🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 592, 2023 - May 20, 2025 🎗️
PM said to order Israeli hostage negotiators remain in Doha despite impasse
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Israel’s negotiation team to remain in Doha for at least another day, despite the impasse in hostage talks, Hebrew media reports.
“We’re staying in order not to offend the United States. It won’t look good if Israel leaves Doha before Hamas,” an Israeli official tells the Kan public broadcaster.
Channel 13 cites an unnamed official who says Netanyahu made the decision in order to try and demonstrate that Israel is not the obstacle in the talks. link
(An unnamed official is always someone who speaks in Netanyahu's name but gives him deniability)
This horrendous statement by Netanyahu's unnamed official speaks volumes about Netanyahu's commitment to releasing the hostages and bringing them home. This is possibly the most stomach turning statement that Netanyahu has ever made about the hostages. The Israeli negotiators are in Doha for one reason and one reason only, because he doesn't want to piss off Trump and Witkoff. If Netanyahu was a proper leader and someone who genuinely cared about the hostages, he would simply say to the negotiating team, as he said when he finally made the decision to make a deal to bring Gilad Schalit home, "Bring them home". In 19 months, he hasn't said those 3 words to any of the negotiating team members and certainly not to the top negotiators. If he was a proper leader who was dedicated to bringing the hostages home, he would do just as the Catholic Cardinals do when choosing a new Pope; he would tell the negotiators that they are to stay in place until there is white smoke, a deal is made and the hostages are coming home. But Netanyahu is not a proper leader, he is a failed and corrupt petty politician and the only thing that drives him is his own self interests, and bringing home the hostages and ending the war is against his own self interests, as he sees them. This war is "Netanyahu's War of Political Survival", not the Iron Swords War anymore. It hasn't been a necessary war for the good of the State and the people for a long time. All of the security heads have repeatedly told Netanyahu to make a deal that will end the war and they will deal with the aftermath. Everyone knows that Hamas will break the deal in one way or another and no amount of International guarantees will ever stop Israel from defending itself, as has been seen over many years. Netanyahu must be gone, the hostages must come home immediately and this horrible war must end.
#BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!Yair Golan: Witkoff, not Netanyahu, is working to bring home the hostages
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has turned “a just campaign” against Hamas in Gaza “into a continuous and pointless political war of survival,” alleges The Democrats chairman Yair Golan.
Addressing reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Golan declares that the recently launched IDF Operation Gideon’s Chariots does not represent “military pressure to release the hostages, because it was possible to release all the hostages in one comprehensive deal long ago and return them home to their families.”
“It is also not an operation to collapse Hamas because in order to collapse Hamas, it was possible to close the deal long ago, to end the war, and, in an American and regional arrangement, to build a governing alternative to Hamas and collapse it once and for all. What we are seeing in Gaza is a Netanyahu-Smotrich operation to manipulate public consciousness in Israel in order to survive another [legislative] session in the Knesset,” he says.
“These days, we see how the Trump administration is fighting and struggling with Netanyahu to bring an end to the war and the release of the hostages. Trump’s people are the ones doing everything to return the hostages. Not Netanyahu, but [US special envoy to the Middle East Steve] Witkoff.”
“All the hostages can be released. The one who is preventing this is Netanyahu. Hamas can be collapsed in a regional political arrangement. The one who is thwarting it is Netanyahu,” who is acting out of “anti-Zionist considerations,” Golan adds. link Everything that Yair Golan said is what I have been saying for more than six months. This is "Netanyahu's War of Political Survival" and nothing else. It is not to save the hostages. We have seen that no more than a handful of hostages have been saved by military actions. All of the rest have been through deals and the only deal that must be made now is to bring home the 58 hostages still in captivity in Gaza and end the war. NOW! Anything less is strictly for Netanyahu and no one else.
- ‘Our fates were tied’: Former hostages finally reunite
Sagui Dekel-Chen and Edan Alexander, who endured months of captivity in Hamas tunnels, reveal severe physical and psychological tolls while advocating for release of remaining captives
Former Hamas captive Sagui Dekel-Chen visited fellow freed hostage Edan Alexander in the hospital in recent days. “Edan and I were held together for part of our captivity. Our fates were tied in the most complex situation imaginable,” Dekel-Chen said of their meeting.“It was important for me to welcome him back. I know what he went through—and what he still has ahead.” Dekel-Chen added, “I’m incredibly happy for Edan and his family. I hope I can soon embrace all the other hostages who were left behind.”Edan Alexander, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, was released last week after 584 days in Hamas captivity, following direct talks between the U.S. and the terror group ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East. Born and raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, Alexander immigrated to Israel at age 18 and volunteered for service in the IDF’s Golani Brigade.He was held in tunnels beneath Gaza’s Zeitoun neighborhood. In an interview with The New York Times four days ago, his father, Adi, revealed that Edan was handcuffed, beaten and interrogated. “But the interrogations were useless,” he said. “Edan had only been a soldier for 10 months when he was kidnapped. They knew far more about the IDF’s order of battle than he did.”“At one point, a tunnel collapsed on him and injured his shoulder,” his father said. He described his son’s physical condition: “He was very thin. He survived mainly on pita, rice, beans and black coffee. His skin turned pale from the lack of sunlight, covered in red sores. His whole body was scratched from bedbug bites. His skin is in terrible shape.”In the early days of his captivity, Hamas captors covered Alexander’s head with a sack. As his family previously stated, he spoke of the terror caused by the sounds of war: “The airstrikes shook the tunnels like earthquakes.”“The tunnels were cramped at first,” his father added, “but as other hostages around him were freed or died, Edan had more space.” After Trump’s inauguration, conditions improved slightly. “He was moved to another tunnel with access to a TV and shower and after the January ceasefire, he was even given meat,” his father said.Dekel-Chen, 36, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, was released in February as part of a hostage deal, after 498 days in captivity. He was abducted from the kibbutz during Hamas’s October 7 assault. His wife Avital was pregnant at the time with their daughter Shahar, who was born while he was still held hostage.Like Alexander, Dekel-Chen is also a U.S. citizen and his family campaigned heavily with American officials for his release. After his return, his family revealed he had suffered severe abuse in captivity.Upon his release, Dekel-Chen shared signs of life from other hostages still being held in Gaza with their families. “He didn’t know anything — not about the situation in Israel, not about his own family — neither underground nor above ground,” his family said after his return. link Both of them have dual Israeli/American citizenship but most of the hostages don't. Both American Administrations, of Biden and now of Trump, have worked harder and done more for our hostages than our own failed government who is responsible for the hostages being in captivity in the first place, due to their total abandonment and failures of October 7 and for the years leading up to October 7. The American government has been continuously in touch with hostage families, even those without American citizenship whereby our government has done all it can to avoid talking with the families and even with most of the hostages who have returned. The exceptions are members of the Tikva Forum of hostage families who fully support Netanyahu's war of politican survival and some of the hostages who publicly thanked Netanyahu. He, his wife and his cronies see the hostages who don't thank him as being traitors and not worthy of being released. link - Trump continues to engage in talks with Hamas, seeking end to Gaza war, White House says
White House confirms direct US engagement with Hamas following release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander; Trump demands full release of captives and aims to broker broader ceasefire deal amid Israel’s surprise at backchannel talks
President Donald Trump's administration is continuing to engage with all parties involved in the war in the Gaza Strip, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Monday, following direct talks between Hamas and Washington that led to the release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander.“The president wants the war in Gaza to end,” Leavitt told reporters during a briefing, adding that Trump personally delivered a direct demand to Hamas for the release of all hostages held in the enclave for nearly 600 days. “The president continues, not just through his team but personally, to speak with the parties involved. He made it clear to Hamas that he wants to see all hostages freed,” she said. full article This article emphasizes the points I have already made that the American administrations (Biden and now Trump) have done more and continue to do more for the hostages than our own government. With 58 hostages still remaining in Gaza, the only way to get them home is with a deal and the only deal that Hamas will accept is a deal for all the hostages that comes with it an end to the war, pull back of all troops and release of a large number of Palestinian hostages. Netanyahu refuses to end the war which is his personal war of political survival and the only person who can force Netanyahu to make this deal is Trump if he only will be willing to put on the same and more pressure that he used to get Netanyahu to accept the last deal. That deal also called for ending the war but it was undefined and was to be negotiated starting from the 16 day of Phase 1. Netanyahu breeched the deal with refusing the enter negotiations on Phase 2 and he stated that Phase 2 would not happen. Phase 2 would have brought home all the hostages. Netanyahu is not only a war criminal for what he has ordered done in Gaza, he is a war criminal for what he has done to his own people: the hostages he has left in captivity, the soldiers he has sent to be killed and maimed, and for continuing this horrible war strictly for his own self interests. 11 Years Later: The Tunnel From Which Oron Shaul Was Kidnapped Was Destroyed
Oron Shaul z"lThe range of tunnel destruction was expanded to more than one kilometer
And what is discovered in the field: almost every day more and more shafts are being located – not far from the communities adjacent to the fence
As part of the operation, the tunnel from which Oron Shaul was kidnapped was destroyedThe Israel Defense Forces is expanding the activity of destroying tunnels in the Gaza Strip, thus we published last night (Monday) for the first time. This concerns not only tunnels that are located within a distance of one kilometer from the fence, but also underground infrastructure at greater distances inside the Strip.
After eleven years, a circle was recently closed: extensive parts of the tunnel from which Oron Shaul was kidnapped were destroyed. At the beginning of the year, his body was rescued, and in recent weeks the tunnel was identified. Hadar Goldin is still being held in captivity by Hamas – also eleven years later.
Recently, the Southern Command decided to expand the destruction of the tunnels, out of the understanding that their destruction within only a one-kilometer range does not provide sufficient protection for the communities adjacent to the fence. In the field, almost every day more shafts are being located – not far from the communities.
In recent days the Israel Defense Forces announced that extensive strikes had begun in the Gaza Strip – as part of the beginning of Operation "Gideon’s Chariots." According to the Israel Defense Forces, regular and reserve forces began a wide ground operation in the northern and southern Gaza Strip as part of the operation.
Expansion of the Operation in the Strip
In recent hours, loud explosions have been heard throughout the south. Residents of the Gaza Envelope are reporting loud sounds that have not been heard in this area for months – a combination of massive aerial strikes and heavy artillery fire toward several focal points across the Strip.This is a wave of strikes whose purpose is to soften the area ahead of the expansion and deepening of the ground operation. The Israel Defense Forces' operation is taking place in several areas, in the north, and in the Khan Yunis area, from where the population was moved a few hours ago to humanitarian areas.
Five combat divisions are already operating inside the Strip, in strategic areas, and it is possible that in the very near future they will enter additional areas. The Israel Defense Forces is preparing for the continuation of the fighting, and the sounds of the strikes are expected to continue and intensify. LINK
IDF says strike on shelter in central Gaza targeted Hamas command center
The IDF says it carried out an airstrike on Hamas operatives at a command center in central Gaza’s Nuseirat earlier today.
According to Palestinian media, the strike hit a school currently being used as shelter for displaced Gazans, killing at least nine.
According to the IDF, the site was being used by Hamas operatives to plan and carry out attacks on troops and Israeli civilians.
The military says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm, including by using a precision munition, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.
Hundreds seen protesting in Khan Younis against Hamas and the ongoing war
Media outlets in Gaza publish footage showing hundreds of protesters in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Strip, demonstrating against Hamas and calling for an end to the war.
Protesters chant: “Stop the war and the displacement! Hamas out!”
This marks the first anti-Hamas protest in Khan Younis in several weeks. Sporadic demonstrations have occurred in the Strip’s northern parts in recent weeks.
Earlier today, the IDF issued a wide evacuation order for all of Khan Younis, saying the entire area is now a “combat zone.” videos of large demonstrations against Hamas
- Britain, France and Canada Threaten Israel with Sanctions: 'Escalation Intolerable'
Britain, France and Canada sharply criticized Israel in a joint statement, saying they would consider imposing sanctions against Israel due to the 'intolerable' escalation in Gaza. The powers called on Israel to 'immediately cease its military operations in Gaza and remove restrictions on humanitarian aid entry.' According to them, 'the level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable.' The countries' leaders also accused the Israeli government of failing to provide essential humanitarian aid, stating this 'could constitute a violation of international humanitarian law.' Report: Arbel Yehoud’s captor killed in IDF operation in Khan Younis
The Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reports that Ahmad Sarhan, a senior member of the terror organization the Popular Resistance Committees, who was reportedly killed this morning in a raid in Khan Younis in Gaza, was responsible for the abduction of Arbel Yehoud and for holding her captive in Gaza.
It was also reported that the IDF troops involved in the raid attempted to arrest Sarhan, but he confronted the soldiers, and was shot and killed. According to the report, the forces arrested his wife and 12-year-old son.
There is no comment from the IDF.
IDF says it foiled another attempt to smuggle weapons into Israel from Egypt using a drone
The IDF says it foiled yet another attempt to smuggle weapons into Israel from Egypt using a drone last night.
The drone had been identified crossing the border from Egypt into Israel before it was downed by troops deployed to the area.
The drone was found to be ferrying 19 handguns and three machine guns. The contraband and drone were handed over to the police.
In recent months, there have been frequent attempts to bring weapons and drugs over the Egypt border using drones. There have also been attempts to smuggle similar contraband from Israel into Gaza using drones.
UN says it has received permission to bring 100 trucks of aid into Gaza today
The United Nations has received permission from Israel for about 100 more aid trucks to enter Gaza today, a spokesperson for its humanitarian office says.
“We have requested and received approval for more trucks to enter today, many more than were approved yesterday,” Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office tells a Geneva press briefing.
Asked to specify how many, he says “around 100.”
After an 11-week Israeli blockade, Israel cleared nine aid trucks on Monday to enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, although Laerke said just five of those entered Gaza.
“The next step is to collect them, and then they will be distributed through the existing system, the one that has proven itself,” says Laerke, adding that those trucks contained baby food and nutritional products for children.
IDF says 162nd Division has returned to fighting in Gaza
The IDF’s 162nd Division has returned to operating in the Gaza Strip, the military announces.
The division is currently fighting in the Strip’s north, with the 401st Armored Brigade and Givati Infantry Brigade — comprising several thousand soldiers.
In February, the 162nd Division was withdrawn from Gaza after 15 months of continuous operations.
In the latest Gaza offensive, the IDF says the 401st Brigade has so far located and demolished buildings used by Hamas, killed dozens of terror operatives, and found a tunnel next to a building containing weapons.
Givati troops are operating in northern Gaza’s Tal al-Zaatar, where the military says in the past day they found and demolished buildings used by terror groups and killed dozens more operatives, including by directing airstrikes.
The division’s 215th Artillery Regiment, meanwhile, struck over 30 sites in the area, including weapon depots, booby-trapped buildings, and observation posts, the IDF adds.
Qatar says Israel’s offensive in Gaza ‘undermining any chance at peace’
Qatar’s prime minister says Israel’s renewed military offensive in Gaza has undermined peace efforts after the release of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander.
“When Israeli American soldier Edan Alexander was released, we thought that moment would open a door to end this tragedy, but the response was a more violent wave of strikes,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani says at the Qatar Economic Forum.
“This irresponsible, aggressive behavior undermines any potential chance for peace,” he says. Qatar is hosting and mediating talks for a hostage-ceasefire deal.
Gaza medics say at least 44 killed in Israeli strikes overnight
Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency said Israeli strikes killed at least 44 people overnight.
“Civil defense teams have transferred (to hospitals) at least 44 dead, mostly children and women, as well as dozens of wounded” across Gaza since 1 a.m., agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal tells AFP.
Bassal says eight were killed in a strike on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City and 12 in a strike on a house in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
Another 15 were killed in a strike on a gas station near the Nuseirat refugee camp and nine in a strike on a house in the Jabalia refugee camp.
There was no immediate comment on the strikes from the Israeli military and the figures, which do not differentiate between civilians and gunmen, could not be verified.
Israel says it takes steps to minimize civilian casualties and blames Hamas which is deeply embedded in civilian infrastructure, operating out of camps, hospitals and schools
Hezbollah operative said killed in apparent Israeli strike in southern Lebanon
The Saudi Al-Arabiya channel reports that a Hezbollah operative was killed in an Israeli strike in the Tyre area of southern Lebanon.
Earlier, Lebanese media reported that Israel had targeted a motorcycle in the area and that one person was killed.
The IDF has yet to issue a response.
🎗️Day 592 that 58 of our hostages in Hamas captivity🎗️
**There is nothing more important than getting them home! NOTHING!**
“I’ve never met them,But I miss them. I’ve never met them,but I think of them every second. I’ve never met them,but they are my family. BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!”
We’re waiting for you, all of you.
A deal is the only way to bring
all the hostages home- the murdered for burial and the living for rehabilitation.
#BringThemHomeNow #TurnTheHorrorIntoHope
A deal is the only way to bring
all the hostages home- the murdered for burial and the living for rehabilitation.
#BringThemHomeNow #TurnTheHorrorIntoHope
There is no victory until all of the hostages are home!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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Permitted for Publication: Corporal Yosef Yehuda Hirak, of Blessed Memory, Fell in Battle in the North of the Gaza Strip
Yosef, of blessed memory, 22 years old from Harasha, fought in Battalion 601 of the Combat Engineering Corps
MAY HIS MEMORY BE A REVOLUTION
He married Emunah only seven months ago and left behind parents and three sisters
The circumstances of his falling are under investigation and have not yet been conveyed to his family
He is the first fallen since the announcement of the opening of Operation "Gideon’s Chariots" in the Strip
The Spokesperson of the Israel Defense Forces permitted for publication that Yosef Yehuda Hirak, of blessed memory, a combat engineering soldier from the community of Harasha in Binyamin, fell last night (Monday) in battle in the northern Gaza Strip.
Yosef, of blessed memory, 22 years old, married the love of his life, Emunah, only seven months ago and left behind parents and three sisters.
The circumstances of his falling are under investigation and have not yet been conveyed to his family.
Yosef is the first fallen since the announcement of the opening of Operation "Gideon’s Chariots" in the Strip.
An initial IDF investigation has found that Sgt. Yosef Yehuda Chirak, 22, who was killed in the northern Gaza Strip yesterday, was hit by so-called friendly fire.
According to the probe, combat engineers operating in northern Gaza under the 401st Armored Brigade located a tunnel shaft and were working to map it out ahead of its demolition. During the operation, another company was securing the surrounding area.
Chirak, who was next to the tunnel, was hit by fire from the company securing the area, the investigation finds.
The military has presented his family with the initial findings.
Gaza and the South
Trump Associates Warn Israel - End War or We'll Abandon You
Associates of U.S. President Donald Trump have made it clear to Israel that "the United States will abandon Israel if the war doesn't end," the Washington Post reported, citing a person familiar with the details. The source added that pressure from the administration on Israel has increased in recent days. They noted that "politically - Netanyahu could end the war with overwhelming support from both the Knesset and the public, who want this, but he doesn't want to end it." linkFrance, Canada, and Britain Threaten: We Will Take Steps Against Israel If the Fighting in Gaza Is Not Stopped
France, Canada, and Britain are threatening steps against Israel if the fighting in Gaza is not stopped and more humanitarian aid is not brought in: “An unbearable level of suffering”
The countries criticized the Netanyahu government and warn of violation of international law
In addition, they condemned statements by ministers in Israel: “Abominable language”
Netanyahu responded to the statement: “They are giving a reward for the attack on Israel on October 7”The international pressure on Israel is intensifying – this after the report in the Washington Post in which it was claimed that President Trump said: “End the war or we will abandon you.” France, Canada, and Britain published yesterday (Monday) an unusual joint statement, in which they warned that they would take concrete steps against Israel if the fighting in the Gaza Strip is not stopped and the restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into it are not removed.
At the beginning of the announcement it was written: “We will not stand by while the Netanyahu government promotes these disgraceful measures.” However, at this stage they did not detail what those steps would be. The three countries expressed support for the diplomatic efforts led by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt to achieve a deal for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages: “We strongly oppose the expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The level of suffering in the Strip is unbearable.”
Aid trucks at Kerem ShalomThe three powers criticized Israel’s announcement from two days ago that a basic quantity of food would be allowed into Gaza: “The announcement published yesterday that Israel will allow the entry of a basic quantity of food into the Strip is completely insufficient.” They called on the Israeli government “to stop the military operations in Gaza and to immediately allow the entry of humanitarian aid.”
It was further claimed in the announcement that “The avoidance by the Israeli government of bringing in essential humanitarian aid for the civilian population is unacceptable and risks violating international humanitarian law.”
In addition, the countries condemned the language that was recently used by figures in the Israeli government: “The countries condemn the abominable language that was recently used by members of the government in Israel, who threatened that civilians would begin to be moved from the Strip.” According to them, “Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international law.”
The statement by the three countries also touched on what is happening in Judea and Samaria: “We oppose any attempt to expand the settlements in the West Bank. We will not hesitate to take additional steps, including targeted sanctions.”
After months, yesterday five United Nations trucks entered through the Kerem Shalom crossing, containing humanitarian aid and, according to the Israel Defense Forces, include food for babies. “All the aid was transferred after thorough security inspection,” emphasized the Israel Defense Forces. “The IDF will allow humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip while applying maximum efforts to ensure that the humanitarian aid does not reach Hamas.”
Netanyahu responded: “This is a reward for the attack of October 7”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the announcement: “In asking Israel to end the war for our survival before the Hamas terrorists at our border are destroyed, and in demanding the establishment of a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa, and Paris are offering a huge reward for the murderous attack on October 7 and an invitation to additional atrocities.”“The war began on October 7 when Palestinian terrorists stormed our borders, murdered 1,200 innocent people, and kidnapped more than 250 innocent people into the tunnels of Gaza,” added Netanyahu. “Israel accepts President Trump’s vision and calls on all European leaders to do the same. The war can end tomorrow if the rest of the hostages are released, Hamas lays down its arms, its murderous leaders are exiled, and Gaza is demilitarized. No nation can be expected to accept less, and Israel certainly will not accept it.” link Netanyahu is wrong, this is not a reward to terrorism. It is only a reward if he screws up once again and enables Hamas to take over the humanitarian aid as he has done throughout the war. He personally has continued to allow Hamas to exist, gain strength, maintain a stronghold on Gaza and basically spit in our faces, all because Netanyahu has refused to allow an alternative Palestinian body to take over the governing and security of Gaza.
French FM: Paris may reconsider Israel-EU trade pact in response to Gaza war
After the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Canada threatened in a joint statement yesterday to take action against Israel if it refuses to halt its military campaign in the Gaza Strip and lift restrictions on the entry of aid, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot says that these actions could include a review of the European Union-Israel Association Agreement.
Asked on French public radio about the joint statement’s mention of “further concrete actions” if Israel did not sufficiently address the humanitarian situation in the Strip, Barrot says that France backs a Dutch-led initiative to review the EU-Israel pact in response to the Gaza war, which could affect political and economic ties.
The comment comes during a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels today, where the Association Agreement — which governs the ties between Israel and the EU, its largest trade partner — is expected to be formally discussed by EU foreign ministers.
In response to Israel’s conduct in Gaza, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp has led an initiative demanding a review of the pact, which dictates that cooperation between the EU and Israel “shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles.”
“The situation is unbearable because the blind violence and the blocking of humanitarian aid by the Israeli government have turned Gaza into a dying ground — if not a cemetery,” Barrot tells France Inter radio, calling Israel’s military campaign “a total violation of all rules of international law, and contrary to the security of Israel — to which France is committed — because those who sow violence reap violence.”
“Indeed, it’s been nearly three months that the Israeli army had been blocking access to all humanitarian aid, and it has now decided to slightly open the door, notably for reasons of domestic politics,” continues Barrot, saying Israel’s limited allowance of aid into Gaza yesterday is insufficient, “and it already was, even before the blockade.”
Israel began halting the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip in March, saying Hamas was stealing the supplies to replenish itself, and as part of a military pressure campaign to return hostages held by the terror group.
Yesterday, under intense pressure from the United States and widespread international outrage, Israel authorized a limited passage of aid trucks into the enclave.
Report: Pro-Qatar influence campaign at heart of Qatargate affair continued after Oct. 7
An online influence campaign to improve Qatar’s image in Israel and abroad that was produced and advanced by key suspects in the Qatargate affair continued even after the October 7 Hamas atrocities in 2023, Haaretz reports.
The campaign was allegedly run by Perception, a company owned by former Likud adviser Israel Einhorn, who brought in Jonatan Urich, a close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and a central suspect in the Qatargate investigation.
The campaign used fake news websites and apparently fake social media accounts to spread curated messages about Qatar’s positive role in the Middle East, including following the October 7 invasion and massacres, when such items denied Doha’s close ties to Hamas and its funding for the terror group, the Haaretz report says.
Dozens of pro-Qatar articles and social media entries were posted on two fake news websites and social media platforms as part of this campaign, which is now the focus of the criminal investigation into the connection of Netanyahu’s aides with Doha.
Lapid says alternative to Hamas rule is needed, proposes Egypt take control of Gaza
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slams the government for leading Israel into a quagmire in Gaza, calling for Egypt to rule the coastal Palestinian territory.
“We all support eliminating Hamas, but Hamas will not disappear if an alternative to its rule is not presented. What is the Israeli government’s plan? Who is supposed to replace Hamas and rule Gaza?” Lapid asks reporters during his Yesh Atid party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset.
“If our fighters, our heroes, are now going to be killed and wounded in Gaza every day for three or four or five years, then let the government stop hiding and say it out loud,” he continues, asserting that causing the IDF to “sink in the Gaza mud for years is a strategic mistake, an economic disaster, and a political tragedy that will not allow us to be part of the historic change in the Middle East that we saw during President Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia.”
“I presented a completely different plan. The one who should manage Gaza in the coming years is Egypt. Israel should make a coordinated effort with the Americans, and transfer Gaza to Egyptian control for the next 15 years,” he says, adding that it is “not a perfect solution, but it is the best solution of all those on the table. The Americans know this too.”
Lapid also denies attacking Yair Golan’s The Democrats party, following a news report that he dismissed the left-wing faction as part of the “radical left.”
“There are people from the more radical left in there. I don’t think Golan would think otherwise. It’s not an attack to say that the left is left, just as it’s not an attack if they say about us that we are centrist and we accept that with love,” Lapid tells reporters.
“I assume they are proud of what they are, just as we are proud of being the party of the Israeli middle class, which works, pays taxes [and] serves in the reserves.” link We are over 19 months into the war and this failed government still doesn't have any strategy, besides the messianic extremists, and have no real plans for Gaza. This total lack of strategy is one of the main reasons that Netanyahu still has us in this war. It is hard to determine which of Netanyahu's failures is the biggest and the worst, but what can be said is that he is the worst and most dangerous prime minister in our history.
- Hamas document shows Oct. 7 attack aimed at derailing Saudi normalization – report
In days prior to assault, leader Sinwar said ‘extraordinary act’ needed quash Riyadh’s openness to diplomatic ties with Israel; other documents show great concern over issueHamas’s Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar told associates in the days prior to the terror group’s devastating October 7, 2023, attack, on Israel that an “extraordinary act” would be required to derail normalization talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia, according to a document reportedly found by the IDF in Gaza.
The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday on a number of documents from recent years that discussed Hamas’s concerns about Saudi movement toward diplomatic ties with Israel, and the terror group’s efforts to hamper it.
Successive American administrations have sought to broker such an agreement, framing it as the “crown jewel” of potential normalization deals, in light of Saudi Arabia’s overarching status in the Arab and Muslim worlds.
Arab intelligence officials familiar with Hamas told the Journal that the documents appeared to be genuine.
The Journal did not publish any images of the documents, and there was no official Israeli comment.
The minutes of a meeting of Hamas’s political bureau in the Strip on October 2, 2023, cite Sinwar as saying, “There is no doubt that the Saudi-Zionist normalization agreement is progressing significantly.” The Hamas leader warned a deal would “open the door for the majority of Arab and Islamic countries to follow the same path.”
File – Hamas terrorists are seen crossing the Israel-Gaza border fence on October 7, 2023. (Kan TV screenshot; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)According to the Wall Street Journal, Sinwar said that it was time to activate an attack plan that the terror group had been working on for some two years “to bring about a major move or a strategic shift in the paths and balances of the region with regard to the Palestinian cause.”
Without directly quoting the document, the Journal said Sinwar — who was killed by the IDF about a year into the war — expected other Iran-backed terror and proxy groups to join the fighting.
Other documents apparently seized by the IDF and reviewed by the newspaper included one from September 2023 that recommended escalating violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem to decrease the chances of normalization between Jerusalem and Riyadh.
That document criticized the Saudis for what Hamas saw as their “weak and limited steps to neutralize” the terror group and prevent it from blocking normalization.
A Hamas briefing from August 2022, marked “secret” and composed by the group’s military leadership, urged a “reposition” in order to “preserve the survival of the Palestinian cause in the face of the broad wave of normalization by Arab countries, which aims primarily to liquidate the Palestinian cause.” That realignment increased its coordination with, among others, the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.
Then, in October that year, Hamas prepared a job advertisement, also found by the Israeli military, for a position in its Department of Arab and Islamic Cooperation to lead diplomatic efforts to stop normalization. It described the job as, in part, “Marketing the movement’s programs to confront normalization” and organizing activism groups in the Arab world to call for boycotts on entities that backed having ties with Israel.
IDF troops operate in northern Gaza, in a handout photo issued on May 17, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)Hamas did not respond to a request for comment on the report, the Journal said.
Though Israel and Saudi Arabia have not established diplomatic relations, their clandestine ties strengthened in recent years as they confronted a shared threat in Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Saudi Arabia in November 2020 to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the first publicly reported meeting between the two.
Former US president Joe Biden’s administration sought to include a normalization accord between Israel and Saudi Arabia in a “mega-deal” it worked to sign with Riyadh, which has long made clear, however, that such an agreement would require a political horizon for the Palestinians.
The Biden administration had managed to make significant progress in the series of bilateral agreements with Saudi Arabia — and was slated to begin serious discussions with Riyadh regarding the exact terms of the Palestinian component of the package — when Hamas launched its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
The onslaught and ensuing war derailed the normalization effort and Riyadh began to recognize that it would need more concrete steps toward the establishment of a Palestinian state, as solidarity with the Palestinians in Saudi Arabia and the region at large skyrocketed due to the devastation in Gaza.
US President Donald Trump has also pledged to broker an Israel-Saudi normalization deal, repeatedly asserting that additional countries would quickly join the Abraham Accords, which normalized ties between Israel and several Arab countries at the tail end of his first term. But during a visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, part of a three-day regional tour that did not include Israel, he indicated his recognition that Riyadh won’t be joining as quickly as he may have hoped.
It is not the first time that documents ostensibly found in Gaza have been leaked to the international press.
Last year, German tabloid Bild published content from an ostensible document apparently found by the IDF in Gaza. That report on the document is a key element of a leaked intelligence scandal at the Prime Minister’s Office.
The document reported on by Bild was allegedly unlawfully removed from the IDF’s military intelligence database by a reservist — a noncommissioned officer (NCO) — who gave it to Eli Feldstein, an aide to Netanyahu, who saw to it that it was transferred to Bild, though he was aware that it was obtained illicitly and that the military censorship had barred the information from publication.
The German current affairs show “Panorama” said Saturday it had acquired the full, highly classified document reported by Bild in September, and claimed that the publication seriously distorted the file.
While Bild presented the document as evidence that Hamas was not interested in reaching a serious ceasefire-hostage deal with Israel, “Panorama” said the full document showed Hamas was ready to be flexible in arrangements and sought a truce for 84 days with a pathway to ending the war.
Denmark detains man suspected of seeking drones for Hamas terror attack
A 28-year-old man was remanded in custody in Denmark today on suspicions of purchasing drones to be used in a Hamas “terrorist attack,” Danish intelligence says.
Flemming Drejer, head of operations at Denmark’s PET intelligence service, says in a statement it believed that “this individual purchased drones intended for use by Hamas in a terrorist attack at an unknown location in Denmark or abroad.”
Appearing before a court today, the man was remanded in custody until June 11.
PET says the case has links to both Hamas and criminal gangs in Denmark, and is related to a number of arrests made in December 2023 as part of an operation to prevent a suspected planned “terrorist attack.”
Six people were ordered detained at the time, four in absentia, among them the 28-year-old man, who Danish media reports said was a prominent figure in organized crime in Copenhagen. According to public broadcaster DR, the suspect had been extradited from Lebanon over a separate double murder case.
The Region and the World
Newly revealed DOJ documents show Doha's increasing efforts in right-wing outlets, including Fox News, to promote favorable narratives; critics warn of growing Qatari influence, after Trump’s public praise for the emirate
Qatar’s influence has extended into academia, real estate, sports, and even U.S. media—particularly Fox News—mirroring its controversial tactics seen in Israel’s "Qatar-Gate" affair. Documents submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) reveal Qatar’s deep penetration into the American media landscape, particularly targeting conservative outlets.
Coordinated media outreach
Trump’s shift on Qatar
Ethical concerns and expanding influence
Investigations in Israel
- Personal Stories
- ‘Heartbroken’ woman dies 19 months after son’s entire family was murdered on Oct. 7
- Tamar Kutz was among the founders of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where Hamas-led terrorists massacred 64 people, including five of her relatives
- Undated photo of Tamar Kutz. (Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
- Tamar Kutz, whose son and his entire family were murdered in Kibbutz Kfar Aza by terrorists on October 7, 2023, died Monday. An acquaintance said she had been heartbroken since the massacre.
- Kutz, who was in her 70s, died in her bed in the assisted living apartment where she and her husband were staying after having been evacuated from the kibbutz, according to Hebrew media reports.
- Kutz and her husband, Benny, were among the early founders of the kibbutz, which was established in the 1950s. They lived there their whole lives, raising their son Aviv in the community.
She was a kindergarten teacher and school teacher for decades.
On October 7, as Hamas led thousands of terrorists in an invasion of southern Israel, gunmen stormed the kibbutz, which lies on the border with the Gaza Strip, slaughtered 64 of its 787 residents, and abducted 19 to Gaza.
Among those killed were Aviv, 53, his wife Livnat, 49, their 18-year-old daughter Rotem, and their sons Yonatan, 16, and Yiftach, 14. The five were found shot dead in their home, huddled together in a final embrace.
Prof. Rachel Elior, a family friend, told the Ynet news site that before October 7, Tamar was “a family woman, and a working woman, happy and glad. Since the disastrous murder of her five loved ones, she suffered from heartbreak and inconsolable grief.”
A resident of the kibbutz told Channel 12 that Tamar would teach the kindergarten children about nature, and “taught them to see the world and beauty in it.”
Tamar and Benny Kutz, who for five days did not know the fate of their son and his family, survived the attack by taking refuge in their home’s sealed security room, from which they could hear the carnage around them, as bullets whipped in through the windows.
In an interview she gave to Ynet a day after the attack, when the fate of her son and his family was still unknown, Tamar said she had last seen them the night before, when she hosted them for a meal.
The Hamas attack killed 1,200 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians, and saw 251 abducted to Gaza, triggering the ongoing war in the coastal enclave. link
Acronyms and Glossary
ICC - International Criminal Court in the Hague
IJC - International Court of Justice in the Hague
MDA - Magen David Adom - Israel Ambulance Corp
PA - Palestinian Authority - President Mahmud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen
PMO- Prime Minister's Office
UAV - Unmanned Aerial vehicle, Drone. Could be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, or be weaponized with missiles or contain explosives for 'suicide' explosion mission
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