🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 611, 2023 - June 8, 2025 🎗️

 

 🎗️Day 611 that 55 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

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Cleared for publication: Tom Rotstein and Uri Yehonatan Cohen identified as additional soldiers killed in Gaza
The IDF Spokesperson has cleared for publication that Staff Sgt. Tom Rotstein, 23, from Ramat Gan, and Sgt. Uri Yehonatan Cohen, 20, from Neve Yarok, are the two Yahalom combat engineering unit soldiers who fell yesterday in a building explosion in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip. In the same incident, Master Sgt. (res.) Chen Gross, 33, from Gan Yoshiya, a fighter in the Maglan unit of the Commando Brigade, and Sgt. Yoav Rever, 19, from Sde Warburg, a Yahalom unit soldier, were also killed.

Staff Sgt. Uri Yonatan Cohen (L) and Sgt. First Class Tom Rotstein (Israel Defense Forces)
MAY THEUR MEMORIES BE A REVOLUTION!
Fallen soldier's mother: His entire team 'vanished,' he was identified through DNA alone
Staff Sgt. First Class Tom Rotstein, 23, of the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit, was among four soldiers killed Friday during an operation in Bani Suheila, near Khan Younis; His death is now the subject of an internal military investigation.

The mother of an Israeli soldier killed in a deadly building collapse in southern Gaza said her son’s entire unit was wiped out in the incident, and that his body was identified through DNA alone.
In an interview with Ynetnews, Rotstein’s mother, Sigal, described receiving the devastating news on Friday afternoon. “I don’t even have a body. He took the brunt of the blast,” she said. “His entire team, known as the Rotstein unit, vanished. Tom vanished from the world.”
Rotstein was killed alongside fellow Yahalom fighters Staff Sgt. Uri Yhonatan Cohen, 20, of Neve Yarak, and Staff Sgt. Yoav Raver, 19, of Sde Warburg, as well as Sgt. Maj. (res.) Chen Gross, 33, a reservist in the IDF’s elite Maglan unit. Five additional soldiers were wounded in the collapse, including a Maglan reserve officer who was seriously injured. According to early findings reported in Israeli media, the structure was considered relatively stable before the incident and was part of a Hamas subterranean complex. The IDF said the troops were engaged in a clearing operation, supported by preparatory fire and tank cover, when the collapse occurred.
Sigal Rotstein said her son had been eager to complete his military service. “He wanted to become a civilian and start his life. He always told me, ‘Mom, everything is fine,’” she said. “He had a plane ticket to the United States. He planned to travel with his girlfriend and later go backpacking in Asia. But none of that will happen.”
Rotstein had been serving in Gaza since October 7, when he was called up for emergency duty following Hamas' surprise attack. “He fought in every sector. He was exhausted and waiting for a cease-fire,” his mother said.


The collapse occurred during a 98th Division ground assault on a fortified Hamas compound in Bani Suheila, an area the IDF had previously declared cleared of Hamas control. Despite that declaration, officials now say militants have reestablished themselves in the neighborhood, which lies just outside Israel’s newly created buffer zone inside Gaza.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has since ordered a tightening of operational procedures, instructing troops to advance slowly and cautiously to minimize casualties. Military officials say Hamas has rigged hundreds of buildings in Gaza with explosives and uses tunnel shafts hidden inside civilian structures to launch attacks.
Rotstein’s mother remembered her son as exceptionally gifted, describing him as “6-foot-3-inches of sensitivity, intelligence, a smile, musical talent and athletic ability.” She added, “He had hundreds of friends. People haven’t stopped coming.”
Eight Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza over the past week, the deadliest seven-day period since January. As of Saturday, the total number of Israeli military fatalities since the war began on Oct. 7 stands at 866. link





Hostage Updates

Until the last hostage


Brothers of Gali and Ziv Berman: 'Government deals with everything except this, it has exhausted itself'
Liran Berman, brother of Gali and Ziv Berman who have been held captive in Gaza for 611 days, said in an interview with ynet studio that "for a year and nine months we've been hearing that 'Hamas is about to be on its knees,' but it's not happening. We won't succeed in defeating Hamas while there are hostages, it hasn't happened in any war." He criticized the government saying "they deal with everything except this," and added: "This government has exhausted itself, it can't bring back the 55 hostages and isn't willing to accept a ceasefire. I'm not sure another government and certainly not elections are the most effective solution. We are stuck, Gali and Ziv are stuck."




Hamas says IDF troops ‘besieging’ part of Gaza where hostage Matan Zangauker is held

Matan Zangauker was taken captive by Hamas terrorists to Gaza on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)
The Hamas terror group warns that Israeli troops are “besieging” an area in the Gaza Strip where hostage Matan Zangauker is being held.
“We affirm that the enemy will not be able to recover him alive. We have preserved his life for 20 months; if this prisoner is killed during an attempt to free him, the occupation army will be the one responsible for his death,” says Hudhaifa Kahlout — known by the nom de guerre Abu Obeida — the spokesman for Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades.
“This is a final warning,” he adds.

Hamas has previously said it will execute hostages if Israeli troops are seen approaching areas where they are being held. In August 2024, Hamas murdered six hostages in Rafah as Israeli forces were operating nearby.
Military officials have repeatedly said that every strike and ground operation in Gaza is carefully planned out in order not to endanger Israeli hostages.

Hamas threatens to kill hostage Matan Zangauker if IDF attempts rescue 
Terror group issues threat and releases new photo of Zangauker in captivity following reports of heavy fighting in Khan Younis; military denies any attempted rescue operation
Hamas claimed Saturday that Israeli forces had surrounded the location in Gaza where hostage Matan Zangauker is being held, warning that any attempt to rescue him would result in his death.
In a statement, the terrorist group declared: “We affirm that the enemy will not be able to recover him alive. We have preserved his life for 20 months; if this prisoner is killed during an attempt to free him, the occupation army will be the one responsible for his death.”

Thailand says ‘deeply saddened’ by death of hostage Nattapong Pinta


Thai farm worker Pinta Nattapong, who was taken hostage by terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nir Oz (Courtesy)

Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it’s “deeply saddened” by the death of a Thai hostage in Gaza whose body was retrieved by Israeli forces.

Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura says in a video statement that the ministry “is deeply saddened to announce that today, the Royal Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv was informed by a representative of the Israeli government that Mr Nattapong Pinta, the last Thai hostage, has been confirmed dead.”



Father of hostage Bar Kopershtein: 'He is held in tunnels without food and daylight'


Tal Kopershtein, father of hostage Bar Kopershtein, said at the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv that "Bar has been in tunnels 50 meters underground for 610 days, without food, without daylight. How does he sleep? Is he wounded? He is also dealing with fear from IDF bombardments." According to him, "we need a deal now that will get him and all the hostages out. I, with my difficult medical condition, call on the Prime Minister to agree to a deal where everyone returns home - now."




Gadi Moses' nephew: 'While soldiers fall, Netanyahu insists on partial deal'




Shay Moses, nephew of former hostages Gadi and Margalit Moses, said during the hostages' families statement at Begin Gate in Tel Aviv: "This week we were informed of the fall of eight IDF soldiers. Our hearts are torn by the knowledge that if not for Prime Minister Netanyahu's political considerations, all hostages would be home and the war would be over. While soldiers are falling, Netanyahu insists on a partial deal and continuation of the war."




Father of Eitan Horen: 'PM's refusal to end war stands between us and hostages' return
'Itzik Horen, whose son Eitan remains in Hamas captivity, stated during the hostage families' declaration at Begin Gate in Tel Aviv that "we understand what stands between us and the return of the last hostage is Prime Minister Netanyahu's refusal to end the war." Horen addressed U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, saying: "Give Netanyahu and Hamas a proposal - with an ultimatum to end the war. This is apparently the only way to bring back the hostages and save Israel from destruction

Gaza and the South


IDF confirms troops operating inside Hamas tunnels in area where Mohammed Sinwar was targeted
The IDF confirms that troops are operating inside Hamas tunnels in the area of the European Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, where Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar was targeted on May 13.
“During the activity, IDF troops reached an underground route that was struck three weeks ago, where Mohammed Sinwar and other terrorists were residing. In the area, bodies of terrorists who have not yet been identified were located,” the military says.
The IDF says it also located several findings “that prove the cynical use made by the Hamas terror organization of the hospital as a shield for its operations.”




IDF says Islamic Jihad members targeted in hospital strike were ‘operating under the guise of journalists’
The IDF publishes the identities of two Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives killed in an Israeli airstrike on a hospital in Gaza City on Thursday, saying the pair were “operating under the guise of journalists.”
The strike on Thursday hit a press compound in the courtyard of the Al-Ma’amadani Hospital, also known as Al-Ahli, killing journalists Suleiman Hajaj, Samir al-Rifai, Ismail Badah, and Ahmed Qaljah, according to Palestinian media.
The IDF said Thursday that the compound was used by Islamic Jihad operatives to plan and carry out attacks on troops and Israeli civilians.
Hajaj, according to the IDF, was a deputy commander of an Islamic Jihad engineering cell, and al-Rifai was also a member of the terror group. The military does not comment on the other two reported fatalities.


IDF believes it located body of Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar, killed in Gaza strike last month

A screenshot of an undated video released by the Israel Defense Forces on December 17, 2023, shows Hamas commander Muhammad Sinwar, right, riding in a car traveling through a tunnel under the Gaza Strip. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)
IDF troops operating near the European Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, located in the past day the bodies of several terror operatives who were killed in an Israeli strike on a Hamas tunnel system on May 13, military officials say.
The military believes that one of the bodies may belong to Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar, who was killed in the strike.
The IDF last week denied that troops were operating “within the European Hospital compound.”


IDF to Gaza City residents: 'We will attack, evacuate south immediately!' 
IDF orders residents of Gaza City’s Abd al-Rahman neighborhood and Jabaliya’s al-Nahda to evacuate south ahead of planned strikes, warning it will target areas used for rocket launches and placing blame for civilian suffering on Hamas


The IDF issued a warning in Arabic on Saturday to residents of two additional neighborhoods in northern Gaza, instructing them to evacuate immediately ahead of expected military strikes: "The IDF will target any area used for rocket launches."
The message was delivered in a social media post by IDF Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee, who wrote, “This is a pre-strike warning! The IDF will strike any area used for launching rockets. The responsibility for the evacuation, displacement and suffering of residents lies with the terrorist organizations, foremost among them Hamas. For your safety, evacuate south immediately.”


The IDF Hebrew-language spokesperson also released a statement on Saturday afternoon announcing an evacuation order for a relatively wide area—larger than those in similar notices issued over the past two days—in northern Gaza. 


The directive applies to residents of the Abd al-Rahman neighborhood in northwestern Gaza City and the al-Nahda neighborhood in the Jabaliya refugee camp.




IDF: Head of Hamas-aligned Mujahideen Brigades killed; he invaded Nir Oz, directly tied to Bibas family killings

The leader of the Mujahideen Brigades, Asaad Abu Sharia, who the IDF said it killed in a strike in Gaza City on June 7, 2025. (Used in accordance with article 27a of the Copyright Law.)
The leader of the Mujahideen Brigades, Asaad Abu Sharia, was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza City earlier today, the military confirms.
Palestinian media reported over 30 dead in the strike in the Sabra neighborhood.
According to the IDF, Abu Sharia invaded Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught and was “directly involved” in abductions and murders of civilians, including members of the Bibas family.

Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas (Hostages Families Forum)
The IDF says Abu Sharia was also behind attacks in the Gaza Strip and directed attacks on Israel from the West Bank.
The Mujahideen Brigades is a relatively small Hamas-allied terror group in the Strip.
The terror group was responsible for the abduction and murder of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir; Gadi Haggai and Judih Weinstein; and Thai hostage Nattapong Pinta. The group is currently holding the body of another foreign national, the IDF says.
A separate strike in Gaza today killed Mahmoud Kaheel, another top member of the Mujahideen Brigades, the military says. The terror group also announced his death.
Kaheel also infiltrated Nir Oz on October 7 and was involved in holding members of the Bibas family in captivity, the IDF says.


Terror group that murdered Thai worker, Bibas family and Israeli-American couple in captivity 
The Mujahideen Brigades, a Salafi terror group in Gaza, murdered several hostages from the Oct. 7 attack and still holds a foreign captive's body, according to Israeli officials


The extremist Salafi terror group known as the Mujahideen Brigades, responsible for murdering multiple hostages seized during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, is still holding the body of a foreign national, the Israeli military said Friday.
The group, which broke away from Fatah during the Second Intifada, murdered Nattapong Pinata, a 36-year-old Thai citizen, after abducting him alive from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7 rampage. His body was recovered Thursday—609 days later—in a joint operation by the Israeli military and the Shin Bet internal security agency.


According to the Israel Defense Forces, the same group also murdered Israeli mother Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, while they were in captivity in Gaza. Their remains were returned in February as part of a hostage deal. The IDF said the group continues to hold the body of another foreign national killed in captivity.
Mujahideen Brigades terrorists also held the bodies of Israeli-Americans Gadi Haggai and Judy Weinstein, who were abducted from Nir Oz on Oct. 7 and killed shortly afterward. Their bodies were recovered earlier this week.


Founded in 2001 at the onset of the Second Intifada, the Mujahideen Brigades split from the Fatah movement. Its fighters had formerly belonged to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and the group was led at one point by Omar Abu Sharaya, whom Israel targeted in 2006. He died six months later from wounds sustained in the assassination attempt.


The group adheres to a radical Salafi ideology that calls for a return to Islamic roots through violent means. In April 2024, the group announced the deaths of several senior members in Israeli strikes, including a central rocket unit commander, a senior figure in the Deir al-Balah battalion, and a member of the battalion’s special forces.


In the wake of the October massacre, the group falsely claimed that Bibas and her children were killed by Israeli airstrikes. However, the Israeli military later confirmed they were brutally murdered in captivity in November 2023.
The operation to recover Pinata’s body was based on “precise intelligence,” the IDF and Shin Bet said in a joint statement. Officials said the information came from the interrogation of a captured terrorist, combined with data from the Hostage Headquarters and Military Intelligence Directorate.
Troops conducted searches in the Rafah area of southern Gaza. The operation was led by the IDF’s Southern Command, with participation from the Gaza Division, the Oketz canine unit, the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit, and several intelligence units.

IDF: Hamas used tunnel below Gaza’s European Hospital as a main command post on Oct. 7


A Hamas tunnel underneath the European Hospital in southern Gaza's Khan Younis, where Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar was killed, in a handout photo published by the IDF on June 7, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces) 

A Hamas tunnel underneath the European Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis was used by the terror group as one of its main command centers during the October 7 onslaught, the military says.

A strike on the tunnel on May 13 killed Hamas leader Muhammad Sinwar, along with other top commanders in the terror group.

A city of booby traps, tunnels: ToI in Khan Younis hours after bodies of 2 hostages retrieved
Troops advance slowly in southern Gaza city, day after bodies of slain hostages Gadi Haggai and Judi Weinstein were recovered and brought home for burial

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — After recovering the bodies of slain hostages Gadi Haggai and Judi Weinstein in Khan Younis on Wednesday night, Israeli forces continued to push deeper into the city in the southern Gaza Strip, intensifying operations aimed at reaching its center.

Now entering its 20th month, the war has left Khan Younis in ruins — a shattered landscape almost unrecognizable from what it once was. The Israel Defense Forces last operated deep in Khan Younis with ground troops in April 2024.
The devastation served as a stark reminder of the toll exacted by Israel’s offensive in Gaza, launched in response to Hamas’s brutal October 7, 2023, invasion, during which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

Despite the widespread destruction already inflicted across the Strip, military officials told reporters during a Thursday tour of Khan Younis that there is still a long road ahead to reach full operational success.

An undated photo of Judi Weinstein and Gadi Haggai (Courtesy)

 

Commander of the Kfir Brigade’s Shimshon Battalion, Lt. Col. Yud — identified only by his first Hebrew initial due to security concerns — reaffirmed the war’s primary goals: the return of the hostages and the dismantling of Hamas. These objectives, he said, are what justify the IDF’s continued presence in Gaza.
“That’s all that interests us,” he said.
The Kfir Brigade has been operating in southern Khan Younis for the past three weeks, working in close coordination with the Israeli Air Force, combat engineers from the elite Yahalom unit, and other forces. Their mission: to reach the city’s center and establish operational control.
Progress, however, has been slow and grueling. The city is laced with terror infrastructure, including a sprawling tunnel network and buildings rigged with explosives, military officials said. Every step forward requires methodical clearing, turning each advance into a battle not only against Hamas gunmen, but against the terrain itself.
In one case, military officials spoke of a residential building flagged by troops as suspicious in recent days due to a surveillance camera at the entrance, a bolted door, and telltale signs of guerrilla tactics — including a hole in the wall designed to allow a gunman to fire from within.

Several Hamas rockets lie in a heap among the rubble of a residential building in Khan Younis, June 5, 2025. (Stav Levaton/Times of Israel)

 

Upon inspection, the structure was found to be booby-trapped and was subsequently demolished by Israeli forces.
Traces of terror activity remain scattered among the ruins. In the rubble of one demolished home, several unused rockets lay in a heap — a grim monument to the arsenal hidden in plain sight and the constant threat posed to Israeli communities just across the border.

Despite the intensity of the fighting, Yud said morale among his troops remains high.
“We can see the kibbutzim across the border — we know well why we’re here,” he said, referring to nearby communities like Nir Yitzhak and Sufa, where some residents have already returned after being evacuated in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attack.

A building burns in Khan Younis as a result of IDF operations in the area, to eradicate terrorist infrastructure, June 5, 2025. (Stav Levaton/Times of Israel)

 

Also, just across the border lies Nir Oz, the kibbutz from which Haggai and Weinstein were abducted that fateful morning.
Yud said the recovery of their bodies the night before added “more drive to keep on fighting,” amid his unit’s third week of operations in the Strip.
The extended deployments in Gaza are not without strain. Troops typically serve two weeks inside Gaza, followed by four days out — a rotation that offers brief relief but continues to weigh heavily on soldiers and their families.

A bag once carrying humanitarian aid left behind among the rubble in Khan Younis, June 5, 2025. (Stav Levaton/Times of Israel)

 

In most standing army units, including the Shimshon Battalion, phones are not allowed inside the Strip, limiting communication to a single weekly call, typically on Fridays before Shabbat. To maintain a semblance of connection, certain commanders run shared WhatsApp groups with families, offering sparse but critical updates — a digital lifeline for those waiting anxiously for their loved ones at home.
The duration of the IDF’s presence in Gaza remains uncertain. Last Sunday, the military announced plans to establish control over 75% of the territory within two months — a move that signals the intention to maintain a long-term presence aimed at dismantling Hamas’s capabilities.
“I know that there are still hostages, I know well what [Hamas] did on October 7 — therefore we don’t know how much longer we’ll stay [in Gaza],” Yud added.  link

• GHF says aid center will be open in central Gaza this morning, all others to stay closed
  

  The Gaza Humanitarian Fund says it will open an aid distribution site in central Gaza this morning, after keeping its sites closed yesterday over what it said were threats from Hamas against its staff.

  It will be the only site open on Sunday, it says.

  In the update posted on Facebook, GHF reminds people that they may only take one box per family.

  Earlier, the organization said two aid centers would be open in Rafah in the afternoon but has since deleted the statement from its Facebook page.

  
  
  
• Head of Gaza militia quoted denying backing by Israel and demanding Hamas relinquish power
  
  Members of the Abu Shabab gang in Gaza, seen in a recent video posted by the group. (screen capture: Facebook)
  
  

  The head of an anti-Hamas militia in Gaza is quoted today giving comments to an Israeli media outlet and a US nonprofit on his group’s operations in the enclave, in which he denies ties to Jerusalem.

  Defense sources confirmed on Thursday that Israel has been arming a criminal gang in the Strip as part of an effort to strengthen opposition to Hamas in the enclave. The group in question is led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a member of a large clan in southern Gaza. It has been linked in the past to smuggling operations with Egyptian jihadist groups.

  The revelation led to intense criticism within Israel.

  Ostensibly speaking to Army Radio in a series of text messages, the veracity of which hasn’t been confirmed, Abu Shabab says: “We do not work with Israel. Our goal is to protect the Palestinians from Hamas terror. Our weapons are not from Israel — they are simple arms we collected from the local population.”

  He adds that “these rumors are meant to harm our reputation and create hostility between us, Israel, and Arab states.”

  He denies having any meetings with Israeli officials, while saying that “if any coordination takes place it will be humanitarian, for the benefit of our people in eastern Rafah, and will be carried out through mediation channels.”

  Meanwhile, the Center for Peace Communications, which bills itself as an organization committed to revealing the plight of those living under the rule of Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, publishes what it calls an “exclusive first public statement” from Abu Shabab. It is not clear how it obtained the audio clip, which also cannot be verified.

  In it, the person identifying himself as Abu Shabab also denies “working with the occupation,” while calling on Hamas to “step down from government.” He asserts, “We have hundreds of families heading to the areas we control daily.”  link Within Israel (and now internationally), it is very clear that we have been arming this War Lord and his clan (militia). I wouldn't put it past our failed government that we are also giving them money. It is also very obvious that if they were to admit that they are getting arms and/or money from Israel, they would be viewed as collaborators of the occupation, which is virtually a death call. Beyond all of that, we must recognize that this clan, as others in Gaza have a long history of criminal activities such as arms and drug smuggling, human trafficking, black market and working with Hamas on all of the above as well as with Jihadist groups in Egypt. They are not friends of Israel, nor should we expect any of them to be. They don't have any allegiance to Israel but they also don't have allegiance to Gazans. Their only allegiance is to their clan and their war lord, Abu Shabab. Right now, they are serving as a type of militia against Hamas stealing the humanitarian aid, but it is only a matter of time until they are the culprits stealing the aid and selling it on the black market, if they aren't doing that already. And this is who Netanyahu chooses to rely on and give weapons to. It is also just a matter of time before those same weapons are used against our soldiers or they are sold to others for terrorist purposes. Clans like this have no moral code except to protect their own. So Netanyahu, once again chooses the bad path to fit his ideological bend of not having any Palestinian partner. He would rather have chaos but that chaos is what keeps us in this revolving door of violence, terrorism, war and death. This is the path of a pathetic petty politician who has failed on every count and has no strategy other than to stay in power.

• COGAT says video shows Hamas execution of Palestinian in Gaza City
  

  The Defense Ministry body in charge of Israeli-Palestinian contacts publishes a video of what it says is a Hamas execution of a Palestinian in Gaza City over the weekend.

  
  
  

  The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) publishes the video on its Arabic-language Facebook page. It does not offer info on the circumstances.

  The video can be watched here, with the victim blurred out (Warning: Graphic content).

  “Residents of Gaza — the Hamas terrorists and criminals are killing you and do not care about your lives,” COGAT says. “There is no difference between a dictator who kills in silence and a terrorist who slaughters openly — both are your enemies and enemies of life.

  “The shocking documentation before you is yet another desperate, failed attempt to sow fear among the public in order to preserve Hamas’s rule, power, and governance, while trampling on and cynically exploiting the residents of Gaza for the sake of the survival of Hamas’s terrorist regime and its continued rule.”
  From the Palestinian who posted the video "Hamas terrorist and criminal kills you and doesn't care about your lives, there is no difference between a dictator who kills silently and a terrorist who slaughters openly, they are both your enemies and enemies of life.

  This shocking documentation before you is a further desperate and failed attempt by Hamas, to instill fear in the audience in order to preserve its rule and authority, and to sarcastically exploit the people of Gaza in order to survive its reign of terror.

  Watch how Hamas elements kill a resident of the sector in a horrible way, Hamas crime does not stop."
  

• IDF: Documents prove spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense is ‘active terrorist’ in Hamas
  

  The IDF publishes intelligence documents captured during operations in Gaza, which it says prove that the spokesperson for the Civil Defense Agency in the Strip is an “active terrorist” in Hamas.

  Mahmoud Basal “has served as a spokesperson for the Civil Defense for a long time and exploits his position to spread false and unverified information to international media outlets, falsely attributing war crimes to Israel and presenting distorted data,” the military says.

  “This information has received media exposure worldwide and has severely distorted the reality on the ground,” the IDF says.

  The documents recovered by the IDF in Gaza show that Basal “is a terrorist in the Hamas terror group, and as part of his role, he serves the purposes of psychological warfare and propaganda,” according to the military.

  The documents appear to show Basal listed on a roster of operatives for the group.   video

  After the army accused the spokesman for Gaza’s civil defense of being a Hamas terrorist, Mahmoud Bassal denies the allegation.

  Citing documents found during its forces’ Gaza offensive, the IDF said Bassal was “an active terrorist” in the group whose October 2023 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war. It issued copies of what it said were Hamas membership lists to the media. The military accused Bassal of serving Hamas’s objectives by spreading false and unverified information about its operations in Gaza.

  “This is a false accusation,” Bassal tells AFP. “I do not work for any military organization,” he says, adding that the agency’s mission is guided by international law.

  Beyond the IDF’s latest specific accusation against Bassal, all organizations operating in Gaza do so at the pleasure of Hamas since its 2007 violent takeover of the enclave.

Northern Israel, Lebanon and Syria


• IDF targets Hamas member in strike in southern Syria
  

  A member of Hamas was targeted in an Israeli drone strike near the southern Syrian village of Beit Jinn, the military says.

  Beit Jinn is  some seven kilometers from the Israel-Syrian border, just outside a buffer zone currently controlled by the IDF.

  No further details are given by the IDF on the target of the strike.

West Bank, Jerusalem, Israel and Terror Attacks


• IDF, Shin Bet foil imminent terror attack in northern West Bank
  
  A Glock handgun seized from Muslim Mazarwa, key figure in the Jenin terror network.. (photo credit:IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
  Authorities say the arrest of Muslim Mazarwa, a key figure in the Jenin terror network, could deal a significant blow to planned attacks in the region.
  Security forces, guided by Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) intelligence, thwarted an imminent terror attack in the Menashe Brigade sector in the West Bank over the past 24 hours, the IDF announced on Saturday. 

  Undercover Border Police units operating in the West Bank arrested a senior wanted operative affiliated with a terror network in Jenin. The arrests are part of an ongoing operation in northern Samaria aimed at dismantling local terrorist networks and reshaping the area’s security environment.

  Over the weekend, IDF soldiersfrom the Menashe Brigade, Yamam fighters and undercover Border Police units, guided by precise Shin Bet intelligence, carried out targeted operations against terror operatives. 

  On Saturday morning, security forces operated in Wadi Burqin, near Jenin, to arrest Muslim Mazarwa, a key figure in the Jenin terror network. Undercover units approached the building covertly, surrounded it, used special equipment, and arrested Mazarwa along with two other wanted suspects. During a search of the premises, they found a Glock handgun.  Link

Politics and the War and General News



• Silent vigil held in Tel Aviv for Gazan children killed in IDF strikes

  
  Anti-war activists hold up candles and pictures of slain Gaza children during a silent vigil on Tel Aviv's Kaplan Street, June 7, 2025. (Noam Lehmann/The Times of Israel)

  About 400 people lining both sides of Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street hold up candles and pictures of Palestinian children who were killed in Gaza by the IDF since Israel resumed hostilities against Hamas on March 18.

  Each child’s picture includes his or her name as well as date and place of death.

  The activists continue standing silently as anti-government protesters pass by on their way from Habima Square to Begin Road.

  The weekly Kaplan Street vigil did not take place last Saturday, with its organizer, the Peace Partnership coalition of numerous left-wing groups, urging activists to instead attend a large anti-war demonstration in Haifa.

The Region and the World



• Report: UN conference to discuss steps toward recognition of Palestinian state rather than declaration

  

  The results of a vote on a resolution for the UN Security Council to reconsider and support full UN membership for the Palestinian Authority as the State of Palestine is displayed during a special session of the UN General Assembly, at UN headquarters in New York, May 10, 2024. (Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

  A New York conference later this month will discuss steps toward recognition of a Palestinian state rather than a declaration, unnamed diplomats tell The Guardian.

  The British outlet says there has been a change in the aims of the confab, and that officials “will instead hope to agree on steps.”

  The newspaper says the decision “marks a retreat.”

  The report says that French officials told their Israeli counterparts earlier this week that the conference will not see recognition of a Palestinian state.

  The international conference meant to resurrect the idea of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict will take place from June 17 to 20 at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

  The conference stems from a resolution approved in December by the UN General Assembly, and it will be co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia.

  French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that he expected the conference to take steps “toward recognizing Palestine,” without being more specific.

  Macron said in April that Paris could recognize a Palestinian state in the coming months, possibly at the June conference. The French president’s statement drew a furious response from Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling it a “huge prize for terror.”

• Report: Western nations set conditions for PLO, Hamas for Palestinian state recognition
  Saudi channel 'Al-Sharq' reported from Western diplomatic sources that Britain, France and Canada have prepared a list of conditions that the PLO and Hamas must commit to as a prerequisite for recognition toward a Palestinian state. According to the report, the list comes in preparation for a conference led by Saudi Arabia and France at the UN on June 17. The countries informed Palestinian Authority officials that they must implement significant political, economic and administrative reforms, including holding free and fair elections and reviving the parliament. Regarding Hamas, it was reported that the path includes complete demilitarization of the Gaza Strip and transfer of power to a government or independent local Palestinian body, and subsequently to an elected Palestinian government.
  
  
  
  
Personal Stories


The Wolves of Gaza: The elite IDF unit sniffing out threats deep behind enemy lines
Formed during the war to revive the fading art of battlefield tracking, the Wolves are 30 mostly reservist scouts who lead IDF forces in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria—hunting explosives, chasing terrorists and spotting snipers before troops are hit; 'The IDF advanced in cyber and technology, but something went wrong in translating that to the reality on the ground,' says the 63-year-old unit commander
I first met Maj. Y., a 41-year-old reservist and father of five, on a dusty Humvee during a nighttime ride out of Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp toward the 98th Division's staging area near the Black Arrow memorial. The vehicle rattled over the summer windblown terrain, headlights dim, drivers squinting through worn night-vision goggles, navigating a stop-start convoy. I asked him who he was. “A new unit—we’re still stitching it together. Let’s call ourselves ‘The Wolves,’” he said with excitement, his face covered by a thin hood. “Come back, write a story about us.” A year later, the unit hasn't let go of its mission, and this article brings the story full circle. They aren’t seeking media attention or praise—they’re looking for recognition to recruit more people. Maj. Y. is one of only 30 soldiers in this mostly reservist force whose purpose is to serve as an elite forward-scouting team for company and battalion commanders operating in enemy territory. “Call them wolves, not trackers,” corrects Lt. Col. (res.) B., the 63-year-old unit commander and founder. “Trackers do excellent work, mostly on borders and in routine security missions. Our unit operates offensively. The IDF sorely needed this—people who know how to feel the ground, sense the wind, pause, and find footprints left by terrorists who just entered a house in Shuja’iyya we thought had already been cleared by a drone.”




B. has the rugged air of an old-school kibbutznik—gray hair, no patience for political correctness. Despite the uniform, he makes the occasional sharp political remark but is quick to emphasize, “We’ve got guys from farms in the Shomron, city folks from Tel Aviv, moshavniks. It’s a strong mix of all backgrounds. Everyone reports for duty, regardless of their views. We train veteran fighters in two to three weeks to become maneuver warfare trackers and send them to embed with operational units. We began in Khan Younis in March 2024 and have been operating across Gaza since. Over 10 battalion commanders and three brigade commanders have fought over us.”


What’s your mission in practice?
“Simple: prevent IDF casualties, especially from explosives. Knock on wood—we’ve done that. Y. was wounded three times, so was I, and one of our men, but minor stuff—don’t worry. Everyone’s on their feet, preparing for the next major operation in Gaza. Our people understand the terrain, and in today’s urban warfare, that skill is vanishing.”

A soldier in the unit 


Lt. Col. B. is so driven that he conducts many of the unit’s trainings not at IDF bases but in abandoned buildings and orchards near his kibbutz in central Israel—like a modern-day Palmach fighter. “It feels like the kibbutz movement in the '50s, when even older folks looked for ways to pitch in. During the First Lebanon War, I was a young officer who came home and saw antiwar protests—that didn’t sit well with me as a soldier. But ‘together’ isn’t just a slogan. Only together can you win.”

Lt. Col. B. 


They were hunting terrorists. He was hunting ground
The idea for the Wolves came to Maj. Y. at exactly 7:10 a.m. on October 7, 2023. He left his house in the south, on his initiative, looking for a unit to fight with. His former unit, "Maarul," formed after the 2014 kidnapping and murder of teens Eyal Yifrach, Gil-Ad Shaer, and Naftali Fraenkel, wasn’t relevant for the Southern Command.


“It started as a dream,” he recalls. “We called it the Wolves because we work like lone wolves—sent ahead of the main forces and scattered across combat zones, not together. That morning, I arrived at the entrance to Sderot and met the undercover Border Police unit. They were looking for terrorists; I was looking for ground. I joined them, and from Sderot we went on to battles in Be’eri and at the Nova music festival. I helped track blood trails that led to terrorists and signs of hostages. We even discovered a terrorist hiding in the bushes.”

The Wolves unit in Gaza (Photo: IDF)


Seeing the impact of a forward tracker in a fast-moving event, Y. pulled together fellow combat veterans with fieldcraft skills. Together with Lt. Col. B., and with the backing of the Southern Command deputy commander, Maj. Gen. (res.) Yossi Bachar, the unit was born. It began improvised and under fire in Gaza—but has since chalked up one success after another.
“Our Wolves, clearly and unequivocally, have identified and thwarted about 30 IED sites just before soldiers walked into them,” says Lt. Col. B “We’ve also spotted dozens of exposed areas vulnerable to enemy snipers. But the biggest success is spreading our know-how throughout the army—basic techniques for detecting ground disturbances, suspicious markings, and above all, patience under fire. Even after casualties, don’t open closets with your hands when clearing a building—terrorists hide bombs in drawers. Early in the operation, no one checked those. Hamas adapted, and we had to, too.”
The Wolves use covert detection technologies normally reserved for elite units, as well as small drones for indoor sweeps. Patience is key. Y. and B. admit they sometimes pull their hair out reading incident debriefs involving wounded soldiers, often from IEDs, which have become Hamas’ weapon of choice.
“In an attack, a fighter’s instinct is to scan through doorways with their weapon,” they explain. “But that means they miss a lot on the floor. We’ve developed new combat doctrines to address this—combining classic urban warfare with ground tracking.”


Training the army, one step at a time
Just days before I met Maj. Y. near Jabaliya last year, soldiers from the 890th Battalion had pulled off something rare: a high-speed daytime pursuit of a terrorist squad through the refugee camp’s alleys. “The terrorists infiltrated a defensive position and were chased off quickly. The battalion commander ordered troops to the rooftops. I was next to him and suggested chasing them on foot—normally, why that’s an Air Force drone mission. He went with it. I tracked blood trails between buildings, and we found them on a rooftop. Our guys took them out.”



Two months later, in Shuja’iyya, another success: terrorists opened fire from a hidden spot in the crowded Gaza City neighborhood and wounded a Paratroopers reconnaissance officer. No one saw where the shots came from—until the embedded Wolf, suspecting the gunman had ducked into a building, flew in a small drone. It revealed subtle signs of presence. The terrorist was killed before he could flee.
“In another Shuja’iyya event, we knew terrorists were heading toward us, but didn’t know from where,” Y. adds. “So we adjusted our route and ran into them. Had we acted differently—or the company commander hadn’t trusted the Wolf with him—that story could have ended badly.”


In northern Gaza, during a sweep by the 101st Battalion, troops had just cleared a building and were about to leave when the attached Wolf spotted a fresh footprint at the door. “He stopped them. Inside, we found three Islamic Jihad terrorists who had entered after the drone sweeps and were lying in wait,” Y. says. “We shelled the house, tossed grenades, and killed them.”
In another incident during December 2023 near Gaza’s coastal Rashid corridor, an IED exploded near reservists from the 179th Brigade. Y., with them at the time, urged calm, not a rush. “I walked along the IED wires and found a hidden enemy post, packed with weapons, directly facing the path our troops had just taken. We lost an officer in that incident, but by stopping to study the scene, we uncovered and neutralized a more serious ambush intended to kill and kidnap.”
Now, the Wolves are preparing for the IDF’s next phase in Gaza. They hope to integrate into more divisions, like the 36th, now active in Rafah. Lt. Col. B. believes that if the IDF had 130 Wolves instead of 30, many deadly incidents could have been prevented.
“Battalions come and go, and the knowledge from one area doesn’t always get passed down,” he says. “Our people love the terrain, breathe it, smell threats. Hamas now stages attacks to bait rescue teams. I hope we’ll become obsolete, only because we’ve passed on our skills, just like we did in Syria and Lebanon these past months. Before this war, the IDF climbed high with cyber and tech, but something got lost in translating that to real ground warfare.”  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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