🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 614, 2023

🎗️Day 614 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

*7:55pm yesterday - Jerusalem, Gush Dan, Central Israel areas - ballistic missile from Yemen. This was expected based on the Israeli Naval attack on their ports this morning. Missile was intercepted. Falling shrapnel reported in Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem Mountain areas (including my town) but no reports on injuries or damages
Areas of the red alert

Hostage Updates

Until the last hostage

The Time for Peace is Now: The Two-State Solution is the only viable options - Interview with Gershon Baskin - France 24 English -
Amid protests urging a ceasefire and challenges to Israel’s blockade, the Paris Peace Forum is set to host the “Paris Call for the Two-State Solution, Peace and Regional Security” in the lead-up to the UN’s High-Level Conference in New York gathering Israeli, Palestinian, and global voices. Meanwhile, Israel’s Shas party threatens to collapse Netanyahu’s government by backing early elections amid a dispute over military service. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, FRANCE 24’s Eve Irvine welcomes Gershon Baskin, Middle East Director of the International Communities Organisation. He highlights the fact that the 'majority of Israelis, Palestinians want peace, they just don't believe there are partners on the other side'. Interview Link

Arab official denies progress in hostage talks, says Netanyahu’s public optimism aimed at keeping coalition afloat

Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, speaks at a protest outside the Likud headquarters in Tel Aviv along with other relatives of the Gaza captives, on June 9, 2025. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)
An Arab official familiar with the hostage negotiations says there hasn’t been a major development in efforts to secure a deal, and speculates that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expressing public optimism to “spook” ultra-Orthodox lawmakers against voting tomorrow to dissolve the coalition.
“The disagreements over whether the deal can lead to a permanent ceasefire remain,” the Arab official tells The Times of Israel, noting that Netanyahu is not prepared to end the war while Hamas won’t agree to release hostages unless it has assurances from mediators that the temporary truce on the table will lead to a permanent one.
“The public statements seem to have more to do with internal politics,” the Arab official says.
“Could a breakthrough be achieved soon? Yes. But this will require one of the sides moving from their long-held position, which hasn’t yet happened,” the official adds.

Mother of Inbar Heiman: 'They forgot her, I expect her to be included if there's a deal'

In an interview, Yifat Heiman, mother of Inbar Heiman who was murdered on October 7 and kidnapped to Gaza, addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement that there is "significant progress" in negotiations for the release of hostages, saying: "At this stage they are not updating us. I have some cautious hope." She added in the interview with ynet studio that "this situation is very difficult, one moment there's a deal, the next moment no deal." According to her, "There are two women left in Gaza. My daughter is the youngest and should have been in the previous phase. They forgot her. I expect that if there is a deal, she will be included in this deal. I don't expect, I demand." link In our absurd fight with our own government to bring our hostages home, the dead hostages and their families are too often forgotten, especially by our so-called leaders. The unmeasurable tragedy that the families of the dead have to endure is the never ending inability to truly mourn for their loved ones. Instead of the normal mourning rituals and time given to begin the process of mourning, they have had to put that all aside and fight for the last 614 days to get their loved ones back and give them a proper burial. Our government abandoned them on October 7 and has keep them in purgatory for over 20 months. Each Saturday night, during the projection of all of the remaining hostages and recital of their names, my heart breaks looking and thinking of the family members who can not sit shiva, go to a grave, try to think about going forth with their lives with a piece of their hearts missing. Instead, they are forced to demonstrate, to go to Knesset Committee meetings to cry and beg for those worthless Knesset members and ministers to get off their asses and do something to bring our hostages home. Instead of sympathy and empathy by some of the coalition members, they are hit over the head with insults and brush offs by the very people who were in charge on October 7 and take no responsibility. They go on with their lives, have their coffee in the Knesset kiosk area, ride in their tax payer covered cars, travel to wherever they want from our taxes, go home to their families and live their lives as though October 7 never happened. And to add insult to injury, some of them have the outrageous gall to call the police on demonstrators outside of their homes who read the names of the hostages to remind these political parasites who they have left behind and care nothing about.

Slain Thai hostage Nattapong Pinta honored as body returns home

A ceremony is held as the coffin of Thai national Nattapong Pinta, whose body was returned from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, departs for Thailand, outside Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, June 10, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90)

Israel “does not forget its friends,” says Interior Minister Moshe Arbel at the farewell ceremony to see off the body of slain Thai hostage Nattapong Pinta, who Hamas-led terrorists abducted on October 7, 2023.
“Pinta came here to support his family, and in the end, he paid with his life for unimaginable barbarity,” says Arbel.
Pinta’s body is being flown back to Thailand. His remains were recovered in a joint Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet operation in the southern Gaza Strip, officials announced Saturday morning.
He was kidnapped alive by terrorists of the Mujahideen Brigades — a relatively small terror group in the Strip and somewhat allied with Hamas — from the Gaza border community of Kibbutz Nir Oz, where he worked as a farmhand.
The IDF said it believed that the terror group murdered Pinta in captivity during the first months of the war.

Coffin of slain hostage Nattapong Pinta arrives in Thailand, is met by his widow

Narissara Chantasang, fifth from left, wife of Nattapong Pinta, a Thai laborer who was taken hostage and killed by terrorists in Gaza, attends a silent memorial service near the coffin containing his body at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Samut Prakarn province Thailand, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

The body of slain hostage Nattapong Pinta, who Hamas-led terrorists abducted on October 7, 2023, arrives in Thailand.
His coffin is met by his widow and Thai officials.
Thai national Pinta’s remains were recovered in a joint Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet operation in the southern Gaza Strip, officials announced Saturday morning.
He was kidnapped alive by terrorists of the Mujahideen Brigades — a relatively small terror group in the Strip loosely allied with Hamas — from the Gaza border community of Kibbutz Nir Oz, where he worked as a farmhand.
The IDF said it believed that the terror group murdered Pinta in captivity during the first months of the war.

Thai farm worker Nattapong Pinta (left), who was taken hostage by terrorists on October 7, 2023, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, is seen with his wife and son in an undated photo. (Courtesy)

Netanyahu to hold talks with top ministers on hostage deal negotiations

Protesters against the government and for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip hold a sign reading, 'Rescue the hostages, end the war,' in Tel Aviv, June 7, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that there was progress in hostage talks, he will hold a phone consultation on the issue with his small circle of top ministers and advisers, the office of one of the ministers tells The Times of Israel.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also says “there has recently been certain progress. In light of past experience, I don’t want to overstate it at this point.”
“But we are interested in reaching a deal, which will include a ceasefire,” says Sa’ar.
Netanyahu says ‘significant progress’ in hostage talks, but ‘too early to raise hopes’
There has been “significant progress” in hostage talks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says in a video statement.
“It’s too early to raise hopes,” he continues, “but we are working tirelessly right now, and all the time. I hope we will be able to move forward.”

Many hostages’ family members suffer health challenges, Knesset committee hears

Families of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip attend a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset on June 09, 2025.(Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Dr. Einat Yahana, a psychologist with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, tells the Knesset Health Committee that more than 38% of family members of hostages suffer from extreme fatigue, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and depression.
More than 36% of the members experience systemic difficulties dealing with medical bureaucracy. Some 12% of family members experience chronic pain without relief, which directly affects daily functioning, she says.
Mor Goldstein, a resident of Beersheba, whose parents were murdered during the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, describes the medical problems of her young children, including epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Sharon Rothschild, a representative from the Health Ministry, says that the ministry is working to provide representatives who will personally assist each family, offering services tailored to their complex needs with sensitivity.

PM, ministers agree on response to Hamas hostage deal counter-offer, forward it to mediators

An installation calling for US President Donald Trump to secure a deal for the 55 hostages held in Gaza, on the beach opposite the US Embassy's Tel Aviv Branch on JUne 11, 2025 (Aviv Atlas via the pro-democracy protest groups)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Defense Minister Israel Katz agreed on Israel’s response to Hamas’s counter-offer to a US proposal for a hostage-ceasefire deal at their meeting yesterday, Army Radio reports.
The response has been forwarded to mediators, the report says.
Officials are now awaiting the terror group’s response, Army Radio says.
The most recent US proposal offered a 60-day truce in the war-torn Gaza Strip, accompanied by a partial Israeli military withdrawal and increased humanitarian aid deliveries, in exchange for the release of 10 living hostages and 18 deceased hostages.
Hamas’s response to the offer included a demand that would make it more difficult for Israel to resume fighting if talks on a permanent ceasefire were not completed by the end of the 60-day truce.
It also envisioned the release of the 10 living hostages being spread out throughout the truce, rather than in two batches on the first and seventh day as the US offer had stipulated.
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 55 hostages, including 54 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023.
They include the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF, and 20 are believed to be alive. There are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said. link

Gaza and the South

IDF says it targeted two Hamas operatives disguised as women in Gaza

During recent operations in the northern Gaza Strip, troops of the Givati Infantry Brigade spotted two Hamas operatives who the IDF says were dressed up as women.
The operatives were carrying sacks from a structure known to be used by Hamas, the military says. A short while later the pair were targeted in a drone strike.
In another operation carried out by Givati troops, the IDF says the soldiers located a rocket launcher and other weapons belonging to Hamas.
Additionally, the IDF says the Israeli Air Force hit dozens of targets across Gaza in the past day, including cells of terror operatives, buildings used by terror groups, tunnels, weapon depots, and other infrastructure.

Gaza aid group says it distributed 35,520 boxes of food at three sites in Gaza today
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it distributed 35,520 boxes of food at three sites in central and southern Gaza today.
The US- and Israeli-backed foundation says each box contains meals for 5.5 people for 3.5 days.
However, its contents are largely dry food products that require community kitchens or cooking equipment to prepare, which are very scarce in war-ravaged Gaza.
GHF says aid was distributed without incident, but Palestinian media reported that 20 people were killed while en route to one of the distribution sites, in what has become a near-daily allegation.
The IDF said its troops fired warning shots at Palestinians who approached forces “and posed a threat” in the Netzarim Corridor area. The military said it was aware of the reports of casualties by its gunfire in the area, but “the reported number of casualties is inconsistent with the information available to the IDF.” video

Israel says 108 humanitarian aid trucks carrying flour, food entered Gaza Strip yesterday

Palestinians line up to receive donated food at a community kitchen in Gaza City,June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

The Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announces that 108 humanitarian aid trucks carrying flour and food entered the Gaza Strip yesterday.
Israel resumed aid deliveries to Gaza on May 19, after a pause since March 2. Since then, 1,459 trucks have entered the Strip.
Some of the truckloads have been taken to the new aid distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The contents of many of the trucks that entered Gaza in recent weeks are still awaiting collection on the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom crossing.
The aid underwent an inspection by Israeli authorities before entering Gaza via the crossing.

Gazan medics: At least 25 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire near aid center; no comment from IDF
Gazan health officials say at least 25 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire as they approached an aid site operated by the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the central Strip.
There is no comment from the Israel Defense Forces.
The tolls given by medical officials at Shifa and Al-Quds Hospitals cannot be verified. Israel has long charged that the hospitals are under the control of the Hamas terror group.
It is unclear when the reported shooting near the Netzarim Corridor took place. Last week, the IDF warned Palestinians not to approach routes leading to Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time, describing these roads as closed military zones.
The GHF has faced heavy scrutiny from other aid bodies, as well as the UN and foreign countries, which say that it does not sufficiently address the humanitarian needs in the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
Critics have also accused GHF of putting aid seekers in harm’s way, with operations beset by deadly incidents for multiple days in a row.
Israel says the mechanism is required to keep aid out of the hands of Hamas.

Northern Israel, Lebanon and Syria

IDF says it killed 2 terror operatives in south Lebanon strike
A Hezbollah operative and a member of an allied terror group were killed in an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon’s Shebaa earlier today, the military says.
The second operative was a member of the Lebanese Resistance Companies.
According to the IDF, the two operatives were involved in “handling weapons used by Hezbollah for terror purposes and for observation of IDF soldiers in the area.”
Their activity “constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the IDF adds.

Comptroller: Most evacuated residents of the north unlikely to return; untenable government delays in rehabilitating the area

Residents of northern communities and their supporters protest demand early elections, the restoration of security in the north and the release of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip, in Karmiel, July 25, 2024. (Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

In a report issued today, State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman says that 54% of the 60,000 residents evacuated from 43 northern communities said there is a high chance that they won’t return to the community where they lived before the war, according to the Kan news outlet.
“The ongoing delay in formulating a government policy to address the conflict-line communities is a fundamental deficiency in the government’s treatment of the residents, many of whom have experienced considerable suffering,” Engelman writes, placing responsibility for the matter on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Prime Minister’s Office director general Yossi Shelley.
Only 65% of the NIS 940 million ($269 million) allocated to northern communities in May 2024 had been transferred by July of that year. In August, the government decided to reduce the budget by 14% to NIS 804 million ($230 million).
In the report, the auditor says that the responsibility of caring for northern residents was transferred from the Interior Ministry to the Finance Ministry, which in turn transferred it to the Prime Minister’s Office. Tasks to be carried out within one to three months from May 2024 were not completed four months later.
The comptroller recommends that the government expedite a comprehensive and systematic response to the rehabilitation of the northern communities. He says that the finance minister must act decisively to implement the rehabilitation plans.
Engelman notes that compared to the 54% of northern residents who say they will not return to their former communities, only 13% of evacuees from the south stated that there is a high chance that they will not return to the place where they lived before the outbreak of the war.
Residents were evacuated from southern communities after the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre. Northern residents were also evacuated when Hezbollah began attacking Israel a day later. link. This government has failed in almost everything that they should have been doing this entire time and now the State Comptroller states the same thing.

West Bank, Jerusalem, Israel and Terror Attacks

In first, Palestinian Authority’s Abbas condemns Hamas’s October 7 attack
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemns Hamas’s October 7 attack for the first time, while reiterating his call for the terror group to release the remaining hostages.
“What Hamas did on October 7th in killing and taking civilians hostage is unacceptable and condemnable and Hamas has to immediately release all hostages and captives,” Abbas writes in a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who this month will co-chair a UN conference aimed at advancing a two-state solution.
While Abbas has long rejected violence as a tool for advancing Palestinian self-determination, he has refrained from specifically publicly condemning Hamas’s actions on October 7, with at least one of his aides arguing that he wouldn’t do so while Israel’s offensive in Gaza was ongoing.
But Abbas is looking to gain support from the international community so that the PA can replace Hamas as the governing authority in Gaza.
In recent months, he has repeatedly condemned Hamas, while also instituting a series of reforms, including one that would end the PA’s controversial policy of rewarding the families of Palestinian security prisoners and slain terrorists who had carried out attacks against Israelis.

Settler filmed blocking sole entrance to Palestinian town as soldier looks on
Footage from early this morning shows an Israeli settler closing a military-installed gate and throwing large stones on the concrete to prevent Palestinian vehicles from passing through the lone remaining entrance to the northern West Bank town of Salfit.
The IDF has blocked off all other entrances to Salfit and has erected countless yellow gates — like the one seen in the clip — to shut down roads across the West Bank over the past year for what it says are security purposes. The roadblocks and checkpoints have caused massive congestion throughout the territory where commutes for millions of Palestinians that once took 15 to 30 minutes now regularly take several hours.
The IDF allows the yellow gate in Salfit to be opened for just two hours in the morning and two hours at night, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
But this morning, a settler from a nearby illegal outpost appears to decide on his own that the gate will be closed.
A soldier is seen standing by without reacting, as the settler closes the gate, stranding Palestinian vehicles indefinitely.
The Yesh Din rights group says that the footage is “further evidence of who determines and implements Israeli policy in the West Bank: the settlers lead, while the army watches and enables.” video

Elite troops killed head of a north West Bank terror network, police say; Palestinian media: Target a senior Islamic Jihad member
Officers of the elite Yamam unit killed the head of a terror network in the northern West Bank town of Tamun overnight, police say.
Also in the joint operation carried out by Yamam officers and IDF troops, two wanted Palestinians, part of the same network, were detained, the military and police add.
The terror operative, Raeq Basharat, is identified by Palestinian media as a senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. link

IDF: 2 Palestinians killed, 4 troops injured during attempt to snatch soldier’s gun in West Bank

Two Palestinians were killed while attempting to snatch a soldier’s gun in the West Bank city of Nablus earlier today, the military says.

Four soldiers were also hurt in the incident.

According to the IDF, the incident began as several suspects were being questioned by troops amid an ongoing counter-terror operation in Nablus.

During the questioning, two Palestinians tried to snatch a gun from one of the soldiers. Several bullets were fired from the gun as it was being grabbed by the Palestinians, moderately injuring a soldier and lightly injuring three others.

The other troops then returned fire, killing the two.

Footage from the incident appears to show one of the men approaching troops with his hands raised, before a soldier tries to kick him. The men enter a scuffle, during which gunfire is heard. video

Politics and the War and General News

Report: PM approved multimillion dollar deals between top Israeli defense companies and Qatar
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved multimillion dollar defense deals between Israel’s top defense companies and Qatar, according to the Walla news outlet.
The report comes a day after the publication of documents seized by Israel in Gaza that show Qatar’s intense collaboration with Hamas over the course of several years.
Elbit, Rafael, and Israel Aerospace Industries all received authorization for major deals with the wealthy Gulf country.
According to the report, Elbit agreed to deals with Qatar worth more than $100 million; Rafael inked contracts worth tens of millions of dollars; and IAI executives visited Doha more than 20 times and held a daylong meeting with a high-level Qatari delegation at its headquarters in Israel.
The deals were given the green light by Netanyahu, the Defense Ministry, and the IDF.
Earlier this week, Channel 12 news reported that documents taken from Gaza during the war reveal that in May 2021, immediately after the conclusion of an 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas, then-Hamas politburo leader Ismail Haniyeh told the terror group’s leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar that Qatari emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani had privately “agreed on discreet financial support” for the group’s “resistance” efforts.
In addition to Doha’s cash, Qatari intelligence officials reportedly met with a Hamas representative at one point — the report did not provide a date — to discuss supervising special training units for Hamas fighters on military bases in Qatar and Turkey, and for the integration of Syrian Palestinians who fled to Lebanon amid the Syrian civil war into Hamas’s Lebanese battalions.
The Prime Minister’s Office does not respond to The Times of Israel’s request for comment on the Walla report.
“Elbit Systems’ activity in the international market is subject to the guidelines and restrictions of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, and accordingly, the company operates under these guidelines,” Elbit says.
“Rafael does not provide information about business partners,” the company tells Walla. “Rafael has operated and operates according to the most stringent international standards, with regard to the compliance of its business partners and in accordance with the Export Control and Licensing Law.” link

Trump must tell Netanyahu 'enough is enough': ex-Israeli PM

Paris (AFP) – US President Donald Trump should tell Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu "enough is enough", a former Israeli prime minister told AFP, denouncing the continuation of the war in Gaza as a "crime" and insisting a two-state solution is the only way to end the conflict.

Ehud Olmert, prime minister between 2006-2009, said in an interview in Paris that the United States has more influence on the Israeli government "than all the other powers put together" and that Trump can "make a difference".

He said Netanyahu "failed completely" as a leader by not preventing the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas that sparked the war.

He said while the international community accepted Israel's right to self-defence after October 7, this changed when Netanyahu spurned chances to end the war in March and instead ramped up operations.

Netanyahu "has his personal interests which are prioritised over what may be the national interests," Olmert charged.

Analysts say Netanyahu fears that if he halts the war, hardline members of his coalition will walk out, collapsing the government and forcing elections he could lose.

"If there is a war which is not going to save hostages, which cannot really eradicate more of what they did already against Hamas and if, as a result of this, soldiers are getting killed, hostages maybe get killed and innocent Palestinians are killed, then to my mind this is a crime," said Olmert.

**Olmert insists that the two-state plan is viable © STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP**

"And this is something that should be condemned and not accepted," he said.
Trump should summon Netanyahu to the White House Oval Office and facing cameras, tell the Israeli leader: "'Bibi: enough is enough'", Olmert said, using the premier's nickname.
"This is it. I hope he (Trump) will do it. There is nothing that cannot happen with Trump. I don't know if this will happen. We have to hope and we have to encourage him," said Olmert.
Despite occasional expressions of concern about the situation in Gaza, the US remains Israel's key ally, using its veto at the UN Security Council and approving billions of dollars in arms sales.

'Doable and valid'

Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Militants abducted 251 hostages, 54 of whom remain in Gaza, including 32 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed 54,880 people, mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, figures the United Nations deems reliable.

Along with former Palestinian foreign minister Nasser Al-Qidwa, Olmert is promoting a plan to end decades of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians to create a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.

Both sides would swap 4.4 percent of each other's land to the other, according to the plan, with Israel receiving some West Bank territory occupied by Israeli settlers and a future Palestinian state territory that is currently part of Israel.

**Olmert insisted Trump was key to change** **© STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP**

Ahead of a meeting this month in New York co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia on steps towards recognising a Palestinian state, Olmert said that such a plan is "practical, is doable, is relevant, is valid and is real."

Olmert spent over a year in prison from 2016-2017 after being convicted in corruption scandals that ended his political career and efforts to forge peace.

A longtime political rival of Netanyahu even though they both emerged from the same Likud right-wing party, he also faces an uphill struggle to convince Israeli society where support for a Palestinian state, let alone land swaps, is at a low ebb after October 7.

"It requires a leadership on both sides," said Olmert. "We are trying to raise international awareness and the awareness of our own societies that this is not something lost but offers a future of hope."

'Get rid of both'

Al-Qidwa, who is due to promote the plan alongside Olmert at a conference organised by the Jean-Jaures Foundation think tank in Paris on Tuesday, told AFP the blueprint was the "only game in town and the only doable solution".

**Leaderships of both the Palestinians and Israelis had to change, Al-Qidwa said** **© STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP**

But he said societies in Israel and the Palestinian territories still had to be convinced, partly due to the continuation of the war.
"The moment the war comes to an end we will see a different kind of thinking. We have to go forward with acceptance of the co-existence of the two sides."
But he added there could be no hope of "serious progress with the current Israeli government and current Palestinian leadership" under the ageing president Mahmud Abbas, in office now for two decades.
"You have to get rid of both. And that is going to happen," he said, labelling the Palestinian leadership as "corrupt and inept". link

Responding to UK-led sanctions, Smotrich cancels waiver allowing Israel-PA bank ties
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has directed his office to cancel a critical agreement for sustaining the Palestinian economy in retaliation for the decision by five Western countries to sanction him and fellow far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
Smotrich’s office says in a statement that he directed the Finance Ministry’s accountant-general, Yali Rotenberg, to waive the indemnity that Israeli banks have been given to correspond with Palestinian banks.
Smotrich earlier in the day reportedly pledged to collapse the PA in response to the sanctions, even though Ramallah was not known to have any involvement in the joint decision by the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway.
The Palestinian economy relies heavily on the banks’ relationships with their Israeli counterparts to process transactions made in shekels, as the PA does not have its own currency. Some NIS 53 billion ($14 billion) were exchanged at Palestinian banks in 2023, according to official data.
The overwhelming majority of exchanges in the West Bank are in shekels, Israel’s national currency, because the Palestinian Authority is prevented from having a central bank that would allow it to print its own currency.
The so-called corresponding banking agreement requires periodic extensions by Israel to remain in effect, and the Biden administration exhausted significant efforts in urging Israel not to allow its expiration. The administration warned that failing to maintain the banking relations between Israel and the Palestinians would turn the West Bank into a “cash economy,” which would benefit terrorist organizations in the territory and make it harder for the already-weakened PA to fight such groups.
The Israeli security establishment also pushed back against the move, and Smotrich ultimately agreed to grant a one-year extension to the banking deal last November. link Smotrich, the most unqualified person to ever hold the position of Finance Minister is the same minister who has seen Israel's credit rating downgraded, not once but 3 times in the last year and a half (for the first time in the history of the State) and he thinks nothing of it. This is the same minister who stated numerous times that Hamas is an asset to Israel. Smotrich's goal, which has never been a secret is to destroy the Palestinian Authority and deport every Palestinian in the West Bank and Gaza and then to go after the Arab citizens of Israel and get rid of them as well. He wants to make their lives as miserable as possible so they will want to leave en masse. He and his extremist messianic partner, Ben Gvir were fringe elements of society, which is where they should have remained, if not for Netanyahu's desperate need for power for which he is willing to pay any price. Netanyahu encouraged voting for these 2 racist pigs and then brought them into his coalition and gave them incredible power to realize their racist dreams.

The Region and the World

UK to impose sanctions on Smotrich, Ben Gvir over comments on Gaza
The UK will join Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries in sanctioning National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich over comments about Gaza, The Times of London reports.
The UK outlet reports that the countries will freeze the assets of the two far-right ministers and impose travel bans.
In May, British Foreign Minister David Lammy announced that the United Kingdom was suspending free trade agreement negotiations with Israel and taking other punitive measures, including the imposition of sanctions on some West Bank settlers, in response to Israel’s wartime policies during its conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
Speaking to parliament, Lammy accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “planning to drive Gazans from their homes into a corner of the Strip to the south and permit them a fraction of the aid that they need.”
“Minister Smotrich even spoke of Israeli forces ‘cleansing’ Gaza, ‘destroying what’s left,’ of resident Palestinians ‘being relocated to third countries,'” Lammy said. “We must call this what it is. It is extremism. It is dangerous. It is repellent. It is monstrous. And I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.” link If there were ever ministers worthy of international sanctions, it is these 2 extremists messianics who care nothing about what happens to the hostages or to the country as long as they are able to further their extremist messianic missions. They both promote violence against Palestinians and deportations of all Gazans and both are war crimes. So beyond sanctions, I would expect this to go further to be indicted by the ICC for actual war crimes. I for one, would applaud it.

US issues sanctions against charities supporting Hamas, PFLP
The United States imposes sanctions targeting individuals and sham charities that it says were prominent financial supporters of the Palestinian groups Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
The individuals and groups targeted were funding Hamas’s military wing under the pretense of doing humanitarian work, in Gaza and internationally, the Treasury Department says.
The Treasury says it will continue to seek disruptions to the financial capabilities of Hamas, which still holds hostages it seized in the group’s October 7, 2023, assault on Israel.
The entities sanctioned included the Gaza-based Al Weam Charitable Society, the Turkey-based Filistin Vakfi, the El Baraka Association for Charitable and Humanitarian Work, which is based in Algeria, the Netherlands-based Israa Charitable Foundation, and the Associazione Benefica La Cupola d’Oro, based in Italy, the department says in a statement.
The five individuals targeted were leaders associated with the groups, it says.
“Today’s action underscores the importance of safeguarding the charitable sector from abuse by terrorists like Hamas and the PFLP, who continue to leverage sham charities as fronts for funding their terrorist and military operations,” Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender says in the statement.
Hamas and PFLP have a long history of abusing non-profit organizations and charities, the Treasury said.

UK joins Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway in sanctioning Smotrich, Ben Gvir over settler violence
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom issue a joint statement announcing sanctions on National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for “inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.”
“Settler violence is incited by extremist rhetoric which calls for Palestinians to be driven from their homes, encourages violence and human rights abuses and fundamentally rejects the two-state solution,” say the five countries’ foreign ministers. “Settler violence has led to the deaths of Palestinian civilians and the displacement of whole communities.”
Over the past two years, Palestinian villages have been targeted in an increasing number of attacks by extremist Israeli settlers, which go unpunished in the vast majority of cases.
Law enforcement and military responses to settler violence have faced mounting scrutiny amid concerns that members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline right-wing cabinet are unwilling to tackle extremist attacks on Palestinians. Police officials have pushed back against the criticism.
The statement claims that Ben Gvir and Smotrich “have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights.”
The foreign ministers say they have discussed the issue at length with the Israeli government, but “violent perpetrators continue to act with encouragement and impunity.”
“The Israeli Government must uphold its obligations under international law and we call on it to take meaningful action to end extremist, violent and expansionist rhetoric,” they say.
The five countries stress their support for Israel’s security, and say that Ben Gvir and Smotrich undermine Israel’s security and standing in the world.
Turning to Gaza, they say they are “appalled by the immense suffering of civilians, including the denial of essential aid,” and insist that there be no transfer of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank.
They call for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, and the unhindered flow of aid.
“We want to see a reconstructed Gaza no longer run by Hamas and a political pathway to a two state solution,” they say.

Trump said to have told Netanyahu to end Gaza war, attacking Iran off limits for now

United States President Donald Trump told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their phone call yesterday that he wants to see an end to the war in Gaza and that attacking Iran’s nuclear sites is off limits, reports Channel 12, without naming sources.

In an unprecedented message by the president to the premier, Trump told Netanyahu that he expects him to end the war in Gaza – not only to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal through the Witkoff framework in the ongoing negotiations, but to ensure the war ends altogether, says the network.

Ending the war will aid negotiations with Iran and Saudi Arabia, the president reportedly said. The understanding is that Washington is prepared to offer Hamas strong guarantees to end the war, adds Channel 12.

The reported conversation may explain Netanyahu’s statements earlier today that new progress is being made in the hostage negotiations, the network says.

Trump also clarified that he has not completed his efforts in the US-Iran nuclear talks, saying, despite his disapproval of Iran’s last offer, the door has not closed. Netanyahu replied that a credible military threat must be kept on Iran at all times, to which Trump again asserted that a strike should be taken off the table as negotiations continue.

According to two sources familiar with the details of the conversation, Netanyahu did not receive a clear answer from Trump as to whether the US would give Israel a green light to act alone, or whether Washington would want to participate in or lead a strike — if the negotiations with Iran fall through, says the report.

The report said there would be no discussions on a military strike until Trump concludes that talks had failed.

The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on the details of the conversation, adds Channel 12. link

Personal Stories

Exhausted and uncertain: IDF soldiers talk about mental toll of Gaza combat

After nearly two years of combat in Gaza, troops describe emotional and psychological toll of prolonged warfare—from burnout and trauma to frustration with unclear goals—as many prepare to leave active duty only to face immediate reserve service

After nearly two years of continuous fighting in Gaza, IDF combat soldiers are speaking out about the toll the war has taken—physically, mentally and emotionally. In rare and candid testimony, several servicemen describe burnout, frustration with unclear objectives and disillusionment as they near the end of their mandatory service, only to face immediate reserve duty.

‘No one knows how long this will last’

Shahar (assumed name), an infantry soldier now in the final four months of his extended three-year mandatory service, said the initial energy and purpose of the war have given way to exhaustion and uncertainty.

“At the beginning of the war, we were full of energy,” he said. “I was ready to miss my sister’s bat mitzvah just to be part of the operation. When we were moved to the north, we still felt what we did was significant. We saw schools reopening, shopping centers coming back to life. We were proud.”

That pride, he said, collapsed when the ceasefire ended and combat resumed in Gaza. “That was our breaking point,” Shahar said. “No one knows how long this will go on. Everyone’s worn out. And the uncertainty—that’s the hardest part.”

Despite the fatigue, he said, camaraderie keeps him going. “After two days in Gaza, you stop thinking about the mission. You just think about your friends and how to protect them.” Shahar is expected to join the reserves immediately after his release. “I’m exhausted,” he admitted. “First I’ll finish these last four months, then we’ll see.”

‘We’re stuck, waiting for something to happen’

Noam, another infantry soldier set to be discharged in December, recalled the intense motivation at the start of the war. “Saying morale was high doesn’t begin to describe it,” he said. “Everyone wanted to get into Gaza and make a difference. No questions asked.” But by January 2024, however, something shifted. “The fire started to fade. We went from offensive missions to defensive ones. We felt stuck—just waiting around. That’s been the state for a year. It’s frustrating. You start questioning the goals and whether this war still has meaning.” Noam criticized what he called a disregard for soldier safety. “You start hearing things like ‘munition economy’ and realize your life doesn’t seem to matter much. They say it’s more important to save money on bombs than to keep a soldier from walking into a booby-trapped house. I give everything—my body, my life—and that’s what I get?” He said the mental toll is widespread. “I tell friends I woke up soaked in sweat from a nightmare and they say, ‘Welcome to the club.’ It’s become the norm. Everyone’s carrying some form of trauma. Ask any mental health officer when it’ll pass—they’ll say, ‘When you take off the uniform and stop walking through fields full of triggers.’” Still, Noam is also slated for reserve duty immediately after his discharge. “It’s incredibly frustrating,” he said. “We want to take a break, reset mentally and physically. We’re fighting for life, not for war. But it feels like this will never end. You just know you’ll never really have a peaceful life.” ‘We’re not who we were at the start’ Amir, a tank crewman more than halfway through his mandatory service, said the relentless pace and intensity have changed him and those around him. “The burnout is from the length and volume of events. We’re not the same people we were before,” he said.

Protest for equal military service in Israel
(Photo: Mothers on the Frontline)

“There’s been a big drop in motivation and alertness. People don’t take the threat as seriously anymore. Mental health has deteriorated badly—people have tried to harm themselves, they can’t sleep at night.” Last week, two tank soldiers were jailed after refusing to continue fighting due to exhaustion. “People genuinely can’t do it anymore, especially in tanks,” Amir said. “There’s no break—you go in, come out, clean and fix the equipment, then go back in. I understand them. Some of my friends are seriously considering the same.” He blamed the strain on manpower shortages. “It’s sad they’re not recruiting more combat soldiers. They just keep extending our service. People are worn out and that leads to mistakes. I know countless cases where an ‘accident’—a blast, a vehicle malfunction—was actually caused by exhaustion.” ‘Outside the army, the country is tearing itself apart’ Ben, a soldier in an elite reconnaissance unit, will complete three years of service in December. He’s disheartened by the divisions he sees back home after spending weeks on the front lines. “My team is made up of people from totally different backgrounds and we get along incredibly well,” he said. “But outside the army, everyone’s fighting.” He too will join the reserves right after discharge. “It’s scary,” he said. “We want to start our lives but we know the army can call us back anytime. They won’t really let us go. I see how hard it is on the reservists in our unit—they have to put their lives on hold. That’s going to be us soon.

(Photo: Mothers on the Frontline)

“It’s frustrating that people don’t realize how hard this is. Over time, they’ve forgotten. It feels like they think we’re machines, not human beings.” Israeli advocacy group “Mothers on the Frontline” is lobbying in the Knesset and with military officials to raise awareness of the toll on regular army soldiers. Agamit Gelev, a leading activist with Mothers on the Frontline, said the situation is deteriorating. “Dozens of mothers have reached out recently in distress, saying their sons are exhausted and showing signs of trauma,” she described. “While reservists get breaks, active-duty soldiers are trapped in a prolonged cycle of combat. The wear and tear is visible—poor performance, lack of alertness, psychological symptoms that will follow them into civilian life.” 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

Search This Blog

Lonny's Ramblings