🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 572, 2023 - April 30, 2025 🎗️

Memorial Day 2026

🎗️Day 572 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

*10:50pm- drone launched from Yemen intercepted over Sinai

Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers and Civilians in killed in Israel's wars and by terrorism against us

Hostage Updates

PM to Torchlighters: "We have up to 24 living hostages in Gaza," Sara Netanyahu Interjected: "There are fewer"

During a meeting with the torchlighters for the Independence Day Ceremony, Netanyahu referred to the living hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip, and his wife whispered a correction to lower the number. The remarks, including Sara Netanyahu’s controversial amendment, were circulated in the PMO’s announcement ahead of Independence Day. The Hostage Families Headquarters responded: "On the eve of Memorial Day, you sowed indescribable panic."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu met yesterday with the torchlighters at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem. During the meeting, the Prime Minister said, "We have up to 24 living hostages in Gaza," and his wife interjected, clarifying: "There are fewer." The remarks, including Sara Netanyahu’s contentious correction, were circulated today (Tuesday) in the PMO’s announcement ahead of Israel’s 77th Independence Day.
The Hostage Families Headquarters responded to Netanyahu and his wife’s comments: "On the eve of Memorial Day, you sowed indescribable panic in the hearts of the hostage families, who are already enduring agonizing uncertainty. What did you mean when you said 'fewer'? Do you know something we don’t?" The headquarters demanded that the Prime Minister clarify his and his wife’s statements.
Einav Tzengauker, mother of hostage Matan Tzengauker, who is held in Gaza, also responded: "If the Prime Minister’s wife has new information about hostages who were killed, I demand to know whether my Matan is still alive or if he was murdered in captivity—because your husband refuses to end this war." She added: "You did something unforgivable. For all the families, this is their child you’ve declared dead in captivity—and on the eve of Memorial Day, no less. We’ve had enough. We deserve different leadership."
At the meeting, which was attended by most of those chosen to light torches at the Independence Day opening ceremony, Transportation Minister Miri Regev, who oversees the ceremonies, was also present. "A year ago, this wasn’t yet clear, but we changed the face of the Middle East," Netanyahu said. "Partly through the means described here, but means are secondary. It’s thanks to the immense life force within this nation, which truly united in moments of trial."
Netanyahu added: "We turned the tables and brought Hezbollah to its knees. In practice, we toppled the Assad regime, and we still have a major mission ahead. We’ve also struck Iran, we’ve struck the Houthis—but we have more to do." He noted: "Of course, we have another critical mission—not just to win, but to bring them home. So far, we’ve brought back 196 of our hostages, 147 alive. There are up to 24 alive." At this point, his wife interjected: "There are fewer." The PM clarified: "I say 'up to'—the rest, unfortunately, are no longer alive, and we will bring them back. That’s the spirit."
Apart from that remark, Sara Netanyahu also addressed the torchlighters, saying: "We have here not just a range of professions, but also a wide age range—people who’ve contributed for many years and continue to do so, which gives great hope. First, that age is no barrier, and that you can achieve what you want." She added: "Alongside the great pain, there is also great hope—but much must be done to realize it. I think the road ahead is long. Thank you for your willpower and dedication."
Political Source Denies Reports of Progress in Hostage Deal
This morning, a political source responded to "foreign media reports" about progress in hostage negotiations, calling them "inaccurate." "Israel is working continuously and relentlessly with the Americans and mediators to advance a deal for the release of our hostages, but so far, no agreement has been reached," the source clarified.
Last night, Reuters reported a "breakthrough" in ceasefire and hostage release talks. Egyptian sources claimed "significant progress" in Cairo discussions, stating that agreement had been reached on key issues, including a long-term ceasefire. However, Hamas’ refusal to disarm reportedly remains a major sticking point.
The political source’s statement follows another announcement yesterday dismissing the possibility of a five-year ceasefire. Later, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who heads the negotiation team, did not comment on reports of an imminent deal and even estimated that the war would end in victory within a year. In his speech last night at the JNS conference in Jerusalem, he reiterated the commitment to the war’s two goals: destroying Hamas and bringing back all the hostages.
Demonstration for a hostage deal

Earlier, security officials discussed the possibility of expanding military operations, alongside a large-scale reserve mobilization expected soon—amid stalled negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release. The move is meant to pressure Hamas into agreeing to a deal—or, failing that, to decisively defeat the terror group.
Indeed, as part of the expanded operation, we reported this morning for the first time that the IDF has launched a mission to clear northern Gaza. The army burned fields and exposed tunnels where terrorists lie in ambush, following recent clashes in Gaza. A military source said the goal is to secure areas threatening the safety of Gaza border residents. link It is unthinkable and unbelievable, yet too believable that Netanyahu and his wife are so removed from the horrors that the hostage families live with every second of every day. They have no sympathy or empathy and they certainly don't even have the good sense to fake it. They together are the people preventing a deal to bring home the hostages and have been the roadblock since October 7. They are soulless, heartless self interested people who much never be anywhere near the halls of power again. They have caused more damage to the state than can even have been thought of and need to be gone from our sight forever.

Dermer returned from Egypt hostage talks after a few hours, but Israeli team remains, official says
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer flew to Egypt last night to meet Egypt’s intelligence chief, but only remained there for a couple of hours, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
An Israeli team remains in Cairo as talks continue on a hostage release and ceasefire deal.

Father of American-Israeli hostage calls on Trump to negotiate directly with Hamas

Ruby Chen, father of Israeli hostage Itay, held in Gaza since the October 7 Hamas onslaught, lifts an hourglass as he delivers a statement to the media in Tel Aviv on December 16, 2023. (Yair Sagi)

WASHINGTON — The father of an American-Israeli hostage calls on US President Donald Trump to negotiate directly with Hamas in order to secure the release of his son and the three other American hostages.

“The previous administration told the American families the way to release our family members would be via Israel as a proxy. Though the plan did not work, the Biden administration kept doubling down on the same plan despite not getting the expected results,” slain hostage Itay Chen’s father Ruby writes in an op-ed for Fox News.

“As such, why is President Trump not directly negotiating for the release of US citizens in Gaza, but instead using third parties such as Qatar to negotiate for the release of US citizens?” Chen adds.

Chen joins the father of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander who issued a similar call for the Trump administration’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler to renew his direct talks with Hamas in an interview with The Times of Israel last week.

Those talks were abandoned after three meetings Boehler held in early March, after Israel fumed over the US envoy negotiating on its behalf without its knowledge.

The US has since returned to the previous track of negotiations, which has seen Israel and the US negotiate with Hamas through Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

In recent days, though, Israeli officials have been accusing Qatar of sabotaging the talks — a claim that officials from both Egypt and Qatar have told The Times of Israel is aimed at deflecting blame from Israel over the impasse, which they think is the result of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s unreasonable demands.

“In January, we saw what the president’s direct involvement can do to release hostages. The US has a legal obligation to get its citizens out of harm’s way and if the proxy is not capable of releasing them, then the US must find a different path to release its citizens,” Chen writes.

The hostage father thanks Trump for his role in the release of 33 captives in January, “but the truth is, the first 100 days of this administration have not delivered what the president himself demanded — releasing all of the US hostages in Gaza and sending a clear message that holding US hostages anywhere is a liability, not an asset.” link The Israeli officials involved in accusing Qatar are doing so under the directions of their boss, Netanyahu. This, like so many other times that he wants to have the press focus on something else, he creates a deflection. These deflections serve him on multiple levels. It deflects whatever the current issue he is dealing with, in this case, the main one is Qatargate and it always takes the focus off the hostages, which he always wants to do. It is another one of his despicable tactics and practices.

Memorial Day and Independence Days

A seat reserved for the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza is seen at Israel's Memorial Day ceremony at the Western Wall, in the Old City of Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025.

Knesset speaker heckled by bereaved father during remarks at Memorial Day event
Avi Revah, the father of fallen Israeli soldier Dvir Revah, shouts at Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (not pictured) during a Memorial Day ceremony at the Yad Labanim memorial in Jerusalem on April 29, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool/AFP)
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana is interrupted by a bereaved father during his speech at a Memorial Day event at the Yad Labanim memorial in Jerusalem.
During his speech, Ohana mentions Maj. Dvir Zion Revah, an IDF company commander who was killed in northern Gaza in January. He is cut off by Revah’s father, who yells: “Don’t speak about my son!”
“Don’t speak about my child, you don’t deserve to!” Avi Revah shouts again. “You will not speak about him! You are not worthy of his blood!”
Ohana responds to Revah that he respects his wishes, but asks for permission to read aloud a prayer written by Dvir shortly before his death.
Afterward, he leaves the podium to join Revah in the audience in order to speak with him privately.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also seen speaking to him, a short while later. link It is wrong to title this article 'heckling'. A bereaved father, like the majority of the population believes that this government, every member of it, is not worthy to talk about any of those who were killed on October 7 or in the year and half of this never ending war. This government, this prime minister, these petty politicians are not worthy of the people of Israel. We are deserving of leaders who care more abut the people than themselves.
Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony
The 20th annual joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony, organized by Combatants for Peace and the Parents Circle – Families Forum
The ceremony has been held annually for twenty years alongside Israel’s official ceremonies on the Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror. It is organized by the left-wing group Combatants for Peace and by the Parents Circle – Families Forum, a grassroots organization of bereaved Israelis and Palestinians who have lost family members to the conflict.
The ceremony is expected to draw a crowd of some 500, according to organizers, while a sister ceremony taking place in Beit Jala in the West Bank is expected to host 200. The event will be live-streamed to over 160 locations across Israel, the West Bank, Europe, and the US, reaching more than 200,000 people, according to the event organizers.
In previous years, the ceremony has hosted up to 15,000 people, but Israel has revoked all entry permits to Palestinians after Hamas’s mass invasion and massacre on October 7, 2023, and no West Bank residents can attend in person.
Last year, the ceremony was held entirely online as a result. This year, organizers decided to hold physical ceremonies in Jaffa and Beit Jala while simultaneously live-streaming them.
Conducted in both Hebrew and Arabic, the event is expected to feature Israeli speakers who lost loved ones to the October 7 attacks, survivors of the massacres and Hamas captivity, and Palestinian speakers who have lost family members to the war in Gaza.
The ceremony will feature musical performances by both Israeli and Palestinian artists, including the Rana Jewish-Arab Women’s Choir and the Jerusalem Arab-Jewish Youth Choir, among others. A documentary will also be screened on the journeys of bereaved Palestinian and Israeli families and how loss can fuel personal and social transformation. link. video

‘No one is born into hatred’: Kibbutz Be’eri massacre survivor urges compassion at joint Israeli-Palestinian ceremony
Israelis and Palestinians who have lost loved ones to the conflict, and in particular in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault and the war in Gaza, are featured heavily in the joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony.
“This pain does not separate us, and no one is born into hatred. I believe that only through closeness, understanding, dialogue, and acceptance can we begin to see each other as human beings,” says Liel Fishbein, a survivor of the October 7 massacre in Kibbutz Be’eri who lost his sister Tchelet, in remarks to the crowd.
Liat Atzili, a survivor of the Nir Oz massacre who survived Hamas captivity in Gaza and whose husband Aviv was killed on October 7, addressed the audience, saying, “Freedom is a heavy burden, but it is the only force capable of bringing peace among people and building a just and moral society.”
In a pre-recorded video broadcast, Musa Khatawi, who joined the Parents Circle-Families Forum after losing members of his family during the war in Gaza, says, “Our struggle is not only for justice; it is for the right to live with dignity, without fear, and to end this cycle of violence. Now is the time to insist on ending the occupation and preventing more bloodshed.”
“We stand here today to say that our humanity can see the pain of others without turning a blind eye to our own suffering,” says Sayel Jaberin, a Palestinian member of Combatants for Peace, speaking from the Beit Jala ceremony in a livestream broadcast to the Jaffa ceremony and around the world.
Palestinians are participating in a 200-person ceremony in Beit Jala in the West Bank held in conjunction with the Jaffa ceremony, which they cannot attend as Israel revoked all entry permits to Palestinians following the October 7, 2023, onslaught.
Peace activists express hope for better future at joint Israeli-Palestinian memorial event
Many speakers and attendees at the Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony remark upon the significance of holding joint events amid the ongoing war and despite criticism and “intimidation” from those who oppose such initiatives.
Timna Medovoy, a peace activist who works for the It’s Time coalition, says that when she’s attended joint Memorial Day ceremonies in previous years, it was always held outdoors and would typically generate some kind of protest.
This year, the event was held indoors and by invitation only for security reasons. “It’s devastating that the environment is such that holding space for both sides is seen as so dangerous that it has to be done indoors and away from the public eye,” she says.
In contrast, the Palestinian ceremony was held outdoors in Beit Jala.
A Palestinian member of Combatants for Peace did physically attend the Jaffa ceremony but was introduced only as “F” to protect her anonymity.
Born in Gaza, F lost her mother during the war, but despite this loss, says: “Our lives are not only stories of sorrow – they are also stories of resilience, of standing firm and holding on to hope for a better tomorrow.”
Maoz Inon, a peace activist whose parents,Bilha and Yakov Inon, were killed in Netiv HaAsara on October 7, feels that these events are more important than ever. “Every time there’s dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, it shows that we are on the same side – both of pain and loss, but also for building a better, joint future,” he says.
Rioters storm Ra’anana synagogue during screening of Israeli-Palestinian memorial event
Four police officers and three participants injured, three right-wing activists arrested after attack on Reform Beit Samueli building; MK Rabbi Kariv decries ‘attempted pogrom’
Police escort a woman away from right-wing rioters who disrupted a screening at Ra'anana's Beit Samueli synagogue of the joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony, April 29, 2025. (X screenshot)
The Israel Police said it arrested three people suspected of assault during a riot by right-wing activists outside a Reform synagogue in Ra’anana, where people had gathered Tuesday evening for a screening of a joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony.
Four police officers and three participants in the event were lightly injured in the violence.
Kfar Saba Police were to provide security for the ceremony, a police spokesman said. Participants claimed they alerted police that there was a demonstration being organized, but that only a handful of officers were deployed to secure the event, and they proved inadequate in the face of some 200 protesters who turned up.
Demonstrators threw objects and firecrackers at the building, forced their way inside, and assaulted participants. After backup officers arrived, event attendees were evacuated in small groups, surrounded by police, who needed to force their way through the crowds of protestors. Some said demonstrators attacked their vehicles as they left, damaging the cars and causing injuries.
MK Gilad Kariv (Labor), a Reform rabbi who accompanied one of the injured people to the hospital for treatment, called the incident “an attempted pogrom.”
However, the local head of the ruling Likud party branch warned that the disruption was just the “opening salvo” in a campaign.
Police said in a statement, “A disturbance began between protesters and participants. Police who were at the scene separated between the sides and arrested three assault suspects.”
The three suspects were taken to a nearby police station for questioning. Officers were to decide whether to request an extension on the detainees’ remand.
The screening at Beit Samueli was of a live feed from the annual Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony, held in Jaffa and organized by Combatants for Peace and the Parents Circle – Families Forum, a grassroots organization of bereaved Israelis and Palestinians who have lost family members to the conflict.
Some 80 people attended the synagogue event, Channel 12 news reported.
In footage published online, protesters could be seen crowding around the courtyard and on the steps leading to the entrance to the synagogue, many of them clutching Israeli flags.
A number of protesters also forced their way into the building itself, where they hurled abuse at the event’s participants, including by telling them to “go to Gaza,” while chasing after them, Haaretz reported.
“You are Nazis! Nazis!” someone screamed at a participant, who captured the chaos on camera.
“Death to terrorists! Death to terrorists!” others chanted and applauded. “All the Arabs are whores!”
Police were called to the scene to evacuate people from the event, while protesters continued to hurl abuse.
“I thought I was going to die,” Shuvit, who participated and gave only her first name, told Channel 12 shortly after she was evacuated from the scene. “We went through hell, we are shaking and unable to breathe. We suffered stones, firecrackers, eggs, kicks, spitting, beatings.”
She said that as she left the building, protesters spat at her and someone threw a stone at her head, causing an injury. She said she saw an elderly woman also injured in the head from a stone.
Police were unable to control the situation, she said.
“There were dozens of officers who didn’t know what to do,” Shuvit said and described how several officers surrounded each participant as they were brought out of the building.
“Without them, we would not be alive,” she said, noting that police were also badly beaten by protesters.
Haaretz reported that a woman wearing a hijab who drove past the area of the disturbances was also attacked by activists who banged on the windows and doors of her car, hurled verbal abuse, and spat at the vehicle. Police arrived to extract her from the mob.
Orly Erez-Likhovski, director of the Israel Religious Action Center and deputy director of the Reform Movement in Israel, was lightly injured when the windshield of her car was smashed and she required hospital treatment.
“People kicked at the car, someone threw a stone at us, and two motorcyclists chased after us,” she told Haaretz.
Erez-Likhovski said the movement had notified police that they received threats beforehand, but there were only five officers sent to secure the event.
She said that despite the disturbances, the event went ahead: “They didn’t manage to ruin it.”
The right-wing Btsalmo activism group had called on people to demonstrate at the screening.
“Don’t allow terror-supporters to enter Ra’anana,” the group urged in a flyer. It said the protest would “demand cancellation of the municipal budgeting and the restoration of territory to the city’s residents.”
A Ra’anana resident, who was not named in the report, told Haaretz she sent the flyer to police during the afternoon before the event.
Kariv, the Labor party lawmaker, also spoke with local police and warned them that right-wing protesters were planning to demonstrate, the report said.
“Tonight, we again met the ugly face of incitement, violence, and hatred of the far-right. The role of police is not only to care for the well-being of citizens who choose to mark Memorial Day with a joint event, but also to send a clear message to those hooligans who choose violence,” Kariv said in a statement.
In a post to X, Kariv said the synagogue faced “an attempted pogrom” from “hate-filled hooligans who enjoy a tailwind and a blind eye” from state leaders, an apparent reference to far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees the police.
The Parents Circle-Families Forum, which organizes the annual memorial ceremony, said in a statement, “It is regrettable that on a day like this in which we are memorializing our dear loved ones as a result of the circle of blood, there are those who choose to silence us with violence. We will not stop our campaign for peace, justice, and security for both peoples.”
Standing Together, which aims to bring together Jewish and Arab communities, said in a statement that the “bullying disruption and attempt to prevent the screening by a minority of extremists will not deter us.”
It said joint remembrance events were held at dozens of locations around the county.
“We spread hope and a voice that recognizes the humanity in all — Israelis and Palestinians — and that works for a life of peace, freedom and security for both peoples.”
Meanwhile, the head of the ruling Likud party’s branch in Ra’anana praised the rioters.
“To the left in Ra’anana, I announce that this is only the opening salvo. Don’t try us,” Racheli Ben Ari Sakat wrote in a post on Facebook that included video of her addressing the demonstrators.
“Whoever comes from outside Ra’anana, get away from here,” she further threatened. “And those in Ra’anana, you’ve been warned. We will not be silent anymore [and] will come out in throngs.”
The Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony has been held annually for 20 years alongside Israel’s official ceremonies on the Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror. link In my opinion, this event is the most important event/ceremony of the year. I have been attending for many years and each year, I listen to the stories of loved ones killed on both sides by the other, stories that tear at your heartstrings and make you wonder how they deal with such pain that derived from violence and death of those they held so dear. Some people choose to hate and want nothing by vengeance, and it is understandable. The pain of a mother losing her child is the same, no matter which side you are on. The members of the Family Forum, a group that doesn't want to grow, have purposely chosen a different path. This path is one of seeking to end the violence, to do all they can so that this Forum doesn't grow. It is a path of hope and a better future for both our peoples.
Opposition MK calls for Ra’anana Likud boss to be probed for incitement to violence
Democrats MK Gilad Kariv calls on Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to open a criminal investigation into the head of the Likud’s Ra’anana branch on suspicion of incitement to violence, after the Likud boss made threatening remarks to “the left” following an attack by a right-wing mob on a joint Israeli-Palestinian Remembrance Day ceremony in the city last night.
Writing to the attorney general, Kariv points out that Racheli Ben Ari Sakat, the head of the Likud branch in Ra’anana, had called on people to demonstrate outside the joint Remembrance Day ceremony, and then issued threats to those on the political left afterwards, saying the riot was just “the opening shot” and that “we will come out in droves to protest.”
Kariv says it is “unacceptable” that a leading figure in the city “acts in a manner that could incite violence and gives a tailwind for serious acts against innocent citizens,” adding that her “support for [the violence] after the fact” meant that a criminal investigation must be opened.
Former Hostages and Families of Captives Join Yarden Bibas: "No Independence While They're Still There"

Former hostage Yarden Bivas posted a photo on Instagram yesterday with a sign reading "No independence while they're still there," explaining he cannot celebrate Independence Day while his brothers remain in Hamas captivity. He called on the public to take photos with the same sign and share them on social media. In response, fellow survivors like Daniela Gilboa, Omer Wenkert, Arbel Yahud, and Ilana Gritzhevsky, as well as families of hostages, joined the protest.
(L) Daniella Gilboa, (R) Yarden Bibas

Former hostage Yarden Bivas, whose wife Shiri and children Ariel and Kfir (of blessed memory) were murdered in Hamas captivity, shared his struggle to celebrate Independence Day while hostages remain in Gaza.

In a post on the Instagram account dedicated to his family’s memory, he wrote that on Israel’s 76th Independence Day last year—while he was in a tunnel—he couldn’t believe people were celebrating during a war with captives still held. "On the 77th Independence Day, there is still war and still hostages in captivity—only this time, I’m home. I returned to an empty house, and after everything I’ve been through and still endure, I still call this country home and choose life anew every day."

Bibas wrote that this year, he cannot celebrate Independence Day because his brothers remain in captivity. He urged people to take profile pictures with the phrase "I have no independence because they’re still there" and share them online. Among those still held is his best friend, David Cunio, and his brother Ariel.

Following his call, other survivors joined the protest, including Daniela Gilboa, Arbel Yahud, Omer Wenkert, and Inbal Tzengauker, mother of captive Matan Tzengauker.

Daniela Gilboa, abducted from the Nahal Oz base, shared:

"Last Independence Day, the one celebrated while I was in captivity, I kept wondering—why? Why celebrate when so many people in Gaza with me had no independence, no basic human rights like going to the bathroom, when they couldn’t sit with family and friends and celebrate like every year, each in their own tradition. It was so unfair. Now that I’m home, we can’t forget there are citizens of this country who still have no independence.

I also spent my first Memorial Day after October 7th in captivity, with no way to honor my incredible friends except to remember them fiercely, talk to them, and hope someone was listening. But today, finally, I have the chance—I’m here for them. For all the fallen of Nahal Oz, and for all of Israel’s heroes who have given and still give their lives so we can exist here."

Einav Tzengauker wrote on her Twitter account:

"My Matan and 58 other hostages are held in hell in Gaza. As long as our sons and daughters are there, we cannot mark Independence Day. The Jewish people have no independence while they’re there. We must end the war and secure a deal to bring everyone home to feel independence again. I urge you to write on paper: 'I have no independence while they’re still there,' post it online, and tag Independence59."

Former hostage and Matan’s partner, Ilana Gritzhevsky, also posted her photo with the sign and asked followers to do the same.

Singer Keren Peles shared Gritzhevsky’s story, writing: "Sharing my beloved sister’s request. We’re all with you."

Former hostage Arbel Yahud posed with a shirt bearing photos of her partner, Ariel Cunio, and his brother David.

Karmit Palty Katzir, whose brother Elad Katzir (of blessed memory) was murdered in Hamas captivity and whose mother Hana Katzir was abducted and later released (and passed away last December), also shared her photo on Facebook.

Former hostage Omer Wenkert stood beside photos of his friends Avitar David and Guy Gilboa Dalal, who remain in captivity.

Former hostage Rimon Kirsht, widow of Yagev Buchshtav (of blessed memory), who was abducted with her from Kibbutz Nirim and murdered in Hamas captivity, also shared her photo with the sign on Facebook.

Ministers heckled at Memorial Day ceremonies as protesters call for return of hostages
Several ministers are heckled by the public as they take part in Memorial Day ceremonies across the country.
In Tel Aviv, people shout “All of them, now!” at Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, a call to bring home all 59 hostages still held in Gaza. video
Others held up signs with the number “59.”
In Ramle, people shout “traitor” at Social Justice Minister May Golan. Others walked out when she began her speech.
The interruptions come despite a heavy police presence at military cemeteries in a bid to stop a repeat of the outbursts that marked last year’s commemorations.
Participants held up signs with the names of the hostages as Transportation Minister Mir Regev spoke in Holon, but did not interrupt her.
Families express relief as ultra-Orthodox minister stays away from memorial ceremony
Bereaved families at Kiryat Gat’s Memorial Day ceremony express relief after Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, head of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, canceled his planned attendance amid public outcry.
Galim Yaffa, whose two nephews fell in combat, says Goldknopf should never have been invited.
“It’s outrageous to send someone who danced to the words ‘We will die rather than enlist’ to a ceremony honoring fallen soldiers,” she says, referencing a widely circulated video from last month showing the minister dancing to an anti-Zionist, anti-IDF song.
Another bereaved family member, who asks to remain anonymous, says she was initially shocked that Goldknopf had been scheduled to attend.
“He needs to sit quietly wherever he is,” she said.
Upon hearing of the cancellation, she added, “If he had come, I wouldn’t have.”

Gaza and the South

Northern Israel, Lebanon and Syria

Lebanon’s president urges US military to put pressure on Israel to withdraw
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, meeting with a US military delegation, urges it to pressure Israel to withdraw from areas it still controls in the country and to release Lebanese prisoners.
The delegation is headed by US Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, the co-chairman of the Cessation of Hostilities Implementation Mechanism.
Aoun tells the American delegation that the Lebanese army is carrying out its work along the border with Israel, where troops have been confiscating weapons and preventing armed presence by Hezbollah.
A statement released by Aoun’s office says that Jeffers, who had held the post since before the Israel-Hezbollah war ended in late November, will be replaced by Maj. Gen. Michael J. Leeney. It adds that Leeney also attended Wednesday’s meeting.
Israel says it carried out strike to protect Druze in Syria, warns Damascus to ensure their safety
Druze from Syria enter Israel on the occasion of Nabi Shuaib's holiday, at Majdal Shams, April 25, 2025. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)
The IDF carried out a strike on an armed group preparing to attack a Druze community in the town of Sahnaya in Syria’s Damascus province, say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz in a joint statement.
They call the strike a “warning operation.”
Israel also conveys a “serious message” to Syria’s leadership: “Israel expects it to act to prevent harm to the Druze.”
More than a dozen people were killed in a predominantly Druze town near the Syrian capital on Tuesday in clashes sparked by a purported recording of a Druze man cursing the Prophet Mohammad, which angered Sunni gunmen, rescuers and security sources said.
The fighting marked the latest episode of deadly sectarian violence in Syria, where fears among minorities have been swelling since Islamist-led rebels ousted former leader Bashar al-Assad from power in December, installing their own government and security forces.
“On Memorial Day for Israel’s fallen soldiers,” says the Israeli statement, “when we honor the great contribution of the Druze community to Israel’s security and the memory of the Druze fallen who risked their lives to defend Israel, we see great importance in fulfilling our commitment to the Druze community in Israel and to protecting their brothers in Syria.”
“Israel will not allow harm to the Druze community in Syria out of a deep commitment to our Druze brothers in Israel,” Netanyahu and Katz say, “who are connected by family and historical ties to their Druze brothers in Syria.”

West Bank, Jerusalem, Israel and Terror Attacks

Politics and the War and General News

Could Marwan Barghouthi be the solution?
Marwan Barghouthi has been in prison for 23 years. He is the most popular Palestinian leader. I have known Marwan since 1996 from the many meetings that he participated in between Palestinian and Israeli politicians and security personnel that I organized before the second intifada. Since he was arrested in 2002, I have had many opportunities to communicate with him through people who met with him in prison.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war, Marwan, like all of the Palestinian security prisoners, has been cut off from the world. He has been moved repeatedly to several different prisons. He has been in solitary confinement much of the time, even in the dark. According to what I have heard, he has been physically abused and even starved.
My last direct communication with him was in June 2023. He wrote then that he was still committed to Palestinian Israeli peace based on the two-state solution. He still believed that Palestinians had the right to use arms against the illegal occupation, but the armed struggle, he wrote, was their last resort. The more favorable path would be diplomacy and negotiations. He, at that point, believed that with the changing dynamics in the region, it would be possible to reach a regional peace agreement that would provide Palestinians with freedom in a state of their own and also provide Israel with security through regional alliances. I don’t know if he has changed his positions since the beginning of the war on October 7, 2023. I have asked his family and his lawyer if it is possible to get a letter to him. They said that it was impossible. He also has no access to newspapers, Palestinian or others, but I decided to publish this letter to him in Al Quds newspaper in Arabic with the hope that he might learn about it and maybe even find a way to respond.

Dear Marwan,
I hope that this letter gets to you. I know that you are experiencing hell in prison along with all of the other security prisoners. I imagine that you are experiencing worse conditions than for the average prisoner because of your important senior status.
The Palestinian people are facing the worst crisis in their entire history. The Palestinian ship is floating in the sea with no direction, and the captain is too busy with his own interests to even notice what is happening to his people on his watch. The Palestinian people need a new leader, and you seem to be the person that they want. It is time for you to come out of your shell of silence and to put forth a plan that can save your people, and by the way, it will also save my people at the same time.
What I am writing is the kind of statement that I hope you would agree to make. It is based on things that you have communicated in the past, and I hope that you still believe in this, perhaps even more now than before because of the horrors of the last 18 months. I believe that by you publishing the kind of plan that I am presenting, the pressure from inside of Israel, the region and the rest of the world will increase substantially on Israel to release you.
Marwan, you now have to become the solution to Palestinian suffering. That means you have to understand that Gaza has to come first. If the war in Gaza does not end and if stabilization and reconstruction of Gaza do not begin, the current Israeli government will remain in power and the horrors of Gaza that we already see coming to the West Bank will continue and increase as well. It is time to adopt a Palestinian strategy that puts the Palestinian people and the Palestinian rights for freedom in the position of the most peace-loving people in the world. I know and recognize that this is very hard to do. After Hamas’s crimes against humanity and war crimes, Israel committed crimes against humanity war crimes in Gaza and eventually, at some time in the future, there will have to be a process of truth and recognition. But now is not the time for that. Now is the time to end the war and to get Israel out of Gaza, despite the huge increase in justifiable fear and hate between the two peoples.
Israel will not leave Gaza without the hostages being released and as long as Hamas is in charge in Gaza and remains armed. You are probably the only person who can seriously challenge Hamas to end their control over Gaza and to end their military presence.
With the plan I am offering, the occupation does not end, obviously, but I think that with this plan, you can free Gaza as a first step that will lead to serious changes on the Israeli side as well those that will bring a change of government in Israel and hopefully a renewed genuine peace process – because both peoples have no other real option. Here is the statement that I propose that you issue:
I, Marwan Barghouthi am prepared to immediately assume the responsibilities of governing the Gaza Stirp under the following conditions:
1. I will be appointed by President Mahmoud Abbas to lead a Palestinian professional government for Gaza, independent from the Palestinian Authority, until after Palestinian national elections when Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem will be united.
2. I will establish a professional government for Gaza made up of credible and capable Palestinians without the formal participation of any of the Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
3. My government will establish a Palestinian security force that will enforce law and order and will create stability and not be engaged in any attacks against Israel.
4. I will invite the Arab countries to send to Gaza a temporary Arab security presence to assist in the establishment of law and order and stability.
5. The Gaza government will disarm all militants in Gaza from all factions. No one in Gaza aside from the Palestinian government security force will be allowed to hold arms.
6. The Gaza government will destroy all of the underground tunnels and bunkers in Gaza.
7. The Gaza government will ensure the release of all of the Israeli and foreign hostages in Gaza, dead and alive.
8. The Gaza government will be in charge of the reconstruction of Gaza.
9. The Gaza government will declare a permanent truce with the State of Israel.
10. The Gaza government will be recognized as an independent Palestinian territory, the first phase of a fully independent State of Palestine. Gaza’s borders will be recognized as sovereign Palestinian borders.
11. I will call for the State of Palestine to receive full recognition and membership in the United Nations.
The conditions for all of this to happen include:
1. The war in Gaza will come to an end.
2. Israel will withdraw all of its forces from Gaza to the recognized international border.
3. The Gaza government will accept that a “no-go” security perimeter will be established on the Gaza side of the Gaza-Israel border, in which Israel will issue a policy of shooting any non-coordinated entrance into the perimeter. The “no-go” zone policy will end in agreement between the Gaza government and Israel when the Gaza government is capable of ensuring that no threats to Israel exist on that.
4. There will be a release of an agreed number and names of Palestinian prisoners by Israel.
5. Israel and Egypt will reopen the border crossings into Gaza for the free movement of people and goods. The Gaza government has no objection to international inspectors being located at the border crossings for an agreed period of time.
6. The Gaza government will work with the international community to establish a seaport in Gaza for the entry and exit of goods and people. The Gaza government agrees to an international inspection mechanism at the Gaza seaport.
7. When conditions are right and in agreement with Israel and Egypt, the Gaza International airport will be reopened.
8. Palestinian and international banks will be allowed to reopen for business in Gaza. The banks can be monitored by a credible international inspection mechanism against money laundering and the transference of money for terrorism.
9. With the issuance of this statement, Israel will agree to release me from prison and to send me to Gaza, after being appointed by President Abbas to head the Gaza Government.
About the Author- Gershon Baskin, together with Samer Sinijlaw head the Alliance for Two States. link

Dermer's Words Outline Netanyahu's Intended Direction

The Minister for Strategic Affairs stated at the JNS conference that in his estimation, the war will end within a year—marking the first time a senior Israeli official has specified an end date for the war. Dermer and Netanyahu believe the path to normalization with Saudi Arabia hinges on defeating Hamas. Hostage families are concerned about Netanyahu's intention to prolong the war and enter the next elections with achievements. The implications of the surprising statement from the Prime Minister's closest confidant.
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer said last night (Monday) at the JNS conference in Jerusalem that he estimates the war will end within a year, accompanied by signed peace agreements. Dermer, appointed by Prime Minister Netanyahu to lead the hostage negotiation team, is his closest ally. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the surprising statement from the Prime Minister's most trusted minister outlines Netanyahu's plan for the coming year and the next elections.
In his speech at JNS's first international policy conference, Minister Dermer made several statements addressing key political issues: U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, the fighting in Gaza, the hostages, and the northern front.

The statement by Netanyahu's closest confidant that "12 months from now, the war will end with an Israeli victory leading to peace agreements" is effectively the first time a senior Israeli official has set a timeline for the war's conclusion. His words align with the Prime Minister's insistence on not proceeding to "Phase 2" of the hostage deal and previous remarks that at least another six months would be needed for further negotiations.
This week, we reported in "The Main Edition" on Netanyahu's comments to the U.S. President regarding hostage negotiations. "They will come to you with all sorts of proposals—you must not accept them," Netanyahu told Trump, emphasizing: "We must destroy Hamas. We cannot accept a situation where it remains near our border."

The U.S. administration aims to broker normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Dermer and Netanyahu have clarified to Washington that the only way to expand the Abraham Accords is by eliminating the terror organization from Gaza. They told the Americans that regional leaders also believe lasting quiet depends on defeating Hamas in Gaza.
This reveals the true hierarchy of priorities for Israel's leadership: first, eliminating Hamas, while the issue of hostage release remains an abstract goal. Political officials argue that the Gaza terror group would never agree to release all hostages anyway, so Israel must not be tempted in that direction. Netanyahu and Dermer's stance, as reflected in the JNS conference remarks, aligns with Cabinet Minister Bezalel Smotrich's public statements that hostage release is not the war's most important objective.

U.S. President Donald Trump plans to visit Saudi Arabia in mid-May, so Dermer's statements can also be interpreted as directed at Washington. The head of the negotiation team is essentially saying that Israel supports the American vision for normalization with Riyadh—but the required steps must first go through Gaza.

Families' Concerns
The implications of the Strategic Affairs Minister's words are harsh for hostage families. The takeaway from his conference speech suggests Netanyahu intends to maintain this wartime state for at least a year to declare an ostensible total victory.

No one knows what this victory will look like, what Gaza will be like in a year, or whether Israel can even guarantee that a year of fighting will completely dismantle Hamas. Thus, Israel seems to be returning to the same point—without a clear plan for the day after and without a governing alternative to Hamas in Gaza.
It is impossible to ignore that the timeline Dermer outlined also aligns with the Prime Minister's political rhythm. The war ensures the political survival of him and his government. Additionally, prolonging the fighting gives Netanyahu an opportunity to enter the next elections with achievements—whether in hostage releases or peace agreements.  link

Security establishment shocked Netanyahu spilled secret details of pager op – report
PM regales conference audience with details on how Israel bombed Hezbollah scanner, killed its operator, to prevent explosive beepers being checked after terror group became suspicious
The security establishment was stunned to hear Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reveal classified details of the September 2024 pager and walkie-talkie operation against Hezbollah in a speech this week, according to a Monday evening report.
On September 17, thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah operatives across Lebanon suddenly began to explode, injuring those holding them and killing over two dozen. A day later, hundreds of walkie-talkies also blew up, injuring or killing scores more. Israel had concealed small explosives inside the devicesbefore they were delivered to Hezbollah, as a weapon ready to be deployed at any time.
It was a decisive development in an escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began in the wake of the devastating Hamas-led invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023.
Speaking at a Jewish News Syndicate conference Sunday evening, Netanyahu saidthat Israel bombed a scanning machine that Iran sent to Lebanon once Hezbollah suspected that its pagers were booby-trapped, and took out its operator as well.
“We learned that Hezbollah had sent three beepers to be scanned in Iran; we had previously bombed the scanner they were going to bring in, so we got rid of that, and the guy who operates it,” he said.
Those details had been censored repeatedly because they would expose intelligence sources and thus harm national security, Channel 12 reported.
As a result of the incidents he described, a decision was made to activate the pagers rather than wait any longer, Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu also said that the planned IDF ground incursion into Lebanon was brought forward by three weeks because the pager operation was carried out at short notice.
As prime minister, Netanyahu can legally reveal heretofore classified material, but this is usually done in consultation with the security services to ensure that no harm will come from the revelation. No such coordination was made this time, Channel 12 reported.
At the conference, Netanyahu said he refused to inform Washington in advance of the pager operation against Hezbollah because he assumed it would be leaked.
“I don’t read The New York Times that often, but why give them the advance? It would be on the net,” he said.
The reported discomfort in the security establishment over Netanyahu’s remarks about the pagers came with the Prime Minister’s Office already embroiled in a scandal over leaked classified documents.
Eli Feldstein, a Netanyahu spokesperson, was charged in November with harming national security in a case involving the theft and leaking of material from a classified IDF document to the German daily Bild to sway public opinion toward Netanyahu.
Feldstein is also involved, along with two other close Netanyahu aides, in the so-called Qatargate affair, in which they are suspected of multiple offenses tied to their alleged work for a pro-Qatar lobbying firm, including contact with a foreign agent and a series of corruption charges involving lobbyists and businessmen.

The Region and the World

UN chief says countries must take ‘concrete steps’ toward supporting two-state solution ‘before it’s too late’
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pushes countries to “take irreversible action toward implementing a two-state solution” between Israel and the Palestinians ahead of an international conference in June.
“I encourage Member States to go beyond affirmations, and to think creatively about the concrete steps they will take to support a viable two-state solution before it is too late,” Guterres tells a Security Council meeting on the Middle East.
France and Saudi Arabia will co-host the conference at the United Nations in June.
“Our objective is clear: to make progress on the recognition of Palestine and the normalization of relations with Israel at the same time,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot tells the Security Council.
“This is how we will be able to guarantee Israel’s security and its regional integration, whilst responding to the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians to have their own state,” he says.
He says the road map for the effective implementation of the two-state solution also required the disarming of the Palestinian terror group Hamas, defining a credible government structure in the Gaza Strip that will exclude Hamas, and the reform of the Palestinian Authority.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said numerous times that Israel will not allow the Palestinian Authority to play any role in the governance of the Gaza Strip. He also told French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this month that the establishment of a Palestinian state would be a “huge prize for terror.” Link
Switzerland to implement Hamas ban from May 15
A new Swiss law banning Hamas and related organizations will come into force on May 15, the government says, aiming to prevent the Palestinian terror group from using Switzerland as a safe haven by making entry bans or expulsions easier to arrange.
The law, which was approved by parliament last December and came in the wake of Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, gives Swiss authorities “the necessary tools to take action against Hamas activities or support for the organization in Switzerland,” the government says.
The Swiss law enables preventive police measures such as entry bans or expulsions, and also makes it more difficult for Hamas to use Switzerland as a financial hub for its activities.

Personal Stories

"Everyone Here is a Widow, Orphan, or Bereaved Sibling – And We Can Just Be Happy"

Since her brother D. fell in Gaza, humor has become her coping mechanism. She opened the Instagram page "Dark Bereavement" , sharing bittersweet memes about her experience. She never imagined her private grief would turn into a community of mourners unafraid to laugh at their pain—with parties like "Grief & Alcohol" and even Oscars-style ceremonies themed around loss. "It’s like I’m laughing with him—a long, never-ending farewell song to my little brother," explains D.

A Party Unlike Any Other
On the surface, it looked like a normal party—flashing lights in the dark, loud music, and plenty of alcohol. But nothing about this party was normal. Not its name, "Deadlifts & Grief" , nor its attendees—all of whom had lost a loved one. The evening’s highlight was an awards ceremony styled after the Oscars. Bereaved family members took the stage one by one to receive the "Silver Platter" —a twisted version of the golden statuette. Amit, for example, whose brother Eran Aloni (of blessed memory) was killed in Gaza, won the "Golden Memorial Award" for the massive tattoo of his brother inked across his back. "I got a hotel night as a prize," he says with a smile.

Dark Bereavement Party
"The pink wig protects me." D. at a "Dark Bereavement" party

The poem "The Silver Platter" , by Nathan Alterman, is one of Israel’s most iconic symbols of national sacrifice. The contrast between that ethos and this satirical awards ceremony—handing out silver platters to grieving families—challenges conventional notions of mourning. It’s perhaps the purest expression of the unique community born from Israel’s longest war.

From Memes to a Movement
It all started with the "Dark Bereavement" Instagram page, filled with memes about loss. D., a bereaved sister from Tel Aviv whose brother was killed in Gaza’s ground operation, created it. "I process grief through humor," she explains. "I don’t even call it 'dark humor'—that’s more Holocaust jokes or laughing at something terrible. Here, I’m laughing at our lives after something terrible happened."

D., founder of "Dark Bereavement" | Photo: Coral Mizrahi

"I don’t call it dark humor." D. in her pink wig and sunglasses
"I’ve always laughed at everything," she adds. "After my brother died, I felt like humor and optimism had died with him. Not because I didn’t want joy—but because nothing felt important anymore. My inner positivity died with him. ‘Dark Bereavement’ became my way back to laughter. It’s not just coping—it’s a lifeline."

A Community of Shared Pain
Today, the page has nearly 10,000 followers—many of them bereaved siblings, spouses, and parents. They send D. their memes, which she shares, creating an unintentional community that grieves differently. Those outside the "bereavement family" are dubbed "normies" —some follow the page, much to the community’s annoyance.

Shahar Yogev and her brother Boaz Menashe Yogev (of blessed memory) | Photo: Courtesy of the family

"Fought at the Nahal Oz outpost until his last moment on Oct. 7."

Shahar Yogev, whose brother Boaz was killed defending Nahal Oz on October 7, says humor has always been her family’s way. "Right after the shiva, my little brother didn’t come back from synagogue with Dad, and my sister joked, ‘Mom, can you stop losing your kids?’"

"We Turned Trauma Into Trophies"

At the latest party, the "Silver Platter Awards" took center stage. "We made it just like the Oscars—with hosts and music," says D. "We turned our trauma into prizes." Amit, whose medic brother Eran died heroically in Shejaiya, won for memorializing him with a back tattoo.

Eran Aloni (of blessed memory) | Photo: Courtesy of the family

"Killed by an explosive in Shejaiya." Amit Aloni and his brother Eran | Photo: Courtesy of the family

"There were surreal moments," Amit admits. "Like when the DJ played ‘He Will Always Love Me,’ and we—bereaved siblings and parents—were dancing and singing. You realize everyone’s laughing at the absurdity. ‘God clearly doesn’t love us,’ and ‘Only good things ahead’ —it’s hilarious in this context."

Crying Over the Annoying Brother

Amit openly shares the dark thoughts he had during shiva—and even laughs about them now. "It’s comforting to know others in my situation have the same twisted thoughts," he says. "If our roles were reversed, my brother would’ve done the same. This is how we survive."

The tattoo memorializing Eran Aloni | Photo: Courtesy of the family

"It’s what’s left to keep from falling into the abyss."

Raya Gruber, who lost her brother Oz, rejects traditional eulogies. "Everyone expects us to talk about our amazing brothers, but no—Oz was annoying! We fought constantly. I cry for him , not some idealized soldier."

Raya and Oz Gruber | Photo: Courtesy of the family

"He used to beat us up."

"Don’t Mistake This for Stand-Up"

"Laughing in a world without my brother is too hard," D. explains. "But when I laugh at ‘Dark Bereavement,’ it’s about the collective experience—not me personally. It’s a shield. I can talk about loss without touching my own bottomless pain. This is just one long, sad farewell song to my little brother."

The parties— "Grief & Alcohol," "Deadlifts & Grief," and the upcoming "After Dark" —bring the online community into the real world. "At a regular party, you have to remind people, ‘Hey, my brother’s dead.’ Here, everyone’s miserable—so you can just dance."

Dark Bereavement Party

"There are widows, orphans, bereaved siblings."

A Warning and a Thank You

"Don’t get it twisted— ‘Dark Bereavement’ is a very sad page," D. stresses. "We’re not a case study or a freak show. This is a place of belonging for people processing unimaginable pain. Grief doesn’t stop at ‘released for publication’ —it starts there."

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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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