🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 600, 2023 - May 28, 2025 🎗️

 

 🎗️Day 600 that 58 of our hostages are still
 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

600 DAYS


600 Days!!!! I remember 100 days and how none of us could believe that the government has allowed for our hostages to be in Gaza for 100 days. And then again at 200 days, and 300 days. No one at the demonstrations marking those hated milestones could believe that so many days have gone by and our hostages are still in Gaza.
And then came 400 days - unbelievable! How could our leadership forget our greatest values? We do not leave anyone behind! Life is the most important thing. Freeing prisoners is the first Mitzvah (good deed) as determined both by Rambam and Ramban and has been a guiding light of the Jewish people for ages.
And then, the unimaginable, 500 days! What? 500 days! How? Why are they still there? Does anyone think this is a normal situation? And each day that passes, our shock deepens, our nerves are both numbed and overly sensitive. We question every day, every hour where our country is going? We think, how can we send our children to the army when the army and our government have abandoned their commitment to us that our children will not be left behind under any circumstances?
And now 600 days! 600 days! I try to understand this number. How many months is that? We have passed a year, passed a year and a half. Are we really, unimaginably on our way to 2 years?
I think of Gilad Schalit and his 5 years and 4 months in captivity, until Netanyahu was finally ready to make a deal and bring him home. I think about David Meidan, the newly appointed coordinator for missing and captive soldiers and how he asked Netanyahu what his mandate is. Netanyahu said 3 words that he refused to say before - "Bring him home". (I know the intimate details through my brother who worked directly with David Meidan to bring Gilad home).
In the past 600 days, Netanyahu has refused to utter those three most important words "Bring them home" and has never given any of the negotiators a mandate to make the deal to bring them all home.
For 600 days, Netanyahu, who has made himself an autocrat with the support of his corrupted coalition, is the single voice to make all decisions about the hostages. He only brings the issue to his cabinet knowing they will vote against a deal, so he can say that it wasn't him but his duly elected government. The big problem is that he is an autocrat who is led by the nose by his extremist messianic coalition partners who have made no secret that the hostages don't mean anything to them and if they die, that is the price of war.
Together, this trio, Netanyahu, Smotrich and Ben Gvir, succeeded in turning the hostages issue from a national crisis into a political issue. So anyone who supports the hostages and their families and calls for a deal to bring the hostages home and end the war is called a traitor, a leftist, an anti Netanyahu Hamas supporter. They have made the unfathomable a distorted reality. But they have lost. Despite the multiple poison machines that they manage, the strongest being the Netanyahu family poison machine which is partnered with the Prime Minister's Office, the majority of Israelis want the hostages to be brought home in a single deal and end the war. 
In the latest polls, the majority of the population know that the continuation of the war is for Netanyahu's personal political survival and not for the hostages and not for the security of the country.
The problem is that this majority has no power until the elections, which are currently scheduled for October 2026, which is far too late. At least that is how many feel, but it's not correct. If we had a million protesters in the streets on a regular basis, it wouldn't move Netanyahu but it would move others in the coalition. They would start feeling the pressure on the street and within their voting populations and would recognize that early elections must happen. A million people would have the power to make the change. 
And this change would also bring about a change with the hostages and the war. If we were facing early elections, Netanyahu, together with his PR and political advisors, would stitch together the deal to bring home all the hostages and end the war. He would create a new narrative that he succeeded in achieving all of his goals for the war and that we have reached his "Total Victory" which has purposely never been defined and kept elusive so Netanyahu could never be held at his word or have said about him that his "Total victory" was not achieved. It will be achieved whenever Netanyahu says it is as he is the only one who knows what it means. With early elections within 3 months of its declaration, Netanyahu would be announcing from every podium, from every shuk (market place), on every channel that he, and only he and his sticking to his goals brought the country the "Total victory" and with it, the hostages home. He will try to show that keeping the hostages in Gaza was only due to Hamas' refusal to make a deal and that he did everything in his power to bring them home. Fortunately, very few people outside of his cult will buy his disingenuous narrative. Most of us know that it is all lies and that he, and he alone is responsible for the hostages being left in captivity in Gaza for so long and for the deaths of so many hostages who were killed in captivity. They all could have been brought home in November 2023 with the first hostage deal. No one will forget that Netanyahu broke that deal and went back to fighting, leaving behind most of the hostages. If he was a true leader who put the good of the people and the nation before everything else, all of the hostages would have been brought home then. We would never have reached 100 days, 200, 300, 400, 500, and now 600 days that they are in literal hell. It never should have happened. Netanyahu abandoned them on October 7 and 600 days later, they are still abandoned.



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

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Hostage Updates

Until the last hostage


Hostage families fume after Netanyahu appears to tease deal only to dash hopes
Brother of captive soldier decries ‘psychological terror’ after premier repeats comment his office walked back about hostage-related announcement ‘today or tomorrow’


Anti-government, pro-hostage deal protesters hold a demonstration outside the Begin Street entrance to the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, May 24, 2025. The writing on the ground reads: 'Nobody in the government is innocent.' (Photo by Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Relatives of hostages on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of toying with them the previous day when he promised a big announcement on the captives “today or tomorrow,” walked back the comment, and then repeated it.
“When the prime minister himself talks about it, we understand that maybe something real is happening,” Herut Nimrodi, mother of captive soldier Tamir Nimrodi, told Army Radio.
“It sent all the families into a frenzy. I didn’t know how to swallow it later when I heard it had been an aside,” said Nimrodi, whose son is one of three hostages for whom no sign of life has been received since their abduction.

Anat Angrest, mother of captive soldier Matan Angrest, told Kan public radio that she had understood “from Netanyahu’s tone… that he was not talking about tomorrow, but rather the future.”
Angrest added that soldiers fighting for Israel should know that if they fall captive, “not a single minister or Knesset member will fight for them, even if they are tortured, even if they are violently interrogated, none of them will care.” She told Army Radio a government minister had told her husband on Monday that “this is the price of war.”

 

Hostage Matan Angrest in a first image released by his family from Hamas captivity, March 3, 2025. (Courtesy)

Speaking to Channel 12, Eli Albag, father of formerly captive soldier Liri Albag, said without elaborating that a member of one hostage families had “tried to do something to himself” after the rug was pulled out from under him.

“The families started to get happy, they were as happy as one can get, but quickly they realized it was just blather, with no significance,” putting them in an extreme emotional state, said Albag.
He accused Netanyahu of irresponsibility, adding that the premier is “not just some tweeter” and his words carry weight. “Every word kills,” said Albag.
“The families don’t have strength anymore. Six hundred days is too much,” he added. On Wednesday, Israel will mark 600 days since October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu had said Monday at the tail end of a video statement: “I really hope we can announce something regarding the hostages, if not today, then tomorrow.”

After anxious queries from families, his office cited a “senior official” as saying the comment should not be seen as a hint toward an impending ceasefire-hostage deal in Gaza, and accused Hamas of stonewalling in negotiations.
“The prime minister meant that we will not give up on freeing our hostages, and if we don’t achieve that, hopefully in the coming days, we will achieve it later on,” the statement said.

Netanyahu went on to make a similar comment during a speech Monday evening at the state Jerusalem Day ceremony, at the capital’s Ammunition Hill: “The task in Gaza, including the task of returning our hostages, keeps us busy every day and every night… We aren’t letting go of this, and if we don’t fulfill it today, we’ll do it tomorrow. And if not tomorrow, the day after.”

“It is psychological terror in every sense of the word when a prime minister throws out an aside about my brother’s life,” Yotam Cohen, brother of captive soldier Nimrod Cohen, told Ynet. “This is despicable, and was done in the most crude, disgusting way.”

Vicky Cohen, Nimrod and Yotam’s mother, said on Reshet Bet that she hadn’t slept because the premier’s words were “echoing in my head all night.”
“Why is the Israeli government insisting on a partial deal while Hamas is demanding a comprehensive deal?” she asked, expressing fear that a partial ceasefire-hostage deal would leave her son behind. “What’s the plan to bring back Nimrod?”
Foreign media had on Monday cited unnamed Hamas officials declaring that the group had accepted a deal proposed by Steve Witkoff, the White House’s special envoy to the Middle East. Witkoff denied that Hamas had accepted his proposal, and called on the terror group to agree to a temporary offer that he said Israel would accept. At the Jerusalem Day ceremony, Netanyahu called Hamas “stubborn” and said Witkoff agreed with him.

The deal being discussed would see around 10 living hostages and 10 bodies of hostages, along with hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners, released in two stages during a roughly two-month ceasefire. During that time, Israel and Hamas would hold negotiations on the terms of a permanent truce.
Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement in January, the first phase of which saw Hamas release 33 women, children, civilian men over 50 and those deemed “humanitarian cases,” in exchange for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
The first phase expired March 2 amid Israel’s refusal to negotiate the second phase, which would have required a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza — a red line for Netanyahu and his far-right allies. On March 18, Israel resumed hostilities in Gaza, and has recently launched an operation aimed at seizing 75% of the Strip.
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are still holding 58 hostages, including the body of a soldier killed fighting in the 2014 war. At least 35 hostages have been confirmed dead, another 20 are believed to be alive, and there are grave concerns for the well-being of the three others, Israeli officials have said.  link

 

Israelis gather nationwide to mark 600 days since hostages taken on Oct. 7: ‘Save Them Now’

Protesters in Shoham call for the release of the hostages on Day 600 of the war., May 28, 2025 (Danny Guttman/Pro-democracy protest groups)
Beginning at 6:29 a.m., the moment when Hamas launched its October 7, 2023 terrorist attack, Israelis gather at different locations around the country in the formation of the yellow hostage symbol.
The demonstrations, a call to free the 58 remaining hostages in Gaza, mark 600 days of war.
They gather in the predawn hours in the shallow waters of the Mediterranean Sea near the US Embassy branch in Tel Aviv, with the numbers 58 and 600 and “Save Them Now” spelled out in the sand.
People stand in a circle at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, wearing yellow shirts and holding yellow balloons, waiting for the moment when the digital board counting the days, hours, minutes and seconds of captivity switches from 599 to 600.
As the counter turns to 600, the circle releases their balloons and calls, “Bring them home now!”
People gather in a yellow formation on a grassy public knoll in Zichron Yaakov, tie a massive yellow hostage ribbon around Jaffa’s clocktower, hold yellow balloons in Ramat Aviv, and create a human yellow ribbon around intersections in Hadera, Holon, Kfar Saba, Nahalal Junction, Modiin and Emek Hefer.
A human chain forms along the main road from Na’an to Sitriya in the north, while in Jerusalem, residents gather together at the park near the home of Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who has been heading Israel’s hostage negotiation team, for the morning service that include prayers for the new month.
At 7:10 a.m., a group of bereaved parents stand in a park across from the Tel Aviv high-rise home of Knesset speaker Amir Ohana, speaking into a microphone, asking the Likud lawmaker to go out to his balcony and look at them.
“Go out on your porch and look at us,” says one father. “Our children were killed and assaulted on October 7. For 600 days, you have turned away from us. We won’t let this break us, and we’ll continue to fight.”

Israelis protest for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip in Yesud HaMa’ala, marking 600 days of the hostages’ captivity, May 28, 2025 (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)
The bereaved parents say they are working on a proposal for legislation calling for new elections because the government refuses to create a state commission of inquiry, investigating the events that led to the Hamas terror attack of October 7.

A demonstration at the beach in Tel Aviv to mark 600 days in captivity for the hostages, May 28, 2025 (Erik Marmor/Flash90)
600 days since October 7, freed hostages plea for remaining captives to be released

Six hundred days since October 7, 2023, when terrorists invaded southern Israel in a massacre that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, former hostages issue pleas for the remaining captives to be freed.
In a column published by Haaretz, former hostage Or Levy, whose wife Eynav Levy was murdered on October 7, says that every second in Gaza is dangerous.
“On a day like this, I ask you to fight. Fight for those left behind. Fight for their families, who never rest for a moment. Fight for those who are looking to close the circle, and bury their loved ones,” he writes.
“Fifty-eight people were left behind. Fifty-eight families who stopped their lives on that damned Saturday, and since then — haven’t returned. Haven’t returned to life. Haven’t returned to smile. Haven’t returned to breathe,” he writes.
“During my time in captivity, we talked a lot about our luck in being born in the State of Israel. So I was sure that they would not forget us, that they would not rest until we all returned. And that is really true — I see the mobilization of everyone,” he writes.
“But unfortunately, it is not true for the people who decide, for the decision-makers. Therefore, I turn to you again — the elected officials, the leaders of our country: Please, do not forget them. Please, bring them home,” says Levy, who was held for 491 days. “Because they do not have time. Every second there — hurts. Every second there — is dangerous. And at any moment — someone could die there.”
Eliya Cohen speaks at an event in the United States, explaining the hellish conditions for those held hostage in Gaza.
“I was a Hamas captive for 505 days. We were taken to an underground tunnel and chained,” Cohen tells an event at Israel’s consulate in Los Angeles, according to the Ynet news site.
“The terrorists would only remove the chains once every two or three months, to allow us to bathe. Every night you go to bed with one thought: ‘What am I going to do tomorrow to get a piece of pita bread?'” he says.
“600 days that our brothers have been in captivity. There are still 58 kidnapped. We must not give up.”
Cohen and Levy were returned to Israel dangerously emaciated.
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 58 hostages, including 57 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023.
They include the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF, and 20 are believed to be alive.
There are grave concerns for the well-being of three others, Israeli officials have said.
Former hostages and relatives of 58 captives mark 600 days since Oct. 7: ‘Abandoned and forgotten’

Former hostages, relatives at a press conference in Tel Aviv, marking 600 days of the hostages' captivity, May 28, 2025 (Miriam Alster/Flash90)


Hostage family members gather at the Tel Aviv’s Hostages Forum offices to mark 600 days since their loved ones were taken captive on October 7, 2023, by Hamas terrorists.
Anat Angrest, whose son, hostage Matan Angrest, was kidnapped by Hamas from a burning IDF tank at the Nahal Oz military base during the battle, directs angry comments at the Israeli government.
“I want to turn here to every mother and father: Imagine standing next to me, that you gave everything to the state and to the homeland but you’re abandoned and forgotten,” says Angrest. “It can unfortunately happen to every one of us.”
Angrest says she believes that the number of soldiers who refuse to serve in the army will grow, as will the number of citizens who no longer want to hold Israeli citizenship.
“This is not just my war, or the war of the Angrest family, or 58 families,” she says, referring to the 58 remaining hostages in Gaza.
Angrest’s words are echoed by Leah Goldin, whose son, Hadar Goldin, was killed in battle in Gaza in 2014 and whose body is still held by Hamas.
“Hadar was abandoned,” says his mother. “It was seen as a private matter of the Goldin family. Now there are 58 more Hadar Goldins in Gaza. This is a national issue.”
Released hostage Arbel Yehoud, 29, who was kept alone for the entirety of her 482 days of captivity, is joined by Eitan Cunio and Lucas Cunio, the brothers of hostages David Cunio and Ariel Cunio, Yehoud’s boyfriend.
Alongside them is released hostage Yarden Bibas, the longtime close friend of David Cunio. Bibas was freed in February but his wife, Shiri, and their two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, were killed in captivity. The Bibas family, Cunios and Yehouds are all members of Kibbutz Nir Oz, where they were taken captive from their homes on October 7.
“I was there. I know exactly what the hostages are going through,” said Yehoud, naming the hostages from Nir Oz who are still held captive. “I call on the Israeli nation and its leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Trump opened the door, Edan [Alexander] went out and this door has to stay open until all come home.”

Arbel Yehoud, speaks alongside Yarden Bibas, Eitan Cunio and Lucas Cunio at a press conference in Tel Aviv, marking 600 days of the hostages captivity, May 28, 2025 (Miriam Alster/Flash90)


Ofri Bibas, sister of Yarden Bibas, holds up a picture of baby Kfir, who was 10 months old when he was killed in captivity.
She says they shouted for months when her brother, sister-in-law and nephews were taken captive.
“We screamed and tried to believe and the help never came,” she says.”Prime minister, on [October 7] you failed that day and have failed for the last 600 days. You didn’t take responsibility and won’t investigate what happened,” she says, referring to the government’s refusal to establish a state commission of inquiry.
“So many soldiers gave their lives. Wars have to end with diplomacy,” says Ofri Bibas. “How many more soldiers and hostages have to die for this to end?”
Another veteran member of Kibbutz Nir Oz, 85-year-old Yocheved Lifschitz, whose husband, Oded Lifschitz, was killed in captivity, says that the Israeli government didn’t seem to want her and her neighbor, Nurit Cooper, back home when Hamas captors released the two women and brought them to the border on October 28, 2023.
She calls that moment the second embarrassment of the nation, following the October 7 disaster.
“Something else that bothers me is Israel’s chief rabbinate,” says Lifschitz. “The commandment to rescue captives — the rabbis don’t open their mouths about it,. What matters to them is funding and not enlisting yeshiva students in the army. Returning captives is a basic issue in Judaism. They don’t know what real Judaism is.”
Other hostages’ family members come onstage, including former hostage Ilana Gritzewsky, whose boyfriend, Matan Zangauker, is still in captivity; rescued hostage Luis Har; and Tal Kuperstein, father of hostage Bar Kuperstein.
They all call on the government to bring the remaining hostages home, “to stop with the nonsense,” says Har.
“How is it that you haven’t brought Bar home?” asks Barak Oz, cousin to hostage Bar Kuperstein.
He sighs heavily, describing a dream he had that Bar came home.
“I felt him, I smelled him,” he says. “I want to cry from that kind of happiness.”
He hugs Tal Kuperstein, Bar’s father, who cries onstage. Kuperstein, a former ambulance volunteer, is wheelchair-bound after a stroke during surgery, following a car accident when he was saving a young child’s life.

Gaza and the South


IDF says two of the four new aid distribution sites in Gaza are now operational


Footage released by the IDF on May 27, 2025, shows an aid distribution site in southern Gaza's Rafah. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF announces that two of four recently established aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip began operations today, delivering food packages to thousands of Palestinian families.
The aid sites are being operated by a private American security company, while the IDF secures the surrounding area.
Three of the distribution sites are located in the Tel Sultan area of southern Gaza’s Rafah, while the fourth is in the Netzarim Corridor area, south of Gaza City. The two sites that began operations today are in Rafah.
“The establishment of the distribution centers took place over the last few months, facilitated by the Israeli political echelon and in coordination with the US government,” the IDF says in its first official comment on the aid sites.

An infographic released by the IDF on May 29, 2025, shows an aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip. (Israel Defense Forces)
“This process coincided with an ongoing dialogue and cooperation with the IDF, through the Southern Command and COGAT, as well as international aid organizations, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and the American civilian security company,” it says.
The IDF says it will “continue to facilitate humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip, while making every possible effort to ensure that the aid does not reach the hands of the Hamas terrorist organization.”
Palestinian media reports 9 killed in overnight Israeli strike in Gaza

Palestinian media reports nine people were killed and 15 injured in an Israeli strike overnight on an area north of Gaza City.
A spokesman for the Hamas-run civil defense authority says the home of a journalist was targeted. Reports say the unnamed journalist survived.
There is no comment from the Israel Defense Forces.
16 people killed in Gaza strikes, Hamas-run authorities say; IDF declines to comment

Gaza’s Hamas-run authorities say 16 people were killed in Israeli strikes since dawn.
“Sixteen people have been killed as a result of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip since dawn,” civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal tells AFP.
Among them, nine belonged to the family of photojournalist Osama al-Arbeed and were killed in a strike on their home in Gaza’s north at 2 a.m., Bassal says.
He adds that Arbeed was injured, noting that he is a videographer and editor at a local film production organization.
And in central Gaza six members of the same family were killed in a strike that left 15 people wounded, “including children,” Bassal says.
One other person, a civilian per Bassal, was killed near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
The figures cannot be independently verified.
When contacted by AFP, the Israeli military declines to comment on the strikes, saying it cannot not do so without precise coordinates.

Northern Israel, Lebanon and Syria



IDF says its medical facility in south Syria has treated over 500 Syrians


The IDF says a medical facility it set up in southern Syria, next to the Druze village of Hader, has so far treated over 500 Syrians.

The “forward mobile triage” was established several weeks ago, amid the IDF’s ongoing operations in southern Syria, and is intended to treat Syrian Druze in the area, the military says.

“IDF troops continue to operate in Syria to maintain the security of the residents of the Golan Heights and to create a forward security zone, alongside providing assistance to the local population,” it adds.

IDF: Lebanon drone strike last night killed local Hezbollah commander


An Israeli drone strike last night in southern Lebanon’s Yater killed a commander in Hezbollah, the military announces.

According to the IDF, the operative, named by local media as Nabil Balaghi, was the commander of Hezbollah’s forces in the Yater area.

During the war, Balaghi “advanced terror attacks on IDF troops and Israel,” the IDF says, adding that recently he attempted to restore Hezbollah’s capabilities in the Yater area, which “constitutes a blatant violation of the [ceasefire] deal.”

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

West Bank, Jerusalem, Israel and Terror Attacks



Palestinian reports: Dozens of settlers set fire to vehicles, damage homes in village near Nablus


Palestinian media outlets report that dozens of settlers attacked the village of Qaryut, near Nablus in the northern West Bank, in recent hours.

According to the reports, settlers set several vehicles on fire and threw stones, causing damage to homes and cars.

A local Palestinian tells The Times of Israel that around 60 settlers entered the village during the attack, and several Palestinians sustained minor injuries from stone-throwing but did not require hospitalization.

Footage shows IDF forces present at the scene, apparently arriving after the incident. The IDF has not yet issued a response.  video

IDF: Over $2 million of Hamas ‘terror funds’ seized in West Bank raid on money changers


The IDF says it seized over NIS 7 million ($2 million) in “terror funds” and detained over 30 suspects in an operation yesterday in the West Bank against money exchange stores allegedly funding Hamas.


Israeli troops storm a currency exchange shop next to signs warning people not to deal with the Gulf exchange company in Hebron in the southern West Bank on May 27, 2025. (HAZEM BADER / AFP)

Several currency exchange stores in the West Bank were raided in the operation.  link To be honest, I'm not convinced that this money is for Hamas terror funding. Money changers work throughout the West Bank and also throughout Israel. They change money and are a source of sending money from and to other places to help family members. It can be seen by the picture that they provide Western Union service for just that purpose. I'm not ruling it out that it could be a funnel for Hamas but just because the army raided some of the money changers does not make it a fact.

Politics and the War and General News



Former PM Olmert slams comments by ministers on starving Gaza: ‘What is it, if not a war crime?’


Ehud Olmert testifies during a hearing of the civil investigative committee on the October 7 massacre, in Tel Aviv, August 8, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)




Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert tells CNN that recent statements by senior Israeli ministers advocating the starvation of Gaza amount to “war crimes.”

“What is it, if not a war crime?” he challenges, adding, “How can a serious person representing the Israeli government… spell it out in such an explicit manner that we should starve Gaza, that there should be no supply of basic, fundamental humanitarian needs?”

He goes on to claim that the ongoing conflict no longer appears to be “a war against Hamas.”

“This looks more and more like a political war,” Olmert says, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and what he calls his “group of thugs” of driving the government’s actions.

According to Olmert, the government’s intents “can’t be interpreted in any other way” than as war crimes.

Olmert told the BBC last week that what Israel “is doing now in Gaza is very close to a war crime.”  link If we look objectively at this situation, it is easy to see that everything Olmert is saying is true. We are committing more and more war crimes every day in Gaza. It is being directed by the political echelon and the security forces are carrying out those crimes. We are starving 2 million refugees that we made them refugees, we are promoting and forcing 'voluntary emigration' which is a recognizes war crime of ethnic cleansing under the crimes of Genocide. And all of it for Netanyahu's War of Political Survival. Who could have believed that we, Israel could be accused and actually guilty of crimes of genocide? This crime was defined by the Geneva Convention of 1949 after the horrors of the Holocaust and the genocidal crimes committed against us Jews in WW2. And now under Netanyahu and his extremist messianic government, we are absolutely guilty of these war crimes. It doesn't matter that we are not actively trying to wipe the Palestinians off the face of the earth as the Nazis tried to do to us. The definition of these war crimes are not limited to that. Our bombings, our withholding of humanitarion aid, our forcing emigration, are all war crimes under the crime of Genocide. Thanks to Netanyahu's war, we are guilty!

IDF probe into Oct. 7 attack on Kibbutz Mefalsim: Hamas controlled key crossroads, massacred dozens
Internal investigation finds failures in force deployment and preparedness, revealing how Hamas overran strategic sites, including Kibbutz Mefalsim and a major junction near Sderot, killing 77 civilians and 13 security personnel. link
‘A hornet’s nest of terrorists’: Israel Police commandos recount brutal ambush on Oct. 7
Elite police units describe chaotic fighting, rescues under fire and breakdown of command as Hamas terrorists launched their deadly surprise attack on Kibbutz Mefalsim
Two commanders from Israel’s elite police units described harrowing combat and moments of heroism during the Oct. 7 attack on Kibbutz Mefalsim, one of the deadliest days for Israeli forces in the Gaza border region.
Superintendent A. of the Gideonim unit and Superintendent S. of Yamam recounted chaotic engagements with armed Hamas terrorists, rescue operations under fire, and a desperate fight to contain the assault as it unfolded across multiple locations.
According to findings from Lahav 433, the Israel Police’s national crime-fighting unit, the terrorists had planned to continue their assault northward, into central Israel.
'No authority, no army to respond'
Superintendent A., commander of the Gideonim’s 33rd Division, said his unit was deployed early in the morning and rushed south in separate teams. At the Sha’ar HaNegev junction, he encountered confusion after an exchange of fire between soldiers and police. They had reported terrorists in a nearby field.
“I said I was protected and went in,” he said. “We saw figures, moved toward them, shouted in Arabic—and only then realized they were survivors from the Nova music festival who had fled into the fields. They were mistaken for terrorists.”
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Upon reaching Kibbutz Mefalsim, he said his unit was directed to the regional division headquarters, where scenes of carnage awaited. “Route 232 was full of bodies and burned-out vehicles. We advanced toward the eucalyptus avenue—this was the Black Arrow memorial site, unlike Route 232, which was filled with security forces,” he said.

There, his team encountered Maglan soldiers and came under heavy fire. Two terrorists were killed in the exchange. He described how a subsequent encounter left two of his fighters critically wounded.
“One was shot in the head and later recovered from a coma. The other was hit in the aorta,” he said. “We loaded them into a vehicle, but I had no way to treat them. Route 232 was scorched. There was no authority, no army to respond. We evacuated them and asked to transfer them to Ashkelon.”
With only four fighters left, the team was surrounded. “There was gunfire from every direction. Terrorists were in the trees—30 to 40 of them driving around with machine guns,” he said. Reinforcements picked up their distress signal and rushed to assist, taking up positions at the memorial site’s entrance while his team held the line deeper inside.
“We held the memorial site for hours under relentless fire. We tried to coordinate air support, but couldn’t. The terrorists were like ants among the trees.”
15 battle zones, 150 terrorists killed
Superintendent S., deputy commander of Yamam, said his unit operated across 15 separate combat zones that day. He described the situation as fluid and dangerous but said the teams achieved tactical successes.
“Every area we entered—we secured. We eliminated more than 150 terrorists. But we paid a heavy price: nine of our fighters were killed,” he said.
He was deployed at 7:30 a.m. to the Yad Mordechai junction, where he encountered the first wave of Hamas terrorists. After regrouping in Sderot with eight fighters, they proceeded to Sha’ar HaNegev, which was completely blocked and had three wounded personnel on the scene.
“There was no intel. We didn’t know where the terrorists were. We realized the junction was full of ambushes and went in,” he said.


The fighting around the junction, dense with trees and vegetation, was fierce. Six Yamam fighters were killed during the battle, but the unit broke through and began clearing the area.
Superintendent A. credited the Shujaiya Battalion with a critical tactical decision that disrupted the terrorists’ plan for a deep incursion.
“They chose a key point to secure, and we surprised the terrorists just as they were surprising us. That threw off their plans,” he said.
Later that day, Yamam forces advanced to Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where they rescued hostages—some from their homes—under fire. With few supplies left, including just two grenades, the unit used a local WhatsApp group to coordinate with residents and gain their trust.
“One of my fighters was from a nearby community,” Superintendent S. said. “That helped convince families to come out.” link

• In first, Israeli Navy deploys drone boats, military reveals
  
  An Israeli Navy unmanned vessel, or drone boat, off the coast of Israel in a photo published by the IDF on May 27, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
  
  

  In recent weeks, the Israeli Navy has deployed for the first time unmanned vessels, also known as drone boats, in Israel’s exclusive economic zone, the military reveals.

  “The vessels have the capability to construct a broad maritime picture and are engaged in monitoring and characterizing the movement of vessels within the exclusive economic zone,” the IDF says.

  “The information derived from the vessels is collected, documented, and used by the IDF for threat analysis and force deployment in the maritime theater and in the mission of protecting the strategic assets of the State of Israel,” it adds.

  
  
• Security cabinet said to secretly approve establishment of 22 new West Bank settlements
  

  Israel’s security cabinet held a vote in secret last week to approve the establishment of 22 new West Bank settlements, according to Hebrew media reports.

  The motion was said to have been put forward by Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

  The Israel Hayom news outlet reports that the government intends to use the new settlements to bolster Israel’s presence around Route 443, which connects Jerusalem and Tel Aviv via Modiin. A section of the route passes through the West Bank.
  

  Yesha Council chair Israel Ganz declares the secret government decision to be “the most important decision since 1967,” when Israel gained control over large swaths of land in the West Bank.  link This is exactly in line with the messianic goals of Smotrich and Ben Gvir to completely take over the West Bank first and then Gaza and finally to push all Arabs out of Israel proper. Settlements mean stealing Palestinian lands, reducing Palestinian access to resources, such as water which is already limited to them, more fences and walls to separate them from their farm lands and increased violence by the extremist settler terrorists all with a goal of forcing them out of their homes and making the West Bank Palestinian free. And, of course, this will bring the extremists closer to forcing the government to annex the entire West Bank. 
  These extremist messianics care nothing about all of the backlash that will come immediately from the international community and possibly even from Washington, which under Trump has pressured Netanyahu in the past not to annex the West Bank. Annexing the West Bank and further settlements and expansions of existing settlements which are certainly the plan will also put the last nail in the coffin of ever reaching normalization with Saudi Arabia and expansion of the Abraham Accords. At another time, Netanyahu would have been much more cautious in order to continue with diplomacy to expand the Abraham Accords but the extremist lead Netanyahu by the nose to do what they want. This has been the case throughout the war and til now whereby they set the illusory goals of the war and none of their goals include anything about the hostages. 
  Seeing decisions by the security cabinet and not pushing for a hostage deal and ending the war shows what we already know that this cabinet and government are a disgrace to the entire country. We are deserving of real leaders, not this band of self interested extremist scum who care nothing about the state of the country and the people. 

• Israel to begin deporting citizens convicted of terrorism who receive payments from Palestinian Authority
  

  Israel is set for the first time to deport citizens convicted of terrorism who are receiving payments from the Palestinian Authority, Defense Minister Israel Katz and Coalition Whip Ofir Katz announce.

  In a joint statement, the officials say four individuals are currently in advanced stages of the deportation process, with proceedings initiated against hundreds more.

  The announcement follows a classified Knesset committee meeting earlier attended by Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, where they reviewed the implementation of a February 2023 law allowing the revocation of citizenship from convicted terrorists and their deportation.

  Defense Minister Katz says, “Terrorists and terror supporters who are citizens or residents of Israel will receive no reward for their actions,” adding that “those who choose murder and hatred will be deported and stripped of their citizenship.”

  Coalition Whip Katz calls the move “a historic moment,” adding: “In the fight against terror, there are no compromises.”

  The law, an amendment to Israel’s 1952 Citizenship Law, applies to both Israeli citizens and permanent residents incarcerated following a conviction for terror, aiding terror, harming Israeli sovereignty, inciting war, or aiding an enemy during wartime.

  The law enables citizenship to be revoked even if the person has no other citizenship, provided they have a permanent residence status outside of Israel. Once citizenship is revoked, the person would be denied entry back into Israel.  link This is a very dangerous precedent. It is the first time that we will be deporting and stripping of citizenship Israeli citizens. Currently, it is directed at 4 individuals but in the wrong hands (and this entire coalition is the wrong hands), it can and will be extended to many more of the Arab citizen population and then to those opposing the extremist government, meaning all left wingers and all protesters against the government's corrupt actions. This is yet another nail in the coffin of Democracy that this government is trying to bury. They are following the guidebooks of autocracy and dictatorship: going after the judicial system and stripping it of its powers, going after the free press, going after the NGOs that don't support the government (plans for a law to tax all donations coming from outside the country to these NGOs), changing the education curriculum to their autocratic ideologies, turning the police into a militia of the extremist criminal minister who is in charge of them, attacking and arresting protesters on phony charges that don't hold up in court, and the list goes on. This is dangerous and Israel is in danger of losing what little democracy we have left. Thank you Netanyahu.

The Region and the World


• ICC prosecutor was readying warrants for Smotrich, Ben Gvir before going on leave — WSJ
  

  ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan was readying to request arrest warrants for Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir before going on leave amid a sexual misconduct probe, the Wall Street Journal reports.

  According the US newspaper, which cites current and former International Criminal Court officials, Khan was building a case against Smotrich and Ben Gvir over their roles in promoting Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

  Other unidentified officials besides Ben Gvir and Smotrich are also reportedly being investigated by the ICC for working to expand settlements.

  It is unclear whether Khan’s deputies will move forward with the case against the two far-right ministers, with the report noting such a move could bring further US sanctions and would entail deep political risks at a time when the court has no top prosecutor in place.  link Putting aside the motives of the ICC Chief Prosecutor, these 2, Smotrich and Ben Gvir are certainly deserving of these warrants and conviction. They are both promoters of ethnic cleansing and genocide. Ben Gvir, the Minister of Internal 'Insecurity' is already a convicted criminal in Israel (from Wikipedia - "He has a long history of anti-Arab activism leading to dozens of indictments and at least eight convictions of crimes including incitement to racism and support for, as well as possession of propaganda of, a terrorist organization (the now illegal political party Kach)". As the minister in charge of the police, he has given explicit orders to the police not to investigate Jewish settler terrorism against Palestinians and not even to show up when called to an ongoing terrorist attack. 
  Smotrich has a long history of Anti-arab activities including calling for a ban on Arab political parties (Arabs citizens of Israel make up over 21% of the Israeli electorate), as the failed Finance Minister has withheld budget monies that were allocated for economic development in the Arab sector, called Arab citizens of Israel an existential threat and more. He is the prime motivator of settlement building and expansion in the government which includes stealing Palestinian lands and making the lives of Palestinians so miserable in order to get them to 'voluntarily migrate' as he is pushing to do in Gaza now. 
  They are both criminals and should be prosecuted accordingly. Since our corrupt government and Prime Minister won't lift a finger against these criminal actions, the international courts will, and it is much deserved. It is unfortunate, however that their criminal acts are viewed as the criminal acts of the entire country and population and are on the way to making us a pariah state.

• Italian FM: Israel’s legitimate response to Oct. 7 now taking on unacceptable form
  

  Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani condemns Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip, calling it “dramatic and unacceptable” and urging an immediate end to the strikes.

  Speaking to the Italian parliament, Tajini says, “The legitimate reaction of the Israeli government to a terrible and senseless terrorist act is taking on dramatic and unacceptable forms, which we call on Israel to stop immediately.”

  He adds that Italy is prepared to contribute to a peacekeeping mission in Gaza, provided it is led by Arab nations.  link He is absolutely right. What is happening today in Gaza is unacceptable. We are killing women and children every day as 'collateral damage' in our non-ceasing bombing attacks. The only reason the war is going on still is because of Netanyahu and turning the war into his War of Political Survival. And his war is turning us into a pariah state. Our bombing casualties are unacceptable, the humanitarian aid that is not getting through is unacceptable and the continuing of the war and not getting our hostages home are unacceptable and all of this is in Netanyahu's hands. That makes it the most dangerous because all he has on his mind is his political survival and his legacy, not the country and not the hostages.

• IDF confirms strikes on Houthi-held airport targeting plane used ‘to transport terrorists’
  

  Screenshot from a video circulating on social media apparently showing smoke after Israeli strikes on Houthi-held Sanaa International Airport on May 28, 2025 (Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

  The IDF confirms carrying out airstrikes at the Houthi-held Sanaa International Airport in Yemen a short while ago.

  According to the IDF, the strike hit the airport and an aircraft used by the Houthis “to transport terrorists who advanced terror attacks on Israel.”

  “Similar to the ports of Hodeida and Salif that were struck last week, the main airport in Sanaa is routinely operated by the Houthi regime and serves its terror purposes. This is another example of the cruel use made by the Houthi terror organization of civilian infrastructure for terror activities,” the IDF says.

  
  
• Macron says upcoming UN conference will ‘give fresh impetus to recognition of a Palestinian state’
  

  French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirms his wish to see a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

  Macron is leaning toward recognizing a Palestinian state, diplomats and experts say, a move that could infuriate Israel and deepen Western splits.

  “Only a political solution will make it possible to restore peace and build for the long term,” Macron says, during a visit to Indonesia.

  “Together with Saudi Arabia, we will soon be organizing a conference on Gaza in New York to give fresh impetus to the recognition of a Palestinian state and the recognition of the State of Israel and its right to live in peace and security in this region,” he says.

  Macron is referring to a June United Nations conference co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia on creating a Palestinian state.

  Israel has denounced the potential recognition of a Palestinian state as a “reward for terrorism.”

  Indonesia president: We’re willing to recognize Israel if it recognizes a Palestinian state, we must guarantee Israel’s rights and safety
  

  Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto says he would be willing to establish diplomatic relations with Israel if it recognizes a Palestinian state.

  He makes the statement amid talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in capital Jakarta.

  “The two-state solution and the freedom of Palestine is the only way to achieve the true peace. We must acknowledge and guarantee Israel’s rights as a sovereign country that must be paid attention to and guaranteed safety. Indonesia has stated that once Israel recognizes Palestine, Indonesia is ready to recognize Israel,” he tells a news conference.

  Under previous Indonesian president Joko Widodo, Indonesia tolerated low-level, quiet contacts with Israel, mainly on trade, but largely shunned open ties with the Jewish state.

  Last year, Widodo’s office denied a report that Jakarta and Jerusalem had intended to normalize relations in October 2023 but the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the resulting war caused the plan to be shelved.

  Indonesia has reportedly examined normalizing ties with Israel to smooth its entry to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

  Moves toward normalization between the countries have been rumored for years, but Indonesia has refused to cement ties until an independent Palestinian state is established and has been a staunch supporter of the Palestinians. The country has a tiny Jewish community.

  Anti-Israel protests are common in Indonesia, where support for the Palestinians runs high.  link This is a very important and reality changing statement by the president of the largest Muslim country in the world. He, like so many others knows that the Israel/Palestine conflict can never be solved by military conflict, only by diplomatic and political agreements and the only realistic political agreement that can end the conflict is the 2 State Solution.
  Once we have leadership which is not self serving and self interested on both sides, we may be able to reach this monumental change and reach agreements which will change the face of the Middle East and our futures. It is the only real choice that we have and we cannot allow extremist messianics detroy that future.

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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