers killed at the Nahal Oz Base on October 7, 2023, ask IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to recognize the bravery of their children on that day.

  “It is appropriate that the IDF officially recognize the heroism of the female surveillance soldiers and senior officers of the Nahal Oz base in a manner that reflects their courage and exceptional performance,” the families say in a letter, according to the Walla news site.

  The parents of Cpl. Noa Marciano, who was kidnapped on October 7 and killed in Gaza, also sign the letter.

  “The mind still refuses to digest the magnitude of the failure and abandonment. The heart will never heal… Our girls warned about the exercises, the preparations, the training, the ‘white Toyotas,’ and nothing was done,” the letter reads. “Even when they warned that they were being observed, no one did anything about it. They were robbed of their lives.”

  “In the investigation, we were also exposed to the heroism of the soldiers,” the parents say.

  “The investigation explicitly stated that they saved lives,” the letter reads, citing the heroic efforts by many of those on the base that day. “They demonstrated extraordinary courage, bravery, determination and devotion to duty in the face of the enemy.”

  “In the investigation, we also discovered that two female surveillance soldiers managed to repel grenades that the terrorists threw into the shelter. With bare hands, barefoot and in pajamas, they acted heroically and saved lives,” the letter says.

  The parents conclude with a request ahead of the upcoming Memorial Day, that the women’s’ bravery be formally recognized.

  The Nahal Oz base was the hardest-hit IDF facility in Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, during which some 5,600 terrorists stormed across the border, massacred some 1,200 people, and took 251 hostages to Gaza.

  In all, 53 soldiers were killed at the base: 31 combat troops and 22 noncombat — including 16 female surveillance soldiers. Another 10 were abducted — seven female surveillance soldiers and three tank soldiers.
• Bennett on Qatargate: Netanyahu’s ‘closest aides worked for Hamas’s driving force, it’s insane’
  

  Former prime minister Naftali Bennett launches a fresh attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Qatargate scandal rocking the latter’s office.

  “There are three things you should understand and remember when talking about the Qatar affair, no matter how much spin they try to feed you: 1. Qatar is the main driving force powering Hamas. 2. The PM’s advisers worked for it and not for us. 3. And all this happened during a war our children are fighting.”

  Bennett notes that Qatari payments of hundreds of millions of dollars have been made to Hamas over the years. He omits that the payments, which were okayed by successive Israeli governments, were not canceled by the government he headed in 2021-2022.

  He notes Qatar’s hosting of Hamas’s leaders and claims Doha had known about the terror group’s plan for a mass invasion of Israel from Gaza, and that it currently knows its future plans. Bennett also notes Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera, “which incites against Israel around the world.”

  Bennett, who plans to run in the next election and recently registered a new party, charges that “Qatar paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to Netanyahu’s closest advisers so that they would work for it without anyone knowing. In secret, through lies and trickery, the prime minister’s closest aides worked for Hamas’s driving force. It’s insane.”

• Netanyahu Against Everyone: The Battle for His (Own) Home

A war more justified than any other has turned into an aimless, endless charade—led by a prime minister who is losing control and expanding it for additional objectives. IDF operations in Syria threaten to open a new and dangerous front. American pressure to end the war in Gaza will only intensify. *Opinion*  

In the history of the State of Israel, there has never been a war more essential in its beginning and more unnecessary in its ending. A forced, futile political war. A just war that has turned into a war of deception.  

This week, the new IDF spokesperson made it clear for the first time that the war is for the return of the hostages, and their return would halt the offensive. It’s unclear whether this message was intended for Hamas or the prime minister. Perhaps Eyal Zamir realized he might become a "useful chief of staff" in Netanyahu’s endless war and that the chances of bringing the abducted civilians and soldiers home through military action alone are slim. Returning the hostages requires Netanyahu to decide to stop the war—and as long as he wants it to continue, the deal will fail, and there will be no hostage agreement. After Ronen Bar is ousted, Zamir, as chief of staff, will have to step out of ambiguity and give answers to reservists, bereaved families, and the public about what this war is for. Netanyahu won’t be by his side for that explanation—and will likely blame him, just as he has blamed others, for the failure.  

Netanyahu Maneuvers While the Hostages Wait  

Netanyahu is guided by one and only one strategy—an unlimited war. To achieve this, he obscures its objectives and scatters misleading slogans, using the "one step at a time" method, while clinging to the achievements brought by the former chief of staff, Shin Bet head, and defense minister—whom he cast out as the sole culprits to ensure they don’t steal his war glory.  

The war is extremely useful for Netanyahu. It helps delay his testimony, keeps his base hooked on an ever-distant victory, magnetizes Smotrich (whose own public doesn’t trust him anyway), allows him to fire gatekeepers, and gives him leverage with Trump. The cost? Irrelevant. That is, it’s no problem at all—because others are paying the price: the rotting hostages and their families, the wounded soldiers and their families, the collapsing reservists and their families, the state of the economy, the deterioration of Israel’s international relations—in short, anyone who can be disowned and didn’t vote for him will pay.  

During his political visit to the cradle of "democratatorship"—the only one willing not to stop him—just before his Danube pleasure cruise, Netanyahu donned a hostage pin and delivered a "deep state" speech to his hosts, like one of the great exiled leaders attacking their own country. Netanyahu particularly loves playing two roles: both head of state and the first to attack it. He excels at both simultaneously because it allows him to avoid responsibility in either. In fact, looking at his 15 years in office—during which Israel has declined from its peak achievements in almost every field—there isn’t a single issue where responsibility has stuck to him. He’s simply not built for it.  

At the same time, Netanyahu doesn’t care about the soldiers fighting in Gaza, who still believe in the country and genuinely want to bring their abducted brothers home. He doesn’t care at all about the citizens paying taxes, who still believe in institutions and the future of the state. The budget is meant to be looted, with not a shekel for the country’s future. The achievements of this bloody, costly war are fading away. He is dismantling the leaders of the organizations that saved Israel when he lost his ability to function—and now he’s throwing them to the dogs.  

By the way, there are cases where Netanyahu does know how to fight. Look at how he fights tooth and nail to protect his aides when he needs to shield himself from the Qatar scandal. If he had done even 10% of that for a hostage deal, we’d already be welcoming them all back home.  

Warning Light from Syria  

The absence of any security strategy—apart from Katz’s tired threats—applies to all fronts. The latest clash with militants in southern Syria is not the first and forcefully brings a new war with Syria to our doorstep. The new Syrian regime has released a video showing a rocket launcher aimed at Israel, with threats against "Israeli aggression" in the background. The occupation of a pointless, encroaching security zone inside Syria will sooner or later lead to increased Syrian resistance against the IDF. The worse the situation there, the easier it will be to initiate a war against Israel—especially with Turkey encouraging it.  

Israel isn’t trying to create political arrangements that would allow it to return to the border. It is politically infatuated with the idea of seizing territories. In the end, the writing is on the wall—the more attacks and terror escalate, the more casualties we suffer, the more Israel will be pressured to withdraw from these areas. And then Syria’s appetite, having pushed us out, will want the rest of the Golan as well. Let’s remember that Israel was the one that enabled Hezbollah’s rise when it was in Lebanon—and it will also be the one to create the next organization that fights us in Syria, due to a pointless, aimless, security-contribution-free presence in territory that isn’t ours.  

At the Mercy of Trump  

To understand where things are headed, it’s worth looking to Washington—and the truth is, it’s very clear there too. Trump craves immediate achievements, and so far, he has none: not in Ukraine, no solution in Gaza, no hostages, and the Iranians are still refusing to come to the negotiating table. Apart from shaking up the markets—which, dubiously, will make America great and rich again—his "shoot from the hip" strategy doesn’t look promising at the moment.  

Trump plans to visit Saudi Arabia next month. The regional agreement there is crucial for his interests, and he must deliver an achievement—either preventing an Iranian nuke or ending the war in Gaza.  

Given Netanyahu’s absolute dependence, the latter is much easier for him, so we can expect an American push for a Gaza war-ending deal in the coming weeks. Netanyahu, of course, would prefer an Israeli strike on Iran to delay a Gaza solution—but the Iranians are a bit more resilient, and in any case, Saudi Arabia won’t make deals without closing the Gaza war and without a Palestinian state.  

A Government of Indifference  

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar’s letter to the Supreme Court is precise and deeply concerning, especially in the parts he asks to discuss behind closed doors. Is this a demand by the prime minister for an anti-democratic political exploitation of the Shin Bet against citizens? And if so, does the Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, have no intention of declaring the prime minister unfit? The public has a right to know.  

Meanwhile, Israel marches toward another holiday with less freedom, fewer hostage rescues, a shrinking democracy, and under the rule of a detached, alienated puppet prime minister. The public cannot remain indifferent—it must take its fate into its own hands and demand that the prime minister act in the way he demands of his subordinates.  

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Israel Ziv is a retired IDF major general. He served as Chief Infantry and Paratroopers Officer, Gaza Division Commander, and Head of the Operations Directorate. 

 

The Region and the World

• US transfers 2nd THAAD battery to Israel amid rising tensions over Iran nuclear program
  

  The Saudi Al-Hadath channel reports that the US has transferred a second THAAD battery to Israel amid rising tensions over Iran’s nuclear program.

  The battery was apparently delivered yesterday.

  Flight tracking websites showed that an American C-5M Super Galaxy, the US Air Force’s largest transport plane, landed at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel and remained there for around eight hours before taking off again.

  The THAAD, or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System, is an advanced anti-missile system.

  The THAAD system deployed to Israel has been used to intercept several missiles fired at Israel by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, including in recent weeks.

  Last week, US President Donald Trump threatened Iran with “bombing” and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.

  The first THAAD battery was rushed to Israel last year, and around 100 US troops are thought to be deployed to operate the system, which is considered complementary to the Patriot system but can defend a wider area, capable of hitting targets at ranges of 150-200 kilometers (93-124 miles).

  Last year, Israel carried out a wave of retaliatory airstrikes on Iran after Tehran carried out a second missile attack on Israel.

  Israeli jets targeted Iranian air defenses as well as its ballistic missile program, striking factories, storage sites, launchers and research facilities, and targeting one facility believed to be used for the regime’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon.

  Iran’s nuclear sites are also widely seen as more vulnerable, with many of Tehran’s proxies now weakened.

  Iran, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, denies seeking a nuclear weapon, but it has ramped up its enrichment of uranium up to 60 percent purity, the only country in the world without a nuclear weapons program to do so, and has obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities. 

Personal Stories

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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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