🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 604, 2023 - June 1, 2025 🎗️

 

 🎗️Day 604 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

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

*7:00pm yesterday - Gaza envelope - rockets - Nirim, Ein Hashlosha - Several rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip at southern Israel a short while ago, the IDF says.

The rockets struck open areas near the border communities of Nirim and Ein Hashlosha, according to the military.

There are no reports of injuries.



Hostage Updates

Until the last hostage


Source tells ToI: Hamas response includes demand that makes it harder for Israel to continue war


A source directly involved in the negotiations tells The Times of Israel that Hamas’s response to US special envoy Steve Witkoff’s proposal includes a demand that makes it more difficult for Israel to resume fighting if talks on a permanent ceasefire are not completed by the end of the 60-day truce.

The source says there were other changes Hamas made to the Witkoff proposal, adding that this would require a more drawn-out negotiation process.

The updated proposal submitted by Hamas envisions the release of the 10 hostages being spread out more throughout the 60-day truce, rather than in two batches on the first and seventh day as the US offer envisioned.

The source says this change is aimed at preventing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from abandoning talks on a permanent ceasefire after the 10 hostages are released or refusing to engage in them altogether as he did during the previous ceasefire in January.

Report: Hamas wants to release hostages in five stages instead of two outlined in Witkoff proposal


The Egyptian Al-Rad Channel reports that Hamas has responded to US special envoy Steve Witkoff’s proposal for a ceasefire-hostage deal, demanding that the return of hostages be split into five stages, instead of two in the first week.

Citing unnamed sources, Hamas wants to release four living hostages on the first day of the 60-day truce, two living hostages on the 30th day, and on the last day of the deal, it will release four more hostages.

Hamas is offering to release the bodies of dead hostages on the 30th and 50th day of the proposed ceasefire, the report says.

 

The Deal On the Table????

I am trying to understand the Israeli and Hamas decisions regarding the latest proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal.  Up front, both sides announced that they accepted the deal that’s on the table.  Israel boasted that they accept the deal and they are waiting for Hamas’s response. Hamas announced with all of the glory that they accept the deal, but expect Israel to reject it. Hamas included in their announcement that they expect a ceasefire that will last 7 years and that the US would guarantee the full implementation of the deal by Israel including ending the war and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, similar to last deal that was breached by Israel.  Witkoff and Israel announced that Hamas added the seven-year ceasefire and the US guarantees which according to Witkoff “set us all backwards”. Hamas announced that Israel made tens of amendments to the deal on the table.  This is one of the problems of negotiations through a third-party as opposed to direct negotiations. It is also a reflection that both sides have entirely contradictory goals in the negotiations. And as such, it is evident that Israel and Hamas perceive the deal on the table in very different ways. I heard from one of the mediators that the problem remains Hamas’s demand that the war come to an end and that Israel will withdraw totally from Gaza and Israel’s refusal to end the war and withdraw from Gaza.  But there are even different interpretations on the issue of humanitarian aid and the modalities for their supply to the people of Gaza.  So, unless something happens quickly, it seems that there is no breakthrough and no deal on the table.  The war will continue. More Gazans will die, combatants and many non-combatants, more destruction of the very little that is left of Gaza will occur from continued Israeli bombing. More Israeli soldiers are likely to be killed as well. Hostages may also die or be killed. The suffering and trauma will continue for both peoples. This is tragic. The only way that this war will come to an end and all of the hostages will come home, and Palestinian prisoners will be released – some who are also hostages, is if President Trump instructs Netanyahu to end the war and make a deal. Until then, it seems there is no real deal on the table and continued negotiations are exercises in futility. (Gershon Baskin, June 1, 2025)





Group of hostages’ families fear for those left behind under partial deal with Hamas


A group of hostages’ families fear that reaching a temporary deal to release captives in Gaza will lead to the deaths of those left behind, during a weekly press conference.

Einav Zangauker says she discovered this week that her son Matan, who is held by Hamas, miraculously escaped bombings several times, “and in one case, almost suffocated to death from toxic gases in a tunnel that was bombed and collapsed.”

Zangauker slams Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for only seeking a partial deal to return hostages, which will be a “death sentence for hostages that remain behind.”

Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod is held hostage, expresses fears that his son would be left behind under US special envoy Steve Witkoff’s current proposal being negotiated.

“He is likely to pay the price of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s insistence not to end the war,” he says, adding: “Netanyahu is abandoning my son and is shattering the Israeli ethos for political reasons.”

A Gaza Humanitarian Foundation spokesperson downplays footage from earlier today showing Palestinians overrunning one of its aid distribution sites, asserting that the scene was relatively calm and that a certain level of chaos is expected due to how hungry Gazans are.

Israel lightly lifted its blockade of Gaza after 78 days last week.

The GHF spokesperson says its contractors running the site allowed Palestinians to take boxes themselves, while helping those in need, and that the hope is to soon transition to a more orderly process when desperation in Gaza dies down.

Another ‘Schindler’s List’: Ex-captives, bereaved families reject new partial deal offer

In weekly rallies, slain hostage’s dad says he told PM he’s ‘causing wars within our nation’; teens Or and Yagil Yaakov recount horror of captivity, plead for father’s body to be returned


Demonstrators set fire to placards during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of hostages held captive in Gaza, outside the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on May 31, 2025. (Jack Guez/AFP)

Thousands of people rallied in cities across Israel on Saturday night to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and for the return of the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

The protests, which take place weekly, were held this week against the backdrop of a new ceasefire and hostage deal proposal put forward by the US, and Hamas’s response to the offer, which was deemed “totally unacceptable” by US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Ahead of the main protests on Saturday evening, a group of hostages’ families warned in their weekly press conference that the temporary deal on offer would lead to the deaths of those left behind.

Relaying the urgency of the situation, Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, slammed Netanyahu for only seeking partial deals rather than a comprehensive, one-off agreement, and warned that it would be “a death sentence for hostages that remain behind.”

She said she discovered earlier this week that Matan miraculously escaped  bombing several times, “and in one case, almost suffocated to death from toxic gases in a tunnel that was bombed and collapsed.”

Yehuda Cohen, father of hostage Nimrod Cohen, said he feared his son, an IDF soldier, would be left behind under the current proposal.



Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, thanks protesters for their support at a weekly anti-government, pro-hostage deal rally in Tel Aviv, on May 31, 2025. (Adar Eyal/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

“He is likely to pay the price of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s insistence not to end the war,” Cohen said, adding: “Netanyahu is abandoning my son and is shattering the Israeli ethos for political reasons.”

Later in the evening, at the rally at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, which markets itself as apolitical, the young sons of a slain captive issued a heartfelt appeal for the return of their father’s body.

“I need to know he’s here so I can get back to my life,” said Or Yaakov, who, along with his father Yair and brother Yagil, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023.

Yair was killed during the assault and his body remains in Gaza, while Or and Yagil were released during a weeklong truce in November 2023.

“Why have we been waiting over 600 days just to bury him?” asked Or.

Or, who was 16 years old when he was taken, said his captors initially bound him because they believed he was an IDF soldier.

“I cried. I thought about my mother, my father, my home,” he said. “I asked myself: What if Dad’s in captivity? What if he’s not alive?”

“Only two months after we were returned did we learn he had been murdered,” he said.

Yagil, who was 12 when he was kidnapped, told the crowd of supporters that “for the entire captivity, I was alone with two terrorists.”

“I was nervous, sad, didn’t eat anything. They got annoyed, took a big plank and said, ‘If you don’t stop crying, we’ll take this and beat you with it until you stop,’” he said, quoting his captors in Arabic.

“I didn’t stop, because a 12-year-old has no clue what’s going on. So they kept beating me until I was in pain and screamed, ‘Stop!’” he continued, quoting himself in Arabic as well.



Ex-hostage Yagil Yaakov, whose father’s body is still held in Gaza, speaks at a rally at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, on May 31, 2025. (Paulina Patimer/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Even though he has been free for well over a year, Yagil said he still feels his captivity: “The shackles on my hands, the burns, the smell of smoke, bruises all over my body.”

“Please, pray, fight, scream,” he said. “We won’t be silent until my dad and all the hostages are back.”

Another ‘Schindler’s List’

Across the way from Hostages Square, some 1,000 anti-government protesters gathered at the Begin Road entrance to the IDF headquarters, where they crowded in to listen to Michel Illouz, the father of slain captive Guy Illouz, who met with Netanyahu earlier this week.

He claimed that the premier was willing to hurt the hostages and was inciting violence within Israeli society, while weakening Israeli democracy.

Illouz said that in the meeting on Thursday with the premier and eight other hostage families, he asked how the current truce-hostage proposal in Gaza was any different from the previous one, which was signed in January and fell apart in early March after its first phase.

“In the last deal, too, you had no intention of progressing to the second [phase],” which would have required Israel to withdraw from the Strip, Illouz said he told Netanyahu. “You’re basically giving up and are willing to sacrifice my son.”



A demonstrator wearing a gag on her mouth holds portraits of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip, at a protest in front of the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on May 31, 2025. (Jack Guez/AFP)

He said he also accused Netanyahu of sowing tensions among the hostage families by deciding which of their loved ones would be included in a deal, in a manner resembling another “Schindler’s List,” in which some of the remaining living hostages would be chosen for life, and the others sentenced to death. That was a reference to the famous list, compiled by Nazi party member Oskar Schindler during World War II, of Jews he went on to save.

“When I got no answer,” Illouz said, he told Netanyahu: “I can handle the loss of my son — what I can’t handle is what you are doing to us, Israeli society. You’re sowing discord among us… You’re causing wars within our nation. You need to stop playing your coalition games.”

“Of course, I got no answer,” he added.

To applause, Illouz said he’s “very worried for the future of the State of Israel… which becomes more dictatorial every single day.”

“The Israeli government is carrying out a military operation that could put the hostages’ lives at risk,” he said. “Is that moral? Is that human? Is that Jewish? Is that Israeli?”

The new hostage deal proposal presented to both Israel and Hamas by US envoy Steve Witkoff in recent days would see the release of 10 living Israeli hostages and the return of the bodies of 18 deceased hostages — around half of the living hostages and half of those no longer alive — in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire during which negotiations would be held regarding the return of the other captives and an end to the war.

The outline has been criticized by the families of the hostages, who fear their loved ones being left behind by yet another partial deal. On Saturday evening, however, Channel 12 reported that Israeli officials involved in the talks told the families that if the deal goes ahead, it would ultimately lead to the release of all remaining hostages.

Following Illouz’s speech and remarks from several other relatives of hostages, protesters on Begin Road briefly attempted to light a bonfire in the middle of the street. It sent up a large column of dark smoke, but was swiftly extinguished by police.

In a marked departure from recent weeks, the Begin Road demonstration was not preceded by a separate anti-government rally at the nearby Habima Square.

There was similarly an absence of protesters on Kaplan Street, where left-wing protesters have held a silent vigil each Saturday night for the Gazan children killed by Israel since the end of the last ceasefire with Hamas on March 18.



Protesters light a bonfire during a demonstration against the Israeli government and for the release of the Gaza hostages outside the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, May 31, 2025. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

There are currently 58 hostages held in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF, and 20 hostages who are believed to be alive. There are grave concerns for the well-being of three others, Israeli officials have said.

Hamas released 30 hostages — 20 Israeli civilians, five soldiers, and five Thai nationals — and the bodies of eight slain Israeli captives during a ceasefire between January and March, and one additional hostage, a dual American-Israeli citizen, in May as a “gesture” to the United States.

The terror group freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that in the early weeks of the war. In exchange, Israel has freed some 2,000 jailed Palestinian terrorists, security prisoners, and Gazan terror suspects detained during the war.   link

Eight hostages have been rescued from captivity by troops alive, and the bodies of 41 have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors, and the body of a soldier who was killed in 2014.

The body of another soldier killed in 2014, Lt. Hadar Goldin, is still being held by Hamas, and is counted among the 58 hostages.


Gaza and the South



GHF downplays video of crowd overrunning Gaza aid site today


A Gaza Humanitarian Foundation spokesperson downplays footage from earlier today showing Palestinians overrunning one of its aid distribution sites, asserting that the scene was relatively calm and that a certain level of chaos is expected due to how hungry Gazans are.

Israel lightly lifted its blockade of Gaza after 78 days last week.

The GHF spokesperson says its contractors running the site allowed Palestinians to take boxes themselves, while helping those in need, and that the hope is to soon transition to a more orderly process when desperation in Gaza dies down.  video

IDF says dozens of strikes hit terror targets across Gaza over past day



Palestinians inspect the rubble following Israeli strikes on the al-Qattaa family home in al-Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City, on May 31, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)




Over the past day, the Israeli Air Force struck dozens of targets in the Gaza Strip, including terror operatives and infrastructure used by Hamas, the military says.

According to Hamas authorities, 60 people were killed and dozens more were wounded in Israeli strikes over the previous 24 hours.

The IDF says a drone strike on Friday in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood killed a prominent Hamas operative involved in manufacturing weapons.

In another incident on Friday, soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade spotted a cell of four armed operatives and eliminated them, the military says.

The paratroopers also located and destroyed several explosive devices that had been planted in their area of operations, the IDF adds.

IDF troops find and demolish 700-meter-long Hamas tunnel in Khan Younis area




Troops of the 7th Armored Brigade operate in the Gaza Strip in a handout photo published on June 1, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

During operations of the 7th Armored Brigade and elite Yahalom combat engineering unit in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza, the IDF says troops located and demolished a 700-meter-long Hamas tunnel.




The tunnel, according to the military, was some 30 meters deep underground. The IDF publishes a video showing the demolition of the tunnel.  video




Also, during the operations in Khan Younis, the IDF says the troops spotted a cell of three operatives moving explosive devices to plant them. The forces called in a drone strike, killing the three operatives, the IDF adds, publishing a video of the incident.  video




The IDF says the troops operating in Khan Younis have killed dozens of terror operatives and destroyed over 100 infrastructures used by terror groups, including by calling in strikes.





IDF says it’s ‘unaware’ of reported injuries caused by shooting at Gaza aid site


Hours after Palestinian media reported dozens of casualties by Israeli fire at a humanitarian aid distribution site in southern Gaza, the IDF says it is “unaware” of the reports.

“At this time, we are unaware of injuries caused by IDF troops’ fire within the [humanitarian aid] distribution site,” the military says, adding that “the matter is still under review.”

When asked for a clarification, the IDF did not deny that gunfire was carried out, but said it was unaware of any injuries caused.

Earlier, Palestinian media said some 30 were killed and over 150 were wounded by Israeli fire at one of the aid distribution sites in Rafah this morning. Another person was killed and over a dozen were injured at an aid distribution site in the Netzarim corridor area, the reports claimed.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said that the aid was handed out “without incident,” adding that reports of casualties were “untrue and fabricated.”




Hamas-run civil defense agency says Israeli fire killed 22 near aid distribution site
The Hamas-run Gaza civil defense agency says Israeli fire killed at least 22 people near a US-backed aid distribution centre in the southern city of Rafah, revising an earlier death toll.

“The number of martyrs from the massacre at the American aid center in Rafah has risen to at least 22, with more than 120 wounded, including children,” civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal tells AFP.

The figure cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.

The IDF has not commented on the incident. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said earlier that “our aid was again distributed today without incident.”  link Hamas is making all efforts to cause fear and panic among Gazans to prevent them from collecting humanitarian aid from the new distribution centers. As a result of these centers and the new mechanisms in place to distribute aid, Hamas has lost a very important power function as well as losing a huge source of their income throughout the war, which was to steal a large percentage of the aid, stockpile for its own use, which including using it to induce Gazans to join the Hamas ranks, and by selling it on the black market. This new system for aid distribution should have been introduced early in the war, both to assure that the refugees were the real beneficiaries of the aid and to prevent Hamas accessing and using the aid for their purposes. It wasn't done because it was another of the very long list of Netanyahu's failures during this war.

Amid reports of many killed and wounded, Gaza aid body says aid ‘distributed without incident’



Amid reports of large numbers of dead and wounded Gazans who were on their way to a humanitarian hub, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says that “our aid was again distributed today without incident.”

“We are aware of rumors being actively fomented by Hamas suggesting deaths and injuries today. They are untrue and fabricated,” it continues in a statement.

A Red Cross hospital said at least 21 people were killed this morning and another 175 injured, without saying who opened fire on them.

The GHF says it has distributed over 4.7 million meals over the past week, including 887,00 at the Tel Sultan site this morning.




Gazan media says doctor whose 9 children were killed in IDF strike dies of wounds



Palestinian doctor Alaa al-Najjar visits her injured husband in the intensive care unit at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, after an alleged Israeli airstrike hit their home. Al-Najjar lost 9 of her 10 children in the attack, which occurred shortly after she had left for work (Hani Alshaer / Anadolu via Reuters)

Media outlets in Gaza report that overnight, Dr. Hamdi al-Najjar, a physician in Gaza, died of wounds sustained in an Israeli strike last week on his home in Khan Younis, which killed 9 of his 10 children.

The IDF responded to the strike last week, stating: “An aircraft targeted several suspects identified by IDF forces operating in a structure near their position in the Khan Younis area. Khan Younis is a dangerous combat zone that was cleared of civilians by the IDF for their protection prior to the start of operations. Claims of harm to non-combatants are under review.”







Saudi report: Hamas loses security control over Gaza, struggling with chaos
Saudi TV channel Al-Hadath reported from sources that "Hamas has lost security control over Gaza." According to the report, "Thieves are taking over aid supplies and homes. Extremist groups have begun organizing in Gaza following Hamas's security collapse. Hamas is using family heads to deal with the chaos and theft in the Strip, but without success. A large part of Hamas's system has collapsed with the elimination of senior officials and operatives. Hamas is struggling to ensure salaries for its employees."

Hamas cell leader responsible for the deaths of 21 IDF soldiers in 2024 ambush killed in Gaza Khalil Abd al-Nasser Muhammad Khatib, a senior Hamas commander tied to a deadly January attack that killed 21 Israeli soldiers, was eliminated in a precision strike following intelligence work by the IDF and Shin Bet in southern Gaza In a joint operation on Friday, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security service eliminated Khalil Abd al-Nasser Muhammad Khatib, a senior Hamas operative responsible for the deadly January ambush that killed 21 Israeli soldiers. Khatib, a cell commander in Hamas’ Al Mawasi battalion, was targeted during a reconnaissance mission following extensive intelligence gathering. According to the military, troops identified Khatib in the field and directed an aircraft to strike his position. The IDF said Khatib was behind the January 22 attack in the Al Mawasi area of southern Gaza, where his cell launched anti-tank missiles at buildings housing Israeli troops and at an armored unit securing the perimeter. The incident marked one of the deadliest single days for the IDF since ground operations began in the Gaza Strip.



Soldiers killed in the central Gaza Strip on January 22, 2024: Top (L-R): Sgt. Maj. (res.) Mark Kononovich, Sgt. First Class (res.) Israel Socol, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Adam Bismut, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Shay Biton Hayun, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Itamar Tal, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Daniel Kasau Zegeye, Sgt. First Class (res.) Cedrick Garin; middle: Sgt. First Class (res.) Hadar Kapeluk, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Matan Lazar, Cpt. (res.) Ariel Mordechay Wollfstal, Master Sgt. (res.), Elkana Vizel, Cpt. (res.) Nir Binyamin, Sgt. First Class (res.) Sagi Idan, Sgt. First Class (res.) Ahmad Abu Latif; bottom: Sgt. Maj. (res.) Rafael Elias Mosheyoff, Sgt. First Class (res.) Nicholas Berger, Master Sgt. (res.) Yoav Levi, Sgt. First Class (res.) Yuval Lopez, Sgt. First Class (res.) Elkana Yehuda Sfez, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Sergey Gontmaher, Sgt. Maj. (res.) Barak Haim Ben Valid. (Israel Defense Forces, courtesy; combo image: Times of Israel)

Military officials said Khatib had been involved in additional attacks throughout the war and was responsible for advancing several plots targeting Israeli forces. “The IDF and Shin Bet will continue to operate against terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip in order to remove any threat posed to Israeli civilians,” the statement read. video

IDF demolishes remains of booby-trapped building where soldier was killed in Gaza

Over the past day, the Israeli Air Force struck dozens of targets in the Gaza Strip, including terror operatives, booby-trapped structures and other buildings used by terror groups, tunnels, and sniper and anti-tank posts, the military says.

Meanwhile, during operations in Khan Younis, the IDF says it demolished the remains of a booby-trapped building where a soldier was killed last month.  video

On May 20, Staff Sgt. Danilo Mocanu was killed when a bomb planted by terror operatives exploded in a building, which then partially collapsed with him inside.  

Northern Israel, Lebanon and Syria



Al-Julani was interviewed by a Jewish newspaper: "Israel is a security partner, we have shared enemies"
The new leader of Syria called for creating relations with Israel • "We will work where there is sincerity and a clear path to coexistence, and distance ourselves from anything else," said the president • On Trump: "He is a man of peace, he is the only one who can fix the region" • On the new government's missions: "We need to build trust, the state must now listen to everyone"



Exclusive: The new president of Syria, Al-Julani, was interviewed by a Jewish newspaper. Julani, who spoke with the Jewish Journal, referred to his country’s connection with Israel and called: "The era of endless bombings must end, we have shared enemies." About the new government he explained: "We need to restore the trust of the residents."

"I will be clear," he said during the interview in connection to Israel, "the era of endless bombings must end. No country thrives when its skies are full of fear. We have shared enemies – and it is possible to reach a future security partnership."

He expressed desire to return to the disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria, which was signed after the Yom Kippur War. According to him, the return to the agreement is meant to protect the Druze in the Golan Heights and in Syria. "The Druze in Syria are citizens, rooted and loyal – and they are deserving of protection. Their safety is not negotiable," he explained.

Al-Julani claimed: "Peace needs to be achieved through mutual respect, not fear. We will work where there is sincerity and a clear path to coexistence, and we will distance ourselves from anything else."

The new president of Syria also referred to U.S. President Trump, whom he managed to meet. "I see him as a man of peace," he said, "we were both attacked by the same enemy – and Syria needs a direct mediator who can ‘reset’ the talks. He is the only person who can fix the region, bring us together."

The challenges of the government? "The past is present everywhere"
"We are not starting from zero," said Al-Julani about the new government, "we are starting from the depths." According to him, "we inherited more than ruins – we inherited trauma, distrust, and fatigue. But – we also inherited hope. It is fragile, but also real."

Al-Julani spoke about the new rule, which replaced the Assad regime during whose time a civil war occurred. He said: "The past is present in every person, in every street, in every family. But, our duty now is not to return to it, not even to a softer version. We must create something entirely new."



Syrian refugees Turkey (Photo: Reuters)

"We inherited trauma," Syrian refugees in Turkey | Photo: Reuters

Since being elected, Al-Julani has promoted a series of steps intended to restore some of the residents’ trust in the regime. "We are inviting everyone to the table – secular, religious, academics, rural and urban people," he explained, "the state must now listen to their opinion."

"I am not asking for trust," Al-Julani continued, "I am asking for patience, and careful examination. Take responsibility for this process and in this way trust will be built."  link It can't be clearer than this; the man is calling for peace with Israel. Let's see if we have anyone in our failed government who will make the right move and work towards a peace agreement with the new Syria.




Lebanon, Syria step up drug and arms smuggling crackdowns amid regional shifts
Israel and Jordan are on alert amid rising smuggling attempts, including weapons bound for Hezbollah and drugs heading to Gulf states; Syrian and Lebanese forces report increased seizures, but questions remain over how much contraband still gets through
Lebanon and Syria are stepping up efforts to curb cross-border smuggling of drugs and weapons amid a period of political transition in both countries, with a series of recent seizures highlighting the persistent threat posed by these networks — some of which are believed to be connected to Hezbollah.

The Lebanese army on Thursday said it thwarted several attempts to smuggle drugs and fuel in the eastern Baalbek region, near the Syrian border. Several suspects were arrested, authorities said. Baalbek is located in the Bekaa Valley, a region long associated with Hezbollah, alongside Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh suburb and parts of southern Lebanon.






In neighboring Syria, state news agency SANA cited a security source near Damascus who reported that a Syrian unit intercepted a drug shipment headed from Lebanon to villages near Mount Hermon. Syrian forces ambushed the traffickers, resulting in a brief firefight that left one Syrian officer dead and two armed smugglers in custody, the source said.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati addressed the issue earlier this week in an interview with Sky News Arabia, vowing that Lebanon “will no longer be a conduit for drug smuggling to any state.”

The Syrian and Lebanese governments have increasingly highlighted their enforcement actions against smuggling, a shift seen as significant particularly in Syria. Under the rule of former President Bashar Assad, the country became a major producer and distributor of narcotics, particularly the amphetamine Captagon, with key operations reportedly led by the military’s Fourth Division under Assad’s brother, Maher Assad.

While drug trafficking remains a concern, Israel has expressed alarm over weapons smuggling from Syria to Lebanon. Some of the arms are believed to be destined for Hezbollah. On Sunday, Syria’s Al-Ikhbariya TV reported that security forces in Homs seized a weapons cache, including missiles, that was intended for transfer to Lebanon. Photos of the confiscated arsenal were released. A week earlier, Syrian border guards reported intercepting a separate arms shipment headed west.



In a report published Friday, the Lebanese daily Nidaa al-Watan said Hezbollah is rebuilding military infrastructure in Beirut’s Dahiyeh neighborhood, north of the Litani River, and in the Bekaa Valley. The group is allegedly enhancing its capabilities with smaller, more fortified bases, while also relocating weapons storage sites — sometimes in broad daylight — without interference from Lebanese security forces. The report follows weeks of apparent Lebanese military action against Hezbollah on one hand, and continued Israeli airstrikes on what it describes as Hezbollah targets on the other. On Friday, the Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah weapons in the Bekaa Valley overnight, citing renewed activity at a site previously targeted by Israel. Hezbollah is reportedly carrying out construction and excavation activities not only in Dahiyeh — including at the former headquarters of assassinated official Hashem Safi al-Din — but also in more remote areas of the Bekaa Valley. The group is said to be building underground bunkers and storage facilities along the eastern slopes of Lebanon’s western mountain range, areas that have not yet been hit by Israeli strikes. Diplomatic sources have warned of a possible escalation in Israeli operations in response.




This escalation comes as Lebanese authorities advance plans to limit the presence of unauthorized weapons in the country, including those held by Hezbollah and Palestinian factions in refugee camps. Nidaa al-Watan reported that a coordinated operation between the Lebanese army and Hezbollah to remove arms from areas north of the Litani is set to begin next week, away from public and media scrutiny. In southern Syria, smuggling remains rampant along the border with Jordan. On Thursday, Syrian authorities said they intercepted a variety of narcotics being trafficked through the Nasib border crossing en route to Gulf states. The Jordanian military frequently reports foiling similar attempts, including some involving drones. Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv Two weeks ago, the Al-Mayadeen network reported that a warplane, believed to be Jordanian, struck a house in the village of al-Shaab in southern Sweida province — an area targeted multiple times in Jordan’s ongoing effort to curb drug smuggling from Syria. Despite a warming of ties between Amman and Damascus following the collapse of Assad’s regime, the drug trade continues to strain relations. The Saudi daily Asharq al-Awsat reported this week that Jordan is facing a surge in smuggling attempts, though the overall volume of narcotics entering the country has declined, likely due to a crackdown on major Syrian traffickers and producers.

IDF says it killed Hezbollah anti-tank operative in southern Lebanon drone strike


A Hezbollah operative was killed in an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon this morning, the military says.

According to the IDF, the strike in the village of Arnoun killed a member of Hezbollah’s anti-tank unit.

More than 180 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



IDF vehicles appear to intentionally damage Palestinian minibus in West Bank; IDF probing


The IDF says it is investigating after army vehicles were filmed appearing to intentionally damage a Palestinian minibus in the West Bank city of Jenin last night.

Footage from the incident showed an IDF David and Panther light armored personnel carriers crashing into the side of the minibus while driving through the area.

There were no reports of injuries in the incident.

In response to a query by The Times of Israel, the military says the incident is under investigation.  unbelievable video- entirely intentional

Several said injured in latest settler raid of Palestinian village; no arrests

Several Palestinians have been injured in the latest settler raid of a village in the West Bank, Al Jazeera and other Arabic media outlets report.

The latest attack has targeted the village of Deir Dibwan near Ramallah.

Assailants torched a building located on the outskirts of the village and hurled stones at residents inside the town, according to reports.

As is almost always the case in such attacks, which have been taking place across the West Bank on a near-daily basis, there are no reports of any arrests.  Video

Politics and the War and General News



IAF reserve pilot says he will no longer fight war, claims it is harming chance of freeing hostages


IAF pilot Lt. Col. (res) “Pey” says he has informed his commanders that he won’t show up for a fourth round of reserve duty, telling Kan radio on Friday he believes the war is harming efforts to release hostages.

The pilot, whose name cannot be made public for security reasons, says that while the military has done all it can to prevent harm to hostages, “there is also uncertainty and mistakes.”

“There is one percent of mistakes in everything. This means that about 1,000 munitions fell on people who should not have been killed. Whether it’s hostages, whether it’s our soldiers, whether it’s uninvolved individuals,” he says.

“Pey” says he can no longer continue fighting the war, since it is now “waged with a blatant conflict of interest that is causing disaster and is harming the chance of freeing hostages.”

Many reservists in the military have refused to answer the latest round of call-ups, over criticism of the ongoing handling of the war, as well as the mental health burden of the previous rounds of service.

The Region and the World



Arab FMs slam ‘arrogant’ Israeli decision to block trip to West Bank


AMMAN, Jordan — The foreign ministers of five Arab countries who had planned to visit the West Bank this weekend condemn Israel’s decision to block their plans.

The ministers condemn “Israel’s decision to ban the delegation’s visit to Ramallah (on Sunday) to meet with the president of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas,” the Jordanian foreign ministry says.

Ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates had been expected to take part alongside Turkey

The joint statement from the Arab ministers says the decision to block the visit “reflects the extent of the Israeli government’s arrogance, its disregard for international law, and its continued illegitimate measures and policies that besiege the brotherly Palestinian people and their legitimate leadership.”

The ministers add that Israel is seeking to perpetuate “the occupation, and undermine the chances of achieving a just and comprehensive peace.”

Personal Stories


Six months after ceasefire, some in north are slow to recover as fears of new fight lurk
Rebuilding amid detritus of 13-month war, Shtula residents embark on a prolonged comeback, while Kibbutz Sasa mourns loss of elderly evacuees who couldn’t stand to be away

Shula Giladi stands in the bathroom of her house in Shtula, damaged during the Israel-Hezbollah war on May 23, 2025. (Diana Bletter/Times of Israel


SHTULA – Shula Giladi, known as Shula from Shtula, used to welcome tourists into her northern Israel home with Kurdish delicacies and stories of her family’s life in Kurdistan a century ago.


Then the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah began firing anti-tank missiles, rockets and explosive drones across the border, damaging her home and hundreds of others’.


Now, the displaced 72-year-old jokes wryly that she is known as Shula with a suitcase.


Giladi’s house sits less than 500 meters (1640 feet) from the Lebanese border, which has remained quiet since late November, when a ceasefire was reached to end the Iran-backed group’s 13-month campaign of terror.


But six months after the fighting stopped, many, like Giladi, are still living with its effects, their homes still in disrepair and their communities scattered.


Sitting with The Times of Israel in her garden, once lush and verdant but now in ruins, the former host was unable to offer a glass of water or even the use of a bathroom.


Giladi hopes to move back once the repairs are finished, but she is now waiting for appraisers to submit reports and for the government to approve her expenses, with no idea how long the whole process will take.


“I’ve dropped the word ‘return’ from my lexicon,” said Giladi.


Her sense of displacement is echoed by many of the 60,000 residents of 32 communities in northern Israel, who have been homeless since being evacuated beginning on October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah and allied groups began firing into Israel in solidarity with Hamas and the war that the allied terror group had sparked in Gaza with its invasion of the south a day earlier.


The fighting in the north saw daily indiscriminate Hezbollah attacks on communities near the border, and occasionally further south, drawing Israeli reprisals. The simmering conflict broke open in late September as Israel decapitated the terror group’s leadership and launched a limited ground invasion into southern Lebanon amid intensified fire on the north.  It came to an end with a temporary truce on November 27, 2024, followed in February by a permanent, albeit shaky, ceasefire agreement.


Over 13 months, the attacks claimed the lives of 46 civilians inside Israel and 83 Israeli soldiers, with hundreds more wounded. Homes, businesses, farms and infrastructure in dozens of northern towns suffered extensive damage, and a once-thriving tourist industry was left decimated.



A car sits on the side of the road in Shtula, destroyed by Hezbollah rocket fire during the Israel-Hezbollah war, on May 23, 2025. (Diana Bletter/Times of Israel)


About 61% of the evacuees have returned to their communities since fighting ended, according to the Alma Research and Education Center, an independent nonprofit specializing in security challenges on Israel’s northern border.


Some are staying away until the end of the school year, or have no homes to return to yet. In Shtula and nearby Kibbutz Sasa, many expressed a deep sense of uncertainty about whether the ceasefire with Hezbollah will hold.


In the six months since the ceasefire, Israel has carried out sporadic attacks on what it says are Hezbollah members in southern Lebanon, and has left troops at four key locations across the border in a bid to ensure the terror group does not rebuild a military foothold along the frontier. So far, Hezbollah, which is thought to have been significantly weakened by the war, has resisted responding.


“From 2022 until the summer of 2023, Hezbollah was 100 percent ready to invade northern Israel,” Lt. Col. (Ret.) Sarit Zehavi, the CEO and founder of the Alma Center, spoke at a conference in Kibbutz Lochamei HaGhettaot on May 21. “Right now is what I’d call the cease between fires. We can’t keep fooling ourselves after October 7.”


On October 7, 2023, thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel, killed 1,200 people, and kidnapped 251 people into the Gaza Strip. The attack stands as a chilling, ominous reminder to northern residents of what could have befallen them if Hezbollah had implemented what Israel says were its own plans for a massive cross-border assault.



Lt. Col. (Ret.) Sarit Zehavi, founder of the Alma Center, speaks with Channel 13 news in a report broadcast November 20, 2020 


Destroyed cars and bus shelters
The western Galilee moshav of Shtula was founded in 1969 by a small group of families from Kurdistan and Iraq. The family of Giladi, who was 16 at the time, was among them.


Residents mostly supported themselves with small family farms. Giladi dreamed of opening a hospitality business, but worried about the community’s location on the northern border. “Who will come to Shtula to eat?” she recalled asking herself at the time.


Before the war, approximately 300 people called the moshav home. The community prided itself on its mix of religious, traditional, and “young folks with dogs and tattoos,” according to another Shtula resident, Hadas Lahav.


After the war ended, the roads damaged by tank treads were repaired. But there are still destroyed cars and mangled bus shelters that haven’t yet been removed. Many houses are pockmarked with shrapnel.



An IDF jeep stands near the gate of Shtula near the Lebanese border on May 23, 2025. (Diana Bletter/Times of Israel)


Giladi, a member of the temporary planning board of the moshav, said that 20% of residents had already moved back. She believes more will return in July, after the end of the school year.


Only some 2% said they do not plan to return. Still, the community hopes to expand its footprint, with 15 families expressing interest in moving there.


The community is also hoping that visitors will return.


Ohad Hatan, who owns the On the Border Cafe in the moshav, said he is finishing renovations and plans to re-open shortly, hoping that people will visit.


The cafe is located in a grove of trees next to what is known as the “Talking Walls” border, a concrete barrier erected to protect the town that was festooned in 2018 with murals by a number of international artists.



“Talking Walls” border with Lebanon in Shtula on May 26, 2025. (Lindy Barnett/Courtesy)


During the first part of Giladi’s evacuation, she stayed at her children’s houses and then at a hotel in Tel Aviv, where she ran a pop-up Kurdish food restaurant and did well.


“But a house is not only four walls, it’s also my history, my memories, my essence,” she said. As the war raged, she had “moments of crisis, but I know how to find happiness. My friends who had nothing to do except sit in the hotel lobby were broken.”


Speaking at the Alma Center conference, Dmitry Apartsev, Senior Director of Government Relations Department, Northern Reconstruction Headquarters, said that the government has allocated NIS 8 billion ($226,000,000) over four years to address the needs of the frontline communities in the north. The money is an opportunity to provide “broad and comprehensive solutions, not just localized or emergency responses.”


Giladi said she is optimistic but also pragmatic.


Walking her visitor out of her gate, she reached for a grape leaf hanging off a vine and nimbly folded it into an envelope, explaining how she used to stuff them to make kubbeh for guests visiting her home, something she won’t be able to do, at least for a while.


“This is a reality I can’t change,” she said.


Kibbutz Sasa, where 12 elderly members died of ‘broken hearts’
Some 15 kilometers (nine miles) to the east, members of Kibbutz Sasa were chatting over food at long tables in the community’s communal dining room.


During the war, almost all the 450 members of the kibbutz were evacuated, but 90% of them have since returned.


Varda Yatom, 79, who has lived on the kibbutz since 1964, said that during the evacuation, “12 elderly kibbutz members died of broken hearts.”


“It was very hard for them to be away from the kibbutz,” Yatom said.


Surrounded by grapevines, apple orchards, and trees, Sasa sits about 3 kilometers (two miles) from the Lebanese border, a short distance that was seemingly enough to save it from the kind of extensive damage seen on Shtula.


The worst damage was suffered by a school auditorium that took a direct hit, with much of the rest of the town escaping unscathed.


Yatom said she wanted to believe that Hezbollah leaders decided not to destroy the kibbutz the way “Nazis preserved Paris, so they’d have somewhere to go for a holiday.”



Artist Varda Yatom stands next to her sculpture, “Girl with Dove of Peace,” at her gallery in Kibbutz Sasa on May 23, 2025. (Diana Bletter/Times of Israel)


The internationally acclaimed artist moved to Kibbutz Nachsholim during her evacuation, but was unable to find a place to make her art.


During the war, she sometimes returned under fire to her studio in the kibbutz.


“I didn’t feel fear,” Yatom said as she stood in her kibbutz gallery, where her sculptures are displayed. “I’d rather die with clay in my hand than not work on my art. A day without doing art is wasted.”


Another kibbutz member, Edna Angelica Calo Livne, 69, stayed on the kibbutz during the war to be with her husband, who is part of the kibbutz’s emergency response team.



People eat lunch at the communal dining room in Kibbutz Sasa after being evacuated during the Israel-Hezbollah War on May 23, 2025. (Diana Bletter/Times of Israel)


Calo Livne, who moved from Italy to the kibbutz in 1975, is the founder of Beresheet LaShalom, a community theater group for Jews, Muslims, Druze, and Christians meant to foster dialogue through performing arts.


During the fighting, she traveled to Italy on several occasions to speak about her experiences. People there were surprised to hear that even during war, she still believed in peace, she said.



Edna Angelica Calo Livne stands on the porch of her house in Kibbutz Sasa 1200 meters (.7 miles) from the Lebanese border after the Hezbollah war on May 24, 2025. (Courtesy/Yehuda Calo Livene)


Many in the north remain circumspect that the calm will last. Next week will mark 43 years since Israel invaded Lebanon in an operation advertised as bringing peace to the Galilee, a promise belied by decades of skirmishes and now two major wars.


“Hezbollah has not given up its dream of destroying Israel,” Tal Beeri, the director of Alma’s Research Department, said at the May 21 conference. “The ideology of Hezbollah hasn’t changed.”


But Calo Livne remains undeterred.


“If we don’t believe in peace, we have no future,” she said. “Each day, we can discover how many resources, energy, and answers we have. Life always teaches us something new and unpredictable.” link
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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