🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 595, 2023

🎗️Day 595 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

There is no victory until all of the hostages are home!
‎אין נצחון עד שכל החטופים בבית

Read in the Politics and War section, "Mr. prime minister, the massacre was not carried out by a mob in flip-flops" - very important op-ed

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

*4:10 am - Gush Dan and Central Israel areas - ballistic missile from Yemen - successfully intercepted- no reports of injuries or damage. video of Arrow 3 launch to intercept the missile

Hostage Updates

Until the last hostage

Netanyahu ordered the Israeli negotiating team to return from Qatar.
It doesn’t really matter- they had no mandate to reach an agreement. Netanyahu continues to blame Hamas because they won’t make any agreement that does not guarantee that the war will end. Once again this makes it crystal clear that Netanyahu has no intention of ending the war. The Americans have told Netanyahu that if the war ends and Hamas violates the ceasefire in any way - Israel can go back into Gaza just as happens in Lebanon since the ceasefire there. The Gaza war for Netanyahu is clearly the war for the peace of the coalition. The American response to the end of negotiations was that the US (Witkoff and Boehler) will now continue negotiating directly with Hamas speaking with Hamas’s head Khalil Al Haya. My optimistic assessment is that in a week or two Trump will instruct Netanyahu to end the war and agree to bring all 58 hostages home. Trump ordered Netanyahu to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and Netanyahu announced a government decision to allow aid into Gaza, but there was no vote in the government, just an announcement that the government decided - which it did not. Trump decided and Netanyahu implemented. Tragically Trump is the only hope for ending the war, bringing the hostages home and ending the horrific killing in Gaza. ( Gershon Baskin, May 23, 2025)

Hostage’s father: Ministers gave Trump officials false data showing public against hostage deal
The father of hostage Matan Angrest tells Army Radio that Israeli ministers had been passing along incorrect information to Trump officials that led them to believe that Israeli public opinion was against a hostage deal.
Haggai Angrest says that on his last visit to the White House, he showed officials polls that found that roughly 70% of Israelis back a deal that ends the war in Gaza in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the exchange, arguing that it leaves Hamas in power. link I fully believe Matan Angrast's father. Netanyahu and his cronies will certain deceive Trump so that he will not pressure Netanyahu to make a deal to bring home the hostages. I sincerely hope that Witkoff is listening to more trustworthy people, getting real information and providing it to Trump.

Ex-hostage Emily Hand, 11, urges Netanyahu: ‘Go make a deal now, because this can’t go on’
‘Our hearts have been held captive [in Gaza] for far too long,’ says freed captive; fellow Be’eri resident, whose father was murdered on Oct. 7, says kibbutz members ‘still have to fight

Former hostage Emily Hand speaks on May 21, 2025, at a Kibbutz Be'eri rally held for the hostages in the kibbutz's temporary quarters in Kibbutz Hazerim. (Courtesy Kibbutz Be'eri)

Former hostage Emily Hand on Wednesday implored Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal to free the remaining in captives Gaza, saying “this can’t go on.”

Addressing a rally in Kibbutz Hatzerim, where members of her hometown of Kibbutz Be’eri are living until the community is rebuilt, Hand described being taken hostage by Palestinian terrorists with Hila Rotem Shoshani and Raya Rotem on October 7, 2023.

Hand, 11, was 8-years-old when she was kidnapped. “The pictures of the people around us aren’t just pictures,” she said. “These are people who were kidnapped to Gaza, and some were murdered. Just think for a moment about the word ‘kidnapped.’ Who would have believed that we would have to say that people from our own country were kidnapped?”

She then addressed Netanyahu directly.

“Bibi, I’m speaking to you directly — go make a deal now, because this can’t go on,” Hand said, using Netanyahu’s nickname. “And I want to tell you: the conditions there are harsh. We must bring everyone back!”

She added: “Opening the fridge is a privilege. Going to sleep in a bed is a privilege. On that black Saturday, I had plans to meet friends, to dance in the studio with my sister, to cook food. But no. That didn’t happen, because instead, I got a one-way ticket to Gaza.”

Former hostage Emily Hand and her father Thomas Hand speak at a rally in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, November 30, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Hand lost her mother to cancer when she was just 2 years old. When she returned home from captivity, her Irish-born father, Thomas Hand, had to tell her that her “second mother,” Narkis Hand — Thomas Hand’s former wife, and mother to Emily’s two half-siblings — was killed on October 7

“It doesn’t make sense that we’re going to Hostage Square, visiting cemeteries, sometimes flying abroad — all because of what happened. Our hearts have been held captive there for far too long,” says Hand, who was freed in the weeklong ceasefire and hostage release deal in November 2023.

Shaked Haran, daughter of Avshalom Haran, who was murdered on October 7, and whose seven family members — including her mother, her sister, brother-in-law, their two children and two cousins — were taken hostage and later released in the two consecutive deals, also spoke and called the last 593 days “our struggle.”

“It’s hard, exhausting, and Sisyphean — but it’s ours,” said Haran.

“It’s not fair that after everything we’ve been through as a community, we still have to fight. But that’s the reality. And there’s tremendous power in shifting the spotlight from what was done to us, from what was taken from us — to what we can do for our brothers and sisters in distress.”

Avshalom Haran z"l

She said that everyone has a role in the struggle for the hostages, and it won’t happen without a struggle.

“I’m reminding us here, too — we have each other,” said Haran. “We must continue to be there for one another, for the families of the hostages. Unlike any natural process, here time does not ‘heal all wounds.’ The reality for the families of the hostages is only getting harder with each passing day, and we must stand strong with them and by their side.”

Additionally, Kibbutz Be’eri members Natali Ben Gal and Inbal Bechar, who survived the massacre, spoke at the Kibbutz Hatzerim event.

Hamas terrorists killed 101 people at Be’eri, 90 of them kibbutz members, during the October 7 massacre. Be’eri at the time had a population of some 1,000 people, 550 of them kibbutz members.

In total, Hamas-led terrorists killed around 1,200 mainly civilians on October 7 and took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in captivity along with the body of a soldier killed in the 2014 Gaza war.

Danny Elgart Slams Netanyahu: 'Country Held Captive by Disconnected Leader Focused on Self-Preservation'
Danny Elgart, whose brother Itzik was murdered in Hamas captivity and returned to Israel, criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a protest against the government at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. He said, 'Instead of facing the public and apologizing for financing Hamas, Netanyahu held a press conference and dared to mock: They came with flip-flops.' Elgart added: 'This is what a country sounds like when held captive by a disconnected person who is busy saving himself instead of saving his people. If they came with flip-flops, how did they manage to break through Israel's defense line?' link It is an embarrassment that we have a prime minister who is so completely removed from reality and lies about things that everyone in the country knows the truth. Thousands of terrorists crashed through over 160 different locations and got through all of our defenses and not in flip-flops. They massacred 1200 of our citizens, tortured, raped and burnt them alive and then kidnapped 251 people, all on Netanyahu's watch and because of his enablement of Hamas for over a decade. DISGRACEFUL!!!!

Gaza and the South

Army says 98th Division started operations in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.
The IDF’s 98th Division has returned to operating in the Gaza Strip, the military announces.
Troops of the 98th Division operate in the Khan Younis area of the southern Gaza Strip, in a handout photo issued on May 22, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The elite formation of paratrooper and commando units — made up of thousands of soldiers — is operating in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, as part of the IDF’s new offensive against Hamas.
The military says the division is working to establish “operational control” and destroy Hamas’s infrastructure in Khan Younis, both above and below ground.
So far, the IDF says the division’s troops killed dozens of terror operatives, including in close-quarters combat and by directing airstrikes. Some 200 infrastructures were demolished, including tunnels, the army adds.
According to the IDF, five divisions are currently operating in Gaza.
IDF tank commander seriously wounded in northern Gaza
A tank commander in the 401st Armored Brigade’s 52nd Battalion was seriously wounded during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip earlier today, the military announces.
The soldier was taken to a hospital and his family was notified.
In a separate incident today, a soldier was lightly hurt after a grenade exploded during operations in southern Gaza, the military says. link Everyday of Netanyahu's war of political survival brings more casualties, death and suffering. For Netanyahu, all of our soldiers and the hostages are just cannon fodder for his political survival. Enough!
Gaza ambulance fleet down to a third, Palestinian Red Crescent says
The head of the Palestinian Red Crescent says its operations in Gaza may stop within days in the absence of fresh supplies, and its ambulance fleet was running at only a third of capacity due to fuel shortages.
Flour and other aid began reaching some of Gaza’s most vulnerable areas on Thursday after Israel let some trucks through, but nowhere near enough to make up for shortages caused by an 11-week Israeli blockade, Palestinian officials say.
Israel says it let in 100 trucks carrying baby food and medical equipment on Wednesday, two days after announcing its first relaxation of the blockade under mounting international pressure amid warnings of starvation in Gaza.
Asked how long his organization could continue operating in Gaza, Palestine Red Crescent Society President Younis Al-Khatib tells reporters in Geneva: “It’s a matter of time. It could be days.
“We are running out of fuel. The capacity of ambulances we work with now is one third,” he adds, saying its gasoline-powered ambulances had already halted, but it had some that were running on solar power provided by the United Nations.
Al-Khatib criticizes the small amount of aid Israel has allowed into Gaza so far, warning of the risk of mob attacks.
“I think that is an invitation for killing. These people are starving,” he says.
He adds his voice to criticism of a US-backed organization that aims to start work in Gaza by the end of May, overseeing a new model of aid distribution. “It’s not up for discussion. No, no, no,” he says.
“The world should not give up on the system as we know it.”
The Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation intends to work with private US security and logistics firms to provide aid to 300,000 people from distribution hubs in Gaza’s south.
WSJ: IDF targeted meeting of Hamas’s highest-ranking operatives in strike that killed Muhammad Sinwar
A picture shows a house being hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on May 13, 2023. (Majdi Fathi/AFP)
Hamas leader Muhammad Sinwar was killed in a May 13 IDF airstrike targeting a meeting of the terror group’s highest-ranking operatives, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Among the other top operatives killed was Mohammad Shabana, the commander of the group’s Rafah brigade, WSJ says.
The Hamas leaders had been gathering in a tunnel beneath the southern Gaza city of Khan Yonis to discuss their approach to ceasefire talks with Israel when they were hit, WSJ reports.
The meeting went against Hamas’s wartime security protocols, creating an opening for Israel to target a group of high-level operatives at once, WSJ says.
The IDF has yet to confirm that Sinwar was killed in the strike.

16 Gazans killed in Israeli strikes since midnight on Friday — Hamas-run civil defense agency

The Hamas-run Gaza civil defense agency says Israeli strikes killed at least 16 people since midnight Friday across the territory, where Israel has ramped up its military offensive in recent days.

Agency official Mohammed al-Mughayyir tells AFP that the strikes, which also wounded dozens of people, mainly targeted the center and south of the Palestinian enclave.

Hamas death tolls are unverified and do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

IDF says over 75 targets struck in Gaza in past day, several terror operatives killed

IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip in an undated photo published on May 23, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israeli Air Force struck over 75 targets in the Gaza Strip over the past day, the military says.

The IDF says the targets included terror operatives, rocket launchers, buildings used by terror groups, weapon depots, and other infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the military says ground troops killed several operatives across Gaza and destroyed other Hamas sites.

IDF plans to limit Hamas control to a small area in Khan Younis

Analysis: Senior commanders say Hamas must be forced into a ceasefire deal, realizing there are no more options; While the offensive continues, officials in the IDF say the internal political fight risks negating military achievements on the ground
After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined his demands for an end to the war, and in fact distanced any chance for a ceasefire in the fighting in Gaza, the military pushed on in its offensive on the Strip.

The outcome has been growing distrust in the public as to the real objectives leading the government's decisions and how they could be achieved, as well as increasing questions surrounding those objectives, among senior commanders in the field.

The top military brass insists that the IDF offensive must be in the service of releasing the hostages held by Hamas since the Oct. 7 massacre, in addition to destroying the terror group's ability to control Gaza.

"Hamas understands it is with its back against the wall and under a continued military assault," they said. "The terror group has no achievements on the ground, while the casualties sustained by the troops remain low. Hamas keeps losing territory to the IDF. They now have serious trouble governing and the humanitarian crisis is only getting more severe. We see daily demonstrations against Hamas, which appears to be losing control."

The military officials point to the announced new model for providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population. "This will further erode Hamas' standing. Ultimately, they will have to agree to a deal."

But what of the hostages? The officials concede that the fear of harming the captives poses challenges to the fighting forces. "We must be careful not to cause them harm, but only military pressure on Hamas will lead to the understanding that there are no options left."

In Khan Younis, the IDF has been moving the civilian population out of areas they have taken and where underground infrastructure was being destroyed. The military intends to limit Hamas's control to no more than 30% of the area.

"The offensive on Khan Younis last year was effective, but it was meant to search for and capture terrorists. Now we are here to destroy infrastructure and move the civilian population to other areas," they said. ' As in Rafah, Khan Younis will be empty of civilians and terrorists."

Still, the IDF is prepared to suspend its assaults if Hamas agrees to the Israeli terms for a ceasefire. Senior officers believe the killing of the top echelon of the Hamas military wing, including Mohammed Sinwar, could help efforts to reach a deal.

This war must be won now, the IDF commanders say. Still, the political dispute is worrying and the senior officers fear it could negate their achievements on the ground.

One point of concern is the participation of troops in the reserves who have been called up again, while the government continues to exempt the ultra-Orthodox sector from the need to serve. link The senior IDF brass say publicly that all the activities now in Gaza are for the purpose of releasing the hostages by forcing Hamas to the table. They say that with the achievements in the field, Hamas will have no choice. The senior brass really have no choice but to say these things publicly because that is what the political echelon which determines the actions of the army, say, but it is all bullshit. The first thing that all of us must remember is that additional military pressure is the worst thing for the hostages. They are at risk of being killed in the bombings, collapsing buildings and tunnels, they are definitely being treated much harsher by their terrorist guards, as we know from all of the returning hostages, and they are at very high risks of being executed as their terrorist guards have very explicit orders to kill all of the hostages if they feel the soldiers are getting near to them. Most of the hostages areas of captivity are booby trapped as well (information that the returned hostages have shared), so that it is very easy for the Hamas guards to both execute the hostages as well as kill any soldiers nearby. The second thing that we all must know and what all of the senior security people know, as well as Netanyahu, no matter what BS comes out of his mouth, there is no such thing as forcing Hamas to the table to make the deal that Netanyahu wants. As I have said innumerable times is that Hamas doesn't bargain/negotiate like other bodies of negotiation. They state very clearly their bottom line at the very beginning and they don't deviate from it, no matter what. Their bottom line is ending the war with international guarantees, pull back of all IDF troops, and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, including mass murderers of Israelis. Hamas can be on its dying breaths and will not deviate from this bottom line. Netanyahu doesn't have an issue with releasing thousands of Palestinian prisoners; he has done it before and with each of the 2 hostage deals. He shouldn't have any issue with ending the war nad pulling back all troops. Even if Hamas gets international guarantees, Israel will certainly go back in to Gaza the moment that Hamas breaches the agreement and that breach is virtually guaranteed to happen. A proper leader would go for this deal because it will get all the hostages home. But Netanyahu is not a proper leader and shouldn't be a leader at all. His only concern is his own self interests and ending the war works against his self interests, so the war goes on, the hostages are suffering and dying, our soldiers are getting killed and wounded, we are killing hundreds and thousands of Gazans, mostly women and children, and there is no justification for what is going on. The senior security people know this, the less senior are making noises both internally and externally that they don't understand why we are doing what we are doing because there is no real goal, it doesn't serve the hostages and certainly doesn't serve the country. The Air Force staff and pilots have begun talking externally that they also don't see the justification and purpose of their bombings in Gaza. And everyone knows it is all for Netanyahu, that's the bottom line and it is killing our hostages and damaging the entire country. Netanyahu is the most dangerous person to Israel today

Northern Israel, Lebanon and Syria

IDF says it killed Hezbollah operative in south Lebanon drone strike

The IDF says it killed a Hezbollah operative in a drone strike in southern Lebanon’s Rab Thalathin earlier today.

More than 150 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in Israeli strikes since the start of the November 2024 ceasefire in Lebanon.

Following the IDF evacuation warning in the southern Lebanese village of Toul, Lebanese media report an Israeli strike in the area.

The IDF warned it would target a Hezbollah site in the village.

IDF strikes Hezbollah munition storage following rare evacuation order

Israel says Hezbollah activity at the sites violated long-standing agreements and vowed continued operations to prevent future threats
The Israeli military issued a rare evacuation warning Thursday to residents of the Lebanese village of Toul, north of the Litani River, shortly before launching an airstrike on a building it said was used by Hezbollah. The warning, posted in Arabic by IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, was labeled an “urgent evacuation notice” and included a map marking the targeted structure. “You are located near facilities belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization,” the message said. “For your safety and the safety of your families, evacuate these buildings immediately and distance yourselves by at least 500 meters.”

About an hour later, IDF fighter jets struck the marked building. Smoke was seen rising from the site. The targeted building had reportedly been attacked previously. Civil defense teams were deployed in the area before the strike, and gunfire was heard in the village, apparently intended to urge residents to evacuate.

In a separate statement, the IDF said its aircraft had struck a Hezbollah military site containing rocket launchers and weapons in the Beqaa area, as well as additional terrorist infrastructure and rocket launchers in southern Lebanon. “Hezbollah terrorist activity was identified at the site,” the military said.

“The presence of weapons in the area and Hezbollah activities at the site constitute blatant violations of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the statement added. “The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat to the State of Israel and will prevent any attempt by Hezbollah to reestablish its terror capabilities.”

Earlier in the day, the IDF said it had killed a Hezbollah operative from the elite Radwan force in a drone strike in the village of Rabe Thalathin. The man was identified by Hezbollah-linked media as Haidar Mohammad Fakih.

Lebanese media also reported casualties in an Israeli drone strike in Houla and injuries to a shepherd allegedly shot by Israeli forces in al-Wazzani. Additional airstrikes were reported in the village of Mhaibib, where prefabricated buildings were damaged.

West Bank, Jerusalem, Israel and Terror Attacks

8 said injured in overnight settler attack on West Bank village, home of terrorist who killed Tzeela Gez
A car is engulfed in flames amid a settler attack on the Palestinian village of Bruqin, in the northern West Bank, on May 23, 2025. (Screenshot: X, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Palestinian media reports that eight people were injured in fires set by rampaging settlers in the village of Bruqin in the northern West Bank overnight.
Five homes and five vehicles were set ablaze in the attack, Palestinian media reports.
In footage from the village, cars can be seen engulfed in flames and partially burned, as flames lick at nearby homes. link More of the same rampant Jewish terrorism against Palestinians in their efforts to terrorize and force Palestinians to leave their homes that their families have lived in for hundreds of years. This terrorism is encouraged and promoted by the extremist messianic ministers and their parties whose goals include massive Jewish settlement in the West Bank in place of the Palestinians and now, of course, massive Jewish settlement in Gaza with the 'voluntary emigration' that is part of Trump's Gaza plan that they have fully embraced. And the ultimate responsibility for all of this criminal behavior is none other than Netanyahu who has normalized these extremist politicians and enabled all of this criminality. And he never speaks out against it. The criminals protecting the criminals.

Politics and the War and General News

Mr. prime minister, the massacre was not carried out by a mob in flip-flops

Opinion: Accounts of the October 7 aftermath challenges Netanyahu’s portrayal of Hamas as an unruly mob, highlighting the terror group’s military sophistication and the government’s failure

A short time after the October 7 massacre, I traveled south to the IDF's Kissufim base, which had been attacked by Hamas's Nukhba force. At the entrance were burned motorbikes used by the terrorists, and the officers' vehicles, also destroyed when the terrorists fired anti-tank rockets or by the Israeli tanks.

A mount nearby was where the terrorists who were killed were temporarily buried, "because they began to smell," one of the Golani Brigade soldiers told me. "There were about 100 bodies spread across the area."  

The equipment the terrorists carried with them in the attack was kept in a dedicated shed, The amount was staggering. There were Russian or Chinese-made weapons, explosives and guns, of course, rockets, missiles, bullets and more, including first aid kits. 
Along the fence, where the terrorists entered, we saw test tubes that we were told were used as detonators for explosives. The base was destroyed. The soldiers walked around slowly, their eyes bloodshot, their movements hesitant. 

I want to be clear and write in no uncertain terms that what I did not see at Kissufim, were flipflops belonging to the terrorists. What I saw with my own eyes, in the base, that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not visited after the massacre and in other areas where he has not been at all, since then, were the remnants of an organized military assault on the state of Israel. 
In his press conference on Wednesday, Netanyahu tried to portray the Hamas terrorists as an unruly mob who overpowered the IDF. But this was a skilled, prepared and well-trained army. The Nukhba terrorists were not a flip-flop-wearing mob, but a well-trained commando force. 
After they overran the military forces and the defense teams in the border area communities, a second wave of armed Hamas forces arrived, and then in the third wave, the looters came. I don't think, after all of that, there is any importance in discussing the terrorists' choice of shoes or if they were the flip-flops that the prime minister described. 
Hamas terrorists in Gaza   
It seems that Netanyahu still has not comprehended the severity of the events during the October 7 massacre. There was a colossal failure on the part of the military, but the failure of the Israeli government to recognize that Hamas was building a terror force under its nose was no less colossal. 
Whether or not the prime minister understood what had happened is irrelevant. He does not care. In his press conference, Netanyahu laid the blame on the military for not having troops to protect the border in all but one community, where he said nothing had happened. But something did happen there, at Ein Hashlosha. Four people were murdered, unbeknownst to the prime minister.
Hamas would not have been able to build such a force without massive resources and funding. Was the money provided to the terror group from Qatar, clearly marked to be used for tunnel building and attacks? No. Did Qatar intend for Hamas to use its funding for those purposes? We cannot say. 

But what is important to know is that Hamas sought to destroy Israel. The UN paid for Gaza's school, the international community paid for the hospitals in the Strip and Qatar, which was urged to provide cash without any restrictions by Benjamin Netanyahu's government, provided the cash, funded the rest. And that is how Hams was able to develop its lethal military wing. 
Of all those responsible for the failings leading up to and on October 7, only Netanyahu was in power nearly all the time, since 2009.  Link In his ongoing and never ending effort to rewrite history and cover up his total failures as Prime Minister and shirk all responsibility, Netanyahu has the gaul to ignore the deaths of so many killed and kidnapped on October 7 and minimalize what actually happened. He makes fun of the actual actions by turning it into a cartoon like event, saying that the terrorists came in flip flops. On October 8, Netanyahu's most important meeting was with his political and PR advisors discussing how to save his political ass and legacy. It wasn't a meeting to deal with the massacre of the previous day, or the fact that the army and the government abandoned everyone and failed in their most basic jobs, to provide security to the citizens. It wasn't to discuss how to get the government running and functioning in this new reality and to take care of everything that must be done. It wasn't to work with the security heads to regroup and get the security forces back up and running to route all of the terrorists who were still holding the western Negev communities and it certainly wasn't to deal with geting back the 251 people who were kidnapped the previous day. So, his press conference was the continuation of that same October 8 meeting to rewrite history, change the narrative, minimalize everything that brought about the massacre of 1200 people and destruction of entire communities, place all blame on the security forces and take credit for anything that Netanyahu deems is positive press for him. He talks proudly about bringing home 196 of the 251 hostages, but doesn't say a word about the fact that they were all taken hostage on his watch and under his responsibility. And god forbid that a hostage doesn't thank him and Sarah for getting them released. When that happens, the Netanyahu family poison machine goes into action and attacks the returned hostages, their families and any supporters of the hostages. But here is news to the Netanyahu family and their poison machine. We are the majority, we want the hostages home, we want the war to end, we want elections and we want an Independent Official State Commission of Inquiry. And we are going to get all of these things because we are the majority and you are a self interested petty politician whose has given up any concern for the well being of the State and its people and only act on what is good for yourself. Enjoy your position as long as it lasts because you will be placed in the darkest corner of our history very soon as well as all your enablers and cronies.

IDF captain who served 270 reserve days jailed for refusing to return to duty

Captain (res.) Ron Feiner, jailed after refusing reserve duty, says the war—not dissent—is harming Israel’s security: 'Once enough people speak out against it, the war will end'

A 26-year-old IDF reserve officer who served hundreds of days since October 7 was sentenced Wednesday to 20 days in military prison for refusing, on moral grounds, to continue fighting.

Captain (res.) Ron Feiner, a platoon commander in the reconnaissance company of the 8207th Battalion, 228th Northern Nahal Brigade, is a career army veteran, a student of philosophy, economics, and political science at the University of Haifa, and a youth movement instructor. He said he refused his most recent call-up in order to make a clear stand against the government’s policies.

Feiner and another reservist, Daniel Yahalom, who was sentenced to five days in jail for his refusal, are members of “Soldiers for the Hostages,” a group of more than 300 reservists who have publicly declared their opposition to the ongoing war and refusal to continue reporting for reserve duty.

According to the group, Feiner participated in three separate tours of active combat on the northern front, commanded battles in Lebanon, and led a rescue mission under fire during the incident in the village of Ayta ash-Shab, in which six IDF soldiers were killed.

Over the past year, he signed two previous letters of refusal but ultimately reported for duty out of commitment to his soldiers and fellow unit members. He said he made the decision to stop reporting only recently, after realizing that government efforts to free the hostages had come to a halt and that the focus had shifted back to the war in Gaza at the hostages’ expense.

סרן (מיל') רון פיינר נשלח ל-20 ימי כלא על סירוב מצפוני להמשיך בלחימה

After Katz bars him from reserves, Golan says he last wore IDF uniform to rescue civilians from government’s ‘horrific security failure’
Yair Golan, October 14, 2023. (Kan TV screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law).
The Democrats chair, Yair Golan, is quick to respond to Defense Minister Israel Katz’s announcement that he will be barred from reserve duty and from wearing his IDF uniform after he said earlier this week that soldiers were being sent to kill babies in Gaza “as a hobby.”
“The last time I wore an IDF uniform was on October 7, [2023] when I went down south to rescue civilians following your government’s horrific security failure,” writes Golan, a former IDF deputy chief of staff, on X.
“I promise to continue doing everything for Israel and its security, and I’m sure you’ll keep grovelling to Netanyahu and his poison machine,” Golan adds.

Commandos in women's clothing: New details on IDF’s covert operation in Khan Younis

Special forces kill senior Gaza terrorist Ahmad Sarhan in daring raid involving disguises, intense airstrikes and reportedly aimed to extract intelligence before assassination
Eyewitnesses in Khan Younis reported on Monday that IDF special forces disguised as women killed Ahmad Sarhan, a senior commander in the Al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees. The terror group later confirmed his death, calling him a “special operations officer.” According to accounts gathered by Hamas-affiliated Safa News Agency, a white bus arrived on Mars Street in the Al-Mahatta neighborhood early Monday morning, appearing to carry displaced women and their belongings.

Scene of strike in Khan Younis, Ahmad Sarhan

Witnesses said nine individuals dressed in women's clothing — some veiled, others with exposed faces — exited the bus and stormed Sarhan’s home, shooting him dead and arresting his wife and children.

Roughly four hours later, the group publicly acknowledged Sarhan's death. The house had previously been damaged by an Israeli airstrike, witnesses said. The operation reportedly lasted about 20 minutes and included intensive aerial support. Witnesses described hearing gunfire from inside the house before the force quickly withdrew under cover of heavy Israeli airstrikes.

Palestinian media reported that over 30 Israeli airstrikes were launched over a 40-minute span to secure the special forces' extraction. Helicopters and tanks provided additional firepower, reportedly killing and wounding dozens.

Safa claimed physical evidence was found at the scene, including rifle butts, shell casings, smoke grenades, women’s clothing and a camouflaged box resembling belongings of displaced persons.

Al-Hares, a media outlet affiliated with Palestinian factions, said Israeli forces used a civilian vehicle with local plates, women's disguises, concealed weapons and air cover to confuse residents. The channel urged civilians to remain vigilant and report any unfamiliar individuals or suspicious activity.

Palestinian sources said the goal of the raid was to extract intelligence from Sarhan before killing him. Images shared from the scene showed a bundle of mattresses allegedly brought in as part of the disguise.

Palestinian media also reported the killing of Mahdi Kawara, the Hamas’s Southern Khan Younis Battalion commander, though it remains unclear if his death took place during the same operation.

The IDF confirmed operations in Khan Younis as part of the ongoing operation in Gaza but denied media reports that Monday’s mission was related to a hostage rescue. “There is no change in the current situation,” an IDF spokesperson said.

Scene of strike in Khan Younis.

Israeli strikes Khan Younis

Mahdi Kawara

Who was Ahmad Sarhan? Sarhan was a top operative in the Al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees — Gaza’s third-largest terror group. The group follows a jihadist-salafist ideology and participated in the 2006 kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit alongside Hamas and the Army of Islam. The group was also responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Eliyahu Asheri that same day, sparking an Israeli operation in Gaza. Over the years, it has carried out numerous attacks, including roadside bombings targeting military and civilian sites both before and after Israel’s 2005 disengagement from Gaza. In recent years, the group has fired rockets at Israel during multiple rounds of fighting and has lost several senior commanders in Israeli strikes. It also took part in the October 7 massacre and was involved in the abduction and murder of Ohad Yahalomi, whose body was returned to Israel in the latest hostage deal with Hamas.

The Region and the World

Personal Stories

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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